New Website of Interest

One of my friends told me about pinterest.com, and it has so many great ideas! I found some really cute ideas for when I start teaching and some other DIY stuff and recipes. Check it out!

Last Night

I have a test in a few hours and I cannot focus for anything! I had to do the hardest thing in my life last night, but I'm not going to come out and say what I had to do for respect for the other person, but I'm sure its not too hard to guess. For the longest time, I have felt like God was telling me something but because I have been too stubborn to listen to Him, I ended up causing myself and others way too much pain. There is nothing that was said or done to make me initiate my actions last night except for God. God has put that feeling deep inside me, but for so long I have tried to hide it and run away from that feeling because I wanted to do my own thing. Last night, I exploded inside because I know that I can't keep doing things my way. If it were my choice, I'd still be doing my own thing. Ultimately, I was put on this earth for a purpose. This life does not belong to me, but to my creator, and I can't continue to live for myself anymore no matter how much pain or hurt I'm experiencing or will experience. God took those nails for me, so I owe Him everything.

Its only been a few hours, and without me constantly depending on God right now, I would literally be a complete wreck. God is sustaining me and upholding me. I don't know if people will understand my decision or if I'll even have support. All I can do is continue to rely on God.

The Little Things

Its so easy to get caught in the daily cycle of life. I get up, get ready, go to classes, go to work, and see my boyfriend. Since school has been back in session, I have been so busy almost every single week. Its hard to fit in time to do other things, but somehow I still manage to. Through this, God has shown me his grace and sovereignty in my life.

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to work at a day camp for people with special needs. I had to volunteer for my service learning class I am taking. When I first arrived, I was nervous because I have never spent much time around special needs people. It broke my heart because I felt so unfair for me to be normal. However, I began to talk to them and get to know some of them individually. I was hoping that through this experience God would show me his glory, and He did! A thought came to my mind about Genesis 1:27, "God created man in his own, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them." We are all created in God's image and this verse gave me the strength to get through the rest of the time. I felt like I created bonds with some of the campers!

Also, last week and the beginning of this week I was so worried and nervous about teaching my first lesson to my first grade class that I am observing in. I knew that God was with me the entire time, and that gave me the strength to stand on when I got frustrated or unsure of how to handle certain situations. Overall, I felt happy about my first lesson. There are things I have to work on, but it assured me that teaching is what I am supposed to be doing!

Even through some of the simplest things in life, God is still present and His glory shines!

A Sweet Memory

Last weekend, my dad's side of the family had an Easter get-together at the lake. It was the first time that I had seen some of my relatives in a while. Just like all our family gatherings, we had so much food and dessert! We played games, acted crazy, and went on a hike (got lost and had to hitch hike back).

The most memorable moment was when my grandma prayed to bless the food. My grandma has Alzheimer's. She can on occasion recognize faces, but she has trouble even putting a sentence together now. However, they asked her to pray to bless our food and she agreed to say it. To my surprise, she was talking to God, making almost complete sentences that made sense. It really touched my heart. I realized that no matter the condition we are in we can still go to God to talk to Him and it all makes sense to Him. He knows exactly what is on our hearts. It was amazing and God blessed my heart that day!

Costa Rica-Summer 2010

Last summer I had the opportunity to go on a missions trip overseas to San Jose, Costa Rica. San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica, and it is a well-industrialized city! Our group from Go Tell Ministries stayed at the Score International Villa. We were lucky because we were provided with hot water, nice beds, electricity, and hot meals. I felt guilty because most of the people we witnessed to while we were there probably did not have most of these things. We stayed there for a week and it was a very eye-opening week!

The first few days there we were able to go into downtown San Jose and pass out tracks! It was an intimidating experience at first because most of the people in our group knew very little Spanish, and communicating with people was a challenge. We had a few translators that allowed us to share the Gospel to these people. Some were receptive, and some were not. We also made and gave bracelets to children. The bead on the bracelets represented the plan of salvation. The children loved them!

The first night of being there, we made food bags for the homeless. We went to downtown San Jose but it was the rough part of the town. When we pulled up to the location of where we were going to be passing the bags out, I was scared! That's when it became clear to me that sharing God's Word to other's is not about being comfortable. It's about stepping out of your comfort zone. When we got off of our bus, we had to put our backs to the wall for security reasons. As soon as we got off the bus, we were flocked with homeless people. They seemed to come from no where. Most where high or drunk, and they were begging for us to give them more than one bags. They were very thankful for what they got. It broke my heart to know there are people living in that kind of situation.

We got the opportunity to visit a village. I was stunned. I knew people lived in poor conditions, but to see it in person was a whole different view. Families of about 8 lived in a tin shack of about 50 square feet. We took them food, and spread the gospel with them. To see people with so little made me truly realize how blessed I am! The thing that shocked me most was that even though they had so little, they were happy! It opened my eyes to how materialistic we are as Americans!

One day we drove an hour to an orphanage. We got to spend two hours with the children at this orphanage. The children were ecstatic to see us. Even though communication was limited, we had so much fun with all of them! We danced, played chase, played a game of baseball (just for fun), and did a Bible story with them! I wish we could have stayed longer!

We also drove an hour to a church to reach out to the neighboring community to invite them to a movie night at the church. The movie was of the life of Christ! We also went to that same church on Sunday morning. God was definitely moving in that church!

I'm so glad I was able to go! My fear of flying was conquered, and I'm anxious to go again soon! Seeds were planted in San Jose, Costa Rica!!!

Back to Blogging

So I admit, I only got this account because I had to create a blog account for one of my classes last year. But, I do enjoy writing sometimes, so I'm going to try to get back into that. Since my last blog last year, a lot has gone on in my life.

First of all, I have had an amazing boyfriend for almost a year and a half now (which is my longest boyfriend ever). We have been through many up's and down's but we have definitely come a long way in our relationship. Seeking God in a relationship is one of the hardest things to do, but it gets easier and easier every single day! I thank God for him!

I finished my first year in college! I never thought that day would come. I only changed my major once (from psychology to education). I love the education program, and I am so excited about being able to work with children one day. My most recent excitement is qualifying for the education honor society. I'm so ready for graduation day, though!

This past summer, I had the opportunity of a lifetime. I got to work with Go Tell Ministries at a summer camp for four weeks. I worked with teenage students from all over the U.S. I even got the opportunity to lead some to Christ!!!!!! It was AWESOME! To make this whole experience even better, I went on my first missions trip over seas. The Go Tell Staff went to San Jose, Costa Rica. It was incredible and I'm dying to go back!

My sophomore year in college has flown by and now I'm almost a junior in college. God has been so good to me this year (and every year). I know he has amazing things in store for the next fews years in college!