My brother is here!

Soooo happy!! 

Regina rock climbing??

This is Regina's version of rock climbing

I wanna be a hippie

I think I want to become a hippie. Yes, I realize saying I am going to "become" a hippie is not very hippie-like, but hippies are cool and I like the way they dress. Bring back the Levi's and flowy tops.

Recruiting

Today, I am going to send an email to recruit runners for the Refuge Global Challenge. I ask that you keep the following in your prayers:

1) That the #1 reason for this run is to bring Him glory

2) That my heart remains faithful to God at all times in everything I do  

3) That the hearts of the people involved are stirred up and shaken as they watch the power of God

4) That miracles happen 

5) That I remain open and available to wherever He leads me

Thanks so much for your prayers. They are so powerful.

Love

so many thoughts

I watched a movie called Into the Wild on Friday night. It's a true story about a guy in his 20's that leaves home, sets out to be free from society amid the wilderness. It's a very sad story and everyone I have talked to has different opinions about it. I really liked it and somewhere deep inside I envy the guy. I mean, obviously not the dying part in the end, but today something struck me as I was standing inside a store at the mall next to my work that I go to every day. As I was standing there, it felt as though I was frozen in the moment and everyone was passing me by in slow motion. All the women with their big handbags, their fancy jewelry, and their designer label suits. I suddenly became nauseous and could vividly see a little girl in Africa somewhere alone on a dirt road carrying water to her family, whoever was left of it. Smiling and singing. Though she had nothing, she was full of joy. Happy. Content. Her heart did not long for something that wouldn't fill it anyways. I realized in that moment that I am so much like these women around me. And it made me so incredibly sad. I thought of the movie, and I understood his need to get away from it all. So much of what this world has to offer us is a lie, but yet we buy into it and think that somehow someway it will define us and make us better, or more significant, or beautiful or rich or wanted. 

I downloaded a couple of the songs from the movie and one is really striking a chord with me. It's called "Society" by Eddie Vedder:

It's a mystery to me 
we have a greed 
with which we have agreed 

You think you have to want 
more than you need 
until you have it all you won't be free 

society, you're a crazy breed 
I hope you're not lonely without me 

When you want more than you have 
you think you need 
and when you think more than you want 
your thoughts begin to bleed 

I absolutely love this song! I love the line "until you have it all, you wont be free" This is SO true! We think we must have more and more and more and it never ends. But instead of becoming free, we are bound up even more tightly within its walls. I hate that this is what society has become. I hate that we have agreed to be greedy and full of pride and jealousy. When Jesus came 2000 years ago, He came so that we could have life more abundantly. But culture has made a deal with the devil to sacrifice life more abundantly and settle for life more instantaneously. We aren't willing to wait for God's provision. Everywhere you look in the Bible, Jesus calls us to wait upon the Lord, to forgive our enemies and to be humble to our masters. But why on earth would we do that when those things hurt and are sometimes very difficult to withstand?! I am so incredibly guilty of this. As I drove home today, I stewed in my anger that someone had hurt me. When someone hurts me, my immediate reaction is to hurt them back. I want them to experience or at least understand the pain that they have inflicted upon me. I immediately felt convicted and thought of when Jesus told Peter how many times He should forgive someone when they hurt you:

Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times? "No, not seven times," Jesus replied, "but seventy times seven"

I was humbled because God is so incredibly good. He looks upon us with so much love, and I know it saddens Him greatly to see our world in the condition it is in. I know it hurts Him when I sin and when I behave the way I do. But He loves me so much that He forgives me, sweeps me up into His arms and teaches me how to do it better next time. I guess what I am trying to say is that I dont want what society has to offer me, and at the same time I know I am guilty of being part of it. I pray that I always recognize the blessings that He is pouring upon me and that I take none of it for granted. 

iPhoto fabulousness

I'm pretty sure this is the most amazing creation made by man

 

Funniest video ever 

Solace

My heart is in a place of unchartered territory. Something is happening inside me that I cant explain. It is aching for so many things. For so many people, for friends, for enemies, for cities, for countries and for a dying world that God is reaching out to save. My heart has been uplifted and so full of joy and has been amazed by the wonders of God. He has shown love to me that I never fathomed existed and it has spawned a desire in my heart and an ache so great that I feel as though nothing will ever stop me from following Him. But my heart hurts so much of the time and trying to explain tiny pieces of my heart seems only to complicate things because the words never come out right, so I remain feeling misunderstood. But I try to find solace in God's love and understanding, and I remain surrendered to Him. I want desperately for people to no longer feel pain and suffering, and I am humbled that God even considers using me in His enormous plan. What a blessing to be alive in such perilous times. The world is changing and we are here.

Radiate

I am in the process of growing into another phase of my walk with Christ. I feel my strength in Him increasing. Every day I ask God to teach me, to grow me, to humble me, to love me, to show me how to love others. And every day, He loves me and teaches me. And every day He gives me chances to grow and people to love. The closeness that I feel to Him is incomparable to anything I have ever known. Every day He whispers in my ear that He loves me. Father to daughter. There is this song they sing at my church and one of the lines says "pour out a blessing that we cannot contain" and I honestly cannot contain the blessings He is pouring out onto my life. He is my reason for breath and for every step I take. I honestly dont know how I ever lived without Him. 

This is my new favorite passage: 

Psalm 34:5 "Those who look to Him are radiant"

How I long to be radiated by His love!

Fun times!

I had the funnest day ever today! I love how much God has blessed me with beautiful amazing women who love Him as much as I do. I love how much I have laughed the last couple weeks and lots of that is owed to this chicky right here. I love you Jesika!! You are rad!

! 

A glimpse of my love

I feel compelled to share with you pieces from my journal:

Jan 3 - Hope returns

Thank you Jesus for restoring hope. I want to dance. I want to laugh and sing and run and shout at the top of my lungs. I want to live! And I know you are the only one who gives life.

I want to be free!

I dont want to be locked in the chains of shame of who I am and what I've done. I dont want to be trapped in my mind and a victim of my own thoughts and a slave to the judgement of others. 

I want to be free.

Free to be who you created me to be. Free to laugh at myself and to love my mistakes because they bring me closer to you.  Mostly I want to be free to love. Not because people have earned it, but because they are your children and most people walk the other way.

I will love.

Jan 6 - A love story between me and my God

You are the author, the writer, the directorI love you and will follow you all the days that you give me breath. Your mercy and compassion abound in me and I am unworthy to be called your daughter, yet you love me and guide me anyways.

You love me

How amazing your love! It defies all sensible reality and dares to go beyond human understanding into something so deep it lies hidden within our hearts and stirs up a passion so big and desires so real that the world around me is changing.

All because you love me.

I surrender. Your way is the only way I want. I will live the rest of my days following you because you are worthy and because I love you and because your love exceeds ALL love and I trust you even when I cant see and my faith fails me. My heart is yours forever until I die. Then I am yours for eternity.

I finally made it

Well, here I am. I'm quite confused though. How does this work?? There are WAY too many buttons and the blogger people speak in another language. 

On a side note, I'd like to thank Jesika and Anna for helping think of a url name for my blog. Yay for the one we picked!

On another side note, I'd like to thank Jesika for opening my eyes to the many other word variations for rain today. I thank my heavenly stars that I can now refer to it as "cloud juice" 

Why is my subwoofer making all that noise and hurting my ears??? Wow, this whole new computer slash old speakers thing isnt working for me... 

Okay, clearly I dont have much to say, but stay tuned...

Once I figure this thing out I will be posting a link for my "thoughts of the day"...