And this good news comes in two parts! So, I am going to save the best for last!
The first part of this good news is that I know (I am almost positive, as we know things do change) my new World Race Route! As far as I know, I will be going on the July 2014 Route 3!
The countries will be (drumroll please!) Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Swaziland, Botswana, South Africa.
For more information go here http://www.worldrace.org/?tab=routes&subtab=july-2014-3 to read all about it!
Still three continents and three of the same countries I was going to on my previous route.
I am excited to meet my team members and have 6 more months to plan and prepare. I am excited for all God has in store for me now and then. I am just EXCITED!
The 2nd part of this good news train is…
Today I am writing from a FULL HEART and a place of THANKFULNESS.
Thankful for all who continually give to my mission trip. Thankful for all who are praying for me, thinking of me, and asking me how everything is coming together. I am thankful for my family and friends who continually encourage me and truly love me. I am thankful for ALL the support I find in MANY, MANY ways.
This weekend I was able to spend time with friends since high school. We are all still super close even though we live in different cities and have very different lives. I felt my heart just fill up with love seeing our love for each other and watch it being expressed. Friends that aren't afraid to tell you what they think about you… and what is being said is all the good qualities you possess. It is like we can't see each others' flaws… but we are not ignorant, we do know they exist. And we actually do experience them from time to time when our personalities and opinions clash and we aren't our best selves. But when we think of each other, we think of each other as WHO we are, not what we do… our qualities, our values, our hearts… and THAT is beautiful…to be seen in your best light and seeing each other in their best light.
I guess that really IS what relationships are about… unconditional love as humanly possible.
It is a blessing to experience that kind of love through people on this earth. I am thankful.
And this reminds me of the most perfect love. God's love. The REAL unconditional kind.
The last few weeks at Passion City, Louie Giglio has been asking us, "Who Do You Think You Are?" Because however we answer that question is going to determine how we live out our lives. Whatever you think is true about you is going to dictate how you live your life. So If I get the answer right to "Who am I?" then I will be on the right path of decision making and becoming Who I REALLY AM.
A lot of us, including myself, answer this question based on who people say we are. Who our ex, or parents, or friends, or enemies, or the devil says we are. Or who we think we are based on our past, our shame, our disappointments, how people have treated us, or by what has happened to us in our life. And if who we think we are is not good enough, not worth what we really want, not smart enough, pretty enough, strong enough… etc, etc, etc… how we live our lives will not reflect WHO WE REALLY ARE.
WHO WE REALLY ARE is all that God says we are. There are many places in the Bible that tells us who God says we are. But one that stood out to me in all of the Bible and in the last weeks is, YOU ARE CHOSEN.
"For he chose us in Him before the creation of the world…" He CHOSE us. BEFORE He created the World. That is BIG to me. BIG. No matter who hasn't chosen you in your life… who doesn't want you in their life, who once chose you then decided they didn't want you anymore, who didn't fight for you, who thought they could do better than you… wherever this comes to you today… YOU were CHOSEN before this WORLD was CREATED.
The last of the verse says, …"to be holy and blameless in His sight."
Do not confuse this as you are supposed to be perfect. We all know that isn't happening. That is impossible. That doesn't mean, here is a list of all the things you can't do to be holy and blameless. Or here is all the things you need to do to be holy and blameless. It actually means, before God created the world, He chose us to be holy and blameless… but that could only happen through ONE person, Jesus Christ. God knew before He created the world that he would have to send down his blameless, pure, and perfect son to die for all of our sins, so that we could be blameless and holy in his sight. Without Christ, it wouldn't be possible.
And once we realize that no matter what we have done, who we have been, who people have told us that we are, what our past tells us who we are, who hasn't chosen us so we think we are who we are, and we are left thinking who we are isn't much, isn't worth it, isn't all that great… GOD said He CHOSE YOU before the CREATION of the WORLD… despite ALL of your sin, shame, or what anyone else SAYS of you. HE.CHOSE.YOU.
When you (and me) realize that… You (and me) will start believing Who You Are is a LOT more than you ONCE thought… and then your thinking changes… your actions change…. and WHO YOU ARE CHANGES TO WHO YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN. CHOSEN. JUST THE WAY YOU ARE. And you will stop seeking to be chosen by anyone else… I will stop seeking to be chosen by anyone else. But I will start choosing myself too.
I saw a quote last night that said, "I don't have a soul. I am a soul, I have a body." And this is so true. We are not our bodies. Our bodies are often reflections of our souls. When we feel chosen, our thoughts will think chosen thoughts, and our actions will reflect chosen thoughts. We won't live in a place of sadness, of unworthiness, of not good enough, or shame. We will live out a life of knowing we are chosen. We will respect our bodies, our heart, our minds… And I am all about that process. I know that truly KNOWING AND ACCEPTING that I am chosen will be a daily reminder, "Whitney, YOU ARE CHOSEN. YOU ARE ENOUGH. YOU ARE LOVED." You don't need to do all the things you do to feel chosen, enough, and loved. You already are.
This may not be BIG for you. You may already feel chosen, loved, and enough EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. of your life. And if you do, I am so thankful for this for you! But I also think you are a rarity. I know we don't all run around screaming from the rooftops that we feel one way or the other, chosen or not, but I do think a lot of people hide the feeling of not feeling chosen. I mean, I'm not someone who sits alone in my room crying myself to sleep every night with no friends or hope for the future. I love life, I am passionate about most things, depending on what kick I am on at the moment… I LOVE PEOPLE… and I do think I love myself… but I have never FELT chosen, worthy, good enough… and no one would know it until I wrote it out right now… I was born with this innate confidence… and you can see it from the first time you meet me, when I walk in a room, the loudness in my voice and laugh. (This is all what I have been told. I don't see any of this as I can't see myself talk, laugh or walk into a room.) So when I share my insecurities with friends they are baffled that Whitney would NOT feel good enough, chosen, worthy, loved…
And sometimes I wonder WHY I don't… I mean I have a great group of friends and family who, like I said earlier, love me and aren't afraid of showing or telling me… but maybe that is the point… we have this hole in our heart that only Jesus can fill… not our friends, family, boyfriend, girlfriend, future husband or wife… but the person who died for us so that we could be "blameless and holy"… CHOSEN.
So today the good news is YOU. ARE. CHOSEN. And not just by ANYONE. By the Creator of the Universe. The perfect Father. King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Emmanuel, God with us. And I hope today you not only read this, believe this, but accept this, and live this.
I know Carrie Bradshaw isn't the most likely source for truth of God's Word. But she did get this right, "Maybe the past is like an anchor holding us back. Maybe, you have to let go of who you were to become who you will be."
Let go of who you thought you were and become who you are… CHOSEN.
To watch Louie Giglio's current series, WORD, follow this link!!! http://www.passioncitychurch.com/watch
ALL MY LOVE!
XOXOXO
Whitney
