I've wanted to change the world since i was 9.
during missions week at penngrove community church someone told the story of amy carmichael rescuing girls from being temple prostitutes. i decided right there that was what i wanted to do.
when i was 12 i watched a national geographic show on indian elephants and as they talked about the hindu religion i decided that i wanted to go to india and bring God's truth.
when i was 14 i clearly heard God ask me to be a missionary and i said yes.
when i was 18 i read an article on what it was like to be a woman in asia and decided that i wanted to change that.
when i was 21 i decided that i would like to focus on working with children.
when i was 22 i walked through a red light district in the philippines and my heart broke.
now i am 25 and looking back over my life i can see it all being woven together.
I can see that all of those times that "i decided" it was really God opening my heart to understand his.
tonight i went to a small group and we discussed the first chapter of the book "don't waste your life" by john piper. it was interesting to hear the discussion, because it has only been these last few years that i have finally begun to figure out that God does call people to live in small towns and raise families, and maybe never even leave the country. changing the world has been such a focus for me my entire life that i forget that there are people who aren't supposed to spend their lives doing that. I have come to realize that living in Christ and having relationships with people that you live around is just the same as going out into the world. as long as you are living in Christ and building relationships. i still think that there are plenty of christians who, now that they are saved, are just waiting to go to heaven. i have to continuously ask God to help me not to judge people when it seems like they are just sitting in the pews on sunday for their weekly dose and then going home to continue life until it's time to take it again. all this to say i understand now if God has called you to live your life in a quiet way.
ok, please forgive my rantings. If you read this far I'm impressed, unless that is you mom, then its just a given, but thanks anyway.
there is a huge hurting world out there and evil cannot fix evil. neither can we fix it on our own. but i believe that God's heart is breaking and that he is waiting for people to step up and step out. only through Christ can we make a difference, where ever we are.
when i was 5 i heard a missionary speak about papua new guinea and first realized that there were people in the world that didn't know that God loved
during missions week at penngrove community church someone told the story of amy carmichael rescuing girls from being temple prostitutes. i decided right there that was what i wanted to do.
when i was 12 i watched a national geographic show on indian elephants and as they talked about the hindu religion i decided that i wanted to go to india and bring God's truth.
when i was 14 i clearly heard God ask me to be a missionary and i said yes.
when i was 18 i read an article on what it was like to be a woman in asia and decided that i wanted to change that.
when i was 21 i decided that i would like to focus on working with children.
when i was 22 i walked through a red light district in the philippines and my heart broke.
now i am 25 and looking back over my life i can see it all being woven together.
I can see that all of those times that "i decided" it was really God opening my heart to understand his.
tonight i went to a small group and we discussed the first chapter of the book "don't waste your life" by john piper. it was interesting to hear the discussion, because it has only been these last few years that i have finally begun to figure out that God does call people to live in small towns and raise families, and maybe never even leave the country. changing the world has been such a focus for me my entire life that i forget that there are people who aren't supposed to spend their lives doing that. I have come to realize that living in Christ and having relationships with people that you live around is just the same as going out into the world. as long as you are living in Christ and building relationships. i still think that there are plenty of christians who, now that they are saved, are just waiting to go to heaven. i have to continuously ask God to help me not to judge people when it seems like they are just sitting in the pews on sunday for their weekly dose and then going home to continue life until it's time to take it again. all this to say i understand now if God has called you to live your life in a quiet way.
ok, please forgive my rantings. If you read this far I'm impressed, unless that is you mom, then its just a given, but thanks anyway.
there is a huge hurting world out there and evil cannot fix evil. neither can we fix it on our own. but i believe that God's heart is breaking and that he is waiting for people to step up and step out. only through Christ can we make a difference, where ever we are.
when i was 5 i heard a missionary speak about papua new guinea and first realized that there were people in the world that didn't know that God loved
them. let's change that one person at a time.
