LIFE Update (& pics from Thailand)!

Pot, Mimi, Me & Bebe

Hey, everybody! I've been SUPER busy so I haven't had as much time to blog, but I still want to update it as often as I can, despite my crowded schedule! Here are the main three things that are going on right now in my life:

1.) College. Right now I'm living at home and commuting to my college campus for classes. I JUST finished my first college class (english) last night with an A! I was initially afraid that the transition from home-schooling to commuting to a secular junior college (in order to remain debt free) would be difficult academically. However, I was wrong. At first I had to get used to the expectations of each different professor, but after getting used to the different expectations, the transition went smoothly. My dad is driving me to campus everyday right now, too and we've had some really good conversations on the way to and from class. So, as of right now, I am going to college full-time, have an A under my belt, and, more importantly, I am completely DEBT FREE! Praise The Lord!

Wearing the Pillowcase Dresses @ church

2.) My job @ ROOTS Family Church. After returning from Thailand in July, I was presented with a wonderful job opportunity from the elders at my church. For those of you who don't know, my parents are church-planters, which means that they start new churches. The ministry that The Lord has led us to right now is to plant a network of family focused house churches. However, when each of these new congregations start, they are in need of a worship leader. My job at Roots is to be a "worship catalyst" by going to each of the new house churches and launching the worship ministries for each congregation. My goal will be to train and raise up a worship leader within the congregation, essentially working myself out of the job. I LOVE my job!!! However, I'm raising support (my own salary), so it is still hard work! This is also helping me start a support base for my orphan ministry that I dream of starting four years down the road (after graduating college).

Sweet Chai & I

3.) Discipleship. One of the biggest things I got out of my trip to Asia this summer was a passion for discipleship. The staff members at Sending Hope International did a fantastic job investing into the girls’ lives and giving the children opportunities to lead the Bible studies, the worship and the prayer time. When these girls prayed and worshipped, they were passionate. They were in love with and on fire for Christ in a way that I had never seen before in America. I then thought about the girls in my life back in California and just how wonderful it would be if those girls were just as on-fire for Christ as the orphans at Sending Hope. After praying about it and talking with some trusted authority figures in my life, I have decided to begin doing one-on-one discipleship with junior-high girls who are thirsty for Christ and committed to growing closer to Him.  I have already begun meeting one-on-one with two girls on a weekly basis. The girls love it and I love it, too. I am super excited to walk alongside them during the most formative years of their life and watch as they grow into beautiful young women after God’s own heart.

Chai, Pawn & Jintinah in their Pillowcase Dresses!

Soooo.... God's been doing some awesome things in my life, lately. It's a CRAZY stage of life, but a good stage of life. I would really appreciate your prayers as I raise support for my job, continue college and continue further investing into the tween girls that I'm discipling! Thank you SO much!!

In His Service,
Hannah Boyd
~Philippians 1:21

Debt-Free

     Going into college, my main priority is to graduate debt-free. For me, that means that if I don't have the money to pay for classes then I won't sign up for them. I won't buy anything that I can't afford and I won't register for classes that I don't have the money for. That seems like a pretty basic concept to me, but as I've been sharing my debt-free goal with more and more people I have been surprised to have received a couple negative responses! The negativity isn't because people oppose my goal, but it is because they think that it's impossible (especially if I won't take loans.) Despite the discouraging comments, remaining debt-free continues to be a conviction of mine.

"For with God nothing shall be impossible."

Luke 1:37

     In the height of my discouragement, I completely forgot that it wasn't just my goal to graduate debt-free... it was God's goal for me as well. I knew that He wanted me to graduate without debt, but at that point, I had no idea how he would do it. Remaining debt-free seemed impossible, but I had faith that if His will for me was to have no debt, he would provide the means for me to do so.
     The next day I had the opportunity to meet with a financial aid counselor from the college to discuss the costs for the upcoming year. I was prepared for discouraging news, but our meeting was exactly the opposite of that! The counselor told me that the aid I was going to receive would cover my tuition (all of my classes!) And since I would still be living at home, I'd be getting free room and board as well! I immediately smiled as I realized what had just happened. The Lord had provided, once again! Isn't God great?! I am thrilled to be entering into my first year of college knowing that the Lord has provided and I'll be completing it debt-free!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways submit to Him, and he will make your paths straight." 

Proverbs 3:5-6

College Decision: One Step Closer!

     Well, I finally made a decision on what I'll be doing for college this fall! Instead of going straight to a four year Christian university, I'll be staying home and taking college classes at my local city/junior college for two years and then transfer to a Christian university. Since I'm going into full time ministry I know I won't be making a lot of money and private Christian university's are really expensive in comparison to a JC, so financially going to a JC makes more sense then heading straight to a four year. My goal with college is to graduate completely debt free. It may seem impossible, but as I've been searching for a way to do this I have met many people along the way that have successfully graduated debt free and I feel like I will be able to do this! Of course, I am looking for a job so that I will be able to pay off any college expenses as they come instead of acquiring loans.  I will also be living at home, which gives me an extra two years of training for adulthood without being on my own just yet. I have a great relationship with my family so I'm fine with still living at the house. We DO get on each other's nerves sometimes, but that's what family's are for, right? ;) Anyway, this brings me one step closer to a final college decision! It may seem like a little step, but it's a step that took me a long time to make. I really needed my family's support and confirmed affirmation from God before taking any steps forward! I feel like I have that now and I'm really excited to see what God has in store for me in the months to come!

Still, My Soul, Be Still

   

     So, for those of you that don't know, this year I decided to take on the challenge of completing two years of high school in one year, so that I could graduate a year early! Though this is super exciting, it also gives me less time to look for colleges and pray about what to do with this next step of my life.

     Lately we've been really busy and I haven't been spending much time researching different college options. I started getting really stressed and felt like my mental 'to-do' list wasn't getting done everyday. On top of that, I was still having symptoms that the Candida Diet was supposed to cure and we were having issues getting ahold of my doctors. Now I felt sick emotionally AND physically.

     This morning before getting out of bed I stopped to pray. I prayed that God would give me a sense of direction about where to go to college. "Anything at all." I whispered.

     Peace. For some odd reason, that word popped in to my head. I thought maybe God was trying to tell me something. I sighed, then finished praying. "Yes... I need peace."

     After praying, I pushed my emotions aside and put my IPod on shuffle while getting ready for my day. The first song that started playing was Still, My Soul, Be Still by Keith and Kristyn Getty. Here's how the chorus goes. 

God, You are my God

And I will trust in You and not be shaken

Lord of peace, renew

A steadfast spirit within me

To rest in You alone

     

    When the chorus started playing, I paused what I was doing and just listened. I felt like those words were meant for me. Lord of peace renew... I will trust in you and not be shaken... a steadfast spirit within me, to rest in You alone. I thanked God as the song ended, but then continued my day and completely forgot about it.

     After finishing my schoolwork, I decided to do my daily bible reading. Some days I feel the Lord really speaking to me during these times, other days I feel like it's more mechanical. Today I guess I was expecting it to be more mechanical or something, because I know that I wasn't expecting to feel God's presence the way that I did.

     I opened my bible to the passage I was supposed to read that day and one of the first verses included the phrase, "Be still and know that I am God." I stopped and just shut my eyes. The Lord was giving me this moment to just be still. I felt this warmth spread through my body and just felt like the Lord was telling me to trust him. To be still and rest in him. Suddenly I didn't feel worried about this whole college transition. I didn't feel worried or scared about what to do. And most importantly, I finally felt like God was giving me a clear sense of direction. He was telling me to just trust him. 

     I felt so lighthearted as the day went on. Now, as I'm writing this, I still don't know what college I'll be going to. I don't know what this next year is going to hold for me, but I do feel God's peace as I continue trusting in him! Just think, by this time next year, I'll be halfway done with my freshman year in college!

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UPDATE

   
     Alright, well, I wrote this post last night but decided not to post it since I finished writing it really late and wanted to read over it once more in the morning. This morning my devotions were awesome! They were all about trusting God and about how he has bigger plans for us than we could ever imagine. But the best part of the devotional was definitely the scripture! Here are the verses that were assigned to me this morning.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

     Well, needless to say, reading that scripture this morning was a total God thing for me! I felt like it was just another way in which God was telling me to trust him. I was so worried about not feeling a clear sense of direction, but the last couple days I've really been feeling God's peace within me. I am so excited about this next step of my life and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me!

     God Bless,

     ~Hannah