Rejoice...it's a command.

This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad it in it!

Today we are hosting a dental brigade from Seacoast Church in Charleston, SC. It is nice to have old friends return and to meet new ones! We will be running like crazy to keep this machine going! This is our first group of the season and a great chance for our HHG team to pull together.

I love foggy mornings on the mountain. You just know it's going to be a beautiful day when you see the sun rising up behind the clouds!

Full Circle

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit my home town, and opened the door for God to reenter my life. While the city was reeling from the disaster my future church (HPC) was serving it up hard, and I was trying to figure out what really mattered in life. I ended up staying at my grandparent's house in Ruston, LA for about 3 weeks, and while I was there I painted my Grammy's favorite Bible verse on a beam in her kitchen.

"...As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

It kept me busy, you know? Having a project to complete, kept me from being lost in the feelings that were trying to take over my heart and my mind. The verse kept me grounded...little did I know that God's word was taking root in my heart.

This week I got to paint another verse on another wall. We have an incredible world map mural on the second floor of the dorm that was painted by Rob and Michelle Gros, from HPC. We always wanted to put a verse on the map, but we couldn't decide on the right one or where to put it. However this week, we made a decision, and I got to paint a part of the most incredible verse on the outside wall of my apartment.

"For God so loved the world..." John 3:16

As I was working on the map, all I could do was pray that whoever saw those words and saw that map would realize how big God's heart must be to love the whole world. I hope it reminds me to love more, just like the verse at my Grammy's reminds me that my love for God will changes the lives of my family and... my family's family.

Sometimes we just need to reevaluate and remember what really matters in life.

Catching Up and Stepping Out

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. Thanks to our interns we are getting a ton of work done around here, and the place is really starting to shape up! We have been organizing cabinets, hanging signs, decorating rooms, picking our fabric, building frames, not to mention running an out patient medical clinic! Here are a few pics to catch you up:

Michael building a frame for one of our pictures.

Jerri showing Wendy how to staple down the canvas.

 

Me "Vanna-Whiting" our favorite picture of the river!

The dorm pantry that Becca and I organized!

(These are just the spices people...we haven't gone grocery shopping yet!)

The first church service with all of our team: past, present and future. 

(Just so you know...I was telling a joke and using my hands, of course.)

Of course, I have been learning a ton of new things. Having extra hands around all the time, kind of feels like you have a team here all of the time. It takes so much planning to stay ahead of the game. I am learning to manage other people's "To Do" lists...hopefully utilizing their natural gifts, stretching them into new areas and challenging them to go the extra mile.

I will start teaching intern classes tomorrow, and that is definitely WAY outside of my comfort zone. Now I know what Solomon felt like when he asked God for wisdom. He didn't know what it would take to be king, he was being stretched into a new role and knew that he would need God's help. I feel the same way. I know I am here to serve, I know I am here to help the interns get the most out of their experience here, I know God wants to use me to shape them...and that is extremely humbling. I feel a great burden to pass on the things I have learned from my mistakes, and the things people have shared with me about their mistakes.

Someone told me one time..."There isn't enough time to make all the mistakes that have already been made, all over again. We need to learn from each other. We need to share our failures and our triumphs so that others can use them as stepping stones, and go farther than we could ever go." I am inspired by that quote, I am driven by it. I want to be a "passer on" of information, no...not just of information, but a heartbeat, a vision, a flame. I just hope and pray that I will be a good pipeline for His word and wisdom to travel through.

Please pray that I would not be overwhelmed by all of this new stuff. I am trying to get smaller, so God can get bigger, but honestly right now...I feel smaller than I ever have in my whole life. I know my God is big, and I know He has me in His hands...I just don't feel them around me. Refine me, Lord. Let me be tested and prove pure. You know my heart and my motives are always for you. I need you.