A Year Worth Singing About.

Happy New Year! Wow, what a year! Yet again we rocked 2012 at the Schumpert Reservation the best we could.  And it worked out pretty well! As I look back over the year there is SO MUCH proof of the Lord's faithfulness and goodness, but I wanted to share just a few and take a walk down memory lane (or the past year at least).

1. 2012 started off with me praying, "Lord what do you want? Your will be done!" I slowly started realizing that I wanted know Jesus.  I wanted to live a life that made much of Him and not myself.  Soon after I was sitting in this room on this day and learned I was officially moving to NC to answer to this calling. VERY grateful!

2. In the summer this year the entire Schumpert family was able to pack our bags and head to a country that Dad and I have fallen in love with.  I was a MAJOR blessing to be able to watch every member of my family act on Matthew 28:19-20. Needless to say Peru has become a big part of our lives now, and we have already started praying for BIG God things to happen as we plan to return in 2013.

3. This handsome young man had reasons to celebrate over the summer. On the exact same day that Mom was one year cancer free (YIPPPEE Jesus!), we found out that the growth on Kyle's leg that had to be removed was cancer free! This caused major celebration in the Schumpert household!

4. I actually did move to the place that has been in our family for so many years.  The past semester has been difficult, challenging, overwhelming, fruitful, and incredible all at the same time.  I have learned more about what it means to rely on the Father for every little thing to every big thing.  The difficult times have taught me more about the sovereignty of the Lord, but it was amazing to see so much beauty from ashes.  But it is humbling to know that I still don't have it all together and figured out, and I NEVER EVER will.

5. Last but certainly not least, I get to be one proud, not so big sister of  these  Indians. But really. Every year I am thrilled to watch Kyle and Caroline grow and mature in their relationship with the Lord.  It challenges me and encourages me in so many ways.  I am beyond blessed to be able to watch as these two allow the Lord to use them in unthinkable ways! What an honor to be the sister of siblings that want to use their lives to make much of Jesus!

As 2013 approaches my prayer is that this will be a year that my purpose is to decrease so that Jesus might increase more and more.  Praying that you have a God glorifying New Year!

Anna Lauren

Stepping Up to the Command

If you keep have been keeping up with the news around the world over the past week you have most likely not missed the tragic news of the Russian ban on American adoption.  Therefore the past few days have not been easy.
My alarm clock went off at 5 this morning, and I was hitting the road running by 5:30.  Immediately I started complaining because it was too early and too cold.  The wind was whipping, and I wanted nothing more than to curl back up and go to sleep.  But the LORD.  Around mile 2 the soundtrack from "Beauty and the Beast" started playing, and I considered changing it (this is what you have on your iPod when your sister is 8). I decided to keep it on and "jam" out to it.  Looking back I was thankful to have it because it changed my mood a little.  But bottom line...I am thankful for a little girl that came into my life and turned my running playlist around.
This is what I am asking for you to do, PRAY!  With the multiple news reports surrounding us concerning the adoption ban it would be easy to sit back and say, "well, this is sad."  But the problem with that is James 1:27 leaves no room for that.  I read this past week someone commentate on this one verse she said, "The Lord could have laid many different things on James' heart. He could have said: Pure religion is to be a pastor. or Pure religion is to be married to a pastor. or Pure religion is to be a school teacher. or Pure religion is to help save the whales. or Pure religion is to be a firefighter. or Pure religion is to be worship leader. But He didn't. He made it plan and simple, 'Pure religion is to care for the widows and orphans.'"
Call me crazy, obsessed, or passionate, but the command is there.  Now what will we do?
1. Ask the Lord to make it clear how you are specifically suppose to respond to this crisis.
2. Pray for the many families that are currently in the process of adopting a child from Russia.
3. Pray for the 700,000+ children that are longing for forever families.
4. Pray for government and leaders in Russia to have a change in heart and mind.
5. Finally, pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ to step up and answer the to the command (and that includes you and me!).  Pray that we will all see clearly the reason that we care for the widows and orphans.
As the New Year approaches, I am sadden by the fact that I am having to type this out, but I cannot think of a better way to start the New Year...stepping up to the command and clinging to what we are called to do.

Anna Lauren

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

So the past few days have been busy, fun, crazy, and refreshing.  It started off Thursday with being able to surprise 2 of my favorite people by coming home a little early, and Friday night was official Schumpert family night.  Being together with my family has been a wonderful, and if that was not enough 2 of my best friends came in town for the weekend! Therefore I am just now catching my breath, but all the craziness was worth it! Getting to spend quality time with my favorite people brings me so much joy and life!
On a different note, the celebration of our Savior's birth is approaching, and I have been pondering the following question lately, "what exactly is this suppose to look like?"  I am almost positive that there is not an exact answer, but I think just even over the past couple of weeks my perspective of the answer to that question has changed a little.
It started with morning worship at school when one of our lovely staff spoke up about Christmas songs being statements of worship.  I will be completely honest and say that I LOVE singing/jamming out to Christmas songs, but I had never really thought of them being worship songs.  
She brought up the song "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman." First, I have always thought that this was a weird title for a song, and second, I had never actually paid attention to the lyrics.  Guilty as charged. When she started quoting them I was amazed at what they actually said:

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

This is just the beginning of the song, but what an awesome picture of the Gospel! I have probably repeated this one section in this song over and over again in my head in the past few days.

Thursday when I was driving home I was comforted by these words.  I had a six hour drive home which is not terrible, but being by myself for that amount of time can trigger my anxiety.  It gives me too much time to think and allow Satan to come in and attack. But this time I was able to use this time as an act of worship.  It gave me a time to remember that my comfort and joy does not come from feeling fine, dandy, and happy 24/7, but it comes from knowing that in my deepest and darkest hours the Lord is supreme over all.  Little did I know I would need to be reminded of this truth very soon.

Friday our nation was devastated by the tragedy in Connecticut.  This is the first time I have ever wept over a national tragedy, and I remember the only thing I wanted to do was run to a school and grab my precious 3rd grade sister and hold her very close.  Like many of you, I was in a daze.  The only way I found comfort and joy was in reminding myself of what I have spent studying over the past few months. This world is filled with evil and suffering, but we have an eternal perspective.  Yet again, this song came back up, "to save us all from Satan's power, when we were gone astray." My prayer is that through our anger, grief, questioning, and confusion we will find comfort and joy in the truth that God was, still is, and will always be sovereign over all. He is the sovereign king, righteous judge, and supreme creator, and this is what should compel comfort and joy.

Sunday I chuckled a little a church when we started singing this song.  I remember thinking, "Oh yes Lord, I PROMISE I can see where my comfort and joy should lie."  It was such a blessing to be able to proclaim this song that I once thought had a weird title as a statement and declaration of praise to God.

As we prepare ourselves over the next week to celebrate the birth of the Savior my prayer is that we will not lose focus.  My favorite time is the Christmas Eve candlelight service at my church.  I will admit, yet again, that I get those warm, fuzzy feelings when everybody raises there candle, and we talk about being the light of the world.  This is 100 percent true, but most of the times I never actually take the time to think about what this means.  Our Savior left a perfect place to step into this evil world to bring light.  This is the light that as believers we must proclaim.  This is the light that brings comfort and joy when tragedy hits. This is the light that we long to one day see face to face! What a perfect way to receive comfort and joy!

Merry Christmas!

Anna Lauren

In The Beginning...

Over the past week we have been studying the gospel of John.  I knew from the very beginning that this book was going to be a struggle for me. In a good way of course.  I remember telling my roommate that I could spend a week studying just the first chapter of this gospel.  It is so rich in meaning that I wanted to take time so soak it all in.  And indeed I tried.

A few days ago I was running and started asking the Lord what He wanted me to see through the study of this book.  The first thing that came into my head was, “In the beginning...” I laughed a little because in class one day last week I seriously forgot how Genesis 1 started. Like to the point that I had to go look it up (fail at being a pastor’s kid).  I still remember where I was on my run when I started thinking about Genesis 3:15 where God tells Satan that he has a sovereign plan to destroy him. AKA Jesus.

I am not ashamed to say that the past few months have been filled with anxiety for me.  For a while I kept it to myself, and it got to the point of misery.  I specifically remember driving through Atlanta in rush hour and crying out, “Lord, I don’t understand, make it go away!” (I am sure it was a sight for the cars next to me:).

Over the past few weeks the Lord has shown me that my anxiety is His power being made perfect in my weakness.  It has led me to see that spiritual growth is realizing how much more and more I need to cling to Him.  While I would love to be able to write out that my anxiety is gone, that is just not the case.  But I can say that whether I see it or not, the Lord is sovereign over it.

So while on my run that is when it hit me, “See, Anna Lauren, I was there from the very beginning.”  This is what is so clear in the first chapter of the Gospel of John.  From the very beginning God was sovereign over all and had a perfect plan.

As I prepare myself for the Christmas season, this is what I want to compel my worship of the Savior.  The sovereignty of God with a perfect plan through and extraordinary Savior.

Anna Lauren

P.S. Shout out to my Auburn friends that are procrastinating studying for finals by reading this! You can make it!