nothing to eat.

I've been home from Africa for two weeks now, and I have slowly processed all that went on inside me during my two weeks there. This summer in Africa was much different than last; God really wrecked and broke me. I had a "break down" moment today.

Today for lunch, I went into the kitchen to find something to eat. As I opened the fridge, freezer, and pantry multiple times, I complained to my younger sister that we had nothing to eat. And when I say nothing to eat, I mean nothing that I wanted to eat. Our fridge is full of left overs, our freezer has several items I could have chosen, and our pantry is stocked full with five different cereals, like two different jars of peanut butter, different soups, and way more food than we will ever eat. Yet, I still complained that we had nothing to eat. So I went back to the living room and continued to complain that I was hungry.

 

I then went to my room and cried. This killed me and made me sick to my stomach. I have WAY more food than I need and because I am selfish and picky, didn't want to eat any of it. How can sit in my air conditioned house and complain that I had nothing to eat when the kids I was with just two weeks ago are digging in the trash dump for their daily food?

 

Did you know:

 - that hunger kills more people every year than AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis combined

-poor nutrition causes nearly half of the deaths in children under five - 3.1 million children each year

-In 2010, an estimated 7.6 million children - more than 20,000 a day - died from hunger

- 1 in 8 people go to bed hungry all around the world

 

Seeing hungry people kills me. No one should go to bed hungry. And seeing hungry children kills me even more. The kids in Uganda and Ethiopia, that I was with two weeks ago, would absolutely love the left overs in my fridge. They would love a bowl of plain corn flakes for lunch. We live in a country were there are multiple restaurants open 24 hours a day and most of us have more food than we need in our kitchens. I am not saying we should feel guilty for this blessing and privilege but we should not be okay with the fact that millions of people die every year due to a lack of food. And not only do they not have food, they don't have clean water (a whole other topic that really hit me hard this trip to Africa).

 

There are hungry, starving, and thirsty people all over the world. Not just in Africa. They are sitting in YOUR community. They go to school with your kids. It can cost as little as $10 to feed a child for a month. I know that I can not feed every hungry person in the world but I can feed one. If this means I have to give up Starbucks twice a month or need to give up going out to eat (when I have plenty of food at home anyway) then so be it. I don't need that Starbucks or that dinner out but that child needs my $10. There are so many different charities that help feed the hungry and help supply clean water; you've just got to look them up. What will you do? How will you help?

 

"If you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday."

                                                                            -Isaiah 58:10

 

Daughter of Him,

Jessica Marie

His purpose will prevail

(I really need to get serious about this blog thing.)

This summer I had the opportunity to go back and serve in Africa, a place that captured my heart last summer. Me and my awesome team of 15 others spent half of the trip in Uganda and the other half in Ethiopia. I have been home for like two weeks now but I'm still trying to process everything. There was so much that God did in me. I prayed that He would wreck me and break me and He listened. Africa is special and life changing.

some of the beautiful children of Korah

I still chuckle when I think about the fact that I have been to Africa twice (China once) in less than a year. God doesn't need me but He has chosen me to be apart of His plan and what an HONOR it is. His plan for my life is the complete opposite of what I had planned but that's okay. His plan is WAY better. Lately the Lord has been reminding me that I have a special purpose here on this Earth and I just need to wait (patiently) for Him to reveal His plan to me. This is a challenging season in my life but I'm learning so much. I have lots of stories to share with y'all about Africa (and I am going to do my best to actually blog about them). Till then I leave you with this verse:

"You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail."  ~

Proverbs 19:21

His,
Jessica Marie

The last one!

 

 

On June 1st my "little" sister graduated high school! She is the last one of us four siblings to finish high school. What a fun weekend it was celebrating her and her accomplishments! I am so proud of you Emily and I love you to the moon and back! I know that you are going to do great things at Texas Tech!

Brightest during the strom.

We all have those low points in our life, and we all have those times when we just want to give up. And as Christians sometimes we feel that God is just not there with us.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" - Proverbs 3:5

"Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you" 1 Peter 5:7

" And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:19

"Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

 - Jeremiah 17:5-9 

When you feel like you can’t find God through the tough times in life, sometimes all we need to do is stop and remember where God has already been and the trials God has carried us through. Looking back, you can see where God was with you during frightening times. Looking for God in the past helps you know and trust that God is going to be with you in the present. He will never forsake you. No matter how tough life gets. 

But have we ever stopped to think that maybe we have turned against our Lord. During those stormy times in our life, have we truly been seeking the Lord? This verse hit me hard when I read it. We were not made to be self-sufficient. So many times when life gets rough we try to fix it all on our own, and when that happens for me, I fail. And sometimes I end up making things even worse. We were designed to need God at all seasons of our life. He wants to be there for us. He is there for us. All we have to do it talk to Him.

Mission Statement

We always here about corporations' mission statement and what they hope to see happen within the business, but you don't really hear about personal mission statements. What do I want to see happen in my life? What do I want to be remembered for? These were questions that were asked at my Life Group Sunday night, and I had no idea what my personal life mission statement would be. It even took me awhile to think of values I live by and ones that I want to live by. 

So these past few days those two questions have been on my mind.
 

"So let my life be the proof,
the proof of Your love
let my love look like You and what You're made of" - (for King and Country)

 

This is one of my favorite songs and I love these lyrics. I want people to see the love of our Heavenly Father when they see me. I want my love to look like Him and what He is made of. I want my life to truly reflect His grace and mercy.

"Dear friends, let us love another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God" - 1 John 4:7

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love" - Ephesians 4:2

Love. Love. Love. Such a powerful thing. I want my life to be full of love. When I die, I want people to remember me because of His love. "We love because He first loved us." - Ephesians 4:19 We have been given the command that if we love Him, we must also love our brothers and sisters.