Cheesy? Sappy? Corny? Perhaps... but True? YES!

Every December my family has a tradition of watching the classic Christmas specials that air on TV. The good old-fashioned Christmas movies that our parents grew up with, like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer or Frosty the Snowman. One of my favorites is Charlie Brown...I love that depressed little round-headed guy and his pathetic little tree.

My Dad and I still laugh at classic lines like "Nobody sent me a Christmas card today. I almost wish there weren't a holiday season. I know nobody likes me. Why do we have to have a holiday season to emphasize it?" or "Ugh! I've been kissed by a dog! I have dog germs! Get hot water! Get some disinfectant! Get some Iodine!"

My favorite part of it is that I think there is a little Charlie Brown in all of us... I know I get frustrated by the commercialism of the holiday. Everybody seems to use Christmas as just another angle of advertising. The other day I saw that even a health care add was using a gingerbread man missing an arm on their billboard. All the advertising, Santa Clause, and buying STUFF just seems to cheapen the holiday for me - it's just another season for the stores to make money. But oh people are generous at Christmas - all that peace on earth good will to men...but why just this time of year??!!! Sometimes I just want to stand in the middle of the Mall and yell like Charlie "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" The answer he gets to that exclamation is why I love that movie...Christmas is a celebration of God's love for fallen, messed up, humanity that so often fails to even acknowledge His existence. JOY to the World!

We can be saved and have a relationship with the eternal, uncreated God of the universe because He wanted us so badly that He would humble and limit Himself and become one of us. How amazing is that?

Perpetual Thanksgiving...

In a couple days our nation will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday around massive meals, football and sale adds. This year the holiday represents something the Lord has taught me so much about during this season ~ THANKFULNESS ~ but not just in the manner of [counting my blessings] living a life of thankfulness is more then that. After all, lets face it - we all have days when we are thankful for life, food, clothes and warmth and list stops there.
On Sunday my pastor was talking about living our lives in a posture of thankfulness. A place where our hearts are turned in worship and adoration to our incredible God. Because no matter how much our circumstances in life around us change He is still the same. Living our lives in a posture of thankfulness means setting our hearts and minds on the Lord - gazing upon His Glory daily and yearning to see more.
The apostle Paul wrote the following scripture during his imprisonment in a Roman prison:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

[Philippians 4:12]

What was this secret Paul talked about?

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

[Philippians 4:13]

Paul's secret to contentment in seasons of challenge and seasons of peace was a dependence on the Lord, finding every need met in the infinite God. Being Home in a very different atmosphere physically and spiritually, the Lord has taught me to depend on Him in a very real way and to live joyfully with a spirit of THANKSGIVING in all things.

Changes...

My poor little blog...forgotten for six months...a lot has changed since I wrote here last. In June a busy yet refreshing summer was begining in Minneapolis. Now I write with winter knocking at the door as fall ends here in Lansing MI. Long story short: God closed some doors and opened others and now I live at home with my family...
It was a radical change to go from life in a dorm with classes and ministry everyday to sharing a room with a six year old and having a job in the secular world. I'm not going to lie...it was a HARD transition!
But the Lord has been Faithful!!

>He provided a job shortly after I arrived home.

>My church family has been an enormous encouragment and provided opportunities for ministry.

>Treasured friendships have gone deeper.

>And best of all God has continued to be the rock I cling to when everything else feels as gray and drizzly as the November rain.

More then anything else, the Lord has taught me through this season that He is a good shepherd, [John 10:11] one we can trust and follow through all of life's rocky terrain. It has been a lovely season so far and I know it won't last forever...life with the Lord is an exciting adventure and we never know what He'll have for us next...

Summer Time!!

I am so excited that summer has finally arrived here in Minnesota! It has been a crazy last month of my life but it has been so good. God has changed me so much through the LTEs, classes, retreats, and life just happening.

The first two weeks of May were super intense with a class about the suffering church, fasting retreat and the world Awareness LTE. All of it taught me about how God is always the same, no matter what we go through and He gives us all we need to go through everything He has for us.

After world awareness, we had a class about the end times and the book of revelation that brought a lot of understanding but also a lot more questions - I hope to study the subject in more depth someday.

The third weekend in May was our GI retreat. It was great to finally relax and just hang out after a really busy season.
We went to the Wisconsin Dells for the weekend and staid in this great lodge on a lake. We went boating, spent time with the Lord and just hung out together. Very refreshing!









Upon our return from the retreat we began a class on the book of Romans, which was another intense class. The teacher we had has a reputation for giving lots of homework and being very ready to debate your opinions! But I learned a lot about sin, justification and sanctification through that class.
But we only had two days of class that week because of Memorial Day and that Wednesday night we left for Texas to join the Honor Academy's south campus for the Celebration LTE! It is a weekend of sports competitions and celebrating what God has done in our lives this year.

I had the chance to take a walk around the campus and just remember things I learned when I was an intern there. My first year at the Honor Academy changed my life and I am so blessed that I have been a part of God's changing work in the lives of interns this year and again next year. These men and women are going to change this world for Jesus Christ and I am so privileged to have been part of their lives and their growth.
These four lovely ladies are the interns in the core I was adopted into this year. It has been (and still is) a privilege to serve them and their Core Advisor this year. Two of them will be staying at Teen Mania for a second year and the other two are heading out in to the world to make an impact for the Lord.

One of the biggest things I have learned the last month is treasuring the time I have with people in my life right now. I was a little depressed when we first got to Texas and realised that so many people I shared last year with are really not a part of my life anymore other then an occasional phone call. But I came to the revelation that life is always going to have changing seasons and we need to embrace the time we have with those around us. Let us not be depressed about the past or afraid of the future, but enjoy where we are. I am looking forward to growing and embracing these last two months of my second year at the Honor Academy and my first at BCOM.

Summer Here I Come!!!

Aware of the World

From my last post you probably know that last weekend was our World Awareness LTE with the Honor Academy. Having participated last year, I knew what to expect but part of the LTE for the interns is not knowing what to expect. After watching Hotel Rwanda on Thursday evening to begin the event, we went to bed but didn't sleep long because we were awakened at 3am and told to line up outside. That began our adventure of pretending to be refugees to get an idea of what many around the world go through day in and day out. On Friday we watched several documentaries about other world events, like radical Islam and the crisis in Sudan. On Saturday afternoon we watched our final movie, "To End All Wars". The story is about men in a World War II POW camp in Thailand and how they learned what really loving your enemy means and the price paid for mercy. It is a pretty intense movie, normally rated R but we had the clean flicks version. But it makes you think about what you would do in a situation far less comfortable then the American way of life. After the end of the movie, our LTE ended as well. I was so blessed to be in leadership, watching the interns grow and helping them along in the experience. The weekend gave interns and G.I.s alike a different view of the world we live in. Thanks for praying for me as we were going through it. God bless!

May...a month of Life Transforming

May at the Honor Academy and Bethany College of Missions is an intense month. The first week in May we began a class in college called "The Suffering Church". So for the past two weeks we have been studying martyrs and our persecuted brothers and sisters overseas. Not only are we learning but we have spent a lot of time in prayer for our fellow believers in places like China and Iran.

Fasting LTE!
The first weekend in May was our fasting LTE; two days of no talking and no food - just Jesus and sessions. It was a restful and refreshing weekend to just focus on the Lord and not worry about relationships or homework.

World Awareness LTE:
This coming weekend (May 15-18) we have the World Awareness LTE. We are not exactly sure what this weekend hold but we will be watching movies about what is going on in the world and experiencing a little simulated persecution ourselves. I'll keep you updated on how it goes... :)

School Marches on: Next week we start a new class studying the end times and the book of Revelation. Our teacher is going to be a respected scholar from the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City, MO. I am excited to have some understanding on a often confusing subject.

Another weekend: Next weekend the Graduate Interns (second year interns at the Honor Academy) are looking forward to a retreat at a secret location. One of my good friends has been helping plan it but she won't let anything out about what is happening but I'm told we should be excited.

The final weekend in May all of Honor Academy North will be loading into buses and heading to Texas for a weekend of Celebrating all that God has done in Teen Mania Ministries with our brothers and sisters on the south campus.

As you can see I have quite the month ahead of me. Please be praying for me as I am taking these intense classes and going through these events. I think this verse is going to be my anthem this month:

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

(1 Corinthians 12:9)

God bless you as you enjoy this month of May!

Urban Missionary!

I just got back from a week of living down town Minneapolis as an Urban Missionary.

The week was actually part of a course with BCOM. We lived in a church basement all week, spending our mornings serving the church and afternoons and evenings ministering to the neighborhoods and city around the church.
My group was assigned to a local Hispanic church where only about half the congregation, and neighborhood, spoke English. Several people in our group spoke Spanish so we did okay with communication. In the mornings we had the task of painting the churches bathrooms...


We weren't to sure about the color after the first coat...it looked better after the second.

We also had the opportunity to baby sit for the women's bible study...it was exciting because several of them didn't speak English!







The Global Market is a large Market with small shops and restaurants from all over the world. We went here several times to meet and talk with people from all over the world.
This is Lake Street at night...It is a large street with lots of businesses in downtown Minneapolis. We spent a couple evenings prayer walking this street.

We also spent a lot of time in the neighborhoods, doing surveys for a local ministry that wants to reach this area. And talking to people about the Lord.

All in all it was a really good week - I learned a lot about ministry and trusting the Lord. It was defiantly hard at times but like Jesus said in Matthew 16:25 - loosing your life to find it. I felt so alive when I was praying for someone or having a conversation with a homeless women. I have faith that God is going to continue working in these neighborhoods long after we have gone.

My life...in pictures...

If a picture is worth a thousand words here is my life in a few thousand words...

Minneapolis Skyline...this view isn't from campus, we are about fifteen minutes from down town.

My dear Friend Elizabeth
And my dear Friend Ashlee

Those Women are blessings to my heart!

Broom-ball is a Minnesota favorite. Its like hockey (played on ice) but you don't wear skates. You have broom type sticks to hit a small ball with and try to make goals like in hockey I've only played once - it can get pretty violent. This picture was taken at a women's retreat we had a couple weekends ago with BCOM. We traveled to northern Wisconsin and staid in a Christian camp for the weekend. We got to sleep, eat, and just relax with our friends. It was a very restful and relaxing weekend.

This lovely young lady is Catlin, she is one of the intern girls that I've had the privlage of mentoring the last couple months.







And of course, we can't talk about life in Minnesota without mentioning the snow.
But it won't last forever...the last couple days it has been as warm as 45 degrees I believe. The snow mountains have begun to melt and puddles are everywhere...
...Spring is Coming!!

...waiting...

I am in a season of waiting right now. Waiting to find out what is next in life. I have several options and they are all good and would further the kingdom of God. But the problem is that I don't know which I am supposed to do and if I am to do more then one of them, which is to come first. The Lord has been reminding me the last couple days that I can trust Him and that He will show me when I need to know. So for right now I'm learning to find joy in the waiting. And I'm learning how to live life with a listening ear. I'll keep you posted on what He shows me this week.

Zoë :The Meaning

Zoë is a Greek word that means Life. But it doesn’t just mean life as in merely a living, breathing, being. It also means abundant life: “the absolute fullness of life” According to Thayer and Smith’s Bible dictionary and lexicon, Zoë means the following:

“life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever.”

That is the kind of life I want to live. I want to be fully alive in Christ, devoted to God, and living for an eternity with Him. This blog will be about my life; my simple and often pathetic attempts to live Zoë – not just a normal life but a life with the abundance of Christ.