Prayer

As long as I can remember, I have never doubted that prayer actually works. Until recently, I had never thought about things that have happened because of prayer. To name a few: when I made my first trip to Honduras, it was going to total around $4000 for tuition and trip money, after praying about it, almost my entire bill was paid by an auction and donations from my church; I never thought that I would make it through college, but thank goodness for a praying mama, because goodness knows without her fervent prayers, I probably never would have made it.

Now, this morning, I taught on "Hidden Treasure" in Sunday School. Can you guess what this hidden treasure is? It's powerful, it's awesome, it works... It's PRAYER. Even though the book I am teaching out of is geared toward young people, I have still learned a lot from every chapter so far. First, it amazes me how our BIG God wants to have a daily chat with us about our lives, our everything.

It struck me that the only way that I was going to get out of retail, and begin working a job that dealt within my degree range was prayer. So, the petitioning began. I started by telling my mom, then my favorite group of people at Life Group, then the facebook group I am in called Christian Women (a group solely for women to embark in intercessory prayer for other women in need). Let me tell you. I waited, I applied. I sent out resumes, perfected my resume, sent it out again, and finally, in my fitness class, the trainer mentioned that the business that supports the wellness program was hiring part-time for an office job. I immediately jumped on it, and I went over my resume and my references, perfected my cover letter (for the millionth time) and emailed it to the lady doing the hiring. I got a follow-up email saying to call her for an interview time. So, Friday morning, I called, and by Friday afternoon around 3:45, I was hired.

That, my friends, is how prayer really works. When two or three are gathered in Jesus' name, there He is too. I am so relieved that I can now say that I work at Picture Wellness, and not a department store.

PTL.

The Shape of My Heart

It's times like these when I go back into my numerous files of pictures, and I began to relive my experiences in a rural jungle, dancing outside of my comfort zone.

I know that I talk about Honduras a lot, but it is where my heart is. The faces, such as the one to the left, is what keeps me going back.

I fought for so long to keep from going, and finally, God gave me a slight nudge, and BOOM. I landed in a developing country, not know what to expect when we hiked to our first clinic.

When you step out of that zone of comfort, you begin to grow in a way that you would never imagine. As I sort through photos, I remember the sounds, the smells, and the feel of the environment. It takes me back to that place that my heart longs to be, long term, not short term. It will happen one day, when God sees fit to send me there for a while. Until then, I can relive the happiness of loving on babies through photos of my adventures.

Can't Buy Me Love

Tomorrow is the day before Valentine's Day, so the image you see above is what my class, and two others will be making for the ladies at church. Cute, no? I thought so too.

I got the idea from a customer that was in my line one day, only she was using doilies instead of construction paper. I figured for a group of 2-11 year old kids, construction paper would be much better. I thought that while the older kids helped hot glue the candy canes to the paper, the younger ones could decorate. I'm not entirely sure yet.

That isn't all.

There are going to be "pigs in a blanket" and mini brownie cupcakes for the kids to snack on.

It is going to so fun!

Feel free to steal the idea, I know it's pretty cool.

Here and There

In the past several hours, I have broken two nails. One I broke in my sleep, and the other, well, I'm not sure exactly what happened. Don't ask me how it happened, I just know that they were both broken when I got in the shower.

Updates from Sunday School land: I started a book study with the kids, and they seem to be enjoying that a little more for some reason. The book is "You Were Made to Make a Difference" by Max Lucado. I believe that they are really starting to grasp just how much God loves them and how no matter how young, they can still make a difference in their community.

In life in general, I have been trying to see Jesus in everyone and notice the little things about nature and so on that God really took time to create for us a beautiful land. My eyes have really been opened, and now, I can look at the scrawny neighborhood mut, and see the beauty of God, and feel compassion for it. It is really amazing how seeing God in everything can change your life.