The Rhythms of His Heart

"Jesus, bring ripples that turn into waves" 2013!!  Crazy!!  These last few weeks  in Nova Scotia have been different, but  great!  It has been a time to just be thankful, a time to rest, laugh & be with my family & friends.   A time to refocus, a time to realize that I have changed so much in the last 8 months of living life as a Prairie girl.  The Deanna who left the east coast in May is different than the Deanna now...not outwardly, but inwardly.  God has broken my heart, set a fire in my bones, brought me to my knees over & over,  given me a desire to be closer to Him than ever before & now I am ready to go back.  My heart knows without a doubt that there is no place I'd rather be. It is hard at times, but totally worth every ounce of my time & energy!!  There is joy in living life with Jesus & bringing others to Him! So what is it that keeps me going?  In 2013 what is the thing that burns...

I sit beside her on a bench in the school gym. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at me & says "Deanna, I just want to go to heaven now!  This girl was not even ten years old, but she had been taunted, & torn into pieces verbally & emotionally by her peers. She wants an easy escape from the hurt & the pain.  My heart hurts for her...God, why don't we value people...why can't everyone see that all people are YOURS...precious & loved! I sit beside her at a table in the drop-in...She told me that her mother--the very woman who gave birth to her called her stupid, said she didn't love her &  that she would never be anything.  So she wanders around trying to find acceptance & love in her boyfriend, friends, partying...whatever!!  Again my heart hurts as I tell her that God says She IS loved, She DOES have a purpose....and can find all the love she needs if she'd turn to Jesus! I sit listening to him as he shares that people have tore hi...

Yesterday I was sent this link by a precious woman of God and forever friend!  I have read it a few times since & each time I realized that I need to see myself how God sees me...BEAUTIFUL!  Then I thought of some of the girls that I work with & my heart hurt for them...if only they could see that they are beautiful and stop listening to the lies that we are told.  If only I could believe it in my own life!  So click on the link below and read it...believe it....pray through it and know that you are beautiful in the eyes of our Daddy God! http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/09/what-women-need-to-say-to-each-other-because-its-what-ever-woman-needs-to-hear/

Making  disciples is not an easy process.  It is trying.  It is  messy.  It is slow, tedious, even painful at times.  It is  all these things because it is relational.  Jesus has not  given us an effortless step-by-step formula for  impacting nations for his glory.  He has given us  people, and he has said, “Live for them.  Love them,  serve them, and lead them.  Lead them to follow me,  and lead them to lead others to follow me.  In the  process you will multiply the gospel to the ends of the  earth."  David Platt from his book   Radical I found the above quote "creeping" facebook last night & BAM! it hit me.  The last week has been filled with moments where I keep asking myself is what I am doing really making a difference?  In my week of  crusty lasangas (prepared for a Girl's Night),  people not showing up, getting tired & things not happen...

It is the middle of August already! Soon the days of heat, beaches, shorts, BBQ's and no school will be over!  Sad I know, & even after being out of school for this long I still get that sick, "It's over" kind of a feeling when I walk into a store or see in a flyer the big bold letters "BACK TO SCHOOL"! Still, after these lazy, hazy, days of summer and in the busyness of all the summer activity I am thankful that my mission here is not over!  This is just the beginning & already there have been days when I think, "Really God??  Are You sure You picked the right girl for this job?"  & He reminds me "This is not about YOU, Dee...It is about ME working out MY plan...Don't grow weary...just do all I've asked you to do. If I can use a stone to kill a giant I can use a weak, timid, disabled girl to fight off (through MY power) the "giants" that come to taunt the Youth in Portage." On those days too, when I feel t...

Whoa!  It's been over a month since I blogged...CRAZY!!  My summer days so far have been filled with a one week trip to New Brunswick,  & a wedding in Maine &  back again to "dive in " to the fun summer activities that we have planned to do with the Youth here in Portage.  God has been so good!!  Camp outs, boating/tubing, Splash Island (outdoor water park) days, small groups, building relationships, listening to hurts, praying & giving of myself is... I am going to be real with you---EXHAUSTING!!  Many nights I come home (slightly "sun-kissed")  & just crash.  How do I keep going?  Do I need more than just the highs of my beloved morning coffee to keep me going? YES, YES & YES! *HIS WORD IS WHERE I FIND ALL I NEED!* This week I have been studying the widow of Zarephath in I Kings 17:8-16.  This lady was at the end of her rope...her husband died, there was a famine, & she only had enough flour to feed her ...