Prayer and its Power

Last week was a rough one to say the least. I was struggling personally with some things and my team was struggling with where God had placed us. We were running ragged with two churches a day, one being over an hour away from home. Our morning church was a gift and a blessing. We were working in preschool (I know, right?) and the workers assembled in that area were phenomenal. We were making connections with our kids and God was doing something big, per His usual. Then we hop in good old Tank and take off down i 75 (aka, our new and closest friend.) We drive and drive and drive and drive. It took absolutely FOREVER to get to our evening church and we were worn out by the time we got there. We had driven through an absolute monsoon and the sky was falling. We prayed in the car and ascended on day one of Beach Blast. The church was small with few kids, which is always okay! Where two or more are gathered, ya know. We are acquainted with our helpers and the staff and we were off, working with more awesome poeple. But my heart was not there and I was struggling and I was tired. And I could tell I wasn't alone. The week wore on and we continued our mission, suffering through lightening storm after lightening storm as we wore out the highway. It was wearing me thin, because, to be honest, it was way more work than I was used to. But I prayed through it, as did Emily. We prayed together and separately. We prayed for each other by name. We prayed for our fellow teammates, facing hard weeks, too. We prayed a lot. And never in my life have I felt a closer to my Jesus. It is amazing what happens when we do what He has commanded us. I was so spiritually, emotionally, and physically drained, but He gave me the strength I needed for each day. He kept me moving, even when I felt like I couldn't keep on. He is so so good. I kept asking for him to reveal to me why we were where we were (mouthful, I know. Sorry.) In the last couple of days he made it resoundingly clear. It was a little girl named Samantha and a young mom with the sweetest child. Samantha is autistic and probably cast aside a lot, because of how different she is. But when I took time with her, I found a sweet young girl, with a lot to offer, and no outlet. By the last day, Emily had her participating in games. My heart was blessed. So blessed in fact that I was watching all this take place with tears in my eyes. Yes, me, crying. Doesn't happen often, but I love when He breaks me down to that point. Revelation number one. And there is more to that story, but I will get to that later. We also met a young mom, whose husband is in the Navy. She was such a blessing to us both, and we were definitely not ready to say goodbye. Then my amazing God opened a door. She is close friends with the coordinator of another VBS we are working at. She is going to help out there, too. We were exhausted and burnt out, (my dramatic self even went and got sick) but we left last week feeling like the Spirit really was working. It is an amazing thing to see Him actively at work. I will wrap up the blabbering portion of this blog shortly. God provides and prayer is so vital and beneficial, if we really put our whole selves into that communication. Its important to talk to God. And how privileged are we that we get to talk to the creator of the universe?

I'm rambling.

Moving on.

In my own personal me time last week and the week before, I was struggling with direction with where I am going. I was getting a little self centered in thought to be honest. But I'm only human. So I took it to Him in prayer. I wrote it all out and laid it down in front of Him. He's answering my prayers here and there bit by bit and reminding me to be patient. He is showing me Jeremiah 29:11. A lot. He has a plan for me. I need not get ahead of Him. I would love to have a plan for my future, but I really don't. It is something I am working on. He knows and that is all that matters. He is showing me things. I am blessed he is working with me on this. So that was just a side matter, anyway. I'm going to wrap this up.

There is power in Prayer. Don't let that become yet another christian cliche. Put some real effort into a prayer life with Him. Keep a journal or a log of your prayers and look back and see how he worked in those situations. It is an amazing process and I guarantee you'll never feel closer. Communication is key in any relationship. Most importantly in one with your Savior. Spend time talking to Him.

Oddly enough He wants to hear from us.

Thank you for the prayers. Love you all. (:

Amazed

Hey there, everyone. I promise I wont blog this much all summer, but I am overwhelmed and I wanted to share with my friends. Last night at VBS was the ABC's of becoming a christian night. I poured over my lesson. I prepared and prepared and prepared. I had ideas and I knew the material. I was beyond ready to share the gospel with my kids. I was prayed up, studied up, and ready to go. Then I began to share the story of Nicodemus with the kids. They were so distracted and it really threw me off. Satan was trying so hard to squelch the spirit. I go to share the ABC's and the kids were not into it at all. I was so beyond discouraged, but I pressed on through the lesson. Let me tell you what, never in my life have I been happier to get to the craft portion. I was defeated. I extended an invitation, but the kids looked at me like I was crazy. I thought to myself, that I had failed and missed an opportunity to lead someone to Christ.

But then...

I was sitting at the tables helping some of the kids with the craft. One of my girls, Madison, starting asking me about sin, getting saved, and baptism. She had tons of questions. Good questions. Hard questions. My spirit lifted a little. If one kid started thinking about it, even, I had done something. But there was my problem. It wasn't about what I did. But I'll get to that. A couple minutes later, another one of my girls approached me. She wanted to know how to ask Jesus into her life. We went outside and she expressed that she knew she was a sinner, believed in God, and was ready to turn away from sin and get saved. I asked her a lot of questions. I waned to be sure this was for real. She was beyond ready so we prayed and she accepted Jesus into her life. And she was so excited. I was reminded of childlike faith and my heart was seriously overjoyed. I walked her back in to finish up her craft and Madison was waiting for me. We also went out to talk. Without even having to ask, she told me she knew she was a sinner, and she hadn't invited Jesus into her life. We prayed and while I was praying for her, God hit me hard in the face with this realization.

HE DOESN'T NEED ME.

But He wants to use me. And what a humbling experience. He can use a stuttering, crazy, babbling, nineteen year old, to further his kingdom. He used me. Me of all people. He didn't need me at all. And it had nothing to do with any of the things I said. It was all him speaking through me. I was his mouthpiece, and despite myself, kids still got save. And let me tell you. I had nothing to do with it. Praise God and all the glory be to Him.

I'm still praying revival breaks out in the church we're serving at. God is going to do something big. I can feel it. I just need to continue to be a humble carrier, letting him do all the work. Thanks for reading and continue to pray. He is working!

I need you!

Hey everyone! As you may already know, I am on summer mission in south Florida. I've been here since Thursday and already God is revealing some wonderful things to me. I have met some amazing people and already attended a wonderful church where God is ready to explode. We have lots of awesome things ahead of us and we are very excited.

BUT!

We need your help. You guys are my friends, my church family, my real family, and I'm asking for your prayers. South Florida is very dark, spiritually. In my neck of the woods (North Florida) going to church is more of a trend. People who could care less about there spiritual lives will claim to be affiliated with some church or another. They take their kids on Easter and Christmas. All that jazz. Here, that isn't the case. No one feels the need to even pretend they are associated with a church. There are two cases. You have the extreme rich, with no need or hunger for the word of God. Then you have the unreached. This category spans a little larger. These other people are unreached for numerous reasons. There are language barriers, demographic barriers, and more. We were speaking with one of the pastors and he told us that 92 percent of the people in the Ft. Meyers area are lost. Lost as in if they were to die right now, they would spend an eternity in hell. We have such a HUGE mission field here and I am beyond blessed to be working on it.

I also ask you pray for our churches we will serve at. Pray for open minds and hearts of children and their families. Pray for our pastors and workers. Pray for some major salvation. We would love to be apart of getting these lost families involved in a local body of believers.

Pray for my partner and I. Pray that we decrease so He can increase. Pray we keep practicing flexibility in all situations, easy or hard. Pray we never speak, but we always have Him speaking through us. And simply pray that God uses us. We are just vessels. He is the one truly doing the work.

And lastly, pray for revival. Not just here, but where you are, too. God is capable. He is able. I pray that I don't set my sights low, but I have real faith and truly believe he will work, not just here in south Florida, but all over the world. We serve a huge God is able to do exceedingly more than we dreamed or imagined.

Thank you for your support and love! I plan on keeping the blog updated if you would like to follow the shenanigans of south Florida. Love you all so much and God bless. (:

Casual Evangelism

Think about something that you are ridiculously passionate about. Got it? Okay, good. Now imagine that you don't take this thing that you are so passionate about seriously. Be it a boyfriend, a family member, or your best friend, what if you didn't take that relationship seriously. What if you just let is slide by the wayside, not nurturing it and investing in it. It wouldn't last very long. When you treat an earthly relationship as such, it tends to fall apart.

Now think about your relationship with Christ. As Christians we say, "I am passionate about Christ." But then we turn around and we are casual in the way we share him with others. Matthew 28:18 says, "Then Jesus came and told his disciples, 'I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NLT) This is an explicit commandment from Jesus Christ himself, telling us to go and make disciples. Not "go and beat around the bush and kind of invite someone to church" Is evangelism something we take seriously, or something we strive to mark off a to-do list. I believe we have taken this super natural concept and turned it into a menial everyday task. The action has become mundane and mediocre, like our apathetic existence.

We need to tell people about the Good News. And not just simply tell, but share, and explain. Bring people to the all powerful knowledge of God. We Christians, know the reality of eternity, yet we hold onto the real truth, keeping it a secret. Do we really hate the lost so much that we wouldn't share the amazing, and also grim aspects of what eternity holds? It would be like having the ability to save a bus full of people on a road to a fiery car crash. You alone have the knowledge and the ability to save them, but you watch as the bus speeds past, keeping the information to yourself. Would you actually do that? Of course not. You would do whatever you could to stop them from meeting their impending doom. The reality of this analogy is harsh, but its real. When we let lost people pass us by everyday, we are allowing them to journey on toward an eternity in hell. God has given us the responsibility of sharing his Truth. Acts 1:8 says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (NLT) We have the Truth. We have the ability to share it. We can take ten minutes and share about the wonders of a life in Christ and a eternity in heaven. Or we can let the opportunity pass, and send them straight to an eternity in Hell. It's our choice, and its serious. So we should see it that way. It's serious. We have access to genuine peace and Joy. Lets share that.

I hope that I can also take to heart the words I've said, as well. God can do some great and mighty things, if a simple few would stand up and make a difference. It takes being serious about our faith though.

2 Timothy 2:8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. And because I preach this good news, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the Word of God cannot be chained. So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen. (2 Timothy 2:8-10; NLT)

out with the 2010 in with the 2011

I've come to the realization since January 1 that I do not believe in resolutions. As a matter of fact I'm strongly against them. Every year I arrogantly claim that I will fulfill each checkpoint on an unreal list. I act as if I have some mystical power that will magically help me accomplish tasks, simply because it is a new year. The New Years resolution tradition, is in my opinion, archaic. We set steep ambitions for ourselves, usually centered around getting in shape or being healthy, then three months or less the overwhelming and daunting tasks crush us, and we succumb to the lifestyle of the previous year.

So, this year I wont make resolutions. Instead I am setting goals for myself. Some fun, some God-centered, but all to better myself in the year 2011. I'm not setting the goals so I can check off a list. I am doing it because I want to live life to it's fullest. I want to carpe diem the whole year.

First and foremost, I am making a real effort to grow in my walk with the Lord. This means daily reading, fasting, and prayer-even in the busiest of times. Even if it's finals. This is something I can't let slide. I want the world to see He is my everything.

Staying positive. I'm leaving negativity in 2010.

Write, write, write. Get serious about writing. Work on editing my novel. Look into getting said novel published. Work on more short works. Expound on new novel ideas. Write more music. This is what I plan on doing with my life, so working towards my goals now will further my career as a writer down the road. Something to look forward to.

Blog once weekly. I love to blog. It's a constructive way to get my thoughts out. I get to write, and I also look at it as a tool to further His gospel.

Play more music. Find local places to sing. Better my guitar playing ability. Learn a new instrument.

Study hard, but not too hard. There are more important things in life. Give everything you have your best effort, but don't get bogged down and marred up in one thing. Your best effort is the most important thing.

Be a better friend to my friends, and love on everyone. I am called, after all, to love people.

Make a better effort to be involved with my family, no matter what that entails. Family is so important to me. Second only to my relationship with Christ. I need to try to put effort into what means the most to me.

Start saving money for the future. I am nearly nineteen years old. Its time to grow up and began being future minded. I need to be prepared for the road God takes me down.

Learn new skills. Like sewing. I really would love to make my own clothes. And I would love to have the skill for when I am a wife and a mom. I look forward to being a Proverbs 31 woman in my own home.

Paint and draw more often. I rarely make time for my love of art in my life and I would like to change that.

Collect more records. I want to pass down an awesome collection to my kids one day.

Make a concerted effort to be healthy and exercise. I would like to run a half marathon this year.

Hike, camp, and enjoy God's creation more.

Read more.

Tell someone everyday the wonderful things God is doing in my life.

Tell someone I love them everyday. Compliment others. Be an encourager.

These goals, listed in no particular order, are what I am striving towards this year. It's time to make changes and what better time then when I have an entire year of blank pages to write on. I want to live a life pleasing to God and a life I pour into others. This year, I want it to be less about me and more about Him. I want to live my life loving God and loving people.

Thanks for taking time to read this. I appreciate it. (: Have a blessed day.

Apart of His plan

It's that time of year again. It's Christmastime. What thoughts flash in your mind at the idea of Christmas? Family, a tree, giving and receiving gifts, decorations? These are just a few of the things I think of as I look around me, surrounded by the beauty of the season. This is my absolute favorite time of year. Everything turns magical, and I find myself feeling like a little kid. Traditions from years before reoccur, bringing warmth and familiarity. The bustle of people, the music, the weather, all bring a sense of enchantment. I love it all.

But I am sitting here today, listening as Dustin Kensrue sings carols through my record player. He sings "O Holy Night" and I am taken back to the point where this tradition began.

It was a holy night, the night the Savior of all mankind was born. For hundreds of years leading up to that day, prophesies had been told and retold, and in one divine moment, each were fulfilled. This is what it is all about. Every year I have been surrounded by sayings like "keep Christ in Christmas" or "Jesus is the reason for the season." While the sayings are wonderful to remember and ring true, think about something. Are you just spouting off cliches or are you actually doing something about what you are saying? Why do we only give Him this recognition at Christmas? He deserves it all year long. I feel like, as a Christian, I should be emphasizing these truths, always. But even as we say them at Christmas are we allowing ourselves to pause and think about why we celebrate the tree and the gifts and one another. We have this "holiday" because of the lowly birth of our savior.

In an effort to truly remember why we have Christmas I have been doing some studying in the book of Luke. I was inspired by Bro. Scott's sermon a couple of weeks ago. He was talking about Mary and the simple vessel she was. She found favor with God and was used by Him. Imagine being in her place. A virgin, carrying a child. It was a miracle, but it was probably scary, too. In that time, having a baby out of wedlock meant permanent disgrace. She endured those fears, though. She considered herself to be blessed that God chose her to be apart of his plan. That attitude got me thinking. God chose me. I was so undeserving and dirty and sinful, but he said. "I want you." I am blessed that he has allowed me to be apart of his plan. I don't deserve his outstretched hand inviting me to be in his big picture, but he is still offering it. So instead of getting downtrodden because of circumstances or problems within your life, rejoice, because it is all part of His plan. We are just lucky he is letting us be apart.

So this Christmas, make sure you remember why we celebrate, but also remember what Jesus's birth and death meant. It was all part of God's big plan. A plan that involved Mary and Joseph, then, and it involves you and I now. We are all simple servants, part of something much bigger.

And remember, something that seems impossible with men is ALWAYS possible with God.

Being a radical...

So recently I began reading David Platt's book, Radical. I'm probably about 60ish pages in and everything that I know and hold to has been put in a brand new perspective. Think about this. In the book he talks about a time right before he was going on a mission trip to Sudan. He was reading a BAPTIST newspaper and the headlines caught his eye. One headline was about a church celebrating their 23 million dollar new sanctuary. The other headline was talking about how the baptist were raising money for 350,000 Sudanese refugees. Naturally he got excited seeing this, especially since he was heading out to Sudan. He read on in the article, much shorter than the one about the 23 million dollar sanctuary, to find that the amount raised for the refugees was 5,000 dollars. Only 5,000 dollars for 350,000 men, women, and children. Puts a lot into perspective.

This story has been stuck in my mind for days now. I keep going back to it. It hits me close to home, I guess. Before I go on, let me say this. I don't think there is anything wrong with a growing church and a big building, just to be clear. But I attend a church thats growing. So much we have outgrown our sanctuary and we are almost finished building a new one. It's great to see God's hand working within my church, but I almost felt convicted at reading David Platt's story. I feel like we put so much emphasis on numbers and growth and state of the art worship centers that we lose focus on the needs of this lost and dying world. We can't reach out to Sudanese refugees by sitting in our cool air conditioned buildings in our comfy chairs with our hands underneath us. We have to think about the people with needs.

I am blessed. I go to a church that is growing, BUT it also has a heart for the lost world. I just pray that we as christians as a whole, forget the numbers game and focus on something a bit more important: the billions of people that have never heard the gospel. We are called in Matthew to GO and make disciples. Are we making disciples or are we more worried about what color the church is painted or the color of the carpet. It's great to have a place to worship as a church family, but please don't lose sight of what is important.

I hope I worded this all right. I got a little offended when I read the book, but I quickly realized it wasn't me taking offense. It was the Holy Spirit convicting my heart. Sometimes I get a little proud because of our church growth and our building, but God has brought me back down to size. In closing, what is important to you? The multi million dollar worship center or the Sudanese refugees. Because that's what it comes down to.