Lead Institute (Mission Texas) Week 4 Update

Christ For The Nations night of Worship

Sorry, I'm a few days late on the blog I know. This weeks blog will be a little short just because I have a ton of stuff to do to prep for this week. Its midterms week and we have a special thing this week that requires me to get a lot of my stuff done early.

This last week was typical school, ministry training, busy week. This last week we were honored to have met some of those on the Lead Institute board. We had a session with Dr Randall Parris on time management with our classes. Great session! I actually just got an email from him today stating that he was my new Academic Advisor.

Friday night we went to Christ For The Nations for their monthly night of worship. Wow, is about all I can say about that. These people are serious when they mean worship. I haven't seen worship like that in so long. Dancing before the Lord, shouting, declaring His word, freedom; just a few words that sum up that evening.

Yesterday (Sunday) for the morning service we went to Westwood Christian Church here in Weatherford, to my surprise I really enjoyed it. Very humbled church that is almost like family. Yesterday evening we drove to  Friendship Church in Frisco, Tx which is probably about an hour and half drive. I'm just learning more and more about Texas cities as we go to them, lol (It was a huge city (approx 122,000 people). I really enjoyed being in church with them and fellow shipping. Great worship, word, and prayer with them. One thing that I am so excited about that I get to experience while being here is, meeting all the people. Making connections and friendships for a lifetime.

Today, was my off day so I've been getting laundry done, studying, and getting things ready for this week. I also sat down and anointed every sponsorship letter that I will be sending out this week. I just felt really impressed in my heart to anoint the letters with anointing oil. Not necessarily for myself but I want those who I send the letters to, to know that I am sincerely praying for them and their churches no matter if they feel lead to give or not. My question to you is, will you agree in prayer with me that God does His will through these letters? Thanks!

As always I'm going to give you the opportunity if you have felt the need to give to what God is doing here in my life. Would you prayerfully consider sponsoring me whether its $10, $20, $40, $50, $75, or even $100. You can choose to be a monthly sponsor or even just a one time sponsor. God has blown my mind in how he has provided for me to be here and I'm trusting Him to continue to supply the funds. Any donation you give is 100% tax deductible. You do what God lays on your heart, and no matter what I will be praying for you. 

The address for here (if you would like to send donations, letters, gifts, etc):

Tiffany Carroll
571 Shanes Ln, 
Weatherford Tx, 76087

Lead Institute Texas (Mission Texas) Week 3 Update.

Lead Institute Texas students at Pastor Phillip & Shirley Jones House

One word after this week; Exhausted.

Last Sunday we traveled to Alabama and stayed with Pastor Phillip and his wife Shirley. They were so hospitable and made us feel right at home. From there we traveled to Atlanta and went to the Martin Luther King memorial and museum. That was such a great experience to experience the history and culture of the place.

Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King grave site.

After spending a few hours in Atlanta we drove to our destination in Northern Georgia. All of the Lead Institute groups met up at this retreat center for a week of fellowship. Our week consisted of leadership games, sessions about the difference between the names "Mission vs Lead", David Blair spoke a session, DAL from Lee University spoke a session, and we talked about the process of cams will be going through this year. All kind of things took place, and we took communion together out of the same drink thing. That was humbling, lol. 

Left to right: Lead Institute Baltimore student, Lead Institute Georgia student,
Lead Institute Florida student, and myself Lead Institute Texas student.

After our week at "The Gathering" we began our drive home. We stopped at Lee University. Most of the first year students needed to get their student ID's and since we were in the area we drove up there, and some had to meet with advisers. For those of you who dont know, we are full time Lee University students as well as Lead Institute students, and it is hard sometimes balancing ministry prep, ministry, and college. But totally worth it.

My friend Rhiannon from Lee University.

My friend Michaela from Lee University.

My friend Elijah from Lee University.

My friend Hannah from Lee University.

After Lee We drove for about 6-7 hours the first night and then stopped in Tuscaloosa and ate at a place called "Pigg Shack". It was SOO good! I had the smoked chicken with mac'n'cheese and onion rings, and that was some good eatin'. We stopped at a hotel for the night and I stayed up until 2 am doing school work. Im still trying to learn how to balance it out when traveling. At the retreat center we didnt really have access to Internet because it wasnt working properly, and so I am glad I had the chance to focus and concentrate on my school work when we got to the hotel. 

Pigg Shack in Tuscaloosa Alabama

Yesterday after packing up and heading back to Texas we spent most of the day driving. Alot of us rested. I would say "slept" but you didnt really get much rest sleeping in a 15 passenger van lol. We stopped in West Monroe, Louisiana and stopped at the duck commander! It was so exciting to see things from the television show. I did buy a duck call, and will be messing with the ducks on the ranch all the time now. The Robertson family was not there so we didnt get to meet them unfortunately. One thing I didnt really like about the Duck Commander were the prices for the quality of stuff they had. I know they are now "famous" but $25 for a t-shirt or $30 for a cheap necklace was definitely a turn off. All in all it was just exciting to be there and to experience a little bit of that. 

Im going to cut the blog short this week only because im super tired and have some school work to do. Would you prayerfully consider sponsoring me whether its $10, $20, $40, $50, $75, or even $100. You can choose to be a monthly sponsor or even just a one time sponsor. God has blown my mind in how he has provided for me to be here and im trusting Him to continue to supply the funds. Thank you!

 Also we will be going to Israel in the Spring of 2014. If you would prayerfully consider taking up a special offering to help with that trip, and if you would like more information on that I can give you that information as I get it. The cost for that mission trip is going to be approx $1500-$2000 and this is a great price.

Here's my address: 

Tiffany Carroll

571 Shanes Ln, 

Weatherford Tx, 76087

Lead Institute Texas (Mission Texas) (Week 2)

Wow, week 2 ?!?!?! Look at that beautiful Texas sunset above.

This week classes started and we've all been adjusting to the work load of school and the online schooling system. We've also been prepping to travel this coming week. We will be leaving tomorrow morning (Sep 1st) bright and early to head out east. We will be meeting up with all the other Lead INstitute groups for a time of getting to know eachother etc. Im not too sure what all will be happening this next week. I know we will be going into Atlanta, Ga for some work, we will be going to Lee University and will be on campus for a bit, and im pretty sure we will be ministering in some services somewhere. 

I've been adjusting to school very well so far. I am having a bit of a hard time when it comes to stressing over school work, lol. I feel like I need to get all weeks worth of work done in 1 day in order to stay on top of it, but the truth is that is unrealistic considering we are in sessions through out the day. We get plenty of time to work on school work as a group too. We have this thing called "Beat The Professor" and thats kind of like a study hall. My goal is to make all A's this semester! I think its a realistic goal if I manage my time and work hard at it, so pray with me that I would not lack focus and put in my time. 

Yesterday (Friday night) myself and a few of the girls went and got Frozen yogurt at a place called Yogurt Story. It was my first time eating frozen yogurt and it was AMAZING!!! I had espresso yogurt with cherries, gummy bears, and 2 chocolate covered raisins. We also bought a 1/2 gallon of blue bell ice cream at walmart and had some for lunch this afternoon. Im experiencing alot of "firsts" here in Texas, lol. We stayed up a little later last night to play a board game together called Quelf. If you've never heard it I encourage you to get it. We have so much playing it together, we laugh so much! 

I also got most of my room decorated this week. Im obsessed with Chevron so thats what my theme is. I was having a bit of a hard time last week because my room just didnt feel inviting. This week the girls really helped me get my room together. Here are some pictures and decorations. 

That is all until next week! Love y'all! 

Here's my address again:

Tiffany Carroll

571 Shanes Ln, 

Weatherford Tx, 76087

Lead Institute Texas (Mission Texas) (Week 1)

Wow, its hard to believe I've been in Texas for 1 week. Its beautiful here in so many ways.

The animals are different and interesting as well; long horns, armadillos, crazy grass hoppers, and lots of horses. This week we got to know each other. The girls and 1 gentlemen are so precious. Its been great getting to know Pastor Charley, his wife Amber, and their kids as well. 

I'm starting to finally get used to climbing up and down my bed, ha ha. For those who know me know how much top bunks scare me. I registered for my classes this week and ordered my books. School starts this Tuesday the 27th. Excited, yet nervous as well. 

Most of this week we were prepping for our first ministry event. Currently we are in Graham, Texas doing a kids crusade at Graham Church of God. We started the event last night (Friday, the  23rd.) The folks at Graham Church of God are so lovely! Its been such a treat getting to know Pastor Dawayne Barnett and his wife Stacy. They wont let me live it down that I'm from Illinois when it comes to food. I'll explain a later in the blog.

Today we went to a REAL cowboy church outside of Graham. Some of the NICEST people I've ever met! Here's the funny part about the food and stuff. I thought brisket was a type of biscuit... I never had homemade ice cream until today... I am amazed at cactus... I never ate at Chicken Express... I'm sure there are other things that I cant think of that they find hilarious lol. 

All in all its been a pretty great week. I've been stretched out of my comfort zone too many times to count this week, but I've also melted in the presence of God daily with these sweet people. 

Who knew I'd be in Texas? I honestly never even imagined myself in Texas. Its crazy. Mind blowing actually. I haven't been "homesick" at all, just missing my sister and best friends alot. Including my aunt and uncle. Kinda bumming me out that this is my first year missing the Duqoin State fair and everyone is going :(. I miss it and everyone a little bit.

Next weekend we will be traveling to Georgia, then to Tennessee, and LEE!!!! I cannot even begin to express how excited I am to finally step foot back on Lee University campus. I miss it so much!!!! I miss all my Lee U friends too!!! 

Also, I have gotten my address for down here and I have posted it on facebook twice now. I will post it here just for those who haven't seen it on facebook. You can send me letters, pictures, care packages, or if you would like to help me with donations to fund the rest of my year that is also greatly needed. 

Our mission trip to Israel is supposed to take place in March. When I find out more I will let everyone know.

Heres my address:

Tiffany Carroll

571 Shanes Ln, 

Weatherford Tx, 76087

Mission Texas (Day 1)

Mission Texas Day 1

I didn't get much sleep last night because I kept thinking I was going to miss my flight. I finally got out of bed around 3:30 am. I finished all the last minute stuff and then headed to the airport at about 5 am. When I got to the airport around 7:30 I checked in and went through security in like 5-10 mins. Probably the best first time flight experience anyone could ever ask for. Boarded the plan and looked out the window as we flew above the clouds. I read the word and listened to worship music and just felt the blessings surround me. I landed and met a girl named Megan. She's a 3rd year student at Mission Texas. We had an amazing conversation on the hour/hour-half drive to the ranch. Got to the ranch and proceeded with registration. Then settled into my room. Went to the opening reception and was told some very exciting things that will take place this year in mission Texas. Including a 10 day mission trip to Israel. All in all, it's been a great day. I'm currently sitting in the foyer waiting for our girls meeting to start, then it's off to bed. I'm going to try and work on fitting in Vlogs throughout this journey. So many exciting things to come. 

If you would like to sow into my life during this season please send me a Facebook message, text, or call me (618-663-0040). 

- Tiffany 

Mission Texas

Hey everyone!

I am taking a little break from packing to blog a second. I am so beyond thrilled to begin this new chapter in life, more importantly I'm excited to grow into the leader God has called me to be! I found out 4 days ago that I was accepted to Mission Texas (Lead Texas). I was excited but extremely nervous about how I was going to raise the money needed to go. After days of praying and seeing absolutely no results, I was beginning to get even more worried. It was Tuesday afternoon my friends and I went hiking and I just prayed and God knew everything needed to take place. I truly believe God has shown me some things recently to help me understand that I need to depend on Him not people. Not that people can't help me, but I was looking at this impossible situation that I knew only God could do. Right after I prayed Tuesday I got a phone call receiving $100 and the money has slowly come in a little at a time. This is NOTHING short of a miracle, literally. Although there is still a large amount of money that needs to be funded for me to finish the program, I am trusting God will continue to provide. I have decided that since this is such an amazing opportunity for myself that I will start doing Vlogs (video blogs) while I'm in Texas. Haven't yet decided if it will be daily or weekly vlogs. I will blog occasionally as well. If you would like to help fund me email me at tcarro01@leeu.edu OR Facebook message me. I'll leave my cell phone number down at the bottom if you wish to contact me that way. If you would like to donate any amount I do want to inform you that your contribution is 100% Tax deductible. I can send you the information needed and a letter from Mission Texas for those interested in sponsoring, donating, or pledge. Most of all continue praying for me. I'm so excited for this humbling opportunity to grow not only spiritually but as a young lady.

Cellphone number: 618-663-0040
You can text or call me if you have any questions.

Blessed,
Tiffany.

Lay Leadership Blog Post #2 "The Life You've Always Wanted"

Here we are, blog post #2. In this weeks blog I'm going to share some things from the new book we are in "The Life You've Always Wanted." Going to jump right into it.

Page 11. "Sometimes I am too concerned about what others think of me, even people I don't know."

I relate to this because I'm always worried about what everyone thinks of me. I don't want anyone to dislike me so I'm always trying to please everyone. Constantly my sister reminds me "You care too much about what others think."

Page 13 "I am disappointed that I still love God so little and sin so much."

"I have other ones [disappointments], darker ones, that I'm not ready to commit to paper."

I thought about all my disappointments, those that I've shared with friends, and then those disappointments that I've never shared. Why do we hide disappointments? I don't know the answer, but maybe its because we feel guilt, shame, embarrassed, or like we'll be judged? I cant answer the question, I just know that some of us have disappointments we aren't ready to commit to paper.

"The feeling of disappointment is not the problem, but a reflection of a deeper problem-my failure to be the person God had in mind when He created me."

Page 15 "The truth is the term 'spiritual life' is simply a way of referring to one's life-every moment and facet of it-from Gods perspective."

"Gods not interested in your spiritual life. God is just interested in your life."

Page 18 "One day when the human race had not heard a word of hope for a long time, a man named Moses walked past a shrub. He had seen it before, perhaps a hundred times. Only this time it was different. This time the "turn" comes; this time the bush is on fire with the presence of God. And Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." Everything turned on Moses' being willing to "turn aside"-to interrupt his daily routine to pay attention to the presence of God. He didn't have to. He could have looked the other way, as many of us would. He would have just missed the Exodus, the people of Israel, his calling, the reason for his existence. He would have missed knowing God. But he didn't miss it. He stopped. He "turned aside."

Bottom of page 18-top of page 19 "God's sense of timing seemed strange to Moses. Forty years ago maybe-forty years ago he was young and strong and the product of the greatest education the advanced civilization of Egypt could produce. But now he was a nobody, an anonymous shepherd in a forgotten desert, rejected by his own people and a fugitive from the Egyptians."

"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" Moses asked. "Nobody knows me. I am slow of speech and slow of tongue. I am disappointed in myself. I yam what I yam." God said to Moses what he has said to you and me and millions of other Moseses. "I know all about that. It doesn't really matter much. For I will be with you. Your guilt and your inadequacies are no longer the ultimate truth about you. You are what you are-but that's not all that you are. You are what you are, but you are not yet what you will be. I will be with you."


Page 21 "When morphing happens, I don't just do the things Jesus would have done; I find myself wanting to do them."

Page 33 "Instead of focusing on the boundaries, Jesus focused on the center, the heart of spiritual life."

Page 34 "The 'righteous' were more damaged by their righteousness than the sinners were by their sin."

Page 37 "Why do I constantly find myself rating other people as if they were Olympic contestants and someone appointed me judge? Why do I so often compare myself to them as if we were in some kind of competition?"

Page 38 "The pursuit of righteousness is always an exhausting pursuit when it seeks a distorted goal."

Page 42 "Trying hard can accomplish only so much. If you are serious about seizing this chance of a lifetime, you will have to enter into a life of training."

Page 43 "Given the way we are prone to describe 'following Jesus,' its a wonder anyone wants to do it at all."

Page 49 "You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. It is an act of trust: I am reminded when I go to sleep that the world is in God's hands, not mine. The world will get along very well even though I'm not awake to try and control things."

"Have you ever tried to pray when you are lacking sleep? Before Elijah was to spend a prolonged time in solitude and prayer at Mount Horeb, the angel of the Lord had him take not one, but two long naps. Contrast this with the disciples at Gethsemane, who could not pray because they kept falling asleep. Sleep is a gift from God."

Page 50 "For some of you reading this book, perhaps the single most spiritual thing you could do right now is to put it down and take a nap."

If anyone knows me they know that I rarely ever sleep. Lately I've been sleeping less and less. Between work, school, church, lay leadership, and everything else I seem to never stop. I'm constantly on the move. Its great, I love it, until I lay down at night and everything I was too busy to think about during the day hits me at night. Thankful for those distractions that keep me from thinking, but in the end I'm usually up all night with a brain overload that cant shut down. Finally I end up exhausting myself and usually can sleep 3-5 hours a night. Sometimes I'm up for 39-48 hours at a time, and the fact is im used to it. I am always tired, yet when I get those rare nights when I do sleep 8 hours I find myself worse than when I had my usual 3-5 hours. Regardless, I know it has effected alot of parts of my life.

Page 51 "The wind blows where it chooses," Jesus said "and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Page 52 "Our season of life-whatever it is-is no barrier to having Christ formed in us. Not in the least."

"Whatever our season of life, it offers its own opportunities and challenges for spiritual growth. Instead of wishing we were in another season, we out to find out what this one offers."

"One of the most basic laws of life is rhythm. Night follows day, winter follows summer, we wake and we sleep. In spiritual life, the traditional language for this is rhythm. There will be times of consolation and times of desolation. In times of consolation we pray because God seems close, the Bible seems alive, sin looks bad, and stoplights all seem green. Times of desolation are just the opposite: The Bible seems dry, the prayer grows hard, and God is far away."

This is the end of my blog post. I actually have been reading a chapter a day instead of reading the plan which I believe is something like (8-9 pages) a day. Thats why this post was a bit longer than normal. This book is life changing.

Check back next week for blog post #3. Stay tuned the next chapters all deal with an individual spiritual discipline.

-Tiffany