Longing
Hello readers! It's been awhile since I last updated my blog; so let me tell you a little about the last few weeks. I'm currently in week eight of my fundraising campaign, and while I am far from finished yet, I am getting to a place where the finish line is in sight. It hasn't been easy. In fact, I deliberately set out with the expectation that it was going to be very difficult so that I wouldn't be caught off guard when it turned out that way- and it still overwhelms me at times. When I finally hit 50% not long ago, I remember feeling a little tired; something like "Wow. All of that just to... Read moreWalking
During one of my many adventures, I was walking a great distance. I wasn’t walking with a specific purpose or direction like one on the way to the store for a carton of milk; I was merely walking. Nor did I have a clear view of my destination. I had an idea of what may lie far off before me, but having never been there before, who could be certain. Usually the imagination of places and times fail in resemblance to the actual. At some point on this trek, I found myself in a desert. However, I don’t remember entering this desert. I may have noticed the trees shrinking into bushes and the... Read more
Give it up already!
Last week, I had my pre-field training with my sending organization, where long- and short- term missionaries alike met together to prepare for our departure to our assignments. We covered a range of topics, ranging from culture shock and spiritual health to team dynamics to spiritual warfare, as well as plenty of others. I am still processing a lot from that, but something that hit me pretty quick is that I really need to search deep within myself and find what I have been holding on to and still need to let go of - the things that I feel entitled to have in life – that will hold me back... Read moreBeing Far Away
Something I’ve learned while being in the field is not only do I have to trust the Lord with my own life in new ways, but also the lives of those I care about; those that are far away. Over the last 2 years I have experienced the first excitements of adventure stepping out into a great big world feeling strengthened by my call to serve and joyful to know that Jesus wanted me to do this specific work in this unique place; and I have also felt the pains of being in that specific place, that is far away from people and circumstances that at times, seem to need me. In the wake of loss, I have... Read more
Immeasurably More
I would like to start by sharing with you my hate for Houston roads and traffic. Once upon a time, there was a Waco-Abilenian girl who thought she could make it in the big city with just a GPS as her guide. Ladies and gents, please take notes. Houston does not follow GPS rules because they’re always under construction and always changing their exits on you. They also are little sneakers with their tolls and don’t tell you ahead of time that you must have a toll tag or pay 33 dollars. No mercy for the clueless out-of-towner. None at all. I did have a palm to face moment though when I realized... Read moreBreathe. Pray. Release. Repeat.
Just a few weeks ago, I was giving this advice to a friend of mine that was struggling with anxiety about the end of the school semester and her summer plans. Now, on the brink of my adventure with God to raise a ministry partner team and to live in Asia for two years, I find myself using these words for myself. Breathe; don’t hold it all in. Breathe out, letting out all of the frustration, worry and fear. Breathe in the assurance of who God is, of who you are to him. Pray to him; tell him what hangs heavy on you, and pray for his presence, peace and provision in this time. Release those... Read moreGoWeek!
Hi friends (shout out to Isaiah, my one and only subscriber thus far),So I’m sitting in a classroom in Minneapolis Minnesota soaking in the last 2 and a half days of fundraising how-to’s. Naturally, my Type B personality keeps making all of these objections to things like spreadsheets, planners, and organization, but I know they’re good and I’m so thankful for the ways that they’ll help me this summer. So I came into this week knowing I would be faced with a slight information overload, but when I got here, the Lord gave me a ton of little presents in the form of PEOPLE! I have no idea why... Read more