.worry.fear.stress::Peace.Joy.Rest.

This has been a long week.

This has been a very full week.

This week has been very full of good things,

necessary things,

important things,

Godly things.

But....

...this week I have been very stressed out.

I sat on the couch tonight and told my mom "I don't think it's God's plan for us to live life this stressed out."

Then I read a blog written by a dear friend and this is what she posted:

{A life of fear is not what I have called you to. Insecurities were never meant to be your best friend. Worry should never trap you in a love/hate relationship. You ask "Who's going to take care of me?" ME! I am. I'm your Father. I know your needs along with your desires. You're not an inconvenience to me!-God}

Then I was reminded of what Jesus had to say about all this:

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." ~Matt. 11:28-30

So it turns out, I was right. All this worrying and stressing and running around like a crazy person ISN'T God's plan. As usual, He has a better one.

He wants me to trust Him.

He wants me to follow Him & let Him lead.

He wants me to rest in His peace.

He wants me to NOT be concerned about what others think.

He Wants Me...All of Me...All of My Love...All of My Heart

.I am yours Jesus.

~ beautiful things ~

Yesterday I posted about the new thing that Jesus is leading me in. As He has been doing this new thing, my heart has been overflowing with .joy. and .awe. There were so many times in the last year that I felt so baffled, so confused and so hopeless when I looked at the dead garden of my life. It was like a whole year of winter in my heart - "always winter but never Christmas" to quote a certain faun. :) But now as the snow has been melting and new life is springing up, I look back and see that under all that death and despair, things were growing. My Jesus is amazing like that; He can take ANYTHING and use it to make something beautiful. He leads us through seasons in the valley of the shadow in His infinitely perfect leadership to bring us closer to Himself as well as to prepare us for beautiful and wonderful things.

My brother played this song for me last week. It resonates with my heart as I look back at the last year and look forward to the next step.

He's Doing a .N.E.W. Thing

On a journey with Jesus, He takes us through many different kinds of seasons. This past year has been a beautiful and hard season of waiting in my journey. With the new year though, the Lord began doing something beautiful...something NEW and I will soon be traveling again...

I will be spending my summer learning and serving in Mozambique at the Iris Harvest School of Missions!

A couple weeks ago I posted on my blog about reading Compelled by Love by Heidi Baker. With her husband she founded a ministry in Mozambique that is serving the least of these in one of the darkest and poorest places on earth. While I've never felt "called" to Africa, the heart of this ministry beats in sync with mine. I'm so excited to learn from them about serving the poor and broken while growing more in my relationship with Jesus. Daily they are expressing the Father's heart to the orphan, providing food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, and LOVE for everyone they encounter. It's simple. They are pouring out all they have for the least of these (Matthew 25:40). It's radical and it's beautiful.

There is a lot more on my heart about this new journey and I'll be sharing it little by little through my blog as I prepare. I just wanted to share the excitement that has been bubbling over in me since I received my acceptance letter Thursday night. It's going to be very busy and very exciting as I prepare to leave by the end of May but I'm going to do my best to keep posting on my blog. Stay tuned!