… September 8, 2008

This weekend I went to Athens to visit my family and to be there to hear a potential new worship leader for my dad’s church. I had a great time with them and enjoyed getting to just hang out and not have much of an agenda. We ended up shopping most of the time which was something I don’t do much on my own anymore for whatever reason. Fun fun!

Sunday evening my parents and some people from their church had plans to go to their associational meeting which was more just a big worship service rather than a business meeting. I decided to go and it was really cool because they had worship teams from a bunch of the different churches come a lead us in some worship songs. There was a black men’s ensemble, a koreans worship team and then the worship band from Midtown Bridge Church in Atlantic Station. The guy who preached was Tyrone Barnett – AWESOME communicator! God really spoke to me through him last night! He preached on Judges 6 and talked about how we need to get out of our pit of making bread (read the story and it will make sense) - in my case it is business and start doing what we know God has called us to do.

I have really been struggling lately trying to figure out what God has really called me to do. I love so many things and could easily go a number of different ways but my heart and passion is for the ministry. I just have no idea how God can and would use me. It’s easy to find areas to serve as a volunteer in the church but to be in fulltime ministry as a girl – without sounding too sexist or whatever, there just aren’t as many options out there. I am just praying hard core right now that God would reveal His plan for my life to me – even if it’s just piece by piece. I know I got a Psychology degree for a reason, and I know that I am where I need to be for now. I just wish I could see more clearly and know what God has called me to do in little further down the road.

I am excited to find out but once again it is something I am going to have to be patient about. I am so blessed to be where I am but I just know that God is calling me to accomplish bigger things for His kingdom. We will see…!

Once again…I’m being called to wait well.

Waiting Well September 2, 2008

I so wish I could get better at writing on here – my life has been crazy once again…

I am finally moved and living in Acworth. It is so much easier for the most part! Now I just have a long commute to work. But it helps to actually be living in the community that you are called to help minister in. Now maybe God will provide a job up here…all in His timing.

My sister and I were talking the other day about something that girls talk about all the time – how hard it is to wait on the man God has chosen for us. After our conversation she found an awesome article that talked about ‘waiting well’. I have figured something out about myself lately…I am an impatient person. I spend way too much time being anxious and thinking about certain things, when God has specifically put me in this ‘place of waiting’ for a reason. What was really ironic and cool was that the article mentioned the story about Lazarus in John 11 - something Pastor JR just spoke about at church. The writer of the article was talking about the fact that once Jesus heard about Lazarus, he did not go there right away…”Although Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days” (John 11:5-6). Mary even said to Jesus, “Lord if you had only been here…” God sometimes doesn’t give us what we request so he can give us something better. Jesus said the death of Lazarus “happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory for this” (verse 4). Granted, a healing would have been amazing. But Jesus had a bigger plan that couldn’t occur without Lazarus’s time in the grave. The article pointed out that even when the wait was purposeful, Jesus engaged in the pain it caused. He wept.

As the writer said at the end of the article – “now as I wait, I’m careful not merely to mark time, so preoccupied with what’s next that I miss out on what’s now. I’m striving to wait well. And part of waiting well, I’ve learned, is being open to God’s lessons about redemption, trust, compassion, and His higher purposes along the way.”

This is my prayer – that I can and will glorify God and be able and open to hearing from Him during times of waiting.