Chapter 20! Lord, Help Me To Move Into the Future You Have For Me

Howdy girls! :) I'm missing everybody crowded on the couch right about now. Thank goodness small group starts back in a few weeks!

Here we go, the final chapter. I loved how the chapter last week was about learning God's will for our lives and this last one is about moving into the life He made us to live. Kinda goes hand in hand.

As I'm sitting here rereading and figuring out how to start this... it's funny, but this is what we just talked about in church. The first thing I highlighted was the sentence on the first page that says "That means you have no idea how great your future is." We are so totally clueless when it comes to God's plans! But we humans have a tendency to forget that. We forget that we're clueless. We forget that God's got a bigger picture. When we talked about Ruth in church, the pastor used this illustration: "You know when you take your kids to a crowded place? They're just so short, they see nothing but knees and wonder why you took them there in the first place. And you see this every time... the father will lift the kid on his shoulders. Why? To show his child that there's more to it than what he can see." Every once in a while, God 'lifts us on His shoulders' to show us while we have no idea what's in store for us, there's more to it than meets the eye, and He's got everything handled.

The thing is though, it doesn't happen automatically. God gave us free will, so here's a chance to use it. We do our part, He does His. What we can (and are actually commanded to) do is live God's way, and pray. Our life only works when we're living the way God tells us to in the Bible, so if we're not, then we're missing out. By praying about every aspect of our life, we're "investing in our future" (another phrase I underlined).

... girls, God's so clever. Really He is. Get this... so while His two instructions to us are supposed to  help us move into His future for us, they also protect us. I actually marked the phrase at the beginning of the sentence, "The devil's plan for your life cannot succeed as long as you are walking with God..." Another thing we forget. God's not the only one with a plan. Granted, God's is the best and the master plan of all plans, but Satan has a few ideas too. He wants to utterly destroy us by means of temptation and deceit. By praying and living God's way, there's no way the devil's plan for our lives will work out. Not even the shadow of a doubt.

So, to move into God's future for us, we have to live the way God intended us to live and pray. The last paragraph finishes that thought up by saying "God wants to do something great through you. If you are willing to say, 'Not my will, but yours be done, Lord' then He can use you." That's the key. We've gotta be willing. Remember that free will He blessed us with? Sometimes using that free will means being willing to let Him take the controls and letting Him handle everything. Jesus even did this in the Gardens of Gethsemane. He basically prayed and said if there's any other way to save these people, please, let's do that. But God, that's my will. Not my will, but Yours be done.

There's a song by FFH called Undone. The beginning of the chorus pretty much sums it up... "Come undone, surrender is stronger..." By surrendering to God and His plans, everything turns out.

Trust Him, girls. He's up to something. :)
Soli Deo Gloria! Love, Katie

NEHI!!!!

     Well, the weeks I was so excited about are over.  It is so strange to be back home again!  I love waking up to nine other girls in the same room as me.  I love having breakfast in the dining hall.  I love telling people that I will meet them at the cantillion.  I love the counselors.  I love the campers.  I love the camp.  The list goes on. 
     After two weeks doing what I love most, it takes some adjustment to be back home again.  It means that I have to set aside time on my own to read the Bible - I don't have a specific time set aside for that.  It means I have to wake myself up every morning - there aren't fifty other girls in the building to do that for me.  It means I have one bathroom to share with only three other girls - not four small showers, four stalls, and four sinks to share with sixty other girls.  It means a lot of things.  Most of all it means I don't have what seems like an obvious impact on the campers.  But I do.  My sisters are constantly looking up to me (scary, right?).  And here comes another list: what I learned and how I can put it into action.

1. I learned that people watch what I do.  And they listen.  And they repeat it.  And they remember.  For example, I was serving the campers supper.  The supper consisted of mashed potatoes, chicken fingers, a biscuit, and gravy.  Campers had the option of putting the gravy on the potatoes, or beside them.  Now, serving gravy can get a bit monotonous.  "On top or on the side?"  Next camper: "On top or on the side?"  And again: "On top or on the side?"  At some point, I must have been talking too fast, because to one of the senior campers, most likely 12 or 13 years old, I asked him, "On top or underneath?"  He laughed, as did I, and then he asked for them underneath.  I obliged, and the camper behind him (also the same age) asked for the same.  This was Tuesday night.  I wasn't on kitchen duty again until Thursday, and I didn't serve the meal again until that night - that's six meals later.  That camper came through, and asked for his corn underneath his chicken, as did his friend.  Whoa.  He listened and remembered!  It made me watch my language especially for the rest of that and the next week!
2. I learned that I am a total extrovert.  In English, I love people, and thrive on being around them.  Unfortunately, it also means that I care what others think waaaay too much.  Much shorter entry, but way bigger problem.
3. I learned that I can live without a phone, internet, or any other electronic devices.  And live well, for that matter.  Before camp, I would die without my phone.  At camp, there's no service.  It's very freeing, because it just has to wait.  It feels good.
4. I learned that feeling close to God is a choice.  When I choose to spend time with other people and things, I pull away from God.  "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."  Take it literally, because it's true.
5. I learned that first impressions stink.  Those in my cabin I thought would be stuck up, they weren't.  Oh, and that quiet girl?  She can talk your ears off!
6. I learned lots of other things.  Like how to chop wood.  Who knew how hard it could be?  And how to take a shower with wasps above you.  Actually easier than it sounds.  And how to be open.  Actually NOT easier than it sounds.  The list keeps going.  

   Pray that what I learned will not just be head knowledge.  That I would DO, rather than just SAY.  Pray that I will be able to stay in touch with the friends I met, and that we would all be able to see each other in the coming summers.  Pray that each of us will have a lasting impact, even later, and that we all learned something that will change our lives.  Finally, pray that I can get back into normal life - it's been a bit of a struggle!

   I am so glad for the opportunity I had to serve God by serving others.  Thanks to God for allowing me to be able to go!

coplea

Lord, Help Me Know Your Will for My Life.

Hey girlies! Sorry that this is a day late... It's been a hectic week down in Dallas!

There were several good points about God's will in this chapter...

1. Following God's will does not mean you won't ever have trouble.
Trouble is a part of life. God does not promise that He will always keep us from harm. Danger and sin are all in this world. When we were in San Diego, Mr. Denny told us to "Be safe, but live dangerously." So in a sense, it can be foolish to live in such a way to not protect yourself. But God calls us to live without holding anything back for His kingdom, and this will most always involve trouble, risk, and danger.

2. Following God's will is not easy.
It's not always fun, pleasant or pain free, but God enables us to do it. He gives us STRENGTH to do His will.

3. Following God's will can make you very uncomfortable.
Feeling stretched is a way of life when walking in the will of God. God will ask us to do things that our flesh doesn't want to do. He will ask us to go beyond that!

4. Following God's will doesn't happen automatically.
It's a choice we have to make each morning when we get up. And it's a process to live in accordance with his will. Learning to go against the norm, to be set apart and stand out from the crowd is something that we will have to continue to learn throughout our lives.

This was a pretty good chapter! I hope y'all enjoyed it...

I hope I get to see all you guys very soon as the summer winds down!

Love y'all!
Abi

Of Black Paint and Dirt Roads

I had an AMAZING WEEKEND!!!! ahhhhh!!!  {I sent the following to Ms. Jeanne and she said I should copy it to a blog post... so here it is :) }

i will try to make this brief... i went on a service project trip with my youth group to Glenhaven Youth Ranch (Glenhaven is home to about 15 teens right now that have trouble at home n stuff, but they are NOT special needs kids) and the main purpose of our trip was to do work around the ranch, but i think that being at the ranch was a blessing for both me and for the people living at the ranch. We arrived Friday night and worked on painting fences on Saturday. We are so thankful that no one had any heat-related problems while we were working because we were outside for a long time and it was extremely hot!! We started painting around 8:30 AM, breaked for lunch at noon, and then painted corrals until 2:30. My new friend Alex who lives at the ranch suggested that everyone from Mosaic and from the ranch go swimming at "the Watershed" after we finished painting, so that's what we did!! We spent the afternoon swimming at the lake, and it was absolutely gorgeous <3 we were way out in the middle of nowhere and there was no one else at the lake, and there was this huge platform that we jumped off. It was great to spend time with the kids from Glenhaven and from my church :)

I loved being at the ranch; Glenhaven itself is wayyyy far out in the middle of nowhere, so there's no cell phone signal, no internet, no tv's, no nothin. They have 13 horses, a bunch of dogs, and all the people there (staff and residents) were really nice and welcoming. My youth pastor told me that apparently the groups that go out and volunteer there are always adults, so the teens living at the ranch were really excited that we were there because they don't often get to meet new people since they are living with the same people all the time. I enjoyed getting to know them :) I also loved being surrounded by God's creation with almost NO distractions, not even friend distractions or anything.

We had great times of worship and I was just reminded that God is really all we need. There are so many distractions in life, and all these things that we THINK are important, but in the end none of it matters. So i was just thinking about how we should fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen :)

I also loved working!!!!! I love doing work with my hands and physically working hard, painting fences was right up my alley. Me and my friend Faith and three boys from the ranch were out working pretty much the entire time while everyone else kept taking breaks..... so we are officially known as hard workers. LOL but it was a good feeling :)

OGN- SAN DIEGO!

Hey girls!  
I know you've heard Abi and Katie's experiences on OGN and since I have some time I'll share some of my experiences.  First, thank you ALL for praying for us even at the end of last years small group and throughout the summer.  
It was crazy to see how real God is.  I guess everyday, I dont sit down and think about what God did that day but I did at OGN and it was amazing to reflect on Him.  For me, it was such a great time to get away from my family, Little Rock and my constant phone.  I had nothing to worry about, just focusing on the Lord was our top priority.  It is interesting to reflect now, seeing how much our conversations were Christ-centered and soley focused on God especially for the whole week.  I need to remember to not let this go.  
I do not have a favorite day, all the days were amazing and unique in their own ways.  On the first and second days of the beaches, I was partnered with Andrew Jensen.  It was so cool to get to know him and see His STRONG heart for the Lord!  The first day, nothing too big happened.  Rejections were everywhere of course but we got a few good conversations in.  I was just blown away by how many people think believing in God is crazy and unheard of.  So many of them weren't interested because they "just weren't religious".  It was super eye-opening to see how lost people are; in desperate need of a Savior.  I guess the problem many said that has kept them away is they haven't fully experienced him in their circumstances.  So they think, "Why waste my time believing in this?"  I understand; its hard to just "believe" if you haven't "experienced".  
One conversation I had with Andrew was wonderful and unexpected.  We were walking to end of La Jolla beach because Andrew wanted to see if someone he talked to last year was there, so we walked all the way down, keeping an eye out for the family he talked to.  We didn't see them but instead had good conversations on the way; just learning what others believe.  Our last conversation was with a lady named Tonie.  I saw her in the corner of my eye, trying to avoid her because she looked a little "risky".  She had tattoos all over her arms, red and black hair and was on her phone..Why would she want to talk to us about SPIRITUAL things?!  Andrew asked if we should go talk to her and I guess we were supposed to, so we did.  It lasted quite a while.  We heard a little background on her life, she was raised Mormon (I had to do a project on Mormonism earlier in the year and who would've thought I would ever need to know their background?!..God was faithful there for-sure!).  She grew up knowing all the right things and when she was a little older, made some bad choices.  Thankfully her family forgave her but she seemed to show she still felt guilt.  She is a single mom and wants the best for her daughter; she sends her to church with her parents on Sundays while she cleans the house.  She desires her daughter to be raised up well.  Anyways, she just felt judged ALL THE TIME.  She said one time at work, someone asked her if she regrets getting those tattoos.  I think she was just tired of being judged and felt thats all people do.  It was cool to see how open she was, listening to our stories.  Andrew was able to share what he believed and I shared how I've seen the Lord work in my life.  One of the things she said that I can totally relate with is reading the Bible.  She said she has tried before but when she reads one page, she forgets what she just read and thinks its too overwhelming.  So Andrew had a pocket-sized Gospel of John to give her.  She was super interested and said she will forsure take time to read it.  We prayed over her at the end which was humbling.  It was so sad to see how she has been hurt in the past, yet encouraging to know she was trying little by little to seek something more.  I think it was great for her to be opened to some questions we asked since she mentioned she hadn't thought of spiritual questions in a while.  I was reminded to NEVER JUDGE because from a glance, I have NO IDEA what has happened and is happening to that person.
Also, I got to witness Miss Abi speak fluently to someone in French.  It was so amazing to see how God used her, what she has experienced, to share with others.  The girl did not speak English and of course we needed to know what she spoke, it just happened to be French ;)  They hit it off right then, it was so powerful to just hear them, not knowing a word they said, just knowing that God heard them!  
Another day was with Barrett which was good.  At the beginning, we had a great start, talking to some old women who were believers who gave us a mustard seed with the verse in John about mustard seeds, growing and maturing.  It was so encouraging to know there are people out there who were supporting us!
What a wonderful experience!  I can not wait to do more missions.  Thank you again for your prayers that week :)
<3

Lord, Help Me have Faith for the Impossible

Chapter 18:

Girls, it has been much too long since we have gotten together as a group. I am so thankful for this blog and for your participation in it. I have so enjoyed reading your summaries for each chapter and also getting to hear about your various experiences this summer. Thanks for the entries and sharing your heart.

Today’s chapter pretty much asks the question “how much do you trust the Lord?” Even if you have the tiniest of faith, the Lord can use that. Even if you are like the woman who barely touched the robe of Jesus, just so she could get a part of him, it is enough to start with and then grow. But, the key is that we have to act on that faith. We have to be willing to follow what the Lord asks of us and to trust that He will work on our behalf. And THEN He will actually increase our faith.

He actually allows us to go thru some trials just for the sake of growing us in our faith. Pg. 182 says…”it is in those times, when we are forced to pray in greater faith,  that our faith grows stronger.

Two ways to increase your faith: Read your Bible and Pray. This really is beginning to sound like a broken record. Don’t we hear that all the time? Well, we do. But guess what? That is really what the Lord is asking of us.

Think about this question. It was asked of us on page 183.

What would you like to have happen in your life, or in the life of someone you know, that would require a prayer of great faith?

Think about that now. Really think about it. And once you have an answer, say a prayer right away, asking the Lord to answer that prayer and then keep that in mind and try to keep praying about that this week.

Here is another question. What do you need to be set free from? Think about that for a second. We all have something we need to be relieved of, some burden we carry, some sin we keep falling back into. The enemy wants to keep you in that sin. The Lord wants to relieve us of that burden so give it to Him! Have the faith that it takes to ask the Lord for what you want and the faith to believe it will happen. But, here is the clincher. In His Time. I hate that part but it is really so. He sometimes says yes, he sometimes says no, and he sometimes says “wait a little while” The waiting is the hardest.

I loved it when the author said : “Whenever the enemy tries to tell you that you will never get free of something, drown him out with praise.” Thank Him! I love that.

In summary:

1.     Nothing is impossible with God

2.     When you find yourself in a situation that seems impossible, go to God and Pray about it

3.     Tell Him the problem

4.     Thank Him

5.     Ask Him for a faith that will stay strong even in the midst of challenges

6.     Ask the Lord to increase your faith and not allow you to be in doubt about what he can do.

At the end of the chapter are 3 questions. The first question is asking what we need to have faith for in our life right now and what obstacle would you like to see moved? In my case, it revolves around a financial issue. It is an issue I have been praying about for around 4 years. The obstacle has not moved. God has not changed anything or answered my prayer. In spite of that, I have not stopped praying. I continue to pray, with faith, knowing that the Lord can do anything, in His time. I do trust Him and my faith is increasing! And I do believe that He has us in this situation for a reason and we are already seeing the benefits associated with a burden. Now, that is faith. Faith that God is in it, for our good, for His glory, yet not answering our prayer. It is hard, it is challenging, but He does know best.

Matthew 17:20 If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you”

Musings from Mission in Musanze

The Lord called my husband and me to get involved in Rwanda in the summer of 2010 when we hosted our two students, Theophile and Narcisse, for 5 weeks. Since that time, our hearts have been drawn to the people and country of Rwanda. We are not sure why the Lord laid it on our both of our hearts but He did and for that I am grateful. Due to a series of connections we have with FBC and Rwanda, we both embraced the idea of actually going to that landlocked country in the central/western  part of Africa. Who knew it would take over 32 hours of travel time one way? God did. He ordained all of our steps and he planned that this trip would be a wonderful bonding time for my husband and me and a connecting point for “our boys” and us.

The trip was designed in order for our team to meet the needs of the pastor, sent by FBC, and the campus that he and his wife are setting up in Musanze, a city 2 hours outside the capital city of Kigali. So, our mission was to do whatever was needed to get the campus up and running so that select Rwandan students could go through the 5-7 year program which would ultimately give them an opportunity to start a business in their country and help Rwanda become a more progressive culture.

During the 18 days in-country, we lived on campus and did small jobs throughout the day making the campus ready. Each day we were able to get out into the community for a visit to the local market, visit to a deaf school, visit to a disabled children’s school, visit to a lake, visit to the capital city, visit to a coffee factory and a trek through a typical village. And oh yeah, we saw some gorillas in the jungle, too.

We saw so much poverty and such a completely different way of life than what we experience in America. It was eye opening to see this. We were touched by the joyfilled people of Rwanda who tugged on our heartstrings. 

There were many lessons learned and each team member had a different take-away.  What I heard the Lord speaking to me had nothing to do with Rwanda or Africa. It had nothing to do with their life style. It really had nothing to do with what we did or saw in the villages. It had everything to do with what went on right on the campus. Believe it or not, my “job” was to make about 40 curtains for windows and doors and about 10 tablecloths. Strange thing to do in Africa. Strange to go all the way over there to sew; and not to sew for Rwandans but to sew for the campus, managed by the Americans. Altho a nice side effect was that I was able to teach sewing to one teen on our trip plus a 22 year old Rwandan student. Very satisfying.

What the Lord taught me can be found in these scriptures:

Romans 12:3

³ For by the grace given me^(H) I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,^{(I) 5} so in Christ we, though many, form one body,^(J) and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts,^(K) according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying,^(L) then prophesy in accordance with your^[a] faith;^{(M) 7} if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;^{(N) 8} if it is to encourage, then give encouragement;^(O) if it is giving, then give generously;^(P) if it is to lead,^[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

1 Peter 4:10

English Standard Version (ESV)

^10 (A)As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, ^(B)as good stewards of God's varied grace:

1 Corinthians 12

English Standard Version (ESV)

Spiritual Gifts

12 Now ^(A)concerning^[a] spiritual gifts,^[b] brothers,^[c] I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that ^(B)when you were pagans ^(C)you were led astray to ^(D)mute idols, however you were led. ³ Therefore I want you to understand that ^(E)no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is ^(F)accursed!” and ^(G)no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

⁴ Now ^(H)there are varieties of gifts, but ^(I)the same Spirit; ⁵ and ^(J)there are varieties of service, but ^(K)the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is ^(L)the same God who empowers them all in everyone. ^7 (M)To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of ^(N)wisdom, and to another the utterance of ^(O)knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹ to another ^(P)faith by the same Spirit, to another ^(Q)gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another ^(R)the working of miracles, to another ^(S)prophecy, to another ^(T)the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another ^(U)various kinds of tongues, to another ^(V)the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, ^(W)who apportions to each one individually ^(X)as he wills.

One Body with Many Members

¹² For just as ^(Y)the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, ^(Z)so it is with Christ. ¹³ For ^(AA)in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—^(AB)Jews or Greeks, slaves^[d] or free—and ^(AC)all were made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴ For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸ But as it is, ^(AD)God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, ^(AE)as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts,^[e] yet one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴ which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵ that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, ^(AF)all rejoice together.

²⁷ Now ^(AG)you are the body of Christ and individually ^(AH)members of it. ²⁸ And ^(AI)God has appointed in the church first ^(AJ)apostles, second ^(AK)prophets, third teachers, then ^(AL)miracles, then ^(AM)gifts of healing, ^(AN)helping, ^(AO)administrating, and ^(AP)various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But ^(AQ)earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

All 25 of us were there for one thing: to support the Musanze Opportunity Center. We abandoned all our objectives, expectations and desires of working side by side with Rwandans in order to serve AS the Body of Christ with Americans! We all came willing to help in whatever we were asked. We did not know one another very well and yet our team worked together in unity, just as the Lord would want us to.

Honestly, working together day in and day out with “strangers,” doing the Lord’s work, and using what gifts and talents we had, was a picture to me of the Body of Christ; shining our light and giving glory to God. It was pretty amazing.  We are all designed with different abilities and God made us that way to serve his kingdom. He does not want us all to be the same. If we were, the work would never get done. It was through each of us putting ourselves out there to do His work that His purpose for our trip was accomplished. What a picture of The Church. WE are The Church.

I loved spending this time with my husband. I loved doing a mission with him. I loved being of one mind and one purpose doing the Lord's work.

On the campus, there was no gossip, no need to dress up, no need to wear makeup, no judgment, no animosity, no grumbling and complaining, no stress, no concern for safety issues, no theft of our belongings, or anything that could easily impede our call to serve. It was almost as if we were in a little slice of heaven. So, even tho we got to experience Africa, our purpose for being there was to learn how to live in harmony. And that was a picture of how life ought to be. Yes, Africa itself was amazing. Being in Africa was more amazing. Seeing God among us was most amazing.