CRAVINGS

Cravings

Cravings: a word that I am very familiar with. In fact, I would venture to guess that most people would say they understand fully what I am talking about without saying anything else. Am I right?

It's funny how cravings work. I have found that they are all different. They happen at different times, last for different periods, and take a different degree of commitment to satisfy. But with all their differences, there is one thing that is the same; they consume you.

With me, I don't crave everything I like; I crave things that I have deemed as "necessary to survive". Here are examples: chocolate (more specifically frozen M&M's), diet vanilla coke, and running/exercise. Now you may have chuckled over my list. It is not complete, I assure you, but it gives you an idea of what I am talking about.

Now let me describe what happens when a craving hits. I am going through my day doing a range of things: dishes, laundry, mentoring, book work, devotions, etc. It never fails, right in the middle of one of them, I have a small little thought enter my head, or I get a headache, or whatever. I literally go from a little thought to a NEED in 60 seconds. There are times when I get so consumed with my cravings that I feel that there is no option left except to abandon what I am doing and go satisfy it. I call them my "breaks" during the day. I just need a little break…ha!

I want you all to stop and think about what you crave during your day. Is it people, drugs, food, sex, basketball, coffee? That list is small, it really could be anything! But I want you to stop and think about the feeling you get when you just WANT something right now. What happens to your mind? Where does it wander? I also want you to recognize the items that were in the list I typed. It ranges from "normal" to serious. The reason I slapped some major topics in there is to show you that it doesn't matter the severity, they all have the same effect, DISTRACTION. Those of us that don't struggle with the more "heavy" topics listed just justify that what we do crave isn't bad because they aren't the "bad things". But the truth is this: anything that consumes us and controls us, even if it isn't all the time, is an idol. Period.

As I was thinking about how I obtained the cravings that I did, I realize that it wasn't overnight. Nope…I started slow at first. A first taste, you could say. I really liked it, so I continued to enjoy it, all the while not realizing that my body was becoming dependant on it. Slowly but surely, I find myself where I am now, needing them to get through my day or week. When put that way, it really is sad.

What makes me sad is the fact that many times we go through our day craving, giving into cravings and satisfying our cravings. We find ourselves always needing something else and something more, all the while not ever needing or craving Jesus.

Isn't it funny that we claim Him as King. We put our salvations in His Hand and proclaim that we are His and will be with Him for eternity, but when it comes to our day to day life, He isn't the one consuming our thoughts.

It says in His Word that He is the bread of Life. We are so confused. I am convinced that so many of us are starving spiritually. We don't recognize it for that of course; instead we see it as this emptiness that we just can't seem to be able to fill. So in our messed up human way of thinking, we try with everything we got to fill it with things that just become cravings, and addictions, and ultimately distractions away from the truth of the only thing that will fill the void that has become who we are.

Do we hunger and thirst for righteousness? Do we crave His Word? Do we get a small thought of Him and can't do anything else because it consumes us until we get our fill of Him? My guess is that most of us would answer no, if we were honest, even though we want our answer to be yes!

Let's step out of our confused state. Even though a withdrawal period is scary and hard, we can't be afraid of it! We need to rid ourselves of ourselves. We need to remember that we are bought…we are His. He is the only ONE that can fix us, forgive us, fill us to a capacity that is overflowing and keep us in a state where we do not need ANYTING else!

It's time! Do NOT think that you can live without cravings…just change what you crave. Taste and see that HE is GOOD! Him and Him alone!

Jesus. It's that simple.

The End ;)

what an incredible week!  I can't thank God enough for answering the prayers that have been sent up over the last couple of months and this past week!  Protection, unity, love, patience, growth and surrender are the words that pretty much wrap up this week!  We split into 3 different groups and went 3 different ways, but we all worked so hard and fell into bed exhausted every night. 
We started off the week with the word surrender and God just took it from there.  We ended the week writing what we needed and wanted to surrender on a rock and chucking it into the ocean.  as i stood back and watched the team take their turn, i was in awe.  it might seem like it wouldn't hit you hard to watch someone do that, but it did!  it was a very powerful time.  we ended that night singing, how He Loves us, and amazing Grace, amongst others. 

encouragement night is that finale of the week where every single person has a turn and people just get to tell them what they saw during the week that was awesome.  i squirm every time it's my turn but it is awesome to hear at the same time!  and with 32 people, it only lasted about 3.5 hours!!  but it was amazing!

i thank every one of you who prayed us through, i simply can't believe it is over!  it went so fast, as it always does!  now we are looking forward to what is next!

Alabama mission trip at the end of march with 30 people and jamaica again in july with 50 going!  what a year!  please keep praying for Rebel Ministries!!

in HIM
Tina <><
Joshua 1:9

Thursday

I'll start and end my sharing with one simple phrase: A simple journey can change a life. It has been a really awesome week to watch God work in the lives of our young people! We've just finished the evening here with listening to Pastor Watson for the second time this week. He has really challenged the young people to have a vision and passion for a life lived for Christ. Tonight, he ended his challenge with a passionate, "Be strong and courageous!" We will all be anticipating how Christ's words through him will take shape in their lives.
You would all be proud to see the physical work of your young people. Every one of them has been incredibly amazing! You would not believe they would work this hard at home. We look forward to finishing the week strong.
A simple journey can change a life....
In Him,
David


We were challenged in several ways today. First, it was a challenge to awaken to Hannah (on the top bunk of her bed) holding onto the table lamp. How she got it up into her bed, I'll never know! We had a fun time giggling in the early morning hours as I put the lamp back where it belonged. Since the sun was soon to rise and we were on KP duty, we all decided to stay up. Doing our morning devotions in this beautiful location is so special! Tina prepared a week's worth of devotions from the Old Testament. The story this morning was Noah's journey from Genesis 6-9. Out of all the people on the earth, he was the only one in which God chose to recreate the human race. "Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." (Gen. 6:8) Is that how God sees us? What a huge aim!
After our breakfast, the next challenge came when we broke into three groups to go to our various worksites. One group went back to the "pit" - an outdoor mountain septic system built for one of the school families. Another went to the farm to clear land and turn it over for planting. A third team--mine--stayed at the base to do concrete work for an addition to the hotel. Since I haven't shoveled stone or sand for a while, and since lifting buckets ladened with wet concrete is not part of my usual things to do, I had a day of very hard work. Along with my team, we mixed by shovels and hauled fourteen 80 lb. bags of concrete in buckets all day.
Our last challenge was tonight with Pastor Watson. Pastor loves God's Word and God's call on our lives to tell those around us of His saving grace. His one desire is for us to live so passionately for Christ, that lives are changed and Christ is glorified.
I pray that I remember all three of these impacting events, so my heart will be ready for God's work, and He will find me a good and faithful servant.
God Bless!
Lauri


Today was by far the most challenging day for me and many others in our group. It was the fourth day in a row of hard physical labor and it had definitely taken a toll on me. The first challenge of the day for me was waking up even earlier than usual to do our KP duty which consisted of us making PB&J's for the whole team to have for lunch, and then serving breakfast. After this the day got off to a fast start and did not slow down. We got to the farm where my group was working and instantly noticed that it was going to be a much harder day of work. One thing I learned on this trip is that clay in Jamaica is no different than the clay back in good old Indiana, and with the rain that the farm got the night before it made it even harder. I thought it was amazing how well our group worked even though we were faced with fatigue and harder working conditions. Through it all our group did not whine, or complain. We simply worked hard for the entire time we were there, and this is something that I loved seeing the entire week. Our group was unstoppable. No matter what happened we kept on working. No complaining or anything. Even though it may seem like such a small thing, I found it as such a blessing to have a group who not only loved serving the people, but did it with such amazing attitudes. I think this is something that everyone can take back home and even you reading this can take away. A simple change of attitude can completely change the experience.
    In Christ...
          Colson Herman

Day Five

Over the rocks and through the trash to children's houses we went. Clinging to our hips, the children wept as we said good-bye. It was one thing working in the infirmary for the first two days, taking care of those who were seen as obscure; but when seeing our future living in conditions worse than poverty level and walking down the "street" praying with people who were desperate for the healing hand of God, the reality of what it means to truly depend on God was evident. What an honor to be able to be the hands and feet of Christ!
Keep praying! The Spirit is present!
Alitza

This is my first time in Jamaica and it has been such an amazing journey with my awesome team and God. He has taught me so much about myself and the Jamaican people. It's been really cool to spread God's love to the kids and the people at the infirmary and see their faces light up when they saw us :) I still can't believe I am in Jamaica and experiencing God in a whole new way. It's been such a great week and I don't want it to be over ;)
Jillian

Words cannot even describe how AMAZING my first trip to Jamaica has been so far! I have learned SO much and am so in awe of what God is doing. :) I love serving and helping others and absolutely LOVE visiting the infirmary. It has given me a completely new perspective and attitude! I am still amazed that I am here! God is good and I absolutely cannot wait to take what I've learned and apply it to my life not only for the rest of this trip, but also when I return home (even though I'm not quite sure if I'm ready to leave) ;)
Alexandra

This week has an infinite array of words to describe it but none that include ready to go home. Joy. Perseverance. Compassion. Guilt. All words that have affected me and my team over the last 4 days. We have visited the infirmary the last three days and I continue to hear this phrase repeated in my head, "God is good all the time." Those were the words of a schizophrenic, elderly woman who had nothing but the clothes on her back and lived in a place that would give the mindset of no hope. The people here in Jamaica have an amazing sense of community. Walking through the town of Homestead today people were always greeting you and waving as you passed by. We stopped by the homes of three sponsored children to socialize with their families and give them packs of rice for meals. The kids were shy at first but the families welcoming us and willing to open up to us. Even the security guards and staff of the base we are staying at have been very willing and open to share about the culture and learn about ours. You could see God coming through and teaching about his will even through the people and places you would least expect. God is good all the time. Easy to say. Easy to doubt. Easy to see when you open your eyes to what is truly surrounding you, even if it is a dirty, smelly infirmary, a poverty ridden town, or the place that we all call home. It is going to be very hard to get onto that plane on Saturday because I truly believe a piece of me will always be here, but it is good to know that God will be with me and joy can always be found no matter where I am and that it does not only include me but the people of my team and the people I am leaving here. 3 days in counting and cherishing every minute.
Jenna

Day #4

For all the folks back home, I thought I would let you know how it is going in Jamaica. We have had such an amazing experience already! I had the opportunity to work at the infirmary both days. To see the joy in those peoples hearts and their eyes as we arrived was so heartbreaking. I cannot wait to see what other activities God has in store for us throughout the rest week. I miss you Mom, Grandma, and Cooper!

Love, Court

While at the infirmary, the "screen team" was made up of Courtney, Brittan, Olivia, Lauren, David and Lauri. We were in charge of replacing all the old, broken-down screens with new screens. For two days, we worked hard to accomplish our goal of completing 57 windows in the women's side of the infirmary. We had a blast working together, and we felt great success after our long, hard work. In addition, the "screen team" loved helping people who could not help themselves.

Thank you for all your prayers! 

Love you and miss you,

Brittan

I honestly am still in awe that we are all here. I praise God for the incredible opportunity to get outside of the norm for a week and gain a greater perspective and understanding of God's heart for the world. Honestly, a year ago I could not have left the country because of my health. I have been so humbled to see how God has moved in my life this past year and has shown Himself faithful by providing me this blessing. The joy and attitudes of the Jamaicans have been both convicting and refreshing. People that have so little (at least from a worldly perspective) have such immense joy because they have learned to appreciate the little things in life. More importantly, however, many we have worked with have come to know Jesus as personal Savior--they have a hope that is eternal and a heavenly abundance that will last forever! So excited to see how else God is going to move here amongst these people and our team. Love and miss you all back home! Thanks for all the prayers. We sure can feel them!

In Him,

   Lauren W.

This week already has been incredible. We all started as individuals on this journey and now we are all united as one body of Christ. There is so many friendships being made, it is more than we could have hoped for. To talk a little bit about what my(Lauren B.) team did today, we were digging a pit toilet for one of the sponsor kids. This team consisted of Leah, Hannah, Laurel, Jill, Tina, Jacob, Austin, Colson and Jared. Leah got a new nickname this week. It is killer. Apparently her tattoos make her a scary hardcore killer. So of course if you all know Leah and I, They had to give me a nickname too. Mine was KA. Killers assistant. We had to carry rocks from the top of a huge hill to the bottom to fill in this pit we dug.  We also made cement to fill in the cracks of this pit. We had a really good system going of assembly lining it down the hill. Even though we all were drenched in sweat, and so tired we had a really good time! The jokes and laughs never stopped. I can say the pit did get finished in two days, which they didn't think would happen. The team did great!! We are all learning so much and the Lord is blessing us all so much. Everyone thank you for the support and prayers. We love you all.  Mom, Dad, Logan, and rest of the family and friends i love you and miss you guys! 

Love, 

Lauren B.

Eyes opened

We live in a culture that is so incredibly focused on themselves, achievement and success. But we're so used to it that we see nothing wrong with it. That's  the societal norm.
Going to the infirmary was like a kick in the rear. I realized how wrong my attitude is. Mixing the cement for the pot holes, I realized that in my mind that I was writing these people off like there's nothing we could do to impact them. That anything we could do wouldn't produce visible fruit. That it wasn't productive. But that couldn't be more wrong. I got a taste of loving them between concrete trips, but when we came back it really hit me. I had the privilege of bringing the gift of music to the people there and it was a huge attitude check to realize the impact even simply holding their hands makes the world of the difference, let alone singing and listening to them sing.
Then I realized that it's the most beautiful thing when we don't rely on seeing fruit to motivate us to do God's work and we seek only to please the Lord by simple obedience rooted in love. There's so many more things that went on, but I shall stop it with this: I have been praying for unity in this team, and boy did God bless us by uniting us as the body of Christ. This is just the third day and mountains are being moved.
-Laurel

The only word that comes to mind about today is togetherness.   There was not one task that could've been done by one persons strength.. it took us all relying on each other to get things done.  This is the best example of the body of Christ working together in unity.  Something about this stuck out in my mind.. maybe because I am constantly being reminded that I cannot do this walk on my own, by no means can I rely on others to be my strength.. but understanding that it is through Christ only that I am strengthened and therefore we need HIS people to walk alongside of us.
-Kristen

Day One; Betsy's Perspective

Today was AMAZING! Our first day in the community thus far and everyone as far as I could see was filled with excitement and joy - even after a long, hard, hot day. Personally, I worked at the Infermary with some elderly, some handicapped (some mentally, some physically and some both) with a group of four other wonderful young women. I think that we were all profoundly affected by the things we saw there and also the things we saw and learned about and from one another. What a wonderful team I am fortunate to be a part of!
Betsy M

Day one

i am going to let some of the team write tonight about the day but i honestly can't help but to ramble and brag a bit...
ummm seriously these people that make up rebel ministries this week are simply amazing.  God always rocks me with the dynamics of the team and this trip is no different.  it is day three and what i heard in group tonight was, i can't believe how much i love you all and how much we connect and how awesome everyone is.  i prayed for unity and that prayer was abundantly answered.
the day was hot (sorry, i heard you are having snow ;))...humid, tiring, dirty, hungry and just exhausting on every level.  BUT....and the but is the reason why i stand here fired up, fueled up and just plain passionate, but...this team did nothing but smiled through it, laughed everything off, loved, discovered the true meaning of joy, and just plain rocked today...i wish you all could have a little window to watch your people just simply love each other and love these jamaicans.  God is doing crazy things and i am more than honored to have a front row seat.  i am beyond sure that when you see your loved one, they will have been stretched into a person that will love deeper and fight harder for those that they love.  because the battle is fierce and what i have with me this week is a group of people that are learning to fight like never before... for each other!  we are winning...it is awesome and everyone is doing great!  thank you for letting us take them!
in HIM
Tina <><

Good morning from Jamaica! Happy new year! I am not above gloating so let me just tell you how my first morning of the new year has been. Even thgh we were up till 12 last night after traveling all day with hardly any sleep the night before, my spot on the rock was beckoning... And it was beautiful! Nothing like waking to the sound of the ocean crashin around you...it is so peaceful and at the same time so treachorous. Explain tht to me!
Enough about me...
The team is great...barely any headachs or hiccups... We have had a few moments of homesickness appear but everyone quickly change their thghts around and r doing great!
A funny story tht happened in the airport. I was walking down the hall when i see carston bolting down the hall in the opposite way travelng back to the plane...i wasnt too concerned until he said tht he had left his passport on the plane!!!! O my lanta... Everything worked out thgh and he is with us :)...
Please keep praying... I cant tell you how many of the ppl on this team have come up to me and said tht they just want to surrender something. Surrender is the word of the week tht is slamming me in my face...so if you can pray for something pray for surrender and unity! Ok two things ;)... I dont know what everyone is holding onto but i would love to bring back a whole bunch of ppl who are FREE!
Hope you all have a great week! Ill try to have some of the kids update later!
In HIM
tina