Kelsee's feet!
Alan and I just got back yesterday morning from a quick trip to Pennsylvania to see my friend, Christine, and his friends, Kyla and Heidi, from our trips last summer (I went to South Africa, he went to Nicaragua)! The occasion: Kyla's wedding. (check out photos on my Photo Journal!) Alan and I were hit like a thunderstorm at the beautiful location the wedding was held at, leaving me a bit blank of what to write about! In the hustle and bustle, all has been well and I've been talking with the Lord, but right now- I'm just in a type of waiting period so I don't have too much to share. I just read my friend's Kelsee blog and wanted to link you all to her- because it just rejuvenated and focused me in on God's purpose and gave encouragement to me while I'm just looking forward to the week of work, school, and internship! (I pray the Lord makes it AWESOME for HIM!) So take a look, let it sink into your soul, and I pray you are also encouraged and slow down!!! Here's the link to Kelsee's blog, a sophomore at IU who loves the Lord! These past two weeks, the Lord has been shaping me not only mentally to become a woman of God (more on what that looks like in blogs to come), but also in financial discipline and emotional balance. To have an income for the summer, I've taken on things... too many- says my mom... and I'm learning how to cope with what I have set myself up for. Along with the three things below, I am also taking a summer course (Sociology Statistics) so that my next semesters won't be hectic and I won't have to attempt a math course (which I'm NOT super great at) while I have so many other balls to juggle. This course has already started small friendships that God purposed for my season of summer and I am so excited to start faithing (showing my faith through the only thing people can see: my actions). --- Along in this Spring Cleaning fun, my spiritual life has also taken to rough cleanings: I am needed and God is fueling, using, and renewing me- every day.
After my short vacation, I'm back! and have started interning at GCC, working as a custodian for a local company, and learning in my Social Statistics class. The Lord is good and things are moving more than I ever expected for my summer! This past Monday was the first day of my internship, and Ted Bryant, the director of Granger Kids, had me tour the entire facility, which took an hour and a half. I saw everything about Granger that day. Not only the beautiful campus that the Lord has blessed them with, but also the Values and Mission of Granger Community Church, which I had never seen before! This church loves the Lord, wants all of His believers to be challenged in their walks, rightly divides the Bible in truth and lets it challenge people, and is open to EVERYONE- no matter your background or experience with church. I was amazed and will stay that way continually as I go through the created media at Granger Community Church. One last point: I am incredibly amazed by how open to God's direction this staff is. With balance of work and time at home given to staff members that other jobs don't provide, the staff has not burned out and is continually on fire for God, ready for HIM to lead them into their next steps to spread the Good News to the world that the Lord is alive, loves each of us, and died for us so that we may have eternal life. I am so excited to be here, side by side, working directly for the Kingdom of God in my day to day, recording beauty and justice excellently, so that people may know the Lord is working in every child's life in GCC as well. Awesome. We have an Awesome God. and He is working. After a short week of finals, I came home to unpack Friday night and head out again on Saturday to visit my best friend, Renae, in Chicago. We had planned it so I would scoop her up, take her to Rockford (where we would visit her grandparents and go to a banquet where I was to receive a scholarship for classes this summer) and then spend the night at her dorm room in Chicago. All went so well, the grandparents were so glad to see us and the banquet went well into the night. The next morning, we went to Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago for Sunday morning service and I was hit with a wave of conviction by listening to James MacDonald preaching on multiplying money faithfully. The Lord has had it on my heart to stick with a budget and move money faithfully inside of those borders. Unfortunately, though, I have not done such a good job (using money purposed for rent, for spending instead). This sermon woke me up to realize that the Lord is a harsh, demanding master (Luke 19:11-27) as much as He is a loving God. All together, I learned that The Lord expects a return on his investment (Matt. 25:14-23) in every area of my life. Family return, financial return, fruit return (fruits of the Spirit that is!), and faithfulness return (to be diligent and persevere). This is a high standard that the Lord has for those who love and follow Him, and even though their salvation does not depend on what we do, He does call those who follow Him, to work. It's hard, it's real, but He has and will give all the help needed, because the type of return He demands, can't be done without Him! ... which forces each of His followers back to depend on Him, who is All-Powerful and able to do beyond what anyone can ask or think. |
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