Hey God! It's Me...I'm listening.

It has been two weeks and 5 days since we returned from Ethiopia. I have been waiting for the perfect time to sit down and write and reflect on what we experienced. I am slowly but surely processing those 10 days that I was in Ethiopia...the 10 days that I have felt the closest to God ever than before.

First of all, thank you to the prayer warriors and supporters who were our angels along the way lifting us up! I truly felt your love. Also, thank you to the people who ever so faithfully read the blog while we were there. If you missed it, you can still read about our journey day by day- The Forasken Children.

Here is what I am processing now. The hardest part about the trip was returning home and being filled with a new love, a new desire, and new spark, and so eager to share with those around. But it wasn't the same. If you have ever been on a mission trip, you might can understand where I am going with this. You try to share and you try to explain what you just witnessed, what you just experienced, and how God moved in you, but there are just no perfect words. No one truly understands, unless they actually experienced it themselves. It is kind of cool though, it is like God and you have this connection and it's like a little light that burns in your heart....you want to let it shine so bright for everyone to see, but the things of this world blinds those around you from seeing it. But it is not anyone's fault...it is just one of those things "you have to see it to believe it!"

 People ask me, why did you choose Ethiopia? What made you want to go there? That is a question that I have not been able to answer either. I have no clue why I chose to go there over somewhere else. I remember explaining one time on our trip that God often reveals things that He is trying to teach to me much later than anticipated. He always shows up when I least expect it...So still trying to process the trip, I was laying out in the sun the other day reading my Bible. I opened up to Ephesians and began reading it. Ephesians 3:19 says, "May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully." Keep that verse in mind as you read on. The greatest thing that stuck out in my mind about the people of Ethiopia is that they showed the love of Christ far more and far greater than I have ever seen before....that is one thing that was certain and it has stuck with me ever since. The thought of their kind spirits and humbleness has been etched in my mind and heart forever. As I was reading the book of Ephesians the other day, God revealed to me a small piece of what He has been trying to teach me all along. "May you experience the love of Christ" (that is completely what I experienced on this trip---more than I ever have in my life! )"Though it is too great to understand fully."(God gently taught me...Jane! You are never going to fully understand my love for you...That's why you are human and I am God!) I imagine that God was chuckling at the fact that I just now realized He is fully in control and I will never understand everything. So maybe I am never going to understand why I went to Ethiopia or why God chose to send me there. But one thing is certain, I experienced the LOVE of Christ! Praise God for that!

I have so much to share, I could write a novel...no, really I could. I am sure there will be another blog or two or three about Ethiopia. One last thing I will say is that we were supposed to go to Ethiopia and share about Christ and to love on the children....well we did that for certain! But I was surprised when I realized those children loved on me more than I have ever been loved on by a child before and they taught me about Christ more than I have ever been taught about Christ in my whole life.

What Is To Come...

Our team is leaving tomorrow for Ethiopia...well first we will fly to D.C. then we will be leaving Friday afternoon for Ethiopia. Nonetheless, I have been reflecting on how I have seen God.

I have always wanted to go on a "mission trip." I finally felt like I was in a "good" spot in my life to go on a trip. Whatever that means right? That was my thought before preparing for this trip. Now I see that it was really God's will for me, it had nothing to do with me and my choice. 

We have a super team of 11 people going on our trip. I look forward to seeing how God will use each of us. One thing that led me to going to Ethiopia, was a sweet friend that I work with...Nicci or aka "Feathers." She had gone twice last year and was "on fire!" for Ethiopia. Her passion got me wondering all about it. So here I am today packing for my trip reflecting on how I have already seen God move in me.

We haven't even left yet and God has already used me and has changed my heart. My outlook on life has shifted greatly...I am more able to see this world through the lens of faith and I am just here to serve God for this short life. As a "first time missionary" I believe a huge part of this journey is what God does to prepare you for the trip. One of the greatest things I have seen is how He places certain people in your life just in the right timing, just when you need them, just when they need you, and it can only be explained as a "God thing." 

People keep asking questions like "Are you excited?" "Are you nervous?" 

To answer those,  YES I AM SO EXCITED! No I am not afraid or nervous. 

The best way to explain this experience in going in to this is I feel like a child going to Kindergarten for the first time. I know it is going to be a good thing, I know I am going to be learning something, I know I will be working, I know I will have friends with me, and I know my heavenly father- my "daddy" has instructed me to do this. 

But, I do not know what to expect, I don't know that it will look like, I do not know what will happen, and I do not understand in full capacity what is to come. The ONLY thing I know to do is rely on Christ.  I feel like a child....John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed His name, He gave the right to become children of God." I finally understand this verse.

One of the verses that we have talked about in preparing for this trip is Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." 

Just thinking about this verse brings peace to my soul and joy to my heart for the coming days. 

I am not one of many words, but what I can say is that it is hard to truly enjoy the life that you have been blessed with until you can fully see God's purpose for you in this life and attempt to live it. I am growing in my spiritual journey each day and I can't say I have it all figured out and I know I never will but I can rely on Christ's unfailing love and forgiveness for my sinful self. 

So for prayers in the next coming days....could you please pray for safety for our team, unity for our team, and that God's Will be done for us and the people we encounter on this journey?

If you would like to follow us on our trip, Candice and I will be blogging....

http://theforsakenchildren.org/blog/

Check this website for updates....

See you later...

Block Party

Chris and I are part of a wonderful "Sunday School" class at Central. It is called Page 23. We are a young marrieds class....that is the best way to describe it. Our class is very giving and eager to serve the Lord and we love that about our class. It makes us feel good about being a part of such a wonderful group of people all connected by Christ. I really think our marriage has been strengthened through our experiences and interactions with our "Sunday School" group. Well...I am writing to share about something REALLY AMAZING our class is doing.

Central Church delivers meals around Thanksgiving to the families of Collierville. Our class decided that we should reach out to these families more often, so we have started a monthly "block party" at a local park. We started last month in March. We invite people from the community to come just hang out, eat some food, play games, and just fellowship with each other. We recently had our April block party and it was wonderful too! The people of the community seem to really enjoy our company... Isn't amazing how you can see God even in the simple things in life?  Here are some pretty cool pictures taken by my way cool husband, Chris, and some by me as well.

 March Block Party

March Block Party

 March Block Party

 April Block Party

 April Block Party

April Block Party

I will definitely post more pictures in May. We are looking forward to the next block party.

A beautiful day...

Today is a beautiful day...I love Saturdays and the weekend...who doesn't? After a long hard week it is nice just to be at home with my husband and dog and enjoy the simple things in life. Like sitting on my front porch enjoying the weather without a care in mind...

It is also a beautiful weekend because on this Easter weekend we are reminded of Christ's love for us. How beautiful is it that Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again! He is alive indeed! And this day especially, I can see God's grace...

My Exercise Secret...

I have been on this "clean-eating" journey since December 27, 2011. The first 30 days were easy and wonderful. I ended up losing 12 lbs! woohoo! However, I have been side tracked the past week....of course, it is my fault, no excuses. However, I would love to share with you my favorite workout secret....

an exercise ball and a free weight.

I love using the exercise ball for crunches and push ups. I also add in the weight occasionally. I feel like using these two tools each day at home in addition to going to the gym has boosted my energy/metabolism greatly. 

Just use these two tools for about 15 minutes extra a day. I usually use them while watching TV.

Super easy but makes a HUGE difference!

Back on track this week for another 30 day goal...See you soon March 12. 

I think I can...I think I can...I think I can...

Pay It Forward...

Hello All,

I felt today was a super day to blog. I was greatly blessed today at work! I am even still excited about my day as I am relaxing on the couch. Full of joy, it is hard to relax!! At the beginning of December, I watched a segment on WREG News Channel 3 called "Pay It Forward." It is about giving back to people who have blessed you and others in many ways. Richard Ransom, the news anchor, gives someone $300 to give to a deserving person. When I watched it in December, I thought about who I would give the money to, if I could. I immediately thought of Rosa at Germantown Elementary. She is our janitor and I chose her for many reasons...She is humble, kind, giving, and hardworking. She comes to school each day with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. Our school is always squeaky clean and in tip-top shape....thanks to her. Then, when she leaves work, she often works another job and works on the weekend. Not to mention, she has a husband and three children. I just feel so blessed by her giving spirit and what she does for others without complaining. She has really taught me a lesson...and that is to always have joy in your heart. With that being said, I wrote Richard Ransom an email in December telling him about Rosa. He responded saying that he gets lots of emails and that he would consider it because two other people from GES have written him about her as well! I never heard anything back.

Little did I know...that today he would surprise me, camera in hand, ready to interview me about Rosa.
Our assistant principal opened my door and said "I need to see you in the hallway for a minute." I thought..."Oh, no...I have not followed my schedule perfectly today, I am in trouble!" To my surprise, it was Richard Ransom with a smile on his face. Of course, excitement, shock, and surprise on my face! My face turned bright red as he immediately asked me, "Why did you choose Rosa to pay it forward?" Of course, from that point on, I was just overyjoyed/speechless/nervous/bright red face/etc.....but that doesn't matter...it was all about Rosa at that point....I wanted it to be perfect.

The best part of course was being able to give Rosa $300. Although, I did not say everything I wanted to or probably sounded absolutely country and ridiculous (actions speak louder than words), it brought so much joy to Rosa, and that is what I wanted to do- to tell her how much she is appreciated at GES!! She didn't think it was real, she wanted me to pinch her afterwards to let her know that she was indeed receiving the money! Richard asked her how she will spend it, she said she would spend it on her kids. What a blessing she is to us and what a blessing today was for all involved!

Three lessons learned today- which I also taught my students right after:
1. Always pay it forward to those who deserve it.
2. Actions speak louder than words.
3. It is better to give than to receive.

Snowman burlap hanger....

I got in a super crafty kick a few weekends ago...what else is new? My in-laws gave me a gift card to Hobby Lobby for my birthday (best gift ever!) and of course, I spent it all in one go....and then some. 

This is just one creation I made. A snowman burlap door hanger, which I  must say, was super easy! I will probably be making more soon for other occasions...perhaps a Valentine's heart...a shamrock...a basketball...who knows?!

All you have to do is get some burlap, double it over, draw the shape you want, and cut it out. Then, staple around the edges, leave a small hole for stuffing, stuff it with plastic grocery bags, and paint! Then take a thicker wire and push it through the burlap at the top as a hanger. Add some bows and then...

VOILA!

There you have your very own door hanger. 

I borrowed the snowman idea from pinterest. Enjoy!