Who Am I?

The other day I woke with a scripture on my heart. Psalm 4:8 What is mankind that you are mindful of him? Looked it up and asked Him, "Really God, who am I that you would think of me? Love me? " He took me to Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. So humbled that he loved(loves) me enough to create me in His image, and to think of and be mindful of me. To Matthew 6:26 He led. Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap, or store away in the barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Wow!!! Well, God, to you I AM more valuable than the birds of the air. Thank you for showing me how dearly you care for me and love me. (right about here I thought I was done... I was wrong) John 3:16 For God so loved Chellé (insert your name here) he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. At this point SPEECHLESS! Isaiah 52.7 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Are you sensing my morning? The Lord was relentless in His love. Unwavering in his commitment. Continued to show me, my place in him. Romans 8:17 If we are his children, we are heirs-co heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may share in his glory. Seriously? We don't just get to share suffering... But glory, too?! No doubt I've been too busy walking in my measure of suffering (some of which I confess to being self-made... And some a result of straight up disobedience) I'd taken my eyes off of Him, and the truth of his word. Less of me, I prayed. Increase in me, Lord, that as your word says I may share in and reflect your glory. And don't you know, at that very moment He brought me round robin, right back to the verse I've been committing to memory since the day a dear friend texted it to me... 2 Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the spirit. Wow!! His word IS living and active. His spirit within us IS truly at work in us to finish the good work he began. And we DO continue to grow in his likeness displaying his love and glory for all the world to see. We are blessed indeed. And THAT my friend, was God's answer to me this morning when I asked, "Who am I Lord, that you would be mindful of me?"

Haiti or Bust

I know I don't blog very much anymore. Sadly, we don't have a computer that enables me to access my blog so to post I have to highjack a friend's computer... Therefore, you'll understand that I only post when something is weighing heavily on my heart.

This is one of those things.

This September, I will join a team from www.theglobalorphanproject.org on a mission trip to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. We will travel to four orphanages throughout the week caring for, playing with and loving on the displaced orphans of Haiti.

I will be honest with you all. I've never been on a mission trip so this is unknown territory for me but I can't tell you how drawn to this trip I feel. From the moment my friend Lori mentioned this trip I knew I wanted to go. I submitted it to the Lord in prayer immediately and my hunger to serve these dear sweet orphans grew.

If you've read my blog ever before you are aware that I am not very good at asking for help. This trip has been no different. I did everything in my power to raise the funding myself. I sold U2 tickets I'd purchased for their concert here in July, I participated in a yard sale, and I put many a thing on Craigslist hoping not to have to send out a mission letter. To no avail.

I really believe part of this trip was my needing to ask for support. As though God wanted to make clear that I am not meant to do things on my own. And that this trip is for His glory and that He will provide!! But that He won't step in with provision until I relinquish my need, to not need.

I've sent out those letters. It took me a month. They aren't eloquent, or professional, but they share my heart. I want to extend my gift of encouragement to those in need in Haiti. To do that I'll need to raise approximately $1,500. If you are able to give out of your abundance to the work of the Lord... I know that the children of Haiti will not be the only ones blessed. God is faithful, this much I'm certain.

Please also know that whether you are able to give or not, I covet your prayers!! For this trip, for the team's safety, for our health, for the hearts we'll minister to while in Port-au-Prince and for the hearts we'll leave behind while we serve.

Praying my post finds each of you in the overwhelming presence of God. May He be your source for all things and to whom you give all glory.

Contributions can be made by check: either made out to Michelle Wargo or
The Global Orphan Project
(Michelle Wargo- in memo)
540 9th Street
Clairton, PA 15025

I will also post a PayPal button on the side of my blog if it is easier to give instantly.

Again, thanks for walking this journey out with me. I couldn't be more grateful.

He Knows Your Name

For the longest time my husband and I have referred to one another as 'Hun' and 'Dear'. It's a funny thing. It's almost as though through marriage new names were given each of us. No matter the context, these names fit. Hun, can you pick up bread? Dear, can you make sure the kids' finish their homework before practice tonight? Dear, we need clean laundry. Dear, the baby's crying. Dear, I'm hungry. (I digress...)

They became common place.

On rare occasions, extremely rare, one of us will use the actual birth name given the other. The occasions tend to be important, specific and at times, emotional. Moments where attention is required and truth is discussed. Moments where we are drawn together to communicate, share and carry one another's burdens.

I tell you this because it happened the other night. We were having an off day. No real background involved. No fight. No tension. Just something not quite right. Before bed I heard it. Chelle'. Not Dear. Chelle'. I stopped in my tracks as I usually do. My heart waited.

And then it hit me. It's no surprise my heart responds in that way when Paul calls me by name. My heart has been conditioned to do just that. You see, for the past 20 years or so, everytime the Lord called me by name- my heart waited. Now- I don't want to give the appearance that I am so in tune with the Lord that all He has to do is speak and there I am ready to move. Sadly, this is not the case. Just as in my marriage, it seems God has other names by which I am called. Child, daughter, bride... to name a few.

I would like to say that I pay full attention no matter how he refers to me, the reality however, is that I get lost in the common place of it all at times. I read the words in the Bible as though I've read them thousands of times before. I pray the prayers that have been said day after day. Monotony overtakes me.

But when He calls me by my name... My heart waits. Think of the many times He called His children by name...

In Exodus 3 God called Moses from the burning bush...

In Luke 19, Jesus called Zacheus down from the tree and told him He was going to his house...

In John 11 Jesus called Lazarus back from the dead. (Wouldn't that be a great way to hear your name?)

And how about Samuel called by the Lord out of sleep in I Samuel 3...

No doubt the hearts of these men (in Samuel's case- boy) waited. Their responses? Here I am.

And so today... Here I am Lord. Whatever you're doing. Wherever you're at work. And in whatever capacity I can be used to further your glory... Here I am. My heart waits!!

Where I Belong...

I logged onto Blogger today astounded by the date of my last post. June of 2009! Whew. Time flies!

Blogger's different. Blogs once visited have new templates. Some blogs don't even exist.
Truth be told I almost added my blog to that last category. Not for any reason other than I wasn't blogging anymore. But once a blogger always a blogger. For 18 months every ironic situation, funny event, theological insight caused a twinge in my hand... a longing in my mind to formulate thoughts into paragraphs. I captured pictures with the intention of surrounding them with words and follow by hitting "post."

But I never followed through.

Today I realized as I logged in that a big piece of me remained here with my blog over the past 18 months. The part of me that writes, creates, shares, analyzes, storytells, encourages and believes. Well, I want it back. So blog I shall! My how I've missed it!

Revelation Song...

I just HAD to post this in the event you haven't heard this song... particularly this rendition!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6392LoZ9XJg

(I've been off blogger so long I don't know how to embed the video so you can watch it here...)

A "First" We Could Have Lived Without...

I woke up this morning to the headline, "First reported US death due to Swine Flu". I caught my breath. What terrible news. News that I thought couldn't get any worse. Until I read on.

A 23 month old toddler that had recently traveled to Mexico with family... fell ill and died of complications of the flu virus.

I don't know about you but my heart is broken. And at the same time, I'm wondering if this could actually become a pandemic as the CDC cautions.

The thing about a pandemic is that it really can't be stopped right? I mean, think about it. People are still traveling. Kids are still in school. Moms are still grocery shopping. Dads are still working. And families are still attending church. This thing takes 5 days to incubate. Meaning- we are exposed and feel fine for almost a week before the symptoms set in. For that week we are coming and going and playing and hugging and sharing sodas etc.

I am not trying to strike fear into the hearts of those that read this. I am simply calling us all to PRAY!!! A toddler has already died from this. 68 people in the US are confirmed to have this. Schools in New York City are already closed due to the "liklihood" of 75 infected children.

Something... SOMEONE is going to have to intervene here because this thing has the potential to GO HUGE.

All this to say- I'm praying!! I hope you are too!

I was lost...

I've never been away this long. Right about now, the three of you that are "following" me just looked on your blogger notification board and wondered what the heck "The World of Chelle' " is. It's just me friends. Stopping in to say hi.... two months after my last post. TERRIBLE I KNOW.

It's been a hectic few months. To be quite transparent- things have been a little overwhelming since the miscarriage in November. I didn't do well with that. It became obvious. In my family. In my marriage. I stopped making the choices God desired from me. I no longer desired to do what God wanted me to do regardless of my husband's actions. (Good or bad) I became distanced. And angry.

God is dealing with me. Still. But things are much better. I continue to learn that His strength is made perfect in my weakness. That trusting Him doesn't mean following Him only when the outcome is as I would have planned but that knowing NO MATTER the outcome He is who He says He is and He is trustworthy.

I think I will always REQUIRE a thorn in my side. I don't want to have to defend that last comment. It is more emotional than theological. But I do think I will always require a reminder. Something that keeps me completely dependant on the Lord. My tendancy is to revert to my power, my ability, my sufficiency. I am neither powerful, able nor sufficient so I'm amused by my actions everytime I find myself trudging through of my own volition and/or functioning in my own abilities (0r lack there of). You'd think I'd have this worked out by now.

My Lyme Disease is back. I've been off meds since the pregnancy. I really thought I'd kicked it. That HE'D kicked it. I thought I was through being a slave to this disease. And I was doing great. No meds. No muscle weakness. No muscle shaking. Few muscle twitches. No exhaustion. No swallowing issues.

Well- that was then...

Two months or so back I got meningitis and since then the symptoms have shown themselves more and more each day. I need to get an appointment for my Lyme Dr. and get back on a good protocol of oral and IM antibiotics. And I need to hurry before it becomes the saga it was 4 years ago.

Pray for me. Mostly that I would be focused on God and not this disease. That I would see the opportunity He has to show Himself in my weakness. That I wouldn't judge the circumstance as His lot for me but that He is my source as this circumstance occurs. The enemy can be brutal in times like these so I suppose the biggest prayer I have is that I would take captive EVERY thought that goes against God's will for me... that I would capture any thought that isn't good, right, true, noble, pure, excellent or praiseworthy. And that in ALL things, this included... I would PRAISE HIM!

Life happens. Lyme happens. God is still who He says He is. And we are still who He says WE ARE!