1. FOMO (fear of missing out) can mess up your walk with God. I am a social butterfly. I love love love being around people. A serious extrovert to say the least. With that comes me wanting to go and do everything, I never want to miss out on anything. I have learned that being in constant community means that there is ALWAYS something going on. A movie, a card game, a dance party… at all times! Being around people is the way I refuel. I am slowly learning that fuel from people lasts much shorter than fuel from Jesus. I am having to teach myself that it is okay for me to go to bed at 8am, even if people are still awake doing things (sounds silly but its true) and that I have to make time to refuel from the Lord in my day. I am really good at doing our squad devotion in the morning and making that my “refueling time” but time with the Lord shouldn’t be an hour in the morning or an hour in the afternoon, it should be at all times. Continuously pray, continuously talk to the lord. I have told my team to hold me accountable with my time with the lord and to tell me that I don’t need to just go go go. Here’s to getting to know my Father better and deeper.
2. If you think you can’t hear the Lord, it’s the absence of your hearing not the absence of His voice. We do “ATL” some days which is “Ask The Lord”. That basically means we talk to the Lord and whatever he gives us, we do or say or find. Some examples from my team one week were (the word rejoice, image of a bowl, the color red). This is something I have STRUGGLED with. Every time we come together I never have anything to say from the Lord. It was hard for me to understand how me, the girl who has been a christian her whole life isn’t hearing anything but some of my teammates who are newer believers are getting all these clear pictures. Come to find out it wasn’t God’s fault (duh). It was mine. I didn’t have enough trust that what I heard or saw when we did ATL was God. I just convinced myself that it was my own voice every time. Its funny because I have no trouble trusting strangers like the men who drive us around town on public transportation or the people that let us in their homes yet I can’t even trust that my Heavenly Father is talking to me. I think we do that a lot, I think we are so used to thinking me me me that we totally miss the voice of the Father. This past Thursday we did an exercise to show how the Lord is always speaking. We had to pair up with someone that we didn’t really know on the squad, ask the Lord a question about them, and share the answer He gave. I paired up with Makayla and we both shared what God gave us for each other. She asks me if I had sisters and I said yes. Then she goes on to tell me that God wanted me to know that He has his hand on them and that they were totally okay. I was in shock, this girl barely knew me. The Lord spoke to me in that very moment and just told me “See? All you have to do is listen, I’m always talking” UGH so powerful. Thankful for a God that chases after me every. single. day!!
- How to celebrate! Something I have gradually discovered throughout this last month is that I am good at searching for something to be wrong. I know that sounds weird but let me explain. You know during sermons how lots of them are centered around something we struggle with? I have this weird thing where I can sit there and convince myself that what the speaker is talking about is something I deal with, when it is soo far from the truth. I have been so blessed with a life that has of course has its bumps in the road, but really not that much hardship. I have somehow fallen into this mindset that if I am not dealing with hardship I am not growing and that people will think I am stagnant with the Lord if everything is good. That lie is a huge one from the enemy and one that I refuse to let myself believe anymore. Things can be good! We can grow even when we aren’t going through something hard! There are seasons that are made to rejoice and celebrate! I am finally acknowledging the fact that I am in one and praise the Lord for it! I am learning that if we are all talking about our burdens in a circle, I will still contribute to the team if I say I am in a season of celebration. Here’s to rejoicing and loving my testimony full of blessings!
4. Rededication is okay! I was baptized when I was five years old and I remember it like it was yesterday. I never ever considered getting baptized again because the first time counted so much for me. As much as I did understand when I was five, I can confidently say now that I didn’t have a personal relationship with the Lord until I was about 15. On Thursday we had open baptisms after activation and about 6 people in one girl from my squad went up and basically said how she was baptized at a young age and remembered it vividly but that she wanted to become brand new for good. My stomach literally turned upside down. The Lord was like “YOU need to do that” and I was like “nooooo way Lord, one time is enough, plus I am wearing jeans and a jacket” LOL. (Love how I thought that would stop Him) so I didn’t go up. Gabe ended it but said “okay there are people who did not come up but need to so I am leaving the tub out for 24 hours.“ I could not even eat. I felt soo convicted. That tub literally STARED at me. On the way to our village I was being so stubborn with the Lord. I told Him, “I am not doing that unless one of my team members is too” (thinking for some reason that would not happen). We get to the village and Lex ends up being moved to share her testimony and at the end she says she wants to get baptized. I was like ARE YOU SERIOUS LORD. So I broke down and told my team how I felt the Lord telling me I need to be made bread new for good and to stop putting other peoples opinions higher than His. Long story short, I listened, I got baptized, it was a sweet day. How cool is it that we all get to be made brand new through the Lord?!
Here’s to refueling with the Lord, tuning into Him, rejoicing, and being made brand new!!
If you read this whole thing, thank you! I cannot believe I have lived in Guatemala for a MONTH!
Blog ya later,
Bay
