On Monday I was able to sleep in a little bit and get to work at 9:30. My devotional time was really wonderful because my roommates all had work really early that morning (poor Eliza had to be at Panera where she works at like 5am or something!) so I had the room completely to myself and I was able to take my time and complete focus on God. I loved it. Work was really great too because the scheduling manager forgot to add my name to the schedule, so the general manager penciled me in and gave me extra hours! (Yay money!) So it was really a blessing in disguise. After work, I had some time to catch up on my Inductive study and book reading for the week, and for the first time since the first week of Kaleo, I chilled on the beach on a week day! It was so nice to be on the beach soaking up the sun at the same time I was soaking up God's work. There are few places I would rather be than on this beautiful shore! I really can't express how thankful I am to those who have supported my financially, because your gifts are paying my rent so that I can live here! After my time not the beach, we headed to a special conference on relationships. At this conference we focused on how we can glorify God in our time before marriage by investing in becoming the people God wants us to be, by investing in seeking God, and by investing in his mission for our lives. We talked about sexual sin and how to live sexually pure lives. We talked about what the Biblical definition of marriage and sex are, and about how we our lives can be enriched by pursuing these virtues. At one point we talked about modesty, and the perspective preached was my favorite--as women of God, we should dress modestly not because it is our responsibility to control if men lust over us or not. As women of God, we should dress modestly because it helps our brothers in Christ (we don't HAVE to, but if we love our brothers and we can help them overcome a sin, why on Earth should we not?) and because it attracts the right kind of men (godly men who flee from lust). I thought the perspective was great because it said that women do not sin because of how they dress, but they still have a responsibility as a caring sister in Christ to think about how they can help others not sin through their dress.
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| One of our memory verses for the week! |
Tuesday was another normal day of work. It was a long day. After work we continued with our relationship conference and once again I was blown away by the things I learned. We talked about standards, boundaries, and becoming godly men and women as we prepare for the future. We discussed living our single life to the fullest for God and learned how to develop a healthy plan for dating. While a lot of the discussion was based in opinion and would require prayer to see what is right for each person, the important, biblical hard facts were preached and we were able to develop strategies so that we can live dating lives that line up with the Bible. I really really enjoyed it and I plan on applying a lot of what I learned to the relationship I have with Heath. I saw areas of our relationship that can be better surrendered to God to improve both our individual relationships with God and our relationship to each other. The lessons taught at the conference were relevant, helpful, and I really can't wait to apply them in my future.
On Wednesday I worked at McAlister's once again. Afterwards, we ate Dinner in the Fitter's room (a Stumo Staff couple from TU whose influence is so great). They made us the best crock pot Mexican food and it was so nice to be ministered to by a a couple who I respect so much. After, we went to Inductive Training, where we learned how to interpret the Bible. By focusing on the word, sentence, paragraph, book, Bible, and historical context, we learned how to use the Greek and Hebrew translations (through an app called Blue Letter Bible which provides definitions of words straight from the languages of the Bible) to interpret what the author meant by the things he wrote. We were also trained to cross-examine verses through the app to get a full-picture understanding of the ideas we were studying. I find this training so useful. I believe it will come in handy when I am unsure what is meant by a certain passage or phrase and I am so thankful for the training I am receiving.
On Thursday, I of course went to work, but I also had my one-to-one with my D-group leader, Stacey, who I look up to so much already. Her advice and counsel have really helped me as I face the challenges here, like trying to have a good attitude while working a minimum wage job, or living with girls who have different personalities and modes of operation than me. Our discussion was focused on prayer and I think it was a great reminder for me and gave me some good ideas on new things to pray for and ways to pray. After work my D-group had our discussion time. We went over our highs and lows, world prayer, Bible study, book study, and the same categories we always talk through. It was wonderful, but I'm so sleep deprived right now that I can't quite remember what I learned :-)
Friday is where the real fun started. First, at work, I was put on register for the first time. Let me tell you, time flew by so quickly! Before I knew it 4 or so hours had passed and I was half way through my shift in the blink of an eye. It was a blessing--I was ready for it to be the weekend! Right after work, my D-group and I jetted to Atlanta, Georgia for our D-group weekend! The drive was about 6 hours long, but the time change meant that we didn't arrive until about 1am.
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| My lovely D-group :-) |
On Saturday we woke up bright and early to start our day in down town Atlanta. We began with a downtown scavenger hunt that Stacey bought on Groupon. It took us to a lot of cute places around the city, like the Coca Cola Museum and the Olympic Park. We ate at a really delicious flatbread place and then headed to the Aquarium, where we saw so many different kinds of fish. Atlanta has the largest aquarium in the world, and it was so impressive and fun! We explored lots of fun exhibits and even saw a dolphin show. I really loved it! Afterwards we ate at Fat Matt's Barbecue, which was recommended by locals as a must-visit restaurant. It was well worth the drive.
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| Fat Matt's! They had the best barbecue and the best live blues band. |
On Sunday, we went to Passion City Church, which was such a cool experience. Louie Giglio spoke, and Jeff Johnson lead worship. I've never been to a mega church, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and excitement in the building, and was impressed by the love I felt as the members welcomed me. The message was on Evangelism--we are all evangelists. I loved the experience and I really feel that I heard from God and felt his presence in the giant church. It was seriously one of my absolute favorite parts of Atlanta. Afterwards, we ate at a delicious brunch place with another D-group, then headed to a Peach Festival! At the peach festival, I tried a fresh-picked Georgia peach, and let me tell you those peaches are worth the hype! It was so juicy and delicious and it was everything I could ever dream of in a peach! I was also able to buy gifts for my family at all the booths that were set up (Love ya, fam!) We then headed home, where we caught up on the Bachelorette (Shocking ending, btw). It was a really really fun day. We also made a video for the Kaleo D-Group Weekend Video Contest (we lost...) Scroll to the bottom to watch it!
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| One of the walls at Passion City Church. When someone comes to know Christ at Passion, they place a light bulb in one of the holes in this mural--each lightbulb represents a person who has come to know Christ! It was a wonderful picture and it was so cool to visually see the impact that this church was having on the Atlanta community. |
Overall, my week was filled with ups and downs but my weekend was wonderful. I love my D-group more, I love God more, and I learned more about myself on the weird mini-vacation.
Here are some prayer points:
-Pray for group unity. We saw a lot of each other over the weekend and we saw a lot of areas to work on.
-Pray for Evangelism this Saturday. We'll be sharing on the beach. Pray that many would come to know Christ.
-Pray for my work situation. I'm not getting the hours I would like, and I'm not getting breaks either. Pray that I would have a good attitude, that my bosses would find good favor with me that they may give me more hours, and that I would have opportunity to share Christ with those around me.
-Pray that we wouldn't get weary as the new-ness of Kaleo is beginning to wear off and the heaviness of work is beginning to take its toll.
-Pray for my family. My grandma and uncle could use your prayers as they're facing some health issues. Pray also for my mom and dad and siblings cause I miss them a lot.
Here are some of the things I've learned:
-God is good. He's at work. He loves me. He wants me to love him too.
-Relationships surrendered to God are worth the trouble.
-Patience.
-Self-control.
-Perseverance.
-I'm learning about how to love God--through obedience.
-How to create practical applications from our inductive Bible Study
-The world and how to pray for it.
While I can't say that I'm happy every single moment here, I can say that I wouldn't trade them for the world. I'm having fun, I'm making memories, and I'm growing spiritually and personally. I'm learning to cook and care for myself, to pursue God always, and to think of others way more frequently than I would normally. This summer is amazing. Thank you once again to everyone who has supported me financially and through prayers and encouragement. Thank you to Jennifer for being the wise voice that told me to come here. Thank you to my parents who keep sending me snacks and other nice things. Thank you to those who send me nice texts and cards and snapchats. Thank you to Heath for taking care of my library fine while I was away. Seriously, thank you to everyone who has invested in me. I can't wait to show you how it will pay off in my future.
Also, if you've read this far, your reward is watching this awesome video that my D-group leader, Stacey put together from videos that we took on the trip! I hope you love it as much as I do.
XOXO
Karla
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