… 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.

Changes August 1, 2008

Ok, so I hope that I don’t go this long again without blogging. It overwhelms me to think what all I have not written about.

To start off – I am moving to Acworth in 15 days! AH! Ask me if I have packed one single thing….oh my word…no! I have been so stinkin busy…and I don’t see an end to the business! It should not be all that much stuff to pack but I want to take my time and get everything organized and labeled for when most of it goes into storage. I am moving in with my best friend Megan Lawson. I have no idea how long I will be there but I am totally going to take advantage of the fact that I will be able to really save up some money during this time.

Next on the list…I have just joined up with the Atlanta Encounter – Church4Chicks (check out www.church4chicks.com). Shelley Hendricks is a woman of God who has the heart to see women in the Atlanta area come to know Christ in a whole new way…and it’s exciting to hop on board with such an awesome team and the vision that God has given Shelley. Come to the kick off event on August 26th at Cumberland Community Church at 6pm!!

I had the spontaneous honor of going with Pastor JR and the Freedom Church staff to Elevation Church on Sunday. Words cannot describe all that I learned while I was there. I think all of us came back overwhelmed but with a totally different perspective that rocked our world. I am so excited to have the opportunity to serve as a volunteer in whatever capacity at Freedom because I believe in the vision that Pastor JR has and know that God is going to use him and Freedom Church in ways that we couldn’t even imagine at this point. Greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city!

So to sum up my life right now…I am just so happy about where God has me and where He is taking me. I have experienced a lot of changes in the last year and am about to experience even more…but it is not a scary thing when you have such an amazing God who knows exactly what you need in your life and when you need it. So may He make as many changes as He needs to in order for me to serve Him and be in the center of His will!

Monday… June 10, 2008

So yesterday was a fun and interesting day!

• Work - routine…except for the fact that I was falling asleep at my computer…lol
• Then it was off to Devin and JR’s house to watch Lexi and London for the night
• I saved JR’s hair before they left after he decided to try and cut it himself…it wasnt THAT bad though…ha
• Colored, played with playdough, watched Hanna Montana (yessss), etc.
• Met Steiny and discovered the TANNING BED in their front room…ahhh…I was so tempted!
• Mandy came over to hang out and then Kelsianne and Maddi came later once they got off work…Kelsianne is watching the kids today
• Held a scared and crying little girl during a thunderstorm…poor thing…
• Then had girl talk and chilled with M, M, and K…good times good times

I need yalls help to find me a place to move to up there…I will be up there almost every day this week. Well, I better get to workin…Come to the Freedom softball game tonight!! Love yall!

Change is coming… June 6, 2008

So I have been so bad at keeping up with this…I thought I would try to just sit down and update yall on some things.

First I have a prayer request (two actually)…the first one is for my grandma. Her health just seems to be going downhill. She is 85 and has gone through everything from heart problems to cancer to losing her vision…you name it, she has dealt with it. Just pray that God will keep her strong. Pray for my dad in all this too because he has already lost his father and he has been the only one of the children take care of my grandma since then. May God’s will be done.

Secondly, my aunt (my dad’s sister) with whom we dont really have a relationship with (she is the leader of a cult, does drugs, is in her 9th or 10th marriage, and has threatened to kill my mom, my sister and I) – she is in the hospital as well. When my dad called to let other family know about my grandma, we found out that she was being taken to the hospital right then. She has been unconscious and they said she is experiencing renal failure….not good. So please keep her in your prayers as well.

I have really enjoyed getting to know my friends at Freedom more lately. We have been hanging out for so long now but it hasn’t been til recently that I really feel like I have gotten to know them. God has really blessed me with an awesome group of friends and I just so thankful for that in my life!

On a personal note…I have really been feeling the urge to start really praying about what my next step needs to be…in life I guess you could say. I am so incredibly thankful for my job at Special Counsel and enjoy almost everything about it. The thing is that I know that God has called me to do something greater – or more kingdom minded. My desire right now is to be able to find a job in the Acworth area, move up there, and be able to really minister to the ppl that I along with many others at Freedom have been called to reach. So at this point, I am praying through whether or not that desire is in sync with where God wants me to be. I know I moved to the city for a purpose and see ways that he has been able to use me here but I wonder how long this season will last. I just feel like I am living two very seperate lives. So I would ask that you pray with me and for me that God would be very clear where He wants me and that He would provide accordingly. I have also considered going back to school…there are just so many options right now that I just want to make sure I don’t jump on just one because it sounds the best at the time. There is no safer place than being in the center of God’s will. (Todd if you are reading this…this is for you! haha!)

So I feel like Debbie Downer after writing all this but I honestly am writing this with a true sense of peace and joy in my life right now. I can tell that there are some new things coming shortly but as of now, God has not called me away from where I am. I just want to honor Him with my life. Period.

Well, I am off to meet my mom and sister for dinner at Stone Crest Mall – GHETTO-VILLE!!! No kidding! Love you all! – Even though I have absolutely no idea who reads my blog…haha. Awkward!

Pray for the Chapmans May 22, 2008

After seeing Ian’s and Eric’s status on Facebook this morning saying they are praying for Steven Curtis Chapman and his family…I went to stevencurtischapman.com to find out what was going on… and this is what I saw -

MARIA SUE CHAPMAN, DAUGHTER OF STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN, DIES IN ACCIDENT AT FAMILY HOME

NASHVILLE, TN…5/21/08… At approximately 5pm on the afternoon of Wednesday May 21st, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 years old and the youngest daughter to Steven and Mary Beth Chapman was struck in the driveway of the Chapman home in Franklin, TN. Maria was rushed to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Nashville, transported by LifeFlight, but died of her injuries there. Maria is one of the close knit family’s six children and one of their three adopted daughters.

My heart is broken for their family! In another article I read that it was one of the teenage boys that struck her in his car. I cannot imagine what he is going through at this time! I am just so sad for this sweet sweet family! Please keep them in your prayers!

 

Been a while… May 14, 2008

Wow…so I have completely neglected this for a while now! Things have just been crazy! But God is showing me a lot and I’m excited about where he is going to take me!

Mother’s Day was nice…I had not been home in a while so it was good to be home and just chill. I surprised my mom that weekend which made it even more fun.  I missed about half the service though because the ppl that usually bring my grandma forgot to tell her that they were out of town…5 minutes til the service started my dad realized it…and so I went and got her. lol

Other than that…I have just been really busy with work, I have started going to the gym, I have had fun getting to know a new friend , and have been continuing to be blessed beyond measure helping out at Freedom church. Life is GOOD. Which reminds me…I am so stinkin excited because our family is going to the beach for a week at the end of June! I can’t wait!!! You will get to see for once that my skin can be a different shade other than blindingly pale white! lol

Well friends…maybe something fun and interesting will happen in my life soon so I can write more. lol

my heart April 17, 2008

ok so hopefully I will not write like a million posts today but I just found this song in a blog that I wrote in 06 and it is exactly what my prayer is….these are awesome lyrics

Let me be in love with what you love
Let me be more satisfied in you
Forsaking what this world has offered me
I choose to be in love with You

Let me know the peace that’s mine in You
Let me know the joy my heart can see
For I have nothing Lord apart from You
I choose to call on Christ in me

For in the fulness of who You are
I can rest in this place
And giving over this, my journey, Lord
I see nothing but Your face
And i bow down
Humbly i bow down
Humbly i bow down
I bow down

Let me know that You have loved me first
Let me know the weight of my response
For You have long pursued my wandering heart
I choose to glory in the cross

:-) April 17, 2008

How weird that after my last blog right before Bible study………..we talked about marriage. We had a really good discussion! That’s all I’m gonna say about that.

Well, I gotta go….I don’t have much to say right now. Busy night and I hope it will somehow involve The Office….but I doubt we will be done with practice early enough. We shall see.

My goal is to do something today that will bring a little more fame to His Name!

Greater things are still to be done… April 16, 2008

I have just been seeking God lately about where He wants me to go from here. I mean I love my job and am content to stay here for however long He would have me here – but I just really feel like God is stirring up something inside of me that is preparing me for something new. I have just been praying for clear direction and guidance. My heart is in ministry – that’s why I moved to the city - to be a core part of another church plant. God had other plans for me which led me to Freedom Church which I am thankful for. But seriously, I want my life to make a difference for Christ – I want what I do to bring fame to His Name. Maybe God wants to grow me in the small environments before he can give me more…I don’t know. I just am finding myself desiring something greater, more kingdom minded to be a part of – job-wise that is. Until then, I can only trust God and seek His face – He is so beautiful and I am in awe of His love and provision in my life. I don’t know if any of this makes sense to anyone else…I am just kinda pooring out my thoughts. God has just been pointing my thoughts to the future a lot lately in my prayer life - praying about my career path, praying for my husband, praying for guidance and clarity even in the present, etc. …and so it’s got me thinking a lot.

Can I just get mushy and girly for a second….? I don’t know why now of all times in my life, but I have just really felt the need and desire to pray for my husband lately. It’s funny how much you can love someone that you don’t even know yet. But my heart has just been so heavy for him and desiring to meet him. I cannot wait to have someone to love, serve with and take care of….yes take care of – cook for, clean for, rub his feet, show respect to :-) ….that is how much I love him….and I don’t even know who it is yet! lol Obviously I am a true romantic and I love thinking about these things anyways…it’s just so cool to me that God cares about the specific little things. He knows exactly what I need and loved me enough to already pick that perfect person out for me before I was even born. How incredible!

Ok…I’ll stop….lol

I am looking forward to our Bible study tonight. Hopefully there will be no bird-killing this time…haha.

Last thing - I really like it when ppl comment…so if you have something to say….I wanna hear it.