Thank you.

Tonight as I was getting ready for bed, I opened my journal and did something a little different. I just started writing a list of things I'm thankful for. I had a hard time stopping and it just filled my heart with so much joy and an overwhelming gratefulness for who God is in my life.

I want to share a handful with you.

Tonight I'm so thankful for...

Number 1. My Mom visiting last Saturday night to come to the Johannes Amritzer service. I was beaming having her with me. I like showing off what an awesome lady I got to be raised by. :) After a powerful service, Mom stayed in Gettysburg to take Luke and I to the Lincoln diner. That makes for one happy Bonnie.Talking in a diner booth, eating breakfast at night with two of the most wonderful gifts God has ever given me. It was so good to be with you both.

Number 2. Surprise run-ins with Luke in the middle of a long afternoon filled with meetings. He is just the most fun and refreshing person to be around. What a good boyfriend I have.

Number 3. A chance to spend this coming Saturday with my friends Kimmy and Laura. What sweet, sweet, laughter-inducing girls. We'll be spending a big part of the day at Plato's Closet and a mall with Anthropologie. Lots of pretty coming up. :)

Number 4. The sun rises on the way into school this week have been beyond beautiful. I asked God to give me the ability to do artwork some day that would glorify him like those sun rises do. A morning drive spent talking to God about how beautiful his skies are and how beautiful what he's doing in my life is... that's a great way to start the morning.

Number 5. Isaiah 54. I'm just loving and clinging to that passage as a whole this week. (Verse 10. ah.)

...and sooo much more.

Thank you, God for hearing every word of my thankfulness tonight.

I like being talkative in times like this. :)

Most of all, I'm so thankful for Your love for me.

diy: Earrings and Hair Pins

  earrings made with buttons, fabric, thread, earring posts, and just a little super glue

 one of my favorite things to make: flowers made with felt, thread, beads, a little fabric, and a bobby pin

With love.

A Step Closer to Gettysburg

* This post is in response to Jeremiah and Cori Herbert (pastors of the intersection church in Gettysburg, PA) sharing of how they personally do evangelism and discipleship. They spoke in my college class called "Developing Outreach and Discipleship". Enjoy! :)


The Holy Spirit is turning the wheels in my heart and mind tonight for outreach and discipleship after conversing with Jeremiah and Cori in class this morning.

I took pages of notes, but with only 250 words I'll have to be pretty picky about what I write. About halfway through class, after our break, Jeremiah and Cori sat down with us at the table and asked about where God is leading each of us in ministry. I shared God's call on my life for counseling and my love of what I'm doing now with bringing students into ministry and starting the active discipleship process with them. I'm not sure where that will all specifically lead... but I know something else for sure. God has made my heart for the town of Gettysburg.

Jeremiah and Cori's heart for loving and giving to Gettysburg inspires me. Beyond that even, it makes my heart come alive. Like the Holy Spirit was reminding me of how exciting ministry gets when I ask God to make me his partner in reaching the people that we (God and me) love with the gifts and passions and beautiful vision that he's given me (and wants to keep growing in me as I use it).

As we left the grocery store tonight, I told Luke a lot about what the Holy Spirit was doing in me during our class today. I told him I've always been a little frustrated and even discouraged about my involvement in evangelism. I have a hard time connecting with the idea of doing my evangelism with door to door methods or other "in and out quick" techniques. I'm very, very open to opportunities to pray over someone I don't know on the street or follow a word God gives me... sometimes for me it's just harder to really apply that to my everyday life. The Herberts are confident that God uses them most effectively through relationships to evangelize the lost. Luke and I believe this is where we're at, too. Our hearts really connect with the lifestyle of building relationships in our community to evangelize... which then turns into discipleship.

I felt so, so hungry during class for God to open the door in my life to relationships with the unsaved in Gettysburg. I spend almost all my time around Christians doing ministry at Freedom Valley. And that's ok. I know I'm in the right place... but I am so excited about some of these wheels God is now turning in my head. Jeremiah said he went through a season of being really frustrated about just being around people who already love Jesus. He saw that when he was willing to go out of his comfort zone and take that step to build relationships, God blessed him, led him to people and people to him.

During class I had a few images and ideas I believe the Holy Spirit was using to speak to me about these areas of my life. Starting tomorrow, Luke and I are going to go to the ragged edge or another down town coffee shop on the morning ( or evening) of our day off and just sit. We'll use it as time to spend together, time to talk, pray, read... time to let God just connect our hearts over and over with the people, culture, and "everything" of Gettysburg. I'm praying that as we consistently go to 1 or 2 places, we make connections. I'm praying that we'll start to talk with employees and have opportunities to just love people and, while God ministers to our hearts, minister to the people of the town we just love so much. We're both seeing God highlight our creative gifts and really believe He'll use that to reach our generation. Coffee shop environments are so great for connecting with creativity... God is up to something very, very good. :)

I think this seemingly simple step is going to open big doors for us. It feels good to follow His leading. So here's to going after God-given dreams and many prayer times and conversation times to come. :) I'm sure I'll have updates soon about how God uses this is Luke and I's lives. Thank you, Lord.