Happy Thanksgiving to all

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope this day was wonderful for everyone and I hope everyone had to chance to spend this day with family. Well this is the first Thanksgiving that I did not spend this day with my parents, sister, grandparents, and aunts and uncles. I spent my Thanksgiving with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I got to experience other people's Thanksgiving traditions. I watched a movie, cooked, ate crackers with cheese and bread & butter pickles, and watched the boys play football. The worst part of the day was lunch because Thanksgiving dinner was provided by the caf (it was great but was not the same). I was sad that I was not spending it with my family and then we had dinner. Dinner was a pot-luck of family food and we had everything. It was really good food and it felt like Thanksgiving. I felt we were a family eating together and sharing stories. I showed me again that these people are my family too. I am going to miss these people maybe I can spend next Thanksgiving with some of these people. But one thing that never change no matter where you go is football. Football is the consistent for Thanksgiving. Its great. A few things that I am thankful for is family and the people God place in my life for the different seasons of my life like now. Thank you to all my friends and the people who has impact my life. Thanks to everyone for the chapters of my life and memories and laughing and the love. At the end of the night we watched Elf, now its Christmas time. So Merry Christmas.

Song of the day: "O Holy Night"

Reflecting on my 23rd year of life

Yesterday was my 24th birthday. In this post I am going look back this past year and look to the future. I feel like this year of my life has been the most exciting and has had the most change. I have been out of the country twice this year. I went to South Africa in December of 2008 and then to Mexico in March of 2009. South Africa broke my heart for the lost and the sick but also showed me how big God really is and how He takes care of us. In South Africa we meet a lot people who were sick but also meet even more people who were healed. In Mexico God showed me how people worship the Him and have a passion for Him. It was beautiful to see the rawness of worship. Another significant part of this year was the process of leaving for Hungary. I had to go through an application and an interview and finally training. Right now I am training so this year was full of trying to get to the next chapter of my life. This summer was full of adventure which was exciting. I did a lot of hiking. One of the hiking trips I went on was a 33-36 mile hike in one day. Not the smartest idea but I was a good hike. I learned a lot about myself and about the people I was with. God also showed what love looks like and how to show that to other people. I saw the love of my family and my friends. I have found love in my friends and I value who they are and what the mean to me in my life. Also my family know how to love to each other. So the theme this year would be love. It has been exciting. Now my birthday was yesterday and now I start a new year. In this year I will move to Hungary so everything I have learned this year about adventure and love I will use in Hungary. My birthday yesterday was the best birthday. I did not spend it with family which was the first time and I thought I was going to sad and lonely. But I realized that I got to spend it with people that are newly part of my family. The people I live with have become part of my family and also I got an amazing card from my sister which was the best gift I have ever received. Seeing how this 23 was, I can't wait to see what 24 is going to look like.

What is Home?

One thing that I have struggled with the past few months is "what is home?" I have been through many places trying to find my way. The home I grew up in does not feel like the home from my childhood. It is still home but just not the same. I guess it is a sign of growing up. So I lived away from home for about 5 months and that kind of felt like home but I think it was more the people. So I found myself putting my home in people. The people I love and the friends that I spend the most time with and understand became my home. The problem is that I am not around those people anymore. Some of those people are all over the world and I find myself broken in pieces because I do not have them in my life. This is worsened by the fact I am leaving the country for two years. So now I reach a point where I can't place my home in people. So then what is home? A friend of mine shared with me home is where the heart is. For me my heart is with the Lord. So since my heart is with the Lord than I should make my home with Lord. Knowing that my home is with the Lord I can enjoy the brief encounters of people. I am able to make lasting friendships and only know these people for a short time. Like today I saw a little boy take his first steps to his parents, also I am able to see what God is doing in people lives. It is a beautiful thing. I thank God everyday for having a place that I can call home.

Song of the day: The Lost Get Found by Britt Nicole.

Putting people in a box

So I was thinking yesterday about people who fit their job. You know when you see a someone who says they are a teacher and you go "oh yeah I can see that" or "you look like a teacher". I know I do this for most careers. I feel like people for the most part fit their profession. So then I look at the people I work with  and I see something complete different. I realized you can't put these people in a box. We are all so different and have different gifts. The only thing we have in common is that we are all followers of Christ and we want to share Christ with others. But I don't think you can put a look to someone who is in ministry because we are all different. For example I have been around people who love to hike and be outdoors and I have been around people who love playing the banjo and try and play the banjo to disney songs and then I have been around people love kids. I look at the people in ministry and people that you cannot put in a box. God has equipped us for a specific task and that task is different for everyone. So of course we are not meant to fit a model. We are just suppose to love God and follow hard after Him.

Song of the day: Blessed Assurance by Third Day

Obedience....so the journey begins

Well I know that I wrote that the journey begins but in reality I have been on this journey for awhile. It all begins when I gave my life to Christ. Through giving my life to Christ, I have embarked on this adventure. So now I am going to Europe for two years. When I decided to follow Christ I did not know what it would mean. It has meant to give up a dream to be a doctor, give up finding a husband for right now, and leaving my family when things are going so well. I know you look at this and wonder why I would ever want to follow Christ and give up so much that is important to me. But you know I would give up these things for Christ because He is sending me on this adventure, like moving to Europe for two years. I know that Christ has a plan for me and that plan is better than I could ever imagine. It was hard to give up the idea of not being married right now but I know it is not in His timing.  I am going to be able to things that a married couple cannot do. This is all because of the love of Christ. I follow Christ because I love Him and I know that He has an unconditional love that He gives me and everyone. How awesome is that to have a perfect love like that. I am excited to see where the Lord takes me. I am currently doing some training before I go. I am learning a lot and the Lord is teaching a lot of things about myself. So at this point my journey begins... stay turned.

Song of the day: Something Beautiful by Needtobreathe