Tagged

I "stole" this from Laura's site..i thought it was fun and different.

I am: determined
I have: a job that I'm called to do
I dislike: being lied to
I miss: my grandparents
I fear: that I'll never get married
I think: that gas prices are coming down
I know: that Jesus is my Savior
I have no idea: how the Presidential election will turn out
I want: a house of my own
I hope: that I will get a phone call soon
lI feel: productive
I smell:my heater
I crave: chocolate chip cookies
I cry: when I am extremley tired
I search: for the the bottom of my desk!
I wonder: did i do something wrong?
I regret: being so selfish
I love: spending time with my friends
I care: about my "kids"
I always: take a bath at night
I worry: about the future
I am not: perfect
I remember: spending time with my dad when I was little
I believe: that God is in control
I dance: to God's grace
I sing: All the time!!
I don’t always: do my best
I wish: my dreams will come true
I listen: to my IPOD when I clean
I don’t understand: how people can harm an innocent child
I can usually be found: at work!
I need: to see my family soon
I forget: lots of different things
I am: blessed beyond measure, loved by God

Now, It's your turn!

Hands Tied Behind My Back

I know that everyone is waiting to hear about my trip and that will come...soon. My computer is still sick and now I'm at work (yes, I know it's Sunday, but I had to come on campus for somehting else, so I decided to check my email here.) This post has something to do with my trip, well at least with lessons learned from the trip.

The conference theme was "Moving to the Rhythm of His Grace." That was so powerful to me...to learn to walk to His pace, to His steps, to His guiding. Which leads me to the title, "Hands Tied Behind My Back." One thing that God has shown me lately is the need for surrender. Surrendering of everything. All of my plans, my dreams, my agenda. For example, at the conference, I was supposed to be there as a counselor. There were 50 women there and I had at least 6-8 slots. I saw 4 people all weekend and one person twice. I think if I had told her that she could come for the rest of the available times, she would have. I really didn't do much counseling, I just listened. I was feeling a bit defeated, like, "Why did I come here?" But when I let go and acknowledged the fact that God had called me here and that I answered the call, He used me in incredible ways.

There is a particular situation in my life (it's a good one, it's just that I'm not going to get into specifics here..if you want to know, ask. I don't mind telling you.) that is very difficult for me to surrender to the Lord. But I want to, I need to. I want to lay it down at His feet and leave it there, not pull it back. One of the hardest things for me is to realize that i'm not in control. (anybody else relate?) I want this so badly, to work out, to be great. But I'm also realizing that it can't be great, it can't even be possible if I don't lay it down. Last night, I was praying about it and the image of my hands being tied behind me came to my mind. That' s what I pictured: me at the feet of Jesus, laying this burden at His feet, humbly bowed, but my hands tied behind me so that I can't pick it back up, even if I wanted to. Strange. But honestly, that's how I feel. Lord, keep my hands tied as long as You need them to be. Teach me to walk in Your rhythm of grace, to your speed.

I'm back!

I made it in last night around 8:30. I've never been so glad to be back in the USA! Now, I'm still reeling a bit from the jet lag. The conference was incredible!!!! I'm still processing everything, but God was able to do increasing more than i ever thought was imaginable or possible. I was just willing. Croatia is absolutley gorgeous. I had a great quiet time in front of the Adratic Sea. I had a wonderful time, but am ready to get home. Work awaits me tommorrow, and I've already been warned that it is chaotic. But I'm going to trust my God to meet my needs. More later!

Leaving on a jet plane...

My bags are almost packed...and I'm getting ready to fly out on Monday to Croatia. I'm super excited. The Lord has been so good! Friday was a very smooth day at work, I'm way more organized and almost fully packed, the Lord provided for my every need for this trip through some very dear friends, a dear friend washed, waxed, vacummed and had the oil changed on my car simply because he wanted to give back to me. Wow! I still can't believe that I'm going to Croatia! I'm super excited for the opportunity to serve these precious women. I can't wait to hear about what God is doing in their lives in the Balkan area, and to also just encourage them and love on them. I need this trip as much as they do. I need to be renewed, refreshed, recharged, challenged, refocused. I'm already reaping the blessings of being obedient, but I can't wait to see what else God has in store for me.

Going overseas has a been a desire of my heart for several years, one that I only shared with one or two people. I knew that one day I would go overseas, even if just for a short time, but had no idea how, when, where, or even how God was going to do it. But He blew me away....rocked my world with this opportunity. I just had to be faithful in the here and now. In where He had me today. "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 36:4. How true this is!!!!!!! I'm seeing that in more ways than one.

I'm going to try to blog some while i'm there, but internet will be scarce. I have unlimited text messages, so I may try to text some. Feel free to text me! They are 7 hours ahead, so if you get random texts at odd hours, it's me!

• A few things to pray for:
• Traveling safety--especially for the 8 hour flight from Germany to Croatia!
• Wisdom in counseling the women
• Compassion
• Unity for the team- both the US Team and the Balkan team
• Strength
• Endurance- it's going to some long days, not helping- jet lag
• Spiritual renewal in the lives of the women
• Laughter for these women

Thanks for the prayers. See you in a week!