Ok, so this is an update that I wrote awhile ago but then life got crazy and I never got around to posting it, so instead of writing a new one, I’m just going to add on to the end of this one.
The past week and a half or so as overall been pretty good. Last Monday we talked more about vision and what our visions for our lives are. Always a good thing to think about and cool to see how God may use us in ways we had never thought about. The rest of the week Ron Handley was here teaching us on “Character that Counts”. Such a cool 3 days talking about what character is, what it looks like, and how we have it. We also talked a lot about accountability because it is such a vital part of having good character. I have some more really good quotes to share with all of you about character and accountability.
“In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do.”
Ted Engstrom, “No matter how much we try to hid our action, our integrity (or lack of it) always shows through.”
Glenn Wagner, “Accountability is giving permission to someone on earth to ask me the same questions God might ask me in heaven.”
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, “Living for yourself and believing you’re accountable only to yourself enables you to make and break the rules at whim.”
David Augsburger, “Life without confrontation is directionless, aimless, passive. When unchallenged, human being tend to drift, to wander or to stagnate. Confrontation is a gift. Confrontation is a necessary stimulation to jog one out of mediocrity or to prod one back from extremes.”
This Monday we had Mike Haley from Focus on the Family come and speak to us about homosexuality. We talked a lot about how the church as a whole has failed on this issue and how we should respond to it. I loved the title of his talk “Love Won Out”. I feel like I learned a lot about what it looks like to love people. I also loved how we talked about the fact that we are all sinners in need of God’s grace and it went right along with what we’ve been learning about in James about how if we break any part of the law, we are guilty of it all, there is not a hierarchy of sin. For the rest of the week Tommy Nelson is here walking us through the book of Matthew. Breaking down the book and walking through it verse by verse has been awesome and Tommy has some great insight.
Monday was really hard for me because it took everything in me to not just hop in my car and head home. I wanted so badly to be at home for Earl Hampsch’s funeral, but everyone I love and respect was telling me to stay here because of the weather because if I would have gone home I probably would have been stuck there all week, so while all I wanted was to be at home, I felt I needed to honor the wishes of those that I love and respect. God has blessed me so much with the community that I have here. Numerous people here saw me hurting and surrounded me with love and support and I feel so blessed to have such awesome people in my life. So even though I was hurting, God showed me some immense blessing that He has poured out on me.
I’ve also realized that I will be in Israel in less than a month, so crazy to think about. I absolutely cannot wait to get there and experience such a place. I am so thankful for my parents that have given me this opportunity to go to the number 1 place that I have always wanted to go.
Prayer requests: For heart preparation for those of us going to Israel over spring break, for my roommate who is sick, continually for my financial situation, for the Superbowl party at FBC Forsyth that people will come to know our Lord and Savior, for the Hampsch family and the loss of Earl, and for my friend Erin who just had surgery on her ankle. Thank you all for your love and support and please let me know how I can be praying for you!
Now for the add on:
After Mike Haley came, we had Tommy Nelson come and teach us the book of Matthew for the rest of the week. It was so great to take the book of Matthew almost verse for verse and break it down; to learn about Jesus life, ministry, teachings, death, resurrection, and even His second coming. One thing that I loved was that after a number of Jesus teachings it says that the people were amazed, I just thought that was so cool.
This past week Mitch Maher came and taught us the book of Acts. Again, we went through the book almost verse by verse and got to see how the book all fit together. It was also really cool to see how fast the early church grew and how bold people were about sharing their faith. A lot of times people think that the church isn’t growing like that anymore, but really I think it’s more that it just isn’t growing like that in America anymore. Americans as a whole (myself included) can get so caught up in the things of this world and the “American Dream” that we lose sight of what is really important. We think we can make it on our own, but really we are helpless without Christ. (Ok, getting off my soapbox now.)
Today we walked through the first 2 chapters of Philippians. We talked about being like Jesus, being true to the Word, and being proven (my friend Sarah came up with that). Loved it. We talked a lot about humility and how important it is and how humility is the key to unity. We’re finishing up Philippians tomorrow.
My internship has continued to be awesome, but crazy. It’s been strange because even though AWANA has been cancelled the last two Wednesdays because of all the snow we’ve had, but we’ve still been crazy busy with all of the other things going on. We had a big Superbowl party which was so hectic yet so fun! I loved getting to spend time with those kiddos and to get to hang out and build relationships with some of the kids from church that I don’t normally get to be around, but also spend time with kids who are not from the church and seem to have some rough home lives. I loved just getting to love on these kids even if just for an evening. I was also reminded of how lucky I am to have the family that I have, that I have parents who were and still are involved in my life and who show me the love of Christ. It’s also cool to see how Kids World (our Sunday morning services) is changing and growing in order to help teach these precious kiddos more about Christ. I love that they aren’t just comfortable with where they’re at, but are always seeking to be better. I also just love how welcoming Forsyth is, I feel so at home there. They are so grateful for everything and I appreciate that about them.
Ok anyway, on to prayer requests: prayer for safe travels for my family and the Burns’ as they come to Branson for the weekend and that we have some great fellowship together, prayer for God’s wisdom for my future, prayer for safe travel as a group of us from the Institute go to Israel in just over a week (so crazy to think about!), continued prayers for my financial situation but also a praise because God has provided the majority of the finances that I needed and that I will continue to trust Him to provide the remaining money that I owe, praise for my parents and the great encouragement and support they have been for me throughout my entire life, but especially this year. They are such a blessing in my life. It’s been so cool to see the way that God provides through the support of others, especially those little unexpected things from family and friends. God is good and His timing is perfect and those are truths that I continue to cling to daily. I pray that things are well with you and please let me know how I can be praying for you. I love all of you and am so thankful for the prayers and support that you guys have given me this year and are continuing to give me. I pray that God will bless you because of the blessing you have been to me. I cannot say thank you enough! You all are the best!
