It's All for My Good

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Romans 8:28

"You make all things work together for my good." -Your Love Never Fails by Jesus Culture Feat. Chris Quilala

God has been using this verse and this song the last two and a half weeks to reassure me that He has everything under control, and that whatever obstacles I face, I will come out better for the glory of God than when I was introduced to it.

God is in the process of transforming me with this idea.
I am being forced to look at my heart to see if I trust God enough to believe this.
I am having to decide if I believe this enough to live it.


I was once told "There are new depths to walk into.  Depths of God, who He is, His spirit.  But the deeper you go, the less you can take with you, surrendering everything."


I feel God is asking me to follow Him into these new depths, and He is asking me to surrender my expectations.  Expectations of what I think I need to do, of what I think my relationship with God needs to look like, of what I think my future needs to hold.  He is asking me to believe that He will make all things work together for my good, to believe that He will see me through to the end, and to believe that I can throw my back-up plans out the window.


This is absolutely terrifying.  But I have decided I believe that God makes all things work together for my good.  I have decided I believe it enough to start living it.


This is a new chapter in my life.  I don't know what it looks like yet, but I am excited to see where God takes me.

It Looks Like Rain

These are the nights I praise God most.

The breeze slowly starts working it's way to a howl,
there is just enough heat and humidity to break a sweat on a short walk,
and the clouds hang so low and dark you can smell the oncoming rain.

These are the signs of a nighttime thunderstorm.
Soon lightning will break across the sky,
branches will fall off trees,
and buildings will shake with thunder.

God takes nights like these to remind me what goodness He can bring from the turmoil of a thunderstorm.

That chilly rain washes away the dirt from the air and the heat from the sun the same way His presence washes the soot from my mind.  Rain bathes the day with a fresh beginning for tomorrow the same way God has made me new.  Rain gives the earth the opportunity to produce growth the same way God equips me and gives me opportunity to grow.

Even though while in the storm things look very ominous and the wind whipping the debris through the streets seems violent, the impressive part is what can happen as a result of the storm.

I Looked Crazy

Life update:

Still stressed out.

Still in school.

Still working at Perkins.

Still relying solely on God to provide (trying, anyway.  Some days I seem to think I can provide better than God).

I've been faced with many challenges these past few weeks.  It's been rough.  There were numerous times when it felt like Satan crushed me and there was nothing that could be done.  I have felt completely defeated.

I know, I should have told you sooner.  I wish I had so that you could have been praying with me, but my pride and stubbornness got in the way of me sharing this with you.  I apologize for not being completely honest about my struggles.

BUT

I have good news :)

Today started off like the past several days.  I woke up feeling like I had already lost, so why put forth any effort?  Satan overwhelmed me and drowned me in lies.

While I was at work, which tends to be the most taxing part of my days, Satan pushed me further into the lies.

And then God pulled me out of the gloom that I was engulfed in, and He said, "choose to be joyful."

I find this particularly funny because this is something my boyfriend says to me a lot.  I always pretended like I knew what it meant, but I really had no idea until tonight.

I know I looked absolutely ridiculous, but I started with a smile.  It was the cheesiest, most insincere smile I have ever worn, but I had to start somewhere.  So I started here:

I told you.  I looked crazy.  I actually look like one of those clowns from the horror movies.  Throw some extra makeup on my face and I might be chasing you in your nightmares.

Despite how crazy I looked, it worked.  The smile started becoming real instead of fake, and before I knew it I was singing, giving praises and thanks to God, and laughing.

Because today was the first time I have successfully chosen joy, I don't yet know the inner-workings of it, but as soon as I figure it out, I'll let you all know :)

Life update complete!

PS I am leading a college age mission trip this summer with Adventures in Missions, and would love for you to prayerfully consider supporting me in this ministry.  I am very excited for this trip, but I cannot do it without your help.  If you would like to know how to best support me, shoot me an email at kiersten.smith@hotmail.com and I can give you any info you are looking for and answer any questions you have.

The Importance of June 1st

June 1, 1933: Aviator Roger Williams announces plans to fly round trip across the Atlantic Ocean.

June 1, 1935: A compulsory driving test is introduced in England for all drivers.

June 1, 1938: Superman makes his first appearance in D.C. Comics.

June 1, 1967: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released.

June 1, 1979: Rhodesia ends the nearly 100 years of white minority rule and changes its name to Zimbabwe

June 1, 1980: CNN launches in Atlanta, GA. 

June 1, 1990: President George Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign an agreement to end production of chemical weapons.

June 1, 2005: Sweden shut down the Barseback 2 nuclear reactor.

June 1, 2010: Homer Simpson was named the best TV and Film character of the past 20 years.

June 1, 2012: Kiersten Smith meets her Passport summer mission team in Georgia.

I am leading a college age mission trip this summer (in 94 days!) with Adventures in Missions, the same organization I went to Uganda with.  The cost of my trip is $1500.  If you are interested in supporting me, you can email me at kiersten.smith@hotmail.com and I can answer any questions you have and let you know how to best support me.

Happy Presidents' Day!

Happy Presidents' Day!

I got you a present.

It's a new blog!

This is the "get to know Kiersten through pictures" blog.

This is the view outside my window.

It is February 20th.  I live in Minnesota.  There is no snow.  This is the kind of winter I don't mind.

This is my deaf puppy, Luna.

This is my old but adorable dog, Zoie.

I collect postcards.  This is about 3/4 of my current collection.

I love Harry Potter.

I am entertained by silly things.

I spent hours doing this...

I really like to color my hair.  I have had 18 different colors in my hair the past 21 years of my life.  Here are a few.

black and white

brown

black hair

blonde highlights

blonde on top, black on bottom

black and purple

black and red

black, pink and blonde

I'm kind of a nerd.

I know how to ice skate.  See?  I would blend in really well with Olympic figure skaters ('cause I'm in camouflage.  Get it? :P)

This is the day I learned how to swim and kayak.

I was a really cute baby!

I have rafted the Nile.

I am usually a zombie for Halloween.  I also double as Kurt Cobain most years (happy birthday today Kurt!).

This is my family.

Thanks for getting to know me!

p.s. I'm leading a college age mission trip this summer with Adventures in Missions.  It will be two months long, and if you're interested in supporting me and want to know how to do it, you can email me at kiersten.smith@hotmail.com

Round Two

To my dearest supporters, friends, family, and fans-

I have some very exciting news!  You know how I just spent three and a half months in Uganda?  Well, I now have the opportunity to spend two months in another country!

I will be going on another mission trip this summer, but I do not know where to yet, and it doesn't really matter.  The place doesn't matter this time because this time I am going as a leader, and my ministry is the students on the team.

The trip dates are June 1st to July 29th, but as a leader I will need to be at the training camp in Georgia (where we meet the team and do a briefing of what the trip might look like) a few days early and stay a few days late at debrief (where we say goodbye to the team and talk about what happened on the trip).  I personally will be spending some extra time before and after my trip in Georgia to visit some friends and my boyfriend.  I am not exactly sure of when I will be leaving or returning to Minnesota yet- there are some details that still need to be worked out.

I am super excited for the trip that I will be leading.  God has been giving me so much joy in my life as I follow Him in obedience, letting Him shape me and stretch me, and He has asked me to help lead others into the same freedom I have found in Him.  God has given me a strength that is not my own, and He wants me to use it for the Kingdom.  I have told God I will.

The trip will only cost $1500 this time because I am leading.  Even though the trip is less money now than my trip to Uganda was, I still have a huge financial burden to face.  I have bills that need paying, loans with interest, and large medical expenses that I will need to have paid off soon.  After all my visiting and traveling is said and I done, I will be away from home for approximately 3 months, which is three months in which I will have no income.  I am asking you to prayerfully consider helping me with the obvious expenses of the trip, and the hidden expenses of the trip that await for me here in the states.  If you are interested in supporting me, you can send me an email at: kiersten.smith@hotmail.com for information on how to best support me, or just give a quick call to talk to me.

I have no lack of need for prayer, either.  This is my prayer list while preparing for the trip taking place this summer:

-for God to put His hand in selecting the team I will be going onto the mission field with
-for God to give me wisdom and discernment in knowing how to approach leading the team
-for God to gift me with spiritual authority and strength
-for endless joy in my daily school-work-study life as I eagerly wait to go on a mission trip again
-for God to meet all my financial, physical, and spiritual needs

Thanks so much for everything you have already done in supporting me and helping me make sure I was taken care of!  I appreciate all contributions, prayers, and encouragement sent my way.  I will continue to keep you updated on how the Lord is moving in my life!

Kiersten
kiersten.smith@hotmail.com

Divine Provision

You all must have prayed really hard for God to provide and for me to trust Him to do that.  Well thank you.  They worked! :)

Yesterday, before I went to work, I posted "A Prayer Post" on asked for your prayers (it's still on here if you want to view it and continue to pray for me).  While I was driving to work I was praying so, so hard for it to get busy while I was serving so I could make lots of tips.  Wanna know what happened?

Within three minutes of me walking through the door we got busy.  I made over 2 times the amount of money I would have any other Tuesday.  Praise God!

But it gets better.

I had today off of work, and have still been kind of worried about my financial situation.  I was praying on my way to and from school that God would provide all that I need, and that I would know that what He does provide is all that I need (i.e. I don't need chocolate milk, candy, movies, etc.).  I asked Him again to just make sure I have all my financial needs met (right now my situation is looking pretty grim so I keep getting stuck on the money thing) and I got a phone call from a neighboring Perkins who was short a server tonight and was hoping I would be able to pick up the extra shift.  You best believe I took that wonderful gift from God!

Moral of the story:  I need to keep believing God will provide for me, knowing that He hears all of my prayers and knows all of my needs.

It would be phenomenal if you could keep praying for me.  The list is only one blog back!  And again, if there is anything I can be praying about for you, don't be afraid to let me know!