I Won't be Homeless!

Yes, you read that right! I will not be homeless while living in Tennessee for the summer! Praise God! I received a facebook message last night from the couple I stayed with last year offering to host me again this year. I love this couple so much and was so bummed when I heard that it wouldn't work out for me to stay with them again.  This couple is awesome, and I kind of adopted them as my Tennessee Grandparents. I have been praying for God to provide me with a great host family, wishing that I could stay with this couple again, but thinking it wasn't possible. He has taught me several things through the process of finding housing, the first is that I am a control freak (I knew this already, I just got slapped in the face as to how bad of a control freak I am) and that by trying to control everything, I was trying to tell God what to do, what I thought I deserved, and what to give me. Read Romans 8:18-30 which talks about how we do not know how to pray as we ought, the Spirit interceding for us with "groaning too deep for words" and God working everything together for good. Once I gave up (mostly, I'm not perfect!) wanting to control everything, I realized what He was trying to teach me through the process of finding a host family! The second thing He was teaching me is that He was using me at my workplace; I have been praying for God to use me and shine through me to the ladies I work with. Here is how one of my conversations with one of my co-workers last week: "So, how many days left?" "17!" "Do you have a place to live yet?" "nope!" "why don't you seem worried about that?"  "Well, I am kind of worried. I would be lying if I said I wasn't! But there isn't anything thing I can do but pray, wait and trust God to provide for me." *insert weird look here* "welp... more power to ya!" then she left the room. God has used what I saw as a problem and used it to reveal part of who He is, my faith in Him and the relationship I have with Him to my co-workers! While it's not telling them about my relationship with Him, it is showing them what my relationship with Him looks like and I think may be just as important as telling them about my relationship with Him. Read James 2:14-26, it talks about how faith without works is dead. I am grateful that it took up until 2 weeks before I left to find housing. Why? Because He taught me that 1. He knows better than I do what I need. 2. The Spirit intercedes on my behalf because I do not know how to pray as I should. And 3. Being a light does not necessarily mean sharing my faith, living it out is just as important!

Praise God for the Beautiful Things He is doing!

Tennessee, Housing and Trust

16 days and I will be in Knoxville. Everything is in order, I have my plane ticket, a vehicle to drive, basically everything I will need while I am down there, except for a place to live. Just a minor detail right? I would be lying if I said I wasn't a tad bit nervous about not having a place to live. I keep wondering why God has allowed all of my housing options to fall through, why nobody is willing to commit to having me live with them for 10 weeks. Then, earlier this week at work I think I realized part of it. I have been so consumed on finding a place on my own, contacting the pastor of the church I will be attending, communicating with him, and not seeking God in any of this. I know God wants me to stay with a godly family, but I don't know who He has in mind. I know what I want, and that is what I have been pursuing. Maybe part of the reason I don't have a place to stay is because I have been pursuing what I want and not what He has planned for me. Painful realization right? So now I am asking God to put me with the family He wants me with, and putting my trust in Him because He knows so much better than I do who I should stay with. Easier said than done. This is something that I have to do daily, some days hourly. I'll be honest, there are days where I don't want to give my living situation over to Him because I am a control freak. I want to have complete control over this, I want to know everything that goes on, but like Isaiah 55:8-9 says,"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.".  I need to daily give Him control because His ways are better than my ways and He knows better than I do who I should live  with. My prayer has gone from "Lord, let this work out this time" to "Lord put me with the family you want me to be with, soften the hearts of the people you would have me live with and help me trust You in all of this". So I am trusting Him to provide a place to live. He has always provided everything I need, He won't leave me hanging on this!

Thanks for reading!

(p.s. I am new to this whole blogging thing. I promise I'll get better at it!)