EA: A Tribute

i have been going through my old EA pictures from two years ago and have discovered this beauty. i decided that this post would be dedicated to that trip...and the many stories that went along with it! enjoy! (btw...they are in reverse order from their happening)



this is M (in white) and C (in green) teaching Jennifer and i how to play a "hopping game." M really wanted to play it and the gist of it is you hop on one foot and try to out hop the main hopper. if you are caught you have to sing a song. yeah...strange..i know.



this is R. she was absolutely a blast. Jennifer and i went shopping with her and her friend after this picture was taken. she was making "hot pot" for us and put a whole chicken in the pot. when i hit the head with my chopsticks and it floated to the top...i very discreetly picked up a potato instead of the head. the head is to be revered....or so i heard.



this little girl was my bff for about 2 hours or so. while she doesn't look happy in this picture, she for sure would not leave my side. i would have taken her home, but i don't know how i would have gotten her back.


oh my. these girls are amazing. seriously.



E and M. definite favs on the trip. we got to hang out with them almost everyday...which was awesome! love them and still pray for them constantly. i wish i could go see them again.



this girl, we met on our first day in the city. she was super sweet and made some awesome pants for me and a skirt for Jennifer. she had never seen Americans before or seen American money. i gave her some to keep. i mean, who knows if she would ever get that chance again!



and that my friends. was the greatest experience of my life...to this point. i cannot wait to go back in just a few short weeks! seriously, you cannot contain the excitement.

rest

i've decided i am way too busy. i never have a true sabbath...which is not good. business consumes my life it seems like. run from work to discipleship, from discipleship to babysitting, from babysitting to home. repeat sequence...but fill in different stuff. ugh. i could complain about more things, but that would just be depressing. so i will refrain...

if you know me, you know that i am a people person. i absolutely LOVE hanging out with people doing nothing really. although...i do love talking. haha! and i could fill each day up with hanging out with people.

so, all this to say, i need to remove things from my life. assess all that i do, and see which i can cut out. because lets face it, you can't do EVERYTHING you want to do. there just isn't time for it. you have to be in tune with what God wants you to do. i know you're probably thinking that its kind of silly to be in tune with God on the daily grind, but seriously, we as Americans (or people in general) have way too much excess in our lives. i wish i were enough in tune with God to know what to cut out. i'm not there yet. but, over the next few days and weeks i know He will reveal himself to me. i just have to be open to the change that i so desperately need. even though i hate change.

oh to have rest once again. this whole "being busy" deal has got to stop.

a lesson in faith from a 9 year old

this sweet girl is Gracyn Denbesten. she is absolutely precious! on Christmas she became ill and found out that she needed a heart transplant. she has been waiting for one since that day, and TONIGHT she gets a new heart! please pray for her as she gets ready for the surgery and pray for the doctors that they will be ready as well! pray for the sweet donor family that had to lose a child in order for Gracyn to recieve this heart.


i don't know if i have talked about this before, but i will talk about it again.

i have never had my faith really tested. growing up in a christian home i always knew that God was there and would provide. i knew he was always by my side and would be "strength in weakness." but as i have watched the Denbesten family through this whole ordeal, their faith has remained strong. there have been times of weakness for them, but they continue to have faith in the Almighty God.

Gracyn has an amazing testimony. she has more strength than anyone i have ever met. she seriously blows me away. but i know that Gracyn does not take any credit for her strength, that it is all for Jesus Christ. how amazing that a 9 year old has more strength than me...a 23 year old.

she challenges me. its so funny to me how roles can be reversed. how you think someone my age is supposed to be the strong one. isn't it awesome how God has different gifts for all of us, and sometimes we choose not to see the gifts children have. Gracyn is definitely an inspiration and a great teacher in the area of faith. i would like to say that i would be ok with what she has endured, but i honestly believe i would have given into the temptation of depression.

this all goes to show that God is THE only one we should give praise to. He is the creator and author of our lives. He knows our sitting down and our rising. He knows our name, sees our flaws, and loves us anyways.

if you don't know Jesus as your Savior....you should. Because he knows everything you have EVER done and loves you despite it. He saves you from the despair of an eternity in Hell. All you have to do is accept Him. don't you want to know someone that sent His only son to die for your sins? i did. and it was the absolute best decision of my life.

intricate.

this is a picture that a friend put on her facebook. if you can't tell what it is, it is an xray nebula that is 150 lightyears across. and yes, if you are asking its shape, it is a hand. you can see the full article here at cnn.com.

i believe, after much thought and study, that you can see God in everything. you can see Him in the flowers, in the rain, in a smile, and by this picture...you can see Him in space. if that doesn't blow your mind, i really don't know what will. it just goes to show that God is in every detail of life. He doesn't want to miss a second of it...He can't. God reveals Himself through the simplest things.

have you ever paid attention to ants. you know, those pesky little insects that bite and cause great irritation. have you ever looked at them (before you smooshed them)? they have the tiniest bodies ever. yet they have so much power. to further illustrate this...i will direct you to a louie giglio message. you can watch it here. the whole thing is about this DNA molecule called laminin. basically there is this molecule deep within our bodies that looks like this:



does anyone else find this exciting? God is intricately woven into every fiber of our being. when we were "made in the image of God" he means...we were REALLY made in the image of God. everything in our lives point to God who made us and has compassion on us everyday. i mean, He sent His only son to die for us. could you ask for a love deeper than that?

unfathomable love

i was reading my friend's blog yesterday and started processing it all. she wrote about being the bride of Christ and the excitement we get from all that and how we get to be all these things in anticipation of Christ.

then, last night we participated in a passover Seder. it was really hard for me to grasp the fact that one night, Jesus is having dinner with his disciples, and just a few hours later He was hanging on a cross.

how many times do i take that for granted? just the fact that we get to be excited about Christ and spending our lives with Him, wrapped up and involved in every part of His character, that we take it for granted. i can tell you, i don't study the Word like i should. its a struggle...daily. but you know, i am really convicted about that. just the fact that i am kind of saying to God, "oh well, i don't need to spend time with you today. i've had enough of your presence for one day." and that absolutely breaks my heart! i cannot believe that i would do something like that!

but, you know what? Christ still died for my sins. He knew that i would say to Him i didn't want to spend time with him, but He died anyways. brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. that unfathomable love He gave is amazing. only Christ can give that love, and isn't it awesome to think about? does that make me keep doing it? absolutely not! who likes to be loved and not loved in return? no one. and to the maker of the universe, the protector of my heart, the Savior of the world, there is nothing more i'd rather do than love Him and wrap my life completely in His.

contentment

i am currently reading a book called Lady in Waiting: How to Become God's Best While Waiting for Mr. Right. Granted, some of the things it says are way too cheesy for my liking, it says some good things.

yesterday at discipleship, we were talking about my friend (she was in this conversation) who is getting married soon. the question was posed to me, "are you a dating snob?" and i was like, "well, no...but sort of, i guess." this was after asking my qualities that are a "must have" in a man (i'll save the list for another time to share). and i really thought about it for a minute, and was like, no i'm not. i just know what i want and what God wants for me. there are things that are perks, but not to the point where i won't even consider them because of it.

the chapter we just finished was called "Lady of Contentment." i thought it fitting to think about this for awhile. am i content? what does that mean? how can i be more content? so, this battle inside my head raged on. here is my conclusion.

i am content. content in the fact that Jesus is my Savior, and right now i am trusting He knows best (which he does). content that i am single...and have been for 23 years. this has honestly been a real struggle. i see in my life, all my friends getting married, having boyfriends, yada yada yada. as a single woman, it at times, can be disheartning. but FINALLY after many years of questioning God and why He is letting these other girls have it, and not me, i have realized that i just have to be content in who i am in Jesus. because honestly, isn't being close to Jesus the ultimate goal? it is mine.

in this time of my life, i am content. i have time to go on mission trips for weeks on end, time to invest into 10th grade girls' lives, and more time than ever to serve those around me. there is not a better place i would rather be than this place in my life. not many people are blessed enough to be able to do whatever God leads without someone tagging along in the background. i know that one day, that will be so exciting, but for now, i am content with who i continue to become in Christ Jesus.