The Lord

is up to something
great in my life.
But I still don't
understand
what it is.
I know that
He's refining me
and purifying my heart.
He's drawing me
deeper into Him.
And I am so very
thankful.
But I know that He's
doing something
more.
But I just don't know.

Before I left for AmSam,
I wrote a lengthy
prayer to God.
This is a small excerpt:

"Give me faith to trust You with this summer. God, I want to see great things happen. I want to see You move and work in great and amazing ways. Prepare my heart for what I am going to see. Prepare my life for how You are going to move, re prioritize, and change me."

I was walking
completely by
faith when I said
that I would go out
to AmSam.
I knew a little bit
about where it was
and a few other facts.
But that was about it.
I didn't know much about
the culture
or the people.
But I knew that the Lord would
take care of me,
because He loves me.
I really was freaking out before
I left though.
So I prayed that He would
give me the faith
to trust Him.
I was going to learn to
be dependent on God this summer.
I was also going to learn what
was really important in my life.

Oh how the Lord blesses!
He taught me lessons.
Lessons that I will never forget.
Lessons on:
1. dependence
2. true beauty
3. priorities
4. rest
5. simplicity
6. finishing strong

I'll end up writing a blog post
about each of the lessons.
I'm sure they'll be full
of stories
and Scripture,
and maybe some pictures.
Basically, they'll just
be about what the Lord
has laid on my heart to share
about each of those things.

But.
The Lord answered my prayer.
But not fully.

There's still almost two months left
of summer.
There's still time for Him
to work.
And even though summer
only has two months left...
I still have the rest of my life
to be refined by His Spirit.
That is a journey of
a lifetime.
And I'm so glad I get to
embark on it
every
single
day.

Blessings.