I was planning to post about how hard it was for me to wait and rely on other people to provide the needed funds for me to go on the Uganda trip. I was going to explain how I've seen God come through financially for me and my family countless times but how I somehow still had a hard time trusting His Body to come through for me.
I'm not sure I can post about that anymore. God seems to have placed me in a "Body Bootcamp." It sort of started when He gave me these verses for my upcoming trip to Uganda: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:11-13,16) At the time of first reading this, I took it as a sort of confirmation. My desire to use my gifts to build others up was clearly God-given. Wanting to do this in Uganda was a want based in God's heart. He's been showing me how it applies even more broadly to this season of my life.
At about the same time that I've started preparing for my trip to Uganda, I've started training for my participation on a Table. This Open Table will surround a local individual/family with love and support to move from poverty to wholeness. As it is a sort of local mission trip, each Table member needed to be able to provide some initial money in the process. As much as I wanted to be able to help someone else, we don't really have lots of extra cash these days. A complete stranger to me stepped up and payed my way to be able to participate on this Table. I can't even express how much this means to me. Tears fill my eyes as I type this. Even as I questioned if this was the right ministry to partner with right now (especially as I prepared for another completely new ministry field in Uganda), God placed a person to support me financially, He thrilled me with lots of psychology talk in our first training (really, nothing could have pleased me more in that training), and the Table chair that He opened up for me ended up being the exact same Table chair that my "complete stranger" held on a Table before me. Even as I set out to build others up in love with whatever gifts He has given to me, others have already built me up in love by giving generously, teaching to my heart, and administering others into divine appointments. Hallelujah!
Then there's my trip to Uganda. Within seconds of anxiously creating a Facebook event asking for prayers and financial support, a known brother in Christ clicked that he would support me on the event. I really didn't care whether he meant he would pray for me or donate to me. Support is support, and I craved prayers at least as much as I needed financial support. Someone was going to stand with me. Within the day, I received a pledge of $100 from another brother in Christ that I haven't even seen in years. By the end of the next week, I received another $150 in support, and as of this evening, I have $500 in pledges/donations. Several others have clicked that they would support me on my event page, and I have to say that I love them even more dearly now knowing that they are praying for me as I embark on this journey. In each case, I've seen how much a simple click of the button and a promise to pray or a stretching out to give financially could encourage me on this journey...in ways that I wouldn't experience if I had the money to pay for this trip myself.
Even as I went to a training meeting today for our Uganda trip, others built me up in love. I was reminded how spiritual attacks can come in the way of self-doubt and how Satan is the Accuser. Boy, have I been fielding some internal accusations and doubts! Those are not from God. Someone needed to remind me of the truth of spiritual warfare. Thank you, brother. Even my new prayer partner on the team built me up in love simply by sharing her heart with me. I am not alone. I am not the only one who struggles with weaknesses or faces discouragement. Thank you, sister.
In the past, I've only looked at my responsibility in the Body of Christ. What can I do to serve? How is He leading me right now? He is showing me that to fulfill His purposes, to be the most effective for His kingdom, I can't try to serve in a vacuum. I'm not a lone ranger. That's not how He designed me. That's not how the BODY of Christ works. I may be an introvert, but I am not alone. Thank you, brothers and sisters for stepping up with words of encouragement, with monetary gifts, with using your gifts to bless me, and with showering me with prayers.
In the past, I didn't completely understand when others would say that they "craved" the prayers of others as they prepared for a ministry field. Was it just a nice way to involve those who couldn't give financially? I mean, they couldn't really know if we were praying for them or not. I get it more now. I truly crave your prayers. I crave your words of encouragement. I crave you using your gifts to build me up in love as I seek to use my gifts to build up others. Are you craving prayers right now? Let me know! Let's build each other up as we lift each other up to the Lord.
I'm in Body Bootcamp here, and I'll try to keep you updated as God uses His Body to get me up and over these hurdles and builds me up to strengthen others!
I'm not sure I can post about that anymore. God seems to have placed me in a "Body Bootcamp." It sort of started when He gave me these verses for my upcoming trip to Uganda: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:11-13,16) At the time of first reading this, I took it as a sort of confirmation. My desire to use my gifts to build others up was clearly God-given. Wanting to do this in Uganda was a want based in God's heart. He's been showing me how it applies even more broadly to this season of my life.
At about the same time that I've started preparing for my trip to Uganda, I've started training for my participation on a Table. This Open Table will surround a local individual/family with love and support to move from poverty to wholeness. As it is a sort of local mission trip, each Table member needed to be able to provide some initial money in the process. As much as I wanted to be able to help someone else, we don't really have lots of extra cash these days. A complete stranger to me stepped up and payed my way to be able to participate on this Table. I can't even express how much this means to me. Tears fill my eyes as I type this. Even as I questioned if this was the right ministry to partner with right now (especially as I prepared for another completely new ministry field in Uganda), God placed a person to support me financially, He thrilled me with lots of psychology talk in our first training (really, nothing could have pleased me more in that training), and the Table chair that He opened up for me ended up being the exact same Table chair that my "complete stranger" held on a Table before me. Even as I set out to build others up in love with whatever gifts He has given to me, others have already built me up in love by giving generously, teaching to my heart, and administering others into divine appointments. Hallelujah!
Then there's my trip to Uganda. Within seconds of anxiously creating a Facebook event asking for prayers and financial support, a known brother in Christ clicked that he would support me on the event. I really didn't care whether he meant he would pray for me or donate to me. Support is support, and I craved prayers at least as much as I needed financial support. Someone was going to stand with me. Within the day, I received a pledge of $100 from another brother in Christ that I haven't even seen in years. By the end of the next week, I received another $150 in support, and as of this evening, I have $500 in pledges/donations. Several others have clicked that they would support me on my event page, and I have to say that I love them even more dearly now knowing that they are praying for me as I embark on this journey. In each case, I've seen how much a simple click of the button and a promise to pray or a stretching out to give financially could encourage me on this journey...in ways that I wouldn't experience if I had the money to pay for this trip myself.
Even as I went to a training meeting today for our Uganda trip, others built me up in love. I was reminded how spiritual attacks can come in the way of self-doubt and how Satan is the Accuser. Boy, have I been fielding some internal accusations and doubts! Those are not from God. Someone needed to remind me of the truth of spiritual warfare. Thank you, brother. Even my new prayer partner on the team built me up in love simply by sharing her heart with me. I am not alone. I am not the only one who struggles with weaknesses or faces discouragement. Thank you, sister.
In the past, I've only looked at my responsibility in the Body of Christ. What can I do to serve? How is He leading me right now? He is showing me that to fulfill His purposes, to be the most effective for His kingdom, I can't try to serve in a vacuum. I'm not a lone ranger. That's not how He designed me. That's not how the BODY of Christ works. I may be an introvert, but I am not alone. Thank you, brothers and sisters for stepping up with words of encouragement, with monetary gifts, with using your gifts to bless me, and with showering me with prayers.
In the past, I didn't completely understand when others would say that they "craved" the prayers of others as they prepared for a ministry field. Was it just a nice way to involve those who couldn't give financially? I mean, they couldn't really know if we were praying for them or not. I get it more now. I truly crave your prayers. I crave your words of encouragement. I crave you using your gifts to build me up in love as I seek to use my gifts to build up others. Are you craving prayers right now? Let me know! Let's build each other up as we lift each other up to the Lord.
I'm in Body Bootcamp here, and I'll try to keep you updated as God uses His Body to get me up and over these hurdles and builds me up to strengthen others!
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