Friends on the Move
Change of plans! Instead of featuring :Friends on the Move blog posts, I will post links for family and friends on the side bar of this blog. That way you can check them out and help make their businesses successful at your convenience!
November December Newsletter
** Click on photos to enlarge so you can read! Click again to utilize magnifying glass feature to zoom in. * Note* This is merely an image of my monthly newsletter. To join the newsletter listserve, simply email allison.gortney@gmail.com **
Kate & Lauren to South Africa... TODAY!!
Today is VERY exciting day!! Two of our prized students and recent grads, Lauren Smelley and Kate Balducci, are boarding a plane today to begin a one year STINT with Crusade in South Africa! The support raising process has been a huge test of their faith, as usual, but God has definitely provided and they are off!
Thank you so much for those of you who were a part of helping to make this possible. I can tell you in complete sincerity that these are two incredible girls who are going to make a huge impact in Durban.
Congrats you two! We are SO proud of you and cannot WAIT to hear back from you as soon as possible!
Lauren's Blog: Salt of the Earth http://laurensmelley.blogspot.com/
Kate's Blog: It only takes a Spark http://katebalducci.blogspot.com/
Christie on our staff always says "If you aim for nothing you'll hit it every time." Sooo......
2011 New Years Resolutions:
1. Make prayer a top priority in my life
( Currently reading Treasury of Prayer by E.M Bounds. SO good! Be looking for lots of quotes from that!)
Prayers of the Saints
he potency of prayer hath subdued the strength of fire; it hath bridled the rage of lions, hushed the anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged diseases, repelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in it’s course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. Prayer is an all-efficient panoply, a treasure u.n.d.i.m.i.n.i.s.h.e.d, a mine which is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings. { Chrysostom}
______________________
Throughout the next month, it is my deepest desire to grow in my understanding and practice of prayer. I'll take all the advice I can get.
My Friends on the Move: Peach State Pride
I've realized for a while now that I'm only at Alabama because of the love and support of my friends, family, & even strangers. So! It's time to do something about it!
It's time to start putting a good word in for my sweet friends who too are on a mission to make their dreams come true. Under the title "My friends on the Move," I'd love to start featuring people I'd love for you to check out. Below is the first of many. Enjoy!
The website just launched this week at http://www.peachstatepride.com/index.html Go check it out and help support his new business!
October Newsletter
** Click on photos to enlarge so you can read! Click again to utilize magnifying glass feature to zoom in. * Note* This is merely an image of my monthly newsletter. To join the newsletter listserve, simply email allison.gortney@gmail.com **
Obedience isn't a Curse Word
For months I've wished I had the perfect words to communicate to those of my students who identify themselves as followers of Christ. I desperately ache for a way to relay the seriousness and urgency with which they should discern Christ's call on their lives and want, more than anything, for them to feel encouraged as they battle their flesh each day. Thus far in my search for such words, I believe the following quotes best represent my sentiments:
" We must learn this lesson again today. There can be no dillydallying around with the commands of Christ. We are engaged in warfare, the issues of which are life and death, and everyday we are indifferent to our responsibilities is a day lost to the cause of Christ. If we have learned even the most elemental truth of discipleship, we must know that we are called to be servants of our Lord and to obey His Word. It is not our duty to reason why he speaks as he does, but only to carry out his orders." - R.E. Coleman, Master Plan of Evangelism
"What if I lived like I had an enemy bigger than my apathy?" - Mumford and Sons, White Blank Page
"True Christianity is a fight. The true Christian is called to be a soldier and must behave as such from the day of his conversion to the day of his death...We may take comfort about our souls if we know anything of an inward fight and conflict. It is the invariable companion of genuine Christian holiness..Are we conscious of two principles within us, contending for the mastery? Do we feel anything of war in our inward man? Well let us thank God for it! It is a good sign... The child of God has two great marks about him...He may be known by his inward warfare as well as his inward peace." - John Charles Ryle, Holiness
"Do not be surprised at the struggle with indwelling sin in your life, but see it as a sign of spiritual life. A church that does not understand this will not persevere in living under grace, in harmony. They will revert to a divisive reliance on human initiative and merit,letting some kind of external laws supplement the perceived insufficiency of the grace of God. " - Christopher Ash, Teaching Romans
"I grasp they strength,make it mine own, my heart with peace is blest;
I lose my hold and then comes down, Darkness, and cold unrest.
Let me no more my comfort draw, from my frail hold of thee,
In this alone rejoice with awe, They mighty grasp of me. " - John Newton
Tarilyn's Testimony In Progress
THIS is Tarilyn Stokes. In August, she had absolutely no idea about any religions in the world and now we get together each week to read through John. Every week I ask her if she would like to accept Jesus into her heart and life but so far, she keeps telling me she's not ready. Yet, she wants to read and learn more each weeK. The Holy Spirit IS working in her! Just on his own time!
Enjoy this video and stick around until the end of it. She has an important message for you!
Already Praying for Next Year?!?
Please Pray For:
Hesitations About Joining Staff
-HUGE doubts about raising support again next fall!
1. I worry that I'll be 'bothering' supporters by asking them to stay on my team. I NEED to remember that this is an OPPORTUNITY for supporters!
2. I have loans and bills to pay and so if support raising takes a long time, I have no income to pay them for a while. ( a 'regular' job might enable me to get all of that weight off my shoulders and really start to pay off loans big time)
- I often wonder if I'm even good at this job! I feel like the most awkward person ever!
-I seriously wonder if I'll ever be able to find a solid social life here even if I stay 2 years
- I really don't like living this far away from Tina and the baby
-2 years.... is that a long commitment?
- Learning this biz is a slow, often frustrating process.
- I miss working with kids a lot. Will this come later? College now? Or should I find a job with kids?
-Is this this best time to be traveling with ministry? Should I be taking advantage of that?
- Going on STINT (overseas) with Crusade would probably be unwise until I gain a solid foundation of ministry here in the states.
Reasons I'd LOVE to join staff!
- I love the way support raising (MPD) makes me trust God
-I LOVE how MPD allows me to team up with Christians through finances and prayer across the country!
-I LOVE my staff and know they're sticking around for a few more years
- I love the flexibility of my schedule
- Although I often question if living on support is lazy, I know VERY well that I work my butt off and am anything but lazy
- I'd love to see the students I'm working with grow throughout a few years
- I'm finally used to Tuscaloosa! It's finally comfortable!
- My staff values my personal growth so that I can be a better leader
- I love the church I've connected with here, Trinity, and want to become more involved
- I'd get to spend a summer in Colorado studying theology for staff training!!
- I'd have the opportunity to really really learn this job and skills from my staff well
- Most everything with this job lines up with what I love
"Fall"ing in Love with New Students!
Ok... so the title's a little cheesy BUT here's a reflection on Fall Retreat 2k10!
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven- Matthew 6:10
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven- Matthew 6:10
An Off Day
Some days (and by some days I mean most days) I feel like I should know what I'm doing in this job. I should know all of the answers. I shouldn't get frustrated. I should understand grace. I've been a Christian for most of my life and have always (pridefully) considered myself somewhat of a professional at it. And yet, the Lord is in the business of humility. Praise God for the awkwardness that surrounds my daily conversations with college girls. Praise God for the perseverance He gives my eager heart and messy words as they attempt over and over again to make some sort of sense out of His Truth to the twenty-somethings in front of me. Praise God for a soul that thrives on creativity- a personality that enables me to express my lingering thoughts through weighty prose. And, as usual, praise God for rain, in whatever form it may be......
My feet are sinking into earthand mud is rising to my knees.Wading in the dirt and rain,a little farther day by day by day. Trudging left, right, left, in awkward forward motion, learning how to trust the ground below… when caverns threaten submerged feet…and I fear the depths my next steps may find. It’s hard to know what grace looks likewith each slosh of suctioned stride The sludge spits 5 feet highFrom my soles a cyclical motion of frustrated resistance.Pry. Splatter. Motion. Decend. Splatter. Repeat.It’s in my eyelashes…in my hair… I am marked by the murky rains of unsteady foot. But dear Campbell, dear, like I child I returnAnd back again for the morning gleam. It seems that to trust the ground below…Is finding strength in patience yieldwhen balance fails and muddy streams meander fleshEyes fixed forward in piercing compel for the journey is worth eternity.
September Newsletter
** Click on photos to enlarge so you can read! Click again to utilize magnifying glass feature to zoom in. * Note* This is merely an image of my monthly newsletter. To join the newsletter listserve, simply email allison.gortney@gmail.com **
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