September 30, 2011

Yesterday was a special day for me, a day to celebrate in fact. You see, as of yesterday, I have been living in Albania for six months. Wow! Time flies. So, I bet you'd like to hear a little about what I have been up to during this time. Well, here you go:

Honestly, I can say that things did not happen exactly the way I had planned them out. I came here in hopes of starting a youth group in a church where there were no youth interested in that kind of thing. Moving on from that experience and finding new ministry opportunities that God had in mind for me, I started to realize that He was using this experience to reach out to me in a unique way, just as much as He was using me here in Albania to reach others. Over the past six months I can truly say that God has shaken my world up, and turned my life up-side-down. That may sound like a tragic thing, and at times I can tell you it felt that way, but in the end He has shown me so much more of Who He is. I see Him in a whole new light now and I can say that my relationship with Him has reached new peaks. 

Now, with all that said, let me tell you a little bit about what I am doing here. First of all, I am still involved in the church I came to start a youth group in. I work there Monday through Friday helping to make lunch for the kids in a preschool that they run. I even support one of the little girls, financially, because her mom couldn't afford to send her. I have to admit, as much as I have always shied away from kids ministry, I am loving every minute of what I do at this preschool. The kids smiling faces warm my heart every single day, no matter what else is going on. It is such an honor to be involved in forming the life of a future Christian at such a young age. I know these kids love God now and I pray as we use Christian preschooling to shape them through formative years, that they will have the strength it takes to continue down the straight and narrow path that is a TRUE relationship with God and to live the lifestyle that goes along with it.

On another similar note, I have sort of fallen into what seems to be a street kids ministry. I am still waiting to see where God takes me on this particular adventure, but I know He has a plan. You see, there are many children sent out to the streets to beg in Elbasan, and they can get very pushy and have even been known for theft. Somehow, my roomate Kerri and I have ended up befriending a large number of them. We have been able to pray for them, buy them food and speak Jesus into their lives. Recently two or three of them have been showing up to church. However, it has been a rough transition, since without proper clothing or shoes, they seem to be feeling a little embarrassed by their appearance. However, I am very happy to say that as of last week, we have been able to get them a bag full of clothes and shoes to keep at the church for them to wear. Hopefully, they will no longer feel embarrassed. We have also found out that one of the younger ones is going to a preschool. We have secure a few small school supplies and a bag for him and are just waiting till we see him again and can give them to him.

Aside from that, I have been playing drums in church on Sunday and, of course, designing media and helping where I can. Right now I am transferring an entire song database into a new digital system for a church in town so that they can be more up to date and use their digital projector with the proper, video-enabled software. I have also made a support video for this same church that is, at this moment, circling the globe to all of their contacts. 

Needless to say, I have been busy, that's for sure. God is so good to me in enabling me to live out my calling. As I said before, He has done just as much work INSIDE of me as He has done through me. I have come to the amazing conclusion that He would have sent e all the way to Albania even if it was just to catch one more soul for His glory. And He would have done that even if the one soul was my own.

Know that God loves you more than you can imagine. Begin to ask Him to show Himself in bigger and better ways in your life, and don't be surprised when He does. 

Thanks for reading,

Julie

September 28, 2011

I found this in an old Myspace blog I was reading over today, and I quite enjoyed reading it again. I thought you might enjoy it too. From June of 2006:

I heard a very strange statement this morning. It is a statement that many of us have heard over and over again. It is a kind of saying in these current times; one of the little things we say, that when analyzed, does not make much sense at all.
The saying is "I have lost faith in...(you fill in the blank)."
LOST YOUR FAITH? So, then, how do you get faith in the first place? Do you FIND it? Did you happen to stumble upon faith one day while walking in the grocery store? Is it just a random substance, appearing out of no where at the will of something higher than us? If you cannot simply "find" faith,  how then do you "lose" faith?
My personal belief is that faith is a choice. Faith is when you CHOOSE to believe in something that you may not have any sort of physical or logical reason to believe in.
For example: I am a Christian. I CHOOSE to believe in the life, death, burial, Resurrection, and current position of Jesus Christ. Now, you can try to talk me out of it all day long, and circumstances may not always be favorable towards my belief, but that is where faith comes in. I CHOOSE to continue in my faith. It is not some physical object that can be conveniently misplaced or "lost".
I don't mean to get on a soap box about this, but I now see why the term 'Think BEFORE you speak' is relevant. If we thought about what we said more often, would we even say it? I wonder how often we say things that make no sense at all. I am sure it is many more times in a day than we will ever realize.
All this to say, you cannot lose your faith. You did not lose your faith in the oil industry. You have CHOSEN to no longer believe in its integrity. You have not lost your faith in man kind, you have CHOSEN to belief that man is basically evil, instead of good.
You simply cannot "lose" your faith. You are not a puppet at the beck and call of the puppet master. You are a human being, making choices daily to form who you are and where you will go in this life.
We cannot waltz through life and expect everything to go our way. Everything we do and everything we are and everything we belive is what it is because we have made it that way through our choices. You are who you are because that's who you choose to be. You believe what you believe because that's what you choose to believe.
I hope this encourages us all to think before we say/do things, realizing that life is only about our choices. Choose faith, don't lose it.








I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. Stay tuned for an exciting blog tomorrow!!!


Thanks for reading,


Julie

September 19, 2011

Wow, I haven't written anything in a REALLY long time. Not a single word. Well I guess I should get on with it then...

If you haven't kept up with me much, then you might not know that I have been living in Elbasan Albania since March. It has been a wild ride to say the least. I stepped out to pursue a dream and what I have always considered a calling. Sometimes, things are not easy. The truth is that any time you start to walk a new path in life, you will come against challenges you have never faced before. I have been there, done that and got the t-shirt. That's not to say everything is bad. I would have to say, actually, that the majority of the time I feel so blessed.

Every morning I get to wake up. Not only that, but I get to wake up in a nation that I absolutely love, where the land AND the people are beautiful. When I say the people are beautiful, I'm not really talking about appearance. There is something so basically human about the fact that, even if you are a stranger passing through their village, the people will always ask you to come to their house for a visit and a drink, if not a meal and to stay the night. It is almost completely offensive to not say hello to someone you know as you walk down the street, which might sound difficult, but in the end is very respectful and relational in my eyes. What a lovely people who will love one another so much as to go out of their way, even if they are late for work, just to greet me.

For years and years I dreamed of living this life. It was almost painful to live life the way I was back home. 9-5 in my meaningless job, going nowhere in a large company. Coming home, eating dinner, checking Facebook and once in a while having some hang out time with my friends was just not cutting it for me. Its not that my friends and family didn't make me happy, and its not that I don't have the deepest love for all of them (even if they don't believe me). Its just that every day I would wake up to a meaningless life, knowing I was created to do something different. It was an impossible way to live.

I remember coming on "short term" missions trips and after two weeks I would have to leave the land that I love and go back home. I remember sitting in the back of a car on the way to the airport, on several occasions, sobbing silently as I knew that I was doing the wrong thing by leaving. Since I was eight years old, I knew I was called to this nation, before I had even had an opportunity to set my own eyes on the land. God had a plan for me, a masterpiece painting of what my life could be, if I live in His will as a Christian. I see this masterful painting unfolding every day before my eyes. I feel like my life in America was on "pause" while I got older and older with nothing to really show for myself. Now that I am here living in Elbasan, I feel like God has really pressed the "Play" button.

As I said in the beginning, it has not all been easy. When you set out to be a better Christian and to live a radical life, God will always begin to show you areas of your life in which you can grow in and be better in. It is not always easy to have a light shone on the dark spots of a spirit. The secret, hidden pains made aware and anew. The bandaids from old hurts not dealt with ripped off and wounds re-exposed. Its not all easy, but it is all worth it.

See, what I have learned from all this so far, is that if I hadn't begun to deal with all the hurts in my own life, I would never be able to minister effectively to the street kids I love with all my heart, who are kicked out of their own houses and told not to come home until they have begged a certain amount of money. I also would not be able to minister in the correct way to the girl who is now leaving for college in a new and big European city. I would never have been able to give her the right advice at the right time, because it would have been from my mouth rather than the heart of God speaking through me.

Sometimes change is unbearable. Sometimes change is the hardest thing to deal with. Sometimes change can break a person. Thankfully, the path of change that God has laid out for me has been safe, even though I have had to face the refiners flame now and again. I am happy to say that I am doing well here in Elbasan, and I do not plan on coming home (other than for visits) or giving up on this mission any time soon. I want to thank all the people out there who have supported me with your prayers, finances or kind words. Every little word of encouragement, prayer and conversation mean more to me than you will ever know.

If you learn anything from this tonight, I would want it to be that you should take that leap of faith. Do what challenges you. Go where God calls you. Face your fears. If you don't you will never be able to fully experience the life that God intended for you.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't all about doing the right thing in the right way at the right time. It is about relationship with your Heavenly Father. Real relationship, not just church. Its about knowing Him and loving Him so much that you no longer WANT to sin. Its about being so intertwined with His desires that you don't have any problem resisting temptation, because you know the relationship He has with you is worth more than any affair or drug could bring you.

Take this one for free: Try Jesus. You will like Him.

Let Him melt the icy walls inside your heart. Let Him expose your hurts so He can bring restoration and healing. Lean on Him to bring you accountability so that you don't have to go through life alone.

Thanks for reading,

Julie