.wade in the water.

So I am in desperate need of some sleep, but I am still running off of the adrenaline I have built up today and have decided to do a quick debrief.

Today I got to witness something that I will never forget. This morning at Elevation Church University campus, we got to see over 200 people get baptized! All of the prep work that we did made the day amazing to know that God used us to prepare the path for those He was calling to proclaim the freedom and change He brought to their life. There was no where else I wanted to be today and I know that God had me there for a reason. Here are three short stories that I have to share because they are so amazing!

First is the story of Kate. Kate has been coming to Elevation for a while now and has loved every single minute of it. I met her last week at the Connections tent where I was signing her up to start becoming a volunteer and her excitement for what God is doing at Elevation brought tears of happiness and thanksgiving to her eyes (which of course caused me to do the same thing too). I was able to encourage her last week to keep coming and to get plugged in to the church. This week she got baptized! It was so awesome to see her excitement just well up within her again and I couldn’t help but give her a big hug once she stepped out of those waters!

Another lady I met was named Brooke. Brooke was waiting on her friend to change clothes to go get baptized and so I asked Brooke how long she had been coming to Elevation. She proceeded to inform me that it was her first time at Elevation and that she was so excited to get baptized. She may never know it, but she showed me what it means to have absolute faith in God even when you are so far removed from your comfort zone! Lord knows I would not have had the guts to do what she did in a place with which I was so unfamiliar.

Finally, is the story that my team leader Jenn shared with us. She had recently gone in to a diner and met a lady and began listening to her story. Jenn found out that the lady’s marriage was quickly unraveling and that she was so unsure of the future. Jenn led the lady to Christ in the diner and then invited her to Elevation. Sure enough she came and then she brought her kids with her. Today her husband got baptized and Jenn said that it is just the first step in what she knows will become a restored marriage. Praise God that He is still the only one who creates that life change in us that makes an everlasting impact.

If you are in the Charlotte area, get to Elevation Church next weekend! If you are not in the area, find a way to get here! And if that doesn’t work out, find a way to watch it online.

God is not through with the city of Charlotte and He is not through with breaking the chains of bondage just yet. Praise God that we get to share, even if just a brief moment, in the life stories of those who are being raised to life in Christ. Praise God that we serve a great God who can do all things yet still desires to use us. Praise God for all of those across the eight campuses of Elevation Church who got baptized today. Praise God for those who said it is my turn to wade in the water. Praise God!

.first day of school (yet again!).

Today was my orientation for grad school and it was an all day event! Unlike undergrad where my parents came with me and a big hug goodbye was scheduled for exactly 5:00 pm, this was all about opportunities to begin to network with high end professionals. Unfortunately I have not had a lot of practice with this and it can become very intimidating at times. I spoke with partners from large, international CPA firms. I had small talk with those from medium to small sized firms. I had wonderful conversations with alumni and professors and I met some interesting classmates. The whole day was used to explain to us how in a few weeks we will be interviewing with large companies and participating in networking socials where we will meet more professionals. See how this gets overwhelming?

And amidst this setting of egos and accomplishments, God taught me something. While I was listening to panel after panel of others talking about where they are working and what they had to do to get to where they are, I was beginning to feel insignificant. I began to feel extremely small sitting there and realizing that I do not have my career goals set out to a T. I was having an internal battle, as I seem to often struggle with, of whether I go after the big jobs to be able to get nice things and recognition or if this stuff doesn’t really matter. And then I remembered that I was being so hard on myself.

It doesn’t matter whether I decide to become a CPA or not. It doesn’t matter that I have a high paying job or not. It doesn’t even matter if I do the MAcc program or not (don’t worry, I am definitely going to stick with school!). Being in this career field is competitive and, at times, quite cutthroat. And if you want to make a big name for yourself, the opportunity is there. But listening to panel after panel, I began to realize that those people find their identity in their work.

This breaks my heart. To realize that someone finds all of their worth in their paycheck and their accomplishments makes you sad for that individual.

If I become a CPA or not, God will still love me. If I go into public accounting or not, God will still be proud of me. The world is cruel at times, but I am beyond blessed to know that my identity is not found in what I do on this earth; my identity is found in the fact that I am a daughter of the King of the universe who gave His son for me to spend eternity with Him. This is the truth that I will hold on to while I am feeling overwhelmed by being surrounded by people who hold powerful positions in the business community. This is what will help me to keep my head up high when I feel like I am just a nobody.

God is so good to us and He has given me this opportunity to be where I am during this season of life for a reason. It is going to be tough and it is going to be different, but with God on my side I know that it is doable. Who would have thought a year ago that come Monday afternoon, I would be saying hello to the start of another school year yet again…

.surprise ending.

I love surprises! I am all about surprise parties, surprise gifts, and surprise anything really. Yet sometimes surprises are brought to light under the title of bad news. Yesterday our entire team at work found out that in eight months our job will no longer be in existence. It was a surprise to all of us and not the best kind.

I have been wrestling with this every minute since I have found out. News like this brings a lot of questions that can haunt you if you allow them. Yet, in the midst of this I have clung to one thing: God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.

God doesn’t get surprised when we encounter bad news. I have come to see that when a disruption comes in our lives whether it is life changing or just upsetting, it is an opportunity God gives us to trust in Him more.

More. This is what our campus pastor talked about last night at our leaders meeting and it couldn’t have been at a better time. If Jesus is already your savior, then God has you and will never leave you. But we so often try to keep part of ourselves from God while the whole time He is only asking for more of us. More of our affection, more of our time, more of our trust.

Life is tough at times. Bad news is inevitable. But this I know for sure: God is still God and God is still good no matter what the world throws at me. He holds my life in His hands and I don’t have to worry. I may not know what is going to happen over the next eight months, or eight years for that matter, but I know that my God is bigger than my circumstances. How humbling the thought that God loves us enough to not make us do life alone. May we never forget that with God on our side, nothing this world throws at us is impossible to overcome.

When a surprise comes, whether good or bad, remember that God is not surprised and it is an opportunity to trust in Him a little bit more.