Comfort.

Good morning!

As I sit down to write to you this rainy morning I just want to say that I have no idea what I'm about to write, therefore I just pray that the Lord will guide me as I write to write exactly what He wants me to share.  Will you pray with me?  Father God, I just come to you this morning completely open, open for you to do whatever your will is for today, to give you all glory and honor of every minute.  I thank you for everything you have done in my life and the lives of my loved ones. Amen.

Well as you can see I've entitled my post "comfort."  I feel like that has been exactly what God has been teaching me.  It's funny because when we think of the word comfort we don't necessarily think of it as a bad thing, in fact the definition for comfort is:  to give strength and hope to or to ease the grief or trouble of.  That sounds pretty good to me.  However, when I simply change it to "comfort zone" the definition becomes: the level at which one functions with ease and familiarity.  Again, not a bad thing.. but not necessarily a great thing either.  In fact if that was the definition of my life, I believe I would have to label my life as rather boring.  You see God has been revealing to me that the more we stretch ourselves, the more we trust Him, the more we get out of our comfort zones and follow Him, the greater the reward will be.

I've seen this happen in my life and therefore I can testify.  I believe my entire trip to Ohio as a whole was out of my comfort zone.  In fact, I remember right before I came being very nervous about it.  I mean I didn't feel like any other road was better, and I felt like this was what God wanted me to do but I couldn't see the future.  I couldn't picture in my head what it was going to be like when I got here.  However, I took that leap of faith and trusted God and the reward has been far greater than anything I could of EVER imagined.  As my time is coming to an end here in Ohio, I'm looking back at my journal entries in effort to try and remember what all I've learned and to see how much I've grown.  And what I've come to realize is simply that I'm simply less of me and more of Him.  Now believe me I still have plenty of struggles to work on, for there will always be struggles while we're here on earth but I think we should forever strive to be less of us and more of Him.  I've learned so much from principals of biblical theology to patience to the  sweet nature of our God while here in Ohio.  And I think as I continue down the road of life I will continue to see more and more of what He taught me while I was here in Ohio.  I don't think I've ever experienced a season of my life where I learned so much in such a short period of time.

Just this past Tuesday we finished up with our "Seize the Summer" Tour.  This is the 3rd year that Fill the Earth has coordinated this event.  Fill the Earth is a ministry collaboration of Off the Wall (that of which I am a part of) and Polen Band. While on Seize the Summer we traveled to 13 different locations in 6 states within 2 and 1/2 weeks.  There was 13 of us total in a 15 passenger van, myself ,Jill, and 11 guys!  The mission of seize the summer was to rev up people and get them excited for the summer.  So often we think of summer as a vacation or time off from our normal way of life, so we were encouraging everyone to make sure they're not taking a break from Jesus.  To seize the summer and all the opportunities to be bold, to tell others about Christ as stated in Ephesians 6:19-20 "Pray for me, that whenever I speak words may be given 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."  I love that word "fearlessly" because I think it's so true, there have been many of times in my own life that I have been scared to talk to someone about Jesus because I didn't know how they would react or didn't know if I could say the right things.  So I just loved the message and mission that we spread to all of these youth throughout these churches.  Now, I realize you're probably wondering where my part came in with all of this, since you know, I'm not exactly known for my singing (I'm still waiting for my big break. :) Well at each event we would have set up and tear down which always took a couple of hours depending on how much we had to do so I played a part in that, as well as the drama team.  Each event consisted of three segments: music, drama and a message. As part of the drama team I performed a skit titled "comfort."  Ironic, right? Now let me just say before we left for this trip I was really dreading it,  I'll admit I had a bad attitude.  But it was because the entire thing was out of my comfort zone, I hardly knew most of the people I was traveling with, I didn't know what I was going to be doing so I couldn't possibly be good at it, I kept getting nervous and forgetting my lines and etc.  A couple days before we left Jill had pointed out how ironic it was that I was doing a skit on "comfort" when the entire tour was out of my comfort zone.  God can be so clever sometimes can't he!  And although I didn't admit it to her at that moment because I was stuck in my stubbornness I knew this was more than ironic.  My skit was about a girl who was excited to do God's work, but when it came time and Jesus told her what he wanted her to do she said no because it was out of her comfort zone...

As the tour officially ended Tuesday night there was a part of me that was rather sad.  It's hard to believe that just a few short weeks ago I was completely dreading something that turned out to be so completely amazing.  Had I not gotten out of my comfort zone to be a part of this wonderful experience I would have never gained the memories that I will forever hold so near and dear to my heart.  Not only did everyone on tour become like family but we all learned so much about one another and about God, we laughed, we cried, we encouraged one another, but most of all glorified God.

Last night as I was talking to my Dad on the phone I found myself telling him the exact words in which the Lord had just taught me.  I told him "Dad, you're living in fear.  And living in fear is not living for the Lord.  If you want things to forever be how they are then don't change anything and stay in your comfort zone, but then you must accept things for how they are because it's your choice to stay there.  Or you can take a leap of faith, trust God, and He will reward you for it.  But it's up to you.  It may not comfortable, but it's so worth it."  Now, I shared that because I want you to know that it was a prayer of mine while we were on this trip that I would be able to share with someone about Jesus and help them to know Him better.  I never expected it to be someone I knew, let alone my Dad but I'm so happy that it was, and that God answered my prayer.  I think too often we just assume that when it comes to helping someone or telling someone about Jesus it has to be someone we don't know, but we can't limit it to that.  We need to stop and take a look around us, because sometimes it's the people who are closest to us who may need it the most.

Whew, that sure was a lot for not knowing what I was going to say, huh?  :)  Well to sum it up, I just pray for all of you. I pray especially that you will be challenged to step out of your comfort zone not only to see what Jesus has in store for you, but also that he will bestow upon you the honor and the privilege to share with someone about Jesus Christ.

Love you all!

Abby

Time flys when you're having fun!

Okay, let me start off once again apologizing! Ahh, I can't believe I'm so horrible about blogging...especially considering I journal everyday! I must get better at this.  I must get better at this!

Well just as my title states "time flies when you're having fun," and that most certainly is the case!  Both myself and the ministry as a whole have been so busy, this is my first day to play catch up in I don't know how long.  So let's see I will try and remember all that has happened since I last blogged, I may need my journal to remember! Ha.  And I apologize in advance for how ridiculously long this blog will be. :)

Okay so here we go, March was a good month.  It was a challenging month for me, but good.  God really did some work in my heart and really made me dig deep to find myself and who I really am, as well as who I am in Him.  The best part being that He loves me so much, exactly how I am.  And that I must remember HE made me this way, so why would I want to change that or try to please someone else other than Him?  He gave me the desires within my heart, hands, feet, and brain to be exactly how he created me to be for HIS delight.  That in itself was a huge realization factor.  To stop searching and just simply seek Him.

 About mid-March I was given the opportunity to go visit Cleveland and stay with a friend, which was a great time.  I had so much fun and it was nice to just get away and not focus on really anything for a couple of days, not to mention I'm pretty sure I had the best host ever, thank you Jessica!  Cleveland was really cool we visited the science center, aquarium, the MALL, some nice restaurants, little Italy, and last but not least Starbucks...oh how I love thy! 

I believe last time I blogged I was preparing to start at Forever 21, well it ended up not taking that job because I got offered a different one which ended up being a way better opportunity.  It was with PacSun as a senior associate or a.k.a. supervisor.  This was not only better because it was only 15 mins away vs. 40 but also because I was part of the management team which meant better pay!  PacSun was an interesting job for me, I really feel like God revealed a lot to me through that job, which I will get to more in a minute.

April...man that month sure did fly by!  Easter was lovely, although I did miss my family back home.  The following weekend I actually had another amazing site seeing opportunity.  I went to go visit a friend in Gettysburg, PA and we decided to take the 4 hour trip from Gettysburg up to New York!  She had some friends there so we were actually able to stay for free in central park west!  Man oh man, it was so amazing and I'm so glad I got to mark it off my list.  So cool!  Although we were only there for about 24 hours total  we jammed it packed with sites and fun.  I saw the statue of liberty, times square, Rockefeller, central park, 5th avenue...I think that's all.  But it was a lot and to say the least I was exhausted by the end of it.  Gettysburg was pretty neat as well.  The sites to see didn't really compare to NY...grass and more grass...but a cute, quaint town with plenty of charm.  All in all, an amazing trip, thanks so much Abby!

One of the girls in the house got married in April as well.  Now referred to as Mrs. Tina Kaufman!  What a lovely wedding that was.  I was so delighted to be a part of her special day, she looked so beautiful.  Following that I had my big 25th birthday and my Dad and Tammy, his significant other, came to visit.  What a perfect birthday present that was.  We toured "Amish country" and just had an altogether great time!

And now finally we are in May.  Yesterday was my last day at PacSun, which was probably the shortest job I ever had but all in all I'm glad I took it.  It really opened my eyes to how much sin is in the world and how many lost people there are out there.  I've been in this amazing community for several months now and it really helped me to realize not just that, but also the amazing community God has given me all along the way since I decided to start living for Him.  From workplaces to friends, it is just so important to surround yourself with people who love Jesus, and who are going to help you become the best person you can be for Him.  I don't think I placed as much importance on that as I should have before, especially in workplaces.  God placed me in an amazing salon back home when I first started seeking Him and I think there were times that I took that for granted.  He really knew exactly what He was doing when he placed me there, so so clearly part of his plan and I'm so very thankful. 

The reason yesterday was my last day is because starting tomorrow we are going to be traveling around doing our "Seize the Summer" tour.  Which  I'm praying will be great but in all actuality I'm very nervous about! haha.  Basically we travel to 5 different states in about 2 1/2 weeks and all along go to different churches all over.  Pretty much it's Off the Wall Ministry with this great christian band Polen and together we do drama, music, skits, a message, communion, and just all in all an awesome service that will hopefully reach many!  My part in this will be not only to help with setups and odds and ends but to be in part of the drama's or skits.  UGH, I'm so nervous.  And when I get nervous, I forget my lines. Yikes!  I am excited though for I feel like this going to be a great time to not only travel but to be able minister to people and simply hear their stories, which I love.

Now last but not least and the main purpose of this blog, for what I'm going to do once I return from Seize the Summer...After much prayer, fasting, consideration and counsel I'm excited to announce that at the beginning of June I will be moving to Charleston, South Carolina.  Ahh! There it is.  Yes, I'm so excited and wish I could be there to explain this to you all in person.  But long story short, God has placed the desire on my heart to be at the beach some time ago and in the more recent years that place has been Charleston.  Now, I'm not sure why exactly Charleston because to be honest I've never actually been.  I've been to Myrtle Beach but not Charleston.  But it is most definitely Charleston that he placed on my heart so I'm more than excited to be obedient and go exactly there.  I thought and prayed about this for awhile before I decided to take any action.  Then after God kept confirming it in my heart I decided to take action and that's when the doors started opening!  And how amazing it has been to watch.  Now let me just say, I don't know a single person who lives in the entire state and He has already provided 2 potential churches for me to be a part of, both with amazing community and people who are awaiting for me to get there so I can officially meet them...Yay! ...friends!! Then as I was looking for places to live I had come across this one which was perfect (actually a girl from one of churches recommended it to me because the apartments are right behind the church, and a lot of people from the church live there) which it was in my price range and in the right part of town, but of course they didn't have any available and there was a waiting list on top of that.  But they advised me to go ahead and apply just in case.  So I did just that, and then out of nowhere what do you know - miraculously a 1 bedroom/1 bath apartment became available!  Oh, but it doesn't stop there, also they are going to replace everything from carpet to counter tops in this apartment for me so it will basically be brand new...and did I mention only 14 mins from the beach?!  Yes, God is good. So good.  And for His humor, I'm sure, the apartment number is 7. :)  Which leaves only a job as the last thing to find.  Which I'm in the process of setting up some interviews and such, so I do ask for your prayers for that.  And of course for the move as a whole!  For as I stated earlier, it's just becoming more and more clear to me how important it is to be in the right workplace.  From atmosphere to co-workers and everything in-between I just pray that He will place me in the perfect place, and I have faith that He will.

Whew!  How great it feels to get that off my chest and tell you all. I'm so excited for this next chapter in my life, I can't do anything besides smile as I type this.  I must say I'm so incredibly thankful for my time in Ohio.  I've learned so much about our God and He has taught me so many things about myself as well.  I've been stretched and challenged, loved and grown in so many ways.  Off the Wall is an amazing community of believers who are passionate about loving people the way Jesus did.  And from that a love is reproduced as well as a desire to pass it on, because it's so good you can't NOT share it.  That my friends, is discipleship.

Whew! Where do I even begin?  Making a habit of writing my blog is most definitely something I must get better at.  Well, as I write to you this rainy Monday morning it happens to be the first day of our spring break!  We are off for 10 days for a spring break because one of the leaders is currently in Northern Ireland about to get married, congrats Travis and Beki! About half of the ministry is there celebrating with them so please pray for safe travels for everyone.

As I was contemplating what to write about or share this morning I thought it might be good to not have any plans of what to write, but to just type and share my mind.  Since arriving in Ohio at Off the Wall it has been such a good workout for my brain! Haha.  But seriously, I cannot remember the last time I was this intellectually challenged and in response applied myself.  It's something that is so good for me, especially now that I realize I would much rather work with my hands in all things.  Our days are often quite busy consumed with biblical trainings, bible studies, prayer, work, and simply spending time with Jesus....a lot of sitting 'still' which is SO hard for me! But I am improving on that and learning so much!  The weather here is quite chilly...  I don't know if I'll ever adjust to that!  And living in a house full of girls is also an adjustment, but kind of just feels like I have 4 new sisters.  When they say this is a 24/7 discipleship that is exactly what it is, there's no hiding anything, whether it be good or bad.

Often times they recommend that because it's a 24/7 discipleship program you have something outside of the ministry to more or less keep you balanced and not overwhelmed.  That for me is a part time job.  Which I'm excited to announce is at my favorite store (which could be a slightly bad thing, good thing the discount is horrible)..drum roll please...Forever 21!  It's in a town about 40 minutes away.  I think it will be a lot of fun, I start tomorrow!

Since arriving at Off the Wall I've been practicing "living in the present," something I didn't do to well.  And now about a month and a half in, I think I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it.  I love planning, and I don't think this is a bad thing, I just think it's part of who I am, but like all things in life there has to be a balance.  So with that, after spending time concentrating on the present  I've settled down with a thought regarding my future that I can't ignore much longer.  It's the beach.  For about 6 years now I've toyed with the thought and it's come back again, feeling stronger than ever.  So please pray for me for this.  I do believe that God places desires in our hearts, and when we delight in him he will give us those.  So that's where I'm at right now, just simply delighting in him, seeking him, and fulfilling whatever purpose it is he has for my time here in Ohio.

Love you all!
Abby

poem.

I've never wrote a poem that didn't start out Roses are Red and Violets are Blue until it was given to me as an assignment, and sadly I didn't so much feel as though that was an appropriate opening line. 

As we sat together as group discussing the week's overview our leader asked us to think of one characteristic we would like to pursue for the week.  At first I had no idea what to say.  Then the word popped into my head, and as I was called on I said:  "Vulnerability.  I want to be vulnerable to God's will for my life.  To not let my self and my flesh stand in the way of His will."  Soon after we were instructed to take that word and write a poem.  Initially the thought intimidated me, but as I sat down to begin the words started flowing...

                                                                    VULNERABLE

What my spirit wants the most, my flesh wants the least.

To be laid out and vulnerable, changed so to speak.

Lord, I know in my heart this is a part of your plan

And I know you will be there to hold my hand.

But what’s hardest for me is to be completely free

Defenseless, exposed, down on my knees

But for you I will be all the things that I’m not

Fore without you I’d be closed off and ultimately rot.

So here I am arms wide open and ready

Tender, unguarded, and not so steady

Break me down, I surrender to you

I want to die to myself and be made new.

To be made new in the attitude of my mind

To have everything in me you want to find.

To put on the new self, created like you

Clothed in righteousness, holiness, all within the truth.

Thus, I cannot see what you will find

Buried deep within me, that allows me to shine

Maybe vulnerable itself isn’t so bad

For otherwise I would have never known these gifts that I’ve had.

God's love for me.

Last week Wednesday as a ministry we were given the opportunity to go speak at a local high school.  The girls and guys split up to talk about different topics.  Seeing that it was the day after Valentines Day we thought we would talk about love....God's love for us. :) I'd like to share with you what I shared with those girls:

"As I was preparing what to say to you this morning I decided to look up the definition of love.  Did you know that it isn’t until the second example of the fourth reference that it mentions anything about God?  Isn’t that a little sad?  Our God, the one who ultimately created this thing called love isn’t even referenced until almost the second paragraph of this word's definition.  So basically, when you go to look up love in the dictionary you will find 3 long definitions that talk about affection for one another, attraction, tenderness, admiration, assurance, enthusiasm, devotion, loyalty…and then FINALLY under definition four point B you have – a person’s adoration of God.  Adoration? Is that all we have to describe the biggest gift that’s been given to us of all times by our almighty God and Father?

 I will say I think love is tricky.  I feel as though we have to fully understand it in order to fully appreciate and accept it.  And I think before we try and love someone else or accept someone else’s love we have to be able to accept God’s love and to be confident in our relationship with him and really know how much he truly does love us.  

Loving myself is something that I personally struggled with for a really long time, and still today its something I continue to work on.  But I remember when I first came into realization that I didn’t at all love myself…I remember thinking “ How am I ever going to really love another person if I can’t even figure out how to love myself?”  Before I could love myself I needed to understand how much  God loved me.  So I prayed about just that.  I prayed that God would show me how much he loved me and that I would see myself just as he did.  That I would love myself.

One day as I was reading the ever so popular love verse in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, you know “love is patient, love is kind” the one you always hear at weddings and such.  However, instead of focusing on the word love, I replaced it with God.  Because God is love.  And I wanted to focus solemnly on the love between God and I.  I will read it to you that way, and as I do I want you to  just think about Him loving you.  “God is patient, God is kind.  He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not prideful.  He is not rude, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered, he keeps no record of wrongs.  God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  He always protects, he always trusts, he always hopes, and he always preserves.  God never fails.” Now doesn’t that make you feel so warm and treasured on the inside?   God loves us more than we can ever fathom or imagine and sometimes the hardest part is to simply be able to accept that love.  But once we do, we will never want to let it go, for he will shine so brightly through us and then we can love others from the love that’s within us.  So I just encourage you today to spend time with God and allow him to show you how much he loves you, I promise you won’t regret it."

As these girls stared blankly back at me waiting for the bell to ring so they could be freed, I wondered which one of these girls needed to hear just this?  There's no better feeling than being in a rough patch in life and all the sudden out of the blue you feel like God is speaking to you through something or somebody.  I think THAT is the ultimate feeling of being loved.  So I wonder, was it one, two, five or none?  I will never know but I can only pray that it was every single one.

arise.

Good Tuesday Morning!

As I sit down to write this blog, I have already had morning bible study with the girls I live with, discussing James chapter 4.  I love that chapter simply because it reminds us to seek God, and in doing so the devil will flee from us.  And not to boast in tomorrow, ,for tomorrow is not promised.  Make today count.  So thats exactly what I plan to do on this Valentine's Day.  Make it count.

This past week has flown by yet again.  I have never had the priveledge of spending so much time with Jesus and studying his word in all of my life, and I absolutely love it.  I can already feel that he is doing some marvelous work in me.  On this past Sunday three of us went to a local nursing home here to provide church service for the elderly.  Now let me just say,  I love old people.  I always have, they are so full of wisdom.  And although I was still quiet nervous even when more than half of the crowd I was speaking to was sleeping, this is what I shared:

Good morning, my name is Abby Scherf and I’ve been at off the wall for a little over a week now.  I’m originally from Jefferson City, Missouri.  I’m so excited to see what God has in store for my stay here and to figure out exactly why he wanted to lead me all the way to Ohio to do so!

Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite life verses, it was the first bible verse that ever grasped my heart about 2 and ½ years ago around the time I was saved.  Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and future.”  Now let me tell you, I am a planner by nature.  My mother is an avid planner and always reminding me that I too need a plan, whether it’s just a plan for the day, a plan for the year, or a plan for my entire life.  So we’ll just say planning is something I do quite well.  And although I do this quite well and enjoy it, it still has a way of driving me crazy, and the down side of it is that it becomes difficult to live in the moment.   You are always racing to the next thing on your list, which is therefore the next thing in life.  So consequently it would be safe to say I have a love-hate relationship with planning.  Now, when I heard that verse I immediately felt affection and warmth in my heart.  Was it true that the almighty Lord cared for little ole’ me? You mean he has a plan for my life and I don’t need to worry about all this so much?  And well, if he has a plan for me, then it must be a great one, because I know that God is the creator of everything good.   I still remind myself of this frequently; it makes me feel so loved and helps me to live in the present and to cease every moment given to us by the grace of God.   Looking back over those past 2 and ½ years God has done some amazing transformations in my life, he really does have a plan for me …all I had to do was give him the reigns and hand over my life towards his purpose for me.  The greatest decision I’ve ever made.

Just a few days after arriving here I decided to go for my first run in Ohio.  I wanted to get out and see the scenery and just clear my mind.  As I was running along listening to music and praying to God I came upon a church and on the church’s sign read Jeremiah 29:12.  “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”  It was like the second half of my life verse.  And it was then that the first sigh of confirmation slid into my heart… that I was exactly where God wanted me to be.  And simply the sweetness of knowing that everything I pray he hears and he wants to grant me.  He wants to give me the desires of my heart merely because he loves me and he delights in me.  How beautiful is that?  As I got home from my run I opened up my bible to look at those verses and soon realized that I also loved the 13^th verse of that chapter , so I then decided that those 2 verses would be the verses I cling onto while I’m on this journey here in cold Ohio.  Jeremiah 29:12-13 “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Now, I didn't recieve any special reactions from sharing this, in fact there may have been a yawn or two...and even some awkward moments of silence as I looked up from the podium when finished.  But I had prayed about what to say to these ladies and gentlemen, and I felt that Jesus laid those exact words and verses on my heart to share with them and I love that.  I can only hope that I spoke a word or two of hope to someone out there.  Amen.

the beginning of something new.

Wow, where do I even begin?  Well first I must say that I have been procrastinating writing this for awhile because the thought of an online journal to any and all was a bit overwhelming, but I finally came to a point where I could no longer avoid it, as I have promised to many family and friends to keep them updated on this journey, therefore I must start.  And as I sit down at the kitchen table, with my cup of coffee and the snow falling heavily outside and piano sounding in the other room I realize, what a perfect atmosphere to begin something new....

My name is Abby Scherf and I'm from Jefferson City, Missouri.  Recently God has lead me on a new journey that has taken me to Sugarcreek, Ohio, where I currently reside.  It is through a ministry called Off the Wall, which is a ministry geared towards producing passionate disciples of Jesus Christ.  But allow me to back track a bit and tell you how I got here.

I was born into a loving Christian family, and baptized as an infant in the Catholic Church.  My memories of church and Sunday school as a child are sweet and charming.  As I grew up I went through a lot of trials and tests which caused me to venture away from the church for a long while.  When I returned it was through a dear friend whom invited me and on a whim I decided to attend.  It was a completely different church than what I was accustomed to, so at first I was overwhelmed but something about it intrigued me and I wanted to know more.  In time I attended again and it was shortly thereafter Jesus spoke to my heart, pulling those strings ever so tightly.  I raised my hand to claim him as my Lord and Savior.  The best decision I have ever made in my entire life.

The road was still a bit rocky from there, but I saw a light, and as I continued on that path the light was getting brighter and brighter...I knew the way, now I just had to follow it.  These were some of the hardest seasons of my life, saying no to the world and yes to Jesus.  A road not often traveled.  But after each and every turn eventually the road became less bumpy.

I decided in April of 2011 to get re-baptized after returning home from my first local missions trip.  I had been attending the church regularly for almost 2 years at this point, but the mission trip planted a new seed in my heart.  I knew I had been baptized as a child, but I wanted to do something to wash away the old life I had lived, and to dedicate my everything to the Lord for his plans and purpose for me and I felt I needed to be the one to make that decision and to make it known.  There is no better feeling than having that guilt wash off of you like water and to be made new and pure in Jesus Christ.

A mission trip was something that went from being on my "bucket list" to something my heart deeply desired and wanted more of.  So I started praying to God about just that.  I started out like most do, thinking "okay I'll do a week in Mexico."  An out of the country short term trip seemed like the logical next step.  But then God decided to bring into my life a new friend.  Her name is was Whitney, and she introduced me to a whole new world.  I had never heard of programs such as YWAM or Off the Wall and eventually she would tell me about both.  While I had felt just fine about committing to my week in Mexico, there was also a part of me that wanted more.  Then one of the most incredible things happened as she told me about these ministries, I knew with everything in my heart this was exactly what God wanted me to do, and I had never felt so sure of something before in all my life.

At first, I jumped at the idea of going to somewhere warm with a beach, I mean why not right?!  But then God pressed in my heart that he wanted to bring me somewhere opposite of where my flesh might leap to go.  And that was to the cold...snowing... Amish country ...of Ohio.  For those of you who know me well are laughing at this very moment, for you know I'm quite "city" over "country".  And I hate the cold.  This alone should be a testify of how much I love Jesus. 

Once I decided to go, it was amazing to watch God work and provide through his people.  I couldn't of done it without the amazing support system he gave me.  When you give it all to him he will be sure to work in miraculous ways.  So often its so hard for us to be able to do just that.  We must remind ourselves to give it all to the Almighty One who loves us all so very much.  I'm so blessed to be on this journey I am on, a part of me doesn't even feel worthy to be able to have the opportunity to take this time to fall more in love with Jesus...I am so thankful.  Amen.