Die to Self

Hello to my peeps!!!

Oh man am I getting old. Thankful for sore bones and aches today because we were able to bless an awesome outreach ministry this weekend by working hard and teaching our youth to labor in the name of Jesus.

I am living proof that you are never too old for first times! I got to go on my first ever missions trip this weekend at the age of 33. We took our Jr High youth students on a missions trip to LA county, where they got to redo a deck for a ministry outreach in the heart of the inner city, this included;sanding, priming, and painting. We also got to prepare food to take to some local parks where the homeless live and just hang out, love on them and FEED them.

OH YA, I got to use power tools!!! and then the students had to sand by hand..

One of the most amazing parts of the trip was to watch one of our students ask questions and show interest in wanting to make her faith her own, not just something her parents tell her to believe. She spent hours talking with our youth pastor, journaling, praying, crying....THINKING FOR HERSELF! I love this. I love that she is really grasping what it means to follow Jesus all on her own and not just listening to what she is told and going along with the motions, I think she truly had a heart change this weekend.

My heart is so grateful every morning that I get to wake up, die to self, and be a vessel to build His Kingdom. I know we have a very blessed life and my gratefulness allows me to wake up everyday and die to my own selfish desires so that I can be a blessing to others. Kingdom Building is just as equal in my life as my job as a wife and a mother. Although I missed my husband and kids A TON this weekend, I pray that my sacrifice of time away from my family will result in the MOST important character trait in my children, A SERVANT'S HEART. Prayerfully, I hope I am leading by example to them.

Here is just a sneak peak at all the silliness that went on....The HOT SAUCE CHALLENGE
THE CINNAMON CHALLENGE
The throwing up after the cinnamon challenge (because it is IMPOSSIBLE to not throw up)
Youth Pastor throwing up...Eating cow tongue tacos...

Last day of our missions trip, no shower for 3 days, but still looking good for church.So do I totally fit in and look like a 7th grader??? cuz sometimes I think I'm that cool!!! But then I'm reminded how NOT cool I am when they tell me how old their parents are and I'm the same age...lol.

I know this wasn't my usual little crafting/redo post, however I do have A HUGE stack of vintage fabric I got from my trip to visit my Grandma, so I will be crafting away this week and posting some cute ideas. I just feel like I need to share more of the "Kingdom Building" part of my life to just encourage other moms to get up and MOVE for Jesus. We are always being told to spend our every minute pouring our self into our husbands and kids........but what about the lost and the broken, Paul tells us "imitate me as I imitate Christ" so that you are being conformed and transformed to the image of Jesus. I DON'T SEE A CONFLICT BETWEEN MINISTRY AND FAMILY.