Always Enough

I can hear the desperation in her rough, scratchy voice, I can visualize the bags under her eyes as she wearily replies to the prophet, “I don’t have any bread – only a handful of flour in the jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die."

 

But the prophet knows more. And he says to her, “ Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said, but first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me. and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’”

So she went. And she did exactly what he said.

Do you or I know this kind of trust?

To Hope, when nothing seems to make sense. To Know that He knows best, even when what He is asking of you or me seems impossible.

I don't know much, but I am learning, and God is teaching me. Everyday I beg Him to bring me closer and closer to His heart. To break my heart for what breaks his. But what brings us close to his heart? Caring for the people who are dear to him. Caring for the poor, the broken, and the helpless is what brings us close. But I don't think anything gets us closer than injustice. I think of a Savior, who spent His whole life doing nothing but good. He spent his whole life saving, healing, feeding, and  helping. All to end up dying on a cross like a thief or murderer. And I cringe at the injustice of it all. 

But the good news?

 

Jesus is coming! I may still be young, and completely unable to understand why some things happen. But I am chosen, and instructed to carry the story of our Savior, to shine His light into a broken world. His love and His strength, they will not run dry until He gets here, fresh rain on a parched land. And I wait in hope for Him.

 

 

The heart of a Child

This blog is written from the perspective of a 6 year old living in Creekwood. A certain six year old that I love and is nothing less than a ball of joy, who has a face lit up with a smile every time I see her. However this specific six year old has more worries than any six year old should ever have. What's so inspiring about her though? The fact that she is still oh so strong, stronger than even some of the most mature adults I know. She's strong for her Mom, and strong for her little brother growing up without a father figure. She's strong for herself, and her friends, and her community. And she's even strong for me.

Here are just a few concerns she has shared with me over the past few months (These are her concerns, however I just added in a few "Big Girl" words to fluff things up!)

Her concerns for her Community:

-We live here, yet our lives have been threatened by angry residents of our home.
-We have no field, or court to play on, only a parking lot.
-We are confronted and live amongst all too many intoxicated neighbors.
-And we ALL can't help but dream of a better place to live and grow up in.


Her concerns for her Friends:

-Most of them don't live with or even know who their Dad is.
-Some of them admit to having suicidal thoughts.
-Some of them drink or do drugs regularly.
-Some of them cut themselves in hopes to mask the pain of living in such a disheartening community.
-Some of them have relationship problems, because when a guy says he loves them they believe him. They believe him because they have never felt what it means to be loved before and will do anything in order to keep the feeling alive. And while entranced in this lie they have unprotected sex... often.
(And remember, these are the friends of a 6 year old)


Her concerns for iGod:

-We have no classroom, only a sidewalk to sit and learn on.
-We have no protection for when it rains or gets too cold.
-Why do you keep coming back after the threats and encounters you have had with my neighbors?
-Aren't you afraid of the hidden reasons behind that crime watch sign posted at our entrance?
-Don't you get discouraged when no one seems to listen?

Her concerns for her Family:

-My brother has no father figure.
-My Mom has no job.
-We are living from month to month welfare checks, struggling to make ends meet.
-Some days we might have to eat only once (At school) in order to keep paying rent.

Notice there is no "Concerns for herself" category. She is probably the most selfless six year I have/ will ever meet. It inspires me, while also at the same time breaks my heart knowing how fast she has been forced to grow up because of her circumstances, and how many of those precious years of being a child she has lost and has no hope of ever getting back.

This is just one example, of one little girl, in one community. Living a life that millions of other little girls scattered throughout the world also live.


2 Corinthians 4:18- "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

1 in 25

Here is just an example of statistics I mentioned in my last post.

In the town I live and go to school in 39.2% of the its residents are living below the poverty line. There are 1049 students at the local public high school. Which means 400 of those same kids are living off an income less than that of which their threshold suggests. That means 1 in every 25 kids, or at least one teenager in every single one of my classes have that need.

 So either I can look at that kid in my biology class as 1 in 7 billion, or as 1 in 25. I don't think it is hard to decided which seems less overwhelming.

I feel confident God has placed me in this community for a reason. I believe it is no coincidence that I moved here to interact with these specific 1049 lives daily. I feel confident it is part of God's will for me to have even the slightest impact on my classmates. And I pray I will live up to that calling to the best of my ability.

Ephesians 3:20-"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."

1 in 7 Billion

Fun fact: I LOVE statistics! I just can't get enough of them! I look up statistics for everything pertaining to anything! Really! I do! Go ahead call me a nerd all you want, it won't bother me a bit.

I can't pin point when, or what may have started this "obsession" or even why I enjoy it so much. Maybe it's the sense of knowledge I get from breaking things down into numbers and percents. Maybe that's just my brains way of organizing information. Or maybe it's a sense of understanding in hopes to better grasp a comprehension of this immense world we live in.

I'm not sure.

One thing I do know is I can't say it is because of the warm perception it gives me. Because truth is, most of the stuff I look up statistics for leaves me feeling lost in a hopeless world. Lost amongst 7 billion people jam packed into this temporary holding ground. Jam packed in this ephemeral world we have been given to live out our short meager lives in.

I am 1 in 7,ooo,ooo,ooo, you are 1 in 7,ooo,ooo,ooo, and this community isn't even a fraction of a percent of 7,ooo,ooo,ooo. So maybe I really just like statistics for the reminder of how insignificant I really am.

Whatever the reason, I have the urgency to make these people known! I am tired of real living, loving, hurting people being anonymous or just another number in the books. They are NOT just another number, God loves these people, and yet I have never met them, I love them too and want the very best for them.



"Every number has a name, every name has a story and every story matters to God"

10 Ways to Love

1. Listen without Interrupting. (Provers 18)
2. Speak without Accusing. (James 1:19)
3. Give without Sparring. (Proverbs 21:26)
4. Pray without Ceasing. (Colossians 1:9)
5. Answer without Arguing. (Provers 17:1)
6. Share without Pretending. (Ephesians 4:15)
7. Enjoy without Complaint. (Philippians 2:14)
8. Trust without Wavering. (Corinthians 13:7
9. Forgive without Punishing. (Colossians 3:13)
10. Promise without Forgetting. (Proverbs 13:12)

Sometimes I wonder...

Sometimes I wonder how am I supposed to tell a child I love them if they don't even know what love is? How do I expect them to trust me if all they have ever known is broken trust? How am I supposed to tell a child about the love their Heavenly Father has for them if they have never experienced love from their earthly father? These are the types of things I have encountered and learned while working with the precious children living in Creekwood. I've decided I have to prove and earn the ability to love them and have their trust.

See the thing is I believe they were all created in God's image. My whole being cries out in desire for them to know this. I wish they knew how much I love them and the prayers gone out for them. I want them to know so bad that God created them for a purpose and wants them to fulfill that purpose. I long for them to feel his love. Because the God that knows every hair on their head desires to lift them out of the dust and into his glory. For we must know sorrow to be able to fully appreciate joy. Joy costs pain, but the pain is worth it... After all, the murder had to take pace before the resurrection! Jesus does not ask we care for the less fortunate, he demands it!

Matthew 25:40- "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sister of mine, you did for me"

Bucket List

1. Lead People to christ.
2. Find Inner Peace.
3. View the Northern Lights.
4. Attend a Street Party.
5. Go on a Coast-to-Coast road trip across America.
6. Build a home for the less fortunate.
7. Make my parents Proud.
8. Find THE one.
9. Sleep on the beach.
10. Visit the Grand Canyon.
11. Surf in Hawaii.
12. Hike the Appalachian Trail.
13. Adopt a Child.
14. Send a message in a bottle.
15. Throw a surprise party.
16. Go Cow Tipping.
17. Trade shirts with a stranger.
18. Crash a Party.
19. Shave my head for someone who has cancer.
20. Dance with Ellen Degeneres on her TV show.
21. Host Saturday Night Live.
22. Find God's purpose for my life.
23. Scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef.
24. Go on a Mission Trip.

What do you want to do before you die?

The Roman Road

The Roman road is a path for guidance and salvation throughout the book of Romans.

Verses:

1. Romans 3:23- "For all have sinned and fallen short of the flory of God."
       Admit that you are a sinner.

2. Romans 6:23- "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of  God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
        Understand you deserve death and ask for forgivness.

3. Romans 5:8- "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
        Realize the love God demonstartes for us.

4. Romans 10:13- "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
       Call on the Lord and you will be saved.

5. Romans 10:9-10- "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
        Confess and you will be saved.
     

10 Things Leaders need to know about effectively leading people

I stole this from another blog but definitely feel like it's worth the share!

1. A leader cannot effectively lead people that he does not love.
2. A leader cannot effectively lead people that he does not listen to.
3. A leader cannot effectively lead people that he does not always assume the best about.
4. A leader cannot effectively lead people that he secretly hopes that they fear him.
5. A leader cannot effectively lead people that he does not take the time to explain things to.
6. A leader cannot effectively lead people when he assumes that he is the smartest person in the room.
7. A leader cannot effectively lead people when his goal is to use people rather than help them.
8. A leader cannot effectively lead people when he secretly wishes he wasn't a part of the organization he is leading.
9. A leader cannot effectively lead people when he is not dedicated to increasing his own capacity.
10. A leader cannot effectively lead people when he isn't willing to be honest about his own limitations and struggles.

3 Things that God has never seen

1. A person who has not sinned. (Romans 3:23)
2. A sinner who he does not love. (John 3:16)
3. A sinner he can not save. (Romans 10:13)

Sonder

"Sonder is the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own-populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness - an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you'll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lightened window at dusk."

Stay Young!

The meaning of life has a different meaning to different people in different cultures. It could be whatever you want it to be. As a young girl, I believed that life was supposed to be a daring adventure. And now as I am a bit older I believe life's about the same thing; it's about keeping that same inner-child alive. Living isn't about what you have, it's about who you are. Don't let age kill your inner youth. Be young. Be bold. Be happy. Have fun! Do more of what makes you smile. Have so much fun that you completely lose track time, and begin to help others do the same thing.You're only young until you decide that you're old. So don't. Don't grow up. Don't live a life of regrets. Live life until you're full but always be starving for more.

50 Things I Appreciate in Life

1. Stargazing
2. Sunsets/sunrises
3. Spontaneous Adventure
4. Playing soccer
5. The sound of Rain
6. Getting Mail
7. Coincidences
8. Genuine laughter
9. Handwritten letters
10. Memories
11. Bonfires
12. The colors of Autumn
13. Accomplishing something people thought you couldn't
14. Contagious Laughter
15. Corny Jokes
16. Nicknames
17. Random acts of kindness
18. Unexpected Gifts
19. Silence that isn't awkward
20. Dimples
21. Candid photos
22. Winning
23. Statistics
24. The last page of a book
25. The wind
26. Being surrounded by people I love
27. Seeing God move
28. Vintage stuff
29. Photography
30. Puzzles
31. Challenges
32. Sleeping with the windows open
33. Sand between your toes
34. Late night phone conversations
35. Good listeners
36. Freshly fallen snow
37. The way the sun shines on water
38. Inspiring conversations with strangers
39. Seeing your breath on cold days
40. Looking back to see how far you've come
41. Free food samples
42. Long tight hugs
43. Having Someone look up to you
44. When Someone understands your humor
45. Making your parents proud
46. The coziness of a new sweatshirt
47. Stretching after a long car ride
48. Finding the perfect gift for someone
49. Answered prayers
50. Feeling accomplished at the end of the day

Ordinary People

He chose Moses. He chose David. He chose Peter, and he chose Paul. He chose me, and you, and everyone. All just common people. Simple people. People with nothing special about them, except that they said Yes. They obeyed, and took the task God assigned them. Moses was a murderer, Jonah a fisherman, David a Shepard, Mary a peasant, and Paul a young man out to destroy Christianity. The thing is they ALL said Yes. And God used them all the same to do his extraordinary tasks. I am just a plain girl from South Carolina. Broken in many ways, sinful and inadequate. Common and simple with nothing special about me. Except, that I said Yes. Yes to God's will and his plan for the people and places he has put in front of me. I am just an Ordinary girl serving an Extraordinary God!

Psalm 37:3-6