This Friday (May 19th), I will be heading to World Race Training Camp. It's an 8 day adventure where I get to meet my squad, find out who my team is, and prepare in every kind of way for the Race. This is when the Race gets real. From some past World Racers, I've heard this was the hardest part of their Race. We're expected to come into training camp with an open mind and no expectations because they literally don't tell us anything. All I know is that it will be extremely challenging in every way (spiritually, physically, emotionally, relationally, etc.).
To be honest friends, I don't like this at all. I hate this cloud of uncertainty that is hanging over my head right now. I'm really and truly stepping into this next chapter of my life. I am so excited for all that God has in store but right now is when reality is really setting in.
I am reminded of Psalm 23 in this time.
"The Lord is my shepard; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever."
We've all heard that Psalm many times before, but certain parts really stick out to me. The part that says "He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name". He isn't bringing me along the "easy" path, the "fun" path, the "happy" path. No, the right path. He created all that has happened and all that will happened and created every part of me, and He is leading me down the right path. My tiny, human mind might not understand that path He is taking me on, but I can trust the He is guiding me along the right path. And all for the honor of HIS name. Not mine. Ally Blackwell will not be honored by this "right path", God will be. That is the only reason I am alive and the only reason I'm even brought to this place of such unknown.
This Psalm also says that through the darkest valley, He will be beside. I am in no way saying that this is the "darkest valley" in my life, but if He promises to be beside me at the darkest time in my life, I can also trust Him to be beside me during this time.
So, here is what I'm asking you. It is simply to pray for me as I prepare and experience Training Camp. I am feeling so very inadaquate right now, which is a beautiful place to be. When we come to the end of what we know and what we know we can do, that's the most amazing way to see who God is. Please pray that during this time, that distractions of fear and insecurities are taken away and I seek to know God more during Camp. Please pray that I don't come in to Training Camp with my gaurd up, but rather my walls down and ready and willing to be changed and used by the Lord. Please pray that I step into training camp free from snap judgements and stereotypes. I want to have an open mind and heart with everyone I come in contact with, not full of ideas of who they are and what they think.
By praying for me in this time, you are partnering with me in the journey. You are a part of what God is doing and will be doing in the Nations. We so often speak of prayer flippantly, but it's a huge deal that must be taken seriously.
Also please pray for how God would like for you to give financially! I must raise $6,500 by June 16th to be able to leave in July and $15,500 total.
I began thinking about how big $15,500 sounds and how easy it is for a college student or someone who is not doing well financially to say they can't give much so they might as well not give at all. I am here to tell you that this could not be further from the truth. I am asking you to give $10. Yes, $10. This may mean skipping Starkbucks twice this month, or not going out to eat for dinner this week. But those $10 will instead be used to show hope and love to someone who may have never experienced love like you've known. It is used to bring Christ to people that are trapped in bondage and hopeless. That $10 could be used to change a lives for all of eternity!
I am asking you to stretch. I'm asking you to make a sacrifice you might not want to make. Or maybe you're thinking you simply can't make donate right now. I dare you to trust God. I dare you to lean on Him and see Him show up in the most unexpected ways.
An idea I thought about is if 100 people give $10 a month starting this month until December of this year ($80 over 8 months), $8,000 will be raised! And we think $10 doesn't matter? That's what happens when the body of Christ comes together and takes the Great Commission seriously! You can easily sign up for a monthly donation on the left side of the screen on the link that says "Support Me!". It will walk you through how much you want to give and then you press monthly donation and you will give your debit/credit card information. If you cannot give monthly, or you would like to give more, every donation is welcome and SOOOO appreciated! I simply ask you to give what you are called to give. Pray about it!
When you pray and donate, you are doing this with me. It's not just Ally Blackwell doing the World Race, it's YOU!!!!
Thank you for doing this with me! Every prayer and donation is appreciated more than I can describe!
As I was in a much needed time in the Word this morning, the Lord led me to a really neat concept that I won't fully understand until I see His face. I love that, though. I love those beautiful reminders that I am not meant to know everything. I am not meant to understand everything.
Philippians 2:27 says "Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News"
The first part of this verse is what really struck me this morning. We are called to live as citizens of heaven. I started thinking through what that means. So I am supposed to live like a citizen of somewhere I have never been before. Somewhere I've never seen or lived before. It would be like telling me to live as a citizen of Antarctica. I've never been there, lived there, or met anyone from there, but I am supposed to live as a member of that continent. Say whaattt?? How is that supposed to happen?
Then God started to reveal to me what it means to live as a citizen of heaven. Most importantly, I have His Holy Spirit living inside of me. The Holy Spirit DEFINITELY knows what is to be a citizen of heaven! Instead of seeking to listen to my own thoughts and desires, the Holy Spirit will always guide me on living like a citizen of Heaven. I have His Word to teach me and grow me of what it means to live as a citizen of heaven. He has not left us to this mission to wander around without guidance. He has given us the ultimate guidance and we are called to live up to the standard of a citizen of heaven.
I started thinking about how often I fall short of that. I fall short of being a citizen of heaven in every moment, of every single day. I absolutley can not do it on my own. Only the Good New of Christ allows me to be a citizen of Heaven. Ally Blackwell wants to be a citizen of this dying world, but only Christ in me allows me to live for so much more. To live as a citizen of Heaven. I can't take the right citizenship classes or do enough "citizen like" things to become more of a citizen. I am able to live as a citizen of Heaven because of Christ alone.
So as I head on the World Race (I'm leaving in less than 2 months! CRAZY!) my citizenship will never change. I will be living as a citizen of Heaven. I may not have the life style I'm used to as an American citizen, but I am not called to live as an American citizen. I am called to live as a citizen of Heaven. We all are. I pray that God teaches us and shows us in each moment, what that means during our short time on Earth.
As I was on the way back to Rome this weekend for my friend Amanda's birthday celebration at Olive Garden, God decided to reveal something to me. I love how He can use those simple moments to explain huge truths to us that we might not normally understand.
I started thinking about how I almost wish Amanda hadn't planned a celebration so we could have a suprise party for her. I was thinking, "Wow! She would love that! She would feel so special and loved and have no idea it was coming!" But she already had a party planned so there was no need for a surprise party! I've done that every year too! I always plan a birthday party, but secretly wish I could have surprise party.
God started to speak to me in that moment and showed me how we do this very same things with our lives. We always want to have enough. No matter what it is, we're always doing whatever we can to make sure we have everything we ever want and need. Through all of our striving, we don't trust God. We trust ourselves and our works and our money and our bank accounts and we can function perfectly well without any sort of help from God.
But imagine this, what if we trusted God? What if we gave and surrendered all to Him? Even if that meant our bank account was incredibly low. Or we weren't able to buy the car we've always wanted. But instead we let God give us a "surprise party". We don't get to see just how incredible and good He is when we provide for ourselves. We've done it all! But when we trust God and give it all to Him, He is able to bless us in the most incredible and beautiful ways. He's able to surprise us in the little and big things and show us how much greater He is than we could ever imagine.
We feel so much more special and loved when we get a surprise party. Knowing that your friends were willing to put in that time and money to make you feel special is such a precious thing. But we won't ever get to experience that if we provide our own birthday parties.
God owes us absolutely nothing, but chooses to lavish His glorious unlimited resources on us because we are His children. We have earned nothing. We never could and never will. If we step out in faith and trust God to provide, He will give us surprise parties greater than we could ever imagine! Pretty cheesy, but wonderful nonetheless!
Fundraising Update: By May 5th (less than a week away), I need to have $3,500 in my World Race account. As you can see, by the link on the left of the screen, I am not there yet. Simply click on that link that says "Support Me" to give by debit or credit card! Or you can send a check to 5053 Waterport Way Duluth, GA 30096. If you have been considering giving, this would be the perfect opportunity to do so! If you are not able to give financially at this time, please pray for God's wonderful provision with this current need! THANK YOU! I can't do this without your support!
And here is an incredible song and video! Watch it!
Transition(n): movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change
I am in a huge transition right now. I feel like everything I love is changing. I feel like everything I am is changing. And it's honestly just not going well.
It's my time to graduate from Shorter. I could never put into words what Shorter means to me. The 18 year old girl that moved into Shorter almost 4 years ago is a completely different girl than the 21 year old who is graduating on May 4th. I came into college thinking I had it all together and I could not have been more far off. God gently and beautifully brought me through so much during my time at Shorter. I had some of the darkest times of my life and some of the most incredible times as well. I met some of the most life changing people that have shaped me and challenged me in the most amazing ways.
It's easy to look back on at my time at Shorter and be heartbroken to see my time ending. This place has defined my life and my heart for almost 4 years now. If it was possible to fall in love with a school, I did it. But the crazy part is, I was deathly afraid of this transition. During the time between high school and college, I was not excited. I was honestly scared to pieces. Looking back now, it seems silly to be so scared! I had no idea the blessings that God was going to provide while at Shorter. All I could see was the uncertainty and unknown.
So here I am, at the biggest transition of my life and I feel the exact same way. I know the Lord has incredible things in store, but I can't see them. My inability to be in control of what my future holds is clouding my excitement for all that is to come. Yes, everything is about to change. Well, everything but one thing.
"Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession." James 1:17-18
He never changes. I am leaving the comfort of Shorter, my family, my friends and the only life I've ever known. This is a huge transition, but my God never changes. He is the same God who so beautifully orchestrated my steps to go to Shorter University when I thought I wanted to go to Berry. He has never and will never change.
Psalm 37:23 says "He directs the steps of the godly, He delights in every detail of their lives". I've loved this verse for so long and loved how beautiful it is. It's so mind boggling to know that the Creator of the universe is so involved in the little details of every part of my life. If He is so involved in those details, and even delights in them, won't He be even more involved in the big things? Can't I trust that even as I'm looking into a stage full of unknowns, God will never change?
As this transition is happening, God is revealing Himself in different ways than ever before. He is allowing this time so I begin to see that He will always and forever, be the only thing in my life that will never change. I must put every ounce of my hope, joy, love, and faith in Him. He promises He will never change and that He delights in the details of my life. What do I need to fear during this huge transition? Absolutely nothing, Ally Blackwell, absolutely nothing.
God is stretching me so much through the process of the World Race already. I can't help but think, "Okay, Lord, I'm not even on the Race yet! Why are stretching me so much right now?"
How is He stretching me? There are many ways, but this blog is about fundraising.
The World Race costs $15,500. When I heard that number when I was first considering the World Race, I was overwhelmed. But I kept seeing such amazing blogs about how God provided this crazy amount of money, and that's when I knew it would be okay. I sometimes wake up in a panic thinking about this huge amount of money. For a college student that can't work, this amount seems absolutely impossible. But what I do know, is that my God is so much greater than any amount of money. $15,500 is nothing to Him. He has worked through complete strangers donations to remind me of His faithfulness and His provision. Every single day, I have to remind myself of who God is and His promises.
I am writing this post to be honest with everyone about where my finances are and how you can help.
The first deadline for finances in May 5th. This is 25 days away. By May 5th, I need to have $3,500 in my account. I currently have $2,000 in my World Race account. This means that in 25 days, I need $1,500. That means I need to raise, on average, $60 a day.
The simplest way to donate is to go to the left side of blog where it says Support Me! ($2,000 raised so far, $13,500 to go). You simply use your debit or credit card and input all of your information. You can even input monthly donations where it will automatically take a donation out of your account each month.
I need you. For someone who loves to be in control, this is hard to say. I need you to prayerfully consider supporting me financially on the World Race. We are called to go to the nations and share the Gospel and I would be honored to go as your representative. Not everyone can go to nations, but the Lord has blessed me with this incredible opportunity and it simply cannot happen if I do not have the funds raised. I pray that God will bless you for giving and being obedient to His call to give.
Please email me at: ally.blackwell@hawks.shorter.edu if you have any questions!
If you are unable to give financially at this time, I ask you to pray. Please pray that I have peace about these funds and that I trust all that God is and His promises. Most importantly, that Christ is glorified through this process of fundraising. He is who this is all about anyay!
Thank you to all who have already supported financially, bought T-shirts and bracelets, and have prayed! Your support encourages me more than I could ever explain!
Recently, I have been so consumed with money. I am student teaching this semester and I am unable to work like I have every other semester of college. I wasn't making thousands of dollars or anything, but I loved the security of that paycheck coming in every month. So now, I have no income coming in. That's not even to mention the fact that I'm fundraising for the World Race and have to raise $15,500 and then money for gear, shots and insurance. I keep finding myself thinking "Okay, if I can get to this number in my World Race account, then I will feel better". I've never felt so consumed with something as I have with my fundraising these past few days.
But today as I was enjoying my day of student teaching, God opened my eyes to my captivity. I am absolutely captive to money. I want to have a nice, cushy bank account. I want to have my favorite foods in the fridge so that I can have them every day. I want to bring 20 outfits when I go on vacation so that I can have options depending on my mood. I have a cafeteria at my college that has incredible amounts of food, but I complain if they don't have the food I want that day.
I'm totally content in my captivity to money until things start changing. I no longer see the money in my bank account that I want to see. I now have $15,500 to raise and I have no idea how it's going to happen. All the sudden, things have changed and money is consuming me. The Lord reminded me of a man in the Bible who I never wanted to be able to identify with, but now I'm finding we have a lot more in common than I'd care to admit.
"I've obeyed all these commandments," the young man replied. "What else must I do?" Jesus told him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions." (Matthew 19:20-22)
I used to see this story and think how silly that young man is. He came to Jesus and asked what he needs to do to have eternal life. He gets his answer and it's not what he wants to hear, so he turns his back on Jesus. How does that make sense? So what, buddy! You have a lot of possessions, but if you give them up you'll have ETERNAL life. Not 70 years on earth, but ETERNAL! How can you look at your money and the things you own and rather have them than life?
But oh how awakened I have been. I am the rich young (wo)man. My loving Savior is asking me to hand over my chains to money and possessions to Him. Not so I'll be miserable and miss out on all the fun, but rather so I can have LIFE. Real, true, rich, satisfying life. I don't want my story to end the way the young man's does though. I want to do what Jesus called him (and me) to do. I want to see the Lord provide and fulfill all my needs in ways I've never expected. It may not look the way I want it to, but His ways are so much higher than my ways.
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I'll say it again- it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!" The disciples were astounded. "Then who in the world can be saved?" they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." (Matthew 19:23-26)
I can't do it on my own. Me trying to get to heaven by my works or trying to be free from money and possessions is impossible for me. I am a camel trying to get through a needle. But praise the Lord that anything is possible with Him. He can turn this heart that has been in chains I didn't even realize I had into a surrendered follower of Christ. What does this look like for my life? I'm not sure, honestly. But I do know that I'm learning what surrender in my life looks like. It's messy, but it's exactly what I need to do. I want to look Jesus in the eye and say, I choose YOU. Every moment of every day.
I had the beautiful blessing of working a DNOW (Discipleship Now) this weekend. DNOWs are weekends for middle and high school students to go to worship and talk sessions, go to small groups, and relax with each other. The theme was "being comfortable with getting uncomfortable".
I have lived a life of comfortable. I don't try out for something or apply for anything if I don't think I have a strong chance of getting what I'm applying for. I buy bananas if I only have 2 left so I know without a shadow of a doubt that I will have a banana for my oatmeal every morning. If I have less than $30 in my debit account, I "have no money" and ask my dad to put money in my account. If I'm low on shampoo, I buy it before I run out just so I never have to be without it. These are just a few silly examples of how I seek to be comfortable in my every day life. And God has been calling me out.
If we are constantly seeking to be comfortable in this world, how can I let God be glorified? How can my beautiful Savior be my all, if I have everything I need in this world. I think this is such an issue in the American church today and I'm not going to pretend like I know the answer.
But I do know that the Lord has called us to give up our lives. John 12: 25 says: "Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity." When we seek to be comfortable, we are saying "I love this life. I want to make this life as perfect as it can be right here and right now". I don't want to miss out on how the my Creator, the Lover of my soul and my Savior wants to come through in my life, each and every day. I keep hearing whispers of, "Ally, I know you want this right now but please let me pull through. Please lean on Me, and not your own understanding. Let Me be your comfort, not anything you can rake up for yourself".
It's uncomfortable to step out in faith. It's uncomfortable to say, "Lord the world is trying to convince that I need this, but I choose You. I choose to trust You and all that You are. I choose to trust that nothing this world can offer me compares to You."
A verse that has been cutting me deep over the past few months has been Jeremiah 2:13 "For my people hae done two evil things: They have abandoned Me- the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!" This verse speaks that God is the only One who can satisfy our souls. How many cracked cisterns do I have in my life? Why do I seek to find my satisfaction in an earthly idol that promises to bring death and destruction when I have the fountain of living water offering me TRUE life.
This is a really random blog of things God is teaching me, but it is all based around seeking to be uncomfortable. I don't want to hold on to this world with dear life. I want to let it go and get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
I absolutley adore Valentine's day! I love that it's a holiday where you are simply meant to show love. Shouldn't this be a holiday we all look forward to? Somewhere in middle school or high school, we are convinced that if we aren't in a relationship, Valentine's Day is actually the worst day of the year and is only a reminder that you're single. Single Awareness Day as some so affectionately call it.
This year, I get to leave that mentality behind and join my 4th grade class (I'm student teaching this semester) on Valentine's Day and I seriously could not be more excited. In 4th grade, it's so simple. They don't care if they're in a relationship or not. To them, it's a day that they get to give cards to everyone in their class and get free candy. They get to receive 30 sweet cards, telling them that they are loved and that their peers are thankful to know them. Isn't that beautiful? I have been so excited for this day for an entire month and a half. I get to ignore what the world is trying to tell me about Valentine's Day and I get to dive back into the world of 10 year olds that love celebrating Valentine's Day!
But I'm writing this blog to challenge all of us to have a 4th grade Valentine's Day. Let's see tomorrow as an opportunity to share the love that has been so freely lavished on us and share it with everyone we come in contact with.
John 13: 34-35 "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." Our love should show the world that we are a follower of Christ. Does Jesus add in "except for Valentine's day where you can feel free to sulk and feel bad for yourself". NO! We are called to love the way Jesus loved. He loves us so much, He took our place. He bore our shame and DIED for us. That is love. That is love that beats out any Valentine we could ever have on this day, for the rest of our lives.
1 John 4:9-10 "God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is REAL love- not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."
My friends, I pray that no matter what your relationship status looks like, that tomorrow is a day you find the beauty in. Our God loved us first. Even before we had the chance to love Him, He loved and pursued us. We have never and will never deserve this love, but I pray that we walk in it for all of our days. Even on Valentine's Day when it's easy to feel unloved, I hope we cling to the greatest Lover we could ever know. May we remember our 4th grade Valentine's day and give love freely, joyfully and selflessly.
Right now I am reading through Exodus and I am in the area about halfway through Exodus that all it is how God instructed His people to build a Tabernacle to be able to be in the prescence of our Holy God. It goes through incredible detail, even down to the colors for the embellishments for decoration. Then it goes into amazing detail about all the priests are going to have to wear and what they are going to have to do to make the area pure.
As I was reading it this morning, I was just bored honestly. I prayed "Lord, why do I need read all of these numbers about the length of the fabric that surrounds the Tabernacle. Why did you put it in the Bible in the first place? and why am I reading it this morning?". And ohhhh how He put me in my place.
I was quickly humbled when God started speaking to me saying, "Ally, look at all these people had to do to get My prescence. I am HOLY. I deserve every second it took for them to prepare for me. Far more than that even. But do you want to know the amazing thing. When Jesus came, He not only took all the wrath you deserve, but He made a pathway to Me. He made it so that you can call on My Name and put your heart in worship of Me, and you are in my prescence. Don't take this for granted, Ally. Yes, you can be in My prescence whenever you want, but it doesn't change how holy I am."
Then He led me to a verse that took this whole concept even further. In 2 Corinithians 6:16 it says "For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people".
Say what?? Not only do I not have to build a ginormous Tabernacle to get in your prescence, but you are INSIDE of me. Yes, I've known that for years, but it suddenly means so much more when you realize what a huge deal this is. Our Holy Lord lives inside us. Every single day, I miss this huge truth. Shouldn't this change how we eat? Shouldn't this change how we talk, how we think, how we use our bodies, how we do absolutely everything? It most definitely does. The Creator of the universe. The Creator of everything you can see right now and everything you will see for the rest of your life, lives inside of YOU.
I pray that we take this amazing truth to heart and use our bodies for what they are made for. A temple for our HOLY God.
I was getting in the Word, reading about Joseph in Genesis. We've all heard his story thousands of times.
He was his dad's favorite son and his brothers hated him for it, so they sold him into slavery. Joseph was then imprisoned for a long time, but while he was there, God gave him the opportunity to translate the dreams of some of his fellow prison mates. The translations that God gave him ended up being accurate and Joseph simply asked that these men remember him when they are freed from prison. One of those men is killed but the other returns to his job as the king's cup bearer. Unfortunately for Joseph, he forgot all about him. Years later, the king has a dream and none of the dream tellers can tell him what it means. The cup bearer finally remembers Joseph and tells the king about him. So Joseph is called to interpret the king's dream and he turns out to be very accurate! (It's crazy how God works) So the king appoints Joseph to be his second in command! There is a ton of other awesome things that happen (read Genesis 37-50) but I'm just going to share what God laid on my heart during this part.
The Lord was TOTALLY speaking to my heart in one particular verse in this story and I just really wanted to share it with who ever reads this! Genesis 39:21 says "But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him His faithful love."
Wait, did I read that right? Prison and faithful love were spoken in the exact same verse. That simply doesn't make sense!
But that's exactly what God wants to show us. He doesn't make sense. Joseph had done absolutely nothing wrong and was in prison for YEARS, but "the Lord was with him and showed him His faithful love".
We so often find ourselves in situations we don't like or don't feel God would want us to be in. If I was Joseph, I would be so angry that God would allow such injustice to happen against me. I'm sure he had his moments of dispair down in that prison, but all that matters is that God showed him His faithful love. Even when he was trapped inside a prison by no fault of his own, God's love was faithful.
God's love and faithfulness doesn't look the way we want it to sometimes. Actually most of the time. We want everything to work out flawlessly and all of our dreams met instantly. And then we question God's faithfulness if that's not how our life looks.
But if we take a second to step into the Word and see how life was for most of the people we see in the Bible, we'd see that is never the case. God takes them to crazy places and does insane things through them, all along asking them to trust Him and Him alone. Why should we want our lives to be any different? We need to give every single day over to Him and trust His will is far above our own. Even if that means we'll be in prison for years and years, the Lord will be with us and God will show us His faithful love. Beautiful! How could I ask for more?
