Hey all! Thanks for making your way back to my blog. I've loved your comments. Keep them coming! :) So my morning started off with some time with the Lord...time praying that is. Let me give you a little example of my prayer this morning..."God please give me eyes like yours so that I can see people the way that you do. I pray that I can have a heart like yours. Help me to love people that way you do." This was my main cry this morning. I've been getting nervous to start our ministry on Monday. We are all placed at different ministry sites. Mine is called Open Door ministry. All I know is that I am working with kids. Once I am there I will give you all a better picture of what it is. All the ministries are downtown. Mine in particular is right across the street from my house and for all of you who do not know, we live in a rougher part of Denver. So I've been getting a little nervous. What if I went into my ministry site with preconceived notions or judgements. What if I didn't know how to love these children the way that I should? What if I was intimidated or scared of them and what they bring to the table? So many thoughts and then so many lies from the enemy..."you can't do this. you will never be able to relate to these kids. they will hate you. you will fail." So I just began to pray this morning that the Lord would give me His eyes and His heart so that I could see and love these children the way He does.
Our morning lesson was about prayer and the prayer life of Jesus. It was so humbling to really see they way that the Lord prayed. It really put things in perspective and made me see how little that I pray and how much my prayer life needs work! I began to realize that the Lord even prayed for the Father to help Him. He could not do anything by Himself. He needed the Father just the way we do. He was fully dependent on His Father. God's greatest work is done by men and women who are totally dependent on Him. Jesus' goals in praying were to minister to the Father, depend on the Father and fulfill the Father's will. I began to realize that if I am depending on Him fully that He will lead me and He will work through me and because of that I will be fulfilling His will.
Following our lesson we spent time going around the group and saying a prayer for someone that the Lord placed on our heart. I barely know these people I am on project with yet. I know them surface level and here we are all pouring our heart out to God and praying for someone in our life and as people began to get vulnerable praying for their lost friends, their relationship with their parents to be restored, their sister with cancer, their professors to know the Lord, etc. I found myself crying. All the sudden I had a deep and heavy burden on my heart for these people and I just prayed and prayed. Afterwards all I could find to do was thank the Lord for already answering one of my prayers by giving me a heart more like His. I know that if I depend on Him He will do the same for me when I walk through the doors of my ministry site Monday morning and meet all the kids that I will build relationships with for the next month.
I don't know what your prayer life is like but I can almost guarantee that it could be better, you could be spending more time in communion with our God. I know I could and I know that I could spend MUCH more time talking to Him about things other than myself and my needs. I challenge you to reevaluate your prayer life today. Maybe you have an AWESOME prayer life and could encourage someone else in theirs. Along those lines I would LOVE it if you would please send me your prayer requests. As I begin to change my prayer life I would really like to spend more time praying for others in my life.
Just a little more on my day quickly...we did a scavenger hunt through Denver to get more familiar with the city. That was SO fun...my team lost...but that's okay! :) I tried to meet Tim Tebow at a book signing but the ticket were sold out. I WILL MEET HIM ONE DAY! Mark my word! ;) And then tonight me and some girls went for a walk to 16th street mall and to see the Art Chalk downtown. It was incredible! You should check out my pics on fbook! Alright if you are still reading..thank you! I am going to spend some time with the Lord and get some rest. Tomorrow morning I go to church at my ministry site bright and early! I'm excited to worship and praise the Lord with the people of Denver.
J
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Let the memories begin...
So here I am in Denver Colorado. For all of you who may not know, I am doing a four week summer project in Denver Colorado...summer in the city. This is first summer project which is unusual because I am a grad student and most students tend to go on summer projects when they are in their undergrad. This whole experience has been such an experience from the Lord. Just getting here has been a humbling experience in itself. I was so incredibly thankful to all the many people that stepped out in faith to support me financially-shout out to you if you are reading this! :)
Anyways, I am going to really try to blog a few times a week so that people at home can read about what I am doing here in the city. I want to share my experiences, my thoughts and all that the Lord is doing in my life and the lives of the people in Denver with you all. So please feel free to read! :) Let me just give you a little rundown of my past few days...at the beginning of this week I was running around Cape and Jackson like a crazy woman buying clothes, swim suits, personal products and anything and everything else I thought I MIGHT need in Colorado. Tuesday I really thought that I could have a break down as I was trying to fit everything in my suitcase...I knew I was over packing but I didn't want to UNDER pack. I mean can you even imagine getting to Denver without that ONE pair of shorts? Yeah...I was that girl. I finally crawled into bed around 12:45 and slept a nice 5 1/2 hours. Wednesday up by 6:20, trying to get on the road by 8....getting on the road by 9:45...I mean it is my mom and I-what else would you expect right? We picked up Gaby from STL and hit the road! 10 hours that day...5 hours the next. And then Gaby and I roll into downtown Denver. We pull up to this Victorian style home that seems pretty nice and then we are directed to our room...one big room connected to one little room and 13 girls. Gaby and I head to the back room with the two bunk beds but to get there we have to squeeze through the big room with like 5 bunk beds and as we try to lug all of our suitcases we realize that we are those girls..you know the girls that pack like a million and one things and still forget something. yeah those girls. But that's okay, we got settled and went to our first dinner with all our project friends....all 13 girls and 4 boys. Everyone seems really nice and friendly and well they say these people will be my best friends by the end of the four weeks and with only two bathrooms for all of us I can see that we will get REEEEAL close. I can hardly wait to see what the Lord has for us all. My dear friend Emiley had a little package for me when I got here (she is WAY too sweet) and in it was a journal that had a note for me. She said that I will have an amazing time and she is usually right...most the time. ;) Love ya em! So all I can do is trust the Lord in this like I have been doing all along right? Tomorrow is a day full of training...it could be a long day so I am going to call it a night. I don't know who is reading this...maybe no one except my mom and Emiley (you guys rock!) but whoever you are, where ever you are this summer-let God lead you to new places! That could be at another summer project, working at a summer camp, doing an internship in Montana, spending your last summer at home before you move on to a new chapter of your life, working on a farm or just spending time at home with your family and friends...whatever you are doing ask God what He has for you. Ask Him what you can do for Him. He will show you and He will lead you...that's what I did and here I am in. Serving God. In Denver Colorado. My summer in the city. As my girl, Em said...Let the memories begin.
Day by day...
Moment by moment...
Jesus is Lord of Lords...
Who guides your every step.
So let Him guide you today!
Signing off here in Denver Colorado...
J
Anyways, I am going to really try to blog a few times a week so that people at home can read about what I am doing here in the city. I want to share my experiences, my thoughts and all that the Lord is doing in my life and the lives of the people in Denver with you all. So please feel free to read! :) Let me just give you a little rundown of my past few days...at the beginning of this week I was running around Cape and Jackson like a crazy woman buying clothes, swim suits, personal products and anything and everything else I thought I MIGHT need in Colorado. Tuesday I really thought that I could have a break down as I was trying to fit everything in my suitcase...I knew I was over packing but I didn't want to UNDER pack. I mean can you even imagine getting to Denver without that ONE pair of shorts? Yeah...I was that girl. I finally crawled into bed around 12:45 and slept a nice 5 1/2 hours. Wednesday up by 6:20, trying to get on the road by 8....getting on the road by 9:45...I mean it is my mom and I-what else would you expect right? We picked up Gaby from STL and hit the road! 10 hours that day...5 hours the next. And then Gaby and I roll into downtown Denver. We pull up to this Victorian style home that seems pretty nice and then we are directed to our room...one big room connected to one little room and 13 girls. Gaby and I head to the back room with the two bunk beds but to get there we have to squeeze through the big room with like 5 bunk beds and as we try to lug all of our suitcases we realize that we are those girls..you know the girls that pack like a million and one things and still forget something. yeah those girls. But that's okay, we got settled and went to our first dinner with all our project friends....all 13 girls and 4 boys. Everyone seems really nice and friendly and well they say these people will be my best friends by the end of the four weeks and with only two bathrooms for all of us I can see that we will get REEEEAL close. I can hardly wait to see what the Lord has for us all. My dear friend Emiley had a little package for me when I got here (she is WAY too sweet) and in it was a journal that had a note for me. She said that I will have an amazing time and she is usually right...most the time. ;) Love ya em! So all I can do is trust the Lord in this like I have been doing all along right? Tomorrow is a day full of training...it could be a long day so I am going to call it a night. I don't know who is reading this...maybe no one except my mom and Emiley (you guys rock!) but whoever you are, where ever you are this summer-let God lead you to new places! That could be at another summer project, working at a summer camp, doing an internship in Montana, spending your last summer at home before you move on to a new chapter of your life, working on a farm or just spending time at home with your family and friends...whatever you are doing ask God what He has for you. Ask Him what you can do for Him. He will show you and He will lead you...that's what I did and here I am in. Serving God. In Denver Colorado. My summer in the city. As my girl, Em said...Let the memories begin.
Day by day...
Moment by moment...
Jesus is Lord of Lords...
Who guides your every step.
So let Him guide you today!
Signing off here in Denver Colorado...
J
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