I Lift My Eyes Unto the Hills...

In light of my last post-- a plea for help-- I would be remiss to not share my experience from tonight. I should back up a bit though, to share the whole story:

Before Friday I had no doubts that all of the money would come in on time. In fact, I figured that by Friday over and above the necessary amount was probably flowing in. Then I received the update. $215? There must be something wrong, I thought. Maybe that's $2,150? Just a couple hundred to go, right...? What went wrong? I had done the calculations. I knew the faithfulness of my friends. What was going on?

I decided to try to just wait it out over the weekend and not think about the situation too much. (that was my idea of "trusting in God" and "not worrying." My plan was to avoid thinking about it at all.) People would come through. There was still time.

Yesterday one of my Spearhead leaders sent me some information over e-mail and then by phone advised me to contact my supporters again. In dismay at the brevity of time in which I needed to raise support, I wrote the reminder e-mail today. God was already moving in my heart though, even as I surrendered to the realization that I can't orchestrate all of the details in my life. I can (and should) plan... but then I need to trust God with the outcome. First lesson.

Second lesson: God has better plans for me than I have for myself. I was reading in Matthew 6 today about God's provision for the "birds of the air" and the "grass of the field" and was reminded that I should not worry about my life, what I will eat or drink or wear... or about support raising. If He wants something to happen, it will happen. Thus, if He wants me in Mexico on September 20th... He'll get me there! I also was talking with a friend about finances today and God reminded me of Psalm 121:

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

² My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

Doesn't get much more comforting than that!

So, I went from self-sufficiency to despair to trust. All before I sent the letter. My e-mail went out at 7:58 and by 9:00 I had already received numerous e-mails pledging both financial and prayer support; God was confirming that He hadn't forgotten about me.

I'm honestly thankful for the uncertainty that He has allowed me to experience (and continue to experience) because it has made me break some of my dependence on myself and realize His goodness in providing for me. It also gives me experience from which to encourage others who are struggling with the same situation... and glorify God's name among those who aren't (currently!)

Thanks to all of my supporters (both financial and spiritual). You are a part of something really important that God is doing in my life and are a beautiful manifestation of the hands and feet of Christ!

SOS

So far I have raised $215 of the $2400 (equivalent to the first two months of support) that I need to raise by next Wednesday if I am to go to Mexico on time for my trip. If you are on the fence as to whether or not to give, or have been meaning to, but just haven't gotten around to it yet, please donate now! :-) Thanks! Caro

The link:

https://www.lam.org/donate/missionary.php?misid=5787

Happy Anniversary

Also, this is my parent's 28th wedding anniversary. That is so special to me on a couple levels. As I see my friends beginning on lifelong commitments in their early twenties I just pray for them the commitment to each other in the Lord that my parents have always modeled for me.

I pray for families that have already been devastated by divorce and for marriages on the brink.

May God strengthen the marriage relationships old ands new, and bless my parents faithfulness to one another for 28 years! :-)

NY, NY

I am in New York City right now, dropping my sister off at college. I'm so excited!!! This could be considered to be a bucket list thing. The only time I had ever been in NYC previously was in a layover at the JFK airport. So, this is great. I think that I definitely have cities in my blood somewhere. They are so exciting and just crammed with culture! Good stuff.

More to come maybe, but I just thought I would update my online journal of Gulliver's latest travel. :-)

That's My King!!

I really want to write about this weekend because so much happened... but this video (see end of post) kind of summarizes it. Dr. S. M. Lockridge's "That's My King" just really brings glory to God and shows His overwhelming goodness and faithfulness. And I guess you could say that is my overwhelming response to this weekend. I have really been floored by an outpouring of the goodness of God. I have beheld a ton of His glory and honestly feel a bit blinded by it.

In a nutshell, this was Mindy (formerly Booher!) Hays' wedding (married to Robert Hays). The wedding itself was beautiful and so glorifying to God, as were all of the events surrounding it. The theme of the weekend seemed to be "remember." Remember all of the faithfulness of the Lord in my life and in the lives of my two best friends. (We even sang a song in church today that basically talked about remembering what God has done in our lives in the past).

It was a really incredible yet draining weekend, as I also was blessed to see my great aunt, probably for the last time on earth. That was a difficult, yet at the same time very comforting experience. It's hard to explain to those who do not share the hope of haven, but for those who long to be with Christ, you can understand how I can "grieve with hope," knowing that Aunt Georgie will soon be saved from pain and be transformed by her Maker... and in His very presence, face to face!

Oddly enough then, most of the tears of this weekend were "happy tears" (a girl thing, I know). Crista (My best friend and travel buddy) and I decided that we came home from this weekend completely exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally... but charged spiritually! So overall just a very good time. :-)

More details to follow?

Oh, and here's the video:

That's my King: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awuicYraWuc&feature=related

Hearts of Fire

The book I am currently reading, Hearts of Fire, is a challenge to say the least. Researched and presented by Voice of the Martyrs, it relates the stories of Christian women around the world who have suffered and lost everything for their faith in Christ Jesus. These women, through God's strength resisted all threats and refused to renounce their Savior.

Their stories have been such a convicting reminder that a Christian life of safety, security and ease is not mandatory, and is very unusual in most parts of the world. I thank God that I am able to worship and speak about Him freely (though I confess I don't take advantage of those blessings regularly enough) in our country. However, I think that I can all too easily fall into the thinking that this is the normal Christian life.

Thoughts to meditate on:

--I must be living to the fullest in view of my unparalleled freedom in America. There is no excuse to not be praying and worshiping openly or sharing the gospel all the time.

-- I must not think that this life will always be this way, but should be preparing my mind soul and spirit for persecution, whether in America or elsewhere. I should not think that God is punishing me if (or when) persecution arises, but should seek to be faithful and bring Him glory through it.

-- I must remember that I am part of a global church and that there I have Christian brothers and sisters in all parts of the world that are experiencing horrific atrocities... And I should be praying for them.

-- I must not hesitate to follow God somewhere that would be considered unsafe (Mexico, for instance) realizing that as Christians we will be persecuted for following Jesus. That is natural. That is in the Bible (a more exhaustive Bible study to follow). The darkest, most evil places of the earth are places where the gospel has not yet penetrated and therefore places that are most in need of the light of the gospel.

-- I must realize that my Savior suffered and died for me. To not be willing to suffer and die for Him is to not follow Him fully.

I praise God for the freedom that I have to publish this post on the Internet without fear of persecution! I realize that a day might come when there will be extreme consequences for speaking openly about Jesus, (as there already are in so much of the world) but pray for the Lord's strength, if and when that time comes. May the Lord strengthen me to withstand any test so that I may stand before God and hear "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord."

Do Hard Things

I don't usually read books twice. And I almost never read books in under a week, let alone a couple of days. But "Do Hard Things" by Brett and Alex Harris fits both categories. It is so refreshing to read a book that holds young people (and especially Christians) to a higher standard of striving for excellence to the glory of God. I hope to post some quotes from this phenomenal book over the next few days. But, in the meantime, check out the author's blog to get a glimpse of what they stand for: http://www.therebelution.com/blog/