First Blog...

Hm, this is my first blog. It's been a while since I've blogged, let alone since I've blogged regularly.
The night before last I got home from the most amazing trip of my life! I went on a mission trip with my [amazing] youth group to Nashville, TN.

We did a variety of activities including feeding homeless people, getting to know homeless people, and helping a man [Randy] that has HIV clean up and move some things. But let me tell you something first.

About a week before mission trip I started to really feel God in my life for the first time in quite a while. I felt Him near me and I heard Him calling me back to Him. I ran to Him and confided in Him, and then I started to feel this unrepressable need to help someone. I wanted to make a difference in someone's life. Mission trip allowed me to fufill that need, that desire, and made me realize that I can do that here.

Mission trip taught me so much about God and about people and about teamwork. I've learned that not all homeless people are "bums" and that they aren't all jerks or drug addicts or alcoholics. There are plenty out there that are mentally and/or physically handicapped, and veterans, and people who have just ran into some bad luck because of other people's actions. There are homeless people out there on the streets that DO have regular jobs, but you can't live off of minimum wage. You can't put a down payment on an apartment and pay for gas and groceries or anything like that let alone a car or internet or any of this stuff that we are so fortunate to have. We shouldn't judge people just based on their appearance, because not everything is as it seems. Actually, things are rarely as they seem, and we just need to realize that.

I've also learned how amazing it feels to help someone in need, how much people need to just be listened to for once, instead of us just talking about ourselves. People can be so incredibly self-centered at times, myself included. Touching peoples lives is so completely amazing. Spreading God's word and just doing His work, portraying Him in everything we say and do is such a fufilling thing.

Prayer is also really, really important. I've never realized before this trip how much we [or at least I] say that I will pray for someone... and then not do it. I assure them that I love them and will be praying for them, and then not give them another thought. How horrible is that? There are lots of people out there that are relying on our prayers to get them through things. I feel horrible that I say that I will pray for them, then maybe pray once, if that, and then move on to "more important things". What is more important that loving on someone and showing them you care by doing a simple "God, please be with this person today and help them with what they're going through."? In my mind, there isn't. People are often too caught up in themselves and what they are doing to think of those people who are less fortunate, for those friends that are going through a tough times.

Probably the biggest thing that happened for me this past week was my fire for God was reignited. I have this hunger for knowledge, this hunger for serving Him by helping other people, this hunger to tell the world how much I love God and how much God loves them. This fire and passion inside of me is so strong that it's about to explode out of me. My heart is completely filled with Him and I just want to share it with everyone. It's been a very long time since I've felt this, and I've yearned for this fire and passion to envelope my heart and my being. I LOVE GOD and I'm NOT ashamed to show it!!!

This post is getting kind of long, so I'll let everyone go do other things now =] Thank you for reading and I hope you have a FANTASTIC day!!!!! God Bless!


Love Always,
Michelle



PS - If any of you have a prayer request or anything, please, feel free to share, and I will pray for them =]




Verse of the Day: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
~ Hebrews 12:1