No matter where we are at in the world, sometimes there is a tendency to not see the forest for the trees. Our focus becomes ourselves and our world and we consider this to be what the world is made of. It’s true in the Christian world, as well, but there’s a great difference in how Christianity is lived out around the world. Thank you for the opportunity to join you for this week‘s episode of the Weekly encouragement! We have a lot to be thankful for in America, and we have our own Thanksgiving celebration coming up, joined by a few others around the world in their own Thanksgiving celebrations. But faith and freedom might be one of the most prominent realities that we are thankful for in America, unknown to many people around the world, and to many societies. Possibly it’s important to get a glimpse around the world at other societies and how they are navigating worlds that do not have some of the same freedoms we have. This would have to refer to the external freedoms of economic blessing, for example, and religious freedoms. I call religious freedoms an external blessing because it’s written into our law and built into our structures. This might be where differences are apparent in other parts of the world. There are horrific stories, such as a society where it is thought that children must be sacrificed to be a blessing to a company and this is a ritual that is practiced. Then again, possibly we are not as much different from other places as we think. Fervency of faith is happening around the world. I am grateful for this. I believe this will go further than anything in helping to heal anger and to annihilate dark forces. The glimpse we are seeing today in the  Weekly encouragement! is from a traveled journalist who has traveled to around 150 countries during a professional career as a journalist and just also in personal venues of traveling. There are keys to be gained from this travel experience, primarily focused on the effects of Christianity and what God is doing all over the world. I’ve known of stories like you’ll hear in today’s Weekly encouragement!, and these stories encourage my heart and also cause me to feel more grateful for our freedoms. The faith of people in harder places, however, is inspiring. I hope I can be courageous, too, in practice of faith before men, before all. I feel this explains the joy Christians demonstrate in difficult places. That the presence of God is so tangible in difficult and painful places. Please be encouraged to know that God is working around the world, and in each of our lives. Please know I’m praying for you because I love you.