Posts
So as I continue my attempt to read through the Bible in 90 days, I have found myself struggling through Leviticus and Numbers. I just couldn't see the point in reading all about how to precisely prepare an offering.
Then my eyes were opened.
I was reminded that these things were included in the Bible for a reason. To these people at that time, offering livestock and other valuables was a great sacrifice for them. Their lives revolved around their livestock and to give one of their sheep or goats meant giving up their pride and joy. Then it hit me. While i might not be preparing an offering of my possessions, I was preparing myself to be a living offering. I remember back in middle school when one of our youth leaders gave us the visual of literally crawling into the offering plate and giving up everything for the Lord. I don't know what it is that keeps me form letting him have control of everything but I hope that eventually I will be a living offering to him. By sacrificing my time and money to go to India, I am investing myself in his plan for the world. I just need to give it up.
I would like to ask that any of you out there reading this would keep this challenge in your prayers. I, and the rest of our team for that matter, need your support to help our mission be successful. If we all can just hand everything over to the Lord Im sure he will use us in great ways. Once again if you feel financially compelled to participate in supporting us, please visit:
www.NewLifeChurch.org
Click the Giving tab and then create an account. Select India Missions 2010 - The Mill and then select my name, Phalin, Kelsey from the list.
Any and all contributions are appreciated!
This song came to mind as I thought about being a living offering. These lyrics sum up where I want to be completely:
Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and ture
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You
It is you, Lord
Who came to save
The heart and soul
Of every man
It is you Lord
who knows my weakness
Who gives me strength,
With thine own hand.
Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and Holy, tried and true
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com
With thanksgiving I'll be a living
Sanctuary for you
Lead Me on Lord
From temptation
Purify me
From within
Fill my heart with
You holy spirit
Take away all my sin
Lord prepare me to be sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You
1.28.2010
1.27.2010
What are we getting ourselves into?
So I realized that I really don't know much about where the team will be travelling and what it will be like when we get there. I decided to do some research using the book Opperation World by Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk. I love this book. It's set up like a daily devotional that highlights the different nations of the world and explains the status as far as missions go in each country. Oddly enough the section on India is meant to be read from May 31-June 16. Almost the same dates that we will be there. (Coincidence? I think not!)
I know that there is a lot of religious controversy in this region especially but I didn't realize just how extreme it actually is. 64.2% of the population is Muslim, 32.2% is Hindu, 2.2% is Sikh, 1.2% is Bhddhist, and only a very small 0.16% is Christian. I guess this really is a region that hasn't been exposed to the gospel. I can't wait to get there and love on these people...
I know that there is a lot of religious controversy in this region especially but I didn't realize just how extreme it actually is. 64.2% of the population is Muslim, 32.2% is Hindu, 2.2% is Sikh, 1.2% is Bhddhist, and only a very small 0.16% is Christian. I guess this really is a region that hasn't been exposed to the gospel. I can't wait to get there and love on these people...
1.25.2010
Living by faith...
As some of you who are reading this may know, I have decided to join the congregation of my home church, Dillon Community Church in Dillon, Colorado, in reading through the Bible from cover to cover in 90 Days. 90 days may seem like a decent amount of time, but in reality that means reading at least 15 chapters every day! It is a challenge to find the time to sit down and commit to this reading schedule, but I know it is going to be one of the most spiritually intense times of my life. Most of the people I have told about my plan are shocked and their first question is "how do you have time for that?" Well, my response is that its not about MY time, it's Gods time and he deserves to be a priority. I'm not saying that it is easy, and trust me, with an overwhelming course load and a very busy schedule I have to get creative with my time management, but to me this is so much more important than anything else.
It's kind of like the tennis ball analogy. Imagine a plastic container as the time you have in your life, the tennis balls as your time with God, and a cup of sand as everything else you have to get done (school, work, homework, family time, friends, etc.) If you try to fit the tennis balls and the sand in the container by filling the bottom with the sand, then there is no way all of the tennis balls will fit in. But if you put the tennis balls in and make them your priority, then the sand will easily fill in around them. It's all about priorities. If you put your time with God as number one on your to do list then everything else will just have to fill in around that.
By making my time with God my priority I am slowly learning what it really means to "live by faith". For instance, today I was reading through Exodus 16-17. After the Israelites left Egypt they were wandering around in the desert. They had no food to eat, yet Moses trusted in God and he provided bread for them each day. Then they had no water to drink, so the Lord provided Moses with the power to turn a rock into drinking water. Talk about the Lords provisions. What would it be like if we really had to rely on God to provide everything? We take so much for granted because it is so readily available to us, but what if we really had to live day by day in faith that the Lord would provide? What if we had to rely on prayer to receive nourishment and sustenance? Thank the Lord that we are so richly blessed!
I related this story to the way I am trying to raise the money I need to go to India. I should trust in the Lord that he will provide and make it possible. It is not my job to worry about money, after all when it comes down to it, this trip is not about the money at all. I am praying today that I would be able to focus on God and what he is calling me to do in this time of preparation, rather than the funds I need to make it possible.
Alright I have rambled enough and i'm sure you have better things to do with your time than to listen to me babble on, so this is all for today!
It's kind of like the tennis ball analogy. Imagine a plastic container as the time you have in your life, the tennis balls as your time with God, and a cup of sand as everything else you have to get done (school, work, homework, family time, friends, etc.) If you try to fit the tennis balls and the sand in the container by filling the bottom with the sand, then there is no way all of the tennis balls will fit in. But if you put the tennis balls in and make them your priority, then the sand will easily fill in around them. It's all about priorities. If you put your time with God as number one on your to do list then everything else will just have to fill in around that.
By making my time with God my priority I am slowly learning what it really means to "live by faith". For instance, today I was reading through Exodus 16-17. After the Israelites left Egypt they were wandering around in the desert. They had no food to eat, yet Moses trusted in God and he provided bread for them each day. Then they had no water to drink, so the Lord provided Moses with the power to turn a rock into drinking water. Talk about the Lords provisions. What would it be like if we really had to rely on God to provide everything? We take so much for granted because it is so readily available to us, but what if we really had to live day by day in faith that the Lord would provide? What if we had to rely on prayer to receive nourishment and sustenance? Thank the Lord that we are so richly blessed!
I related this story to the way I am trying to raise the money I need to go to India. I should trust in the Lord that he will provide and make it possible. It is not my job to worry about money, after all when it comes down to it, this trip is not about the money at all. I am praying today that I would be able to focus on God and what he is calling me to do in this time of preparation, rather than the funds I need to make it possible.
Alright I have rambled enough and i'm sure you have better things to do with your time than to listen to me babble on, so this is all for today!
1.24.2010
And so it begins...
Alright...
That night was the first time I had been to theMILL, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The message that night was about missions. I know this was no coincidence and I believe that it was a tool God used to communicate his message to me. I was brought to tears and humbled that night. I found out that theMILL is sending missions teams to Germany, Peru, Egypt, and India this summer and that applications were due the following week. Without thinking about it I grabbed an application and that's where this "Leap Of Faith" began.
I have been accepted to travel to India May 29th-June 13th 2010. I am scared out of my mind, but I know that God is in control and that this is where he wants me this summer. The purpose of this blog is to let everyone know the awesome things God is doing in my life to prepare me for this upcoming challenge. I have a hefty sum of money to raise to make this experience possible. I will need to raise $3000, and as overwhelming as that might sound, I am at peace with confidence that God will provide. If you feel compelled to make a donation you can do so online here:
www.NewLifeChurch.org
Click the Giving tab and then create an account. Select India Missions 2010 - The Mill and then select my name, Phalin, Kelsey from the list.
Any and all support is appreciated! Every little bit counts. I would also like to ask for any of you out there who are reading this, to support me in prayer. I believe in the power of prayer and would feel extremely blessed if you would keep my preparation and the trip itself in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you to everyone for the prayer support so far, it means so so so much to me!
So here's the story:
After moving off to college I was overwhelmed with an intense urge to travel and explore the world. I was seeking adventure and could not help but dream of all the amazing places I would visit someday. Ever since I was old enough to comprehend the vastness and magnitude of this world God created, I had set a goal for myself to someday visit each and every country on the globe. I had now developed a passion for the nations and my heart was breaking for the lost people of this world. My days were spent in prayer about this odd drive to travel. As I prayed the words travel and adventure kept rolling around in my head. I couldn't shake this new obsession. I had never felt so passionately about anything, which was almost scary. I had all this motivation and optimism, but I had no clue where I would go with it or what it would turn into, that is, until I attended theMILL at New Life Church one Friday night.
That night was the first time I had been to theMILL, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The message that night was about missions. I know this was no coincidence and I believe that it was a tool God used to communicate his message to me. I was brought to tears and humbled that night. I found out that theMILL is sending missions teams to Germany, Peru, Egypt, and India this summer and that applications were due the following week. Without thinking about it I grabbed an application and that's where this "Leap Of Faith" began.
I have been accepted to travel to India May 29th-June 13th 2010. I am scared out of my mind, but I know that God is in control and that this is where he wants me this summer. The purpose of this blog is to let everyone know the awesome things God is doing in my life to prepare me for this upcoming challenge. I have a hefty sum of money to raise to make this experience possible. I will need to raise $3000, and as overwhelming as that might sound, I am at peace with confidence that God will provide. If you feel compelled to make a donation you can do so online here:
www.NewLifeChurch.org
Click the Giving tab and then create an account. Select India Missions 2010 - The Mill and then select my name, Phalin, Kelsey from the list.
Any and all support is appreciated! Every little bit counts. I would also like to ask for any of you out there who are reading this, to support me in prayer. I believe in the power of prayer and would feel extremely blessed if you would keep my preparation and the trip itself in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you to everyone for the prayer support so far, it means so so so much to me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)