Today is a great day.
As I sit here watching The Incredibles and hating the pile of clean laundry sitting in front of me, I've got Guatemala consuming my thoughts. Today at church, the service was mainly dedicated to hearing the stories of the adults who just returned from their trip, and viewing a video of pictures. One of the things they talked a lot about was The Oasis, a ministry that reaches out to women who are stuck in the prostitution industry. They described the "line"--an old railway where the women rent the rooms that they use, and along which men from all over walk to choose the woman. They told detailed stories of two different women they met who are trapped in the cycle, but want to get out.
I truly do not like being emotional, but I couldn't help it...I wanted to cry. Sex trafficking and prostitution is something that tugs at my heart a lot--probably more like yanks at it. Lol. So, for me to hear those stories and even to hear that there was a 16 year old involved...it was really hard. Before the ushers collected this week's offerings, Pastor Stephen explained that it costs approximately twenty U.S. dollars a day for the women to survive, between paying rent for the room, paying the gangs that "own" them, and providing for their families. So, he called all the men to step forward and give $2.50 each week to get those women out from underneath the weight of all of that. It was beautiful, really. To watch all those men stand up, walk to the alter, and put money in that basket for those women was truly AWESOME. Whether it meant anything to them or not, it meant a lot to me, and believe me when I say that it could be the difference between life and death for those women.
Now that the day of our own departure is coming up, I'm feeling more and more desperate to pray for the Guatemalan people that we'll be visiting, and the ones that our adults got to meet last week. I can't wait to see what God has in store for US when we go!
More later.
=]
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Last night Val and I got to talking about whether or not Christians should only date Christians. Actually, the conversation started as a joke about me cheating on him, and he mentioned that if I ever did, it would just prove to him that Christian girls are no different than non-Christians. It is because of the fact that he sees Christians all over the place that do the same things as non-Christians that he thinks it doesn't really matter then. At this point in the conversation I told him I wasn't going to say anything, because I disagree wholeheartedly, and it was not worth getting into an argument about (I was trying the whole pick-your-battles concept, haha). However, I could not hold my tongue, and I quickly erupted into an extensive monologue explaining why I feel so strongly about this topic.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 has become a verse that means so much in my life.
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
"Therefore come out from them
and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.
I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."
Towards the end of my freshman year of high school, I started going out with a guy that I had liked for literally three and a half years beforehand. At the time, I considered myself a Christian, but in reality it meant nothing to me. It was just a reason to keep going to what constituted youth group every week. Shortly after the two of us started going out, David joined our church as the new youth pastor, and we started going through this discipleship workbook called Equipping the Saints. I learned SO MUCH about what being a Christian means, and I believe that is the time that I truly became saved. From that point on, I experienced incredible growth as a Christian. I felt like I had rocketed away from everything I knew to be "normal".
At the same time, my relationship with that guy was going well, except for the fact that all we seemed to do was fight about church. I was constantly inviting him to come to youth group, and when he didn't want to come, I tried to convince him to join in on a party or a skating trip, but nope. I began to pray that he would come, that God would do something miraculous in his heart. He swore up and down that he loved me, but I couldn't understand why he didn't want anything to do with something that was such a huge part of my life.
I was scheduled to be baptized with a group of other kids on August 13th of 2006. I invited my boyfriend to come, but he refused. That Sunday evening came and went, and although it was an incredibly happy moment for me, I was devastated--I wanted him to share this with me so bad, but he wouldn't. After that, I began talking to David online about what I'd been thinking and feeling, and he told me about the verses posted above. As I read them and thought about the advice he had given me, I decided that from that point on I would continue to pray about the situation and what exactly the passage meant. I'd heard some people say that it only applies to marriage, while others throw dating in there too, and really, I wanted to know what GOD thought. So, I continued to pray, and often I would cry over my boyfriend and those verses. Yes, I wanted him to come to know Christ, but I think I was just mostly scared that I would have to break up with him in the end. As I talked to God about it time and time again, and began to see that God was telling me that the verses do indeed apply to dating, I freaked out because I knew that God was asking me to break up with this guy. I did NOT want to do that, so in desperation I thought well if I could just get him to come to church ONCE that would be good enough. Obviously, that way of thinking did not work out, and eventually I broke up with him.
In all, this is the story behind how I came to find this passage so important. It was during this time that I realized that I, as a Christian, was headed in a total opposite direction from him. We failed to have in common the most important thing in life, as evidenced by all of our arguments about church. Even if we had been able to quench them then, there would have come a time when I could no longer stand by his side and still truly follow God. I so completely believe that a Christian should strive to date and marry other Christians only, not just "good people". Yes, there will be Christians who make mistakes, and people who claim to be Christians but don't live that way. But honestly, that is for you as an individual to judge for yourself. You don't HAVE to date the Christian that cheats on her boyfriends. Find someone who is more trustworthy and has more integrity than that, but let the person you choose be someone who is after the heart of God, not just someone who sticks the title "Christian" on them.
That's just what I think. When I finished explaining this last part to Val, I couldn't help but laugh. I had gotten so worked up over this, and I apologized because he was kind of speechless after that. Haha. So yeah...that's what I think, and I'd REALLY like to know your opinion. Do share! =]
I'm out for the night. Peace!
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 has become a verse that means so much in my life.
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
"Therefore come out from them
and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.
I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."
Towards the end of my freshman year of high school, I started going out with a guy that I had liked for literally three and a half years beforehand. At the time, I considered myself a Christian, but in reality it meant nothing to me. It was just a reason to keep going to what constituted youth group every week. Shortly after the two of us started going out, David joined our church as the new youth pastor, and we started going through this discipleship workbook called Equipping the Saints. I learned SO MUCH about what being a Christian means, and I believe that is the time that I truly became saved. From that point on, I experienced incredible growth as a Christian. I felt like I had rocketed away from everything I knew to be "normal".
At the same time, my relationship with that guy was going well, except for the fact that all we seemed to do was fight about church. I was constantly inviting him to come to youth group, and when he didn't want to come, I tried to convince him to join in on a party or a skating trip, but nope. I began to pray that he would come, that God would do something miraculous in his heart. He swore up and down that he loved me, but I couldn't understand why he didn't want anything to do with something that was such a huge part of my life.
I was scheduled to be baptized with a group of other kids on August 13th of 2006. I invited my boyfriend to come, but he refused. That Sunday evening came and went, and although it was an incredibly happy moment for me, I was devastated--I wanted him to share this with me so bad, but he wouldn't. After that, I began talking to David online about what I'd been thinking and feeling, and he told me about the verses posted above. As I read them and thought about the advice he had given me, I decided that from that point on I would continue to pray about the situation and what exactly the passage meant. I'd heard some people say that it only applies to marriage, while others throw dating in there too, and really, I wanted to know what GOD thought. So, I continued to pray, and often I would cry over my boyfriend and those verses. Yes, I wanted him to come to know Christ, but I think I was just mostly scared that I would have to break up with him in the end. As I talked to God about it time and time again, and began to see that God was telling me that the verses do indeed apply to dating, I freaked out because I knew that God was asking me to break up with this guy. I did NOT want to do that, so in desperation I thought well if I could just get him to come to church ONCE that would be good enough. Obviously, that way of thinking did not work out, and eventually I broke up with him.
In all, this is the story behind how I came to find this passage so important. It was during this time that I realized that I, as a Christian, was headed in a total opposite direction from him. We failed to have in common the most important thing in life, as evidenced by all of our arguments about church. Even if we had been able to quench them then, there would have come a time when I could no longer stand by his side and still truly follow God. I so completely believe that a Christian should strive to date and marry other Christians only, not just "good people". Yes, there will be Christians who make mistakes, and people who claim to be Christians but don't live that way. But honestly, that is for you as an individual to judge for yourself. You don't HAVE to date the Christian that cheats on her boyfriends. Find someone who is more trustworthy and has more integrity than that, but let the person you choose be someone who is after the heart of God, not just someone who sticks the title "Christian" on them.
That's just what I think. When I finished explaining this last part to Val, I couldn't help but laugh. I had gotten so worked up over this, and I apologized because he was kind of speechless after that. Haha. So yeah...that's what I think, and I'd REALLY like to know your opinion. Do share! =]
I'm out for the night. Peace!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The word "excited" really doesn't even cover how I'm feeling about the upcoming mission trip to Guatemala.
For those of you who don't know, a group of us from my youth group (along with some adults) are going on a mission trip to Guatemala in August. We are headed to Antigua, and will be working with kids 4 years old and under at a malnutrition center, as well as fixing up the facility and bringing as many supplies as we can.
Last night David let youth group out a little early, and those of us going on the trip met with a man named Ron Gunter, who is putting our trip together. He is the Vice President for International Childcare at Florida Baptist Children's Homes, and has made this trip a million times! (Okay, not literally, but still...)
Before, I was excited and everything, as we worked to raise money for the trip, but now that we have details of exactly what we'll be doing, I'm ecstatic! Ron gave us a little packet that had our itinerary in it, as well as other information that we need to know about. He also gave us all a really nice "travel journal" to use for the duration of the trip. That's really cool, although even if he hadn't given them to us, I would still journal everything I could.
I simply cannot wait to go and pitch in. Ron described what the children will look like, seeing as how malnourished they are, and it scares me...I'm nervous that when I get there and see those kids I won't be able to stand it. We'll see.
Also, I'm SO excited that we're going to a spanish-speaking country this year. I don't know how much I'll be able to understand and say, but I am certainly planning on pushing myself to try the entire time...I want to be fluent, and both years I've taken spanish with Mrs. Hernandez, she's told me I will be. Lol, I can't let her down.
;]
Well, I'll be back soon with more details. Summer camp in Daytona Beach is next Monday through Friday, so I might not be back until after then.
Oh, and before I go...I still need almost $300 for Guatemala. Would you join me in praying that God will provide that? For the rest of the group as well...
Thanks so much!
Goodnight.
=]
CHECK THESE LINKS OUT:
Florida Baptist Children's Homes site: http://fbchomes.org/index.html
Florida Baptist Children's Homes blog: http://fbchinternationalchildcare.blogspot.com/
For those of you who don't know, a group of us from my youth group (along with some adults) are going on a mission trip to Guatemala in August. We are headed to Antigua, and will be working with kids 4 years old and under at a malnutrition center, as well as fixing up the facility and bringing as many supplies as we can.
Last night David let youth group out a little early, and those of us going on the trip met with a man named Ron Gunter, who is putting our trip together. He is the Vice President for International Childcare at Florida Baptist Children's Homes, and has made this trip a million times! (Okay, not literally, but still...)
Before, I was excited and everything, as we worked to raise money for the trip, but now that we have details of exactly what we'll be doing, I'm ecstatic! Ron gave us a little packet that had our itinerary in it, as well as other information that we need to know about. He also gave us all a really nice "travel journal" to use for the duration of the trip. That's really cool, although even if he hadn't given them to us, I would still journal everything I could.
I simply cannot wait to go and pitch in. Ron described what the children will look like, seeing as how malnourished they are, and it scares me...I'm nervous that when I get there and see those kids I won't be able to stand it. We'll see.
Also, I'm SO excited that we're going to a spanish-speaking country this year. I don't know how much I'll be able to understand and say, but I am certainly planning on pushing myself to try the entire time...I want to be fluent, and both years I've taken spanish with Mrs. Hernandez, she's told me I will be. Lol, I can't let her down.
;]
Well, I'll be back soon with more details. Summer camp in Daytona Beach is next Monday through Friday, so I might not be back until after then.
Oh, and before I go...I still need almost $300 for Guatemala. Would you join me in praying that God will provide that? For the rest of the group as well...
Thanks so much!
Goodnight.
=]
CHECK THESE LINKS OUT:
Florida Baptist Children's Homes site: http://fbchomes.org/index.html
Florida Baptist Children's Homes blog: http://fbchinternationalchildcare.blogspot.com/
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Oh man...I thank God so often that I have friends and family who care about and can relate to how I feel about things, and I'm thankful that God has given me writing as an outlet to express myself. Some people have music or speech, art or whatever, but writing has been the only consistant thing that helps me explain myself. Without it, I don't think people would know me as well as they do.
Tomorrow I send off my $200 enrollment and housing deposit. Up until this point the preparations have just seemed like more steps along the path, but actually sending off money and waiting to see who my roommate will be makes it all the more real! I really am excited. I'm excited to get out of Lehigh, and to meet new people, and to learn in such AWESOME-sounding courses! I'm excited to test my faith and see what I'm really made of and how much I can really handle. Yes, I'm still concerned about leaving Val and my family and friends behind, but I try to remind myself that Lakeland is NOT that far away.
I'm waiting to see the rest of my financial aid packet for Southeastern. So far it's looking pretty good--no loans. We'll see what else I can get from them. Edison, on the other hand...I need to call tomorrow to find out if they're really done reviewing my financial information. So far they're saying that all I'm getting from them is Bright Futures, which is not good. The state changed how much money you get, so instead of getting 100% of community college, I will get $78 per credit hour. That's close, but doesn't quite cover tuition. Then there's books, still...so, yeah. We'll see. I should look for a job. Haha. You know, I laugh, but I really should. It's just extremely difficult. I don't want to be making excuses or anything, but without a car I'm confined to Lehigh, and of course in this economy I haven't heard of anyone in Lehigh hiring. It's tough, and I hate having to rely so much on my parents for stuff. Val's great too--he spoils me! Without him offering to pay for me, I'd never go out or do anything with him! Lol
Well, I'm out for now. Goodnight!
Tomorrow I send off my $200 enrollment and housing deposit. Up until this point the preparations have just seemed like more steps along the path, but actually sending off money and waiting to see who my roommate will be makes it all the more real! I really am excited. I'm excited to get out of Lehigh, and to meet new people, and to learn in such AWESOME-sounding courses! I'm excited to test my faith and see what I'm really made of and how much I can really handle. Yes, I'm still concerned about leaving Val and my family and friends behind, but I try to remind myself that Lakeland is NOT that far away.
I'm waiting to see the rest of my financial aid packet for Southeastern. So far it's looking pretty good--no loans. We'll see what else I can get from them. Edison, on the other hand...I need to call tomorrow to find out if they're really done reviewing my financial information. So far they're saying that all I'm getting from them is Bright Futures, which is not good. The state changed how much money you get, so instead of getting 100% of community college, I will get $78 per credit hour. That's close, but doesn't quite cover tuition. Then there's books, still...so, yeah. We'll see. I should look for a job. Haha. You know, I laugh, but I really should. It's just extremely difficult. I don't want to be making excuses or anything, but without a car I'm confined to Lehigh, and of course in this economy I haven't heard of anyone in Lehigh hiring. It's tough, and I hate having to rely so much on my parents for stuff. Val's great too--he spoils me! Without him offering to pay for me, I'd never go out or do anything with him! Lol
Well, I'm out for now. Goodnight!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Ohhh, I am dreading January.
It's going to be so hard.
I will miss my family so much, but
I know that I will always have them.
What if Val gets tired of me not being there?
He says he won't, but maybe he's wrong.
How does he know?
I don't want to lose him because of that.
Well, I don't want to lose him at all.
These thoughts just make me want to
stay here in Lehigh.
God, comfort me please.
I love you, and I know that
when all else fails, You are
STILL THERE.
=[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
It's going to be so hard.
I will miss my family so much, but
I know that I will always have them.
What if Val gets tired of me not being there?
He says he won't, but maybe he's wrong.
How does he know?
I don't want to lose him because of that.
Well, I don't want to lose him at all.
These thoughts just make me want to
stay here in Lehigh.
God, comfort me please.
I love you, and I know that
when all else fails, You are
STILL THERE.
=[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
