Life Recap: God is Still Faithful.

Well, it's that time again :) 

A friend of mine from Calvary reminded me today that it was high time to write another entry on this blog! If only I blogged as much as I journaled.... Oh wait. Nobody would care to read that much about Stephanie. Trust me. It's probably a good thing I don't get on here too often ;)

So, life update: It's now 2013!! I have officially finished my first semester of "real" college, and I can honestly say I loved every single moment of it. It amazes me just how GOOD God is to me! He has brought me to the closest place on earth to heaven, complete with the truest and most genuine friends. I have 150 new family members- even if I did just meet them four months ago, they have become brothers and sisters to me (and a couple "moms" and "grandmas" too (; ). 

Looking back to where I was a year ago (quick recap: frantically visiting all the universities within an hour of my house, completely unsure of the future as a whole, but leaning towards an education degree at a secular university), all I can see is God's faithfulness. A year ago today, God burdened my heart to go to a Bible College. In His perfect sovereign plan, He used a friend of mine to light the fire in my heart and remind me that God has called me to live my life completely for Him. I do feel called to full-time ministry, but somehow that got foggy in my mind. Praise the Lord that He got a hold of my heart again and brought me exactly where I needed to be.

Following God's leading was the number one reason for choosing Calvary, but besides that, I loved Calvary because it was close to home and because it offered a degree in Elementary Education. Funny how God works, because through my first semester those two reasons became mostly irrelevant! Being close to home, while an awesome joy to be near family and stay connected in my home church, was actually the hardest part of adjustment. Learning how to balance living a completely new life in a new setting, AND still trying to maintain the life and friendships that I have known my whole life proved to be hard, but not impossible. More importantly, I had to learn to give all of me, regardless of where I was, and not give into the temptation of self-pity. 

Similarly, God changed my heart yet again and reminded me that my life has been set apart for Him and His service. About half-way through the semester, I sensed God's leading in my life away from education. There were a number of factors that went into it, but the bottom line came down to the fact that ministry for me is not a "side job." It's my life. And while there are plenty of opportunities to minister being a teacher, that's not the area I feel called to. God placed it on my heart to switch majors in order to be fully devoted to the kind of ministry He has called me to. So I am overflowing with joy to be a Biblical Counseling major now, ready to learn how to better use the Truth of God's Word to impact others for Christ. That really is my heart's desire and life goal- and I get to study it in college for the next five semesters!

God is so faithful to me, and that fact alone challenges me everyday to remain faithful to Him. Relationships are always two-way, and I often do not fulfill my part. My prayer for this upcoming semester and year is that I would earnestly seek God with my whole heart and that everyday I would wake up, ready to kill the flesh with it's pride and complacency, and truly live out the life to a committed follower of Christ.