Going on Holiday

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am writing now, because I'm going to my cousin's house for the weekend, and probably won't have time to write while I'm gone.

But that's okay, because this is what I wanted to say.

I have these lovely cousins, see, and I love them so hard.

A long time ago, I was feeling overwhelmed by life, and then I got an invitation to go to their house for a week. I realized when I went that I needed that so much! 

Their house is in the states, so it's far enough away that I really felt like I was getting away from everything that was bothering me, and I felt so restful the whole time I was gone, I just knew God had provided that escape for me.

A while later, the same situation happened! This has actually happened enough times that whenever I feel like I might be getting near the end of my rope, I'm like, "Well, I'll probably get to go to the Russells' when I get there!"

So recently I've been struggling, and it's hard to say exactly how I feel. I don't know if I would describe it as "the end of my rope," because though I feel very much overwhelmed, I do not feel overburdened.

Anyway, they invited me to come for the weekend, and I most gratefully accepted the invitation. I love that God has consistently prepared this home for me as a resting place when I need it. It's just really comforting.

So friends, if this isn't particularly encouraging to you because you have NOT had a resting place, but would wish that you had, take heart.

Know that the same God I serve is the one you serve, and just as He knows what is best for me, He knows what's best for you.

Even better than that, He will never forsake me, and He will NEVER forsake YOU.

I Can Never Seem to Be Thankful Enough

Today I am thankful for SO many things!

I just came home from ten days spent at my cousins' house in Lansing, Michigan. The week was super fun, I got new books, (most people who know me would know that that alone excites me like crazy) I got to spend time with my awesome uncle and aunt and cousins, and go to a bunch more places...you don't need all of the details. Let's just say it was a lot of fun.

Anyways, when I returned home and looked back on the week I was just amazed at how God has blessed me!

Not only has He blessed me like crazy with the things that I have and the country that I live in, but He has blessed me with the family that I have and the friends that I have.

I want to tell you a little bit about my cousins.

A few years ago they took a HUGE step of faith towards Europe. They traveled, (the whole family, three kids and two parents) to Ukraine to adopt a little girl named Kataryna.

Kataryna is severely disabled and (was) extremely malnourished. Her body was completely straight, this is what she looked like.

 

They went through a long adoption process with lots of difficulties and nearly lost her many times, but they have trusted God to pull them through every situation, and He has.

They are still looking to move forward, they have done work on her knees so that they can bend, and I believe are now looking into surgery so that her hips can bend and she can sit.

Through their faith and faithfulness, this is what she looks like now.

 

(If you would like to read about her and their family's story you can HERE.)

When we arrived home after this trip, we came home to a loving family, and then we went to our church's nightly prayer meeting, where we have close friends who are all bound together with one purpose, to build the kingdom of God and to seek His face.

I love the legacy that I live in.

I am surrounded by godly people who love me! It is AMAZING!

I am just so encouraged by this, I can't express it.

I don't deserve the circumstances that God has put me in. I don't deserve the amount of love with which He loves me.