Christmas Time

Today is Christmas Eve. The time of the year that we remember Jesus Christ coming to earth as a baby. The time of the year that we celebrate His great love for us. The time of the year that we take the time to get together as families and spend time together. Reread that last sentence......Think about it. Christmas is about Jesus. The time that we remember HIM. Why do we focus SO much on getting together as a family and spending time together that we forget about Jesus. Now I am not saying that we all just forget about Jesus. Yes, we go to church and read the Christmas story and go to candlelight services, but think about it.

How much time did you spend buying gifts? How much time did you spend thanking Jesus for coming? How much time did you spend wrapping presents? How much time did you spend reading the Bible and praying? How much time did you spend preparing for parties? How much time did you spend preparing your heart for Christmas?

I am writing this more for me than for "preaching" to you. I have been thinking A LOT about taking the time for Jesus Christ and not just at Christmas time but ALL the TIME! As I look back on today, the day before Christmas, I think about what we should be doing and what we really are doing. The day that we should all be examining our hearts, but instead we are figuring out what clothes we are wearing for parties and how we should do our hair. Well......that is what I was thinking about today. I admit I was thinking more about myself today than about the miracle of Christmas.

Every minute of everyday is God's time, right? ALL "YOUR" time is God's time. He is entrusting it to you to spend it wisely. Now I am not saying to forget all about the fun parts of Christmas (the gifts, the parties, the family gatherings, the food, the fun......) but through it ALL remember the real reason. The reason we actually have Christmas. The reason for the season is Jesus!

As I am writing this I am reminded of the Christmas song While You Were Sleeping by Casting Crowns. The beginning of the song talks about how Bethlehem was not ready to welcome Jesus as a baby. The middle of the song talks about how Jerusalem was not ready to welcome Jesus as their Savior. And the end of the song talks about how America is not ready to welcome Jesus at all.

Are you ready to welcome Jesus tomorrow when we remember his birth? Will you be ready to welcome Jesus when He comes again? He is coming again and He is coming again soon. Will you be ready?

love people

love people. that's it. SO simple. yet SO hard.

I challenge each of you to read 1 John. This book of the Bible is packed full commands about loving God and loving His people. This command sounds very easy to follow but it is not. The evil one brought hatred and darkness into this world so many years ago. He draws us away from our True Love by filling us up with discontentment and jealousy which leads to unforgiveness and hatred. These negative thoughts and emotions draw us slowly but surely away from out Loving Father in Heaven. What do we do? How do we keep ourselves filled with Love and not hate?

We love. We love when it's easy. We love when it's hard. We love the people that hurt us. We love when they hate us back. We love our enemies. We love when we know it will hurt us. We love because God tells us to.

"Dear Friends, let us love one another..." 1 John :7

Who is that one person in your life that is hard to love? You know ... that person that came to mind that you are right now trying to forget. I challenge you to pray for them and tell them that they are loved. Text them. Email them. Write them a letter. Tell them that they are loved.

"Dear Friends, since God so loved us, we ought also to love one another..." 1 John 4:11

That's what life comes down to.

love people.

Who am I?

Wow! I cannot believe that I have been home for a month now! Honestly, I cannot believe that I was in Guatemala for two and a half months; it seems SO unreal. But now comes the thinking part, the time to take the time and ask myself questions, good questions, tough questions...Did I really go to Guatemala for 10 weeks? Did I really miss all summer of working on the farm? And I really home now? Did I really meet all those people and make all those friends in Guate and on each team?  Will I ever see any of them again? Why was I called to be the 2013 summer intern in Guatemala? Why was I born in the US and not in Guatemala? Who am I to be given all these blessings? Who am I?

"Who Am I"

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt?
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart?

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done.
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are.

I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow.
A wave tossed in the ocean.
A vapor in the wind.
Still You hear me when I'm calling.
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling.
And You've told me who I am.
I am Yours, I am Yours.

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again?
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me?

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done.
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are.

I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow.
A wave tossed in the ocean.
A vapor in the wind.
Still You hear me when I'm calling.
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling.
And You've told me who I am.
I am Yours.

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done.
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are.

I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow.
A wave tossed in the ocean.
A vapor in the wind.
Still You hear me when I'm calling.
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling.
And You've told me who I am.
I am Yours, I am Yours, I am Yours.

Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
'Cause I am Yours, I am Yours.

We sang this song in Guatemala a lot. It just helped me remember who I really am - just a little human being yet a child of the ALMIGHTY GOD who has a plan JUST for me! I cannot believe that HE chooses to use me and yet, even when I fail and don't love Him as I should, He still loves me UNCONDITIONALLY!!! 

So...Who am I?

"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" ~ John 1:12

I am a CHILD OF THE KING OF KINGS!!

no adios

the last team of the summer......has come and gone......

This week SPED by, I think, because I didn't want it to end.  The first 2 clinics went very well, God's Spirit was sent into the hearts of the team members and they poured themselves out into the lives of the Guatemalans! During the second clinic, I was really sad because it was the last clinic of the season. As we sang the song Stronger that night, God taught me in that moment that He IS Stronger and He will not leave me just because I am leaving Guatemala! After the clinic, the pastor in that village invited us to come to his church and pray over a woman there who had been blind for the past couple years. We prayed for her, no, we poured our hearts out for her and then we sang God's Spirit into her. Even though she was not physically healed before us, I know and believe that she was healed spiritually that night! God was there and we ALL felt HIS presence!

 The last 4 days in La Reina were the hardest days EVER! Paradise Bound Ministries has been building in this village for the last 3 years and this week we were building the last 6 houses in this village! The first day went smoothly. The second day, stucco day, we had a HUGE stucco war. At the end everybody was covered in stucco, even some of the villagers! The third day, we dedicated 2 of the 6 houses. We were going to dedicate 3 of them but the dad in one of the houses didn't show up because of work. God sent his Spirit that day and lives were changed and we were all exhausted but God filled us all back up with HIS LOVE for the next day. Usually, the last day that the team is here in Guate, we let them sleep in and then go to Antigua but not this team! We woke them up at 5am and we were on the road at 5:45 to get to La Reina by 7am to dedicate the one house before the dad left for work. It was really cool to see this team give up "their time" for someone else! 

We dedicated the last 4 houses that day and God showed up at each house and lives were changed for eternity! After the dedications, Sara, the cook, bought us cake and she started crying because she had been the cook for the teams since they began in La Reina. Also, she just genuinely thanked us for all the work we had done there in that village and then she blessed us! That is when I lost it......I started crying because I was never going to see them again on this earth. We started hugging and crying together!! Her son Jorge (who is 20) would help us build everyday there, and he was crying. Now understand this about Guatemalans, they never show emotion, but Jorge was crying HARD. He came up to me and gave me a hug and kept saying "adios" (it means "good-bye" in Spanish) And so I said to him, "No Adios!" and because I don't know that much Spanish, I just pointed up to heaven and said that we WILL see each other again there! 

guys, Heaven IS going to be AMAZING!!!!

You are stronger

I cannot believe it that team #6 has come and gone! I am still AMAZED at the power of our awesome God who loves us SO much even though we fail everyday! On the first night devotions, we sang Stronger and that song was the theme of this week.

This past week God showed Himself STRONGER than anything and everything! The devil tried many distractions this past week but each time, God showed HIS power! On the first day, one of the people cut himself very badly, but God was STONGER and after 7 stiches that night, he was okay.  The next day was a medical clinic and even though the Guatemalans were reserved and scared of us at first, God's love was evident in the teams actions and showed them that God's love is STRONGER! The third day we drove to the coast and God showed himself STRONGER than the weather by bringing rain at just the right time to relieve us of the oppresing heat. God also showed Himself STRONGER than anything in the Guatemalans lives at this village. Many people, including the team members, were crying this night and everyone, I think, were crying.  God showed himself in the fun and stucco wars on the fourth day :) I don't think there was a person without stucco somewhere on them by the end of the day! God also showed Himself STRONGER than any lanuage barrier on this day. After work, the team took a walk in La Reina, and everyone had a blast, even though no could really understan anything! The fith day, dedication day, God showed Himself STRONGER than any distractions!  Each family that we built for accepted Jesus as their Savior that day! On the last night together, God invaded the praise of His people and lives were changed!

"You are STRONGER. You are STRONGER. Sin is broken, You have saved me. It is written, Christ is risen. Jesus, YOU are Lord of All!"    ~ The chorus of STRONGER

God's plan

What a week. God had an AMAZING plan for this past week but it not match up with ours. First, the team was supposed to arrive here on Tuesday but instead they arrived on Wednesday. This really messed up "our" plans, but we have no idea what God saved us from that night as we didn't go to the ariport. There could have been some accident or someone who was going to follow us and chase us down. God kept us safe from all that by keeping us form the airport on Tuesday night.

Thursday we started building and boy, did we ever build. We had the house standing before lunch and the roofs and the patios on JUST beofore the rain. Usually this takes 2 days to finish. On the second building day, we applyed the stucco and painted the inside of the houses and decorated. After lunch, we dedicated 2 of the 5 houses. God showed up and did amzing things at these 2 houses. The next day, we packed two vans and took one of them to La Reina (the village where we build) and dediacted the other 3 houses. 2 of these 3 families accepted Jesus as their Savior, please be in prayer for Rodolfo and his son Leonel as they had excues and ran away for Jesus that day. Also pray for Carolina (Rodolfo's wife) and Ingrid and Veronica that they will be a good example of a Christ Follower to their husband/father and son/brother.

After the dedications, we left to go to the village to do a medical clinic. On the way, the rain started and it rained and rained and rained! Usually the rain would not be a problem but the intresting thing about this village is that it is a squatter's village which means that the people living there are just "squatting" there until the government tells them to move. And so here they didn't have a school or any good place where we could go out of the rain. We sat in the vans and waited and waited for the rain to let up. I think we waited for a hour and finally Dan decided to just leave but GOD did not want us to leave; HE flooded the roads so we really couldn't leave. Finally the rain let up and we set up the clinc under a tarp. God showed HIMSELF strong at this village and many people came to know Christ as their Savior including the team members.

At the second clinc God showed up again and lives were changed including my own. This week God really taught me to TRUST in HIS plan because "As for the LORD, His ways are perfect..." ~2 Samuel 22:31

Running the Race

"You know as well as I do, it is one thing to start something. It's something else entirely to complete it. Relax! 'Don't start what you can't finish' is not my point. To be honest, I don't believe you should finish everything you start. Every student with homework just perked up. There are certain quests better left undone, some projects wisely abandoned. Though i wouldn't list homework as one of them! We can become so obsessed with completion that we become blind to effectiveness. no, my desire is not to convince you to finish everyting. My desire is to encourage you to finish the RIGHT thing.

Certain races are optional. Other races are essential-like the race of faith. Consider this admonition form the author of Hebrews in Chapter 12:1, "let us run the race that is before us and nenver give up."

Finish STRONG my friend." A little story from Max Lucado that I found in an envelope from my friend from home!

This just really encouraged me this week as I was reminded that I am here for less than one month. Continue to pray that Dan, Anya and myself will be filled with God's love and continue to pour out God's love to the Guatemalans and to the 3 teams! Thank you SO much!!!

see you later

Wow, The 3rd team has come and gone. What a wonderful group of people, again! God has done amazing things here this week also! He has changed lives and people won't be the same; the Guatemalans and the team members and myself! During the second medical clinic I was saying goodbye to the Guatemalans at the village, and God brought to my mind the fact that we, as Chrstians, never say goodbye. We WILL see each other again in Heaven! The next day during devotions, one of the team members talked about that same thing. She said that her grandfather would never say goodbye, he would say "see you later." What a wondeful thing! And so I started thinking back to all the Guatemalans I have seen, cried with and hugged and knew that one day, one GLORIOUS day, I will see them again in Heaven! And there we will be able to converse with each other without a lanuage barrier! I thought about the family I had met at the second medical clinic with the first team. The family with 3 little boys who will now grow up knowing Jesus Christ. I thought about the girl who I prayed with at the 4th village, who is now my sister in Christ. I thought about the older women I prayed with and hugged at the 6th village. And one day, I will see them ALL in Heaven! I also thought about the 3 teams so far and how I will never see some of them again but ONE GLORIOUS DAY we will praise our Heavenly Father together in Heaven! "Amen, Come Lord Jesus." Revelations 22:20

allowing God's love

Another wonderful week and another wonderful team! God once again has done AMAZING things and I wish I could write them all down but there really isn't that much room! God has changed lives, not just the lives of the Guatemalans but also the lives of the team members and he is also continuing to work in me and change me! He has taught me many things over this past week........

During the Wednesday devotions as a group, we read in Mark 10, and in verse 51 Jesus asks Bartimaeus, "What do you want me to do for you?" And since God speaks to us through His Word, the questions that He asked long ago are relevant to us today, "What do you want me to do for you?" And so my answer to this question was (and i would encourage each of you to answer this question also), "I want to allow YOUR LOVE LORD to penetrate into my whole being and I want to be completely consumed by You and help me to want to please YOU ALONE!" This is easy to say while I am away from home and away from a routine but later that week........

I really felt as though I was just going through the motions. It was Friday, the first medical clinic with this team but it was my 3rd medical clinic and I knew what to expect and what to do. But God really opened my eyes and told me NOT to just go through the motions, which is SO easy to do! He reminded me that EACH person that I encounter each day was put in my path for a reason and to show that person God's love! When God fills you, be a watering can. The purpose of a watering can is to be filled to be poured out. Be filled with God's love to be poured out unto others!

Don't just go throught the motions, ALLOW God's love to change, really change your life and be filled to be poured out and when you are empty CRY out to God! He WILL answer and fill you back up!

Working WITH Jesus Christ

Wow, the first team of the summer, here in Guate, has come and gone. What an amazing group of people! I am so glad to have met each and every one of them. The week just flew by but not without God teaching me a few things.

During the Tuesday evening devotions, that we did as a group, Dan, the missionary here, shared a quote by Oswald Chambers.

"Many are those who work FOR Christ, few are those who work WITH Christ."

Now I have heard this qote before and so I just kinda shrugged it off and really didn't pay much attention to it, wich was really stupid of me. The next day was the day that we dedicated the houses that we made and during that time we share the gospel with the family reciving the house. That day was, I think, hotter that all the other days especially for the people in the houses. At the third house we dedicated it started to rain, which does cool things off but it also makes it very hard for the pople in the houses to hear each other talking because the roofs are metal. And so when the rain started, I started praying against it, which makes sense, right? Well, the rain that we recieved that day was a very, very gentle rain (compared to the day before) and it really didn't last long, just long enough to cool us! As I was praying for the rain to stop, God just reminded me to TRUST in HIS plan and to work WITH him; to not always think that I know what is best but to trust in Him in all circumstnces!

And now a little update on the work here! Team Res. Life in Rockford just left this morning, which was very sad becasue now the base is VERY quiet. It gives me time to think about my family and to dream of the delicious and juicey taste of strawberries...Prayers would be very appreciated. Thank you so much! The next team comes of Monday! Can't wait to see what God has in store for next week!

Isaiah 41:8-16

8 “But you, Israel, my servant,
    Jacob, whom I have chosen,
    you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,
    from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
    I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

11 “All who rage against you
    will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
    will be as nothing and perish.
12 Though you search for your enemies,
    you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
    will be as nothing at all.
13 For I am the Lord your God
    who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
    I will help you.
14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
    little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge,
    new and sharp, with many teeth.
You will thresh the mountains and crush them,
    and reduce the hills to chaff.
16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up,
    and a gale will blow them away.
But you will rejoice in the Lord
    and glory in the Holy One of Israel."

Do Not Be Afraid

As I am writing this, I am home for one more week before I leave for Guatemala. These past couple days, all I have thought about is the things that COULD go wrong while I am there. My heavenly Father has been telling me over and over NOT to be afraid. A few nights ago, He led me to Psalms 27.
         
         "The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid?" 

After I read this, God told me to break this verse apart and listen to Him. Here are my thoughts...

The Lord is my LIGHT- If you have light, you can see and you are not afraid because you can see! Think about when you turn on a light at night and then you can see everything. When I was little, I would be scared at night and I would turn on the light (and I would pray) and I wouldn't be afraid anymore, because I could see if there was anything bad in my room. 

The Lord is my SALVATION- If Jesus is your salvation, salvation means saving, so if Jesus saved you, who are you afraid of? He saved you which means that He is stronger than everything else!

The Lord is the STRONGHOLD of my life-If Jesus is your fortress, then really, WHAT do you have to fear? A stronghold is like a fortress or a castle; it is a place people would go to be safe. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING can get you while you are abiding in the 'Jesus Fortress!'

The next two verses in this Psalm talks about what people CANNOT do to you because you are safely tucked in the palm of our Father's STRONG hands! 
       
        "Though an army besiege me, MY HEART WILL NOT FEAR. Though war break out against me, EVEN THEN I WILL BE CONFIDENT."

The Lord our God is mighty and strong and He is your light and your salvation. He is the stronghold of your life, DO NOT BE AFRAID! 

Being Guided and Guarded

“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared." Exodus 20:20

As of now, this verse is the theme of my blog. It reminds me that God is AHEAD if me, already in Guatemala, and He is HERE with me right now and He will be with me all the way to the place that HE has prepared just for me. One of the wonderful attributes of our God is that not only does He guard and guide me but He is also leading you! What a wonderful God we serve! He holds us, each and everyone of us, in His strong and mighty hands!

And He IS leading us into beautiful places! He is guiding us right to the place that He has prepared just for you and me! Sometimes the place that he is leading us to doesn't seem that beautiful to us, but God has a perfect plan and when you look back onto your life, you will see that God was right there holding tightly to your hands!

Our God Almighty IS leading YOU into beautiful places!