I'm a terrible blogger

My EA and friend, Matt, is one of my favorite bloggers and this week he got me thinking about how I'm a TERRIBLE blogger. One of my spiritual gifts is encouragement and I LOVE talking about my beautiful Savior, so why the heck can't I blog about it??

My goal next month is to blog twice, so I'm spending the remainder of October intentionally praying for the Spirit to lead me.

Until then, here are a few blogs that bless me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I read them. I love being part of a family of believers who want nothing more than to obediently document their journey with Christ.

Susan Daniels: Semi-Homemade Suzie.

Susan is my baby sister who has an amazing gift of creative writing.  Her blog generally makes me laugh, but the way The Lord has been moving in her life this past year, I expect Him to do great things through her blog.  PS. if you like food and saving money, she posts tasty cheap recipes, too. Check it!
 
April Kirby: Ramblings of Young Christian Woman.

If you know me, you know my love for April. April is probably my biggest fan, so that does make it easy to love her, but she is also the 21 year old version of me. God has blessed me in indescribable ways through our friendship since meeting her in Brazil 2 summers ago. She has the most beautiful heart for missions and lost people and has a beautiful way of sharing what The Lord puts on her heart. Get some tissues!  Check it!
 
Holly Furtick: The Preacher's Wife.

I've always known my calling to marry a man in full time ministry, so I am incredibly encouraged by wives who love and support their husbands' ministries but don't neglect their own. Holly is the wife of my second favorite pastor, Steven Furtick. Her blog is generally short, but full of wisdom and encouragement! I love, love, love it! Check it!

Matt Ford: LoveGodMakeWar.

I've gone to church with Matt for a few years but never really got to know him until The Lord told me I had to hire him as my assistant. I'm not sure I can fully express what a blessing it is to work with him everyday but it's totally been a God thing.  Maybe I'll blog about it soon! He and I are actually alike in a lot of ways, and a year ago I would have NEVER thought that...haha.  To name a few things we have in common, he has a BURNING passion for students, discipleship and missions!  I'm encouraged daily and, honestly, anticipate his next blog as much as I anticipate Pat Hood and Steven Furtick's sermons each week. Check it!
 
Nicki Koziarz: Nicki Koziarz. 

There was a time in my adult life, I was running, not with, but actually away from my God. During this time The Lord placed Proverbs 31 blogs in my life in a not so random way (check them out too) Nicki is part of Proverbs 31 Ministries and her blog was the first blog I started reading.  I am so encouraged by her honesty and how she can relate to women in all different life stages. Check it!

Carlos St. John: Devoted to the Gospel.

This kid's heart to know his Creator more everyday wrecks me in so many ways.  The wisdom The Lord has blessed him with at such a young age is unreal, not to mention he is ridiculously kind!  He is an Ambassador of Christ in every way the Word calls us to be. I am humbled and challenged by his knowledge every time I read his blog. Check it! (You might want a thesaurus handy...dude has an insane God-given vocabulary)
 

Grant Jenkins: An Idol Heart.

I first heard of Grant in April from a friend at LifePoint and we still haven't met but our mutual friends have been very persistent in making this happen. The past few weeks, God has provided us opportunities to chat about similar ways He's moved in our lives. I'm not ashamed to admit I've read every single one of his blogs since we've gotten to know each other.  Not only is he a far better writer than I could ever imagine being, his heart for God and the people He has placed in his life is beautiful.  Check it!
  

Until November, happy blog-reading!

break my heart for what breaks Yours...

"Open up my eyes to the things unseen,

show me how to love like you have loved me.

Break my heart for what breaks yours,

everything I am for Your kingdom's cause."

~Hillsong United

over the past few months i've tried to focus on the reasons why the Lord has me where i am and why He brings certain people in my life. i've made it a point to be intentional in my relationships and pray over conversations with people i believe He has brought me for a reason. last wednesday i had a meeting with an acquaintance from church, Cortney, about a ministry she has started that was confirmation of God's purpose for my life.


those of you who know me, know i've always been labeled a "fixer". not a label i'm always proud of; it's caused me a lot of pain in my past when i wasn't running after the Lord, but something i've recently accepted as a God given gift when used under His guidance and direction. my heart is heavy for three specific social issues in brazil: human trafficking, sexual exploitation and orphan children. Cortney's ministry, One Less Ministries, has a mission to raise awareness about these and other issues while saving lives... one less orphan, one less victim of human trafficking, one less victim of sexual exploitation and one less victim of poverty.


you know why my heart is heavy?

27 million people are enslaved world wide

over 146 million children are orphans

every 2.2 seconds an orphan child ages out of the system with nowhere to go

over 925 million people are hungry

there are more prostitutes than Christians in Thailand

there are more children in the sex trade in brazil than there are prostitutes in thailand

human trafficking grosses over $9.5 billion a year

prostitution is often considered a victimless crime: girls start between 12 and 14 years old

over half the world, over 3 billion people, live on less that $2.50 a day

these statistics break God's heart.


Cortney's ministry has a heart for broken and hopeless people all over the world who are living in physical and spiritual bondage without Christ. meeting with her was a huge answer to prayers i've prayed every day for months. she came to me knowing my passion for brazil and is asking me to join in praying for how we can help give women and children physical and emotional freedom from their current lives and spiritual freedom through a loving Savior. as she and i sat in the cafe talking about her vision and God's call, my heart was filled with the strong desire to do something now...to fix this problem now! One Less Ministries believes (and God's Word says in Matthew 25:40) that sitting back and doing nothing is disobedience to a Father whose heart breaks for His children living in bondage.


Can you run, walk, or wheel?
Then you can do your part to help NOW!
One Less Ministries is teaming up with Chick-fil-A to raise money and awareness and give one person freedom.


freedom from slavery, sexual exploitation, abuse, and poverty
freedom in Christ!
Please check out the website below and register

www.onelessministries.org/events


"Delayed obedience is disobedience"

~David McCaman


"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear Children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth!"

~1 John 3:16-18

**statistics from onelessministries.org and compassion.com**