What are you waiting for?!

So, it's a quarter after 10, I'm still in my barn clothes and I just got off the floor from yet another cryfest of thanksgiving with my Lord...

You want to understand the term 'abundance', all you need to do is seek the face of Christ. Ha, knowing and seeing Him is enough to experience the abundance Jesus died so you could have! I have experienced so many GOOD things and abundance from my Father today that it almost doesn't even seem real... but I know it is :)

My day started with a phone call from a friend while I was at work. We talked, and came to find out that we had been having extremely similiar dreams and believe God is speaking powerfully to both of us. That alone, along with the fact that my dreams have been so REAL (I wake up thinking the same things I experienced in my dreams are actually happening-- the dreams are THAT clear and THAT real) and that I had a "protective" dream the night before I had a pretty freaky "warning" dream, made me recognize again how close the God of the universe is to me and how much He wants me to remember that He will NEVER leave me or forsake me.

About an hour later, during my first class in theory, I shared the second part of my testimony to my girls. I told them about how God healed me of an incurable disease and high-grade pre-cancerous cells because I chose to wake up hours before my start time at work to pray for my healing. Apparently our talk about prayer touched one of the girls so powerfully that about 10 minutes later when we started talking about horse stuff, I saw her with her eyes closed, holding a girls hand and praying for her silently. Come to find out, she was praying for the other girl who she just accidently hurt by rolling on her foot with the chair she was sitting in. All of a sudden, the girl who was hurt yelled out really loud (and quite shocked and amazed) that the pain went completely away while the girl was praying for her. They started praising God and I encouraged the rest of the class to do the same. We had a mini praisefest before we went back to learning about horses!

Then, later in the afternoon, I get a pleasant surprise after being called into my boss' office... I have been helping teach and assist Western riding lessons at the ranch for a while now, and I received a plaque and became 'certified' as an Instructor to teach. To those of you who don't know my riding history, talk with me haha this is an incredible honor and privlege for me! God has brought me so far so fast. I have always dreamed of riding and owning a horse, but I never thought I'd have the privlege of teaching kids about horses... at least not this fast ;)

Then... as I was waiting to ride again halfway through our drill team routine for the showdeo I looked up at my girls who were cheering (more like yelling) for me. In the far back I saw the same girl from my first class who prayed for the girl with the sore foot praying for all of the girls around her. She took both of their hands and prayed for each of them. I was so incredibly joyful to see that, and was so proud of her for stepping out in faithful prayer! It reinforced the fact that people can be touched in unknown ways by YOUR personal testimony (which you ALL have, by the way) if you are faithful to share what God has done in your life. I could hardly believe that it only took a 5 minute story about prayer to plant a seed in this young girl that is already affecting around 15 other girls. I was deeply encouraged by God's work in my students! Some other revelations came to me throughout the day and some other things happened in my heart that I can't share, but know that I am way beyond praising God for these revelations and His promises being fulfilled...

Oh wait, there's more! I have been thinking a lot these past two days about how I want to study more horse breeds, many that we don't have at the ranch, and actually get to see and ride them, but I didn't have a clue where to start other than books. Well, I get home to read an e-mail from my aunt who wants me to drive to Kentucky with her to help with my cousin's huge horse breed show on her ranch in early September... WHAT, God?!?!?! Are you KIDDING me?!

And one more... I still can't get over this one... Long story short- God has called me to intercede for the people of Rwanda, Africa, specifically Kigali. The survivors of the 1994 genocide are the target people in my heart. I've been praying for two years and have been trusting God would somehow make a way for me to serve the people I've been praying so long for. A few weeks ago I found out that my cousin and her husband moved to Kigali, Rwanda because he accepted a position as an Advisor for their government... they are doing ministry there for another year and a half! I just had a meeting with my friend and new pastor last night who is doing everything in his power to help train me for another short term missions trip, hopefully a little longer than my recent trip to Zambia. I just got an e-mail today from a previous full-time missionary in our church who wants to get together with me and talk about how to prepare me and get me to Rwanda to spread the gospel... Please, God, tell me You're joking?!?!?!?!

Understand that my thanksgiving and praises are not just for what God has done--I am celebrating WHO He is. If you know Jesus Christ intimately you KNOW that He loves to leave you in awe of Him. He smiles as you thank and praise Him for the undeserved and unexpected blessings He pours on you from Heaven. The verse that says "He rewards those who seek Him" isn't a verse to read and quickly move on from, it has been written for you to EXPERIENCE! None of this should cause me to only celebrate His blessings, though. It should also lead me to remember the Author of those blessings and offer my praises and thanksgiving to Him for who He is.

... People... do not even dare tell me that God doesn't fulfill your most intimate dreams and desires. Do not tell me He doesn't give in abundance. Do not tell me that you do not have the authority to heal the sick, cleanse the lepors, and cast out demons--a 10 year old girl in my class with Jesus in her heart can, and so can you! All it takes to experience God's best for your life is that you seek His righteousness and share His love. You can't possibly IMAGINE the power of the seed you plant in a 5 minute testimony or conversation with someone. If you reach ONE person in your entire life by sharing one of your testimonies, I tell you, IT IS WORTH IT, because it's worth it to God.You have been given the keys of authority by Jesus Himself! The prayer of a righteous man is both powerful and effective, and whether you want to believe it or not, YOU have a life-changing testimony that can inspire others to draw closer to Jesus. Keep praying, keep using what God has given you to do what God has told you to do, and SHARE YOUR LIFE WITH PEOPLE! What are you waiting for?!?!?!