God's Word

7-28-12

In group Devotional this morning Zephaniah 3:17 was the scripture. Last Wednesday it was also the scripture. In the 'Trip Guide' book, for Day Two it is there again!
Surely this is God speaking!
Zephaniah 3:17 "For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you. He is a might Savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will exhult over you by singing a happy song."
This is everything I needed to hear. Thank you God.


8-3-12

The Bible is a living book that applies to us still today. God spoke this verse into my life last year and I memorized it, and now as He whispers it to me again and again it reaches to the core of my being. He has arrived to live among me and with me, no matter where I live for however long. He is mighty! His Words of rejoicing and delighting in me bring me peace -the power of His love brings me a peace that passes all understanding. As He sings a happy song over me, it calls to me to sing back to Him. I'm filled with His word to be emptied again then He fills me and I give and over and over.
Are you listening for His words of love? Are you letting His love calm all your fears? He is rejoicing over you. Listen. He is loving you. Listen. He is singing to you. Listen to His singing.

Beauty

I didn't know. I should have known. I didn't know you could fall in love with a child so easily -so quickly without even speaking a word.
We had just arrived in the Dominican Republic and were driving down the paved, two-lane road. I sat in the passenger seat of the fifteen passenger bus. A mini-van with a little brown face smiling out the window pulled up beside us at a red light. She looks straight at me and I grin at her. At my smile, she lights up, waving back to me and showing off her white teeth with a big smile.
She's beautiful.
We play peek-a-boo for a little, with her coming in view and disappearing behind the window. She giggles the entire time and I can't help but feel joy at her delight.
The light turns green and we pull away and she's gone.
I don't know her name, or how old she is, or where she was going, or if she knew Jesus. But she was beautiful.

7-26-12 DAY ONE

I did not want to go overseas on a mission trip, with just me and God and a team of strangers. I wanted to say "no" and stay home where I am comfortable, and know what my job is, and have easy access to everything.
All (Thursday) morning I was nervous. My parents getting to go through security and waiting with me helped, but ultimately it was when I left them, got into the plane and sat down that the peace of God washed over my heart. No longer am I shaky. No longer am I worried. God is with me -I said "Yes" when He asked me to go and I claim His promises that He will lead and guide me and give me courage.
I might not have easy access to phone or Internet. I might not have my best friends beside me. But I know God is with me. And I do know my job. My job is to spread the love and hope of Jesus. God has never failed to take care of me in every way, and He will not forget me now. All this time He has been whispering words of love and peace.
"Just trust me, daughter."
So I look down from the sky and literally say goodbye to everyone and everything I love and tell God that I will trust Him.
If this brings one person to know the power of God, then it is worth it. And if this brings me just a inch closer to God, then it is worth it.
God is worth it. Saying "Yes" is worth it.

Matthew 10:38-39 "Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."

Prayer

May today be all you need it to be. May the peace of God and the freshness f the Holy Spirit rest in your thoughts, rule in your dreams tonight, and conquer all your fears.

May God manifest Himself today in ways you have never experienced. May your joys be fulfilled, your dreams be closer, and your prayers be answered.

I pray that faith enters a new height for you; I pray that your territory is enlarged.
I pray for peace, healing, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, true and undying love for God.

My feet are glued... when I should be running

July 20th  

I’m disappointed in myself. July was a month I’d looked forward to with anticipation and expectation - and if I’m honest a little of anxiety. I was coming to find adventure and revival, yet here I sit, on a comfortable recliner, lounging in front of the TV. Music jamming in the back ground. Even though a week ago, I arrived a little bit out of my comfort zone, it isn’t that way anymore –this could be home. Looking back on my week, I realize I’ve missed opportunities for adventure, and I’ve chosen to settle and chill instead of getting out and reviving myself. All week I’ve put off anything too intense. I’ve expected God to meet me where I am, instead of getting out and meeting Him.

At home, it didn’t seem like I’d had opportunities for anything extremely radical, but now I’m away and it hits me that I have a huge habit to chill.

It’s my fault. It’s my fault that I don’t sacrifice my Saturday morning sleep to get up before the sun rises and get into the Word. Until now I didn’t realize that I’ve missed the unusual occasion to let God move not because He isn’t ready to move, but because I’m still standing still. I always wait for God to initiate our interaction, when I should be providing and offering my time and worship. God stands at my door and knocks, but my music is much too loud to hear Him, and on certain days where I’m buried in a good book, I have that door locked up tighter than a bank. My feet are glued to the ground, when I should be running the race.

All through Jesus’ life the things He did challenged us. He fasted for forty days! He healed people. He brought people back from the dead! He got up before the sun rose. He prayed so hard that His sweat was blood. He died the worst death possible. It seems to me that Jesus lived one day even better than the last.

So I ask myself one hard question: Is today going to be even better than yesterday? (Will it be hard to make it better? Ha.) Today will be better, because I’m rising to the challenge! Now that I’ve realized what I am (lazy), I’m going to fight this, because I don’t want to be content. I don’t want to be content, or disappointed in myself, or anxious. I want to be radical and Christ-like and running.

Will you rise to the challenge that Jesus set before you?

Heavenly companion

Last week, for nine days I went to the South Texas Children's Home in Beevill

July 20^th

I met a girl today at the pool. She was the newest girl to come to the home –just arrived this afternoon. She seemed lost. That was a good way to explain the look in her eyes. Overwhelmed –there’s another good word. Her eyes were curious, as if she didn’t understand why I was being so friendly. While we were swimming, slowly she opened up to me. Through a series of events, she told a few of the other STCH Kids and me why she had come to live at the children’s home. “I had a lot of trouble with school,” she told us with a shrug. “So my parents just sent me here.” Now, I’m not sure if she had trouble academically or socially, but as she spoke the words “my parents just sent me here” you could hear the hurt and confusion. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and tell her “God wants you. He won’t send you away and He will never leave you or forsake you. You’ll always have God.” I will pray that someone does tell her that.

I slowly got to know this girl for the next few days. On Sunday as I was saying goodbye, it was her I went to last. I didn’t want to say goodbye to her. I was ready to come home, but if I could have brought this girl with me, I would have. I had only known this girl a total of three days, and had only spent a few hours with her, but I already loved her as my sister. When I told her I had to go home, that I was leaving, she felt the same as I did –regretful that there wasn’t more time. She would have been a great friend. Pray with me that she will get in a relationship with Jesus, because then she will not only be my sister, and friend, but also a Heavenly companion for eternity.

This is a hard one for me to write, that’s why it’s taken so long and why it’s so short. The words did not come easy for me, but it was a story worth telling.

He can handle that.

               I’m not sure why God’s divine involvement in my life always surprises me, but it’s true –He never ceases to amaze me. This particular story had been long in coming. It started July 2011, at Piney Woods Camp. My dream to open a girls home in my area was blossoming uncontrollably, and also I was feeling convicted about not taking my knowledge about Christ over-seas. The speaker at camp showed a video of kids overseas in Kenya, at a Children’s Home, that took me straight to tears. After he preached, my group and I walked out the doors and I was still in tears. Looking to my dad, I said, “I have to go.” He nodded and I rushed back inside, looking for the speaker. Crying, I told him my story, how I’d wanted to build a girls home in my area for a long time, and how I now wanted to go overseas to a children’s home. This man, with so much compassion in his eyes, looked at me and said “Have you ever met a woman named Becky Moore? She lives in Texas, at a Children’s Home as the director of student ministry.” He paused then said, “She’s here, at piney woods, this week.” No way! Praise the Lord! Both of us at camp in the same week!? That’s gotta be God, for sure!

               So the speaker set up a time for me to meet Ms. Becky Moore, and she heard my story, and invited me to come and visit her children’s home. So I did. September of 2011, my mom and I went to South Texas Children’s Home (STCH) for a weekend. She invited me to come back anytime. Thus, I planned a trip for July 2012. Seventeen days at STCH –a place that modeled my dreams.

               And the waiting game began. I had at least six months to wait. In the mean time, my oldest brother, Hugh, left for a yearlong mission trip to travel the world. In March he told me that I needed to plan to come overseas with him sometime in 2013 and I said ‘sure’. I was yearning to go overseas with a conviction that everyone is called to take the gospel, everywhere. (I was called overseas and so was everyone else who was a disciple: Matt. 28:19.) But still, I had to wait. God was surely doing marvelous things while I was waiting.

Meanwhile, I got a job at a day care. I had already warned them about my trip to STCH, but I was filling out papers to ask off officially, and I felt God telling me to ask off for more days than I was; a total of twenty days. Long story short; I didn’t, until some interesting news came up. Surely it was no mistake that while I would be at STCH, schedules conflicted and Ms. Becky, whom I would be living with there, realized that while I would be there, she wouldn’t! She was going to be leading a mission trip overseas to the Dominican Republic, on July 28^th – August 2^nd, staying at a Children’s Home there and doing some light construction. Bless Ms. Becky –she invited me to go! Hardly did she know that I had felt God calling me overseas. Yet God knew it all. I told her that I would be absolutely delighted to go to the D.R. with her. Seeing as God had already told me to ask off for those dates I felt like that was my answer from Him that I needed to go. That would mean eleven days at STCHM, and seven days at a children’s home in the D.R. and that is a total of how many days (plus travel)? Oh, twenty. Go figure.

And my mind is blown. Yet, the devil tried to crawl in, telling me ‘twenty days. That’s a long time. Won’t you get homesick? How will you handle it? You’ll be missing lots of exciting things here. You will miss your family and friends and church family. What about your horse? Three weeks is a long time. Maybe you shouldn’t go.’ The devil invaded my thoughts, making me insecure, scared, terrified, nervous, and timid. The butterflies of excitement slowly turned into a bolder to drown me. My brain was pulled in every direction of worry. Finally I had a day with Micayla and let it all out (a big job for me) and she looked at me and shook her head. “Candice, God told you to go on this trip, right?” “Uhuh.” “So why are you freaking out? He knows you’ll get homesick, and He can handle that. Give it over to Him and He’ll take care of you.” He can handle that. Sha-bam! Instantly, my boulder transformed back into butterflies. My crazy best friend had just defeated the devil with just simple truth.

               So amid my small bit of fear, large amount of anxiousness, and extreme excitement, I am going to leave home, following the One that can handle it. AHH! Deep breaths, Candice. Please, please, pray for me as I spiritually get prepared to go. Also, pray that God will provide everything from money to peace.