My Family

This weekend we had to get out of the institute because they were tenting and getting rid of the pests. How nice. All of the students had to find a house from someone at the church to crash at. I am from here so, it wasn't hard to find a place to stay for a couple of days. I have been home for a week now. In a way it feels like I never left, but then I remember, oh, my sister took my bed and all the space in the bathroom. Never mind.
All that to say that I really love and appreciate my family. They are always helping me or giving me money (which I seem to be out of all the time). I am so glad that I have them and that I can look at my dad and say, yeah, he really does love me. My dad, I love him so much and know that he is who I will be comparing any future husband to. He is so committed to my family and the Lord. He is a great role model. My mom is great and is always willing to listen to me rant and rave about whatever I am upset about. She is so wonderful! I love my sibs too. Life would be incomplete without any one of them. I love them all so much.
This whole blog to say that I appreciate my family and am so glad that I got to hang out with them and see them daily.

Love you guys!

The Trip

We are back home and have been for a few days. The past 3 weeks have been so busy and have gone by so quickly. Before the trip we were all worried about the van rides and how we would survive with 13 other people in the small enclosed van. I was praying about it for weeks in advance, but it wasn't even that bad. We all made it out to be worse than it was. I slept most of the time and although I got a little sick a couple of times, it was all good. The trip helped me get to know my team members more and know them on a more personal level.
The places we went were also very cool. I fell in love with the River Valley Ranch in Maryland. I would really like to (maybe, still praying about it) do my summer internship there. We also went to Atlanta for a few days, we went to the International House of Prayer and Northpoint Community Church. They were so different, but I am glad that we were able to experience both of them. We then went to River Valley Ranch and worked for a couple of days. We got to go horseback riding and also go down a huge zip line. I was so scared, but I went after the guy had to push me off. There was no way I was going to jump... We went to host homes the night after we left the Ranch. I stayed with a young married couple. They were so nice and hospitable and we were able to join their in home Bible study. It was cool to see how other churches, in different settings fellowship and learn together. Then we went to Phillidalphia, Jonathan's town. It was nice, we got to see Philly late at night and we got to help with the teen program on Friday night. It was a different setting, but it was good to be there even for a short amount of time. We went to Virginia after that and stayed with Sarah Beth's grandparents. I loved it. They were so nice and their house was very inviting. We went to a Korean Baptist church on Sunday and got to have a Korean meal afterwards. That was a new thing for me and I enjoyed so much the women of the church doting on us and wanting us to love their food. They were all so nice and that stop was probably my favorite. That night we went to a house church and got to be invovled with their Sunday night discussion. It was very homey and inviting. We then went to Jacksonville Beach and stayed right on the beach. It was gorgeous and I loved staying somewhere where we could chill and do whatever. It was such a good way to end the trip.
I learned a lot on the trip, but the one thing that stuck out to me the most was, the beauty of nature and the love of my God who created all of it. I am a Florida girl and I had never seen the fall leaves and the change that ocurred with the seasons. I loved it. All along the road the leaves were brillant colors. When we got to the ranch, the leaves were gorgeous and the area is serene and beautiful. At the beach, I woke up early the day we were leaving and watched the sun rise. It was spectacular and at night I was able to walk along the sand and see the thousands of stars that God had not only put up there, but named too. I couldn't help but think about the majesty of God and the way that He has everything under control. It helped me to see that no matter what was happening that day or what I had issues with, my Creator knew about it all and at the same time was keeping the world in motion. Our God is so big and powerful, and yet loves me for who I am.
I am glad to be back, but it was a good trip and I am thankful to all the people who fed and housed us.

Fall Ministry Trip

Tomorrow we will all load up into our 15 passenger van and drive to our first of many stops. Please pray for our group that we will learn and grow through this experience. Please pray that we will not have any problems getting to and from our destinations. Thanks for all of you who have already been praying.

I should probably get back to packing...
Love you all~

Prayer

I've been realizing more and more how important prayer is to my everyday life. During the first week or so, I started thinking about the different things that I don't ask God about or even mention to Him. If what I am doing is not a big decision, I felt like it wasn't something that I needed to talk to Him about. I realized then that I need to constantly be talking to my Creator about what is going on in my life. I have been working on that since, and already I feel a difference in my everyday life.
The other day Cameron mentioned something to the effect that he had done ministry that day and felt like he had not focused on God being apart of it. In that moment I realized that I have not been asking for God's blessing or presence as I go into the schools. I know that others on my team have been doing that, but I need to personally do it myself. I have also been trying to do this every time I go somewhere to minister to others.
Then yesterday in class, Pastor Randy said something that made me think even more about the way I talk to God. He said something like, you need God as much sitting here in class as you do when you go out into the schools to minister.
I realize now that growing in any area of my life is a process. I can't just say, I will pray constantly and about everything and everyone. I need to take it one step at a time and continue to try, even if in the first month I am not doing it right all of the time. I am learning a lot about myself through this process as well. I can already notice a difference. I hope that I continue to grow in that aspect.

Prophecy!

We are studying prophecy in Daniel and soon, Revelation.
In Isaiah 6, there is an amazing picture of worship and the steps to me in worship mindset. Worship starts when:

• We see God. (vs. 1)
• Repentance (vs. 5)
• Cleansing (vs. 7)
• Commitment (vs. 8)
• Sacrifice your agenda for God's (vs. 9 & 10)
• Guidance (vs. 11)

In Daniel, it is so cool because there are prophecies about the Babylonian empire ,the Medo- Persian empire, the Greece empire, and the Roman empire. It is mentioned in chapter 2 and also in chapter 8. All of the different visions that Daniel has, point to the empires in the future and the rise and fall of them. I will go into to detail in a later blog, but I need to go.
I am learning so much and am excited about learning more about the future and prophecy in general.

A good Saturday!

Today we went and helped out with the Angel Food Ministry at Grace Bible Church. They needed all of us and so we all went down there and did many different jobs. 5 of us girls worked at one tent getting orders and helping people. It was good. The weather was not that bad and we had a good time watching a ministry like that work. Then we all went to one of our girl's family's lake house. Mucho fun! We went on the lake and rode jet skis. Fun! I got some sun, but over all it was great. Thank you so much for the use of your house and for feeding us, Kayla and family! I am tired and after a fun night with the college group from the church I am ready to hit the hay. I am looking forward to church tomorrow. Goodnight all.

Poem to Psalm 139

I made her…
She is different! She is unique!
With love I formed her in her mother’s womb.
I fashioned her with great joy.
I remember, with great pleasure
The day I created her.
I love her smile.
I love her ways.
I love to hear her laugh.
And the silly things she says and does,
She brings me great pleasure.
This is how I made her.
I made her pretty and not beautiful,
Because I knew her heart,
And I knew she would be vain…
I wanted her to search out her heart
And to learn that it would be Me in her
That would make her beautiful…
And it would be me in her
That would draw friends to her.
I made her in such a way,
That she would need Me.
I made her a little more lonesome
Than she would like to be…
Only because I need for her to learn
And depend on Me…
I know her heart, I know if had not made her like this
She would go her own chosen way
And forget Me… her Creator
I have given her many good and happy things,
Because I love her.
Because I love her,
I have seen her broken heart…
And the tears she’s cried alone.
I have cried with her,
And had a broken heart, too.
Many times she has stumbled and fallen alone
Only because she would not hold My hand,
So many lessons she’s learned the hard way
Because she would not listen
To My voice…
So many times I have set back
And sadly watched her go her merry way alone,
Only to watch her return to My arms,
Sad and broken.
And now she is Mine again…
I made her, and then I bought her…
Because I love her.
I have to reshape and remold her…
To renew her to what I had planned for her to be.
It has not been easy for her or for me.
But she is my beloved.
I want her to be conformed to My image…
This high goal I have set for her.
Because I love her.

First Blog Ever!

I have been attending GCBI for about a month and a half. I know without a doubt that this was the right choice. I know that I am supposed to be here, still living in Sebring, and learning so much about the Bible, but more importantly, the God who created me. I am enjoying Pastor Randy, Sarah Beth and Cameron, and getting to know my church family more and more. We have already gone through the first 6 books of the Bible and Hebrews. I can look at those books and tell you what they are about and show you God's hand in so many people's lives.
I don't really know how to start this blog and get the ball rolling, other than to just type my heart and different things that are going on in my life. I am living with 11 other people in a dorm setting. Luckily, I have the best roomie ever. She is great and we always have lots of fun together. I am enjoying getting to know everyone on a more personal level. There are hard days where I want to just avoid people, but in that moment, I see that that is what tests my character and shows me and others who I really am. It's like a quote that I have heard Pastor Randy say frequently, "What comes out when you squeeze a tube of toothpaste? Whatever is inside. It is the same with a person, what comes out is what is on the inside." I want my character and insides to be honoring to God and it can be said that I am a woman of godly character.
There are so many things that I have learned in the past month and a half, not everything is from class though.

• I love that in Genesis chapter 17, there is a picture of Abraham intimately praising and talking to God. This is such a beautiful picture of one man's relationship with his Creator.
• The story of Ruth amazes me every time I study it, I love the way that God is able to use Ruth to help restore Naomi's family line and ultimately her life. This story helps me to see how I need to live life with an open hand so that God can take and fill it whenever He chooses.
• In Exodus 7:14-11, the Lord sent ten plagues to the land of Egypt. What is really neat about this story is that each of the plagues that God sent is to represent a god that the Egyptians served. Each plague shows that God has the power over every god that they followed. How cool?
• In Joshua 7 the story is about Achan, an Israelite who purposely stole some of the gold that God told them not to. Then his whole family ended up getting stoned because of his sin. Some of us in the class agreed that we thought it was a little harsh to kill his family because of his sin, but Pastor Randy said something that made so much sense. He said, "Our sense of fairness does not determine what God does." How true? We sometimes get in the mind frame that God has to be or do what we want Him to do. He is God and we are not. Why shouldn't He control what happens in a person's life?
• In Judges 2:20, it says that the Lord's anger burned against Israel. Another quote from class that I know applies to many people's lives is that God gets angry about our disobedience because we are living a lie. We are not doing what He says because we are think that something else is better. What a lie!
• Aside from what I am learning in class, I am also finding that I need to be talking to God more, whether it is to thank Him for something He has done in me or to lean on Him in trouble, I know that He knows my heart, but He wants to hear from me. I need to be having an on-going dialogue with Him, He is my friend and God. Why would I not talk to Him?
  

Today was a good day and now I am going to sign off...I hope this was helpful to some or maybe just lets you know what is going on in my life. Have a great rest of the day!