An update/ encouragment

                   For those of you that haven't noticed, I did change the name of my blog (and might change it again if I can think of a more creative name.) The reason for this is that I will no longer be journeying back to Malawi (at least for this summer.) By Thursday April 26th, I needed to raise $3000 to meet my first financial deadline for the journey and to purchase the airline ticket. Only half the support needed was there on Thursday. Therefore, I will not be going to Malawi this summer. I am super sad about this, but I also know that the LORD is in control! I also know that it was not necessarily a "no" to going to Malawi but it was a "not now." I appreciate all everyone's prayers. I am praying through what my next step will be and am anxious about what that will be.
                 
                    I still want to blog on a regular basis to keep you updated about what is going on in my life and to share what God is teaching me. I want to share with you whatever the LORD leads me to share and it is my prayer that 1) I only write what the Lord has me to & that it glorifies Him and 2) that it encourages/ challenges you in your walk with Christ (and if you aren't walking with Christ...please ask me and I will share with you how you can begin to walk with Christ today!)
                 
                     
        I wanted to leave you with a couple of things that have encouraged/challenged me over the last several days in my quiet times. I am beyond grateful for the friends that the Lord has given me. When I have needed encouragement, prayer, or somebody would simply be there to listen over the last several weeks, the LORD has given me an incredible Godly group of friends who have done that for me and beyond. The thing that I have been challenged with is: Am I doing those things for friends whom the Lord has given me? The Bible, especially in Proverbs, talks a lot about what Biblical friendship looks like and I pray that I am being a Biblical friend like my friends have been to me. The final bit of encouragement are verses from His word that the Lord has used in my life the last several days:

• Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you."
• Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God."
• Isaiah 55:9  "For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."
• Romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."

Encouraging Words/ Songs of Hope

Tonight I just wanted to leave you with some encouragement that the Lord gave me....

The first is a song that the Lord led me to listen tonight...it is called "You are Good" by Point of Grace...Despite a couple of weeks when things haven't always been easy...the Lord reminded me of His goodness!!

The next song is what the Lord had me listen to next. Although a very familiar song, there was a line in there that struck me..The song is "How Deep the Father's Love" by Joy Williams and the line that struck me was the one that says "His wounds have paid my ransom." God's gift of salvation is free to us but was paid for by the wounds of His Son..

Next the Lord brought to me the following in Scripture:

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand."                                           ~ Psalm 37:23-24

Though a familiar passage this passage brought me much comfort.

I will leave you with the song that the Lord left me with tonight:

"Never Give Up!"

              As I'm sure it has been for most of you, this last week has been absolutely crazy for me! I spent a lot of time doing assignments and studying for my online class. And as a praise to God as of Thursday, I am done with that class and done with school! After spending what seemed like a lifetime in school, it seems so weird to think I'm out! I'm done! But then I thought about it, and it hit me that my entire Christian life and walk with Christ will be a lifelong "schooling," or learning process. God is always teaching me new things and today I wanted to share with you some of those things that God is teaching me.
          I mentioned it in my last post, but the first thing that God is teaching me is to never give up! After being school for what seemed like an eternity, I can not tell you how many times I've wanted to give up and call it quits. But God has always been faithful in those moments to send encouragement either through His Word or through a sweet friend to keep me trekking on. There are also moments (many of them), when I worry about the amount that I still have to raise in support for me to be able to make the journey back to Malawi this summer and I (in the flesh) want to give up. But in those moments the LORD gently whispers to me "Never give up!" I encourage you to turn to Him in prayer and His Word, when you feel like giving up. I also encourage you to have someone pray for you in those moments.
         The other thing that the Lord has been teaching me goes along with what I mentioned above. The Lord has been teaching me to rely solely on Him for everything! Whether it is strength to make it through day because I was up late the night before doing homework or if I feel lonely or if it is  for the financial support that I still need for my journey back to Malawi. The list could go on. But two Bible verses that the Lord brings to mind are

• Philippians 4:6-7

  English Standard Version (ESV)
  ⁶  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

• Philippians 4:13

  English Standard Version (ESV)
  ¹³ I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 

I pray that these verses would encourage you to rely on Him and to never give up as they have me. And as I quoted my friend in the last blog post, I will leave you with that piece of encouragement in this blog "No matter what obstacle gets thrown your way, pray through it and don't give up on it!"

ways to continue to pray for me

• pray for the $3000 that I need to raise by Thurs April 26th to be able to make this journey back to Malawi (see  http://puremission.org/give/send-a-servant/#/35  for more details on how you can support me)
• continue to pray for the people of Malawi as they are in a time of transition & for the fuel shortage problem

"A Mighty Fortress is Our God"

            As I reflecting tonight on my week and really the last couple of weeks on the drive home tonight, the song “A Mighty Fortress” came on the radio. It was then that I realized what God had been teaching me (more like trying to hammer into me)for the last several weeks as I’ve been preparing to go back to Malawi and that was the following two lines of the song:

            “A mighty fortress is our God /  A sacred refuge is Your Name”

            I had been worrying about things that needed to be done before I go to Malawi. On some of those things (and some other things in life), I had wanted to give up. A dear friend of mine told me “No matter what obstacles get thrown in your way, pray through it and don’t give on it!” She had encouraged me to seek God in prayer. A couple of weeks later, the same friend told me (in a conversation about prayer) “The devil loves us at our weak points. He hates it when we seek help and prayer.” I realized at the moment and when reflecting tonight, that the Lord was showing me through my friend and the song that came on the radio that He would be my refuge (and my strength) when I sought His sacred Name! And my friend is right the devil hates it when we seek refuge in our God because God gets the glory and not him. Satan can not be the mighty the fortress that God is and he will do everything at his power to keep you from seeking the power that is in God’s name! So, if we give up on prayer (seeking God) the enemy is happy. We must not let satan have this victory! We should not give up on prayer (or asking others to pray for us) because then God wins, and satan is defeated!

            I am thankful for what God taught me through my sweet friend and through the song. I am also thankful that if I have a hard week or if I want to give up on things like school (which prayerfully I will be taking my final next week) that He is and will be my mighty fortress. I pray that this would encourage you as well to continue to seek God in prayer at all times.

Ways to pray for me:

-      -    That I’d continue to remember the truth about prayer and what He has taught me

-       -   My final that I will take next week

-        -  Please pray for the amount that I still need to raise in the next 13 days

-         = That God would continue to prepare my heart & the people of Malawi for what He has in store 

=       for the summer

Break my heart for what breaks yours

              This weekend I was able to reflect on my relationship with Christ and to rejoice in the fact that because He has risen, I get to have eternal life with Him. But as I sat through the sermon at the church, the Lord began to burden me with the lost in the world. For those who didn't get to rejoice in the risen Savior because they don't even know who He is. I remember praying at some point during the weekend for the Lord to break my heart for what breaks His. His heart is broken for the lost in the world who will spend eternity apart from Him and this broke my heart. On Friday I went to Taco Bell and I had a conversation with the lady (who knows me by name) who took my order. At first we were just chatting about Easter Plans. Then I invited her to church. That's when she told me that she does not go to church because she's an aethiest. Her own mom, who professes to be a believer, had turned her off from the church and Christ because she had been hypocritical in the way she treated her. For some reason this has stayed with me all weekend! I've prayed for more opportunities to go back and share with her or for someone to come into her life that would lead her to Christ. The Lord has used this lady and other people in my life who are not believers to break my heart for the lost. The Lord has broken my heart over other stuff as well but the greatest burden has been for the lost. 
                No this post doesn't have anything to do with my personal journey to Malawi but I'm sure He will use it when I go...I just had to share what was on my heart tonight.

The Cross was enough

                  This last week has been exactly what the title of my last post was...overwhelming! I have been overwhelmed with trying to finish up my online class, with things at work, and with life in general. I also found out that because of the fuel shortage problems in Malawi that the price for my ticket is going to be significantly more than what we planned for. But I've also been overwhelmed in a very good way...for which I can't express enough gratitude for!! In the midst of a crazy week, I've had some friends who have prayed for me, encouraged me, and won't let me give up. They have pointed me back to the Bible and the Cross. The Lord is always faithful in knowing what I need when I need it and giving it to me in His timing!
                    Also for the last several weeks at church, we have been singing this song called Jesus, Son of God. In it there is a line that says "the Cross was enough." As I have been thinking about everything I need to get done in the next several weeks or about things that overwhelm me, I think about how what Jesus did on the cross should be exactly enough for me. Enough to encourage me when I feel like I can't keep on and enough to motivate me to keep marching on with His calling in my life. The Cross was enough to make a relationship with God possible and it should be enough for everything else. I hope this encourages everyone who is reading this to know that His work on the Cross was (and is) enough. And if anyone who is reading this doesn't know why the cross was enough..please message me AND I would be more than happy to talk to you about it!
                   I wanted to leave with you a story from my journey to Malawi in August about how the Cross was exactly what someone needed. We were going hut-to-hut sharing the gospel in a village about a thirty minute walk from Esther's House. I met a lady, who was very sick from malaria, who was at the same time raising her two grandkids. I shared the Gospel with her (and prayed for healing for her from the malaria). She was very eager to invite Christ into her life! She was more excited to know that the Cross was enough for the forgiveness of her sins than she was about being prayed over for healing from the malaria.


ways that you can pray for me:
- pray for the country of Malawi & specifically the fuel shortage as it is causing a lot of ripple problems for the country
- pray that I am diligent in getting things done that I need to get done
- pray that God provides the necessary support to be able to journey to Malawi..I have my first deadline in the support raising process of April 25th. That deadline is so that my airline ticket can be purchased..see http://puremission.org/give/send-a-servant/#/35 for more details on how you can support me

Overwhelmed..

     As we stop this Resurrection week to reflect on what Jesus did on the cross for us and we reflect on the power of His resurrection, I am overwhelmed by His love me. "he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) He took the punishment for my sin by death on the cross and then three days later He arose from the dead so that I could have eternal life!! These facts alone overwhelm me (and I feel so unworthy yet He does love me & you)  and make me eternally grateful!! I pray that this week that you will reflect on the power & significance of what HE did on the cross. I also pray that He would overwhelm you like He has me with His love..
     I can't believe that there are only ten weeks left until I leave for my two and half month journey to Malawi. I am so excited yet so overwhelmed that God would choose to let me go to share His love...


There are a few ways that you all can be praying for my journey:
- please pray for the fuel shortage problem occurring in Malawi
- please pray for the people that I will be interacting with
- please pray that I am diligent in the preparations that I must make before I go
- please pray for the financial support that I must raise to be able to make the journey (see http://puremission.org/give/send-a-servant/#/35 for details)