The title for my blog comes from Romans 11:36 regarding Jesus, "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen."
Tony and Mrs Kimberly Thank you so much for your faithful servanthood and your investment in FBC Biloxi. You have both touched my life in so many ways without realizing it. Tony, you challenged us to write down the ways we impacted others this summer. I'm not usually very good at "challenges" but this one seemed unbelievably relevant to the things occuring at the time, so I decided to try. I just graduated high school, and I've been thinking about the older girls who have helped me and molded me in the past, and I've always hoped to have that same influence on girls younger than I am. This summer I tried to commit to spend as much time as I could with the younger girls of the youth group. I used to be really good at reaching out and encouraging, but Senior year got hectic, and I started focusing more on myself than on others. Your challenge really helped me to open up and step out of my bubble, and I really started reaching out. I got to the point recently, however, where I couln't see any "fruits" and I started to think it was too late for me to be an influence, and I had wasted senior year. I started to pray that God would show me something to encourage me, and that encouragement came at camp. During one of our church group sessions, we were numbered off and split into groups and told to go around the circle and tell each person something encouraging. Carey Gunn, soon to be a junior, told me that for years she had been watching me and she appreciated how I had invested in her life and encouraged her. She told me that I was her role model... ME?? I had no idea! Another girl in the group, Kim, who is new to the church told me that one of the reasons she really connected to our youth group was because she saw authentic worship and real faith from people like me. She told me that I had impacted her from the stage every week during worship, and I didn't have a clue! When we got our cell phones back on the way home from FUGE I got a text from my friend Krista, who i have been praying for for years, saying she had been convicted at a camp in NC and wanted to change the way she's been living. She told me she needed accountability and support from a good Christian friend, and she told me she had been watching me and saw that I have been solid, and she wants my help in turning her life around. I know that none of these things are anywhere close to my doing, but it is so exciting to think that other can actually see my Savior, for some reason, is working through me. I've been blessed with an opportunity to go on a mission trip to New York City with my friend Kellie and help with Vacation Bible School at the Brooklyn Tabernacle in 3 weeks. My prayer now is that God will prepare me and allow me to impact others for His kingdom while there. Thank you for challenging me, and thank you for speaking God's truth this week. I learned so much, and I'm so excited to see what God is going to do this summer. In Christ's Love, Lindsey Bristol
1 comment:
Tony and Mrs Kimberly
Thank you so much for your faithful servanthood and your investment in FBC Biloxi. You have both touched my life in so many ways without realizing it.
Tony, you challenged us to write down the ways we impacted others this summer. I'm not usually very good at "challenges" but this one seemed unbelievably relevant to the things occuring at the time, so I decided to try.
I just graduated high school, and I've been thinking about the older girls who have helped me and molded me in the past, and I've always hoped to have that same influence on girls younger than I am. This summer I tried to commit to spend as much time as I could with the younger girls of the youth group. I used to be really good at reaching out and encouraging, but Senior year got hectic, and I started focusing more on myself than on others. Your challenge really helped me to open up and step out of my bubble, and I really started reaching out. I got to the point recently, however, where I couln't see any "fruits" and I started to think it was too late for me to be an influence, and I had wasted senior year. I started to pray that God would show me something to encourage me, and that encouragement came at camp. During one of our church group sessions, we were numbered off and split into groups and told to go around the circle and tell each person something encouraging. Carey Gunn, soon to be a junior, told me that for years she had been watching me and she appreciated how I had invested in her life and encouraged her. She told me that I was her role model... ME?? I had no idea! Another girl in the group, Kim, who is new to the church told me that one of the reasons she really connected to our youth group was because she saw authentic worship and real faith from people like me. She told me that I had impacted her from the stage every week during worship, and I didn't have a clue! When we got our cell phones back on the way home from FUGE I got a text from my friend Krista, who i have been praying for for years, saying she had been convicted at a camp in NC and wanted to change the way she's been living. She told me she needed accountability and support from a good Christian friend, and she told me she had been watching me and saw that I have been solid, and she wants my help in turning her life around. I know that none of these things are anywhere close to my doing, but it is so exciting to think that other can actually see my Savior, for some reason, is working through me. I've been blessed with an opportunity to go on a mission trip to New York City with my friend Kellie and help with Vacation Bible School at the Brooklyn Tabernacle in 3 weeks. My prayer now is that God will prepare me and allow me to impact others for His kingdom while there.
Thank you for challenging me, and thank you for speaking God's truth this week. I learned so much, and I'm so excited to see what God is going to do this summer.
In Christ's Love,
Lindsey Bristol
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