Rose with a Mission

This last week has been very full. For starters my brother got engaged!  We are so happy to welcome this lovely lady into the family and that my brother found such a Godly lady to call his own. While they have jumped into wedding planning, I got a cold. I'm so thankful for the coworkers I have that covered a few days of work for me while I was sick and let me rest. And I'm thankful for the little kids that felt bad for me feeling sick.  I feel like life has been so full that I've been a bit stretched thin lately. So many emotions, so much to do, so much to process, and only so many hours in the day. I'm thankful that God has been showing me how to love those around me well and how to rest and let my body heal. As I continue to walk forward into what He wants me to do, I'm so thankful that He's taken all the guess work out. He keeps reminding me to keep asking for support, keep loving those in front of me, keep doing what I know to do, kee...

A huge shout out to my sister grace for the new blog graphic! She is so talented and I loved the way it turned out. This week there isn't much to report. I continue to work at my job, pray, and spend time with friends and family. Life is good. Today I am deeply grateful for God's healing/restoring power in my life. Today marks five years since my engagement was broken. As I look back I see God moving and working to heal and restore a shattered me. He made me new. He restored my soul. And for that I am so grateful.  Even when there's not much to say, I can always take comfort in how far God has brought me, both in the last five years and in the last year. He's helped me take giant leaps towards knowing Him. He's given me adventures beyond my wildest dreams. He has given me a heart that wants Him more than anything.  What are you grateful for today? Grateful, Rose

  This Saturday I had a party to share stories and pictures from our time in Tanzania. It was so special to have that time with friends and share with them what God had done in response to their prayers and giving. I love sharing about what God did and how He moved. It was great. I'm also continuing to work on projects and spend time with friends and family. Life is settling into a nice routine.  While I continue to fundraise and work, I'm so thankful to be here and with so many that I love. God is good. Settled in, Rose

  I once did a blog post about how much my kids at the preschool have taught me about the way God sees me. This last week and a half of working in a preschool has given me more insight. She all but smashed two pieces together trying to make progress on the puzzle. She proudly showed them to me. Is this how I look to You, God? When I'm trying desperately to fit things together that are mismatched? He was fighting not to nap with everything in him. Is this how I look to You, God? Is this why You make us lie down in green pastures? Because I fight the rest I so desperately need? He kept crying when he didn't get his way and missed out on so much fun.  Is this how I look to You, God? I get so focused on one thing that I can't enjoy what is right in front of me.  He walked into the room and hugged me so tight.  Is this how I look to You, God? When I get discouraged and come to You for comfort? If it melts my heart, I wonder if it melts Your heart too.  I'm...

  There is more to come about Tanzania, but I wanted to tell you about what God has been doing this week.  After a few days back at YWAM Tyler, we headed up to Kansas City for a huge evangelism effort called the Flood. 5 days of worship, prayer, and evangelism. Even though I was still tired and processing everything God did in Africa, He empowered me every day to go out and share His love every day with people in Kansas City. I enjoyed being able to pray for so many in the city and the people I got to meet. They were so encouraging to my tired heart. God has also been using this week to confirm my call into full time missions with YWAM Tyler. I'm excited about that.  Today we are attending a missions conference called The Send. So far God has been speaking to me about cultivating intimacy with Him and continuing to labor where He's placed me. God is so good and I've seen Him moving this week as I step out in obedience. God knew I was tired, but He ...

  It's hard and amazing to believe that I leave for Tanzania in 6 days! The closer we get to leaving though the more excited I get. God has been doing so much work in my heart to prepare me for going and living out His love to those we meet. We have audio Bibles and crafts and messages prepared, but the most important thing that God has been reminding me to take is a willingness to do whatever He says. Whatever that looks like, wherever we go, whatever we end up doing, I want to be open to what Holy Spirit is asking and follow His voice. Let the adventure continue! This week our leaders decided to have us spend the first three days remembering back over the last 10 weeks. What lessons did God teach us? What has been hard? What has been really good? What are you grateful for? I was so good to think about these questions and hear from classmates about what God has been doing in them. So many of our struggles were the same. So many of us were able to share what God is working on in ou...

  It started on Saturday night. I had been feeling some pain in my foot, but I brushed it off. By Sunday night the pain was bad and a white bump had appeared. Thinking it was a wort, I went to bed thinking I would deal with it the next day. I woke up that night in bad pain. By morning it had grown and it was hurting to walk. After consulting with some of the nurses here, they recommended that I get a doctor to look at it. Since I don't have insurance this was problematic because I wasn't sure where to go or what to do. Thankfully God wasn't surprised by my foot problem. He sent one of my classmates to help me. She stepped in and got me an appointment with her foot doctor the next day. Talk about God working to provide for your needs! The next day with bad pain and a growing bump on my heel, I walked into see the doctor. He was quickly able to diagnosed it as an infected blood blister, cut a chunk out of my heel, clean it out, and give me care instructions. His assistant kep...

  From crying in the classroom, to hearing stories over lunch, to encountering spiritual warfare, to deep conversations with friends, to a visit from my family this pasty week has been packed.  It was so fun to have my family come visit. It felt so good to share meals with fun conversations, play spoons and keep track of points with Hersey kisses, stay up late talking about friendships, share chocolate covered strawberries, get a ton of hugs, and laugh at inside jokes. It was the best.  As they rolled out of the parking lot, I cried. I won't see most of them until graduation and I was already missing them. Even though I know this is exactly where I'm supposed to be, there are moments that I have to pay the cost of the path God has called me on. And still God calls me on. They joy in Him is worth anything I have to give up.  Class this week was focused on fulfilling the great commission, practical steps for being a good missionary, and the history of missions. Our spe...

    Sometimes God blows you away with how He provides.  Over Christmas weekend I spent a lot of time praying over when I should go back to the school of evangelism. When was Gods best timing? January or March? Either was a good option, but I was praying that God would show me His best.  As I prayed I felt like God told me that if I got full tuition by January 1st, I should go. I laughed. With a week to go I was still about $2,000 short. I didn’t see a way to make it work, but I continued praying.  Within the space of a few days, God not only provided the $2,000 for tuition, but living expenses, and extra that I can save for the missions trip! God completely blew me away with how He provided and with how He led me.  Tomorrow we drive up to YWAM Tyler and I get registered for the School of Evangelism! Classes  start on Monday ! Never underestimate the power and kindness of our God!  I look forward to this next school and seeing how God moves in...

  This week has been so good.  On Monday we had a day of rest. Our team leader encouraged us to take time to realign our hearts with God for the last part of outreach. Over the weekend I felt like I had a whole laundry list of things that were weighing on my mind. I was trying to bring them to God, but it seemed like I couldn't hardly figure out one problem before another would come in. I decided to go and ask God what to do. As I walked into a secluded spot with my list of problems, I heard His voice. "When did you start thinking that you had to be the one to find answers for all of these things?" It was a gentle reminder that all I had to do was come to Him. It has always been His job to figure out the answer and show me what to do. As I have let this truth penetrate my thinking, I've felt so much better. The confusion has cleared and I'm able to focus on the here and now. He will show me what to do, all I have to do is come to Him.  This week we helped out with...

  I was so excited when we started out from Tyler. Even at 2 AM, I was so excited to begin the outreach adventure! It was so fun sitting with Marisa on the bus being excited for the new sights. It was Marisa's first time to Dallas. While I've been there many times it was fun seeing the city through her eyes. Full of wonder and fun. We arrived early and made our way through security. It was then that I started to feel bad. I didn't drink enough water the day before and it made me sick. I'm so thankful for the team I was with. Even though I felt awful, they took such good care of me. Marisa was my seat buddy and helped me navigate through the day. The guys on my team carried my bags. Joy (a classmate) prayed for me. Emily (my school leader) gave me a hug and helped me to calm down. And so many asked me how I was doing and just loved me even when I was feeling tired. Thankfully that afternoon when I arrived at our host home I was able to get some rest, water, a...

  God brought a lot of things to a head this week and helped me identify lies that I had been believing. Through the classes this week and spending time seeking Him, I found answers.  The lies I had been believing were these: I'm not valuable. I need to get it right all the time. How did these lies play out? I tried to do all the right things so that I would have intimacy with God and other people. But simply checking off a checklist and doing "all the right" things didn't get me the intimacy I so desired. The best times that I had with Jesus happened when I was the most real, open, and vulnerable. Many times it wasn't when I was doing some spiritual activity, but in the normal flow of life He would come in and show me more of Himself. Sometimes it was when I was least put together that I felt like His presence was the strongest. This revelation hurt. I realized that for so long I've been striving to get it right so that I could have intimacy, never realizing ...

  Sit back and relax. I have so much to tell you. At the beginning of the week I was a little nervous because this week's topic was relationships. In recent years when this subject has come up my insides start to turn. Why? Growing up I had a great Godly example of marriage from my parents. It's something that from an early age I wanted to duplicate. I wanted a life partner and home of my own. Sadly that desire got twisted into an idol that led me to make some very bad decisions. I thank God that He saved me from what would have been a terrible marriage and that He healed me from the pain. However the scars still remain. This week as I sat in class I had such mixed emotions. Monday and Tuesday we talked about the value of human life and how we are image bearers of the King. While not new information, it's changing the way I approach people. I get to approach them as having value and draw out the image of God in them.  Wednesday and Thursday we talked about marriage and sexu...

  This last week was one of the best weeks of my life. I made some of the biggest strides in walking in freedom in Christ ever. We were talking about identity. Whew a weighty topic and such an important one.  While telling stories of his own identity struggles Troy Sherman shared Biblical truth about God, our identity, life, and everything inbetween. I laughed so hard and learned so much. I learned that being different from those around me isn't bad. My story still has power. My testimony of walking with the Lord is valuable because it's what we have walked together. He wants to pursue a deeper relationship with me. Also I was able to identify lies that I'd believed about me and my identity. It freed me to process it with God and those around me. I'm more comfortable in my own skin and with my story. It's been so good. Technology free week was good. I did miss my audio Bible, my music and being connected with friends and family, but I did enjoy the extra time talkin...

  Wow! The Lord is so good. I've been blown away by His love and care for me.  For starters the 4th of July was great. We swam in the lake, ate hot dogs and burgers with a ton of good sides, had a good time of fellowship, and then went to watch fireworks over a lake. They were beautiful. I was mesmerized.  This week we have been learning about hearing the voice of God. Our teacher was a man named Josh Langer. Originally from Germany, he was a very engaging speaker. I found myself amazed by how many different ways God communicates with us and how He invites us to partner with Him in the great commission. We looked at things that hinder us from hearing the voice of God and what our heart posture should be in approaching God. It was amazing how he brought truths to light that I knew already, but had become buried. I feel like I've been able to clear dirt away from precious jewels and examine their beauty again.  One of the things I'm really enjoying about YW...