FELLOWSHIPPP! (And Funding Update!)

Hey All,

I am so wonderfully overwhelmed  today. Yes, it's Valentine's Day. And yes, I'm spending it single. But that doesn't add or subtract from the incredible joy that's found in the Lord. I am blessed with friends who encourage me, support me, and hold me accountable! I have been so thrilled to get plugged in with other believers, both on the quad and around the World! If you pray for a community of believers to surround you and pray that the Lord will open your eyes to see the genuine friends you already have, BOOM...WILL HE DELIVER. I am completely sold, drinkin' the kool-aid, and ALL IN. Love the Lord, love others. It's so simple, but having people surround you with prayer and encouraging words and THE Word and reminders of His love when times are tough, makes all the difference. If you're not plugged in, GET THERE! It can be Bible study, Church, small groups, a student organization, people who read the Word together...just find a group of people to live life with who will "spur you on" to grow in your faith. Once you surround yourself with like-minded believers, you will be so encouraged just by knowing they're there. With all the people God has put in my life or reconnected me with, it overwhelms me to see His love. It's moving. It's active. It's changing lives in other schools, towns, and countries. Can you feel it, too? The stirring? Something is happening. Not just here on campus on in Texas or in the United States. Maybe we're finally waking  up. Maybe our eyes have been opened to see the beauty of doing work for the Kingdom. Maybe we'll never know why us, or why now. But I tell you what--if you think that Church is boring, Bible Study is reading a bunch of old stories, or that a community of believers can't impact the World--you are mistaken, and I would love nothing more than to show you what God is doing. If you feel in your heart that God is moving you to act, because really, His love compels us to action--do something. Get fellowship. Get active. And GET READY, because God is working and moving in mighty ways. We just have to open our hearts to see it, and decide that it's worth the risk to get involved. Really, what better cause than to chase after Christ and to share His love with the lost, broken, and unreached? What could possibly be better?

-Insert shameless BattleGroups plug-

If you're on the Quad and wonder, are there believers like me? What does it look like to be a Godly leader in the Corps? How can I follow the rules and guidelines but show Christ's love through my actions as a cadet? Do other people struggle in the same way I do? The answers to those questions can be found through some awesome time of fellowship called Battle Groups. I wish I would have been involved as an underclassman, and I encourage you to get involved. Cough, Thursday evenings in Duncan, in non-regs. You can be comfortable, relax, and enjoy a time of small group fellowship where we struggle, grow, and praise the Lord together.

-End of Plug-

Now, on a more serious note, my fundraising update as of today...

I have nothing but humble thanks and praise for those who have donated thus far. It's a constant battle between the bottom line and reminding myself that God is GREATER. He is so faithful and I am trusting it all to HIS timing. I won't pretend that it's easy to do. $6,000 is a lot to owe at 147 days out. I'm well aware. But I am trusting the same God that parted the red sea, spoke to Moses through a burning bush, and thought our World into motion. Suddenly that sum of money just doesn't seem like a challenge. I am struggling to find the balance between having faith in His timing and in actively communicating my needs to friends and family. I want to have joy over the money I've raised, but don't want to seem complacent or inactive. I know know know in my heart that He just wants me to let go. To trust entirely. To stop clicking the "refresh" button on my account as often as I do. So, all of that being said, I won't be checking my missions account until the next milestone's deadline has passed. Oh--feel that little tug in your stomach? Yeah. ME TOO. The, "Oh...what if you're $20 short the day before, and you don't even know to ask for it?" or "What if you're $500 short, and miss it by a long shot?" Well. My God is bigger, and I need to let go. So I'll just say that I owe $360 until I hit the next "milestone" and that amount needs to be in, in the next 20 days. If you're buying a t-shirt, that's separate from this account and you'll need to contact me directly. But other than that, I leave it to the Lord.

God is good. ALL THE TIME!