birthday surprise! It's Priscilla.

Happy Tuesday!
Summer of 2007 I had the privilege of traveling oversees, where I met Priscilla. It was so refreshing and sweet to meet a kindred spirit so far from home. As you will read a little more, from Priscilla herself, her upbringing is reflected in her life today: she loves the word of God, she loves God and she loves His people. How can you go wrong with that combo?! Friends, you will be blessed and encouraged by this post!

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A Huge Leap of Faith

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A little over four years ago, I began a relationship with a man who would turn my whole life upside down. I prayed, the Lord gave me peace, and I took a leap of faith. A leap that would change my life completely.

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A little background on myself, I grew up in a Christian home in Palestine, got saved when I was four, and have seen the hand of Lord work miraculously in my life since as far back as I can remember. I have God fearing parents who taught me and my brothers the Word of God. My Dad is a Pastor and he and my Mom taught us to put all our trust in the Lord and to live by faith. 

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Pedro and I were a just a few months away from getting married and we had no place to live. People kept asking me, “So, where are you going to live when you get married, Miami, Bethlehem, Jerusalem?” My answer was a simple “Don’t know, not worried.” My friends and extended family thought I was insane! Not only was I marrying a Dominican from America but I also had no idea where I was going to live. 

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Three months before getting married, I visited Miami to meet Pedro’s family and to visit the church that he attended and worked at. Before I came to Miami I asked the Lord to give me wisdom and to fill my heart with love or hate towards the church I was visiting and towards the place I would potentially call home. I also asked for peace and clarity, I didn’t want to have an ounce of doubt in my mind. I visited CCk and absolutely fell in love! I called my parents right away and told them how awesome the church was, how people are so friendly, how Hispanic culture is very similar to Arab culture, and that I would most likely fit right in. 

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I went back to Bethlehem and it was full on wedding planning mode from then, still not sure of where we would live but I knew that no matter where the Lord wanted us to be, I had peace, perfect peace and no matter what I was ready to take a leap of faith. At this point, it was either me leaving my family and moving or Pedro leaving his family and moving.

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Two months before we got married, I received a text from Pedro letting me know that after much praying our post marriage location had been decided and that we were moving to Miami. I knew I had to obey my future husband who the Lord placed in my life. So many emotions, so many thoughts ran through my mind at this point. I had two months to enjoy my family, plan a wedding, and pack. It hurt! I knew I was going to be loved, I knew I had a good church, and I knew that Pedro’s family would take me in as their own but it still hurt. I told my parents the news about the move and they were devastated but knew that God had a plan for me. A few weeks later my Dad had a heart attack, I blamed myself, I had broken his heart. His only daughter was moving to the other side of the world. 

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I was feeling bittersweet as my Daddy walked me down the aisle on my wedding day, my heart was aching but it was also overjoyed. It ached because I knew I was leaving my friends, my family and my life behind. Overjoyed because I was marrying the perfect man for me, starting a new life, making new friends, and gaining a family. After only being married for two weeks, my two bags were packed, I had said my goodbye’s and I was on a plane with my new husband to Miami- my mission field. 

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We’ve now been married for a little over 3 years and I serve at the best church on the planet with the greatest kids in the world. The ministry that the Lord placed me in, the one He had planned for me, is so rewarding and just to think that I could have missed out on all of it if I hadn’t taken that leap of faith, the leap that changed my life. It took me a few months to fully adjust to my new home and to get over my homesickness but now I don’t see myself anywhere else other than here, well until the Lord tells us to move again. Until then, I enjoy living in the perfect will of God; my Dad always says, “The best place to be, is where the Lord wants you to be” and this is so true.

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I encourage you to take a leap of faith at least once in your life, a leap so great, your life will change for the better. Dive in head first and trust that the Lord, the God that made you, has everything under control and His plans are better than yours, I did and I don’t regret it one bit!

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“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you and give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

birthday surprise! It's Stephanie.

Today's birthday post comes from a very special friend. I was Stephanie's youth group leader when she was in High School. I have been a witness to the wonderful and faithful work of God in her life. Today Stephanie has bloomed into a beautiful lily among thorns. When I first asked her to pray about writing a guest post, she gently said no. However, the Lord had other plans. Below you will read what the Lord has spoken through her for you today.

God bless you!

Choosing to Forgive Even When We don’t ‘Feel’ Like It

Often times we are challenged to go beyond our “comfort zone” and do something out of the ordinary. Francis Chan could not have said it better: “We sometimes care about our comfort far more than we care about our character, but that's not God's desire.”

Sometimes we are faced with a challenge that we necessarily do not want to do. You see, I was challenged to do something in my life that I necessarily did not want to do. What’s the reason you may ask? Well, I could sit here for hours and give you excuses, but frankly, it was because I didn’t “feel” like it. I CHOSE not to do it.

One may hear all the time, “Life is FULL of choices” and if you really think about it, it’s true! You can choose to wake up in the morning expecting to have a wonderful day. You can choose to not get upset. You can choose to live a life worthy and surrendered to God. You can choose to set a good example at work, school, life, etc. You can choose to forgive those who have wronged you. You can choose to take charge of your own actions despite the way another may act. It’s all a choice, whether or not you “feel” like doing it. Why haven’t you done your homework? Because I don’t “feel” like it. Why haven’t you done your devo’s? Because I didn’t “feel” like it.

Choosing to base my decision upon all these “feelings” would be foolish. God’s word clearly tells us that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). I would only be deceiving myself if I chose to listen to those “feelings.”

My friend asked me, “Do you think Jesus ‘felt’ like dying on the cross for us? Go ahead. Think about it.” He also shared that Jesus prayed 3 times asking God if there was any other way. Not one. Not two, but THREE times! Feel free to read the story. It’s in Matthew 26:36-46. Jesus knew that dying on the cross for our sins needed to be done. He loves us that much that He was willing to give it ALL just to be with us and offer that beautiful yet costly gift.

If we have chosen to give our “all” to God, yet we have chosen not to forgive another, have we truly given our “all” to Him? Forgiveness is definitely not an easy thing to do. If you are dealing with some type of hate or anger, let me ask you the following, “How does that hate/anger make you feel?” I bet it feels pretty bad. Note that hate is very hungry and has very sharp teeth. It can literally eat up your whole heart and leave no room left for love. Do not let your heart become a battlefield between love and hate.

Mediate upon the following two quotes:

• "Don't let your heart become angry toward people. God has not called us to yell at the darkness. God has called us to shine in the darkness." ü Brady Boyd

• Painful things that should be changed CAN be changed; from ending global poverty to healing a marriage. Willing to change is the difficult part. -Bianca Juarez

Now that God has given me all these insights into the things I was struggling with, I now have decided to take upon that challenge despite my feelings. An appropriate response is not a feeling, an appropriate response demands action. For me, in this season of my life, I have chosen to forgive. I love what Francis Chan said, “God is more concerned about changing YOU than changing your circumstance.”

At this time very moment you may be convinced with what I am sharing, but NOT necessarily converted and that’s fine because it is not my job. I’m not here to play the Holy Spirit. I’m here to share all that God has shown me and I pray that the Holy Spirit may give you the strength to do what He has called you to do and not just be filled with this knowledge and information God has shared through me. Stay strong in Him. Though roadblocks may alter your journey, remain steadfast in your Jesus journey and eventually, you will reach your destination. May we train ourselves to be still and hear the voice of God instead of our “feelings.”

I would like to close with the following statement I heard in a movie called “Amish Grace.” If you have not seen this film, I totally recommend it.

• “Faith when everything is as you want it to be is not true faith. It’s only when our lives are falling apart that we have our chance to make our faith real.”