Welcome Back! I hope your August is going well! I fly out to start the race on September 10th which is coming up so so fast! I would be lying if I said that I was not scared of the unknowns that lie ahead. Being away from home has always been hard for me, but I am so excited to have some one on one time with just God and I. I get so easily distracted in my everyday life by the busyness of life, but the way God has helped me see this trip as if he is tapping on my shoulder and asking if he can have this dance. He wants me to learn how to dance with him in a way that all I see is him and him alone. This dance will start slow and with me even on his feet as we dance, but the closer we get the more I will dance in step with him and be closer and closer to his heart. There is something so beautiful about this dance he has called me to that I am so excited to explore and I am getting to start that process even now.
I have been struggling with the idea of what to write in a blog post because there hasn’t been a big God moment recently. That said, there have been so many small moments and just because they may not be changing the direction of my life, they have helped me to grow in intimacy with my Father and to build trust with him. So, I felt prompted to share just a few of those small moments and I think it would be so cool if you commented one of your small moments with God in the comments so we can see all the little ways God is moving in everyone’s life.
1) Last weekend, I was able to host a garage sale fundraiser for my trip. It had been a fundraiser I had been hoping to do for a while, but I just didn’t know if it was going to work out. That being said, we did it and wow, was I blown away by the amount of donations I got! We had so much good stuff to sell and on top of that I had several amazing friends donate 8 or more hours to organizing, running the sale, as well as, baking sweet treats to sell at the garage sale. My prayer over the fundraiser had been that regardless of if we made even 5 dollars or not, that God would be the center of it and that it was! I got to have some cool conversations with other Christians who stopped by and even gave out some prayer cards to people who wanted to be praying for me and my trip! I loved getting to share with my immediate community what God is doing in my life.
Additionally, one of the bigger items we had donated were two really nice bikes. One of which went to a little girl and the other one was bought for a little boy who is in foster care. This was really sweet for me to see that he was getting something he was excited about and being loved well. If you know anything about me it is that I have a heart for kiddos and would love to be a foster or adoptive parent one day. It was special for me to see him get to take home that bike and God knew that it was something that would bring a smile to my face I love how God knows even the littlest details about us.
2)Prior to training camp, I went to the nail salon because I really wanted to have my nails done for graduation. (If you know me I never do my nails, so this was a very special occasion ;)) As I was paying for my appointment, a lady came up and stopped me. She told me she had overheard me talking about a missions trip I was going on and asked me if she could donate. God then proceeded to use her to speak truth into my life right there in the nail salon. She shared with me about the gift God has given me with kids and that he is going to use that as well as, how I imitate the joy of the Father so well. The craziest part of this was I had never met this lady before and she knew nothing about me, yet she was saying things that I had prayed about. It was so evident God had given her a prophetic word for me and I still sit back in awe of how powerful God is whenever I think about this story.
3)Asking for money has never been something that is easy for me. In fact, I hate it. It makes me feel as though I can’t provide for myself. Yet this whole journey has been asking others to join me in supporting the work God has called me to do through The World Race. As I look back, I would never go back to the beginning and fund the trip myself. There is so many things God has shown me through the fundraising journey so far and I’m not even fully funded yet! More than anything, I have learned that God provides for where he calls you and it is better to do it with community. I am so thankful for all the people I know have praying and supporting me on this trip because I can’t do it alone. I know that on my worst day or my best day I will have people to cheer me on during the race that God has called me too. So thank you for being apart of my journey.
Its the little things.
This has been one of the things I have learned lately and it is something I want to continue to live by. You don’t have to take someone on a Caribbean cruise to show them that you love them. Most times its showing up with cookies or buying them a bike that means the most. Its the little God moments in our everyday life that transform our trust and love for the Lord. So I challenge you to pay attention and remember the little God moments because on the bad days we can remember all the ways he has proved faithful day in and day out.
Don’t forget to share your little God moment in the comments! I can’t wait to read them!
For all my Prayer Warriors:
Prayer Requests:
– For the courage, peace, and strength of God to fill me as I begin the process of saying goodbyes.
-For my heart and team to be prepared for what God has in store for us!
-For the remainder of my funding to come in by September 10th (that’s my goal)
-For my anxiety and mind to be put at ease.
Praises:
-The garage sale and bake sale was successful in so many ways and raised just under $900 dollars!
-Time to write this blog post
