Garage Sale Success!

Well, the garage sale was this last Friday and I owe my mom and sisters and my niece and nephew a BIG THANK YOU! But especially me niece and nephew! ;) It was super hot, but we toughed it out until 2:00, and we made exactly $300! God is so good! So that puts me at $715 paid towards my outreach phase, leaving me with $3,000 to go! It will come! My sister, Lydia, recently started selling Scentsy, so she is helping  me throw a Scentsy party, where she will explain how the products work and everyone will have an opportunity to smell all the different scents and make orders! All the proceeds will go to me, for YWAM!! Were just coming up with all kinds of ideas, aren't we?! So that will be July 10th! I will be sending invitations out this weekend!  

God has been doing quite a lot in me! There have been a lot of hard changes in the past couple weeks, and three weeks from yesterday it will be one year ago that we lost our Sweet Jace Richard. 

It has been a very hard year. At times I wandered if I would even make it. "Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus." 1 Timothy 1:14 And thats the only way we ALL made it! Jace is a part of my every day. I miss him every minute. And I think it will always be that way. But thats okay with me! Day after day, God is more and more faithful to me! And I am so thankful for Him and for every one of my amazing family members! I couldn't do it without Courtsie...

Or my Jett Richard, he reminds me so much of Jace...

 

Honestly, I couldn't do it without ANY of my family! It's a hard thing, and it sucks. But, believe it or not, God is still good. He still takes me by the hand and leads me daily. He blesses me constantly, with people who love and care about me. And no matter where I go or what I do, He loves me. He is going to be with me every minute of everyday, whether I feel him or not! And what more could I ask for? 

Lecture Phase PAID FOR!!!!

"But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them?" Romans 10:14

Well, the garage sale is this Friday from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm! (Tomorrow morning!!!) I'm hoping we will make a good amount of money to maybe even pay off the rest of my fees for YWAM! I know God will come through! I spoke with one of the ladies today and my balance is $3,515! How good is God?? That means that my Lecture Phase is PAID FOR!! And $415 of my Outreach Phase is paid for!! So that leaves about $3,500 to go!! I know we can do it! 

Though I have been through my fair share of changes in the past five years, (and still have many more to come, I'm sure!) that has to be one of my biggest struggles right now. We sent my big brother off last week to fight for our country, and it's hard. It's hard to think about what it was like when we were all younger and playing silly games together... and hard to think about all the possibilities of what could happen. 

But it always seems to go back to trusting God, trusting God in every aspect of life. And, I think, often times I forget how blessed I am to even be living this amazing life! So I am thanking Him for every minute, here, with the ones I love... and trusting Him, with the small things AND the big ones! Thank you guys so much for reading and being a part! Hope to see you tmrw!!!

Not a little girl...

I am continuing to recognize all that God is doing to prepare me for YWAM. It seems like all the people and things that I cling to the most and depend upon have begun to slowly slip away... and its a little bittersweet. It's so overwhelming to think about the future. Where I'll be after YWAM, what I'll do when I  get home, meeting someone, getting married... what will it all look like? Lately, I've really been asking myself "Who does God want me to be?" And I know, with everything in me, that I want to do whatever it is that He has planned. It's just a little scary to think about what it might cost me. And, I'm just going to be honest, at times, I wish I was ten again... dancing around in my favorite hand-me-down, lace dress and pretending to be a bride. When my deepest concern was whether I was going to get to spend the night with my best friend, or not! I miss those days... when pain was scraping my knee and fear was the spider on my bedroom floor. As you grow older you realize that there are much worse things than not having a date for the Christmas dance or not being nominated "Most Likely to Succeed". Honestly, who really even cares? There comes a time when you look closer and realize that it doesn't matter. And I guess, whether I like it or not, I'm growing up. I'm ready to focus my everyday around Him, and bring glory to His Name in everything I do. Just be praying for me, and my jumble of emotions! There is so much going on! I can't exactly make sense of ANY of it! But what I do know is that God is STILL good! 

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control." (2 Timothy 1:7)

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:6-9)

Don't forget!!! My garage sale is going to be June 19th and possibly the 20th, as well! If you have anything to donate please call me!!! Even if you have nothing to donate I would love it if everyone would try and stop by... you never know what you might find!! Thanks so much for being a part!