dustonmyfeet

Ok…so its been months since I last blogged. A quick recap on what’s happened since I’ve last been on here: Things are going well at Macquarie extension…I have a LOT or responsibility and jobs there, but I finally feel like I am on top of them and confident in them. Colour conference (conference for women…about 12000 women came from all over the world!) hosted by Hillsong came and went and was a MASSIVE success. I know God spoke to a lot of women. Its getting colder here in aus…its actually SO COLD in houses here…because there’s no insulation, and no double-paned windows…therefore, even though its only 11 degrees outside, it feels like you’re camping haha. SINCE its been so long since my last one…this will be a huge blog post, but I hope it encourages some, and remember that what God can do for one, He can do for another, so be encouraged when reading this and keep that in mind J

PHEW now that that’s out of the way, I can fill you in a bit on what’s been going on in my life. Firstly, In a week and a bit I will have been here for 4 MONTHS. FOUR. QUATRE. CUATRO. That is absolutely mind blowing. Throughout all of that, yes I miss my family, my friends, my church, but I haven’t really been homesick. I haven’t had a day of crying because I miss home…and I am grateful for that. Now hear me out, because I love you all from home enormously (you all know i do), but I know that God has planted me HERE for this season, and I want to be fully present and living in this moment, not in the past, or in the future for that matter (which is a LOT harder than it sounds.) But God has really been teaching me to be planted where He has placed me…which gratefully, and thankfully enough, has been at Hillsong.

What God has been teaching me and showing me: I have ALWAYS wanted to live in Quebec. Every time I would visit my relatives in Montreal a few times a year it just felt like home. I just love that province, I love the language, I love the people, I love my family there. God has recently shown me that that’s where I’m going to end up, and i could NOT be more excited about it! I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that that is where He is calling me… those are long term goals, but I’m already starting to speak that into my future and believe that that will be a reality. I know that the fact that I have such a heart to see a revival happen in that province, the fact that I feel like that province is HOME and the fact that I have grown up completely bilingual in French and English are NO accident. God is SO faithful, and SO good. And Quebec has always been kind of a throw away prayer, one of those prayers where you say “oh God…it would be nice if I could …..________” and then you forget about it. God has given me SUCH a heart for my nation (especially since I’ve been here!), to see our indigenous people come to know and love God, for our youth to take hold of the promises He has for them and to finally realize their source of worth, for Quebec and French-Canadians to drop their apathy and just lose themselves in complete passion and abandon for our God. Those are all things that are laying so heavily on my heart…What God will do with that I don’t know completely yet, but I am satisfied to just rest in Him at the moment and rest in knowing that He’s got me…He’s proven himself so faithful since I’ve been here and I know He will never let me go.

There have also been a few circumstances in my life that haven’t changed, circumstances that I have gotten on my face and wept to God about…several times. but the fact that my circumstances haven’t changed and I haven’t had my breakthrough in those areas yet doesn’t mean that God won’t do it. When God promises you something and lays something on your heart, it will come to pass. He doesn’t tell you when. Just that it will. Our God is MIGHTY, bigger than any storm or doubts I’m facing, bigger than any obstacle that comes in my way. NOTHING is impossible for Him. So I’m learning to look past my unchanged circumstances into His beautiful, glorious face instead. I could not think of a better thing to focus on while I’m walking through the desert with Him. And trust me, it is a desert, and sometimes I still feel like I’m waiting for my thirst to be quenched, and for Him to bring me to that land that he has PROMISED me. But I’m learning to stop counting the minutes until he DOES something, but instead count my BLESSINGS. The fact that I’m HERE is an enormous blessing! Its still hard for me to believe that I’m here, that I feel at home, that I have been surrounded by beautiful, inspiring, encouraging people of God, that I get to have an encounter with God EVERY DAY at church and at school, and that there are people at home praying for me and supporting me while I’m being stretched and grown here. Man…if that isn’t a blessing, i don’t know WHAT is! I feel like this season is very much a season of sowing so that I can reap later on…and the fact that I know that is still to come, is SO EXCITING!! Because if THIS is my season of sowing…I can’t even IMAGINE what the reaping will look like! God likes to bless His children…and I just love that about Him.

What God has blessed me with: So SO many things. First of all…that He has just surrounded me with AMAZING girlfriends. They mostly come from my core tutorial (your core tutorial is a core group of people you have classes with…we have prayer groups together and just talk about how our lives are going…they have become family!. The girls especially in that group…are WORLDCHANGERS. Seriously watch this spot because God is about to do amazing things through their lives. They are going to be pastors/preachers/church planters/ministry makers!  A few weeks ago, I had most of the girls from my tutorial come over for a sleepover (Carissa, Reese, Kelsey, Maria, Lucy, Hanne Kristin, Shanna, Mel…I think that’s everyone??), and invited the boys from our tutorial to come the next morning for a Canadian Home cooked breakfast. It was just supposed to be a regular sleepover..you know…the usual junk food eating-girl talk-swoon about boys- kind of sleepover. It started out with a lot of fun…but then the conversation turned into what we are each looking for in a God-fearing man…which then turned into PRAYING into each other’s futures, prophesying over each other, and speaking life and encouragement into each other until 330 IN THE MORNING. It was honestly…And i’m not just saying this…The BEST night of my life so far. I felt encouraged, inspired, STRENGTHENED and that some old strongholds that have been holding on to me for forever where just LIFTED OFF of me in those moments.

One more thing God’s blessed me with (there’s so many, but I don’t want to make this a novel!)…I used to be scared to pray out loud…i felt insecure and that my words weren’t enough, weren’t eloquent enough…And God totally used the story of Moses and his encounter with God at the burning bush to slap that right out of me. God didn’t focus on the fact that Moses kept trying to “tell” God that He’s picked the wrong person, that he wasn’t eloquent enough…He just kept repeating what He wanted Moses to do for Him instead. He focused on the goal He had in mind for Moses, and not the seemingly impossible situations he was asking Moses to face because He KNEW that He would never leave Moses…that Moses would have GOD on his side…so He couldn’t lose!! As long as I remember the reason why I’m praying and WHO I AM glorifying in that moment (the I AM himself!) i CAN’T LOSE!

 He totally challenged me to volunteer to pray for people when we were ask, to start speaking out to Him in worship, to just SPEAK to Him more…and im NOT AFRAID to pray aloud anymore. Its literally a miracle. I actually enjoy it now!! How great is that!!

Things I need prayer for : A JOB. Still no job yet. Still needing finances asap…so please please please join me in praying and believing for that.

-that God would continue breaking me down to rebuild me from scratch…there have been some incredibly difficult moments in the breaking down…but I have seen glimpses of where He is going in the rebuilding…and it is glorious. So just that I would keep my eyes fixed on Him through that.

-That I would turn to Him in every situation…especially the “desert” situations I referred to earlier. That God would grant me patience, faith, and EXPECTATION for Him to MOVE in those areas, in a BIG WAY!

-for my grandpa at home who needs HEALING for a few health issues, and just for my family and friends in general that I love so much!

-for my home church, Grindstone, that God would continue to move in that place, that people would come to know Him and have a radical encounter with Him, and that Elevate (the youth group there that i love OH SO MUCH) would keep their eyes fixed on Jesus…(and guys, please know that I am praying for you constantly…you are all amazing future leaders of Canada…I am so excited to see where God is bringing you guys! Love you all!!)

That’s all for now lovely people, I will TRY to write back soon and more regularly J but I hope you’ve all been enjoying my pictures! Thank you for your prayers in advance, and thank you Lord for hearing us, and being who You are to us.

Xoxo

Jules