flawed but saved through faith

Saturday is the 3rd Xing 631 event, the Amazing Race. The staff met last night to start working out details and this event is going to be SO sweet! This should be one of the biggest attended youth events at our church in a LONG time. There isn’t really any spiritual depth to these events so I am praying that through these events we will be able to show people that being a Christian isn’t just attending church and following rules, it's about a relationship.

The youth group at my church is full of great people. There is a fire among them but the flames need to fanned. I think the youth group in any church has the potential to be one of the biggest voices among the congregation. Young people have a passion that most adults have given up on. If the youth would simply take hold of what they know and believe, there would be no limit for them.

While e-mailing a fellow Servant Team member, I was finally able to articulate what I'd been pondering so I'm going to share part of that e-mail with you:

Last night I went to a blog from a Servant Team member from the team that just finished in Sierra Leone. It was cool to see pictures of kids from Kroo Bay and Lighthouse (two ministries I'll be working with), of the places we’ll be and of what we’ll be doing. It was hard though to remember that there are people that we will grow to love there and then have to leave again. That is what I look forward to the least about this trip. I pray God will prepare our hearts in such a way that we won’t look at it like that.

I totally know what you mean about being on sensory overload from the readings. Recently I have been thinking about how misconstrued we (Americans) are when it comes to social values and at times it can be overwhelming to me. So much seems so surface level. I often feel as though something is missing. As the band Starfield so eloquently puts it "there's a yearning again, a thirst for discipline, a hunger for things that are deeper." I am uninterested—becoming apathetic to things I used to find relevant. Becoming more aware of the insignificance of some things to which I place value is good. The problem is that I am failing to share with others what I have learned in such a way that they will want to change. I get frustrated with the misplaced values and jump too quickly to condemn it. This is not always the case but it is when I place any anger behind my dissatisfaction that I fail to love and therefore, succeed in pushing people farther from an understanding of what Christ’s values are.

Having said that, I Praise God we are fighting a war already won. If I had to take all of this in with out the hope I have in Jesus, I don’t think I could handle it. It is by grace we have been saved and therefore it by grace that we must love no matter the cost.

we are flawed but saved through faith

HaleyKate

i made it

Today I had to have $2000 more than what I had last week in order to go to Sierra Leone.
TODAY I talked with people at AU and they told me I have recieved a grant for $1900. That plus the money that people have sent in this past week exceeded what I needed to have in today! Praise God! I was honestly nervous for a while there. It is my mistake to ever doubt what God promises. Right now I am finishing my last paper and will make my reading deadline for today as well. I have read so much and am still processing it all. God has really challenged me in several aspects. I am going to make this short and sweet. This is what I am trying to strive for:
"A society that welcomes people of all races and social classes, that is characterized by love not polarization, that cares most for its weakest members, that stands for justice and righteousness in a world enamored with selfishness and decadence, a society in which members compete for the privilege of serving one another-that is what Jesus meant by the kingdom of God." -The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancy

May God bless you
Haley

I have a HUGE week ahead of me

On June 15th, this coming Thursday, I have a HUGE financial deadline coming up. I found out last Wednesday that I need approximately $2000 more than I have in my Word Made Flesh account to meet that deadline. Honestly I am not as worried as I could be. I know God is going to provide for it. When God is going to provide, is what I'm prayin about. This deadline is vitally important because WMF needs to be able to purchase my plane tickets in advance and that is what this deadline is for.
Having said that, I would like to ask for prayer in regards to that. Prayer is SO powerful and I would be incredibly thankful if you would join in praying. I also have a reading/writing deadline Thursday. Four papers are due as reflections of 4 books I have been assigned to read for my trip. That will be done but I have a lot of reading ahead of me in order to get this last book and 4 papers done on time. But I'm not worried about that.

I have been learning SO much through what I've been reading as well as what I've been experiencing this summer. I am working at a one of the wealthiest country clubs in central Indiana. [my friend got yelled at the other day by a Colts receiver who is a member at the club for not being able to accept cash at this one snack bar on the golf course...then he used her cell phone to call the President of the club and yell at him. I serve super nice people ;).] Anyways, I have been taking my assigned readings with me to work because we have a lot of free time on slow days. The most recent was titled "The Jesus I Never Knew" by Phillip Yancy (GREAT book by the way). Whipping out a book with 'Jesus' on the cover can cause people to become somewhat uncomfortable. In light of the fact that basically all the conversations occurring at work between co-workers depict their drunken, but REALLY funny, escapades, I was a little nervous myself. However, this past week the cover of my book has lead to some sweet conversations. Nothing but good has come out of it. I honestly look forward to bringing my books back to work this week in hopes of continuing those conversations, or starting new ones.

Between work, directing a new youth endeavor at church, reading my butt off, and trying to spend as much time with the ones I love before leaving (for the month of July and then returning only for 2 weeks before going to Sierra Leone), staying encouraged each day is a battle, but it is one that Christ is winning for me. I am SO blessed. Yet, Satan has really enjoyed Himself trying to bring me down. Admittedly, he has won the battle a number of times however, my King has ultimately won the war over my heart, and I get to see that every time Satan tries to keep me down. I am renewed and strengthened through these times but it is tiring and I am beginning to feel it.

My dad and I were having a great conversation this evening about a lot of stuff really. One topic was how I may change while in Sierra Leone. He seemed nervous for me at times but hearing his excitement really encouraged me. If you don't know my dad, you are SO missing out. Trust me because I have known him through good and bad times. He is no less human than I but his experiences speak to me and his faith is a faith that I admire before most everyone else. I have learned so much through him. Praise God that He has blessed me with a father like Scott McCracken!!

Well, I need to go read and then go to bed so that I can get up and spend all day tomorrow reading. I humbly ask for your prayer support, this week in particular. Thank you to all of you who have already been doing so, I have been blessed because of your faithfulness.

My cup runs over,
Haley Kate