God is so good!

It has been too long since my last update, but things have started to pick up here at the Institute.  So I’ll do my best to share all the things that God has taught me these past few weeks.  Two weeks ago Mitch Maher came and finished up our Bible Overview class.  It is so awesome to continue learning about how the Bible all fits together and to see how God fulfills the Old Testament promises in the New Testament.  We also started Precepts; we are doing a study on Abraham.  The first week of Precepts was especially neat for me because God really used the example of Abraham to teach me to trust Him.  Abraham was called by God to leave the land of his father and to go to the land that God would show him.  Abraham didn’t know where he was going; just that God was going to show him the way.  He went in faith.  That struck me because we had been working on our vision statements at the beginning of that week and I realized that I know what God has called me to and why He has called me to it but I have no idea what fulfilling my vision looks like, but that doesn’t matter.  I know what God has called me to do and I just need to follow His calling and trust that He will show me where He wants me in His timing.  God has given me a peace that I haven’t felt in a long time.  I know that I’m where God wants me to be and that while I have no idea what exactly my life will look like after this year, God knows and He will reveal it to me when the time is right.  Karen was talking about how we think it would be easier if we knew God’s whole plan for our lives but really, if Abraham would have known everything that God was going to have him go through, he probably wouldn’t have gone and aren’t we the same way?  So I will just trust that God’s timing is perfect and His will is better than my own. 

Last week we worked through the Truth Project.  I’m still working on wrapping my mind around that one.  But what amazes me is the fact that people cannot define truth or what is right.  The Word of God is truth and if we really believe that then why are we not sharing it with others.  One of the biggest questions was, “Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?”  That really hit home with me.  So often I feel like that which I know in my heart doesn’t transfer to my thoughts and vice versa.  But if we really believe that the Word of God is truth then why do we not live more radically?  Truth is not relative, it has sides, you either believe the truth or you believe a lie.  Another thing that hit me while doing the Truth Project is when we looked at Science.  Now if you know me at all, you know I do not like science, but I do love nature.  I love Psalm 19:1-4 where it talks about how the heavens declare the glory of God and Romans 1:18-20 where it says that God has made it plain to us since the creation of the world.  Whenever I see nature, especially the stars, I cannot even fathom that there isn’t a creator.  There is so much more that we talked about with the Truth Project, but again, I haven’t even wrapped my mind around half of it and I have like 7 pages of notes from it so yeah. 

This past week we’ve been learning about marriage and relationships.  It’s been a really neat week of learning but also hard in some ways.  I’ve realized lately that I need to get better at guarding my heart and it has been a little hard for me to do that this week while talking about one of my greatest desires in life.  But again, I know that God’s timing is perfect and His will is better than my own.  I will be faithful where I am in whatever state He has me.  God is all I need and is the only thing that completes me.  I have learned some awesome things though; things that I can put into practice now in order to become more like Christ.  Some things that I need to work on is not believing the lies of the devil, to work on taking every thought captive and replacing it with God’s Truth, to not fear confrontation but to learn to handle it correctly.  There is so much more but I don’t want to ramble or bore you guys. 

This Sunday I’m teaching at Kid’s World for the first time, so if you could pray for me that would be awesome!  Also continued prayers in the financial aspect and that I will continue to trust God no matter what the circumstances.  I want to be able to praise God even in the pain and to know the peace and joy that He offers.  God is so good and I never want to forget that!  Thank you for your prayers and support, it means so much to me.  Please let me know if there is anything that I can be praying about for you!  Love you all and thank God for you!

What is your vision?

Today has been a crazy, emotional day, but such a good one!  Today in class we talked about having a vision for our lives and we got a chance to work on our vision statements.  What a challenge!  My vision statement is far from being complete, but I feel like God showed me some awesome things.  My desire has always been to be a mother, ever since I was a little girl, that's all I've really wanted, so I was struggling with what my life would look like without being a mother or in the time period before I get to be a mother.  That's when God showed me that I can achieve the goals that I want to in raising children without actually being a mother.  The specifics of how to achieve my goals and desires is still so fuzzy, but I just realized that I have to be faithful where I am, whatever that looks like.  The purpose behind my vision is the clearest thing for me though.  We live in a lost and corrupt world that is producing lost and corrupt children.  My heart breaks when I see the things that children go through and it seems like their struggles just keep coming at younger and younger ages.  We, as Christ followers, are called to make disciples and it is my hope that by doing so, that instead of getting caught up in the ways of the world, children will find the joy offered in Christ.  Children need to know that God has called them to a higher purpose and to be trained in a way that will help them be a light in this dark world. 
Cat is going to look over my vision statement for me and help me find more of a direction.  I'm also excited to see how God is going to change my vision in this next year and even through out my life.  All I know is that if I'm continually seeking God's will for my life, then the Lord will bless that. 
I loved that as I'm sitting in class, figuring out my vision for my life, Colleen is in labor fulfilling a part of my dream.  Ethan Clyde Taylor was born at 1:33 and weighed in at 7lbs 4 oz.  He is absolutely beautiful.  I am so excited for this journey that Josh and Colleen are going through and I know that they are going to be absolutely amazing parents.  I am so excited to be an aunt and to get to walk along them in their journey!  It has taken everything in me to not just get in my car and drive home so that I can see that precious little boy in person and to hold him, but this weekend will come soon enough.  This week is going to be hectic, but I know I am going to learn so much.  Excited for what this week has in store for me. 

Lord, I want to know you more!

It is the end of week three or the beginning of week four depending on how you want to look at it and all I can say is, God is good!  Tuesday through Thursday Karen Chancey came and taught us the overview of the Bible, how the Old Testament fits with the New Testament, and the history of the Intertestamental period.  Amazing!  It is so cool to see the timeline of the events of the Bible and the way that it all fits together.  Something that is taken for granted so often.  I feel like so often we learn the Bible stories as kids, but once we get older, we focus so much on the New Testament that we miss out on all the great things God has to say in the Old Testament.  The events, promises, and theology in the Bible are so much cooler when you see how it fits with the rest of the Bible.  This coming week Mitch Maher is coming and continuing to teach us the overview of the Bible.  Karen says that Mitch is coming to put meat on the bones of the Bible that she gave us.  I am so excited to see the things that God is going to teach me this next week.
Friday we had Timothy group and Cat invited us over to her house for breakfast.  It was a great time of just being honest and vulnerable with eachother and just sharing our lives, whether the events be good or bad, with eachother.  It was an opportunity to come together, to speak Truth into eachother's lives, and to join together in praying for eachother.  Absolutely amazing!
Today (Sunday) was another day of church and my internship, such a blessing.  The more I'm at FBC Forsyth, the more excited I get.  I'm excited for the relationships that I'm forming with the kids, for how welcoming everyone is, and for the things that I'm learning through the church services.  It was different today because I was the only intern there today because the other two were both out of town, but it was a great opportunity to get to know some of the kids better.  It has been really neat to see how the relationships that I form at AWANA carry over to Sunday mornings and vice versa.  I'm both excited and nervous because next Sunday will be the first week that I take more of a leadership role, so please be praying for that, that I will have the confidence and that God will reveal to me what I need to do in order for Him to use me to reach these kids. 
Please also be praying that I will continue to be open to the things that God wants me to learn and that I will be willing to be stretched in ways that I know that it is only by God that these things are happening.  Continued prayers for my finance situation would also be awesome.  So good to know that the prayer is powerful!