The Blessing of Spreading the Word

As I sit here thinking through everything that has happened in the past month I am amazed at what God has blessed me with. It brings a mixture of emotions when I see God's hand in my life and what I've done with what He's given me. I am sad to say I've not always responded the way I should've or done the Christ like thing but God knew I would make those choices and He also used those choices whether poor or wise to teach me something. 

   This past month I was blessed with the opportunity to travel with some dear friends and to minister to people along the east coast. We traveled from Pennsylvania to Florida, from Florida to Pennsylvania, to Connecticut and then back to Pennsylvania in a matter of 10 days. It was a ton of fun and full of blessings as we were able to renew friendships, create new ones, and spread the gospel to the most random people! In our quick stop in PA we were able to minister to an Elderly home in Downingtown and seeing these people enjoy music and to hear the gospel at the ages of 90's to 100's! It goes to show you that you are never too old to hear the Truth of God's word!
    My trip closed with saying "Ciao!" to my dear friends and my heart was heavy with the idea that I might not see them again for a long time. But I am also very excited to see how the seeds we planted along the way grow and maybe bear fruit one day.
    Jesus calls us to go into the world and spread the gospel. He also says in 1 Peter that He will make us strong. I never would have thought that I would have traveled and been able to present the gospel like we did on this trip!  All the fears of failure, not saying the right things, or being alone are lies that Satan desires us to believe so that we wont step out in faith and do things. When we replace those lies with the truth of God we are then walking in victory and able to spread the love of Jesus wherever we go!

 The Rega Family and Company singing and presenting the gospel :)

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Winter!!

The breakfast dishes are being finished up and the floors being swept when the excited shout rings through the dining hall "IT'S SNOWING!!" Immediately the entire room empties into the streets of the Ranch and stand, dance, jump up and down, sticking their tongues out to catch the white fluffy flakes as they gently float from the skies. It has finally arrived, the long awaited (and somewhat dreaded for those used to the warmer climates ;) snow. It brings a mixture of  emotions of ecstasy and also the knowledge that it is truly farewell to the warm sunshine and hello to the cold and wet days of winter. But in light of how winter aids in the renewal of our world I am content to say that I am happy to see it arrive. In the same way I am learning to love the winters that God brings into my life as I know that they are designed to mold and grow me. The spring that comes after a cold spell is incredible. God has been teaching my heart to not dread the conviction or the trials, but to look forward to them as they are bringing me closer to Him and His love. It isn't always easy or fun but who ever said they would be. Jesus said "Take my yoke upon you....Pick up my cross daily and follow me....I will not leave you nor forsake you.....Come unto me all ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.....Come unto me and I will teach you my ways..." (multiple verses paraphrased or shortened)  It is such a comfort and a blessing to know that God has my path completely planned out and all I have to do is just trust Him. :) I am constantly laying myself down at the foot of the cross with everything He lays in my path and saying "Lord, I am fully and completely Yours. Take me anywhere and walk me through this!"
This month we are studying Virtue and Thoroughness. Virtue goes back to having morale excellence/righteousness. What exactly is that? Well it boils down to your character. Are we modeling Jesus Christ and are we living fully as He would?  Thoroughness is doing something to completion. Are we thoroughly (completely,utterly, perfectly) seeking out Christ's character and mirroring Him to the best of my ability?  It is constantly challenging as God walks me through different situations and I am tested on what am I doing to truly mirror Christ? Am I choosing to allow the winters that God bring into my life to bring me to greater wisdom of God's love and character?
     Remember that God never brings anything into our lives that we can't handle and there is no winter that doesn't have a warm spring ahead if we choose to accept God's promptings and let Him lead us through the cold storms. 

Summertime Ranch Style :)

The sounds of summer have blasted upon the Ranch and we are completely overrun with approximately 160 kiddos a week! Sadly our summer is about to come to a close as we wrap up week number 7 and end with the lil Buckaroos next week. We have had record numbers and are excited to see God working in all the people that come through here.
 My summer in the kitchen has been challenging and incredible all in one. God has taught me so many things it would take a book to be able to just start telling everything. I am currently helping head up our crews and packing for all of our wilderness camps and our specialty outdoor meals. It has been a challenge to juggle everything but it is fun trying to keep up.
  Something that God has been challenging me on is to be mold able. Every time I become focused on being exhausted or how much work needs to be done etc I fall and become grumpy and angry at life and everything. God has challenged my heart to focus on Him and to rely on Him for His strength. Hebrews 12:1-3 calls us to run the race that God has set before us, looking always to Jesus for our strength and to always remember what He went through so that we might not grow weary in serving Him and gain the riches He has promised us. :) It is incredible! Being exhausted is the best place to be because God is able to work through your weakness!
   Stay strong in the Lord and He will give you strength to do what He has called you to do!

Content or not Content that is the question

Contentment. The seemingly ever elusive thing that everyone desires. As humans we search for it in every place imaginable, filling their lives with physical things and money. And yet they never find the peace and joy that they so desire. It is something that when you really think about it that is right before our very eyes. The Word of God and everything He has given us and taught us is where true contentment lies.
    What is the definition of contentment?  The dictionary definition of contentment is "Ease of Mind." What is contentment? The Sunday School answer would be "Why becoming happy where God has you of course." But when you begin to dig deeper there is so much more to it. I'm not saying I have it all figured out but I have discovered some things. Contentment is resting in the power of God. What can God do? Everything and anything. Is there anything God cannot do? No. Can anything happen without God knowing or ordaining it? No. What about when evil happens? Not even evil can happen without God ordaining it. Evil was created by God and is simply the absence of God and His glory. So are we still willing to be content and trusting in God's all knowing and infinite power even when things are going bad or even good?
    These are just some things that I have been thinking over the past couple weeks and if you have any other insights please feel free to post and we can dig deeper into this. :)

Dreamers and the Doers

Something that I have been thinking about and have discovered after talking with my dear friend Sarah is that in this crazy world we live in there are 2 kinds of people (I'm sure there are many other kinds but these are the two we discussed) : Dreamers and Doers.  The dreamers tend to spend hours and hours thinking and dreaming up schemes and ideas of what they can do with something. Piling up ideas in the back of their heads and pulling them out randomly to reevaluate and see if it could work better now or later. I seem to think that they are unorganized and tend to forget quickly because they are busy dreaming or doing multiple things at once. I can say this because I am a dreamer :) I am constantly thinking of new things and how to do them or how to revamp this or that. How I might do this or change that and go out and do adventurous things. I also tend to be very unorganized and forgetful when I'm doing a ton of things at once.  The Doers on the other hand spend their time trying to keep the dreamer from floating off into dreamland and keep the reality in focus. They think over something for a long time and if it doesn't work or they know it wont go anywhere they throw it out the window. If it does seem to work they will build goals to be able to get there. They are the movers of the dreams of the dreamers. Without the people like Sarah, people like me would more than likely be in a lot of interesting situations. It is so crazy awesome to see how God created all of us with those kind of minds. I loved having this conversation with Sarah and I wanted to share it with you guys! Hope you enjoy! Jemima

February Blessing!!

Sunshine, birds singing, no clouds in the sky, almost 50 degrees it's February....wait did I say February?? Yup! :) To think that we would have this weather at this time year is incredible! Just goes to show that nothing is set and when God feels like it He blesses us with blessings like today! God has been continually showing me that He is the only thing that doesn't change. So many things come and go, dreams and passions change, seasons bloom and fade yet the Word of God does not perish! His blessings come when we seek His face and follow Him no matter what! One of the many blessings I have had this week has been the opportunity for fellowship with staff and apprentices through random things, being blessed with a trip to Colorado in April, to be out in God's creation doing what I love! What has God been challenging and blessing you with?