Here Am I

He Knows Me.

nataliebalmer — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 07:00:56 +0000

Phew, we just ended the week. Tomorrow we embark on yet another one. I was reminded this week (in case you haven’t noticed already) it’s so easy to stress over the things we have to get done in life. And I hate to say, it got a hold of me with all its craziness. It becomes much harder to serve and to love when I am overwhelmed and discouraged. All I have to say is…Praise the Lord for new beginnings!

I am currently reading “Knowing God” by AW Tozer and came across this quote. It is worth your time, I promise:

“What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies–the fact that He knows me. I am graven on the palms of His hands. I am never out of His mind. All my knowledge of Him depends on His sustained initiative in knowing me. I know Him. because He first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friends, one who loves me; and there is no moment when His eye is off me, or His attentions distracted from me, and no moment therefore, when His care falters.”

These words bring me such abundant amount of comfort and peace; knowing I belong to my Savior, the One who has overcome all! And not only that but He knows me in and out, all my ups and downs, the important and unimportant, my failures and fears, the joys and positive qualities, and the list can only continue. He knows all that and still wants to know me and claim me as His. If that doesn’t allow your soul to rest I am not sure what will.

I hope and pray to go on this week keeping that in mind. No matter what happens or doesn’t happen, no mattter what I can or can’t mark off my to-do list, my Lord knows and loves me.

PS: Loving the rain! I hope to spend some time this week in front of the fireplace staring off into the flames, with some yummy tea. Join the fun!

Back from Mexico. Sorry for the Delay.

nataliebalmer — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:15:54 +0000

thank you. thank you. thank you.

This is the thank you letter I just wrote to those of you that followed, prayed and dug into your pockets to help support my missions trip to Mexico. I love and appreciate you all! I am going to try to keep my blog going so that you hear from me more than just once a year. Can’t promise you much, except that I will try my best in between classes, reading, breathing, work, church, eating, etc, etc.

pray. pray. pray.

nataliebalmer — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:11:17 +0000

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11

My prayer for my girls, especially the ones I meet with every week for small group, is for them to live with passion for Christ. May we be ignited to worship the Lord with our lives. My heart is heavy for them. I have been working in the college group for five months now. At times I feel completely inadequate. It is humbling and brings me to tears. I feel for these girls and I need to remember it is God working through me. I am just the messenger and I am so glad for that; He changes lives. Pray with me for passion.

Pray for the two studies I will be guiding one-on-one with two girls separately, Breaking Free by Beth Moore and Every Thought Captive by Jerusha Clark. Both of them are seeking God’s freedom.

Pray for God’s grace as we are on the campuses at Palomar and Cal State San Marcos.

Pray for the new systems we are installing for Sunday nights in the college group, especially the Welcome team as we are getting many new students.

I know God takes the burdens of my heart and I am so grateful for his love. I am learning to trust and wait on God. I SO appreciate you and all your prayers. They are much needed.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

turn the page to a new chapter

nataliebalmer — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:31:46 +0000

I am sitting in Escondido Joes, the college staff’s second or maybe even first office–definitely debatable–enjoying an ice cold diet coke on another hot September day. Fall please come soon! I meet with one of my girls in just a few minutes. Just wanted to give you all a quick update since I have been MIA to the wordpress world these past few weeks. School just started for me. I am excited for all the many possibilities UCSD has to offer. I have been really concerned with how I could possibly juggle my crazy schedule with school, working with the church, making some extra cash, getting involved on campus and hey then there’s studying. Oh my. God is showing me what is manageable and what He wants me to be doing with His time. Again, it is all a learning process in trusting Him; the One who knows best. On Friday, I got to class a little early and just sat waiting for the professor. A girl came up to me asking if she could sit next to me. She did and we got to talking about classes and majors. She wanted to know what year I was and I told her I was a third year transfer student. She turned to me and said, ” I love transfer students.” She asked a few more questions and then wanted to know where I live. She proceeded to tell me she lives in Escondido. Then asked me where I work and I told her about EFCC. She said with a smile, “Have you heard of Intervarsity? I am the transfer small group leader” (for those who don’t know Intervaristy is a huge Christian club that meets on several nationwide college campuses). It was totally God!!

Small groups this fall are going amazingly. Such a blessing!! I have an average number of ten girls show. We are going through a workbook called “Becoming a Women of Purpose” by Cynthia Heald. This week we discussed God’s freeing love for us. We don’t live in bondage. Like the prodigal son, God runs to us and meets us wherever we are in life. Because of this God has called us to live a life of love showing that same freedom to others. There was some great ideas and it was sweet hearing how the girls could apply the study this upcoming week. Each girl is going through life with their own unique trials. It is crazy to me to see how God is stretching them and teaching them His ways. Some of their stories will bring you to tears. Pray for God’s strength and comfort in each of their lives as they try their best to live for God. Pray they live their lives dominated by Truth and not by the lies Satan loves to tell. My heart is heavy for each one of them. Please pray with me!

Praise story: I meet with a girl who just started a new relationship with a boy. She has had some really hurtful boyfriends previously. They have left her heart bruised and broken. We have identified walls and lies she tells herself leaving her with a low self-esteem and poor decision making. She is learning the abundant and healing love God has for her. She still struggles to see her worth and what God sees in her, but is doing a much better job at picking out the lies she believes and replacing it with the Truth. It has been such a journey seeing this process and I know it is not over yet. But she is heading in the right direction; her heart chasing after God and what He has planned for her. Be encouraged by what God is doing in the lives of these college girls. He is here and moving!

summer is leaving me…

nataliebalmer — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:38:52 +0000

Academy Awards

The summer is winding down. Students are slowly heading back to school. My girls are leaving me and change is on its way. It has all gone by so fast. Bonfires are coming to an end. Our last one was this past Thursday. The month of August started with a great art show where many students could display their gifts and talents with live music and coffee. Our remake of the Academy Awards were priceless as many students took the opportunity to make hilariously funny movies. We dressed our finest as we walked a red carpet to the presentation. It sure was grand.

This past week I encouraged the girls in my small group to remember what God had done for them this summer, make goals for the next half of the year as well as realize the things God is teaching them. They felt challenged to stop and reflect. It was a great exercise for myself as well. God is teaching me what it means to rest and abide in him throughout my everyday. It sure is a learning process. Ryan also encouraged us during the bonfire message to acknowledge the process as a journey. God is never done with us.

This Saturday one of my girls will be going off to college. I have only been apart of her life for about two months, but God has really blessed me by getting to know her. I am sad to see her go however, excited for the opportunities she has and for the growth that is soon awaiting her. I was able to see God stretch her in this short time and I felt honored to be apart of the ride. I sure will miss her. Pray for her journey and for the chapter waiting ahead.

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.

Psalm 138:8

Beach Lov’in Monkies for Jesus

nataliebalmer — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:20:42 +0000

Today I am actually in the office. Odd, I know. I am sitting here with the lights off, hoping that will help cool the place down. Josh is talking about training his monkies…not sure how that relates, but okay Josh. Oh and I just remembered we have 40 calorie, sugarfree Fugsicles in the freezer. Try one. I dare you. Bascially just another typical day.

This week God has been reminding me of his love. He is just waiting for me to soak it all in. It is more then enough for all of me…for every thrist and ever need. I have won the heart of my Creater. I am His Beloved. It is a concept I am only beginning to grasp, but one that is so comforting to grow in. I don’t need to chase after this or that or even dwell on my failures, instead Christ’s love fills every hole and most importantly allows me to rest in His loving arms. I cannot think of a place I would rather be. It sure beats this hot and sticky office.

The college group holds bonfires every Thursday night. Students come to hang out, play volleyball, toss a football, roast some smores, etc etc. It has been a great chill spot. Last week we had about 45 to 50 students show up which is a huge number. We never have that many kids come to one of our events. Our goal is to make the time more intial at least for about 30 minutes of the six hours at the beach. This week we are going to try amplified worship, a set time to dig into God’s word and maybe even some group prayer. Ryan asked me to speak this week. I would love if you could pray for me. Pray God gives me a topic to share about, wisdom and clarity. We are really hoping for some good feedback. Pray for God’s guidance as we stir things up. All for Jesus of course

This Past Week

nataliebalmer — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:46:30 +0000

Friday went so well! Thanks for all your prayers! We had about 15 girls throughout the day. We started out at Moonlight State Beach, lunch at a fun, unquie restaurant called Roxy’s, a photo scavenger hunt, and finally a dip in one of our girl’s pools with some ice-cream Sundays. It was a great fulfilling day. Allison and I thought it was one of our best girls event. We had a leader share a little Scripture combined with some worship time. Amber shared about acknowledging Chirst as our groom and what that means. We hope to keep the girl’s events going as well as continue to get the girls who came connected with others things at The Well. Continue praying for community and vulnerability amongst the girls!

I also wanted to share an encouraging story about one of my girls. We have been meeting once a week going through this book identifying different emotions. This past week we dealt with our fears and insecurities, which she has been struggling with a lot. She came to me talking about how paralyzed she feels because of certain fears. She wanted to take a few steps of faith. One huge thing she wanted to do was sing for our college group. We prayed about it but decided this week she would continue praying and thinking about it. That night at our group’s bonfire our worship leader randomly asked her to sing this Sunday. He gave her an hour to think. We prayed and she decided she was going to say yes. This Sunday was her first time apart of the worship team. It was such an answer to prayer and a total God thing. It was amazing. She did such a great job sharing her gift with the rest of the group. She shined for Jesus up on that stage, conquering many fears. I was so proud of her.

Change of Plans

nataliebalmer — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:25:09 +0000

Sad news. We had to cancel our Girls Retreat for the end of this week due to a few cases of swine flu that has been going around at the church. It was a huge bummer. However, instead of doing a full three days we decided to change to just one full day. Therefore this Friday is a Mystery Day Trip. The girls do not know where they are going only that they will be off and about from 9:30 to 6. We are hoping it will be a great alternative. So far about 15 girls have signed up. Please be praying for that this Friday. Our hopes are to continue to build into each other as our community grows and deepens. Pray for safety and a good time. Thanks! I will let you know how it goes. Have a lovely day!

Lets do this.

nataliebalmer — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:40:04 +0000

My first blog. Wow. Fun times. It definitely requires an appropriate environment. Coffee, check. Random itunes playlist, check. Currently, Kristian Stanfill is singing or rather crying out one of my favorite hymns; “Oh praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead.” It is such a great reminder for the morning. Jesus, what do you have planned for me today? I owe who I am to you. All of it. So take my today. I surrender. Man, it’s a good thing we started with coffee.

Well, most of you reading this have been directed here because of my work with Emmaunel Faith. Welcome! I have been on staff for about a month now and love it! There of course are its daily challenges, but I feel I have already been stretched through them. I am getting to know some girls intimately and many coffee dates have been focused on their spiritual walk with Christ. Fears and insecurites have been shared and hopefully a place of openness and vulnerabitily slowly created. My focus it directed towards the incoming freshman. The group coming in this year is very close-knit and connected, making it a little more difficult to break walls and clicks. However, they are a fun group of kids! I’ve been able to take out a few freshman girls once for a hike to Daley Ranch where of course we got a little lost on the trials but not too severely. And secondly to Balboa Park for the photography museum. These have been great times for me to get to know the girls as a group and allow them to trust me. So far I know of four girls who will be staying in North County for the fall semester, which really excites me! Allison, my coworker and partner in crime, and I are planning a Girls Retreat next weekend to Julian. I hope to get the incoming freshman to come to this event. We will be studying Isaish 61 and discovering the freedom we have in Christ and recongnizing our worth and identity in Him. We really think this is what the girls in our group need to hear. Pray for the preparation as we are planning out the weeknd and hearts of the girls are being prepared. Our prayer is that the girls who need to hear it the most come. May God work in their hearts. Bascially, there is a ton going on. God is working in many lives and I am honored to be able to see it. My prayer is that all the glory goes to Him and I constantly check in to see where my next step should be. Again thanks so much for tagging along! You are a blessing to me!