Las Chiquitas

God works in ways I cannot even begin to understand.  Today I wanted to devote spending my time in the Word and just embracing the beauty he has created.  I went on a bike ride down to the Coon Rapids dam and found a perfect spot to spend sometime with Jesus.  As I am getting started this is one of the first verses I read: Psalm 1:3
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
   which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
   whatever they do prospers.

I don't know if you caught that... but I am by a river with trees all around... I am in a point in my life where I want to serve Jesus whole heartedly and want to prosper with spreading the good news of Jesus.  Philippians 4:13 "I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

I concluded with my time with a simple prayer: God use me and let your will be done.

Within minutes... two little girls (Las Chiquitas) come and sit by me on the picnic table.  They are smiling and laughing and can barely speak English.  We attempted to talk (I know a little Spanish) they were 4 and 6 years old.  So cute and so innocent.  We talked about Dora the Explorer, Barbies, school and made faces. It was truly a highlight of my day.  The 6 year old looked at me and said, "You look like a Barbie."  Well something deep inside of me sparked and it wouldn't go away.  After a few more minutes of talking I knew what I had to do.  I needed to go home and find some Barbies for these girls.  I knew I had something to just bless them with.  I biked home super fast, grabbed some pretty green beads and found two newer Barbies and headed back to the dam.  I gave them these gifts and said, "Jesus te ama" which means 'Jesus loves you' in Spanish.  Not only did God use me in this situation to demonstrate his unfailing love and show us how important we are to him but blessed me with the incredible feeling to see these little girls faces light up and show their brothers and dads.  Although this was such a simple event in a day it demonstrated God's love for us.  I am truly honored to experience this.

Breathtaking...

Did you happen to see the sky today?  The light passing through the dark clouds?  The light shining down onto this dark world we live in.  This dark world of sin, pain, suffering, greed and hatred.  Sometimes it's hard to understand why God has allowed us to suffer or why things happen.   I read a great book called "Suffering and the Sovereignty of God" by John Piper.  The book describes the ultimate suffering of Jesus and how he bore the sins of the world.

"Suffering is the primary means of building compassion into the lives of God's servants, maximizing our pain in suffering results in showing love to others and honoring God. "  (Excerpts from book)

Sometimes we do not understand why things happen and may be in dark places but I know and am confident that God has a plan and is in control.  Everything happens for a reason!

What? Other countries don't celebrate the 4th of July....

So in response to my last posting, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder, today was a total God thing!  You see, not literally, but a man who is blind came in and played the most beautiful piano music.  He cannot see anything, no colors, no scenery, no people, etc.  However, God gave him the gift of hearing and the talent of being able to play absolutely outstanding piano music as well as an incredible voice.  It was a true gift being able to watch him perform.  I was truly grateful for this small gesture, that I believe was from God.  Again showcasing how each of us are uniquely gifted and talented and loved by an amazing God.  He does not make mistakes!

Today I was extremely blessed to go out to dinner with Brit and my coworker, Lin.  Both of these people I love so much!!  God blesses us with acquaintances and friends but sometimes he blesses you extra special with people you will always have, people who just get you.  It's been a really hard year, especially mentally.  I am just grateful for this new chapter of my life and having my best friends back!!  Thank you God for this day and all the laughs!!

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Do you ever feel like you are not good enough? tall enough? skinny enough? pretty enough? smart enough? the list could go on and on.  Well today was one of those days for me.  A guy told me today that I was f*ing ugly.

I don't know if I have ever been told that.  I mean all people have different preferences and are attracted to others, but never has anyone been so mean.

I try to brush things off, but this was something that really hurt.  Something that someone said... made me feel so terrible inside.  It wasn't until I thought about how God created us in his image.  How God created us so special, so unique and so beautiful.  He made us exactly the way we were suppose to be.  How could I let someone's hateful words affect me when the ONE and ONLY GOD made me and loves me no matter what.  I think of this chapter:

Genesis 1:27 (Whole Chapter)
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them

*Words of hate and anger do not come God.  Negative thoughts and feelings do not either.  God loves us all and we are his beloved.

Here is a song that I love and just talks about seeking God's presence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL1G77iOVpU
Song of Soloman 6:3
³ I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine...

Heaven is for Real

So last night I finally finished reading a book.  I do a great job at starting books but never finishing them.   This book is called, "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo.  It's an amazing story about his son's near death experience and his son's trip to heaven.  This really is a true testament of childlike faith and this little boy, Colton, true faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ. It's a remarkable story of his experiences and how God works through everyone, even young ones. 

1 Timothy 4:12
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.

Mark 10:13-16
13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.

 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little ^achildren to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little ^achild, he shall not enter therein.

 16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and ^ablessed them.

God loves all people and uses all of us; whether you notice it or not!  This is a great book!  If you haven't read it; you should!

Is two better than one?

Why hello :)  This is my first blog ever!  It's pretty exciting if you ask me.  This is a way to communicate and express myself in the ways I see God working.  Sometimes its just small things but its evident that God is moving and working in our lifes! So here it goes!

I just went to a good friends wedding of mine which is a complete miracle in itself!  Out of the billions of people in the world, God has blessed them with finding one another! LOVE <3!

At the end of the ceremony, my friend, Brit, looks at me and says "guess what I got the couple?"  I was like what?  I mean usually its something off the registry... Brit says so proudly,"A fire extinguisher!"  HAHA! I said, "No way, I got them the same thing!"  Yes great minds think alike; great minds who are also accident prone!  Love it!

The reason I tell this story is because it's a. awesome and b. this dear friend just came back from doing mission's in East Asia.  Her father ended up in the hospital while she was on her way back to the states.  She had been gone for almost a year and God planned it perfectly that she would be able to be at the hospital with her dad.  Well, the story gets better.  I had text Brit and told her that I was praying for her and her family and that if she needed anything to let me know.  (I did not know her number had been disconnected and given to someone else.) I received a text back that said, "Who is this?"  and a random number had called me.  I, of course, called this random nmber back and a young lady answered.  She said, "Do I know you?"  I said, "I don't think so." She went on to tell me that I had text her father's number and thought maybe I knew her.  Her boyfriend was in the hospital but in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and will be leaving soon.  She was so grateful for the text.  I SAY HOW COOL!  How cool that God knew that I would send that text thinking to Brit but to someone else in need.  Even if it's something so small, I love it!  Thank you God!