Thinking of my future and relying on God

Hello to everyone! It's been quite awhile since i have posted on here. Today feels like a good day to do  a post. It is a beautiful day, given it's a little rainy and stormy but i am very thankful for today! I've really been diving in to quite a bit of prayer the past few days. I'm somebody who is able to tell almost any guy or person how i feel about them but when it comes to a certain person i have a hard time trying to express how i feel and i didn't really realize that until my best friend kimmy said that and then i really realized that. I know that God has placed someone special in my life and i am just praying that God would work things out and even if it only works out that me and this person are just friends then i'll be ok with that but i am also believing that God will work things out if they are meant to be and even if they aren't then so it be. I feel like i just go through every story that i have, the day i first saw him, the day i meant him, the times we have hung out and had fun, the time i found out that his heart is for Africa and know that's where God has called him. I am praying for my future and for my future husband, i'm asking God to give me the desires of my heart as long as i delight in the Lord and i am giving God my all right now. I am running after my Jesus and as i run after my precious Lord i know that God will move in me and reveal many things to me. So these are just thoughts i've been having today and i am very much looking forward to where God is going to take my future and my life with whomever that may be with.

Missions trip to Mexico

Here is how i will start this blog about my mexico trip: "Missions Trip to Mexico" by Bunch of Believers....check it out..

After going to Mexico for 4 years in a row now, this fourth trip was just as good as the other trips. Each year i've gone to Mexico, God has changed me. This year when i went i learned that Jesus + Nothing = Everything! It really is the full truth too! We don't need anything else in this world besides Jesus because Jesus is everything, in other words, Jesus = Everything!

Why we were in Mexico we built a house for a family and we had so much fun building it too. At times it got kinda frustrating but we got it finished and it was so much fun! I even gained a new nickname from Paul Dumond which is "princess buttercup" and i'm not quite sure how i got it but i did. We had so much fun and got to use tools that we have never used. Here are a few pictures of us working and me as well as the finished product!

So this was the house and the team! We had a team of 52 people and it was truly an awesome week! We were a team that was from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, and Nebraska i think...haha, but by the end of the week we were all like family! We were a team that knew absolutely nothing about each other and by the end of the week we knew something about each other! It was so awesome being able to spend time with these awesome people and spend time with the people of Mexico. To do things for the people of Mexico is always such a blessing and we know that it does mean something for everyone too. It was a blessing to all of us!

Here is my testimony of the trip....
     I told you this year when i went to Mexico i learned that Jesus+Nothing=Everything. Well here is something that i also learned from inside this sermon series. Josiah Potter told us a story about the Pastor of the Church that we stayed at. This story was about how this Pastor's friend was driving on the windy mountains of Mexico and as he was driving he somehow went over the side of the cliff and rolled his car a few times and then landed. The Pastor was behind him and he got out of his car and ran down the hill to check on him and he was not alive. The Pastor slammed his hands on the top of the car roof and screamed, "Why God?" The Pastor said he audibly heard God's voice that said, "Because i am God." This struck me so much because i've had times when i've screamed in my car that same thing and now God has answered me. See, even though sometimes we don't understand why things happen, it happens because God has the power to do what he wants but in the end it's what helps us grow above and beyond and sometimes we don't realize that right away.

The rest of the week was an awesome week in Mexico. We got to minister to the people which was awesome and hanging out with them was so much fun! We even had one of the members on our team accepts Jesus and get baptized! It was so awesome! He is a son of the living God and means so much to the King! He is growing in his faith and is seeing who God really is which is awesome! This guy has such a purpose in his life and is going to use him in ways that he has never thought possible! All in all, that is my Mexico trip! It was awesome and i look forward to my next missions trip. God Bless for now!

Why is it that sometimes we don't fit in? Dedicated to all girls

Right now, i don't know what to say besides my feelings. Sometimes i guess certain cliques just stay the way they are. I don't understand it, i don't get it but i hate it.  It makes you feel terrible and sometimes like you don't belong where you are. I don't want to change myself in order to fit in and i know that there are girls that do that and if people can't accept you for who you really are then i guess they aren't worth it. I know it's hard to accept that too sometimes but it's just one of those things in my opinion you have to accept how people are. Be encouraged though and know that there is a true best friend for each person out there.

My sister and i were just talking and we both feel the same way. I mean i know that i have awesome best friends in Gettysburg that i miss tremendously but here at home i don't really have them. It gets hard but you know my dad said that maybe Jesus just wants to spend some time with me. So, that's what i am trying to do right now. I know that things get easier and we will always have bumps in the road. We CAN'T give up! We have to continue to push through even when we feel like we don't have anyone else to turn to, you turn to God and you know you have it all. My sister is an awesome sister and i didn't know that she felt the same way i do with this. She is beautiful and i love her so much! I know that God is going to provide her with someone in her life that she is best friends with and i look forward to meeting that girl!

                                               This is my awesome sister Janelle! Isn't she Beautiful?
                                                                                 I think so!
All girls, hang in there and don't give up. Spend time with your Heavenly who is your absolute best friend and he loves you more than anything, Jesus Christ! I love you Ladies and stay strong. I've learned tonight that our God fights for us! I encourage you to read Exodus 15:1-18. Remember that Jesus is there and is fighting for you and with you. You will pull through and you are a beautiful daughter of the King!

GMC Graduation and Summer Begins!

Well hello, it has been absolutely forever since i've blogged. It's about time that i let you all know what has been going on lately! A lot has definitely been going on lately in my life. I officially graduated on May 22nd, 2011 from my first year of Gettysburg Master's Commission!

Graduation was a very a happy day but it was also sad because i knew that on that day i had to leave my Gettysburg Master's Team and Freedom Valley Worship Center for the summer. I'll be honest, about half way through my year of Master's Commission i didn't think that i would be coming back for a second year but now i do believe that i am and i'm really looking forward to what God has in store for me next year and our team, along with the new people that we have! I believe that next year is going to be a great year and that even when we have hard times we will endure as much as we can and will come out stronger in the end!

So during Graduation, Lance talked about an arrow and how each of us are in the quiver getting ready to go out and be used by God. As we wait in the quiver, we each need to be ready at any certain time for God to send us out at any point in time. Lance truly is an amazing man of God and i am so thankful that he was our director this year. Through all the hard times we made it through as a team and pulled through till the end. We all had our moments through the year but with God we made it through and Lance did an awesome job this year for all that he went through and what we went through as a team. He did his best and i am very proud of my director!

My Gettysburg Master's Commission team. Oh how i truly love this team! Throughout this year i could probably tell you stories between each one of me and my team members. All these girls and Matt have truly set something special in my heart. I love them so much and they are each very special to me.

     Kimmy,

          You truly have become my best friend over this year and i couldn't have gotten through without you. You were there for me when i needed you and i want to thank you so much for that. We've had many laughs too which i have greatly enjoyed! God is going to continue to strengthen you and grow you in ways that you've never thought possible. You will make it through the tough times. I promise and God promises you that too! Continue to seek after God in everything you do! You are my best friend and i love you so much!

     Caitlyn,

          Well my dear, i would say we have had some good laughs over the year and the times that we've gotten to spend with each have been a lot of fun. You are an awesome woman of God Caitlyn and God is going to use in so many ways that you have never expected. I find it funny how you said that you believe God has called to do music in the missionfield and how you told me that God is going to use me in music while i'm in the missionfield. I'm still praying on that but i think it's cool. I think were a lot more alike than what we think we are. You are awesome and i love you for sticking with the team this year and being who you are. Continue to grow in God girl! Love you!

     Bonnie,

          Oh, Bon Bon! I love you! You have the one that has given me the best advice in certain situations and you have spoken into my life in ways that i didn't expect. I love what God has called you to and you are totally good at it because you were able to help each of us this year and keep us strong as a team. You know i have to tell you Bonnie that the day we were leaving for Armenia and you told me that i would be the strength on the team when we were in Armenia. Bonnie, God was testing me when i was there and with Lance's best advice and what you said to me, i kept to that to the best of my ability and i didn't want something to change that. So i want you to know that whether or not you had thought about that while i was gone, i did because it left a huge impression on me. Thank you for what you have done this year and for being who you are. I love you Bonnie Chase!

     Matthew,

          Well Matt, i know i didn't get to spend a lot of time with you but the moments in worship with you were amazing. I have loved doing worship with you this year and if we ever get to do it again i would love that. You truly are made to do worhsip and God is going to use you in that and in preaching. Continue to go after what you want and what God has called you too. I love you Matt and i wish you and Kristen the best! God will continue to move in your life and don't ever walk away!

SUMMER TIME!

Well, what can i say? Summer so far hasn't been terrible. I definitely miss my team though, it's been hard not being around them everyday. I've realized that since i've been home i haven't been keeping in my devotions and a few days ago i received a package from Miss Laura Smith who was part of our team in the beginning of the year and still is even if she wasn't there the rest of the year. She sent me a package though that made me cry, but it didn't just make me cry. It made me realize and God made me realize that i wasn't spending time with him and even though things were going well, i didn't feel as much peace. I've started back in doing my devotions and God has been showing himself to me since i've started back in my devotions. God allowed me to pray for a customer in the store the other day right in the middle of the isle and i was very much glad that God opened that opportunity for me.

God has been working in me and gave me wonderful people around me to hang out with, especially a certain someone. His name is Michael and he is probably one of my best friends right now here at home. I love hanging out with him and he makes me laugh like crazy and even try new things. He is interested in Africa and is taking 3 weeks in Burkina Fasso. I am quite excited for him and am anxious to see where God is going to take him in that. He is quite the funny one but i love talking to him and hanging out with him. I hope he is ok that i am blogging about him. He is an amazing guy and God is going to use him in so many ways that he has never thought possible.

So, all is all that is what has been going on in my life lately. Oh, and i'm going to Mexico on a missions trip. I leave this Friday night so if you can pray for our team that would be awesome! We are building a house and doing sports camps plus a small vbs with an orphanage. God is blessing me and i'm excited for what is to come for the rest of this summer! For now...i'll be in touch.

Thought Process...

The process of changing our habits and our thinking is through reading God's word and praying.

The past few weeks i've been really frustrated easily through the simplest things and it's hard. I've realized though that God has convicted me of being frustrated. I've come to the point that i don't want to deal with it anymore and i'm sick of dealing with it and being frustrated anymore. I don't want to be frustrated anymore and God has brought me to the point to give it up to him.

In sermon application we talked about "what are you full of?" and i truly can say that i believe i am full of frustration and i don't want to be that way. I don't want it to have such a strong hold on me that i can't go on anymore and i notice that the affects of that for me are feeling like i can't go through Master's Commission anymore, that i just want to quit. BUT, i know that that is just Satan trying to get at me and i don't want to let Satan have that hold.

Now, it is time for me to take that thought process and turn those thoughts from negative to positive. God is working on me in this and it will be a process but i will get through!

Armenia

So preparation for Armenia has been somewhat difficult. I've been fully relying on God with my finances and everything i need. God really has been providing for me too. God always ceases to amaze me. I had sent out letters and God had provided through the people i've sent to. About a week ago i had sent out a facebook message to most of the friends i have on facebook and no kidding, within a few minutes God had someone send me a message asking for my address! I was seriously amazed and stunned by God! He ceases to amaze me and i love everything about God!

I know that God is going to do great things in Armenia with the people and the pastors of the church that we are working with. I am very much looking forward to what God has in store for Armenia!

Family

My family has become so precious to me being away from them this year. I have learned that being away from family brings you even closer to them. My parents and i have such a good relationship with each other. My mom and i especially always have such a good relationship because my mom and we like tickling each other and having biting wars. No, seriously we really do have biting wars. It's hilarious and my dad always yells at us because we always do it later at night when he is ready to relax. My dad and i have a good relationship too. He is quite funny too at times. He really makes me want to cry when i hear him speaking in tongues and really coming back to God. My sister and i are so different yet so much alike. We love hanging out and being with each other. We always have a good time and i love making her laugh. She is more laid back than me but we really enjoy each other! I love Dad too we just don't have any pics together haha!

                                                        Me and my momma, I love her!

                                                   Janelle and i! She is pretty cool and funny!

My poppa! I love him too and he loves his animals!

My Passion for Unreached People

God has given me a lot of passion for unreached people who have never heard the name of Jesus and for those who are hurting and feel like they have no hope. I also have a passion for people who are not in foreign countries, I would like to see all people be able to have a personal relationship with God but I know it doesn’t always work that way. God has placed a lot of compassion in me for other people. He has called me to do missions overseas wherever that may be. I see myself working with a team of evangelists, my husband, and many others where we go into villages and preach the gospel and see churches planted and doing whatever it is that is needed in the area I’m in. I’m honestly still not sure what God wants me to do in the mission field and where that is but I am sure of one thing. God has called me to live and work over in the mission field with missionaries for 6 months to a year where I will find out and know what it is that God wants me to do specifically within Missions. I know without a shadow of a doubt that that is what God is calling me to right now and the passion that I have now will begin to grow even more as I get to that spot. I am very anxious to see where God plans on sending me to live for a year and to work with people who are just hungering for God. I want to help them in any way possible and even more, show them the love of Christ. This is my God-given vision right now and I know that it truly is from God. I’m not sure when I plan on doing this but I know that God will reveal it to me in his timing just as he always does. So as of now, I will be waiting on God to reveal to me a time to go to the mission field and where that may be.

What God has been up to in my life lately...

     So i'm not going to lie to any of you. This year has been a rough year for me personally. I've gone through a lot this year and honestly its kind of felt like a touch of Hell in all honesty. I mean don't get me wrong, it's been an awesome year as well but it's been hard to make certain decisions to talk to people about things that i don't want to talk to them about. It hasn't been easy but i do know that God has truly brought me out of them and allowed me to lay them down at his feet.

     The other week i had found out that one of my friend's father had passed away and it really hit me. I think a lot of the reason that it hit me so hard was because i think everything from this year just decided to finally hit me all at once. Honestly, i didn't really know how to handle all of it. I don't know if i already talked about this, i don't think i did but if i did it just came back to my mind to talk about again i guess. Monday during prayer i was able to truly give it all up to God. God really has done some breaking in me the past week and half and i am so grateful for it. I find that the more time i give into my devotion time with Jesus, there is so much more that God is able to reveal to me.

    
     Monday we had a guest speaker for Coram Deo and his name was Asokun from India. He is the director for India with Mission SOS. He was talking about thanksgiving, praise, and worship. Seriously, this Coram Deo was the best i think that i've ever heard! We had some awesome prayer time too which was just amazing. In Sunday's service God was working in me. We were talking about fears and one of my fears is that i don't have the ability to have the spiritual gift of healing. Asokun also spoke to me about having the gift of prophecy which is something i honestly never really thought about. I guess in a way i have thought about it but i didn't. I don't know.
      God also spoke through Asokun to me about missions which is something that i've always wanted to do. Missions is the passion that i have had pretty much all of my life and that passion has grown even more. I know that i know that i know God has given me this and i am not letting go of it. I am running with it forever and I want to run after it with all that i have!

So that's what God has been doing in my life lately and i am so very grateful for all that God has been doing in my life and i cannot wait to see where God has me in missions.

"If we stop to see the world through the eyes of those who suffer" Mother Teresa

I never really knew who Mother Teresa was. Today i have learned so much about her and what her passion was in life. Mother Teresa was a woman who truly knew how to submit to God.

I know that i have submitted to God but how Mother Teresa reallly submitted to her is so amazing! She was a woman that was driven by passion and what God has callled her to do! This quote that is titled at the top hits me so hard but i don't know how to put it into words.

"If we stop to see the world through the eyes of those who suffer." It's not just seeing people through God's eyes, i mean we do need to learn to see people through God's eyes but we also need to learn to pretty much put ourselves into their shoes. That those who suffer, if we look at them through what they are going through it puts a whole new perspective into place.

Seeing people through God's eyes puts a whole new perspective into us but seeing people through their suffering has to be so much more different!

If we are truly willing to really give ourselves over to God and devote our whole lives to him, what could we really begin to do? I mean if we just say yes to God in everything we could be used so much! We could be difference makers in the world if that makes sense.

We need to learn to be in solitude with God. If we can find that special place where we can just get alone with God that is the place of solitude that we need to be in. Solitude comes before service as my awesome teacher Al Di Salvatore stated today and it's so true! We need to learn to be still before the Lord but not doing nothing. Being still before the Lord for me is when i'm out in the park or hiking and just admiring God's wonderful creation. I adore looking at the stars and that is when i truly really have some good moments looking and admiring God's beautiful creation. Those are my moments of solitude.

Mother Teresa has opened me up to so much more and i now i see how honored of a woman she was because of how she changed the world by just submitting to God and really being able to see people through their suffering and putting herself into their shoes.

What can you do to start changing the world? Where is your place for your moments of solitude?

Showing Mercy

Why is it so hard sometimes to show mercy to people? This is one thing that i have to work on and am trying to work on. It's so hard for me sometimes to not judge people when they have done something that they shouldn't have like stealing something and selling it, being pregnant before marriage...etc.

Let me just say one thing though before i go on though. I am not codemning anyone for what was done because God forgives and he has wiped that slate clean and it is NOT my place to judge anyone for anything. I love you whoever you may be and i do not want to offend anyone, this is just something that i struggle with.

I don't know why it's so hard for me to show mercy to people when i know that they aren't doing the right thing or whatever it may be. For example, my cousin has done some things  that he had no right to do and being involved with some things that shouldn't be. I have a really hard time trying to love him even though he is doing things that he shouldn't be. I struggle with loving the person and hating the sin.

Sometimes it makes it hard for me to be real with that person and love them like my cousin. I need to learn how to be able to love them and hate the sin. I'm not really sure i know how to do that. The things that people do sometimes make me so mad and i just want to yell at them and tell them that what they are doing is wrong and they need to stop, but see, it doesn't work that way. I think that's part of the reason that each of us go through certain situations so that we can others who have gone through the same thing.

I am asking God that he would help me to learn to love the person and hate the sin, as well as deal with it. I need to learn to let go of the anger that i feel sometimes towards people and let God handle it. It's hard. I'm really trying to not judge and to be loving, especially to my extended family sometimes. It gets hard but i know that if i can just start seeing them through God's eyes it will be easier.

Jesus i ask that you help me to see people through your eyes and not mine, that i would love them tenderly and not judge them. Amen.

Just take the time to LISTEN, i know sometimes that's hard to do

There are so many issues that are out there that have more complex truths to them than what we think. I learn so much and you know something? As Christians, we don't have to force the truth on people. If we are willing to just listen to them before we open our mouths and put our opinions in, just maybe would people begin to hear what we have to say and maybe we will get the opportunity to pour into other people's lives!

A lot of times as Christians we are so quick to judge and have a certain perception of people and then we wonder why non-Christians look at us and think that we are hypocrites and judgemental. We shouldn't have to be known as hypocrites and judgemental and etc., we should be known by what we stand for. Why aren't we looking at the potential that people have instead of their flaws. It's not our place to judge and we need to start seeing other people with potential.
Every person has potential and i think sometimes we tend to foget that and especially if you don't like that person it's easy to look at their flaws and all they do wrong instead of looking at their potential and what God has for them.

     I know there was this one guy that was in my class and we would always argue back and forth sometimes on religious views and i never liked him and i always looked at all the bad that he did and judged him for the things that he did and how he acted when i could have been looking at the potential that he had, the influence that he could have had if i just would have taken a little more time to listen to him and what his views were. We never got along in school and we were always in the same class because of our last names. This guy's name is Brian O'handley. The summer before my senior year, i had found out that he had passed away in a deadly car accident. At first, it didn't phase me and all i thought was, "wow, that doesn't surprise me." A few minutes later it hit me, i asked myself, "What are you thinking, your classmate just died in a car accident and you didn't do anything to see him saved!" I felt very guilty for a few days that all i did was absolutely nothing besides judge him and argue with him on certain religious issues. I then came to realize that maybe if i would have taken the time to just sit and listen to his view that maybe he would have listened to my view and just maybe i could have poured into his life. Just maybe there is a glimpse of hope that he is with Jesus and i don't know it.


Here is a challenge that i will take part in,

          When will we start just listening and not being so quick to put in our opinions on certain issues? Why don't we just start listening to what others have to say?

Maybe then, God will open up the door for us and people will be willing to listen to what we have to say.

STIR IT UP! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

This past Sunday my Pastor was talking about stirring it up. I really like how he put this and how he talked about it. He talked from the passage 2 Timothy 1:6-7 NKJV.....which says,
     "6 Therefore i remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

God wants us to start stirring up the gift that he has given us and he wants us to have a spirit of power, of love, and a sound mind. Three options of what God may be saying to you personally....

1. Maybe God is saying for you to stir it up and put into action what you believe God has imparted to you. There is a gift in you and you need to stir it up, so step out in Faith and do it!
2. Maybe God is saying that you know, you have exercised the gift i've given you for a little while, but now you just put it on the shelf and haven't touched it or tried exercising it. Now is your time to take it off the shelf and to start it up again! Start stirring it back up again!
3. Maybe God is saying i want you to take your gifting up a notch. You are doing well with the gifting i have given you and you are exercising it, but now i want you to take it a step up. Stir it up even more than what you have!

When you stir it up, you are able to have even more strength, more zeal, and you are able to set your mind to do something and do it without fear (being timid or cowardly). In this context that is what fear means and this is not how God created us to be. He did not create us to be timid or cowardly, he created us to stir it up and to step out in Faith and to start taking things up a notch and stirring it up even more!

     For me personally, number 3 is what i feel that God is saying to me. I feel like God is telling me that, "Kriston, you have the gifting that i have given you, speaking in tongues, but now i want you to take it up a notch and to start stirring it up even more. I have also given you the gifting of encouragement and i want you to start stirring that up even more and take it a step farther by encouraging everyone around you as much as you can even when you don't want to or don't feel like it." That was totally God that just said that, i just typed that....haha. So this is what God wants me to do.
    
     Now it's time for me to start looking for ways to stir up my gifts and how to use them more.

WHAT GIFT HAS GOD GIVEN YOU AND WHAT IS HE SAYING TO YOU PERSONALLY? HOW ARE YOU GOING TO STIR IT UP?!!!

A bit about what's going on this year in Master's Commission for me...

Wow! Well to be honest, Master's has been great! I've learned a lot and i've definitely enjoyed helping in The Edge Youth Group. I have also been learning a lot in my classes with all of my awesome teachers!

One question that i was asked about this year is "What have I received so far out of this year?" Honestly, i'm not really quite sure what i've received. I came into Master's Commission program with a calling in Missions, not sure where i'm going and not sure what i'll be doing specifically..i just know that missions is what i am called to do.

One of the things that i have asked for while being here in Master's Commission is for direction of where God wants me in the mission field and what i can do specifically within the mission field. I still have yet to figure out what quite is but i know that God has so much in store for me. When i leave this program, i want to contine seeking after what God has for me and i want to know who i am, what i have gotten out of this year, and what i can get out of my last 3 months here.

I want to shoot for being above average in this world and i want to go after what is real and what is bigger that i know God has for me! God has a heritage for me and within these next three months that heritage will be opened up. I will be waiting God for what you have to reveal to me and i want to seek after that more than anything. God i want to hear your voice and i want to see what your will for my life is! Please reveal it to me in your time and i ask that you just work through me and in me! Thank you Jesus for everything that you have done. Amen.

What Is Your Moment?

Believe it or not, everyone has a moment when God speaks to them about what they are called to do. You need to be able to measure that moment that you have with God. Everyday you have an opportunity to create your own moment and God doesn't just speak to you in only that moment. God is always speaking to you but you have to be open to really listen for God's voice and be able to distinguish God's voice from any other voice. In 1 Samuel 3, the story of Samuel is told where he was sleeping and woke up three times hearing a voice calling him. Each time Samuel gets up and goes to his father thinking that it was his father that called him but really it was Jesus who was calling Samuel. See, sometimes we get those voices confused especially when we aren't fully trying to listen for God's voice or when we get sidetracked we think it's someone else's voice when it isn't. We need to not miss our moment because God has a calling for each and every one of us.

My moment was 3 years ago when i was in Mexico on a missions trip and i clearly knew that Missions is my calling and that in that moment, God was saying to me, "Kriston, i have given you a passion for all people to see all people come to Christ and i want you to be the one who will be my hands and feet and who will take me to the darkest corners of the earth." I have no idea where that statement just came from, i believe that was the Holy Spirit! That was my moment!

What was your moment? Have you had one yet? If not, start to try and create that moment! Don't miss it! God is calling you!

Suffering Produces....

A lot of times when we are going through suffering, we think that it will just make things worse or that we won't get through it. Believe it or not, a lot of the time we NEED to be taught and challenged and that when the difficulties come we would know that God is still God and is still there.

Don't ever underestimate the power of what God can do and will do in your life. Lately, it's been really hard for me dealing with some things that weren't really for me to deal with, but yet watching it was tearing me apart and i just kept asking God why am i being torn by this, why do people have to go through this even though i'm not involved? Out of this struggle, it has made me stronger in God to know that if we just are willing to lay situations and burdens down at his feet that he will take care of them and that God will place a peace that surpasses all understanding if you just ask. It was only by the grace of God by laying it down at his feet that i was able to move on and truly be happy again.

As we struggle, remember that God is always there but also that God has conquered and you will be victorious in him. We must endure or suffer a lot in order to get into the Kingdom of God.

Suffering will produce Fruitfullness. For example, in 1 Samuel with the story of Hannah, Hannah called out to God knowing that even though she couldn't do anything, God could do something! When you know that there is nothing that you can do, that when you need to call on the Lord and trust him to know that God will work everything out for his plans and according to his purpose.

Suffering will also produce Growth Inside of You. It's amazing how much you don't realize that when you are going through a struggle that it's really growing you in God. The thing is, you don't really realize it until you actually come out of that struggle that you really did grow in God. I personally feel like it helps me to have a stronger faith in God, knowing that he holds it all in his hands. I love the thought that God holds everything in his hands even when we feel like he doesn't.

Lastly, suffering will produce Reward Over Your Life. I don't really realize right now that the suffering that i've gone through has and will produce reward over my life but i'm learning that. I don't quite understand  all of it yet but in the end it does. If anyone knows the answer to that, post a comment of how it produces reward over your life becasue i'm not quite sure yet.

All in all, i know that even though we don't like going through the difficulties, but it's through those times that we find God and that we grow in him. Remeber that Suffering is just a way for God to help you grow in him is the way that i look at it.

Revival in Gettysburg

This morning in prayer we prayed for the area of Gettysburg and there was the power of God! As i was praying i totally felt the presence of God within our prayer time. One thing within our prayer time that i was feeling was this wall that was standing between our church and the town of Gettysburg. As a church as our team of Master's Commission we really need to be praying that God breaks down the wall and that Satan is defeated in this town of Gettysburg! We need to be praying in the name of Jesus that these walls are broken down and that Satan has NO POWER in this area! To God be ALL OF THE POWER, glory, and honor!
C.S. Lewis talks about the "Law of Human Nature" that it tells us what we ought to do and not do. I think of it as our concience and that when we think about going out and spreading God's word in Gettysburg, i think it puts on your own consience what you are going to do about it. So, what are you going to do about seeing a revival in Gettysburg? I know i'm going to be praying hard for a revival within the Freedom Valley Church that will spread through the town of Gettysburg and i want to make points to be out using every opportunity i can to reach Gettysburg!
What will you do?

WE ARE NOT ALONE

There are always going to be times in our lives when we don't admit that we are wrong. I know that there have been times when we leave problems unresolved and don't bother to fix them. There is always a suffering that overwhelms us. We always want to avoid the overwhelming suffering that we can't handle, but then when we finally get free of it, there is this lack of something where even though we have everything it robs us of what we really can do and what we know and we begin to get bored because we have everything. If we don't start to do something about the problems in our lives and fix them, things are just going to get more frustrating and won't work out even if we do have the earthly things. Earthly things do nothing, God says in Matthew 6:19-21 to not store up treasures for yourself on earth but treasures in the Kingdom of God and that where you treasure lies, your heart will also be. See, the suffering that we go through somehow brings us to a point of being honest. Even though we go through so much pain, it has a way of working in us and allowing us to be honest. That's when that empty place inside of us begins to open up where we can tap into the life, energy, and the happiness that God gave to us even though at times it's painful. See, with God we go through struggles but that's how we grow in God!

Lately, i was really having a hard time really trying to get into my own personal devotions and prayer times. I committed to God on January 29th at Penndel Winter Retreat that i would give it all up to get it all back. This committment means so much to me and i felt that God wanted me to give up tv. I'll tell you, it's the hardest thing i've ever done becasue i enjoy watching my favorite tv shows, but at the same time, it is the BEST thing that i've ever done. I find myself being able to give God more time and just soaking in his presence and seeking after him with all that i have.

So, even though we go through struggles and sometimes let problems unfixed, we are not alone! There are other people that go through the same things that we do. As Rob Bell stated, "Know what needs to be taken away to get at the pure essence of what you are trying to create or design." Seriously, how awesome is that statement?! Really think about it. I mean if you know what you need to take out of your life in order to grown cloer God, THEN DO IT! Suffering allows you eliminate the things in your life that need to be eliminated. A lot of us suffer from the same things, people close to us that may have cancer, people close to us who may have an addiction, take realization to the fact that WE ARE NOT ALONE! So many people are going through the same things and what helps us to heal is that exact fact that we are not alone.

So, my challenge is what are you going to give up in order to get closer to God? What struggles are you going to go through in order to get closer to God?

"Real things are not simple" C.S. Lewis

As C.S. Lewis puts it, "Real things are not simple." I know that Christianity is real and i would love to say that it's a piece of cake to live a Christian life and to live for God, but it's not easy. See, in the words of my teacher, "the very thing that we are insecure about is the very thing that God wants to use." God will always find a way to use what it is that we are insecure about. In other words, the fears, doubts, and things that we are not self-confident about are the very things that God wants to use in  us to reach others.

We all go through ups and downs in our lives and sometimes when were in those tough times we tend to stop moving forward and just stay put. We keep to ourselves, try to stay as safe as possible, and then we don't end up moving forward at all. We don't want to try because we don't want to let that safety net down, we don't want to go through another tough time or even try to go through it. Instead of just sitting down and holding on, we need to push through and be conquerors in Christ! With God, we can make it through the tough things in life, but we have to be willing to let go of things and to turn everything to God. We need to be willing to just run the race full force with God on our side knowing that he has the power to bring us through and knowing that all things will work out for the way that God has is planned.
When you are going through a difficult time, try to process it and try pushing forward with Jesus along side of you. Stop being safe and just GO FOR IT! Life isn't simple and living for God isn't the easiest thing in the world, but he brings us through the difficult times because it helps us to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ! Do something crazy for Jesus!

Start stepping out in faith and be a little crazy for Jesus! God hasn't called us to live a life that the world lives, to shrink back and stop moving forward. God has called us to stand up for him and to be bold. God has called us to move forward and to work through the tough times even when we think we can't!

So, even though life isn't simple, living for God isn't easy, are you willing to run through the storm and to be a little crazy for Jesus?

Are you living in tune with the song that we are all playing together with God?

God is always there and never leaves us. See, I don't have to prove if God is there for me. I know he is there because i feel him in me. When i run after him with everything i have i feel him living in me and through me. Jesus wants us to live in tune with the song that he is playing. God is love, he forgives, he sacrifices, that is who God is. God's song is written on our hearts just as Rob Bell says. See, everyone is playing a song but are they in tune with the spiritual song? We don't want to miss a part that God may be trying to tell us, God just wants to spend time with us and to just sit and listen to him. We are all different and everyone takes part in playing the song together. It doesn't matter what race we are, how tall or short we are, how old or young we are, etc. God accepts everyone no matter who they are. God is waiting for us to choose whether or not we are going to live in tune with the song that he is playing. Living in tune together as one body in Christ is what God wants for us. In Christ, we are all ONE and we work together to further God's kingdom and stay in tune with the song that is being played. How amazing is that to think about? God is above and beyond and is never walking away, he is waiting for us to turn to him and to join in with the absolute beautiful, soothing song that he is playing. Will you join in the beautiful song?Check out this video by Rob Bell that's called "Rhythm." http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3d00z_rob-bell-rythum_lifestyle