blessings from ellie

hello friends,
just wanted to share with you about a special girl i met sunday named ellie. we went to a church in st. ignatius to share about chi alpha and afterward a 14 year old native american girl approached a couple of us wanting to learn more about missions. she said she wanted to be a missionary to ecuador and that God had given her visions for it etc. this girl was incredible. i saw Jesus in her eyes. she was so at peace and so...i don't know. just full of the Lord. she told us stories about how she, too, is a campus missionary. she said she reads her bible out loud on the playground and some of the stories surrounding that. so full of faith. she told of how she was worried that her bible would get ruined if it got wet, and God told her not to worry. then as she and her friend stood out in the snow reading, they realized that the snowflakes were evaporating before they hit the page. several of them stood in amazement as both she and her friend read without a drop hitting the pages. she told of how she prays and God leads her all around the playground, giving her people to tell about Him. she blessed, encouraged and challenged me so much. i can't wait to hear what else God does in this little angel's life.

what's on my heart

lately God has been speaking to me about what i've dubbed "pastoral plagiarism," which is when Christians walk around quoting other Christians, claiming the revelations as their own. i think it's good to learn from other Christians and all, but something doesn't sit right with me when people act like they're all profound, saying things i've read in books, or heard around the Christian loop. i was driving the other day, thinking about this, and God spoke to me. He said, jess I am infinite. pray for fresh revelation and i will give it to you. i think we have a responsibility to brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for and bring fresh revelations in a way that only we can. that truly can only be brought by one individual in this whole earth. yeah, that's my thought for the day.