the center.

Well i cannot believe the day has finally come... I am moving to Austin tomorrow morning.  i am so excited to be thrown out of the comfortable normalcy of my life in Garland.  Leaving beautiful friends and the support i have from them and accountability is no fun.  But i have faith that my time with them has only been to strengthen my walk with the Lord for a time such as this.  Thank you friends.  I owe you my life.

I'm going to go ahead and write this... i pray it doesn't happen... but i need to write it as a reminder to myself.  The temptation in a place like Austin... for me at least... is not the parties or craziness or blatant sin... but it's a matter of motives.  Getting caught up in the "cool factor", as lame as that sounds.  It is feeding the homeless because it's what any cool bohemian austin hippie would do.  It's going to a church because they do trendy things.  It's sacrificing time with my precious Jesus to read a book (maybe even a "christian" book :o).  It's wearing clothes with a peace sign on it because that's what everyone wears.  

All these things are not necessarily "bad"... but the reason for doing them is NOT Jesus.  O the tricky ways of the enemy.  I am about to be thrown into a battle.  I must be aware and ready.  I must not let these backward motives sneak in.  It must always be about Christ.

Jesus at the center

of it all.  

oh how he loves us.

i've been in love with this song... and i just heard the story behind it... it's incredible.

Praise of Men.

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.  Thus when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet, as the HYPOCRITES do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others.  Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you give to the needy do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.  And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."  Matthew 6:1-4

"Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation."  Luke 6:24

"Woe to you, when people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets."  Luke 6:26

I am convicted.  I am absolutely guilty according to these scriptures... and many more I didn't write out.  I want the praises of men.  I want others to know I feed the homeless.  I want my "righteous acts" to be known.  Ha... funny how the Lord says "my righteous acts" are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  The best possible humanitarian act... the most glorious charity deed... the single most outstanding, mother-teresa-sized display of compassion I can muster... is like a dirty dish rag in the eyes of the Father.  I fall so so so so so short even on my best day.

The Message reads: "But there's trouble ahead if you think you have it made.  What you have is all you'll ever get... There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others." (Luke 6:24, 26)  If I want man's praise... God says that's what I'll get.  He's a gentlemen... he'll let me have what I want.  But He says I won't see them!  I won't see you doing the things I have called you to do FOR ME. You will get no recognition from me!  

So often i try to serve both God and man.  I need to be delivered from my fickleness.  

Thank the Lord I have a Savior... who came to save me from myself.

Thanks ad for sharing your conviction on this... you helped ME see.

Thank you Jesus for your Grace.  Amen.

trouble.

so my friend liz gave me this louie giglio sermon to watch... now i'm a louie fan and all but honestly i really wasn't that excited about tuning into two 45-minute Passion Conference sermons on dvd.

well i finished part II last night... and i was blown away. there is this central and beautiful truth that louie reveals that i just cannot get over. i want to share it with you.. whoever reads this ha... but i'm no lou so forgive me if this doesn't sound as eloquent. (if you do have 90 spare minutes on your hands.. go get the dvd... its called HOPE- When Life Hurts Most)


John 16:33 says: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

so essentially... louie's 90 minutes in a nutshell was this:

1. Trouble... earth-shattering, heart-ripping, life-altering, pain-staking TROUBLE... is inevitable. It. Will. Come. if it hasn't already.
2. The Cross... is the worst and the best thing that ever happened. Christ experienced more pain and suffering than anyone of us so that we might have a Savior who understands our pain. Jesus offers Himself and His cross as an anchor of hope no matter what we face in life.
3. Suffering.. then becomes something we can endure... but more importantly suffering becomes a way for us to bring His name glory.... a way for us to use our darkest moments for His fame. When life hurts most, the world listens most intently to our message... allowing us to show through our pain the goodness of the One who loves us the most.

i'm not in the midst of a big storm or tragedy right now... i don't wanna say that i feel something coming cuz i could be wrong... but if trouble is coming my way, the Lord has sure been preparing me. i really do believe there is beauty in the midst of suffering. when we suffer, we are closest to Christ... and that is exactly where i want to be.

me and my friend amanda have worn this video out watching it. the song is incredible and so is the story behind it.

KENYA.

A few pics from Kenya...

more on facebook if you have one.

Back to the States.

Yes... I've returned from my adventure in Kenya. I'm happy and sad to be back. I've been trying to process through my whole expereince so that I don't sound like a blabbering idiot when I blog about it. I'm still working on that.

I decided to conform and get a facebook... but primarily for the purpose of sharing all the pics. So you can search me... Meghan Strickland... obviously. I've put up all the pics and wrote a little about each one. I'm in the process of putting together a little write-up with pics and little stories and things I took away from my time in Kenya.

For now.. I'll just say a little bit (even though that is not easy to do)... Kenya was incredible, overwhelming, heart-breaking, encouraging, humbling, unforgettable, and many more emotions all in one. i loved it and I want to go back. The people are beautiful... in every way. But the poverty you hear about and see on tv, if youve never been, is very very real. It is an absolute different world. It's hard to comprehend. My heart was ripped out. But the joy, the faith, and the HOPE of the people is what kept my heart from breaking into a million pieces... because, it can't. You can't stay sad for long when you see how these people treat one another like family and they praise God for everything and kids love school and they take joy in the little things.

I've heard it said by friends who have gone to Africa.. but now i can officially say it and know that its true: We (Americans) may be so blessed with material things and we may have so much... but the people in Katito, Kenya have something we don't have. We say they live in poverty... and they do.. very much so.. in fact they live in extreme poverty (less than $1 a day)....... BUT we too live in poverty in America... a different kind of poverty... but poverty nonetheless.

A definiton of poverty is the deprivation of those things that determine the quality of life. We tend to deprive ourselves of true joy.. of what it means to be content in all circumstances.. of enjoying one another... of not keeping ourselves busy... of being thankful... of giving God the Glory and the credit He deserves.

Kenyans have all these things.. and they've taught me all these things and more. Now I'm just trying to figure out how to innovate... how I can bring a little bit of Kenya to America and incorporate it into my life everyday... because I cannot keep living the way I do. I must try to slow down. I must try to be grateful. I must try to care about others more. I must try to enjoy God's creation.

3 DAYSSS!

Yes!

I am 3 days away from Kenya and I don't know what to do with myself... I really don't even have time to be writing this. But I am ecstatic. God has provided in abundance for this trip... I'm so excited to see what I am going to experience and learn.

People keep asking me if I'm ready. As far as physically getting packed and all that... I'm getting there. But mentally, emotionally, and most importantly spiritually "ready"... wow, I don't know. My prayer has been.. God, prepare me. Prepare my heart, Lord. But I just don't think there is anyway for me to be fully prepared.

I know the statistics. I've read about the poverty. I've heard first-hand accounts. I've seen real footage of the people in Kenya. And those things have affected me deeply...

But I haven't met the people that make up those statistics. I haven't hugged the child I send money to each month. I haven't experienced life in Africa. I cannot prepare myself for this. And I can't imagine how this trip is going to affect me... because Africa has already found a place in my heart... now my compassion can only grow more.. as the people in Katito, Kenya become real to me. I cannot wait to return and share with you.



"Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God."
-Bob Pierce, World Vison Founder