I've been such a stranger. My sincere apologies :(
Today is a very special day. It is my bff Lysiane's birthday and I hope she has the most amazing day ever!!!
Happy Thanksgiving to you all (even though I'm pretty much a week late on that one)! And happy holidays! Hope you are all embracing the Holiday spirit that's come very soon!!
Well in a nutshell....here's my past week and half:
I was beyond blessed with the ability to go to Illinois/Indiana. I owe you all a very big thank you for your prayers. God definitely heard them :)
Last week, before heading out, we had a couple of shows in New Mexico. We stayed in a very very small town that didn't have much for a couple of days. I remember Tiffany and I waking up extremely ansy feeling like we had nothing to do and were so bored. Whether it was the fact that we knew that we were only a couple days away from seing loved ones and getting a break, or whether it was just the fact that we were overwhelmed with boredom due to being tired of having the same routine. After a while, reading books, getting on facebook, watching the same old shows, etc etc gets very old.
I don't know exactly what caused this anxiety and extreme boredom, but we sort of laughed about it and continued to complain.
Anywho, tuesday was our extreme long day before our big trip on wednesday. We started out with two shows in one school. At the end of the last show, I was inspired to conclude in a completely different way. I felt like God put words in my mouth to really speak to certain students, maybe one. Who knows. I'll never know, but despite my fear of public speaking, I went ahead and encouraged the crap out of those kids using the words God put on my heart.
We continued our hectic day by going to a second school about 30 min away from the one we started out with, and thought everything seemed to be going wrong there, we were just that much closer to get our break. I remembered TIffany and I were planning ahead saying "How can we get out of here the quickest possible since we had a 7h drive waiting for us after our 4 shows that day. I also remember stopping myself at one point, and praying that God would allow me to focus on my goal here. My purpose won't be fulfilled if I just go on trying to rush the show, and conclude quickly "just to do my job" and nothing more.
So, though I told myself I'd conclude real fast, I took my time, and said whatever it is I felt I needed to say to conlcude the showing, hoping that my words would touch some student's hearts. Or essentially that God would use my "non rushed" words to touch hearts. They seemed to really enjoy the show and I was happy.
We got on the road, and 7 hours later, we were in Dallas Texas. My good friend Melanie Mahoney from highschool, (whom I hadn't seen in 5 years...or talked to in 3!!) was amazing. She welcomed us, agreed to keep an eye on our van while we were gone. She and I spent the night laughing, talking, reminiscing, and really seeing how we'd each grown. It was SUCH a blessing to see her. A great way to start my break! I am so grateful that God didn't allow my other friend to help us, because Melanie and I needed to see each other. I believe we both refreshed each other.
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| Melanie and I in Dallas, TX |
ANYWHO!!!!
My break was amazing. I had a long long trip on wednesday, my best friend in Indiana Megan picked me up and surprised me by inviting another great friend of mine to a restaurant on our way from Indy to Illinois. We ate, laughed, took pics, and I was exhausted from not having slept the night before but OH SO HAPPY. Indiana/Illinois welcomed with with cold, grey, nasty weather, but you know what? I didn't care, it didn't even phase me. I was so overwhelmed with joy to be with Megan that the warmth in my heart radiated out through my spirit and nothing else mattered!
I spent an amazing thanksgiving break with Megan and her family in Illinois. Megan, her mother, and I did the whole waking up at 2:45am on black friday to do some crazy intense shopping. I was pretty much there for the experience, the rush, and moral support.
Friday night, we headed to Huntington and were able to hang out with a friend real quickly.
Saturday was going to be my only full day in Huntington and I woke feeling like crap :( I was frustrated because I wanted to see so many people and do so many things, but wasn't able to. It was a good day nonetheless, I was able to see a couple of very good friends.
Sunday was spent at the 509. The building where my church and I worship God, grow as individuals, as a community, and learn more about God through our relationships, convictions, and our Shepherd Matthew Brown.
I've spent 4 years worshipping with this community and it truly has allowed me to grow as a servant of Christ beyond belief. I am always filled with joy when I am there.
After service, we went to the community house and had a simple lunch food wise, but amazing lunch fellowship wise. Living in community. How much I miss that~ I got a sweet taste of what Heaven will someday be like :)
Sunday afternoon...after searching for hours for my lost wallet (i left it in plants outside of Megan's house. Go figure!) we picked up my good friend Eric and road tripped to Chicago.
A great roadtrip it was. Many tough questions and discussions about our faith and who we are. It was intense, especially since we were all exhausted, it made it harder to concentrate, but definitely good.
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| Eric, Megan, and myself after our roadtrip |
THEN....I GOT TO SEE MY PARENTS!!!! :D for the first time in a year. It was sooo good. Unfortunately we got there late, and despite their extreme fatigue they stayed up for 2 hours with me. THe next mornging I had to fly back out to Dallas, meaning I only got 2 more hours with them on monday morning. A total of 4 hours with my parents was definitely better than nothing.
Oh how God works in mysterious ways. What are the odds...that my parents and I would be 4 hours away from each other on the same weekend in the same place!?!?!? BLESSED!
SOOO that was my break.
Work has been good. We are all getting to a point where we are tired, and anxious to know about next semester and want to start planning our Xmas breaks, but we understand that our boss has been very busy. God's been working muchos muchos patience in our hearts.
I thought I was going to be all sad and depressed coming back to the job after being with so many loved ones but GOD IS SO FAITHFUL!!
Not only did I get to relax with Melanie monday night when she picked me up from the airport, but God was able to bless us with an easy setup/school on tuesday morning, AND He allowed me to find the PERFECT SPOT for our stay in Arkansas.
We have been staying at the Willow Beach Motel in Hot Springs Arkansas. Our room is a cute little spot with a kitchen, and an amazing view of Lake Hamilton. We have a floating dock right outside of our room.
I've woken up extremely early for the past two morning watching the sunrise and what a peaceful and humbling way to start the day. I AM SO BLESSED. GOD IS SO FAITHFUL!!!!!!!
This time of the year has come. Yesterday morning I found out news that will have a huge effect on whether I stay in the US next year or not.
At first, it seemed surreal and I couldn't even think straight, but then I realized what was happening. It was that time of the year in my life again. And instead of freaking out, I got sort of excited. I thought to myself. Oh my Goodness! God is going to be glorified through this.
Either a new step in my life is about to happen, which is beyond exciting to know I'm moving forward with life OR God is truly going to manifest his glory through this!
You see, I've been extremely blessed growing up. I grew up in a missionary family, we've never been wealthy or anwhere near it. So growing up, I never expected to make a lot of money in the futur. I knew what it was like to live day by day, month by month completely relying on God's providing.
This is one of the best gifts (other than this son) that God could have given me as a human being. My whole life, I've witnessed LIVE God's providing whatever was needed in my family. It seemed so normal and simple. It was kind of like common sense. Like "Oh something's not right, or we don't have money, or we can't do this so automatically go to God...duuuh."
I know it's not that simle, but it really is. I was blessed to see His miraculous works in my parent's life who have been the most amazing example of living by faith and not by sight. I am SO thankful for that.
This is why I am the worry free person that I am today. Sometimes it gets me in trouble because I believe sooo much that God will take care of something that sometimes I just sit on my butt and do nothing to solve whatever it is.
I just bought a devotional book yesterday called "21 minutes for 21 days." The very first chapter talks about faith. How perfectly appropriate for the news I got that day.
The author says "If you are waiting for someone else to solve your problems or if you are waiting for God to patch things up by Himself, you may become impatien, despondents, or both. But when you stop waiting and start working, God has a way of pitching in and finishing the job. Believe in the Lord and He will do half of the work...the last half."
So what I need from you right now is prayer. Please pray for wisdom, guidance, and definitely discipline to keep seeking God's will at this very important in my life.
It's easy to focus on the negative right now. I have no money, I have no family in the US, I'm not using my passion (in photography and videography) the way I was hoping I would by now, I am single..bla bla bla bla...BUT I choose not to. I chose to look up to the Heavens and rejoice. Rejoice for He will do something big in my life....He will continue to allow me to grow in, with, and through HIM.
Here are a few quotations concerning faith that really encouraged me, and I hope that they encourage you as well.
"Faith is seeing light with the eyes of your heart, when the eyes of your body see only darkness. (Barbara Johnson)
"For we walk by faith, not by sight." (2Cor 5:7)
"Teach us to set our hopes on heaven, to hold firmly to the promise of eternal life, so that we can withstand the struggles and storms of this world." (Max Lucado)
The author of this devotional reminds us that "If you don't have faith, you'll never move mountains. But if you do have faith, there's no limit to the things that you and God , working together, can accomplish.
AMEN to THAT!!!
God bless you all :D
Do
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