Second Letter From Nassali

This morning, I received my second letter from my friend Nassali Gorret in Uganda Africa. This letter was the sweetest letter I have ever received, and it seriously almost brought me to tears just reading it. The fact that the Lord can bless me so greatly through Nassali captivates me and ignites my fire to praise Him more! Nassali and I are both 16 years old, and in her letter, she said it was precious that we were the same age! This blew me away because even though we live so far apart from each other, we are so much alike- in the way we talk and in the things we enjoy! She loves playing net ball, which is kind of like our basketball, and she loves sharing Bible verses with her close friends! Um, I love basketball, AND I LOVE sharing Bible verses with my close friends (AKA Avery, Tylar, and Alli)!

 

Here is part of what Nassali's letter said this morning:

" Some other things I enjoy is to appreciate every creature and praise God because of them like birds who sing hidden songs flying up to the sky... I am requesting you that you are precious because God created you in his image, so never argue with any condition just praise God. Thank you."

 

Is that not the most precious thing?

 

 

 

This is a picture from a friend's page who runs the youth gatherings that Nassali attends! These are children who live in a community where they are building new water wells so the community can have clean water!

 

 

"Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;

let them say among the nations, "The Lord reigns!"

 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!

 Then the trees of the forest will sing,

 they will sing for joy before the Lord,

for he comes to judge the earth."

1 Chronicles 16:31-33

Not Ready For This

So this weekend, I went to the Oklahoma State football game/Homecoming. Both of my parents are alumni to the school, so of course, as a child, I grew up knowing that I was going to attend there for college. As the weekend went on, my heart grew more and more towards being prepared to get out of high school and head off to Stillwater and start a new chapter in my life. I left Oklahoma today, sure that in the next couple of years, I would soon be returning as a freshmen to OSU.

 

Well, in the car on the way home today, I was doing my usual Pinterest searching, and I came across pictures from a missionary who is currently on a mission trip called The World Race. Now, around a year ago, I found out about this trip, and knew that one day, I would be going on this trip! This mission trip is called The World Race, because you travel to 11 different countries... in 11 months! Crazy, I know! This trip is for adults from the ages of 21-35, so it would be after college. But as I was reading blogs and such today, I went back to the main page and saw a link to a list of trips for ages 18-21, called The Passport Trip. As The World Race is 11 countries in 11 months, the Passport trip is 9 countries in 9 months. As I was reading blogs from people who went on the trip, my heart was literally over flowing with happiness, but at the same time, a great deal of confusion. I went through the whole weekend and pretty much all of my life, knowing exactly where I would go for 4 years for college, and all of the sudden, I had this strong feeling that I will be taking a slight break from college for a year to go on this trip. Of course, a lot of prayer will be going into my decision for my college future, but now, I'm not really sure if I want to go to a big University for my freshmen year! My newest addition to my list of options, is to stay close to home and go to a small school for my freshmen year of college to save money for the Passport trip, and then go on this trip when I'm 19 instead of going onto my sophomore year. And then (maybe) when I return, go on with school until I'm old enough for the World Race.

 

So, if someone were to ask my right now, what my plans are after high school, unless they want to listen to me talk for an hour about my passion, I have no answer yet. Its honestly a little scary, but that is when I really really need to rely on God, because I know that He literally has every detail of my crazy life planned out! And if  I just let him take control, and do everything to the glory of Him, I will be able to walk confidently through my life, knowing that what I'm doing is what He wants me to do.

 

                                (Just a little new picture, that I found on Pinterest, that I adore.) 

 

 

"Spirit lead me where my trust is with out borders, let me walk upon the waters, where ever you would call me, take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, and my faith would be made stronger, in the presence of my Savior."

-Oceans by Hillsong United

Captivating, Breathtaking, Vibrant, Overflow

In my last post, I talked about a new book that I am slowly reading, The Organic God. The author of the book, Margaret Feinberg writes each chapter as if she is writing each sentence with her nose deep inside of a thesaurus. She does not use big words, but she uses breathtaking words to reveal her purpose to us, the readers.

While reading through the chapters discussing details of our sweet God, I began to make a list, of not only the words the Margaret used to describe the feelings of being close to God, but also a list of what God is to me. This experience of going through this book during my junior year of high school has been an overwhelming adventure! As junior year quickly and busily passes me by, I have learned to just sit back in God's captivating love, and just breathe. (P.S. Captivate has become a word that is frequent in my vocabulary!)

 My closeness to God has been something that is new to my life, and it is such a unique experience! I have first essentially noticed a difference in my private life- meaning, when I am spending time alone in my room after school, I enjoy the quietness and the peace that comes along with just sitting and listening to my favorite "chill" music, and relaxing in my sweet God's presence. *Side-Note- Does it not overflow your heart with happiness at the thought of having a close-knit relationship with God-the maker of the stars, the mountains, the flowers, and all of the other things that make your heart happy? It does mine, and that overflowing feeling, is a feeling I only get when I'm with God!

 

 

Something that God has really revealed to me during the time that I have been spending with Him, is that in my life as a Christian, sharing my faith is more than just presenting myself as a "good girl" or as a bright light, and it is also more than just the words that I say that represent my relationship with Christ. So what is needed to make these things important?

The Holy Spirit. I was at a church today watching a friend play guitar in the church's praise band, and the pastor spoke on the Holy Spirit. This morning he said that walking into a room and your "Christian light" shining will not start a revival, the person working inside of you will though (the Holy Spirit). With out the Holy Spirit our words and actions mean nothing. The Holy Spirit needs to be intertwined in our lives, and when He is in the center of our hearts and mind, good things that shine Christ will come out of us. I do not know about you, but I know that in my life, its time for me to get serious in my relationship with God, and let Him captivate my heart and flow out of everything I do.

 

"As our view of Christ and the Holy Spirit grows, everything else in the world that we think matters, shrinks."

 

Question to think on: Would you still pursue God with out all of the "extra" things in the church- comfy chairs, air conditioning, a good band, or a big building?