“God, I give you today!”
these are the words I’ve started praying every morning when I wake up. & let me tell you, it mades a WORLD of a difference!
Proverbs 16:16
“in their hearts humans plan their course,
but the Lord establishes their steps”
a worship song that I’ve been listening to & praying a lot recently is “i don’t wanna go” by Chris Renzema. I encourage you to listen to it!
“anywhere you are
I wanna be there
it’s written on my heart
you’re all I’ve ever needed
anywhere you go
I wanna be there
it’s written on my soul
you’re all I’ve ever needed
I don’t wanna go if you’re not going before me”
here’s a few stories & things I’ve learned from surrendering each day to the Lord 🙂
the first day I prayed this, we went to a Roma village to do kids ministry and it was one of THE most successful kids ministry we’d ever done! we were able to play some games w the kids, read them a Bible story, and I got to pray over 2 of the girls! it was so amazing bc I could see the desire they all had to learn more about the Lord. they were so engaged in everything we were saying, even though we awkwardly got in front of them and sang “every move I make.” & I could see the potential in the 2 girls I prayed for to just become huge huge leaders in their community and bring others to the Lord! I know that if they get discipled, lead, & encouraged, they have the opportunity to really make a difference and bring hope to their peers!
the next day, the car broke down that we used to get to the Roma villages so we ended up doing street evangelism! which is actually really funny bc I had been praying for an opportunity to try evangelism bc I hadn’t done it before! so I can attest to the fact that THE LORD HEARS YOUR PRAYERS 🙂 the first day of evangelism we just handed out flyers & put them in mailboxes at apartments (I was told that that was legal in Romania??). I was kind of disappointed bc I really wanted to be able to build relationships w the people here, not just pass out papers. I went to the Lord and asked for an opportunity to meet some teenagers from the area that I could minister to. and thennnnnn
the next day we ran into these middle school kids. it was super awkward at first bc we basically just cornered these kids in this ally next to their apartments, but they didn’t seem to think it was weird haha. we ended up doing karaoke (ed sheeran and justin bieber are international LEGENDS), doing tik tok dances (yeah you heard me), & showing off our wicked scooter skills (shoutout to bobo). It was so amazing bc we were able to build relationships w the kids there and invite them to church w us! we showed God’s love towards these kids & made some new Romanian pals!
that same day as we were walking back to the mission base, there was a dance/zumba thing happening in the big city square and some of us decided to join! it was super fun to goof around while getting a lil workout in too hehe. the group that was leading it even gave us free t shirts! woohoo! & after I met this group of high schoolers who were so so nice and all spoke really really good english! and thennnnnnn
my friend, Kate, and I ended up spending the entire afternoon w them the next day! they showed us this big park where we walked around, played w their dog, and were just able to talk! they were so easygoing and relaxed and another example of the Lord answering my prayers & giving me some Romanian friends to begin to minister to!
I realized how much I stand in the way of God when I do what I want to do. but I’m learning how to surrender and tell God He can do whatever HE wants to do in my life today.
*I also wrote another blog earlier about surrendering 🙂 https://maddiechase.theworldrace.org/post/surrender
this lesson the Lord has been teaching me goes along w the song “open space” by housefires. give it a listen! here’s a part of the chorus that I think speaks volumes.
“my heart is an open space
for you to come and take your place
I am open
I am open
my heart is an open space
for you to come and have your way
I am open
I am open”
here’s a few more random fun things I’ve either learned or done for the first time!
- eat oatmeal (it’s actually really good I like it :))
- share clothes w my super stylish squadmates
- give my insta out to my Romanian friends so we can keep in touch!
- danced in the middle of Craiova
- eat Kyle’s legendary fettuccine alfredo
- wear leggings under my pants bc it’s really that cold in the mornings
- found out another girl on my squad loves the movie surf’s up! chicken joe is everyone’s favorite
- play sharks & minnows in the middle of the city square
- talk to Jehovah’s witnesses about what they believe
- cooked lunch for the squad! we love a good salad w some chicken 🙂
I really hope these stories encourage all of you to give each day to the Lord & let Him freely guide you to wherever He wants you to go.
God is good!
Maddie Chase
