Just minutes from church on our first ministry day, some writing on a building caught my eye. It said “When God Says Yes, Nobody Can Say No”. It blew me away. Then when we got to church, one of the songs had the same words. And I realized how true that was.
Now, I know what you’re gonna say, the argument between free will and God’s sovereignty remains. And, yes, we do have the ability to say no when God says yes. But why would we want to?
When God first said “yes” to me doing the Race, I said a loud & resounding “no!” Three times I said, “that’s great God, but no thanks!” But my heart was open to God. My desire was to follow Him and so, He got me there. He got me to the point where I could say “yes”. There are still days that I struggle with wanting to be home with my family and friends, but I know that I’m exactly where God wants me. So I will continue to fight the flesh (with His strength) and say “yes”.
And can I tell you what happens when you say “yes” to God? Oh heavens, it’s beautiful. Well, some parts are tough. Some days are hard. Some things stretch you til you feel you’ll break. But guess what else? God works. God redeems dreams you’ve had and given up on. God makes dreams that you didn’t even realize you’d had come true. I know this is a seemingly unimportant thing, but God redeemed my dream of making it to Italy. Important to expanding the Kingdom? Eh. But it’s so cool because I had given up on that dream years ago. I always dreamed of it, but just accepted that it was never going to happen. But He redeemed it. I had 12 beautiful hours in Rome. 12 hours that I’ll never forget. 12 hours that will make me rethink complaining on our upcoming travel days. 12 hours that showed just how much my Father loves me.
At the beginning of the Race, I told my previous team that I had big dreams for an a cappella group. This was a laugh and someone said, “uh, yea right”. It’s not for everyone, I know. But the first time we set foot in church in Zambia, God redeemed that dream. We were asked to sing a song on the way to church (10 minutes to plan, no practice) and *BAM* dream redeemed.
My biggest dream of all has been to be a mom. Last month in Albania, I got to be (one of many) mom(s) to a newborn pup named Tucker. Seemingly unimportant again, I know, but it’s just so cool to see how God uses those dreams to 1. Show us that He loves us enough to give us good things and 2. grow and shape us to look more like Him.
So just know that when God says “yes” and you say “yes” to Him, He’s going to do beautiful things. He’s going to do things you may not understand. He’s going to get you through things that you wished you didn’t have to face. He’s going to stretch you further than you thought you could be stretched. But most importantly, He’s going to be glorified.
What does He want you to say “yes” to today? (Do it! It’s worth it!)
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Fundraising update: July 1st is coming up fast! I still need about $3,500. If you would like to fill a need and give, you can do so by clicking on “Support Me” on the top left or top of this page. As much as I miss family and friends, I am not ready to go home. I know that God’s plans for me here. Any gift is tax deductible and a huge blessing!
If you would like to support me in prayer, please continue to pray for God’s provision. Pray for open hearts of people we meet. Pray that we would seek Him for what to say. Pray that we be a good example of Christ’s love to each other and to those we meet!
I love you guys!
