God is Infinite. He is Everything Good, Beautiful and Majestic

I Can Hold

I Can hold a flower in my hand

Inspecting its bud and bloom

But to understand it is something new.

I can hold a kitten in my hand

Caressing its purr and fur

But to understand it, I wouldn’t endure.

I can hold a diamond in my hand

Admiring its sparkle and shine

But to know its timeless mystery,

I’m doubtful to find.

I cannot hold the ocean

But I can see its waves and roars

Never comprehending what’s beyond its massive shores.

I cannot hold the sky

But I can see its clouds and sun sink and rise

Always wondering how its colors devise.

And how much less

Can I hold You in Your Might and Power too -

For to understand You, You wouldn’t be You.

The Girl’s Brigade

The local outreach that I am involved in at my Discipleship Training School is called the Girl’s Brigade, and this week I had my first day helping out. I was assigned to the junior class, which is full of little girls between the ages of 6 and 10. I was a little apprehensive at first, but when the girls came thundering in the small gym of the church, my worries soon dissipated. Me and two other girls from my school were introduced to the giggling group and we dove into helping them with their bible studies, crafts, and games. They are all just as sweet as could be, skinny in their school uniforms, long hair flowing free on their faces, and their bright eyes simply glowing with happiness. They liked to take turns dragging each other all over the floor which resulted in dust spots all over their blue jumpers. I was exhausted for the first hour just trying to keep up with them all. They love to crazily run around the gym screaming at the top of their lungs, playing tag or something silly like that. Me and another girl were soon voted as the “piggy backers” and we always seemed to be giving girl after girl numerous piggy back rides. Soon, I found out what really got the girls excited. The literally all loved to dance! We began dancing with the girls, and teaching them different steps. They couldn’t get enough of it. Since they are all from Northern Ireland they could of course do Scottish and Irish dancing. A whole line of them found it fun to show me all of their dances in unison. They even taught me a couple of steps. At the end of my three months in the Girl’s Brigade, me and another girl will have taught the girls two dances to perform at “the Display.” We have already started to choreograph the dances. I love these girls already, and I can’t wait to go back the next week, and the next, and the next. I just hope I can remember all of their names! God’s definitely put me in the prefect place for my local field assignment. I have much to learn in spite of all I will be teaching from bible studies to dances.

The Life of the Cross

Carry the Cross

A Rhythm pulsates

A warmth spreads from the Lifeless

A Pain births a deliverance

 

Pick up the pain, the grief, the Cross

Follow the Light, the warmth you lost.

What is real beauty without a cost?

 

The brokeness creates a bigger Well

To draw strength and love as well

The deeper, the more to draw fom such a darkened swell.

 

And we can say we relate to the world,

We can say we’ve been down this path

That also leads up to Heaven’s laugh!

So many people see only death on the cross. “Pick up your cross and follow Me.” Surely, Jesus was trying to tell us that there is more than simply death on the cross; the resurrection and the life of Christ happens on the cross everyday, and in all of our lives. The question is, how do we carry our crosses in this life giving way? As a christians and most especially as missionaries, we should be able to relate to the pain of the world, and realize that there is life on the cross. The cross in every life is the pain one endures. If we can figure out how to “pick up” that pain, grief and sorrow, we would be able to help the world that is suffering itself. If there is pain, there is much to give. The cross is seen all around us, in nature, in music, in the birth of a child, in everything. My lecturer for this week said “The tension in the strings of guitar make its sound beautiful.” In the midst of pain, there is beauty, and there is beauty in the midst of pain.

There’s No Mistaking the Color Green…

Finally in Northern Ireland, I look around me and all I see is green, green and more green. It’s truly a scene that cannot be captured by a camera. Only the human eye, made by God’s gentle hand, can full encompass the beauty that only God’s mighty hand could have created. It’s like I’ve stepped into anther realm. I step outside my front door and the beauty is something that you can’t help but stop and notice. The people here are so warm, and friendly; I’ve already been invited to tea by a nice lady who lives down the street from the base.

Finally arriving in Northern Ireland, and getting a barring on my surroundings, I then was introduced to the other students in my school. Most of them come from America, and the others come from places like Australia, Israel, Canada and Holland. The first week, we concentrated on getting to know each other. So, after orientation and registration, we went to a camp just outside of a little town, just off the coast of Northern Ireland. We braved the wind and freezing rain as we got to know each other in the dirt in grime of situations. We built rafts with our own hands and rowed down the river in them, we did ropes courses, archery, night walks in the dark muddy forests, and at night we told each other our life stories. It’s was so amazing to hear how God had brought each and every one of us to the school, to grow closer to Him, and to learn to serve with each other. I’m already surprised at how much in common I have with the other girls here. Surely, every person who is here is here because God wanted them to be here.

This week we learned about a lot of the Irish History so that when we are on our local field assignments, we know how to relate to the people, and build better relationships.

As for the local field assignments, I will be working with the “Girl’s Brigade” which is a ministry that involves girls between the ages of 2 and 4 and 5 and 8. We will be spending quality girl time with them every Friday night, teaching them about the bible, and about Jesus. At the end of the lecture phase in three months, the girls will put on a big production themselves. Therefore we get to teach them skits, songs, dances and poems to recite. I am so excited to meet these girls. God has literally given me the perfect outreach during my weekends here, and I couldn’t be more grateful to Him for that. I’ve also been assigned to kitchen duty. I LOVE to cook….

This weekend, I will be thinking about which country to go to after the first three months. I have three choices to make. I’m excited to see which one I feel I should want go to, and I will let everyone know as soon as I find out!

My First Day in Ireland

To see more pictures of my first week in Ireland click here.

“A Penny to God is like a Thousand Dollars”

With God, all things are possible. This is really a true statement, especially when it comes to making me believe in my heart what I doubted from the beginning. Oh sure, I’ve heard stories of missionaries and people who personally told me how God has provided for them, miraculously even. From spiritual warfare, to finance and even health. I doubted whether God could do something miraculous in my own life. In the little things, we seem to give credit for our blessings on the everyday coincidences. But really, they are from God. How can we believe that they are not from Him, when He holds the very fabric of life together? Without Him, the world would unravel at the seams and we would be just a lumpy mess of dead cells and material. Ew. It really takes the creative hand of God who, like an artist, pieces together what had first seemed impossible to us. All the pieces work together, not one being able to stand on it’s own. Just like a tree that’s connected to it’s leaves, to it’s roots, to the ground and the ground connected to the oceans – it all fits, and as a result it seems to sing with the most beautiful voice in all the heavens.

“Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He(God) sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and it’s people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
He brings princes to naught, and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
No sooner are they planted,
no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground,
than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
‘To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?’ says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the Heavens: who created all these?
He who brings out the starry hosts one by one,
He calls them each by name.
Because of His great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing”(Isaiah 40:21-26).

What I am trying to say is, my beginning this journey with YWAM would not have been possible without those of you that God used to help me. My pastor last Sunday said something that I will not forget. “Nothing can happen in the Kingdom of God without someone first giving.” This includes not only finance, but wisdom, advice, encouragement, prayer, strength, and love. A week before my DTS begins I was wondering how I would pay for it all. Weeks before I was wondering if I could ever stand strong through all the changes and the future that has no firm handle for me to grasp onto. I shouldn’t have worried, for God came through like a hero, through all of you who helped. For He knows what is to come. There is still a need for the remaining weeks of my DTS and my first months at the University of the Nations. And since this past weeks events, visibly seeing the hand of God help me, I know that everything will be there. In finance, in prayer, and in anything else needed. Who was I, to even begin to doubt? If this is God’s will for me, a penny truly is a thousand dollars to God.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?…Oh you of little faith…so do not worry…But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself”(Matthew 6:26-34).

What good will I do worrying about such things like food, and finance, and clothes? If I am seeking His face, His will, and His love, He will clothe me with much more than mere clothing, but with His precious, mighty armor, to stand up against this world, and dive head first into the ocean of everything that He is.

Rolling at the Speed of Life

Life seems to start rolling at in incredible pace when you least expect it. Even when you prepare for it, you never seem really ready. Just, prepared. In the few months of transition between my high school graduation and going to the University of the Nations to receive training for life as a Christian, I thought my time would be just that: a transition. On the contrary, it was so much more than that. I didn’t spend three days of every week at my church just to be present. I learned so much and was forever blessed by the people who serve at Trinity Christian Fellowship. I didn’t just spend a year earning money at Books for Less and how to shelve and organize books. I made life long friends and mentors that I will always be indebted to for their counsel, help and friendship. I didn’t just dance at a dance studio and in the Adoration Dance Company to stay fit and have fun. I met inspiring people who dance with more passion in their hearts than any I had met in in my 16 years of dancing. I learned so much from them. I’ll be leaving each of these groups with in imprint of their impact in my heart. God does not leave the still moments to be stagnant and unproductive. He takes every moment, every experience, and every seemingly useless time, and makes it into something that we never expected.

A Dance to Remember

The weeks before my Discipleship Training school I spent some of my time getting to know my teachers, Ms. Dorinda and Ms. Amy, at the dance studio and in Adoration. I didn’t learn how to dance, so much as learned something so much more important. I learned that dance is the outward expression of inward emotion and found myself realizing just how much God loves it when we dance for Him. I learned how dance is used and encouraged in the bible as worship, praise, communication, celebration, and spiritual warfare. Dance is being restored to the original purpose that God created it to be. But “God desires the dance of the restored more than the restoration of the dance”(Ann Stevenson). Ms. Amy and Ms. Dorinda focused on that a lot of the time, and as result our dancing showed the evidence of our hearts.

(Adoration dancing at an assisted living facility)

Before coming to This Studio, I did not really know how God could possibly use dance in the world than for anything other than entertainment. Little did I know that Adoration would give me a foundation to build upon, in restoring dance to God’s Kingdom for His sake.

(The senior company of Adoration)

Ms. Amy and Ms. Dorinda’s instruction blessed me more deeply that I can express. Just the example of their passion, commitment and surrender, and also of the girls in Adoration, convicted and encouraged me every time we met. We shared our lives, and our hearts; I was able to connect with these girls on a deep, kindred level. I regret very much having to leave them.

(Me with the “Tiny Dancers” of the Apprentice Company)

Lets See, How Many Books Can We Cram into One Little Store?

I hate working at food places. And I love books. The quiet, peaceful place and no one repeatedly asking “Can we have more straws, and napkins?” No ketchup on the floor, and no smelling like french fries after work. This nightmare replays itself over in my head on occasion and so I all the more thank God for the amazing job that He has given me over the past year and a half. I worked at Books for Less, who not only have GREAT deals on new and used books, but like me, are also very passionate in what they believe in. Me being very outspoken and opinionated myself in Truths that Evolution is a lie and Jesus is the only way to Heaven, I loved working there. Not only did God provide me with income, but He surrounded me daily with strong Christians who gave me more advice and counsel than I can adequately thank them for giving. I can’t believe I am leaving them, for my managers Bryan, Jack, and Paul became more to me than employers, but mentors and friends as well.

(Bryan and Paul)

My assistant manager, Angela, became a kindred friend that was unexpected and she made the book store so much fun. We laughed a lot, is an understatement!

(Me and Angela)

And I can’t forget Deanne who seemed to be like a magnet to books out of place, or Colby who enjoys reading the books more than putting them away! But who can blame him, besides, he makes up for it with his speed!

(Here is Colby sorting the Mysteries)

I am forever indebted to this book store. I even dressed up as an elf at Christmas for them, for it was the least I could do for all that they’ve done for me letting me work at literally the best job I could ever imagine!

I’ll miss working there. Organizing, alphabetizing, telling jokes, finding books, reading books, and my favorite: having theological and philosophical discussions. I’ll miss Angela’s laughter and sweet heart, Deanne’s sense of humor, Paul (who’s really the boy who cried wolf), and his ability to teach God’s word , Jack’s endless basin of information, Colby’s smile, and Bryan’s open, genuinely sincere spirit who never wasted a moment to give help or just to talk. Goodbye Books for Less, I’ll miss you! (But you haven’t seen the last of me – I’ll be back to visit….)

(Me as an elf doing what I can’t believe I did….)

Trinity Christian Fellowship

(The awesome College and Career small group)

I’ll miss my family at Trinity, and even though I am leaving, they will always be my family. Especially my small group that met on Monday Nights at Pastor Aaron’s house. We had such fun times, staying up till after midnight playing Phase Ten, eating spaghetti and Danish pancakes (I like to call them blinchikis), having great bible studies, and precious worship times (on the roof of Aaron’s house no less). There’s something about a group like this that makes you glad you’re alive and comfortable with who you are and your growth with Christ.

H2O, the youth program on Wednesday nights has been something I always looked forward to. The kids have so much potential and they are fun to hang out with. I got to even help teach the middle school a little with Cindie, Jeff and sometimes Angela. That opportunity taught me a lot about teaching and maturity.

I became part of the Praise Team as well, and for a group of musicians, we’re more like a “band of worshipers” than anything else! Susan, who leads the praise team taught me so much with my voice and guitar that I am forever indebted to her. Just her example of loving God gave me something to look up to and stride towards. Worship here is always incredible.

There is an amazing spirit at this church, and I will miss it very much. And now I am off to a distant land, but I hope that everyone remembers that they haven’t heard the last of me! We are still all dedicated to giving our life and talents for the same God who connects us all through His immense, unfathomable love.

Unwanted Shame…and Fear

(Photo from mini series on Human Trafficking)

We thought that slavery had been abandoned years ago. Yes, in many countries it still exists, but in America, such a thing is never even considered and looked down upon with the utmost condescension. We pity those who still practice it. Yet in some small corners of America are the hypocrites. Slavery does indeed still exist and it is being bought and sold at a fatally dangerous price, right under our very noses. It seems that there are underground organizations selling and buying one of two of God’s most precious creation: girls. And for nothing more than to quench the ever growing rise of lust and greed that breeds like poison in a person’s heart. Satan is having himself a ball. It is happening in downtown Atlanta of all places! People will take advantage of poor girls looking for a better life, snatching them from their homes. Most come from different countries, wanting to live in America. They are forced to live as sex slaves to pay off debts, and if they run away, well, I wish there was more help for these girls. They have been bitterly deceived by a world that seeks false happiness from their pocketbook and their lust. How can we let this continue? What can we do to make it stop, and catch those that are responsible? First and foremost we must bind the Enemy by the power of Jesus. And then we must take action. We can no longer ignore this, pushing it to the backs of our minds. There are girls who are barely thirteen years old being raped, and abused on a regular basis, all for what? For money? To live in America? Surely the idea of the pursuit of happiness has been butchered and the price is becoming too high to pay. The very lives and souls of these girls and those responsible, are at stake.

But there is a HUGE victory in which one group was caught, and several girls set free. They were caught in a county just outside of Atlanta. For more information on this news break please go to the Channel 2 Action News article. A very good friend of mine is very passionate about spreading awareness on human trafficking and is promoting wrist bands to raise the awareness. For more information or to order the wrist bands please go to this website.

Surely, if Satan and his dominions are wreaking this much havoc on girls this way, he must be afraid of what they are capable of with God’s strength against him.