God's plan, Not Mine...

I am about to make an incredibly long story mind-blowingly short.

Day one... I had a standby ticket to fly delta, I have a visa on the way.

A week and a half later... My ticket fell through and how in the world am I going to come up with $850 in such a short amount of time? Visa still on the way...

3 days later... God showed me that he puts different authorities in our life for a reason, TO LISTEN TO THEM! Until I was willing to submit to my authority and give God control of the entire situation, he put it on pause. Upon letting go of "Stephanie's plans," the Lord blessed me with 100,000 skymiles from my small group leader, Carla Thompson! Literally 2 hours after I surrendered to God's will, He blessed me with a plane ticket. Talk about God's Provision!

3 more days later... The UPS store calls me to tell me that they put the wrong address on my package and that my Visa application and passport have been floating around the US Postal service for the past 2 weeks! My. heart. broke. I was so angry in that moment. The simple error of the boy putting 345 North Avenue on the package instead of 845 North Avenue has completely re-routed my trip. That is when I had to take a step back... who's trip? My trip? No. This trip should have nothing to do with me, but rather what God is using me for. It could be two days, two weeks, two years for me to understand why I wasn't supposed to get on the plane tomorrow, but even if I never know why, I am 100% that God put this kink in the plan for a reason and all I can do is trust him.

This has been quite the roller-coaster. I have learned life lessons in the last 2 weeks and I haven't even gotten to England yet!

The UPS Store paid to overnight ship my application to the British Embassy in New York and as soon as I get it back, I hope to get on a plane to London!

A dear friend pointed out Hebrews 11 to me and how it directly relates to what I am going through. Read it if you get a chance. To sum it up, I'll put it this way...

I don't yet have in hand what was promised, but I'm still believing.

and...

Even though I have had ample opportunity to return to "the old country" I am after a far better country than that... HEAVEN COUNTRY!

I hope there is a smile plastered across your face right now, because we love a GOD WHO IS SO GOOD!!

I love you all,

Stephanie

Psalm 145:3 "Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom."

What's Going On?!

Hey friends and family!

I am so excited to be able to keep you all filled in on the marvelous things God has done and continues to do with my heart! I am boarding a flight to London on Saturday September 20, at 10:20PM and I will be returning to the states on December 13th.

I didn't just wake up and say, "Hey, I feel like going to London this semester." In fact, the last 4 weeks of my life have consisted of moments of surrender, divine appointments, asking tough questions, and making even more difficult decisions, letting go of my selfish ambitions and honestly refusing to follow my own agenda. 

For those of you that aren't interested in reading this whole spiel, I will sum it up for you. I left school because God called me to do something greater right now and I am embarking on what I am sure will be one of the most humbling, life changing, spiritual journeys I will ever take.

Now for the unabridged version:

I was enrolled at GCSU in Milledgeville for Fall 2008, which would have been my freshman semester, and this had been my plan majority of my senior year. I had the world at my fingertips; housing, a meal plan, awesome campus ministry, great friends, and a perfectly matched roommate. Everything was the way it was supposed to be! Now REWIND! 

During the latter part of July and the beginning of August, I spent 10 days in the town of Hertford, England with a team of 25 other Americans from North Metro Church. We were part of a weeklong event known as "Hertfest" in which all the churches of the town come together to focus on outreach and acts of love and service toward the entire town! God truly used the people of Hertford to minister to our hearts even though we were silly enough to have the mindset that we were the ones doing the ministering. The last night in England, our team had a life-changing time of fellowship and worship and we each surrendered our "rights" or things we thought we were entitled to.

We focused on the calling of the first Disciples, Simon and Andrew in Mark chapter one. Jesus told them "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed him." (17-18) They dropped their way of LIFE to follow Jesus. In the society we live in, we read that and think to ourselves, "so what, they tossed their nets into the lake... no big deal." Guess what?... HUGE DEAL. The desire of my heart in that very moment was to honestly throw all my selfish desires and plans into the lake. 

Upon returning home, I was instantly sucked back into the world of Stephanie and making sure I got what I wanted. Move in day was getting closer and my college experience was about to begin. The Lord often times gave me subtle nudges with an uneasiness about going to school in Milledgeville, but I was just ready to get the show on the road! My 3rd day at school I experienced a huge moment in my faith. God stripped me of everything. He ripped my chest open. He took a tiny promise I made to myself to surrender my rights, and he molded it into an entire change of heart! I experienced God so intimately in that moment, I knew what had to be done. I went to the registrars office with my wonderful supporting friends and I withdrew from college!

It's crazy, absolutely ludicrous! But God called me to leave Milledgeville and return home. I left the very next day with an unreal peace about everything. Being at a place where I have nothing to fall back on has proven to be one of the strongest moments in my walk. I had nothing to lean on and in those moments all I could do is give everything to God.

I prayed that doors would be opened and that God would continue to reveal His plan and purpose for my coming home. Within a week I was given the opportunity to go on staff with YoungLife Ministries in Hertford, England. 

God is so huge and I am privileged to be a minute part of the beautiful masterpiece He is restoring, HIS KINGDOM.

Pray for my visa to get back soon :)

I can't wait to share this journey with you all,

Stephanie