I am so thankful I woke up this morning feeling so well . After fighting an ear ache and sickness, I had a restful 13 hours of sleep and woke up feeling like quite a new person. Rest is powerful stuff I tell you.
I can hardly believe that we are at the end of our second week here in Canada. Even though it seems like ages since I was back home in CO it seems like we just started our Canadian adventure yesterday. Time really has a way of flying by right in front of our very eyes.
Today on my 22nd Birthday I had a few hours of complete quiet before the rest of my team was around. I just sat and though a lot about my life. How much has happened especially in the past year. Words just flooded my mind.
Change. Hurt. Disappointment. Fear..then hope. Grace. Joy. Happiness. Tears. Pain. Forgiveness. Adventure. Peace. Honesty . Satisfaction. Love . Blessings. Loneliness.Understanding. Purpose.
Through all the thoughts and situations that came to mind at the beginning and end of all of them I had two powerful words . BUT GOD. Over and over again it is so easy to slip into this feeling of " I must have a plan, a direction for my life."
Can I just say that , that right there is a terrible plan for my life.
Thinking of my life in context to the Bible in the grand scheme of things. (1) God made everything, He said it was good, and then very good. (2) I was made in the image of God. Imago Dei . That alone is a beautiful thing. Since I was made in His image (3) He has a plan for me . Purpose and direction for my life . He always has and always will. Purpose is so hard that I think every single person on the face of the earth struggles with it at some point in their life. What on earth is my/your purpose? It seems like such a hard question,but it has the most simple answer . Just look in the Bible and you will easily find .... "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness......Love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul "
there are literally hundreds of verses we could look at .
Back on track , how does this apply to me today. In my mind I logically have enough decisions and life choices to make in life right now ,that I could be uber stressed about. For the first time in my life I have gone a whole 5 weeks without fear in regards to my future. I was awestruck by God's amazing faithfulness throughout my life. He knew that I would be here in Canada, loving being on an Axis team, just having moved to CO and that I would be feeling terribly ill this week! Nothing in my life has even for a moment taken Christ by surprise. Therefore , it completely futile and down right ridiculous to doubt my Savior for one second. In fact, I am starting to realize that to do anything besides trusting completely in Him , I am taking away from His purpose of dying on the cross.
So, with a grateful and joyful heart I greet another year to know, love, honor and proclaim the precious name of my Savior and King, The Lord Jesus Christ.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014
Give me a "T"!!
A big T for Texas!!!!!!
As if Colorado wasn't warm enough, I just got sent to Houston for my first trip! Yay . More about that later though.
Praise The Lord, we are done with training. As much as we needed it and enjoyed the majority of it, I am so glad we are done with it now. After 2 week of solid information I don't think my brain could or would hold anything more!
I just reached the point where I had a great understanding about the material and what I needed or wanted to say in how it pertained to each event.....and now I am ready to just be with students and present!
Our wonderful trainers gave us most of Friday off this week and that was spectacular! That gave us time prepare and feel well rested for this trip.
Alyssa and I had an uneventful trip to the airport and a nice flight into Houston.
Team Daniel is together for the first time ! YAY ! We are thrilled to finally all be in the same place . Getting to know each other has been as blast! We are a team that loves to laugh and have fun together.
We have had the privilege of staying with Alyssa's family ! It has been a blessing to have a comfortable and relaxed host home. On top of the great hospitality we are getting to know her family :) What a fun treat.
Today has been a relaxed day of rest. After we all slept in Alyssa and I went for a beautiful run in the Texas sun. Perfect start to the week. After that we went to church with the family and then we went and planted ourselves in the family room to cheer on the Broncos! Yippie they are headed to the Super Bowl! Now we are having team bonding time and going over some of the specifics of team traveling. Hooray for a great start on the Axis trip!
Monday, January 13, 2014
its beginning to look a lot Christmas?????
Ha ha , well I sure thought it looked like Christmas yesterday. When I left for church it was a balmy , gorgeous 49 outside and so sunny. Lo, and behold 1 1/2 hrs later when I headed for the door it was a sheet of white. So much wind and snow. So I made a very unlady like mad dash for my car. I made it there after first recomputing to rescue my Sharpie pen, recover my purse which the wind had managed to remove from my shoulder....at this point I could hardly see because the wind was whipping my hair around something crazy like,but let me tell you, it was all worth it. I enjoy church so so so much. So much that I think I will start going to two different churches each Sunday. The early service at one and the later service at another one.
I have officially not only survived but thrived during my first week here! So much so, that as excited as I am to go on the road with Axis I am already dreading leaving my new home behind . I am overwhelmed with blessings.
First off, I can't believe how much I am continuing to learn from Axis. What a special treat it is each day to read through more materials and understand more and more about Christianity and the incredible God I serve. It has been really interesting to have two guys in the office who join us as we start off each morning reading through the gospels. These guys understand soooo much about the Hebrew culture and what the Jews and Romans believed, and why this and that are actually really significant, and they point them all out to us! IT is incredible!
Well, today was the first day of our second week of training. We are all off to a great start! Praise The Lord we have improved in our confidence and speaking skills by leaps and bounds! Lets just say that have come very very looonggg way since our first attempt at presenting :)
I have put in a number of evening at the coffee lounge/ bakery. I love it! I have the entire food menu down and can successfully make all the made to order meals, and I am almost keeping up with keeping the bakery case full.
What would a blog post be without talking about the weather a few times?! The snow that we got when I first came here has been long gone, and the snow we got yesterday was gone within an hour! THE wind is a whole different matter though. It has been wild! So wild that last night it was blowing so fiercely that it blew through the cracks in the window and the window shades were moving!!!! Ridiculous I say. Thankfully it has been warm enough outside that it really isn't cold at all :)
Tomorrow is another busy day. So I shall hopefully blog again before I leave this week. Soli Dei gloria!
I have officially not only survived but thrived during my first week here! So much so, that as excited as I am to go on the road with Axis I am already dreading leaving my new home behind . I am overwhelmed with blessings.
First off, I can't believe how much I am continuing to learn from Axis. What a special treat it is each day to read through more materials and understand more and more about Christianity and the incredible God I serve. It has been really interesting to have two guys in the office who join us as we start off each morning reading through the gospels. These guys understand soooo much about the Hebrew culture and what the Jews and Romans believed, and why this and that are actually really significant, and they point them all out to us! IT is incredible!
Well, today was the first day of our second week of training. We are all off to a great start! Praise The Lord we have improved in our confidence and speaking skills by leaps and bounds! Lets just say that have come very very looonggg way since our first attempt at presenting :)
I have put in a number of evening at the coffee lounge/ bakery. I love it! I have the entire food menu down and can successfully make all the made to order meals, and I am almost keeping up with keeping the bakery case full.
What would a blog post be without talking about the weather a few times?! The snow that we got when I first came here has been long gone, and the snow we got yesterday was gone within an hour! THE wind is a whole different matter though. It has been wild! So wild that last night it was blowing so fiercely that it blew through the cracks in the window and the window shades were moving!!!! Ridiculous I say. Thankfully it has been warm enough outside that it really isn't cold at all :)
Tomorrow is another busy day. So I shall hopefully blog again before I leave this week. Soli Dei gloria!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
happiness and life
“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.”
― Ernest Hemingway
Well, coming from a man who seemed to be an atheist at heart its no wonder he felt this way.
I am by no means trying to portray that I am an intelligent person,BUT I was made and designed by thee intelligent God, who has made me in His image.
The result of all of our hard work the last few days and many loooonnng hours, seem to have paid off in happiness!!!!! I am not sure if this is due to the fact that I was so overwhelmed at the beginning and I just wanted to do well presenting and not look like an idiot.
Well folks, today in one word was : fun. Actually lets go for more that one word. Fun and......relaxed, much easier, everything made sense, it was just happy happy happy!
( and I cant believe that I not only just thought that happy statement , but that I typed it out!!!! Colorado air I tell you )
I am getting so much more excited about traveling and speaking. I feel like I am getting a thorough course on world views and biblical studies, and I love it. What a challenge it is to my personal life , but what a wonderful story to be able to share with countless students,parents,teachers etc .
I think I am enjoying all the material even more now that I see how much Christ and the gospel is just written all over it. Better yet we present the conflicting worldviews in such a way that Christianity is the only worldview that even comes close to making sense!
So, now that I had a great day in training and got some time in baking ,I am going to read some more and be ready for tomorrow!
I am reminded once again that God could have allowed hundreds of other qualified people to have the privilege to come and not only learn and understand all of this stuff but also to present it......and yet somehow here I am . May I always be a good representation of my Father and bring light to our dark broken world . Goodnight all!
― Ernest Hemingway
Well, coming from a man who seemed to be an atheist at heart its no wonder he felt this way.
I am by no means trying to portray that I am an intelligent person,BUT I was made and designed by thee intelligent God, who has made me in His image.
The result of all of our hard work the last few days and many loooonnng hours, seem to have paid off in happiness!!!!! I am not sure if this is due to the fact that I was so overwhelmed at the beginning and I just wanted to do well presenting and not look like an idiot.
Well folks, today in one word was : fun. Actually lets go for more that one word. Fun and......relaxed, much easier, everything made sense, it was just happy happy happy!
( and I cant believe that I not only just thought that happy statement , but that I typed it out!!!! Colorado air I tell you )
I am getting so much more excited about traveling and speaking. I feel like I am getting a thorough course on world views and biblical studies, and I love it. What a challenge it is to my personal life , but what a wonderful story to be able to share with countless students,parents,teachers etc .
I think I am enjoying all the material even more now that I see how much Christ and the gospel is just written all over it. Better yet we present the conflicting worldviews in such a way that Christianity is the only worldview that even comes close to making sense!
So, now that I had a great day in training and got some time in baking ,I am going to read some more and be ready for tomorrow!
I am reminded once again that God could have allowed hundreds of other qualified people to have the privilege to come and not only learn and understand all of this stuff but also to present it......and yet somehow here I am . May I always be a good representation of my Father and bring light to our dark broken world . Goodnight all!
Monday, January 6, 2014
every morning....
Lamentations 3 :21 This I recall in my mind therefore I have hope. It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed , because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning : great is thy faithfulness.
That verse has been on my mind often these last few days. And oh how grateful I am for new mornings every.single.day.
Today was exhausting but in a good way. My mind and eyes are so tired. What a relief today was but also so challenging as far as the next two weeks go. Today was crazy! We just dived head first into presentation material. We were assigned our parts and off we went. We first watched a similar presentation to the one we are learning this week, took notes, then had half an hour to think and and revise our notes to be more like our natural selves. Then bam, we got up on after another , no notes and presented to our audience of one another for 4 hours. It was really challenging at first and then as time went on I just got into the swing of things, lost my nervousness and went with it . I am actually quite pleased with how it all went. We had lots of laughs when another team member said something ridiculous , or was completely confused :) Lets just say was all have lots of improvements to make. One of man great blessing about today was that we all got our parts for what we will be working on tomorrow. Meaning that I can actually practice tonight and be prepared! So I have spent the last while in my room talking to myself. ha, good thing its not summer time , hence the windows are all closed.
Today I met the two other team members that I will be traveling with Alyssa and Taylor. What great christian teammates!! I am even more excited now that ever! Well morning is right around the corner and I am trying to so hard to beat this cold....so sleep is calling my name!
That verse has been on my mind often these last few days. And oh how grateful I am for new mornings every.single.day.
Today was exhausting but in a good way. My mind and eyes are so tired. What a relief today was but also so challenging as far as the next two weeks go. Today was crazy! We just dived head first into presentation material. We were assigned our parts and off we went. We first watched a similar presentation to the one we are learning this week, took notes, then had half an hour to think and and revise our notes to be more like our natural selves. Then bam, we got up on after another , no notes and presented to our audience of one another for 4 hours. It was really challenging at first and then as time went on I just got into the swing of things, lost my nervousness and went with it . I am actually quite pleased with how it all went. We had lots of laughs when another team member said something ridiculous , or was completely confused :) Lets just say was all have lots of improvements to make. One of man great blessing about today was that we all got our parts for what we will be working on tomorrow. Meaning that I can actually practice tonight and be prepared! So I have spent the last while in my room talking to myself. ha, good thing its not summer time , hence the windows are all closed.
Today I met the two other team members that I will be traveling with Alyssa and Taylor. What great christian teammates!! I am even more excited now that ever! Well morning is right around the corner and I am trying to so hard to beat this cold....so sleep is calling my name!
Starting here.
January 5th ,2014 Manitou Springs , CO
I just love being able to say that I am from Manitou Springs , CO.
Church was just excellent this morning. I hope it is a sermon that I never recover from. It was just that good. Pastor Al is going through the book of Zechariah. What an honor it will be when we are done with it to say that I know and understand that book cover to cover. I love that the thought of that gets me excited. The sermon was so honest and well put together. In every way it pointed us towards Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. The title was Strengthen Your Hands. I want to add my own sub title......FEAR NOT. Over and over again it came up. Once again I am amazed at Gods perfect timing in my life. Here at the time in my life when I am dealing with the most fear I ever have ever felt before , one way or another I keep being reminded through scripture to fear not. Instead my motto for life right now is Nearer to you Lord . The only to really do that is to give my fears over to Christ. To do anything less than that would be not allowing Christ's work on the cross to have the full effect. Living with fear is most importantly taking the glory away from God and putting it on myself. Lord, keep me from doing that.
I just love being able to say that I am from Manitou Springs , CO.
Church was just excellent this morning. I hope it is a sermon that I never recover from. It was just that good. Pastor Al is going through the book of Zechariah. What an honor it will be when we are done with it to say that I know and understand that book cover to cover. I love that the thought of that gets me excited. The sermon was so honest and well put together. In every way it pointed us towards Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. The title was Strengthen Your Hands. I want to add my own sub title......FEAR NOT. Over and over again it came up. Once again I am amazed at Gods perfect timing in my life. Here at the time in my life when I am dealing with the most fear I ever have ever felt before , one way or another I keep being reminded through scripture to fear not. Instead my motto for life right now is Nearer to you Lord . The only to really do that is to give my fears over to Christ. To do anything less than that would be not allowing Christ's work on the cross to have the full effect. Living with fear is most importantly taking the glory away from God and putting it on myself. Lord, keep me from doing that.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Colorado
January 4th, 2014
What better way to start off a new year than with a fabulous adventure. I did just that. For starters I took my sister along with me (of course sisters make most everything better) , we departed early in the morning on January 3rd from Bismarck and 14 long hours later we arrived at my new home. Manitou Springs. A place that I have come to often over these last few years and it has always felt just like home. We made quick work of moving my not so many belongings into my lovely little cabin. Shortly after that we went to say hello to my awesome neighbors....so fun to have friends for neighbors :) Miranda promptly fell in love with the quaint little town here and especially the people in it . Anyways, after some visiting we headed for bed. This morning I was able to go in and meet and briefly work with the staff at the coffee shop in town. Then I took Miranda sight seeing to my favorite places. First stop Garden of the Gods, then The Broadmore , next up brunch at Panera. Sadly the weather was making the roads and visibility quite a wreck so we we left for the mile high city right away. There we went and shopped at Ikea (!!!!!!!) , Target , Whole Foods and grabbed Bubble teas. Then we explored a bit more of the city and made our way to the airport. And just like that I am on my own , ready for whatever Christ has planned ahead.
I thought the daily devotional that I have been reading ( Charles Spurgeon) was so fitting for the day I left home. Let me share some of it.
"Assured security in Christ. 2 Tim 1:1 I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Young people you can not do better than early in life to entrust your future with The Lord Jesus.He goes on to talk about children being at home and then leaving the home. Children, your characters will be safe if you trust them with Jesus. I do not say that you will be rich or that you will prosper after the manner of men...but I do say that you will be happy in the best sense of that word. I pray that you may be led to desire this, especially any of you who are leaving your fathers house, commit yourselves to God."
Isn't that just special how God works in our lives? What perfect timing for that to be in my devotions that day. I think it is truly amazing how much God has shown Himself over and over again throughout this big life decision of moving here. And here I am here now, loving this. Being at a complete peace with Christ in my heart through it all. Not living in the high of sorts, but rather acknowledging Christ's hand on my life Even in the little things . He truly is our Comfort and my Guide, who shall i fear? What time I am afraid I will trust in Thee.
What better way to start off a new year than with a fabulous adventure. I did just that. For starters I took my sister along with me (of course sisters make most everything better) , we departed early in the morning on January 3rd from Bismarck and 14 long hours later we arrived at my new home. Manitou Springs. A place that I have come to often over these last few years and it has always felt just like home. We made quick work of moving my not so many belongings into my lovely little cabin. Shortly after that we went to say hello to my awesome neighbors....so fun to have friends for neighbors :) Miranda promptly fell in love with the quaint little town here and especially the people in it . Anyways, after some visiting we headed for bed. This morning I was able to go in and meet and briefly work with the staff at the coffee shop in town. Then I took Miranda sight seeing to my favorite places. First stop Garden of the Gods, then The Broadmore , next up brunch at Panera. Sadly the weather was making the roads and visibility quite a wreck so we we left for the mile high city right away. There we went and shopped at Ikea (!!!!!!!) , Target , Whole Foods and grabbed Bubble teas. Then we explored a bit more of the city and made our way to the airport. And just like that I am on my own , ready for whatever Christ has planned ahead.
I thought the daily devotional that I have been reading ( Charles Spurgeon) was so fitting for the day I left home. Let me share some of it.
"Assured security in Christ. 2 Tim 1:1 I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Young people you can not do better than early in life to entrust your future with The Lord Jesus.He goes on to talk about children being at home and then leaving the home. Children, your characters will be safe if you trust them with Jesus. I do not say that you will be rich or that you will prosper after the manner of men...but I do say that you will be happy in the best sense of that word. I pray that you may be led to desire this, especially any of you who are leaving your fathers house, commit yourselves to God."
Isn't that just special how God works in our lives? What perfect timing for that to be in my devotions that day. I think it is truly amazing how much God has shown Himself over and over again throughout this big life decision of moving here. And here I am here now, loving this. Being at a complete peace with Christ in my heart through it all. Not living in the high of sorts, but rather acknowledging Christ's hand on my life Even in the little things . He truly is our Comfort and my Guide, who shall i fear? What time I am afraid I will trust in Thee.
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