Enjoyment or Idolatry?

It's been five months since I graduated from DTS, and I’m officially on the countdown until I go back for a secondary school. 74 Days!

I've had an amazing time being back in ministry with my family, doing worship at churches and going to do prison ministry together. Every time I can hardly contain all the joy!

Something I've noticed lately is the barometer, or the temperature gauge inside me, constantly monitoring my relationship with the Lord.

There have been some moments since I've been home where I felt like I’d been a little bit stagnant in my growth in God. I knew something needed to happen, and I knew it was something I needed to do.

Then I read this...

"When we don't care if an enjoyment is making us more holy, we are moving into idolatry." ~John Piper

Hmm. Okay, I'm guilty. ;)

When I read this quote, I thought, "Ouch." It felt like a slap in the face, but in a good sense in that it got me back to thinking about all the things I might enjoy but aren't necessarily good for me. I started thinking about movies, music, even food. How often do I do something without thinking, "Does this please God?" Without even pausing to question, “Is this pushing me TO or pulling me FROM God and His plans for my life?”

I know, there might be some people who are thinking, "Come on, isn't that a little legalistic?"

Well, from what I have seen, I think that the church has gone from such strict rules, to nearly the polar opposite of encouraging people to do whatever makes them happy because “God loves you where you're at.” Yes, rules and commands have their place, and yes, God does love us no matter what.

However…

I think some people have succumbed to the idea that they can "follow Jesus" without making changes in their life post-salvation. Many in our society are so easily offended that correcting certain behaviors or calling them on sin would be taken as a direct insult to who they believe they are. But as the Bible says, "You shall know them by their fruit.”

Fruit.

The best proof of Jesus being alive and real is Him being alive in and through us, right!? That can't help but result in a changed life. I don't know if it's possible to have a radical encounter with Jesus and not want to change some things in your life.

Will it be easy? No, probably not.

Will it be worth it? Absolutely.

I believe God wants us to daily assess our hearts, minds, motivations, and growth according to His Word; to live in a state of learning and becoming the most outstanding example of Himself that we can possibly become.

That John Piper quote has just stuck with me. I couldn't help but think about it for weeks afterwards. So naturally, I started to think about those things that aren't growing me in my relationship with God. I've stopped listening to secular music whenever I’m driving, which I was doing quite a bit. Since then, I can honestly tell a difference in my thoughts and attitude throughout the days. I've also changed the way I eat, even though I was already conscientious about putting healthy food in my body.

"If it stops you from getting closer to God, then it needs to go." ~Unknown

I can truthfully say that I feel like these changes have really grown me and helped me grow in my relationship with the Lord.

I encourage you to just think about what those things are in your life that you know aren't helping you. Pray, and I mean really ask God, about what needs to change. What I changed might not be what you need to, and I don't think I'm done making changes. But I can tell the Lord is drawing close to me as I choose to be closer to Him.

Yes, it is worth it.

He is worth it.

Moments Like These

A couple weeks ago, I heard the very sobering message that a man by the name of Kenny passed away due to a motorcycle accident. He was instantly gone, and his wife was left behind... nine months pregnant. My family didn't personally know Kenny or Paige, but many of our friends did. Needless to say, our hearts were broken for this family. Paige had their first baby, a little boy named Liam, just days after Kenny passed away.

It's been amazing to see the body of Christ come together to support Paige and her son by starting fundraisers and such to raise support for them.

Every little bit adds up, so if you can, please donate here: Pellanda-Nair Family Fund

It's also our responsibility as brothers and sisters in Christ to keep this family in our prayers.

Pray for peace, comfort, strength, and added faith.

Moments like these are hard to understand... They can stir up confusion, but they can also stir up faith if we press in more instead of wanting to crumble and give up.

I know that God will never leave nor forsake us. He promises us so.

I know that He is always good.

I know that His plans are better than ours.

And I believe that.

Fall Afresh

First, click this link, and watch the video.

Fall Afresh~Bethel Music ft. Jeremy Riddle

I don't know about you, but this song puts me at complete ease despite whatever is going on; it fills my heart with joy.
I love the fellowship this video displays. God is such a good God for giving us beautiful people to do life with. He created us with the intention of us being in relationship with Him and others so that we never have to feel alone. Isn't that so good?
My prayer today is that the Holy Spirit would fall afresh on each of us. That today wouldn't just be another day. That He would re-ignite incredible, fiery passion within us to know Him more and lead others to do the same. Time to show extraordinary love. Build new relationships. Talk to people. Share what Jesus is doing in your heart and the lessons you're learning.
You never know how much what you say impacts other people... It might even change their life.

Quiet Time Mix

Here's a mix I created for those soak session quiet times with Jesus.
Dive in.
Enjoy. :)


Quiet Time Mix--Grace is an ocean.

To be Childlike

Something God has been graciously reminding me of is the importance of being childlike in my walk with Him, my perfect Father.

"Therefore take no thought, saying, 'What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?' ...for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."

~Matthew 6:31-32

When I look at a healthy, Godly family, the best cared for in the household are the children. We know that kids have no worries, yet they are taken care of because their parents love and cherish them.

"Let the ways of childish confidence and freedom from care, which so please you and win your heart in your own little ones, teach you what should be your ways with God; and, leaving yourself in His hands, learn to be literally 'careful for nothing'; and you shall find it to be a fact that the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (as with a garrison) your heart and mind through Christ Jesus." ~Hannah Whitall Smith

Oh, what it would look like if a person fully lived a life of faith in childlike wonder of the Father... I believe this is key to living a life "free of want," as David writes in the beginning of Psalm 23. What does it look like to live a life free of want? It looks like us relying on the Lord to meet our every need and desire--all of it being fulfilled by Jesus.

That is a beautiful relationship.

~Consistency is Key~

Wouldn't it be so cool to have breakfast with Jesus in the flesh? Well, I think the next best thing is to have breakfast with Him knowing His presence is there with me. Just something I've been thinking about. :)

I've been home about 2 months now! The way time flies amazes me. It's definitely had its pros and cons, not going to lie, but it makes me so incredibly thankful for my family and all their love and support. I miss my YWAM family, the worship sessions, the cold Colorado weather, and just all the experiences. I think the hardest part has been staying disciplined and having quiet times every day. And, not beating myself up over the times that I don't have the 1-hour-soak-session-types that I like to envision every day. Something I've learned is that quiet times are great, but I can spend time with Jesus anywhere, doing anything. It doesn't just have to be sitting down reading my Bible, although that is great because we should desire to dig in to the Word. It can be while I'm driving to work, watching the sunset at the beach, or baking cookies. The most important thing is choosing to spend that time with Him; inviting Him to be there and being sensitive to what He's saying to you. Being consistent in spending time with Him on a regular basis is key, just as it is in any other relationship you have.

I'm loving being home and back in ministry with my family. We've done worship 4 weekends at different churches since I've been back. I really missed singing with my parents and watching my studly little brother, who's not so little anymore and almost 14 (what!?), rip on the bass. I'm so blessed by my family.

Also, I applied to the Phase II/School of Ministry Development at YWAM Denver this fall, and I got accepted! It's a three month school that ends just before Christmas, and I'm SOOO excited. :)
Thank you still for all your prayers!
~LC~

¡Pura Vida!

¡Pura Vida!

What a whirlwind these past couple weeks, and even months, have been. I apologize for not posting this earlier! I wish I could have posted more during my outreach in Costa Rica, but our time was extremely busy with ministry and internet was limited. So, I'll give you a large update on all that we did during our time there! :)

As you from the last update, we started by working with Homes of Hope. The three families we built homes for were so extremely blessed and thankful for all that we did for them. Those weeks were filled with a lot of manual labor. We were doing things like leveling ground, digging holes, carrying buckets of dirt up hills, bringing cinder blocks down to the sites, and more. It was hard work, but it was SO rewarding. God worked on our hearts and blessed us through blessing others.

My team plus a few friends, with one

of the families in front of their home

Another picture of me and a little boy who stole my heart.

Isn't he precious? He lived nearby and would always come to be with us.

We also worked with Freedom Streets, the ministry working to help get prostitutes off the streets by giving them jobs in jewelry making. 

Here's a picture from one of our days with those ladies

And another one with more of my team playing with kids

We also went to La Cumbre Christian Adventure Camp. There we built friendships with the kids who came for an "open camp" week, did skits for them, and worked all around the camp. The last night of the open camp, we had a bonfire and were able to go around and pray for all the kids. That was such a special time.

During our time there, I received a phone call that my great grandma, Eva Lathen, passed away. It was hard to be away and miss her memorial service, but I was blessed to know her and am so thankful for the Godly life she lived. My team was so supportive, and I really appreciate how wonderful they were.

Two of the girls who came to La Cumbre,

with my friend Haylee and me

After La Cumbre, we left to be part of something called the Bible project. The goal of the Bible Project is to get the same version of the Bible into every home in Costa Rica in ten years. We went to a beautiful town called Orosi for door-to-door evangelism and Bible distribution. This was a type of ministry that I realized I really love. The people were SO friendly and welcoming to us. They were completely receptive and would often invite us into their homes and share with us about the things they needed prayer for. Overall, we distributed 360 Bibles! It was an amazing time. :)

 Dios Habla Hoy (God speaks today) is the version of the Bible we distributed

My distribution team and translator with one of the

ladies who invited us into her home. She was a sweetheart!

After this, we did something called NIKO. NIKO is a YWAM program that is a five-day, wilderness survival training. Part of NIKO is not knowing what's going to happen, so we aren't supposed to talk about it too much. But what I can say is that it was a really difficult, yet amazing time with God. We had no choice but to rely on Him, and it was SO good. It was a stretching time, but I know that my whole team would agree that it was worth it in the end. :)

We also went to a little beach town called Jaco. During the day, Jaco was absolutely beautiful. The main street has a lot of touristy shops and restaurants, and it's right next to the beach. When the sun would set, you could feel the spiritual atmosphere shift. Jaco is known for it's sex tourism, so human trafficking and prostitution is a huge industry there. While we were there, we did a lot of kids ministry. There were many Nicaraguan squatter families who had been there ten years or so, living in tiny houses made out of sheet metal. We would go into this big field surrounded with trees, and kids, anywhere from infants to about 14 years old, would come to be with us. We told them Bible stories, played games, and one day we washed their feet like Jesus did with the disciples. You could see they were embarassed, but it was so cool to do that service for them.

Our last week of ministry was spent with Freedom Streets again. We helped put together the sets of jewelry and get them ready to sell. We also did a night of prayer on the streets. We took a van to downtown San Jose, where we spent our time in a park. There were girls selling themselves on the corners, and we were right next to them singing and praying. Teresa and Ruth, the girls heading up that ministry night, went to talk to the ladies and continue building their friendships with them and witness to them about Jesus. As we were praying, we could feel the spiritual darkness being pushed back. It has no place in the presence of God!

Most of the girls from my team with Teresa and Ruth,

who taught us about the trafficking in Costa Rica

All in all, outreach was a life-changing experience. God taught me a lot about doing EVERYTHING as unto Him. Whatever it is that I am doing can be done as unto the Lord, which is a life-changing perspective to keep.

I want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who supported me, financially and in prayer. THANK YOU for being sensitive to the Holy Spirit and helping send me to Costa Rica and to the entire Discipleship Training School. There are no words to describe how much it changed my life.

I'm keeping all of you in my prayers and praying for revival in your families.

God bless you!!!

~LC~