Sweet Summertime

So it's been pretty busy around here...

2 weeks ago there was a road trip to Virginia. 18 hours in a car was totally worth it to be able to spend time with family, go to lots of picnics, and take a ride on this beauty...

We experienced a 2-hour tour on The Alliance sail boat, thanks to a friendly church group who had extra tickets! 

Next it was a trip to Lancaster to visit the Leaman Family for Ben's birthday festivities! It was a much needed break and as always lots of fun.

So while I've been busy with all of these adventures, meeting with people, and making phone calls, God has been pretty busy too. Through this process I've really been learning to trust that the Lord will provide. He'll provide me with ministry partners, with people to pray for me, with appointments. I've also been learning that there is only so much I can do and then I have to let God take over. I only have the ability and the power to do so much and I have to trust that God will do the rest.

As we have reached the halfway point it is scary to think that we only have a little over a month left. There are still lots of people I have yet to hear back from and lots of people still to meet with. However it has been incredibly exhilarating to think about making it to the finish line, because if and when I do, it will truly be a miracle only God will have accomplished. I have also been incredibly blessed by the people who have already joined my team. How cool to see the names and realize that way before they even came into my life, God had a plan to create these friendships that have been simply a blessing.

June Bug(s)

So it is officially summer in Pittsburgh and it is HOT! Not only have I been fighting off the invasion of stinkbugs (okay - Ben actually does this because I refuse to touch them) but I've also been putting off turning on the air conditioning. In an attempt to save $$ I am trying to get used to the heat since Laura and I won't have air in our new apartment!

I must say, Pittsburgh is also really growing on me. With less students and more sunshine I am really enjoying life in the city. One of my new favorite things is movie night! The Pittsburgh parks show free movies twice a week during the summer and last night was the first! With blanket and popcorn in hand we hiked up to Flagstaff Hill and watched the original Batman as the sun set over Oakland. We will definitely be doing more outdoor movie watching this summer!

Along with the summer heat coming into town God has really been present this week. I had a good amount of support come in and have been really encouraged by the responses from others. This process is a lot more difficult and trying of my faith than I expected - but August is when all the fun starts! This weekend I am off to Virginia to visit family and hopefully snag a few appointments while I'm there. Be praying for safe travels and that God would continue to send Ministry Partners my way!

Back Where I Belong

I've been reading Donald Miller's Book - Searching For God Knows What and while reading today, one particular passage stuck out. This idea of success and identity that Miller talks about perfectly describes something I've been learning through this support raising process.

"Some of us are athletes and others of us are physicists, and some of us are good-looking and some of us are rich, and we all are running around, in a way, trying to get a bunch of people to clap for us, trying to get a bunch of people to say we are normal, we are healthy, we are good. And there is nothing wrong with being beautiful or being athletic or being smart, but those are some of the pleasures of life, not life's redemption. In this sense, as harsh as some of Jesus' words are, they are also beautiful and comforting. No more worrying about what an audience thinks, no more trying to elbow our way to the top. We have Him instead, a God who redeems our identity for us, giving us His righteousness."

The day I graduated from college, I looked around at my peers - people going on to graduate school, future doctors, teachers, lawyers - and I said to myself "they are successful." I often compared myself to these people, allowing the competitive nature in me to surface.

Even today I still think about my friends who went on to be successful and brilliant and here I am asking people for money - how humbling.

How humbling it is to be completely dependent on God to provide for my needs. How scary it is to take a risk for the sake of glorifying the one who took a risk for me! How awesome it is to being doing something completely out of my comfort zone!

Miller reminds me that my success is not defined by a job or a status, but by living the life that God intended for me. Although I doubt it some days, I truly believe that this is the place that God wants me to be for now. I feel confident that He will not let go of me and that I cannot fail as long as I hold onto Him.

I am so excited to continue this adventure and cannot wait to see who God has to join me as ministry partners!