Long Overdue Update!

Wow, I have neglected to update my blog for some time now! Hopefully, if youre a supporter of me or close friend, you've received my update emails or talked to me in person!

Well, as I last wrote just before thanksgiving, I suppose I havent written that Emily is ENGAGED! It's a funny thing, because I prayed (along with alot of her other girlfriends) diligently that Jake would ask her to marry him by Thanksgiving. Thats honestly what I prayed daily for her, as her life in Spartanburg and away from Jake is just not where her heart is, and she needed that freedom to have the official title that reflected where her heart was with Jake. So, all that to say, the DAY BEFORE Thanksgiving, Jake asked her!!! They will be married in Forest City, NC (basically our home town) on April 18, 2009. I am so so excited for them- I have prayed for Emily and Jake since the summer of 2006, when they first met on Campus Outreach's summer beach project! He is also on staff with Campus Outreach, and ministers to students at Presbyterian college. I could not have hand picked someone better for her, but then again, God hand picked Jake, so thats way better than me doing the picking, lets be honest!

That might give you some insight into what I've been up to this holiday season- of course, meeting with as many people I can to share my ministry vision with them and raise up a team of supporters, begin planning Emilys wedding (yes, Kasey and I are the maids of honor!), working still at atlanta bread company part time, and actively seeking the Lord.

Over the past month, I have really enjoyed all the festivities that go along with Christmas, especially time with my family. Every year, we all go to Winston Salem to the Candle Tea (a Moravian Love Feast and tour at Old Salem), and the Nutcracker Ballet! We've been going since Emily and I were about 4 years old, and I still love it just as much as I first did! One other highlight at Christmas is attending the Christmas Eve service at church- it really reminds me of why we even celebrate Christmas, and helps me to worship Christ in my heart at Christmas. So often Christmas is simply all about the presents and the family time and everything colorful and beautiful and sweet tasting that we forget who and what the celebration is all about, and why we even have reason to celebrate.

This past week, I was able to travel to Washington, DC with Campus Outreach for the annual New Years Conference. This was the first time it was held in DC (it has traditionally been held in Atlanta for our region), but about 500 college students from Furman, Wofford, Presbyterian, Western Carolina, Virginia Tech, Radford Univ, Davidson, Elon, UNC-C, UNC-G, and Wingate crammed into the DoubleTree Hotel to learn more about God, and to explore what it means to be Legendary. The theme of the conference was LEGENDARY, which is truly relevant for this generation of college students-how do we view life, do we think about what we will leave behind when we die? How can we live now that will have an eternal impact? What does the reality of eternity mean for us?

I had one of the best weeks of the entire year there- although it was by far the most tiring, not only did God reveal so much about my own heart to me, but I was able to minister and give my life away the entire week. It confirmed in my heart once again, what God has called me to do with my life- give it away to college students, to become all things to all people that they might know more about the One who has given His life to save us! I lead 3 senior furman girls, and 2 of them were there, along with 2 freshman that I have been spending some time with! ! I cannot tell you how many doors and barriers that were broken down by the power of the Holy Spirit this week! Our room studied the Bible together, exploring verses like 1 John 2:17- "And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God lives forever." and Galations 6:9- "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." All of these verses speak to us about the reality of eternity with God forever! And led us to ask ourselves questions like what does it mean for me to do God's will? What do I see as a reward, and what is truly a reward in God's eyes?

I would like to share one thing that really convicted my heart this week- for starters, this week I really felt God calling me deeper and deeper, to a place of surrender- surrendering every single thing, every plan, desire, wish, hope, dream, everything to Him. So if youre reading this blog post, would you please pray now that God would take me there? Anyways, one talk this week was all about how an internal heart change leads to an external change, in our actions. At the end of the talk, we were asked to write down 3 questions to apply to our own lives-
1. Is my deepest longing God's glory? Is my happiness wrapped up in myself, or Christ?
2. Do I proactively seek holiness as a lifestyle?
3. Am I a person willing to really dig in, spend time in, the Bible?

Along with this, Matt Bradner, the conference speaker, said on the first night- "God is committed to positioning us in situations that reveal our hearts, that reveal who we trust in."
I also got to thinking about whether or not I think my actions can change my heart....The reality is that they can't. The Kingdom of God must be from within. So, I think in my heart, I see a potential person, you know, an ideal- who you wish you were, and the sin in my heart wants to just change over night, to be there, to reach that potential now! Let's be real, thats impossible, and it is a process. So, what I have left that conference with is an authentic prayer to God, that He would refine me, change me, break me, even if it is so painful, even if I suffer. Those 3 questions that I asked myself also helped me to see little corners of my life that I keep for myself, that I don't want God to take control of, which ultimately, I am sacrificing joy and wholeness when I do this.!

Well, I feel like I have shared alot about DC! I appreciate your prayers, both for me and for my ministry. As the second semester of Furman starts, and I begin again attempting to raise these funds, I would love for you to pray that God would put it on hearts to join me in this ministry, that a team of financial supporters would be raised up. And for my own ministry right now, leading 3 girls that you can pray for, that I would lead them well, and that they would be drawn closer to God and spend time in the Word daily!

Phil 2:9-11
"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."