The Trip

"How beautiful upon the mountains 

Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”"

Isaiah 52:7

We're there!

Comments: Wow!  I don't know where to start!  This week has definitely been a week I will forever remember.  My sister and I are already planning on going back next year.  I so appreciate the prayers...I could feel them the whole week!  I had the privilege of working on a huge deck for an elderly man with a whole crew of people I fell in love with!  I can't explain the unity and love we all experienced that week.  You could definitely feel the Holy Spirit all around us and flowing through us.  What a blessing!  I went to Kentucky hoping to bless someone and I returned blessed- only our God could do that!

The beginning of Day 1

The finished product of Day 1

The finished product of Day 2- the floorboards are down!

 The Work: Now, anyone who knows me closely knows I'm not much of a handy woman, especially when it comes to tools and power equipment.  But I can assure you that at the end of this week I felt that I could effectively drill in a screw in my sleep :).  With the help of my sister and a friend we drilled in at least 2,000 screws into this deck.  My sister even tried to drill my finger but thankfully I was too quick :) (but seriously she did drill just a little bit of my thumb...ow!).  Besides the fact that I was able to assist in filling a need for an old man, I also learned skills that may be useful to me in the future.  Maybe my husband and I will build our first house (FYI, I do not have that husband yet and neither does he appear to be anywhere on the horizon...not that I'm waiting or anything ;)).  Maybe he'll be a construction worker.  Maybe I will be able to assist someone else in need.  Who knows; I look forward to learning more skills next year.

The finished product of Day 3: railings, spindles and steps done!  Unfortnately I don't have a picture of Day 4 but we finished the railings on the stairs and put up half of the rafters for the roof.

The Things I learned:  Every morning or evening we would have a devotion led by someone in our group.  I learned so much from their lessons and the discussions afterwards.  Two things that really stood out to me was to be bold in
proclaiming Christ (as we don't know how much time we have left on this earth) and to always be aware of God's grace in our lives.  Without the knowledge of God's grace in our lives we can easily become prideful.  But God's grace does not just fall on special people- it's for everyone.  Understanding that enables us to be bold in proclaiming to lost people their need for the grace of God in their lives.  Another thing I learned was that I must never allow fear to stop me from doing God's will.  Even though I may not feel like I can do, He gives me the strength in due season.

Group devotions and praise time one night.

The verse at that top of this post was one the Lord impressed upon me as we drove through the mountains on the way there.  I felt like that was my whole mission for the week.  Through God's grace it was accomplished.

The homeowner, Mr. Teague and his girlfriend (apparently A.T.V's and lawn mowers were the cars around there :).

Me and a sister-in-Christ, Amber!

To find out more about the ministry we partnered with (Christian Appalachian Project) and how you can be used there click HERE!

Learning to delight in Jesus,
Hannah



  

A Journey

"It is God to whom and with whom we travel, and while He is the end of our journey, He is also at every stopping place."

 Elisabeth Elliot

Tomorrow my sister and I leave on a journey.  This is something new, a journey we've never taken, and yet one that I know the Lord is present.  Early in the morning we leave for Kentucky for a couple days of ministering to and serving the people in the Appalachian Mountains.  Would you mind praying for us that we would be used by the Lord to touch lives for His glory this week?  Thanks so much and I hope to have an update for you all late next week!

"Now may He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness."

2 Corinthians 9:10 

This is my prayer for this week; that the seeds we sow will grow and become useful to the King.  I pray that many of those I meet this week I will have the privilege of spending eternity with too!

Learning to delight in Jesus,

Hannah       

Recipe: Yogurt Biscuits

This recipe is light, simple, and tasty.  We've been enjoying all the fresh summer fruits in this breakfast bread.  Enjoy!

Yogurt Biscuits

3 cups freshly milled soft white flour
2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
1/2t. salt
1 T. cinnamon
3 T. dark sucanat
6 T. cold butter

Combine above dry ingredients and cut into the butter.  Then combine...
1 1/4 cups yogurt
1 egg
1 T. vanilla extract
...and add to the butter and dry ingredients.  Stir well then gently fold in your favorite berry (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, etc.) or chocolate chips.  Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Enjoy!

Serving suggestion:
Great served with freshly scrambled eggs or omelets :)!

"In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord..."
Isaiah 6:1a
Have we seen the Lord today?

Learning to delight in Jesus,
Hannah

An Award....again :)

I've been blessed by Jaime at Diligently Waiting with the Beautiful Blogger Award!

Here are the rules for receiving it:
#1. Thank the person who nominated you and give the link.  Many thanks Jaime!  You're one awesome piano student!
#2 Tell us how the idea of having a blog popped up and why you continue it.  Well, I had desired for a long time to encourage girls.  My sister had started a blog and I thought it was a great way to reach out to young people.   I also wanted a place where I could sharpen my writing skills and my faith.
#3 Describe a usual day of your life.  In the summer my life varies from day to day but is usually very busy harvesting, washing, cutting, canning, etc.  Here's a preview:  wake up at 6 am, do quiet time, run, finish quiet time, play the piano for family worship, breakfast, chores, 1 hour of science (still trying to finish that up :), gardening/canning/washing/peeling/making butter/etc., help make lunch, check email/blogs (throughout the day), make bread, help make dinner, play with siblings, read, eat dinner, clean-up, eat ice-cream with the family, good-night prayers, bed!  Phew!  Mamma does a very good job at keeping us busy but she balances our work time and free time excellently! 
#4 The best collaboration with a blogger?  Um, I'm not sure I have one.  Does my sister count ;)?
#5 The worst collaboration with a blogger?  Sorry, no answer for that one either.
#6 Explain what having this blog means to you.  It means that, through the technological advances of the internet, I have the ability to share Christ and encourage girls across the world!  Not only am I reaching my community but people I might never meet.  What a privilege! 
#7 Now nominate 5 bloggers for this award.

Bianca!
Sarah Jane!
Erin! 
Madalee!
Kimber!

I leave you all with a verse:

"Be strong, be courageous; for the Lord your God He is the one who is with you.  He will not leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 32:6

Learning to delight in Jesus,
Hannah

Which fear do we have?

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because 

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

1 John 4:4 

Don't you just love it when the Lord's been teaching you something and the pastor at your church just happened to preach on the same thing?!  It is such a confirmation to me of what I need to be working on.

Lately I've been struggling with fear.  Now, there are several different types of fear.  Here are two definitions of fear in the Websters 1828 Dictionary:

1. To be in apprehension of evil; to be afraid; to feel anxiety on account of some expected evil.
2. The worship of God.

The first type of fear weakens you and leaves you useless to the King.  I've been learning that the devil tries very hard to control people with this one.  If we're so afraid we're no longer a threat to him and his plans.  After honestly searching my heart I discovered that the root of my fear was self.  I've been so worried about me, what's going to happen to me, how this will work out for me that I've lost sight of my mission.  My mission is not to make a lot of money, be famous, or even be successful in the world's eyes.  My mission is to be a witness for Jesus; to serve Him and no other.  The Bible frequently encourages us to not be controlled by this fear (see this post).  He wants us to overcome and He wants to use us if we allow Him.

In today's sermon I learned that the second type of fear, the fear of the Lord, is the antidote for the wrong type of fear.  If I'm so focused on the Lord and the vision He has for me {and He does have one for me it just hasn't been revealed yet.... :)} then I will not be scared away by silly little things.  If we're focused on the eternal and not the present, the spiritual and not the physical we will find the fears of yesterday disappear!  Wow!  How freeing, how incredible simple yet so hard to practice.  What do we do when the fears start bombarding us on every side?  Well, what did Jesus do when He was tempted by the devil?  He responded with Scripture.  This is one reason why it is so important to hide God's Word in our hearts!  Now that I know that fear is an issue for me I should be diligently memorizing verses that combat fear.  I need to be ready, armed, prepared for battle.  Ultimately we have nothing to fear when Jesus is on our side!

There's a little peek of what I've been struggling with and learning in my spiritual life.
I'm interested to know what the Lord has been teaching you.

Learning to delight in Jesus,
Hannah :)