1 samuel chapter 3
1Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, 3 and before the lamp of God went out in the [fn1] tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, 4 that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, "Here I am!" 5 So he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me."
And he said, "I did not call; lie down again." And he went and lay down.
6 Then the Lord called yet again, "Samuel!"
So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." He answered, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." 7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you did call me."
Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, 'Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!"
And Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears."

"mandy"....
i turn and ask "did someone say my name?" ...
"nah... ur jus hearing things hahaha"
"no seriously i thought i heard my name"
"no seriously i didnt say anything"

this happens to me all the time... now im not saying that everytime i hear something that sounds like my name.. that it is the lord calling out... but i do have faith and know that god has called and yearned for my attention and i so easily turn and look for something or something else...
i was reading this passage tonight jus glancing at it and the lord grabbed me... i have been such a slacker at keeping this blog posted... but hopefully i will get back in the routine... but this is a lesson i learned awhile ago but i still and learning to do. samuel was listening... he heard god... he heard his name.. but his response wasn't to the lord... he was seeking the voice of a man. seeking something here on earth... seeking the noticable and logical... i hope you know by now in your walk with the lord that he doesn't work logically... he usually doesnt work the way we see it... he uses the impossible to do the impossible... i feel that often i find my self hearing god.. knowing its god... but looking for what i think it is... wheni heard god calling my name and the word kentucky was in the same sentence... i completely turned and said it was a person telling me i should go... i confused the voice of my creator for the created... i say here i am lord... here... but then i wait for a person to confirm his voice. i find (myself included) believers offering their lives to the lord and then sitting there waiting for someone to open the door of ministry or to suggest a ministry....
i have also learned that when god calls you somewhere... no matter if he confirms it through the stranger and the store or your senior pastor... you must follow with everthing you got. we cant wait for him to open doors either we need to step out in faith believing that he will close the proper doors and guide us in his direction. FAITH... believing in the things unseen....
god is good... my summer was unbelievable... i wish i could tell all the stories of gods provison, guidance, blessings, trails, and amazing love i was shown this summer... i cant wait to see whats next...
as of right now im in so california spending some time with my family and friends... off to spain september 3...
thanks for all your prayer and support...
mandy
manfree136@yahoo.com 19095288964

oh yea...

check out the marletts blog... they do such a better job explaining...
thesix.wordpress.com

I GOT A JOB!!!.... and a tattoo....

man this week.... it goes by so fast!! i have been out here n good ol' kentucky for almost a month now... and wat an experience...
my days are filled wit laughter, tears, praises, and requests... and one things that never fails to happen is GOds faithfulness to meet me. it seems to get harder and harder to leave... this last time was rough.. but what a blessing it has been. CHar... wow girl u truly are amazing, it has been a joy n my life to b able to share these moments wit you and your family...thanks girl!!
k so we are still n preparation for our summer bible club happening next month... n july on friday nights... u guys can b praying for us as we pray through specific teachings, skits, snacks, crafts and even games... its gonna b awesoome!! please pray for the other families here too... jen and gabe, the dewitts, butoras.... we all want to b used by the LORD and just need direction and guidance...
well u all might have heard n some way or another a huge praise!! I GOT A JOB!!!
MC DONALDS here i come!!! lol... if kentucky wasn't bad enough... i will start my new job next monday!! haha... im sure u will all have a good laugh or two about that one!!... pics will b comin dont u worry...
next big thing.. tattoo... yup i finally did it... (thanks mom ;)) it is the hand print of Jesus wit his blood stain which he died for me... i love it!! it looks almost too real... people ask me it a got smacked so hard it left their finger prints hahaha...
its been such an incredible time to be here and to be apart of what the lord is doing here....
thanks for the prayers!!!

His Tears

Ding Dong!

Opening the door i see the three. Entering one by one, i greet each with a loving hug and brotherly kiss. We make our way to the living room, open up the blinds for grandmas comfort, turn on the light for grandpas eyes, and make it comfy for tina's leisure. We all sit and converse about the days events and wait for dad to come out and mom to come home , meanwhile we comment on tina's pink precious moments bible thats she has kept since we were the little croutons we were. As dad finally come out and adds his Bible to the other four on the coffee table, all noise ceases. In the midst of this family genesis, grandpa takes the first words.

Scooting to the edge of the rocking chair, "I want to take this moment to say a little something." My heart sinks and beats as i see his eyes being intruded with tears and voice crack with sincerity. "I want to say thank you. Thank you for finally having this. God is so good, and He answers prayers. We have prayed this for a long time Mija. I pray that we would just give this up to the Lord right now. Remember this day. Remember this day in June. But most of all Mija, I pray that you guys would continue this. I want to see my family delivered. Listen Mija, when we are gone, I want this still to continue, even when we are gone. We love you. and the Lord loves you." With the side of my hand, i wipe my tears from each cheek. Giggling, as i look at my dad and cousin do the same. Heart and mind ready, I speak. "Turn to the book of Ephesians. Let's pray..."

Starting us off with verses one and two I felt an unfamiliar beauty. This was the first time the Word of the Lord was ever spoken out loud in my own home. What was more beautiful and completely unforgettable was what followed. Another unfamiliar beauty was heard, as my dad, grandma, grandpa, and cousin tina continued to read through the first chapter of Ephesians. Stopping in the middle of the chapter, my grandma began to comment on Pauls letter to Ephesus. So excited and eager, I threw out all that i had learned in Mallorca. So naturally, I began to share of these Ephesians and their richness in the Lord, yet their ignorance which completely became a mask. I shared about our eternal hope we have and just the different desires that Paul was writing about. Before I could finish my thoughts, my grandpa took over, then soon after my dad began to converse. For the next hour I sat on my couch watching the Lord light up each person in that living room. What an inexplicable joy it was to hear my own father tell my own grandfather and grandmother what the Lord has been filling his heart with. Hearing about their convictions, weaknesses, realizations, and praises... my words quickly became replaced with smiles.

To look at a 4 year prayer be answered right in front of my eyes... now that folks, is true happiness. To see my dad sit on the very couch he drank and instead have a Bible in his hand... that is just the birth of a new baby boy. And to see MY HOUSE as a gathering place for prayer and a Bible study... now that, that is just a glimpse of how faithful My God is.

After an hour and a half of questions, laughs, sharing, and reading we decided my dad needed to stop "sharing" because we all had work in the morning. :) And with prayer requests for the deliverance of my other 44+ family members, and a new kidney for my grandma, I had the privilege of lifting my family up and thanking Him for all that He is.....

It truly takes the Lord, and nothing else to soften a heart to cry. Yes, I claim Fox and the Hound and the death of the elderly in movies as my tear-jerker moments, BUT tonight was truly the first time I have cried since last September, when the Lord completely broke me. Though the most perfect realization between that moment and now is that this time, the Lord gave me not my own tears, but instead shared with me His.

And for that, I know My God is Mighty To Save.





i love you all,
anna

prayer...

so its really hard for me to keep up with the blog... i need some prayer...
first of all a job... where ever the lord wants me to work i want to... i turned n an application at michaels the other day n we are jus waiting on a phone call... but the lord knows how to provide....
my computer broke while we were road trippin.. i dont know how n i dont know whats wrong wit it...so i need to take it to circut city but its n louisville bout 1 hr away... so i have to find time to do that...
my mom is coming out here to visit next week!! n she hopefully will bring my camara which was broken from hungary... so know i will b back n action...
its been sooo much fun out here livin wit the marletts they r amazing!!! we have a womens bible study today n i will b taking care of ALL the kids... pretty crazy... more prayer needed :)

okay blog world.... so these are a few pictures from our roadtrip! man it was such a blessing!! mandy and i have bee talking about this trip since our freshman year... and boy oh boy was it all that we imagined.

i never want to drive or sit in the passengers seat again, BUT it was sweet. mandy is now inkentucky and i am back in cali!

we went through 7 states in i about 5 days and we used every second of it!... we will have to write stories later but a guess we can sum it up in that 

God is good and he aint lyin when he saud Delight in Him and He will give you the desires of your heart.

amen

here we go...one more time...

well we are off to kentucky folks....  

after church on sunday we trecked out for the AZ... we made it by 9.30.... adrianna's family was waiting for us wit a fiesta!!! it was amazing!....

the next morning we got up at 5 and started on the longest day every... we traveled through az, new mexico, texas, n oklahoma...all n one day... i dont care what the map looks like... new mexico is the longest state ever!! 

so weve been in oklahoma and one last night n we are off to nashville tomorrow....