Desiring God

God tells me I'm not alone. Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:1–3)

God tells me he will always help me.
I lift up my eyes to the hills —
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip —
he who watches over you will not slumber;
Indeed, he who watches over Israel
 will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you —
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm —
he will watch over your life;
The Lord will watch over your coming and going
 both now and forevermore.
(Psalm 121)

God tells me he has called me for his purpose.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

God tells me nothing in this world is better than knowing Him.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:8–11,14)
God tells me He is more concerned about my heart than my face.
Man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

God tells me he gave his only Son for my sins.
Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:3–5)

God tells me he has a good plan for my life.
For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

God tells me he is changing me to be more like him.
And we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed in the same image from one degree of glory to another. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

God tells me nothing can separate me from his love.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us for the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38–39)

God tells me his grace is enough.
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9–10)

God tells me I have hope.
We rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the holy Spirit who has been given to us. But God shows his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:3–4, 8)

God tells me he is good.
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34)

God tells me that this life is short, but I'll live forever with him.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:7,16–18)

Operation Christmas Child

This past week at SYTE, we packed boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We are excited to give the 139 boxes to children in need around the world. It was a great reminder to be thankful and grateful for all that we have and need to bless others. Pray they would come to know and love Jesus as we give them a small gift of toys, candy, and health supplies.

 

 

 

 

Come Away

Come away with Me, Come away with Me
It's never too late, it's not too late
It's not too late for you

I have a plan for you
I have a plan for you
It's gonna be wild
It's gonna be great
It's gonna be full of Me

Open up your heart and let Me in 

-Jesus Culture

Here's a song by Jesus Culture that really spoke to me in London...hope it encourages you too. 

As I've been driving in the car for several hours a day, I listen mostly to worship music or podcasts from Mars Hill. Gotta love Mark Driscoll's Esther series. One of the messages has challenged my thinking...in every decision, ask "will this bring God the most glory?" or glory to myself?

C. J. Mahaney’s Humility says, “No one can ever say they’re humble. All they could say is that they’re a proud person pursuing humility by the grace of God.” Amen...let's keep praying for the Holy Spirit to clothe us with humility and consider others better than ourselves.

Seattle is feeling more like home each day. Thankful for afternoon tea with friends (English breakfast tea, crumpets, and pumpkin scones!) and dinner with my Aunt and Uncle's family. I'm surviving the freezing weather...35 degrees right now! Hawaii in one week...thank you Lord! You always provide rest in your perfect timing.

Thankful

I am thankful for the little things...

pumpkin spice lattes. colorful leaves. writing my blog in coffee shops. seasons. old friends. costume parties. trick or treating. SYTE. making mochi with Grandma. family time. running into family at grocery stores. phone calls from places far away. reading good books. dancing to music in the car. walking the dog. encouraging letters.

Lord, thank you for watching over me.

A picture of my youth group...

Hawaii

I can't believe I'm going back to Hawaii in 3 weeks...I can't wait! Thank you Lord!

Family, old friends, beach, sand, sun, palm trees, shave ice, surfing, 80 degree weather, ono grindz, relaxing in paradise...

It's been 2 years since I've been back...summer 2010. It's crazy how the years fly by. I am so thankful to spend time with Mom, Dad, and Puppers for Thanksgiving. After living in London for a year and exploring the world, there's really no place like home.

 

Thanksgiving 2008

Family

One thing I love about home is being with family...

My bro Jesse and his lovely wife Andriana...they make a great couple and act a bit goofy!

I love fall leaves. Can't get enough :)

Went to the zoo with my Auntie Margie

UW game with the fam...go huskies!!!

Strolling around Green Lake...my favorite spot in Seattle with Starbucks :)

SYTE

SYTE. Serving Youth on The Eastside.

I'm excited to take on this new role of Youth Ministry Director Intern! A new adventure. :) I used to be in the youth group when I was 12 years old...Pastor Wayne baptized me and now he's my mentor! During youth, I was apart of the first SYTE band and played drums and guitar...now there's SYTE Band 3G (3rd generation). I look forward to giving back to the youth group that helped my faith grow and mature over the years. I'm still best friends with some of the friends I knew 10 years ago. I pray I will develop close relationships with the other SYTE advisors, get to know each of the youth, and God will use me in ways I never could have imagined.

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." -1 Timothy 4:12

This is my prayer-that I will set an example in speech, love, faith, and purity.