So Humbled by His Goodness

As I lie on the couch (since I have been displaced from my old bedroom by my sister) and get ready to fall asleep I hear my dad snoring in the room next door and I thank God for giving me a few short days back at home with some of my family.  How did I get so incredibly blessed?

As I look at all that my God has so graciously given me, I am so humbled.  Why me?  Why did I get this life?  Why did I get parents who have loved me and prayed for me from the moment they knew I was coming into their lives?  Why did I get parents who have pointed my eyes toward Christ since day one?  Why did I get siblings who have become my best friends and who would do anything in the world for me? Why did I get friends who bless my life with encouragement and love?  Why did I get a family who never had to worry about where the next meal would come from or having a roof over our heads?  Why has God poured out so many blessings on me?

O how it humbles me to think about all that my God has blessed me with.  And then to top it all off, He pours out grace, mercy, and love in abundance!  He rescued me from something I would never be able to overcome.  O He is so so good!

Recently, on almost what feels like a weekly basis, I am overjoyed almost to the point of tears as I think about what my God has done for me.  I don't understand how His love for me could be so deep and so wide, but I am so thankful that He covers me in His loving kindness.  His faithfulness amazes me.

I pray that He will transform me to love more like He does.  I pray that He will transform my heart to look more like Him.  I pray for a humble heart as I worship my God who rescued me from hell.  If that isn't a reason to fall before Him and praise our mighty God, I don't know what is!

I have no clue why He has poured out so many blessing on me, but I do know...that to those who have been given much, much will be expected.  I pray that God will give me a giving heart, that I might give freely not just of physical things, but also of grace, mercy, and love.  O how good our God is!!!

So maybe this is what family really is...

A few weeks ago I was eating dinner at a friend's house who over the past 1 1/2 years has found herself raising her two nieces and nephew.  After dinner the kids ran off to work on homework and play outside.  Amanda and I plopped down on the couch in the living room to chat and watch The Voice.  During our conversation we somehow got on the subject of family, and she made a comment that has resonated with me since that night.  She said, "Sometimes God comes in and totally redefines your idea of what family looks like."

I'm pretty sure my eyes started to tear up as I started to think about that.  I was born into an incredible family with awesome parents, a great big brother, and a best friend for a little sister.  I have been blessed in so many incredible ways through my parents and my siblings, but recently God has been showing me that His idea of family is so much larger than that.

Growing up most little girls want to get married and have a house full of kids that they can call their family.  For a long time I thought that was family and that that was exactly what I wanted, but recently God has been showing me that family can look completely different than that!

Family can look like 5 girls piled onto a small couch laughing until our sides hurt.

Family can look like sharing birthday dinner with one of the sweetest 11 year old boys I know.

Family can look like the amazing staff that I get to work with on a weekly basis!

God is continually transforming my definition of family!  There are countless more examples of the family that He has blessed me with here in Little Rock.  He has blessed me with next door neighbors from PV who let me come crash at their place to watch Big Bang Theory almost every week.  He has blessed me with the Leveretts who put up with Boomer and me crashing for dinner at least twice a week.  He has blessed me with our Thursday night family dinner crew who feels like little brothers and sisters to me.  He has blessed me with 60 little sisters that I would do absolutely anything for.  He has blessed me with 60 little brothers who constantly keep me laughing and keep my life entertaining.  He has blessed me with incredible older sisters who surround me with prayer and pour so much of God's love into my life.  He has expanded my view of what family truly is.  What a blessing that when we are a part of the Church God is constantly extending our view of what family truly is!

I love my girls!

Best siblings ever!

Best Friends!

So blessed by these little sisters!

Keeping it classy! 

Hanging out in my pajamas!

This pretty much sums up our relationship!

Best little brothers ever!

All the kids!

Couldn't have been blessed with better parents!

I am so thankful that God is constantly expanding my view of what family really is!  He has blessed me in more ways that I could ever imagine!!

What if it's Us?

I’m prayerful that as I write these words that the power of the Holy Spirit which is far greater than I can even imagine will give me wisdom and clarity to proclaim the truth of our awesome God.

Last week I sat down to spend some time studying the Word, and I ended up reading through most of Galatians and Ephesians.  As I read through Ephesians 1 some verses stood out to me like they never have before. 

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray also that they eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.  That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.  And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.  

Ephesians 1:17-23

This whole week I haven’t been able to shake this verse.  It keeps popping into my head over and over again.  The power that raised Christ from the dead is available to us who believe.  We have the same power that raised Christ from the dead alive in us.  HOLY GUACAMOLE…THAT’S GOOD NEWS! 

But for some reason we don’t tap into that power.  For some reason, we live mostly as if we are completely powerless.  For some reason we don’t ask God to do anything in our lives that would be unexplainable.  For some reason our lives make complete sense to unbelievers.  But as Spirit filled followers of Jesus Christ there must be something different about us.  Our lives must look different from those who don’t believe in our Savior.

This morning in class a girl brought up an excellent point…She said, “How do you explain the people who aren’t Christians who seem to be filled with the fruit of the Spirit?”  Our teacher Jeff Spry suggested an answer that has had me thinking all morning long.

He agreed that there are definitely people in this world that seem to be filled with love, joy, goodness, gentleness, patience, kindness, and the other fruits of the Spirit who would not claim to be Christians.  He then posed a question that I can’t stop wrestling with, “What if it is us?”  What if it is us who have become like the world?  What if it is us who are only tapping into the slightest piece of what the Spirit truly has to offer?  What if it is us who have so much more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control available to us, yet we look no different than nice people who don’t know Jesus?  What if we have traded in the incomparably great power that raised Jesus from the dead to camouflage with the world? What if it’s us?

As I wrestle with this question I pray boldly and in faith that the incomparably great power that raised Jesus from the dead will be resurrected in me.  I pray that each breath that I take will be purposed for the Kingdom.  I pray that The Spirit of our God who is alive in me will work in ways that are completely unexplainable by this world.   

Francis Chan put it excellently in his book Forgotten God, “I don’t want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit.  I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn’t be doing this by my own power.  I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through.  That if He doesn’t come through, I am screwed.” (Mom...I know you will read this and think..."I can't believe my daughter just typed that word"...but it's a direct quote...I promise I don't say that.)

I want my life to look like that.  I want to pray boldly in faith for things this world says are impossible and bow amazed before my God when He comes through in amazing ways.  I want to be led by the Holy Spirit every step of the way, completely surrendered to His will for my life…even if that leads me to the cross. 

Two last quotes from Forgotten God that sum up some of my thoughts on why this is so challenging for us…

“When it comes down to it, many of us do not really want to be led by the Holy Spirit.  Or, more fundamentally, many of us don’t want to be led by anyone other than ourselves.”  

“The Spirit will lead you to the way of the cross, as He led Jesus to the cross, and that is definitely not a safe or pretty or comfortable place to be.”

I pray that as disciples of Jesus Christ that we will seek to allow His Spirit, which is alive in us to produce unexplainable fruit in our lives.  I pray that we will not camouflage with the world, but that our lives will be filled with the unexplainable acts of the Holy Spirit!  I pray that our knees will humbly bow before the throne of our omnipotent God with requests that can only be accomplished through the working of His incomparably great power.  He is faithful!

Fix Your Eyes on the Unseen

"I knew that if I listened to this Jesus and followed him -- if I , like the disciples, left my fishing and my tax collecting -- he would lead me into treacherous territory, where every day would be an experience of danger and wonder at the same time: and adventure of dangerous wonder!" Michael Yaconelli

We serve a God who calls.  He called Abram to pack up everything and move to a place he had not yet seen.  He spoke to Moses through a burning bush and called him to go to Egypt to free God's people.  Moses had no way of knowing what was to come and where they would end up.  Jesus called his apostles to leave their professions and follow after him.  They had no clue where they were going or what was in store for them.  And just as God has called His people to follow after Him for thousands of years, He calls today.  His call is challenging. 

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  Luke 9:23

We are called to pick up our cross and follow our Savior.  We don't always know where He is leading us, but we know that He is worthy of our absolute trust.  We know that the cross is not a light load.  We know that the cross is not just two pieces of wood.  The cross is heavy.  The cross is rough.  The cross is painful.  They cross is a torture device.  The cross leads to death.  But our Savior has so much more in store for us!

How can our savior expect us to carry such a heavy load?  Because He has been there before.  He has gone before us and goes with us as we follow after Him.  He gives us the key to the journey...

Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  FOR WHAT IS SEEN IS TEMPORARY, BUT WHAT IS UNSEEN IS ETERNAL.  2 Corinthians 4:16-18

The key to our journey is to fix our eyes on what is unseen.  So often we look up and we see a cross, we see pain,  we see suffering, and we see death; but God tells us not to fix our eyes on these things.  These things are only temporary.  There is something so much better that is ETERNAL!  

So may we answer the call of our God.  Though we may not always know where He is leading, may we pick up our cross, endure the light and momentary troubles, and fix our eyes on our Savior!

Redeemed

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;  O Lord, hear my voice.  Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.  If you, O Lord, kept record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?  But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.  I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.  My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.  O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.  He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.  Psalm 130

Do you ever have those days when you can't get a word, thought, or concept out of your head?  I had one of those last weekend and it has just kept on going!  I was on a retreat with my teens last weekend and the word that I just couldn't shake was REDEEMED!  Each night as we would sing I was just reminded constantly of what my savior has done in me and for me.  

I think often time we like to talk about God's grace as it is offered to others.  We like to talk to other people about how Jesus died on the cross to forgive them of their sins, but we sometimes sweep our own sins under the rug.  Last weekend I was reminded over and over again of His full REDEMPTION and unfailing love.  May we never forget just how bad off we would actually be if we didn't have our Savior.  

Paul hit it spot on in 1 Timothy 1:15-17

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -- of whom I AM THE WORST.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his UNLIMITED patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.  Now to the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever.  

I pray that though I may never fully understand just what my God gave up to offer me full redemption that I will never minimize what He did for me.  I am a sinner and deserve hell.  To say anything else would be a lie, but praise God that by His rich mercy and grace I received FULL REDEMPTION!

He was despised and rejected by me,  a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and I esteemed him not.  Surely he took up my infirmities and carried my  sorrows, yet I considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for my transgressions, he was crushed for my iniquities; the punishment that brought  me peace was upon him, and by his wounds I am healed.  I like a sheep, have gone astray, and have turned to my own way; and the Lord has laid on him all of my iniquities.  Isaiah 53:3-6

Praise God that we are REDEEMED!

God Sets the Lonely in Families

About a week ago I got in my car to head back to Little Rock after spending a little over a week with my family in Costa Rica.  That was the longest amount of time that I have gotten to spend with them since I moved to Little Rock about 2 1/2 years ago!  It was so great to spend time with the whole family together!  Man has God blessed me with such a wonderful family!  I am so thankful to Him for giving me such incredible loving parents, a wonderful brother, and a crazy best friend for a sister!

There are always tears involved with loading up my car and pulling away from my home that I was blessed to grow up in.  I usually choke back the tears as I hug my parents and then cry all the way out of the neighborhood.  As I pull out of the driveway I repeat to myself over and over again the verses that I have tried to write on my heart...pick up your cross and follow after me, anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding, seek first His Kingdom, and many more.  I love Little Rock and feel so incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful job, but it's still hard sometimes.

But, God is always faithful!  This past week since I have been in Little Rock He has reminded me time and time again of the verse in Psalm 68 that says, "He sets the lonely in families."  I feel like that is exactly what He has done for me here in Little Rock.  I have been blessed with so many amazing families who take me in and consider me part of their family!  I have more moms, dads, brothers, and sisters than I know what to do with!  I am so blessed to have "family" surrounding me at all times!  I am so thankful that our amazing God has a perfect plan!  He always works things out for the good of those who love Him.  I am thankful for my biological family, and so blessed to be a part of a family that is so much bigger than the Mitchell Clan!  He is so good to me!

Who doesn't love some family photos?

I couldn't have asked for more amazing parents!

My favorite people!

The whole clan!

Just the girls!

I think we are cheering because it's the last picture...

     

We love our Bro!

I miss these two!

Bestest friend ever!

Sisters!!!

His Presence Fills the Heavens and the Earth

This past week has been filled with so many different emotions, but one thing has been obvious through it all...GOD IS GOOD!

This past week has been filled with hospital visits, random road trips, abnormal amounts of sleep, Skype dates with my sisters, and random insanity workouts with my teens.  It has also been filled with God's presence in amazing ways!

I'm so thankful that my God is present in every situation.  His presence was obvious in the waiting room as tons of teens and families from PV gathered to pray and love on the Shields family.  His presence was obvious in Jonesboro as He blessed me with time with such an amazing friend.  His presence was obvious as He called me to get away and just be still and rest.  His presence was obvious as I skyped my sister-in-law in Costa Rica and exchanged stories of His faithfulness.  His presence was obvious as I skyped my baby sister and laughed so hard I cried.  His presence was obvious as a small group of our teens woke up at 7:00 am so we could laugh together and pretend to actually work out.

I'm thankful that our God goes with us everywhere.  I'm thankful that our God doesn't just stay confined to our church buildings and our Sunday and Wednesday worship times.  I'm thankful that the curtain of the temple was torn in two and that our God comes and lives within us each and every moment.  I pray that we will be a people who are aware of His presence and who point Him out to others.  His presence is amazing!

Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD.
                                                             Jeremiah 23:24



  

A Powerful Prayer

I've been reading The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer over the past few months. Yes...it took me months to finish a small book with only 10 chapters.  Last night I actually sat down and finished this little gem.  At the end of each chapter there is a prayer that goes along with that section.  As I read through this prayer yesterday it captured exactly what I hope I have the boldness to say to my God.

O God, be Thou exalted over my possessions.  Nothing of earth’s treasures shall seem dear unto me if only Thou art glorified in my life.  Be Thou exalted over my friendships.  I am determined that Thou shalt be above all, though I must stand deserted and alone in the midst of the earth.  Be Thou exalted above my comforts.  Though it mean the loss of bodily comforts and the carrying of heavy crosses I shall keep my vow made this day before Thee.  Be Thou exalted over my reputation.  Make me ambitious to please Thee even if as a result I must sink into obscurity and my name be forgotten as a dream.  Rise, O Lord, into Thy proper place of honor, above my ambitions, above my likes and dislikes, above my family, my health and even my life itself.  Let me decrease that Thou mayest increase, let me sink that Thou mayest rise above.  Ride forth upon me as Thou didst ride into Jerusalem mounted upon the humble little beast, a colt, the foal of a donkey, and let me hear the children cry to Thee, “Hosanna in the highest.”

                                                                                -A.W. Tozer

Do Not Be Afraid, For I Am With You!

But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:  “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…Do not be afraid, for I am with you.

Isaiah 43:1-5

What a blessing it is to serve a God who is alive.  A God who has called us by name.  A God who comes down and walks with us through the waters.  A God who joins us in the fire.  A God who calls us his own.  O how great it is to be redeemed!

I’m so thankful to serve a God who is mighty to save. He is so perfect!  He is so powerful!  He is the Holy One of Israel.  I am His and He is mine!

Two of My Most Favorite People

This morning I said goodbye to two of my most favorite people!  My brother and sister-in-law took off on a new adventure to Costa Rica this morning.  They have committed to serve with the Peace Corps for 27 months!  I have been so blessed to have such an amazing brother and sister-in-law.

I have been right by Braden's side pestering him since he was a year and a half old.  I think mom and dad wondered if the two of us were ever going to get along!  I'm pretty sure Braden often wondered if I was ever going to be quiet long enough for him to get a word in.  Once the little sister was born Braden and I started to team up to defend our home turf and we had fun giving Brennan a hard time about everything!  Even though Braden and I fought a lot throughout middle school and even some in high school I have always known that he would do absolutely anything to protect me.

I still remember my freshmen year of high school dad woke us up one night because there was a tornado headed towards our neighborhood.  I remember taking shelter in the closet and being really scared.  We were all piled into a little bitty space with a ton of blankets and pillows.  Braden was right next to me and he must have heard me crying because the next thing I know he grabbed my hand and told me over and over, "It's going to be alright.  It's going to be alright."  He's been pretty much the best big brother ever!  I've always known that he was only a phone call away and would drop anything to help his little sis.

I think that is what makes this move the hardest.  I'm so excited for Him and Erin, but I am going to miss having that lifeline!  It's hard knowing that two of my best friends are now not only a phone call away.  Selfishly I want them close, but I know that God has beautiful and amazing plans for them in Costa Rica!

When I look at how all of the plans have unfolded there is no doubt in my mind that His hand of grace and love has been all over this path!  Our faithful God has opened these doors for Braden and Erin in His perfect and faithful timing!  Although two years seems like quite a long time, I know that it will pass quickly and  before I know it my big bro and sis will be back in the states putting my Spanish degree to shame!

I can't wait to hear about all of the wonderful things that our Lord does through them while they are there.  I pray that they will be challenged daily to lean fully on Him and trust that every word that He has given us is true!  I pray that He will keep them safe and use them to be a light to His most holy name.  I pray that through them somebody's eternity will be changed and that their faith will be strengthened in amazing ways.

I'm so blessed to have these two amazing people in my life!  I'm looking forward to going to visit them on the beach really soon!!!

What I Want More!

My family and friends from back home are so so special to me!  I cherish the time that I get to spend with them!  I still tear up every time I leave my parents' house to drive back home to Little Rock! I miss them a lot!  I miss spending countless hours laughing with my little sister.  I miss Kristin's endless energy and love for life.  I miss shopping and watching movies with the sister-in-law.  I miss Braden's witty sense of humor that keeps the whole family on their toes.  I miss shooting out in the driveway with my daddy and watching sports together.  I miss getting daily hugs and kisses from my mom as well as hearing her sweet voice tell me as I walk out the house door..."Be careful, I love you!" I miss them!  

To be honest there are days when I want to pack my car up and move back to Oklahoma just so I can be close to them.  There are days when I long for the comfort and the love from back home.  But there are other things that I want more!   

I want to spend hours talking with my sister and laughing so hard that we cry! I want to have my best friend right by my side.  I want to spend time with my brother and sister-in-law seeing who can make each other feel the most awkward.  I want to curl up on the couch by my dad and watch hours of basketball.  I want to hear my mom say, "be careful, I love you!"  But what I want even more than all of those things is to be right in the middle of God's will for my life!  What I want more is to see my 7th graders get up every Wednesday night to pray together!  What I want more is to have conversation after conversation with my girls about the faithfulness, power, and pure awesomeness of our God.  What I want more is to see my teens give their lives to Christ in baptism.  What I want more is to walk into the teen room and get 70 hugs.  What I want more is to watch my teens serve so selflessly.  What I want more is to see my girls fall head over heals in love with our Savior!  What I want more is to spend day after day investing in His eternal Kingdom!  What I want more is to spend time on my knees in prayer with my little sisters in Christ.  What I want more is to follow in the footsteps of my savior!  What I want more is to fall before my Father's throne everyday and trust that He will provide me with everything that I need in order to fulfill His purpose for me.

It's almost been two years since I packed up my car and moved to Little Rock, and these past two year have been filled with plenty of ups and downs!  I am so thankful that my God has led me somewhere where I have had to learn to depend on Him like never before.  And even though I miss my family so much, I feel so blessed to be able to work with such amazing teens!  When I see how God is constantly transforming all of them I am amazed and I can't imagine missing out on all of this!  His power is infinite and I feel so blessed that He has invited me to be a part of His work.  

Valuable Life Lessons!

Yesterday two moms and I took a group of 17 girls to Memphis for the Mid-South Girls Conference.  It was a wonderful day filled with awesome speakers and beautiful worship to our Perfect God!  There is something so powerful about having 500 girls in one room praising God together without any boys being a distraction!

The conference got done around 6:30, and we quickly took a few group photos then headed out.  We stopped to get some dinner and fill up the vans with gas before we pulled out of Memphis.  We drove up to the gas pump opened the little doors to the gas tank and quickly realized that someone had put new gas caps on the gas tanks.  That wouldn't normally be a big deal, BUT these gas caps had locks on them!  Apparently there have been some problems in Little Rock recently with people stealing gas.  All of this would have been fine and dandy if I would have known that these nifty new little gas caps had been installed,  BUT I didn't!  So I found myself at a Memphis gas station with only a quarter of a tank of gas and a group of twenty girls and locked gas caps!  I looked at the two moms with me and said, "One day we will laugh about this...but not right now!"

We finally got ahold of somebody back in Little Rock who knew about these funny little contraptions that had been put on our vans, and were reassured that the key was back in Little Rock and that we were going to have to break the gas cap!  My amazing moms quickly pulled out the tool kit that was under the back seat of one of the vans and showed that gas cap who was boss!!!  About a minute later she had that lock busted and the gas cap off and the van was filling up with gas!  I'm really surprised that during the thirty minutes that we were at the Memphis gas station banging on the screw driver with a wrench, that no one even questioned our presence!

The van had a full tank of gas, we celebrated our accomplishment, and then we hit the road! This little speed bump in our evening reminded me of quite a few things!

1.  It reminded me of how blessed I am to have awesome parents that volunteer to go with us on trips!
     Without them we wouldn't be able to do so many of the awesome things that we get to do!
2.  It showed me that after a long day (it was a great day, but it was LONG) I have to be VERY careful in
     controlling my emotions! I was definitely tired and frustrated, but I had to keep in perspective that things  
     really could have been a lot worse.
3.  I was reminded that I have the most awesome girls ever!  The whole time this was going on they just
     chilled in vans and let us try to figure out a solution!  They had great attitudes all day!
4.  I learned how to bust a lock with a screwdriver and a wrench, so if you ever need help breaking into
     a locked gas cap, I'm your girl!  (Leah Hart & Tamara Bellcock are also PROS!)
5.  Upon pulling into PV I was reminded that God blessed us with safety on our way home and was so
     thankful for an amazing day with my girls!

The past two years in youth ministry have taught me a lot!  Just add busting a cap to the list!  God has been so good to me!  He is so faithful in all that He does!