The last couple of weeks have been exciting. My visa finally arrived!!! It was about a four month process from when I started gathering documents for the visa application to when my visa arrived in the mail. It took much longer - and cost much more - than I expected, but I have been learning that God's timing is best. God will provide for all my needs, I just need to trust God. Michael (my boyfriend) likes to remind me of what Jesus says about needs, as recorded in Matthew 6. God provides food for birds and clothing for flowers, and I am more valuable than birds or flowers, so of course God will take care of me! I need to keep my focus on trusting God and seeking God's Kingdom above all else. God will take care of me. Even while I am off living in a different country, God will still take care of me.
One week from yesterday I will be boarding a plane to fly to Bulgaria. My bags have been packed since August, and I am ready! It is exciting to know I will be leaving soon to go to Bulgaria and live in a different culture as I minister to people there. I am excited to see what God will teach me. There is much to learn! I am sad to leave my family, but I know God will take care of them, just as God will take care of me. God has placed in me a passion to serve others with God's love. God will be with me as I go to Bulgaria, and God will take care of me.
Showing posts with label trust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trust. Show all posts
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
God's Presence goes with me
Two weeks ago our Sunday School lesson was about Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. Moses recognized his dependence on God and his need to be in God's presence. Here is the Scripture passage we looked at, from Exodus 33:12-19
12 Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
14 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
17 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
God spoke to me while I was reading this, and reminded me I don't have to go anywhere without God's presence, because God has promised to go with me. I don't want to go anywhere without being in God's presence. I desire to follow God always, no matter how hard the journey is. God not only promises God's presence, God also promises rest. I can trust God to guide me always. I may not always feel like a competent leader, but God is the One who works through me. I can call on God any time and trust God to be here with me to help me and guide me. I desire to continually learn God's ways and walk in God's presence. I don't want to go anywhere without God with me.
12 Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
14 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
17 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
God spoke to me while I was reading this, and reminded me I don't have to go anywhere without God's presence, because God has promised to go with me. I don't want to go anywhere without being in God's presence. I desire to follow God always, no matter how hard the journey is. God not only promises God's presence, God also promises rest. I can trust God to guide me always. I may not always feel like a competent leader, but God is the One who works through me. I can call on God any time and trust God to be here with me to help me and guide me. I desire to continually learn God's ways and walk in God's presence. I don't want to go anywhere without God with me.
Monday, October 3, 2011
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow.
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
James 4:13-15
As I was thinking about my visa this morning, God reminded me of this passage in Scripture. I don't know if I will get my visa in time for my flight Wednesday. I don't know if I'll be able to go the Eurasia Regional Conference next week. I don't know when I will get to Bulgaria. I don't know how long I will stay in Bulgaria! God reminded me that God knows everything, and I don't have to worry. If it is the Lord's will, I will go to Bulgaria in a few days. If it is the Lord's will, I will go to Bulgaria in a couple weeks. God asks me to trust, even when (especially when) I don't know what will happen. No one knows how long their life will last, no one knows what will happen to them. The Lord asks us to put our trust in God and not in ourselves. God will take care of us!!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Mid-July already??
It's gonna take a while before I get used to blogging... :) so be patient with me please!
I'll be home with my family for exactly one month more until I leave for Kansas City.
During this next month, I have to get my visa and buy plane tickets for Bulgaria, read 1,500+ pages for grad school homework/studying, write papers, teach 45 hours of swim lessons, lifeguard for about the same amount, spend time with family and friends, pack for Bulgaria, and raise a few more thousand dollars (I need at least half the total amount before I leave). At first glance, it seems like a lot to do in a month. However, God promises to be with me all the time and take care of me. Remember Matthew 6:34? "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I just need to live each day at a time, trusting God through it all. It's not an easy lesson to learn, and God has to remind me every day to trust in God and not in myself. It's great how has God used different people to encourage me and remind me of this.
On a different note, my boyfriend is in Peru right now! He's on a short-term missions trip helping construct a church as part of his senior engineering project at NNU. I miss him, but I'm glad he's serving God with his gifts. : )
As always, feel free to drop me a note to encourage me or just to say hi! :)
I'll be home with my family for exactly one month more until I leave for Kansas City.
During this next month, I have to get my visa and buy plane tickets for Bulgaria, read 1,500+ pages for grad school homework/studying, write papers, teach 45 hours of swim lessons, lifeguard for about the same amount, spend time with family and friends, pack for Bulgaria, and raise a few more thousand dollars (I need at least half the total amount before I leave). At first glance, it seems like a lot to do in a month. However, God promises to be with me all the time and take care of me. Remember Matthew 6:34? "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I just need to live each day at a time, trusting God through it all. It's not an easy lesson to learn, and God has to remind me every day to trust in God and not in myself. It's great how has God used different people to encourage me and remind me of this.
On a different note, my boyfriend is in Peru right now! He's on a short-term missions trip helping construct a church as part of his senior engineering project at NNU. I miss him, but I'm glad he's serving God with his gifts. : )
As always, feel free to drop me a note to encourage me or just to say hi! :)
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