Cheerful Giving

So, I'm just checking in with a Sheaves for Christ update. I promise to tell everything I can about campmeeting at some point this week. But first I'd like to applaud Oklahoma's generosity. I've been attempting to raise money for Sheaves for Christ ever since 20 Somethings' camp. It truly has become a burden of mine to raise as much money as possible. However things moved slowly at first. Over the course of the first month I raise just shy of $200. Awesome but my goal is at least $1000. This past week was campmeeting though and I came armed with chocolate chip cookies to sell. I thought I had enough to last all week, and it was enough to make about $50-$60. Decent for a week of vacation right? And I was collecting sponsorships for my "Heels for Wheels" walk as well. So I was hoping to double my money, raise my total to $400. However thanks to very generous donations, mainly from Oklahoma's ministry, I raised my total to $623.23!! Today I've been selling cookies by the dozen at my church and have orders for $65.00 worth of cookies today. :) That will put me close to $700. I fully believe I will exceed the $1000 threshold. I'm so excited to be able to give that much to SFC with just 2 1/2 months of work total. So remember this: Why Give? Because 1 lost soul = 2 many!!!!

II Corinthians 9:7

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

KJV

SFC Schemes

So many of you know I'm raising money for Sheaves for Christ, but most of you don't know my more outrageous plan. So tonight, as I will be hitting many of you up for funds at campmeeting this week, I will unveil my crazy scheme. First I have to put a little plug about what SFC is. Sheaves for Christ supports missions efforts at home and abroad. SFC supports Tupelo Children's Mansion. Sheaves for Christ supports the Kingdom of God.

So I thought about it and thought about it trying to figure out what I could do to raise money for this great cause. And then I came up with it. Now most of my ideas have a meaning behind them so I'm going to start with the meaning then the plan.

One of the big things Sheaves for Christ does is buy vehicles for all of our missionaries so it's easier for them to travel through the field spreading the Gospel. If we don't give to Sheaves for Christ then our missionaries could end up walking many, many miles to church to spread God's word. So as, Lord willing, a future missionary I realized I could end up walking many miles to spread the gospel if the next generation doesn't give to Sheaves for Christ, and how could I expect them to give if I didn't?

Now I don't have a lot of money to give but I'm willing to do something crazy if you all will give me money to give to SFC. I am a girl. I love high heels. I don't go to church without them. So if I don't have an SFC vehicle when I'm on the field I'll be walking in heels. So in fear of doing that when I'm old I'm going to do that now. On August 13th I'm going to walk a walk for Sheaves for Christ, in heels. Here's the catch. It's up to y'all how much I walk. Instead of telling you I'm going to walk 5 miles and letting you give as little or as much as you like, I'm going to let you determine how much I walk with your giving. The more you give, the further I walk. I will be walking on a 1/8 mile track so I'm going to walk 1 lap per 1 dollar raised. That's $8 a mile, not bad for you, awful for me, but worth it for God.

Why would I do that? Because 1 lost soul is 2 many. SFC vehicles enable the gospel to be spread much more effectively. Help me raise money for that!! You give me the money and I'll walk, because to walk in heels you have to be the real mccoy and that's what I want to be for God.

A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words

Child at Heart

Let me tell you a secret. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone. Did you hear me? Anyone! I mean that's why I'm posting it on the internet, I'm scared for people to know this secret!! Ok, are you listening? On the inside I'm secretly a little kid. *whew* I got that out, big shock that it was.

Ok so I cannot get enough of kids' books. Even though the junenille section at work is often so loud I get a headache when I work there I love shelving there just to see the great new books. I have a particular affinity for the highest level of "easy readers" which are the kind of books you read in about 2-3 grade transitioning you from picture books to chapter books. While working the desk earlier today I found that I just couldn't help but read the cutest kids comic book, Patrick in A Teddy Bear's Picnic and Other Stories.

I just adore it's completely cute art work and story line. And I love how the 4 different stories within it help introduce the concept of chapters. Fabulous. :)

Well since the Bible says we're to have childlike faith I guess I'm well on my way.

PS I still sleep with a teddy bear too.

On Decisions

I hate making decisions. I mean REALLY hate it. However I tend to cope with it by making snap decisions and then questioning them from then on. Not the best either.

There are several big decisions every 18-20 year old woman must make. The one I'm struggling with right now is my career. You see I've already changed my major twice and I feel stupid that I'm questioning it AGAIN! I started out a nursing major then I decided that wasn't right and switched to Spanish with an undecided second major. Then I decided I was stupid to leave nursing and switched back to it. So as it stands I'm enrolled in all nursing classes next fall. That said now I'm struggling with that. I feel like my head is in it but my heart's not. However it has made me feel so good to see how proud my parents have been of my acceptance into nursing school. I love making my parents proud, who doesn't?

I just can't seem to feel settled with nursing. I am scared to death and I've barely started. Some days I get so excited about it: scrubs, stethoscopes, helping people get better, etc. But really in truly I don't have any concept of day to day nursing that thrills me. I feel like deja vu to last summer. Last summer I went to camp and felt unsettled with the nursing decision thought about it a lot talked to people about it and changed majors.

But then as the year progressed and I drifted away from summer and camp and campmeeting I drifted back to feeling that nursing was logical because it can be used to help people anywhere in the world. It could open the door to going overseas etc. People close to me told me that if I wanted to do missions work I was stupid not to stay with nursing. And so I have so far.

But this summer I've again become discontented and scared. And this summer more than last summer I feel another option pulling on me. The option pulling on me now is my childhood dream. It's what I said I wanted to be from birth until 9th grade. However this option doesn't pay well. And this option has always been discouraged by my dad in particular because of a supposed lack of financial security. And so I find myself terrified to change my mind again. I find myself scared to jump to something Daddy won't be proud of. And yet this option is just as viable for helping people around the world. And this option makes me happy to think about. But still I find myself halting between two opinions. My heart says yes while my mind says no to this desire of mine. My head says yes while my heart says no to nursing.

And so I continue to halt between

and