Saturday, September 22, 2012

Super Duper Superstition






Some people hate Arizona... I think its beautiful. Especially on cloudy days.
But there is something about hiking solo that is.... just super relaxing.
I LOVE getting outdoors, breathing in the beautiful air, and enjoying nature.

Don't get so caught up indoors that you miss enjoying the natural beauty that surrounds us.

WORLD




I made the WORLD!!!!!
For my room.
I love it.

I saw it on pinterest and HAD to make it.
The land part is cut out of cork board (so I can put pins into it).
I know you want one now but....this isn't a tutorial telling you how to make it. Sorry. This is just me bragging.
Blue = Been there. Green = Lived there. Red = Going to go there.

I cannot wait to cover this thing in blue pins. Its gonna happen.

Today... I miss Belize.









I have been home for seven weeks now.
I miss the ocean. My new friends. The kids. The music. The food. The sunsets. The rain. The laughter. .... everything

I know God changed me in Belize. and I knew coming home would be hard... (I seriously had culture shock) But now that I have processed everything that happened...I know now more than ever that I really really really...
REALLY
want to be a missionary.
And I mean outside my home country.
And I mean for life.

God has given me such a great desire in my heart to travel and tell the lost and hurting about his son Jesus.
Where do I want to go????
I have no idea.
Where do people need Jesus? Where do orphans need homes? Where do slaves need freedom?
Um.

EVERYWHERE.

Gods heart is for all to come to know Him. I know that someday He will give me something specific to focus on. So I have to keep focussing and seeking Him.
"Waiting is not something we do until we get what we want, waiting is apart of the process of becoming who God wants us to be"
"Wait for the Lord, be Strong and take Heart and Wait." - Psalm 27:14

So I am waiting.
Waiting to be done with nursing school. Waiting to grow more in Him. Waiting for direction. Waiting for clarity. Waiting....
and loving every minute of it.

I miss Belize. Whether I go back or not.... it will always be apart of me.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Where is home?





During my last week in Belize I was able to go to a christian youth hostel with my team.
The youth hostel shelters teens who have gotten into trouble, have parents that have gotten into trouble, or they just have a bad life at home.
They take the teens in, provide a safe environment, and try to influence change upon them.
It was such a blessing to just talk to these kids and see what they have been through, where they are today, and where they want to be in the future.

Some of them were only there for a short while.
Some were there, not because they did anything wrong, but because their parents did and they needed somewhere to go.
Some hated it there and wanted to go home...
but others didn't have a real home to go back to.

The more I talked to them and hung out with them, the more I realized that I really want to be able to provide homes to kids who are in similar situations but don't have a youth hostel to take them in.

I have an awesome home.
Not only is the house nice... but my family cares, provides, disciplines, laughs, loves, and serves Jesus.
I know these teens are so thirsty for something like that. And I feel like God has put me in a position to help them.

They need to be shown that its not about where we make our home on earth that matters... but where our home is after we pass. Our home in heaven is infinitely better than any home we will make on earth. This life is only temporary...

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" 2 Corinthians 4:18

What does it mean for me right now?
I am not sure.
I really want to adopt in the future. But perhaps it will go beyond that.

All I know... is there are too many spiritually and emotionally hungry kids out there who need an eternal home in heaven... and they need to be shown that.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Romans 12:21












I know you are probably expecting Romans 12:21 to be about children because of all my pictures....
Well its not.

"Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good."

During my forth week in Belize, I ran into a group of teen girls that were fighting with another group of girls.
There was a ton of drama and they were purposefully making things very hard and stressful for the missionaries who were trying to do Vacation Bible School.

I was praying about what to do when I ran into Romans 12:21. And then it told me what to do.

I confronted the girls and asked them what the source of conflict was...
and of course...
it was a boy (I don't mean that in a super bad way... girls always let boys cause drama haha)
They said this boy was running back and forth between the two girl groups and stirring up drama and rumors. Of course the girls didn't make it any better because no one would put a stop to it; they kept believing the lies.

So I remembered my verse for the day, and told them not to let this boy stir up strife and hate.
I don't remember my exact words but I do remember that the girls looked guilty and I saw that they knew what they were doing was not the right thing to do.

Later that day... two of the girls came up to me and asked me for my address and something to remember me by. I gave them my bracelets and address and thanked God that I may have made a difference in their lives.

While I did not get a picture with them, I do have all these other pictures of the kids who were in the VBS with them. They remind me of that day and that in order for us to do good in this world and do God's will, we cannot let evil overcome our good.

We must fight back. And fight for what is right.

Power in the Cross






During my third week in Belize, my team was holding a Vacation Bible Study.
On one of the VBS days, they made a square with tape and then poured baby powder across the whole thing.
On one side was us, on the other side was God, and the baby powder was our sin.
Next, they told the kids to try and get to God without getting and "sin" on their shoes.

Well.
They jumped, skipped, hopping, tippee toed, and walked in others foot steps but guess what? They all had sin on their shoes.
Even the smallest amount of sin disqualified them from getting to God.
They soon realized that there was NO way they were going to get to God on their own.

The next day... my team brought in a cross to bridge the gap between us and God.
The cross was laid over our sin... and allowed the children to walk across without sin.
I found myself getting somewhat emotional as I watched every single one of the children walk across that cross.

As they were walking across, they may not have realized fully what this meant... but I know I did.

"Surely he took up our pain    and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." - Isaiah 53:4-5

By his wounds we are healed... by his sacrifice we are able to be with our Heavenly Father. 

We will never be able to get ACROSS with out A CROSS. 

Thank You Jesus. 

The Mayan Ruins




When I was in Belize, I was fortunate enough to go to three different Mayan Ruins!
Altun Ha, Lamani, and Xunantunich.
It was really cool to be able to see these old temples and ruins and imagine what life would have been like for these Mayan people...
of course I would never want to live like them... imagining was enough for me.

Its crazy to think that these temples are all SO far apart and yet the structures are all very similar in build.
It makes me wonder....
Aliens?
JK.