He is Here.

Hey friends. 

What a difference intentional prayer makes. Many of you know exactly what I'm talking about. I've been spending my mornings this week in intentional prayer over this summer, and something that I keep coming back to is the reason believers go and do missions - it's all about Him. Not the internship experience, not the cool city, not the new friends. Those are all great things, but we are going to bring glory to Him and share His truth. 

Convicting, right? I always get so caught up in stressing about things that I forget the whole reason I am alive in the first place! But He is good, and there is grace. There's a Kim Walker-Smith song called "Waste", and the chorus goes like this: 

I wanna waste it all on You

I wanna pour my heart's perfume

I don't care if I'm called a fool

I'm wasting it all on You

I initially thought that was so strange, because nothing we every do is a waste when it is for Christ. But I realized that by "waste" she means "to give without holding back, without moderation, without selfishness" - to literally give everything she has. That phrase "my heart's perfume" is such a wonderful one as well. 

At the end of Ezekiel it was speaking of the new Jerusalem, and how the new city would be called "The Lord is there". So. Cool. He is here. He is also there. He is everywhere. I underestimate how powerful that is. No matter where I am, He will be there. And the Word speaks of cities often, about bringing the good news to a place that is filled with lost people. I love cities for that reason - and the architecture is a plus too. 

These three weeks have been the longest I've been at home since last summer, and that's been really cool and also challenging, as it's given me waaay too much time to freak out about what's ahead. But I'm starting to see how intentional that was on God's part, and how I've been able to use this time in prayer and proper preparation. So neat. 

But anyways, those were a few things that stuck out to me this morning. Please continue to pray for my team and me, that our hearts be prepared for a challenging and exciting summer. Soften our hearts to be sensitive to the Spirit, and His will above our own. 

Blessings!