When it isn't Fun

I am someone who loves to have fun!  I love to laugh.  I love to enjoy what I am doing.  But sometimes, I find myself in a situation that simply is not fun.  In those seasons, I have found that I have a choice in how to react...

First of all, I had to realize that the situation that was stressful, sad, boring, or draining, was not permanent!  Things change! No matter how bad the circumstances you find yourself in--they will change!  So many stories involve the phrase "it came to pass"--I'm glad looking over my life, I can tell stories about things that came--and then passed!

Then, I determined I was going to make it through this season.  I was very distraught at one point this summer and thought surely I was going to crack under all of the pressure and stress that I was under.  But--I forced myself to embrace the mindset that these situations did not come to break me, but to make me stronger.  It sounds so simple really, but in the midst of crises it was an anchor of hope.

John Chapter 15 verses 1-17 was a great source of strength to me in the midst of the battle.  When I felt like I was being cut, and wounded so deep, I found hope in the promise that this cutting was to make me more fruitful.  This season can make you stronger and a better you if you refuse to become bitter.  Even grape vines that are doing well, fighting to provide life to every other branch around it, gets cut on, or "pruned".  Likewise--even when you're doing everything right, there's always room for improvement.  You can always be MORE fruitful!  What an amazing invitation.  With that mindset, the pruning is so much more endurable.  YOU are going to be able to affect more peoples' lives after this intense season of your life.  When this season and struggle passes, you will be able to provide hope to other people through your story.  When others see you not only made it through the season; but you made it through well, they will know it's possible for them to make it too.

You must not underestimate this season!  Choose to remember details about it.  The season that I am thinking about as I write this blog was also a season of great joy!  Now, as I have emerged victorious, I see the traces of joy throughout the season so clearly!  Now that I'm not consumed with the pain, I can see promises that were fulfilled throughout the season.  I have come through with a new level of strength, endurance, confidence and yes, joy!

Don't give up in the pruning!  Don't let the pressure break you.  Choose to strengthen yourself in this season.  Rise to the challenge!  You are not wandering through this trial alone--there is a Friend walking beside you, you can lean on Him and He will guide you through this season and lead you back to joy!

Season of Transition

It is with great joy that I can officially announce my plans for the next season of my life!

On June 23 I begin a season of travel and ministry!  I will be going to Minneapolis, MN where I will train with a team for a week before I go to Yankton, South Dakota to direct a missions base!  I will be working for an organization called YouthWorks. In the past YouthWorks has always done week long mission trips for youth groups, however, that is changing.  I have been hired to run a family site.  I will get to help develop a program for them to use from this year forward that will enable families to do mission trips together! This is an amazing opportunity that fuses my passion for missions with my degree in Psychology.  Utilizing things I have learned about childhood development and the development of spirituality throughout childhood, we are going to build an amazing program that will impact many families across the nation.  I was captivated by missions at a very early age and am so excited to get to create an environment where kids can come and fall in love with a lifestyle of missions.

After my commitment to YouthWorks ends in August, I will have a short break. But: on September 7 I will be moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado for 3 months.  I have been accepted to participate in a missions internship.  This will be an intense 3 months of training, teaching and preparation before leaving December 1 for 3 months on the missions field.  My exact assignment is still unknown, but I will be somewhere in the 10/40 Window--the part of the world the most unreached with the Gospel.  Words cannot express how excited I am to be a part of this ACTS School.  Lots has changed about this program and they have added lots so that the training will be even more beneficial.  I am honored to be the first group of interns to go through their new base in Colorado Springs!

These opportunities opened after a hard season that I shared about in my last blog post (feel free to read it if you didn't get to).  I chose hope in the middle of disappointment and continued to put myself out there in applications. And-at just the right time, for just the right opportunities, I was accepted.  The Lord opened every door I needed opened and I am so much more excited about these doors that have opened than I was over the doors I initially thought I wanted opened this summer.

In other words--this season is even better than I had imagined!  Yours can be too--Keep hope alive! Keep Dreaming!

I will continue to keep you updated as these things unfold! If you would like to be involved in any way please let me know!  Due to the nature of both these ministry opportunities what I will be able to post on an open website such as this blog will be limited.  If you want updates email me at jeremy.vestal@gmail.com and I will put you on the email list where you will get more personal connection and more details on everything!

Here's to learning to lean on a whole new journey!

It Can Change

I've been in a season of needing, really, everything to change.  It has been a season of unfulfilled dreams, broken promises, unfruitful plans and complete uncertainty.  Having just graduated college, this was not at all the season I expected to find myself in. Maybe you find yourself in a similar situation, or maybe you only have a couple of things you would like to see changed.

Have hope! Everything can change.  Hope is so powerful, it means that in the face of adversity you can continue to expect that your situation will turn around and the best case scenario will come to pass.

Some advice: keep doing everything you are doing. Do not allow yourself to get burned out or frustrated to the point of quitting.  Keep doing everything you can to bring about change and then leave the rest up to God. You may not know when the change will happen but everything can change in ONE day.

My season of uncertainty broke within 24 hours. I was accepted into a highly competitive internship, the townhouse we own was rented (alleviating me of financial responsibility), and job opportunities skyrocketed for the season leading up to the internship.

I share this story to give you hope! Lean on Him in the uncertainty, and choose joy! Today could be your day that everything changes.

One Word

The last couple of days I have been obsessed with the fact that one word can literally change a person's entire life.  When I first thought about this I decided that was too bold a statement, but over the last couple days have been thinking of single words that change everything about life.  Here are some examples I came up with:

Married, Divorced, Pregnant, Barren, Paralyzed, Healed, Addicted, Delivered

Each of these words represent change that completely alters your way of living.  I have friends who have gotten married and it is incredible to see the amount of change in both parties of the marriage as they fully embrace this word "marriage".  Think about each word in the list above: each word introduces a completely new outlook to life.

This is so important to understand because wrong words can be spoken.  What if instead of believing you are addicted, you start believing you are delivered.  What if instead of accepting the inevitability of divorce you choose to speak that word "Married" over you and your spouse.  One word can completely change your situation.  You can go from hopeless to hopeful.  Just by changing who you are listening to. You need to find the voice that will speak LIFE and believe with everything inside of you.  There is life and death in our words.  Don't let people speak death over your dreams.  Get rid of those voices.  You have too many great things to do to let someone speak the wrong word.  Keep every dream surrounded by words of life.

In this season more than ever: I am learning to lean on The Word that matters over my life.