With just a little over a week left in Hawaii, I'm reflecting on how I've changed in two short months and what those changes are going to look like when I get back to the mainland. More than anything, I feel like God has softened my heart. He has shown me that if I put all my trust and hope in Him, and if I rely fully on Him for everything, then other people can't fail me. In this way, I'd like to think, that I have become a little more understanding towards the general population. I see that we are all hurting in some way or another, and I believe now more than ever that the only cure for our lost and lonely hearts is Jesus Christ. I'm not afraid to say that because I know that it's true. I know that nothing I may come across in this life will ever compare with the fact that I am loved by a God who, from the beginning, set in motion a plan to reveal that love to me and draw me to Himself.
I know that I am blessed beyond belief with the family, friends, and resources that I have. I'm not saying that I'll never take these things for granted again, but I do realize and truly appreciate their value. My heart has been in rehab for two months, I feel like. I am still selfish and vain beyond belief, but God's goodness is bigger than my wickedness. This summer has taught me to trust in the goodness of God and not worry so much about my own shortcomings, not just in a spiritual aspect, but in my attitude, how much money I have, and the way I look as well. As I go back to Texas, I hope that the impact God has made on my heart this summer will have a rippling effect on everyone I come into contact with. Until then, I'm soaking up these last few days and thanking God for every blessing He has put in my life that has served to draw me closer to Him. What an amazingly thoughtful and precise God I serve!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride
The past three weeks that I haven't spent blogging have been an unbelievable time spent taking part in the workings of God! It has been truly amazing to see how God is faithful when we truly seek Him. Today summer fun and our 4th-6th grade bible studies officially ended. It still hasn't hit me that it's all coming to an end, but today as I watched my favorite little waimanalo girls run off to the church van to go home, I realized how much I'm going to miss it here. It's not just the beauty of the island or the hospitality of the people anymore...now more than anything I'm going to miss the children and families that I have come to love.
I have decided that I am going to return to UT in the Fall, and I'm trusting that God will take care of all the worries that made me question that in the first place. I'm looking forward to going back to Texas and starting a new school year. I want to thank everyone who has prayed for summer fun, Hawaii Kai, and for me and my school stuff. I could not have gotten through any of it without your prayer. I head home in two weeks, and I can't wait to see everyone! Until then, I'll continue to try and post good stories and pictures of my final days here. Thanks again and love!
I have decided that I am going to return to UT in the Fall, and I'm trusting that God will take care of all the worries that made me question that in the first place. I'm looking forward to going back to Texas and starting a new school year. I want to thank everyone who has prayed for summer fun, Hawaii Kai, and for me and my school stuff. I could not have gotten through any of it without your prayer. I head home in two weeks, and I can't wait to see everyone! Until then, I'll continue to try and post good stories and pictures of my final days here. Thanks again and love!
Monday, July 4, 2011
A process of change...
To begin this post I would just like to say...WOW! So many things have happened this past week that I don't know exactly where to begin. I guess I'll start by saying that our first week of summer fun with the 4th-6th graders was great! The kids were wonderful and really absorbed the truth that was presented to them. The bible study was the favorite part of the day for many of them which is really cool, I think. The theme of summer fun this year was the big redemption story. We took the kids through the story of creation, the fall of man, Abraham and Isaac, Moses and the passover, and we ended with Jesus. Through these stories our goal was to show how God's plan from the beginning was to have a perfect relationship of friendship with us and that everything He has done has pointed to Jesus. It was so cool to see the faces of the kids who got this! Their eyes lit up and they couldn't hide their joy as they realized just big and wonderful our God is and how perfect His plans are.
This past week was a joyful one, but it has also brought me face to face with some tough personal decisions. After recieving my financial aid information and tuition bill for college this semester, I'm having to reevaluate if UT is the place I need to be. Also, the Lord has been placing on my heart a desire to switch my major from journalism to education. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I am trying hard to pray through the decision to transfer schools and completely change my major. I'm not gonna lie, I am feeling rather stressed over all of this...mostly because I don't want to go through the process of changing anything. However, I really feel like I could do more with an education degree than with journalism, and UT is putting a lot of unnecessary financial stress on me. I'm still working through what this next year will look like for me, so please pray that God will direct me and relieve me of all the tough decisions burdening my heart. Pray that He will open the right doors and shut the wrong ones. I know God is faithful no matter where He leads us in life! Keep praying everyone! Thanks and love.
This past week was a joyful one, but it has also brought me face to face with some tough personal decisions. After recieving my financial aid information and tuition bill for college this semester, I'm having to reevaluate if UT is the place I need to be. Also, the Lord has been placing on my heart a desire to switch my major from journalism to education. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I am trying hard to pray through the decision to transfer schools and completely change my major. I'm not gonna lie, I am feeling rather stressed over all of this...mostly because I don't want to go through the process of changing anything. However, I really feel like I could do more with an education degree than with journalism, and UT is putting a lot of unnecessary financial stress on me. I'm still working through what this next year will look like for me, so please pray that God will direct me and relieve me of all the tough decisions burdening my heart. Pray that He will open the right doors and shut the wrong ones. I know God is faithful no matter where He leads us in life! Keep praying everyone! Thanks and love.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
AH!!!
Wow! It has been a while since I've posted, and I apologize. I have been rather busy the past couple of weeks (and by rather I mean extremely). Last week Amy and I planned and lead our usual bible studies, but we were also trying to pull all the summer fun preparations together at the same time. We got all the curriculum done as well as schedules for each volunteer, supplies for each day, and we carried out the orientation of all our summer volunteers. So today (which was the first day of summer fun btw...) everything was ready to go! All the rotations ran fairly smoothly, and there were no injuries, praise God! I anticipate that tomorrow will be even better, and rather than making sure everyone gets where they need to be, maybe we can focus a little more on just having a fun time with the kids. We have an amazing prayer team at Hawaii Kai, but we could still use more prayers to help us get through the next three weeks. Thanks and love to you all!
-Layce
-Layce
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Way Deep Down In My Heart
I'm in a very joyous mood. The days seems to go by so fast, but everyday is such a great new adventure. I've only seen the kids in chapel every morning and as they pass by me throughout the day, but I love them all so much. Their smiles always make my day brighter, and when one of them calls out a greeting (silly as it may sound) I feel so special and important.
Today I worked on the 4th-6th grade girl's bible study with one of the youth girl's who just graduated. It was so cool to see how passionate she is about the Lord and sharing her heart with the pre-teen girls. Our topic this week is appearance and modesty. It was a tough lesson for me to write up because self-image has been a huge battle throughout my life. However, It was nice to spend time digging into the word and preparing to share the love and hope that can be found when we realize that our identity rests in Christ. In preparing today I was reading and really focusing on two scriptures that I often overlook:
"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, my soul knows it very well."
Psalm 139:13-14
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..."
Jeremiah 1:5
To me, these two verses are a reminder that 1) God took time to create me because I am precious and loved by Him. 2) Before I even had a body or any kind of physical attribute, God saw and knew my heart. My whole being is reaffirmed in so many ways by these scriptures. God knew my heart before the rest of me was put together. I think there is so much peace and love wrapped up in this, that just because we are not as pretty as someone else in our own eyes or the eyes of the world, it's our innermost beings that the Lord sees first and delights in most. More than anything, I want my heart to always be a reflection of God's perfect love and never-fading beauty.
"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious."
1 Peter 3:3&4
Today I worked on the 4th-6th grade girl's bible study with one of the youth girl's who just graduated. It was so cool to see how passionate she is about the Lord and sharing her heart with the pre-teen girls. Our topic this week is appearance and modesty. It was a tough lesson for me to write up because self-image has been a huge battle throughout my life. However, It was nice to spend time digging into the word and preparing to share the love and hope that can be found when we realize that our identity rests in Christ. In preparing today I was reading and really focusing on two scriptures that I often overlook:
"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, my soul knows it very well."
Psalm 139:13-14
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..."
Jeremiah 1:5
To me, these two verses are a reminder that 1) God took time to create me because I am precious and loved by Him. 2) Before I even had a body or any kind of physical attribute, God saw and knew my heart. My whole being is reaffirmed in so many ways by these scriptures. God knew my heart before the rest of me was put together. I think there is so much peace and love wrapped up in this, that just because we are not as pretty as someone else in our own eyes or the eyes of the world, it's our innermost beings that the Lord sees first and delights in most. More than anything, I want my heart to always be a reflection of God's perfect love and never-fading beauty.
"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious."
1 Peter 3:3&4
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Modge Podge
I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing day tomorrow. Hopefully that will also involve getting some much needed laundry done and spending the afternoon at the beach. Keep praying for the various ministries here at Hawaii Kai, please. I love you all. Thanks for all of the prayers and sweet words of encouragement!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
a light at the end of the tunnel
The list of things to get done for summer fun (that was written on the dry erase board in our "office") is almost completely finished! It's been a long week, but things are finally coming together and the hard work is beginning to pay off. Tomorrow night is our second week of the 4th-6th grade girl's bible study. Hopefully we will have an even better turn out than last week.
Last night Amy, Tyler and I went and had dinner at the home of one of the families from church. The day of the family was an extra on LOST. Since I spent every Monday night watching that show for six years, I of course was thrilled. They were very nice people (no surprise) who had amazing stories about how God has worked and is continuing to work in their lives.
Today I got to present one of the volunteers from church the material she will be using for a part of summer fun that she'll be leading. When I handed her the curriculum that some of the youth girls and I wrote, she began to tear up. It was such a sweet moment to experience her being so vulnerable and emotionally open with me as she shared her passion for the Lord.
Amy, Dani Beth, and I met with another lady from the church today who helped us plan out eight days worth of bible study material. She was amazing! Literally, for two days the three of us have either just sat and stared blankly at each other whenever this bible study came up or avoided it altogether, but as soon as this woman came through the door she was whipping out idea after idea. With that finished, we were finally able to take a little sigh of relief.
Dani Beth says that next week should be an easier one since we got everything done this week that we needed to. We still have a lot to do, but it'll be nice to at least do something a little different for a while. I'd appreciate for myself, Amy, and Dani Beth as we continue working together and get closer to June 27th (summer fun kick off day). We will have someone praying every minute of everyday of summer fun which is really cool, but I would still ask that you pray for that as well.
Interesting story of the week...
We were finally able to make it to the beach yesterday. When we got there, one of the girls that I'm living with decided to join us and bring the great dane she babysits. So while Amy and I are laying out at eternity beach, we look up and see this huge gray dog coming down the side of the hill. Now great danes I know are big, but this animal was massive! I have never seen a dog so big in my entire life! When he made it down to the beach, his legs were shaking terribly and he just stood rather awkwardly with his tail between his legs. It was funny to see that this monster dog was so afraid. He stayed right next to Daryn Leigh the whole time and looked totally out of place and uncomfortable, but he is such a sweetheart and sooo cute that you can't help but love him!
That's all I've got for today. Here are some pictures from this week.
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Last night Amy, Tyler and I went and had dinner at the home of one of the families from church. The day of the family was an extra on LOST. Since I spent every Monday night watching that show for six years, I of course was thrilled. They were very nice people (no surprise) who had amazing stories about how God has worked and is continuing to work in their lives.
Today I got to present one of the volunteers from church the material she will be using for a part of summer fun that she'll be leading. When I handed her the curriculum that some of the youth girls and I wrote, she began to tear up. It was such a sweet moment to experience her being so vulnerable and emotionally open with me as she shared her passion for the Lord.
Amy, Dani Beth, and I met with another lady from the church today who helped us plan out eight days worth of bible study material. She was amazing! Literally, for two days the three of us have either just sat and stared blankly at each other whenever this bible study came up or avoided it altogether, but as soon as this woman came through the door she was whipping out idea after idea. With that finished, we were finally able to take a little sigh of relief.
Dani Beth says that next week should be an easier one since we got everything done this week that we needed to. We still have a lot to do, but it'll be nice to at least do something a little different for a while. I'd appreciate for myself, Amy, and Dani Beth as we continue working together and get closer to June 27th (summer fun kick off day). We will have someone praying every minute of everyday of summer fun which is really cool, but I would still ask that you pray for that as well.
Interesting story of the week...
We were finally able to make it to the beach yesterday. When we got there, one of the girls that I'm living with decided to join us and bring the great dane she babysits. So while Amy and I are laying out at eternity beach, we look up and see this huge gray dog coming down the side of the hill. Now great danes I know are big, but this animal was massive! I have never seen a dog so big in my entire life! When he made it down to the beach, his legs were shaking terribly and he just stood rather awkwardly with his tail between his legs. It was funny to see that this monster dog was so afraid. He stayed right next to Daryn Leigh the whole time and looked totally out of place and uncomfortable, but he is such a sweetheart and sooo cute that you can't help but love him!
That's all I've got for today. Here are some pictures from this week.
Eternity beach
Daryn and Baron
lava tunnel
ocean
sand sculpture in Waikiki
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