“A few days prior to the Journey starting, with absolutely no warning, my fiancee of four months e-mailed me and broke off our engagement. “Andrew’s” reasoning was feeble and made no sense. God gave me more strength, peace and comfort than I could ever have imagined. Knowing how much my first Journey to the Heart (March 2008) impacted my life, my mom suggested I go on another one. Immediately, my sister exclaimed that there was one coming up in five days, because her friend’s friend was going to it. We called the Journey office and discovered that the March Journey was full, but they would see what they could do. A few hours later, they called back and said they were able to make room for me and my sister to go together. By the time all the paperwork was filled out and travel arrangements were made, I had three days to get ready. My boss graciously allowed me to leave with four days’ notice, at a great inconvenience to herself; and before I knew what was happening, I was on the train from Syracuse, NY, bound for Chicago, IL.
Even though I was four or five years older than most of the girls on the team, I was amazed to see the wisdom that God gives young people. Once I was in the Northwoods, I felt God telling me to take it easy and not worry that I didn’t find hundreds of heart issues. He told me to relax in Him and be an encouragement to the other girls on my team.
As we went over the various hearts, I began to get discouraged. Why wasn’t God answering my questions? Many of the things we were talking about, I had recently dealt with and given to God during my courtship. I am so thankful for the quiet time I was able to spend alone with God. He graced me with excitement for Him and His word! The pages of my Bible came alive as I read of God’s unchanging character!
God showed Himself to me in ways I didn’t expect. Since my first reaction upon getting “dumped” by “Andrew” was to turn to God, I already felt very close to Him. It’s amazing and comforting to know that you can always get closer to God! I had been struggling with asking God ‘why?’ – Why, when He brought “Andrew” and I together in the most amazing way, did He let it fall apart like this? I wrestled with that all week long. The morning of our walk around the lake, God began to answer me. First, he began to show me lies I had been believing.
In the van on the way to the Northwoods, we read through a booklet of the Names of God. I wrote down every single name that popped out to me, regardless of what it was. As I prepared myself for the walk around the lake, I looked over the names of God I had copied over and realized that each one appealed to me because it was something I wished I had. Reading through my list of names, I was stunned to see lies from Satan jumping out at me. Crying, I gave them over to God and asked Him to forgive me for believing lies about His character.
The day before the Journey ended, God answered my question of “Why did You let me love ‘Andrew’, only to rip him away from me like this?” I realized that God was teaching me how to love; how to really love someone, unconditionally. By letting me love “Andrew”, God was showing me how much He loved me. God knew that a relationship with “Andrew”, at this point in his life, would be a hindrance to my walk with the Lord, and He had been bracing my heart. I love God so much that I was, and am, willing to trust that He knows what is best for my spiritual walk with Him.
I still have a long, sad road ahead of me, but I choose to believe that God’s will is perfect. He has comforted me through my sorrow, and strengthened me through my trials. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me next!”

~Heather

This week I was really convicted in these areas, so I prayed and asked God for a humble heart and to be real; but I still didn’t feel total victory.  Thursday evening we all went up into the prayer tower and I asked for prayer in these areas. It was awesome to see the power of prayer. Since then I have felt a freedom to be myself and not to worry about what other people think. By working through these things and spending time studying God’s word, I have found a new desire to read the Bible and spend time with the Lord.

~Jason

Right now this group of guys is headed up to the Northwoods to seek the Lord on a Journey to the Heart!

This morning I asked one of the team leaders, Marty Moore, how we could be praying for these guys this week and he mentioned Hebrews 11:6: “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Let’s pray that God would bring great rewards to these guys as they diligently seek Him with all of their heart.

View the Photo Gallery

Do you have more pictures from the Journey? Please send them to us!

Download audio file (03-2013_girls_journey.mp3)

Download MP3: March Girls Journey Testimonies Audio Clip
(4.2 min. 4MB)

“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him” (Lamentations 3:22-25).

(By the way, I heard that a couple young ladies missed the picture. Moms, if your daughter isn’t in this photo, please don’t be concerned. )

Right, well – The purpose of this post is to announce something super exciting!! *drum-roll*

We are having a Mother’s Journey to the Heart this year! 

So, please, be sure to let your dear Mum know, so as she can clear her {rather busy} schedule for: September 21st  – October 1st, 2013.

Below, are some excerpts from a previous Mothers’ Journey, so that, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be established.” Hopefully through them you will be encouraged, and excited to pray for this auspicious event!

“The most wonderful part of the Journey was to see these mother’s hearts being illuminated by the Holy Spirit and to see the scales falling from their spiritual eyes.  My feeling at the very end of the Journey was that literally everyone on earth should experience the Journey.”
~Sharon

“In my 53 years of living, this is by far the most significant journey I have ever taken. It had launched me to a new level of relationship with my Lord, one that is of bondage to freedom, so I may serve for HIS Glory!”
~Anita

Seriously exciting, right! Well if you’d like more information just click here to get to the information/registration page, or go to www.iblp.org/journey.
Thank you for taking the time to read, pray, and pass the word along. =)
Go with God,
~Sophia F.
For The Journey Staff

We’re sorry it’s taken us so long to get this list up, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re blessed by each person that finished, and not just them, but all those who took the time to read and think on the truths that were discussed!

Here’s a list of those who completed the memorization part of the Challenge, and to you all, we say “Thank you” for taking the time and putting forth the effort!

Amy Bartram
Mickaiala Bellamy
Anna Benson
Nathan Burkhalter
Deenalin Crook
Rachel Crosswhite
Crystal Dudley
Amanda Dudley
Jana Duggar
Jinger Duggar
Dinah Espineda
Hannah Espineda
Jonah Espineda
Sarah Espineda
Jayla Gillaspie
Amelia Gilliland
Daniel Hancock
Joanna Johnson
Timothy Johnson
Laura Johnson
Mark Johnson
Analisa Koenig
Lydia Kwon
Victoria Morrison
Loice Morrison
Mary Morrison
Julia Reeves
Christen Richardson
Amy Rose Schwartz
Rachel Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz
Korielle Smith
Melodie Sun
Barbara Sutton
Lydia Vanderford

If you completed the challenge, but your name isn’t on this list, then let us know by emailing us at journeytotheheart@iblp.org!

Today love is often displayed through gifts of chocolate, thoughtful cards, or flowers. While those may be valid expressions of our feelings toward another person, we cannot

When a lawyer asked Jesus to name the most important commandment, Jesus stated, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37). Then Jesus stated, “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39). If we are occupied with loving God and others by the power of His Holy Spirit, we will avoid many of the pitfalls of self-serving.

Here are some practical ways to love others:

1. View everyone with whom I cross paths as a “neighbor” to love.
2. Reveal my love for others not just by my words but also by my actions.
3. Esteem the needs of others above my own needs.
4. Love others by meeting their needs, even if it means yielding my earthly possessions.
5. Learn to accept my unchangeable characteristics so that I can fully love God and others.
6. Treat others the way I would want to be treated.
7. View my acts of love as being beneficial to the entire Body of Christ.
8. Make special effort to show love to the poor and the stranger.

Jesus said, “Love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34). The more we know God’s character and the scope of His infinite goodness, the more our love for Him and others will grow!

Re-capping the Rules of the Investing Challenge

As usual, anyone who quotes all the verses listed over the course of this challenge to their parents, and has their parents (or a responsible party) contact us, will receive a prize!

Please include the name of each young person who completed the challenge, and their mailing address so their prizes can be shipped to them.

Parents have till February 2nd to email us.
Again, due to the fact that our office phone may not be manned, emailing us is the best way to contact us.

Please note: Your prize may not be sent out till later in February, but you should receive it by the end of that month.

Here is the list of memorization verses:

I. Why We Should Invest
Timothy 6:18-19
Proverbs 11:25
Hosea 10:12a
Matthew 6:19-20
Acts 20:35
II Corinthians 9:6-7
Matthew 13:44

II. What We Can Invest
TIME In:
Prayer and Scripture:
Psalm 95:6,
Psalm 5:3
Psalm 4:4
I Timothy 2:1-2
Service:
Hebrews 13:16
Titus 3:14
Titus 3:8a
Psalm 37:3
Conversation:
Psalm 145:6b
Psalm 22:22
Psalm 19:14

MONEY
Matthew 6:3-4
Matthew 19:21

III. How We Can Invest
Romans 12:13
James 1:27

In Closing

Even though it’s the end of the Challenge, we know that God continues to move when people obey His principles. So, we’d love your participation.  When it comes to “How We Can Invest” it would be exciting to get some of your practical ideas, or even your questions, or stories about how God either provided for you, or through you, as a result of investment in His Kingdom.

Email us with your thoughts, questions, or stories.

We pray that during this challenge you have gained new insights, and an appreciation for people who can write convincingly. But even more importantly, we pray that you have been shaken to the core of a once comfortable life, and that you will choose to pick up the radical, faith demanding, stepping-into-the-unknown type of giving that God loves.

Our hope is that your lives will become the mirror that reflects the open, gracious, giving heart of our Father God; and the world will be drawn to the radical love portrayed through your attentiveness to His call.
We are exited for you all, as this new year opens up countless opportunities for you to not only learn, but put these insights into action!

God Bless!