The blessing of being flogged

I was reading the book of Acts last night and something in chapter 5 just really stood out to me. The apostles are performing miracles and then preaching to the crowds. They were arrested because of this and during the night an angel of the Lord comes and frees them from jail so they can continue to “tell the people the full message of this new life.”

 

When the priest and associates  (people who put the apostles in jail in the first place) arrive back in the morning and go to check on their prisoners they realize they are nowhere to be found even though their holding cell is still securely locked with guards standing outside.

 

They are furious with the apostles and demand once again they stop teaching. The apostles stand firm saying, “We must obey God rather than men!”

 

Still furious, they wanted to put the apostles to death. However a Pharisee named Gamaliel has the sense to question whether this is the right thing to do. He gives the example of Theudas and how the overall plan to kill him had basically backfired. He then continues to say, “Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

 

In my head I’m picturing this whole situation going down and when I look back over it I’m pretty sure I actually started laughing. But I haven’t even gotten to my favorite part yet!!!

 

So, they decide Gamaliel’s argument has a considerable amount of merit. They aren’t going to kill the apostles! They are going to let them off with only a flogging! Rejoice!!!

 

Acts 5:40 says, “His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.”

 

*chuckle* My thought: After all this! I desperately want to know who they think they are kidding?!?! “ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus” Right, because that worked so well the first…and second time!

 

And my own notes and comments from reading this section reads like this, “Sometimes being flogged is a blessing.” There’s some more irony and perspective for you.

 

And still!!! Acts 5:41 “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” Now, I picture this scene basically consisting of a group of apostles walking away bleeding and giving each other high-fives because they recognize they are bleeding for Jesus. It’s quite the awesome mental image.

 

OK, I’m almost done. I promise. But this is the best part! Brace yourselves:

 

Acts 5:42 “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”

 

Clearly, as I mentioned before, the words they had been given after their flogging, demanding them to stop preaching (AGAIN) did a lot of good. Oh wait! Actually, it doesn’t seem to have done anything to stop the apostles from telling people about Jesus. Ooops!

 

Point (or two) for Jesus =-)

Testimonies

Come back with me to a sunny afternoon in July. I was sitting outside on a chair in Gainesville, Georgia…staring. Staring at a blank page. A new journal. A chance for a new beginning. And how was I instructed to start this new beginning??

By telling about my past, of course!

I had been asked by my leaders to share my testimony with everyone on the Philippines team. Not only were our leaders going to share their own testimonies, each of us were going to share our testimonies with the team.

And so it began, my blank page. I sat. I stared. And then I turned to Margo and said, “You know, no one has ever asked me to give my testimony before.” And I had a lot of mixed feelings in the beginning. First, I was scared out of my mind. I was scared of being told to open up to a group of strangers, and I was scared of allowing myself to be vulnerable, something I don’t often allow myself to do.

But you know what? I sat there and realized there was this other part of me that was downright excited.

After listening to the testimonies of my leaders I realized how much better I understood them and how I felt more prepared to serve along side them after hearing where they had come from.

I learned first hand the most beautiful part of giving your testimony is all the dirt. All the sin. All the bad and terrible stuff. It’s beautiful. I could go as far to say it’s absolutely gorgeous. Not because sin is beautiful, but because of what God has done with our sin.

Too often we try to hide all the bad stuff. Thinking to ourselves we are past it, and it really doesn’t matter. But unfortunately, when we have this mindset, we miss the point. The point of giving our testimonies is bringing glory to God! So tell all your dirt, and then tell about how God has made it as white as snow. Not only that, but when we go to such great lengths to hide all our sin; first of all we end up exhausted at always putting on a mask. And secondly, it makes it that much harder for others to talk about their sin. It creates this illusion that we as Christians are “goody two shoes.”

I’m not saying that being a Christian shouldn’t change the way you act. I’m saying the exact opposite. When you come to know God it should absolutely change who you are as well as the way you act. With emphasis on the change. The whole point is the change. And how will everyone know how much you have changed if you never tell them who you were before God came in and took over your life?

So here’s something that doesn’t often enough get said. It’s OK to have dirt. All that sin? God’s telling us to come as we are and He’ll take us from there.

Definitely don’t allow yourself to get stuck in the past, but also don’t just plow on through and never look back. A huge part of knowing who you are now is knowing who you were before.

And finally this brings me to my overall point. We don’t ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to give their testimonies nearly enough. When was the last time you really looked someone in the eye and asked, “So what sin has God pulled you out of?”

But as a side note, as our leaders talked about, don’t come up with dirt either! Your innocence can be just as awesome of a testimony! The amount of sin isn’t what makes up our testimony. Testimonies are the stories of God’s children. Each and every one unique and precious.

So step out and don’t be afraid to share your testimony when you are asked! And better yet, ask the person next to you if they would be willing to share their testimony! We should all be getting to know our family a little better.

After all, in order to serve others with them you need to know how you can best serve them.

Asceticism

asceticism – noun
1. the manner of life, practices, or principles of an ascetic.
2. the doctrine that a person can attain a high spiritual and moral state by practicing self-denial, self-mortification, and the like.
3. rigorous self-denial; extreme abstinence; austerity.

austerity - noun, plural -ties.
1. austere quality; severity of manner, life, etc.; sternness.
2. Usually, austerities. ascetic practices: austerities of monastery life.
3. strict economy.

In one of my classes we have recently been taking a closer look at theology and within that we have touched a little on asceticism. For some reason I have a fascination with this topic and have since been digging a little deeper and thinking a little harder on the subject.

Essentially when I think of the word ascetism I think of monks, and I think of Mother Teresa. I was sitting in class one day and I was really struggling with this. I have a great deal of respect for all the work Mother Teresa did, and this post is in no way trying to question her reasons for sacrificng the way she did in order to help the less fortunate than herslef. However, I think back to the story about how she would sift through a box of donated shoes, take out the worst pair, and put them on her own feet in order to give the better pairs to the more needy than herself. This decision resulted in her feet being deformed for part of her life.

And it makes me wonder. Where do we draw the line? Again, the work that Mother Teresa did was nothing less than admirable. Making sacrifices in order to better serve those around us is something we should all be trying to do more often. But at the same time, is turning to asceticism and "self-denial and self-moritifcaiton" really what God has in mind for the body of Christ? I think in our ministry and service we should also keep in mind that Christ dwells in us, and therefore I believe it is just as important to respect our own bodies as it is to respect others.

And also, "doctrine that a person can attain a high spiritual and moral state by practicing self-denial, self-mortification." Ok.....? Part of me really isn't sure what to do with that, or where to even start. There's clearly two extremes facing our society today. Where's the balance between self-satisfcation/self-seeking and self-moritifcation?

Which also brings me to Matthew 16:24 which says, "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'" I personally think what Jesus meant by "deny themselves" is, "deny your selfish desires for the things of this world" (example: earthly wealth, material possessions, etc.) I don't necessarily think Jesus was saying "deny and completely disregard your well-being, and don't try to care of yourselves or your health."

Something I feel the Church doesn't really talk much about is standing in awe of Creation. And I'm not just talking about the mountains, trees, skies, and earth in general. Don't get me wrong, God said all of those things were, "good." But I'm talking about what God declared, "very good."

Us. You. Me. Humans. Our bodies.

So yes, in order to be a disciple I need to deny myself and pick up the cross and follow Jesus. And yes, that may mean in the process getting a few splinters, a few blisters, and a few cuts and scrapes! But I'm also not going to totally disregard taking care of the body God has created for me. It means finding the healthy balance of serving others, and taking care of ourselves.

Basically, I see nothing wrong with a healthy amount of self-denial....it's this "rigorous self-denial and self-mortification" that I'm questioning.

I'd definitely appreciate anyone's thoughts on this topic!

Won’t you be my love?

There are the lyrics to the song “Won’t you be my love” by MercyMe, I would definitely recommend looking it up on YouTube so you can listen to it. The entire new MercyMe CD is really great and filled with a lot of amazing lyrics. A couple other of my favorites are “Beautiful” and “Back to You”.

However I chose to give the lyrics to this one because it’s a really powerful song displaying our connection through Christ to the people suffering around the world and the privilege we have to tell them about Jesus and His suffering on the cross.

When you fall asleep tonight
In your warm and cozy room
Know that I'm awake
And I've got no shelter and no food 
 
I am not alone
My friends are broke and lost
Looking for someone to lead them to my cross
I need your help, I need your help

Won't you be My voice calling
Won't you be My hands healing
Won't you be My feet walking into a broken world
Won't you be My chain-breaker
Won't you be My peacemaker
Won't you be My hope and joy
Won't you be My Love 

The other side of the world
She is just a few days old
A helpless little girl
With no family of her own
She is not to blame for the journey she is on
Her life is no mistake
Won't you lead her to My cross?

Won't you be My voice calling
Won't you be My hands healing
Won't you be My feet walking into a broken world
Won't you be My chain-breaker
Won't you be My peacemaker
Won't you be My hope and joy
Won't you be My Love 

To those I call My own
To those I've set aside
As spotless without blame
The chosen ones My bride 

We will be Your voice calling
We will be Your hands healing
We will be Your feet walking into a broken world
We will be Your chain-breaker
We will be Your peacemaker
We will be Your hope and joy
We will be Your love

Prayer keeps us close

Today I received a message from one of our hosts in the Philippines telling us about something tragic that happened this morning in one of the communities we ministered to while in Cebu.

 

Throughout the day I’ve been constantly in prayer for this family. But I will admit, I have been close to tears numerous times due to my frustration. What are we supposed to do on those days it feels like prayer just can’t possibly be enough? When we feel like we are so far away and can do nothing to help? On days like today, when I would give anything to be on a plane to Cebu and all my family I left behind there…

 

And then I remembered something.

 

I have a friend who went on a mission trip to Puerto Rico a year ago and even then I remember being blown away by this sentence he used in his support letter, “No matter how far away, prayer keeps us closer than we can imagine, and God uses it powerfully to affect our lives.” Something told me to hold onto that letter, and remember that sentence, when I read it. And today I was incredibly grateful I had.

 

This is exactly what I’m taking comfort in. It doesn’t matter how far away geographically I am from my filipino family, when I pray for them it’s as if I am right next to them laying my hands on them and asking God to pour His strength into them. And that’s enough. God’s using our prayers to powerfully affect lives. Our prayers make a difference. They don’t go unheard.

 

God has given us the gift of prayer for just this reason. To stay connected. To always be close to Him, as well as our brothers and sisters in Christ here on earth.

 

Let’s not let the distance keep us from praying powerful prayers. Because they are heard by a God who draws near to us all. There are a lot of broken hearts to be repaired, broken families to be restored, and tears to be wiped away through the power of prayer.

 

So what can we do? And is prayer really enough? We’ve been called to pray…and yes! Right now, it is enough. Today, God’s using our prayers. Don’t let Satan feed you lies about prayer, don’t let him attack your communication line with God.

 

Satan wants us to feel disconnected from one another. He wants us to feel helpless and lonely. Because connected we are strong and powerful. When we are linked in prayer there is nothing here on earth that can get in the way of the Kingdom of God.

 

So Pray. Pray. Pray.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Be joyful always; pray continually'; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

I was there. I saw that.

One of my teammates just sent me a link to an article that was recently published in Compassion Magazine. I had just shut off my computer but when I read the text telling me there was an article I could read online I couldn’t help but turn my laptop back on. Even while in the Philippines, God was placing Lorega on my heart over and over again.

 

I read the article, and I will post the link at the end of this blog update. The font is kind of small and hard to read, but if nothing else look at the pictures. The one that caught my attention the most was the one looking out at all the tombstones at Lorega with the little girls running. You want to know what I immediately thought? That picture could have very well come off of my camera…

 

I was there. I saw that.

 

The article talks about a number of different issues in the community and the amazing story of a woman who has come to know God. Loving My Neighbor was mentioned and it immediately made me think of my night in the Philippines with my two little buddies Jasper and CJ. Our team had the opportunity to volunteer with the program “Loving My Neighbor.” And what a blessing it was to me.

 

There was one night I remember especially well.

 

Margo and I walked into the classroom we were going to be volunteering in and there was a teacher and two tables…divided up into boys and girls, as we all know kids of any culture tend to do at the age of 10 and 11! =-) Anyway, Margo sat down at the girls table, and I at the boys. I was placed in between two boys who a few minutes later I learned were Jasper and CJ. I played a couple of games of Connect 4 and asked some general questions that I tossed around the table in my attempt to get to know this new group of children. I especially hit it off with the two boys sitting next to me. Margo and I got up to teach a couple of Bible songs, and after that we sat back down to play for a few more minutes before moving on.

 

At this point in my mind I was fighting the question. But God was pushing me to ask it. I turned to Jasper and asked him where he lived. He said, “Lorega.” Of course after this my mind was again screaming, “Don’t turn and ask CJ, just don’t do it. You already know what the answer is going to be. Save yourself the pain of knowing for sure.”

 

But as always, God won. I turned and asked CJ where he was from.

 

“Lorega.”

 

Now, at this point we had already been to Lorega and I had already had Zandra wrap her arms around my heart. And I was struggling. Part of me couldn’t wait to go back to Lorega, and part of me wanted to run as far away as I could from anything and anyone who had a connection to Lorega.

 

But here I was sitting at a table with at least two boys who I knew lived in this place I feared. Who, in about an hours time would be heading to the place they called home. The cemetery.

 

A few minutes after I had asked them where they lived there was another “brown out” and we decided to head outside for a game while there was still some light left to the day. The game required chairs outside so we all started to pick up our chairs. When I made a move to pick up mine, Jasper immediately took it and stacked it with his own chair. My first instinct was to wonder what on earth this little boy could possibly be doing. As soon as he had successfully put the two chairs together he looked up at me and started to carry them towards the hallway that led outside. I had to admit, I was flabbergasted. Just from the few minutes before, I could tell Jasper was a good kid, but I never expected him to act with so much……power, authority, and respect. I don’t know his upbringing and I certainly don’t know his parents or if he even has parents, but I do know one thing. Loving My Neighbor was was certainly making a difference.

 

When we got outside he placed my chair in between his and CJ’s. The rest of the night was pretty much a blur, and in all the chaos and darkness due to the brown out, I didn’t even really have a chance to say goodbye to Jasper and CJ. I left that night thinking I would never see them again.

 

The following Sunday, after our church service we were walking into our other church service in Lorega and I hear,

 

“Ate Cora, Ate Cora, Ate Cora!!!!!!!” (Ate in Cebuano means big sister and is a term of respect all the children use)

 

I was caught off guard and was left almost speechless by the sight before my eyes. It was CJ. And he had remembered who I was…he had even remembered my name.

 

And it hit me. This was the point of Loving My Neighbor. It was awesome to get to know all the kids in a church setting, but this was his home. This was his “neighborhood”. The whole point of our work was for them to be able to come back to the place they lived and make a difference. To know there was a greater purpose in life then what they were being fed by the gangs. I could turn my eyes away and be ignorant and run from all the fears that Lorega held for me. Or I could acknowledge this sweet little boy in front of me who was so comfortable in the place I wanted to get away from.

 

But it all changed in that moment. I didn’t want to run anymore from this place. I didn’t want to get away. I wanted to stay.

 

It was a combination of Zandra and CJ that made it so hard to leave. Not jumping out while driving away from Lorega for the last time in the jeepney was one of the hardest internal battles I have ever had to fight.

 

I’m glad the world is going to have a chance to read about the incredible work God is doing in Lorega. But for me, I hope people realize when they read this article that' it’s real. Prostitution, drugs, gangs, broken tombs, animals, hunger, feces, glass…….church services, amazing little children, strong men and women, and God are all present in this place. I know a little boy named CJ who if I were to go back there right now I could walk up to and he would say “Hi Ate Cora.” and I sat with a group of women describing to me how blessed they were to be living for God in this place.These aren’t just random stories on a page, these are real people with a real story to share. Everyday I thank God He allowed me to be a part of His story in Lorega.

 

I was there. I saw that.

 

Here’s the link if you would like to go read the article I’m writing about. When you get there you just have to click over to page 8.

http://www.compassion.com/NR/rdonlyres/elawvbruaag3cf6owgnnn7dlyfzrd46uvedn53gklm6u2z2mrdmzptc65oqrv5tzuxsaaweliyspozrsl5o6bprogpg/CompassionMagazineFall10Final.pdf

This one’s for you, Mariel

You’re beautiful.

 

I am going to take the next paragraph to specifically talk to all the girls out there. So listen closely. (gentleman, that doesn’t mean you can’t read this!)

 

How many times has someone said the words “You’re beautiful” to you? And how many times have you just shrugged it off and not let the meaning of the phrase sink into your heart? Now, if there are any of you girls who are reading this right now, and are thinking “No one has ever said that to me.” Let me be the first. God doesn’t care what this world will tell you, He’s telling you something totally different. He’s looking each one of us in the eyes, holding our hands, and saying, “Beautiful daughter of mine, I have created you in My image and you are My masterpiece.” You are beautiful.

 

Now, I would imagine most of us are told we are beautiful time and time again in a variety of different ways. Whether it be through compliments, or any other gesture. Sometimes it’s not always by the people we want to hear it from, but nonetheless, we are told on a regular basis in a number of different ways.

 

Now here’s where I am going to get to my point.

 

Stop letting them be just words. Don’t deny them, accept them. Don’t just shrug them off. Accept that you truly are a beautiful creation of God, and then move on to tell someone else they are beautiful! Realize the gift God has given you with the person standing in front of you telling you you are beautiful, and turn it around and be that gift for someone else.

 

Here’s my personal connection to the message I’m trying to convey.

 

Mariel.

 

One little girl who taught me the true meaning of beauty. I can still see her eyes open wide in surprise when she finally understood what I was telling her. “You are beautiful.” And when Ruben told me it was probably the first time anyone had ever told my precious little Mariel she was beautiful, I can still feel time stop, and the fight to catch my breath as it had been knocked out of me by the sheer cruelty of the world we live in, and yet the duty and power God had given me to speak those words to this precious little filipino girl.

 

It’s my prayer that years from now she would remember those words. I don’t want her to remember what I looked like, or what my voice sounded like. But I pray she’ll remember those words and be flooded with the love of God when she thinks of them. When she’s surrounded by a group of people…and men, telling her she needs to look a certain way, act a certain way, or do certain things in order to be beautiful I pray she would say “No, I know what beauty is, and nothing you say can change the fact that my Creator has called me His own.”

 

So this one’s for you, Mariel. I won’t let another compliment pass me by without thinking of the gift you gave me that day.

 

May we all think of the precious little girls around the world who don’t get to hear they are beautiful. Who don’t have mothers to hold them and stroke their hair and whisper to them what a gift they are to the world. And don’t be afraid to tell someone they are beautiful, because who knows when the last time they’ve heard it was……

 

Or as in Mariel’s case…… who knows if they’ve ever heard it.

It’s been too long

This blog isn’t going to be filled with much of anything really. Just an update. Things have been really crazy and I definitely haven’t had as much of a chance to post as I would like. Since my last post I have started up field hockey and classes at Rivier College and so far both are fantastic!

 

I will say it has been extremely hard though, and not a day goes by I don’t think about the Philippines and wish I could go back. Who knows, maybe one day God will call me back! I’ve been praying a lot about what I should do with my Christmas break as well as my summer break so we’ll see what ends up happening. Things can change in a moments notice. Not my plan or time schedule, but God’s. That’s all I have to remember.

 

There are a few other things I have been deep in prayer about but I will let them be revealed with the passing time.

 

One thing that’s been revealed to me these past few weeks is how much we are all called to live in the present. I feel as though I’ve had my life hinged on when I think things should happen, and what I think should happen. When in reality that’s no way to live. I’m tired of waiting and hoping…but no doing….no action. I think since I’ve gotten back from the Philippines I’ve been realizing what my true ministry is and how much of an affect I can have right where I am. Each day I feel myself filled with a new joy. A new overflowing cup of grace. I’m so blessed with the people around me and the friends God has placed in my life. And even though I can feel myself changing, I know God has a purpose for everything.

 

Alright! Well that’s all I have for now, I will try to post for frequently! Hope everyone is doing well.

 

God Bless!

Cora

Philippines Video

Hey everyone! This is a video that I put together from my mission trip to the Philippines. For everyone who supported me in prayer and finances this is for you! I have been so blessed to be able to go to the Philippines with our team and serve along side so many amazing people. Thank you! And credit goes to Morgan on the last two slides of this video, she has a really graceful way of giving an explanation of what happened on our 3 week trip to the Philippines. This is also a collection of pictures taken by our entire team.

At the throne of the One who loves

As a church I find that we care far too much about what others think of us. And unfortunately we spend a lot of time judging everyone who walks through the doors on a Sunday morning.

And I'm a little confused about this. Isn't within the body of Christ where people are supposed to feel the least judged in the world we live in? Aren't people supposed to feel accepted and loved?

One of my teammates wrote a blog that really inspired me to write on this subject. I used to be worshiping with a group of people and would be concerned about what the person next to me would think if I put my hands up in the air. At training camp in Georgia during worship, one of the leaders went up in the front and said something like this, "You guys seriously need to forget about the person standing next to you. When you are worshiping picture this. You and God. You're at His feet. That's all that matters."

It wasn't that my worship was worth anything less to God before that point. But I'll tell you, that moment was the true turning point in my worship life. So if you're like I was, I encourage you to just be whoever God is calling you to be. Because that's the best possible you there is. If He tells you to put your hand up in praise of Him and all that He is. Do it. If he tells you to stand still and not move a muscle. Obey.

And do us all a favor. Don't judge the person next to you. Don't think because they don't have their hands raised up in the air they aren't as close to God as you are. From now on dedicate your worship to who we should really be focused on. God. The people around you don't know what's going on in your heart. They can't tell you what your relationship with God really is. The bond between you and God is....between you and God.

Imagine a church full of people who were worshiping exactly the way God is telling them to. Can you see it? I picture the entire world moving aside, being blown back because of the power of our obedience in God.

When God tells us to do something He expects us to obey. If the church body is praying for someone and God is clearly telling you to reach your hand out in the middle of service to form a connection don't be concerned about what the person sitting next to you is going to think. Because it just doesn't matter. God is looking for you to step out. To do what He's asking you. He's asking you to follow Him even if it means looking a little goofy to the world sometimes. Just remember, in Heaven you won't be answering to the person who sat next to you in in church one Sunday morning. You'll be answering to God. And who knows, maybe He'll ask something like this, "That morning I asked you to lift your hands in the middle of church service when you were surrounded by a hundred people and not one of them was lifting their hands, did you do it? Did you obey?"

What do you want your answer to be? Whatever He asks me I want to be able to tell Him I obeyed.

So the next time you're worshiping, try closing your eyes and picturing yourself at the foot of the throne of God. And then picture whatever you would do.....and do it! It's not just in your imagination you're at the foot of the throne. You actually are!

Video

One of my teammates from our trip to the Philippines, Morgan, made this incredible video. She is so talented, and like all of my other teammates she holds a special place in my heart and I love her dearly! The video is about 13 minutes long so you will have to sit down and set out some time to watch it, but she did such a fantastic job with it. Thanks for all the hard work you put into making this movie come together, Morgan!

So sit back and enjoy a little collection of memories from the summer that changed our lives...

And as a side note, the reason she chose the song "Baby" by Justin Bieber at the end is because all of the Filipino kids would always sing it to us and then ask, "Do you know Justin Bieber, have you met him??" So when you hear the song, just picture 30 adorable Filipino kids singing at the top of their lungs and dancing.......I know I do! =-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reIDbDo-EH8


Thanks for watching!!

Would you?

I'm finding more and more that writing is a really great way for me to process things...specifically my mission trip to the Philippines. =-)

I was reading back over my journal from the trip, and the last sentence I wrote before coming home (I believe I was on a plane from Seoul, South Korea to Atlanta, Georgia) was this, "I have this feeling of peace in me that I could leave everything behind and be completely happy."

It hit me while reading this again that this sentence just about sums up my trip. It shows you how little I care about the material things now.

Picking up the cross is a choice. Every single day we have to wake up and choose to follow Christ. But I promise you, sometimes it's when you leave it all behind you will truly see God move. There's nothing wrong with having material possessions, but as I've been learning, the more you have, the harder it is to leave behind at a moments notice. And what if God were to ask you to do that today? What if He spoke to you and challenged you to get up and walk away from it all? And that's just it. I've always heard it described as "giving up everything". It's not giving up anything really. Things of true value are the things in Heaven, so we are giving up our earthly things, but those were temporary anyway, right? We still have God. He might be calling you to put all of your trust in Him and just walk away. Could you do it? Some of us sit here and probably think, "gosh, I think I woud miss a few things quite a bit." In the Philippines we didn't have beds. We didn't have a couch, we had plastic chairs. We didn't have air conditioning. We didn't have cell phones. We had very limited internet access. And you know what? My life was honestly better without any of it. I barely even thought about not having a cell phone, and the times I did, I remember thinking to myself, "life is so much easier without it. All day I get to have face-to-face conversations with people. I get to focus on laying my hands on people and actually praying for them." And yes, at times I missed my family. But the reality of it was that I had a family right where I was. I lived the month in constant fellowship with other believers, I lived the month with the family that I will one day spend eternity with.

I remember the last night of our team being together. It was probably the night where it all came together. There was laughing...and there were tears. We had become so close, and we had been through a month of really tough spiritually and emotionally draining things. But I remember saying to all the girls on my team, "You know, this really isn't goodbye. If we don't see each other here, I'll see you in Heaven." That to me is the most amazing thing about our brothers and sisters in Christ. Goodbyes are never really goodbyes. Yea, it may feel like we have to wait so long. But compare the time we wait while being away from them, to the eternity we get to spend with them. It's like the blink of an eye.

Now going back to my previous thought. I'm not saying God has called me to walk away from everything. On the contrary, He's called me to right where I am....for the time being. It was the realization that I could walk away from it all that He was asking for. It was my commitment in saying, "God, at a moments notice. You speak. I act. I'd follow Your footsteps across the world if that's what You someday ask of me."

So would you? Would you walk away from everything you have in your life right now to follow God?

Let's Be the Body and go Beyond our Boring Days

First off, here's some pictures from our trip! These are just a few of the hundreds of pictures I have, let me know if you would like to see more. Most of these are also posted on facebook! Enjoy! =)

Thinking back to June it scares me how much I really just did not understand the concept of being in God'presence...and desiring to be in His presence.

Our relationship with God is just that. A relationship, and a relationship goes both ways. Our relationship with God is not just something where we go to Him whenever we need something, or we have something we need to talk about. But because of the society we live in, that selfish outlook on life has translated over into our view of God and our relationship with Him. It's all about what we can get out of it. God made the ultimate sacrifice. He gave up His one and only Son. Why are we still concerned about what we can get, or what other blessings He can pour out on us? He already gave us the gift of eternal life. God has truly blessed me, but what if I was suffering? What if I was suffering like some of the people in Lorega living among the dead? What they taught me is that my definition of wealth is very skewed. My entire life I have measured wealth with material possessions. The Bible clearly says that's wrong. We are supposed to be storing up treasures in Heaven...not here on earth. Some of the people who I met in Lorega are the wealthiest I've ever met. They are keeping their eyes set on Heaven. If anyone knows what suffering is it's the people of Lorega, and yet I sat there with a group of women who were sharing about all the ways God had blessed them. Talk about a humbling experience.

I have come to a place where I look forward to spending time with my Creator. Think about it. The CREATOR of the entire universe desires for us to spend time with Him. To talk about all of our thoughts with Him. To ask Him what we should do. But we also have to just be quiet. To listen to His repsonse.

I have this mental image of God in Heaven sitting on His throne writing love letters and sending them to me. A lot of those letters are what make up the Bible, and the words I have read in its pages. But some of the love letters are gifts He has specifically given me throughout my entire life. And then I think about how when you write a love letter to someone, what do you want them to do?? Well, you either want them to write you one back, or better yet, you want them to perform some action that confirms it to you that they love you. I look back on all the love letters God has written me, and all of those I have failed to answer.

So why not starting answering God's love letters with the way we act? God wants us to live like Jesus. That's the ultimate love letter we can write to Him. Spending time talking with God (praying) and just sitting and marveling at the beautiful creation He has given us can all be part of writing a love letter back to God. Living in love, and doing everything for and out of love. Everyday. No exceptions. No excuses.

He not only loves us, but He is in love with us. For me there is a big difference between those statements. I have always loved God, but looking back, I don't think I was truly in love with Him. But after this trip I can tell with knowing it in my heart I am in love with the One who created me. The One who while in the Philippines and being surrounded by poverty, depression, trash, feces, prostitution, and molestation put His hands on my cheeks in the middle of all of this and opened my eyes to the beauty of around me. The most beautiful thing I saw in the Philippines was the people. And it's not a coincidence. Afterall, God cares more about souls than He does any other thing in the world. I remember at times looking around me while I was sometimes wondering where the good in all of this was and the Holy Spirit whispering to me, "Cora, look at the little girl's hand you're holding. Did you miss that beauty? And when she laughs, the feeling you have in your heart of love? That's a gift. And that flower you just passed by?? What was that, was it not God's gift to you also?"

Don't be fooled. The world will sometimes tell you you're alone in this. You're not alone. The world will tell you there is no hope. There is hope. The world will tell you that having material possessions is important. It's not. The world will push you to have a plan for the next 20 years so you won't "fail" in life. Don't give in. Especially in the United States we are told to have money is to be successful. To dress a certain way or act a certain way is to be considered beautiful. This world does not determine and define your beauty, God does. And God has already told us, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." He named us His own before we were even born. Pretty cool, right? I now live everyday excited for the next oppurtunity I get to open my Bible and read one of the love letters God has written to me.

In Luke 15:8-10 it says this, "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me, I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." That's how much He cares about one. One person. This verse is much a part of the reason I believe in the power of one. If God cares so much about one single individual, why don't we? It's like sometimes we pass people in need on the streets and wonder if we should help them and then think to ourselves, "I don't really have time, and after all, it's only one person." It's not only one person. Every single person is a beautiful creation of God! And one person can change everything. If people don't believe this, just look at Jesus. He became human (just one person) and not only changed the lives of everyone around him, but he changed the lives of everyone after him. He changed the lives of you and me. Don't tell me that the person on the side of the street doesn't matter because it's only one person. In Matthew 18:10-14 it says, "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 'What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." It's comforting to know that on those days we feel lost and we have wandered away from the herd, God doesn't just let us go. He searches for us until He finds us.

I pray we would all learn to live in the beauty of this moment. We as the Body of Christ are not just called to live, but to HAVE life, and that life has been given to us by the blood shed on the cross. God didn't call us to have "boring" days.

I realize this post has quite a few jumbled thoughts and different points and topics, but I hope while reading it God spoke to you through some Bible verses or stories.

God Bless!
Cora

Lee

I've been thinking about posting a general blog about our ministry in the Philippines but I've decided that instead it's time for a story about a lovable and tender-hearted little Filipino boy who will always have a place in my heart.

One of the communities we had the opportunity to minister to was called Riverside. It was the nicer of the three communities we spent time in, but still had struggles beyond what I've seen before. Most of our time at Riverside was playing with the kids up on the street above the "valley" where the houses were. We generally went at night, so the first time I met this little boy I couldn't even really see his face. I was playing with a group of boys and running after them throwing my arms up in the air and yelling as I ran towards them in an attempt to "scare" them. Anyway, there were a couple of boys who really loved this "new" game I had invented for them (hahahahaha) and one little boy had probably 30 rubber bands on his arm and he took off about ten of them and put them around my wrist. Ten or fifteen minutes later when I thought we had exhausted the game and I assumed I wouldn't be seeing much of them again, I was walking another girl home and I hear screaming coming from behind me. Well, I turn around to discover this little boy named Lee running towards me in the dark, screaming, and holding his hands up in the air. Can you guess what happened next? Yup, you guessed it! I picked him up. =) What else could I have done?? At this point I had given up on noticing how much I was sweating (keep in mind that even though it was night time it was still in the 80s with a humidity of about 150%.....)

After a couple seconds of carrying him it occurred to me I was carrying him away from all of his friends and the other kids his age. I asked him if he wanted to go back up and play with all the other kids or if he wanted to stay with me. He wanted to stay with me. I carried him through the streets and we ended up playing with a group of two week old puppies. It was a precious experience watching his curiosity as he stuck his hand out to pet and welcome the new creatures to the earth. I carried him out of Riverside and at this point I was almost unwilling to let go of him.... this little boy Lee already had a hold on my heart.

Well, I had to put him down in order for him to watch the movie and for my team to perform the drime we had prepared and we also sang a song. While we were singing the song I looked over to my left and saw Lee. I also saw another boy who was trying to take Lee's toy from him and was pushing him around. You know how little boys get down in the crunched position and start shaking a little as the tears well up in their eyes because they are trying so hard not to break down? Well, that's exactly what was happening. As soon as the song ended I asked one of my teammates to hold my water bottle and I went straight to Lee. As soon as I reached him and he saw me I decided it was my turn to return the favor. I put my arms out and within seconds I was back to the comfortable position of holding him close to my side.

After a couple of minutes of holding him I sat down with him on the ground and he sat on my lap. At one point I looked down and he had his hands folded together. I took off one of the rubber bands the other boy had given me earlier, and Lee lifted his little arm up in the air and I slid the rubber band around his wrist.

The next night was our final time at Riverside and I was looking forward to seeing Lee, but dreading the goodbye all the same. Now, I should tell you Lee has an identical twin named Earl who I hadn't had the chance to meet the night before. I couldn't tell if the boy I was seeing was Lee or Earl, but then 10 minutes after we had arrived I felt a tap on my back and I turn around and this little boy tries to hide from me. I grabbed him and picked him up and said, "Are you Lee?!?!" and he responded with, "Yes!" After that I asked him if he remembered me from the previous night, and he did. I spent the next 15 minutes playing with him and holding him close to my side. But then it was time. It was time to say that hard goodbye, to put down Lee who in just two short nights I had connected with so well. I looked at him and said, "Gihigugma ko ikaw" (which in Cebuano means 'I love you') he looked into my eyes and smiled. I then said, "Does that mean you love me too?" and he looked at me again and let out a little laugh and said, "Yes!"

I tell you this story because with my two previous stories I tell about how God placed kids in my life to break my heart. And break it did. But the most amazing part about my trip to the Philippines was realizing that while God will place children in my life to make me think about the reality of the sometimes harshness of this world, and He will place them there to break my heart for what breaks His; He will also give me a little boy like Lee who when he smiles at me it becomes clear to me God is using a 5 year old little boy to help put some of the broken pieces of my heart back together.

After being home for about two weeks I have had a pretty good chance to process my trip. The best part of re-entry for me has been sitting down with people and telling them all the stories God has given me. Anyone who supported me in prayer and finances is as much a part of my mission in the Philippines as I am. He chose me to go, but He chose all of you to support me. And it was through your faithfulness that I was able to do the ministry God called me to. And it was your prayers that kept our team safe, and opened up the hearts of the Filipino people to hear the Gospel. For all of those who I haven't had the chance to really talk with yet, I tell you in all honesty that I am sitting here thinking about it and I can't wait! I want to thank all of you who have had grace with me and have had patience in my sharing of stories. I just want you to know how much I want to (and will) tell you all the stories you would like to hear!

God Bless!
Cora

Home

I am officially back from the island of Cebu in the Philippines. Cebu is home to a group of beautiful people who have captured a piece of my heart.

Anyway, I'm in the first stages of dealing with re-entry. It's hard to explain all of the emotions going on in my head right now, but above all other emotions is the strong desire to struggle through this re-entry with my Creator. The Creator of the universe is craving to spend time with me, and I'm craving time with Him. Reflecting on this last month makes me smile and brings tears to my eyes all at the same time.

Our team of 9 people was blessed to be able to spend our time in the Philippines ministering to people who have touched my life just as much (if not more) as I have hopefully touched their lives. In the next couple of days expect to see numerous blog posts as I try to accurately write down some of my stories and thoughts. God has made it clear to me that my trip and all of the stories He gave me were not meant to stay inside. I am supposed to share them with anyone who wants to hear them or read about them. I thank everyone for your prayer support and partnering with me to serve the people of Cebu.

God did some amazing things this past month in a lot of lives and I am so excited to share with you all about my experiences and the way God is continuing to move in my life.

God Bless!

Zandra

Here's another blog post from my time in the Philippines:

A couple of days ago we went to Lorega. Lorega is a place where the homeless live among the dead in a cemetery. Part of me doesn't even know where to start. They live among the dead. Their home is literally on top of and surrounded by tombs. And it's not an old burying site either, we saw tombs marked 2004 and these people have been making their home there for well over twenty years. The first church service we went to we had the opportunity to teach the children Sunday School off to the side. I taught the songs, and then after the story was taught one of my other team members got up in front to teach another song and I stepped back. When I did this, I glanced down and there was little girl kneeling on a tomb in the dirt, glass, trash, and goat poop next to me. I knelt down and started to try and sing the song with her but she was too young to understand. I had this tug on my heart to try and pick her up, so I did. Immediately after I picked her up I felt my side get really warm and wet from where she had had an accident and not been changed. After holding her for a while I set her on her feet right in front of me. Immediately she grabbed my hand. It wasn't because of her lack of balance because she was old enough to walk, but it was so obvious to me in that moment that she just wanted to be loved and comforted by someone. Eventually, after holding my hand for a little while she started to lean into me and rest her head on my leg. Whenever another child came over to talk to her she would almost act frightened and in turn I would feel her squeeze my hand a little tighter and lean into my body a little harder.

At one point she let go of my hand just so that she could wrap both of her arms around my leg and place her head there too and look up at me. For a lot of the time I would bend down so I was her height and could see eye-to-eye with her. Whenever I did this she would automatically switch from wrapping her arms around my leg to wrapping her arms around my chest. And it wasn't like she wanted to be given a hug, she more just wanted to be held. I must have stood comforting Zandra for at least 30 minutes while all of the other kids played around us. To be honest, I remember very little about my surroundings for those 30 minutes, it was almost like she and I were the only two there, and all that mattered was the connection I had with this little girl.

When I told her I had to go and waved my other hand to make sure she knew what I meant, (I was kneeling down and looking her in the eyes at this point) she immediately reached up and put both her hands on my cheeks. I have never felt so connected with someone in my entire life. When I was walking away she grabbed my hand and led me. She didn't have any shoes on, and the protective instinct inside of me wanted to say something like, "be careful" or, "watch your feet" as she walked over the broken glass. And that's when it hit me and I held back the words. I realized she has grown up in this. This is her life. Zandra has probably witnessed far worse things in her short life than I will ever have to witness.

Before this trip to the Philippines, and especially before my trip into Lorega, I would have been naive enough to tell you it was impossible for a little Filipino child who didn't even speak English, to have as much of an impact on my life as Zandra did. It sounds crazy, but I can still feel her arms wrapped tightly around my leg and her hands against my cheeks. At the beginning of this trip I prayed for God to break my heart for what breaks His, and I truly meant it in my heart. Over these last couple days with Mariel and Zandra He has done just that. I am so grateful He is answering my prayer, but all the same, it's not painless to have your heart broken. I have prayed a lot about this, and this breaking of my heart is not only a good thing, it's also healthy. Because the second a child like Mariel or Zandra walks into your life and your heart doesn't break, that's when you know something is wrong.

Thank you so much for keeping our team in your prayers. We are all excited to see what these last 7 days in the Philippines will bring us. God Bless!

Gwapa Ka

Here's one of the blog posts I wrote while in the Philippines:

The past couple of weeks have been nothing short of life changing. I have survived a 14 and ½ hour flight, slept in the Seoul, South Korea Airport, bought groceries at Fooda (and no, that’s not a spelling error =) ), had Filipino spaghetti at Jollibee (it’s not quite the same as back in the States), and taken countless jeepney rides (where you are shoved a little closer to the people around you than you may have wished.) And on a more serious note: I have witnessed material poverty like never before. It was a couple of days ago when I was surrounded by dirt, trash, and pollution, while sitting in a church service on top of a burial tomb that I realized my definition of poverty has been skewed my entire life . I have defined poverty and wealth based of the possessions people have, but it hit me that a lot of these people living in the slums are wealthy. Their faith is incredible and they are keeping their eyes and hearts set on the things that will last for eternity. They praise God for all the small things they have, and in terms of eternal things and the Kingdom of God some of these people are among the wealthiest I’ve ever met.

Our team had the opportunity to go with Cebu City Alliance Church (CCAC) to feed and teach a Bible story to a group of children in a village in the city. Once we were done teaching, the kids lined up to be served food and I stood off to the side to watch. There was a little girl kneeling down in the dirt next to me and I knelt down and attempted to ask her what her name was. During the story I had been leading one of the songs, and whenever I looked at her she would smile but she didn’t really participate in the hand motions. When I asked her what her name was it became clear to me she didn’t understand English. I asked our host and translator, Ruben, to come over and help me communicate with her. I found out her name was Mariel and she was four years old. I realized she didn’t have a bowl and would be unable to eat. I had Ruben ask her if she wasn’t hungry, and she responded she was going to eat at home. Later we asked her where she lived and her response was, “everywhere”.

A few minutes later I pointed in the general direction of her face and said, “Gwapa ka,” which in Cebuano means, “You are beautiful.” She turned and asked Ruben, “My hair is beautiful?” and I asked Ruben to tell her “No, everything” and I motioned with my hands to her entire face so she would understand. As soon as Ruben translated for me, Mariel looked back at me, smiled shyly, and let out a little laugh. Ruben turned to me after this exchange and said, “That is probably the first time anyone has ever told her she is beautiful.”

Ruben had told me earlier that the majority of these girls had been molested by this age, and a lot of them were children of prostitutes. And the sad thing is that they will most likely choose the same lifestyle when they are older because they see it as their only way to make a sufficient amount of money.

After that exchange between Mariel and I, she stood behind my skirt and wanted to play with me. When it was time for us to leave our first feeding site to go on to the next, she let me pick her up and hug her and then she held my hand and led me into another alleyway. My exchange with Mariel is one I will never forget, and my new favorite saying for all the little Filipino girls is “Gwapa ka” because who knows if they’ve ever heard it or when the next person will tell them. It’s such a blessing to have the opportunity to love on these kids and shine truth and light into their hearts. My prayer is that they will turn to Jesus to be loved and not end up looking for love in the people and things in this world.

Quick general update...details to come later!

Wow! It's been quite a while since I have written.

Believe it or not I have so much to write about and yet I'm not going to write about much of any of it right now. These past few weeks have been pretty crazy and I am now an official graduate of high school! And by far the funniest card I got was the one from my brother where he wrote, "Good luck next year as a victim of higher education. It's been strange watching you mature over the years,"...and after he writes an inside joke we have he finishes with, "You're the best!" I will definitely be keeping this card for the rest of my life =)

Now I am getting ready to head off to Georgia and then the Philippines. Our flight leaves in exactly 25 days!!! I can't wait for June 30 to be here, and yet I still have so much I need to accomplish before I will feel truly ready to leave. I don't have a lot of things "scheduled" on the calendar, other than some serious time spent with God. But the one monumental-possibly-life-changing-event-I-can't-miss is River College Orientation!!

Anyway, I will give an update soon about what's really been going on in my life....that is once I can find the words.

In Christ,
Cora

Call me crazy, but I want the tears

<sup>I'm going to share a little bit about how God worked in my life this past month during my mission trip to the Philippines.

I'll start off by saying that if you know me, then you also know I'm not really one for showing emotions. I rarely cry, and when I do, you can be assured it's taken me a lot to get to that point. Now, I don't think there is anything wrong with not showing much emotion. Just as I don't think there is anything wrong with showing emotion. It goes both ways. But during this trip God pretty much sat me down even before we left Training Camp to go to the Philippines and said, "Cora, it's OK to be a weeping child of God."

The truth of that was revealed all throughout this trip. I cried more in this past month than I have in my entire life. But I think it should also be noted I laughed more this past month than I ever thought possible. Because in the midst of the sorrow and tears there is also the Truth, and that is that one day God will wipe away all of our tears.

This goes along with me praying for God to break my heart for what breaks His. There were some debriefs with the team that after a particularly demanding day of ministry I couldn't help but shed a few tears for the kids that had held my hand as I walked them through the alleys where men would sit there and stare at them just waiting for their opportunity to get their hands on them. I cried for all the Filipino children who have never experienced the true love of a parent here on earth, but they've seen more alcohol and drugs in their few short years than I will probably ever see. I cried for the kids who now hold a little piece of my heart because their smiles were so inviting that all you wanted to do was stand there and hold them...because all they wanted to do was be held. My tears were shed for the disease, poverty, and dirt. But most of all, my tears were shed for all of God's beautiful children who are just looking for someone to love them.

However, almost all the kids I cried for I also laughed with. Whether it was chasing them around in the streets and hearing their shrieks of delight at having a new friend, or seeing the shy smiles when we were teaching them silly songs, or watching their eager hands go up when you asked for volunteers to help with the Bible story, or laughing with them when they pointed at your nose and said, "Why is it so big?" or better yet when they pointed at my hair shyly, giggled and said, "You look like Barbie." Sometimes you just have to laugh. =)

God has been working in my life a lot this past month, and I'll be getting into some more detailed stories in my next post, but for now I'll leave you with a Bible verse and an article that I read on the web. We should be delighted God has given us the ability to cry and to laugh. Sometimes I catch myself wondering why God allows so much pain and suffering in the world and why He leaves us alone in it. And then I stop myself. If there's anyone who knows pain it's God. He gave up His only Son. Really puts my "suffering" in perspective. And above all, HE DIDN'T LEAVE US ALONE IN IT. One of the many things I realized on this trip is just how present God is in all situations. Wherever we walk, God has walked there before us. Even on the city streets of Cebu where men sit and watch the children, or in Lorega where they live among the dead.....God is present! He is there! There is beauty in everything around us, sometimes we just have to be willing to let God open our eyes to see it.

Romans 15:4-6
4</sup>For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

⁵May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, ⁶so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The following few paragraphs were taken from Boundless Webzine, written by J. Budziszewski

"One of the multitude, bright as a falling star, stood forth to give the spirits' answer. "The question is beyond us, Mighty One. Yet because it pleases You to ask us, we would advise after this fashion. Do not make the children of men in Your image, because Your holiness must not be demeaned by imitation. Do not give them freedom, because they might use it for ill. If you do give them power to sin, then do not let their deeds have consequences, because they might hurt themselves. So fashion the world that bullets do not pierce, wounds do not bleed, hatred wants the best, betrayal has no barb, and promises can be shattered and yet fulfilled. Make your creation invulnerable to their sins, that its goodness may be preserved.

"But if you will not do these things, Eternal One, then above all hold yourself aloof from them. Yea, should they bring suffering upon themselves, let them bear it alone, for you are God."

God replied to the heavenly beings, "You have answered according to the measure of your wisdom; now hear what I will do. I will make men in my image, that My Name may be glorified among them. I will give them freedom, for if they have no power to rebel, then neither will they have power to love. Know then that they will be my children, not my pets. I will give them abundant power to hurt themselves, for if their deeds have no consequences, then neither will they have meaning. I will make them the lords of my creation, every inch of it vulnerable to them, because they themselves are my chief work and the apple of my eye. Know then that if they fall, all nature will groan like a woman in travail.

"Above all, I will not hold myself aloof from them. Though I go to make a world in which pain and sorrow are possible because of them, I will take the worst of it upon myself. Already I foresee their sin; already I am slain. Yea, I will make myself one of them, I will sweat drops of blood, I will die that they may live."

Hearing God, the angelic beings were amazed, and longed to look into these things. But some of them were scandalized, and there was war in heaven.

It is scandalous, isn't it? There is that in us which would side with the rebellious angels. We don't want a God who suffers; we don't want a God of such terrifying good. God lifts us to such a height that we are capable of ruining ourselves, and we say "Thanks, but no thanks." He bears the penalty of our sins, and we say "How dare you call it sin?" He comes to share our burdens, and we say "Couldn't you just make us comfortable?" He offers the privilege of sharing His sufferings so that we may share His glory, and we say "You call that a privilege?" Yes, and when He promises that one day He will wipe every tear from our eyes, we say "We would rather not cry in the first place.'"

Live life and love it while you're living it....

Yesterday I went out to UNH to take a tour with two of the coolest kids on the block. hehe. Despite the rain, Pat, Andy, and I had a pretty great time. I had the chance to learn some pretty interesting secrets about the campus....and above all else I ate a lot of good UNH food. I have to admit, if it came down to my stomach making my college decision for me, it wouldn't be a hard choice at all ;) After all, who wouldn't want unlimited access to cereal all day?!?! Nevertheless, I'll be making my college decision in the next week or so.....

And then today I spent the day exploring Boston!! I love adventures, and even though going to Boston is not exactly considered traveling, I LOVE TRAVELING. Today just reminded me of how much I can't wait to take all the trips I have been formulating in my head ever since someone told me the world wasn't actually flat, there are hundreds of languages, thousands of different foods, a car to drive, an airplane to be flown, and a boat to be sailed.....a whole other experience....a whole other world out there. An adventure. Well, some of you are probably getting sick of my constant quoting of books and people...but that's just me for you, and don't you worry, I'm not about to change for a blog. =) In the next couple of paragraphs I will be using quotes from the book "Wide Awake" by Erwin Raphael McManus. I won't elaborate on them too much because they describe how I feel exactly...and much more eloquently than I would ever be able to =) If you have yet to read any of his books I highly recommend this one...as well as "Soul Cravings," both are very well written, and on top of all of this, his name is clearly downright awesome!

I would call myself a "future-traveler/explorer". My desire to travel was reaffirmed over and over again today walking around the streets of Boston. You should have tried to wipe the smile off my face today, I was determined to not miss a beat. As much as I love where I have grown up, and would love to live here when I am older.... I think I could pretty much be happy anywhere...... well anywhere with snow anyway. Erwin writes, "Sometimes we think that if we leave everything we know, it's going to get worse from there. But it is possible you'll never find greater contentment or joy or exhilaration until you're willing to give up what you know and what you have for what awaits and exists in the unknown."

"When you are called out by God, you have to take on a learning mode that recognizes you are called by God to explore unknown territories and go to uncertain environments. To some of you God is literally saying, You need to leave your country, your relatives, your house and go to a place you've never known if you are going to live the life of your dreams."

I especially love this one, "That's why when we are children, we have an insatiable curiosity, a need to discover and a drive to explore. It's part of the way God made us. "

"You are created by God to be a pioneer, to explore unknown places and have uncertain experiences because he created and designed you to solve whatever challenges and problems and obstacles you will face in that place. When you live up to your greatness, the whole world is made better. The world cannot afford for you to choose average or easy."

And one that spoke especially to me, "If you're going to create the life of your dreams, eventually you have to stop thinking about it, dreaming about it, imagining it, hoping, scheming, planning, or even praying, and you actually have to do something. You have to act. You have to execute."

Some people ask why I need to go to the Philippines in order to serve, when there are clearly people in my own town and local community in need of help. By going to the Philippines I am not denying the needs of my community; however, what I am doing is acknowledging there are other people suffering besides those who I can physically see and reach out to. I have been involved in volunteer opportunities and outreach programs in my community my entire life as it was and is my parents desire to see both my brother and I out in the community furthering the Kingdom of God and at the same time obtaining "people skills". I still remember sitting in the kitchen with my mom when I was little watching her make hundreds of cupcakes to give to a local outreach here, Kid's Cafe. It was also my parents who encouraged me to become a CIT at Girls Inc. where I spent practically a whole summer, all day every day, serving with the hope of becoming a better servant of God. But there are people suffering in my community formed with Christ that need our help just like those in my physical community. I will be expanding my world view, learning to adapt, experiencing other cultures firsthand, breathing, tasting, and seeing the beauty of God's creation, and as a side note... it's going to be one of my first real adventures. Real in the sense that, with the help of God, I pushed myself to do this on my own. This trip is my way of acting, of executing, and of searching for God's plan for my life. Am I expecting to come back from this trip knowing exactly what God has planned for my life? No, of course not, to me that would be a horrible attempt to limit the power of God, we can't put a schedule together for God and expect him to show up and reveal his plan whenever we set up an appointment. God creates the schedule, not us. And I already know what God has planned for my life. I may not have a "chosen occupation" but I know one thing, God created me to bring glory to Him, and that's what I'm going to do my best to do. And honestly, once you know that, what else matters?? I could be a street performer, like the one I saw in Boston today (hehe, in case any of you are worried about my sanity, don't be, I discovered a long time ago I'm not much of a professional juggler), and still live my life to the absolute fullest bringing glory to God. Essentially it doesn't matter what we do; what really matters is how we do it, and the amount of love we put into it.

Today was a long and fun one filled with little Italian restaurants, small pastry shops, cobblestone streets worn down by the pattern of everyday life in the city, markets, street performers, history, car fumes, friends, and thoughts of the future. Oh! And totally random fun fact of the day! When I purchased my "Charlie Ticket" to catch the T into Boston, I only had a $20 to put into the machine, and guess what it gave me for change?!?! Did you guess?? Well, I received 15 dollar coins, which I of course then proceeded to retrieve with a laugh and carry around Boston for the day. That had absolutely no relevance to my overall story, but I thought it was funny. =)

Seemingly Insignificant....

This is a note I had written on facebook April 26, 2009....

"The sun: just something that keeps everything alive and makes a day at the beach more enjoyable, or could it be one of the greatest symbols God ever gave us?....thinking about this while sitting on the turf watching the ultimate Frisbee tournament I realized something: no matter how many times the sun falls, it always rises in the morning; no matter how many clouds cover it, it always seems to show up again to bask us in its light. It is so simple that we don't even realize it; the sun that is setting for us is rising for someone else. At the same time as though it seems like there will never be any light again for us, another part of the world, another country, suffering from a number of different things, is given hope by the rising of the sun. A constant and consistent cycle, something very hard to come by in our world today. I don't know about you, but just the fact that something can fall everyday and manage to rise looking just as radiant the next day makes me want to get back up again when I stumble in my day to day life. If the sun, created by God, can do it; then why can't I, also created by God, manage to do it? So every morning we should rise again and remember we can shine God's light on everyone we see in a day....just as the sun shines upon us. We should show enthusiasm, love, and compassion to everyone around us. You never know when you may need someone in your life to be the sun for you for a day."

I feel as though in our world today we don't realize how much of an effect we can have on each and every person around us. Smiles, compliments, and words of encouragement are all things we should never overlook the significance of. And as Mother Teresa said, "Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." Think about that! You and I have the ability to feed the hungry without cooking up anything more than a smile that tells someone they are not forgotten and will not be overlooked. I am in no way suggesting this is a substitute for actual food, but we have to remember the heart and soul cannot be overlooked in this feeding process. A simple smile can open the doors allowing those around us to see Jesus Christ through us, and He is the only One who can ever satisfy true hunger. Feeding the soul should take priority over feeding our physical bodies, and to think it could all start with a smile.

Mother Teresa also said these,
"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."
"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless"
"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love"

God has blessed me with an abundance of amazing family and friends. And for all of you who have been the sun for me for a day, know your actions have not gone unnoticed. So may we all remember sometimes all it takes to turn someone's day around is a genuine smile, a true act of compassion, and maybe even above all of that, just someone to share a good laugh with. =)

Philippines Mission Trip

Time flies. It's so hard to believe it was back in November I applied for the mission trip to the Philippines with the organization Adventures in Missions (AIM). Feels like just yesterday. Regardless, as many of you know I will be leaving on June 30 and won't return until July 24. I have posted the link to the AIM website on the right side of the blog, feel free to take a look around the site if you aren't already familiar with the organization.

While many of you are aware of the trip, I thought this would be a good way to go a little bit more in depth as to the details of the trip. Here goes!

On June 30 Margo and I will be heading down to Gainesville, Georgia for training camp. It is at this same time that my team mates will be meeting up with us from different parts of the country. While I have not personally met them, I have communicated with them all and I am so excited for the first day of training camp and all the exciting new introductions!

We will then be in Georgia training and preparing for our ministry in the Philippines, along with worshiping together and completing numerous team bonding activities, until July 5 when we will board a flight to the Philippines!! We will be ministering in Cebu City until we return back to Georgia for debrief. This is a brief overview of the ministry description AIM provides for this specific mission trip to the Philippines:

"Temptation is great for young people in the Philippines. Opportunistic predators are all too willing to recruit impressionable kids into lives of crime or even slavery. You can help guide youth towards a path which leads to hope, meaning, and life. Your participation can make the difference between light and darkness-or perhaps even life or death. The primary focus of your mission is partnering with local churches in an effort to reach the youth in the community."

Chances are pretty good I will be editing this post with more information as time goes on and as I learn more about what we will be doing, but as for now that's all I have. I would definitely encourage you to take a look around the AIM website if you know of someone who is looking to go on a mission trip!

God Bless!

Authentic filipino cuisine?? I think YES!

Whew! I'm all caught up on sleep now.... I think, so I thought I would give an update about how our Philippines Dinners went. I'll just start off by saying what an experience they were! Margo and I spent at least 12 hours in the kitchen, not to mention the few hours in the grocery store, for each of the two dinners, and ask either one of us and we will tell you our hands smelt like dumplings for the entire week. And even now that I have washed them so many times I still feel like I carry around the smell of the Philippines with me, which isn't a bad thing at all. =) So for those of you who didn't have a chance to make it to one of our dinners, we made sinangag (vegetable fried rice), green beans (we didn't prepare them any special way due to a severe lack of time hehe), siomai (dumplings), and cassava cake (cassava is a root that is grown in the Philippines and is used often in cooking).

Basically it took a whole night to make the rice, and the next whole day to make all the dumplings. Have you ever wondered how to mass-produce dumplings?? No? Well me either... that is until a couple of days ago when it hit us that standing over one wok for approximately 24 hours waiting for our massive amount of dumplings to steam just wasn't going to cut it. So, with our homemade steaming machines *muahaha* (we actually made three of them, one of which I accidentally "steam burned" my thumb with haha) we were mass-producing siomai like nobody's business!

Overall the dinners were a huge success! Thank you to all who supported us through our journey of creating an authentic filipino meal, we couldn't have done it without you! Margo and I are both so blessed to have so many supporting us, and to have friends and family that stood by our sides and held us up when we were close to collapsing from exhaustion. =)

I was reminded this whole past week of how God has so many hidden surprises for us, and so many unexpected ways to bless us. And even more than that, I was reminded to NEVER underestimate God. We serve an all-powerful, all-knowing God who sometimes is just waiting for us to put a little effort in and then just trust that He will provide. Philippines here we come! =)

My next post will be a summary of our trip with Adventures in Missions to the Philippines, but as for right now I'm on my way to see what there is for lunch.....possibly some sinangag and siomai??? Why yes! haha...

God Bless!

Here's to new beginnings!

Hey everyone! I have been pondering the possibility of creating a blog for a while now, and with my mission trip to the Philippines coming up I figured what better time than the present. But before I say anything else I'm going to take a quick second to explain my chosen blog title.

I read "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence a while ago. I've actually read it a few times now which you would realize right away if you ever got your hands on my copy of the book.... it only has a few underlined sentences.... and a couple highlighted words! *cough cough* =) In case you aren't familiar with the beloved seventeenth-century French monk, Brother Lawrence was a flat out seeker of God. The book is basically a collection of documented letters and conversations he had. The following couple of quotes are found in the book and really changed my outlook on everyday life.

"Brother Lawrence was able to turn even the most commonplace and menial task into a living hymn to the glory of God."

"We find him worshiping more in his kitchen than in his cathedral...as happy in serving his fellow monks and brothers from the monastery kitchen as in serving God in the vigil of prayer and penance."

I'm sure I will be posting more quotes from this book, as well as from a lot of other books and sources, but for now I just wanted to show the meaning of the title of this blog. Worshiping in the kitchen is something we should all be doing. To serve God we do not have to be well-dressed or sit among the "kings and queens". We do not have to be eloquent or well-spoken, our message speaks for itself. Don't be fooled, the greatness and beauty of the Gospel does not depend on how well we can "sell it", the Gospel can be heard best from those who truly believe it, and even beyond that, from the people who live and walk in their everyday lives as if they believe it. Or as Mother Teresa said,

"There should be less talk; a preaching point is not a meeting point. What do you do then? Take a broom and clean someone's house. That says enough."

Sometimes the best thing we can do is grab a dirty pot and a sponge and just start cleaning. If we are to serve God we need to be completely willing to do whatever needs to be done no matter how mundane the task may seem. We need to serve everyone around us as if we are serving God Himself......because that's exactly what we are doing. I find I need to take a couple minutes each day to think about that.

Matthew 25:40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"

Brother Lawrence didn't only find God in the sanctuary, he found him in the kitchen. He knew God couldn't be restricted to a building, and he knew wherever he went, God went with Him, and for that reason I think we should all start doing more

WORSHIPING IN THE KITCHEN

I'll write soon to give an update on the Philippines mission trip and how our fundraiser dinners went!

"And until we meet [or I write] again may God hold you in the palm of his hand."
God Bless!