Don’t Settle for a Watery Milkshake

This past summer I went to Africa on a missions trip. At the end of the trip we went to one of the largest lakes in the area for our debriefing. The place where we stayed was gorgeous! There was a large pool that overlooked the muddy, yet beautiful, African water. I spent most of my free time around the pool.

After swimming one afternoon me and one of the other girls, Amanda, counted up our burr and got a milkshake to sip on as we soaked up the sun. After a month of fried, cafeteria food, a milkshake sounded amazing. I couldn’t wait to take that first sip and feel the cold sweetness rush down my throat.

As soon as Amanda came back, vanilla milkshake in hand, we shoved our straws in and took a long sip. And then we looked at each other. Um, this was not a milkshake. This was not Sonic worthy. This was not even McDonalds worthy. It was a milky drink.

But we drank it anyways because our senses were out of whack. After a month in a foreign country, anything tasted good. Even a watery milkshake.

As Christians, our senses often get out of whack. We’re supposed to be in the world, not of it. But that’s hard to do and sometimes the world rubs off on us. Sometimes, we refuse to settle for the best. It’s impossible to find a Godly guy, so why not just date the guy at your school who doesn’t respect you? Why not make your own plans now, instead of waiting for what seems like forever for God to reveal His plans? Why not invest on things now, instead of storing up treasure in Heaven?

Take a look at your heart. The world’s best looks appealing and it might even feel good, but God knows what’s really best. Don’t settles for the world’s best; wait for God’s best.

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” -Romans 12:2, The Message

Envelope Challenge

This past summer I went on a missions trip to Ethiopia with MK2MK, a program by Campus Crusade for Christ designed to encourage and equip missionary kids. At the end of the trip everyone was given a sealed envelope and fifteen minutes to pray. Inside the envelope was a challenge and if you felt led to open the envelope, you had to complete the challenge. I chose to open the envelope and I got the challenge of hosting a 24 hour prayer marathon. Here is the story of my challenge:

This summer I went on a missions trip to Ethiopia. At the end of the trip everyone was given the choice to take a mystery challenge back home. If we chose to take the challenge, we were committing to not only doing the challenge, but doing it before Christmas. After praying about it, I decided to take the challenge that lay under my seat sealed in an envelope. I slowly opened it and inside were the words, “24 Hour Prayer Marathon”. At first, I was a tad disappointed. Compared to others, my challenge seemed a little boring and “too” easy. But the more I thought about it, the more excited I got. I loved the thought of people praying for 24 hours straight!

I went back home, excited and motivated but time flew by and before I knew it, it was December and I hadn’t done my challenge yet. Since I live in Italy and there are not too many people here, I decided to host the event on Facebook so that anyone, anywhere could pray. I decided the topic was going to be Italy so I found Bible verses, songs, and topics relating to Italy’s needs and created a Facebook event. I was nervous because it was a week and a half before Christmas and I knew everyone would be so busy. I just kept reminding myself that I’d done my part and I couldn’t do anything else; it was in God’s hands.

God definitely blessed my efforts and I had around forty people commit to pray! It was so encouraging to know all the prayers that were said for the country I’ve grown to love. It was a great experience in learning to trust God! I loved that MK2MK offered this opportunity to help me stretch my faith. I’m so glad I took the challenge.

Like I mentioned above, I’m so glad I decided to take the challenge! I encourage you to take your own envelope challenge. Click on this link to choose a challenge. If you decide to “open the envelope” e-mail me and let me know!

 

So Beautiful

“I will!” As soon as the words were out of my mouth I regretted them. We were all huddled around the bus hugging our arms to our bodies to keep warm in the damp morning air. Everyone looked relieved that I had spoken first. The leader smiled his appreciation and went off to talk to someone about the whereabouts of our bus driver. My heart pounded, what had I got myself into? I had just agreed to give my testimony at an orphanage on the first week of my missions trip to Ethiopia. I had never given my testimony before and now I had just volunteered to give it in front of a large group. Yikes.

We all clamored on the bus and set off for AHope Orphanage. There are many orphanages in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, but this one was different because every child there has AIDS and will probably die. We had no idea what we were doing. Maybe we’d teach them English, maybe we’d sing songs, or maybe we’d just play. We were there to do whatever they wanted. Whatever would bring them joy.

The bus turned into a muddy ally and a few minutes later we stopped in front of a blue gate. My stomach flipped. I had already been to two orphanages in the few days I’d been in Ethiopia and I didn’t like them. I was never sure what to do or what to say to the kids. They made me uncomfortable. But this was different. We walked into a large open area with brightly painted walls that shone from the bright sunshine overhead. All the children had smiles on their faces, eagerly waiting to play with us.

I pushed my fears in the back of head and smiled. Soon the courtyard was filled with laughter as all the boys played soccer and kids ran around with our cameras in hand, taking as many pictures as they could. I walked around taking pictures and trying to talk with the kids, but most of them barely spoke any English, so I stood unsure what to do. Finally, I walked over to a group of girls in the corner. Apparently it was wash-and-braid-your-hair-day. They were crowded around one of the leaders, eagerly braiding her hair. I smiled at the sweet sight. One of the girls noticed me watching and motioned me to come sit down. I went over to her and before I knew it she was braiding my hair. It hurt like crazy, but it was worth it. After ten minutes of excruciating pain the girl stepped back and nodded her head in content. She took my camera and took a picture to show me her work. When I saw the picture I felt all bubbly inside; I looked just like them (minus the bright blonde hair)! As I looked up to thank her I caught the eye of one of the leaders; it was time.

We rounded up all the kids and went inside a small, dim room with a tv set playing Toy Story 3 and lots of drawing done by the kids. As I took my place at the front of the room I felt at peace. The lyrics to a song ran through my head. “So tell me, what is our ending? Will it be beautiful, so beautiful?” I wondered how the lives of these children would end. I prayed a quick prayer and waited for everyone to quiet down.  My legs were shaking and I looked nervous (as one of the orphans later told me…), but on the inside I was at peace. Thankfully, I had a translator so I didn’t have to worry about them understanding me. I slowly began to talk, explaining about how God has always been there for me and how’s He always takes away my fears. Everyone sat quietly, listening and, hopefully, taking my words to heart.

After I had finished, I sat down. I was finished. I had done it. And God had been with me the whole time. As we drove away from the orphanage I watched them slowly close the gate, straining to see a few last glimpses of the children inside. The bus started to drive away. I closed my eyes, a smile resting on my face. I would never forget that day. It was beautiful.

 

Worthy of the Gospel

{photo credit: Sharon Whelchel}

In Philippians 1:27 Paul begins the verse by saying, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…” Be worthy of the Gospel of Christ. You’ve probably heard the Gospel at least fifty times or maybe even more. Personally, it’s hard for me to really appreciate and respect it because well, I’ve heard it so many times. As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes it even gets a little boring to read it. Though I imagine I’m not the only one who feels that way.

This summer I went on a missions trip to Africa and one night our team split up to into three smaller teams to show the Jesus film in the countryside. It was a great experience, but it didn’t really hit me how important it was that these Africans had just heard the Gospel for the first time. Then I realized that most of them probably didn’t know the ending. I have parts of the Jesus film memorized and of course I know how the movie ends, but most people don’t know what happens. When they see Jesus dying for them on the cross they don’t know He’s going to rise again. All they know is that Someone loves them enough that they would die for them, ending their own life for the start of theirs. It’s new and exciting, but more importantly it’s a cure to their hopeless world.

Every once in a while I think we all need to sit back and really think about the Gospel. It isn’t just an old story, it’s a beautiful love story. But often we forget that, often we don’t live lives worthy of the Gospel, worthy of Someone dying for us.

Paul ends the verse by saying, “…so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel.” Your life was changed because of Jesus dying on the cross. Live a life that’s worthy of His sacrifice for you and stand firm with your fellow Christians to make the Gospel known. Live a life worthy of the Gospel.

I actually wrote this post a while ago and forgot to publish it so I want to add a few notes. Since I wrote this post I’ve read the book of John, so part of the Gospel. I wasn’t too excited about reading it but I figured, why not? Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down! There were so many verses and concepts I had never noticed before. So I encourage you to give the Gospel a second chance. See how it applies to your life. Let God’s love story to us overwhelm you. You won’t be disappointed!

More Significant

Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Count others more significant than yourself. In our world today everything is focused on ourselves. How can we make ourselves look better? What can we buy for ourselves? How can we make more money? How can we make ourselves more comfortable? Not often is it, how can we make her feel better?

Jesus came down to earth not as a dictator or as a demanding king, but as a humble servant. John 13:12-14 says, “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” This summer I went to Ethiopia on a missions trip along with other mks. One day my small group went for a prayer walk and me and one of the other girls accidentally stepped in a foot of sewage. It was so disgusting and stinky! Though embarrassed we went to one of the many shoe-cleaners on the side of the road. Undaunted, they quickly took off our shoes and proceeded to not only clean our shoes but wash our feet! And all for about 10 cents. Can you imagine if that was your job? What if you spent your whole life cleaning other peoples’ feet? Yet that’s what Jesus did. He cleaned peoples’ feet. He talked to lepers. He touched beggars. He dined with the scum of society. And that’s what He’s calling you to do. Now you don’t have to literally go wash someone’s feet, but instead of always thinking of yourself, try thinking about others. Count others more significant than yourself.