Alrighty then! Welcome back ye who forgot thy even had a blog. Woe to me. Now that that's settled, shall we?
I must first start out by mentioning that life is tough isn't it? Life JUST happens. But is that going to be our excuse everytime? I'm learning that through the chaos and the late nights that business never goes away and if anything it only picks up as you get older. Yay! Can't wait to age. In saying that, God is the same God He was yesterday as He is today. When life happens, why should we not enjoy it through the good times in bad?! After all, our lives are only a speck in the grand scheme of things compared to God's eternal plan. School is overwhelming, working is demanding, spare time is close to never to be found and the list goes on and on. It's completely sad how we pitty ourselves and become so wrapped up in how "bad" we have it that we miss out on God's voice, His provision, His opportunities, His truth. I'm so guilty of this and Begin to make excuses for my lack of attention to His glories. I'm blinded and distracted by "life". Often times our God-view, if you will, becomes this distorted image of someone who is tucked away in our hearts and is only brought out when we've become bare and naked with conviction that we can't help but to call upon Him. This is a daily struggle for me and I can't fathom how even when we put limits and conditions on Him, His love for us never changes and is conditionLESS. Hard for me to swallow. And because we're so self absorbed we can't take the conviction in Romans, so we run to the comfort of Psalms. We shall praise Him in the good times and in the bad.
On a lighter note, God laid it on my heart this past week to start a Bible study at LSU(Lone Star). I've been praying about it and want the Lord to use this opportunity to saturate this community and this student body. I'm asking for prayer that I would be humble and not worry about the numbers of attendance. I don't want to act as though I have it all together and know-it-all. I want God to simply use me as a funnel through the lives of young girls here at Lone Star.
On an even lighter lighter note, it's about that time again to kick things into gear for running season. Planning on completing a personal goal of 5 half-marathons, a 25k and the MS150 by the end of this school year. But that's all on paper, we'll see what really happens. I'm still trying to grasp this college/work thing first.
Until next time...
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
New Chapters!
Is it really that time already? To start school, or even college for that matter? Oh glory, I thought this day would never come. I guess I thought I could have the privilege of being a kid forever, while maturing of course. Psht. No one told me that I had to start taking into account a credit score or possibly getting a gas card to raise that "credit" they were talking about. College...at Lone Star...how bad could it be. I find myself hesitating when it comes to the thought of this community college thing. It's in those silent moments when I seek God that He reveals a purpose and passion behind my attendance at there. Why I am there is beyond me but I will take everyday as it comes, like Matthew 6 says, and be obedient. God has equipped me and will continue to mature my faith as I enter this new chapter. Please pray for opportunities to disciple and share my love for the Gospel there. I can only believe that God is using this season of my life to better prepare me for the next door that opens, whether that be international missions or further college.
I do want to celebrate God's provision in my life and in the lives of those I've been impacted by this summer. So much has happened in the past 3 months and I can only be still and stand in complete AWE of how the Lord has worked in powerful ways through me, our youth group and my close friends and family.
Those of you who know me, I work best when I'm busy and I think this summer was a complete overload; perfect! Starting a week after graduation was youth camp where I was given the opportunity to go as a leader, my first. It was a great experience and opended my heart to youth ministry. Not long after that, my mother's womens ministry (The Spa Girls...yes, this is an advertisement) took us to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Yeah, not much ministering going on, but quite a bit of relaxing by the beach and enjoying great fellowship with close friends. Not a week later and we were off to Oklahoma to the Indian Reservation where our youth group worked as the hands and feet of the most high. It was a neat experience seeing the hard work our kiddos exerted and witnessing them sweat...and sometimes bleed with a smile on their faces knowing they were working for something higher. Ok breathe. Then our team was off to South Africa (read blog below...I will have carpal tunnel if I wrote about this one). Might I mention, through all of this awesomeness I "worked" at the church as an assistant to the assistant intern. haha! It was the best! After Africa, my dad and step mom took me on my graduation trip to Alaska! It was beautiful to say the least and we had a grand ole time in the company of one another...in our RV. So maybe we were forced to enjoy each other because the only other option was out with the bears. No thanks. It was so much fun! We had a family Astros game with Copperfield to further the direction of encouraging families to become more fused with their kids' ministry. We also had a girls event called the "Chicka-Flick". A great time was had by all!
Through the hustle and bustle, God has definitely caught my full attention with a more clearer vision on what His will is for my life. Although I still get lost in the shades of grey, His presence in my world is evident and moving and for that I am so grateful. He has placed people in my life to give me spiritual nourishment and keep me accountable to continue to live outside of the "comfort zone". He's definitely softening hearts and saturating my heart with His love. Woah, that's deep.
To all of you who have invested in me and supported me financialy or through prayer, I cannot even touch on how thankful and blessed I am to have you in my life. Ecclesiastes enforces that there is a time for everything and God's timing has really opened my eyes to how selfish we can be. Thank you for the friendships gained and the lessons learned. This has truly been a summer to remember and I could not have asked for better people to spend it with and better opportunities granted. God is good all the time and all the time, God is good!!
Oh!! One more thing! My sister and I, on the same day, were both blessed with job!! PRAISE GOD!
I do want to celebrate God's provision in my life and in the lives of those I've been impacted by this summer. So much has happened in the past 3 months and I can only be still and stand in complete AWE of how the Lord has worked in powerful ways through me, our youth group and my close friends and family.
Those of you who know me, I work best when I'm busy and I think this summer was a complete overload; perfect! Starting a week after graduation was youth camp where I was given the opportunity to go as a leader, my first. It was a great experience and opended my heart to youth ministry. Not long after that, my mother's womens ministry (The Spa Girls...yes, this is an advertisement) took us to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Yeah, not much ministering going on, but quite a bit of relaxing by the beach and enjoying great fellowship with close friends. Not a week later and we were off to Oklahoma to the Indian Reservation where our youth group worked as the hands and feet of the most high. It was a neat experience seeing the hard work our kiddos exerted and witnessing them sweat...and sometimes bleed with a smile on their faces knowing they were working for something higher. Ok breathe. Then our team was off to South Africa (read blog below...I will have carpal tunnel if I wrote about this one). Might I mention, through all of this awesomeness I "worked" at the church as an assistant to the assistant intern. haha! It was the best! After Africa, my dad and step mom took me on my graduation trip to Alaska! It was beautiful to say the least and we had a grand ole time in the company of one another...in our RV. So maybe we were forced to enjoy each other because the only other option was out with the bears. No thanks. It was so much fun! We had a family Astros game with Copperfield to further the direction of encouraging families to become more fused with their kids' ministry. We also had a girls event called the "Chicka-Flick". A great time was had by all!
Through the hustle and bustle, God has definitely caught my full attention with a more clearer vision on what His will is for my life. Although I still get lost in the shades of grey, His presence in my world is evident and moving and for that I am so grateful. He has placed people in my life to give me spiritual nourishment and keep me accountable to continue to live outside of the "comfort zone". He's definitely softening hearts and saturating my heart with His love. Woah, that's deep.
To all of you who have invested in me and supported me financialy or through prayer, I cannot even touch on how thankful and blessed I am to have you in my life. Ecclesiastes enforces that there is a time for everything and God's timing has really opened my eyes to how selfish we can be. Thank you for the friendships gained and the lessons learned. This has truly been a summer to remember and I could not have asked for better people to spend it with and better opportunities granted. God is good all the time and all the time, God is good!!
Oh!! One more thing! My sister and I, on the same day, were both blessed with job!! PRAISE GOD!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
South Africa
Wow! I can't believe it's actually over. Through the 20 something hour flights to ministering with the African people, time just flew by. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you who have prayed for this team. Going into this trip, we all had uncertainty of the unknown and ya'lls prayers were powerful in every way. God quickly plugged us in where we could be prosperous. So thank you again, I can't tell you enough!
I can't begin to tell you how heartbreaking it was to see the living conditions in which these people lived in! After our first day of training, Rich(the founder of Impact Africa) gave us the opportunity to hit the mission field to saturate the community with the love of Jeaus. Our initial goal was to simply lower the walls and soften the hearts of those fighting to survive in the squatter camps. We prayed for opportunities to share the Gospel and God willingly blessed us in our hut-to-hut ministry. This is what your typical hut visit would look like: every group had translators and you would approach the people to first show with our actions the love of Jesus by washing their clothes, sweeping, doing dishes etc. We would then present the Gospel and explain why we were here. God took over every conversation as he used our team as empty vessels.
We were sensitive in witnessing to these people due to the great deal of false doctrine they are under (ancestral worship, witch craft). Many people committed their lives to Christ and attended Church on the hill Tuesday morning. We had great African worship and our team shared testimonies to be followed with Heath's moving message. Throughout the week we continued discipling to the converts, furthering God's kingdom as we moved through these squatter camps.
Playing with the kids definitely humbled each one of us to say the least. Seeing the bloated stomachs of starving children broke our hearts in every way possible and we invested in them by playing soccer, teaching them songs, and simply giving them that tactical love and affection they lack daily. Our team put on kids clubs to help give the children a place of security and refuge from the corruption in the village. Working with these kids was incredible! There's so much neglected potential here.
God really moved and spoke through each and everyone of our team members these past 2 weeks. He gave us more of an understanding of our purpose on this trip as our prayers were for Him to conitue molding us into servants for Him. He definitely showed us how we could be the hands and feet of this place.
After our hut-to-hut ministry and taking part in the Impact Kids branch of this ministry, we were blessed with great experiences in enjoying the culture of South Africa. We went to the market to bargain, went on an amazing safari(legit), played with lion cubs, ate cultural food (ox tripe and mopani worms)...the lining of an ox's stomach and dried caterpillars. Let's just say I have a new appreciation for PB and J sandwiches. With devotionals every morning at 7 and camp fires at night, we worshiped and shared our highlights of the day and more moving testimonies; our bodies are physically/emotionally exhausted.
South Africa began to feel more and more like home as the weeks progressed and I will definitely continue to pray for God's provision as I yearn to answer the call to part-time or full-time missions. Thank you again for praying for us as we take absolutely no credit for what has happened these past 2 weeks. Surrendering to God's master plan and His ways have broken down every wall in our hearts, whether that be pride, materialistic habits etc. Thank you Lord for the patience and endurance. You are, without a doubt, moving and working in the lives of those in South Africa. God bless Rich and Michelle as they further Your work and answer Your callings. What authentic disciples they are. I hope to be a part of their team someday.
"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God." (2 Timothy 1:8)
I can't begin to tell you how heartbreaking it was to see the living conditions in which these people lived in! After our first day of training, Rich(the founder of Impact Africa) gave us the opportunity to hit the mission field to saturate the community with the love of Jeaus. Our initial goal was to simply lower the walls and soften the hearts of those fighting to survive in the squatter camps. We prayed for opportunities to share the Gospel and God willingly blessed us in our hut-to-hut ministry. This is what your typical hut visit would look like: every group had translators and you would approach the people to first show with our actions the love of Jesus by washing their clothes, sweeping, doing dishes etc. We would then present the Gospel and explain why we were here. God took over every conversation as he used our team as empty vessels.
We were sensitive in witnessing to these people due to the great deal of false doctrine they are under (ancestral worship, witch craft). Many people committed their lives to Christ and attended Church on the hill Tuesday morning. We had great African worship and our team shared testimonies to be followed with Heath's moving message. Throughout the week we continued discipling to the converts, furthering God's kingdom as we moved through these squatter camps.
Playing with the kids definitely humbled each one of us to say the least. Seeing the bloated stomachs of starving children broke our hearts in every way possible and we invested in them by playing soccer, teaching them songs, and simply giving them that tactical love and affection they lack daily. Our team put on kids clubs to help give the children a place of security and refuge from the corruption in the village. Working with these kids was incredible! There's so much neglected potential here.
God really moved and spoke through each and everyone of our team members these past 2 weeks. He gave us more of an understanding of our purpose on this trip as our prayers were for Him to conitue molding us into servants for Him. He definitely showed us how we could be the hands and feet of this place.
After our hut-to-hut ministry and taking part in the Impact Kids branch of this ministry, we were blessed with great experiences in enjoying the culture of South Africa. We went to the market to bargain, went on an amazing safari(legit), played with lion cubs, ate cultural food (ox tripe and mopani worms)...the lining of an ox's stomach and dried caterpillars. Let's just say I have a new appreciation for PB and J sandwiches. With devotionals every morning at 7 and camp fires at night, we worshiped and shared our highlights of the day and more moving testimonies; our bodies are physically/emotionally exhausted.
South Africa began to feel more and more like home as the weeks progressed and I will definitely continue to pray for God's provision as I yearn to answer the call to part-time or full-time missions. Thank you again for praying for us as we take absolutely no credit for what has happened these past 2 weeks. Surrendering to God's master plan and His ways have broken down every wall in our hearts, whether that be pride, materialistic habits etc. Thank you Lord for the patience and endurance. You are, without a doubt, moving and working in the lives of those in South Africa. God bless Rich and Michelle as they further Your work and answer Your callings. What authentic disciples they are. I hope to be a part of their team someday.
"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God." (2 Timothy 1:8)
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Up up and away!
Just touched down in Washington D.C. And now boarding the South African Airlines. It's a God thing I got an aisle seat or I might have lost my christianity :/ Our team is so excited about the journey we are about to embark on. However, it's hard to see past the 17 hour flight ahead of us at the moment. We shall be arriving in Johannesburg at around 10:30 Tuesday. We have the pleasure of sharing this plane with other mission teams...I like their shirts. Typical Courtney packed her shampoo and conditioner in her carry on knowing it would get confinscated. I must now have to deal with the joy of greasy hair :). That's what friends are for right? I'm so thrilled to have such an opportunity to share Christ with the people of Africa; what an experience. We are going to simply serve and be the hands and feet of the maker of all things. Thank you everyone who is praying and has u's in your thoughts! Prayers penetrate and are greatly appreciated!!!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Ready, set, blog!
Here's to my new blogging life. Not quite sure how it will end up or if it will even remain but we're going to give it a go!
I must admit my love/joy for journaling and it only makes sense to make it more notable that I take in account my pleasures in writing, or expressing my emotions if you will.
I figured this would be a great way to document my experiences and encounters through my journeys such as: life, mission trips, vacations, schooling, dating? Nah. Through this journey called life, I want to experience the Lord in ways unimaginable. I'm starving for more of Him and ready to embrace whatever challenges thrown my way.
•This is going to be fun; I can see it now! Blogging about how I get my hair stuck in the car windows or how God revealed himself to me today.
I must admit my love/joy for journaling and it only makes sense to make it more notable that I take in account my pleasures in writing, or expressing my emotions if you will.
I figured this would be a great way to document my experiences and encounters through my journeys such as: life, mission trips, vacations, schooling, dating? Nah. Through this journey called life, I want to experience the Lord in ways unimaginable. I'm starving for more of Him and ready to embrace whatever challenges thrown my way.
•This is going to be fun; I can see it now! Blogging about how I get my hair stuck in the car windows or how God revealed himself to me today.
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