Pure Joy

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

You know those times when God's Word just smacks you over the head? I had one of those tonight. I shouldn't be surprised. God does things like that. This week at church Matt Chandler talked about the authority of Scripture and how it is universal (not cultural or dated) and also how it is sufficient. According to Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

So on Sunday I remember thinking, yeah I have heard that God's word is relevant to my life and I know I have experienced that before but it just doesn't seem like it has anything to say about my situation right now. "It speaks vaguely about God's overall plan for your life...bla bla bla". All I have to say is be careful what you say to God because He WILL shine light on those areas where you are wrong. I don't think this verse (James 1:2-8) could be any MORE specific about my situation. Today after work I stopped by the bank to deposit a check and ended up opening up a savings account. It was really a blessing because I got to talk with the personal banker for almost an hour about finances and online banking etc. It was such a great time and I left encouraged and feeling a little bit further along in my journey to "maturity". Well when I got home I had a very "immature" moment and felt very discouraged just 20 minutes later. I went back to the "this is going to be a long year"... mode and lets just say I wasn't being joyful. Then I open my Bible and decide to read James for my B-study tomorrow night. The first thing I read: "consider it pure joy...". Yeah, Lord I don't want to. Keep reading. "The testing of your faith develops perseverance." But I don't want to persevere. I want to give up. Keep reading. "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."Boom. Thats it! I can't be mature by myself. I'm not going to wake up one morning (shouldn't this have already happened?) and be this Godly woman! First of all, it comes from God. There is nothing inside of me that is good, its all Him. And He is the one who is going to produce fruit in my life. My job is to keep pressing into Him even when I don't feel like it and allow Him to change me. Persevere. What a relief! I can't change myself, and when I let go and allow Christ to transform me that's when the JOY comes! And....how can I be transformed by Christ? By spending time with Him through His Word. 

Inspiration

I found this video about a couple who packed up and moved to Haiti to teach right before the earthquake happened. The thing I love about this video is the way God's hand was so evident in their lives! They were open to where He wanted to move them and now He is doing mighty things through them to bless a nation in crisis. This is such an example to me and I pray that I will be open to wherever the Lord takes me. What a blessing to be used by Him!!

Exciting news!!

First of all, I have been thinking about how I haven't been posting too much about what I have actually been doing on this internship so far. I have really spent the last month working on Social Media with GAiN and developing our Facebook page. I think I mentioned that in an earlier post, but some exciting things have come up that I want to share! 

Oct. 1-3 I will be traveling to Memphis, TN to do social media at a food packing event at Hope Presbyterian Church. We are hoping to create awareness for our page and gain more "fans". Hopefully we will be able to use facebook to track the food from the church all the way to the hands that will receive it overseas...but more on that later. Please be praying for this event, over the food that will be packed and the people who are doing the packing. I know that it is going to be an exciting time! 

Oct. 11-16 I will be traveling to Mount Joy, PA to spend a week at the Distribution Center at our October Packing Event. This is a whole week spent at the warehouse with thousands of volunteers and staff that come each year to pack different types of aid to be shipped around the world. I can't wait to be a part of this event and get to see another aspect of GAiN's ministry! We will be doing some Social Media stuff there as well so keep checking for updates!

And...I am going on my first overseas mission trip with GAiN Nov. 5-13 to Guatemala!! YAY!! We will be visiting schools and distributing Carepacks to the children along with some other ministry opportunities. I will continue to update as I learn more about the trip but please be praying for me as I prepare and also for the people we will meet. I can't wait!

Before the Throne of God Above

We sang this song in church on Sunday and I have been singing it my head ever since. The words are so powerful and a beautiful reminder of how much our Savior loves us. Enjoy!


Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on his hands,
My name is written on his heart;
I know that while in heaven he stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.

Because a sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the One,
Risen Son of God!

Behold him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I am,
The King of glory and of grace!

One in himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by his blood
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God
With Christ, my Savior and my God

Little reminders

Hello to all my readers! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have the best intentions of posting weekly, or more but I never seem to sit down and finish a post. But here I am and I wanted to share something cool with you. I might have mentioned this but I am working with Social Media here at GAiN. A large chunk of my day at the office is spent working on our Facebook page trying to connect with new people and coming up with fabulously creative posts. Well, the other day I was transferring photos from our old "group" (so outdated...come on facebook ;) ) to our new and improved "fan page". I was looking through the photos and came upon this one...

 At first I'm thinking...Cute hat...Cute shirt....I have that shirt...That is my shirt...That is me!! This picture was taken at the Dallas Winter Conference in 2008 (my sophomore year of college!) We had a day of outreach and partnered with GAiN to make Carepacks (school supplies) for kids in a neighborhood in Dallas. Then we went around the neighborhood and distributed the packs and shared the "Gospel Bead" bracelets. 

Here is the exciting part...this is the day that I decided to go into ministry. The exact day...crazy! I was going around the neighborhood with Paige Jarvis, Philip Pippin, and Cody Bell (who now works with GAiN too!). I remember so clearly sharing the Gospel bead bracelets with these sweet little girls and seeing their faces light up when I talked about Jesus. But my most vivid memory from this day is a little boy in a navy blue turtle-neck. I remember I walked up to the house and rang the doorbell. An older woman came out and when we explained to her what we were doing she called for her grandson to come meet us. He walked out with the sweetest little toothy smile and food all down the front of his turtle-neck. He was thrilled to receive the new pencils, notebooks, and other school supplies and he listened with rapture while I explained to him that Jesus loved him and died for his sins on the cross. We talked for a little while and said goodbye but as I walked away from that house, I started crying. (And if you know me at all you know this is not a rare occurrence) but

something happened to me in that moment. I knew that I wanted to share the Jesus with people for the rest of my life. And now, two years later here I am at GAiN. I had really forgotten that story until I found this picture. I thank God for the reminder of His goodness and provision in my life. He led me through so many things in these past two years but brought me to this place and seeing that picture reminded me that I am right where I am supposed to be!