Monday, January 30, 2012

Six Months, One Day

Florianlyn and I
She steps out from behind the van, a shy, quiet nine-year-old with her black hair cut short and a piece of thread tied through where earrings would be if she could afford them.

After months of waiting, finally, Florianlyn and I were standing face to face.

That was 6 months and 1 day ago, July 29th, 2011.

But I still remember it like it was yesterday.

I couldn't understand what she was saying, and she couldn't understand me, but somehow, there was still a connection. We're just two random girls (that live on opposite ends of the world, no less!) that God brought together.

And I believe God brought us together for a reason.

So that we could change each other's lives.

I've learned that it doesn't take much to change a life.

I think God made it that way because, well, we can't really do much anyways. So He didn't make it hard to change lives.

He made it so everyone can change a life. It starts with a smile, a wave, a letter, some spare change, or just believing in someone... And Jesus will do the rest.

---

Change a life today... Jesus will meet you there AND do most of heavy lifting! All He wants is your faith. :) Sponsor a child!

Monday Mania

Exams are over. I did good. New, easy semester. More time to blog, write my compassion kids and change the world. Life's good. :)



Glow, shine, be a light this week, everyone! :)

Have a good one!

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. -John 1:5

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Just A Minute!

"Dinner time!" "Just a minute!"

"I'll just close my eyes... for... one... minute..."

"Hold on a minute, I just gotta go grab something."

"Can you...?" "Yeah, just a minute."



How many times have we said that? You know, "Just a minute, mom!"

And can you imagine, how many minutes that is once it adds up? Minutes you could've been using for something way better.

Like say, changing somebody's life?

Do you believe you can change a someones life in 60 seconds? Cuz Wess Stafford does:



If you live to 80 years old, you'd have spent 42 048 000 minutes on earth. Seems like a lot, but if you really think about it, I've already used almost 7 884 000 of those minutes!

Every single minute you have is a precious one.

So come on, just a minute, that's all it takes.

Change the world. :)

---

01-27-2012 Edit/Addition:

Saw this video today, and I couldn't help but think of Dr. Stafford's book.



Made me think of Just A Minute for two reasons:

1. Every minute is a precious one, people.

2. The book's about how you can change the life of a child in a minute... But has a child ever changed YOUR life in "just a minute"? I think the girl in the video changed that man's life... with just a wave. And all it took was... Yep, just a minute. :)

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Love, Happyness

Finally, it came.

Everyday, I would flip though the mail as I walked back home from the mailbox, attack the person who brought the mail in, or ask every night "Did someone get the mail today?"

Yup, a letter from Happyness arrived! :D

"Happyness greets you by saying 'Praise the Lord Jesus.' She says that she is doing well with all her family. ... She continues to say that she now believes that through you she will study well and receive her essential needs which she would not have received without your sponsorship. ... Finally, she says that she loves you and she asks you to pray for her and she will pray for you. ... She says, 'Be blessed!'"


Sponsor a child today! You won't regret it. Promise.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Exam Week

It's exam week. Yay. Not.

I AM excited for second semester though! Lots of great stuff going on, including my compassion trip to Wilmington! :D

Got a first letter from Happyness today! Will share sometime later. :)

Have an amazing week, everyone!



"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of age." -Jesus {Matthew 28:20b}

Friday, January 20, 2012

Shining in a City Called Wilmington

So, here's some old(-ish) news that I haven't blogged about yet.

I've been accepted to go on a compassion trip with my youth group to Wilmington, Delaware - one of the most poverty-stricken communities in the USA. We'll be volunteering with UrbanPromise over the March Break.

Let me tell you about Wilmington.

:: The first city to have the entire downtown area under surveillance due to the alarming amount of crime.
:: 25% of the households are fatherless.
:: 20% of the population live below the poverty line.
:: 10% of the population live in severe poverty.
:: 25% of children are in poverty (compared to 13% state wide).
:: One of the highest per capita rates of HIV infection in the USA.

Stats that break my heart because I know that every single one of those numbers represents a person.

A real person, with a real story, a real future and real dreams & hopes.

A real kid who sleeps on the streets, a real teen who dropped out of high school to sell drugs, a real mom who can't feed her baby breakfast.

But I know I'll find beauty in all this brokenness, because Jesus is always there. In the quiet places, in the whispers, He is there, slowly replacing brokenness with beauty, darkness with light...

You know how yesterday I blogged about finding my verse? Well let me tell you what happened the weekend after that.

I went to training for this trip, and we were doing devos on Saturday morning.

Half-asleep, (because have you EVER heard of a retreat that involves a bunch of teenagers where the lights went out BEFORE 2AM? I haven't.) I volunteered to read the first half of the passage we were concentrating on (which just so happened to be Philippians 2... See where this is going?). I stopped reading and allowed my teammate to take the second half...

Shine like stars!

Yeah, I woke up, because God just confirmed to me my verse. I mean, there are over 31000 verses in the Bible, but that morning our devo just happened to be about the one and only Philippians 2:15.

I love it, especially since the night before I asked God to speak to me. He did.

I almost didn't apply for the trip. The application form collected dust for weeks. Months, even. But, with the help of a few of His friends, God convinced me to hand in that application form a couple weeks before it was due.

And so far, everything had been... right.

Because I now know that the opportunity to go on this trip is a gift from God, the perfect opportunity to practice living out my words: Faith and Shine.

There were a lot of things my brain told me when I was considering handing in my application form. "There goes your March Break, you'll be tired when you get back to school... What if you get some huge ISU over the break, then what? How are you gonna come up with $1000 to pay for the trip? What if..." And finally I was like, "Shut up, brain, 'no more freaking out', remember?" So I handed in the application form telling God, "If I'm supposed to go, I get accepted, if I'm not supposed to go, I don't get accepted." That was the faith part, and I'm sure they'll be lots more faith parts along the way. :)

And here comes the shine part. The part where my team and I get to see and be light in a pretty dark place... I couldn't be more excited.

Prayers appreciated. :)

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Shine

One of my two words for 2012 - SHINE.

When I wrote about my words, I didn't really have a Bible verse for either of them.

I decided I should look for a verse for at least one of them. There's tons of verses about faith, so I decided to look for one about shining instead.

I wasn't actually consciously looking, just reading my Bible, when I came across Philippians 2. About halfway down the chapter, the heading reads "Shine like Stars". So I read on, and came across Philippians 2:15.

"...so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe."

Like it?

I love it.

And so that my verse.

Shine like stars! :)

Monday, January 16, 2012

It's Monday

Again, I am SO sorry for being a blog-ignore-er right now! :( And it's only going to be worse for the next two weeks because of exams, but I promise after that I'll be blogging so much you'll be sick of me - because I have a lot of stuff to blog about - just no time! :P

And Monday comes again, my last full week of my first semester of grade nine. That was fast. :S

Oh, and shout out to Tim Tebow, because we still love him no matter how hard he loses (And who can blame someone for getting kicked out of the playoffs by the New England Patriots anyways?!) because at the end of the day he's still loving God and loving others - way more important than winning football games! :)



And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. -Romans 8:28

Monday, January 9, 2012

Monday Mania - Never Once


Just listen to it.

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. - Romans 12:11-12

PS Happy back to school! ;)

Friday, January 6, 2012

Love in Action

 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

   “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
   if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”


 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

~ Romans 12:9-21

I was reading my Bible this morning and came across this passage, and I LOVE it, don't you?

I feel like, if everyone did all those things, the world would be perfect.

But then of course, we're incapable of perfection.

None of us could ever do that for every second of our lives, but I think that as Christ-followers we should strive, ever single day, to come as close as possible. I don't think we should use, "Well, too bad, I'm not perfect." as an excuse for not striving every day to live a life that is as close as possible to Jesus'.


I want to live a "Love in Action" kind of life, don't you?

Monday, January 2, 2012

Monday Mania 2012

The first one of 2k12! :)

Today's song is "Say It" by Britt Nicole, which I think is very fitting for the new year.

I love the second verse.

I got so much to discover
A hand I could lend another
A word that could bring some healing
Is there any better feeling?
Hold up, gotta see the beauty
Hold up, gotta let it move me
I wanna be with You here in the now
I'm done missing out

How many times have you said "Tomorrow"? Or "Later"? And how many times has that "Tomorrow" or "Later" become next week, next month, next year?

Time to stop waiting. YOU have so much to discover, YOU have a hand that you could lend another, YOU have a word that could bring some healing. Open your eyes, see the beauty, let it move you.

Excuses die today, because before you know it, it's gonna be 2013, 2014, 2020, 2030... then it's gonna be too late.

I think it goes a lot with my two words for 2012. Jesus wants us to totally trust Him with everything, have no worries. No worries about what people will think, no fears that everything will crash and burn right before our eyes. He just wants us to give it all to him and shine. :)

So let's do it, be bold, and work at changing the world. :)



"Therefore, since we have such hope, we are very bold." -2 Corinthians 3:12

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Hello 2012!

I've never really done New Year's Resolutions, or if I have, never taken it very seriously.

The "One Word" idea, though, definitely caught my attention. But as I was trying to think of "One Word" to reflect and concentrate on for 2012, I couldn't think of just ONE.

So I'll share both with you. :)


The first one is TRUST, or rather, FAITH.

For those of you who don't know me that well, I'm one of those girls who likes her ducks in a row. And when they're not... oh boy. This year, my "birthday present" for Jesus was "no more freaking out". When I can't see something coming together, when I'm not sure of something, when I've lost control, I'm just gonna remember that it's all in God's hands. That no matter what, it'll be okay in the end. No matter what, God will never leave me nor forsake me. He's the creator of the universe, He's got the whole world in His hands, give me one reason why I shouldn't trust Him.

So I will trust, I will have faith that it will not only be okay, but be for the best. 

The second word is SHINE.

It's pretty straightforward, really. Since I'm not freaking out anymore, that gives me a lot of time to do a whole lot more shining for Jesus. So I will. Because I couldn't imagine a better year (or life!) spent shining for my Creator.

So there you have it! How about you guys, any resolutions or words? I'd love to hear about it! :)

Happy New Year, everyone!!!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...