Oh How He Loves

So this trip has turned out to be so different than my expectations. The only thing I am disappointed in is that I have not gotten to share my testimony with my professor. With that being said, God has spoken to me in ways I could have never imagined, opened up doors for me with new people and He even took the time to find a Polish student who would give me such great encouragement. I have been given a sneak peek into the heart of God and realize that He loves each and every person so much and desires for all to come to Him. When they die and are separated from Him, He isn't just sitting up there happy to be rid of this non-believer. He mourns for His lost children. At Majdanek, I could almost feel His sorrow as He was comforting me in my sorrow.

Today is Auschwitz and I am praying that God will speak to me and use me on this day. God this is the day that you have made, take this day and use it as you wish.

The Trip Thus Far

So the trip has been amazing so far. I am learning so much about my creator and about how He loves. For now I am just going to begin introducing you all to the people I am with.

My Rommie: Jennifer Kral
This half Serbian/half Czech history graduate is seriously one of the sweetest people ever. She is not opposed to the concept of God but hasn't really said what she believes in that way. She is encouraging to me though and easily one of the sweetest people you could ever meet. She is so silly too which has been nice seeing as we go to some pretty horrific places and she never ceases to make me giggle. She is one of the pickiest eaters ever and she readily admits it. She just got into the credential program at CSULB which makes me happy because I totally get to bug her for another year.

I have been praying for her a lot in that God would just bless her and just make Himself so real in her life. We have connected so quickly and that is a blessing and she said she would even come to Navs to hear me play sometime. I am blessed!

Summer Preview

First off....DEUTSCHLAND:
So as some of you know I will be heading to Germany in about a week. It is crazy how the time has flown by! God has provided enough for the trip and I am trusting that He has the rest of my summer figured out financially. I have $700 to get me through Germany and the rest of my summer so it is going to be extremely tight but I trust that God has it. If you know of any baby sitting jobs or yard work that needs to be done, please contact me and I would love to help! The trip is going to be amazing and I know that God is going to teach me a lot through this experience. I am equally expectant that He is going to use me in some way to minister to the people I am going with. Please be praying for safety, understanding, and openness for us all. I cannot thank you all who supported me enough and be expecting a little thank you in the coming months =)

Now onto the rest of summer:
The "Why I Love This Town" Project:
So every summer I come home and for the first couple of weeks everything goes fine. I sleep in, I rearange my room, I clean the house, I catch up on my shows, and all is well. But once all that is done I end up feeling bored and start questioning the love of my friends and family. This is how it has been for the past two summers and I am not letting that be the case for this summer. So as the boredom began to creep in on me, I decided that I needed to be reminded of why I love being home. Thus the idea for this project was born. In the Bible, people would build alters in places where God showed something to the people. Whenever I think of this, I am reminded of how Jacob named the place where he wrestled with God (Gen. 32:22-32). It is not an alter but it has significant meaning and allows for Jacob to remember a lesson from God. How can I be content where God has me if I am not reminded of the significance that God has on this place not only in my life but in others?

This is just a sneek preview of what is to come. More to come tomorrow (or later today)!

Deustchland is almost here

So this past semester has been such a growing experience for me. I am going to explain some of the stuff Christ has taught me about himself and how I came to understand these beautiful truths.

1. God loves me no matter what I do or don't do:
In Bible study with Alissa we looked at Colossians and I remember that as we were discussing the concept of works and such, God loves us regardless if we do something or whether we do something we shouldn't. I had been struggling with experiencing God's forgiveness in my life but something clicked at Navs Conference: God is in love with me and His love is worth more than the cost of my sin. Guys do you get this? What we did is so small in comparison to what He can do.....HE CAN REMOVE IT ALL FOR HIS GLORY.

2. God provides and provides abundantly:
So I am going to Germany, The Czech Republic, and Poland this summer. When God called me to go on this research class I said no way! I could never afford it and I still need money for this summer. Not only has God provided most of this money through the loving donations of others but He also has secured enough money in my account to make it so I do not have to work this summer (I also cannot go any where but that is ok....family time is good!)

3. God desires me to invest in others:
God has given me an opportunity to share about how He saved me from myself with a friend at home this summer.


Please continue to pray for me and my mind as I embark on this summer's journey~

The Beauty of Breathing

So this past weekend I had the pleasure of going to Edge Corps Preview for the Navigators and was faced with a lot to think about. One of the things that has been getting at me a lot lately is seeing everyone connect more deeply and me being left as if I do not matter. I talked to Alissa about this and one of the first things that popped into my head is that what Alissa was saying couldn't be true because I do not feel like God even exists and He doesn't speak to me. I was talking about this a couple of weeks ago with Michael and I never even placed that this simple "feeling" could be a lie.

Satan has decided that his way of getting me to not seek God as my everything is to make everything that happens to me daily mundane and normal. Not only has he succeeded in making feel like God is no longer speaking to me through His word but he has made it seem like nothing that happens in my life is of importance.

An example of this is breathing. Everyday and every night, every second of my life I am breathing. Air goes in my lungs and out, filling my blood with the necessary oxygen to keep my body functioning. I have come to see this act as simple and something I can do a part from God because I do it daily. As I was reading through Genesis and Joseph says in regard to being able to interpret Pharaoh's dream, "It is not me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer." (41:16) When I first read that I was like, "Oh, come on Joseph! You know you interpreted those other guys dreams and your own." Then it dawned on me: Joseph recognized that even the stuff he was capable of doing just normally came from God. I began to think about this truth in terms of breathing. I cannot breathe apart from my creator. Even if I could create some sort of contraption to continue breathing I could never create the air.

So after talking with Alissa as well as just reading the verses that the Preview had for us to read through I am challenging myself to view everything, even the simple ability to blink, as a God-given miracle. God is speaking to me even though Satan would love for me to think otherwise. God is loving me and He thinks enough of me to die for me so I must be a pretty cool person. People will forget to invite me to things and they are not being malicious, for the most part and definitely not in my friends group. And even if that were the case God satisfies and is the only thing I need. Community is great but it is horrible without God.

So that is my thought for the day. I am excited for this next semester and working through my new found truth daily as I interact with you all. God bless!

What have I been doing?

Hey Everyone. I realize it has been way too long since I updated my blog and after the events of today, I felt the need to just unleash some thoughts and feelings.

This semester has been amazing. My classes surpass my expectations and are showing me God's face more than I think my professors intended to. I have loved learning about how our creator has made each sea creature so amazing and unique. I am blown away when I see His beauty in creation.

My lessons on Stewardship have been even more rewarding. The challenges that Alissa has been giving me seem simple enough but have proved to take every ounce of my intention in order to do them. The one I am currently looking at is What does it look like to keep in step with the Spirit? I have been reading the book of John and then each day turning over the day to God. This week though, I decided to take it a step further and really let God come into my studying. Today I had a midterm in California History and was completely unprepared for what the teacher gave. I had prayed going into this test that God be glorified and that if I am supposed to be a history professor, God would get me in to grad school no matter what. I am pretty sure I would be incredibly lucky if I got a B on this exam but I am at total peace. It is weird. I have always been one to freak but I just have this reassurance that I will be alright and this midterm, in the grand scope of time, will be nothing. As I walked back to the dorms, I was reminded of my favorite passage in Romans, 8:37-39. What a blessing to be loved by God no matter what! What a blessing to know that His plan will go forth no matter what crazy random circumstances come! This is where my peace is coming from today.

God's joy is possible even when we feel that hope is lost. We can always be reminded of His faithfulness and His working in our lives. It is because of this that we can do anything in this world. Apart from Him, we can do nothing!

So in short: Be excited because even with bad grades God has a purpose that will bring glory to Him and never separate you from His amazing love!

The Plot : The Stealing of the Mustang Mascot

The plan was fool proof. There was no way they could fail now. As Samantha Robinson pulled up behind the school, behind the railroad tracks where the buses drop off, she began to have doubts as to the success of their plot. “I do not know about this guys,” Samantha said with doubt in her tone, “Why can’t we just leave them a degrading note or something on their gym or change the M on the football field to a C? Do we really have to steal their mascot?”

“Lighten up Sam,” laughed Rudie as she messed up Samantha’s hair, “You and Norman are just going to sit here and keep the engine running while me and Monique go in, grab the stupid costume, and then we will all go to Denny’s to celebrate.” Samantha wasn’t convinced. “You still owe me gas money for all of this,” said Sam as she rolled her eyes and put the car in park. Norman sees Sam’s fear and gently reminds her that they will all be ok and at the first sign of trouble they can drive off, without Rudie and Monique. Rudie glares at Norman and plans to get her revenge on him at a later point. Right now, she needed to focus.

As Rudie and Monique get out of the car, Rudie’s mind starts going a million miles an hour. All at once she is trying to remember how everything is about to happen. They would use the cover of darkness to get over to the hall in which Ms. Kies’s room is located. Once there, the doors remain unlocked up until the room itself. Luckily, they had snuck the key out during a class they had with Ms. Kies earlier that day.

Getting into the room was a breeze and thanks to Athena, they knew exactly where to find the lovely (sarcasm) Mustang costume. Finding it with ease they began to get careless in their judgment, laughing and joking at the top of their lungs. The sound they made boomed throughout the hall. Outside the front of the school happened to be a police officer doing his rounds when he heard the ruckus the girls were making. He decided he better check on the school.

As the girls headed outside they noticed the police officer and panicked. They would not be able to make to Sam’s car and not get caught. They decided to try to make a run for it, but as the girls approached the football field, they knew they would not be able to escape without some diversion. Rudie turns to Monique and says, “Time to act natural.”

As the police approached the field, he took out his flashlight. What he saw confused him. There was the Mustang mascot costume but it appeared to be eating the grass. Riding on the mascot was a girl in a cowboy hat. “What are you doing?” asked the officer with a bewildered look on his face.

“What does it look like? I am feeding my horse,” replied Monique coolly. The officer was so astounded and amused. He couldn’t let the girls go, though, and said, “Well, I think you and your horse need to come with me.” Rudie wasn’t about to let it go down this way and started galloping away. The police officer was in hot pursuit as Rudie and Monique approached Sam’s car. They jumped inside and Sam sped off.

Not even a minute later, Doug is sitting in his room, checking his facebook, when his mom comes in. “Doug? The Mojave Mustang and a few others are here to see you.” The gang walks in with Rudie still in the Mustang costume.