SIXTY-SEVEN DAYS

So, for those of you who do not yet know, that near panic attack about my "lost" YWAM application has been eased. It once was lost but now is found. . .hallelujah! Which also means that everything has now gone through and i have been accepted and am now counting down the days! (Sixty-seven, in case you're wondering). Basically, YWAM and things and people to do with YWAM is pretty much all i seem to talk about. Sorry! But i'm just so excited.

Ok, so get this, as i'm looking over some information in the online forum for the Fall DTS group i come across some understandable but kind of sorrowful information. My brain thought one thing, but facts were another. Apparently, when I leave in September i only get one break which i can choose to take or not at Thanksgiving, which is totally cool because it is in fact my FAVORITE holiday. The sorrowful thing is i'm going to have to wear my big girl face because i won't be home for Christmas. Sad panda. I will be overseas, which is completely awesome. . . just also completely out of my comfort zone. But the whole being out of my comfort zone is part of the point here anyway. Sure, it'll feel really strange to be gone during a major holiday for us, but i have to start sometime, right?

I am a major homebody which is going to make these five months interesting and difficult enough as it is, but then add in missing my FAVORITE holiday and Christmas and my sister-in-law's birthday and my dad's birthday and my mom's birthday. . . let's just say i reserve the right to shed a few tears. But in the end HE knows what HE's doing and i know it can only be good because HE is good. Let's just hope the next 67 days are full of peace and low on stress. Kk.

I want to leave you with some fun-ness. . .here's the link to the YWAM Denver website in case you want to check out where i'll be living in the Fall. Enjoy the photos!

~me

Thank You, Oswald

Oswald Chambers tends to express thoughts so well, even my own it seems. . . .

"The aim of the missionary is to do God's will,

not to be useful, not to win the heathen;

he is useful and he does win the heathen,

but that is not his aim.

His aim is to do the will of his LORD."

~me

Short Note

Hullo. I have finally returned from yet another week of church camp. I was exhausted. Do notice the past tense of that sentence. Yea, i totally slept for thirteen hours last night. Wowzers, i know, but i'm pretty sure i needed it. Also, my adductor muscle hates me. At this camp there was a slip n' slide and at this slip n' slide there was a girl, this girl's name was Josie. As this girl slid her way down the slip 'n slide for the thousandth time she, in her attempt to avoid colliding with a small child, pulled her adductor muscle. Oh the joys of being an old lady. Putting on pants is now an accomplishment....sad, i know. But aside from that, the camp was wonderful. I met some great people and made some wonderful memories. Love it.

I bought a hammock. It was waiting for me on my front step when i arrived home from camp

yesterday. I. AM. SO. EXCITED. I've been wanting a hammock for what feels like a forever so i finally broke down and got one. Yay! I haven't used it yet, mainly because of the adductor muscle hiccup, but i have high expectations of it. I know we will become fast friends. Mine is blue, but here's a picture to give you an idea. . .

So, my anxiety is slowly building as the days go on. Why, you ask? Well, my application for YWAM that i sent off a month ago has not made it to the YWAM base. Is it lost? Is it at the wrong YWAM base? I have no idea. Hence the slight panic. Anyway, I say all this so that 1) you know and most importantly that 2) you will pray with me that it finds it's way to the correct YWAM base. HE is in control...always.

~me

Submission. It's Good.

The longer I travel on this journey that God has me taking, the more I discover that HE is bigger than my thoughts and grander than my dreams. There are lots of times when i think that my ideas are perfect and correct, but that generally doesn't last too long. More and more as i walk with HIM i find that HE truly does know best and that HE really does love me and have my best at heart. I am here to glorify HIM, whether that means going or staying, speaking or being quiet.

Lately I've been running into unexpected walls because I keep diverting from the road HE has put me on. I begin to think that i can be useful over there or share a word to that person, but in the end I have come to realize that if my intentions are not to glorify God then they are wrong. Trying to do things out of my own strength or will only leads to frustration and disappointment. . . so can someone explain to me why I cannot get that to stick? I think if you were to whack me with a brick everyday repeating that fact constantly I still may not get it. Surely stubbornness doesn't root itself that deeply. . .

It's nice to know and observe, however, that there are others with similar stories from their travels and truths about who God is and has shown Himself to be. We don't walk this road alone, and as cliche as that may sound it is true. HE doesn't plot out our course, however lovely and desirable that may sound, but calls us to seek HIM out. A great part of the journey is the discovery. I mean, can you imagine how boring it would be if we knew what was around each curve and where HE was taking us next? I love the mysterious nature of God. . .it makes life exciting. HE has showed me, though, that the first step, literally, to walking with HIM along this exciting adventure is submitting to HIM. Nothing else matters until that first step is taken.

True that.

~me