There is a time & season for everything.

Proverbs 31:10-31 [selected verses] MSG. "A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds. Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never has reason to regret it [He knows that she is committed to him alone & he knows that she is his greatest supporter]. Never spiteful, she treats him generously all her life long.[love & respect have been deeply established in their lives]She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family & organizing her day [she knows that this may be her only time alone with the Lord]. First thing in the morning, she dresses for work, rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started. She senses the worth of her work, is in no hurry to call it quits for the day. She's skilled in the crafts of home & hearth, diligent in homemaking. She's quick to assist anyone in need, reaches out to help the poor. She doesn't worry about her family when it snows; the winter clothes are all mended & ready to wear [she is always prepared].Her husband is greatly respected when he deliberates with the city fathers. Her clothes are well made & elegant, and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly [living out the fruits of the spirit]. She keeps an eye on everyone in her household, and keeps them all busy & productive. Her children respect and bless her; her husband joins in with words of praise: [respect & words of praise are earned] Many women have done wonderful things, but you've outclassed them all! Charm can mislead & beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired & praised is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God. giver her everything she deserves! Festoon her life with praises!"

As the months quickly go by before I become a wife I often find myself meditating on this section of scripture. There is so much wisdom out there & so many different ideas on what it means to be a "good wife". I've been blessed to have several role models speak into my life over the years that have taught me a great deal of information through their lifestyle and the words that they have spoken over me [A very special thank-you to my Mom & Mrs. Budzinski, you two have forever challenged me, changed me, & have grown me into who I am today]. But I still constantly find myself back at this portion of scripture. I don't know if it is the simplicity that speaks to me, the beautiful poetry, or the lifestyle that this woman lived that moves me so deeply. Whatever it is, these characteristics are ones that I aspire to grow in [especially as I've seen the fruit of them play out through my role model's lives]. I feel that each day God is challenging me with something new & for this season in my life I am just suppose to take each new lifestyle change one step at a time. For those of you that know me personally, this is one of my greatest challenges. When I see something in me that I want to change I am hoping/expecting an immediate change and that rarely is the reality. 

This morning when I was spending my quiet time with the Lord He quickly rested the verse in my heart "She's up before dawn". I am not a morning person but ever sense moving to Australia I have decided to make myself a morning person. [This is a characteristic that I always saw my dear mentor Mrs. Budzinski doing. I could never understand how she received this energy or motivation to get up before dawn DAILY & to run one of the most incredible households of all] I was taken back this morning as I sat in awe of the impossible change that I saw in myself. I couldn't believe that sense I've been here that nearly every morning I've managed to wake up several hours before I had to be someone just so I could "be up before dawn" & start my day out with the Lord. This isn't said to give myself praises but to give all of the praises to God. I thought getting up early in the morning was IMPOSSIBLE for me & I was right. It was impossible FOR ME to do on my own. I needed to realize that I NEEDED God's help in order to succeed with this one. 

I'm sharing this not out of self praise [especially because I am no where near the woman that I'm called to be], but as an encouragement to those out there who are in this season of life preparing for marriage. As I continue planning Ryan & I's wedding I quickly loose focus of the women that I am called to be & am too focused on temperamental issues or emotions. But we must join together & not loose heart because this is one of the most beautiful seasons of growth that we will ever have! 

This morning God just told me to STOP. Instead of living in condemnation for the things that I am not, I needed to quickly give Him praises for the things that I AM. So now I can confidently say that through Christ, I AM a morning person who desperately desires time with the Lord before the sun arises. 

Now time to focus on one of the next areas that I highlighted...

To Be Continued: As God continues to reveal new things to me & molds me towards the woman that He has designed me to be.

Also anyone who is married, let me know what your best advice would be to someone preparing for this season of marriage.

March Update

To my faithful supporters,

I cannot believe that March is already here! This past month has been one of the greatest months that I have ever experienced. God has been so faithful and has answered so many of my prayers. Each day continues to be filled with so much excitement, so many challenges, and great growth. As much as I am missing my family and dear friends, I know that God has called me here for such a time as this. As I continue through my days so much gratitude fills my heart because I know that I wouldn't be experiencing all of this without each one of you. This truly is a season of growth and preparation for me. I fully believe that opportunities are going to present themselves; I believe also that these opportunities will change the rest of my life, my families' and the ministry that God has called Ryan and me to one day. 

ANSWERED PRAYER:

For a little update on last month's prayer requests, I was employed by a company called Go Fresh which sells salads, juices, and frozen yogurt. God had His hand over me in receiving this particular job. I was submitting many applications during the day and I decided to check one more place (Go Fresh). When I handed the owner my resume he saw that I attended Hillsong College and the next words that came out of his mouth were, "Can you come in next Saturday to start training?" It is amazing to see how God knew exactly where I needed to work and opened up an incredible opportunity for me. 

CLASSES:

Classes are incredible. I frequently find myself saying, "Wow, this is the type of learning that I've been waiting for my whole life." I have lectures Monday-Wednesday and each lecture has a tutorial which consists of a group of 20 students who review lecture material with a trainer. By doing things this way, it helps me apply so much of what I learn in lecture and teaches me how to practically apply it in ministry. Throughout my week I am assigned to work with an organization called City Care. This is one of those opportunities that I feel like I have been waiting for my entire life. I have the opportunity to work with a group of inner city high school girls on a weekly basis. I have been given the opportunity to teach them for an hour each week through a program called SHINE. The program is designed to show women that they are beautiful, intelligent, have value, and have a voice in the world. Not only is it amazing that this is where my heart has always been, teaching in an inner city school, but this program also has world wide influence. This also means that I will have the opportunity to bring this program and the men's program called STRENGTH to Cambodia. (STRENGTH is the program that Ryan is placed in). God couldn't have picked a more amazing weekly service opportunity for us to be a part of.  

SISTERHOOD:

On Thursdays we have a weekly women's gathering called Sisterhood. Let me tell you, this is a ministry that is done with excellence. I have never been a part of such a fruitful women's ministry program in my entire life. You walk into the church Thursday morning and see stations set up around the foyer with signs that say PAMPER, stations with coffee and tea, and men serving you hand picked special treats. Pamper consists of someone giving you a manicure, a massage or getting your hair done. There are also places for women to sit and chat over coffee and tea. Afterwards, all the women gather together to hear a teaching by either our main pastor Bobbie Houston, or one of her hand picked guests. Sisterhood has shown me so much about the voice that women can have in ministry. I have had the opportunity to see so many incredible, determined, confident women speak to Sisterhood during the week and then preach in front of the whole congregation the following weekend. This shows me that I don't need to limit my dreams because I now see the blessing that women can be to the Kingdom of God. 

COLOUR CONFERENCE:

This past week I was able to serve in my first ever Colour Conference (yes, this is how Australian's spell color). This is a women's conference that I've always wanted to attend, so it was so surreal to finally be there. Colour is a two week event with two separate conferences. The first conference occurs in downtown Sydney where 15,000 women gather together for three days. The second conference occurs at our church at the Hills campus. The conference also travels to several other locations around the world including London, Cape Town and Kiev. It truly is an experience like no other. This past week I was assigned to serve as venue safety which is very similar to security. I had the opportunity to sit by many of our key speakers at this year's conference which allowed me to listen to many of the messages, including one by Christine Caine! It was one of the most exhausting yet exhilarating weeks that I have experienced.  This week the conference is at our Hills location, which is an opportunity for me as a first year student to experience conference first hand. I cannot wait to see what Christ does through this next week.

PRAYER REQUEST:

This past week I meet a man named London who I believe will have an impact on the rest of my time here and potentially the rest of my life. I was sharing with him my background and how I just graduated with my bachelor's degree in communications, have a passion for teaching, and have a desire to end human trafficking in Cambodia. He listened to everything I said and he just paused. He then told me that he was in charge of implementing a system that brings A21 to local school districts to educate students on human trafficking and ways they can prevent it. (A21 is Christine Caine's anti-human trafficking organization http://www.thea21campaign.org). London then told me that he was looking for someone with a communications degree, someone who enjoyed teaching, and had a passion to end human trafficking. This was a God ordained moment. I am still in awe that the only reason I met him was because I decided to work through my allotted break time so someone else could receive a break at conference. God is so faithful. I cannot comprehend this new opportunity. Please partner with me in praying that this opportunity would fit my timetable.

I continue to come to each of you with gratitude and complete thankfulness because I know I wouldn't be in Australia without you. As difficult as it is to be away from everyone and everything familiar each day, God continues to confirm that this year will be a year that changes the rest of my life. I am once again honored that Christ asked me to go out and preach the gospel to all nations. As I have come to terms with this, God has started to expand Ryan's and my vision for the future. This means not just limiting ourselves to Cambodia, but believing that we have been called to many more countries as well. God is so good and so faithful. Thank you for your support and believing in me. I am honored to be a part of your prayers and your financial contribution. Praying that through this next season of your life that God only continues to make himself more known to you. We all have the potential and capability to be growing and developing the characteristics of Christ!

Praying for each one of you and your precious families.

In Him,

Kristen Hoffmeyer

hoffm2kr@gmail.com

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