Sunday, January 26, 2014

Shaken and Dislodged

This is a recent article that I wrote that was put in the G42 quarterly magazine summing up my last three months here in Spain. 

Shaken: to become dislodged and fall off or down

If you spend more than five minutes in a classroom at G42 you will feel some things being dislodged from you and if you stay much longer than that you will see those things start to fall to the ground. My first three months here at G42 has had a shaking effect on me. What has not been founded on the rock, Jesus Christ has been falling to the ground. Lies I’ve believed about myself, about God, and about others have come off me like dry sand off the bottom of my feet. You see, I didn’t realize that in my three years of really chasing after my King, so many things have stuck to me; so many comments spoken over me, false teachings brought to my ears, and doubts presented to me were picked up by my feet as I walked through them. Hebrews 12:27-28, says

“This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful in receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken..”

The Greek word for shaken that is used in this passage is saleuo and it literally means to agitate or provoke and to cause to totter. Honestly when I first felt things starting to dislodge from me it felt a lot like agitation, questioning and tottering. But in all reality God was shaking the things off of me that were never meant to be there because they didn’t come from Him. The truth is they aren’t going to glorify Him in my future work in ministry either. There comes a point in everyone’s walk with God where they are either going to choose to let those things stay and start to stink on you or let the Holy Spirit remove them and place beautiful garments on you. I’ve chosen the latter and in that He has started to build upon what has remained from the shaking. My foundation is strong now because nothing else is lodged in it that is affecting it.



“Everyone who comes to me, and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house that dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and COULD NOT SHAKE IT, because it had been well built.” Luke 6:47-48

**If you would like to be a part of what God is doing through me here and my future plans you can hit the partner with me button and read more. 



Monday, January 20, 2014

Too Light of a Calling

Teaching has always been my passion from as long as I can remember. As a young child, I used to line up my stuffed animals and play teacher as I
dreamed at what that could really be like. As I went through college and started to travel the world, I found Jesus in the most astounding places and my passion started to shift. To be just a teacher felt like to light of a call on my life and my heart ached for something more- and felt it as I read these verses…

“It is too light a thing that should be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
That my salvation may reach to the end
of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6

As I left for Spain 3 months ago, I thought that the ache for something more meant trading in teaching for missions- but once again God amazed me as He got rid of that poverty way of thinking. The God I serve is a God of abundance, of increasing favor and power, and a God who personally loves me enough to combine all of my passions into something that glorifies His name.

In my time here God has broken off the lie that I don’t deserve good things or that when good things in my life happen they are only temporal. That’s not in the character of my savior, and I know that He only wants to lavish great things over my life. The favor that I felt for the first time over my life in India has only increased ten-fold since being here in Spain, and I’ve started to see the blessing that is in every situation that I’m in.

God has brought the blessing of teaching back into my life and continually shown me in my time here that He wants teaching to always be a part of my life in some form. For now that means teaching English to two amazing brothers, Julio and Pablo. I have learned more in 3 months of teaching these boys, than I have my entire college career of preparing to teach. Julio has a form of autism and from day one has challenged every part of my teaching. Similar to how G42 has shaken my beliefs until only was is true remained, Julio has shaken who I am as a teacher. For the first two months of teaching him, we didn’t have one day that didn’t end in a tantrum of some sort and me reluctantly giving in so they would “at least learn some English.” But one day I was sick of the tantrums and frustration of not understanding why he was doing it, so I ignored his tantrum and decided to just continue practicing English vocabulary with Pablo. After a half hour of screams, cries, and rolling on the ground Julio snuggled up next to me and started to learn beside his brother. From that point on, the relationship between Julio and I was different because for the first time in his life he realized someone was fighting for him to really learn and grow.

Man has Julio shown me how I’m going to have to be fighting for the girls being trafficked that will be entrusted to me. I want to be a safe place to find peace and freedom amidst the chaos of hopeless circumstances surrounding them. Although daily people are fighting Julio and his way of learning- often calling him disabled and stupid- I get the honor of being a safe place to listen to how he needs to learn and purely create a place of peace for him. Creating a place where He can experiment with his learning without getting reprimanded for it and be the creative, brilliant little boy that Jesus has made him has been vital to his growth. And it’s going to be vital to those little girls’ lives as well.


I am being equipped daily for life on the missions field, and my adventures have already started here in Spain. If you want to be a part of all that God is doing in and through me- you can hit the Partner With Me tab and get further information. I am so grateful to all those out there praying for me and sacrificing time and money to see the dreams God has placed in me come to fruition.

Followers