It's been such a long time since I posted! The last time I posted, I hadn't gone on the missions trip with Aim.
The missions trip went really well! Doors were opened- Hopefully, a team will be started in San Jose. We also were able to visit a couple teams and teach them some of our songs.
There were 8 of us total on the trip. Three of the people on the team were from Pennsylvania. The rest of us are on the Aim San Diego team. Having people from two different states come together and work together was such an awesome thing to see. The unity between everyone even though some of us had just met was something God definitely worked out. Even the love for each other and the vulnerability we showed was amazing. Talking about it gets me all excited.
But now, we are all at home. It's been almost a month since we came home. It has been really hard for me to adjust back into "normal" life. All these amazing people that I got close to are either back in Pennsylvania or in San Diego somewhere living their lives. Yeah, I live in San Diego, but even not being able to see them very often is hard after being with them everyday almost 24/7 for two weeks..
On this trip, I wasn't a leader. It was so different. The hardest part about this was not knowing beforehand that this was happening. I guess my inexperience of missions trips didn't help in my thinking that I wouldn't be.. But the day we started, I found out. I also found out that this other girl was supposed to pour into my life. That is hard because I am the type that likes to pour into others. It is hard for me to let others pour into me. This is something I can definitely work on. Anyways, the girl who the leader put to pour into me was amazing, and we became friends pretty fast. I wish we would have had more time to talk and stuffs. Although, we did stay up super late (or early) the night we got back to just talk. :-)
The car rides were kind of one of the best parts. All 8 of us were stuffed with all our things into an 8-seater car. I was sitting in the back with two very outgoing girls. We laughed. A lot. They even came up with their own funny language or whatever. It was quite the experience. The three that sat in the middle of the car were pretty quiet and introverted. The contrast between the bunch in the back of the car and the middle was very funny.
As some of you may know, I am the outgoing introvert. I love people. People are fun to be with. People make me happy. I love serving and working with people. But it wears me out. I need alone time to reenergize. The thing about this trip was, if you were an introvert, you didn't really get any introvert reenergizing time. So dealing with that and the other things going on in my life (including getting sick and working through some relationship problems from back home while on the trip, etc.), it was hard not to get grumpy and moody. God really worked in me and helped me in this area. I couldn't be all grumpy and moody towards everyone just because I wasn't have a great day. Even though things were going on, I couldn't let them affect the way I treated others. It was a good reminder.
One of the most amazing things for me on this trip was the love God gave me for my fellow teammates. It was amazing. He gave me a love that I could tell wasn't my own. It had to have been His. Also, being open with others was cool. I had good conversations with some of the girls on the team. It was nice hearing them be open, getting to know them better, and hopefully, being able to encourage them in some way.
This trip was very cool/amazing/exciting/busy/etc. If you want to hear more about the trip, feel free to check out the blog on Aim's website (aimsandiego.org). I was able to post on there almost every day. There are also pictures on there.
Thanks for reading and have a blessed weekend!!! :-)
Friday, February 27, 2015
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Aim Missions Trip 2015
Hey guys!
So I decided I should probably post and tell you what's been up and all lately.
I decided to go on a missions trip with Aim, the mime team. We will be traveling up the coast of California and back down. Because of this, we trained all day Wednesday and Thursday and half of Friday. Today, we had a service project. And tomorrow, we hit the road after a presentation. We will be heading to San Franciso first.
I would appreciate all of your prayers for the team's health, safety, strength, and relationship with the Lord.
I will be blogging about the trip on Aim's website. Please sign up for the email updates if you wish to stay updated with everything we are doing. You can go to the website (aimsandiego.org) and go to the blog page. From there, you should be able to fill out a form from one of the posts. This will sign you up for the updates.
Well, thanks for reading this post. Have an amazingly blessed week!!
God bless!!
Monday, December 29, 2014
Dear Church...
When most believers think of the Church, what do they think of? A building? A group of Christians? What about when most unbelievers think of the Church? A building?
When people hear the word Christian, what do you think the first thing that comes to mind is?
I feel like people have a twisted vision of the Church and Christians in general. Well, maybe it isn't all that twisted.
Guys, what is a Christian? A follower of Christ, right? When people look at the Church, they should see Christ so very clearly. But what are people seeing?? What a lot of people see is something that repels them. When people look at the Church, they see a lot of hypocrites. They see people who pretend to have it all together but are really falling apart. They don't see love. They see judgment. They see people changing their opinions of the other the second they learn who that person truly is. Doing this tends to close many doors that would otherwise have been open to minister to that person.
Great! Doesn't all that make you want to be a Christian?? Sure! Why wouldn't you want to be a hypocrite that people are repelled by?
Church, what happened? Instead of clearly showing Christ, we have given the world a distorted view of Him. People don't see God as a God of love. By the way we act, He might as well be a God who wants to condemn everyone to hell.
Church, while you mingle in sin, you judge others.
Today, you find it okay to live with someone outside of marriage. The Bible is very clear when it says this is wrong. Yet, it is becoming more and more common in the Church itself. While the Church is caught up in this sin, they still have time to look around and judge others. It seems like a lot of Christians are very judgemental of the gay population. Yes, while I believe the Bible definitely points this out as very wrong, I also believe that it is the Church's job to love these people.
A sin is a sin. No matter how big or small. Yes, some tend to be more of an abomination than others, but as Christians, we are definitely held to a higher standard than others. What makes one way more wrong and worth judging others over than the other? Shouldn't others be the one to judge us because we have lowered our standards so much? Look at 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Think about Jesus's ministry on earth. How did He treat those looked down on? What about the Gentiles? If you look at the story of Jesus with the Samaritan woman, He knew her sin, right? But was He quick to judge? No. He didn't judge. He loved her. And by doing this, many were turned to God.
Think of the impact the Church could have if they loved people. Genuinely loved. If they forgot how to judge others because of their looks, beliefs, and lifestyles.
What if Christians would take a look into their own lives and ask God to help them stop living in sin and instead walk in Christ. In love.
Now, I know all Christians are not judgemental and living with someone they aren't married to. But I believe these are two things that are becoming more and more common in the Church today. And I believe that we should do something about it. The change should start with you. With me.
When people hear the word Christian, what do you think the first thing that comes to mind is?
I feel like people have a twisted vision of the Church and Christians in general. Well, maybe it isn't all that twisted.
Guys, what is a Christian? A follower of Christ, right? When people look at the Church, they should see Christ so very clearly. But what are people seeing?? What a lot of people see is something that repels them. When people look at the Church, they see a lot of hypocrites. They see people who pretend to have it all together but are really falling apart. They don't see love. They see judgment. They see people changing their opinions of the other the second they learn who that person truly is. Doing this tends to close many doors that would otherwise have been open to minister to that person.
Great! Doesn't all that make you want to be a Christian?? Sure! Why wouldn't you want to be a hypocrite that people are repelled by?
Church, what happened? Instead of clearly showing Christ, we have given the world a distorted view of Him. People don't see God as a God of love. By the way we act, He might as well be a God who wants to condemn everyone to hell.
Church, while you mingle in sin, you judge others.
Today, you find it okay to live with someone outside of marriage. The Bible is very clear when it says this is wrong. Yet, it is becoming more and more common in the Church itself. While the Church is caught up in this sin, they still have time to look around and judge others. It seems like a lot of Christians are very judgemental of the gay population. Yes, while I believe the Bible definitely points this out as very wrong, I also believe that it is the Church's job to love these people.
A sin is a sin. No matter how big or small. Yes, some tend to be more of an abomination than others, but as Christians, we are definitely held to a higher standard than others. What makes one way more wrong and worth judging others over than the other? Shouldn't others be the one to judge us because we have lowered our standards so much? Look at 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Think about Jesus's ministry on earth. How did He treat those looked down on? What about the Gentiles? If you look at the story of Jesus with the Samaritan woman, He knew her sin, right? But was He quick to judge? No. He didn't judge. He loved her. And by doing this, many were turned to God.
Think of the impact the Church could have if they loved people. Genuinely loved. If they forgot how to judge others because of their looks, beliefs, and lifestyles.
What if Christians would take a look into their own lives and ask God to help them stop living in sin and instead walk in Christ. In love.
Now, I know all Christians are not judgemental and living with someone they aren't married to. But I believe these are two things that are becoming more and more common in the Church today. And I believe that we should do something about it. The change should start with you. With me.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Gen-J SATs
Hey y'all!
It's been a while... I have been crazy busy. I miss blogging though!
I have had a few awesome opportunities of going to help on a few election campaigns in the last couple months. I am actually leaving for my third and final one of the year tomorrow morning.
In October, I went to Colorado and encouraged people to vote. I went door to door and did some phone banking. It was a great experience. The next month, I got to go to Florida to work on Rick Scott's campaign. I did the same sort of thing. It was really cool also. I got to go to his victory part- so cool and exciting watching all the votes come in from all over!!! Now, I will be going to Louisiana to help with the runoff election. It should be another great experience for me.
Well, that's all I have time for now. Please keep me in your prayers especially this week as I will be traveling and going as a representative of the Lord.
Thanks everyone!!!!
Have an amazingly blessed month of December!!!!!
It's been a while... I have been crazy busy. I miss blogging though!
I have had a few awesome opportunities of going to help on a few election campaigns in the last couple months. I am actually leaving for my third and final one of the year tomorrow morning.
In October, I went to Colorado and encouraged people to vote. I went door to door and did some phone banking. It was a great experience. The next month, I got to go to Florida to work on Rick Scott's campaign. I did the same sort of thing. It was really cool also. I got to go to his victory part- so cool and exciting watching all the votes come in from all over!!! Now, I will be going to Louisiana to help with the runoff election. It should be another great experience for me.
Well, that's all I have time for now. Please keep me in your prayers especially this week as I will be traveling and going as a representative of the Lord.
Thanks everyone!!!!
Have an amazingly blessed month of December!!!!!
Friday, October 31, 2014
There is much controversy about whether or not humans came from nothingness or if they were actually created. Evolutionists believe that man is nothing more than an “advanced” animal. Creationists believe that God created man for a reason and a purpose. I am going to briefly discuss both of these views, and then maybe by the end you will see which one would make more sense.
Evolutionists believe in the big bang: matter exploding and then life suddenly evolving. First of all, where did the energy come from to cause such a big mass of matter to explode? They do not know. Second, how could life suddenly come out of, well, something that doesn’t have life? Yeah, they say it evolved, but who wants to tell me how an explosion caused life to suddenly start evolving. And then there is the whole thing of since when does an explosion create order? So, evolutionists are pretty much saying, “Hey guys, we dropped a bomb on a junk yard and it cleaned it all up and created cars, houses, and other useful items because of the energy caused by an explosion.” How does that even make sense?!
Creationists believe that God made the world and created humans. Now, I know to some people that thought is crazy. God?! Since when is there a God? All I have to say is look around you. When you see a painting, what do you think? Did the painting just happen or did there have to be an artist painting it? Now think about that instead with the world. The earth is amazingly made. It doesn’t look like a result of an explosion. How is there so much order and beauty? Did that just evolve? If God really did create the world and humans, think about the difference it could have on a person’s way of thinking. Also think about what that would mean for humans. That would give us a purpose. The Bible says we are made in the image of God. If this is true, that means we have souls and spirits because God also does. This also would mean we are above the animals. After all, animals aren’t made in the image of God. The same goes for plants.
All I’m trying to say is look around you. Is all this here only by chance? Or is there something more to all this? Maybe people don’t want to believe in a Creator because they would have someone to answer to. If we are just highly advanced animals, we wouldn’t have to answer to anyone. Think about it.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
A Spa for your Soul
This past weekend, I went on a retreat with some women from my church.
The weekend was called- A Spa for your Soul. It was a time of encouragement and relaxation for many of the ladies.
I love our women's retreats because you go and feel so loved and appreciated by all the ladies. You can be yourself without worrying about being judged.
At the retreat, I wouldn't really say I learned anything, but I would say that it was encouraging.
I tried to be a blessing and encouragement to others also.
:-)
The weekend was called- A Spa for your Soul. It was a time of encouragement and relaxation for many of the ladies.
I love our women's retreats because you go and feel so loved and appreciated by all the ladies. You can be yourself without worrying about being judged.
At the retreat, I wouldn't really say I learned anything, but I would say that it was encouraging.
I tried to be a blessing and encouragement to others also.
:-)
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Dear Friend...
I recently took some time by myself and started writing. This is what came out.
I have a heart for the hurting. It came out of my heart. I am thinking about writing something like this for those who do not know the love of God or His Son.
Thanks for reading. <3
Dear Friend,
Why are you doing this to yourself?
When I think of your plight, my heart hurts for you. It breaks for you. So, if you will, please listen carefully to my words.
You are loved. You are loved more than you can even imagine. Look around- even if it may not always seem like it, your family loves you so very much. You mean the world to them. And where your family may fall short, always remember there is a God above who loves you so much. More than anyone is even capable of loving you.
You are needed. You have a purpose and a plan. Satan will do everything in hi power to keep you from fulfilling it. Someone once told me something to the effect that- maybe the reason for all these struggles is because Satan is doing all in his power to keep you from becoming who you were meant to be.
You are not worthless. You have so much worth. You have the ability to touch, bless, and encourage those around you. And you do even if you can not see it. And if that's not enough, think of this- God sent His Son to die for you because He looked down and saw how beautiful, precious, and special you are.
So, my dear friend, put down that knife. Do not listen to the lies of the Devil and other in your life who don't want to see God work through you to fulfill His purpose and plan for your life.
There is hope.
Do not leave this earth before God is ready to take you home. It isn't for you to decide. Leave it to Him to hold your life in His hands because His timing and plan are so perfect.
Please hand in there and do not be afraid to cry out to HIM, the Comforter and Savior. And do not be afraid to seek people to encourage and pray for you.
You are not alone.
Remember, your worth is priceless- so very precious.
I have a heart for the hurting. It came out of my heart. I am thinking about writing something like this for those who do not know the love of God or His Son.
Thanks for reading. <3
Dear Friend,
Why are you doing this to yourself?
When I think of your plight, my heart hurts for you. It breaks for you. So, if you will, please listen carefully to my words.
You are loved. You are loved more than you can even imagine. Look around- even if it may not always seem like it, your family loves you so very much. You mean the world to them. And where your family may fall short, always remember there is a God above who loves you so much. More than anyone is even capable of loving you.
You are needed. You have a purpose and a plan. Satan will do everything in hi power to keep you from fulfilling it. Someone once told me something to the effect that- maybe the reason for all these struggles is because Satan is doing all in his power to keep you from becoming who you were meant to be.
You are not worthless. You have so much worth. You have the ability to touch, bless, and encourage those around you. And you do even if you can not see it. And if that's not enough, think of this- God sent His Son to die for you because He looked down and saw how beautiful, precious, and special you are.
So, my dear friend, put down that knife. Do not listen to the lies of the Devil and other in your life who don't want to see God work through you to fulfill His purpose and plan for your life.
There is hope.
Do not leave this earth before God is ready to take you home. It isn't for you to decide. Leave it to Him to hold your life in His hands because His timing and plan are so perfect.
Please hand in there and do not be afraid to cry out to HIM, the Comforter and Savior. And do not be afraid to seek people to encourage and pray for you.
You are not alone.
Remember, your worth is priceless- so very precious.
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