Be Faithful

View our group's official fundraising thermometer here from School-Fundraisers.com to see how close we've come to our fundraising goal.

"You are called into greatness. As a royal daughter of God, you are engineered for eternity, designed to make a difference. No one can take your place in God's heart, in His Kingdom, in His family. All through eternity, you will still be bringing delight to God and smiles to the faces of your brothers and sisters who dearly love you. Filled with the wisdom of the ages, every word that comes from your mouth will impart encouragement and life to those around you. But don't expect to start out with a limousine and bodyguards. The path to your true potential seldom starts with glitter and glamour, nor does it begin with an infinitely complex problem to solve. Instead, it starts right where you are, with the mundane stuff of everyday life. There you form the strength of character that God requires for the great assignments He has waiting for you. A simple act of obedience, a kind word, a selfless deed.... these are the building blocks of greatness. Every day, as you spend tim...

While I was growing up, my mother used to sing me this song: Have patience, have patience Don't be in such a hurry When you get impatient, you only start to worry Remember, remember that God is patient, too And think of all the times when others have to wait for you I recently made a [poor] choice that was made out of impatience, not faith. Impatience is something I've struggled with; I constantly need to remind myself that I cannot do things from my own power. Why steal a gift out of the closet when our Heavenly Daddy has the perfect gift for us handcrafted and just waiting to be opened? We just have to wait for Him to give it to us. It's in HIS timing, not ours. Most people, if they know they are going to a buffet, will eat very little the rest of the day in order to prepare. They will be mindful of what they eat knowing that they need to save their appetite for later. Who goes to a buffet with a full stomach? Why, then, would we eat yesterday'...

He gives strength to those who are tired and more power to those who are weak. --Isaiah 40:29 An example of faith was found on the wall of a concentration camp. On it a prisoner had carved the words: I believe in the sun, even though it doesn't shine, I believe in love, even when it isn't shown, I believe in God, even when he doesn't speak. I try to imagine the person who etched those words. I try to envision his skeletal hand gripping the broken glass or stone that cut into the wall. I try to imagine his eyes squinting through the darkness as he carved each letter. What hand could have cut such a conviction? What eyes could have seen good in such horror? There is only one answer: Eyes that chose to see the unseen. (Max Lucado)

My goal for September is to be attending the School of Ministry . This school is run by my church, and is for people between the ages of 18 and 35. Their mission is to "inspire students into deeper intimacy with Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit; through healing of the heart and a personal devotional lifestyle. In a loving and challenging environment [they] focus firstly on character growth and then on spiritual giftings by bringing the ministry of the Word and the Spirit together. [They] nurture leaders with kingdom mindsets and kingdom lifestyles to release the power of the Holy Spirit in [the students'] everyday lives." I first heard about this school when I went to my very first Heavy Rain conference in 2010. At first I didn't think anything of it. It was during that same conference that I was born again, and over the next few months as I got more involved with Catch the Fire , I met people who had been and had great things to say about it. As I dove deeper into Go...

Let there be no reservations, no walls... Just an open door in my heart for You! I want to give all that's inside of my heart to You.

God has been teaching me a lot about boundaries lately. It's not an easy lesson, let me tell you that. It came about because I kept hitting walls with people and I didn't understand why. Why aren't people letting me in? The males in my church community are so private, I thought, and they don't want to get to know me at all. I felt so rejected, and I didn't understand why they were being like that. I've never really had to deal with boundaries. In fact, I lack boundaries in many areas of my life. I blurt out what I think all the time no matter how intimate. I lack boundaries with food. I lack boundaries with the people in my life, including my family. I was informed that it's inappropriate for me to keep close male friends. At first I was so defensive. "Why!?" I asked, shocked. "What difference does it make if I'm single and they're single?!" I truly believed God used me in various intimate settings to speak to others. This ma...