I Applied!

I wanted to write a quick little update to let you all know that last Thursday I applied to DTS! I am so incredibly excited about the possibilities that will follow!

The journey so far has been extremely faith growing. Coming from a low-income single parent household, my faith has had its moments of stretching. Believing God for what seems like an incredibly impossible amount of money. Sometimes the more I think about the funds part of DTS the more I can get discouraged. I know it is the devil using those little thoughts of doubt to spark the fire of unbelief. However, I will not let them last! God is MY PROVIDER and HE CAN DO THE IMPOSSIBLE!!

So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
                    - Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

Along with my application to DTS, they also require a couple references which will need to be submitted before my admittance to the program can be fully considered. After they have been reviewed and I hear more, I will share that update. Until then, please keep my mind/heart in your prayers. That it will be guarded against the enemy's lies and that the fire of determination will not die.

Thank you so much for reading and coming along with me on this journey!!

God is GOOD All the Time and All the Time God is GOOD

Around every corner of life, we all have decisions, we all have choices to make. Some can be life alternating, some for the future, some for the present, and some that might have little effect at all. You might be wondering where it is in this life that you're meant to go, who you're meant to be, what you're meant to do. God doesn't give us all an exact direction for our lives; He might have some go to college, others to start a family, some to serve in the mission field, or some He might have stay right where they are. NO MATTER what path you go down though, NO MATTER which direction you take in your life, one thing is for certain, REALIZE YOUR PRIORITIES and MAKE SURE THEY GET INCORPORATED INTO YOUR LIFE. For a Christian, our main life purpose (and should be a priority) is to HONOR God, to GLORIFY and PRAISE Him, and to make Him KNOWN among the nations (even in small ways, including in your neighborhood, school, among friends, family . . . etc). Just SHARE His glory and marvelous Name with those around you. 

Proverbs 3:6 says (paraphrased) in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

You might be scared or nervous about your future if you're going down the right path or not, but you don't have to be! You got the KING of kings and LORD of lords on your side (Romans 8:31-32)! If we just all turned to Him and saw that HE IS GOOD, that He Provides, and that if we share that with others no matter where we go, that unknown journey will be WORTH IT!

Wednesday, this past week, was just not my day. It was not like it was too much different than any other day, it was just that the stresses of this life, decided that Wednesday would be the day to take my emotions on a rollercoaster. With the pressures of school, financial situations within my family, and my car, which decided to die on me, while driving, two times that day! You could say that I could have definitely been on the verge of letting the devil steal my joy. I was feeling sorry for myself, upset because what I had planned for that day wasn't happening. One thing is for sure, if I did not have God in my life to keep my eyes on Him, if I did not seek Him above all else while I went through that, if I did not decide to invite Him to stay close to me throughout the day, I could have totally stayed in that state and I would have ended up a major wreck. 

Wednesday, one of my teachers also shared with the class about how a college student recently took his life. It is so sad to think about the many people who get so bogged down with the pressures of this life and stay there. Who don't know where to turn, where their joy comes from, or who they find their identity in. I know for certain that if I didn't have the Lord, who uplifts me with His right hand (Isaiah 41:10) and didn't cling to His promises I could be their situation. But the JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH. He will ALWAYS provide. He will ALWAYS continue the good work that He set out before me to do (Philippians 1:6).

Have you watched God's NOT Dead? If you haven't, I would DEFINATLY recommend it! From that movie, I love how in all the different situations when everything went wrong and the pastor and/or his missionary friend could have been upset, they instead kept their eyes on God and His GOODNESS. How even in those upsetting, painful, or stressful situations there is always something to be THANKFUL about. From that movie, I have learned the saying: God is GOOD all the time and all the time God is GOOD. Now whenever I am down and out, or when this life feels like it is against me, or when Satan tries to deceive me and steal that JOY, I just say that over and over,

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME AND ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD

because He is! When my car died the first time, I was so thankful that I had just turned off the main busy highway. There was also no one close to where I was that I knew I could call and my car did not want to start. I let it rest for a while and prayed, rebuking the devil and by the power and grace of God my car started and I was able to make it to my destination. The second time, it was really close to dying as I was going up a hill, but because I felt a warning and my breaks still worked I was able to stop abruptly before being stranded on a hill with a corner and cars behind me! 

God doesn't make bad things happen to us, it is the sin in this world and the imperfect nature of it that tears people apart, that death by natural causes, murders or suicide happen, or that natural disasters occur. Then there are just those that happen like mechanical problems. Yes, God doesn't necessarily stop misfortune from happening to good people but in the truth of it all and from a Christian standpoint, when we go through things that have a tendecny to tear us down we come out of it stronger; we come out of it braver and more dependent on God. If we were able to do this life without Him, where would His place be? We would be like, "See you later, I don't need you anymore. I got this." But no. We DO NEED Him! He doesn't promise us an easy life, a life without any struggles, troubles, or pain, but He does promise to be with us. God is true to His word and I am a testament that He is GOOD. I am definitely still going through struggles and have much growing to do in my faith and walk with Him, however, I have learned so much (especially from the hardships of this life). If we just keep our eyes ON HIM, we can still have the JOY that He gave us from the start!

So I encourage you, wherever you are in this journey of life, whatever you're going through, whatever decisions you have to make, know that GOD IS ALWAYS WITH YOU. HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU, nor forsake you (Deut. 31:6). He will UPHOLD YOU with His right hand and if you just acknowledge Him in all your ways, He will always direct your path in the way that it should go.

Also, keep yourself surrounded by good God-fearing people. It is SO important to be surrounded by a community of believers and STRONG ones. So that way when you have those tough days or when you feel like the whole world is against you, they can be there to encourage you, pray with you, and remind you that God is still on your side.

Thank you so much for reading and have a GREAT weekend!   

{He Turns Worry into Peace}

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 

~ John 14:27

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The Lord is ever growing me in this area and He is teaching me to give Him all control. My most recent story about giving all worries to Him started around the ending of last year, as my church just announced the details for the spring mission trip to Guatemala. Immediately I felt drawn to go and of course, I was very happy about that (this would be my second time going as I went on one 3 years ago). I started praying and lifting the idea of going on this mission trip to the Lord and was especially praying for the providence of funds (because of the distance of the location, airfare and then accommodations). A month passed and the deadline to sign up came and stepping out in faith I handed back in my application. At this point, I had solely put my plans in God's hands and I knew that if it was His will, He would provide a way. You see... I did not have the money to go on this mission trip. God was putting my faith to the test. To see if I could really experience His blessings at His timing. 
I prayed every day for His will and for the providence of the funds, and as one deadline approached, He came through. A month and a little fundraising later, the last and final deadline for the trip came and there was still a hefty chunk left. Honestly, I was starting to let fear and doubt creep into my mind, but then I remembered who was in charge; GOD, and I am sitting here typing this to you: NEVER GIVE UP ON GOD, because He could be working to the very last second!
A couple days before the deadline, I got a text from our trip's leader that read: "Your amount is paid for. You OWE NOTHING." Oh.... My mind was totally blown. I started to think HOW...? WHAT...? HOW...? and then it hit me... God had the whole situation under control! I didn't need to be questioning Him about how it happened because in my heart I already knew. THANK YOU LORD! 

"Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more thank food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" ~ Matt 6:25-27

In more ways than one, God is showing me that I can truly TRUST Him and GIVE Him every part of me. I know our human side likes control, it likes to be in charge, but giving my life over to God, I believe, was one of the best decisions I have ever made!

I want to encourage you to put all that you are and have in the hands of our magnificent Father. To trust Him to meet all your needs, physically and spiritually. I know you won't be disappointed!

Izzy<3