So here I am starting week 11. How did I get this far? I have no idea! Haha!
The last few weeks have been a blur. It was my first thanksgiving away from home, and also my first birthday away from home.
Thanksgiving was pretty sweet. We had a nice thanksgiving meal, and it was cool because I got to spend it with my new DTS family here. Me and Kara told eachother what we were thankful for.. so I guess doing that brought back a little bit of home. Haha.
Last week we did a house build. It was on Monday and Tuesday. Monday we built the house.. and Tuesday we just did the finishing touches like the trim, roof, bringing in all the furniture, and painting!
Tuesday was my birthday. It was super weird NOT being home and woken up by my family singing happy birthday to me. Besides that though, I have amazing friends here who made me feel very special throughout the entire day. Kara sang happy birthday to me in Spanish about 50 times.. my friend Lena made me a super creative, beautiful birthday card! ..& Katie gave me like 400 hugs throughout the day and sat by me at my birthday dinner :] It was definitely a good day.. and it was good that instead of getting birthday presents.. I got to give back and help this needy family. Dedicating the house to the family that afternoon made it so worth it. I went out to dinner with all the DTS girls after.. and that was super fun! (and yummy).
Then the rest of last week we had outreach prep! We learned many dramas and kids songs.. it was so fun! (and def. a lot of work). It def. got me more excited for outreach, that’s for sure :]
This week the topic is spiritual disciplines. I am excited to see how it will go.
Outreach is coming up so soon also! I will be in Mexico City, and then in Pachuca. Ill be back in Ensenada February 7th, and then home on February 12th! That’s so weird to think about. Please keep me in your prayers because the closer it gets the more anxious I am getting.. I know God is in control but I am still scared.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
last night..
I read a girl's blog on her experience at YWAM last year..
and I was blown away.
I am going to be stretched SO much and am gonna be WAY out of my comfort zone.
I started to pray and couldn't stop crying. I am scared.. like scared out of my mind. But I know God has me in His hands.. and if this is where He wants me.. then I will be okay. WHo knows. maybe God will do something beautiful in me through this. maybE this is what I need.
and I was blown away.
I am going to be stretched SO much and am gonna be WAY out of my comfort zone.
I started to pray and couldn't stop crying. I am scared.. like scared out of my mind. But I know God has me in His hands.. and if this is where He wants me.. then I will be okay. WHo knows. maybe God will do something beautiful in me through this. maybE this is what I need.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
facebook fast.
its been SO hard.
i know my password.
i can log back on it whenever i want.
its sooooo tempting.
this is day 3. hahaha.
basically im off of it because i know how much of a distraction it is for me. wherever i am, i alwayssss need to check it. and thats not okay, haha. and sometimes i get home and wanna spend time with God.. but without even thinking i head straight to the computer and go on facebook. then later im too tired and just go to bed. these last couple days have been amazing. i've found myself with so much more time. i've been spending lots of time with God.. and its been good. :]
wonder how long i'll go..
i know my password.
i can log back on it whenever i want.
its sooooo tempting.
this is day 3. hahaha.
basically im off of it because i know how much of a distraction it is for me. wherever i am, i alwayssss need to check it. and thats not okay, haha. and sometimes i get home and wanna spend time with God.. but without even thinking i head straight to the computer and go on facebook. then later im too tired and just go to bed. these last couple days have been amazing. i've found myself with so much more time. i've been spending lots of time with God.. and its been good. :]
wonder how long i'll go..
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
lemonade lemonade! get your ice cold lemonade! :]
so this morning.. i participated in a lemon stand. :] that’s right. you guys are all jealous! haha! i babysit these 3 boys every monday and wednesday. the oldest is 9.. and then there’s the twin 6 year olds! let me just tell you all that these children never fail to make me smile :) they are literally like my little brothers. today.. they wanted to set up a lemonade stand to raise money for buying tickets to see toy story 3. their mommy wanted them to earn the money on their own so they could learn what it is like to work for something. aw. it was so much fun. i think they ended up getting around 5 bucks! it might’ve consisted a little of their mommy coming back to get refills.. every few minutes! and their mom also calling up some of her girlfriends to stop by and get some lemonade. hahahah. so much fun.
anyway; after that the twins went to go watch a movie and i stayed in the dining room with their older brother. he insisted on me teaching him a bible story even though i didn’t have a craft this time. ps, i’ve been hired to do like a VBS thing for them all summer :)
i was planning on doing adam and eve.. so on i went. let’s just say the lesson went waaaaay further than i had planned! i was so encouraged by his faith, & by his desire to learn more about this ‘God’. at youth group tonight.. they pretty much taught the SAME EXACT THING me and cory had talked about earlier today. what are the odds? God may just be trying to remind me something. and its the most amazing truth out there, if i might add :]
so here goes (a more detailed, in-depth version of Adam and Eve) ;
When God made Adam and Eve.. everything was still perfect. God was in perfect communion with His creation. His dwelling was among them.. and everything was good. They were even naked, and they felt no shame. God created a garden for them to live in and take care of. He entrusted them with it all.. yet told them that they were not allowed to eat off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He said if they were to eat of it, they would surely die. and of course everyone knows the part where the serpent comes in and tempts Eve into biting into the fruit.. and how Adam ends up having some of it too. Right after they ate of the tree.. they realized they were naked.. and they actually DID feel shame. They heard God calling for them.. and they felt GUILT. They hid. The moments Adam and Eve bit into that fruit.. mark the fall of man. God punished them.. and kicked them out of the garden. They were now dead.. not physically.. but SPIRITUALLY. they were dead in their sin.
God.. is holy. He is a holy perfect God. and He HATES sin. In those moments.. Adam and Eve broke the connection they had with God. He was no longer able to dwell with them.. because He is holy and they were not. From that moment on.. every single time a person committed a sin.. if they wanted to be right with God.. there needed to be some sort of shedding of blood. Throughout the old testament animals were sacrificed all the time. Of course, this was never enough. That relationship between God and humanity was broken. God’s wrath laid upon us.. and it had every right to.
This is the part where Jesus comes in. Jesus, the son of God.. came down to earth in the form of a man, to live a perfect life. He came to show us how to live the way were CREATED to live, and He also came to save us. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. JESUS, was the ultimate sacrifice. His blood covers us all. God poured all His wrath out on Him, instead of US. Jesus rising from the dead 3 days later gives us hope. He has conquered sin. He has conquered DEATH. through Jesus.. we can have eternal life.
(For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life -John 3:16)
We are all going to be judged. EVERYONE. and when we are judged.. you’re either gonna have Jesus standing in your defense, or not. We are made righteous.. through Him. Jesus bridged the gap there was between us and God. We can now restore our relationship with our Creator.
The bible is literally GOD SCREAMING OUT HIS LOVE FOR US. yet we are blinded by this world and all the distractions there are in it. After the fall, satan gained power over this world. He doesn’t necessarily have power over US.. but he can def. influence us and distract us from knowing God and following Him. what people don’t know is that this world.. is going to come to an end. we dont know when.. but if you read the end of the bible.. aka a revelation to the end of the world.. Jesus wins. Jesus is King. Satan and everyone else who chooses to live for themselves during their short time on earth are cast into this eternal separation from God. I dont know. to me, that sounds horrible. and in the end.. everything is going to be made RIGHT. God is going to dwell with His people again. There will be no more pain, death, sorrow, or ANYTHING. Everything will be good.
Don’t ask me how.. but somehow I shared all of this with a 9 year old today. (wait, not the last paragraph.. but everything before) and somehow he understood some of it. I later wrote out a verse for him..
“But because of His great love for us, God being rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ, even when we were dead in our transgressions.”
I asked him..
“Why were we dead in our transgressions?” He said Adam and Eve
“What does it mean to be alive in Christ?” He said Jesus saved us and gave us eternal life if we believe in Him
“What do you think mercy means?” He didn’t know.. and I told Him mercy means not getting a punishment that you actually deserve. I explained that us not being punished for our sin.. shows us God’s mercy.
finally i asked him.. “WHY would God do this? look at the verse..” and very unsurely Cory said.. because of His great love..?
of course! that was the answer! and i am really glad i didn’t forget to mention that part. so many people tend to think God is this angry guy up there who just wants everyone to listen to him and wants to ruin everyones fun. um NO. re read everything i just wrote. God didn’t HAVE to send us Jesus. God could’ve punished us. He had EVERY right to punish us. Everything He does is out of love. and people tend to forget that.
I actually tend to forget that. I forget that I am loved by a perfect all knowing all powerful amazing God. I forget that His mercies are new every morning, and He shows me his grace every moment by even allowing me to breathe. i forget that i am called to love others because He loves ME. i forget that He is worth my everything and that living for myself is the dumbest thing i could ever do. i forget that life in Him.. is everlasting. and full of love. more love than ever. its overwhelming. :)
anyway; after that the twins went to go watch a movie and i stayed in the dining room with their older brother. he insisted on me teaching him a bible story even though i didn’t have a craft this time. ps, i’ve been hired to do like a VBS thing for them all summer :)
i was planning on doing adam and eve.. so on i went. let’s just say the lesson went waaaaay further than i had planned! i was so encouraged by his faith, & by his desire to learn more about this ‘God’. at youth group tonight.. they pretty much taught the SAME EXACT THING me and cory had talked about earlier today. what are the odds? God may just be trying to remind me something. and its the most amazing truth out there, if i might add :]
so here goes (a more detailed, in-depth version of Adam and Eve) ;
When God made Adam and Eve.. everything was still perfect. God was in perfect communion with His creation. His dwelling was among them.. and everything was good. They were even naked, and they felt no shame. God created a garden for them to live in and take care of. He entrusted them with it all.. yet told them that they were not allowed to eat off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He said if they were to eat of it, they would surely die. and of course everyone knows the part where the serpent comes in and tempts Eve into biting into the fruit.. and how Adam ends up having some of it too. Right after they ate of the tree.. they realized they were naked.. and they actually DID feel shame. They heard God calling for them.. and they felt GUILT. They hid. The moments Adam and Eve bit into that fruit.. mark the fall of man. God punished them.. and kicked them out of the garden. They were now dead.. not physically.. but SPIRITUALLY. they were dead in their sin.
God.. is holy. He is a holy perfect God. and He HATES sin. In those moments.. Adam and Eve broke the connection they had with God. He was no longer able to dwell with them.. because He is holy and they were not. From that moment on.. every single time a person committed a sin.. if they wanted to be right with God.. there needed to be some sort of shedding of blood. Throughout the old testament animals were sacrificed all the time. Of course, this was never enough. That relationship between God and humanity was broken. God’s wrath laid upon us.. and it had every right to.
This is the part where Jesus comes in. Jesus, the son of God.. came down to earth in the form of a man, to live a perfect life. He came to show us how to live the way were CREATED to live, and He also came to save us. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. JESUS, was the ultimate sacrifice. His blood covers us all. God poured all His wrath out on Him, instead of US. Jesus rising from the dead 3 days later gives us hope. He has conquered sin. He has conquered DEATH. through Jesus.. we can have eternal life.
(For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life -John 3:16)
We are all going to be judged. EVERYONE. and when we are judged.. you’re either gonna have Jesus standing in your defense, or not. We are made righteous.. through Him. Jesus bridged the gap there was between us and God. We can now restore our relationship with our Creator.
The bible is literally GOD SCREAMING OUT HIS LOVE FOR US. yet we are blinded by this world and all the distractions there are in it. After the fall, satan gained power over this world. He doesn’t necessarily have power over US.. but he can def. influence us and distract us from knowing God and following Him. what people don’t know is that this world.. is going to come to an end. we dont know when.. but if you read the end of the bible.. aka a revelation to the end of the world.. Jesus wins. Jesus is King. Satan and everyone else who chooses to live for themselves during their short time on earth are cast into this eternal separation from God. I dont know. to me, that sounds horrible. and in the end.. everything is going to be made RIGHT. God is going to dwell with His people again. There will be no more pain, death, sorrow, or ANYTHING. Everything will be good.
Don’t ask me how.. but somehow I shared all of this with a 9 year old today. (wait, not the last paragraph.. but everything before) and somehow he understood some of it. I later wrote out a verse for him..
“But because of His great love for us, God being rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ, even when we were dead in our transgressions.”
I asked him..
“Why were we dead in our transgressions?” He said Adam and Eve
“What does it mean to be alive in Christ?” He said Jesus saved us and gave us eternal life if we believe in Him
“What do you think mercy means?” He didn’t know.. and I told Him mercy means not getting a punishment that you actually deserve. I explained that us not being punished for our sin.. shows us God’s mercy.
finally i asked him.. “WHY would God do this? look at the verse..” and very unsurely Cory said.. because of His great love..?
of course! that was the answer! and i am really glad i didn’t forget to mention that part. so many people tend to think God is this angry guy up there who just wants everyone to listen to him and wants to ruin everyones fun. um NO. re read everything i just wrote. God didn’t HAVE to send us Jesus. God could’ve punished us. He had EVERY right to punish us. Everything He does is out of love. and people tend to forget that.
I actually tend to forget that. I forget that I am loved by a perfect all knowing all powerful amazing God. I forget that His mercies are new every morning, and He shows me his grace every moment by even allowing me to breathe. i forget that i am called to love others because He loves ME. i forget that He is worth my everything and that living for myself is the dumbest thing i could ever do. i forget that life in Him.. is everlasting. and full of love. more love than ever. its overwhelming. :)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
how beautiful is His unfailing love
last night must have been the most challenging night ever for me.
my heart is so broken.
but i was overwhelmed by God's love in hearing this song today.. here's the chorus;
you stay the same through the ages
your love never changes
there may be pain in the night
but joy comes in the morning
and when the oceans rage
i dont have to be afraid
because i know that you love me
and your love never fails
:)
<3
my heart is so broken.
but i was overwhelmed by God's love in hearing this song today.. here's the chorus;
you stay the same through the ages
your love never changes
there may be pain in the night
but joy comes in the morning
and when the oceans rage
i dont have to be afraid
because i know that you love me
and your love never fails
:)
<3
Friday, June 18, 2010
WHAT AM I DOING????
haha so i got 5 hours of sleep sunday night.
then i went to disneyland all day monday.
(had sooooooo much fun)
got home at 2 am.
woke up at 11:30 tuesday.
pretty much slept all day.
had like 6 hours of sleep and wednesday i ran 3 miles.
was sore and exhausted all day.
slept then worked all morning and ran 2 miles thursday.
slept and ran 2 and a half miles today. and swam.
CAN I JUST TELL YOU THAT MY BODY IS LIKE YELLING AT ME!!!???
i.. cant.. move :/
haha. sooo my sare bear is leaving me this sunday. boy am i gonna miss her. she taught me what real joy looks like. she showed me love all the time and questioned everything i did to make me think about my motives. she has such a gentle and loving spirit. being with her always makes my heart happy. and now, she's leaving. it hurts so much.. but i know God is going to do amazing things through her in Haiti. u guys should go to her website: truelovelive.org and be a part of what she's doing!
im excited to see what God is gonna do this summer. so much change is happening.. but i knoooow He is in control. and it'll be good.
:]
then i went to disneyland all day monday.
(had sooooooo much fun)
got home at 2 am.
woke up at 11:30 tuesday.
pretty much slept all day.
had like 6 hours of sleep and wednesday i ran 3 miles.
was sore and exhausted all day.
slept then worked all morning and ran 2 miles thursday.
slept and ran 2 and a half miles today. and swam.
CAN I JUST TELL YOU THAT MY BODY IS LIKE YELLING AT ME!!!???
i.. cant.. move :/
haha. sooo my sare bear is leaving me this sunday. boy am i gonna miss her. she taught me what real joy looks like. she showed me love all the time and questioned everything i did to make me think about my motives. she has such a gentle and loving spirit. being with her always makes my heart happy. and now, she's leaving. it hurts so much.. but i know God is going to do amazing things through her in Haiti. u guys should go to her website: truelovelive.org and be a part of what she's doing!
im excited to see what God is gonna do this summer. so much change is happening.. but i knoooow He is in control. and it'll be good.
:]
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
from nursemeliza.blogspot.com
aka my lovely cousin meliza reano :]
i like this. :]
"Too many of us are lost, broken, scattered, and lonely. Too many of us have even been forgotten. Not to God. He sees us. He knows where we belong. He hurts so much for us HE sent HIS son Jesus to come and lay out the greatest example to follow. But he also sends him to die. To die a painful, alone, sad, death on a wooden cross, with nails through his hands, and watching him , all those people that he healed, the ones he fellowshipped with, even the one that called him Rabbi.
In us there is this built in desire to have a passion for "something", to find the meaning of life , or something like it. Stop searching. Open the gospels, read Matthew, Mark, John, Luke, and follow the man whose name appears everywhere , in each sentence, sometimes in red, JESUS. Leave it all behind, you may lose what at the present time may seem important, but you will GAIN LIFE. In him there is life, and everlasting, plentiful life. In him you will not lack, you will never be alone, and you will never be abandoned. No longer a missing puzzle piece. You have been found!"
i like this. :]
"Too many of us are lost, broken, scattered, and lonely. Too many of us have even been forgotten. Not to God. He sees us. He knows where we belong. He hurts so much for us HE sent HIS son Jesus to come and lay out the greatest example to follow. But he also sends him to die. To die a painful, alone, sad, death on a wooden cross, with nails through his hands, and watching him , all those people that he healed, the ones he fellowshipped with, even the one that called him Rabbi.
In us there is this built in desire to have a passion for "something", to find the meaning of life , or something like it. Stop searching. Open the gospels, read Matthew, Mark, John, Luke, and follow the man whose name appears everywhere , in each sentence, sometimes in red, JESUS. Leave it all behind, you may lose what at the present time may seem important, but you will GAIN LIFE. In him there is life, and everlasting, plentiful life. In him you will not lack, you will never be alone, and you will never be abandoned. No longer a missing puzzle piece. You have been found!"
start of something new?
so last week i:
-graduated high school
-said goodbye to the kids that i absolutely adore
-realized it was getting closer to the time somebody i LOVED was moving forever.
-realized that the BLESS apt, (my favorite hangout place EVER for the last year and half), was ending. everyone is going away.
-said goodbye to more people than i've ever said goodbye to in my life.
I don't have any idea WHAT God is doing. On the plus side, I haven't cried. at all. YET. haha. Well actually, I dont know if thats good. I think I have hardened my heart and not made myself vulnerable to love. If i was more vulnerable, i'd be in way more pain than I am right now. But my heart is cold, and although everything is changing and i'm gonna miss all these people, i'm not feeling ANY emotions right now. I think after I lost half my family a few years back.. I was so vulnerable.. and it hurt me SO much. After that, I didn't open up to people as much as before, for the fear of getting hurt again.
I know I need to trust God.. and at this point.. that's a scary thought. He is literally taking so much away from me right now. Like with the family thing.. it ended up working for the good. He was there with me the entire way. I dont know. I am excited, but also scared. a lot. and the whole going to YWAM issue is driving me insane. will i raise enough money? will i even get to go? what will it be like? is it gonna be really hard? will i be wishing i was home the entire time im there? what if i dont go? what will i do if i dont???
today being the.. umm.. 2nd day of summer.. I'm beginning to realize something new is about to start. like a new chapter in my life. im just really hoping I dont lose sight of what really matters.. and start rejoicing more in Him.
-graduated high school
-said goodbye to the kids that i absolutely adore
-realized it was getting closer to the time somebody i LOVED was moving forever.
-realized that the BLESS apt, (my favorite hangout place EVER for the last year and half), was ending. everyone is going away.
-said goodbye to more people than i've ever said goodbye to in my life.
I don't have any idea WHAT God is doing. On the plus side, I haven't cried. at all. YET. haha. Well actually, I dont know if thats good. I think I have hardened my heart and not made myself vulnerable to love. If i was more vulnerable, i'd be in way more pain than I am right now. But my heart is cold, and although everything is changing and i'm gonna miss all these people, i'm not feeling ANY emotions right now. I think after I lost half my family a few years back.. I was so vulnerable.. and it hurt me SO much. After that, I didn't open up to people as much as before, for the fear of getting hurt again.
I know I need to trust God.. and at this point.. that's a scary thought. He is literally taking so much away from me right now. Like with the family thing.. it ended up working for the good. He was there with me the entire way. I dont know. I am excited, but also scared. a lot. and the whole going to YWAM issue is driving me insane. will i raise enough money? will i even get to go? what will it be like? is it gonna be really hard? will i be wishing i was home the entire time im there? what if i dont go? what will i do if i dont???
today being the.. umm.. 2nd day of summer.. I'm beginning to realize something new is about to start. like a new chapter in my life. im just really hoping I dont lose sight of what really matters.. and start rejoicing more in Him.
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