Some of you may have seen my Instagram photos I took of such unbelievably beautiful skies...it's just hard to believe the same God who created them knows the number of hairs on my head...here's a few if you haven't seen them :)
None of these were edited, altered, or filtered in any way. That's how awesome our God is!! He doesn't need any, because His work is already perfect...
What my future holds as one who has surrendered to the call to missions tends to be at the front of my mind at all times. I admit that I am in constant worry about what will happen. Where will he send me? What will he ask me to do? To give up?
And then I look beyond myself to the bigger picture...His picture. The one HE breathed into existence. HE is in control, thankfully, not me. He knows what's best, so why should I worry?
The things I'll miss, leave behind, give up, may cause pain - WILL cause pain - but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make to experience the fulfillment and joy of following God's will for my life rather than my own! His good, pleasing, and perfect will...
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2 "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for My sake will find it." Matt. 10:39
Okay, sorry for soooo many videos all the time but sometimes what I wish I could say is in a song or, in this case, a skit! So, here's a message from the Skit Guys. Kinda funny but very deep at the same time!!
Hey everyone. I want to start by asking a prayer request of you guys. This morning we found out a woman named Jamie Feroli - my aunt's best friend who was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, and has a daughter about my age - passed away, I think last night but maybe this morning. I just ask that you guys would be in prayer for her family, as well as for my aunt and her family, they were very very close. Jamie was such a blessing to my aunt and her family. We appreciate prayers.
Today, and for the next few days, I want to challenge you all to take the time as you go about your lives and take a look at the world around you. The earth itself, as well as the people in it. Look at the beauty the Lord has made. More importantly though, I want you to take a look at Christ. A long, in depth look, every day. Look at how beautiful He is! He created beauty!!!He is beauty!!! That being said...
I want to share some more music with ya! As usual, ha :) And, like yesterday's post, it's another Phil Wickham song, so I hope you enjoyed him!! This other song is called Beautiful, and it very well may be my favorite...not sure, it's difficult for me to choose!! :) Anyway, here it is:
Yeah, I couldn't find a real video that was good enough quality, but the images in this one are really pretty so I picked this one! :)
Okay, so now that you've heart it...I found two really awesome covers of this song that I feel obligated to share because they're really awesome!
They are super talented! I think this one is my favorite cover!! What I really love about it is how they're just jammin' out in the middle of like their family Christmas gathering or something, and so at the beginning it's really hard to hear them over everyone talking, but then by the end of the song, everyone else in the room is pretty still and quiet listening to them worship. I love that! It reminds me a little bit of what the Holy Spirit does in our hearts. Among all the hustle and bustle in our lives, through all the trials and strife, He keeps singing His song of love over us and stills our hearts. Awesome :)
Okay, one more!!
She sounds like an angel, to me! Very talented.
Clearly, I love that song!! Now, if you didn't get to see my Phil Wickham post yesterday, here's the link, just in case your technologically handicapped like I am!
Alrighty, well I'm off to get my hair chopped off!!! Note to young women everywhere: don't color your hair. Ever. It's beautiful the way it is!!! Mkay, fingers crossed! ;)
Okay, sorry, I know I already posted once today! But if you've ever met me, you know I have a whole bunch to say and never enough time to say it all...in other words, I "talk alot" ;)
So anyhow, I just really wanted to share some Phil Wickham with ya! This is one of my very favorite songs. It's called True Love, and that's exactly what this song is all about!!
Awesome song! Great guy with great talent.
If you're really interested, here's a video of Phil talking about how he got into the whole being a worship leader, Christian artist guy.... If you don't really love Phil, you might not want to watch it lol but here's the link anyways, just for kicks... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9_lv5pJosE&feature=related
Soon to come: awesome cover of this song! :)
Anyhow...now that I'm clearly a freak! Have a great day! :)
This is my first post since I arrived back to the States from Haiti. For those of you who haven't heard a thing about my trip yet: I feel in love in Haiti...with 53 Haitians!! Pictured above is me with two little guys who hung around me a whole bunch. Each one of the kids at the orphanage we worked with are so very precious. They LOVE Jesus and have such a remarkable faith in Him. They worship the Lord all the day long! They're rhythm is absolutely amazing, they sing like angels!! It's the most beautiful sound in the world. I cannot wait to get back to them!! If you would like to hear more about my trip, please let me know and I will try to get with you on that!! I love sharing about it! :) The things that God did in and through my heart while I was in Haiti are just too awesome to keep to myself.
Which brings me to a prayer request: I will be speaking at a women's brunch about my trip to Haiti on July 21st. I'm a little nervous, but I'm just going to surrender my heart and my mind and my mouth to God and let Him speak through me, because it's all about Him anyway! But please pray for me :)
Also, pray that my heart would find guidance in returning to what my team and I have been calling the "new normal" after coming back home, and pray that God will open the doors to more missions and that I would hear His voice in walking through the right doors! :)
Many of you know that I gave my life to missions at Falls Creek when I was 15. I know that's what God has called me to do, and I have chosen to surrender to His call. I tried not to for years, but obviously that didn't work; God got a hold of me, set me on His chosen path for my life, and now that my heart is involved I could never want to be or do anything else.
A few days before we left for Haiti, I was reading a devotional called "Voices of the Faithful," which is a compilation of short devotionals written by missionaries stationed all around the world. As I read one of the devotions, the Holy Spirit moved inside my heart and revealed to me that I will be a missionary. I still don't know in what form, but I know that in one way or another I will spend my life involved in missions! I'm so excited!! I'm still watching, waiting, and listening for God's voice to tell me which direction to go and when, but that's how we're supposed to live - asking Him each day for our daily bread - so I'm okay with that!
After arriving in Haiti and spending a few days with the kids, it hit me one night while I was lying in bed: God has given me a heart for Haiti, and more specifically for this particular ministry and this particular orphanage, and these particular people/children. It's like I found where I belong. I wept and wept because I realized how blind and even more so how stubborn I had been. I had told the Lord, "Your will be done; send me where You will!" but in reality I was picking and choosing in my mind where I would allow God to send me to share His word and His love. Now, God may send me several or even many other places besides Haiti, but He may not. Either way, I have fully surrendered my heart and my life to Him. I have learned to fully rely on God for my '"daily bread" and I'm still learning more every day. I'm not saying this is easy, because it isn't; I'm still human and this is still a struggle. However, God is making this all possible; He's making it possible for me to let go of the earthly things I hold dear to me and cling to Him and only Him. It's hard, but with a love like He has for me, it's worth it. Very worth it; He's the only thing that will last when this world has all passed away. His love will be the only thing that will survive for all eternity.
I'm so excited about what God has for my life and to see what He will do in and through my life! I know He will do big things. I know this because that's what He promises in His word! In Matthew, Jesus tells us that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, He will move mountains through that faith! In Jeremiah, we find that nothing is too difficult for the Lord. If we expect God to show up and do great, big, mighty things, He will. We just have to have the faith!
Growing up, I used to wish I had brothers. As it turns out, I have several brothers! (A few of which are pictured here:) They're just all Haitian so I didn't get to know them until I was almost 20 years old, haha:) I love them so much!! Almost as much as I miss them :)
Okay, not all my brothers are Haitian! Some are Texan, but we won't hold that against any of them! :) Here's more brothers :)
Here's some brothers AND sisters that I love :) I love each and every one of those kids! Miss them so much!
Just wanted to share that piece of my heart! I left most of my heart there in Haiti, so like I said I can't wait to get back :)
"And how can they preach if they are not sent? For it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet who bring good news!'"
Romans 10:15
So, here we are just one week, ONE, until time to fly off to Haiti!! Getting kind of nervous, but I'm REALLY excited!! I can't wait to finally do what God has been calling me to since I was 15:) I'm so excited for the experiences the Holy Spirit has in store for my heart and the hearts of those around me, as well as the hearts of the people we will be ministering to in Haiti.
For those who don't know, our trip is through FMI (Faith Missions International), and we will be working with an orphanage there in Haiti. You can watch a video with more info about our mission at fmisent.org. We are taking a group of 20 altogether, 6 of us from Deer Creek, 13 from the church in Texas, and one from South Carolina. We are all getting pumped and would appreciate your thoughts and, most of all, your prayers!! Prayer is such a big deal to us. We love when people pray for us, and we love to pray for others!! We do, we really do, so let us know if we can pray for you in any way!
Also, please be in prayer for our families as we leave and are in Haiti. Even though we know they are excited for us and are praying for us, we also understand how difficult it will be for our families while we are away. And! Pray for our youth group as they prepare to head off to Summit camp on the 25th! God has big plans in store for them, and we're excited to see what He does in and through them while they're at camp and when they return home! :)
And I'm not sure if I've ever said anything about how I got into missions, so just in case let's get into that a little! I got saved when I was 15 years old, October 10, 2007! The following summer, just before turning 16, while at Falls Creek I surrendered my life to missions. And it took me about 3+ years before I really figured out what the Spirit meant by that when He called me to missions, and I'm still discovering more and more all the time about what He means when He tells me, "Go." I'm super pumped for this mission trip, and I'm also super stoked to find out what's up next for me as far as the mission field!!! So I also want to ask for prayers in that as well. :)
One more thing before I close this up, Sunday, June 16, 2012 at Deer Creek Baptist Church in Stroud, we will be having what's called a "sending service" during the morning service. I don't know what exactly will go down during this service but I do know it's a service to send us off to Haiti with. I'm excited and I would like whoever wants to come to be there! :)
With that, I am done rambling, but please watch this video and listen to this song. God has really used this song during my journey leading up to this mission trip, and He's still using it to work in me as I prepare for this trip and for what His future for me holds!! God is good, all the time!!!
OK, here's an awesome song to get things set up! Holy by Nichole Nordeman. I love, love her and this is and awesome song!!!
That song literally blows my mind every time I hear it, no matter how many times I listen to it. Yes, God had big plans for this song!!! Love it. Alright, today the topic is, you guessed it!, holiness!!! Being holy. "For I am the Lord your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy." Leviticus 11:44 We are called to be holy by the Lord God Himself. It is a command, not a request. As Christ followers, we MUST sanctify ourselves and be holy. Obviously, we can't be holy on our own. We have to have the Holy Spirit in order to accomplish such. However, that doesn't mean it's alright for us to just do whatever we want because we've already received grace; we're already safe, so it's ok for us to just walk this earth with no sense of preservation of mind, body, or spirit. As Paul teaches in Romans 6:1-6, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." Nope, not gonna fly. We have to make choices, each and every day, about what we see, hear, and experience in order to live a holy life. This includes making the choice to give up certain t.v. shows, movies, music, books, magazines, etc., and even the people we spend our time with. "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'" 1 Corinthians 15:33 I think that pretty much says it :) We must make ourselves holy. Christ, in all His holiness, died for us. "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21 I urge you to recognize the things in your life that corrupt your good character. Recognize them, and then take the steps to get them out of your life. If we don't do this, we are just like the rest of the world, and we are called to be separate and sanctified. In the world, not of it. Christ did not hold anything back - He made the sacrifice of all sacrifices knowing we would still sin against Him, knowing we would reject Him and His gift of love and salvation. And He even went so far as to resist temptation. Christ is holy, and as "little Christs" we too must be holy. "Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness our of reverence for God." 2 Corinthians 7:1 "So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Galatians 5:16 "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:25 "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 "You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:22-24 "For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." Ephesians 5:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Philippians 4:8 "Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus." Hebrews 3:1 "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and He will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.[...] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." James 4:7-8,10 "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do." 1 Peter 1:15 All You ever wanted was all of me, on my knees, singin "Holy, holy!" Somehow, all that matters now is You are holy, holy...... much love & thank you for visiting!
First, a song from Jars of Clay!! Which, yes the band name does go along with the theme verse and title for this post, but I didn't pick this song until after I chose the verse and title, and it was amazing how well this song fit with what I have to say and with the verse I chose, which is also something I stumbled upon while flipping through my Bible.
So, let's dive in here....
It seems to me that when there's sin in our lives or tragedy happens around us or life becomes frustrating, etc, everything all seems to become chaos all at once. It seems to never be in small doses.
Lately I've been struggling with doubt, among other sins, but this one in particular. I have had such little faith!! And I look at myself and think, my goodness. How can you not trust God? The one who formed all things without lifting a finger. The One who holds my life in the palm of His hand, who knew what each day would hold before a single one came to be. And it seems that every time I have struggles and strife in my life, this same verse finds it's way to me (yes, the Holy Spirit is always at work!!):
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
2 Corinthians 4:7-9
HE is in control, not us. HE has the power, not us. HE protects us and watches out for us; HE gives us the strength to persevere and carry on throughout the struggles of life. He will not let us be crushed, in despair, abandoned, or destroyed! He will uphold us, keep us strong, and carry us through the fire. No matter what that "fire" may be, you can bet your boots that God will see you through to the end.
Love and Blessings :)
1 Peter 5:10-11
"And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."
1 Peter 5:6-7
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.CAST ALL YOUR CARES UPON HIM, BECAUSE HE CARES FOR YOU."
Philippians 4:6-7
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, and with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will protect your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:6
"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
1 Corinthians 1:8
"He will keep you sting to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."
2 Corinthians 12:9
"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"
Galatians 6:9
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Ephesians 3:16-19
"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Philippians 4:13
"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."
Psalm 37:4
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Some of you know, though many of you probably don't, that I've currently been reading the Love Comes Softly Series by Janette Oke. Let me start by saying how absolutely wonderful and touching these books are!! I'm down to the last one, Love Finds a Home, but I just finished Love Takes Wing.
Now, Love Takes Wing was not my favorite one of the books. Don't get me wrong, it was a great read and I enjoyed it, but it just wasn't my favorite one of the series of books. And if you've not read the books but seen the movies, they're absolutely nothing alike so you can't go off the movies and know what's taken place in the books. Very disappointed at how far they ventured from the real story-line when they made the movies. Good movies, but absolutely nothing like the books!!! But anyway, moving right along...
Love Takes Wing was a very good book and, like I said, even though it wasn't my favorite, I really did learn much from this book. Especially at the end. Belinda, the youngest Davis child and the protagonist of Love Takes Wing, is realizing how much she has put God on the back burner in her life. Upon her realization, she withdraws to her room and has some alone time with the Lord "crying out to a forgiving God." Indeed He is forgiving and loving, and I'm so glad, because like Belinda I know I intend to do the same. I've had so many different emotional/spiritual troubles lately. And then when I read that part of the book, I realized myself how much I've placed God on the back burner in my own life, skipping out on reading His word, not attending Sunday fellowship in Sunday School and worship service, and only praying right before bed and only for a couple of minutes, nothing in depth. I'm not spending enough one-on-one time with the Lover of my soul, the One and Only that deserves all my attention and affection. My prayer now is that I will get back on track in spending time with the Lord and in attending "Sunday go-to-meetin'" :)
True joy comes from God. We will only find it in Him. Nothing and no one in this world can give us the joy and satisfaction Yahweh can provide, that only He can offer and fulfill. We must seek Him, and with all out hearts. Then, and only then, will we find true joy, peace, love, fulfillment, and satisfaction.
"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31
"As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in My love. If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." John 15:9-11
"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."1 Corinthians 3:11
Much love, many blessings, and thank you for visiting!
What does keep you from following God? I know fear usually plays a huge factor in what keeps me from following God. Fear of what others may think, fear of failing, fear of things that could go physically wrong like disease, injury, etc. But 1 John 4 tells us this:
"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in Him.[...] There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear."
So why should we be afraid to follow God?
What keeps us from following and serving God? I challenge you to ask yourself this question, along with other hard questions such as: Why do I let this keep me from following God? What can I do to overcome this obstacle that keeps me from following God? Do I need to cut certain things/people/places out of my life in order to follow God? If so, what steps do I need to take to get to that point? And most importantly: Will I do what I need to do in order to follow and serve God?
As you ask/answer these questions, be honest with yourself and be honest with God. First of all, He already knows your heart so there's no point in being anything but 100% honest with Him. Second, be honest with yourself because you're not really getting anywhere by not.
Following God means being a sacrificial servant. Being sacrificial means giving up things even when we don't want to, even if we think it's harmless. This includes how we spend our time and who we spend it with. This includes the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the books and magazines we read. Every area of our lives is included. As Christians, we are called to be holy and sanctified. 1 Peter 1:15 says, "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do." In ALL you do. Once again, don't lie to yourself about areas in your life you should be giving up so you can follow and serve God correctly. ALL things we do, hear, see affect our hearts in a big way, even if you think "it's just a little bit."
Christ said, "and anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it (Matt. 10:38-39)."
Christian, I implore you, take up your cross today. Lay your burdens down at the feet of Christ and follow Him.
Most of us let our sins keep us from serving, whether from the past or from 5 minutes ago or anything we've ever done. I know for me the sin from my past has kept me from taking the big steps. I've always let satan tell me, and convince me, that I wasn't fit for the service of God's kingdom because the sin in my past was too ugly. I was too dirty, too unholy, too unworthy. And I am, but Christ certainly is not. He died for me so that my sin would be washed away. He came and made me clean so that I CAN be fit to serve Him. Because it's not about me, it's always, ALWAYS about Him. And that's true for all of us! I think too often we forget that's it's not about what we've done, it's about what He did on the cross to make us clean so that we can worship Him forever!!!
All that being said, watch this video by the Skit Guys, because it's really, really good!!! :) here's the link:
Ok, so on my commute home from Seminole today one of my favorite songs came on! And it made me so excited, not only because I love it, but because it's been sort of one of my "theme songs" lately. I have many, which I'm sure I will share later! But right now I want to share this one. It's by Kari Jobe and it's called We are. If you haven't heard it, here's a youtube link to it :
Awesome, right?! This song has been such a blessing to me. So when I came home I went looking for this verse in the Gospel of Matthew 5, verses 14-16:
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
WOW!! How amazing is it that God has chosen us to be His light in this world so that we can carry the message of His love, grace, and mercy to others!!! We are so blessed to have this Light in us, but we are not to keep it to ourselves or "put it under a bowl." We are to share with all, to give "light to everyone in the house."
I'm so excited to share my light with those I will encounter in Haiti!
And I want to encourage all of you to shine your light to others today and every day!! Pray for me and for each other! Much love :)
"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and PRAISE YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN." Matthew 5:16
Ok, so I always thought I would never actually have anything interesting enough to say to start a blog of my very own but......here I am, writing my first ever blog! You see, I'm going on my first ever international mission trip in June of this year to Haiti and Teryia (our Team leader/mission organizer/wonder woman) suggested that we each keep a journal from here one out through the time we are actually on the trip. So, as I got out my fresh, yummy-new-notebook smelling journal and designated a particular "journal pen" I just thought to myself, wouldn't it be cool if there was some way to share my internal experiences with those who have supported me throughout this journey as well as the external experiences? The spiritual as well as the physical, each and every step of the way. And then blogging popped into my head, so here I am! Officially a blogger!
In this blog I will be sharing my thoughts, feelings, and experiences throughout my preparation for Haiti. This includes just my daily Bible reading, and other things will probably be thrown in as well! Because we all know I always have plenty to say.
It is my hope that my Beautiful Feet blog will be uplifting and encouraging to all who encounter it, that I will shine the light of Jesus, which He has placed in me by His Holy Spirit, and share His love with each and every word.
