Forever For His Glory

So, one of the main things (if not the main thing) that single girls look forward to in life is marriage (I'm not a guy so I can't speak for the single men in our midst). I've wanted to get married since I was 4, and I can't imagine how many hours I've spent talking and thinking about the subject. The subject was recently once again brought to the forefront of my thoughts as I've been thinking about various things. But this morning I was listening to a message by Mike Bickle and it was about having God first in our lives, what that means, etc. After the message I was talking to God about it, asking that He would be my one love that all of the rest of my love came from. And God of course always goes to the heart of the matter because He knows what I've been thinking, and so He said, "All of this will fade away - your marriage will not last for eternity. I will survive for eternity. Your relationship with Me will last for eternity. Don't look...

“ Wow, you're going to the Caribbean on a mission trip!? Lucky! Really suffering for the Lord. Haha!” Missions work really isn't always exciting without the pain. Granted, some outreach locations make outreach “nicer” (I'm glad I haven't been called somewhere cold!), but there really is a pain that comes with missions regardless of where your location is. But it's hard to imagine until you've experienced it yourself. I've missed so many birthdays (and births), weddings, holidays, family togetherness, and just sitting on the couch talking to a friend. Counting from October 2014 - June 2016 (which is the soonest I'd get home), I would have spent 8 months out of state for various mission training's, 6 months out of the country on outreach, and only 6 months home interspersed between the times of being gone. And if I do go home in June, it would only be for a month or so before leaving again for 9+ months. Missions work really is I think ...

If you had asked me when I was 10 what I wanted to be when I was older, I probably would have told you married and/or a veterinarian/horse trainer/professional singer. But instead, I’m here on a beautiful Caribbean island for 4 months, loving on kids and teaching them about Jesus, and getting ready to go into full-time missions. What?! That was definitely not in my 10 year old’s master plan. 2007 - Halter-breaking Freedom Yet here I am, and I can’t imagine being anywhere else! But I find it very funny because my 10 year old self would have thrown such a fit if you had told her this was where she would have been in 11 years. No joke. This is so far from what I wanted back then. It makes me think about my friends in various positions. Engaged. Getting a degree. Serving in the local church. Single. Serving in a nation across the ocean. Married with kids. Teaching adults. Teaching children. Living with their parents. Living on their own. 2008 - Some of ou...