My Puzzle Piece....

This weekend, I went on a college/campus ministry retreat/rally thing in Panama City Beach, Florida. One..you know it's going to be good bc it's on the beach...in Florida...with some of your best friends...and Two...it's Jesus time!!
This year was an amazing year and God's spirit was totally present.
The theme this year was HOLOS [Reimagining Campus Ministry]
The Greek word Holos means- All, Whole, or Entire
It can also mean-The idea that all the properties of a given system cannot be determined or explained by it's component parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave.
The whole idea was that we each have a puzzle piece...which represents our lives. Each puzzle piece has broken edges, weird shapes and designs, pieces missing, parts that sometimes don't make since, and pieces that sometimes don't match other puzzle pieces. But eventually, each puzzle piece has another piece, somewhere, that it connects to, which connects to another piece somewhere, and so on and so on. Ending in a completed puzzle with no jagged edges or missing pieces. But one WHOLE puzzle, complete and perfect.
I loved the idea of the puzzle pieces. It really made you think. We all got a piece of a puzzle and got to keep it so that we are always reminded that there is another puzzle piece out there somewhere that we are to be connected to so that the whole puzzle can be completed.
I am going to Africa in May-and I am getting more and more excited every day!! I started to worry about having enough money to go-but then I remember that God provides-and He will not let me go without! And then i started to feel selfish....for doubting God and for being afraid- this weekend there were booths set up from the Christian Relief Funds to adopt a child in a different country who had no food,water,clothes,shelter,medicine, but they still trusted and praised our God above. There was an organizations to get water to Africa because women have to carry very heavy buckets of water for miles and miles to their village-and they still praise God for life.There is a smelly nasty filthy dump in Honduras where orphans and widows go to find food, cans to sale, whatever they can find to make money ever day-they still love Jesus. There was a lady on the praise team who's husband was killed two months ago in a hunting accident....she is 9 months pregnant...with two kids already...and she stood up on the stage, LIFTING her hands and PRAISING our God who gives AND takes away!!
So why do I question or hesitate, to TRUST and give my all to a God who provides?? When people who have lost everything or never had anything to begin with, praise Him, and His holy name!!
It just really encouraged me to stop being so selfish....and to be selfless
To become cruciformed--->showing the image of the cross daily!
I really think, that God has a plan for me after school, to leave the United States. To go do His works, to live with His people, that know nothing of Him, who need love, a friend, help, support, education, a life worth living. And I believe that Jesus is calling me to do this.
One thing that was said this weekend that really made me happy...was that the speaker asked us...what would we risk...if we went somewhere..sold everything...left and served Jesus. The first things I started thinking of were my friends and family, my schooling, my goals that I have now, a husband, my possessions, etc.  Then the speaker said...that we have EVERYTHING and NOTHING to lose....he said that basically we are Christian Zombies-meaning that we have died to Christ-but are walking around here on Earth. He then continued to say....that we have nothing since we are already dead...because the dead can have nothing...So he told us to follow Christ and do what He commands...listen to His every word...You will lose nothing but gain it all...because YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE!
That made me smile...and it made me feel confident...that I can sale all this junk I have...because really it's nothing..because I'm dead...and I need to go serve my God...who calls me daily to do his work!
I got home from the weekend...with no voice...from singing and shouting and worshiping...which I was happy to not have a voice if that was the reason! And I got in bed...ready to read my Bible...and I just prayed that God's words would speak to me, and reveal to me things I need to hear and know. So I started reading Ephesians...and EVERY word spoke to me...and God was revealed to me in a whole new way. And it made me feel even more confident in the fact to leave and sale everything and serve my God....
Ephesians 3:20 tells us that GOD'S POWER IS AT WORK WITHIN US!! That makes me SO strong and able to do anything through His son's name!!
But Ephesians 2:10 gave me all the confidence in the world to know that being His disciple is my calling-
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to DO good works, which God PREPARED IN ADVANCE for us to DO.
God has been preparing in advance a place for me to serve Him and love His people. He has made a place for me to DO his works through Him.
GOD IS LOVE