It's the big day!

My team and I, who will be working with high schoolers in Costa Rica.
There is another team from our church who will be working with children in Costa Rica.

     

     Today is the big day! After months of preparation and prayer, a team of students, fellow leaders, and I are traveling to Costa Rica for 10 days! Please keep us, as well as the people we will be serving/ministering to in your prayers! May God's will be done on this trip!

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

- Ephesians 6:10-18

Hello Summer!

     ... and it is finished. Freshmen year = accomplished. Crazy summer classes = accomplished. With all that's happened with my family over the past year, things have been crazy, but I'm finally taking a deep breath and writing again. The challenges I've been through this year have pushed me to the edge, to major points of really having to decide which path to take. Although, they have and continue to make me stronger, truly forcing me to depend on the Lord in all aspects. Now that the pressure of school has been lifted for the next three and a half months or so, I'm feeling a wave of relief. I'm pretty pumped about this summer! Here are some goals of mine:

- Travel places. See God's creation and meet more of the interesting people He loves. (P.S. 19 days until Costa Rica!)
- Go camping
- Write, write, write (a ton of my book!)
- Save money
- Get plugged into a young adult group/ministry
- Be a kick-butt, awesome nanny
- Basically more firmly plant my identity in Christ and become more of the woman He's called me to be
- Start a girls bible study with my youth group students (This is something God put on my heart to begin last fall.)
- Just love, love, love every single day.

Summer '12 Snapshots: 5/27 Great night with my handsome wedding date, :)
ended by running the city blocks of Chaska, MN in the pouring rain!
Oh, summer memories.

In Loving Memory of Freshmen Year ('11-'12)

     HALLELUJAH!! I survived my freshmen year of college. Holy cow. I don't believe I've ever experienced a more growth and change-filled period of my life! I thank God for His unending patience. Almost nine months ago, I remember crying - just wanting to go home and have things the way they used to be. Now, nine months later, I could not be more thankful for the growth that has taken place in my life. In honor of finishing, I'm dedicating this blog to preserving memories, times of growth, and various things God spoke to me over this past school year through pictures.

Fear(less)

image source

     Fear; it inhibits us, deters us from saying and doing things, too often restricts us from all life has to offer. I've been thinking a lot about fear lately and how much power I give it over my heart and life.

"How much differently would you live your life if you lived without any fear?"

     I haven't been able to get that question out of mind over the past week. If a vacuum were to suck up all the fear and emotions that are results of fear within me, I would live so much more freely. I would step out and speak more life into individuals. I would never let a chance to share the love of God pass by again. I wouldn't give my appearance/what others think a negative second thought. I wouldn't worry or be jealous. I would have such a peace about every aspect of my life... family, friends, financial, my future... I could go on and on! A life without fear sounds incredible and that is what I'm striving for. 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." In order to live lives absent of fear, we must live lives overflowing with love.

Roller Coaster Life

image source   

     Life... what a roller coaster it can be; a wild ride that often takes twists and turns without any warning to its passengers. Recently i've been overwhelmed with a heavy family situation, a mountainous amount of schoolwork as my freshmen year comes to a close, and far more hours scheduled at work than my body can physically handle, resulting in sickness. As you can probably tell, unfortunately time to blog has been far in few in-between lately.
     Although, I'm holding on to my lap bar. My "life roller coaster" has taken an unexpected, undesired turn, but there's no way I'm jumping off. I am thankful for all of my fellow passengers that have comforted me along the way - friends, professors, and leaders who have encouraged, prayed with, and just been there for me. I recently read a quote from John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN, "I have never known a season of joy unmixed with sorrow or sorrow unmixed with joy. The former comes. The latter passes away." As times of sorrow end, times of joy begin. At the end of this life twist, there will come a time when the track straightens out once again. Though I will not be the same as I was before, no, my hair may be out of place, but as I sit back, now able to see more of the entire ride instead of a single twist, I have a greater appreciation and understanding for the twist and the current time of peace. From my experience, I will have greater trust in the ride operator (the Lord), as another twist approaches. It too will come to an end and I will become a wiser, stronger rider (tool for the Lord to use) because of it.

Priceless Adventures

     As I grow older, I appreciate coupons, clearance racks, and cheap dates even more. I had heard about the free Museum Adventure Pass program available at many metro public libraries. Last week was my spring break, so Daniel and I took advantage of some of my extra free time. We picked up two free Museum Adventure passes from the Savage Public Library and checked out the Foshay Tower in downtown Minneapolis. It was absolutely beautiful... and free! Well, except for parking, but i'll take it. There a lot of other Minnesota museums a part of the free pass program as well. Although, I was told that the program will sadly be ending in September 2012, so grab a friend and take advantage of as many free adventures while you still can!

Beautiful view of Minneapolis from the Observation Desk

:)

There's me!

Another terrific view!

Just adore this guy.

Then Dan had a really cheesy picture idea... but, I went along
with it and may or may not actually secretly like his cheesiness. ;)

Winter Camp 2012 - Unleashed

     This past weekend I had the incredible privilege of attending my youth group's weekend winter retreat as a junior high leader. We traveled to a Holiday Inn in Elk River and spent a couple nights there. The theme of the weekend was "unleashed," with Micah MacDonald as the speaker. Unleashed, defined as, "to set free from as if from a leash; let loose." Set free from the things that hold us back from growing in Christ and equipped with the tools to become truly set apart from them. Let loose to freely worship the King of Kings. Unleashed into our schools, families, work places, and communities empowered to be Jesus to the people around us. Here's some snippets I thought'd I'd share from the weekend:

I love these kids so much. Being a youth leader
is one of the greatest privileges in the world!

• God is a passionate, jealous for YOU God.
• Jesus cannot unleash himself if you're sharing his master position in your life with other things. When you serve both masters, you are defeated.
• Your life is either completely sold out for the cause of Christ, or sold out for something else.
• Take your net (could be your past, sin, bitterness, anger, alcohol, sex, drugs, low self-worth, etc.) that is entangling you, throw it out, and surrender to God.
• The ministry of Christ is always an honor and privilege to be a part of. When it no longer is, it becomes the ministry of you.
• If Peter hadn't thrown out his net, he never would have experienced the revelation of Christ in his life. Will you not miss it?
• God is a God of order and perfect timing.
• The disciples left and gave up everything to serve the Lord. Be willing to give up everything, so that others may know Jesus.
• How would your heart change if you began to pray for your enemies? Pray for those you are angry and upset with or who you may feel have wronged you.
• Who you're friends with determines who you become.
• Ask yourself, "is this person going to help me become more like Christ?"
• One of my students received the gift of tongues! Something she had been praying for for months and months!
• One of my students also received extremely powerful, vivid visions.

     There were so many more experiences, conversations, situations and prayer times with students that so challenged me and caused me to grow as a leader; such a blast. I thank God for this weekend.

I made one of these for each of my fourteen
lovely junior high students. :)