Crystal's Norway Mission's Trip

Friends and Family,

 
I just wanted to let you know I have the opportunity to go on a short term mission trip to Norway.  We will be working with Sean and Hanna Christie. Sean is a guy from Lubbock who has a heart for missions and left to Czech to become a missionary and got married to Hanna a Norwegian girl. They have been married a couple years now and now have 2 kids. They are now living in Trondheim, Norway where she is from. They have settled in and now want to start a church there in the community. Norway is majority atheists and not many Christians are in the area. They have a home group and we will be working with them praying for the foundation of the country and doing some local outreaches in their community.  I’ve always had the desire to do missions work and now have a great opportunity.  I’m so excited to visit the country, learn about the culture and more importantly grow the kingdom of God. 

 

While on the trip we will spend the mornings doing construction work, the afternoons playing with and aiding children, and the evenings doing street ministry and revivals.  There were only two of us chosen to go and I am completely humbled and honored!

 

The cost is approx $2,250 per person and each person is responsible for paying their own way.  I’m excited to have the opportunity to serve and to minister, and I ask you to join me in the ministry.  I am seeking your support and prayers for the trip.    

 

If God lays it on your heart to help with the cost of the trip there are a couple ways you can donate:

·         Make checks out to Church on the Rock and in the memo line write Crystal Garza / Norway Missions.  Please mail the donations to Church on the Rock, 10503 Slide Road, Lubbock, TX 79424

OR

·         Donate online at www.pursuemissions.org, click on Payment à https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst-11f7dd à Enter Support Amount àSelect Mission Location: Norway à Enter Crystal Garza in Comments  

 

Whether or not you are led to offer financial support, please use this letter as a reminder to pray for the safety of our travel, our health and most importantly those we will encounter in Norway.  Your prayers are so important and greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you for your support and am excited to share this experience with you.

 

His therefore Yours,

Crystal Garza

 

CryssieGarza@aol.com

Meetin' Up With The Ol' High School Crew

I have been slightly behind on blogging updates and for that, I apologize!  Busy busy busy.....

A few weeks ago one of my besties from high school came into town on business, so I met up with him and some of our other high school buddies!  It was great to see them and I'm pretty sure we all enjoyed ourselves!

Yesterday was Cory's birthday and today we're supposed to be getting together for dinner with him and his beautiful wife; however, not sure if I will be totally up to par for that but we'll see.  I still have a couple of hours to rest up! :)

Friday Morning Update

My sissy and big brother are in town and I am in total bliss....especially because they are house hunting!!!!!!!! Eeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! I would be in total bliss if they moved back home!!! Eeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Monday Morning Update

This weekend I was asked to go to Norway for a missions trip in June! I am so pumped!  So, if anybody out there wants to bless me with financial assistance email me at cryssiegarza@aol.com and of course prayers are always welcome.
Other than that, life has been pretty busy with work and such. I am super happy with being busy!

High Five For Friday ~ A Heart For Missions, Bar Passers, And God

 

High Five Number One:

My heart was blessed when I learned that one of our kiddos from Honduras was able to have open heart surgery.  At three months Yesica was diagnosed with a heart murmur and was told she would need open heart surgery to fix the hole in her heart.  You can read her story here.

http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2013-03-18/children-honduras-travel-lubbock-heart-surgery

I am so excited to see Yesica next week!  I can't wait to see how she is doing and wish her well as her and her mother venture back to Honduras.  This little girl completely stole my heart with her sweet smile and amazing courage!!!!  The minute her and Daniel walked into our clinic, I knew that God had been calling me to medical missions. 

Please keep her and little Daniel in your prayers!!!!  I know God is going to do wonderful things with their sweet and brave lives!

High Five For Friday Number Two: 

My sweet friend, Ty Ty, passed the bar today!!!! She gets to be all lawyerly and stuff now! WOOHOO for Tyler!  I knew she could do it!!!

High Five For Friday Number Three:

I'm super excited for the Women's Conference tomorrow at Church.  I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for us!

High Five For Friday Number Four:

My relationship with God hit a whole new high this week.  I have really struggled with some things from the past but this week, I totally felt delivered.  Delivered from my mistakes and past and felt a whole new closeness to Him.  He has affirmed to me in more ways than one that I am currently smack dab in His perfect will for me.  It's an amazing feeling and I'm so thankful to serve such a loving and phenomenal God!!!!

High Five For Friday Number Five:

Spa time indeed! ;)

Kickin' Off Spring Season

Spring is in the air and my cousins and I decided we would kick off the season with a fun chalk day!  Regina and I had Noah over for the weekend so we bought some chalk from the dollar store and decorated our balcony with great art!  Check it out....

The Fighter Tour

A couple of weeks ago I was able to catch The Fighter Tour at the Emmanuel Worship Center.  One of my friends from high school opened up for them and it was a nice treat! 

 

 

 

After Alabaster Jar played, Clint's band, one of my favorite Christian music artists performed.  David Dunn was awesome!  He's seriously the John Mayer of Christian Music.  He's soooo amazing!

 



Birthdays and St. Patrick's Day

I'm a month behind on pictures, which is very unusual for me but I've been so super busy these days! I'll get better....I promise!  

One of the perks to living back home is that I see FAMILY pretty much EVERY SINGLE DAY and I love it!  Spending every holiday and birthday with them is AMAZING!  I will never take this for granted again.  I took total advantage of it before I ever moved to Arkansas and being away for so many years and losing family members along the way has made me realize how special family is!  Sure we fight and get on one another's nerves from time to time but I love 'em!!!!  I'm pretty sure I have the best family ever! 

So, my birthday was a little odd this year because it was busy, stressful, yet awesome!  Regina and I moved into our apartment that day and Daisy also had surgery.  However, we were still able to enjoy the day and my family made it very special for me even though we were busy with moving and all. 

Here is Daisy's little wound....she was so pathetic after getting out.....my heart ached for her!

 

Momma started my birthday off with her amazing hot chocolate and yummy breakfast!

 

 

And our moving day began!

 

 

 

 

A couple of weeks later we celebrated my uncle's birthday by taking him out to eat!  I am pretty sure he had the time of his life!

 

 

St Patrick's weekend came upon us and my mommy and I drove to Oklahoma to visit and help take care of my sister who had just had surgery.  We spent St. Patrick's Day with her and laid around all day in our pajamas and matching St. Patty's Day socks! :)

 

 

We had a chance to meet a couple of her sweet friends there and one of them sang beautiful praise and worship music.  Even Daisy was in love with her music and couldn't take her eyes off of her....

 

 

 

 

We spent a few days with sissy and on our way back to Lubbock made a stop at the convent to see my Tia Ofelia.  My Tia Ofelia is also known as Sister Celine and who just so happens to be the most amazing woman I know!  Sharing her blood is an HONOR and nobody will ever understand how much this woman means to me!  I love her and always enjoy our time together!  She fell in love with Daisy and asked me to bring her back to visit soon!

 

 

I love being back home!  Dorothy hit the nail on the head when she said, "there's no place like home...."  All is good in Crysal's world! 

 

 

 

God Bless.... 

 

 



Release and Trust

"I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

 

 

 

If you have followed my blog for a while, you know I quote this scripture often.  It's my favorite scripture and always the scripture I revert to in times of "self-pity" and doubt.  It is a scripture that reminds me of how much He loves us and how He only wants the very best for us! 

 

Here lately I have struggled with relationships and the need to discern the people that God wants in my life.  I have always gone through life wanting to please others.  Therefore, I mold myself to be somebody I am really not.  I stretch myself too thin trying to please everybody and then getting frustrated with myself when I let somebody down.  I have come to realize that the enemy has used this weakness against me.....to keep me in friendships that are not healthy or of Him.  To keep me in strongholds with people that I need to let go of. 

 

For the longest time, I couldn't fathom letting a friendship go for any reason.  I have been known to hold on to people and relationships for as long and as tight as I can, even when that gut feeling in me is telling me to let go.  That gut feeling is also known as the Holy Spirit tugging. I often pray for God to totally empty me of all that is not of Him; bitterness, anger, criticism, lack of love, unforgiveness, temptations; etc.  However, I never have really prayed for Him to totally empty me from all relationships and people that are not of Him in my life.  I obeyed him about a month and a half ago when He tugged at my heart to quit talking to an ex-boyfriend.  It was hard, it was tough, it broke my heart but I obeyed and in that obedience He revealed so much to me.  So much about myself, the ex, and the unhealthy relationship we had.  Obeying Him allowed me that time and opportunity to see the whole picture and to really grasp why the relationship failed.

 

Letting go of an old flame is one thing but when He asks us to let go of important friendships in our life, well that's a different story.  Especially when you can't find any rhyme or reason besides the fact that He is guiding you to do it.  I released some people in my life this week and it was bitter sweet.  It was hard and it hurt but it was also peaceful and liberating.  I was listening to Joel Olsteen Thursday and one of the things he stated was, "if you don't let go of the wrong people in your life, He cannot make room for the right people to come into your life."  I felt that freedom, that space made for the right people to come into my life. 

 

If we are in relationships that do not bring the best out of us or vice versa, we do not bring the best out of them, then it is time to move on.  Some people are meant to be in our life for only a season, and that's ok.  We might upset others or disappoint them when we finally follow God's lead and let go but that's ok.  We are not placed on this earth to please man, but to please God and God alone.  We have to trust Him and if He is guiding us to let something or somebody go, do it!  There is a reason and any Christian knows that He uses everything for good and for His will, so we have to put that trust in Him and Him alone! 

 

If for some reason, you ever find yourself on the other side of this coin.  If you are ever the one being released from somebody's life, just remember that God knows all.  You might not understand it at the time and you might even think it's unfair but just remember to keep trusting Him.  Being released from somebody's life does not make the person being released a "bad person".  It just means that for God's own reason, we are not to be in that person's life.  Be careful in your assumptions and do not judge too quickly because only God knows all the details of every situation at hand.  He has His reasons for everything and whether we are letting go or being let go, we have to trust Him!!!   

 

"Depend on the Lord; trust Him and He will take care of you."  Psalm 37:5

30 Day Photography Challenge ~ Childhood Memory