'Tis the Season

I hope you’re all doing well this Christmas season. I just wanted to write you as we wrap up the semester here in Trek-X. It’s been a semester full of surprises.

For starters, I want to thank all of you for your prayers. Without prayer warriors and the help of the Holy Spirit, I could by no means survive this amazing journey the Lord has given me. I know many of you have been praying for the second half of Trek-X, which will be spent overseas, and many of you have asked me over the past few months exactly where I’ll be those two years. So, with much excitement I want to announce that Josh, Monica, and I will be moving to… 

                                                                  The Philippines!!!

It is so clear that God alone has orchestrated our lives up until this point preparing us for the Philippines. Their culture seems to be very similar to Burmese culture. Praise God He’s given us lots of Burmese friends and many hours we’ve been able to spend with them here in Nashville. It also just so happens that our partner in the Philippines, Barry Philips, has been praying for more missionaries. He already has a couple of dorms/apartments just waiting for believers to live in them! Praise God for answering Barry’s prayers. The Lord has certainly opened the door. So as of now, we will begin walking toward that door and Lord willing we will move at the end of next summer. We’ve already been communicating back and forth with Barry concerning the ministry in Aurora Province as well as about what kind of things we should bring when we come. I can hardly wait to be there! So again, thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray that our Father will prepare us for the next few months leading up to our move and especially for our lives in the Philippines. Check out www.lifttheburden.org to see more of the ministry already happening in the Philippines.

Many of you may know I’ve joked about school being “the thorn in my side” for the past year and a half. This is obviously an exaggeration, but I am pleased to say that I have completed one more semester and only have one more left! I really must admit that I enjoyed my classes this semester and really sought to learn for the sake of knowledge, not just to get a good grade. Nevertheless, please join me in praying that the Lord will give me the endurance and diligence to finish strong. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24

 Lastly, I am very excited to announce that Josh and I have set a wedding date! We will be getting married June 2, 2012 in Corinth. Since I finished up school last week, I have been hitting the planning pretty hard (and enjoying every minute of it!). Josh and I would appreciate your prayers for us as we plan the celebration of our marriage. We desire for it to be an amazing celebration of our Savior. Marriage really is a picture of Christ and His bride, the church. And we want to celebrate that with our friends and family. But, we also want to be good stewards of the money the Lord has given. I ask you to pray for wisdom for us, as we will be making a lot of decisions over the Christmas holidays. Also, for any of you recent brides out there, I’m wide open for suggestions and tips! Thank the Lord for Pinterest!  (www.pinterest.com)

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I love this time of year. As we celebrate the coming of Christ and ponder in our hearts the salvation that he brings, I am trying not to get wrapped up in the glitz and glamour of our world. Instead, I hope to see Christ in all things this holiday season. He is the light of the world. I want to give because of what I’ve been given. I want to enjoy the community and fellowship that comes with all the sweet eats. The Lord changes the seasons and turns the warm to cold. Songs about our Savior’s birth are joyful and offer peace. I could go on and on. It all points to Him. And as I pray for the many people I know who struggle through this holiday because of wounds that it often opens back up, I hope that they will see Christ through the midst of it all. And hallelujah- it doesn’t end with His first coming. He lived sinless, He died, He was raised, and He’s coming again! This calls for celebration! Merry Christmas, friends.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Thankfulness

I'm sad that I am just now getting around to writing this, but then again I've had a lot of great things going on and I'm glad I can share them. I'm actually taking a break right now from final exams to write this :)

With Thanksgiving just behind us, I am praying that I, and you too, will have thankful hearts year 'round. When I think about the Lord's provision just in this year, I find myself in awe. In awe of a Maker who loves me enough not only to save me from my sin and depravity in which I was once entangled in, exchanging it for freedom in Him, but also a Savior who delights in being my Father and providing for my every need. Lately I have felt so weak and so small before the Lord. But it has been a good place to be, just resting in Him. 

This month a few of us in Trek-X went to Secret Church at the Church in Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL. If you have never heard of Secret Church or David Platt, here's the website. Platt is a man after God's heart and shares a lot of great wisdom. The topic of this secret church was Marriage, Family, Sex, and the Gospel. We learned so much about statistics of this world and how Satan is really targeting the family, which is actually supposed to represent Christ and the Church. You can get a copy of the study we went through that night from the website. It's full of amazing Scripture and teaching. The couple of days following Secret Church we all went to Barry College in Rome, GA for a retreat weekend. And wow, it was so beautiful! It was really nice to get away from school work and our responsibilities here and just enjoy the Lord, each other, and His creation. 

Beautiful chapel on Barry College campus 

Like I said, it was a beautiful place! 

Over Thanksgiving break, my family retreated to the mountains in Gatlinburg, TN. It was really nice for the 5 of us to get away together. We took in the beautiful scenery, had a Thanksgiving meal together, watched lots of home videos, shopped, and lots of other fun things. Not to be depressing, but it was also my last Thanksgiving in the states for a while, so it was really nice to spend a whole week with them. And on a brighter note, it was also my last Thanksgiving as a single woman :) I didn't capture many pictures from the week, but here's one of me and my little brother at Cade's Cove.

This week we have been participating in Global Summit at Fellowship Bible Church here in Nashville. I have learned so much! Tuesday, we heard from 10 different global partners everywhere from Peru to Sudan to Germany. They shared about their ministries and how the Gospel is going forth in their countries. I was both challenged and encouraged by these strategic partnerships that our church is investing in. Wednesday, we heard from Brian Fikkart, the author of When Helping Hurts, a book about alleviating poverty without crippling the poor even more. My worldview completely changed from those few hours listening to Fikkart. I encourage any and all followers of Jesus to read this book and let it shape your heart to becoming more like Christ. My definition of poverty was reshaped. I learned that the cause is broken relationships with God, creation, others, and self. Thus, we were all poor at one time. And giving material things to those who are materially poor only satisfies their physical needs for a short time. Relationships must be restored and unless this is the aim of our alleviation of poverty, we will only hurt the poor. I could go on and on and on, but I will leave you with these verses: 1 John 3:17-19. Today, we heard from Dave Ramsey, financial peace guru, who shared from Scripture about how to be an entreleader. He shared about having visions and goals and how to better lead those who follow us with integrity, grace, unity, and loyalty. Finally, this afternoon we met with Benny Proffit and Peter Abungu who some of you may remember from last year. They shared about what is going on in Kenya currently and encouraged us to stick to doing what the Lord has commanded us. It was a wonderful week that has really got me thinking and redefining a lot in my life and the way I follow Christ.

This is a shot of the Global Partners and their wives at Global Summit

In closing, I just want to reflect on a few things that I am thankful for and ask you, if you haven't, to do the same.
        I'm thankful for salvation in Christ alone
        I'm thankful for my family- including parents who are still married
        I'm thankful for my godly man my husband-to-be is
        I'm thankful for the funds God continues to provide for me to be at Trek-X
        I'm thankful for a house and a table with food
        I'm thankful for the freedom I have living in America
        I'm thankful to be attaining a college education
        I'm thankful for friends the Lord has given me in the last couple of years
        I'm thankful for the Word
        I'm thankful for mentors and those who faithfully disciple me and pour into my life

Praise be to God for His faithfulness. May you all be blessed this holiday season.

"But whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him."
1 John 3:17-19