Living in the mountains at about 5,000 feet in elevation for the past two months, physically I felt so high up. But there were many moments where I found myself feeling like I was in the valley mentally and emotionally. It seemed like the more I hungered for the things of the Lord the more the enemy tried to attack my mind with lies of self doubt, that I’d never be enough for my team. Feeling inadequate, left out,  unseen, unheard, and not  chosen; that my story didn't matter. Many nights I found myself crying in my tent, asking God why I was feeling this way. I knew that my identity is in the Lord, so why was I feeling this way? I think sometimes it roots back to the the feelings of feeling uninvited and not chosen in friend groups throughout my childhood and into adulthood that I thought the Lord had already worked in that area of my life but I guess He is continuing to prune me in that area, bringing me closer to him becoming more confident in my identity in Him.

A squadmate recently reminded me to write those lies out and replace them with the Truth of what God says about me through His Word. And through a teaching one of our leaders put it this way: 1)Expose the lie 2)Eradicate the lie 3)Exchange it with the Word of God, and 4)Endure in the Word. When we begin to believe the lies we give the enemy a foothold into the rest of our lives. Pull the lie up by its roots. Renew our minds with what God says about us. Combat the lies of the enemy with the Word of God.

SELF DOUBT            THE LORD STRENGTHENS ME AND UPHOLDS ME(IS. 41:10)

UNSEEN                   I AM SALT AND LIGHT(MATT. 5:13-14) 

NOT CHOSEN            I AM CHOSEN(EPH. 1:4) 

NOT ENOUGH FOR THOSE AROUND ME

                                                    JESUS IS ENOUGH SO I DON'T HAVE TO BE

INVALUABLE             I AM MORE VALUABLE THAN PRECIOUS JEWELS(PROV. 31:10) 

UNHEARD                GOD HEARS ME(1 JOHN 5:14-15)    

I DON'T FIT IN HERE                    I AM A PART OF GODS FAMILY(1 COR. 12:27)    

MY STORY DOESN'T MATTER        MY STORY DOES MATTER(GAL. 2:20, REV. 12:11)    

INADEQUATE       I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR THROUGH CHRIST(ROM. 8:37)    

What lies are you believing about yourself? What strongholds are holding you back from walking confidently in your identity in Christ? Replace those lies with Truth! You are fully known, loved and chosen by God!

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A LITTLE RECAP ON THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS::

*We had a Beauty For Ashes event for the kitchen ladies and the women of the Catracho Missions team. We got to show our love to them, honor them, and pour life into them. I had the honor of  sharing part of my testimony and a small message on value and worth. And all the men made us dinner. It was soo sweet.

*We finished up many various manual labor projects for our ministry host, and continued making a handful of garden beds in order to help provide food for future teams and for those that live there.

*On our last night with our ministry hosts, they made a special dinner for us, and they poured back into us through words of encouragement and small gifts. 

*Our bus ride to El Salvador was pretty smooth. We’ve been resting, recharging, and reflecting the past few days. And tomorrow we start a week of training before taking a bus to Nicaragua for month 3 of ministry on March 16th!  

As always, thanks for following along!

                                      Steph 

Feel free to message me privately if you’d like to chat! I'd love to hear from you!