Saturday, April 14, 2012

Faithfulness to Thankfulness

Thankful. The word alone makes me smile and cringe at the same time. 
I cringe because I am instantly convicted of never being thankful enough. Every time I come home from a different country and have experienced a new level of poverty, I am determined to be more thankful. But I am still never thankful enough.
I smile because I think of all of the things, places and people that I am thankful for.
Recently, God has reminded me that I am called to be thankful. I believe the words that Luke wrote so many years ago still apply to me... "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much..." So, I am determined to be thankful in the "little things" knowing that God will then see my faithfulness to thankfulness and bless me.
The truth is I have so much to be thankful for. But here are a few things that stick out to me... I hope that this will inspire you to make a list of everything you're thankful for. We can't out-thank God!

1. My family. I know, I know, can I get any cheesier by starting out with this one?? As cliche as it is, it's true. My family has had the biggest role in helping me be the person that God has called me to be. They have loved me through arguments, sickness, and practical jokes. They have taught me not only with their words, but with their lives how to be a kind person. We could honestly write a book entitled "Five Kids, Four Little Ones, Three More Sisters, Two Parents, and A Partridge In A Pear Tree."
2. Freedom. I am thankful for not only living in a "free country", but for being able to say that I know what true freedom really is. Freedom from sin and freedom from Hell.
3. Grace. I'm thankful for the grace that could only come from a tree that my best friend bled and died on for me.
4. Friends. I have friends who are 2 years old and I have friends who are 75. I have been so blessed with a plethora of friends. Some of them closer than others, but all of them have a purpose in my life.
5. Airplanes. Do you think I'm crazy yet?? Yes, it's true. Airplanes made the list. No, I am not a 5 year old boy - I am a girl who has a passion for every people group in the world to know and love Jesus Christ. Because of that, I am simply thankful for airplanes.
6. Church. This can be a hard one for me to be thankful for. For most of my life, I have had to choose to be thankful for church. I've grown up being at church for hours on end each week, most weeks every single day. It was hard for me as a young girl to be thankful for something that I could never get away from. Now, though, I have learned that without the church I would not be who I am today. The church (meaning the people, not the building) has taught me to love Jesus, to always have hope, and to always put others before myself.
7. Children. I can never soak in children enough. There's something about the innocence of a child mixed with their undeniable faith in every single person that is contagious.
8. Christmas. At my house, Christmas is the holiday that lasts from October to January. Literally! Although I love the music, the cookies and the decorations, that is not why I am thankful for it. I am thankful for Christmas because it's the beginning of the end of separation from God. When Jesus was born on this earth, He broke all tradition. He bridged the gap between man and God.
9. Easter. I am perhaps most thankful for Easter. I am thankful for the cross because it means that I am free from sin. I am thankful for the torn veil because it means I have direct access to God. I am thankful for the empty tomb because it means that death has been conquered. I am thankful for Jesus leaving this earth because He promised to return.
10. Rainbows. Rainbows means that God will never leave us nor forsake us. He will stay good on His word to return. I never have to doubt Him.
11. The Future. Jeremiah 29:11 promises me that God's plans for my life are good. I'm thankful that God has provided a future for me not only on this Earth, but with Him. Even if His plan for my life is to die tomorrow and be with Him forever, I'm still thankful for it.
12. My Sister. Although she falls under the category of my family, I cannot write this list without being specifically thankful for her. Joy has taught me how to use a "potty" (no I am not kidding!!), that it really is more important to be kind than to be pretty, and how to love people how Jesus does.
13. Books. I'm thankful for books because they teach me lessons that people can't. Books have the ability to automatically transfer me from Earth to any other planet.
14. A Christian School. Not many teenagers can say that they have learned most of their Bible knowledge from their high school. I can. I'm thankful for my parents who have sacrificed throughout my entire life to give me the best education possible. Not just academically, but spiritually.
15. Relationships. I'm thankful for the loving relationship I have with my family. I'm thankful for the refreshing relationship I have with my friends. I'm thankful for the wise relationship I have with my teachers and mentors. I'm thankful for the simple relationship I have with kids. But most of all, I'm thankful for the ultimate relationship I have with Jesus Christ. I'm thankful that the God of the universe pursues my relationship with Him and He never stops being faithful to me.



"Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations."

Psalm 100: 2-5

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Missions Adventures: Mexico.... Just the beginning.

Wow, here I am, writing my last missions blog. I have been putting this one off. Partly because I don't want to ever stop writing about my missions adventures and partly because God is still using me and working in my heart through my trip to Mexico.
Mexico was only a brief week of my life. Mexico was a hard week. Mexico was over in the blink of an eye. Mexico changed my life.
Now, I know what you're thinking... Really Joni? You say that about all of your trips. How could 5 different trips ALL change your life? My answer is this: I don't know. But they did. God has continued to change my heart and my passion each and every time I have gone on a missions trip. And I pray that He will continue to do so until my last.
Mexico was the most last minute and least prepared trip I have been on yet. I was at a youth conference in the end of October of 2011 and heard about a missions trip to Mexico that was happening in December of 2011. You do the math; that left me with less than two months. At first I told myself that I was "missions-happy," ready to go on any trip available to me. Then, when I knew God was asking me to go, my response was this "But God, I'm called to India. Not Mexico." His response? Well, like always He reminded me that He knows the plans that He has for me, not me. He's always in control, and I never should be. So, I went home from that youth conference convinced that I was called to go to Mexico within about 8 weeks. 
At that point, my parents were pretty used to me saying things like "I think God is calling me to [insert country here]." This time, though, was a stretch. However, I am very thankful for parents who not only believe in me, but who hear and listen to the voice of God.
Needless to say, within a week I was doing everything possible to raise 1,500 dollars by November 30. There were days that I doubted I was going to make it. There were moments when I would ask God "Couldn't you have asked someone else with a real job? Why me, a senior in high school?" But God proved Himself faithful, as always. 
I think back and have absolutely no idea how I received the money that I did. One day I had two checks waiting for me in the mailbox. One was for $200 and the other for $400. It was days like that when God reminded me that He is in control and He will prove Himself faithful, no matter how faithless I am. There were days when I would go to the bank and discover that there was 50 more dollars in there than I thought.
Long story short, it was a couple days after Christmas and I was packing from family vacation to go to Mexico. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Little did I know that within 24 hours not only would I be in three different time zones, but I would be on a bus full of teenagers who were ready to change the world. I would be praying with people who I had never met before. I would be showering in water that was sometimes brown. I would be on a farm that reeked. I would be uncomfortable. I would be tired. I would be having the time of my life.
Along with about 200 other people, mostly teenagers, I would be building houses for poverty stricken families. We would be writing and teaching our own VBS program. We would be sharing the very real love of Jesus with a very hurt country.
To be honest, in the beginning of the trip, I did not want to be there. It would be freezing cold at night and unbearably hot during the day. I was tired and missing my family.
But one night God captured my heart.
God, in His goodness and grace, showed me that I did not want to be there for all of the wrong reasons. He showed me Psalm 103 which starts out by saying "Bless the Lord, oh my soul, all that is within me, bless His holy name." Did you get that?? ALL that is within me. The parts that don't want to bless Him, must bless Him. The part of me that was tired was made to bless the Lord. The part of me that was grumpy was made to bless the Lord. The part of me that was dirty was made to bless the Lord. He reminded me once again that He had called me to Mexico for such a time as this.
I met and ministered with incredible people while in Mexico. I will never forget singing praises to God every single night for a week with teenagers from all over America and Canada in an old barn in the middle of farmland in Mexico. I will never forget the people that inspired and encouraged me to follow my dreams and put action to the passions that God had placed on my heart. I will never forget painting pieces of plywood and learning how to use things like a nail gun so that a beautiful family could finally have the home that they have been dreaming of all their lives. I will never forget the look on a mother's face as she was handed the keys to her new home for the very first time. That look was worth every penny, every drop of sweat, and every prayer that had gotten me to Mexico.
One day I had the opportunity to talk to a woman who had been physically and mentally abused by claimed Christians who were actually a deceitful political party. This political party had cheated this beautiful woman of her home, her freedom, and her hope of true Love. That day I had the opportunity to pray with her and help her find the hope of Jesus Christ. I shared my testimony with her, reminding her that people are never perfect. Even Christians. But that Jesus Christ is perfect and that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. His love will never end. He will never stop chasing after us. His arms are always open, ready to embrace us. That day a woman's life was forever changed by the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
I often find myself thinking of this woman. I pray for her, hoping that she and her family are doing well. I pray that she is still following Jesus and trusting Him everyday.
I will never fully know why God called me to Mexico. I do know that He used me to show His love and showed me more of Him in the process. I know that I witnessed the miracle of a broken life being restored. I know that three families in Mexico are now living with a roof over their heads and a home built with love and soaked in prayer. I know that He called me to Mexico for "such a time as this."
I hope that maybe one person will be inspired to step out of their boxes and live the life that God has called them to as a result of my missions adventures. If only one person's life (even if it's my own!) has been changed by the 5 missions trips I have been on out of the country, then every penny and every trip will have been worth it. If you're reading this, I encourage you to read my blogs about the other missions trips I have been on. If you think that God is calling you to something, no matter how much you don't want to do it, follow Him. You can never go wrong serving a perfect God who loves you more than anything else.