I haven’t posted a final blog after the Philippines. At first things were hectic and crazy and then things were calm and collected. Things quickly picked up speed and I felt my mind processing a million things all at one time. This will be my blog wrapping up my season Semester Leading for the most passionate and strong hearted women ever.
It was hard. I honestly had every excuse in the book to let me fail, but because I had Jesus on my side, this past season was indeed hard… but WORTH IT.
I didn’t have a co-leader, communication was hard at times, and the load was heavy. Through it all Jesus taught me the most amazing gift I could have ever received… the gift of LETTING GO.
Letting go of my wants.
Letting go of my ideas.
Letting go of my ways.
Letting go of the things I desperately wanted to control.
Letting go of the details.
Letting go of the big pictures.
Letting go and knowing that God truly is all we need. Nothing more. Nothing less.
I truly had to learn how to depend on the Lord most of all and my faith grew to new heights. It was hard. It was crazy. It was so beautiful to watch the Lord always win in the end no matter how much I tried with my own efforts.
I learned what it looked like to lead with a heart posture of empowerment and encouragement, and that is the most fulfilling experience ever. Getting to hold a mirror up to people and show them the AMAZING gifts they carry and then pushing them into the spotlight to SHINE is such a beautiful thing to watch.
I loved getting to watch these amazing women evolve, grow, dream, strive, burst the boxes they put Jesus in before, push into the hard things, SAY YES to the Lord, and truly live every day as if every day was their last. They loved radically and pursued hard. I am the proudest of them.
The Lord allowed us to preach in prisons, feed the hungry, minister to the communities surrounding us, pour love into broken down women, sing and dance with the kiddos, and LOVE SO RADICALLY.
We prayed for the sick, praised till we dropped, danced in the rain, leaned into each other, and together created radical change in each other and the people around us.
Not going to lie, this was an amazing journey… but it was hard at times too. Community is hard and the enemy is a tiny little idiot that likes to shove his face in goodness… but the Lord always won. I am so thankful for each and every girl that was placed on that team for a different reason. Each carrying specific gifts and each carrying a special anointing. I love them.
It was the biggest blessing to have the opportunity to pour out into them and get such a beautiful look into the journey the Lord took them on and is STILL taking them on! But they taught me so much too… more than they will ever know. I am blessed the Lord chose me for them for that season and I am blessed the Lord chose them for me too.
I am in awe of the GOODNESS the Lord continually flows without slowing down.
As I started my journey home it really occurred to me that home is different for me now. People always say “home is where the heart is” and I sincerely believe that now. After traveling the world on mission for the past few years “home” is wherever my heart is. Where the Lord gives me peace, that’s where I feel the most at home.
It’s been hard this time around transitioning into a new season in NE but the weirdest part of it all is my heart truly feels peace where the Lord places me as long and I feel the Lord is calling me there. I felt at home in the Philippines and now I feel at home here in NE too. I’ve learned to take the pressure off and to just let some things BE. Not everything has to be over thought. I am thankful the Lord has given me a willing heart and an open heart to the lands he has called me too. It’s a blessing I receive and a blessing I don’t have to struggle to understand.
Being back in NE has been a joy with friends, family, new adventures, and a million laughs. Peace has filled my heart knowing the Lord has blessed me with a community of believers that rally around me and support me unlike any other. Truly something I never want to take for granted.
THANK YOU for supporting me and believing with me in the calling God has put on my life. Truly couldn’t do it without you all.
As I wrap up this blog I just want to say a prayer over this last season in the Philippines…
Dear God, thank you for your endless love and grace upon me. As I fail you always pick me up again. God thank you for the opportunities you have called me into and thank you for the love you have showered. God thank you for each and every girl on my Philippines team and for the gifts you used within them. I release that season up to you and I thank you for the joy and lessons it gave me. I pray continued healing in the people we prayed for, continued blessings over the City of Tacloban, continued miracles in that prison, continued revival in the women we poured into, continued growth within the ministry of KIM, and continued breakthrough in our team even after we have dispersed. I pray Freedom. I pray Joy. I pray the unthinkable. God I say thank you and I say thank you again. In your powerful name, AMEN.
Keep your eyes on the lookout for an announcement coming soon… the Lord is stirring up some pretty cool things I am excited to announce soon!
