Take delight in HIM!

Hey everyone!

I realize I haven't written on this blog since November, whoops! I thought maybe I should update you all on what is going on in my life.

In these past few months, God has been teaching me a lot. I've learned that when you fully surrender everything, taking delight in the Lord, He will give you what you what, the desires of your heart. My favorite and most evident verse in my life right now is Psalm 37:4 - "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

I really like the way that this one is worded...

God has really been showing me that this verse is ever so true. Surrendering everything to God is really comforting knowing that He has a plan for your life and He is in control. (Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.") A quote I like to remind myself of is "We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us" - Joseph Campbell. It is not easy to surrender yourself and everything about you, but I promise, it is worth it. You have to trust that God will be with you and guide you and take control of your life. Trust in the Lord with all your heart - Proverbs 3:5. Surrender is a word with a huge meaning that needs to be taken seriously. "Don't ask God to guide your steps if you're not willing to move your feet." This quote has a lot of meaning behind it. When you ask God to guide you, you have to be willing to give Him everything. You can't say, "God, I want you to have control over where I go to college, but I don't think I can give you control over this boy I like".

I decided to give up Facebook and Twitter for February, March, and April because I find myself on them when I could be doing much better things. This has to do with surrender, also. Giving up those social medias to spend more time in my community and working to strengthen and grow my relationship with God. Focusing on these things will remind me what is really important in my life, instead of just being on the internet. Although, I will get on to update you about Mission Year related things, such as blogs, donating, and just updates!; I just didn't want it to be taking up all my time, like it did.

The above has been some big things going on in my life the past few months. I have to trust that God knows what He is doing with my life.

Last night, I was talking with a friend about how much I have grown since we met. She said "You've already come this far in the past 4 months, imagine what will happen in the next 4 months". People that I see daily here in Philadelphia and friends and family back home tell me about how much I've grown since I've been in Mission Year. Growth in the way of my personality and with God. I also believe I have grown a lot; stepping out of my comfort zone and working on being fearless. I've learned a lot from God about myself, too. He has taught me that I'm a lot stronger than I hold myself to. I can be a pretty negative person towards myself and degrade myself, but I've been learning that when I talk negative about myself, I start to believe it; but deep down I know that what I'm saying about myself isn't true. "No one has the right to make you feel worthless, not even you." I've been working on being a more positive person, just in general, and showing love to everyone. There are times when I do slip, but then God reminds me to show love.

Right now, in my life, is the closest I've ever been to God and it is awesome just seeing His good works and how He is working in my life. He must become greater; I must become less - John 3:30

Another verse that is big in my life is Proverbs 4:23 - Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

That is pretty much all I can think of at the moment, and I will work on updating this more to keep you up to date with my life! (: