Journey of Faith

Today, I came across this story by Wilbur Rees. It utterly convicted me and I wanted to share it with you. "I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my should or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please." Wow. I'm not even sure that there are words that I can say to this. The first thing that crossed my mind was, "Lord forgive my evil heart for ever thinking this way." See here's the thing: it's not like I intentionally think this way. It's not like I even want to think this way. But I do. In the way I yelled at the person who cut me off in traffic. When I had a perfect chance to share the Gospel with someone who nee...

She is from Somalia and she was a happily married Muslim with children, when Jesus appeared to her in a dream/vision several times and told her that He was the Only Way. So she put her faith in the Lord and had the courage from Him to tell her husband about him. Her husband quickly rejected it and stopped speaking to her. For her safety, Mama A fled to Ethiopia. She was pregnant and had nothing to her name, but a local church took her in. They got her an apartment and two chickens to give her eggs. One day, she asked her neighbors for seeds to start a garden but they refused; since she was pregnant, they started it for her. Eventually, God blessed her with so much food that she was able to start a kiosk outside of her house, selling food to make money. One day while in church, someone tapped Mama A's shoulder and told her that somebody was there to see her. She turned around and there was her husband and children that she had left in Somalia. Afraid, she asked her husband if he...

This week has flown by. Here I am, sitting in a coffee shop, wondering how it got to be that I only have one full week left here in Clarkston. This time next week, I will be cleaning my apartment and packing to leave for debrief on that Monday. I have been slowly attempting to process and put together the things that God has shown me over the past (almost) two months. First, is that He works in the coolest ways ever. Every Tuesday night since we've been here, we have done a Kid's Club, where we do a Bible story, sing songs, and have a craft. Most of the refugee kids speak English, since they start going to school very soon after they arrive in America. However, almost none of their parents speak good enough English for us to communicate well with, which can be pretty discouraging. But what we have learned is that after Kid's club each Tuesday night, many of these kids will go back home and tell their parents the Bible story they learned in their own language. What an amaz...

Lately, God has been teaching me a lesson about finding peace. So often, I feel as though I am asking God to take away whatever hardship or stress that I am dealing with. Now, asking God to provide is not a bad thing, but I think it can be if you are spending too much time begging God that you don't learn to trust in Him and find peace, no matter what the situation. I've been reading through Psalm, and came across Psalm 23. Now, like many of you, I have read this Psalm countless times. However, one verse really stuck out at me. "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." -Ps. 23:5a And I realized something. God may not take away my hard times, but that doesn't mean that He does not want to sit with me and have me relish in His presence. He wants me to stop, right in the midst of the chaos and enjoy Him. I do not need to have a peaceful life in order to have peace; it does not depend on my surroundings. No matter where I am, I can stop and have...

This summer has made me realize so much. Today, as I'm sitting here on the Fourth of July, I realize how blessed I am being an American. Working with refugees has given me an even greater appreciation for how great this country is and how many people even to this day are willing to give all they have in order to make it here. They don't have anything but the clothes of their backs and a dream of a better life in our country. It makes me stop and think of how much easier I have it. I was born here, speak the language, and have just about every opportunity I could think of, and can get it a lot easier than my lovely refugee friends. Yet they do not complain. They are simply grateful to have a chance. What would my life look like if I lived it more like that? Further, how could I use what I have to make their lives better? I just read a book that I would highly recommend, called "More or Less" by Jeff Shinabarger. This book addresses all of the excess we as Americans ...

It is incredibly hard to believe that I am halfway through my journey here in Clarkston. As I sit here in Panera, it is still hard to process that half of my time here is up. The Lord has taught me an incredible amount of things in the first half of this journey, and I am excited to see what He will continue to teach me. I have a sneaking suspicion that this second half is going to fly by, much like the first half has. I'm praying that God will use me however he sees fit over these next four weeks. But now, I would like to shift the focus off of myself. One of my dear friends "I," who I have worked very closely with over this past month works for this incredible organization called Plywood People. This organization hires refugee women, much like herself, who would otherwise have an incredibly difficult time finding work. The company trains women to take old billboard materials and "upcycle" them into various bags, wallets, cases, and other things. Not only doe...

Being in Clarkston has been a whirlwind of crazy. It has convicted me, challenged me, and changed me. Convicting me. I have been convicted time and time again of my lifestyle of complacency. Sure, I go to church. Sure, I serve. Sure, I'll tear up a little at a video of a hurting child. But holy cow, being on the mission field has been a wake-up call. I have SO MUCH. I care SO LITTLE. If I truly loved like Jesus, would I really be sitting around in a comfort-filled life, thinking about how giving a 10% tithe is really taking a dent out of my already small paychecks? NO. I would be living on that 10% and giving the other 90%. I would be giving not just with every paycheck, but with every day. I wouldn't secretly scoff at the homeless person begging for change, thinking that they probably put themselves in that situation. I mean seriously, who do I think I am? Challenging me. Like I mentioned before, I've gotten to a fairly complacent life. I let Jesus convict me just enou...

This week, I have been overwhelmed by so many feelings. For starters, I have been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of need that I encounter on a daily basis. I know that would sound obvious, seeing as I’m working with refugees. However, it still amazes me. It also saddens me that so little is known about Clarkston and even less being done to help these people. I’ve been in prayer, trying to figure out what it is that God may have me do to help change this. I’ve also been overwhelmed by the goodness of God. My friend “I” has recently come to the Lord and it has been the coolest thing to watch and be a part of her growth. We have started participating in a Bible study with her, going through the book of John. Watching her realize that she too has the Holy Spirit in her and what that means has been a blessing to see. Lastly, I’ve been overwhelmed with a sense of peace. Last night, we had some fellow American Christian friends around our age over for a game night. Until last ni...

We sing things like "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the water." But when it comes down to it, do we really mean it? Would you be willing if God asked, to deplete your retirement funds to pay off your debt, sell virtually all that you own, and pick up your family to move to a country that is hostile to missionaries in order to spread love in Jesus' name? Would you be willing to pay one month of rent for a single mother of three, who has no income and speaks no English? Would you by a couch for a lady who had to sell hers to help make ends meet? I don't ask those questions to provoke guilt, but because they have made me question the size of my faith. Of course, the natal answer to those hypothetical questions is, "Yes, of course I would, if God wanted me to." However, none of those questions are hypothetical. The last two are very real needs that I have come across in meeting new friends. And the first question is a pictur...

I have always prided myself on being someone who loves change. However, in these few days that I have been serving in mission's I have found that that's not entirely true. I love change, when it's on my terms. I love to get in the car and go on a road trip, or visit a new museum, and see new places. But when it comes to change that is out of my control? Well that is a different story. These past few days have been stretching. I have had to adapt to things that I would not normally choose to. I've battled terrible headaches, lack of sleep, amongst other things that would normally make me into an altogether unpleasant person. But, I have been striving to not let these things take me over. I have been learning and growing. God uses the moments where we are at our worst to manifest His Glory at its best. Over these next two months, I will have a lot of things that are out of my control. I will not get to do things as I would normally choose. I will be trying things that m...

So there has been a question going through my mind lately. It is one that is so simple, yet so dynamic. Who do you say Jesus is? Is He just that cliche Sunday School answer? Is He your life on Sundays, and for your five-minute devotional Monday-Saturday? Or is He the breath you take, encompassing every aspect of your life?

Just a quick thought for today: If I am wholly pursuing God and He is wholly pursuing me, image the explosion when we collide.

So today, I just started reading through the book of Exodus. And in chapter three, I came across the portion where God appears to Moses through a burning bush. Now, I've heard this story a thousand times, between Sunday School, VBS, sermons, etc. But today it shone through new light for me. Take verses 5-6: "'Do not come any closer,' God said, 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.' Then he said, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.' At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God." -Exodus 3:5-6 Wow. Moses was afraid to look at God. At first, we may think this a bit odd. But think back to the context. God had just appeared to Moses through FIRE. Any God who comes through fire is not a God who plays it safe. Clearly Moses has realized this. But have we? I mean, give it some serious thought. Do we ever realize just what God is capable of...

"Pride comes before the fall." -Proverbs 16:18 I think that sometimes, God lets us fall flat on our faces to remind us of just how small we are. Ironically enough, that always seems to happen after a season of me thinking that I'm doing pretty well. There's the key problem. I can't do well on my own ever. I need God to succeed. He is the very essence of who I am and there is no way that I could ever survive, much less be successful in my endeavors without Him. However, I forget that from time to time. So yes, I fall on my face sometimes. I screw up and my ego takes a bruising. But the best part about that is that every time it happens, God is there. He picks me up and dusts me off, showing me his love, grace, and forgiveness. He doesn't throw an, "I told you so," in my face. He just loves me. How incredible is that? The God who lets me learn hard lessons also helps me recover from them. I serve a truly awesome God.