In All Things, he is Still Good.

"I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:3-6

I feel so blessed. The month of March was crazy, in such a good way. God has been too good to me. I fell like the end of February to the middle of March, God was pruning me. If you know me, you know that I love plants. With plants you have to water it the right amount, not too little not too much, feed it, and prune it. If you don't do these things well, certain parts of the plant will get infected, which then, leads the whole plant to die. 

I feel like God was doing that in me. Taking those selfish desires of the flesh that separated me from God. Isn't it crazy that the God of the universe, the one who created the cosmos, wants to know us and have a real intimate relationship with us? Praise God! 

Before the craziness of COVID-19, I had the sweetest opportunity the go on a girl's trip with my Peer Team. Peer Team is where two sets of small group leaders (corefa's- CORE FAcillitaors) and a Core staff member. We meet weekly and I have been so blessed with the time I've had with them. They have become such sweet friends! we went to the beach (which is my absolute happy place!) and had such a restful trip. 

Siena (my cofa), Kylie (my roomie), and Emily (my future roomie) and I begged Mandy to take us to my fav coffee shop in Orange Beach. Mandy, my supervisor, is so thoughtful. Time and time again I've watched her go above and beyond to do the things other people like because she knows it's important to them. She is so kind and I'm thankful to have a woman of God like her in my life. 

While we were gone, things started to get worse with COVID, so our church started live streaming and we got to watch church in the grocery store parking lot while Siena and Mandy grabbed a few things. It was so sweet to me to watch my church family worship together and join in from states away.

I could look at this view forever for the rest of my life. God"s creation is so good!

COVID-19

Like everyone else, things happened quickly. With social distancing to shelter in place, doing life as "normal" looks pretty different now. We moved everything online and moved pretty fast. I'm thankful l work with such creative, smart, and diligent people. Isn't it something to see God's people step us and serve people in such a time like this? I pray that this is a season where we get to really slow down and dive into deep intimacy with God. 

Our first leader meeting on Zoom!

Worship from our first ever live stream! peep my plants and decor (my big role for our fellowship nights is to moderate our chat and to decorate our garage stage). 

My time with the girls I'm ministering to has been so sweet! All the things that have been competing with their time have now diapered, they are way more engaging. I'm getting so much time with them.  

I've watched how my girls have pushed themselves to really know God. Rebecca, one of the girls in my small group who I've gotten to meet with this year, has been pushing herself so much this semester. I've been challenging her on being bold. We've had some hard conversations the last few weeks on what it looks like to be fully known by people, to dive into God's grace, and believe that she is overwhelmingly loved by God. I am so proud of her and how she has taken every challenge I've given her and has really asked God to transform her by the renewing of her mind. God is working, don't forget that! 

Please let me know how I can be praying for you at this time. If you need anyone to run errands for you, or anything, please let me know! 

Love y'all! 

• For the freshmen who have been forced to move home. 
• For the students who are alone on campus 
• For our students who are going home to hard situations
• For our ministry and moving things to an online platform
• For our foj studies
• For our local, state, and federal governments: God, help our elected officials as they allocate the needs in necessary resources for combatting this pandemic. Help them to provide more tests
• For our scientific community, leading the charge to understand the disease and communicate its gravity: God, give them knowledge, wisdom, and a persuasive voice.
• For Christian missionaries throughout the world, especially in areas with high rates of infection: God, provide them with words of hope, and equip them to love and serve those around them.
•  For workers in a variety of industries facing layoffs and financial hardship: God, keep them from panic, and inspire your church to generously support them.
•  For families with young children at home for the foreseeable future: God, help mothers and fathers to partner together creatively for the care and flourishing of their children. For single mothers and fathers, grow their networks of support.
•  For parents who cannot stay home from work but must find care for their children: God, presents them with creative solutions.
• For those in need of regular therapies and treatments that must now be postponed: God, help them to stay patient and positive.