Let's Talk About.....Missions!

God has given me a heart passionate for foreign missions. Because of that I LOVE to hear about missions in foreign countries, speak about my own mission to Rwanda, and be in the presence of people who are also passionate about sharing Christ around the world. If you enjoy this as well, I have a great opportunity for you.
My church is having a missions conference this coming weekend. We will have special speakers each night with a different missions focus. I have also been asked to speak on Sunday night about my second home and the time I will be spending there in a matter of months. Below is the schedule for each session. I would love to see you there!!

All sessions will be in the Family Life Center located behind the sanctuary of Neely's Creek Church (974 Neely's Creek Road).

Friday night at 6:45- short term missionary in refugee camps, missionaries serving with SIM (serving in mission).

Saturday at 8:30 am- local opportunities to become involved in missions.

Saturday at 6:45 pm- missionary family to serve in Spain

Sunday at 9:45 am- focus on a missionary's journey to the field ( I will share a little in this time).

Sunday at 11 am- Director of World Witness (ARP missions agency). He will also speak during each evening session.

Sunday at 6:45- ME! Focus on what God has done along the way to Rwanda.

Reliance

"Relying on God has to start all over everyday, as if nothing has yet been done." - C.S. Lewis

This is a quote that I saw somewhere and wrote down about a year ago, knowing it was something I needed to be reminded of on a regular basis. That has never been more true than in these last few months. This journey of following God as He leads me to Rwanda has brought with it every emotion imaginable...ones I didn't even think could have anything to do with this process. There have been times of extreme closeness to the Lord and times when I felt like He was far from here. There have been questions that seemed to have no answers and answers provided before I even knew to ask the question. Recently some things I had counted on changed once again which means more adjusting, praying, and waiting. For a planner like me, this has been one wild ride of trust and faith. I have failed to trust and wait more times than I even want to admit. Every time I come back to the Lord, He reminds me that this is a process that I have to take one step at a time. Each time a new obstacle presents itself or even when plans are coming together smoothly and it all seems to be falling into place, I must remind my soul that every morning (or a million times throughout the day), I have to start over with relying on His hand to guide me through each step.
I don't know where you are or what you might be needing God's guidance for, but know that He can be counted on. We can begin each day relying on Him for what only He can provide.

Jesus-
Please remind me every day that I need You more than I realize. When You show me my need, would You also help me to lay down my agenda and expectations to rely fully on You. Teach my soul to surrender anew every morning!

Obvious... my new favorite word

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Growing up in the church, this is a verse I heard a lot and memorized at a young age. It has revealed different truths to me throughout the years, but one in particular struck me several weeks ago. I was reading a book where the author was describing our role and God's role in this verse. We are to trust God with everything and acknowledge that we want His will in each area of our lives. That is usually as far as I went in reflecting on these words because that is where my responsibility in it lies. When looking further, the author of this book pointed out that as we do that, God's part is to make our paths straight. She went on to use the word "obvious." My first reaction to that word was that it was not used in the verse, and I was not sure that it was something I could expect from the Lord. Can I really ask that He make something obvious to me and expect that He will do it? According to His word, He will make our paths straight or, in other translations, direct our paths. If He is directing me, then why would He not want to make things clear so that I can follow wholeheartedly? So that night I decided that I was laying Rwanda at His feet. I released my plans, desires, and questions to Him. I told my sweet Lord that I needed to know what He wanted for me, but that I needed it to be so obvious that I could not deny it was His answer. I asked that I would be so sure of His will,  that to turn my back on what He revealed would be to choose disobedience. I knew that I was being bold, and honestly I wasn't sure what would come from it. I was determined to stand on His promise to direct my path. Let me tell you that within about two hours my answer came, in the form of a burden He placed on someone else's heart. He answered months of prayers, longing, and questioning, in one conversation with a dear friend. He revealed in beautiful detail how He had been working even when we weren't aware of how all the pieces fit together. I asked for obvious and boy did I get it!! Now, I don't believe that answers from Him will always come so quickly or dramatically as they did that day, but I know He hears my prayers. I know that He wants me to ask Him to reveal Himself. I know that He is calling me to Rwanda in His specific time, and I am taking each step He shows to get there. There has been a lot of waiting and wondering, a lot of joy and tears, but with every event that has occurred He has been moving me to this place and this time. He gave me my obvious answer when I surrendered my way and asked for His will on this path. I have no doubt that He will do the same for you!!

Running

I went running today. For anyone who knows me, you know that it is usually a battle within my own mind to actually just get out there and do it. Once I get going it isn't too bad until I hit this one incline on my road that makes me wish I had never had this brilliant idea to run today. So I was listening to my iPod as usual, feeling fine, and then I hit that hill. I got to that moment where my legs start burning and I am working overtime to breathe. Well today my shoe also came untied and the wind started whipping against me. I was just wishing that I was done- at the end of this run and not having to think about it anymore. That is when I heard Him....Jesus that is. Tenderly He said, "One step at a time, sweetheart." Rather than focusing on where I eventually wanted to get, in these hard moments, I needed to take it one step at a time and no more. With that in my mind, I decided to try just focusing on my next step- not desperately searching for my driveway to come into view. When I did, I saw that the reality of running those steps wasn't nearly as difficult as the build up in my mind. I could do it. I could continue to run even when it was hard, if I just took it step by step. Of course, Jesus wasn't really speaking to me about my run. He was speaking to me about this journey I am on with Him. Right now I find myself in another one of those periods of waiting that threatens to derail my emotional handle on things. I am refusing to let Satan convince me that my God is not faithful or doesn't care about answering me. I have seen His faithfulness and tender care so many times already this year. So when I just want everything figured out....no more questions, worries, uncertainty, I hear Him again- "One step at a time, sweetheart." As much as I sometimes don't see it or even fail to admit it, He does know best and for whatever reason I am having to wait. I can praise Him that He has never left me in the wait! He is my joy, and so I am choosing one step at a time.

 

Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God..."

New Year, New Me...

First, I need to apologize for so much silence in the blogging world. I am still here! All I can say is that life took over and the blog fell to the bottom of my list.

In only the first 12 days of this year, I am realizing that 2013 will rank amongst the best years of my life. If not even one more exciting or wonderful thing happened this year, God has already done enough to deserve 365 days of my praise! I need to be writing to preserve memories of His faithfulness.

Each new year brings us an opportunity to start over. We can make changes. We can dream about how life will be different as this year ends. We can commit to doing things differently...better. Most of my goals this year are spiritual ones. I want to memorize more Scripture, commit to daily prayer for others, and be more disciplined in my pursuit of God. In short, I want to want Jesus more. I began this year praying that God would give me a greater desire for Him that would lead to a deeper pursuit of Him. This alone results in greater service to Him and all those that He loves. I have talked before and will again about simply asking, but boy has He already shown up this year. I am experiencing a greater intimacy with Christ than I dreamed possible, the kind I grew up believing was reserved for only the really holy people who seemed to have some kind of special line to Jesus. I know that He is desperate for me, and I am desperate for Him. I cannot pretend to know what 2013 will hold, but I want all of the Lord's will for me in this year. I will hold on tightly, for this beautiful journey has only just begun...

The Truth About Emotions

I am admittedly an emotional girl. My emotions can lead me on a roller coaster of ups and downs that leaves my head spinning, if they go unchecked. For years, that was the way I lived my life...jumping from one emotional high or low to another without much regard for how it affected me or those around me. I lived under the idea that I was entitled to my emotions and couldn't do anything to change them. That is an exhausting and, quite frankly, depressing way to live. I am not denying that emotions can sometimes be so raw or deep that the best way to deal with them is just to let them play out honestly for a bit. I just know that letting my emotions run wild and dictate how life is going to be, is no longer ok with me.

God created us to be emotional beings. Often our emotions are an indicator of where our heart is on an issue or a red flag that signals us of something in a situation. Emotions can be so good and helpful. The problem occurs when we start giving our emotions free reign and making all of our decisions based on how we are feeling. I can look back in my life and pinpoint times when my emotions led me in decision making. I missed opportunities God had for me when fear said that I couldn't walk that road. I have friendships that have been forever impacted by allowing jealousy or anger to push me from that person. I have been in relationships that I placed far too much stock in for the future because of how they made me feel at the time. Seeing the results of a life being lived on emotion left me wanting and needing a better way.

A verse that I have found very convicting in this area of life is 2 Corinthians 10:5, 

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 

I am learning that just as my thoughts need to be taken captive, my emotions must come under Christ's rule. He knows the reality of my feelings and wants me to express my emotions to Him. He is the safe place where I can let it all out and then allow His Spirit to sort through the mess and show me how to deal with it practically. I don't have to live my life reacting to emotions or bottling them and pretending they don't exist. In His way is freedom. So on the days where my emotions seem to be all over the place and threatening to dictate how I live (which if I am honest is most days right now), I am choosing to take it all to Jesus. I don't want to look back any longer and realize that I have missed something beautiful because my emotions led me instead of Christ.

Just Ask

Jesus tells us in Scripture that if remain in Him we can ask whatever we wish. We are also told that God loves to give good gifts to His children. So if these things are true, why am I not asking? I wrestled for a long time about what was ok to ask God and what was trivial or unimportant. We do certainly need to ask with the right motivation and in the mindset of seeking His will, but He desires to answer our prayers. He encourages us to ask anything of Him. I have found that in asking, I have seen His hand more and more in my life. I started to take Him at His word and ask for very specific answers to prayer. Sometimes I get the answer I want and sometimes I don't, but He answers nonetheless. So I have decided that I am going to live my life just asking. When we ask, we receive and it makes the journey so much sweeter!