I want to thank you for supporting me with encouraging
words, prayers, and love. Ever since I came off of the World Race, my life has
been one roller coaster ride after another. First I spent 4 months in Africa
then I felt like I was supposed to go to Thailand for 2 years. God really spoke
to my heart, and I knew that I wasn't passionate about working with Burmese child
soldiers. I felt like God wanted me to
serve Him out of passion and not out of a place of religion. Then God made a
way for me to do the apprenticeship in October. I had the funds I needed to
serve in the office and help get others on the World Race. I also got to be a
part of an incredible community and church, relationships have been formed that
I will forever be a part of. I am so thankful for the time that I have spent
here!
The original plan was to continue my time here, and work
with the American Indian Missions Department, as I had stated in my last
newsletter. However, the course of events has changed once again. I love how
God works, and I love how when you live for Him, there is never a dull moment.
Most of you probably didn't know this, but my support account has been
completely drained. I have been working at the office for free, and have missed
3 paychecks. God has miraculously provided money for all of my bills and an
abundance of food. However, He has made it clear that my season in Georgia is
finished and it's time for me to return home. Once I embraced this decision,
the turmoil that I felt I was swirling in, has stopped. I once again feel
peace.....
I will be finishing out this month helping out in the office,
and I will be heading home to Miami, Florida the first week of February. I have
no idea what this next season has in store, but I am really excited to find
out. The plan, for now, is to spend some time resting and getting back to
health. I want to continue to pursue working with Native Americans, but I also
want to go back to teaching. So God-willing, I will be able to do both by
getting a teaching job on the Seminole Indian Reservation.
I ask that you would continue to keep me in prayer. Please
pray for doors to open up and that I would embrace each day of this season.
Thank you again for being such a strong support system for me, and please know
that I am always thinking of you.
I sat down, locked myself in my room, and had a heart-to-heart with the Father. He revealed the truth of my situation, and gave me a fresh perspective....
Combustion isn't a bad thing.
Zechariah 13:9:
I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will
refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my
name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'These are my people,' and
they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'
I am walking through the fire, and this flame is not on the surface level, like it was when I was on the Race. This combustion is taking place in the very depths of my being. Why? Because that is where my desire lays, and He is purifying my desire.
Being in the wilderness isn't a bad thing.
I recently listened to a sermon called Manifestations and Hiddenness by Graham Cooke. He said "God takes you to the wilderness when He is happy with you. In the wild, Jesus learnedhow to overcome the enemy and Himself. He came out of the wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit. "
Spiritual Warfare isn't a bad thing.
2 Kings 6:16
"Don't be afraid!" Elisha told him. "For there are more on our side than on theirs!"
God showed me a glimpse of what was taking place in the spiritual realm, on my behalf. He showed me angels being obedient to the Father and risking themselves for me. Then He showed me, sitting at my desk at work, throwing a pity party and crying. He said to me "Just say thank you. This is all for you.." Not only does He fight my battles for me, but then He rewards me with good things. How undeserving of His love we are, yet He lavishes us with it.
Hiddenness isn't a bad thing.
Luke 24:13-16
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
Luke 24:30-32
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31Then their eyeswere opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.32
They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he
talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
Hiddenness is about a season of revelation. God sometimes has to disconnect Himself emotionally, although He never leaves me, so He can reveal more of Himself to my heart. I had a really hard time accepting this at first, but now I embraceit as an honor. What a privilege to be chosen by the Father as someone worthy enough to hear the secrets of His heart.
He hasn't said specific things about what is coming this year.
However, He has said specific things about how I am to step into this year.
And I feel like this isn't just for me....it's also for YOU.
It all centers around TRUST.
What is trust?
It is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.
When I was a child, it was so easy to trust.
I usually didn't have to ask my parents where we were going, or how we were going to get there. I fully relied on them to get me to my destination, and to get me there safely.
I never thought twice about, if I would go hungry, the next time I sat down at the table. I was fully confident my parents would always provide for me.
I never worried about what was next....I just lived.
The Lord is asking us...to be like children again.
Love.
Laugh.
Live.
And let NOT your heart be troubled about what is to come...He WILL help us.
"I stand between the years. The Light of My Presence is flung
across the year to come - the radiance of the Sun of Righteousness. Backward,
over the past year, is My Shadow thrown, hiding trouble and sorry and
disappointment."
I pray that we will remember that this year is a GIFT. May we treat is as so, by loving more than we loved last year, and by being thankful for each day of life. May we remain as little children, and trust in a Heavenly Dad, who loves us more than we could ever fathom. HE WILL NOT LET US FALL.
Loving God, Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.
Close the door of hate
and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.
May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake.
Amen.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Merry Christmas...Many blessings over you this season : )
Check out this Christmas flash mob at the mall. I almost cried several times while watching it...it's so good!
This is the only way, I could write you this message, without Twitter cutting it short.
God was speaking to me about you. He wants you to know that you are His daughter, and He is a Father who unconditionally loves you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Even when you feel alone, He is still there with you. He sees you as a virtuous princess...full of beauty, that should be fought for by someone who is
Honorable
Trust-worthy
Noble
Has a heart of gold.
You are a precious jewel..a diamond. Rare and valuable, worth more than money can buy.
I pray that today, you feel overwhelmed by the love of the Father, and that this truth about how He sees you, makes a permanent mark on your heart.
Well...its been happening! The interesting part is, it has not been happening the way I expected.
I expected...
To be crying all the time.
To have my heart ache and ache inside of me.
To feel a lot of pain.
But.....instead:
I feel so much JOY!!!
I feel LOVE for people I have only ever had a brief encounter with.
I desire for every ounce of who I am to be replaced with LOVE.
And it has caused me to think so much about... YOU!
First,THANK YOU!... for supporting me and following my blogs. It's so difficult to express how much it means to me, that you find value in what I have to say, but it really does make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Next, I believe that there is so much power in prayer. I want to serve you by praying for your needs. So how can I do that?
Please comment on this blog with only your first name and your prayer request. I will be lifting your needs up in prayer for 30 days, and I will be praying for you at the same time each day....2:45pm EST.
I would absolutely LOVE to hear back from you!! If something has shifted in your life or if you received the healing, the job, or whatever your need was....please share it with me. I'm excited to hear how God moves in these next 30 days!!
If you don't feel comfortable, leaving your prayer request in the comment box, you can email me personally at meyas4@yahoo.com.
Here's a little snippet from 101 Inspirational Stories of the Power of Prayer:
The situation looked bleak-three hundred plus mouths are coming to be
fed in about an hour and a half and there's nothing to cook with.
There's no food.
"What I would expect Mother Teresa to do," Fr. Langford explained to me,
"was that Mother would pick up the telephone and call some of her
benefactors and mobilize them to find some way to feed her daughters.
Instead, her reaction-her spontaneous reaction-was to say to this little
one, 'Sister, you're in charge of the kitchen this week? Well then, go
into the chapel and tell Jesus we have no food. That's settled. Now
let's move on. What's next?'"
Lo and behold, ten minutes later there was a ring at the door and Mother
Teresa was called downstairs. A man she had never seen before was
standing there with a clipboard. He addressed her saying "Mother Teresa,
we were just informed that the teachers at the city schools are going
on strike. Classes have been dismissed and we have 7,000 lunches we
don't know what to do with. Can you help us use them?"
God provided for the needs of his children.
God providing manna, for the Israelites, when they were in the wilderness.
I was having lunch with Kelly Chadwick (She is a part of the leadership team, at work, who supports me spiritually and emotionally). She asked the question, "Why do we get surprised when God moves?" This question really stuck with me.
It's so simple for me to go to my earthly father when I have a need. I email him or call him, and confidently ask for what I need. Why?Because....
I know he loves me.
If he has it, he will give it, if I ask him for it.
He doesn't want to see me struggle and go without.
Me and my Dad : )
Well if he loves me this much...doesn't my Father in heaven, love me even more? Didn't He say I could boldly approach His throne?
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)
I love how Mother Teresa, didn't depend on her own efforts to meet this extravagant need. She simply, like a child, asked her Dad to provide....and He did!
Mother Teresa as a child.
It's so simple, why do we complicate His love, security, protection, and provision?
JUST ASK....and confidently wait on Him to supply.
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)
Papa,
Thank you for the way you love us. Thank you that You take such excellent care of Your children. Thank You that You supply all of our needs according to YOUR riches and glory. You're such a good Dad!! Papa, I need money to come in for my next paycheck. Thank you that it's on its way : ) In Jesus Name, Amen.
Sometimes I really dislike living off of support, but then I'm reminded abut Galatians 6:9.
This is for all of you, who have trusted God, to be your Provider.
And let us not be weary in well doing. For in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not.
Growing up, I was always told I needed to stay a virgin until I was married. However, I was never really told why, it was just understood, this is what good girls are "supposed" to do.
Well...epic fail in that department. Love will do that to you sometimes....
Let me re-phrase that, Lust will do that to you sometimes.
Love could not erase the shame I felt, for not waiting. It took me down this awful spiral of not being good enough, letting jealousy be the motivation behind my actions, and becoming a slave to sin.
But....
God is so much bigger than my circumstances and my sin. He found me, in the midst of my shame and feelings of being tainted, and He rescued me and redeemed me. He showed me how He saw me....through His eyes, I was:
Pure
Beautiful
Holy
Worthy to be pursued.
Worthy to be waited for.
A treasure of great value.
And it has changed my life. Now I CHOOSE to keep myself pure.
Why?
Because this is how I worship the Lord:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your
bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your
spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1)
Over the summer, a friend asked me, "Are you still saving yourself?" I said "Yes", but I really didn't know how to answer why I made this choice. I couldn't fully express it, but I found someone who can:
Why in the world, would you pray for a broken heart?
It was a warm, dark evening. I sat on the porch, listening to the sounds of the world, winding down from the day. As I sat there, I heard a still.small.voice.
He said to me....your heart is going to be broken. I am breaking it to make it bigger, so it can hold more love.
Love for everyone that you see.......
This is what I initially prayed for....to love the way that Jesus loves.....with all that He is.
But my heart can't hold this capacity of love right now, so like the muscles in our body,
He is training my heart, by breaking it down, so it can be built up.
Part of me is not looking forward to feeling so much brokenness. However, there is so much sweetness, that comes from having your heart completely undone. So THANK YOU Jesus, for what I'm about to walk into....I welcome it with open arms.
What an honor to weep alongside You for Your children.
I say Yes and Amen to what You want to do in me and through me.
