Stretchy like old lady elastic waistband pants! (read to find out)

.
Okay! I'm taking a breath after just arriving home after a very busy day! (While my mom and Brazilian exchange student watch Grease and giggle, haha--they're more entertaining than the movie!)

Anyways, due to popular demand, an update is in order about my support raising adventures for my IT project! Currently I am at about 40% of having my financial support raised and Thursday being my deadline for sending in all my checks....a seeminly discouraging situation, if you ask me. But you know what? I spent my entire day meeting with people, calling people and talking to people, mostly about what God has been doing in my life and what I'm planning on doing this summer in Philly. Even though I didn't physically get a lot of support for my project, God OVERWHELMED me with all kinds of encouragement! I called people I sent letters to (again) and called about 10 local churches to see if they knew anyone who might be interested. I got one check in the mail. One family said they'd think about giving and get back to me. I asked my parents if they'd like to give, lol, and they said maybe. I met with a very good friend who contributed, then my step-cousin who encouraged me and gave a check and then I picked up a check from an old high school friend and was further encouraged by her and her family!

For about half of the churches I called I left a message. One church flat out said no. Another lady I talked to said, "have you tried St. Joseph's? They'd be more equipped than we are to contribute! Good luck!" Haha, that was my parents' church, which I wasn't going to ask. I think God was trying to tell me something! As it turns out, I'll be talking to the priest personally about it tomorrow...I'm very curious to see how that goes, especially since I have no idea what I'm going to say if he asks if I'm still practicing Catholicism! One guy I talked to said they had no more funds, but prayed for me over the phone, that was nice. Another church added me to their prayer list. But here's the most encouraging part! The best part is, I actually got a hold of a Pastor at the methodist church and explained my situation and she was like, "Wow! You know what? Are you free about 7:00 tonight, because I'd like you to personally present this to our missions committee tonight, would you be able to do that?" That was totally God. So, I met with this pastor and she encouraged me so much, then I presented my story to the committee, they asked me questions, and then said they'll make a decision and they wanted updates and asked if in the spring I can come to their church and give a talk about world missions!!! How cool is that?! The Pastor was genuinely excited and she told me how incredibly encouraged she was to be able to meet me and hear what God's been doing and that she wants to pray for me and she gave me more contacts to ask for support!

So, all in all I only raised $150 more towards my project today, and I hardly ate anything all day and got up early and I explained myself over and over again, and poured my heart out to God in between it all. I should be exhausted! I should be mentally, physically and spiritually drained! But instead, I feel refreshed! I feel uplifted and I know it is all because of God (like Paul writes in Colossians 1, "stuggling with all his energy which so powerfully works within me!"); he's given me everything I need--and more!

Something I've been learning about lately is faith. The bible says, "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). [that passage accurately convicted me that maybe I was asking God to move in this situation, but I wasn't really seeking him and BELIEVING in what the ALMIGHTY GOD of the universe can DO!!] I read somewhere recently something I want to share:

"The reason [faith] is so important and so vital is because it is the means through which we recieve from God all the good things He wants to provide for us. That is why the Lord trains His people in faith. He wants them to get their eyes on Him and learn to believe in Him so He can do for and through them what He wants done in the earth." -Joyce Meyer

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."(Heb. 11:1). So, quite possibly, through this whole ordeal, the Lord is increasing my faith; I've heard of people refer to faith as a muscle...and honestly, my faith could use a little protein shake or something! I think this is it. Its just the working out part I might be slacking on...

So, back to James 1:2-4 and trials stretching our faith. I got to thinking about the yoga class I took this semester and a pose I am always reluctant to do because it stretches my back, rather painfully! But after releasing the stretch, my back feels INCREDIBLE and the more I practice, the stronger my back gets. So, about God stretching our faith--is the process fun? Haha, not exactly! But, he does it to make us stronger, and to give us good things and do good things through us! This whole process produces in us a perseverance, a powerful endurance to overcome! Romans 8 says we are more than conquerers through him who loved us!
>
>
>
P.S. You might be wondering, why did she title it 'stretchy like old lady elastic waistband pants'?? The answer is: I don't know! I was thinking along the lines of stretchy and that popped into my head, I have no idea how it ties in, really, maybe it has to do with maturity....? You tell me!

Okay, peace out!!

First Post!

Okay, so I'm new to this whole blogging thing, so, I'm bound to make some mistakes, but that's allright, I'm only human! Also, I'm a verbal processor, so some posts might get a little lengthy...but usually by the end of the verbal process, I get things figured out, so you've got that to look forward to! Another thing you should know, God is my alltime favorite subject, so expect to hear a lot about Him and what I think about him. I'll give you a preview: I think He is ridiculously immensely amazing and I'm astounded that He gave everything to me when I deserve none of it!

This summer I will be learning more about God, his work and his heart. I've been learning lately some of the heights and depths and widths and lengths of Christ's love in all things, whether in easy times or hard times. I've learned more of what it means to be an ambassador of Christ, sharing the good news of reconciliation through Christ and that this message will be proclaimed to all the nations! God has been giving me a heart for sharing my faith and an intense desire to take this message to the world! God desires all people to worship him, like in Revelation 5:9. In light of all this, I plan to attend a world Christian training called the Intensive Training Project (IT Project) in Philadelphia, PA, sponsored by The Traveling Team (http://www.thetravelingteam.org/), a non-profit, non-denominational ministry. They travel across the US, sharing the biblical basis for missions and God's heart for the world with college students. IT is designed to help me grow in my knowledge of God's Word, World, and Work. I will be taking the Perspectives course for a certificate held at the campus of Palmer Theological Seminary, which is a 4-week course on the biblical basis for missions, the history of missions, and missions strategies. We'll be hearing a different missionary speak every morning and in the evenings have project activities like small group, worship, and socials. I'll also be spending three weeks visiting local temples and mosques, learning about the other cultures and their world views while being equipped to share my faith effectively with followers of the major religions of the world!

A few things I'm anticipating: to discover whether or not God is calling me to be a foreign missionary, to understand how to live out my role in God's Great Comission, and more specifically, where in the world--and what! in the world I'd most like to do with my Religions major and Global Justice minor!

Please feel free to ask questions or rebuttal arguments or especially leave encouragments upon any blog I write (or each one if you like)! Thanks in advance for your skepticism, feedback, and prayers! (you know who you are!)