Living a life of transcendence

Today marks two months since I have been in Nicaragua and my faith has grown tremendously since day one. I have been intrigued to learn more; more about God, His grace, His love, and His word. I have been watching sermons in english to help get my fix of biblical teaching because I still only comprehend about half of a message in spanish. I have come to the realization that I am here because God has granted me the grace to live beyond myself. None of this would be possible with just human dependence, that is why God is in control. One sermon recently touched me because it related to me on more than one level. Many of you know I was studying for my nursing test before I came here; and I eventually took my test three times before passing. I now know that is was all a blessing in disguise, in God's plan. It bought me perseverance, patience, and to lean on his understanding and knowledge. As you prepare to take the NCLEX, you must think about questions based on hierarchal needs. Fellow nurses know the importance of Maslow when it comes to human needs. In nursing school I learned his five levels of needs starting with physical needs and ending in self-actualisation. Chris Hodges (pastor of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham Alabama) added a whole other detention and that is my aim for my life. The last need he added to the pyramid of importance is transcendence needs. Before I came to Nicaragua I wish I could proclaim my life was this unique and radical. As I have lived here, I have learned that without God, none of this would be possible; so therefore I am nothing without God and I need him to be vibrantly present in EVERY aspect of my life (finances, work, relationships, character, etc.). Living a life of transcendence means looking beyond yourself and what you discover about yourself; using it to help others. Dictionary.com defined being transcendent as "going beyond ordinary limits; surpassing; exceeding", "superior or extreme", and the best one yet "transcending the universe, time, etc.". If you don't understand why the last one was the best, your missing my point. Read Proverbs 9:6 (leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding) to comprehend my point. The difference between your life now and the life of many people here is for you tomorrow will be a regular day *you most likely will get up, go to work, eat lunch, walk about politics or whatever occupies your thoughts during most of the day, home come, prepare and eat dinner, go to bed, and perform that routine all over again the next day leading up to the weekend). I am not pointing fingers, I was doing the same thing and I left my certainty for un-certainty. That life is so different to the ones lived here. People here think about what they will have to eat tomorrow or how they will get to work tomorrow. Will they be able to afford the C$2.5 (cordobas) for the bus (5 cents it would cost in American dollars)? Will they be able to purchase lunch for C$60 ($2.54 American dollars)? Getting back to my point; live a life with meaning, beyond yourself and rely on God for everything possible! Walk up a street to a life of meaning. Bring God along! Don't leave him behind because without Him (the creator of the universe, night and day, time, etc.), you cannot live a transcending life. My point, live life intentionally; love God passionately, and serve others selflessly. These things are ONLY possible with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can live a life beyond ourselves if we solely rely on Him. I am so excited how my life is changing because everything I do comes from Him. Try it for yourself at home and see how your life changes! I challenge you; pick up your cross, give it all away, and follow God! These past few weeks,I was was sick with some sort of virus and did not go to work again for a week. I woke up one morning and threw up what I thought was my food from the day before. I then layer down and everything I tried to consume that day came up. The doctor visited my house and told me to stay home that week and rest. I received a shot (in the butt) and oh how I will never complain about getting a shot in the arm again! I got well as the week progressed and my stomach took some time to adjust to a regular intake of food. I was able to spend a lot of time with God that week and this is where my thoughts and ideas generate from. This past week at work, I was able to make a home visit to an older lady with a very infected foot. The skin (or lack thereof) I had to clean was white and I could feel the tendons and bones beneath the white substance acting as skin for the time being. I was able to pray over her and just spend time with the family after. They blessed me with papaya and gave me my very own pineapple! (In Nicaragua it is normal for families to bless you with food) I also got to see a polycystic kidney and lithiasis in the kidney (kidney stones) during ultrasounds this past week. I am so blessed to be here today. I thank God for giving me everything I news as I am here (Philippians 4:19, Luke 6:38, and Deuteronomy 8:18). He has fully resources me with everything I need to further His kingdom and without your prayer and support, I wouldn't be able to keep going. So thank you ALL and keep praying! God is the biggest and most powerful provider. There is so much more here for me to do; and it excites me knowing God is in control! Thank you all for everything you have done and continue to do for me! Love you all!