spontaneous combustion

First and foremost, I MUST give praise to my God- He is so good to us- to me- to my family.  The best decision i have ever made was giving my life to Christ 11 years ago.

Some pretty amazing things have been happening in our household!

There is a true hero, a man by the name of Troy Yocum, he is a disabled Iraq Vet, and he hikes across the US to raise awareness, and funds, for military families and veterans.  His website can be found here: www.drumhike.com  He has partnered with a wonderful organization called "Wish Upon a Hero".  Troy grants "wishes" to military families.  I went to their website, made a wish- and Troy hand picked us to have that wish granted.  http://www.wishuponahero.com/wishes/?id=869083 thats the link to the wish i made... In less than 3 days, Troy was able to raise over a $1000 and his foundation purchased a giant playset for Roo from Lowes! Its being delivered in just a few days.  Just yesterday, Troy and his wife and their 2 adorable dogs, pit stopped in Orlando to speak at the American Legion and meet our family.  Roo was a big part of yesterday's event and even got up in front of the crowd and read a thank you letter that he wrote to Mr. Troy.

As the events of the day unfolded, my heart was heavy- i was feeling burdened for veterans specifically. I couldn't shake that feeling all day long... I've been praying so hard that God will tell me what to do with my free time while the kiddos are in school- I want to productive, I want to be impactful, I want to reflect Jesus to people in a meaningful way... I'm passionate about missions and serving- this I know.  It takes some people their entire lives to figure out what their "destiny" is, but i've known mine since I was a little girl.  But yesterday, God did something in my spirit- in my heart- HE revealed to me, that I can combine my passions and have a real impact on His kingdom... When we think of missions, we all picture going overseas- feeding the hungry in Africa, building water tanks in Nicaragua, preaching to the lost in India- those kinds of things- but God has done this new thing in me, He has changed my view of what "missions" is- FOR ME.  It is still all those overseas things, but beyond that, anything outside the doors of my own home is a mission field! Some of you may be thinking "duh Angy"! Well, sometimes, i'm slow, or rebellious, or just don't pay attention, and it takes me a little longer to come to these conclusions :)

After hearing the staggering statistics about the suicide rate of Veterans sky rocketing year after year, and hearing stories of soldiers, young and old, coming home from the war and not be able to reintegrate into every day life due to the horrific things they've seen and been through... it all came together for me... and it happened in front of a room full of people and it was so overwhelming that all i could do was weep... It happened yesterday while our countries National Anthem was being sung at the Hike for Our Heroes event.

It is no coincidence that out of every place i've ever lived, right here in Florida has the biggest need in regards to Veteran homelessness.  There are serving opportunities everywhere, and more than that, I can still be a missionary by reflecting Jesus to those I serve and helping to build God's kingdom through service and servanthood.

It baffles me daily, that God chooses to use me in any way- it is humbling to know that the Creator of the Universe wants to use me in His perfect plan... I'm so excited to begin this new adventure, and to be an ambassador of Jesus while doing what I love to do!

The very first event I will be volunteering at is taking place this Saturday- Thomas and I will serve side by side at the Cocoa National Guard Armory- the link for that event is here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=157458184305049

Praise God for His mercy, for His grace- for having patience for people like me who a take little longer than others do, to figure out what magnificent thing He has in store for them...

What is it that God is stirring your heart to do? Share your blessing and leave a comment :)