Heaven and Earth will pass away...

This last week I have been re-doing my bedroom. My parents have decided to convert my bedroom into a guest room after I leave (hmm...what are they trying to tell me??) Therefore I had to transform MY bedroom into a room that would appeal to guests. If any of you have been in my room recently you know what a challenge this task was.

At first I was overwhelmed. I was at a point where I forgot the color of my carpet because I hadn't seen it in so long. After I cleared some stuff out I then became sad and upset. I didn't want to take my pictures down, paint the mismatched walls, get rid of a lot of stuff I've accumulated and peel the glow-in-the-dark stars off the ceiling. I felt that by doing this my room would lose the "Nicki" touch that I've worked so hard to create.

The last 2 things to come down before the paint job were the glow-in-the-dark stars from my ceiling and my world map. It actually took a few days before I could bring myself to take them down and even then the stars came down over the course of a few days. It was too much, emotionally, to do all at once. It's pretty silly, I know. Everything else had come down in stages throughout the year and was either sold, given away, or a few things have been stored for safe keeping awaiting my return (I can't get rid of everything!)

As I was removing the stars and pulling the map off my wall Matthew 24:35 kept popping into my head: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." I found comfort in this verse and the sadness quickly vanished. It's true. What am I living for? The material possessions I've accumulated are not what matters - they will pass with this world. Changing my room doesn't change who I am. It doesn't change my identity or the fact that I'm a child of God. My heart should not be torn up about what my room looks like, how it's decorated, or what possessions I have in it. There are too many other things in this world for my heart to be torn over.

100% X 2

I am 100% funded for my two year term in Albania! Even better than that, Katie is 100% funded as well. God is awesome!

We are both funded, the plane tickets are booked, and will depart together. And when I say together I literally mean together. Mark your calendars... Katie will be visiting Buffalo before we fly out together on Monday, July, 11. Find out how you can meet her below. 

Mind-blowing

God blows my mind. The depth of His love. The complex ways in which He works. I can't even begin to comprehend a fraction of it. God is God. He is big and powerful- this is something that I've grown up knowing and believing. But in the last few weeks He has revealed to me some new ways of how incredibly huge and loving He is:

• English is my heart language. I know it, I can speak it, I understand it.... most of the time at least. I took Spanish for 8 years. I can speak it a little, and understand it a little more. Currently I'm learning Albanian. I'm getting better day by day, but thoughts are usually a mix of Albanian, Spanish and English. I can speak a few sentences and can just barely understand a few additional sentences. So that's three languages that I'm semi-familiar with. I'd say that's about average. In America, it might be a little above average; around the world, it might be a little below average. Here's the point I'm trying to get at though: God doesn't just speak or understand one language. He is gazillion-lingual. Every single language that is, or ever was, is God's heart language. He hears it. He understands it. He speaks it. He knows it.

• I am amazed at the ways God is at work in my life. Every single day He's up to something. Sometimes it's weeks or months before I can identify ways He's working but that doesn't mean He's not at work. Other times it's minute by minute, I can just see His work unfold in front of my eyes. I love it. It keeps me on my toes. It makes me feel special that God is working in my life. It's so hard for me to believe that I'm not the only one! Perhaps that last sentence is a tad narcissistic, but sadly it's true. The incredible detail and complex intertwining of life events is not just happening in my life. He's constantly at work in the lives of every person. Every single day! WOW!

• I think of my life and the people in my life. I can't think of one person who has been with me every single day of my life. But God is. He has always been and always will be. He is the same God yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews. 13:8). The same God that was there in the garden with Adam and Eve, or on the Ark with Noah, walking with Jesus, is the same God that I have a personal relationship with. I have a personal relationship with the same God that Eve knew. This is unbelievable to me.

• I've done a fair share of traveling. I've been to some really cool places in this world. A variety of continents, landscapes, climates, landmarks, etc. Everything that my eyes have seen, (or any mans eyes have seen) so have Gods. God created it ALL. He knows every nook and cranny. He knows all of the popular destinations and all of the secret hiding places in the WORLD! And it's not just places here on earth that man can see or physically travel to. He been down to the deepest depth of the ocean. He knows every inch of the galaxy. No matter how hard I try, I will never be able to out travel God.

God is bigger than anything I can imagine. Ever. These few thoughts that I composed here are by no means an all inclusive list of how BIG God is. I take confidence in knowing whatever will happen in my life God can handle it!