Retreat!!!! Retreat!!!!

Mark 6:31
Jesus said to them, `Come away with me. Let us go alone to a quiet place and rest for a while.' Many people were coming and going. They could not even eat.

Sorry its been so long since I wrote!!! So much happens here in one day! I actually have a TON of testimonies to share also, but some of them will have to wait until the next post.

I jut got back from a retreat at JH Ranch in Etna, CA.  (see pictures below)

It was a great time of refreshing and filling up on the word of God, fellowship with lovers of Jesus, and getting to know some of the people I will be running alongside this season.  It was exactly what you imagine a retreat would be.  Getting away so you can rest in God.

As you all know, this sudden and overwhelming change in my life has been overwhelming and underwhelming at times.  Adjusting is key.  I have to REMIND myself to have grace for this time of adjusting.  It reminds me very much of experiencing culture shock when visiting a foreign country. My life is suddenly and drastically different and that takes adjusting.

Sometimes it only takes the smallest thing to throw us out of our usual loop.  And we are reeling for footing, trying to figure out our place, our peace, our rest.  GIVE YOURSELF SOME GRACE TOO!

I am declaring grace for me and all who are reading:  Retreat!!!!  Retreat with yourself to a place where you can rest with God and adjust.  Just breathe.  Adjust.

It is a new season.  It is a new time.  God has good for you.

The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.

Tired but Toasty

You know that feeling you get after a bubble bath in the winter time and you go put on fresh flannel pajamas, some slippers and curl up with a great book and some hot cocoa?????!?!?


COZY!

That's the word and that's how I feel.  My room is not put together completely yet, but I have already jumped in to the community here at Destiny House and am loving it!  The girls are wonderful, unique, and so SO inviting.  I miss my roomies and friends in Indy but it is nice to know God has prepared doors and relationships here as well!

We had registration today and it was great.  I met a great girl in line named Olga and also another lady from Germany named Nicole.  Nicole is an artist and Olga is hilarious.  So they both related to me in different ways and I am so excited about all of the relationships to form this year!  :-)

I'm so tired so I can't write much but PLEASE PRAY for me to find a part time job!  I have a job interview with Dick's Sporting Goods next week and I also applied for Lane Bryant today.  I am probably going to need to get TWO part time jobs to pay for all of my expenses.  Working for Lane Bryant part time will only cover about half.  But pray I get that job!  I've always loved working for them in the past and they offer excellent discounts if I need to get any clothes after I lose a TON OF WEIGHT this year!!!!

Love you all!

More updates soon!

You Are The God Who Sees Me...

This road trip has been a blast so far!  But I have also seen the enemy (Satan, in case you were wondering) use every opportunity to TRY to get to me. I have also felt a noticeable difference in the way he bothers me.  It feels like a lot of the roads he used to travel on are all blocked off and so now he is trying new roads.

That's exciting to me!!!  I can just see it!  Him and his little minions all frantic, scrambling around, looking for new ways to cause trouble because the old ways DO NOT WORK!!!!!  AMEN!!!!

So one of the new ways is anxiety.  It's not something I have struggled with before and I do my best not to engage with it now, but I can still feel the attack.  Like people knocking at your door, trying to get in.  I will give you a small example and tell you what we did to combat it.  Last night, Alyssa and I drove to get her car in the next town over from hers, Whitefish.  As we travelled, there was this HUGE chunk of the road taken out and they hadn't put up signs yet to warn us there was a big bump, so I biffed it.  It felt and sounded like a car wreck.  (Mind you, I had tons of tons of weight in my back because I am packed floor to ceiling for California)

There was a moment when I could feel the shock, trauma, fear, and worry fill the car.  Immediately I heard assailing anxious thoughts:  "You wrecked your car!  Now you won't have anything to drive! Why didn't you see that bump?!....and on and on..."  Immediately, because I could hear the "you" in these statements, I knew I was being attacked and that they were using EVERY opportunity, like usual, to get to me.  "NO!" I cried inwardly.  I looked at Alyssa who was also visibly shaken, and said, "We're going to pray really quick" She nodded in agreement and I verbally said, "God we pray your peace and your strength into this car.  We say NO to all shock and trauma and fear that tempted us when we hit that bump. We say YES to your peace and the fact that NO matter what, you have us.  If the car is damaged, YOU will provide.  We will not give in to fear, worry, or anxiety because you are our God, our loving father, and you take care of us. You comfort us...."

And on it went for a little while.  The atmosphere in the car immediately shifted.  It filled with peace and strength and calm.  Alyssa felt it too and said she felt a million times better.  We even laughed that we had been so traumatized by something so tiny as hitting a bump.  But that's how he works!  He will use the smallest thing to start telling you a bunch of JUNK.  And if you engage in it and agree with it, then you empower him and it becomes something nasty.  Because the peace came so quick, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and awe of our God.  He SEES us.  He cares for us!  He is waiting on the edge of eternity for our voice!  He is a gentleman and never imposes himself on us or forces his way into our lives and thoughts.  He waits for US!  He waits for our voices to cry out to him and ask!

He's amazing.

You don't have to give the enemy a ton of credit or attention, but if he is attacking you....stop him!
It doesn't have to be some dramatic thing.  It's normal.  You can just say no.

"3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

-2 Corinthians 10:3-5

BAM!