a day equals a week...

First official week done at McDonalds!!! I forgot how long and exhausting waking up at 5 for early morning shifts is....but i am so thankful on many different levels. One i am thankful that we have job, that the lord has just blessed us with a job that gives us plenty of hours consistently! Two I am thankful that we currently still have jobs, some peoples hours/jobs are getting cut because of the oil that is supposedly heading our way. Three I am thankful for being able to work with my girls and share this experience of "Cheeseburgers for Christ" with them. Fourthly, I am thankful that I do have to get up early....and for those of you who know me really well you are SHOCKED that I am saying this; but sleep is an idol to me! I love it! and I sometimes would rather sleep then get in the word and commune with God. One of the passages that I clung to last semester trying to counteract my struggle with laziness was Proverbs 6:6-10:

" Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise. It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard?When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber,a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man."

I don't want to be a slug because that slug just leads to poverty/bad decisions/death etc and it will sneak up on you like a bandit, like an armed man to kill you. SO i actually had been praying for a job that would assist in my transformation from a slug to an ant and force me to wake up early. Well that prayer was answered!!! Its hard and i long to hit the snooze but 5 times, but sleep can only rejuvenate my body....but Christ refreshes my heart and prepares me to fight the world during the day.

I don't have any funny mess up stories, im basically a McDonalds pro this year... NOT...but Ive only messed up a few orders and overflowed the coffee maker a couple of times.. but compared to last year... I am on a roll! :)

My girls are adjusting quite well to the long project days. At first I think they thought it was just going to be alot of down time, volleyball and sun, but I mean, I did too last year... but a day in project world is like a week and a week like a month. So already I feel like I have been here for a month...no joke, but its been an amazing month already! lol. However, they have just adjusted like champs. THey are awesome, I wish you all could meet them... so I am just going to share a little blurb about each of them.

Allison- aka my butterfly. She is probably the most extraverted person I know, thats why i call her butterfly!!She Loves the lord with all of her heart and is just so hungry to know and understand the word of God.

Sophie- such a sweet soul. Quiet but is breaking out of her shell daily!!! She is so hungry too. She is like a little sponge soaking up everything.

Pizarro- Ms. Adventure!! She is a beautiful, strong woman. Thats simply how to put it. She is just running so hard after the lord and too is searching for his truths everywhere she turns.

They all love to have jam sessions in the car haha its so funny. Bohemian Rapshody I dont even know how to spell it is their favorite song...I wish I could appreciate it haha. I dont think that I have laughed this much in a really long time... The lord is so sweet in placing us all together and intertwining our lives. On top of that He knew spiritually what he was doing. Alot of the struggles and joys that I have faced/going through these girls have gone through/are going through and it is neat to be able to shepard them to the cross through every situation by the grace that i have been given. They all have transformed so much in the first week...and its crazy to think we have 9 more to go!!!!! I am pumped to see how he is just going to do so much more then I can ever imagine.

OIL. that is the big word around panama city. Cynthia at work is convinced that this is going to shut PCB down....and the world is in a downward spiral because of it lol. I honestly have no clue about it... I havent read/seen news. the only thing I've seen is the map that they printed off at work and its like 59 miles away...?! So what does that mean... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. It doesnt frighten me or make me anxious about jobs or tourism because I know that my God is in control of the waters! We had prayer this morning and prayed that the lord would change the direction of the sea and shift the wind so that it wouldnt hit land in PCB or any region and dramatically effect peoples lives. And he can do it! I was reading in the back booth today random Psalms and I just thought that this was super cool and shared it with my doubtful Cynthia...

Its a bunch of lines from Psalm 29:

"The voice of the Lord is over the waters, the God of Glory thunders over many waters. The voice of the lord is powerful , the voice of the lord is full of majesty (vs 3and4) The voice of the lord shakes the wilderness (vs8) The lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the lord give strength to His people! May the Lord bless his people with peace! (11)"

I thought that was just really cool. The lord is control of everything but the sweet reminder that he is the voice over the waters, he is powerful and shakes the wilderness. He is king and because of that it gives his people who earnestly believe in him strength and peace!! So if it is the lords will to hit PCB, eliminate our jobs, and make us clean sea creatures on the beach...then so be it. The lord will provide in every way...for he will put us in the perfect place to grow in him...this i am fully confident of that!

My time with the Lord has just been so sweet and so rich! We have been going through Hebrews 11 and 12, and its been so encouraging. To see how the people that have gone before me have been condemned and persecuted for the sake of the gospel. How they were faithful, left their luxury, comfort, family and truly put their faith in the lord to guide them, provide for them, protect them and make his glory know. They were obedient and faithful and they didnt even get to see how their faith in Christ would use them to turn the world upside down. They were average joes who came from all walks of life, weak people, but because of their devotion to the lord he strengthened them with his grace and power to make them vessels for his kingdom. THIS IS US. WE ARE ALL WEAK, BROKEN, and FAILURES, but because of HIS LOVE FOR US, HIS GRACE, HIS PURPOSE FOR US, WE ARE MADE STRONG IN HIM---EQUIPPED TO DO HIS WORK. YOU TOO...CAN TURN THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN. OFFER YOURSELF TO HIM, RUN TOWARDS HIM, AND GAIN THE REWARD OF HIS KINGDOM! HOW BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!

We are starting 2 Timothy and I am PUMPED for that!!

I am so thankful of his Son and that He loves me. I am so unworthy, yet he still bestows so much grace and countless blesssings upon me. Pray that I will, everyday come to the cross. Not just half way, not just standing there, but on my face surrendering daily to him. Pray that I will love through the eyes of christ...not just put on his glasses but transform my eyes to see the world as christ does. Continue to pray for strength to keep going when it gets hard and i am exhausted from the week. Pray for my girls that the walls of Jericho in their life will be continuously brought down. that they are coming to him with an open hand to every situation/conflict etc. Pray that they will lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely to them so that they can run with endurance the race that has been set before them through christ jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

Final thought for right now...

We ALL need a reality check... Hebrews 12:3-4 puts our resistance of sin in perspective....

"Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint hearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood"

Christ shed blood for you...are you shedding blood for him. HONESTLy? No, youre not. Get your head out of the clouds and give your self an accurate reality check !:)

love you all!