General Update

I just wanted to update y'all on how everyone's doing since Haiti. :) I went to the airport to pick up my family on Monday night. There were about 20 of us (family and friends) waiting outside the Security Check Point with signs and cameras. We ended up waiting about 45 minutes for the group to come walking out, but it was worth it! We first spotted Derek Walley (go figure) among the group and then a few seconds later, the whole group started clapping and singing a haitian song they learned over the past week! It was so cool, and what a witness to the bystanders and the workers to see how overjoyed our two groups were when we were finally reunited! I didn't realize how much I had missed my family until I saw my dad (videotaping our responses), my mom (leading the singing), and my two brothers (with their arms around their new friends from different FL churches) walking towards me! I am so grateful to God for bringing the entire team back home safely (minus the awful injuries that Eric and Ian bestowed upon themselves)! It was so neat seeing them all treating each other as family in the airport, not wanting to say goodbye yet, goofing off and joking around.
I also realized how much I had wished I could've gone with the Haiti team. I'm totally excited about going to Wales still, but my heart has been for the poverty-stricken countries...so this will be, needless to say, a very different "mission year" for me. As my family and friends have been sharing the many amazing stories of the trip, I've had to fight and pray for God to sustain my joy that is NOT circumstantial...though my flesh would try to convince me otherwise. I truly am looking forward to seeing how God allows us to serve the church in Wales, and I am not taking lightly the fact that we will be representing SGM. Please pray that God will unite our team immediately so that we can serve the church and community more appropriately.

I am so excited for the Ladies Retreat this weekend, because I know God is going to speak to me through the messages, the worship, the ministry time, and the fellowship. There has been so much time and effort put into making this retreat as enjoyable and beneficial as possible, I am so grateful to all the ladies (mainly my sis) involved! Please continue to pray as the retreat kicks off tomorrow, and continue to prepare your hearts so that the Holy Spirit can work in and through you this weekend!

The Shunning

So I decided to post on my blog about how I haven't heard from my family that's out of the country! I think it's very rude to not contact your poor, lonely daughter who's taking care of the sick, insane dog all by herself! :) I'm just kidding...well, not about the dog. But I guess he's more sick than he is insane. But I just want the fam to know that I'm praying for them...in fact, we prayed for you guys tonight...and I look forward to seeing them on Monday!
Anyway, y'all have a great night!

STFOG

Most of my quotes will be coming from the book Seeking The Face Of God, as I just finished reading it a few days ago. It's an life-changing book (at least for me) by Gary Thomas that dives into what it truly means to seek after God. Gary's book is chock-full of quotes from other authors or "the ancients" as he commonly refers to such wise writers and thinkers as Augustine, de Sales, and Fenelon. I love that he isn't trying to "re-invent the wheel", so to speak. He reaches back into the past and pulls out little nuggets of truth that others' eyes have been opened to by God. That's a mark of humility right there, because Gary doesn't take credit for someone else's work! I love it!

New Blogger

Alright, I've never started my own blog before, so this should be fun! :) This is mainly a site to post some of my favorite quotes and discuss them! :) YAY!

I'll start with a short one:
“Humility is the anchor of our calling and vocation. Pride can turn us against our own purpose in life by filling us with ambitious yearnings that cause us to neglect our true call for today.” ~Gary Thomas~