Pray for Caleb!

A sweet family from my hometown needs prayers! Please lift them up and have your friends/family/ anyone you know cry out to the Lord for this family as well.

                                           

Their adorable little boy is on a waiting list to receive a heart, and with each day that passes he's getting sicker. Please pray that little Caleb gets a heart soon, for strength for his momma and poppa and all the people in his life that love him and are waiting for him to get better as well, and for all the people following this family's story and witnessing the amazing trust this family has in God as they continue to love and trust Him through this time.

You can read updates about Caleb at thekinnairds.blogspot.com.

People: What Truly Matters

I've been reminiscing a lot lately. Looking through old family albums, facebook photos, report cards;  I even read Oh, The Places You'll Go, a gift from my parents after graduating high school. I think this re-evalution of my life has begun because I'm not exactly sure where I'm going next, or what the future holds..kind of a scary thought when I forget to remind myself that my future is in God's hands, and I don't need to worry.

So on my path of reminiscence, I came across a photo of my friends and I at a bonfire on the beach. I suddenly thought about how much I love those people and what a treasure it was to get to spend precious time with such beauties. And then I read the comment I made underneath the picture.... something about how beautiful the mountains were in the background. REALLY?? That's what stuck out to me at the time...the mountains??? Myself now is a little appalled. But it's the people that matter!! Not the mountains!



Photot Credit: David Canales                                                   

As I think back to my time over the last year and a half, I am so blessed! Yes, the hikes were great, the scenery was incredible, and the slow and easy pace of the city made it easy to breathe and take life in one moment at a time. But none of tthose things would mean anything without love and relationships..hmm 1 Corinthians ringing a bell to anyone else?

I don't know who I like more, the girls or the dog. :)
 Just Kidding!! People, everyone! People!

The people I met and grew to love the past year and a half are so important to me. Bonfires and pretty views can be created lots of places, but true friendships with wonderful people, well I think I really lucked out.

When people ask me how my time in Alaska was, I hope I repy with something about the beauty of the hearts of the people I met, the people who left huge impressions on my heart.

 

We could be sisters, right? The sweetest child!

Jen and I are still working on the plaid project....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Missing This Girl

One of my favorie things about summer last year was spending time with this girl:

 

 

Audrey is one of the most fun, caring, and laid back people I know! She made my last few months in Anchorage a blast! She was always up for an adventure and willing to drive with me all over the place looking for one! We hiked/ ran Winner Creek one morning before work. I was so excited to show her the Butt Tree and talked up the 'big surprise' our whole hike. Unfortunately we walked right past it twice without noticing. Sorry Audrey! Go back and take photos with the Butt for me!

This photo was taken by my friend Kat...I stole it from her to give you a better picture of the tree in all it's glory. She also made a great calendar of the tree decorated accordingly for each month! She is so creative.

 

Here's a photo of my friend Nikki and I with the Butt Tree last Winter. It's a little iced over. And notice how much snow there is!

 

Audrey also threw not 1, but 2 parties for me (what a good friend!) this summer, along with cooking up some very delicious dishes! I think the oreo truffles were my favorite...or the pretzel bites. It's too close to call. We had lots of adventures together, but my favorites will just be talking with her at night (that is when I wasn't making too many noises with my mattress by slighlty wiggling a toe or finger) and laughing together while we watched Parks and Rec at the end of long days.

 

I love you Audrey! I miss you so very much but I know you're blessing your new roomies with you awesomeness just like you blessed me this summer. :) 

 

 

 

 

 

A Weekend of Friends

This weekend has been a break from working and school to enjoy my favorite part of life...spending time with friends! This weekend four of my closest friends from college came to visit (we missed you Jess!!). We met up where it all began...Marion, Indiana.

I met Melissa and Alisha my first week of college...all scared freshmen! Actually, I remember being introduced to everyone on what seemed like an enormous team at the time, and immediately decided I wouldn't worry about differentiating between these girls' similar names. Little did I know that these girls from Michigan would grow to be my closest friends. Linda and I met our freshamn year as well, but a little later in the semester. I invited her to join my family and I for Thanksgiving as she lived too far to go home for the short weekend. I guess it's impossible to spend a Holiday with my crazy family and not permenantly become part of it. (I actually can still vividly recall Linda sleeping away on the living room furniture as the men in my family cheered loudly watching a football game and the boys wrestled in the middle of the floor. If only she had known what she was getting her self into...).

Through the years Linda, Melissa, Alisha and I shared many adventures together. Linda became our biggest supporter as we ran (again..crazy) each weekend and ended up joining us for several races by the end of our college career. Our reunion weekend was full of laughter and catching up and celebrating milestones and new beginnings. It was so good to see these girls and be reminded of how truly blessed I am to have such close, Godly women in my life. Leaving our close community of friends after graduating proved how difficult it is to find friends that you can truly connect with. I'm excited to cheer these girls on as we continue to move through life together. <3

Sunday afternoon was a day of relaxing and catching up on work neglected from the weekend. After wrapping up most of my homework by 8pm, Linda and Tyler stopped by. Together we enjoyed apple crisp and a pretty competitive game of Blokus! These unexpected visits are my favorite! I love when friends feel comfortable enough to stop by unannounced for a short time of visiting and enjoying each others company. Amy and I were so blessed to host friends most nights our last year of college..and I've missed that steady flow of familiar faces and laughter. The weekend wrapped up with a Monday dinner visit from Scottie and Zoey!

 It was so good to spend time with friends this weekend and be reminded of what's truly important in life. Admist projects and papers I can sometimes lose myself to the stress of admittedly little things. Thank you friends for making these last few days full of smiles and happy times :)
 

A Day Off

Well, it has been a very long time since I've posted anything here. However, after making lots of changes over the past year and not wanting to forget any of these experiences, I have decided to keep a 'virtual scrapbook' or 'diary' if you will, that I can look back on in years to come. And hopefully this will be a better attempt to stay in touch with my dear friends who I do not contact often enough....I truly do love and think about you often even if it has been months since we've talked!

I movd back to Marion a little over a week ago and I can honostly say things have been very busy since then! I had originally planned to stay in Anchorage as long as possible to spend time with friends and co-workers I knew I would not be able to see for a very long time. What I did not consider was that I would need a few days to adjust to a new time zone and get settled into my new home before classes and work started. The result:

Yes, I have been working and learning here for about 10 days now and I have yet to finish unpacking my boxes. Whenever I do get a free minute from reading (the amount of reading in grad school is insane!) or working I have been spending my time either catching my breath or visiting with old friends. I think those things are important enough to put off a little unpacking for.... but not too much longer. Despite being terribly unorganized most of the time I am ready to walk into a room that has everything in its place with no extra work needed!

On Saturday I took a short study break and biked across the street to Goodwill. I was hoping to find some fabric for curtains and came across a few other treasures while I was there! The only downfall to not having a car is that not everything fits so nicely on my back!


The shelf tied nicely to the top of my backpack, although it made for a wide load!

I'm off to study...but be looking for later posts about my adventures in Alaska! I have some great photos from when my good friend Linda came to visit and we tried our hand at cross country skiing!
 

The Kingdom of God is SO Big!

Oh how God is working in amazing ways in Anchorage! First, I want to update you on the kids club we've been holding in a nearby trailer park. The community we've been reaching out to is Southwood Manner. Twice a week for an hour and a half we provide snacks and games for 10-30 kids. We've gotten to know our group of 'regulares' really well, and the kids are always excited for us to come back. We're praying and talking about ways to stay involved in the community at Southwood this Winter and Fall, so you can all be praying too that as we seek God's plans for the community He provides us with opportunities and openings to reach out not only to the kids but the adults as well. One of the things we're hoping to start is a tutoring program in the Fall that would not only help the kids with homework (and continue developing relationships with the kids from our summer club) but also share stories about Jesus with them...our ultimate goal. :) I am so excited for the things God has in store for the trailer park community, and so blessed to be part of sharing His kingdom there.
God has been doing lots of things in the lives of His followers here too! Every Thursday from 7-10pm , one of our leaders opens up a section of the church and designates time for prayer and solitude alone with God. After a busy week of constantly being surrounded and pouring into others, it is so great to sit in the presence of God and just completely rest in Him. Last Thursday at prayer night we got the opportunity to pray for healing over one of the guys in our group...it was awesome! I've never prayed over someone like that before, and it was so cool to see the body of Christ fervently praying for a another member to be restored from spiritual burdens. Last night we went to our friend Alana's house to pray for three different young women who are leaving for long and short term missions trips in the next week. It was so exciting to participate in lifting up and sending out disciples who are eager to spread God's word all over the world.  After lifting them up in prayer we worshiped God through song for the rest of the night. I can't explain how encouraging it is to be surrounded by so many people who are earnestly pursuing the Lord. I am so blessed to be surrounded by such a great community of Christians here. More to come soon!!



Right before my first hike; Rabbit Lake Trail




We camped right beside this beautiful lake that reflected the mountains.



Our campsite



We went to Seward to celebrate the 4th of July and hiked up Exit Glacier. This is the view from 2.5 miles up..where there was snow on the ground and it was still warm!



It was just dark enough to light up the sky with fireworks at midnight before the 4th.

Mount Marathon, a crazy trail race up this mountain, is held in Seward every year on the fourth. Runners scramble up the mountain and race back down as fast as they can. This is only a race for either the very talented or slightly insane..it was crazy to watch athletes come down covered in rock and mud.

Last Friday we hiked up Little O'Malley. This is the view of the mountains on a beautifully clear day!

I think I'm bleeding peanut butter...or you could have just eaten a reese cup.

After 23 hours of traveling from Indy to Phoenix to Anchorage, I was tired but happy as Ryan, Anne, and Jason welcomed me to Alaska. As soon as we pulled out from the airport, the snow-capped mountains were visible. I still can't get over the view every time I walk out our front door and see the mountains in the distance. It's breath taking!

A few of the beautiful girls I'm living with this summer!

I'm living in an office complex with 11 other interns. We live right next door to the church, which is a convenient 30 second walk away. The interns I'm working with are absolutely wonderful and extremely encouraging. The summer is based on developing redemptive relationships, which means that we are to go out into the community and develop friendships with the people we work with and meet. This was really hard for me the first few days in Anchorage, because I felt like I didn't really have a purpose..I was ready to jump in and start projects and helping people. However, as the week went on the Lord assured me that He does have plans for me this summer...actually He overwhelmed me with the plans He has.

Yes, we do have a shower! (Amy, this is to put Grammy's mind at ease).

The Lord has shown me lots of different places I can work and love on His children this summer...so many I'm not sure exactly where to begin (don't worry as the summer goes on I'll post updates!) A few interns and I were walking downtown a few days ago and passed a mission in town that works with at risk youth and teens. I walked in and was able to talk to three different directors! The pastor at our church also met with me and a couple other girls to discuss starting a trailer park ministry, focusing on providing games and food for kids in the trailer park. We'll be going to visit the families there and seeing how much interest there might be early this week, so please be praying for the families and children we'll be working with!

In my devotions last week a theme kept standing out to me: The measure of salvation isn't how much time we spend doing tasks or serving (what we so often make our Christian lives about), but about the time we spend abiding in Him. We are to seek out the Lord everyday as our first priority. In a book I'm reading, the author talks about how his mother in-law spends two hours by her bed every morning alone with the Lord, and just thinking about that time alone with Him during the day makes her tear up with love and anticipation of the next morning. Wow, how I long for a relationship with the Lord where I can't wait to spend long periods of time with Him!

We went to the mudflats Friday night..it was 10:30 and still light! And check out those mountains in the background!

Samat and Ryan built a great fire on the beach.

This was from the farmer's market downtown that goes on every weekend over the summer. Jason was chosen as an extra in the magician's show...he was perfect for the job!

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. -Albert Einstein

     I was sitting on the balcony of our lodge on Sunday with a precious little girl in my lap and a sweet little boy sitting next to me while we played a game in the beautiful sunshine...and in that wonderful moment as I was thinking of all the ways God has blessed me this year and how much I love the people in Marion, I realized it was all coming to an end faster than I was ready for.
     I went into my senior year expecting life to be a little less exciting than years past (my roomate and close friends had graduated and moved on to adult life). However, God provided a ton of other places and opportunities for me to spend my time. I landed jobs tutoring at the high school and an elementary school a few days during the week. I met new friends and developed new relationships with those I hadn't been close to in years past. God provided me not only with a great support system of friends and a wonderful church (I <3 8th Street Wesleyan), but He provided me with people to love and care for. As I was sitting on the balcony I realized I would only have a few more days to spend playing with the kids I met in town, loving them and pouring into their lives. I only have one more Sunday left with my adopted church family, who has been such a source of strength and encouragement to me for the past 3 years.
     SO these past few days I've been sullenly thinking about how little time I have for all the things I still have left to do..people to see, assignments to complete, and packing to finish. As a person who doesn't handle change well (Steve Martin in Father of the Bride....that's me), I was afraid transitioning from four years of college to what seems like a whole new world was going to be difficult. But a few things I've been reading these past few days have brought me hope and encouragement to press on to the next adventure in life.

In Phillipians 3:13, Paul says, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead."

And Francis Chan says in his book Crazy Love, "Lukewarm people think about life on Earth much more often than eternity in Heaven." But in Colossians 3:2 it says , "Set your minds on things above, not on Earthly things."

As much as I want to stay right where I am, living in Marion where my life is, I know that the Lord has adventures for me somewhere else. If I keep my mind and heart focused on my future in Heaven, I don't need to worry about my future here on Earth, where life is so temporary. So as I embark on this next phase of life in a totally new environment, my prayer is that as I'm focusing on God and glorifying Him I can love the people in my new community. I'll try and regularly update you all on my adventures in Anchorage. Thank you for your wonderful support and encouragement...you mean so much to me. :)

Savaji and Jereny hanging out at our place after church.

Zoey and I with our girls @ Ivanhoes for Jada's birthday.

Weekend on the farm with the boys.

God's Awesome Promise

Sometimes when I'm sitting in chapel or church with my Bible and notebook pulled out, I get this feeling that I'm fitting the "Christian stereotype." You know, the good little girl that writes down everything the preacher is saying but never takes another glance at what she wrote. I wonder if it's even worth it to write down my thoughts or the things God is teaching me. But tonight, like many other nights, when I just don't know where to turn to in my Bible I open up my notebook and look through old sermons or thoughts I've jotted down and it becomes clear why I like to record things on paper (plus my horrible memory requires it). God is so powerful teaches us lessons over and over again. I just wanted to share one of the pages I was reading because I think it's something everyone has struggled with at one time or another, and a good reminder of how much God loves us. It's hardest for me to seek God when I'm in sin because of the guilt I feel, but that's when I need Him the most. Pray always. Never let a moment with God pass because of feelings of unworthiness. We are all unworthy, and God loves us inspite of that.

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Right before this verse, the Bible says "If we claim to be without sin we are liars." Everyone has sinned. We are not unique in this way, but we don't have to stay here. Our sin should not hold us back or keep us from pursuing God, because God can overcome sin. I have the hardest time with guilt. I just can't accept that my sin is completely gone. Instead, I let Satan dangle it over me and keep me from seeking God. I let him make me feel unworthy and dirty. And while on my own those things are true, God frees me from them. He purifies us and forgives us. God doesn't hold our sin over our heads. He forgives us and continues to shape us and mold us and love and seek our hearts. God is love ,and this is His expression of love to us.

Dominican Republic

Spending a week in the Dominican was an indescribable experience. I've been home for almost a month now, and I still remember everything like it was yesterday. It was amazing to be given the opportunity to work harder than I ever had in my life for someone else. That's one of the cool things about a mission trip. You work incredibly hard for the benefit of someone else. It feels good to know that the little I accomplished while in the Dominican was really a big help to the mission. God really works through His people when they're willing to give themselves to Him.
My favorite part of the trip was meeting so many people who are passionate about God. I've read about persecution all over the world because of a person's faith, so I knew that there are people in other countries who are Christians too; but I never really connected with the fact that there are people all over the world who worship the same God I do. All the people we met were so excited that we were visiting their country and hugged or kissed us. They didn't realize that we were probably more excited about worshipping with them in their tiny, Spanish-speaking churches than they were to have us as guests. My favorite people were the ones we stayed with at the camp. Local Dominicans worked with us during the week, and they had a great time making fun of our attempts to communicate with them. There were a bunch of kids who lived in the neighborhood around the camp and would wait for any of the Americans by the surrounding fence during the evening, and some of them even helped us work during the hot day.
I wouldn't trade my experience in the Dominican for anything. God showed me that His hands work all over the world. He has put a passion in my heart to help His children. I pray that I will return to the Dominican soon to see the friends I made there and that God will send me somewhere in my future where I can show others God's love the way the Dominicans showed it to our group.

Track Apprehension

Track officially starts tomorrow. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it. Sometimes I'm excited because of the relationships I know will emerge from the season, I'll get to hangout with Kristina more, and I'll be more healthy. Then there are the times I dread running after school everyday. Honostly, I think I'm just scared I'm not going to have a good season. I worked hard during the summer and feverishly prayed that God would use me during cross country as a positive role model and an encourager, and if it was His will for me to have the ability to run fast, that I would always give him the glory. He did give me an incredible xc season. I grew so close to my team and my times dropped in almost every race. It was a season that was definitely blessed by God. After working out this winter, I'm scared my track season isn't going to be as good. I want to feel like I did in the summer- that even if I didn't run fast, I would still praise the Lord for giving me the opporunity to run. But now I'm scared that if it's not in God's plan for me to be fast, I'm going to feel really down and frustrated. I guess to everyone who reads this, I would really appreciate it if you prayed that God would guide me through this season, and whether I run good times or not, I always display a Christ-like attitude. I want to be a disciple for God, so pray that I always rejoyce in the gifts He has given me and I use the opportunities He gives me this Spring for His glory.
-Hope

At Last!

Hey everybody! I think I finally learned how to set up my own blog. Right now I'm giving myself a pat on the back.(lol) OK, I guess I just use this like a journal entry, right?
Dear diary, today at school I aced my test and was voted best driver by the whole school ................ jk. I'm really bad at jokes, but humor me and laugh. I'm going to get off now before I bore myself and you guys. When any enlightening thoughts come along, I'll post them. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!