I recently was reading the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. I've heard and read this parable so many times growing up that I felt immune to the message. But I decided to read through it again any way. And man, God blew my mind. I just saw the whole passage in a new light.
Every time I've read this passage, I've skipped over all the lost seeds and pointed towards the good earth, thinking, yep that's the soil I'm in... so I can move on now. But no, this time I stopped, and I saw myself in one of the other seeds. Check out verse 22: “The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it." This passage stopped me in my tracks. This seed fell onto ears that wanted to hear...okay sounds good so far...but, weeds got in the the way! Weeds of worry and illusions about getting more, and wanting everything under the sun. These weeds strangled out what was heard! This hit home because I know that I definitely struggle with worry and with always wanting more. When I read this verse I immediately thought about the "American Dream." The "American Dream" is all about getting more and having the best of everything. I grew up in a society that taught me these values, but these values of materialism are really weeds! Weeds that can interfere with my acceptance of the Gospel. Materialism is actually a big problem and is something we should stop ignoring. No, I don't believe it's wrong to have things or to go shopping. But when our minds, and more importantly our hearts, are only focused on getting more, then we have a problem. At the end of the day, the Gospel needs to be enough for us. What Jesus did on that cross should be enough to satisfy the longing in our hearts. In verse 23, Jesus says that "the seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams." That's what I want. I want to make sure I hear the Gospel news and let it change my life completely. Only then will God be able to work through me in a way that surpasses what I can ever imagine. Check out the passage for yourself and try to see it in a new light. 18-19 “Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn’t take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person’s heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road. 20-21 “The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it. 22 “The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it. 23 “The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.” ~ Matthew 13:18-23 (MSG)
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I am currently sitting at home on winter break. My semester is over and it feels so good to finally relax. Since I am in a five year program, I am officially half way through my program! This past semester was pretty difficult. There just seemed to be a lot going on; I had a heavy school workload and then on top of that I worked and helped lead the Christian group on campus. But now I am done, for a little, and I can finally breathe. To be honest, even though this semester was really hard, I didn't feel that stressed. I mean, yes, there were definitely many moments where I was overcome with all the work I had to do. But at the same time, this year, I really made a commitment to give all my worries over to God. So every time I felt overwhelmed, I would just run to God.
I have been learning how to rest and find peace in the midst of the chaos, by going to my Father. The verse I have been clinging to is John 15:5 - “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." This verse reminds me that I cannot do anything without God, and that all I need to do is abide and rest in Him. It's so simple. I can't do anything without the strength from my Father, so when the burden is too heavy to carry, I give it to Him. I'm learning to put God first, even when I have an assignment due the next day, or when my paper isn't finished. On the morning of a big test day, before I cram material into my brain at the last minute, I take some time to just sit with God, read my bible and rest. This time reminds me why I'm doing all of this. It focuses my mind on the big picture. The only reason I am in this hard histology class, is because it brings me one step closer to being a Physician Assistant, so that one day I can provide medical care to those in need, and share God's love with them! Every hard test and annoying paper has a bigger purpose that is meant to bring glory to God! So yea, as I am home resting, I encourage you all to take a moment to rest and abide in God. Give God your burdens and worries. Make time for Him, even in the midst of the chaos, especially during this holiday season! It pains me to say it, but summer is coming to a close. I start classes in 2 days. I can't believe how quickly the time went. This summer was a lot different than what I expected. My plans were to go to Global Summer Intensive for 3 weeks and then as soon I came back, I was going to be taking classes for the rest of the summer. I went to Global, and I had an amazing time and learned so many things. When I returned home, I was ready to start my classes, but at the last minute they got cancelled.
To be honest, I was actually really annoyed. The only reason I decided to stay home this summer and not travel was to take these classes. But you know what, I think God knows what He is doing. In the beginning of summer, He told me that this summer would be a time of rest, but I didn't realize He actually wanted me to rest! After Global I had a lot of free time. I'm the kind of person that loves to be busy, so sometimes taking a break is hard for me. But I realized that this break was a gift from God. It was an opportunity to spend more time with Him and grow in Him. So that's what I tried to do. I spent my mornings lounging around and talking to God. I really enjoyed getting to rest and just sit with my Father. He always knows what's best for me, even if I don't know. Okay, so I want to update you guys on my life after Global. As I said before, I learned so much at Global and I was eager to apply it to my life. I wanted to see healings and miracles in my everyday life and I wanted to love the people around me! But to be honest, it was really hard for me to do this at home. I felt like there was this weird pressure for me to pray for every sick person I saw and I was filled with guilt if I didn't pray for someone one day. I realized that this was not right. I don't need to pray for a certain number of people each day to earn God's love. God doesn't condemn me if I get too afraid to approach someone. I always forget that this is a learning process and that God is a good and loving father. Yes He wants to see me grow, and yes He wants me to pray for His children and love them. But He doesn't want it to become my duty or something I have to do. So instead of looking at people as projects and trying to figure out how I could fix them or pray away their problems, I started just trying to love them. Just being kind, and treating them like God's special child. And you know what the pressure lifted and I was able to just love people. I was able to pray with people for healing and to approach strangers and tell them about God's love. Instead of trying so hard to "step out", I drew closer to God and told Him, all I really wanted was a relationship with Him. He reminded of the verse Matthew 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." I had my priorities wrong, I was seeking people out, instead of seeking God. God reminded me that if I seek Him, then the signs and miracles will come, the boldness will come. Every step of the way, my only job is to keep my eyes fixed on Him. So that's where I am at right now. I am drawing closer to Him and just enjoying His peace...But I do have one testimony to share with You! One day this summer, my mom and I were at a Goodwill thrift store and I overheard one of the workers saying her wrists were really hurting. So I asked her if we could pray for her wrists and she said we could, but what really was hurting her was her shoulders. So we laid hands on her shoulders and prayed. Then she jumped back and looked my mom and I with big eyes, and said "what did you do!? It doesn't hurt anymore, " And we were like it's Jesus! He healed you!!! That was a cool experience and I had many other opportunities like that to pray for people and bless them. But the best part of all of this is knowing that God loves me so much, whether or not I pray for someone that day. I am already accepted by Him! That's so amazing! I encourage you all to continue to draw closer to God. He loves us all so much! And as we get to know more of God's love, we will want to pour it out on others. We need to keep our eyes on Him always and know that He just wants us to love Him and to love the people around us. What a Good Father! As many of you may, or may not know, a couple weeks ago I went to Harrisburg, PA for 3 weeks to take part in the Global School of Supernatural Ministry Summer Intensive (GSI). This post is way overdue, since I have been home for over 3 weeks now, but I am still feeling the impact from my stay there. I want to share with you guys about my experience at the school.
So basically the school was 3 weeks long, from June 7 to June 26th. The school focuses on imparting and equipping Christians to walk in the supernatural. Now some of you might be freaked out when I say "supernatural", but by supernatural I mean the ordinary things that Christians are supposed to be doing. Things such as healing the sick and even raising the dead! In Matthew 10:7-8 Jesus says "And as you go, preach, saying 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." Also in Acts 26:18 Paul says "why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?" Isn't that crazy! God calls us to bring healing and even life to people, and it's not a big deal for God, it's just who He is! Basically we are called to bring heaven to earth, and that's what GSI was teaching us to do! During the 3 weeks, we had over 15 speakers come in and talk to us. Among many things, we learned that we have the authority to pray for people and the basics of praying for healing. We also learned how to hear from God. All Christians can hear from God. It's like a child hearing their father's voice, or a sheep knowing the voice of the shepherd. In fact, God even speaks to nonbelievers! God's voice can sound like a loud booming thunder, or a soft whisper from deep within. It was so awesome to learn that God wants to talk to us and that He really is a God that loves relationship. Every Tuesday and Thursday we had outreach. On these days we would go out to the streets, supermarkets, and stores and practice what we were learning. We would walk around and wait for God to point someone out to us. Sometimes they were wearing a cast, or using crutches, other times it was just a random normal person. We would walk up to them and share God's love with them. Also, we listen to God to see if there was anything He wanted to tell them; often the word was an encouragement for the person. Do I sound crazy yet?! It's okay haha... Let me share an example from my experience. One day I was sitting in Chick- fil-a, and I saw a young girl (17?) sitting by herself eating. For some reason I felt God point her out to me, I really felt God wanted to tell her something (It's a hard feeling to explain) so I was like okay God what do you want to me to say to her, and I heard the word "singer." So I walked over to her and was like "this is random, but do you like to sing?" and she was like "yea", so I said "God likes it when you sing." She was shocked and said "thank you!" and then I just walked away. It's that simple, I don't really know why God wanted me to tell her that, maybe she loves to sing and wants to be a singer... but honestly it doesn't really matter, God knows. If a person had an injury we would ask to pray with them, and God would show up and heal them! One time I was in a supermarket with a friend and we saw a young boy (9?) with his wrist wrapped up. We asked him what happened (I think he fell and sprained it) and then we asked if we could pray for it (we also asked his dad). We then commanded the wrist to be healed and for the pain to go. After about 3 prayers, we asked the kid to try out his wrist. He looked at us shocked and was like "It feels better! There is no pain!" We were like "that's awesome!" Then I asked him to take the bandage off to make sure, and he took it off and said there was no pain at all! Isn't that so cool! All of this happened on an ordinary day in an regular supermarket. So that is a tiny taste of what I experience at GSI. GSI taught me how to walk in the authority and power that ALL Christians have access to! Imagine what the world would be like if Christians actually lived life the way Jesus wanted us to. I am still learning ALOT about how to walk this stuff out. I ask God for boldness everyday and honestly I still get super nervous when I go up to someone. Sometimes I am so afraid to approach someone that I walk the other way, but I always regret those missed opportunities. I just encourage you guys to start trying this stuff out, it may seem crazy or daunting, but honestly it all starts with just loving people and seeing them the way God does. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~ Matthew 28:18-20 I've been out of school for about 3 weeks now and it is finally starting to feel like summer! This summer, things will be pretty calm. First, I'm spending 3 weeks in Mechanicsburg, PA, to take classes at a ministry school. Then I will be taking summer classes at my local community college. I'll also be volunteering with the ambulance on the side.
I'm pretty excited for everything that my summer entails, but honestly for the past couple of weeks I've also been a little dissatisfied. Last summer, by this time, I would have been in Africa. I would have also been looking forward to my trip to Guyana. I got to travel so much last year, and this summer I'm stuck here in America. At the same time, so many of my friends are traveling! I have at least two friends in Europe right now, and one friend in South Korea. Furthermore, every time I talk to someone it seems as if they are planning their next trip out of the Country, while I am planning nothing. I was extremely frustrated for a while. The wanderlust was really getting to me. But even in this discontented state, I felt God telling me to be satisfied with where I am right now. I know that I can't travel all the time and that I need periods of rest. However, I do not like to rest, so this takes some getting used to. This summer is not exactly what I desired, but it is important nonetheless. The ministry school I am going to will prepare me so much for my future life as a missionary. In addition, the summer class I am taking will be very helpful for my school career. Also, having a calm summer allows me to work a little and save up for future trips. I'm looking forward to growing closer to God this summer and finding rest in Him. I am learning that I need to be satisfied at every stage of my life, even when things don't go the way I think they should. In Philippians, Paul talks about being content "in any and every situation." God is definitely teaching me this and I am glad He is! "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." ~Philippians 4:12-13 The purpose of this blog is to share about doing mission work and I am definitely not the only one with a desire to serve. I look forward to sharing the stories of others that are striving to show God's love through service and mission work. Over spring break, my friend Cassandra had the wonderful opportunity to go on a mission trip to Cuba. I was super happy to hear that she was going on this amazing trip and I couldn't wait to hear all about it when she came back. I interviewed Cassandra and I am excited to share the details of her awesome mission trip with you guys! Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? Hello! I am a Junior at Philadelphia University and I am studying fashion industry management. I'm a really outgoing and loving person. I became a Christian my freshman year of college. I have had an awesome walk with Christ so far and it is crazy to see where He is taking me. Two years ago I would never have imagined that I would travel to Cuba. What made you decide to go to Cuba? Well, I originally thought I would go to Italy to study abroad for a semester. I was almost done the application process, but something was tugging at my heart and was telling me to let this opportunity pass. I just felt like God had something else in store for me. So I thought, maybe I'll visit my friend in London, and then once again, I didn't feel right. I knew that God had something else for me but I didn't know what, so I prayed a lot about my spring break. One day I was invited to dinner with a friend, and after the meal she told me about a mission trip she had taken to Cuba. She showed me pictures of her trip and invited me to go to Cuba. I prayed about it, and after a while I felt like this is what God had called me to do. What was the purpose of the trip? The goal of the trip, was door to door evangelism. The group I was with really believed in being upfront and personal with the people in Cuba. Some of the people there have never heard the Gospel and we got the opportunity to share God's love with them. The organization I traveled with has been really successful because they partner up with already existing churches in Cuba. They do evangelism and then the churches follow up with the people after, allowing for a relationship to be built among the people and the local churches. What did you learn from the trip? I learned so much! I have never evangelized before this trip and I got really discouraged because I thought I was not doing it well. I felt like I was not telling the Gospel right. But, I was paired with a leader who had a lot of experience in evangelism and I learned so much from her. I learned how to tell the Gospel in a clear way by using illustrations. I also realized that I don't have a family that ministers to me, which is so important for a Christian to have. There was one man in particular, Faustino, that was really a father to me. He shared his testimony with me and we had a lot in common. We both struggled with alcohol in the past and, after talking and praying with him, I was able to come to the conclusion that I did not want to drink. What advice to you have for those pursing mission trips? You should definitely go into the country knowing that you are going to learn more than you teach. I also think it's good to be loving and to guard your heart. You want to build relationships, but you also have to be aware that you are going to leave after a while. I feel like God is still revealing things about the trip to me every single day. Overall, I am thankful for the opportunity to travel to Cuba and I'd have to say that this trip has definitely helped me to grow in my relationship with God.
Thanks for your story Cassandra! My Spring break service trip to New York City was a great experience! This trip truly provided me with the opportunity to serve and love people. We not only helped the homeless, but we also were able to bless random people throughout the City. We served in 3 different ways during our stay in NYC. On our first service day, we volunteered at a soup kitchen. We helped to setup and to prepare the food and drinks. Then we served the homeless people restaurant style. I thought this was pretty cool because it showed that we respected the people we were helping. For our second service day, we decided to try something a little different. We split up into small groups and went around the City doing random acts of kindness. Our group decided to buy flowers and hand them out to random people to help make their day a little better. I had SOOO much fun doing this. It was amazing to see the smile a flower could put on someones face. This is an something I definitely want to try again. We decided that for our last service day we would make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. After spending the morning making over 100 sandwiches we traveled throughout the City and handed out the sandwiches to the homeless. The people we gave them to were very receptive and thankful. It's crazy to see how something as simple as a PB&J can help a person in need.
Overall I had an awesome time serving in New York City and I can't wait to use the skills I learned and serve my community in Philly! If you want to hear more stories from this service trip you can check out our team blog: http://honorstravels.blogspot.com As you guys probably already know, this past summer I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Ghana and Guyana to serve others. Those trips were amazing and I am very grateful for the experiences I had there.
Recently though, I have been learning that I don't need to travel across the world to help those in need. In America, there are many people that are in poverty, homeless, or just in need of a helping hand. I go to school very close to Center City, Philadelphia, and when I walk through the streets of the city, I see many needs. I want to learn how to serve the people in my area and so this March, actually in 3 days... I am traveling to New York City on a service trip for 5 days. I know, I know... New York isn't the same as Philly, but I think the lessons I learn in New York will be very valuable and applicable to Philly. I am traveling to New York with the Honors Society from my school, Philadelphia University. While in New York, we will be staying in a Hostel and will be serving at the Caldwell Temple Soup Kitchen. I think the thing I want to learn the most on this trip is how to relate to people that are homeless or might not be in the best situation. I want to hear their stories and see them as real people. I know I often walk by homeless people on the streets of Philly without taking a second look, but that isn't right. I have so much, and the least I can give is my service and time. Hopefully this trip to New York City will be the start of me serving in my own backyard. Stay posted for more Trip Updates! Wanderlust: that awful, yet, satisfying disease that causes your heart to yearn for the world and adventure. I’ll admit it, I suffer from Wanderlust. Having Wanderlust while in college is a very difficult thing to manage. My head is often in the clouds; I’m always dreaming of the foreign lands I have yet to discover, when I really should be focusing on my next anatomy test. Although having a desire to discover the world is a good thing, when you are a student in college you also need to focus on the here and now. This is a lesson I am continually learning. Here are five ways to deal with wanderlust while you are am still in school. 1) Study Abroad This one seemed like the simplest answer. If you are in school and want to experience the world, why not take a semester and study abroad? Next year, many of my classmates are planning to take classes in the beautiful country, Costa Rica! I imagine they’ll be spending their days lounging on the beach and drinking Pina Coladas…just kidding! But seriously, studying abroad is the perfect way for someone to experience a new culture, while still taking classes… and pleasing their parents. 2) Go on Summer Mission Trips Summer mission trips! They are not just for crazy groups of hormonal teenagers. I think mission trips are awesome because they allow you to experience a culture in the raw; you get to make friends with the locals, eat the native cuisine, and live among the indigenous people. The other thing I love about mission trips is that you can find ones that pertain to what you are studying in college. I am studying medicine, so when I had the chance to go on a medical mission trip to Ghana, I jumped at the opportunity. That was an amazing trip; I was able to become friends with the Ghanaian people, taste delicious new foods, barter in the beautiful markets and also practice my medical knowledge. I think it is so cool that mission trips allow you to see a country and also give back by volunteering. 3) Take an Area Studies Class at Your University Another way to curb your appetite for the world is to take an area studies class. These classes teach you about the history, traditions, and customs of a country. Now I know learning about a country is not as cool as experiencing it first hand, but I was pleased to discover that these classes offer so much knowledge and only make me more in awe of the world. I recently was enrolled in a Latin American area studies class that I found very interesting. These classes are a good way to learn about a new culture and gain background knowledge that will be useful when you do visit that country. 4) Explore Your Area I have been learning more and more that I can experience new cultures in my backyard. I go to school 15 minutes from center city, Philadelphia. Philadelphia is an amazing and diverse city that I have taken for granted my whole life. This year, I am making a point to explore my own city. So far, I've discovered an amazing Tibetan shop, full of little treasures, down the street from my school. Also, I've enjoyed some delicious Chinese food from the depths of Chinatown. I’m also so lucky to be near Reading Market, an old train station building in Philly, which has of cuisines from a variety of cultures. I’m realizing that every town has hidden places full of adventure and unique cultures. 5) Surround Yourself with the World If you can’t go out into the world now, bring the world to you! My bedroom at school has so many pictures and postcards from around the world. For example, a large map hangs over my bed, a poster of a large waterfall I visited is taped above my desk and my bulletin board is covered in postcards from around the world. These little images always bring a smile to my face and remind me how amazing the world is. 6) Keep a Travel Jar
The best thing I have found to help me control my wanderlust while I am in school is my travel jar. My little mason jar full of coins and crumpled dollars. My little blue jar full of dreams. As I watch the money pile up, slowly but surely, I am reminded of my never fading dream to travel the world. I may not be able to drop everything and step on a plane right now, but someday, someday soon, I will graduate from college and get on the next flight to my world adventure. It has been one year since I created Wander Mission! I can't believe it! Over the past year, I have used this blog to fund raise, share about the two wonderful mission trips I went on, and just talk about life in general. It has been so great sharing with you guys over the past year. I'm excited to see what the new year will bring for this blog.
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