Trusting God...

Once again I am sitting here thinking of Africa... My heart leaps to think I will be there in June of next year. I am prepping for this trip in so many ways... It is becoming real that my dream of being there is in the process of coming true. I am praying the I will follow God through this all and focus on Him alone. I need to keep my mind on Him and not how much money I have to raise. That is my daily struggle. Honestly. The amount I must raise is quite an overwhelming amount. But He whispers over me "YOU don't have to raise it, let me do the work." And suddenly I am so thankful. In my eyes I already have the money in my hands and the trip is paid for. And although it isn't, I am so grateful that I have that trust in Christ. After my mom's death I thought I had this whole 'trusting God' thing down. Oh, I had no clue what it really felt like to fully have to trust God.

I feel like Peter. Walking out on that water. And I start to question God. I start to drown in my emotions. And He holds out His hand. His HOLY and RIGHTEOUS hand. He holds it out for me to grab and He pulls me up. And He teaches me what it is like to trust Him. And It is so exciting.

I cannot explain how amazed I am that God chose little ole me to take this trip... But I am oh so thankful.

Much Love- Tessa

Bigger than me.

Today I went to a nursing home. I played dominoes for hours and just talked to these people.A nursing home is most likely the loneliest place I have ever been to.These people are hurting and a lot of the time not just physically.Some of them don't have any family anymore and some have family but are completely abandoned.So as I talked to these people that have been through so much.I saw the hurt and loneliness in their eyes. 

& once again my savior reminded me that this life is not just about me.

-Tessa

Africa.

This summer, I have the opportunity to go to Africa. My heart has longed to be in Africa for quite some time now. Yet this trip took me by total surprise. Africa was such a big dream of mine that I put it to a high accomplishment that I thought would take me a while to reach. But no. This summer, I am going to Africa. I am raising the money totally by faith. I must raise all of the money. But I am not worrying about that. God has total control over that. Actually He has total control over all of this. 

My heart hurts so much for the people in Africa. I have this intense passion to be with them. They are hurting and they are hungry and they are poor and dirty. They are everything that is an outcast in my country. Yet, I would much rather be spending time with them then most of the clean and well off people in my country. But you know, I have never been to Africa. I have not met many people from Africa. But yet, my heart is so intensely there. I find it so intriguing that you can have a connection with people that you have never met. You can have a love for someone that you have never even laid eyes upon. That's where I am at.

So, God isn't sending me over to some country just to say that I've have been there. God hasn't created this heart within me just to dream of a day when I will meet them. But I am going to Africa to love the people that my heart longs to be with. I am simply just going to love. I am so excited to take this crazy journey that Christ is sending me on. Lord willing, I will be in Africa this summer. And this makes my heart leap with joy.

Love- Tessa  

This Busy Life.

Sometimes I wonder when life is gonna SLOW DOWN!

Don't get me wrong, I love my life so much! 

But everyday I am busy to maximum potential.

(Yet I still find time to blog)

But I don't want to sit here and complain for no reason.

This is the reason why I hate being so busy:

It takes an incredible amount of my heart and mind off of Jesus.

Not only that but I sometimes don't even get to have a quiet time with Him.

& that is right where the devil wants me.

So there you go.

I am trying my hardest to slow down, and sometimes I am just gonna have to say no.

Love you guys.

-Tessa

Imma Dreamer.

I dream about the day that I hike up a mountain to reach the lost.

I dream of the day when I am on a plane on the way to my next adventure.

The only life for me is the life of a nomad.

I don't believe I will ever stay in one place for to long.

My heart overflows with excitement to serve Him.

I would rather be overseas.

But for now.

I will serve Him right here in this small town.

At least I can dream.(:

-Tessa

Eyes. Wide. Open.

Well hey there everyone,
It has defiantly been a while. Life is so busy. But here I am again writing another blog. I yet again have something wild stirring in my heart. It's about to burst!

So,yes, the dreaded school is back in. But you know what? I am so excited about this time of year! I could for sure do without the whole Algebra thing but there are SO many opportunities at my fingertips right now. God is pointing them out to me but what breaks my heart is I am not always listening.

Here is the thing, my heart is aching for the new kid who sits at lunch by themselves and the kid who is picked on day and night. But I am way to caught up in myself to realize that I can act on it or maybe I even realize I can but completely ignore it. Jesus lead by example. I want to be just like Jesus. Jesus loved the prostitutes and the beggars. And I want to be JUST like Jesus.

You see school is completely different from everything else(especially the small high schools). If you state you are a Christian, everybody knows. If you state you are a Christian and don't act like it, everybody knows. If you state you are a Christian and act like it, everybody knows. And everybody is watching you. I mean, we were warned by Jesus of this. He says in John 13:35 "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” See that key word, EVERYONE. (:

So hey Christians, Join me in listening to our sweet savior's instructions on how to love. He will point it out. And if you listen, you will love HIM all the more. I promise. This is a hard challenge but I pray you take it with confidence. Love you all.

-Tessa

JOY...(:

Joy. This three letter word is a significant one in the Christian life. Joy should be all over our face. All over our lives. And we should leave a path of it everywhere we go. Okay okay, I understand people have different personalities and are not gonna be happy all the time. I understand that. But truly, God tells us to be JOYFUL. In James 1 God says, "Consider it pure joy when you face adversity." What now?? God wants me to be joyful in times that are the worst?? God expects me to have a smile on my face when I lose a loved one, run out of money, get dumped, lose my job?? YES! In James 1:3 God states that your endurance has an opportunity to grow when your faith is tested.

But hold on a sec, just because we should consider it pure joy doesn't mean that we can't weep. Ecclesiastes 3 says there is a time for everything. And everyone knows the famous verse, Jesus Wept(John 11:35). Emotion is okay, It's normal. And in many ways necessary. But please understand something, as Christians we are called to be different. Anyone in the world can weep, and they can mourn but very few people who don't have Jesus can find JOY in the midst of hard and messy situations of life. This is truth. You know why?? Because JESUS IS OUR JOY. He is our comfort and our savior. Our savior from Hell but also from worry, and stress. And a person without Jesus, simply can't have PURE JOY. Maybe that statement is to bold, But I believe it with all my heart.

A huge problem that a lot of Christians run into is pity and the feeling that they don't deserve what they are getting. If that is you, LISTEN UP. We deserve Hell. Jesus DIED on a cross to save us from this place. I am pretty sure that being beaten and hung on a cross to die is far worse then anything we will ever experience in our lives. Just the fact that Jesus was PERFECT and still chose to walk this SINFUL earth for us should be enough to convince us that we deserve nothing. But one thing: HELL. Harsh? Nope. Truth.

My prayer is that you don't feel good after reading this. I pray that you feel convicted and you feel ready to do whatever it takes to let people see Jesus in your life. Work on this with me. Let's rise against the current of the Lukewarm and comfortable church.

Love yall,
Tessa(: