Its Just the Beginning...

I am in the middle of a melting pot-I walk down the street, smell the incense burning to the Chinese man’s ancestors, see a Hindu woman with a red dot on her forehead, and hear them Muslim call to prayer.

Month one here in SE Asia has already been an adventure and a half! God has really used my time here not just to explore and learn about different cultures, but to deepen my vision and passion for those who are lost and hurting in the world, those who are widowed and orphaned all around the world– those who are physically and/or spiritually lacking a father and husband.

I have been going out on prayer walks with a woman here who is starting a ministry for trafficked and battered women. I have met several women who have no idea the depth of their value and worth in God’s eyes. These girls are used to people using them, so they aren’t the most open people, and are wary of going past surface level. One woman’s name means “Princess.” “Sarah” also means princess, and God has used this to remind me of my worth, value, and identity in Him. She actually gave me her phone number, and I am excited that I have the opportunity to show her the same truth Jesus has shown me as His Princess. I’ll keep you updated on this lost daughter of the King and please keep her in your prayers!
Also, I am traveling to Cambodia from August to February. I will be serving with a church in remote villages. I have literally no idea what to expect, but I am excited to see what the Lord will do! Thank you so much for the prayers, finances, encouragement and blessing you all have provided! You are helping me carry out my passion to impact a world in desperate need of Jesus’ love, life and truth!
Prayer points:
~ability to keep intimacy with Jesus as my priority
~Continued financial provision, specifically for my upcoming Cambodia, I need about $1000 for my visa and flight ticket on top of regular monthly support
~Divine appointments all over SE Asia, and discernment on how to reach the unreached


Thank you all so much! If you leave me your email address, I will be able to email you pictures as well! For now check out my Facebook!

And stay tuned, the best is yet to come!

I'm a part of something beautiful...

So, I have officially been out of the States since Wednesday, starting with an overnight layover in Korea. Seriously, one night felt like one glorious week as Gina (my travel buddy) and I romped around Seoul.
I already have a plethora of stories and such, but I kinda just want to use this blog as an opportunity to tell you what God has put on my heart.

A year or so ago, when I traveled to Honduras, I experienced what I saw to be a bit of heaven on earth. At the church in Sambo Creek, I felt as though I had a glimpse into what worship in heaven will be like- every tribe, every nation and even every age and style of worship joined together in one accord to the King of kings and the Lord of lords!
I got another sense while in church today. This church is another piece of the bride of Christ. The bride of Christ is so diversely and uniquely unified. All I could think about is that I have the privilege to be a part of something beautiful, but as the service continued I realized something even more beautiful-our beauty is merely a reflection of Christ's! We as the body of Christ are each individually part of something beautiful. But we have an even greater purpose-to complete that which reflects Christ's beauty. I recently read the book Unveiled at Last which speaks about a two-fold Christianity. I believe Psalms 67 describes it best,

"God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us— That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations."

God's beauty is shining on His bride, but there is a far greater purpose; to share that beauty, to share His name on the Earth, to further and complete His bride!

Maybe its the Evangelist in me, or maybe just the Christian in general; the glorious beauty of God's blessing and the shining of His face is far to marvelous to keep to yourself.

An Inauguration by Lions, Plants, and Fruit...

Ok, I was talking to my mother the other day, and she says, "I see you are a blogger now."
I reply, "No, I'm pretty sure there's some blogger code, and you have to post more than one blog to be an actual 'blogger.' "
So here goes my "blogger inauguration"...
I've been reading In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson (its required by GMT for my Malaysia Internship), and the first chapter shook my world a little bit. Let me share a portion with you,
"I think the church has fixated on sins of commission for far too long. We have a long list of don'ts. Think of it as holiness by subtraction. We think of holiness as a byproduct of subtracting something that shouldn't be there. And holiness certainly involves subtraction. But I think God is more concerned about sins of omission-those things we could have and should have done. Its holiness by multiplication. Goodness is not the absence of badness. You can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right."
That's a little earth-shattering, eh? Mark Batterson goes on to explain a far more spiritual than the norm definition of the aphorism, "No guts, no glory." If we are not willing to step up and out of our personal comfort zone, our safety net; if we are unwilling to act in faith, gutsy/gut-wrenching faith, we are, in actuality, robbing God of His rightful glory. James 4:17 states, "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."

I don't know about you, but all of this makes me a tad bit uncomfortable.

Ok, that was part one, part two is a little more personal; I'm actually just going to write out of a journal entry. God laid this on my heart after I got back from LA.

"My responsibility right now is to disciple, which I think is the equivalent to 'Apollos watered' in 1 Corinthians. Some plant seed, some water seed-all of us have different purposes. I think I am a better planter than water-er. I don't necessarily have that shepherding heart like Pastor Stephen, that fervency to disciple like PD, but I do know the great importance of discipling...I do desire to spark something-to birth desire, to open eyes to the truth, to open hearts to love, to bring souls to life-not at all by my strength but by the Lord's. So I think maybe I am more of a planter that a water-er...but right now, I am in a season of watering, of discipling. That is my current responsibility, thus my current 'holy calling.' That means I need to be discipling with my whole heart. So, be it on the street, at work, or in a store talking with a complete stranger where I am more naturally passionate or be it with my AC [small group] girls, my apartment girls, girl's Sunday school, or in class-may I be sensitive to the Spirit's calling, to the Father's voice. May I have divine appointments even with those in SCSL; may I be filled with expectancy in the season I am in currently."
Basically I felt like God was stressing the importance of bearing fruit in season and out of season, of living with a level of expectancy, an intensity of passion, and a sense of urgency no matter the season or time. I may have discovered a hidden passion for street evangelism ("evangelism" in the sense of just being a vessel of God's love to whoever "happens" to cross your path); but I can't jip the people God has placed in my life to disciple just because I don't feel a certain way.
And that is why its all about Him and His power, strength and righteousness-His kingdom.

Wherever he puts me, in whatever position, I just want to work for His glory, and His kingdom's cause.

Sorry this one is so long, I have a goal to keep my posts short-ish; obviously I'm not being very successful!

Have a wonderful first day of Spring!

I have caved...

I feel as though creating a blog is akin to buying a bubble dress. They really aren't the most flattering thing in the world, but everyone has one and seems to pull it off, so you get one too. I can't say that I own any sort of bubble-esque clothing, but I here by am starting my very own blog. I'm not quite sure what my definite purpose is in establishing this, but I am hoping that purpose will evolve as time passes. I do know that the last 2 years of my life have sequentially gotten better, and God has been moving in greater, fuller and more incredible ways each and every day. I have received revelation, inspiration, confirmation, confrontation, restoration, and every other God-given "action or condition" ("action or condition" is what the suffix "-ion" means, haha) you could possibly think 0f as I seek to serve Him with all I say and do.
I guess you could say that I hope this blog inspires you to allow God to do the same in your life in whatever capacity He desires.
I returned from working with the Dream Center in LA yesterday, and what I learned from the trip is partially embodied in a story told by the guest speaker, Pastor Bill Cornelius, at Angelus Temple Thursday night. God had called him to pray for 100 hours straight. The first 10 hours were spent asking God to do something big; the next 90 hours were spent under the realization that God was and is doing something bigger than he could ever imagine and all he could do is ask God to allow him to be a part.
That's basically where I am right now, I am realizing how much bigger God, His plan, and His bride is each and every day, and I just want to be a part of it.
I am from Kalamazoo, MI, I live in Columbia, SC, I just got back from LA, and everywhere I go there is such a vast need for love, for life and for truth. My mission is to follow God's voice with radical obedience as I seek to be a vessel of His life,His love and His truth in whatever corner of the world I am placed. All of this is only possible with the infilling, anointing and power of the Holy Spirit.
Francis Chan said in His book Forgotten God, "I don't believe God wants me (or and of His children) to live in a way that makes sense from the world's perspective, a way I know I can 'manage.' I believe He is calling me-and all of us-to depend on Him for living in a way that cannot be mimicked or forged."
Mother Teresa (who is basically one of my role models, as cliche as that may sound) said, "I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world."
This life is the life I desire to live. This blog is hopefully going to be a tool for you who read it (whether its 1 person or 1000) to live a life that gives hope to a needy world and praise to a more than deserving God.

I think that's all I have for tonight. I hope really hope I don't sound too cliche or cheezy as I write this blog, but I guess that's just something I'll have to risk! Vulnerability just has such a high price sometimes, sheesh!

Good night, all and thank you for listening:)