So I've been thinking...

Even though the semester is coming to a close everything is far from slowing down. I still have 2 more trips to make to my volunteer placement along with 2 book reports, 2 final papers, 1 final project, 2 assignments, 1 take home exam, and 2 written exams. That’s it. That is all that stands between me and the ends of the semester/Christmas break.

So I just finished taking a class on evangelism. It was a three weekend intensive course. It started on Friday at 2; we would go until 5, stop for supper, start back at 6, and the go until 9pm. The next morning – Saturday – we would start at 9am, go until 12, stop for lunch, start back at 1, and then go until 4. Three weekends I did this. One in September, one in October, and one in November.

Oh how I had a love-hate relationship with this class. I loved it because it was super cool. The prof was great and the topic was even better. I mean evangelism, who doesn’t want to take a class in evangelism? Please note that I’m being 100% serious, I know it may sound like I’m being sarcastic but trust me, I’m not. I hated it because; since it was only 3 weekends the class time was sooooo loooooong. However, in the end it was pretty sweet to just do 3 weekends of class time and then be done. Although I do have a final paper to write for the class…

Anywho, at the beginning of the class we had an online discussion going and someone brought up The Great Commission. This past week, after the class had finished up, I had been thinking a lot about those famous final words of Jesus:

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:16-20 ESV

Jesus tells his disciples to GO. Now in our class discussion, another student brought up this question: do we put too much of an emphasis on the go and not enough on the make disciples? This made me think, do we focus more on the action and not the reason? 

I think I have fallen guilty of this. The past few weeks I have been focusing on the doing and not on the why.

This is the struggle of my volunteer hours being for school. I go and volunteer, but I do not see it as an opportunity to make disciples. Instead I see it as something I have to go and do.

I should be rejoices and praising God for the opportunity to meet new people and see new faces.

My prayer this coming week is that I will go to volunteer with a new mindset. I will be praying that I will see the blessing God has given me through my volunteer time and I will see it not as an act I have to do, but a time where I can share my story and make disciples.

Thanks for reading,

Em

something different

For the past few weeks when I have been volunteering it has been basically the same thing every week. I would get there; I would serve coffee or help around the kitchen by wiping the counters and doing the dishes. I would say hi to a few people and then I would go home.

This past week I tried something different. I usually volunteer on Thursday nights; this week, are you ready for it... I went on a Monday night. A group from my school gets together every Monday night to go and volunteer. So I met up with the group and we headed out. We had 6 students out and 2 faculty members. The group split into two teams. One team went upstairs to the shelter to clean while the other team worked on cooking a meal.

I was a part of the cleaning team and boy was it humbling. We went up into the rooms and at first I though hey this reminds me of a summer camp cabin. There were bunk beds and lockers. Then I remembered okay this probably isn’t fun. Full-grown adults sleep in these bunk beds because they do not have anywhere else to go. Just by having that realization it really made me so thankful for what I have.

So I have come up with a list of some of the stuff that I am thankful for:

1. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the faith and trust I have in Him
2. My parents who support me and inspire me to go after my dreams
3. My little sister who is also my best friend
4. My Nanny who is my role-model and such a strong Godly woman to look up to
5. My home
6. My city and my country. I’m so blessed to live where I do
7. My school. I love being able to go to a Christian university where I can learn and grow in my faith
8. My roommate and best friend. I would not be able to get through school without her 
9. My church family & my young adults group. I have been blessed with a church family to encourage me and support me spiritually
10. My mentors. They have impacted my life so much, I am who I am because they have shaped me in my spiritual life and my everyday life

There is so much more that I’m thankful for but if I was to write them all down this post would become a novel. It comes down to this; I have been given more than I ever deserved when Christ went to the cross. He gave me my life and I need to remember to thank him and be grateful every day. Not everyone has the earthly things that I have but everyone can have Jesus, and through Jesus we have everything.

As I’m taking a course on evangelism I’m learning the importance of sharing God’s love. After my time volunteering this week I’m seeing the importance more clearly than I ever have. Some people have a home to sleep in and some people sleep in a shelter, not knowing where they will be the next night, but we can all go to sleep every night knowing that Christ is our Savior.


Thanks for reading, 

Em

time for a break

This past week I have been feeling so blessed to be able to go to the school I do. This is because for the first time my school had a week long fall reading break. 

I was able to go home and spend 9 days with my family. Even though not much reading was done on this reading week, I did have a wonderful time. 

That being said, I did not get out to volunteer this past week. 

So stay tuned for my post coming later this week! I'm going to be trying something different at my volunteer placement. 

Thanks for reading, 

Em

Serving Night: to the food bank

I am a youth leader. I’ve said it before; I love youth, especially middle school youth.

I lead at what I call my school church. It is not my home church where I grew up. This is the church that I go to during the school year when I am 1.5 hours away from my home church. The youth program at this church is separated into three groups:

DropZone (Middle School Youth)

Refinery (High School Youth)

The Core (Teen Discipleship Time)

I help out with DropZone on Tuesday nights, but one Tuesday a month we do a serving night with The Core. I help out with this too.

This month for our service project we went to the food bank.

The timing was perfect. My school does an annual Halloween food drive where students dress up and go trick or treating for non-perishables instead of candy. So the food bank had just got a bunch of food for us to sort and put away.

Okay now picture this: 24 middle school and high school aged kids separating, sorting, and organizing food in a small two room building. It was pretty crazy to say the least, but it was so worth it.

This was the process…

First we had to separate all the boxes from the cans from the jars. Then we went through as separated all that into different categories (i.e. canned veggies, canned fruit, boxes of cereal, Kraft Dinner, soup, etc.). After that we put it all in the proper places.

After this, the couple that runs the food bank gave us a lesson on how the food bank runs. Did you know that you need to have a permanent address in order to use the food bank? Following this we had a devotional lesson and then they gave us pizza!

I have gone to a few different food banks in a few different cities during different mission trips over the years. The way that this particular one runs is pretty cool. A person comes in, gets all their information done and grabs a number. When their number is called, they get a shopping cart and they go around the food bank deciding what they want. Over each different item there is a number indicating how much they can take; one can of this, two cans of that. It is really cool, just like real shopping.

I think all food banks should run like this because it gives the people who use it a real sense of dignity. They get choice and they get to do it on their own. They are not just handed a bag full of stuff, they actually can pick their own food off the shelf. I think this is so important.

Overall I think the trip to the food bank was really awesome! The kids loved it and so did I. Through all the chaos I think everyone was able to learn something and we were all very happy to help.

Thanks for reading,

Em


**Side note: I also went to my placement for Junior Praxis this week. It was really good! I started working with a new lady and I’m excited for the weeks to come.**

Coffee Mugs and Soapsuds

I actually forgot to post this weekend.

I forgot to post, mainly because I really didn’t know what I should write. Not much has been happening at my volunteer placement. I went again on Thursday and I washed dishes. Lots and lots of coffee mugs were washed.

I did notice that there was a bigger crowd out at last Thursday. The weather is getting colder so this is something I would expect. More and more people are coming in from off the street to grab a baked good and a coffee, sit, chat, and play cards or pool to get out of the cold for a few hours.

I was also able to use my very poor French. Someone asked for a glass of water (in French) and I was able to get it for him, so that was cool.

Thanks for reading and I apologize for this weeks post being quite boring and unexciting.

Em

Spirit lead me...

 Get ready for me to sound so basic and stereotypical. Ready?

I love the song Oceans. I know, I know, me, along with pretty much every other Christian girl (and some Christian guys) out there. But for real, as unoriginal as this might sound, the Lord has really spoken to me through the song.

Two summers ago I preached my very first sermon and this song inspired the message I shared. I can remember it as clear as day. It was one Sunday when I was heading home. I was sitting in my old silver Dodge Neon and the rain was coming down hard on the windshield. I had just started the car and hooked up my phone to my Bluetooth thing. The song started playing and I knew what I was supposed to talk about.

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters

Wherever You would call me

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

And my faith will be made stronger

In the presence of my Savior

                                                             

About a month later I stood up on the platform and preached a sermon about Jesus calling Peter to walk on the water.

Now fast forward to this past Sunday, I was making the hour and a half drive back to school after being home for the weekend. I have recently been obsessed with Rend Collective’s new album Campfire II: Simplicity. All of a sudden Oceans comes on. Rend Collected has their own new rendition of the song and it is BEAUTIFUL! I have listened to it at least 20 times. I love it!

So as I was driving I was listening to this song (and singing along very loudly). I was hit again by this line:

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without boarders”

I realized that this needs to be my prayer while I’m volunteering. Even though I may feel insignificant (see last week's post) I need to remember that God can and will use me. So I’m asking God to lead me where my trust is without boarders. I want him to call me to step out of my boat – my comfort zone – and to trust him to use me and keep me afloat.  

Thanks for reading, 

Em

If you are interested in listening to Oceans from Rend Collective's new album (I highly recommend you do!) listen to it here:

**I actually didn't get out to volunteer this week because I had SO MUCH work. I had a midterm on Monday, an assignment Wednesday, a 2000 word paper due Wednesday, a quiz Wednesday, a 4 page paper due Thursday, a midterm Friday, and this blog post for Friday. It was a pretty hectic week.**