Recent Happenings..

Well, let me tell you people...
When you give your life to Jesus, you really don't have time or occasion for it to be boring! :)
A few of the things that have happened to me, as of late:


- I donated plasma. 
  Probably you either think that's really weird, really gross, or 
  really cool. Let me tell you, I was quite terrified. I had a few
  main reasons for doing it:
      1) My friend Meganne is getting married in March (woohoo! 
         :D), and she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids! So I 
         want to raise money to pay for the dress.
      2) I have a significantly large amount of debt from student 
         loans, and I figured out that with the amount I pay
         toward them every month, I'm covering interest and paying
         very little toward the principle. Super Lame! So I want 
         to try to put more toward that each month. :) 
      3) I am *terrified* of needles and have had bad experiences 
         with giving blood. So I have decided to conquer that
         fear! :)
      4) I'll be saving lives, of course! :)
  
  Well, let me tell you. It was really weird. Without getting too 
  graphic, I'll just make you aware that it is not very much like 
  giving blood at all. It's much more intense. 

My poor arm... this was after I took off the bandage. 

It's much better now :)

- I attended Love Feast! 

  Love Feast is the base's version of a family Thanksgiving 

  dinner. It's a really nice meal that we get dressed up for and 

  look forward to every year. This year everything was gorgeous, 

  and we had prime rib! :)

Fancy for the Feast! :)

My dear friends, Meg and Angie...love these girls! :)

Me and Meganne! :)

- I cut my hair.

  Yes. I personally cut it. It was quite awful. Like, I couldn't 

  even bring myself to take a picture of it because it was that 

  embarrassing. 

  But! Caitlin fixed it, because she's a hair genius! :)

  So here's what it looks like:

- Praying about going to Korea. 

  Our department leader asked me and Kathryn (the girl I work 

  with) to pray about going to Korea for two weeks to teach an SST

  camp! :) I am so freaking excited! I'm still praying, because it

  would mean I need to raise $1500 on top of my monthly support to

  pay for the trip. Please be praying with me! :)

So thankful today for who God is! 

He is my provider, my portion, my friend... and His joy is my strength! :)

Love!

Justine

The Call - Detroit 11.11.11

(written 11.16.11)


Wow. Just wow.
This was seriously one of the most spiritually-stretching things I have ever participated in! We were all gathered together at Ford Field to fast and pray for 24 hours for the city of Detroit and the United States. For 24 hours.
Now, I love Jesus. And I love prayer. I can fast. I can go without sleep for awhile. But I have never put all of those things together for 24 hours straight.
Basically, the three things I dislike a lot in life are: 1) being hungry and not being able to eat 2) being tired and not being able to sleep 3) being cold and not being able to do anything about it.
So there we were at Ford Field. Fasting. Praying for 24 hours. In Detroit in November.
So this was definitely not a fun little rally event. It was intense.
The longest worship service I can ever remember being at was three hours long. So after about four hours, I could feel myself tuning out. I went to sit down and observe, and the guy on the stage yells out, "come on people, get to your feet! We're gonna keep praising the Lord!"
It was at that point that I realized that I had never been in a situation where I had really pushed past myself to worship God. I had never been in an uncomfortable situation like that where everything in my physical body wanted to lay down and sleep, and I had to make the choice to turn my affection toward the one who is worthy.
It was a battle every 4 hours or so. You really don't realize how long 24 hours is until you try to do the same thing for that long... :)
But! The reward was so great!
A big focus in prayer was racial reconciliation. We had groups from the prominent ethnicities in Detroit leading in worship and prayer... Even native Americans! It was really awesome.
But the coolest part, and the most healing, was when the different leaders from those groups began asking the leaders of the other ethnicities for forgiveness on behalf of their race, for things that other races had suffered at the hands of their ancestors. So much openness and brokenness and humility!! It was the most awesome thing I have ever witnessed!! God's people walking through healing broken relationships and restoring unity in the Body of Christ. Walking out forgiveness and restoration like that in every level is the only way we are going to see revival in the United States. Those 3 or 4 hours alone were worth all the fasting and being cold and tired. :)
I have to admit though, that I wasn't able to fast for the whole time. Because I was drinking water without eating, I had to pee a lot. And if you've ever been to Ford Field, you know that from the ground floor to the bathrooms, there are at least 100 stairs. After the 12th time up and down, it was like 9am, and I almost passed out at the top of the stairs. So I ate a hotdog for breakfast :) And at one point before that, I woke up after an hour of sleeping, and the last thing I could remember was setting down my purse... :) but hey! I pushed myself, and God knows my heart :)
On top of all of this, we were sleeping at a church, and I was responsible for feeding 75 other people the day before the event. So the weekend, in its entirety, was quite a learning experience and a growth opportunity for me :)
And today, I am praising God for a day off! :)


Love!
Justine

Ready to head out for The Call! Jake, Seth and Me :)

 Me and Jake, waiting for the whole group to make it past security

The Body of Christ, interceding for Detroit!

 Getting tired and hungry...

 You can't tell from this pic, but there's a huge group of people up around the stage worshipping together in the morning. :)

It's been too long!

I am sorry for the recent radio silence :)


Wow. There is so much I could say, but I don't want to write a book... :)


My little sister is married and has moved to Arkansas. Please be praying for her and her new life, and that God continues to pursue her heart. :)


I have been learning so much about working with people lately. I know that God put me here very specifically and with people who are very different that I am. And sometimes that is really difficult. 
But the best way that I've learned to handle it is to pray a lot, laugh a lot, and bite my tongue a lot. :) AND, most importantly, to remember that I am also difficult to work with sometimes. So remembering to have grace for people and doing my best to be loving. :)


A few fun things on the schedule:
- i just got back from a sleepover with my small group girls! We had so much fun :)


- I will be headed to Detroit on Wednesday for The Call 11/11/11! It's a fasting and praying event for the United States.


- Thanksgiving Love Feast is two weekends away. :) It's the base's version of Thanksgiving, as a YWAM family.


-I'll be going home for Christmas!!! :) I'm really looking forward to hanging out with my family. I miss them a lot...


That's just a quick update... sorry for such a long time between posts!


Love!


Justine