August Update

Guess what? It has been year from the time that I posted my first blog post. Crazy! It seems like so long ago but so not long ago too.... weird. Anyway! Let's move along with the update :)

1. Stand Retreat - Super success! I loved spending time with all the teens and hearing their stories it was awesome! Read the update for the STAND Retreat here!

2. Identity Youth Retreat - I got to spend a lot of time with the youth group at my church this past weekend! We did a lot of fun things together and I was stretched in my walk with the Lord.
Quick story: I am terrified of heights. All the high schoolers were doing the rock climbing wall so I thought "No biggy I can do this totally! No need to be afraid! Pssh." Until I was about to climb, I  looked up thrity feet to where one of the instructors stood looking down at me. What scared me the most is that it went from an innocent rope ladder to a rock climbing wall. When I had to make the transition from the rope ladder to the rocks I couldn't strech out my arm. I was paralyzed by fear. Then as I began to climb the rocks one of the girls holding my rope shouted "You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength!" It might seem silly to some people but that helped me more than any other words of comfort as I was dangling twenty feet above the ground held up by a rope and my white fingers holding onto the rocks. Then it happened. I lost my grip on the rocks and fell 5 feet toward the ground. I couldn't do it. Then as I was siting in the harness just hanging away from the wall shaking, it was like the Holy Spirit whispered to me "Charissa let me help you, stop trying to do this on your own." Finally after a few minutes I started up the wall again and this time I was praying the whole time and I was repeating Philippians 4:6 over and over again. When I finally rolled onto the top of the platform I was shaking and breathless, my arms ached because all the blood had rushed out of them, but I overcame. When it was my turn to go down the zip line I didn't think twice I just jumped off and I remember screaming but my harness caught me and guess what? I didn't fall.

Through that experience God taught me that I can trust him, even with little things like climbing up a 30ft platform and ziplining down. He is trustworthy.

3. TCE in Brooksville - It is going great! This upcoming Thursday will be our last day of training. All the students have learned how to put together an effective Evangelistic Bible Lesson and on Thursday they will be able to teach it in front of an evaluator and  some of the other students. One of the reasons I love the Teaching Children Effectively classes is that you get to practice what we teach. We not only give you the skills to do it but we give you feedback as well so you can get better :) Pictures to come next week :)

4. Doctors Visit - Let me give you some background info so you know why I had to go to the doctor. Back in May I got a cold that lasted for 4 weeks and after I was done with all the symptoms only one lingered and it was an annoying cough. After CYIA I went to the doctor to figure out my health issues and she told me that coughs could last 6-8 weeks before getting better. Dr. Albers was very kind and said if I was still coughing in 10 days I should come back into the office.

My first visit to Dr. Albers :) 

Well it officially has been a month almost two since I have seen Dr. Albers and I am still coughing. Yeah I know that is really bad.  As I told her about my cough she looked a little confused and said "Well it sounds like you might have asthma, but there are some things about what you told me that make me think it might be something different." So I went into a tiny closet area where I blew into a pipe that measured how much air was coming out. Then they gave me another tub and I had to breath in medicine.

I don't know about you but when I am told to breathe normally I don't remember how to do that.... I was sitting there by myself with this ^^^^^^^^ thing in my mouth and I think I almost passed out because I was breathing so heavily. Turns out I have constricted breathing disease...I think they made up the name for me :) that kind of makes me feel special ;) So basically out of all of that I got these!

Yay! Now I get to breath in medicine everyday so I can breathe better. They were very expensive.... I actually can't even believe how much these cost even with my insurance. I kind of gave a stunned look to the pharmacist and she kind of had a face of "I'm sorry it's so much!" Next week I have to get a chest x-ray so they can rule out other options. But God is faithful to me! He is taking care of me even through all of the health issues I have been going through. Which lately has been a lot.
My neck is doing a lot better I got re-examined by the doctor and he said that I am doing a lot better than I was.

Besides health issues I am doing a lot better. The Lord has really come through for me lately. Not that he hasn't before but I guess I am grateful for it. Over the last couple of months in particular the Lord has allowed me to go through things like having neck injuries and I believe this breathing issue to make me more compassionate. And let me tell you that is one thing out of all of this that I am becoming, very compassionate for people and their struggles. Sometimes it takes going to the place where other people are all the time to understand their constant struggle and to not judge them but to love them the way they need to be loved. I'm grateful for all the lessons that the Lord has been teaching me and I would go through it all again in a heartbeat, because knowing Him has been the best reward I could have ever received. He not only sees me where I am but He knows exactly how to take care of me.

~ Matthew 10:29 ~
'Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?
And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father"