11 Months, 11 Countries, and A Big Heart for the Lord

As I sat across the table from Kaylin Starbuck today, I felt inspired. I saw a lady with a heart that above all else desires to serve the Lord and bring him glory. A lady willing to give up everything to follow him as He has called her to join the World Race; a mission trip that involves traveling to 11 countries in 11 months. Greater than witnessing her answering the call to obedience, I saw her passion and fire for the Lord. When the gentle beckoning and whisper came from the Lord that said “Go,” she decided to push past her questions and say, “Yes!”

Before meeting with Kaylin, I had heard about the World Race and as I consider where God is calling me, I wanted to hear her story and her journey of how God brought her to this life changing decision. Her story started in college as she developed a desire to go to India and Peru. A spark began to stir into a roaring flame as she began looking up Bible verses, videos, and different mission organizations. As her search continued, she happened onto finding the World Race. There was an instant draw as she saw the ministry being grounded and solid in their presentation of the Gospel and encouraging an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus.

The call became stronger while at a youth camp in Delaware and leading worship. She shared with her mom over the phone this call to go and she felt in her heart that the time to go was drawing near. She didn’t know the where, but the World Race and India and Peru continued to be on her heart. She continued to be encouraged as she talked with her friend’s sister that had just returned from the World Race. As God directed Kaylin’s path, she applied for the World Race in August. Discouragment set in when the routes came up and the one with Peru and India weren’t there. It was a trying season, but it grew Kaylin and helped her learn to trust in the Lord and that the call he placed on her heart had a purpose. And so it was in October, that a route was revealed that had both India and Peru. As she remained faithful and learned to be patient even if it meant laying aside this dream, the results were even greater than what she had hoped. The route had five Spanish speaking countries and her minor was in Spanish (her major is in psychology) .

It is Kaylin’s desire to see God’s Kingdom expanded and the desire to see him glorified that has led her to where she is now. She shared how she felt the Lord revealing to her that he didn’t need her to do this, it was rather a privilege and opportunity to magnify his name. Her excitement in pursuing this trip is to experience what it is to be a coleader with Christ and gain a deeper understanding of what God is calling her to in a missional sense and discover missionaries she can partner with in the short-term or long-term.

Kaylin shared her heart as she said, “This trip in not just me going, for I may be the one physically going, but the people that are supporting be are colaboring with me.” This trip is about trust and purely relying on the Lord to supply what she needs. She encouraged me as she told me to not focus on the “What ifs,” but to step out in faith to follow the calls God has placed on my heart and all of our hearts. To listen and pay attention to the desire placed on our hearts and offer open hands to the Lord where we can full heartedly say, “Where you go I’ll go, and wherever you call me to stay I’ll stay.” She explained that it is easy to say yes to going, but harder to say yes to staying. There is also great value in serving where we are now. She has seen this in her own work place, as she builds relationships with her coworkers and shares her testimony. Kaylin said, “Bloom where you are. Don’t waste time dreaming, but do work now.”

There will always be questions and doubts, but something beautiful happens when we see someone that has given desires, dreams, and need for control over to God. God wants to use us where we are. Some of us are called to stay here while others of us are called to go overseas. Whereever God calls you, do it wholeheartedly for the Lord and be encouraged that your faithfulness and dedication will be blessed.

Check out Kaylin’s blog and follow her journey: http://kaylinstarbuck.theworldrace.org/

What it Means to be Free!

Today, as I sat through a conference called “Wild and Free” by Jess Connolly, many things resonated with me and I knew that God had placed me there for a reason. Quite frankly, I hadn’t really thought about the conference or it’s title until I was like, “Oh, it’s Saturday and the woman’s conference is here.” Then, I read the title, and it caught a hold of me. Do you ever have that moment where you think, that is exactly what I needed to hear and God has me exactly where he wants me down to the people I talked to today. Well, if there was ever a moment like that, it was today.

God really did shift me, as tears streamed down my face and I slowly felt the weight I’ve been feeling slide from my shoulders. Sometimes, we just need to be real with each other like I was able to do today. Like really real. We like to hide behind a smile and act like everything is great, but when we get down to it, we need to be willing to share what we’ve been going through and in doing so we can start to be free. But how hard it is!

Right before I realized the topic of our conference, I got on my face before God and just laid out my heart. Past hurts were resurfacing and I knew I needed to work through them and not around them or just shove them off. One of the greatest things I’ve learned from dealing with depression, is that pushing it away just masks the pain. And so, I wrote each one down and released them to God and I know it’ll be a daily process, but I want to really get down to the root of things and embrace these new steps in life God has for me as so much has been changing. And once I do, I know I’ll be ready to fully embrace what God has for me.

So, I’ve started to let go…

Let go of the need to please others

Let go of the desire for a husband

Let go of unforgiveness towards those that have hurt me

Let go of the need to feel in control

To be accepted

To be successful and productive

We hold so tight onto these things and when we let them go then God can really begin to use us. We think we have to have it all together to be able to serve the Lord and be able to bless others, but if we are waiting to “Be all tidy” as Jess said, we aren’t ever going to be ready to make a difference. She asked three questions. What are you freed from? Where are you freed to? What are you freed for? Embrace the freedom you have from brokenness and share life with others. You don’t have to have it all together! Jesus paid for our sins on the cross. The past, the present, and the future. We are freed from the sins they have held us captive. I’ve found when I’m really being real and sharing my brokenness then others start sharing and they feel such a relief that they aren’t alone in their struggles.

Buy Wild and Free and embrace what it really means to be free when you feel like you don’t measure up.

https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Free-Hope-Filled-Anthem-Enough-ebook/dp/B010R2U5ZU

Lyfeice Making a Difference One Cup at a Time!

Vincent Sawyer has chosen to take a road marked by faith. He has witnessed the uncertainty that is part of this life. God took him from being parentless and nearly homeless, to receiving a scholarship to graduate school at Southeastern and now being an example to others through his business Lyfeice.

Vincent said there are literally hundreds of stories that he could share about how he has seen God’s hand as his new business grows. He shared, “There was an event with multiple desert carts in one small location and I was not making much money actually I was losing money for the amount that it costed. But I prayed and prayed and continued to trust God while I pushed my car around.” With excitement Vincent shared, “By the end of the day, I ended up making some money but it was a difficult day and more miraculous that I made more money than I paid considering the circumstances.”

Some people view money as God, but Vincent knows that money isn’t reliable. He said, “Many environments stimulate this worldview of money equaling happiness. But in the day of grief and suffering, how can any amount of money make one happy?”

Vincent has big dreams for his business and the desire to make a holistic impact with an emphasis on relationships with employees and customers. While many entrepreneurs are in it for the success and the money, Vincent has a different approach. He wants to be a servant leader and be diligent in sharing the love of Jesus with others. And for the community, the business is reaching out by giving to nonprofits financially and volunteering time to make this possible. Vincent explained, “The mission of Lyfeice is to create opportunities to positively influence the mind, body, and soul of each person.” It’s about finding a victorious identity through Jesus as a forgiven child of God rather than just seeking for self gain. That is a road worth traveling.

Watch Vincent’s video “Fearing Trust” to be inspired further. Do you struggle trusting others? Do you want to be set free? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WN2bPnO4qA

A Dream of Gigantic Proportions and a Pumpkin?

We all have dreams, aspirations, and goals. For most of us, those dreams are to be expected such as graduate, get a job, buy a home, and raise a family, but a dream of growing a giant pumpkin is rare and intriquing. A rare few have achieved such a goal, but maybe the story I’m going to share will inspire you to grow your own pumpkin or just reach towards that dream you’ve conceived as impossible.

John Mann (my dad) has big dreams and no matter how impossible they may seem to my family, he has great confidence and sees them through to completion. His dream of growing giant pumpkins began after seeing them on display at the NC State Fair. John said, ““I imagined what it would look like to have one of those behemoths growing in my garden.” So, he set off to prepare for this new conquest by setting aside 600 sq. ft. and ordered the pumpkin variety “Atlantic Giant.”

The pumpkin this year quickly took over the garden, but it wasn’t always that way. The first year, the seeds were planted too late that they didn’t take off. This year though, John set himself up for success. He started these in March of this year and because of a mild winter, he was able to prepare the ground and plant the first pumpkin April 2^nd. He built a cold frame and put clear plastic bins on them at night to protect them from the temperatures that were still creeping down to below the 50’s.

John put a lot of care and effort into his pumpkins with about 1 to 2 hours of work a day to make sure they were well fed, watered, pruned, and fertilized. He was dedicated to going and checking on them, measuring them, and carefully recording what he learned to help him with next year. He said, “It's not a large pumpkin compared to the sizes that you see at the fair, but the valuable experience I gained from growing the pumpkins to me could not be measure by the size of the pumpkin.” It was a great success to have his pumpkin reach 150 pounds!

John fully intends to grow his giant pumpkins again next year. His motivation for growing giant pumpkins? To watch the smiles on people’s faces when they see it. His neighbor loved checking on the progress every morning when he went out to care for it. Mann said about the experience, “Although it was a lot of work to grow them, it was fun watching the pumpkins grow and measuring the progress daily. I could literally see the changes every day when the pumpkin was at peak growth. Some days, growth was as much as four additional inches in circumference!” Now that is a story worth sharing.

“Words To Remembrance” Guest Post by Wenle

When I was little, a missionary gave me a book that had Bible verses as
songs. I listened to all the songs, so I would remember the Bible verses. Music
makes words easier to memorize. Now when I pray about something, there will be times when I suddenly remember one of the songs. When I hum the tune to myself, the words begin to flow into my mind and they are the very ones that I need to hear. So
God uses this as one way to answer my prayers. Right now, I have a lot of
decisions to make about next year, final projects, and tests coming up to
finish this term. It is easy to get bogged down and forget about faith and maintaining our relationship with the Lord.

When I prayed about keeping things in perspective, I remembered the song
that goes, “He will quiet you, he will quiet you, he will quiet you by his
love, his love, oh…” I looked up the words, and it comes from Zephaniah
3:17 ESV. It reminds me of the time when Jesus calmed the storm on the lake
in Mark 4:35-41. Everything we have going on in our lives are distracting
and scary, but Jesus quiets our worries. A burden tumbled from my heart
when I remembered that Jesus is there all the time in every circumstance no matter how big or little. I am thankful that God has put it into peoples’ hearts to use their talent of making music to spread the good news of Jesus.
A hymn I like "My Hope Is Built": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVE-xXFDOwg
This hymn reaffirms that Jesus is the only way to God; he is our savior. We
can't rely on anything but Jesus to give us hope.

A Divine Appointment

Have you ever had that moment when you know that something was just meant to be. Some may call it fate, but I call in a divine intervention. That moment where you realize there is something bigger than yourself at work. God's hand has a way of touching us at the second we need it most. Not too soon and never too late. Sometimes I react in frustration when things don't happen right when I want them too, but that is requesting things on my time table and not waiting for what God has in store for me 

Chicago was full of a series of divine appointments and what better a place to experience one than at Millennium Park. It was pitch dark with just the city lights to light the way. My friends and I wanted to capture this monumental moment and asked a nearby lady to snap it for us.

From initial encounter, she looked like she had been through some rough circumstances. I guessed that she might be from the rough side of Chicago, but let it be, until I felt a small pull on my heart. Maybe you've experienced it before. The tug you get when God wants you to do something. So I took a deep breath and approached the lady. She was taking selfies so I asked her if she wanted me to take a picture for her. She said that actually she was from Chicago and so began our conversation.

She lived on the rough part of Chicago. Nothing like the glamorous attractions that Downtown Chicago promotes I imagine. She began to talk about how the Lord was faithful to her as she had a cyst that was on her leg and the Lord healed her. Her and her husband had to rely on a soup kitchen to make it through, but now they wanted to give back. They sold post cards and key chains of Chicago. I was moved by this lady's testimony and was compelled by the Holy Spirit to pray for her right there in the dark, black night in the city of Chicago. Imagine what I would have missed if I would have said no to God. I was changed that night and learned how obeying God and embracing those divine appointments has the power to change us and the person we encounter.

Praying with lady in Millennium Park