My September Challenge

My challenge for September was to be accomplished.

Unfortunately, most of my goals set out by myself in June for this September were finished by the time September 1st rolled around. So I've been a little stuck for this month. And it's already the 19th so the month is almost over.

I'm still doing my journal challenge, which I'll hopefully share with you all next week sometime. But I decided to rather give you a short update on what God has been sharing with me through the last few weeks.

Mostly, God has been telling me, "Spend time with Me!"

Before I left the Cooks, the base directors told me to make sure that I kept up my relationship with God. In missions, it's easy to make God part of our work, seeking for His guidance for that day or for that meeting, and then going into vacation mode when we don't have to seek the Scriptures or spend so much personal time listening for His voice.

So I've been learning just to grow in my relationship with God, walking it out day by day with Him. It's been hard but good. I'm slowly learning how much God really just wants to be part of my every day.

After my time in Pittsburgh, I have been at peace. I'm at peace being in La Crete. I'm not running from place to place in my head, making plan after plan. I still don't want to be here long-term, but God is settling something in my heart and mind.

I'm happy because I know I'm exactly where He wants me. I'm even happy if I end up staying in Canada for longer than anticipated or if stuff doesn't go exactly according to my plan.

Something happened in my week away from La Crete that set me free.

God has given me things to pray for, people to invest in, new things to try.

He's speaking to me in the every day. He's walking with me all the way.

I'm loving it. And this walking out simple obedience...this has the markings of the greatest adventure!

Till next time...

How is God asking you to walk in the every day?

Pittsburgh

So, as many of you know, I spent some time in the lovely city of Pittsburgh. My sister made a two year commitment to YWAM Pittsburgh. I wanted to see where she was moving, and I wanted to travel.

I also needed a retreat, a time to draw to God without the distraction of many people, and the pull of commitments and schedules.

I needed to reflect, reevaluate where I was at, what God was asking from me.

Pittsburgh is an amazing city, beautiful with red brick houses, narrow, winding streets, and lots of foliage. The people of Pittsburgh are beautiful, distinct, their own. Music, laughter, sass. They have their own heartache as well, but God's grace is so great, and the staff at YWAM Pittsburgh are reaching out into many neighborhoods and communities. God is moving. God is good.

The base is in an old monastery. Stained glass windows line the chapel walls. I spent quite a bit of my time there, seeking God's face, His presence, His words.

I wrote a lot in my journal, set aside a whole page for "What God was telling me." The mumble-jumble of chaotic feelings roiling around in my soul, becoming clearer as I sought His presence.

"At the feet of Jesus" kept coming to me. God's whispers over and over again, I want to spend more time with you. & you need this time with me resounded over and over again in my soul.

Then I left for Edmonton, spent some time with some amazing girls who are all working and going to school, all with hearts for God, wanting to make a difference wherever they are.

Again, God whispered, I need time with you.

Then today, after travelling, running in the early morning frost, The Holy Spirit teaches and online this morning, post after post, blog after blog, Spend time with God, Draw away with God.

I think God is telling me something. Maybe He's telling you the same thing.

Spend time with Him.

Salvation is not so much about saving you from eternal hell-fire, as it is restoring a broken relationship with the Father, restoring the ability to come into Communion with your Maker.

Our lives don't progress spiritually when we don't steal away with God. We lose direction, we lose focus, we lose fire. We become full of good intentions instead of becoming full of the Holy Spirit, and our actions become shadows of the lives God really intended for us to practice.

So, steal away with Him...

Be still and know that He is God!

August's Challenge: To Be Joyful

Like I wrote last week, my challenge to myself for the month of August was to be joyful, to praise, to give thanks and to find the good in things.

A grateful heart is a joyful heart. Or so I've come to believe.

Rewind a bit, for those of you who may not know. I decided to give myself a 6 month challenge, actively pursuing the character I want in order to leave behind the legacy I want to be known for.

This is month 2. Joy. Joy in difficult circumstances, mundane circumstances, ALL circumstances. Last week I confessed that I often struggle with depression. Depression, however, is not something that I want to be known for, I want to be known for the joy that I can express because of the freedom found in Christ's power over death.

The first logical step in my mind is praise and thankfulness.

Praising God, even in the bad things or hard times, allows you to see the light at the end of the tunnel, shifts my perspective, even when I haven't seen or experienced joy for a long time. 

My challenges for the month were as follows:

1. Find something to praise God for every day

2. Do one nice thing for someone in secret every week

The journal challenge:

100 Things That Make Me Happy

While happiness and joy are not the same thing, finding reasons to be happy also lead to a more joyful heart.

So how did I do this month?

Finding one thing to praise God for every day was interesting. I used the calendar in my day planner for the month of August and wrote down one thing every day. Or almost every day, towards the end of the month I was still praising God for things, but not writing them down. I found that what I praised God for most was people. I knew that I loved people, but it was interesting to me that they were also my happy things, my reason to praise, much more than good circumstances or good things. It will be good for me to remember in the future, when I feel depression hitting. It will make me re-evaluate if I've been with people enough. 

One nice thing for someone in secret was good. Easier than I thought to bless someone, harder to do in secret than I would have imagined. So most of them didn't end up as secrets, more as surprises. I did realize that most of my 'nice things' tended along the same lines, cards, chocolate bars, hugs. I need to learn to express myself in all love languages and in all sorts of ways, so that will be something for me to continue to work on. 

The journal challenge....(sorry for the bad quality photo)

And that's August. 

How and where do you find joy in your life?

Stay tuned for the September challenge:)