Tomorrow's the day! TRAVEL DAY! It will actually end up being two days in total. I can't hardly believe that the day has finally come. I'm really looking forward to all that God has in store for me and the interns while we are in Peru together. Thank you again, to all of you who are praying for our travels and for God's movement during our internship. It's gonna be an adventure, and I can't wait to share it with everyone!
I was recently encouraged by this passage from Scripture:
Psalm 91:9-16
"...If you make the Most High your dwelling - even the Lord, who is my refuge - then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for He acknowledges my name. he will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."
Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
One Week!
Well, today marks exactly one week before I fly down to Lima, Peru. Today I finished packing all of my clothes and made sure that I have all that I need for two months away from home. It's amazing all that God has done to get me to where I am, one week away from departure. I am so thankful for his faithfulness in providing for every aspect of this trip and working out the details. Thank you, everyone, for your prayers and encouragement. That means more than I can express. God is in control and I will continue to trust Him and in His plans, which are far greater than my own.
Monday, May 23, 2011
So may my heart be full of Thee
O Holy Spirit,
As the sun is full of light,
the ocean full of water,
Heaven full of glory, so may my heart be full of Thee.
Vain are all divine purposes of love and the redemption wrought by Jesus except Thou work within,
regenerating by Thy power,
giving me eyes to see Jesus,
showing me the realities of the unseen world.
Give me Thyself without measure,
as an unimpaired fountain,
as inexhaustible riches.
I bewail my coldness, poverty, emptiness,
imperfect vision, languid service,
prayerless prayers, praiseless praises.
Suffer me not to grieve or resist Thee.
Come as power
to expel every rebel lust, to reign supreme and keep me Thine;
Come as teacher,
leading me into all truth, filling me with all understanding;
Come as love,
that I may adore the Father, and love him as my all;
Come as joy,
to dwell in me, move in me, animate me;
Come as light,
illuminating the Scripture, moulding me in its laws;
Come as sanctifier,
body, soul and spirit wholly Thine;
Come as helper,
with strength to bless and keep, directing my every step;
Come as beautifier,
bringing order out of confusion, loveliness out of chaos.
Magnify to me Thy glory by being magnified in me, and make me redolent of Thy fragrance.
-Spiritus Sanctus, The Valley of Vision
As the sun is full of light,
the ocean full of water,
Heaven full of glory, so may my heart be full of Thee.
Vain are all divine purposes of love and the redemption wrought by Jesus except Thou work within,
regenerating by Thy power,
giving me eyes to see Jesus,
showing me the realities of the unseen world.
Give me Thyself without measure,
as an unimpaired fountain,
as inexhaustible riches.
I bewail my coldness, poverty, emptiness,
imperfect vision, languid service,
prayerless prayers, praiseless praises.
Suffer me not to grieve or resist Thee.
Come as power
to expel every rebel lust, to reign supreme and keep me Thine;
Come as teacher,
leading me into all truth, filling me with all understanding;
Come as love,
that I may adore the Father, and love him as my all;
Come as joy,
to dwell in me, move in me, animate me;
Come as light,
illuminating the Scripture, moulding me in its laws;
Come as sanctifier,
body, soul and spirit wholly Thine;
Come as helper,
with strength to bless and keep, directing my every step;
Come as beautifier,
bringing order out of confusion, loveliness out of chaos.
Magnify to me Thy glory by being magnified in me, and make me redolent of Thy fragrance.
-Spiritus Sanctus, The Valley of Vision
DECLARE FEARLESSLY
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith , with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
-Ephesians 6:10-20
This is one of my many prayers.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith , with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
-Ephesians 6:10-20
This is one of my many prayers.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Do Not Worry
Life is like a story book. As a character in the book, you never know what the next chapter or even the next page holds. You can only look back to see the past chapters, things that you did, how you learned, and how you've grown since that chapter of life. Each day has it's own page, and the things that happen on that page, the character has no absolute control over. This is where a constant reliance, trust and surrender comes to the Author and Perfecter of your story.
Recently, I've been thinking a lot about this. It's interesting to think about my life in these terms. I have a lot going on in my life right now, lots of big changes coming up, lots of excitement, and also many hard things that I am going to have to face. But in these times, I am called not to worry. I've been reading through Matthew and came across a passage in chapter 6 titled "Do Not Worry." This is one of those passages that sometimes can get over-read or over-quoted. But this past time that I read it, the Lord illuminated some verses and spoke to my heart. Oftentimes, i find myself worrying about trivial things, and even over-thinking situations that are about to be played out in my life. But in Matthew Jesus speaks to his disciples and reminds them not to worry. He says, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Jesus reminds the disciples that He takes care of even the birds of the air. Not only does he take care of animals but he takes care of the plants too: the lily of the field; he clothes it with greater splendor than king Solomon. Jesus reminds that I, as His child, am of such greater value than they, than the birds, the flowers. I am his daughter and just as a Father cares about his child, and wants the best for his child, Jesus Christ loves and cares about me.
The very last couple verses of this passage are probably my favorite part:
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things (the things that the heavenly Father knows you need) will be GIVEN to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Recently, I've been thinking a lot about this. It's interesting to think about my life in these terms. I have a lot going on in my life right now, lots of big changes coming up, lots of excitement, and also many hard things that I am going to have to face. But in these times, I am called not to worry. I've been reading through Matthew and came across a passage in chapter 6 titled "Do Not Worry." This is one of those passages that sometimes can get over-read or over-quoted. But this past time that I read it, the Lord illuminated some verses and spoke to my heart. Oftentimes, i find myself worrying about trivial things, and even over-thinking situations that are about to be played out in my life. But in Matthew Jesus speaks to his disciples and reminds them not to worry. He says, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Jesus reminds the disciples that He takes care of even the birds of the air. Not only does he take care of animals but he takes care of the plants too: the lily of the field; he clothes it with greater splendor than king Solomon. Jesus reminds that I, as His child, am of such greater value than they, than the birds, the flowers. I am his daughter and just as a Father cares about his child, and wants the best for his child, Jesus Christ loves and cares about me.
The very last couple verses of this passage are probably my favorite part:
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things (the things that the heavenly Father knows you need) will be GIVEN to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Something that I have learned and continue to learn is to simply trust in God and his sovereignty over my life. Why worry about something that is already planned? God knows me better than i could ever know myself, and he holds the key that unlocks every situation in my life, he is very plainly asking me and all of his dearly loved children to not worry, and to just trust Him. To trust Him for each letter that makes up a word, which makes up a sentence, creating a paragraph and eventually a chapter of life. He knows exactly how each past, present and future chapter will work to create me into the character he wants me to be. He is indeed the Author and Perfecter of my life story, and He will give strength to trust to those who ask in his name.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
15 Days!
A little more than a week, and I'm off to Peru for my internship for two months! If you'd like to follow me while I'm there and stay updated, follow me on this blog!! Thanks for all of your prayers!
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and the needy."
-Proverbs 31:8-9
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