So the Lord has blessed me so abundantly in every area of my life and I am sometimes so blind and selfish to it all. Sharing with others all that the Lord is doing and teaching me is always the best way to realize how truly blessed I am. Therefore, a blog seems to be the most beneficial way to process through all that I am learning as well as give glory to God and all that HE is doing! So here are my small attempts at giving the Glory to the one who deserves it most!
To bring you up to date on what has been going on in my life this past semester...
I am currently an intern in a first grade classroom at a local title one elementary school in Gainesville. In case you were wondering, Title One means that a certain percentage of the school population qualifies for free/reduced lunch. Basically meaning that it is a low income school. 98% of my school qualifies for free/reduced lunch and 95% of the students are African American. Many of you may wonder how on earth this white girl could possibly fit in this setting. But I am confident, God has me right where He wants me.
The Lord has totally broken my heart for this specific population of students and He so amazingly ordained my internship in this low-income school. God has blessed me with a heart and patience for these students and I want to live a life worthy of His calling. I want to show these children the Love of Christ and I know that this is the arena that my current ministry and ministry of the future is going to take place. Here are a few shots of my class. I absolutely adore them. They infuriate me and crack me up all at the same time! With my last week with them quickly approaching, I am absolutely going to miss them everyday.
Looking at another calling the Lord has put on my heart...This summer I will be going on a summer project to Paris, France with Campus Crusade for Christ. I, along with 25 other college students will be going to Paris for 6 weeks to share the Love of Christ with the people of Paris. Just to give you a little background...
Paris, the city of Light, is a city in total darkness. There are over 600,000 college students in the city and LESS THAN 1/2 of A PERCENT claim to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Less than 1/2 a percent? Paris is begging for the Gospel and I am privileged enough to be burdened for the city and to go and share it with them. It has been a scary process thus far, working out grad school details, raising support ($5,500), and just trusting the Lord. I have never felt more vulnerable in my entire life but I love it.
I feel that the Lord has me in a place where He is just trying to refine me. I have recently been forced to face a lot of my sin and I hate it and love it all at the same time. Everyday is a new day and everyday the Lord is revealing more and teaching more to me. My most recent discovery (thanks to the Lord) is realizing that I out so much more trust in faith in myself rather than Him. I try to get through everyday on my own, and everyday I ultimately fail. I need Jesus and I am learning how much more each and every day. I have been reading in Genesis about Sarah and Abraham. It has literally blown my mind everyday all of the faith that Abraham has. And as a result of his faith, comes obedience. I want that. I want to be truly confident and allow the Lord to be in control. I want to stop trying to do it myself. I want to be wholly surrendered. That is my prayer. That I would lay down my life and make it Yours.
This life is crazy, but Praise the Lord, its not my home. My citizenship is in Heaven and I live for the day that I will get to meet the Man who saved my life.
I hope you will continue to follow me as I follow Jesus :)
My Little Miss Jesse,
ReplyDeleteI somehow just accidentally stumbled across this new blog of yours that I was unaware was in the works, and I believe I am your first official follower! What an absolutely incredible woman that I am lucky enough to call my best friend. You have such an unbelievable heart that is on fire for our Savior! I have had the honor to see you through the last eleven years of your life, and despite trial and tribulation, you gave your entire life to Christ, and look at what he has done with it! You were still and you knew that he was an almighty God, you gave it all away, and you’re still giving it all away! You’re such a soul winner, and I pray about you all the time and thank the Lord for this amazing friendship that I have been blessed with. Keep Loving on God and all his people, your heart is overwhelming.