“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks Him.”
- Lamentations 3:25
An overturned garbage truck shut down the interstate this morning and
made a normal 30-45 minute commute a right-at-2 hour commute to work. Needless to say everyone did a lot of waiting
on the Nashville roads this morning. As
one of the people stuck in the crazy traffic this morning, I …along with the
rest of Nashville…can be witnesses for the fact that waiting is not fun!
It’s like that in life sometimes too, isn’t it? Waiting can be very hard and not fun,
especially when it’s something that you want so terribly to happen. Before I got my job in Nashville, I waited
for a long time until God gave me this gift that is my dream job. I applied to job after job within
organizations of the SBC because I felt like that’s where God wanted me, but
none of them ever panned out. That time of
waiting was hard because I felt like I was missing out or that I wasn’t hearing
God correctly; I doubted myself and my capabilities; I even just thought about
giving up on the whole thing. Through it
all though, I kept hearing a still small voice – not even audible – that told
my heart to wait and keep doing what I was doing because even better things
were in store.
Waiting may be wearisome, but God gives us strength (Isaiah
40:31). Waiting may be confusing, but He
will direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Waiting may be hard, but God gives us
courage (Psalm 27:14). What He asks of
us in the meantime is to trust Him and to keep on following and serving Him day
after day after day until the He gives us what we have waited so long for (Psalm
37:4, Proverbs 16:3).
After a few years of waiting, God, out of the blue, gave me the gift of
my job with the very SBC organization that helps every single one of the other
organizations I applied to – I call it my dream job because it was something that
wasn’t even on my radar, but as it turns out was the exact, perfect fit for
me! Lamentations 3:25 says, “The Lord is
good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks Him”… and oh, how good He
is to me!
So…don’t get frustrated or start blaring the car horn if you are stuck
in a “life traffic jam” right now, just keep waiting on the Lord and before you
know it that road ahead of you will clear out and God will take you to who
knows where!
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:9
Corrie Ten Boom said, “Every
experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is perfect
preparation for the future only He can see.”
It’s easy to look at this quote and think about the good experiences and
how those have prepared us for future events.
But it’s hard when the experience God gives us is a hard one – one where
we find ourselves in a valley of grief, loss, and heartache.
It goes against our understanding to imagine blessings coming from
difficult times, but they most definitely can.
These blessings won’t be immediately visible and it may take some time
before you fully understand why God allowed you to walk through the valley –
but His “ways are higher” and His “thoughts are higher” (Isaiah 55:9). AND God will be there to walk the valley with
you; going before you every step of the way (Deuteronomy 31:8).
God is a good, good Father, full of compassion,
mercy, and grace and even the hard experiences He gives us are preparation for
the future only He can see. Remember - He knows the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and He works all things together for His good (Romans 8:28)!
Abba Father –
thank you that Your blessings come from raindrops, Your healing through tears, and
that the trials of our lives are Your mercies in disguise. Claim Philippians 4:8 today and think of all the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and
praiseworthy things He has blessed you with!
We are pressed on every side
by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to
despair. We
are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are
not destroyed. – 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
This is definitely a ridiculous
thought, but what if God gave up on us? Where
would our hope lie? Who would we turn to
for help? How would we make it through
each day? I don’t even want to ponder on
that thought for too long…it’s much too scary.
Thank goodness none of that is true.
Thank goodness our hope is in God (Psalm 62:5) and His Son, Jesus
(Hebrews 6:19)! Thank goodness we can
turn to Him in our time of need (Philippians 4:19)! Thank goodness He’s with us every moment of
our life (Isaiah 41:10)! Not for a
moment will He forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6).
God will never give up on us!
But what if we gave up on
God? Wait….shut the door….hold the
phone….and say that again?! Sounds
crazy, right?! I mean, how can we give
up on God…the One who has loved, provided, and sustained us in our day to day
life? Sadly, there are many individuals
out there today who are doing just that.
God doesn’t give them what they want, provide when they need it, show up
when they ask, and so they just up and say “Forget it, God, I’m through.” They turn to other religions and others to no
religion at all. God wasn’t who they
thought He was. It’s heart-wrenching to
watch people reject God, use His name in vain and change their lifestyle to one
that isn’t God-honoring. And if I think
it’s heart-wrenching, imagine what God thinks.
I don’t even want to ponder on that thought too long…it’s much too sad.
We are a most undeserving
people. Undeserving of His grace,
undeserving of His mercy, and undeserving of His love; and yet, He gives it ALL
to us anyway. Through our hard and
confusing times, He is with us…holding our hand every step of the way. God is a giving God, but He’s not going to be
“Big ‘Ole Papa Bear” and spoon-feed us our every wish and desire. We are going to have hard times and we are
going to face challenges, however, God won’t abandon us (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) AND
He won’t give up on us while we try to figure out those challenges (Psalm 46:1). We may make wrong decisions and there may be
consequences from God regarding those wrong decisions, but He will still be
with us during those consequences, teaching and molding us to be more like Him.
I think a perfect example of
this is Moses and the children of Israel who traveled in the wilderness for 40
years before they ever got to the Promised Land. I have a strong feeling that somewhere in
the twenty-third year many began to wonder if God was even looking out for them. I’m sure some just wanted to throw in the
towel and follow someone else besides God.
Here they were…twenty-three years into this journey and still
NOTHING. Moses writes that the people of
Israel “complained and said, ‘The Lord
must hate us. That’s why he has brought
us here from Egypt – to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered.’” But Moses, as God’s messenger, said to them, “Don’t be shocked or afraid of them! The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you just as you saw him do
in Egypt. And you saw how the Lord your
God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just
as a father cares for his child.” That
wasn’t enough for the children of Israel; they griped and complained some more
and basically didn’t believe God was going to do anything which made God very
angry. Moses tells them, “When the Lord heard your complaining, he
became very angry. So he solemnly swore,
‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I
swore to give your ancestors.”
(Deuteronomy 1:26-40)
God gave the people of Israel
what they needed at that certain time in their journey, but it wasn’t good
enough for them and they definitely let God know that. They kinda/sorta gave up on Him. God wasn’t going to give up on His people and
He still loved them, but He had to give them a consequence for their actions…as
any father would do. The consequence was
that they wouldn’t get to see the Promised Land, only their descendents would. This consequence, I’m sure, taught the
children of Israel a very valuable lesson – don’t question God’s commands and
instructions. Obey Him and follow
Him. He
knows the plans for His people and will reveal them in His time (Ecclesiastes
3:11). He expects that of us too…we are,
after all, His children as well.
We are loved and valued by the
Creator of the very world…think about that for a moment! As our Creator, He is also our Father and we
must respect His commands and trust His purpose for our lives. It may seem like things aren’t happening the
way we want them to happen and it may seem like hard times are chasing us like
a cat chases a mouse, but through every. single. moment. God is there.
God’s not giving up on us, so let’s
not give up on Him!
Scripture verses used in this post:
Psalm
62:5- “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.”
Hebrews
6:19- “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and
secure.”
Philippians
4:19- “And my God will meet all your needs according to the
riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Isaiah
41:10- “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed,
for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with
my righteous right hand.”
Deuteronomy
31:6- “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified
because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you
nor forsake you."
2 Corinthians 4:8-9- “We are pressed on every side by
troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to
despair. We are
hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not
destroyed.”
Psalm 46:1- “God is
our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Ecclesiastes
3:11- “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also
set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from
beginning to end.”
“Look at my servant, whom I
strengthen.”– Isaiah 42:1
Ain’t gonna lie. Sometimes living with a servant’s heart can be
tough. You feel overworked, underappreciated,
and on the verge of burn-out. Been there,
done that. Have the T-shirt.
Why, oh why, can something we have
good intentions for, at times, make us feel like we want to just give it all up? Personally, I believe it is the devil and the
darkness poking their tempting ways into our lives and making us feel tired,
aggravated, and ready to throw in the towel.
The author of Ephesians was so correct when he said, “For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). Simply put, the devil doesn’t want to see us
win. He doesn’t want our serving the
Kingdom to come to fulfillment. If he
can tempt us to get mad or frustrated while we are serving, then maybe, just
maybe, we’ll say “enough’s enough.”
Fellow servants, don’t throw in that towel! Remember
that God has gifted you with a specific skill and has given you a place to
serve Him so that you can use it! He
created your precious servant heart to serve in the ministry or area that you
are currently in so that you can make a difference for His kingdom! “I, the
Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you,
and I will give you to my people…and you will be a light to guide the
nations. You will open the eyes of the
blind. You will free the captives from prison,
releasing those who sit in dark dungeons” (Isaiah 42:6-7). God’s got GREAT plans for your servant
heart. He wants to use you to impact others
for His Kingdom!
Hard times will come in your servanthood, but take these words, from
the Lord, to heart, “Look at my servant,
whom I strengthen” (Isaiah 42:1). See
that?! He will strengthen you! Sounds great, right?! But how do you get rid of those temptations
to quit and give up? James 4:7 hits the
nail right on the head, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you.” That’s it!
Submit your heart and feelings to the Lord, tell the devil to take a
hike, and watch God move in your life. With
God on your side, you can be rejuvenated and energized to keep serving Him with
all your heart.
Living with a servant’s heart may be tough at times, but God will always
be there to strengthen you so that you can truly and wholeheartedly serve Him
and His kingdom. Continue to live with
that servant’s heart and watch God use you in extraordinary ways!
“Oh, my God, He will not
delay! My refuge and strength,
always! I will not fear, His promise is
true, my God will come through, always.
Always!”
2012. When I sit here and look at this combination of numbers, my mind rolls through with countless memories and thoughts of the things I experienced and encountered throughout the year. Each year, I like to take a little time to reflect on the year as I see what God did and how He brought me through. These blog posts are probably some of the longest of the year…and I’m warning you about that now…but I’ll try not to make this one as long as last year. (Note the word try) :)
School
“Stick a fork in me, I’m done!” This May, I graduated with my Master of Arts in Discipleship Ministries from Liberty University Baptist Theological Seminary. What a fantastic program that I was privileged to be a part of! The last semester of my program, I had some awesome classes with the children’s ministry professor, Dr. Michael Mitchell. He was an excellent teacher! He had such great advice and was one of the most helpful professors I have ever had. I absolutely loved his book, Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples…definitely a must-read for people who work with and teach kids – both spiritually and academically. One of the funny things about the last semester was that I had some of the longest and most challenging projects that were like 20-25 pages each and I actually enjoyed doing them!
I decided to walk at graduation. I knew from the get-go that there was going to be an insane amount of people and I wasn’t wrong. Good thing I used to live in Hong Kong, ‘cause I would’ve been overwhelmed at the amount of graduates that there were. We had quite an interesting commencement speaker for our graduation…Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney. It was a bit controversial that he was speaking at a Baptist school’s graduation ceremony, but I thought he did a great job…spoke to duty to faith and career, but didn’t push his beliefs at all. Not many people can say they heard a potential presidential candidate speak at their graduation, so that was neat to be able to say that (would’ve been neater to say the future president spoke at my graduation…but alas…). I actually didn’t officially graduate from the program until later that afternoon when I had to attend another ceremony for the seminary. It was a long day, but it was an awesome and unforgettable experience….AND I get to experience it from the other side in 2013 as I go back to Liberty to watch my sister graduate! :)
The graduate! Not crazy about the long sleeves, but apparently, that's especially for Masters grads...
Our special commencement speaker - Mitt Romney.
The Liberty University & Seminary Class of 2012 plus the onlookers...I didn't take the picture, but I'm in it!
I learned so much from seminary and I am SO thankful for the experience! The knowledge and insight I gained about the Bible, ministry, and teaching children has been so helpful and useful and I am excited to see where all of my education will take me next!
Job
Work this year has been a whirlwind! There has been so much go on in the form of design/screen stuff for the church as well as catering with Megan’s Corner. I’m so blessed to have these jobs and use my gifts and talents for both. Highlights of the year: running screens for the Annie Moses Band (one of my favorite music groups) and catering for an event featuring Elizabeth Smart. God’s really blessing both places that I work and I am excited to see what He is going to do at First Baptist and Megan’s Corner in the coming year!
Church
This was my first full year as children’s missions leader at church. I had lots of really cool experiences in this capacity this summer! I got to be associational VBS leader as well as teach missions to children in AWANA, CiA (Children in Action), VBS, and help organize a fall children’s missions conference sponsored by the TN Baptist Convention. It was so awesome to be able to interact with so many kids and open their eyes to the world of missions. If you know me, you know that teaching kids missions is my love and passion AND seeing them have a love and passion for missions brings my heart so much happiness that it is literally smiling right now! :)
Teaching missions during VBS
Volunteering in the media department by overseeing the projection screens has also continued full force this year. From special performances to regular Sunday services...there is never a dull moment! Seven years ago, I would have never dreamed of myself in this capacity because I never had a background in media, but I am so thankful for two special ladies who saw potential in me and invited me into the ministry - since then, life has never been the same! The only thing I wish is that I could wear tennis shoes every Sunday morning because it feels like most weeks I am a marathon runner trying to get last minute things done before we go live on air! Ha ha!
Unforgettable Summer
So much happened this summer and it’s really crazy to sit here and process it all, but I’ll try.
In May, my sister Meredith left for Thailand to be a summer missionary. She got to use her gifts and talents in accounting to make a difference on the mission field! So awesome! Meredith got to experience many new and exciting things throughout the summer. She even was gracious enough to Skype my VBS and CiA kids – they definitely thought that was cool! God really used her and she has so many neat stories about her time there. The experience in Thailand was definitely God-affirming that this is what He wants her to do for a career.
In June, I was asked for the fifth year to page for the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans, LA. This year, my entire family went (minus Meredith who was in Thailand) and so my other sister, Lauren paged as well. I know I say this every year, but this was my favorite year to page! I had such an incredible experience working for the convention this year. I was copier page and I also had the honor of working on the platform this year which was very cool. Over the past few years, I have gotten to know some of the executive staff and so it has been neat in these last couple of years to see people who I recognize and vice-versa. I have so much respect for the men and women who run the annual Southern Baptist Conventions as these events are intricately organized, staffed, and assembled – it is definitely a team effort. Hands-down, my favorite part of this paging experience was meeting and being a part of the nomination/election of the new SBC president, Dr. Fred Luter. He is the first African-American president to preside over the Southern Baptist Convention which made his nomination and subsequent election the most historic in SBC history AND I got to experience it all from the very stage where it was happening! Talk about cool! The day after his election, I got the opportunity to meet him and get my picture taken with him. It was definitely an unforgettable experience!
View of the 2012 Southern Baptist Convention from my perch on the platform
Myself and Dr. Fred Luter, president of the Southern Baptist Convention
On the Fourth of July, the lives of two of my friends were turned completely upside down when they lost their boys in a lake accident. It was a tragedy that rocked not only their lives, but the lives of our church and community. I shared my feelings about this time on my blog (see A Prayer from My Heart and Flooded with Peace and A Calm After the Storm), but suffice it to say, it was a very difficult time. This is a valley that these families are still walking through and I absolutely hate that for them. I don't understand why this happened and we'll never understand why this happened this side of heaven - but I do know that God has been with us through every single moment and I can't imagine how this experience would have gone without that knowledge. Through this, however, the boys have made a lasting impact on our community as many have come to Christ or have recommitted their lives to Christ through inspirational stories involving the boys. I had the honor of knowing both of them and feel so blessed that I was able to interact with the two of them. Not that I didn't before...but since July 4th when a kid runs up to me with huge, open arms...I hug a little tighter, listen a little closer, and love a lot deeper.
Nate & Noah - Two awesome young men of God who have made eternal impacts on the Kingdom! Miss them, but rejoicing that I will see them again one day!
In the middle of July, I boarded and airplane and for the fourth time traveled to my heart city of Hong Kong to teach VBS to my heart church, Clearwater Bay International Baptist Church. This year, I had the blessing of leading the music as well as the 4 yr-Kindergarten class. It was such a joy to interact with the children through music this year; to watch how they responded to the songs and really took them to their heart warmed my heart deeply. This year was the largest group of children and the smallest leadership team that CBIBC has ever had for VBS! It was interesting to see how God worked everything out for His glory during this week as there was a low teacher to student ratio as well as unexpected things happen during the week! I blogged all about my trip and you can find all those posts underneath August 2012. During my time there, Meredith joined me and we got to spend some time together in "the" Hong Kong...it was definitely memorable! I'm SO thankful I got the opportunity to go back to Hong Kong this year. This place, through some extraordinary people who I am privileged to call dear friends, has made such an impact on my life and I feel so blessed that I have the opportunity to give back!!!
My adorably-cute 4 yr old/Kindergarten class!
Leading music
Favorite place in the entire world - hands-down
SO thankful to be able to serve in my heart city of Hong Kong
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Good news...I held to my word and this year's retrospective was MUCH shorter than last year! Aren't you proud of me? Ok, maybe not, but I'm proud of myself. :)
Through all of the experiences of 2012, God has shown me that He wants me to spend my life's career serving Him. School is officially over and now it's time for life to begin. I'll admit, I've been getting a little antsy as of late, waiting for God to show His plans for me....but you want to know what He's been teaching me? Patience. Wait upon Me. I will not forsake you. I have it all under control. TRUST ME!
God knows the desires of my heart and I am following and trusting Him, day by day, knowing that in His perfect time He will provide. Jeremiah 29:11 promises me that. Psalm 37:4 promises me that. And my favorite verse, Proverbs 3:5-6, promises that truth as well. I appreciate and covet your prayers as I enter 2013 with a willing and ready heart - ready to go where God wants me to go and do what He wants me to do.
I encapsulated 2010 & 2011 with words, but this year, I’m encapsulating 2012 with a song. This song is 2012 personified to me and I know this truth will hold true in 2013 as well.
Not for a moment will God forsake me. He loves me...He's with me...He's got 2013 all under control.
2010 is not the year I thought it would be…and this statement is not necessarily a bad one..but things have happened this year that have shaped my life in extraordinary ways.There have been intense blessings this year and a few intense hurts this year.I have laughed hard and cried hard this year.It’s really been a roller-coaster of a year, but if it wasn’t for my Heavenly Abba and my Savior who walks with me daily, I NEVER, I repeat NEVER would have made it through.
If I had to encapsulate 2010 in one word, it would be trust.Trust in God, for sure, but also trust in myself and trust in others.I will admit, this year I have seen how misplaced trust can hurt and how full-fledged trust can save your life.It’s really been an unforgettable year.
School
School was a whirlwind this year.In the spring semester, I had my Education methods classes...and I thought at the time those were the hardest classes I had up to that point…ha ha…looking back, I’m going to make that the fall semester JIn all honesty, my spring semester helped me immensely.It shaped the way I student taught in the fall and, looking back, I am grateful for all we did in methods because it truly prepared me for student teaching.I had a precious 3rd grade class and learned a lot from my cooperating teacher.In the fall, I started student teaching.Student teaching was the hardest thing I’ve ever done educationally & there were a couple of meltdowns here and there, but I’m writing this blog so I obviously survived!Ha ha!There were moments where I was convinced that I wasn’t going to make it, but God reminded me “Trust Me.Don’t lean on your understanding.Acknowledge Me!I will direct your paths (and pull you through)” (Prov. 3:5-6…paraphrased)...and He did!I remember last year asking you to pray for my placements- the students and teachers and I have to just thank you so much because God answered your prayers.I found out at the end of spring semester that one placement would be with a 2nd grade class and the other would be with a 5th grade class.I was placed with the most kind-hearted, loving, passionate teachers who helped me immensely.God purposed these ladies to be my cooperating teachers because we all had things in common (for instance, I had worked with one of my teachers before and the other teacher & I shared a common love of technology) JThe 2 classes were just incredibly precious and I love and miss each child I taught.My student teaching experience, however, helped me come to the realization that I need to professionally teach kids or help teach kids on a spiritual level.My heart was burdened for students who didn’t grow up in a Christian home and just simply hated their life.I felt God wanted me to work for Him in more of a ministry setting.A lot of people say that God’s called them to ministry, and I know that God does call people at some point in their life.I, however, feel like I was born called to the ministry.I have been in church from the moment I was home from the hospital back in May of 1987…it is where I feel the happiest and at home.I can’t imagine not being in ministry.Anyways….I decided mid-way through the fall semester to look into Children’s ministry graduate programs.I looked a bunch of different Children’s Ministry programs and decided that Liberty University’s was the one for me.I talked about this in my last blog post, so I’m not going to go into those details again.(If you’re interested, though, click here to read that post).So as of Jan. 2011, I will be a graduate student at Liberty University (although, I will not move to Virginia until the fall of next year).Like I said, school has been a whirlwind…I’ve definitely learned A LOT!I graduated in December and it felt great to walk across that stage and get my diploma!
College graduate with her happy parents :)
May 2010
For a month that was supposed to be the best of the whole year…my birthday month, end of school month, beginning of vacation month…it sure turned out to be the hardest, most difficult month of my entire life.In early May, it was discovered that the financial secretary of the church (who had worked there for 50+ years) embezzled 1 million+ dollars.This was a time of great hardship for our church and my family.There were things that happened that I can’t talk about because of legality issues that were just difficult to hear, understand, and go through.May 11th is my birthday and the secretary was arrested the day before.That week…a week that was supposed to be the happiest of my year because I was turning 23…was such a valley for us all.I cried so much that week and just did not know what was going to happen to us, but I am soooooooooooooo thankful for sweet friends who were there for me, encouraging to me, praying for my family, and just let me cry on their shoulders…your kindness will NEVER be forgotten.Honestly, when I first heard the news, I didn’t know how our church was going to make it, but what Satan meant for evil, God meant for God and I am sooooooooo happy to report that our church has been the best it’s ever been and God, through our pastor, has carried us through our valley and is giving us mountainous opportunities to glorify His name.Looking back, though, the saddest part of the whole experience is that someone who we placed such trust in with the church’s finances let us down.This was a woman that I said hello to each day I was in the office, a woman who asked me how school was going, and just a sweet, kind lady who seemingly loved her job and was dedicated to it.I don’t understand how such a sweet woman could do such a deceptive thing.It makes me sad to look at her booking picture because I don’t want to remember her like that because for the 5 years I knew her…that wasn’t her, but unfortunately, the evidence doesn’t lie and we have to face the fact that she committed a crime and will have to suffer the consequences of that.Pray for this situation still because it might have to go to trial in 2011, so pray for all those involved in that.I guess my outlook on May 2010 now is don’t place your trust in material things or other people, place your trust in God…whole-heartedly and will full abandon.
Summer Opportunities
May 2010 changed the landscape of our summer.Things we had planned to do were put on hold or all together cancelled.It was hard, but it was necessary.The summer of 2010, however, included some of the best parts of the whole year for me, though.
Southern Baptist Convention – Orlando, FL For the 2nd year in a row, I had the opportunity to serve my Convention as a page.While my entire family was supposed to go to convention this year, my parents were unable to, so Meredith and I flew by ourselves to Orlando and met up with the team of pages there.We both got to serve on the page team.Now, I’m not trying to sound boastful or anything, but without pages at the convention, business would be extremely slow and long.Pages are the cross-country runners of the Southern Baptist Convention meetings because they deliver the motions and point-of-orders and all the paperwork in record time to the…well, let’s just call them “big-wigs”.The “big wigs” look it over and make sure all the bases are covered and then all that goes to copy for all the lawyers and such to review and discuss.Depending on the year, pages are used over and above the call of duty…it depends on the business and the location.This year it depended on both.Business-wise, we were voting for a new Convention president and we were also voting on a controversial Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) motion.I’m not going to go into detail with all that, but you can look it up on Google if you’re interested.All I know is that this topic was making the Orlando convention one of the biggest conventions in a while and over 15,000 people were expected.Location-wise, the convention hall was one big-normous flat room.If you remember last year, my job was “copier”…I actually ended up having this job again because I was requested by the Recording Secretary of the Southern Baptist Convention to do so.That was a complete honor and I was so humbled that he remembered me.I also ended up being a stage page, so I got to sit on stage with the “big-wigs” and run errands for them and meet the speakers and such.I’ll tell you when the vote was taken on the controversial GCR topic, I will NEVER forget standing at front of the platform and seeing the sea of ballots that went up in the sky…both ways.If you Google an image of GCR, you’ll probably see a picture similar to that.It was the exact image I saw from where I stood.I felt part of Convention history.On the last day, Dr. John Yaets (Recording Secretary for the SBC) told me that he was incredibly impressed with my work ethic and asked if he could throw my name out to his convention contacts if I was one day interested in a job.Wow.I was kind of floored and amazed and humbled.Dr. Yaets & his sweet wife/assistant begged me to come to Convention next year in Phoenix and I am praying that God can open the doors for me to go.
The 2010 Southern Bapitst Convention Pages
Mission Trip to Hong Kong, China In July, I went for the 3rd time to a place that is so close to my heart…a place that is home to me and where I just love being…Hong Kong.I will admit to you…I was really troubled about this trip before I left.I was worried about everything…traveling by myself, money, getting lost, and just about everything else.God showed me that I needed to place my trust in Him and He would carry me through.It was a hard realization, but when I let go and let God…I saw some pretty incredibly things happen that made this visit the better than the last (nothing beats my first “visit”, though, because that’s when I lived there J).I traveled with Brentwood Baptist Church in Nashville, TN to do VBS- Saddle Ridge Ranch with my International home church, Clearwater Bay International Baptist Church.It was a complete dream-come-true to work with my close HK friends and make new ones at that.I worked with an incredible team and we were able to see kids come to Christ.I had the opportunity to be one of the main leaders of the 3rd & 4th grade class and led the plan of salvation to my kids.Out of our class, we had 1 boy accept Christ and 2 others who had questions.It was so humbling for me to plant the seeds of salvation into these students and help mature one that was ready to accept the greatest gift he’s ever received.I also got to use my media gifts to do screens for VBS too…and ended up being a worship rally back-up (I mean literally, I was the back-up in case the real leader couldn’t do it) dancer…ha ha JI look at the photos from my trip and am just so homesick for that time.I miss each child and just pray that God is working in their lives and showing them His love.I am so thankful for sweet friends who helped me when I traveled to HK by myself the first week and in order to look at some possible future job opportunities and were there at the airport to meet me and help me get settled.I am also thankful for sweet memories with close HK friends…like eating my first bite of jellyfish and getting a free birthday cake…when it wasn’t even my birthday J HA HA!
Me & my 3rd & 4th Grade Class...Love them! :)
Church
Last year, I think I said church-work increased 1,000-fold…well I guess this year it was like 2,500-fold!Goodness, gracious….I’ve had a BIG year church-work wise, but every moment’s been a blessing and I can’t imagine doing anything else.Each Sunday is a blessing and I have run screens/multi-media for some pretty amazing people this year – Bro. Dean Haun, Rabbi Greg Hershberg, Dr. Richard Holden, and so many more people that I just can’t think of right now.I view my position as one in which I help others worship God; when everything flows together and people are able to sing to the Lord with their heart by reading the words off the screen or learn new things as they have read from the screen…that is all part of how people worship God through the screens.This is why this job is so important to me and why I value and am humbled in the position that God has placed me in.I’ve had the opportunity to help facilitate worship for so many people which is an honor and privilege.This year I created multi-media experiences for the Spring musical and Living Christmas Tree.They both were great performances and I was so humbled that God had given me the inspiration for these performances.But my most favorite experience this year happened just recently.I had the opportunity to help coordinate on the church’s end a DVD taping at the church for a Southern Gospel recording group called Greater Vision.It was a task that was bigger than I expected, but God gave me the help I needed for it.I ended up getting to be on the crew because the producer wanted to utilize the screens for the recording; I got to be on a headset and hear what all was going on.I am extremely honored to be a part of this project & CAN’T WAIT for the DVD to come out…from the shots I saw from the screen…it’s gonna be beautiful JI am so thankful God has given me a love for media…it’s certainly something I didn’t know I was in to until I moved to Morristown, but now I can’t imagine my life without it.I’ve also been able to use my love for teaching by getting to teach the Awana kids about missions once a month.I’ve been able to teach them about lots of different things in unconventional teaching ways.It’s been fun & I love watching them learn!
Working at my media post!
Work
Work has been here and there this year because of my Student Teaching schedule, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of when I have been working.I work for a fantabulous company called Megan’s Corner Catering and More.My boss is one of my close friends and I just love working there!I’ve worked for Megan’s Corner for about 4 years now as a server, and last year became “Team Leader”…which I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to be doing with that title, but that’s a different story…but this year I became Webmaster!That’s right…I designed the Megan’s Corner website.I think it turned out great, especially considering I am not a web designer, but with the advice of others, I was able to get this turned out.We’ve heard nice complements about it…that it is easy to follow and very helpful- comments that truly mean a lot to me.God is truly blessing this business and I am so honored to be a part of it.I am looking forward to the 10 year anniversary of the business in 2011.
Me with my boss & her husband & dad (co-owners of Megan's Corner)
Prayer
Pray for me next year.New opportunities and experiences are going to come up for me.Pray I will make the best decision.I will also be transitioning to new places, pray for smooth transitions.Also, pray God will open doors for me in the summer, with the Southern Baptist Convention and also I would love to go on another mission trip if it’s God’s plan for me to do so.All I want to do with my life is be a servant to the King and live with that servant’s heart…pray that God will give me opportunities this year to continue serving Him.I value your prayers and your friendship.Thank you in advance for them.
--------------- I know this has been an extremely long blog post, and if you’re still reading, BLESS YOUR HEART! JBut really, this was good for me to sit back and write about this year and remember all of these memories and how God has seen me through it all.I am so grateful to Him for holding me in His arms and never letting me go.I sang a song this past July, the Sunday before I left for Hong Kong that..to me…encapsulated God’s message to me this year.... “Trust me, Allison.I will never leave ‘your hands’”.I share this song with you now…let it be an encouragement to you for 2011…If in 2011 your world is shaking or your heart is breaking, He will never leave your hands.
2011…You will be a year of new transitions and experiences and frankly (judging from this year) I have no idea what else you will bring, but what I do know is that God will be with me every step of the way! J
