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childofGod10933
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Name: June
Country: United States
State: Massachusetts
Metro: Boston
Birthday: 12/20/1985
Gender: Female
Interests: Jesus Christ; CFCF; leading a faithgroup; seeing someone come to know Jesus for the first time; COFFEE; coffee shops; organization; music--Chris Tomlin, Nicole Nordeman, Mercy Me, Vertical Horizon, Jars of Clay, Relient K, Sarah Groves; American Sign Language; The Wheel of Time Series; scrapbooking; making cards; my adorable nieces and nephew =)
Expertise: Possibly Deaf Studies. But someone who is Deaf obviously is more of an expert than I.
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
AIM:  jesusfreak10933
Member Since:
11/29/2004
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| I'm getting married!!!
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| hey guys!!
Sorry its been so long since my last post. You can pray for me,
as I am really starting to feel the strain of grad school plus ministry
plus a boyfriend plus friends. Pray that I would press on not in
my own strength but in the Lord's. Ministry is booming, which is
so encouraging, but it does add to my load. anyways, gtg. I
know this was so short, but so is my time!
Love y'all,
June
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| Well, for all of you who think you really need to post because you havent in a month....try TWO months. =) Sorry its been so long. I guess my life has gotten more complicated, so I havent had as much time to write, and I dont know what to write when I post.
I guess the major lesson God is teaching me this summer is to really stand on a firm foundation of His Word and what He is speaking to me. I cannot let the often good-intentioned opinions of others make me be like the man James talks about: "when he asks, he must believe and not doubt because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." I have really let other people's opinions shake me in what I think God is telling me. I believe that God has called me to go to Indonesia on a short term mission trip, and from the minute I decided to go, people have been asking me whether Im sure Im supposed to go. The opposition has been stronger recently, with people saying "I dont think the Lord has called you to go...you're just going because everyone else is going...im not convinced you're supposed to go..." All of these statements have attacked what I know God is speaking to me. At some point, I had to decide to listen to what God was saying, and not what people are saying. If anyone does not believe that God speaks to you directly (not just through His Word or other people or circumstances), I ask--then how do you distinguish between what God is calling you to do and what other people are saying, esp. when what other people are telling you to do isnt such a bad thing? I could stay in Boston for the next two weeks, go about my daily routine, and avoid going on a trip that maybe I wasnt sure I was supposed to go on.... Or, I could go to Indonesia and tell/show people about the love of Jesus for two weeks. In the book "Prisoners of Hope" by Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer about their captivity in Afghanistan, Dayna says that when she was trying to decide whether she should go to Afghanistan, someone told her, "'Whether you feel called and go, or volunteer and go, the end result is the same. Your fulfillment and reward are the same." Another missionary said that in Christianity in America, the default on missions trips is to stay, when the default really should be to go. After all, it does say "Go, and make disciples of all nations..." not "Stay, and...."
I think in America, we often glorify missionaries, admiring, even applauding their strong calling to go. But really, I believe that missionaries are just like the rest of us, and sometimes, they are just willing vessels who are ready to go wherever there is a need. There are poor in the world that need serving? They are ready to go and do it. Its not so much that they have a calling to a specific nation (though some definitely do), but they have a call to serve God's heart. And what is on God's heart? The poor, the needy, the broken, the lost. They are everywhere, and people go and serve as there is opportunity. Am I trying to take away glory from missionaries? No--these people are being used by God in extraordinary ways. What I am trying to do is highlight and praise their character traits, not their location: humility, willingness, brokenness, passionate about the things God is passionate about. These are the characteristics of people God uses mightily, characteristics I pray that He will give me, because these things come through Him, not our own strength or striving.
Does that mean that we cannot have fruitful and productive ministry here in America? Definitely not. God calls many people to labor for the kingdom of God here. But if the opportunity arises, and you dont feel God telling you to stay, but you are wavering between going and not going, I would encourage you to think about the alternative: "What would I be doing if I stayed?" If the answer is, "I would be telling people about Jesus during those two weeks, actively pouring into people's lives", then stay. But if you have no good reason to stay, by all means go. In the end, I dont think Im going to get to heaven and hear God say to me, "June, I am so disappointed in you--I did not tell you to go to Indonesia, but you went anyway. I cant believe that you did that." I have such peace in my heart about going, and I know that God is going to do great things in me and in the whole team while we are there. I love you all, and miss you. I hope this post encourages you in your relationship with Jesus.
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| Hey all,
My parents are flying me home on Wednesday, June 28th and they wont be
home until Friday, June 30th. So if people want to hang out
Thursday night or during the day, let me know!
-June
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| so it has been a long time since I updated. Lots of things have happened--I graduate from undergrad (woohoo!), started grad school, moved to Boston. Thats a lot of stuff to process. I thought that it would be a smooth, easy transition. It was a relatively smooth transition, but not necessarily an easy one. Now, I dont just go to school in Boston, I live in Boston. I pay rent, I buy my own food and cook my own food, I have an apartment that I have to clean. But, I think I am really coming along in the whole transition thing. Boston in the summer should be awesome (except, summer is still coming, not really here yet). Counseling classes are definitely counseling classes. They are all about analyzing yourself before you can analyze and help others. I am currently in a multicultural counseling class, and Im realizing that I had stereotypes and prejudices that I didnt think I had. If I thought Deaf Studies was far removed from biomedical engineering, counseling is even further. There are few absolutes and problems are more resolved than solved. I am enjoying it, dont get me wrong, but part of me wants to make fun of it because its so far from anything Ive done before. Other than that, not much else to tell. Hopefully I will update a little more frequently. =) much love -June | | |
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