Ephesians 6:19-20

Today marks the closing of my summer in Panama City Beach.  It was such a wonderful summer with some amazing people!  I woke up early this morning with intentions of packing to move back to Atlanta for a couple of days before I move to Honduras, but of course, I procrastinated.  For the first time, my habitual procrastination ended up being beneficial.  I spent a great amount of alone time with the Lord reflecting on my summer and preparing for my move to Honduras in 10 DAYS! WHOA!  As I was doing this, I felt the need to watch two messages from Passion 2012.  One of which was the last message of the conference given by Louie Giglio. (I must point out that Louie is truly amazing!) They titled it, Fearless.  The whole message was based around this one verse...

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may 

be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known

the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an 

ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may

declare it fearlessly as I should. 

Ephesians 6: 19-20

As you can see, as a result of my lack of creativity, I named this blog post after this verse.  The significance of this verse is of such importance as I get ready to embark on this mission that the Lord has so graciously given me the opportunity to pursue.  Not only is this verse significant at this time in my life, it is significant to all of us as Christ followers.  Louie pointed out that we need to make Jesus' name known in anything and everything we do.  I started thinking and praying over this mere fact, and realized that it is so pertinent for people around my age.  Most of us are at a huge point of transition in our life.  As Louie explained, our society has molded us into people that feel as though we always have to plan what we are doing in the future.  (I am a product of this completely and will openly state that I can be a psycho planner.)  While this planning process can be beneficial, I think that we should all remember that the most beneficial thing that we can do in our present is to fearlessly proclaim the name of Jesus.  Whether we be recent graduates looking for a job, finishing up our last years of college, going to graduate school, working, or moving out of the country, I think God wants us to always remember to be a light for Him in ANYTHING that we do.

I will be the first to say that I am SO guilty of not proclaiming His name in everything that I do.  I struggle with this greatly, but I do believe that it is essential as I grow in my walk with Christ.  I will continue to pray that as Christ followers, we are able to proclaim His name and be a light for Him.  I also ask, as I am getting extremely close to moving to Honduras, that you may pray for me that I will fearlessly proclaim Christ's name.  

Thank all of yall again for all of your support and prayers.  I truly have the most amazing friends and family, and would be nowhere without yall.  I love all of yall more than you know!  10 MORE DAYS!!! Woooohooooo! 

And So It Begins...

Well... I decided to start a blog to document my experiences while in Honduras.  I still cannot believe I am moving there in about TWO MONTHS! AH!!

I must confess that I just spent at least an hour contemplating what to title this blog of mine.  I wanted it to be so creative, although if you know me, I am probably one of the least creative people on the planet.  As I was pondering this obvious extremely important matter, the verse Proverbs 3: 5-6 continued to pop into my head...

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart 

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to Him,

and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

This is my favorite verse of all time.  Most of yall may know that I went to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip over spring break. (Shout out to my AMAZING DR team)  After I experienced the most amazing trip of my life and was able to see God in so many different ways, this verse became even more relevant and important to me.  I am going to be honest, trusting and submitting to the Lord has proven to be very difficult yet SO rewarding.  A lot of yall may already know this, but I was planning on attending law school in the Fall.  While in the Dominican Republic, the Lord revealed that I was relying on my own understanding and did not consult Him when I chose to attend law school.  He gave me a little reality check and made it apparent that it was not my time to go to law school, but instead, He wanted to use me in a different country.  WHOA!  I was so excited and ready to embark on this journey when I got back from the DR.  Here is where it gets real....

When I got back from the Dominican Republic, I inevitably conformed back to my previous habits.  I got used to my comforts again and lived my life just the way I had before I left for the Dominican Republic.  I still longed to pursue the Lord's will and teach/be a missionary in a different country, but things were not coming together the way I (emphasis on the "I") wanted them to.  I finally gave it all up to God, and the most amazing opportunity fell into my lap.  My Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Matt revealed an awesome opportunity to teach and do mission work in Honduras.  I called the organization, and it was EVERYTHING I felt the Lord had called me to do!  I was so ecstatic!  In fact, I ran into my apartment, hugged my roommates, and basically danced around the house with excitement.  I called everyone to tell them the great news!  I was on cloud nine.  

I hate to admit this, but recently, I started to get anxious about my big move.  I guess that is normal, but I honestly started to turn my heart away from the Lord.  I questioned Him on why he wanted ME, such an unworthy person, to relinquish all of my comforts, friends, and family to move to Honduras.  Honestly, I was a little frustrated with Him and turned my back to Him like a rebellious child.  I chose to ignore my trust in Him and started to do things my way again.  Let's just say... that didn't work out very well.  I stopped consulting Him in everything I did, and suddenly, I wanted to stay in America and go to law school again.  My friends and parents probably thought I was crazy as I called all of them basically "freaking out."  (I love yall so much by the way!)  Finally, I broke down yet again (obviously a reoccurring theme) and gave everything up to the Lord.  He revealed that I still need to do His work in Honduras, and that He will take care of me throughout the whole process.  I immediately turned to the verse, Proverbs 3:5-6.  I need to surrender all that I am to Him, and He promises that He will make my paths straight.  The truth in this verse has never been so apparent!  

It still hurts my heart to know that I will be leaving THE BEST family and friends behind in two months.  I cannot emphasize enough how amazing they are.  I am extremely blessed to have them in my life.  They are the most supportive and encouraging people in the world.  Tears are filling my eyes as I write this part, because I love yall more than yall know.  

I am still humbled by the fact that the Lord has trusted me with such an amazing opportunity.  I am a broken, unworthy person, but I fully trust that He will guide me as I embark on this incredible journey.  I cannot wait to meet everyone in Honduras!  Here we go....