Carried

"When you are too weak to walk, God will carry you."

This is a phrase I just read and it fit so well with how I can describe life lately. It has been a whirlwind of ending one job, starting another, going on a missions trip, finding a new place to live, pack up to move and resume training at my new job-all in 3short weeks!

I am thankful that everything has fallen into place but I am not suprised that it has because they have fallen into place because of The One who holds it all in place-God. To be honest, I have no energy or strength to keep the pace that I have, humanly speaking, but I especially have felt God's strength while on the missions trip last week. It was a challenging and at times difficult trip.

The children we worked with came from hard situations. It was heart-breaking to hear of their experiances and know that when they left camp they would be goiong back to those deplorable places. One 12 year old was pregnant from rape. Words cannot express the ill feeling I get when I think of what she went through and how her life will always be like because of the sin forced upon her. I can only pray that she clings to God and that He is glorified through this ugly situation. We met kids who were homeless, came from homes riddled with addictions and abuse. Many had a hard time letting down their guard long enough to listen to the gospel or to talk to the staff. That was the case for the cabin I worked with.

This cabin was led by two aamzing young women, one from Haiti and a recent college graduate and one who grew up as a New Tribes missionary kid in Indonesia(!), both were strong believers and I was so blessed to have worked along side them ministerting to the older girls group of the camp. These eight girls(one of them the 12 year old pregnant girl I mentioned earlier) were defiant in every possible way so much of the time, not wanting to participate in activites or work as a group, nor, did they want to hear about the Bible or talk about life-most of the time. When we had a chance we jumped at it and listened and offered compassion and love mixed with a healthy dose of scripture. A few were familiar with God and the Bible but were to angry with the world and the life they were living to turn to The One Who could change their eternity. We know seeds were planted and trust they will be harvested someday. Please join me in praying for these young ladies who are hurting.

Whenever I work with out youth group on an event as a chaperone I am always challenged and taught many things and last week was no different! I now expect and look for it because it is always a growing experiance. To protect the innocent(haha!) I will not go into detail but suffice it to say that I was challenged in my faith, my prayer life, seeking God for wisdom, watched God change the lives of many of the teens and see them grow closer to God and each other. Last week was a week of borkenness for many, a time for many of the girls to realize their need for each other but also their need for a deeper relationship with God and to be open and receptive to what God is showing them that needs to change.

In the last two trips I have gone on(last year to South America and this year to Allegan, Michigan) God has been faithful to show me in little pieces His bigger desire for me in life, much of which includes ministry but most likely not in the way I had thought for so many years. I hope to continue chaperoning youth group mission trips but would love to bring back Perspectives sometime in the very near future. I also realized a few ways I can encourage my friends who are in ministry bith near and far and how much joy I get from doing it knowing it is blessing others and bringing glory to God!

The God who counts the sands of the dunes we visited, The God who painted the sunset we watched on the shores of Lake Michigan and The One Who measures the water we splashed in in our last day, The God who created the forest I zip-lined through(!) and the God Who is faithful, gracious and full of mercy is also the God Who works in and through all circumstances despite what what I or anyone thinks or feels is working out how He wants me to do ministry. He is calling you and I to follow Him and will give us strength when we are weak. When you ask, He will carry you. Friend, allow Him to work through you, to give you the strength and when needed, to carry you. Its the best place to be.

Chapters in my life

Well, today was the end of one chapter in my life and the beginning of a the next, as I mentioned in yesterdays post. Thank you, dear friends, for your encouragement and prayers they mean so much to me. It was not an easy day, a little tear-filled on my part but I felt the prayers! Thank you God for the chapters You have written in my life and Your Faithfulness through out each page.

My weekend in the new chapter in life will be filled with preparing for my new job and the missions trip that is fast approaching (8 days-yikes!). These preparations include scrub size shopping and manual reading for the job and creating a menu and making the food for a week at camp ahead of time because of my food allergies(ideas, anyone?). I am sure that at least one trip to a grocery store will be part of the day tomorrow along with a little swimming with my sisters and maybe even cheering on a few of my youth group girls and friends in the local Gus Macker basketball tournament, Fathers day and my niece's dedication celebration and a campfire and game night with friends after a trip meeting! Whew, a busy weekend already but a person needs to have some fun occasionally, right? :)

Changes, Opportunities to Trust

Ahhh...after a LONG day of work I am sitting on my veranda listening to the relaxing symphony of crickets that God so beautifully orchestrated. This, with a backdrop of the river and Rib Mountain and the visits of a few fine feathered and forest creatures.

I have seriously craved this time for a couple of weeks but sadly my schedule and the weather have not allowed it until tonight. This gift of time and solitude is much needed after several months of situations beyond my control. I am emotionally and physically exhausted and am enjoying this small albeit precious time to enjoy the creation before me. It is especially special to me as I know my time at this apartment is drawing to a close and I will have to find a new place of solitude. So many changes and things going on in my life, namely one which happens tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my last day at a job I have truly loved. I love the patients, the doctors and many of the people I work with and the other things the job entails but I recently had to make a very hard decision. Along with that decision was the chance to trust in God and His provision in my life. I see it more than a coincidence that as I realized that my financial state was not getting any better and that I have many unexpected medical bills coming along with the need to find a new place to live that I found out about a job that would provide better pay and medical benefits. Along with this job came a whole new territory and learning a whole new career, this time in the pediatric dental field. Crazy different from the chiropractic world, isn't it? I never thought I would be working in the dental field. Then again, I said the same thing about the chiropractic field just a few years ago!

With this change in careers I MUST trust that God has this all worked out for His glory and that I will love it as much as I have loved my old career, if not more! I am thankful that this new job will give me better hours each week (although I will miss my extra days off!) hopefully giving me more rest and less stress each day! I must also trust that He will instill in me a continued peace about this change. Honestly, there is a part of me that is really scared and nervous about this new job and the change. Maybe it is partly the stress of the last several months and all of the changes and things going on in the next couple of months or maybe it is simply and largely me not trusting Him and resting the peace of His promises. Please pray for me as I learn a new career, go on a missions trip with the teens of my church youth group as a leader/chaperon and as I continue to search for a affordable place to live and then move, all within the next five weeks!

Even through all of the seeming upheaval in my life I try to keep in mind that the circumstances I am in are all temporal and will all be over, eventually so I am thankful that God is faithful through all of the situations and seasons in life and that I have the privilege of trusting Him and knowing Him a little more because of the journey my life goes through. I pray that you, my friend, will be able to rest a little bit more in His arms through all of the bumps and curves of life and enjoy the chances to learn more of His faithfulness because a challenge in life with Him is so much more peaceful than it is without Him in your life.

Seek Him. Trust Him. Today.

Lifting my eyes in the midst of a valley while on a peak....

My life has been a mix of intense personal trial and joy all at the same time. tonight at church we sang a song that reflected so much of what I have been doing, or trying to do, which is lifting my eyes to my God at the foot of a mountain I cannot climb on my own, clinging to a healer and comforter, to God who knows me and my thoughts, feelings and my life. He does not and will not desert me despite my failings and experiances-Praise Him!

The strength that I draw to get through any trial or joy is by continually fixing my eyes on my Lord and Savior. I hope you enjoy and relate to the lyrics just as I did. My friends, remember as His beloved son or daughter we are held in the arms of the One who holds the world in the palm of his hand. May I encourage you to repose, to rest, in the promise of His love, His strength, power. Please don't go through life thinking that he doesn't want a relationship with you because He does. He wants for you and me to lift our eyes to Him and seek Him out, to shout to Him, not only in the midst of trial but also for daily life-the good and not so good as he is the Calmer of the storms of life.

P.S. I hope to be able to get the video of this song by Bebo Norman up soon also.

~~~~~~~~

I Will Lift My Eyes-Bebo Norman
God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near, calm my fear
And take my doubt
Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

God, my God, let Mercy sing
Her melody over me
God, right here all I bring
Is all of me
Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

'Cause You are and You were and You will be forever
The Lover I need to save me
'Cause you fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God
So hold me now

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs you now.

I'm Back !!!!

Hello Again Friends!
After a longtime with sporadic internet and computer use I am back online. I just received my new laptop in the mail and so far so good. Even better is that I will (hopefully) be able to blog more frequently as has been my desire for awhile.

I need to work on some Bible study prep right now but until I can write more I ask that you be in prayer for me right now. Looking at things in a human perspective, one would think that my life was falling apart, but in truth it is just as God wants it to be, as difficult as it is I know He has all things in control. I am thankful for His faithfulness, grace and unfailing love. Will you pray with me that I continue to lean on His strength and not my own, that I trust the outcome of the circumstances and not be anxious but put everything to prayer? Thank you.

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.


These words have been on my this week. His power is all I can stand on because I certainly feel that I am on shifting sand. The power of Christ has been evident to me as I have read in Matthew the last couple of weeks. I am taking my time reading it, reflecting on the power that healed the lame, made the blind to see, raised the dead, showed us how to pray and live, read the minds of men and promise provision as seen in chapter 6;

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I have clung to these words because I worry. A LOT. Especially in the last 2 years. Okay. It's always been a struggle for me but I have worried even more lately, but I'm trying to let it go. Let it ALL go. I hear tell a worry free life is so much better than being in the pit of worry.

I have alot of decisions to make in the next few weeks, some that I have been praying and sontemplating about for many months and a few that I just found out that I need to figure out. What to do? What to do? I don't know. I wish I knew. It's a good thing that a All-Sufficient, All-Knowing, All-Powerful, All-Loving, All-Providing and i am truly thankful for that as I let my anxiousness go and seek Phillipians 5:6-7 6 as a daily prayer that I will experiance the peace that surpasses all understanding. May it be so. In Christ Alone, Only as He is my hope and strength.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:6-7