Monday, March 7, 2011

Watching God at Work


One of my greatest joys and passions is watching God work in the hearts and lives of young women to draw them closer to Himself. As the RGBI girls' Bible study has progressed over these past few weeks, I have been privileged to worship, fellowship, and study the living Word with a group of girls who are learning to cultivate intimate relationships with the King of kings and serve Him wholeheartedly. Every Tuesday evening, I return to my dorm room with a heart full of rejoicing at what God is doing in this group!

In one of our recent lessons, we discussed the concept of living with purpose and vision. One of the girls' homework assignments was to write a mission statement for their life that summarizes their life purpose. Their statements were as unique as each girl present and yet central in their focus on the Lord. Here is what they (we) had to say:

"Love God. Love others. Live for God."
~ Charity

"G - give (love, time, etc.)
R - raise up other people in the faith as well as future children God might give me
O - obey God's laws, God's calling, the authorities in my life that He puts in place
W - worship God"
~ Natalie

"How do I want to be remembered?"
(Further details shared: "Jesus Christ went to heaven and is remembered for Who He is. Jim Elliot, Corrie ten Boom, and others are remembered for being servants of the Most High, for their service in God's Kingdom. If I were to die tomorrow, how would I be remembered? Would my little brother remember me as a sister who screamed at him or a sister who served him? Will I be remembered for loving God or loving myself? I try to ask this question to myself every day. It affects my attitudes, my vocational choices, my relationships. I want to be remembered as someone who lives for the Lord.")
~ Yozy

"My mission in life is to keep on doing whatever God wants me to do. To keep learning from Him which I'll never stop doing. To praise Him in everything. To share and reflect to people who are needy of love His love and who He is. I want to be a girl according to God's will, to have a heart of faithfulness, joy, sincerity, love, passion, creativity, and wisdom. To do whatever God wants me to do with my life."
~ Paola

The short version: "To know Christ and to make Him known."
The longer version: "This life God has given me is about HIM. It's about knowing Him intimately, pursuing Him relentlessly, loving Him passionately, trusting Him totally, finding Him faithful to work through me for His glory as His hands and feet to a lost and dying world."
~ Katrina

Aren't these beautiful statements? I am praying that God will allow each one to come true in each girls' life.

In preparation for tomorrow night's study, I came across this powerful, moving video. I had seen it once or twice before but it never ceases to stir within the depths of my soul a longing to be the love of Jesus to the hurting, poor, and needy in our world...no matter the cost. I challenge you to watch it with an open heart, just as I will challenge the girls tomorrow evening. May the Lord find in us willing servants who can truly say, "Here am I, send me."

3 comments:

Kate said...

Wow, they are beautiful...which challenges me to remember my goals in my walk with God! Thanks for sharing!

And BTW - can I ask you where you get your public domain pics? I would like to find some to use for my new blog, but can't find any free ones! :)

Katrina Marie said...

Hey friend! The photos I use on my blog are ones I find my doing a Google image search (different than a general Google search). I usually type in a description of the image I want to find (like "teen girl praying") and then page through the options. Once I find the one I like, I click on it, and then copy/paste the website address from the browser. Hope this helps! It's always good to hear from you!

Kate said...

Thank you! :)
We miss you so much and think/talk about y'all often!