Reunited!

The beautiful girl you see in the bright blue shirt over there ------> is my amazing friend Erin. I am overjoyed because she is finally moving back to seattle! I have missed her sooooo much. Watch out, the Homies have been reunited! Welcome back Erin :)

watch more than once!

The story of Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman at the well is in John 4.

Youthful Idealism or Living Hope?

A friend shared this quote with me, and I love it : "I am not realistic. I never want to be realistic. God save us all from realism, especially if it means we have to limit our vision for the world. "

At work, we are all about the power of goal setting. It is an amazing discipline that keeps you re-examining your life and keeps your big visions on track. There is one type of goal that we are encouraged to set. This goal is called a B.H.A.G (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) and is meant to stretch you beyond your realm of what you think is possible. Does anyone truly aspire to attain mediocrity? I think if we are honest with ourselves, the answer is a resounding “NO!” As children we are confident that greatness is attainable. We live with unbound dreams and aspirations of being great. I am wondering why coming of age sometimes squelches dreams? If we aren’t careful, we loose childlike innocence and begin to settle for mediocrity. One might say that this return to realism is a part of maturing and growing up, but I have realized that settling kills the soul. I strongly believe that a lack of hope produces the same death within us. Without hope, our vision for the world rests in apathetic mediocrity. Everything rides on hope. It is living hope that spurs us on. Recently, my hope and my joy have been renewed.

I was sitting with my roommate tonight catching up on the events of our day and swapping stories. I found myself laughing, simply laughing and feeling so blessed. Granted, it was absolutely beautiful in Seattle today…75 degrees, sunny and not a cloud in the sky, (we all know that sun makes people happier) but I am going to say that this unexplainable joy is from God. There is a deep joy coming up from the pit of my stomach. My heart is happy. I am experiencing peace. Now let me be clear that my life is by NO means perfect. My life still consists of daily struggles, challenges and unknowns. In fact, the past month has been kinda tough and my future is quite uncertain…but right now I am allowing this peace to sink deep into my bones and letting this joy emerge. It’s a beautiful state to be in, and I believe it is a blessing from His Spirit. Although I have no idea what the future holds, I have an unrelenting hope and peace that comes from knowing that I am not in control.

Bare with me as I try to put my feelings into words... I've been hit in the face with the truth that Christ's redemption is so much more beautiful than perfection. Its amazing… I have seen a lot of things and heard a lot of stories that have hurt my heart and brought me to tears, but nonetheless this feeling of joyful hope persists in the midst of all of life's crap. Some may dismiss this as youthful idealism (and they have..) and maybe even naiivete about the nature of the world, but I don’t see it this way. It is not like I am seeing the world with rose colored glasses and choosing to ignore the bad stuff, but it is more like God has defined my calling to serve in the midst of brokenness and provided deep assurance that He’s got it all taken care of. He is redeeming constantly. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is GOOD. Jesus help the world to radically encounter the joy and hope that only You can give. Help me to forever cling to your Living Hope and let the joy you have given me be contagious. I give my desires and my BHAG’s to You Father knowing that you are in control and that your timing is perfect. Thank you for your faithfulness and for blessing my life beyond measure.

Some JOYFUL music FOR YOU ... here is one more GOOD ONE

13.1 miles... no biggie! haha

I just registered and started training for my first half marathon! ahhhh!! Im going to be running in the Seattle Rock n' Roll on June 27th. Its a pretty cool race because there is a new band playing every mile of the race, and there is a concert at the end. I just finished my first week of training, and besides some really sore calves, I would say its going well.

Training for an endurance event is like nothing I have ever done. I was a volleyball player in college, which involved a lot of anaerobic training. My body was trained for high intensity movements lasting a SHORT period of time (e.g jumping, quickness, agility, sprinting) Long distance running is a different story, and I am pretty sure that my vertical jump will decrease a lot in my preparation for this event :)

My "long" run this week was 7 miles... took me 1 hr. 4 min, not bad. My goal is to run an average of 8 min 30 sec. miles so I've got some improving to do! The scariest part of finishing my long run this week was that I was pretty dang tired by the end, and 7 miles is just over half the distance of the full race!

Nonetheless, I am absolutely loving this challenge! All of my marathon running friends and co-workers have helped me design an awesome training plan to rock the rock and roll ;) Bring it on week 2!

LOVE

“There has never been a greater love,
Than Your Son; no not one
And there will never be a greater love
No not one” - Brandon Heath

Here is an excerpt from Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus on love:
“We are created to know God and to know love. It is love that moves God toward us and love that pulls us toward him. Love is the beginning of all things. From the very beginning you were made for love. It may be hard to accept, but you are the object of God’s love. You were created out of love by him, and though you may not yet realize it, you soul longs to know this love. You are designed to love and to be loved. Our search for intimacy explains our need for community, relationship, friendship and acceptance; it is expressed most deeply in our need for romantic love. We are created to know love and to give love. Our need to love though rooted in God, is not limited to him. Love is not a limited commodity. Love expands as we give it away, and dies when we do not.
Without love there is no life. To love is to be fully human.”

Love is not proud
Love does not boast
Love after all
Matters the most

Love does not run
Love does not hide
Love does not keep
Locked inside

Love never fails you

Love will sustain
Love will provide
Love will not cease
At the end of time

Love will protect
Love always hopes
Love still believes
When you don't

When my heart won't make a sound
When I can't turn back around
When the sky is falling down
Nothing is greater than this

Love is right here
Love is alive
Love is the way
The truth the life

So if everything comes down to love, what am I so afraid of? Maybe not so much scared, but hesitant… I know God’s love, but something in me is being held in. Father, thank you that Your love sets me free. Help me to shake my hesitations. I pray that your abundant, redeeming love is known by all. Help me to reflect and pass on this great love that you have given me in all I do.

The good stuff

I love growing pains, and I fear complacency. It is my constant prayer that I never reach a point of complacency in my life. This season of Lent has stretched me. I am so thankful that through the challenges of this season that so much in me has been renewed. Instead of giving up chocolate, I gave up human approval for Lent. Hindsight tells me that chocolate would have been much easier ☺, but in sacrificing this God has taught me more than I could have imagined…maybe more for a later blog…

Today I was reminded that there is great strength in sitting still. It is hard to just be. It is hard to wait. But, I have learned that my plans pale in comparison to the intricately beautiful vision God has for my life.He blesses in ways we could never imagine. What a beautiful freedom to know that life doesn’t come from our striving; but that all of life is provided to us by God. I am letting grace absolutely drown me. It is shaking my soul and raising me up. God is good.

love this, listen here

Palm Sunday Thoughts

Jesus wept as he entered the city of Jerusalem. While the crowds shouted, "Hosanna!" and praised in jubilation, Jesus says, "if you, even you had only known on this day what would bring you peace-but now it is hidden from your eyes." (Luke 19:42)

The crowds were elated with their coming Messiah and Jesus wept over Jerusalem's impending wounds and destruction. While the people celebrated, Jesus' heart broke in compassion and tenderness. This is a matter of human vs divine perspective to me. What I see, what I hope for, what I think I know is all finite. It is my prayer that my eyes are opened to things unseen. Jesus show me how to love like you, break my heart for what breaks Yours. Help me to know the things that make for peace.

This song so perfectly just started playing on my itunes- "King of the Jew's by Rita Springer.... so good.

Father the time has come when I know that I must leave
Through this sweat and blood and these tears,
Your face I soon will see
Give me strength to be betrayed tonight,
Father defend me and maintain what I have said
As they spit upon me now, crush these thorns into my head
Hear an angry crowd call, “crucify!”

King of the Jews
Carry your cross
Save yourself if you are who you say you are
King of the Jews, unrecognized
Did we hear you say that you would rise?
Sign above your head they all knew
King of the Jews

Father please forgive them,
for they know not what they do
and as these nails go through my hands,
may I feel what they feel too
lost, alone, afraid, in fear of the truth
Father into your hands
I now set my spirit free
and with my head I bow to Your authority

King of the Jews, carry my cross
cause I believe you are who you say you are
The sign above His head still speaks the truth
Still to this day it reads
King of the Jews

Pretty Sweet

My graduate faculty is AMAZING... higher standards with a higher purpose. Check it out
HERE

Defrocked! This will make you think...

Ok, I was first exposed to this news via a friends blog, but I just had to post it on my blog too. (Thanks PB :)

This article is so interesting to me! It is common to witness subjectivity about God, and to hear people profess that the paths to God are many; but I have never heard this declared so specifically between two religions. The quote, "I need bifocals" made me think. This statement implies that Christ is not enough, and that she is at peace only after integrating Islam.
Interesting that she claims that Christianity and Islam "illuminate" each other. It is my prayer that Christ emerges as the only Light for her.


Read it! Whaddaya think?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/02/muslim.minister.defrocked/index.html

Perfectly Unexpected:

The past week has been filled with reminders of the blessings of friends in my life. It has been a time filled with reunions, breakdowns, surprises, celebrating, grieving, remembering, building, and gratefulness. We have all had those moments where you look back on a time and see how perfectly individual events were weaved together. There have been many of these moments, and it has rocked me.

I have found that there are friends of the road, and friends of the heart. There are people who you are friends with for only a season in your life, and these friends of the road come and go. Then there are friends of the heart. These people have enduring and invaluable presence in your life. This week was awesome because I was reunited with friends that I had previously dismissed as friends of the road. These former friends turned out to be true friends of the heart. The coolest thing about this was the realization that every person placed in my life had been placed with intention and purpose; intention and purpose that I could have never imagined. I have been blessed by an unexpected, unpredictable re-emergence of divinely placed friendships.

The truth that we are created to be in relationship was strongly re-affirmed. In the midst of joy and pain this week, I have witnessed God working through the intricacies of my friendships. I have learned hard lessons, been challenged, and refined. I have been called to love in ways that are difficult, but necessary. Most importantly, the works of God’s perfect orchestration have been made evident and point to His abundant love.