Australia

I just thought I would let you know that I put a "Donate" button on my blog page and I think I should explain why it's there. Honestly this is one of the most humbling things one can do, people who have asked for money for missions have told me that they have been humbled, blessed, challenged etc. just at the fact that someone would actually donate any amount of money towards what they have been called to do. I will tell you, I am no different. God somehow has used this method for so much good, not just in what the money will accomplish in the physical realm, but to bless the person/organization that receives that money. I have been changed by you, and I thank God for you every day. Don't we serve an awesome God? I think the next thing that I want to say may come out wrong and I'm not sure there are words to describe how strongly I feel towards this subject. So, here it goes: I believe without a shadow of a doubt that prayer is one of THE most important things we can do. Above anything else, prayer is how this world can change (if you missed my blog post on the phrase "changing the world", please read it if you would like to know in more detail what I mean by that). So, I ask for your prayers as I go to Australia. Here are a couple prayer requests:

1) That our team would bond, not only so that I may connect with the people I will be working with, but that we will be effective ministers to others.
2) Protection: Spiritual, because there is a devil who hates when God's work is done. Also, physical.
3) That God would give me a vision for my future and make His call on my life even stronger.

If you want to know more about my six month long Australia trip, please read my first blog post, its called: "1st blog post!!!!" or comment on one of my posts and ask me. Also, I will be keeping everyone updated with pictures and posts through this blog. So please keep reading! =)

I wrote this blog post about a month ago and I wasn't sure when I should put it on the internet. I think a lot of times people get the wrong idea about other people's passions, especially when it comes to religion. But for some reason I feel as though I need to clarify the reason I am going to Australia. Here it is!

I don't think I can tell you how excited I am to go on my adventure, the more I think about my trip to Australia the more over joyed I get. There is so much that is going to happen and all it will take is six months, six months for my life to be totally transformed. I'm not going to Australia so that I can have some life experience that I can look back on and tell my grand kids that I once did something that everyone should do when they are young and don't have anything to hold them back. As if saying, "if you have money and you have a desire to travel then you should do it while your young. Do it at a point in your life when the joys don't outweigh the costs." This is not why I am going to Australia, to fulfill some vague cry in my life that needs an adventure.

Let me tell you why I am going. I am going because I am totally in love with Jesus Christ, a love that can't be described, people will say they love God, but sometimes I wonder if it's possible to understand what is happening inside of me when I tell you that Jesus is my everything. At one point in my life, my everything was crying out for something that wasn't real, that wasn't life giving and I was filling those things with anything I could think of. How can someone understand love? Because I sure don't understand it, I can't quantify it and put it into some graph and add some numbers to it and be like "HERE!" X+Y=whatevertheheck. There are no words to tell you, I can't use some spectacular vocabulary or blow your mind with a unique idea. People have been writing about love for a long time, they put it into poems, into short stories, raps, rhymes etc etc etc.. But really, can we ever stop writing? Can we ever stop dreaming? Those questions are like asking if there is any end to God. I'll tell you, there is no end to God, just as there is no end to love, because God is love.

"I'm convinced that if you are not passionate with your relationship with Jesus, if you are not passionate about worshiping Him, it is because you don't know yet, how much He loves you. " - Kim Walker

Silence

Two blog posts ago I promised the internet world that I would take 10 minutes a day for 2 weeks and give God my silence. It's easier for me to give God time when I am with others, either time in community or time in a more public setting.  I think part of the reason is that I am an extrovert and its much easier to focus, learn and even create stillness within my mind when I'm around others. But when it comes down to spending time alone with God, it was difficult for me, and admittedly still is. There are days when I don't feel like setting aside a longer period of time, even 10 minutes, to spend with God. Note that I would try and have 10 minutes of silence in the morning before breakfast, here's how it went:

One morning would go really well, I would read Scripture and then just set my mind on God. Ask Him to quiet my mind and speak to me. I would feel God's presence, and He would start to allow His reality to take over mine. But the next morning, after being mentally and spiritually stretched the day before, the time I was about to give wouldn't seem as inspirational, or at least as meaningful. It took a lot of will power to take the 10 minutes of silence. I would come up with excuses, like: "Well yesterday went well, so I can skip a day." Or "I'm really hungry, so I'll make breakfast and then I'll take my quiet time." Of course procrastination just leads to more procrastination and then it's nighttime before I had any good alone time. "Good alone time". I think I am still struggling with what that statement means, because I believe that even in our not so profound moments with God, its still "good" because we spent it with God.

The next paragraph is what I wrote in my journal and have been learning over the last month and has only been reinforced with my little experiment over the past two weeks. It's something I believe to be true and will continue to go after as long as I live. My encouragement to you: try it! Give God some stillness and see what He does :)

There is something about stillness. I'm not sure I can put my finger on it, but God created it for a reason and when God is given your stillness, He uses it and responds to our effort. When you ask God to quiet your mind and your heart, it allows Him to sink in. For Him to become reality, its like He reveals His kingdom not just to you, but in you. You start to become filled with His wisdom, start to live a life centered on the only one worth centering your life on. The inner transformation of your life is critical and important to God. It's where God makes His home and His Spirit advises. Stop worrying about what your going to do tomorrow, focus on turning your inside into something that IS God's.