12 days

In twelve days the short term missions team from Gospel Baptist Church will be leaving for Canterbury, Jamaica. We will be there for a week doing various things with the Jamaican people, such as: VBS, service projects, and going to the orphanage. I am very excited about this trip, and though I feel that I don't have much to offer, I'm going to hand over all that I have to God and ask that he will use me to reach someone in Jamaica. My prayer for this trip is that God would help not only me, but the team as a whole to let go of the things that we may have in our minds as being right, or what we are supposed to do (based on our plans) and be open to his leading. I want to be able to do things that I feel God leading me to do, even when it doesn't necessarily make sense to me. I want to have an open heart that is sensitive to God's small whispers.

Please pray for me, the missions team, and the people in Jamaica. Pray in the days leading up to the trip that God would prepare the people's hearts, and prepare the team for the trip ahead. Pray during the week of the trip that God would keep us sensitive to his leading and that we would remember that his blessings often come through the things that don't turn out "perfect" in our eyes, instead of when everything goes as planned. Pray that the people of Jamaica would have tender hearts and that they would realize their need for Jesus and ask him into their heart as Lord and Savior.

Your prayers are appreciated!

Phillipians 4:6,7
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." NLT

Check out the Gospel Baptist Church Missions Blog!

I Want To Be Reckless

At this particular time in my life there is a lot going on. I'm in my second (and final) year of school, which is prooving to be quite stressful and somewhat tough. In with that, Ben is up at Liberty and I miss him terribly, and I am working diligently on wedding details and trying to get everything ready. The realization that the wedding is only 6 1/2 months away and I still have quite a bit to do is starting to sink in. I guess that all of that could get quite discouraging and overwhelming, but God is proving each day that His word is true and he is giving me the strength to make it through.

"Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary, No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."       Isaiah 40:28-31 NLT

 I have been reading the book Reckless Faith by Beth Guckenberger for the last two weeks. This book was a recommendation by my Aunt Leah, and I am so glad that I have taken the time to read it. The book is a compilation of stories from her time in Mexico working with orphans. It tells how God led her, and how when she had reckless faith that God showed up and showed off. The things God asks us to do don't always make sense, but I really want to have the reckless faith it takes to let go and be led by God.

I'm getting my practice in on reckless faith, and I have a feeling that I'll be getting even more in the near future. Since Ben and I will be getting married in May (two months before I finish school & while he is just ending his first year at Liberty), there are a lot of things still up in the air as to where I will be able to find a job, and where we will be living, but Ben and I are pray for God's guidance and wisdom to make the right choices as we enter our marriage. We as a couple have to have reckless faith and trust that God will provide me a job and show us where he would have us to go, whether it be somewhere in North Carolina, Virginia, or all the way across the country in Oregon. The coming months will definitely prove to be a time of trusting for Ben and I.

I want to live my life with reckless faith, letting go and letting God do the leading.

Pumpkin Time

Ben and I have made it a tradition to carve a pumpkin each October, but not just any kind of carving, a Christian themed pumpkin. This year Ben surprised me with a white pumpkin, which I found really neat :). This is the fourth one that we have done together. Before we have done a cross or a Jesus fish, those types of things. This year we decided to put the symbols for Alpha and Omega on our pumpkin. Our God is the beginning and the end. He is the magnificent creator of the universe, and one day he will be coming back for his children. Because of him we do not have to fear death, we can live eternally with him! Thank you Jesus!