God's Perspective

To fulfill your mission will require that you abandon your agenda and accept God's agenda for your life. You must say, like Jesus, "Father...I want your will, not mine." -Luke 22:42 (NLT)

My life has been radically changed by a book called "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson. One of the things he says in his book is, "God isn't offended by big dreams but He is offended by anything less." This book has pushed me to dream bigger and pray bolder! It has brought me to my knees drawing prayer circles around my hopes and desires. It has helped me realize that "100 percent of the prayers I don't pray, won't get answered." We all go through seasons in life and over these past few months I have been going through probably one of the hardest seasons I have ever been through; the season of Fear. Fear of the unknown; Fear of "what's the next step?"; Fear of my BIG dreams; Fear that I am under-qualified; Fear that I am in over my head. But at the end of the day I circle the promises of God in prayer knowing "perfect LOVE casts out all fear (1 John 4:18)" and that "the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then [His] faithful love for [me] will remain. [His] covenant of blessing will never be broken (Isaiah 54:10)."

Are any of your dreams WAY bigger than yourself?? A dream that you have no idea how it could ever happen? Have you ever felt under-qualified or not worth it? Have you ever felt that you don't have what it takes or the qualities needed to accomplish your biggest dreams?? The dream or promise or miracle that you are praying for may seem impossible, but if you keep "circling it in prayer, anything is possible. With each prayer, there is a small change in elevation. With each prayer you are one step closer to the answer." Keep praying. Stay humble, stay hungry, and keep praying. I LOVE the quote, "History belongs to the Intercessors." My DREAM is that our prayers leave a mark on History!

About a year ago, my eyes were opened to the "true" condition of our world while I was in one of the poorest slums in the Western Hemisphere. I can not explain to you the poverty I was in the midst of. Children running up to me with an empty bucket, changed my life forever. They did not have clean water and as they begged for me to fill their bucket I realized the hope they place in that "physical" water. Yes, they were physically thirsty, but they were also spiritually thirsty. In that moment, God gave me a vision to start a non-profit ministry called Empty Bucket Ministries and I want to share with you my journey up until now. I am no one special at all and if you ask me I am so under-qualified for anything that I am trying to do. I face fear, doubt and anxiety just like you do when you dream BIG and take a step of faith. There are days it takes every ounce of energy within side of me to keep praying. There are days I want to give up and forget everything...but when I fall to my knees and go back to God's word and proclaim His promises over my life, I know I am exactly where He wants me. Is it easy? No. Are there lonely days? Yes. Honestly, if I had it my way, I would be married right now and walking hand in hand with my spouse loving God and loving people. One of the deepest desires of my heart is to be a wife and to serve my husband with all my heart. I long to be a mommy. I never dreamed that I would be standing here, stepping out of my comfort zone...alone. This wasn't my "plan." But when you are in the will of God, His plans are so much bigger than yourself! He is able to "accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). God's timing is perfect and I believe He is shaping us both and even though we don't always understand what He is doing, His way is always perfect.  So therefore I continue to dream BIG for that one day I will meet my future husband, but for now I leave that in the hands of my daddy Jesus and be a praying wife :) One thing that I have learned is that Jesus cares so deeply about every single one of your desires. He placed those dreams and hopes inside of you and "He grants the desires of those who fear him; He hears their cries for help and rescues them (Psalm 145:19)." All He is doing is waiting on you to take a step. When you make Jesus the center of your life, He will give you everything that you desire and so much more. Giving your life completely to the Lord is one of the greatest decisions you will ever make.

My dream all started at a kitchen table with 3 of my best friends; we had a desire to "Change the World!" Did we have any idea of how we wanted to do that?  No idea at all! All we knew is the purity of our hearts and a push in our spirt to just "step out" into the unknow and start somewhere. I felt a lot like Peter. God was asking me to step out of the boat and trust Him completely. I knew in my heart that if I never stepped out in faith, I would never walk on water and see the impossible. I was scared to death because I didn't know the next step of this journey God was about to take me on, all I knew was the step I was on. After much prayer and fasting and seeking the Lord with all of my heart, I, along with my three best friends, took a massive step of faith and began to research how to start a 501c3 non-profit organization. Taking this step of faith has not only grown me but developed an unshakeable spirit within my heart that "nothing is impossible." I have been traveling to the mission field ever since I was 13 years old and every time God would reveal to me His heart for the poor, desolate, lonely, broken, abandoned, orphaned, and widowed. He opened my eyes to a completely different world and ever since I have not been the same. Every trip developed within me a burning passion to help those that can't help themselves. I want to be LOVE where there is no LOVE. I would travel to third world countries and hold children in my arms who were full of fear and hurting. I longed to RESCUE these children, to restore HOPE, and bring LIGHT to a lost and lonely world. I knew that through Christ I can do anything and that with the Holy Spirit living inside of me, I am empowered; "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, and the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lords favor has come." -Luke 4:18-19. I knew that the time was NOW and I would begin by starting a non-profit organization called Empty Bucket Ministries. We began by filing papers for non-profit status and in faith, planned an event. The night before our first event, I was praying and God spoke to my heart to dream BIG. I began by writing down $10,000 in my journal of what I hoped we would raise for our ministry that night. But God was wanting me to dream bigger. So I erased it and wrote $20,000. This is how faithful God is; we raised $20,000.31 the night of the event!! Thank you Jesus! And now, after a long process of filling out lots of papers and filing for 501c3 status with the state, I am excited and humbled to say we just got our letter of approval!! We are now a 501c3 non-profit organization!! Only God. And this is where we are today, let the journey begin...

As I woke up this morning and my feet hit the floor, I spoke "Daddy Jesus, I want your will, not mine. I want your desires, not mine." Every single day it is so easy to get caught up in our own agendas, our own plans, that we forget to ask, "God what is your will for my life today? What do you want to accomplish through me today?" We go to bed thinking about what we have to get done tomorrow and we wake up thinking of how there is not enough time in the day to accomplish everything on "my agenda," but what about God's agenda for your life? God's agenda and calling for your life is so much BIGGER than anything that you could ever imagine. His desires for you are the most fulfilling and if you are willing He wants to use you in BIG ways. Your dreams are not too big for God. DREAM big and watch what God can do :)