Walking By Faith...Not By Sight

Day by day, and with each passing moment,Strength I find to meet my trials here;Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,I've no cause for worry or for fear. He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,Gives unto each day what He deems best,Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me,With a special mercy for each hour;All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,He whose name is Counsellor and Pow'r.The protection of His child and treasureIs a charge that on Himself He laid;"As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,"This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then, in every tribulation,So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,That I lose not faith's sweet consolation,Offered me within Thy holy Word.Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,E'er to take, as from a father's hand,One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,Till with Christ the Lord I stand.


We sang this hymn tonight in our evening service at church. I didn't want to leave... it was an amazing service all about God's providence, including the sermon this morning. It was all about walking by faith and not by sight, because when we walk by sight, we let our emotions and questions get the best of us. We take our circumstances and base God's goodness off of them rather than on the Bible and what it says about Him. I take the fact that I have no idea what's going on in my life when I graduate or where my parents will be 6 months from now, and get worried even though I know that I shouldn't be anxious and that I can cast my cares on Him.

Walk by faith and not by sight. Know that God is good and He is faithful. God will provide for whatever your needs are. But it will be in HIS timing, and not our own. And when we walk by faith, and trust in Him fully and absolutely... we are ok with that.

And we can have peace and joy... even in the unknown.

Changes

2009 is coming to an end... i can't believe it. It's almost 2am and i am sitting here, pondering on all that has happened and changed in my life the past year. Friendships have ended and started. Lessons have been learned, some in harder ways than others. There have been moments where I thought I'd never get everything done for Fall Block! And now moving on to 2010, graduation year, there are so many unknowns. Is this my last break being at home in jersey? Will dad get a job that will require them to relocate? (I just hope he gets one soon!) What about these friendships that I have here? Will I get a teaching job and be able to stay in Chattanooga? Will student teaching go well?

There are so many questions and SO much change coming up that I quite honestly don't like to think about it too much, because change has always been scary for me. Usually the process of change is one that is hard because there's that fear; fear of the unknown. Fear of not being in control. Fear that God somehow doesn't know best, like He says He does. But that's faith. Faith in God is putting your trust and heart into the hands of someone you can't see. Faith is being certain that amidst all the change happening, that God will be your constant. And so that is what I'm clinging to in this upcoming year. Faith that my God will provide. Faith that my God will meet all my and my family's needs.

Faith that my God is exactly Who He says He is.

Total chaos.

So last night, a huge storm came our way, and caused a HUGE tree to fall. In our yard. About a yard from my house. And onto my car.

Today is our last day of classes (Ever!) and everything is due on Friday. I was doing so good until someone hugged me and then I lost it! I'm just so stressed out and want to be home. Dad doesn't have a job, I haven't even let myself feel upset about that. Plus all the work, and now having to talk to insurance people, get a tree off of my car, etc. It's been really crazy. Then today was our last chapel and it was about trusting God. and how we are able to trust God because Jesus trusted God. Jesus trusted God when He was tempted. Jesus trusted God in the garden. And Jesus trusted God on the cross. And He did so perfectly. So even when our circumstances look astronomical and that we can't handle it, we know that we can. and we know that we can trust God. God had a plan when He allowed His Son to die.

And I know that God has a plan in my car being crushed by a tree. Do I understand it? Absolutely not. It's it upsetting and frustrating? Absolutely. But I trust God. What else can I do? He's is good, regardless. And He is where I will find the strength to do what needs to be done.

1 week left?!

So it's really coming down to the end of the semester - which is half exciting, half scary! (Scary because of how much left i have to do!!) Classes end a week from tomorrow and then I leave Saturday the 12th!! It's been quite a semester, one with a lot of work, a lot of extra curricular activities and a lot of blessings and friendships that have developed and grown. I am so looking forward to going home and seeing friends and family for longer than just 4 days! I'm excited for student teaching as well as completely nervous. I'm excited for Christmas but also wonder if this will be my last one in Jersey. It's hard not knowing what's coming next. But that's the whole point of faith. Walking by faith and not by sight, right? God has been so good to me, and I know He has an amazing plan for my family and for me. I'm excited to finish the semester strong and spend time with family and friends for my favorite holiday!

Friendship Club

Friendship Club... a special needs adult ministry that has captured my heart. Every other Tuesday night, I go down to New City Fellowship to meet with about a dozen adults who are special needs ranging from age 16 to about 60.

Sweet Lynn - always telling knock knock jokes
Wendall - LOVES telling you important dates...he has every holiday/birthday memorized!
Buddy - just a sweet man who always has a smile
LB - the one that I work with who is 16 and is new to the group and absolutely loves it
Dina - a girl with Down Syndrome who always wants to pray for someone

These are just a few of the people I get to spend time with on these nights. I love these people so much. At the beginning of the night we all sang, "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands," "Jesus Loves Me," and then we went around the room and said something we were thankful for. Hearing their responses just put so much back into perspective for me. Some of them were, food, a house to live in, Jesus dying on the cross... and it just made me sit back and think, and realize that yes, life is stressful. Yes, there is SO much going on and it's hard. But I absolutely love the perspective I get when I'm with these wonderful people. They love others and they love God in such a way that I strive to. They have that "child-like faith" that is talked about in the Bible. They love each other and consistently put others before themselves. People look at them and feel sorry. But I look at them and wish I had more of their qualities. This is what I'm meant to do. This is what God has given me a love for. And I can't wait to see how He decides to use my passion and love for His special children in my future.

Widows

So yesterday was our once a semester brunch with the Widows. I work with the Widow's ministry here on campus. There's a group of widows of about 60, who meet down the mountain for a Bible Study and they are with an organization called Widows' Harvest Ministry. Most are in their 70's or 80's, some even in their 90's and probably 85-90% are African American. I have been with these ladies, getting to know them for the past 3 years. And what a blessing they have been to my life. Every Tuesday for about 2 or 3 years, I went down to their Bible Study every Tuesday! Every time I'm there, I'm greeted by the warmest smiles and biggest hugs. These ladies are incredible prayer warriors and they are always willing to talk or pray for me. Yesterday at the brunch, Bertha (the one in the second picture) said that the Lord woke her up at 2am the previous night to pray for me. Wow. That's amazing! She said, "Stacy, I want to give you my number, and I want you to call me. It don't matter if it's 3:00 in the morning; If you're awake and you've got stuff on your mind, or you need me to pray, honey, you just give me a call, no matter what time it is. Cause when I say I love you, I really mean that I love you." How wonderful is that? All these ladies have had such an impact on my life - I hate that I can't go to their bible studies anymore because of teaching, but we try to write/call/go for lunch when we can which has been great. I love how they always say that I have blessed them... when they really have no idea how much they have blessed me. I love the body of Christ. I love how it goes through generations, races, denominations, etc. The body of Christ is such a beautiful thing to be a part of. And I am so truly grateful that He put these amazing women in my life.

(Here are some pics of previous brunches... my camera died as soon as I got there yesterday so I couldn't take any!)

A cluster of thoughts :)

So I am officially done 2/3 of the semester. I can't believe it! This semester has truly flown by faster than any other... probably for 2 reasons... one, WAY more work to do than any other semester and two, my life outside of academics has been incredible, encouraging, and not stressful! :) My second favorite holiday (after Christmas!) is coming up in just a few short weeks and looking back on this past year, seeing where I was, where God has brought me, and where I am now, a lot has changed in one year! This is definitely a Thanksgiving where I can see how God has used certain difficulties to bring me closer to Him. I've learned so much about relying on God and looking to Him for my source of comfort, strength and satisfaction. I've seen that He is my constant, when everything else seems to be changing.

I'm excited to be spending this holiday with my family this year at my grandparents house in NC, doing all of our little traditions that we have formed... making cinnamon roles with grandmom, watching the Macy's Day Parade with Mom, shopping with the girls while the guys play golf. :) I love traditions. And I love my family... so it's a pretty great combination :)

I've learned and relearned what friendship is and should be. Friends encouraging each other, lifting each other up in prayer, really getting to know each other and be real with one another. Living life together and being a support for someone else. I've been blessed beyond measure this year with friends that are just like that.

I definitely have a lot to be thankful for. Thankful for the hard times, the confusing times, the happy and joyous times, the times that God has kept me waiting for His answers so that I could completely rely on Him and trust in His sovereign plan.

God is good ALL the time... and that is something to truly be thankful for.