Hullo again! It has been awhile, I know. Here is the long awaited post about me staying at Simpson this semester!
Here is a short video with the condensed story.
(P.S. It's really quiet for some reason so turn up your volume. Also, it cut me off in the beginning, but I wasn't saying anything important ;) )
So yes. :) I am here! I just want to reiterate a few points because I feel that video was kind of sloppy, and what can I say, that's what I get for not planning it out ahead of time! ;)
The scholarship I ended up getting was worth $1750, which was wonderful, but when it gets cut in half to be applied per semester, it only turns up to be $875 for this semester. There was a nearly $900 difference I had to come up with. At this point, I had already paid $2000 out of pocket in which I had been hoping/planning to put back towards my loans I had taken out. I was getting discouraged, because I felt like God wasn't providing. But what immature thoughts! God was in fact, providing, just in ways I was not expecting. I felt as if the money I needed to come up with for the difference came out of nowhere! It was in my account the whole time, but I guess I didn't realize I had that much because I was planning on putting it elsewhere. I know I've said it before, but I really battle with being wise with my finances (esp. in regards to taking out loans) and in trusting that God will take care of me when I step out in faith. Being I plan on going into ministry, I don't want to be in as much debt as I am already, and I surely don't want to get in more! A friend said something encouraging to me two nights ago. He shared a story of a man who had much debt from Bible school but was trying to go into ministry. Someone from his church then paid off all of his debt for him, and even paid for him to go to seminary! Now I'm not saying that I'm betting on this to happen for me, but it was definitely a good reminder that God will take care of me. It is important for me to be a good steward with my money, but if I am following Him, I will be ok. I gotta say, my grandparents have blessed me immensely in giving me gas gift cards and gift cards to Target. I also got an anonymous Target gift card in the mail... So if you're reading this, thank you!! It might not have been much, but it was touching and sweet and very much appreciated. :) All this to say, God is providing. I don't need to worry about the small things, because God's got this.
On a somewhat relevant, somewhat separate note, last night I submitted my application to study abroad in Uganda next semester!!! My biggest challenge now is.... wait for it, wait for it... yep, you probably guessed right, finances! I'm not worried. Ok, that's a little bit of a lie. In my human ways, I do not see how it is feasible for me to go to school next semester (whether abroad or at Simpson), but God has not abandoned me yet, so why would He now? I know that what is going to happen is going to be in God's hands, and so I am pushing forward in where I feel called to be! It is actually a little bit cheaper to study abroad for a semester than it is to be at Simpson. It might be trickier in the sense that part of the expense is a plane ticket, which is not covered by scholarships. But what am I clinging dearly to? God's got this. He's got me. And I can put ALL of my faith in Him.
Another little thought vomit. In all honesty, I finished my study abroad application the beginning of last week. It was due today, but I was putting it off. I knew that in submitting it, I had to pay a non-refundable $50 application fee. Before I submitted it last night, I stopped, thought, and prayed about why I was feeling so hesitant in pushing send. All this time I had thought putting off the application was because I was being 'wise'. I thought in my 'wisdom' I was making sure I was going to be able to come up with the finances (via scholarships) before I sent it so that I was being responsible with my money. But as I was processing these things, I came to the conclusion that I was not trusting God. The reason I was hesitant in sending the application and paying the fee was because I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to come up with the money and that I shouldn't have spent that 50 bucks. But no. On the contrary! God was asking me if I trusted Him. If I trusted that in submitting the application, He would provide for me, no matter what that might look like. And before I pushed send, I told God that I trusted Him; that I trusted Him with the outcome of this situation, with the outcome of school next semester, and with whether or not I study abroad--I trusted Him.
Here is a short video with the condensed story.
(P.S. It's really quiet for some reason so turn up your volume. Also, it cut me off in the beginning, but I wasn't saying anything important ;) )
So yes. :) I am here! I just want to reiterate a few points because I feel that video was kind of sloppy, and what can I say, that's what I get for not planning it out ahead of time! ;)
The scholarship I ended up getting was worth $1750, which was wonderful, but when it gets cut in half to be applied per semester, it only turns up to be $875 for this semester. There was a nearly $900 difference I had to come up with. At this point, I had already paid $2000 out of pocket in which I had been hoping/planning to put back towards my loans I had taken out. I was getting discouraged, because I felt like God wasn't providing. But what immature thoughts! God was in fact, providing, just in ways I was not expecting. I felt as if the money I needed to come up with for the difference came out of nowhere! It was in my account the whole time, but I guess I didn't realize I had that much because I was planning on putting it elsewhere. I know I've said it before, but I really battle with being wise with my finances (esp. in regards to taking out loans) and in trusting that God will take care of me when I step out in faith. Being I plan on going into ministry, I don't want to be in as much debt as I am already, and I surely don't want to get in more! A friend said something encouraging to me two nights ago. He shared a story of a man who had much debt from Bible school but was trying to go into ministry. Someone from his church then paid off all of his debt for him, and even paid for him to go to seminary! Now I'm not saying that I'm betting on this to happen for me, but it was definitely a good reminder that God will take care of me. It is important for me to be a good steward with my money, but if I am following Him, I will be ok. I gotta say, my grandparents have blessed me immensely in giving me gas gift cards and gift cards to Target. I also got an anonymous Target gift card in the mail... So if you're reading this, thank you!! It might not have been much, but it was touching and sweet and very much appreciated. :) All this to say, God is providing. I don't need to worry about the small things, because God's got this.
On a somewhat relevant, somewhat separate note, last night I submitted my application to study abroad in Uganda next semester!!! My biggest challenge now is.... wait for it, wait for it... yep, you probably guessed right, finances! I'm not worried. Ok, that's a little bit of a lie. In my human ways, I do not see how it is feasible for me to go to school next semester (whether abroad or at Simpson), but God has not abandoned me yet, so why would He now? I know that what is going to happen is going to be in God's hands, and so I am pushing forward in where I feel called to be! It is actually a little bit cheaper to study abroad for a semester than it is to be at Simpson. It might be trickier in the sense that part of the expense is a plane ticket, which is not covered by scholarships. But what am I clinging dearly to? God's got this. He's got me. And I can put ALL of my faith in Him.
Another little thought vomit. In all honesty, I finished my study abroad application the beginning of last week. It was due today, but I was putting it off. I knew that in submitting it, I had to pay a non-refundable $50 application fee. Before I submitted it last night, I stopped, thought, and prayed about why I was feeling so hesitant in pushing send. All this time I had thought putting off the application was because I was being 'wise'. I thought in my 'wisdom' I was making sure I was going to be able to come up with the finances (via scholarships) before I sent it so that I was being responsible with my money. But as I was processing these things, I came to the conclusion that I was not trusting God. The reason I was hesitant in sending the application and paying the fee was because I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to come up with the money and that I shouldn't have spent that 50 bucks. But no. On the contrary! God was asking me if I trusted Him. If I trusted that in submitting the application, He would provide for me, no matter what that might look like. And before I pushed send, I told God that I trusted Him; that I trusted Him with the outcome of this situation, with the outcome of school next semester, and with whether or not I study abroad--I trusted Him.
Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDelete