Steadfast Love

Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever; to Him who alone does great wonders, for His steadfast love endures forever... Psalm 136:3-4

Spending time in Psalm 136 today reminded me to rejoice that God's love is not based on human emotions, human works or how well I perform. Even when I seem to get in the way, I'm reminded it is God's love that remains and is steadfast...enduring...patient... kind...unchanging.

Amen.  

Surveys on Campus!!

The new school year has started and TOMORROW we have the privilege to be on campus during lunch and dinner, outside of the dining halls, to conduct surveys in order to see the spiritual temperature of the students on campus this year. Please pray for these times! New to our surveys this year, we have a question asking if there would be an interest in seeing The Bridge, a 5-minute illustration that shows the main point of the Bible, based on Romans 6:23. 


Please pray: 

• That we would connect well with students
• For clear communication in sharing the Good News of Jesus
• That God would move hearts to respond to the Gospel. 

Constantly, I'm humbled by the thought that we are free to share openly on campus about Jesus. What an incredible blessing!


Thanks for praying!

Some thoughts about God and His provision

Truth is a beautiful thing. It corrects, encourages, restores and brings healing in ways that seem unthinkable. Prayer is also something that is beautiful. Its a sweet communication between the LORD God and His children.

David says in Psalm 27: 25 -26, "I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or His children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and His children become a blessing."

TRUTH: God will not ignore the needs of His children. He will ALWAYS provide.

TRUTH: God is my Daddy, and I am His daughter. I will be taken care of... I belong to HIM and He will not forget me. If you are in Christ, this a truth applies to you as well. You are His child.

TRUTH: God has all the power, strength, ability and means to provide... even when the situation seems impossible.

What I love about verse 26 is that God's children become a blessing. I like the thought that God provides and gives to us so that we can be a blessing. He doesn't give out of obligation. He doesn't give compulsively. He doesn't give because I've begged 1,282.3 times. He gives because He loves me and wants to use me as a blessing for His kingdom.

With this, I ask for your prayers. I need AT LEAST 25% more of my budget to return to campus full-time. Contact me if you want more specifics. Will you pray for God to provide the rest of my budget? Pray for God to continue to provide people around me that I can be a blessing to. Pray for me to remain encouraged by God's Word and His promise to provide... Pray that I would trust and run to His word when the world around me feeds me thoughts of doubt.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for praying.

Its good to praise!

Praise the LORD. He is worthy to be praised!

I've been camped out in Psalm 37 for a couple of days and the biggest lesson I see from this chapter is the promise that God will not forsake His children. He will take care of them, always provide and receive all the glory.

With that in mind, I looked back at previous blog posts where I was complaining about not getting many hours at work. I just added up the hours I've worked from these past couple of weeks and new hours for next week and God has been hearing my prayers. I've been working consistently 15 - 22 hours per week. This is a far cry from where I was even a few months ago.

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. - Psalm 37:5-6

Other ways I've seen God's faithfulness:

I'm seeing the women I've been investing in have a heart to invest in others and I'm experiencing God answer their prayers alongside them. This is a feeling that has been blowing me away and I'm absolutely awed.

Please be praying for M & K... these freshman ladies are reading & discussing the bible with a third year friend who has proclaimed to be an atheist for years and has finally decided to try out reading the bible. I also saw this friend come to church with these ladies last week and I'm praying for her heart to be drawn to the LORD.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for praying :) Continue to praise our good and faithful God!

Looking Back & Looking Ahead

I can't believe the first month of 2011 is already almost over! Time seriously has been flying by. I think I've spent most of 2011 under the weather, so hopefully the rest of this year will be a healthy one.

This past Saturday, I was BLESSED to host our Student Ministry Team retreat at my house. During the time, we spent a little while reflecting what we saw God "do" during 2010. I will definitely say this time was my highlight of this year so far.

What we saw:

Mirsa, a freshman, started hanging out with The Navigators, started walking with Christ and has read all of the Bible in just a couple of months.

Athena shared Christ with a professor and is planning to read the Bible with him this semester.

Caitlin and Cherenda led two international student women to Christ and have been walking alongside them, helping them grow in their faith.

Twenty-eight international students from fourteen different countries came to our bonfire... just a few days after we prayed for God to continue to lead us to people from different nations

Justin has been able to read the Bible with two international students and has led one of them to Christ.

Rachel prayed for God to give her one person to pray for in class... this led to a professor sharing his beliefs and journey in reading the Bible from a literary standpoint in class. She now has someone to pray for and to have conversations with about Christ.

Melissa was able to share with a friend and help her to seriously start walking with Christ.

Andrew trusted God for an opportunity to naturally share about his love for Jesus and God allowed for a conversation to happen with a friend who would not have otherwise listened.

"We have a personal ministry because that is the patten Jesus set," said by my teammate, Josh. It has been exciting to walk alongside these students at CSULB who are actively engaging in personal ministry and following in the patterns of Christ. I'm looking forward to what God will bring in 2011.

Prayer Request

I am praying for a new part-time job. Things at the mall are proving difficult, and it is becoming more apparent that fighting for work hours is taking more energy than necessary. Please pray with me. Finances are tough and its really hard not to become discouraged.

Thanks!

You Make Beautiful Things...

Tears of joy streamed down my face as I left her apartment complex tonight. In the car she said to me, "I believe that Jesus changes lives. I want to work on trusting Him with my life." These are the precious words of my dear friend who is studying english here in the states for the next few months. Before leaving her home in Korea, she had no idea who Jesus was nor of His importance. Six months later, she's wondering what He would do for her life.

Please join me in praying for my dear friend Sheila*. Pray that she would decide to commit her life to trusting Jesus. Pray for the two of us, as we search the scriptures together, practicing english and learning about the Savior of the world, that God would continue to reveal Himself to her. Praise God with me for the ways that He draws His creation back to Himself.

And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. -- Isaiah 42:16