Happy eatser!!

Wild flowers

That's right kids, it's that time again! Time for a new blog post woo! Ya! Right on! Totally 90's! If you didn't get that reference then thay means that you are not my brother.  Anyways, in all seriousness, hi, thank you for reading and I hope you had a great March. My March was a bit crazy! 

For starters, I am officially going to be a maid of honor! My sister got engaged on March 14th and I'm extremely excited for her. My birthday was also earlier this month on the 16th and I am now feeling 22. Yes, I sang the tayswift song all day long. I recieved a package in the mail from my family and my mom even sent me a card containing clumps of my dogs hair inside. (Gee, thanks mom) I really miss my family. Also earlier this month I had the amazing opprotunity to visit Stevens point Wisconsin (phil's home) for spring break, as well as see Chris Tomlin, Tenth Avenue North, and Rend Collective in concert!!! This has been an exciting month filled with new adventures.

Ministry has been great though. I have continued to disciple young women closer to Christ as well as prepare my confirmation group for the upcoming ceremony. A part of me still can not believe that I will be leaving Forest Lake a little over a month from now. It has been a crazy ride but worth it... here is why...

To be honest everyone, this month was particularly difficult for me spiritually. I am overcoming a lot of the battle with my anxiety over the future. I found myself stressing and feeling like I had to have everything figured out; that God wanted me to have it all figured out. Well, my friend's, that wasn't truth. You see, I looked up what exactly anxiety was and what I came across was that it is a 'lack of trust for what the future holds'. Me in a nutshell, up until recently. I gave this to the Lord and began to see that he did not want me to feel as if I had to figure it all out. He wants me to live in the present moment; live right now. This concept is so new to me because I have never done it before. For as long as I have had anxiety I have felt that I had to plan the future, figure out the future, especially God's will. But what I came to find is that God's will is not only in my tomorrow's but in my today. Without living his will today, I will never get to tomorrow.

He says "Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like on of them." Mathew 6:28-29

I want to be as the wildflowers are and simply grow knowing the Lord will take care of me. I don't need to worry, for my future is in good hands.

One last thing, I encourage everyone to consecrate themselves to Mary. I did this month, and during some of my darkest nights, Mary was sometimes the only calming wind in the storm. It is true that she leads you closer to Jesus.

Please continue to pray for all of us here on mission. Thank you for reading and I hope you all are well. Let's stop stressing about the coming day and enjoy being in the sunset, for tomorrow will come, and when it does it will hold what we can not even imagine. Jesus, I trust in you.

Love: Erika

Seek Beauty

Discernment:
In order to make any decision, one must first seek the beauty in every option presented to him. For only by seeking the beauty in every possible direction, will one discover which beauty his heart was created for.

"Beholding your beauty is all that I long for, to worship you Jesus is my souls desire. For this very heart you have shaped for your pleasure purposed to lift your name higher"

Changing Relationships.

I wanted to just give a shout out to all the wonderful people the Lord has put into my life. The friendships that have past and the ones that still continue. Truth was spoken to me today regarding friendship and loss. Sometimes it hurts like hek when relationships change, but first off, God knows what he is doing. And second, just because relationships change doesn't mean the memories fade. God gave us memory for a reason, in having one we are able to keep the old memories with us but also venture out and make new ones within that friendship. New transitions in relationships closes an old chapter, yes, but also brings forth a new chapter that waits to be filled with new memories, just as good as the old.

"I belong to my lover and for me he yearns."

"I belong to my lover and for me he yearns. Come, my lover, let us go forth to the fields and spend the night among the villages. Let us go early to the vineyards, and see if the vines are in bloom, If the buds have opened, if the pomegranates have blossomed; There will I give you my love. The mandrakes give forth fragrance, and at our doors are all choice fruits; Both fresh and mellowed fruits, my lover, I have kept in store for you."
Song of Songs 7: 11-14

Woah. Wait a sec. REWIND!

Hey guys, so wow. Ok, I feel kind of embarresed. So I read over my blog post that I just wrote for February and at the end I realized one huge thing... I didn't even mention any of God's work in ministry, and that's terrible. Ha, I was far too wrapped up in my own self and didn't even mention it. Forgive me.
So here is what has been happening with ministry. Gosh it has actually been extremely beautiful. This half has truly shown the amazing works that only God can do. I have had the honor specifically to be asked to be a confirmation sponser, as well as be a small group leader to 2 amazing women's groups. The Lord has helped build such amazing relationships with these girls that sometimes I don't know how he did it. It is truly an honor to have these souls open up to me and to come to me about prayer and other life struggles. And the only thing I can do is lead them to Christ, and share his beauty and love for them; He does the rest.
This half I prayed to fall more in love with the ministry, to aquire a zeal for it, and the Lord truly answered those prayers. Seeing him work in the lives of these young women strengthens my own faith in him as well. He is such a beautiful mystery.
It wasn't until the other day when I found myself saying "God I don't feel like I'm doing anything here..." that God stopped me and I realized that of course I'm not doing anything here... He is. I can help with the mission, but only God does the moving, the working, and the transforming of hearts, not me. And so I am thankful for He Is. If I may ask, please pray for me for dieing to self. Sometimes it's so easy to get wrapped up in what the Lord has been doing in our personal lives and forget to praise him for what he has done through us, without us even knowing, and simply because He Is our God, and continues to love us still. Pray for me and know I am praying for you.

God bless you all,
Erika
"For i have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God."
Ephesians 2:8-10

Beautiful pictures

Picture of some of my amazing sisters and a picture of a beautiful soul I had the pleasure to encounter the other day :) for you Gus!