Romans 12:1

Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy to give your bodies as a living sacrifice- holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship.”

A couple weeks ago at house church we were asked what God has done in our lives- what we were thankful for. The list in my head went on and on. As I was heading to house church I found myself marveling in God’s grace that is partnered with my humility. God through his son has ripped me out of pit of despair and has set my feet on solid ground. My life through the cross and what Jesus did there has meaning, has fulfillment, has purpose…And I am blessed and lead by the spirit to live a life that is holy and pleasing to my God.
As I sit and reflect on the blessings my mind is racing. He has blessed me abundantly over and over again. Each day He reveals more of His character to me. I am in awe of My God and overwhelmed by His love for me. As the Lord continues to reveal himself to me, I continue to draw closer to Him, and long for more He has to offer. I feel most comfortable serving Him and in His presence than not. This has become more and more apparent in my life.
God has blessed me:

Employment:
6 months ago I was praying for a new job. I longed to go to work and do something that advanced His kingdom, it wasn’t that I couldn’t share Christ and “be” the image of Christ at my job- I could, and each day that is what I prayed for- That my co-workers wouldn’t see me, that I wouldn’t get in the way of them seeing the Christ that resided in me. It was hard and challenging and as I started praying for a way out of that job and continuing to see the door shut I knew that God had me there for a reason. Whether it was to live out the gospel truth for my coworkers to see and possible plant more seeds of truth in their life, or whether it was for my own benefit of me getting to a point of desperation and desire for me to draw ever closer to My Lord…I do not know, but none the less I was there and I was praying for contentment. But I longed for a job I could be passionate about. Not many 25 year old women are passionate about sending plumbers out to snake a drain. I just felt I was made for more. But every time I prayed for a new job I kept running into a closed door. My character was growing by not giving up and relying more and more on my Father- who knows what best for his beloved!
Around May I was praying on my way to work after Tuesday morning bible study and I just felt the Lord say: “Ok, you can now PRAY towards another job.” Not necessarily that the Lord was going to miraculously give me a new job, but that I could now pray towards another opportunity of employment. I started praying for a job I could be passionate about, a job that I would be excited to go to, something that was Christ centered and kingdom focused. I’ve always thought you need to like the job you’re at- I mean we spend the majority of our lives at our job, we might as well be doing something the Lord has gifted us towards but whatever it was to do it with your whole heart, as if I was working for God rather than man.
A month after I started praying for another job, the Lord answered my prayer and I got laid off from my job. With the grace the Lord has bestowed upon me I was able to count this as a blessing and praise my Lord. This drew me even closer to my Lord because I now had to rely on Him even more to provide. During this time of loosing my job and wondering how I was going to pay bills the Lord had also called me to go to Uganda the following September and raise the money to go. My faith was weak…I did not know if I was suppose to go to Uganda or find a job or what the Lord was trying to teach me. So I did the only thing I could…pray, which again drew me closer to my Lord. I was a point where I HAD to rely on Him to provide, for my living expenses and for this trip that I felt still that He was calling me on. So through that prayer the Lord gave me creative ways to fundraise, which ended up being a lot of work but fun and an avenue for others to be used by the Lord. In a little over a month the Lord blessed me with over $5,000 for the trip to Uganda. WOW! Just to write that down is amazing. It is absolutely amazing that He used me, this broken girl- that continues to fall short of the glory of God- and He still chooses to teach me, to love me, and to bless me.
So back to the job…After 2 weeks off from work I started to look around for non profits in the Portland area that were Christ centered organizations. I started volunteering at All God’s Children. The Lord first brought All God’s Children up March of that year. A friend of mine was going to Guatemala and I didn’t know why I just knew she needed prayer so a group of us got together and prayed her to Guatemala. I asked her why she was going and she said she was leading a mission trip with her work. This was the first time the Lord tickled my ear (and heart) with the thought of going on another mission trip. I was intrigued and really wanted to learn more. So when July came around and I found myself jobless the Lord brought this friend and her job back up in the front of my mind. I started volunteering and about a month later I got a call from AGCI asking if I wanted to take a part time position…um, easy answer…Of course! So I started working part time, which was a blessing cause that gave me plenty of time to fundraise for Uganda on the days I wasn’t working.
So I left for Uganda September 12th, returned back to work October 1st, and on November 1st AGCI offered me a full time position as Orphan Care Coordinator. What a story the Lord is allowing me to live out!
I always say, My life is written out by my Lord. I long for my actions to be right in the will of God. Living out what is written on each page. Each day the Lord teaches me how to draw close to Him and how to stay right where He intended me to be, growing into the women He created me to be.

MY INCOME:
So obviously working for a non profit doesn’t bring in the big bucks, which is perfectly fine for me. Before accepting the job I really wanted to get my finances in order. I have A LOT of debt…self inflicted pain (I like to call it). But I want to be responsible for what the Lord has given me. It says in the bible (Romans 13:8) to owe nothing to anyone. One way to be used more effectively for the kingdom of God is to not be in debt. So I am making it my goal to get out of debt and be responsible for the little I am receiving from the Lord. The Lord has blessed me with great financial partners to direct me in a realistic way to budget. And through this budgeting (though it only is my first month) it has been the most freeing thing. I know what I have coming in and it is not stressful to know that I am living outside of my means. I feel the Lord is blessing this effort.
The list goes on and on of how I see God working in my life. This is why I marvel in his grace. I was told that the definition of grace is getting what we do not deserve. I deserve death. I deserve punishment. But My God sent His son, Jesus, for ME, in order to save me from despair, from death, from a life of pain and turmoil. He died so I can live. The more I am in the word the more I long to have the word flushed out in my life. The more it brings me back to the foot of the cross in humility. All my life consists of is because of Him. I long for people to know Him, to know the God I know, to be used by Him and for Him. In Humility I can say that Lord is working IN and through ME. ME? Who am I…that you would leave the heavens to die for? Who am I…that You would choose to use for Your kingdom? Who am I…that you would look on me with love? But He does choose to use me, to break me, to mold me and to create in me a new heart, A heart that longs only to serve Him and know Him more and more each day. I pray that not only will I continue to die to myself and to give my body as a living and holy sacrifice, one that He will find pleasing but also that through this journey of ME knowing Him more and more I pray that others will come into the saving knowledge of His grace. To be renewed in their lives in a way that is pleasing to God, in a way that He has shown me. The greatest thing in life is to be known by your creator. My prayer is that through the hurting, confusing, lost lives of this world Christ would swoop down and rescue His children out of their pit of despair and show them- the way that he graciously showed me- who HE is!

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name?
Would care to feel my hurt?
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart?

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.

I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I AM YOURS!


12:2 “Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you can test and approve what is God’s will- his good, pleasing and perfect will.”