Wait.

"Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
 My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.

 O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge."

 

(Psalm 62:5-8)

 

God has allowed me to wait quietly before Him in this process of calling me to Houston this year. 

 

After living the majority of my life in Massachusetts, going to school at the University of Virginia, doing Urban Project in Los Angeles,CA twice, this past summer enjoying the Colorado Project in Fort Collins, CO, and finally ending up in Houston Texas, I have had the privilege to experience different parts of the United States.  Along, the way I have been blessed with amazing family and friends who love me and care for me.  Thank you!!!

 

 

I wonder?

• I wonder when I will rest in God's presence daily?
• I wonder how I will have the strength to serve and love my community well?
• I wonder what the message of my life would be?

"Farther along we'll know all about it
 Farther along we'll understand why
 So, cheer up my brothers, live in the sunshine
 We'll understand this, all by and by"

So when I am overwhelmed with all the wonder questions in my life,

I wonder how God, the Creator of the universe,
can love me as His beloved daughter?

allow God's love to wonder into your heart today

Serving at St. John's Downtown Church

I will be serving at St. John's Downtown church in Houston! My program

begins this Friday August 31st.  Enjoy the above video of Pastor

Juanita's amazing story.

check out the webiste for more info

http://www.stjohnsdowntown.org/

Home sweet Home!

Updated address 2611 Tierwester Street! (not Dennis)

Houston here I am!

I will be spending the next week with one of my best friends (freshmen year roommate at UVA!) and then will begin my program next friday on August 31,2012!

It was 4 years ago on July 10, 2008 at Galveston Island Beach, TX that she shared the Gospel with me and I accepted Christ into my heart!

^" Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them."

John 14: 23

 

with Christ in your heart. many houses...always at home

 

Reflections of my road trip (final week!)

This past week I stopped to visit one of my friends and former strength coaches in Atlanta.  I was able to see her gym and get a good workout in.  We ate dinner, watched a movie, and met some other Mission Year staff members from the headquearters in Atlanta.  The movie we watched was "Mr. Hollands Opus."  (watch it below!). I found it very inspiring and reflected on the movie quote,
"We are the music of your life."
As I am on my journey to another part of the country I am reminded of those who I have said "cya later" to without knowing the next time I am going to see them. 
Who is the music of my life? Who have I impacted? What example am I leaving people with?

 The next day I headed to Tuscaloosa Alabama to see one of my AIA staff friends who I met at the Impact conference this past winter.  We attended her church Bible study, went to breakfast at a local place, and drove around town.  I am so thankful to be able to reconnect with the Athletes in Action family! Tonight I am visiting Baton Rouge, Louisiana to see another AIA staff friend who I met this past summer at Colorado Project.  My journey on the road is coming to an end and I will be arriving in Houston tomorrow!

 

Reflections of the road trip (week 2)

So after spending the weekend in Shippensburg,PA I continued my trip to Baltimore, MD to see one of my best friends/fellow AIA staff member, we enjoyed celebrating the news of her engagement this past weekend! (Congrats Alli and Cole!).  I also had the opportunity to reconnect with 2 of my favorite rowers from UVA and enjoyed a nice home-cooked meal. 

My journey continued to Cville (Charlottesville,VA) home of the University of Virginia.  I was able to connect with former classmates, athletes, friends, roommates, and coaches.  I began the week by spending some time in a local Barnes and Noble/starbucks and decided to take the "strengthfinders" test by Tom Rath.  As it turns out the results didn't surprise me, haha.  My top five strengths included Positivity, Belief, Developer, Includer, and Activator.  Basically, this means that I am enthusiastic and get others excited about what I'm doing, work through a defined purpose in life, recognize and cultivate the potential in others, make an effort to include everyone, and last but not least love to turn thoughts into action (but most of the time this leads me to be impatient about the process of things haha).  The next day I enjoyed 2 great meals at Bodo's bagels and Baja Bean then headed for the Virginia blood services location to donate blood.  I enjoyed talking with the ladies there and it came to my attention how 1 nice person or 1 smile can brighten your day.  I left the center with 3 free tshirts and wonderful snacks (for anyone who is elgible to donate blood I would highly recommend it...even if your scared of needles it is worth it!).  That night I headed to meet up with the community group from Portico church which I

have attended throughout colllege. 

 Our group includes people from different walks of life including young children and parents!  We made s'mores and shared the adventures of our summers.  The next day I enjoyed a breakfast with a student, lunch with my former media relations coordinator for softball, and I was off to the dentist for one more teeth cleaning. I ended up getting an encouraging "God speed" and a couple of balloons (I know I'm not a little kid anymore but who doesn't like balloons and stickers!). 

Then I headed to hang out with one of my former roommates.  We went for a walk around grounds, dinner, and ended the night with neon bowling!  The last day in Cville I worked out, stopped in to see some of my coaches, and then went out to dinner with some sweet friends at a local pizza place (Brixx).

 This past weekend I spent some time in Appomattox,VA with one of my dearest friends from UVA!  We enjoyed having dinner with her family, going to church, and having a nice mexican dinner/movie night. We also visited her younger sister at Longowood University at her first weekend in college! (good luck with school Courtney!) It was nice catching up with everyone this past week and now I am on my way to Atlanta, then Alabama, then Louisiana, and I will finally be arriving in Houston on Friday!  The adventure continues!

A Time for Everything

"For everything there is a season,

a time for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die.

A time to plant and a time to harvest.

 A time to kill and a time to heal.

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.

 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.

A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

 A time to search and a time to quit searching.

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate.

A time for war and a time for peace.

 What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all.  Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end."

-Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

As I sit here in a place where I spent 5 amazing years of my life I can't help but reflect on how God called me to this place and showed His love for me through the beauty of the grounds of UVA, the faithful mentors of Athletes in Action, 4 seasons of UVA softball, and the amazing friendships I formed along the way.  At a school that seems too good to be true, I found the most precious gift of all, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This truly is a time to cry, laugh, grieve, and dance all at the same time.

What seasons of life has God blessed you with?

Experiences.

"I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world. " --Ecclesiastes 2:1-3

"I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.  I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!"-- Philippians 3:7-11

The past 3 summers, God allowed me to experience His love in amazing ways through the Urban Project 2010, Urban Project 2011, and finally the Colorado Project 2012.  Please enjoy the video below from Colorado Project 2012!

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."-Dr. Seuss

Holy.

Reflections of the Road trip (week 1)

 So after leaving my humble hometown of princeton,MA about 8 days ago I have driven through about 6 states and seen incredible landscapes of cornfields, mountains, forests, and various bodies of water. Our God is a creator and I have truly enjoyed seeing His glory. After plotting out my journey down the country some people commented, "youre crazy" or "that is alot of driving" but I have been very refreshed from my road trip so far! I have had the priviliege of spending time with amazing people pictured on the left.  My adventures include, visiting the wonderful fields of Ohio and Young's Dairy farm,watching a tv show called "I shouldn't be alive" (hilarious!), experiencing the "High five" of the US...aka Michigan, spending time with some Colorado project people, journaling at coffee shops (the marble effect!), breakfast with a student from UVA, lunch with a student from CoPro in Cleveland Ohio, riding the famous "historical" incline overlooking the city of Pittsburgh, meeting at Panera with my discipler for the past 3 years, and finally over this past weekend I enjoyed the small town of Shippensburg, PA!  I tried my first banana split and saw a horse and buggy with my own eyes.  Now I am on my way to Maryland then Virginia!

" Let all that I am praise the Lord, May I never forget the good things He does for me." Psalm 103:2

The Road trip begins!!!

Pictured on the left is Princeton, MA my hometown of approximately 3,000 people. Pictured on the right is Houston, TX future destination of approximately 2,100,000 people.  Growing up in a small town I never dreamed I would be headed across the country to serve in the inner city for a year.  I am confident that God called me to the University of Virginia and I am also confident that God has called me to move to Houston this year. 

For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

So tomorrow morning I will be embarking on a 3 week, 2,000 mile, 13 state road trip. 

"Life is either a daring adventure...or nothing at all."- Helen Keller