As some of you know I was very unsure if I was wanting to go on this trip this summer. My heart was lost in Uganda, to the little kids with no families, who had been kicked out of their communities. My heart broke for them. So when God called me to Zambia/South Africa I was not super excited. So I told God if he really wanted me to go on this trip, he was going to have to show me and not just with a knowing that I was to go but physically. So I started praying Lord if I'm to go will you please provide half of the funds by the end of January. And sure enough the funds came in. Then I began praying Lord I know I'm to go now, and I know your bigger than money, so please bring in the rest by the end of April. And sure enough the rest of the money has come in. There is some reason bigger than my mind can dream of why I'm supposed to be going on this trip, and I can't wait to see why. Thanks for all your prayers and support I couldn't do it alone. God Bless!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Looking through His eyes
My prayer for the last well forever has been "God I want to see people the way you do." and my prayer for the last month or so everyday as I drive to school, is "Lord let me be your hands and feet today, in whatever way that may be." So as I pray these prayers the Lord has given me a glimpse through His eyes, and placed this longing on my heart to be his hands and feet to people in simple ways. So this brings me to the umph of my blog, I've been praying, asking, and looking. But when I would see the "needs" I wouldn't meet them. For example: Its snowing and I'm walking out of Wal-mart, there is this little old lady scooping of her car windows and instantly I think wow I should help her. As I turn to my friends to say wait lets help this lady, I get overwhelmed with the thoughts that, I don't have time, heck she is almost done what's one more window going to do to her, what are my friends going to think, and the list goes on and on."
That is just one story of several I've had in the past few weeks. I felt like God was telling me tonight to go to youth group instead of my missions class I normally would be at on a Sunday night, and my old youth pastor was speaking and the line that slapped me in the face was, "If someone were to read your life as a book, would it be an epic book/movie?" So many times in the past I've compromised the opportunities the Lord has given me to show His love. Why? Because its not comfortable, its not comfortable to go and ask to help someone you don't know, its not comfortable to give up some thing you've earned to let someone have more "comfort", IT'S NOT COMFORTABLE TO BE A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST! The Lord has called us to step out of our comforts to advance His kingdom. Our life is only so long, and living with out comforts for a glimpse of eternity WON'T KILL US!
Now will you join with me in this life that the Lord has called us to live, a life of giving up everything, to gain THE ONLY THING, Jesus Christ!
That is just one story of several I've had in the past few weeks. I felt like God was telling me tonight to go to youth group instead of my missions class I normally would be at on a Sunday night, and my old youth pastor was speaking and the line that slapped me in the face was, "If someone were to read your life as a book, would it be an epic book/movie?" So many times in the past I've compromised the opportunities the Lord has given me to show His love. Why? Because its not comfortable, its not comfortable to go and ask to help someone you don't know, its not comfortable to give up some thing you've earned to let someone have more "comfort", IT'S NOT COMFORTABLE TO BE A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST! The Lord has called us to step out of our comforts to advance His kingdom. Our life is only so long, and living with out comforts for a glimpse of eternity WON'T KILL US!
Now will you join with me in this life that the Lord has called us to live, a life of giving up everything, to gain THE ONLY THING, Jesus Christ!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
WoW! What it takes for us to finally get it!
Wow! So as many of you know the earthquake in Haiti hit closer to home to me than I would of honestly ever liked to have. But in the raw and true reality it is super hard, but God is doing a new thing! My family has many ties to Haiti, and through all those ties yesterday we found out that the kids our family almost adopted 3 years ago (our friends ended up adopting them, and live just across town, praise God) sister in Haiti didn't make it through the earthquake. Also we have missionaries from our church here in small town Iowa that are having to send their children back to the states, because they don't know how much longer they will have clean water and food to eat.
But anyways back to my "click" "light on moment" I was sitting listening to my mom talk on the phone with our friends who adopted the boys from Haiti, just asking what were some major things you would tell these other families (we have 3 other families in the process of adopting 5 children from Haiti, and God willing 4 more will be coming back with them in the next few weeks and we are trusting God that families will rise to take them into their family) and as I sat there reflecting on the past week, and all the endless moments of praying, crying, and asking why, there is a hope a light at the end of the tunnel.
Through all this pain, physically and emotionally those who were Christ Followers are still praising God! If that were to happen here we "Christians" would be swearing at God, asking him why in the world would he do it to us? But these people trust God! They HAVE TO or there would be NO HOPE! They can't buy their hope like we can, if we feel sad we eat, buy new clothes to boost our ego, take a trip, or do something, but they have nothing to help "cover" their problems.
So as I went to get a drink of water tonight I turned on the sink and filled up my glass not thinking anything about it, then as I turned away my thought process changed! I've been in countries several times where I can't drink their water because its contaminated for a body with out resistance to it, but when in Haiti they don't even have bottled water, or real food, or a home, or hope for tomorrow. Some people have lost everyone in their family, and have nothing, does it seem fair NO OF COURSE NOT, but life isn't fair.
So finally I know I have skipped around a lot, but I'm still trying to process all of this while writing this out, but last people we need to stop complaining about the car we drive, the food on our plate, the clothes we are wearing, or whatever selfish thing we whine about, and start focusing our life's on God's daily plan like these people. Some times I feel like WE (AMERICANS!) are the ones in poverty, we have no hope past the next "new thing" where are you finding your HOPE, VALUE, and TRUTH? Is it in what your wearing, what your driving, what your eating, what are you spending your money that GOD has BLESSED you with on? Is it bringing him GLORY? HONOR? PRAISE? If not we need to do some rethinking.... I'm just as guilty, but its no excuse we need to live a life connected to Him, worthy of Him, and ready to give up everything (family, life, food, money) to follow him! WILL YOU?
But anyways back to my "click" "light on moment" I was sitting listening to my mom talk on the phone with our friends who adopted the boys from Haiti, just asking what were some major things you would tell these other families (we have 3 other families in the process of adopting 5 children from Haiti, and God willing 4 more will be coming back with them in the next few weeks and we are trusting God that families will rise to take them into their family) and as I sat there reflecting on the past week, and all the endless moments of praying, crying, and asking why, there is a hope a light at the end of the tunnel.
Through all this pain, physically and emotionally those who were Christ Followers are still praising God! If that were to happen here we "Christians" would be swearing at God, asking him why in the world would he do it to us? But these people trust God! They HAVE TO or there would be NO HOPE! They can't buy their hope like we can, if we feel sad we eat, buy new clothes to boost our ego, take a trip, or do something, but they have nothing to help "cover" their problems.
So as I went to get a drink of water tonight I turned on the sink and filled up my glass not thinking anything about it, then as I turned away my thought process changed! I've been in countries several times where I can't drink their water because its contaminated for a body with out resistance to it, but when in Haiti they don't even have bottled water, or real food, or a home, or hope for tomorrow. Some people have lost everyone in their family, and have nothing, does it seem fair NO OF COURSE NOT, but life isn't fair.
So finally I know I have skipped around a lot, but I'm still trying to process all of this while writing this out, but last people we need to stop complaining about the car we drive, the food on our plate, the clothes we are wearing, or whatever selfish thing we whine about, and start focusing our life's on God's daily plan like these people. Some times I feel like WE (AMERICANS!) are the ones in poverty, we have no hope past the next "new thing" where are you finding your HOPE, VALUE, and TRUTH? Is it in what your wearing, what your driving, what your eating, what are you spending your money that GOD has BLESSED you with on? Is it bringing him GLORY? HONOR? PRAISE? If not we need to do some rethinking.... I'm just as guilty, but its no excuse we need to live a life connected to Him, worthy of Him, and ready to give up everything (family, life, food, money) to follow him! WILL YOU?
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