Sunday, March 27, 2016

Amen.


He is risen.  Enough said.

Let this truth resonate through your soul this Easter season.

Monday, March 14, 2016

6 years ago I applied for my passport...

...and I was convinced that Haiti was going to be the very first stamp.

Honduras
Nepal
but no Haiti.

I was eighteen when the earthquake of 2010 wrecked havoc on the destitute country of Haiti. Everything within me wanted to come to their aid, to help, comfort, do something.  It soon became clear, however, that then was not the time. Fast forward six years and the time has now presented itself.

Come June, my passport will contain the Haitian stamp.

I am thrilled to be apart of a Worship Outreach Missions trip throughout Haiti, with my local church (Harvest Bible Chapel Lancaster).

We will work with a number of churches in Haiti, including two Harvest churches, doing evangelistic music outreach events across the country.  The gospel will go forth to the people as we sing and serve alongside the Haitian church.

Launching our trip in Miami, FL, we will serve alongside Harvest Miami to do our first outreach event on American soil before flying to Haiti.  I will be traveling, ministering and singing alongside 21 people from my church AND 20-25 people from Harvest St. Louis.

The entirety of this trip is committed to God and it is my heart to see His high and lifted up.  I covet your prayers before and during this trip.  In order for this outreach to be successful we need God to do His work, and I firmly believe this will happen if His people pray!

Prayer Requests
- Team unity
- Strength to minister in a spiritually dark place like Haiti
- Clear communication between St. Louis and Lancaster teams
- Prepare people's hearts in Haiti to hear the gospel
- Funds for the team to go

A couple specifics:
Trip Date: June 9th-18th
Cost: $1,500
Outreach Location: Miami, Cabaret, Port-au-Prince, Maplat, Jacmel

Also, if you would like to make a tax-deductible financial contribution click HERE and select "Haiti" from the drop-down menu.

Stay tuned for updates and more info!!

Happy New Year!

It's March already... so yeah, that happened.

But let's pretend it's still January.  

A fresh new year, with resolutions being made, lists assembled and oodles of good intentions.  Contrary to some people, I love this time of year.  I like to make goals, dream big and then start with gusto.  Even if the goals accidentally get thrown away - literally - or the dreams seem to die faster then they grow, it still seems right to begin the new year with an exciting outlook.

Every year I pray for a theme for my entire year, so in late October/November of 2015 I began to intentionally pray for my 2016 theme.  I had no clue as to what God would put on my heart, but I was trusting that He would give me a phrase, quote, verse, something to kind of base my goals and dreams on for the coming year.

He did not disappoint. 

Whew.  And now we're in March and it's been a doozy of a start to 2016.  God gave me a phrase and a verse and He didn't waste any time in making it a part of my daily life.  No joke.

{I really want to roll it out and share it with you all, but blogging was not on my 2016 list of to-dos... but then I really don't remember because the list was thrown away (by accident). But I'm hoping it'll still happen one of these weeks.}

Last year I realized in a new way that intentional living requires intentional work. 
(nope, not my theme, although it would be a good one) 
I want to be intentional. To accomplish things this year, both small and great.  And that takes work, and focus.  I have also found that I get very distracted and overwhelmed when ideas float in my head and keep piling up.  
Hence my brilliant idea for 2016 - the Goal Board.

I pitched the idea to one of my roommates and she fell for it - hook, line and sinker.  
We started immediately (because I have to act in the now or in the never).

Three categories are on our board: Physical, Spiritual and then Creative/Fun.
Each month we select two or three goals for each category and pin them up in a fun and creative way.
The Goal Board hangs in our kitchen so it's constantly in our thoughts and eyesight.

It's been fabulous, simple and challenging, not to mention rewarding.  Of course we fail on some of our goals, but then a new month begins and we start afresh.