We Are Not Consumed

Lamentations 3:22 is one of my favorite verses right now.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. (Lamentations 3:22 NIV)

It can be so easy to get wrapped up in the struggles of life. The stress of change. The problems that can sometimes arise with other people. Whatever it is that you're struggling with, our struggles can seem very overwhelming. 

This verse reminds us that God's love for us is greater than we could ever imagine. He loves us so much that he (as Jesus) became a living sacrifice to cover our sins so that we can have a personal relationship with him. 

Because of this great love, we are not consumed. 

Whatever it is that we face, God is always bigger. He will never allow us to become consumed by our struggles. He promises to be there for us and he is true to his promises. 

His compassions never fail. Never!! He is always, always, always true to his promises. He loves his precious children too much to just leave them. 

Remember that whether you're starting a new season in your life or just making it through the day. 

We are not consumed. 

~Moriah

Building a Palace

It's so easy to get comfortable with who we are.

I'm not struggling with that sin anymore, so I'm okay.

I'm not as sinful as that person. 

God loves me just as I am. 

We use so many excuses to escape the reality that God still wants to work on us. It's hard to let God work on our hearts.  It is uncomfortable and sometimes it requires us to do work to fix it. 

But this quote is a great explanation as to why he continues to work on us. 

As Christians, we have God living in us. We are a representation to the world of God and his love. 

God continues to work on, in and through us to make us more like him. Although he loves us just the way we are, he loves us too much to leave us there. 

So even when it's hard and it hurts, keep listening to God. Obey him when he tells you that you need to change something, or forgive someone, or tell someone about him. He might ask you to go on an adventure to another country, or instead to work on your heart at home. But whatever it is that he asks you to do, know that there is a plan and a purpose for it!

He loves you so much and wants you to be the best you can be!

~Moriah

Grace: Part 3

One of the first things that we were taught when we got here was how to love the children.  Giuli said that some of the most important ways to show the kids that love them is to hug them and make eye contact, and just listen to them (even if we don't understand what they're saying!).

But she also told us that the Bible tells us to love others like we love ourselves (Matthew 22:39).  And that doesn't mean just the selfish, think of myself first kind of love.  The kind of love that God means is love like his, when you are able to forgive and love yourself.

When we refuse to accept God's grace it's so much harder to give grace to others because we don't understand grace very well.

Because of God's love we want to do better, but we don't have to do better in order for him to love us.  We could never possibly be 'good enough' to earn his love.

What she said really hit me because sometimes I really struggle with allowing myself grace when I make a mistake or when things are just hard.  It can be much easier to beat myself up over a mistake than to let it go. 

But just like Giuli told us, God doesn't blame us or get mad at us for making mistakes or struggling.  Instead, he helps us up and tells us to keep going, that he's strong enough in our mistakes. 

God wants us to know just how much he loves us so that we can learn and grow, and so that we can love others fully.

Love,
~Moriah

Giving and Receiving

    At dinner last night we were talking to our translator, and she was telling us about Peruvian culture, and some of the cultural norms.  One of the things that she said was that since so many people in Peru have very little, they are accustomed to always receiving. Even many of the churches don't talk about tithing, or giving to the church because they don't want the people to feel like they're pressuring them into giving. 
    When she lived in the US, she said, she learned so much about the blessing of giving to others, and being able to share what God has giving to her.  She used the example of sowing seeds.  She was given seeds, and if she starts to sow them, she'll receive more.  But if she hoards them to herself, there is no need for more to be given to her. 
    It made me think of the balance that we need to have in giving and receiving.  If you're always receiving, you never have the chance to bless someone else with a gift.  But on the other hand, if you're always giving, but never receiving, you're going to get burnt out.  You need to give people the chance to pour into you, to help you, and invest in your life as well.
    There are so many blessings to both giving and receiving, you just have to be able to balance them.  At the end of Operation Barnabas last summer, our leaders encouraged us to find a way to have people pouring into us, and a way to pour into others.  Find a way to be plugged in and let others pour into you, and teach you. But also find an outlet where you can be pouring into others, teaching them, ministering to them. 
    God gives us so many ways to grow, we just need to know how to partake in them.

    ~Moriah

Returning

As I sit in the Ft. Lauderdale airport waiting for my flight to Lima, I'm thinking about how I got here.  And when I say that, I don't mean driving to Latrobe, and getting on a plane and flying here.  It's the things that God has orchestrated in my life to get me here.

And all of the pieces of it as well! God is constantly working events in your life together for his plans.  Where he wants you to be, he will open the doors and make a way for you to walk through them at just the right time. 

Most of the time, it won't make sense in the moment.  It hurts, or it is something that you have to go out of your way to do, or it leads to what you think is going to be an awkward moment.  But looking back, you an start to see how God is weaving the events of your life into an intricate tapestry of his plan.

He does know what's best, and what is the way to get your attention and get to your heart.

He loves you more than you can imagine, and will never do anything that is to your detriment. I can't promise that you'll never have hurt because God doesn't promise that.  But he does promise that the hurt is for good, and that he will carry you through it.  And someday, you'll be able to look back and see his great plan being worked in that. 

~Moriah
Isaiah 49:6

Beauty

Beauty. 

Our culture is obsessed with it. But what exactly is beauty?  It's probably a perfect face, flawless hair and who has their life all together, just like magazines and the tv tell us all the time. 

But wipe away the makeup, look at someone's hair when they've first gotten up, learn about their secrets. They don't look the same, the 'perfection' is gone. It was all just an illusion. 

But I see beauty in the bruise that reminds you of when you tripped over your own feet and fell. The memory that still makes you laugh hysterically with your friends about your lack of grace. 

A peanut butter smudge on your shirt. The result of the child that was so excited to hug you that they couldn't wait for you to clean them up first. 

The battered car that was full of survivors after the accident. 

The tears that come when someone realizes that they can't do it by themselves... And the friend who holds their hand until they can stop crying and see that things will get better. 

The pair of shoes both muddy and smelly from all the miles they've traveled to help others. 

And the pieces of a broken heart cradled in the hands of God, and put together in his time. 

The beauty in the broken. 

~Moriah

Isaiah 41:13

Why I Like Peru So Much

Those of you who didn't know me four years ago when I went to Peru are probably like, 'that's great that you're going, but what's the big deal with Peru specifically?'

In order to fully explain this, I'm going to have to take you back a little further and tell you some of my testimony. 

At the age of five, I decided to trust Jesus to forgive my sins and provide the way for me to have a personal relationship with God, our loving father. Missions fascinated me. I loved hearing missionaries talking about the countries they worked in and stories about what God was doing there. 

As I grew older though, I lost focus of how I needed to trust God to forgive me and let him carry the burden of the mistakes I make rather than trying to carry it myself. Because I was still trying to be good enough for God (which is a lie, by the way, God loves us the way he finds us and then he works in us to change the parts that don't line up with him), I wasn't able to see how much he loved me, and I wasn't able to love people with his love. I forgot about my heart for missions for a time while all of that was going on. 

I did come back to the relationship that was meant for me with God (another part of my testimony, I'd love to tell you about it if you want to hear!) and in the summer of 2009 I nominated my dad for a contest on the radio station KLOVE. 

KLOVE was partnering with Shoes for Orphans Souls that month and they were doing a contest that you could nominate someone that you knew who went the extra mile.  I wrote about my dad and submitted the story, later that week it was chosen as one of the stories to be read on air, and put in the drawing for the grand prize. The grand prize was a missions trip for two with Shoes for Orphans Souls to Honduras, Guatemala or Peru. Well, my dad won (:D) and we went to Peru together for 9 days. 

During the trip we got to go to many different orphanages and see lots of children who were growing up without parents, and many without Jesus. 

  

It broke my heart. 

I loved those children! It upset me that they had so little and I had sooooo much! It was so awesome having the opportunity to just play with the children, and love on them and teach them about Jesus and his love for us.

Being in Peru for that time was so powerful for me because God showed me the love that he wanted me to have for missions once again. Since then, I've had the opportunity to go on many missions trips and even learn that missions isn't always going somewhere else, it's a lifestyle! (Thanks CE National and Operation Barnabas:) ) 

Even before I left Peru, I knew that I'd be back. I didn't know when, or for how long but I knew that I wasn't leaving for good. 

Since the summer of 2010, I've been waiting till I was old enough to go back as an intern with Buckner International (they run shoes for orphans souls as one of their ministries). I started taking Spanish because I wanted to lessen the language barrier (someday I want to be fluent in Spanish!). I am pretty certain that later in life I'd like to adopt children (or at least be open to what God says about that!:) ).

I am super excited to see what God has in store for this summer and I hope you'll continue to follow my journey!:)

Love,  

Moriah

Isaiah 41:13

Hope

Hope. 

It's a funny thing, ya know?  

It isn't something that you can see, hear or touch. It's the idea that things will get better and they won't always stay the same. And no matter how hard things get, that hope gives you the ability to keep going. 

People try to find hope in so many different things. People, posessions, places, being busy, and so many more!  These are are great in and of themselves, but they're temporary. They don't last. 

People will grow apart, disappoint you, hurt you- maybe you'll even lose them through death. They're human. As much as you love people, they're not perfect and you cannot rest all your hope on them. People are temporary. 

What about possessions?  They too are temporary. You can lose them, break them or even have them stolen. If you rest your hope on the posessions you have or the posessions you would like to have, you'll be disappointed. 

Okay sooooo... Maybe filling your time? If you're always busy, always needed, that'll give you a reason to keep going, right?  Well, for a time it probably will. But it won't always last. Maybe that organization you volunteered for will close, your children grow up, you lose your job, finish school- whatever it is, it won't last. 

So it's all hopeless then? You've pretty much put a damper on everything, Moriah. 

Not quite everything guys:) we can find hope in a personal relationship with God and the promises that he's given us. 

God doesn't need us, but he wants to be a loving relationship with us and wants us to love him. By believing that Jesus took away the punishment for our sins and will forgive us completely if we ask him, we can become a child of God. 

And God promises us so much through that! He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 that he has plans to bring us a hope and a future. Things will get better because that's what God loves us and never breaks a promise! 

God is eternal. Unlike all of the temporary things in our world, God will be around forever and we can rely on him!

~Moriah

Isaiah 41:13

Project Go Peru!

Guess what?! I'm going to Peru for a month this summer!

 I will be going with Buckner International as a part of Project Go July 7th - August 7th. As an intern there we (me and a team of 3 other interns) will be working with the in country staff doing construction, teaching lessons, running Vacation Bible Schools and assisting with a short term missions trip. 

I went to Peru in 2010 with Buckner and God used that trip to change my life! If you'd life to read more about that trip, scroll down and click on the Peru tag on the right side of my blog:) 

I've been waiting for four years to be able to be an intern and I'm super excited to see how God will use this summer! 

I would love it if you would support me! I definitely cannot do it alone!  

Here are some ways to do so:

1. Pray for me! I can always use prayer! Some specific requests are that I would allow God to prepare my heart for this summer, that our team would connect well and that God would work in and through us. 

2. Support me financially. I know it's not an option for everyone, but it helps a lot! If you would like to receive a support letter, please email me your address to owls2fly@yahoo.com :)

3. Encouragement! Follow my journey on my blog, leave comments, tell me your stories of what God is doing:)

4. Buy a tshirt! These are currently in the works so I don't have any details yet, but I'm working with www.fundthenations.com to make them, so I'll have info out as soon as I get it:)

5. Support my local fundraisers. I don't have details on these yet, but I'm working on a SweetFrog fundraiser and a yard sale. 

Thank you!:)

~Moriah

Isaiah 41:13

Choosing to Feel Pain

Last night I watched part of a movie called the Easter Experience. In it, there was a very graphic depiction of Christ's scourging, walk down the Via Delarosa and death on the cross.

A Thousand Sleepless Nights Part Two

This is kind of part two of this post.  Last night I was reading my Bible and I was just reading through some of the verses that I had underlined in Psalms. Psalms 77 is a chapter that I like a lot, and when I was reading it last night, it reminded me of some of the things that I wrote about God teaching me in the other post.

Perfection

Sometimes I struggle with wanting to be able to be perfect and get everything right. As great as that would be, it's not anywhere near feasible or realistic. Romans 3:23 tells us that 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.'  Everyone has sinned. No one is perfect.

My Identity

These are just a few of the things I've been thinking about lately related to my identity in Christ and who I am.  This is just a start, there's sooooo much more and I'll probably add to the list as I think:)

It's Okay

It's okay if it feels like things get worse before they get better. 

It's okay if you don't know why things are so hard. 

It's okay if your struggle isn't perfect. 

It's okay if you cry yourself to sleep sometimes. 

It's okay to admit when you're having a hard day and ask for a hug. 

It's okay if you feel broken.
 

Choices

I had the pleasure of getting to hear Dr. Eva Olsson speak last night. She is a Holocaust survivor and last night shared many of the experiences that she had during World War II.

She has a really powerful story, and if you'd like to hear more of it, you can visit http://jewishottawa.com/page.aspx?id=221245. 

One the things she said really stuck out to me. 'You can't blame God for the choices man makes.' 

And I've been thinking about it a lot since then. When we were born, we were born with the free will God gave us. We ALL have a free will and are able to make our choices.

We have the option, the power, the choice to act as we will. 

God did not build Auschwitz. People did. 

God did not drive under the influence and hit someone. A person did. 

God is love. He is light. He is good!  1 John 1:5 says 'This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (NIV)'. 

There is no evil in him. 

We cannot allow ourselves to blame God for what people do. God lets things happen for a reason and he promises to give us enough strength to get through it. (James 1:2-4 & Joshua 1:9)

~Moriah 

Grace Part 2

So then, if God's grace covers our sins and mistakes, what then?

God gives us the greatest gift. Those mistakes no longer have power over you. You don't have to remember every mistake, every regret, everything that you wish you could change, for every moment of your life.  That shame is NOT your identity any more. 

So what is the point then?  Every mistake covered by grace serves a purpose. 

Maybe it's to connect someone who's struggling. You can use your experiences to help someone else get through a tough time in their life. 

Maybe it's to be an example of how God's grace is powerful enough to cover anything! It's hard sometimes to believe that God could and/or would  forgive everything that you've done. You can be an example of that for people who feel like they're too far from God. 

Maybe God wants to teach you something about him or your relationship with him.  Be open to learning what he wants to teach. 

God works everything together for the good of those who love him. Hurts, sins and mistakes are no exception. 

~Moriah

Grace

It's okay to not be perfect. Really!

Everyone is human, with a sinful nature and makes mistakes. Everyone. 

But the great thing about that is, God's grace will cover all of our imperfections if we only accept his forgiveness and allow Christ to be our savior. 

http://sunnyskiies.tumblr.com/post/56739777491/spiritualinspiration-for-by-grace-you-have-been

Ephesians 2:8-9 says 'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.'

The dictionary definition of grace is 'a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior'. (Www.dictionary.com)

God shows us his favor in forgiving us freely. Why on earth would he do that?  Because he loves us sooooooo much and wants to repair the relationship between God and man that were broken by sin. (John 3:16) He is willing to grant us favor in order so that we can know him better. 

He says 'I know you're a sinner. You've messed up. A lot. You aren't perfect. But I know that and I love you anyway. Please let me fix things! I'm the only one who can.'

But when we accept that grace, we have to leave it at that. We can't continue to try to get to God through our works. There is absolutely nothing that we can do to bridge the gap between us and God by ourselves. We can never be strong enough, good enough, loving enough, hard working- whatever it is that we try to be perfect at, we can't do it. We can never be perfect and trying to be perfect will only lead to a lot of hurt, discouragement and pain. 

Romans 11:5-6 says 'So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. (NIV)' 

We have to let grace be grace. We can't continue to live as though we are the ones that make the relationship right once we've accepted God's grace. Let him take care of making things right and just do your part- accepting his love and grace. 

~Moriah

Where is God?

Poem loosely based on 1 Kings 19:11-12 written 3/18/14

Where are you?

In the wind?

Whirling round and round

Filling ears with the lonely sound

In the earthquake?

Dizzying destruction and pain

Bringing nothing to gain

In the fire?

With it's dancing, burning flames

Not to be toyed with, not for games 

Wait! The quiet whisper

That I hear

Softly in my ear

Reassurance

When I fall to pieces

And the day ceases

Great love

The arms holding me

Gently, softly

The presence 

That is always there

Any place, anywhere

Is that you?

A thousand sleepless nights

That's a really long time to be patient! A thousand sleepless nights? That's the equivalent of 3 years of sleepless nights. 

Blessings asks what if that's what it takes for is to know that God is near. What if we have to be awake all that time to truly trust him and rely on him?  How you spend those nights plays a big part in how they affect you. Do you let the your mind go crazy and quickly get overwhelmed by the thoughts? 

Or do you spend that time talking to God, and taking every thought captive for him?  

It's a very hard choice, I know from experience! It's so much harder to choose to fight the thoughts and choose God over the thoughts that drag us down. 

2 Corinthians 1:9 has been one of my favorite verses lately. 

When things get bad, even to the point that you think you're at the end, God is there. He has the power to raise the dead!!! Everything that God puts in our lives is to teach us to rely on him. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us that God's power is made perfect in our weakness. He uses our imperfections for his glory, that other people may know and love him as well. God can use the sleepless nights to teach us, the bad things that happen to help us connect to someone else- the point is God is in complete control and everything is in his plan, and that plan is for the good. 

Our God is life and through him we can have life as well (John 10:10). 

But part of that life is being able to have faith in God and know that he uses the sleepless nights (Hebrews 11:6). 

Just hold on! God is there:)

~Moriah 

Isaiah 41:13

Jesus Paid it All

Hey! So I'm Olivia, and I'm pretty new to the whole blogging thing so don't judge too harshly:)


I'm a good friend of Moriah, and we became friends this summer on an extensive ministry trip called Operation Barnabas. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be stretched in their faith and be challenged to grow closer to God :)


Umm random fact just in case you were wondering... I'm a percussionist and was the only girl on my high school drumline all four years. And I love getting to play in my church worship band. :)


Speaking of which, this past Sunday I had to the privilege to play a certain drum called a cajo'n as part of the worship, and we played a very well known hymn which is also one of my favorites, called Jesus Paid It All. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38EVco7eba0


The chorus says,

Jesus paid it all,

all to him I owe,

sin had left a crimson stain,

he washed it white as snow.

And I love the imagery used here because it's such a true and vivid description of my own life and some of the things I used to give in to. And I think sometimes I'm tempted to believe that I'm still covered by that sin. I'm tainted by it or "stained". But I love the next line, he washed it white as snow, because it's a physical action of washing, cleansing, the act of complete forgiveness and removing of the effect of all past sin. God says "There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

Even if I can't forget what I've done, God has completely removed it from me. It no longer defines me. It's not even a part of me! "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalms 103:12

And finally I think the bridge of this hymn sums it up perfectly.

Ohh praise the one who

paid my debt and

raised this life up from the dead!

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2Corinthians 5:17

-Olivia