The Lord's at Work!

The Lord continues to work in my life. We are still trying to work out details to try and bring a Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack to Olivet. We are hitting some bumps in the road, but I trust the Lord is faithful and I am not giving up yet. Please keep praying and passing the word along about this event. Melinda encouraged me yesterday to not give up and to continue to seek the Lord. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6).

This weekend I was able to spend time in Michigan with Rachel. It was so great to get to meet her family and to experience the love they have for the Lord and for one another. What a blessing it is to have people in my life to continuously point me to the Lord and remind me of His faithfulness.



Today I was sharing with my grandma some of the things that have happened in the last few weeks and she listened with such a caring heart and then she reminded me that God works for good in all situations. He sure does! At the time we may not be able to see it, but while we are in the midst of stuggles God is still at work and is preparing us for something greater.

My sister is home! It's the first time the whole family has been home since the 2 days we were all here in August. Although she is home it doesn't quite seem like it, she went to bed at 7:00! I am so grateful to have her home though and to have the opportunity to spend some time together.

This past semester my small group has been a huge part of my life. Going into the school year, I thought I was just committing to something where we would meet once a week and encourage one another and then go our separate ways. I NEVER imagined that it would end up being such a large part of my life. The girls in my group have become my closest friends. We lift one another up in prayer, we challenge each other and encourage one another. Each girl has such a precious heart and it has been such a joy to get to know each of them. Together we have been growing in our faith and have been able to be a support system for each other. The Lord is so good and I have been so blessed with the opportunity I've had to be a part of this group.

Something that has really been on my heart as break begins is to not grow complacent in my faith. I want this break to be a time to grow in my faith and to spend quality time with the Lord. Sometimes it can be hard when I'm not on a schedule, but it's so important to me that I spend this break embracing the Lord. I want to be transparent to those around me. I want them to see how much I love the Lord and all the incredible ways He is working in my life! I want to lead by example and for others to want what I have. I pray the Lord will provide opportunities for me to talk about all He is doing in me and that I can be an encouragement to those around me.



School and home are definitely two very distinct environments and sometimes it can be hard to continuously transition from one to the other. It is definitely a good time to catch up on the things I don't often have time for at school. There are so many things coming up in my life that the Lord is preparing me for and I trust He is will use this time to do that if I will allow Him to!

God is good!

Preparing and Waiting

This week I was reminded of the Lord's faithfulness and that we can have hope in Him.

I remember about 2 months ago when I decided that I wanted to do a Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack here at school. I was super excited about it for about a week, until I started talking to professors and others on campus who have a say in something big like this. After talking to them, I started doubting and thought maybe I should just give up. However, the Lord wasn't done with this project yet. He continued to put reminders in my way of my passion for this organization and for helping feed malnourished children. Then, I had someone come up to me and tell me that they wanted to do this event, it was then clear to me that I couldn't let people stop me but that I had to be obedient to the Lord. We have been discussing some fundraising ideas and planning to present the idea this week so that we can set a date. I am greatly blessed to have my wonderful friends support me and be willing to help with this. All of them have different gifts and ideas; it is great to be able to bring all of our talents together to work on this event! They have been so supportive through this. Not everyone wants to hear about my life and my passions or the things on my heart, but they are always so willing and eager to listen to me share my joys, which has been such an encouragement to me. I had kind of forgotten about how doubtful I was about this event happening until Melinda reminded me earlier this week and I then realized that the Lord is so incredibly faithful and that when He places something on our hearts He doesn't leave us to do it on our own.

Another thing that has really been on my heart is the season of Christmas. Sometimes it can be really hard to remember why we celebrate Christmas and it can seem like "that time of year again". This year I have really been trying to hear the story in a different light, I want to really understand what this time of year is about. When I was a kid I never could have explained advent to someone, all I knew was that we would light a candle on Sundays and open a gift each day to count down until Christmas. Well, it is way more than that! It is about the Lord coming to us, and even though we reflect on advent during this season we really should be living everyday in preparation for the Lord's coming. God is always with us, not just during this time but in every season. So, I guess this year I have been realizing that the Christmas story shows God coming to us and I have been reflecting on all the ways He has been with me in the past year and again how faithful He is. (Luke 1)

There are times when I begin to question God and whether He really knows what He is doing with my life. I look around and wonder why He has asked me to wait for certain things and then I realize that God is the perfect love and that He can do so much in my life if I will allow him to. He gave Zechariah and Elizabeth a baby in their old age. Zechariah needed proof and because he didn't trust God, his voice was taken from him until the day came when they had their baby. We can't limit God. We don't know what He is going to do in our lives. He may want us to go overseas, he may want us to move to the other side of the country, he may want us to go into a field where we may not be making much money. Who knows? But, because the Lord knows we have to be patient and we have to wait. Maybe for years, maybe for months. We can't be afraid to hope because we can't put a limit on God. God doesn't forget either so right now it may seem like he forgot about a certain area of your life, but He didn't! Maybe there are just other areas of your life He wants to work in first. I am continually learning about the love Christ has for me and how I can give Him complete control and place my hope in Him.

Hope in the Lord- Psalm 39:7