God is bigger- He is proving it :)

today has been unreal!!!!
1. one way nate and i are raising awareness and support for My Father's House is through a concert-- a couple of our friends are involved with finding bands and venues to put on a concert-- all proceeds go towards an organization. well the past couple yrs. it has been held in mt.vernon they have helped raise a couple thousand dollars...so this year they have chosen My Father's House :) at first it didn't look promising...they couldnt find bands, and didn't have a confirmation on the venue...but today nate told me that the venue is confirmed and that search for bands is going better than expected!! our hope and goal is to have an AWESOME turn out-- we would love to take a sweet check with us to present to the orphange!!!! soo, march 12th if you're not doing anything come hear some sweet bands and be a part of something bigger than urself ;)

2. a couple wks. ago i put in my fb status that i was looking for an iphone 3G-- i didn't really know why i just knew that it was needed at the orphange-- i kinda forgot about it, and if you know me you know how often i change my fb statuses ;) out of the blue a friend of mine responded to that message:
Ashley, I have a 3G that I would love to give! It works fine -- I just upgraded to a 4. Let me know how I can get it to you!
Ashley Butte - oh my gosh...ths would be FANTASTIC!!!! rahel thank you :)
they will be soo blessed by this!!!!
um ok i could meet u somewhere? drop by my work? come to monday night dinner monday?
Ashley Butte i cant even spell i was so excited lol
Rachel Luckhart Hmm...I am off work tomorrow...where do you work or live??? I would be happy to drop it off to you!
Rachel Luckhart LOL...I know the feeling!
Ashley Butte i work in gahanna-- like intersection of morse rd and hamilton rd.
Rachel Luckhart Okay I will plan to swing on by sometime in the AM! I'll FB you when I'm getting close! Yayy this is awesome, I was praying God would direct me to someone who needed it rather than it just sitting in my desk drawer! Praise!
Ashley Butte awww im crying...this makes my heart soo happy!!!
and rebecca- the woman who runs the orphanage who will be giving it to the person-- i told her and she was soooo excited!!! its gonna be an awesome suprise-- one we will capture on film for s...ure :)
thank you thank you!!!
Rachel Luckhart Aww this is awesome!!! Blessed to be a blessing! I'll text you tomorrow :) Thank you for this opportunity Ash! I'm excited!!!
Ashley Butte awesome!!!!
God is good :)
i dont have words

3. nate is super talented in the mulit-media field :) he really wanted to be able to use these gifts in uganda- so he sent rebecca an email inquiring about their needs and expressing his interest in capturing life and the organizations. she LOVED this idea and told him she has been praying for someone to come who is gifted in this area!! ahh i mean by this time in the day i just couldn't even believe all that was happening and how much God was moving and has been a part of this plan b4 we knew we were a part of this trip....which is what we are told in the bible...He knows every detail of our lives b4 we were even born, He has a plan, a purpose, so to see this come together... wow.

4. 2 very good friends of mine work at companies that i thought might be able to help out, 1 at elmers- yes the glue company ;)(the headquarters in in cbus) and the other at bayer in pitts. i mentioned to zack that i was collecting any and everything to take to the kids in uganda. he said he would mention it to some ppl at elmers and see what he could do-- tomorrow i'm going to pick up 2 HUGE boxes full of school supplies, books, markers, crafts, etc. that the ppl at elmers were more than happy to give away :) AMAZING. and amanda who works at bayer is giving me tons of adult and children vitamins!!!

5. are u as EXCITED as i am yet?!! for real, Jesus is reaching out and touching the lives of ppl, the passion inside me is growing more and more everyday- i haven't even been there yet and i want to go back!! lol
ok so my last praise story- i asked keith (pastor and leader of my small group) if i could tell the group about my trip/donations tonight- he said sure :) i get to small group and he starts talking about the global perspective of a christian, what that means and how God cares about issues of poverty,hunger,education,and unfair government. as i am listening to him i begin to realize that this topic is about missions,reaching the world, how to do that, how God LOVES the world and we should too. at the end he says, ashley didn't know i was gonna speak on this tonight but there are 2 ways you all can be a part of something to reach the world- and he let me talk about my trip and the donations that were needed :) he even gave me a huge bag of tshirts tonight he was going to take to goodwill ha

i just can't wait to see the faces of the children and ppl of uganda that are going to be soo blessed by what U are doing in their lives!!
i don't take any credit, i am just a vessel being used by God for His ppl :)

THANK YOU for reading this novel haha
please continue to pray for the preparation of this trip and team i am going with :)

carry the name

i was lucky enough to travel to GA over Valentine's day wknd to see some very special ppl :) ahh i just love being in the South-- the smell of fresh mountain air, the sun on ur face, the sweet sound of southern accents, and who can pass up sweet tea?! yes, i will take it anyday :) one of the best parts was when i got to experience Passion City Church in downtown ATL. get this- Chris Tomlin is the worship leader and Louie Giglio is the pastor- what?! best.service.ever. i mean you walk into this huge building built for theater productions/concerts and it is just packed full of ppl-- about 5 floors high!! mallory and i had the pleasure of climbing all those stairs to the very top of the balcony haha which she has never experienced ;) but it was one of the best worship experiences i have had in a long time. i just kept looking around at all these ppl, and then back at chirs, and then mal, in awe. what made it more percious was just being there with someone who has a very special place in my heart. when you get to share not only the love for eachother but the love and bond of Jesus..ahh soo good!! (mallory and i met at Winshape (in GA) and have been best friends for the past 4 yrs!!)

ironically enough that night the Grammy's were on and Chris Tomlin was up for an award but instead of going to the Grammy's he chose to be at church that night to worship with us :D how cool?!!

and if you have never heard even a snipit of louie preach u need to check him out!! don't worry i will post a lil sampling ;)

well as you know Africa is quickly approaching... can not even believe in 30 days from today i will be standing in a dif. COUNTRY!!! something i was reminded of during louie's sermon though, was it doesn't matter if i go to Africa or the grocery store, i won't get any more credit by being in uganda, but it matters whose name i am carrying when i get there. Jesus. Jesus holds the name that is above ALL names. but we live in a culture that throws His name around like "Tom" or "Lauren". we are born name carriers. think about it-- we wear Nike, Abercrombie and Fitch, AE, etc. we talk about Lady Gaga, Usher, Justin Bieber, etc. ok you get the point... we have to be bold- we must be obedient- the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tounge shall confess.
Louie left us with this assignment: Carry the name!! wear it, live it, speak it, share it, bring it, love it.

it was really encouraging to hear that no matter where i am i need to be bold with the name of Jesus. there will not be more spiritual credit or bonus points for traveling to uganda just to share the love of Jesus-- it's something i should be doing in my daily life. simple.

so speak up the name of Jesus-- He loves YOU!!

T-minus 40 days

40 days.
this sounds like a lot of time. it's not. my heart just beats with excitement everytime i do something in preparing for this trip! my dreams at night are filled with children's faces of whom i have never met yet, conversations that may or may not happen, and tears of happiness.

i am amazed at how god is already moving and working in not just my life but the lives of my friends and family wanting to give in any way to the ppl of uganda :) blesses my heart to see his ppl part with their "things" so others may benefit. YYYESSSS :) :)

i got an email from katie today- it was a message from rebecca informing us uganda is in the midst of elections and she said tensions are rising and she is actually going to leave for a few days until things settle down. would you please pray for the country of Uganda during this election time. that the Lord would allow it to be a peaceful election and that no one would get hurt.

i started journaling about ths trip last night and pulling encouraging verses from my bible. i couldn't help but think back to the "beginning" of how this chapter of my life started. god really has had his hands all over every part of me getting to where i am right now!! from high school, transfering colleges, breakups, my dad passing away, the roommate i was placed with at mvnu- who led me to get my job at winshape- which in turn is where i met katie :) thats just the nutshell version and i know everyone can sit down and just play back certain situations and transitions and be amazed.... god is good :D

thank you for being a part of my journey.
be blessed.

i need africa more than africa needs me

i am soo excited to share this news with you :)
next month i will be traveling to uganda,africa for a week!!!
how did this happen?? so glad u asked ;)

one summer long ago (3 yrs.) i was a camp counselor at winshape (in GA) and had the privledge of meeting a woman, katie, she was on staff and i was blessed we got to do life together for 3 months :)
since camp we stayed in contact via fb-- and a couple wks ago she sent me a message about how she was doing and mentioned she had gone to uganda a few times and had fallen in love with the ppl/orphans there and that she was going back in march, "wanna go?" ha just like that :) umm yes please...

so i thought about it/prayed about it for a couple days- i got this message on jan.16th and she asked that i tell her by jan.22nd...no big deal ;)
i also told a couple friends about it just to get their feedback/prayers-- but i just had a feeling that yes, this was something i was supposed to do :)
one of the friends i told about this trip was so intrigued that he actually will be going to- which is awesome!!

what we will do:
school will be in session so we will be playing with children, helping feed them, possibly teaching like PE class, helping in different classrooms, helping cook, hanging out at rebecca's home with their 12 children and the rest of thier staff. Doing projects around their home as well. LOVING ON ORPHANS! making them feel special and just doing life with them.

rebecca is the founder of "my father house" a non-profit, mission based ministry.

it's hard to really wrap my mind around the fact that in a little over a month this is really going to happen. looking at katie's pictures and reading her notes from her trip brings tears to my eyes. what a humbling experience- to actually be the hands and feet of jesus- to love on his children and share life with them :) ahh

i ask for ur prayers through this time of preparation. i have no idea what to expect but i know god is faithful and i am excited to what god has in store!!

more to come...

how could i not be moved

You gave it all for me
My soul desire, my everything
And all I am is devoted to You

How could I fail to see
You are the love that rescued me
And all I am is devoted to You

And oh, how could I not be moved
Lord here with You
So have Your way in me
Cause Lord, there is just one thing
That I will seek

This is my cry
My one desire
Is to be where You are, Lord
Now and forever
It's more than a song
My one desire
Is to be with You
Is to be with You, Jesus

How can i fail to see
You are the love that rescued me
All i am is devoted to
And oh, how can i not be moved
Lord here with you so have your way in me
Lord there is just one thing
That i will seek

i need you more

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Matthew 7:13-14 ESV

Discovering God’s dreams for your life is a matter of accepting that your life is not your own. Few, if any, lessons are learned when the path is easy. It’s the windy road with the potholes and the detour signs that stretch the muscles of the heart. But the emotional and spiritual growth is priceless.

If you want to discover God’s dream for your life, you must come to the end of yourself. For “whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39).

When life gets difficult, surrender your plans to God. It’s the detours that lead you to the end of yourself and to the true beginning of your intimacy with Him.

Prayer
Dear God and Father. Forgive my impatience when life takes turns and detours I’m not fond of. Change my perspective that I may see your hand in the sudden stops and the altered directions I’m not expecting. Let me stay calm as I follow your plans. Amen.