Flashback to Mexico: Eager to Learn

I was just reading Mark 2:2, which says, "So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them." This gave me a flashback of our trip to Mexico in the summer of 2009 with the youth group. On Sunday morning, we went to gather with a crowd of people at a small church in Monterrey. There were literally SO MANY people there, gathered all around the inside (some of us even sitting on the floor), yet there were even more people outside the church, peering in through every window just to hear the good news! Instant chills!

Can you imagine what it would be like, if the next time you went to church, and there were so many people there that you had to sit on the floor, or stand outside and listen in through the windows? What would that be like? What would it take for that many people to gather from all around just to hear the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ?!

"Get Behind Me, Satan!"

Tonight, as I'm reading in the book of Matthew, I'm reminded how awesome God is and how powerful He is!

Jesus said, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of man." Matthew 16:23.

I LOVE that!!! Jesus just told it like it is! Next time you're feeling tempted, I encourage you to tell Satan like it is and be reminded that God is ALL-POWERFUL!

Inspiration for the day

Knowing that you are loved makes it so much easier to love others, doesn't it? I think that I sometimes forget that I am loved by the greatest lover OF ALL!

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

"Do everything in love." 1 Corinthians 16:14

I choose to love because He first loved me. I want to love others unconditionally out of His unconditional love for me.

What's your motivation to love?

Hand-Crafted and "Whole-made"

When my sister was little, she thought that everything was "whole-made," not homemade, but "whole-made." Well, she was right about one thing...each and every one of us were whole-made by our Creator. He crafted us with His very own hands, making each and every one of us something so special. When I think about God creating us and making us whole and in His image, I imagine it was pretty similar to the Build-A-Bear process. If you've ever had any kind of relationship with any ten-year-old or younger, you've probably been to Build-A-Bear, and experienced the wonder and awe of every child's excitement as they put together their furry friends! I can't help but think that God was just as excited, probably even more so, as He hand-crafted us together!


If you're not already familiar with how to put together a Build-A-Bear, it goes something like this: choose me, hear me, stuff me, stitch me, fluff me, name me, dress me, take me home.

Choose me: God chose each of us for His Kingdom. He picked you and me.
"As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and
precious to him" 1 Peter 2:4


"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of
darkness into his wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:9

Hear me: God Himself spoke life into us when He created us, in His image so that His Holy Spirit would live inside of us.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created
him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

Stuff me: Here, we were filled with everything we would ever need. When you make a Build-A-Bear, at this stage, you're asked to pick out a heart and kiss it before you put it in your bear. Can you imagine how many times Our Father kissed our hearts as He created them, and all the love He poured out on us?!! God filled us with Himself; He is our bread of life; everything we will ever need.
"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.'" John 6:35

Stitch me: God stitched each and every one of us together.
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13

Fluff me: God gives us the "spa treatment" and treats us like righteousness, because that is what He created us to be.
"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Romans 3:22

Name me: He calls us by name.
"But now, this is what the LORD says - he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed
you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you
are mine.'" Isaiah 43:1

Dress me: He clothed us with deliverance, love, and His goodness.
"I delight greatly in the LORD...For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and
arrayed me in a robe of righteousness." Isaiah 61:10

Take me home: He is our everlasting and He will forever be our everything. He will carry us home.
"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have
made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Isaiah 46:4

So here we are, hand-crafted and whole-made by the Lord of All. God's own masterpiece.

Smile, Jesus loves you!

"Smile, Jesus loves you!" That's what Grandma always says. Ever since I can remember, this short and compelling saying has been a phrase that I've heard my grandma say over and over again. Growing up, my cousins, my sister, and I got to spend a lot of time with Grandma. She used to watch all of us while our parents were at work. My grandma is the most faithful and loving woman I have ever known. She continually pursues her family and cares so much about the people she loves. Boy, are we lucky, getting to share life with Grandma!

Every holiday or family time we share with each other, Grandma and her mannerisms always come into discussion :) "Smile, Jesus loves you" is always at the top of the list! I am so grateful for my grandma and the love that she shares with me. Even if as a child I didn't fully comprehend how much Jesus loves me, at least I heard it every single day, from someone who meant the world to me.

Grandma is one of my biggest role models. A child after God's own heart, and an amazing woman who continues to seek Him in everything she says and does. Her faithfulness is incredible, and her love is never ending. Grandma looks more and more like Jesus everyday, and I only hope to be even a small part of the woman she is today. She gives me something to smile about :)

Smile, Jesus loves YOU!

Give until there's nothing left, and then give some more

So I just spent a week in Mexico where my team and I had the opportunity and privilege of loving on the people of Monterrey the way that Jesus loves on us. We got to be the hands and feet of Jesus and pour our hearts out onto God's children. God showed up big time down in Mexico and changed my heart forever. I've learned so much from this trip and grown even deeper on my journey with Christ. I'd like to share just a part of what I learned from a very special friend I made in Monterrey.

On Thursday, we got to take some kids from a couple different children's homes on a field trip to Kidzania, which is basically an indoor amusement park. Each of us were given a check to be cashed, and then we could either spend the money, work for more money, or both. I got to be paired up with the most adorable kid ever, his name was Joel. He was so excited to go have a fun day with all of his buddies and the rest of the team, as was I! Joel had the most heart-melting smile I'd ever seen, and this child was filled with Jesus, I could see it in his eyes. As we were waiting in line for one of the activities, Joel noticed that one of my twenty dollar bills was ripped from earlier in the day. He immediately started searching through his money, looking for another twenty dollar bill. As soon as he found one in his stack, he picked it out and handed it to me, offereing me his because mine had ripped. In that very moment, God broke my heart for what breaks His. My heart broke for Joel as I thought about his life and realized he had nothing, he had grown up with no money of his own, no family to take care of him. This little boy had nothing, but this beautiful little child of God had everything, and all he wanted to do was keep on giving, just like his Heavenly Father.

Joel has been a huge inspiration to me and I am so grateful for his friendship. Joel has a huge heart and God's love just pours from his big eyes. He has given me strength to move forward and keep doing the next right thing. I know his story isn't over yet, and neither is mine.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

Worship

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to worship with GCC-Elkhart. Let me just start off by telling you about the amazing crowd at the Elkhart Campus. All of the volunteers and staff work extremely hard to make each and every weekend an experience you won't forget. So much work and time is put into preparing for service each weekend, and let me tell you, the volunteers could not be more thrilled to welcome you there! God is doing amazing things at the Elkhart Campus!

It really was a great privilege to be able to worship with everyone there. Don Reynolds led us in worship, with Gary Jenswold on the base, and Rory Leitch rockin' out on the drums. Such an amazing group of people! My favorite part about the whole weekend was watching the crowd, arms lifted high, eyes looking up to Jesus, spirits moving...it gives me chills every time! God's never-ending love was in that room, no doubt. I'm so glad I got to be a part of such an amazing weekend, it's one I'll never forget!

God, all glory and honor and praise is Yours. May we do whatever it takes to advance Your Kingdom. Let us not forget that it's all for You, my King.

P.S. This post is in orange especially for my very good friend Tia Morgan Brown because she's totally awesome and I love her lots! I'll tell you why she's so awesome in an upcoming post :)