Make Him Known

 To God's elect... strangers in the world, scattered throughout...

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can NEVER perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you...

1 Peter 1:1,3,4

I feel like I have been going through the past couple  years with the wrong mindset. Drew and I? We're missionaries. We are chosen to do Christ's work even though we are at 'home'. We may be happy and content or dissatisfied and rejected - but as long as we are in God's will, we should be joyful. It should not be about us being comfortable. Just because we are in our hometown doesn't mean life should be easy. God has called me to be set apart - different. I'm called to do what He commands no matter how difficult or lonely that might be. 

Some questions I have been asking myself lately are how can I better prepare my heart for this 'long term missions trip.' Any of you who have been on a missions trip knows it takes time and prayer in order to be spiritually and physically ready to go somewhere. I've been to Thailand and the Dominican Republic twice and have loved every aspect of those journeys. BUT I HAVE  A MISSION EVERY DAY! 

So what are the needs around me? What can I do as a stay at home mom/nanny/student in order to make God known?? What needs do Oakland Baptist Church have? How can I be a light to them? How can I daily pray and prepare myself for this trip that never ends??

The verse above has a great perspective on what our lives should be about. We should be giving praise to God for the fact our hope in Christ is constant. Nothing can change the fact that He loves me, He died for me, and He is alive. That's not something I can ignore or keep quiet about!

A blog I read the other day said that we can be afraid even while we rejoice. It was talking about when Mary found Jesus' tomb empty and there was an angel standing there. She was frightened, and yet joyful over what had happened. 

Life is tough. We all have difficult things come up in our lives. My prayer is that even when I am afraid of the unknown, or even known things that are difficult, I will rejoice. I will rejoice in the fact God truly does 'have the whole world in His hands.' Nothing that happens is a shock to Him. I can carry on with my missions work while He works out the details. 

I'm choosing to praise God for that!