Beauty Observed

I don't think anyone can deny that we all desire to be loved by something beautiful.

When we see beauty of any sort, our automatic response is wanting to love it, but more so, for the beauty to love us back.

And I believe that is how we were all designed.

I keep picturing a beautiful field in the northern part of America. One with the greenest grass and the bluest sky. In this scene I see a single oak tree. This is my definition of beauty.

I naturally feel a drawing and love for this place in a whole. The thought doesn't even cross my mind that it really doesn't have the capacity to love back. It is, after all, just a scene, isn't it?

How about another scenario. When we listen to a beautiful love song our mind likes to go to the thought of that love song being specifically for us. As if the musician wrote it about you.

(For me, this would be any song by M. Ward)

We love being loved by beautiful things, people, places, songs, etc.

What we miss so many times is that we actually are loved by Something beautiful. All of us.

In fact, the very Creator of beauty Himself is who we're loved by.

If God is everything, then maybe the beautiful scene of the tree in the field actually does love us in return.

An interesting notion, sure, but what if God loves us so much that He brings us to these Tree-Field type of scenes in order that He might declare His love for us?

And in bringing us to these scenes, its like God Almighty Himself is speaking through the tree saying "I love you so deeply that I made this beauty possible for you to gaze upon".

I like to think God made all of us with different perceptions of beauty that specifically please our eyes uniquely. But then I think again and realize, if we find God beautiful, don't we all have the same perception of beauty?

All in all, that's really God in that field-scene-beauty that we're looking at.

That's God in the beautiful sunsets we see over the ocean.

It's Him who we see in the gorgeous mountains of Seattle.

The wonderful part is that the most beautiful Being that always was, loves us so abundantly that He's made us become apart of His beauty by calling us His own.

Because the fact is that God is constantly singing love songs to us. And each one is calling us Home.

How Everyone Relates to George Bailey

So things aren't going our way, what do we do?

I'd like to say I move on from it. I'd like to say it doesn't effect me. I'd like to say I automatically see it as something that is going to challenge me and help me to grow. 

But in all honesty, I dwell on it, let it get to me, and see it as the end of the world. 

I'm working on it. 

Why is self-pity such a commonality in the human race today? 

It's like we let the world so easily push our buttons. We hold way too high of a regard for the things happening around us and become desperate, self-pitied, souls. Like we're a living song off of an Adele album. 

Self-pity is actually a form of selfishness.

I think we can all agree we've had George Bailey moments before. Those moments where the only problems in the world appear to be our problems. We become closed minded to other peoples feelings and focus on ourselves

I think I'll call this, "The Me Generation"

"How will this get better for me?"

"When will something cool happen to me?"

Sometimes I think we get in this mindset that the world truly does revolve around us.

Being selfish is just so darn easy.

It seems like such an impossible thing to overcome. And I've come to realize that the only way to overcome it is to, well, overcome it. 

Because as easy as it is to be selfish, it's also really easy to actually look at yourself as a selfish person and become disgusted to the point where if you don't share your chocolate with someone, you feel like greedy scum. 

So what if we go above and beyond chocolate? What if when we start pitying ourselves, we captivate those thoughts and feelings and go help someone else, who we know is also having a George Bailey kind of day?

I genuinely believe that when we stop and realize that other people are going through crap too, we can get over ourselves. Like, really die to ourselves.

And how freeing that would be! To know we are actually capable of putting others above ourselves. 

Once we've conquered this I have no doubt we'll be able to run around full of joy and happiness, declaring that it really is a wonderful life.

Daily Bread and Daily Coffee

I've been thinking a lot lately about the next year of my life and how the heck I'm going to pull it off. My support is developing, but it's getting to be crunch time and I'm feeling fear, worry and doubt slowly creeping in. Ya know, the normal missionary life.

Yesterday morning as I poured my cup of coffee these feelings started creeping in pretty darn heavy. "how will I pay rent?" "how will I buy necessities?" "how will I get by?!" just then the pot had run out, but it had poured just enough in my cup. Just enough. The perfection of it had astounded me. God had given me an answer through coffee. Coffee! He knows me so well.

Okay, so maybe I will have months that I am technically "surviving" more than I am "living". But something about that excites me. If I'm getting by on "just enough"then, well, that's enough.

Today the pot of coffee had a little less than yesterday, but it was still enough. Enough to get me by. Enough to satisfy.  (all of this is rhyming unintentionally, please forgive me).

I suppose you should know that the key of this whole post is daily bread. You know, "Give us today our daily bread".

We're not just talking food here.

We're talking rent, new tooth brushes, and shampoo!

Our needs and not our wants.
Our necessities and not our desires.

Though, don't get me wrong. I totally believe in all that God giving you the desires of you heart stuff. But there's a difference when we get needy and ungrateful for what we actually do have. Living excessively seems a little sad and pitiful when its looked at it this way.

Yeah, I'm going to be okay. We all are.

Molly Support from Molly Youngstrom on Vimeo.

Benefit Concert Promo from Molly Youngstrom on Vimeo.

Revelations and Headbands

I think I forget all too often that I'm not deserving of Heaven or of love. Quite the opposite of it actually. But thanks be to God that He doesn't even see my sin. He only sees Jesus' sacrifice. Just some wisdom that I wish I'd realized years ago.

I had initially asked God how I should be spending these next 3 months till I go back to YWAM and I felt like He told me to just study the Bible to the best of my ability and learn as much as I can. Gaining knowledge about His love, and His commandments. And trying to apply that to my life by actually living it out. So far I'm really not as good at it as I thought I'd be. I kind of suck at it, actually. But I can honestly say that I love the Word more than I've ever loved it before. And that's a start!

I really have found a love for people that I never realized was there. I had the best conversation today with a woman I have been emailing about a luggage suitcase. It's really great how God turns mundane information into extraordinary appointments. She got talking to me about my church and about how her niece does missions as well. A great encouragement that I totally needed (not to mention, she's blessing me with a nice big suitcase).

Also! I have a few new headband additions that, I'm sorry to say, have no model. I do however have two hands and a webcam.



Polka-dotted bendable headband. (Original)
IN STOCK

Green laced headband (Not an original)

IN STOCK

There and Back Again

And so ends the 6 month journey with my Discipleship Training School.

(Oh by the way, remember me? I'm the girl who started a blog and stopped writing in it for 4 months. Oops!)

Thank you to all who supported me with blessings of finance and prayer. I could not have done any of this without all of your help and I consider it pure joy to know you!

I have had a busy few months on outreach in the United Kingdom and France. Lot's of cool stories that would never hold anyone's attention by the 10th paragraph, but to sum it all up, we were able to see over 300 people ask Christ into their lives in the two and a half month course of our outreach. Amazing. If you'd like to see more in depth details, here's a link to my teams blog that my leader Ryan wrote while we were in Europe:

http://photogenx2012.wordpress.com/

So what's next, many of you may be wondering. Well let me start off with a story (hang in there, I'll make it short!).

For the duration of my DTS, I had been asking God about my future plans and what exactly it is that He wants me to be doing. One of the main principles that I learned in DTS was being obedient to the Lord's voice and letting Him lead me. God started revealing to me the importance of community, namely Christ-centered community. To me I see community as an excellent way of reaching out to the lost and broken hearted. When communities are united, the most wonderful things can happen. Church groups can be planted. Recovery centers can be established. Places of hope can be made. The vision the Lord has given me is that I will be able to go to different parts of the world to plant these kinds of communities. So how will I do that exactly? My plan is to go back to Kona, Hawaii in January 2013, and do a program called The Leadership Track. The Leadership Track is an open ended, one-year minimum training track designed to create radical, presence centered leaders who walk in integrity, holiness and in His presence. Not only will I be able to train up to become the leader that God had always intended me to be, but I will be able to live in Christ-centered community for over a year. In the course of this Leadership Track, they give you the option to staff a Discipleship Training School. I have decided that next fall (Sep. 2013) I will be staffing the Community Transformations DTS. This DTS specifically centers on planting Christ-centered communities around the globe, which gives me perfect introduction to how the process goes and how to affectively initiate the task. I believe this is exactly what the Lord is telling me to do for the next year and this program is the very thing that will push me into the direction that God is calling me to. 

As Paul says in Acts 20:24:

"But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God."

Now comes the fun part. Support! Luckily the Leadership Track itself costs nothing, however, housing does. They require you to raise $500 of living costs per month. I don't have that money, but God does! My hope is that you will become a part of my journey by committing to monthly pledges so that I can finish the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus. Whether it be $5 or $50 monthly, I consider every little bit a huge blessing. Before all that is decided though, I mainly am in need of a plane ticket. This will cost around $600 that I currently do not have. If you are interested in supporting me in any of the ways above, please contact me at myoungstrom@yahoo.com or call me at 772.631.3045. Thanks for your consideration! I will have online fundraisers to come as well (headbands, necklaces, etc.). Stay tuned for them! In the meanwhile I ask that you continue to keep me in your prayers and bless this journey. 

I very much appreciate anyone who took the time to read this post. It means a lot to me! Please stay aware of further updates! I would also very much appreciate if anyone who read this would be willing to post this blog entry on their Facebook's, email it to friends, or pass it on in any form or fashion. It would be doing me a tremendous solid! Thank you.

God bless,

Molly

I wish I could find a better way to explain to you all the journey I am about to take in a couple of months here, but I can tell you it is going to be life changing. My first few weeks in England will consist of a program called "Circuit Riders".  An intense, but effective, school of evangelism which will prep me more for the street ministry I will be doing in London and mostly all over the UK after the Olympics. YWAM does an Olympic Revival every Olympic season which I will be able to be a part of! I can not tell you how excited that makes me. I get to spread the Good News to all the Nations in one place! Every time I get more details, I will update you.

For my mission assignment in England I do need to raise more financial support, right now I am about $700 short of my next deposit which is due this Thursday (5/3/12) and about $3000+ short of my final goal. If the Lord places on your heart to continue to support me, you can send your tax deductible contribution to:

Coastal Life Church c/o Molly Youngstrom YWAM

3620 SE Dixie Highway

Stuart, FL 34997

Please make your checks payable to Coastal Life Church .  An account has been established in Molly Youngstrom ’s name for these donations. Leave memo lines blank.  All donations and payments are non-refundable and non-transferable. 

Thank you and God Bless!

Molly Youngstrom

And the results are in, folks. I'm going to London for my outreach destination! We'll be working a majority of it at the Olympics. I'm so excited to work against the injustices that go on during this time where every single nation comes together in one place! Not to mention, I get to celebrate my birthday there. How great a gift is that?! We'll be working a few weeks with a school called Circuit Riders. I can't tell you much about it, only because it's still a mystery to me of what it is exactly. I shall know soon though, of all the details. You all will know when I do, of course!

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love being a part of YWAM and how much it is helping me to grow in my Faith already. And it's only week two!! It's just such an honor to work with a community of radical people who have the sole purpose of "Knowing God, and making Him known". This past week I was shown the importance of good leadership and being a fearless woman of God. I'm slowly coming out of my safety "care-too-much-about-what-others-think" bubble. How can I care so much about what others think instead of praising the One who created this?:

Taken down by the town center here in Kona. 

I get to experience that sunset every day guys! How amazing is that?! Everything is so wonderful here on the Big Island. I just feel so close to the Lord when I am surrounded by such beauty. And these people I'm with?! Gosh, how do I begin to explain their incredibleness? Yesterday we spent the night just throwing flour and dirt at each other. Our own, less gory, but perhaps equally messy, version of the Hunger Games. Below you will see a picture of Stephanie Everdeen and Molly Melmark. 

Fierce, right?

Last week I read all of Genesis. This week I'll be reading all of Exodus. Everything is crazy! But everything is certainly beautiful. I don't regret this decision of coming here. Not even slightly. 

 

My legs are tired, my face is slightly stawberry-ish, and I could pass out if my head was on my pillow. We went over to Hapua beach today and my Toms tan line is finally blended in. God is good!  I swam out in the ocean to climb a rock and jump it. I only climbed it though and ended up walking back in my raw, bare, feet on massive volcanic rocks. Painful, but adventurous. I suppose this is exactly the kind of training I need for my next 6 months. Wonderful second day overall. I played an intense game of Spoons tonight with the group. It was basically a life or death situation when it came to getting those spoons. But then again, I guess it always is with that game. Tomorrow I am getting up bright and early to go to Sunrise  Easter Service. I am more than excited for the glorious opportunity. But with that I need to make it ANOTHER short post due to the time. Forgive me by viewing this picture of the beach today. 

Day 1 = complete. Orientation seemed to have lasted forever, but by the Grace of God we got through it! There were some amazing worship sessions throughout the day though. I gotta say, these Hawaiian's know how to sing their hearts out to the Lord. I have met an overwhelming amount of people today but it's been so great. It already feels as though I've know them for weeks now. It may sound crazy, but for the fact that this is a photography program, I really haven't done any photography. None at all actually. BUT, tomorrow morning we are all going to the beach, and we will take plenty of pictures there. Sorry I couldn't post any today. Hopefully tomorrow I can make up for it with a cool picture of the ocean. I think that I'll be going to bed right now though. Tune back in tomorrow!

Annnnddd, I made it. I'm in Hawaii safe and sound. Longest day ever. But I'm sitting in a bedroom currently with 6 other girls I either just met today or an hour ago. Overall the flight and travel time was pretty uneventful. I hardly remember any of it. Except a few snippets of the movie Hugo on the last flight from LA. In the morning we have orientation so I think I might make this a short first post. I'll try updating tomorrow! Here's a picture below of me and my travel buddy Sam!