What are you living for?

Who are you? What are you living for? What do you seek to put your identity in? Acceptance? Comfort? Money? Husband/Wife? Job? Church? Kids? Family? Friends? What defines you? The Cross?

I went to a conference a week ago, and these where the questions discussed for much of it. What defines you? Being in my 20's and a people pleaser it is so easy for me to seek comfort in what 'man' thinks about me and base decisions on that. Being from a family of go-getters and high achievers, I seek to put my identity in what I have done, where I am going and what I am doing. As a teacher it is so easy to put my identity in how my students perform and their behavior. As a friend I struggle with wanting to be accepted and included. I want comfort. But the truth is all of these things will fail me. My identity has to be in the one who died on the cross to cover the sins I have committed in the past, present, and future. This is a daily struggle for me.

One of the things that was said that keeps ringing in my ears was, "You are made in God's image. And before you where born you had purpose. You are broken and Christ bought you broken, before you where born." Christ paid the price a long time ago. Do I live for His kingdom or my own?

I am challenged in this daily as I am in the classroom. It is so easy to get frustrated with my students when they don't act the way I want them to. It's easy to yell when they don't listen to my requests. It's easy to take their words to heart and become hurt when they are angry or challenge my authority. It is so easy to take their disrespect and performance and find my identity in that. But you see children are sinners just like you and me. They are seeking their identity in their peers, their performance, my words as a teacher, and even their success at not being successful. It is my job, in love, to speak words to them that challenge them to become better and know they are loved. I cannot change hearts, but I can tell them they are loved. My principal tells us all the time we need to tell students they are loved. At first I was taken aback by this. Tell students they are loved? Did a teacher ever tell me I was loved by him/her? No. But they didn't have to because I knew it at home. I tell my students they are loved. I don't do this because I love them but because God does. The only way I can love them is because Christ does and he loves me too. My prayer is that my student's hearts be transformed not by the knowledge of academics but by the knowledge that they have a greater purpose and are loved by an almighty father.

I am going to France in less than a month and a half. I am blessed to have raised $480. I have $2020 left to raise and I have no doubt God will provide in one form or another. I am so thankful for those that are praying. I know that God is moving in mighty ways in my life and in those around me. If you want to be apart of my prayer or financial team please contact me through email at annab7304@gmail.com

Prayer Requests:

* For my students and their parents to grow in a relationship together in Christ.
* For the next week to go smoothly. End of school!
* For my triathlon next weekend. My goal is to finish!
* For my friend's heart, and her wedding next weekend.
* For my France team, the details to work out and our finances. We have a ways to go in one month!
* For the people of France and the United States that are seeking their identity in everything but the Glory of God.

Thank you for your prayers and support. Let me know how I can pray for you.

Motorcycles and Swimsuits

Learning to walk in Faith is dieing to self. I know this but man it is hard to put into practice. In every aspect of my life I am learning to walk in Faith, and you never know what God will bring. Today we had our trip meeting, and although things are coming together for our team, it has been difficult for me to not have an exact plan of action for our trip. Each meeting something different changes, and I have to remind myself that I need to just walk in Faith, know that God will provide.

An example of this, is plane tickets. I am flying over with our team leader Emily while the other families are going on Standby and Airmiles. Since I am the 'youngest' adult on the team (there are highschool girls and a middle school boy), I have no air miles so Emily has been graciously setting about to find me a ticket to fly with her. This has prompted us to leave one day earlier and return one day later to find a cheap enough ticket for us both to fly on. Normally my initial reaction to this would have been frustration that the tickets hadn't been bought yet. But God has been working on my heart, and I am dieing to myself, and was calm. I kept saying in my head "God knows the plans he has for me" and this team. Then I got excited thinking of the things we could do or people we could meet.

As I was coming home this afternoon and talking to my momma, a group of motorcycles paraded down my apartment complex. Intermixed with the reeving of motors you could hear kids playing at the pool across the street. This intermingling of sounds and commotions just reminded me of how walking in Faith, you never know what God will bring either challenge or gift. It is a challenge right now to not want to know everything he has planned for me in the coming months. To not want to plan and have what I want. To not want to give way to all that others are telling me and to please those who I love. But it has also been a gift to see how relinquishing control I am able to experience all that God is doing in the lives of my students, my friends, and the world. It is a gift to get to walk freely in the grace God has bestowed upon me and not carry the burdens of this fallen world. It is a gift to get to rest in the fact God does know his plans for me, and I am to be faithful and trust. I always thought that if I drove a motorcycle I would want a Honda Sports bike because of the speed you can get to. But watching the Harley's ride in, and around and up and down the street, I don't think I want a Honda but a Harley so that I can enjoy all that God has to offer.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Praying for God's guidance for your life today. Trust and Obey.

Support Letters

Support letters are officially stamped and ready to be mailed. YEA! Already I have $330 toward my Mission Trip goal of $2500. I know that God will provide. I am sharing my testimony tomorrow at our meeting I pray I speak what the Lord wills and glorify him.

I have been learning daily what it means to walk with him and the power of prayer. Recently I started carrying scripture in my pocket at work. I know that it is important to put on the 'full armor of God' each morning, but literally having the verses in my pocket have helped me to remember to pray when things get tough, to pray when I am about to loose my patience with a student, to pray when a student is acting rude to another and to pray when they are all doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. It has made me very aware of what God is doing in their hearts and mine. He is at work!

Prayer Requests:
* My students and their parents to come to know the Lord
* School is finished well
* Support Raising, that I trust the Lord completely
* Mission team to grow in community and fellowship
* Sharing my faith daily by my words, actions and just listening in Love

Thank you friends for your prayers and support. Please let me know how I can pray for you.