This year I was incredibly blessed by going on my first mission’s trip. A group of us from my church went to Joplin, Missouri to help rebuild after one year had passed from the devastation of tornados. We came to work on a few people’s houses.  One experience that really stuck out in my mind was when the Holy Spirit moved inside me and I knew that I was supposed to ask a lady if she wanted to pray. But like so many of us do, I started analyzing the situation of why it didn’t make sense. The lady didn’t say much and seemed a little distant. She remained upstairs while we worked downstairs.  I thought, “Surely this lady does not want me to talk to her.” When I would see her walk by, the Holy Spirit prompted me but unfortunately I didn’t pray with her that day. Thankfully we were coming to her house the next day but I should have stepped up no matter what because the Lord asked me to. An opportunity went by because I leaned on my own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

 

The next day, we were cleaning up and the lady came downstairs and I knew I couldn’t let that second chance pass by. Before I left I told her thank you for allowing us into her home. Then I asked her if there was something that we could pray for her about. In an instant she reached out her hands towards mine and said yes and began to tell me what she wanted to pray about. She was just waiting for someone to ask her! She wanted to pray that her home would be God’s home, that her home would be a home for missionaries, and that she would be living in God’s will for her life. Another missionary and I held her hands and we prayed together.

What a great memory and lesson that will live on in my heart. The moments in which God is asking us to act are so precious. I will choose to follow God even when things don’t make sense. I don’t have to understand to be obedient to God.

Today I was feeling a little stressed at work and normally all my stress and tension goes to my shoulders. God reminded me that there is already one that has gone before me and carried it all on His shoulders. He has all authority and has everything under control. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 ♥

Hello :)

Just a friendly heads up that this post is longer than my other ones. It is my testimony of 2011. Around this same time last year I was e-mailing it to a few friends. I can't believe that now I get to share it with my blog readers as well! I am thankful that God encouraged me to start this blog. Thank you for reading...

One year ago, before 2011 began, I sat down and prayed and gave some serious thought about what I’d like to do differently in the New Year. I thought about what I’d like to change about myself, internally that is. I picked two things: I wanted to LOVE and GIVE like never before.  I chose these two things because although I have always loved to give, I caught myself having a hard heart sometimes and I didn’t want to be like that anymore. My prayer for a while had been David’s prayer, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10. If there was anybody I wanted to be like, if there was anybody I wanted to follow, it was Jesus.  I also desired to be more of a cheerful giver, “Each man should give what he has decided in His heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7. I wanted to be sensitive to His Spirit and give to others especially when He prompted me to.  So I made a commitment to God that I would cheerfully and purposefully give something every day in the year of 2011. I have kept this commitment and it’s about to come full circle. I wanted to share this as a way to celebrate what God has done in my life. He has given me amazing, meaningful giving opportunities that I am so glad to have been a part of.    

This experience has really allowed me to hear Him clearer and hear Him more. I left my heart open to be guided by Him and He showed up and led me.  This is what I wrote to God in my journal last January, “This year I want to give and love like never before. I want to let Your love overflow in me and be a walking testimony of Your love. To You, God, be the glory! This year I am going to document what I give every day.” I love to write and I wrote down the things I gave every day as a way of honoring the talent of writing that God gave me (Matthew 25:14-27).  I am so grateful that He not only gave me giving opportunities but that He did a work in my heart.  You see, after a while I noticed that I was so focused on giving that I forgot about my commitment to love. But then God opened my eyes to see that in giving to His people, I had come to love them more also.

The gifts I gave were mostly non-tangible and not always monetary. Sometimes the little things that we do can make a huge difference. I’ve witnessed this as God gave me opportunities to give encouragement, love, gratitude, quality time with family and friends, kindness, a listening ear, hope, honor, prayer for others, and more. God has asked me to give to others by sowing seeds into ministries, sponsoring others for mission trips or youth camp, buying groceries for others, treating others to lunch/dinner, and more.  I knew that whatever He asked me to give, He would provide. Some of these giving commitments will carry over into the next three years.  My journals are filled with these three words, “Today I gave …” He gave me opportunities throughout the year that I could either take or watch as they passed by. It was a challenge, and there were times that He had to remind me about my commitment, but I saw how important it was (and is) to reach out when God is asking for something to be done. He has shown me that giving affects lives, which in turn affects more lives, and in some cases the lives of others in different countries. There is such significance in allowing God to use us to meet a need.  I have learned that when we give, we express gratitude for what God has given to us. When we give, it causes others to give thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:12). When we give, God uses us to be the answer to other people’s prayers. We can give because God has blessed us.  We can give to bring Glory to His name!  

Although I plan to continue to be a cheerful giver, I also plan on making a new commitment for 2012 and I am looking forward to growing closer to Him. Whatever you are asking God to do in you this upcoming year, I pray that you can feel His sweet spirit guiding you and His unmistakable presence surround you. My prayer is for you to be blessed and to know Him as much as you desire and to see Him move powerfully in your life.

<3 Heidi

Last night I was doing one of my most favorite things– reading my little brother a bed time story.  :) We usually read from his Veggie Tales Bible and he usually picks the same story but last night he picked a different one called, “Josh and the Big Wall”. It wasn’t until I started reading that I noticed that it was the story of the wall of Jericho. This was so significant to me because I am reading the book, “The Circle Maker” that talks about the wall of Jericho and drawing prayer circles around your dreams. I know God set this up. It’s one of those things that caught my attention and I looked up and smiled and said, ok I hear you Lord. Lol.
I have been asking God about a certain thing (blog post right before this one) and I have been drawing prayer circles around it with praise and expectancy. The Circle Maker talks about circling the “Jericho” in our lives. To keep circling those important requests in prayer and to keep praying through until we receive our answer. I have held on and believed Him for an answer and I have told God that no matter what the answer is, I will follow Him and trust Him to do what is best for me.
Look at what the end of the Bible story was, “Sometimes God asks us to do things that don’t make sense to us. But when we remember that God loves us and wants what is best for us, we can be sure that His way is the best way. We know that He will take care of us if we follow Him.” I have asked for Him to lead me and to give me wisdom and guidance. I really feel like He is doing just that. God you are so amazing!

As of last Monday, for the first time, I have taken my hands completely off of a prayer request and completely given it to God. It has brought me much joy because I have experienced God in a way that I have never felt Him before. It was a complete act of faith to step back with raised hands and say, “I trust you God”. I instantly felt Him involved and His sweet loving and powerful presence around me. Today marks one week that I have been in continuous prayer and praise.

This all started after I was unable to reach my mentor. (see previous blog post) Once I started to pray and talk to God, He led me to this beautiful place of faith. Thank you God for loving me enough to bring me here! I was getting absolutely nowhere on my own. I see now that when I try to do things on my own it does absolutely nothing for my faith and it doesn’t glorify The Father. I pray your will for my life God.  

When this prayer request is fulfilled, I want to be able to look back and know that only God could have orchestrated something so great. You are amazing God! I pray that you get all the glory. I give you my life and let you do what you will. Let your will be done. It’s not easy but I am so thankful for this experience because I have learned so much. <3

Hello Friends and Faithful Blog Readers :)
I want to thank you for all your encouragement and for reading. I am going to make a commitment to post something every week. I really want to make it a habit to be more consistent.
<3 Heidi

I wanted to add something to my previous post: Sometimes there are times when I feel like I need to talk to someone and I swear nobody answers their phone or nobody is available. Lol. That's when I get the message that I need to be talking to Him. Maybe there is a reason that I can't get a hold of anyone. Perhaps He knows that at that moment I need His influence above all else. I believe that He loves me that much and He always guides me in the right direction.

So recently I have been praying about something important and special to me. I would usually talk to my mentor about it but she has been out of town and unable to talk. This left me with a lot of thoughts in my head and things to ponder. It’s hard when I know the only one I can share certain things with is my mentor. But sometimes I think it’s a good thing when there is nobody to talk to because that is the time that I am positioned to talk to God. What I mean is that I usually pray and talk to Him but sometimes I catch myself turning to people first, before I turn to Him. When there is nobody to turn to, that’s when I remember to look up. I remember that My Creator is always there and cares about every part of my life – even the smallest detail. This was a great time for me to really pray and activate my faith. I know He hears me and truly cares about me and wants the absolute best for me. And while I was praying and really feeling like I was having a great conversation with God, He caused my mentor to send me a message on my phone. :) He knew I needed to hear from her. I will keep praying and believing as I wait in expectancy for His promises. <3

I am thankful to know that although we take vacations, God never does. I knew that He would teach me things even while I was in Europe. I felt like I had so much adventure and I got to see and experience things that I’ve only ever read about. The whole experience was special and I wouldn’t change any of it… well maybe I would’ve gone shopping more lol. But I feel like we made the most of it and the experience is priceless. The trip was so great and I would absolutely love to go again one day.

One thing that I brought back from my trip was courage in my heart that I didn’t have before. I feel so differently about life. Where I once was hesitant, I now want to go all in for God. It has brought me more enjoyment in life. I remember growing up thinking that I needed to do what I was told and what was expected of me. To be compliant, not to interrupt, don’t make mistakes, don’t disturb anyone. I remember knowing more of what I couldn’t do than what I could do. I wanted to please others for acceptance.  It got to be routine until I felt like I didn’t know who I was.  

But praise God that during the last couple of years, He has worked in me tremendously and I began to find my true identity in Him! And now thanks to this new courage, He causes me to be more grateful, take advantage of more opportunities, see the beauty in each day, and see the significance in the present moment. I am no longer a prisoner to my anxious thoughts of who I think I need to please or what others might think of me or what my future holds. When I live for Him and choose to be who God made me to be, I am free.

Hello Friends :) I have missed you guys and I thank you for asking about my blog and when I am going to post again. Some of you know that I have recently come back from a dream vacation to Europe! I love my God who can turn a dream into reality. I am so thankful that I got to go and I had a great time. I will post something this week.

I'm going to start off this entry with a little fact about myself - I like words. I like to know what they mean and I like to learn new words. I am one of those people that have to know what a word means before I can turn the page. Lol. Sometimes I will even look up a word that I already know just to learn more about that word.
One word that has sparked my interest is the word, “steward”.

I would always hear that God wanted me to be a good "steward" of my money. By definition a steward is a person who is in charge of another person’s finances. This really spoke to me when I first learned this. I thought, “Oh dear. If I am in charge of God’s money, then what am I doing with it?”
I knew I was supposed to be tithing (Malachi 3:10) but there was another scripture that also caught my attention: 1 Chronicles 29:14, “But me – who am I, and who are these my people, that we should presume to be giving something to you? Everything comes from you; all we’re doing is giving back what we’ve been given from your generous hand.” The Message.
 
So everything that I have originally came from His generous hand. I have because He first gave to me (John 3:16). I have to remind myself not to hold on so tightly to something that could be a blessing to others. 1Peter 4:10 says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” So whatever the gift is, whether it be an encouraging word, praying for others, money,… I can’t keep it in my heart or in my hand if it was meant to have a home in the heart or hand of another. <3

I was driving in to work a few weeks ago and I was listening to the radio when my heart just longed for God and I wanted to worship Him. I tried to convince myself that because I was listening to a Christian radio station that that was good enough. But my heart did not stop longing for Him so I turned the radio off and began to praise Him for all He has done for me and worship Him for the great God that He is.
As I was talking to God, it caused me to think about the way I converse with others while they are riding in the car with me. To be polite, I turn down the radio so that I can hear what they have to say. By turning down the noise, I let them know that I want to hear them and that their words are important. Just as my friends and family have things to say to me, God longs to speak to me as well. So even if its good noise that I have going on in the background, there are times when I need to turn it down in reverence for Him and listen to what He is trying to speak to my heart.

Hey Friends, more posts coming soon... :) Thank you for all your encouragement.

Hey guys,

I wanted to post about the gift I waited so long to open. I know some of you were wondering what it was. It was a Hand Held Professional Facial Cleaner with a Spin Brush. I have finally started using it! And it's a good thing it came with batteries or I might have waited even longer. Lol. I'm just being honest.

So I have a confession to make... Ready? Not too long ago I noticed that I had a small box on my dresser that was unopened. Here’s the confession – I got it for Christmas and I still hadn’t opened it! AND it was something I actually wanted! Lol. Guess what else? This was during the month of June! I know! It’s shameful isn’t it? I couldn’t believe that I had a gift waiting for me and all I had to do was reach out and take it out of the box. At that moment I wondered, how many spiritual gifts do we already have from God that lay unopened (unused)? The Bible says that we have gifts but are we using these beautiful, valuable, unique gifts that each one of us carries? (Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:8-11)

The other day I was on my way back to work after grabbing some lunch to take back to the office. One of my favorite songs came on the radio just when I needed to hear it. I said a small prayer in my head, "I hope I get to hear this whole song before I have to get out of the car”. Not very long after that small prayer, I got stopped at a red light. Then I noticed that the light was taking a while and I began to get into complaining mode of how long the light was taking. Then I realized…because I got stopped by the light and because the light was taking a while, I was able to listen to one of my favorite songs on the radio. My small prayer was answered but instead of enjoying it I started complaining and didn’t even realize what was happening. How many times have I prayed for something and then complained about a situation, not realizing that I was experiencing the answer to my own prayer? Thank you God for answering even the smallest prayer and for being good to me even when I don’t see it right away. <3