Joy

Well, if you've been a Christian for any length of time, you have heard that little word that means oh so much: joy. I wish I could say that I have perfected the art of being joyful, but honestly when the conditions of life are less than what would be considered favorable, and you don't know what's going on or what the outcome of challenging situations may be, you soon come to realize that having joy isn't as easy as one would initially think. There have been a couple of situations that I've been going through and I find myself crying about them, whining about them, and yes, praying about them, but joy is far from one of the emotions I am feeling. Last Sunday I taught on how joy is a key part of having the love as the fruit of the Spirit in your life, that joy that comes from loving and trusting in God's sovereignty, that joy that can weather any storm, that joy that is purely for the purpose to bring God glory even in times of struggle. After teaching that lesson, it seems like God has continuously brought it again and again across my path that I am to "rejoice always". It's been in such a way that I couldn't ignore it if I tried. I need to get out of my pity parties, and truly start trusting in God and having joy always.

The purpose of Saturday mornings

Ok, so I have a confession to make, right now with the women of the staff here we're going through what it means to be a proverbs 31 woman and one thing that is standing out to me is how she rises early. Well, and here's my confession, I LOVE my sleep! I do, I'll admit that if I don't get 8 hours of sleep I'm just not a happy camper, and therefore I may never be that perfect woman, because I honestly believe that without this glorious thing we call sleep, I would be a useless individual. Anyways, all of this little rant is brought on by the fact that the staff here does not seem to have the same issue as I do with enjoying sleeping in and therefore every single day of the week, they are in the house working beginning at around 7ish. Now in my opinion, I truly think that next to "honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy" should be "and there is a second command like it, thou shalt not wake up before 8:30 on a Saturday morning". I think I'll have to put that in the KORV (Kelli O'Hea Revised Version).

My last night

Right now, it's 3:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. I'm packing up my room as I've seemed to put it off until now, I think in a way of trying to avoid it as long as possible. It's so weird seeing my room all packed up and how I've got boxes of stuff that I'm getting rid of. I can't believe this how real it's becoming.

36 hours and counting...

Ok, so I'm going to be totally and completely honest and tell you that right now I'm sitting here with tear stained eyes and a red bull can near by because I seriously have so much to do right now it's not even funny and I'm so overwhelmed. I have to admit, I also am feeling very alone right now just that there's nothing people can really do to help me even if I wanted them to. I've come to realize this is to be my own battle to fight and I'm just really in shock that in pretty much exactly 36 hours I'm going to be getting on a plane to leave for two years.

Goodbye to my boys

Well, today I said goobye to Mat and Chris as they headed off CCBC. I have to admit this has been the most difficult of the goodbyes so far. It's crazy to think they're embarking upon this new chapter of their lives much like I am. These boys have been the ones who I've always had a special bond with and I'm just so thankful that I've been able to see them and realize that there are some good guys out there, really good guys. I'm going to miss them so much, but I know God is going to use them greatly.

Change is...

Ok, so I remember last year coming back from Uganda and there was a whole lot going through my mind and then I heard this quote on Grey's Anatomy, "Change, we don’t like it, we fear it, but we can't stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind. And it hurts to grow, anybody who tells you it doesn’t is lying. But heres the truth: the more things change, the more they stay the same. And sometimes, oh, sometimes change is good. Oh, sometimes, change is ... everything" and it seemed to hit such a chord with me as I was anticipating all of the changes I have either already gone through (graduation, leaving my job, etc...) to the changes I'm about to embark upon in a matter of just a few days. And right now I can honestly attest to the validity of the statement that change truly is EVERYTHING. It's just so crazy looking back and seeing how much has taken place in this past year and how much God has tought me.

Tonight Your stars speak

(The title of this blog is the title of a song by the Glorious Unseen). I can honestly say that tonight as I was laying out under the stars just thinking and praying, it dawned on me that to our common knowledge there is really no real reason for the stars to be in existance, as they're too far away to have any real impact on us. Then it hit me that their sole purpose is to bring God glory. Time and time again I hear of people talking about how they can see how great and big God is by looking at the stars and through that there lies their purpose...to point to how truly amazing He is. And that's exactly what we are to be like too. Although it may be difficult for some of us to believe, not everything about this world is about us, in fact nothing about it is about us. Our sole purpose on this earth is to bring HIM glory. We are to shine so brightly that people praise God for how awesome He truly is, it's not about us.