And he's off...

I received my last phone call from Derrick at 6:30 this morning saying he was boarding the plane to Haiti and wanted to just say "I love you".  Where did time go?  Our weekend together was wonderful besides the fact I had a 101 temperature, of course I was sick.  Derrick was so comforting, but I felt terrible that I was sick. After church I was feeling a lot better, but we did some last minute shopping/packing and then I sent him off.  I didn't feel like he was going to Haiti, but none the less he is off and I am so so so excited for him.  A little jealous that I could not be going with him, but I sent him a journal and some letters so he wouldn't miss me too much.

I miss him already, but how can you get jealous and not be supportive of a man who is serving the Lord.  How can you really fight with that?  I know through these next couple of weeks it will encourage me to stand firm in the Lord and be in prayer for that is the only way of communication I will have with Derrick. Prayer.  I believe that prayer is what prepared my heart for Derrick leaving.  The Lord gave me such a peace in knowing that he will be fine and will get to come home.
"The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121:8

Our Lord who is our rock and foundation, the center of our relationship, can get us through not physically seeing each other or even hearing each other's voices.  I have realized in Derrick and my relationship that the Lord uses us apart so that we can learn and grow.  We then can come together and collaborate.  It is such a beautiful thing.  I am oh so truly blessed.

Please pray for Derrick and the Christ Fellowship team while they are in Haiti.

 

Tonight was a great night at bible study.  The Lord has provided a great group of girls who want to grow with the Lord.  Being with the girls makes me miss high school because they have so much fun and love life.  Not that I don't love life, they are just so care free.  We had fun playing some games and getting to know them.  The girls really opened up and shared how they wanted to grow.  


I shared how I needed to stop being so selfish.  Lauren said, "You selfish? I just don't believe that."  Well believe it sweet Lauren, I am imperfect. Tonight proves just how selfish I am.  


I hadn't heard from Derrick all day and became very frustrated.  We had spent literally every waking moment together the past week and the least he could do was give me a call.  I finally reached a text around midnight from him apologizing that he hadn't called.  In that, I wanted him to know I was hurt.  I sent him frustrated and blunt texts with one word answers with periods behind them. (Texts are the worst way to resolve anything, you always say things you would never mean.)  Poor guy, I give him such a hard time.  He quickly gave me a phone call.   Then as we were talking he told me that he had Hot Rod tickets on Saturday night and I became upset because we weren't going to spend the whole time together while I was in town.  I am a brat.  I realized in that moment how selfish I have been lately.  


I never made it to see my sweet friend Addie off to summer project either.  I have been so caught up in myself and my feelings that I have not uplifted and encouraged the ones around me. 

 "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself..." Romans 15:2-3 

I want to take the time to encourage some of the ones I love. 

Mom and Dad,  Thanks so much for saving me on the side of the interstate.  Thanks so much for dealing with me at the beginning of summer.  Please forgive me for not spending much time at home.  Thank you for being supportive and encouraging with whatever road the Lord leads me.  I praise God that I have parents that care about me so much.  I pray that this summer we can enjoy this time to spend together and to grow together in our relationships with the Lord.  Thank you for also dealing with me. 

Kathryn, Thank you for always being an honest big sis.  I love that our relationship has grown so much.  I praise God that I have a sister who shares the same love for the Lord.  I think it is so honorable to move to a big town as Dallas and seek the Lord's will.  Talk about trust.  You truly are a role model in my life.  

Derrick, I love you so much.  I am so blessed to have a Godly man leading our relationship.  I am so proud that you have graduated college.  This summer may not be easy at times being away from each other, but in that I want to be joyful.  I will be excited when we get to talk to each other and get to see each other.  I know he will provide those special times, no need to worry.  The Lord is going to teach us so much.  We have been blessed to spend so much time together.  Thank you so much for telling me when I "thinking" too much, so I can grown and learn.  Thank you so much for loving me well.  You honor and value me just like you do the Lord.  I find that so amazingly attractive.  You are a blessing in my life. 

Congrats to Jordan and Matt, who just got engaged.  I am very happy for you and Matt, I want to be nothing more than to supportive of you two.  I praise God for you in my life.  I do not know where I would be today if it was not for your encouragement.  I value and treasure our friendship so much.  Thank you so much for being the Godly woman that you are.  Your heart and passion for the Lord continues to allow for me to grow just from you.  

  

Addie, Wow how we have grown up.  Thank you for always encouraging me and being happy, no matter what.  I am so excited that you get to spend your summer in Sandusky, OH to grow in your relationship with the Lord.  I pray that you learn so much and make a great impact on the ones around you.  I know you will  because you are always bright and cheerful.  The Lord's joy in your heart exudes to others around you.  

Hannah, it has been encouraging to be in the same place together this summer. (Not having plans that is)  I know that the Lord will provide you with an internship.  The Lord has blessed me with you these past couple weeks to have fun and be spontaneous.  You love life and I love that about you.  Through our hectic schedules at school, the Lord has blessed us with this time to spend together and to enjoy rest.  Yet, it is 5 am and I am writing this.  You really have rubbed off on me :)

"But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10

This summer is the first summer since high school that I have not had everyday planned out.  The family I normally nanny for were not going to need me as much this summer and that means I wouldn't be making as much money this summer.  My best friends are all busy with different things; most of them will be leaving me soon.  I tried to find nanny jobs in Bowling Green, Dallas, and even jobs in Ohio.  I wanted something that would be consistent, so I wouldn't have to worry about making money.  

At school I am so used to going from class to work to leading a bible study/ being in one each night of the week and now...I can't rest.  I feel weird, but the Lord just says "Do you trust me Alyssa?? Just rest and I will provide."  

The Lord will provide and has.  

This weekend Derrick is leaving for Haiti and I was planning on going to BG to help him pack.  Saturday the Lord provided a babysitting job in Bowling Green.  

Last night as I was going to sleep, I just prayed for more jobs to arise.  This morning I awoke to a text from a Mom needing a babysitter today in Anchorage (an area in Louisville) and I had spent the night at a friend's house who lives in Anchorage.  (P.S. The child is sick and sleeping on the couch near me. :) )

Praise the Lord.

I think in life we so quickly want to have everything planned to the tee, but that is just not how it always works out.  This summer is going to really teach me about trust.  I am not strong without Christ.  

I am also excited for this summer because I get the opportunity to be reunited with the high school girls from winter break.  I am so excited to get to invest in their lives.  I am between two books by Leslie Ludy.  I had originally wanted to do "Set-Apart Femininty", but Leslie just came out with a new book.  It is called "The Lost Art of True Beauty".  How perfect!  I think if the girls haven't gotten the other book then we will go with the new one.  The Lord has his plan.  

Below is what "The Lost Art of True Beauty" is about (everything opposite of what I am taught as a Fashion Major): 

"In today’s sex-obsessed society, pop-culture’s idea of feminine beauty seems to be all about looking like the hottest models, movie stars, or pop-singers.  But the end results are often tragic - overwhelming insecurity, eating disorders, and sexual promiscuity.  This book presents a whole different vision for feminine loveliness as god intended it to be - the breathtaking radiance of a young woman who has been transformed by Christ from the inside out.  This book offers lots of practical advice about how to:

*Showcase Christ’s beauty in the way you dress, act, and live 

*Overcome insecurity and see yourself as God sees you

*Become attractive to the right kind of guy 

*Build your femininity on God’s values instead of the world’s

I am very excited about this new book and hope that it will lead you on a life-changing journey to becoming a woman of feminine grace, inner radiance and timeless appeal!"

The Lord has his plan.  I just need to be content. 

 

P31derful

Not making the grade in my marketing class, not working as much as I had planned this summer, my car dying on my way home from BG was just not a great start to my summer.  The Lord said once again, Do you really trust me Alyssa?  I responded, Yes Lord but no.  


I was rushing home so that I could help with a fashion show.  This wasn't just any fashion show.  This was a P31 fashion show.  You may be asking yourself, What is P31?  P31 stands for Proverbs 31.  In my journey to seek the Lord's plan for my ministry with young girls, he brought me Kim Wiggington.  Kim started this Bible study for young girls and their mom's so that they can learn together what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman.  She just so happened to have graduated at WKU with the same major that I am studying. (God thing?...I think so.)  So I emailed Kim just asking her how she got started and what the Lord has done with her ministry.  She has so graciously allowed for me to come alongside her this summer and be involved in P31.  Praise the Lord. 


 So that brings us to last night.  It was the end of the 31 week bible study that was placed in different homes and it was time to celebrate. Each year there is a Mother/Daughter Tea evening where they come and rejoice in what the Lord had done in each of their groups.  I got to run the fashion show.  In the fashion show there were 3 scenes: a home scene where they show off their aprons they made, a fitness scene where they have jump ropes and jog on stage, and a Cinderella scene where they are escorted by their father's on stage.  After only rehearsing 3 hours the night before, the girls did great! 


 It was such a humbling experience to be a part of that night. Some of the girls shared their testimonies of how the Lord used P31 to work in them.  An 8 year old girl said, " I loved P31 because it taught me how to read the Bible and what the words meant."  Praise the Lord.  I can't say that I would have said that at the age of 8.  


It was so neat to see how many were impacted by P31.  Kim started P31 with her 3 daughters and it has continued to grow tremendously.  Just last year there were 20 girls who participated in the fashion show and this year there were 40.  There were many other girls who were not involved in the fashion show.  I was encouraged to think that the Lord could have a ministry for me.  I thank God for Kim and P31.  


The Lord has his plan for me being home this summer and I am delighted to see how he continues to open up doors.    

Whom am I seeking?

Blamelessness

Yesterday was my last Monday of classes for the semester.  I already had a checklist in my brain as to how much I had to get done and then I was given another project.  My plan to study ahead and to be prepared was put on the back burner. I became very frustrated and very overwhelmed.  In my attempt to accomplish my checklist in one day, I became disappointed.  I tried so hard to evaluate four garments, finish my screen print, and create a buying plan all in ONE DAY. I was in the Academic Complex from 9am - 4:30 pm.  My brain would not focus.  My screen print was not perfection.
I wondered why my day went so wrong.

I was trying to control it on my own. 
This morning in my devotional it talked about blamelessness.  It discussed Job and how he lived a life blameless.  He walked in consistency in every area of his life.  
We are not called to live a life of sinless perfection, but rather a lifestyle that is growing and conforming to His Word.  I can not handle this world on my own.  The Lord is the only way I can do anything.   
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  James 1:2-4