It is officially official:)
We are going to Uganda, Africa THIS YEAR!
Tickets have been bought!
And, as in "we" . . . my dear dear friend Brenna is joining me! I am so so so excited to share this experiences with my best friend. And I am so glad that God has made it possible for us to go together. This lady has blessed me by her ever present friendship and care. I thank God so much for giving such a wonderful friend to me.
<3 I love you so much Brenna <3
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And I would love to just say Thank You so much to those who have donated to my Uganda trip, and helped me get the funds I need.
I am still highly dependent upon your support to raise the rest of the funds I need. I have about $1,500 to raise before I leave on April 15th,
but I believe that God will provide what I need :):)
If any of you know me you are probably aware that in the summer of 2011, four years ago, I went to Uganda, Africa for two months on a missions trip, and have longed to go back ever since. Many of you even asking, on a regular basis, when I plan on going back. After four years of praying and waiting, it has been decided that I will be returning to Africa for 3 weeks in the spring of 2015 with NGM (Next Generation Ministries)! I couldn't possibly be more excited for this opportunity and I can not wait to see my Africa family again.
I know you will ask what I will be doing there, and since I have been before it seems that I would be better equipped than last time to give an answer. However, I must say that you can never give a perfectly accurate description of the work that God is about in and though his people. These missions trips are made to focus on individual relationships with people and your own relationship with God. And in the time since it was started Next Generation Ministries has seen many of the Ugandan people come to a devout faith in Christ; and grow, as young men and woman of God. NGM is committed to changing the nation of Uganda one person at a time through mentoring and discipleship that is based on deep interpersonal relationships rather than building projects, or staged events and programs. What could be more rewarding than being involved in work like this?
I am highly depending upon your support to make this trip happen. Even though I do have a job, it is only part time. And I am saving as much of my paycheck as possible to go towards this missions trip. The overall financial need is a maximum of $3,000 (by March 2015) for my ticket, the expenses of my stay there, vaccines, as well as money for ministry purposes. The idea is to minister through relationships, but there is always an opportunity to bless a family with new bed mattresses, food, or to share in paying for medical attention..etc; And to have enough funds to do such things is my desire. If you can support me in a financial way, I would be very grateful. And, most importantly, I also need your prayer support. Prayer is the fuel that we need as we follow God's leading in ministry. I know God will provide for me if it is His will for me to go.
It was requested that I write a sequel to "What He must be" and title it "What She must be". However, in these past busy weeks I have been tied up in how and when I would sit down to write. And not only that but I also felt as though it may be better to hear such a topic from a Mans point of view.
Well...my dear sister and her husband so happened to make a very surprise visit all the way from New Mexico, and while they were here I was able to talk to my brother-in-law on the subject AND asked him if he would guest write this blog post for me. He graciously accepted the challenge, and I highly agree with that which he has written down for ya'll to read and ponder.
So, without further ado . . .
Scott Willis
November 4, 2014
What she must be
A man's perspective on whom to pursue
A long list of requisite qualities and characteristics which a young Christian man may maintain and to which he may often refer when he meets a young lady is not a bad thing; nor should it be considered overly prudent to be quite choosy in considering who to pursue as a mate. But the one trait that is of primary importance is that of deep and abiding humility. Humility is the chief of all virtues, both in men and women. Jesus himself came in total humility (Luke 22:27, Phil 2:5-9). We want Christian spouses, and no Christian is made by God without the infusion of humility in the soul. Therefore humility is the first, the highest of all all graces. Humility is what makes a Christian a Christian, because no one can be saved without it. From humility flow all the other virtues: selflessness, sacrifice, honesty, and all others; they proceed from the humble heart. A single man who wants a wife should look for a lady who is humble, because the truly humble feminine heart yields all the other desirable qualities in a wife. First, if a young woman possesses the humility which is native to a regenerated/saved soul, then she will have the blessings of the indwelling Spirit of God for all of her life (1 Cor 3:16); this is the single greatest blessing a man could wish for in his wife. If she has the Spirit of God, then she has the promise of life-long sanctification (Phil 1:6), so that a man may know certainly that she will be a wife who will, over the years, grow in grace and wax greater in every virtue and in all affection. As a second example, we might rightly say she also must be modest, not given to vanity. But humility is the vanguard against vanity. Humility is the very opposite of vanity because humility doesn't think of itself, but only how it may serve others. The humble woman seeks to honor God and bless others even with her beauty, while the vain woman seeks glory for herself, idolizing the ephemeral accolades of a fickle world. Therefore the humble woman will be modest.
We might further say that she must be diligent; and humility will make her so (Proverbs 31). If she is humble at heart, she will think of her duty and her future and her family before herself; and, having these things at the fore of her heart, she will pursue what is best for them, and do so tenaciously and assiduously; that is to say, diligently. In short, young men should look for a woman who is both humble and actively cultivating
humility. How would she appear to do so? If he sees her serving her family, submitting to her parents, refraining from the spotlight of attention in social situations, listening more than speaking, smiling (knowing the joy of fulfilling her divine feminine privileges), taking an interest in those with whom she may converse rather than dominating the conversation by talking always about herself, and generally trading her interests for the blessings of God upon those within her sphere of influence. If he finds such a lady, he should consider himself blessed by God, and ought to be humbled himself, and to feel unworthy of her. Her humility ought to increase his; and his ought to inspire hers. This is the formula for a beautiful marriage, and so this is what she must be: truly, divinely, and deeply humble. We should recognize that this vignette of a humble woman is precisely the same vignette of a humble young man. A single woman should look for a man who is humble; and her search will find her seeking a man who serves his family, submits to his parents, stays out of the spotlight, is slow to speak and quick to listen, does not dominate conversation but instead interests himself in the lives of others, and trades his time and energy for the blessings of God upon others. Humility in his heart will lead him to do this; the difference between his humility and hers is only found in their respective roles as man and woman; not in essence, motivation, purity, nor object of their humility because the essence and purity of their respective humility comes from the same God, and the motivation, object, or goal, of the humility in each of their hearts is His glory.
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I would only add that first and foremost that it is of utter most impotence that a woman truly Love God MORE than herself. Second; that she be selfless/servant hearted. Kind/loving. And also that she be Industrious (or as Scott said, diligent.) And of course, if one is humble...these aspects and character quality's stem from the humble heart.
I believe that one must be humbled first, before ever seeing their own need for the Lord. So there you have it. . . preparation to be a wife starts with your faith. What do you need?
As a young woman surrounded by a world that is all about relationships, you can hardly be surprised that I have spent a lot of time dream and thinking of "that special someone." And not usually in a silly, giddy, giggly, way at all. . . but Seriously. I have spent time praying for my future husband too, and that alone is so so important. My sister and I used to make lists of things we wanted in a guy, and at first it was silly little things like "brown hair, tall, funny" But as I grew older God really tugged at my heart to start paying attention to the really important things. Character. Passions. Vision. etc;
This is in no way a check list of any kind, just a gathering of things that I have seen in the lives of the men I know. . . things that I admire, and would hope to find in my future husband.
so here is a peek inside my mind. . .
//
I want a man who is after my heart, not for what he can get.. but simply for loves sake. A man who sees me for who I am, and embraces every part of me, both the beautiful and the ugly. A man who has gone through the hard work of pursuing God's heart first; in search of mine. A man who understands partnership and has the guts to partner with me and lead from a place of strength, Purity, and faith. It is so important for me to have a husband who can, and will, challenge me spiritually. One whom I can grow with in my faith, and who is willing and able to be the spiritual leader in our home.
Slow to anger is a pretty big priority.
Broken; he understands how to really rely fully upon Jesus (Philippians 4:12-13) Ministry minded; concerned about lost souls. (Matthew 28:19)
Motivator; a man of vision; wherever he is, he's faithful (1 Kings 2:3-4) Sensitive spirit; in tune to the needs of others. (Galatians 6:2)
Understands the awesome responsibility of a husband to his wife, (Eph. 5:25-31)
Humble; enough to be a disciple [teachable] and be able to disciple others. (Matt. 28:19-20) Man of prayer; he knows that the key to success is his private time with God. (Col. 4:2) Family man; he desires to have children, and raise them properly for God's glory. (Prov. 22:6)
He must love God above all else! (Even me)
I'm not out to find a short-term relationship, where I can have the closeness of a man. I'm content with waiting for a leader, someone I can follow, someone that I can be a help meet too. I'm not looking for someone that will fill my emotional needs here and there, but someone who can be used in my life as a sanctification tool. Someone that I could walk alongside that would walk alongside me. I'm praying for a husband. I'm asking the Lord to send me someone who fears the Lord greatly. A man that has a vision, a mission. Not a man that is perfect. But a man who fears the Lord.
That that is what I'm looking for.
Emotions are weird, and emotions are hard to deal with. I was convicted while singing the song "How He Loves", that, I don't always believe what it says. . . if I did, I think I would be living my life a lot differently. The truth is, that on a daily basis I don't live a life that says "I believe there is a God, and I believe HE loves me" how much different would our lives look. . . How much differently would MY life look, if I LIVED like a child who is loved by the most wonderful and supremely awesome Father. . .!? Instead, I live my life based on how I feel about myself. . .and truth to be honest; I dont love myself very much. . . AND I'm not good at loving myself when I try. Other people aren't good at loving me either, and I'm not good at loving other people. But what good is it to focus on those things? What more do I need than the Love of the Father? Truth, I shouldn't need anything more. . .
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He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions
Eclipsed by glory and I realize just how beautiful You are
