Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The 23rd Psalm

I have continually felt the Lord drawing me back to the 23rd Psalm over the past 2 weeks. Since today is the 23rd...I thought I'd share.

Now I was a really cool Bible quizzer back in the day, so I'm pretty much an NIV girl although every now and then I pick up a NLT...which I did today.

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

God is going to take care of me, I need nothing but HIM!
He gives me strength when I am weak, he gives me rest when I need it!
Though difficult times, I know that God is there! He looks after me and protects me even when I have no idea!

I am in one of those places in my life where I know change is coming. At the moment I have no idea where God is leading. All I know is that I am seeking after Him and I am ready to follow.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

4 weeks on the go...

So here it is! My first official blog....I'm not really even sure what I'm doing, so hopefully it works!

The past 4 weeks have absolutely flown by. I am blessed to have a job that allows me to "travel" a lot! In 4 weeks, I have been to El Paso, TX, Austin, TX, and Tishomingo, OK TWICE!

Our high school group went to El Paso for a mission trip, which was the BEST MISSION TRIP EVER! I absolutely loved spending time with our girls and our youth workers. We accomplished so much in just a week! We ran 3 VBS's, roofed 2 homes, remodeled the student ministries and children's ministries rooms, had 2 community dinners, 2 showings of the Jesus film....the list goes on and on. It was great seeing God working in and through the lives of our students. Plus I learned how to say HOLLER in Spanish! GRITO! God has continued to lay missions on my heart since NYC 99. It was reconfirmed again in El Paso. I am seeking God and excited to see where he leads.

My parents moved to Corpus Christi, while I was in El Paso. Although I've known they were leaving for a long time, it didn't make it any easier. I was sad not to actually be there to say goodbye. I am excited for my parents and I know this will be something that draws my family closer together. I'm just really missing not having them close.

I was home from El Paso for about 4 days before leaving for Austin to visit Jamie and Mariko! Their apartment was so stinkin' cute! We had a lot of fun together. 4th of July was great in the big state of Texas. My plane coming home was delayed for 3 hours. I flew into OKC around 1 a.m. and I was so exhausted and not looking forward to leaving for preteen camp the next morning. I called Stef and of course she was more than encouraging. She reminded me that our strength is in the Lord and that when we are weak he is strong....i think there's a song about that. :)

Preteen Camp was awesome! I loved hanging out with our 6th grade girls. I didn't really have any strong connections with them until camp. God really moved in several of their lives and it was so encouraging to see! I also saw God working in my own life. I found closer in some situations that were going on back home. It was really fun to meet some new friends throughout our district and just laugh A LOT! The fruit of the spirit song is actually a form of demon possession....or so the missionary lady thought.

Teen Camp was the last week. Chris, Stef, and I were in charge of directing. Which I had its up and downs. There is a lot of past stuff that was brought up. I know God is in full control, it's just tough to see students in pain. My one-on-one time with God was incredible. I went through 1 Corithians 13 and Pslam 23 verse by verse and just asked God to mold me and make me into the person that he created me to be. I feel like God and I took a great step forward this week. It's funny how you go into mission trips, camps, etc. thinking of how God is going to work in the lives of students and then He hits you upside the head. God is definitely good ALL THE TIME!