Thursday, August 28, 2014

Selawik

I had the opportunity to go to a tiny Village called Selawik. It was an experience of a lifetime. So much so that I didn't want to leave!






We arrived Friday early afternoon and spent time with Compton family (our Missionaries there) and went exploring around town. Then later in the afternoon the community was getting together to meet the schools teachers for the year. So we got to see most everybody on the first day! That was pretty neat. Spent time playing with the kids and such. We pretty much chilled the rest of the day. That's the village life for ya :).






Saturday we hung out with the kids and teens playing basketball. Did more exploring. We invited teens to the teen activity that we were having that night. Made preparations for that. We had about 20 teens come out that evening! Played lots of crazy games (thanks glam), ate pizza, had a devotional, sang and played more games! Everybody had a good time! It was encouraging that so many came out that evening.





Sunday was church! The first service was at 11. Mainly white people came to that one. The school teachers/staff. I thought that was kinda funny. THEN at 1 we had bible time for the kids! Whew....that was fun! There had to have been atleast 50 kids that came. We split them up into 2 groups. Nicole taught the older kids and Cara taught the younger ones. 






I'm so thankful I got to go on this trip. I had a wonderful time meeting new people, developing friendships, spending time the the awesome Compton Family and the Selawik Seven, seeing the village life in person, hearing testimonies from the heart of hurting people and much more! I absolutely CAN'T WAIT to go back! 



No vehicles here



Love these girls!








How many people can you fit on one four-wheeler? 6!


the BEAUTIFUL Selawik River

Caleb and I

Caleb, Bethany and Bro. Warren


Wished you were here Grace!







Wednesday, April 30, 2014

His grace.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: 
for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 
2 Corinthians 12:9a

As I was reading my bible this morning I came across this verse. I've read, memorized, known this verse for awhile.

But, just think about it! 

Jesus is telling us so personally that He is all we need! Does it get more clear than that?! Maybe you're having a bad day or going through a difficult time. Just remember that HIS strength is made PERFECT in weakness! 

Our youth Pastor preaches a sermon about when we are going through a valley, that is when God is developing us. Just like film (back in the day) - we take the negatives into a dark room and that is when they are made into the image that we see.  

Don't get so wrapped up in the hype of your day to day life that you forget that Christ is all you need! His Grace is sufficient for ME!


Christ is my reward
And all of my devotion
Now there's nothing in this world
That could ever satisfy

Through every trial
My soul will sing
No turning back
I've been set free

Christ is enough for me
Christ is enough for me
Everything I need is in You
Everything I need

Christ my all in all
The joy of my salvation
And this hope will never fail
Heaven is our home

Through every storm
My soul will sing
Jesus is here
To God be the glory

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

summer.

Attention fine folks.

It's almost here! Eeeek! I'm not sure why i'm so stoked for summer this year. But, if you were coming out of an extremely loooooooooong winter i'm sure you'd be pretty excited too!

          >> Long days and nights with sunshine all around.
          >> Late nights.
          >> Canoe rides down the river.
          >> Teen Camps.
          >> Epic adventures.
          >> Hammock swinging.
          >> Lighter hair. Darker skin.
          >> Green grass.
          >> Rain.
          >> Running.
          >> Floating on tubes down the river.
          >> Late nights at the airport.
          >> New friendships.
          >> Freckles.
          >> Door-knocking.
          >> Road trips.
          >> Hiking.
          >> Froyo.
          >> Vacation Bible Time.

And the list goes on. 



Thursday, April 17, 2014

Martha's Multi-Talking Mistake

It doesn’t take a very in-depth look at most women’s lives to come to the conclusion that we are excellent “multi-taskers”. Most of us have our plates full, and balancing it all has become second nature to us. We’ve become very good at filling our schedules and running from the one thing to the next; and even feeling a sense of pride or accomplishment at the many things we juggle in our daily lives. Women, in general, just love to get stuff done.

Crossing things off our task-list might prove very rewarding, and it is indeed good to set to work at the task in front of you, yet, the danger of becoming so duty-driven that we neglect the more valuable things in life always lurks around the corner. We see this in the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus came into the two sisters’ home to share a meal with them. Martha, who most probably was a multi-tasker extraordinaire, immediately jumped to work, and was quite disturbed at her sister’s seemingly sluggish approach to all that needed to be done. It says of Mary that she “sat at Jesus feet, and heard His word.”

When petitioned to address Mary, Jesus’ answer in response must have come as quite the shock! Instead of telling Mary to get up and help her sister, He declared that she had “chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” 

Jesus' words to Martha’s chore-minded approach to life, have challenged me so many times. It seems that we would much rather be running around, cumbered about with many cares, than to simply sit at the feet of our Lord. What Martha was doing wasn’t bad; it just was not the best. Mary chose what was best. I don’t know about you, but I know how many times I’ve chosen tasks and to-do lists over sitting peacefully at the Jesus’ feet.  

Don’t we all too often treat our relationship with Jesus that way? We’re so busy doing things for Him, that we neglect being with Him. We argue that if we take time to pray, worship,and study His Word, we won’t get other things done, instead of realizing that it is at His feet that we find the strength and energy we need for all that is before us. I think it was Martin Luther who once said that was too busy NOT to spend the best three hours of his day in prayer. Sadly, we often treat even Bible study and prayer as duties to be done, rather than an opportunity to come to know Christ more fully! Spending hours of your day, quietly and lovingly at the feet of your King, might appear to many as a waste of precious time- time that we could have used to be productive! Remember that choosing Him over all other things, is choosing the best part, and it shall not be taken away from us!

Written by Elsje Zornes from setapartgirl.com 

Thursday, April 10, 2014

God made me

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. -Ephesians 2:10

I've recently been reading a book and one of things that it is talking about is how God made me just how he wanted me! There isn't a human 'standard' that I have to live up to, He made me just the way I am! 

Often times, it seems that we try to conform and model to someone else. I need a new hairstyle, I need to lose weight (ha!), I need to get new clothes, I need to change the shape of my body and so on. 

GUESS WHAT?! WE DON'T! Whew...bet I just saved you a bunch of money! :)

I'm in no way saying that it is a bad thing to have new things and take care of ourselves. But, are we doing it for a way so that others will notice or are we doing it for God's glory? Are we going to the gym to chisel our body in a way that the world looks upon as 'fit' and 'looks good'? *rant over*

Just think - there is nobody in this world who is exactly like me! I am one of a kind! I'm special! God made me! If you really stop to ponder that, it's truly amazing. The God of the ENTIRE UNIVERSE made everyone unique and different. So let's stop trying to look like and be someone else. 

In closing, if the barn needs painting...then paint it! ;)





Tuesday, April 1, 2014

that's what faith can do.

Everybody falls sometimes, gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning

Anyone can feel the ache, you think it's more than you can take
But you're stronger, stronger than you know

Don't you give up now the sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds to find the silver lining

I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do

It doesn't matter what you've heard, impossible is not a word
It's just a reason for someone not to try

Everybody's scared to death when they decide to take that step
Out on the water, it'll be alright

Life is so much more than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way if you keep believing

I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do