Here Am I

Here Am I, send me!

Alright everyone, this blog post is long overdue but I am urgently writing this in hopes that God would move in the hearts of those that read this to give to our mission of spreading the Gospel to those in Australia and in Asia!  We are praying for a support team.  We need to raise $19,700.

Yes. You read right!  $19,700 <<< This is no longer the price, since we decided to go to Florida instead of Australia! Florida DTS is only $13k :)

This is impossible for us alone, but with our GOD, nothing is impossible!  We need YOU to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our lives right now, with support in the form of prayer (and LOTS of it!), spreading the word, encouraging us, and with your funds if God moves in your heart to do so! Only with our friends, family and community surrounding us in those areas of need, will we be able to make this possible.

We will be hosting a slew of fundraisers this month (and for the months to come) including a yard sale, bake sale, parties, car washes, and maybe even a concert! ;) Peter will be doing drum lessons as well. Please let me know if any of these things interest you!

Total length we will be gone= 6 months.

Yep! 6 months! October 21 - April 4. That means quitting our jobs, selling our stuff, packing up, saying goodbye to everything and everyone we know (including our precious kitty!) and heading halfway around the world to learn more about Jesus and make Him known!

Peter and I have felt strongly called to go into missions at this point in our lives.  With YWAM (Youth With A Mission), we will be doing a DTS (discipleship training school) for 3 months in Whitsunday, Australia and our missionary outreach will be in Asia for another 3 months. 

We know from the bottom of our hearts that this is God’s will for our lives; we can’t deny His call about this.  Our prayer is that God would move in the hearts of those that read this to give to God’s call that He has placed in our hearts.  Will you be a part of this with us?

We have been leaning on God’s truth that He WILL provide for us.  I KNOW He will.

Truth #1: I serve a God who provides beyond my faith.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 4:19

Truth #2: I can't do this without you. Yes, you there reading this blog. I need you!

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.” -1 Corinthians 12:12

God has given us YOU to partner with us!  He wants you to share in the adventures of living out of faith (and not by sight) with us.  If you feel a tug on your heart to help us, please don’t ignore that call.  We have only received a few promises from a couple people that will be supporting us (and THANK YOU guys!!)  So far, we only tangibly have what sits in our savings... and that’s not that much!

Let me introduce you to some truths that God has laid on my heart from His Word:

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” -Isaiah 6:8

He is sending us to share Him throughout the nations!

WHY are we going? Here is a little fact that really got to me:

There are over 2,700,000,000 people who have never heard the Gospel at all, and there are only 5,000 to 7,000 missionaries worldwide who work directly with these totally unreached groups of people. That means there is approximately only ONE missionary for every 450,000 of these people!

Jesus was not exaggerating when He said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” –Matthew 9:37-38

Will you help send us?

Here is how you can specifically help:

Prayer: Pray for us as we make this leap of faith, raising funds, trusting in God, and being filled with all joy and peace as we faithfully follow in the footsteps of Jesus.  Pray Ephesians 6:19-20 over us: “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”

Encouragement: Peter and I both need encouragement as we stand boldly in truth that God will provide for us-- anything from text messages of bible verses, a short call with words of wisdom, blog comments, and even Facebook posts that lift us up and encourage us as we walk daily with God and have our faith tested.

Financial Support: Please pray about this! If you want to make a donation, please let me know.  We are currently setting up a final meeting with the leadership board of our church to see if we can have an account with them so that any donations we receive would be tax-deductible (looks promising, just need to work out a few formalities).  As of right now, if you were to give, it would be straight to me and Peter and we have an account for our YWAM funds.  Please either comment on here, or email me at stephotis@yahoo.com for mailing information.

One-time donations and monthly donations would both be wonderful!   Any amount AT ALL would be a HUGE blessing to us!!

Breakdown of due dates (for both of us, total):

DTS (Australia):  <<< This installment is a DIRE NEED right now, these due dates are getting close!

Sept 23- $1,400

Oct 1- $7,300

Outreach (Asia):

Nov 11- $4,000

Dec 25- $4,000

Other Expenses:

-Airfare to and from Australia: approx. $2,000

-International Health Insurance: up to $1,000

-Monthly expenses while in Australia & Asia: approx. $100-200/month

Thank you for taking the time to read all of this, it means SO much to us that you are taking an interest in what God is doing in our lives.  He has been so amazing to us, and I can only hope that you continue to stay throughout this journey with us and see God move in some amazing ways.  We hope to make God known throughout the nations with our lives, and this is just the beginning! Please pray about becoming part of our support team—we need you!  Love you guys!!

http://www.ywam.org/
http://www.ywammedia.com/ywamwhitsunday.com/dts.html

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Do you know that God has AMAZING plans for your life? Plans you could NEVER dream of?  And the best part? He gives us all we need to accomplish these plans in our lives, along with grace, hope, and peace.  He gives us the strength to carry out His will for our lives.  He gives us REST when we need it the most... He is our greatest comforter.

 

 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. –Isaiah 55:8-9

 

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. –John 14:27

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. –Hebrews 11:1

For we walk by faith, not by sight. -2 Corinthians 5:7

What’s the catch?  Faith.  We can only live out this amazing life God has planned for us, if we live it out by faith.

 

Faith is ‘the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see’.

 

Let’s look at Hebrews chapter 11...

3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God...

8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going... Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

This chapter goes on to show the immense faith of those who believed in God’s promises: Sarah believed that God would keep His promise and bring her a child, Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son because of the immense faith he had in God, Jacob blessed his children because of his faith, Joseph proclaimed that the people of Israel would leave Egypt, Moses left Egypt not fearing the king’s anger, and finally, Rahab protected the disciples and in doing so, was not destroyed with the rest of her people in her city who refused to obey God.  These people showed great faith in God, without being able to SEE how everything was going to work out for them.  They believed; they trusted.

 

God, let us trust you with this kind of faith.

I love verse 27!  ‘It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.’

What faith Moses had to not even care what the king would do to him, but to just continue to trust in the one true GOD.

It then goes on to explain what feats people made by having faith in God, and also what consequences they had to endure for doing so.  Even though God has set before us an amazing journey doing His will, it WILL cost us... and sometimes, the cost is our lives (whether that be giving up your own plans for your life, or giving up your physical life).  Is it worth it to you?

All of these people did these things BY FAITH.  It was by faith that they lived fully for God and were blessed beyond measure.  The following were the characteristics of these people of great faith:

• followed God’s call solely by faith not knowing where they were going
• sacrificed for God and gave him acceptable offerings
• lived righteous lives
• pleased God
• believed God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him
• their actions showed they served Him
• confidently looked forward
• believed God would keep His promise
• agreed they were foreigners and nomads here on this earth
• always were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland
• they were not afraid
• chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin
• suffered for the sake of Christ
• kept their eyes on God
• obeyed in the midst of terrifying circumstances
• obeyed and followed God even when no one else could understand

Do any of these things portray the type of faith that you have?  Why or why not?  What can you do to become more like these great pillars of faith?  And remember—all of these people had struggles, made mistakes, and had major weaknesses to overcome.  Yet, their weaknesses turned to strength through their faith.  Let us who claim to have faith live out our lives like this! Don’t miss out on God’s blessings and plans for your life because of disobedience or fear.

God has amazing plans for your life (and mine, too!)  Don’t be scared to take that step, to listen to that still, small voice, or to respond to that little tug on your heart.  Just because you can't "see" something happening or it doesn't make much sense, doesn't mean it isn't God's will for your life.

Don’t delay; respond to God in faith today.

Clean Eating

On my journey to taking care of myself, I dedicated a large portion of my time to reading more about how to live a healthy lifestyle.  This led me to understand more than I ever have about food.  I started learning about how terrible processed foods are for your body, and I have actually realized how horrible they make me feel.  Also, my lack of exercise had been contributing to some intense mood swings and a general feeling of being "down".  So... here are the things that I have learned and that I am trying to following and incorporate into my eating habits:

·         Eat 5-6 small meals every day (breakfast is the most important)

·         Eat every 3 hours

·         Always combine a lean protein with a complex carb at each meal

·         Drink. More. Water.

·         Plan & prep your meals; not planning = failed meals

·         Always avoid over-processed, refined foods

·         Avoid sugar-saturated juice, alcohol, and especially sodas

·         Depend on more fresh fruits and veggies for your nutrition:)

·         Portion control!

You obviously can’t eat 6 meals a day unless they are “smaller” than the huge, standard American three meals a day looks like. SO. This means smaller, more controlled meals every 3 hours that include a lean protein with a complex carb.

Lean Protein? –http://www.livestrong.com/article/276808-examples-of-lean-protein-foods/

Complex Carb? –http://www.livestrong.com/article/27398-list-complex-carbohydrates-foods/

Plan & Prep

Plan your meals for the week.  This helps when you have JUST gone grocery shopping and can prepare (prep) for the week.  Always, always wash and cut all your fruits and veggies right when you get home from grocery shopping and bake anything you need to (like amazing, healthy sweet (or purple) potatoes that should be a huge staple in your diet).  This helps you to not have to prepare each small meal during a busy work week.

Portion Control

5-6 small meals a day.  YES, eat more often! This is basically how our bodies ‘should’ be telling us how to eat... but society and a huge lack of portion control has made us all unaware of how terrible we are treating our bodies!  Here is the correct portion sizes you should be eating at each meal:

Yea… society def. isn’t following this… but should be!

Healthy Staples

Always try to get your food closest to it’s natural state as possible.  This means less processing and less loss of nutrients. Try to avoid white flours, sugars, etc.

• honey (my #1 go-to sweetener)
• agave nectar (found near peanut butter or in baking aisle)
• 100% pure maple syrup (not “pancake syrup”)
• truvia/stevia packets (natural sweeteners found in baking aisle)
• stevia drops (found in health food stores)
• brown rice
• quinoa
• chia seeds
• flax
• oats (quick or old fashioned)
• coconut oil (instead of butter or canola/vegetable/olive oils)
• almond milk
• bananas
• greek yogurt
• egg whites (usually use a whole egg and then extra egg whites to bump up protein in recipes)

Helpful Sites

http://www.picklee.com/2012/08/01/recipe-substitutions/

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/our-free-meal-plans/

http://www.heandsheeatclean.com/2012/07/weekly-food-prep.html

http://www.heandsheeatclean.com/p/the-lifestyle.html

Examples of food prep

• hard boiled eggs
• sautéed zucchini and squash (I add tons of herbs to mine)
• steamed broccoli/grilled asparagus (or any veggies)
• baked sweet potatoes (super good for you!)
• a crock pot recipe/casserole recipe that will last you a while 
• whole coconut for the antioxidant water and grated flesh for recipes
• chicken breasts (plain or in a recipe)
• greek yogurt and frozen fruit in baggies for quick smoothies (add in fresh baby spinach leaves, honey, ground flax seeds/chia seeds, and almond milk)
• brown rice/quinoa/whole grain pasta
• baked spaghetti squash, ground turkey, and red sauce (for a super healthy spaghetti meal)
• cut up all of your fruits and veggies to snack on throughout the week

Me and my husband usually prep every two weeks (since we are on a budget and just have to make it last a while right now) and make a trip to the grocery store in between for fresh produce.

Typical day of eating in my life

Breakfast- Oats with whole milk, honey, 1/2 banana, chia seeds, and flax; OJ; coffee with homemade creamer

Mid-morning snack- greek yogurt, mandarin orange, green tea

Lunch- lean protein and complex carb. For example-- sweet potato, chicken, and zucchini. Or maybe just PB&J and hard boiled egg... and water every day at lunch.

Afternoon snack- whole wheat muffin and a banana

Post-workout—protein shake and maybe another muffin (sometimes I usually just eat dinner if we are going directly home from gym)

Dinner- Turkey meatloaf, asparagus, zucchini, and milk.

Dessert- greek yogurt, cottage cheese, almond/peanut butter, & granola on top (maybe.. I usually don’t want a meal after dinner unless we had a really tiring gym day) **note—do not eat this if you are not working out regularly.  This is high calorie and high fat, which I need because I sometimes have trouble eating enough throughout the day.

And that’s my day! I don’t eat perfectly each day and I know my downfall is not planning/prepping enough so I am working on that! I know planning a week’s worth of meals seems like a lot but if you just have a couple hours one day a week or so to do it, it’ll save time in the long run. But if not... just try planning one or two days at a time!

This way of eating has definitely made a difference in my energy and how I feel in general. A book that has helped me tremendously is The Eating Clean Diet (it says diet and fat loss, but it has good tips in general for just a healthy lifestyle): http://www.amazon.com/The-Eat-Clean-Diet-Recharged-Lasting/dp/1552100677/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360605805&sr=8-1&keywords=eat+clean

Also-- I can’t stress enough how imperative exercise is. Exercise strengthens your immune system and positively effects your emotional responses to everyday life.  Strength training is specifically important because it boosts your metabolism and continues to burn energy while you are resting (while your body is repairing itself, building muscle).  Don’t leave this part of healthy living out of your lifestyle!

I hope this information helps! For more recipes and tips, visit my Meal Plan board on Pinterest for inspiration: http://pinterest.com/stephotis/food-tips-meal-plans/
My Instagram feed also has a lot of my recipes I've personally made too: http://instagram.com/stephanieotis/

Cloudy Days

Today started out like my work days usually do—woke up way too late, threw my hair up in a bun, off to work in the dark. I am not a morning person whatsoever, yet this morning in particular I felt more energized than usual. Going to the gym and eating clean has helped me feel so good. I originally was going to write a blog post on the fact that I feel so much better, my moods have improved, etc... and then something happened.  Not sure what time it was, but my day just went all downhill.  I don’t know why I felt down or sad or annoyed, but I just did.  I just wanted to go home and sleep the day away.  This is not normal for me, at least not lately.  It’s so discouraging to feel this way, especially when I have been feeling so good lately.

I guess it’s just one of those days—one where it feels like everything is just hitting you in the face and no one else in the world understands. One of those days where it seems like a dark cloud is surrounding you and won’t leave you alone.  Maybe it’s just my attitude, or maybe it’s just the fact that I feel like my life isn’t really moving into a new direction as fast as I had hoped it would.

Maybe God is trying to teach me something in my pain and in my waiting. I hope so.  I know He has bigger plans for my life than I have for myself.  I know that what I am going through right now is only preparing me for something in my life that I cannot yet see.

Life sometimes can be hard; it can be full of disappointments and days that never end; full of heartache and frustrations.  This is when I just have to trust and know that the God of the universe has everything under control even when I feel like giving up on everything and everyone.

I just keep holding onto this truth: God will never leave me nor forsake me.  This is the truth that I am grasping onto in the midst of my circumstances.  This is the hope that I need during a day like today where I feel like I have nothing else to hold on to.

Nothing Left

Do you ever wonder if you have life figured out right?

Do you know if you think of life, it’s circumstances, and the people in it, in the way that you should?  I am looking through some blogs tonight and seeing others spending their life wandering around this beautiful world and writing about how amazing it is.  They write about how inspiring it is to see how other people live.  And my heart longs to do the same.  My hearts pulls towards leaving America, the land of the privileged and self-centered; the land that I call home; the beautiful land where I have come to love... and the land that has shaped who I am and how I think of this world.  Yet-- I am left wondering if I have it all wrong.  And I know at times that I do.

I want a life full of true joy and fulfillment.  Not in things, but in people and in relationships.

I want to be used.

I want to be used up completely before I leave this beautiful world.  I want to stand (or kneel) in front of my God and know that He is proud of me-- that He is proud that I took life’s opportunities and ran with them, spreading His love and truth to each and every corner of this earth.

I want to have nothing left.

I want to see the joy on children’s faces when they see that this little, blonde, American girl who can’t speak their language came so far to see them specifically.  I want to hold their hands and walk with them, all the while wondering why they trust me so easily and quickly.  I just want to sit next to them, and as they slowly scoot closer and closer to me, smile to myself as I feel, once in my life, right where I need to be.

I want to hug the women who have such joy and peace in their life even if they don’t have shoes on their feet.  I want to see their smiles-- their wrinkled, tired, faces that reflect the grace of God.  I don’t want to miss out on this wonderful life.  It’s too short, too beautiful, and too full of amazing people and opportunities to see God work in and through others.

For now, I will keep hoping for these things and that I can also be used right where I am.

**this picture is of a little boy, Elvie, I just fell completely in love with on my first mission trip to Guatemala. I went back to his town on my last trip and was heartbroken to find out that he had moved to Guatemala city... I can only pray that God would keep him safe there and grow up to be a wonderful man of integrity.