Merry Christmas!!!

Mary said:

"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

Luke 1:46-48

The angel said to Mary.."Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

Luke 2:29-33

... " I am the Lord's servant, " Mary answered.

 "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Luke 2:38

The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul to too."

Luke 2:33-35

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son...

John 3:16

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:10

 Love leads to hope. Hope does not disappoint.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 5:3-5

We who are strong ought to bare with the feelings of the weak and not please ourselves.

Romans 15

made anew

In that He himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
                                             Hebrews 2:18
"This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep...this day is holy; do not be grieved for the joy of the Lord is your strength. "
                                             Nehemiah 8:9
For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
                                            Ecclesiastes 1:18
For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul will replenish.
                                            Jeremiah 31:25
For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace.
                                             Isaiah 55:12
My presence will go with you, and give you rest.
                                             Exodus 33:14

August 1st, 2011

What a blessing!
My 21st birthday was yesterday and it was incredible!
My first legal drink of alcohol was at a bar with some of my most cherished friends and my family. I had my friend say the communion prayer and we took communion at a BAR! hahaha so great. All the glory belongs to God and yesterday wasn't about me, but for Jesus.
The people in my life are so incredible, I can only thank Jesus for what a wonderful family of believers he has surrounded me with.
I have a month of summer left until my last year at Point Loma.
Wow let's see what else God has in store!...


The present from my parents..
          one gift certificate to Haiti and back..:)

Thank you Jesus.

sweet hawaii.

The breeze from the water is simply enchanting. The waves have such a calming affect that they just sing out God's mercy. It's been a rough couple of weeks. God is so much stronger than I,  and I am so constantly reminded of that. I just need to fully depend on him.

My grandma Maggie passed away this last April and while she was unconscious for over two weeks they planned her funeral for this July. It will be her birthday and funeral this Thursday. It takes a lot out of me to really try and face the reality of her absence. She meant so much to me.

She was a difficult person to deal with...for most people. But for me she was a ball of fire to have fun with. We both just got so sassy with each other, it was always hilarious. Our little banter back and forth was quite comical, even just in the physical sense. She was a full chinese woman, under five feet, short black hair and with extremely petite features. I towered over her, a giant with long blonde streaked hair, and completely caucasian looking. I would walk her down the little neighborhood streets in Oahu making her pump her arms and pick up her knees... it was a sight to see to say the least.

I have told all my close friends about her and she lives on through all my stories. She was one of the most funny, feisty and cut throat persons I have ever met. haha. I hope that I too will be a little feisty fireball when I am a grandma. They are so funny to have around.

Please pray for my family and the people that are mourning from the loss of my grandma. I pray that God will give me the words to say on Thursday if I do end up speaking at the ceremony.

Thank you for your prayer and support:)

Killing me softly

My lovely roomie and I drove up to Fresno last friday for a wedding. The couple that got married was so absolutely stunning it was RiDICuLoUS. Their relationship is completely Christ centered and it is so apparent by the way they love others and respect each other. They will have such a beautiful future together:)

I was really moved on the ride home the next day after the wedding and in the car ride home I broke down and just started weeping. I read some scripture to Catherine and then we played some incredible worship music the entire ride back. I encountered the Holy Spirit and just wept for a long time. We made that 2 hours home in a beautiful journey of silence. There is something so powerful about silence.

God has really been revealing to me the importance of sacrifice. I need to give up things in order to for me to receive Him. The things of the world are of Satan and we don't even realize how long we've put God on the back burner for until we finally wake up and see that nothing has been done.
The car ride back was extremely convicting. I realize that I need to be surrendering my life completely and that in itself is terrifying.
Jesus 'ruins' us. Our life styles aren't supposed to be comfortable. He will ruin you and break you out of the mold. He will ruin us in the world's eyes. But we will be edified for his kingdom
How long have I been sleeping? It's time to step up and get out of dreamland.

Its funny because recently I watched Inception for the first time. Trying to distinguish what is reality and what is a dream is what the whole movie is about. Satan is so good at putting blinders on us and convincing us that this world is all we have to live for. We learn to justify ourselves and our thoughts, actions..etc. Soon we live for ourselves instead of others and instead of glorifying Christ. Our citizenship is in heaven. This is not our home. We should not be satisfied with anything of this world, but with Christ alone.

I found a quote in Blue like Jazz by Donald Miller that really stuck out to me.

I hear addicts talk about the shakes and panic attacks and the highs and lows of resisting their habit, and to some degree I understand them because I have had habits of my own, but no drug is so powerful as the drug of self. No rut in the mind is so deep as the one that says I am the world, the world belongs to me, all people are characters in my play.There is no addiction so powerful as self-addiction.

                                                           - Donald Miller in  Blue like Jazz pg 182

If we are not willing to wake up in the morning and die to ourselves, perhaps we should ask ourselves whether or not we are really following Jesus.

                                                            - Donald Miller pg 185

I posted these a little while ago but I just added my thought process before hand..

While in Ecuador I was in a spiritual slumber. I was trying to find the Holy Spirit and encounter him the way I was used to. It was such a cold place. The cathedrals were empty...I could not feel Jesus there. I look back and try to see why God had me go through this season of dryness, but I may never know. 

I learned a lot about myself and about other people. I feel like I have a better perspective on life and a different type of cultural and social awareness. I pray that God will continue to grow my in this process.

I pray that I can die to myself and my flesh each day and live for the betterment of His kingdom.

Still acting like a mommy...lol
I have a new nannying job for a family close by. Today I took the three kids to the movies, the zoo and had a picnic in the park. :) It was fabulous. Crazy hot out today, but fabulous. Can't wait to get to know the kids more and hangout everyweek with them.:)

Oh boy, was this an adventure! Sydney (my younger sister) and I had to pack and plan the entire week of meals,  buy the food, transport the food to the lake and make sure that it was all in coolers. It was definitely a challenge, and during the week having to cook and clean made me not want to be a mom for a long time!. haha..jk. I guess it would be more manageable for just a family, but with all the added kids that were coming and going made it challenging to please everyone and keep mouths fed. It was a good learning experience. Finally my mom came home last night after being away for 2 weeks. (That is a crazy long time for ME to be playing mommy) Feeding all the mobs of kids that come through my house can be fun when just baking or making goodies, but when making meals all the time for large amounts of people ..it gets tiresome.

My mom was in L.A visiting her grandma ( my great grandma) that is 92 years old and has recently found cancer in her uterus and her ovaries. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for her and our family. She is now in a lot of pain and having a hard time keeping weight on. 

I am so thankful to be able to be in a new place spiritually.  I am seeking to be fed spiritually and I feel fed again. In Ecuador it was so much harder to get to the place where I am right now. Although I still have a lot of growing to do, I know how to do it and I am more motivated in this environment.

I still keep in touch with friends from Ecuador and the students in my program that live on the East Coast. Studying abroad together is an experience that we will always have together. We're in such a crucial time in our lives and our program  was made up of such a unique group of people. We are always changing and growing, I couldn't be more happy with my decision to study abroad. It's definitely an experience that will change my life forever.

Lake House!

thailand

Thailand orphanage Blog

my little brothers friends ( my little brothers...) Raised over 4 thousand dollars and have helped this orphanage in Thailand. This is a blog with their day to day encounters while they are there right now for 7 weeks.

summer lovin

Adele is rocking my world at this moment. Great singer. Loving catching up on all the pop culture haha just the music and funny youtube videos that I missed out on. Today I went to Bikram yoga in SLO and it was fantastic. Its so INTENSE!!!!!! We are saying bye to a few friends that are going away this summer to work at camps, but plan on visiting!! I have decided to stay with my major and take my anatomy class (that was cut this summer) and take it in the spring this coming year at Point Loma. I will still be on track with everything to graduate on time unless there is a problem that comes up later.

I have the summer to work and play! I get to spend a lot of needed time with my family and friends that will be in the area. Our family will be leaving for Hawaii in July for my grandmother's funeral. I would love, love, love to return back to Haiti and help out with childhope. I would stay there all summer if I could! This organization in Haiti has set up a fantastic program for orphans and has continued to grow over the past few years. (check out the link!) The cost to come help out is 60$ per night to stay and help out. Although all the money goes to help pay the staff and support the kids, its still a lot to come up with for a college student. I pray that I will get the opportunity to go back to Haiti in the future. If I can make enough money this summer I would go this summer or over a school break. Please keep Haiti in mind and in prayers. The children recently just got a new music program and have been extremely blessed to learn and enjoy this new addition.
                                                         last summer. miss them.....

these are all from last summer. having withdrawls...

party rock !

Music video making!!!! :))

good ol a-town:)

Now my brother is home and it's so great to feel like the house is back to normal. When I say normal i mean always loud and obnoxious with 6-7 other boys in the house. A million different food options out on the table and people coming in and out of the house. It feels officially like summer! I figured out that my summer school isn't gonna happen this summer and I can take my anatomy course in the spring at Point Loma. I still don't really want to pursue physical therapy but I will just finish my time at Point Loma with my intended major. Afterwards if I change my mind and want to do physical therapy I can take physics and put in hours in a clinic before taking grad school. I think this summer will be good time spent with family and friends and Im looking forward to see what God has in store. You never know what is going to happen!

settling in..

My first week back into the states and being at home was rough..to say the least. I was used to being with 20 other students and involved in continuous activity. Being home with my parents out most of the day my sister in school and my college friends still in school made it very hard. I would see friends often but not 24/7 like I was so used to. I left on a Thursday to go to San Diego and see my friends and visit my university, it was exactly what I needed. Seeing all of my friends  really helped me adjust back into being in the states. I needed that support and that comfort of my friends( who are what I consider family as well) Now returning back to Atascadero is so much better there are more friends that have come home and the colleges here are letting out. Compared to the first week being home this is completely different. So great. Its fabulous being home now.:)

CHANGE... in the midst

So today found out that my second session of anatomy and physiology class will no longer be offered at Cal Poly for the summer...

Let me just translate that...
With not having anatomy done before next fall I will not be able to take my major courses for Exercise Science (pre-physical therapy)..which means..
I'm changing my major!! haha So funny what life throws at ya! Last summer they promised me that this course would definitely be offered and I would be able to finish the class this summer for the rest of my classes in the fall..( that anatomy is a pre-req for) at Point Loma.

It just so happens that I haven't been enjoying my major classes...at all!! And I am actually THRILLED to be switching! I figure that graduating with a degree is the most important thing and so many people never do what they actually study anyways. I will be switching to Nutrition and Health this fall if all goes accordingly. I have a lot of classes to take and I may have to take summer school for some other classes and graduate a semester late or a year late. I'm totally content with whatever. Life is crazy and I'll just enjoy the ride.
So after realizing that I may not be taking the 8 week planned anatomy course this summer I get an email from my friends in Haiti about a volunteer summer teaching program... who knows.
Please pray for guidance from the Father and that I will be in his will.

:)
happy summer! I'll keep ya updated.

prayer before dinner

not many friends do this!:)

angie:)

lauren!:)

sunset cliffs!

BBQ! summertime!!!

great to be back!

reverse culture shock...its real.

So today I think it hit me the hardest since landing in the airport in LAX. I'm just missing all of the people and personalities within our group. Its sad to think about the people we love that live so far away. But at least we have technology and skype.:) Please keep in mind our group and all of our transitions back into U.S culture.

3:30 am waiting in line for the bus to machu picchu

HOME!?

Back in Atascadero!!!!
This is crazy! Haven't been here since December!! So great to see my popa! Glad that my mom and sis and auntie got to come visit, but still hadn't seen my dad in four months! And hopefully will get to see my brother this weekend during mothers day!
This adventure has been INSANITY. I have learned so much about a new culture, a new language, my host family, my semester group and a lot about myself.
Talking about being home is so strange!! I feel like I have so many homes..and families..Home to me is being with people and with God in a place of security and love. It doesn't necessarily mean a specific location or house, but a place where you feel the most like yourself. A place of utter honesty and openness where you feel accepted no matter what.
I called my house in Cuenca home, I've called my university in San Diego home, and I've obviously called my house where I've lived for 16 years home. But home is a relative term...Home is where there is family.