Yes, I am still alive! :) For those of you who still read this and have been wondering for MONTHS whether I ever made it to Norway and back, I DID! The combination of a tremendously busy last few months of school and the introduction of Facebook into my life caused me to neglect this blog quite severely - so here's an update on where my life stands right now and what God is up to! :)
- After spending an absolutely wonderful month home with my family and friends, I am back in Redding! It was in my heart and God's for me to spend just ONE more year up here in Northern California, sowing into the arts scene at Bethel Church, continuing to serve in a variety of areas, and investing my time and heart into key relationships/friendships that may be changing in this next season... I am living in a new house with the most WONDERFUL girls and am very much looking forward to spending the year with them :)
- I've had some GREAT opportunities open up to me since the summer began - toward the end of the school year, I was intensely seeking God for what this next season would look like and one of the things in my heart has been to learn and get more technical training in my creative gifts. A dear friend and mentor of mine gave me a prophetic word that she felt there would be an apprenticeship of some kind for me in this next year, and SURE ENOUGH, that was God! The door opened up for me to be connected with an amazing man at Bethel - Brad Webster - he has been doing freelance graphic design for a number of years and his wife is a pastor on staff in Bethel's school of ministry. It has been on his heart in recent months to begin to expand his work in graphic design and to teach others who are hungry to learn - I am so blessed to say that he is now teaching me everything he knows, ans as soon as I've mastered the basics, I'll get to start working with clients alongside him! I am SO in awe of how God works because before I ever dreamed of coming to Bethel, I was considering majoring in graphic design at an arts school in San Francisco! He is SO good at bringing things full circle! :)
- Currently, I am also in the midst of helping a dear friend coordinate and organize her wedding - coming up August 1st! It's crunch time now, and it has been such a fun journey! I can certainly organize and administrate but have NEVER done any wedding coordination before so it has been such a great time of learning to trust God as I step into new territory! Honestly, I can't think of any place I'd rather be than having to completely depend on Him. I want to live my life JUST beyond the borders of the territory where I am comfortable - in that place where His voice and His presence are the very breath I breathe.
- In stride with that, this season with God has been more precious to me than any other in my life... It seems as We go on year after year, season after season, my relationship with Him because more and more priceless... I value His nearness and increasingly cherish every little moment. Should it be any other way? This season is more about trust than it has EVER been before, and He's teaching me SO many new things about rest. I am certain that I'll be writing a book about rest someday... I know He has purposed that to be the legacy of my life :). He told me not too long ago that this season would be about "Rest, Re-Creation, Renaissance, and Repentance." What does that mean? Rest- More than ever, He wants me to understand that rest=TRUST. He longs for us to enter into His rest and to cease from ALL striving and works, just as He has - and we do that by listening to His voice. (check out Hebrews 4...). Re-Creation - Haha, this season I am purposing to have more fun :). My best friend Kate and I have committed to have more PLAY time together, hiking, cycling, and all things active! It dawned on me not to long ago that there is a deeper meaning to "recreation". There is something that is literally renewed in us as we engage in the things that we purely love and enjoy! Renaissance - God told me a month or so ago that I was entering into my own personal renaissance. The word renaissance means "rebirth", "new birth" and "revival" - ever since my heart started burning to see a new Renaissance of His creativity released on the earth, I've been asking Him to START IN ME. How can I give away something that I haven't experienced myself? Our purpose must be to have an encounter with Him so that we can BECOME an encounter with Him so OTHERS in turn can encounter Him as well! I am being "renaissanced" by my Father so that through me, OTHERS may experience His all-encompassing, life-transforming love that makes all things new. And finally, Repentance - simply said, repentance is changing the way you think, and I KNOW that God is determined to change the way I think about MANY things in this season :). He has been challenging me in the best ways, and He makes that such a SAFE process, even when things I've ALWAYS known or believed are being shifted and changed!
SO there's an update on my life, though all of that just scratches the surface! Not sure how often I'll get to post on here but I'm sure my grandma will keep reminding me when this gets outdated ;). Love you, Grandma!
Love and blessings,
Melissa
