Too Many Compartments

So life has been crazy since I last wrote. This update may be somewhat discombobulated, but that's how I feel right now :-) If you don't have time to read the whole thing, would you please skip to the last two paragraphs and read about a few timely prayer requests?!

Let's start with work/church. Those must be combined because so many things overlap. One big thing is that we hired a new Pastor of Student Ministries. This is very exciting news! I can't wait until Kyle and his family arrive. It will be great to have a new addition to our crazy, best ever staff! Other things I'm working on... I am helping put together a blood drive for the community that our church is hosting April 15th. I am also helping to promote a Dave Ramsey EntreLeadership Simulcast that will be held on April 1st. If you live in the Menomonie area and want training in business or leadership from a Biblical perspective you definitely want to check this out (http://www.eleaderseminar.com/.) We have a team from our church going to Mexicali, Mexico. They leave tomorrow! I have been busy helping them get ready for their trip. If my roommates had taken a video of me trying to get plane tickets for them it would be a YouTube sensation! God is good though and He pulled through once again - He gets all the glory! This month at church we had a funeral for a little baby. It was so sad and tragic, yet the hope of Christ was there. It was heartbreaking and yet hope-filled. Only in Christ do you have hope in the midst of tragedy. It has been an emotional and stressful month at work, but it has also been amazing to see how God brings us all together, uses our different strengths and accomplishes His purposes! Speaking of His purposes, I have also started working on my certification to become a Biblical Counselor.

It certainly has been a busy month...and that's not all! There have been some really cool things happening with my photography business, Glory Displayed. I had my first craft fair of the year and it felt good to get back into things. On Monday I was able to do a photo shoot for the cover of a local magazine. I can't talk about it yet, but when it comes out on April 1st I'll be sure to share! Just so you aren't confused when it comes out I was the photographer for the cover, not the cover model!! I also had the opportunity this month to meet with an amazing group of women. My friend Jenny, who started the business Fierce Beauty, invited several of us "like-minded" ladies to her home. She shared with us the next steps her business is taking and we were all able to share a little bit about who we are and why we were there. It was a group of women who are passionate about bringing an end to human trafficking and modern day slavery. It was a time to connect and dream and I left so excited to see what God is doing and how He is using ordinary people to accomplish His extraordinary plans! Take a look at https://www.facebook.com/GloryDisplayed for more information on Glory Displayed and how you can be a modern day abolitionist. I will very soon be signing up for an on-line Professional Photography Course through New York Institute of Photography. My photography has been greatly improving, but there is still so much I need to learn. If I am going to be a professional photographer I need some more training. I am very excited to start these classes and watch the progress!

The last thing that I wanted to update you on and ask you to pray for is my health. Today I had a consultation with the doctor that is going to stick a tube down my throat. To my surprise, he scheduled the procedure for tomorrow morning (Friday, March 11). I have to be at the Baldwin Hospital at 8:00am and the procedure is at 9:00. Will you pray for me? This is supposed to be simple and easy, but I am nervous. I will have to have an IV and that is the biggest thing that makes me nervous. I have very little veins and have been told by numerous nurses that they hope I never have to have an IV because it will be terrible. That's encouraging! Please pray that they will be able to find a vein, especially since I can't have anything to drink after midnight - they will shrink even more! Pray that I really would sleep through it and that my gag reflexes would be under control. I don't really want them to find something, but I do want answers for why I've lost 20 pounds and feel nauseous all the time! I guess I would like you to pray that God's will would be done, that He would give me peace and that this procedure wouldn't be as bad as my imagination is making it out to be!

THANK YOU friends for your prayers and encouragement. So you know how guys tend to compartmentalize things? Sometimes I feel more like a guy than a girl. I have all these different things I am doing and get in my "work compartment" or my "international ministry compartment" or my "photography compartment" and so on and so on. Then I'll have a moment where my compartments collide and I realize all of the things I am trying to do and it freaks me out! I really need to prioritize and make sure I take care of my health and get the rest that my body needs. You could pray for wisdom for me as well! I want to make sure I keep an outward focus. There are so many of you going through things that are much harder than the stress I sometimes find in my life. I want to be here for you and pray for you and encourage you. I want my life to be a reflection of Christ. I don't want to judge people or assume I know what others are feeling or experiencing. I want to show people the love and grace and hope that is found in Jesus alone.