The Peace of God

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer & petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. & the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts & minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4: 6-7

I have this verse written on  a sticky note stuck to my desk in my college dorm room. I can't tell you how many times I've read it - it has been such an encouragement knowing that God cares about what I'm going through. The adjustment to college certainly hasn't been easy. Between physically demanding soccer practices, to being away from home, to the loads of homework already given a few days into the school year, the word anxious probably doesn't cover what all I've been feeling. But God's word tells me that I don't have to worry about anything; that if I just take it to God in prayer He will handle it. & who better to handle all my worries than the Creator of the universe? I'm pretty sure He's got it covered. :) I really love the second part as well. Because we take our worries and problems to God in prayer, He promises to give us peace! Peace is always been a huge thing for me. That's one thing I really love - to feel the peace of God come over me when everything else feels like it's going wrong. So next time you get anxious about something, give it to God to handle. He wants to take care of us; He wants us to need Him; He wants us to have peace. & He will give it to us if we ask Him!

Thank you Jesus for Your overwhelming peace.

Honduras 2011

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 I and 11 others embarked upon a life-changing missions trip to the beautiful country of Honduras. This was my first time flying and my first time out of the country, so I'll admit I was pretty nervous. We were able to minister through multiple sermons, dramas, dances & women's conferences; we were also fortunate to be able to hand out bags of rice and beans and books and schools supplies to many of the Hondurans. Some of my favorite days were the ones that involved playing soccer with the children and just being able to hold the little ones' hands as we walked down the street to the soccer field. Their smiles were beautiful and contagious! They were so happy, just because we were there; that certainly made me feel special. I was able to make a new friend, Kayla, and the Lord gave me the opportunity to be able to bless her so that she might can have a house soon. I'm continuing to pray for her!

But on this trip, I was constantly pulled out of my comfort zone. I'm not fond of new experiences and I dealt with many personal issues on this trip - one of them being, to completely trust God like I never have before. I don't mean that I was afraid the plane would crash or that we would be attacked on the streets of Honduras; these were just personal times when I realized that it was time for me to cast my fears and hesitation to the side and put my trust in my Lord. One of those moments came on the last day of the trip. For months, I mulled over and over in my head all the horrible things that could happen to me on this trip and pleaded with God to please not let them happen. Well, one of those things was to get severely sick on the trip. And guess what happened...I got sick. That morning I asked God, "Why, Lord? You could have easily just let me finish off the trip without getting sick. Only ONE more day! Why?" That day we were headed to a waterfall to enjoy the scenery and have a day of rest. When I got sick, I was determined not to go. "I'll just sit in this hotel room by myself and have my own little pity party", I thought. But then God reminded me "I'm right here. I love you; won't you just trust me?" So I did. I decided I was through being scared that I would continue being sick for the rest of the day. So I finished getting ready and boarded the bus for the waterfall. And it was an amazing day! The waterfall was absolutely breathtaking- it was like something from a movie. And you know what? I didn't get sick at all for the rest of the day :) or for the rest of the trip for that matter! God is good, isn't He?
 So not only was I able to minister to the beautiful people of Honduras on this trip, I was taught a few things myself. ;)

"Cause You're a God who has all things and still You want me"

One tear in the dropping rain
One voice in a sea of pain
Could the Maker of the stars
Heart the sound of my breaking heart?

He's the Creator of the Universe. The King of Kings & Lord of Lords. The Lion of Judah. The Great I Am. The Resurrection & the Life. Yet, He loves me? me?

That's pretty crazy, isn't it? I'm just one life, one person out of the billions of others around the world, let alone the number of people that have gone before me and the people yet to come in this world. If you think about it, I'm pretty insignificant. So why would the God above all others love me?  I just think it's amazing. As the lyrics above from the song Hold My Heart by Tenth Avenue North ask, how could the Maker of the stars care about us so much? I can't comprehend it and probably never will, but it's a wonderful feeling to know that someone so great loves me so much. It's incredible to know that God cares about my tears and my hurts, my needs and my desires. I love the description of God as our King; a king is royalty, above all others. The people in his kingdom are supposed to lay down their life for their king, yet our King layed down His life for us!

Just remember that you are loved & not just loved by anyone but by the Creator of the Universe! :)

The Courage of Esther

As my senior year is winding down, I've begun to realize just how soon I'll be finished with highschool and headed off to college. It's one of those things that you know will come someday, but you never really think about how quickly it will get here, you know what I mean? & I'll be honest, I'm pretty scared about it.

I'm one of those people who absolutely hate getting out of my comfort zone. It's called a comfort zone for a reason & I want to stay there! I'm comfortable right here in little Camden, SC with all the people I've grown up with and gone to school with for 12 years. I'm comfortable in a place where I know where everything is and I know what to do and where to go. That's probably why I'm so nervous about college. I'm nervous about going to a place where I hardly know anybody or anywhere. I'm nervous about playing a college sport. I'm nervous about making friends, signing up for the right classes and getting kind teachers. & really, I'm only going 30 minutes away and I'll have my sister there with me! How pathetic is that?

But just the other day I was reading the book of Esther, and realized how much I could learn from her response to her situation. Esther faced death (!) yet she pushed through her fear and did what was required of her to save her people. If she can face death and not let her fears hinder her, I'm pretty sure I can face college :) One of my favorite verses is the dialogue between Esther and Mordecai:

"...you may have been chosen for such a time as this."

It gives me peace knowing that God cares even about my petty fears and that he has a purpose for me at Coker College. He won't just desert me and make me face it all alone; there is a reason I'm supposed to be there and I can't let my fear of being uncomfortable keep me from doing what God wants me to do. Another verse in that same chapter gives me the courage to look past what frightens me and to push through. Esther says:

"Then I will go to the king, even though it is against the law, and if I die, I die."

If Esther had the courage and strength to face death for the purpose God called her to, then I can face my fears of being uncomfortable as well.