Monday, December 31, 2012
It's happening fast!
The pages in my story seem to be turning quicker as I get older, I'm reaching the plot twists faster, getting introduced to new characters more frequently, hitting the trials and learning the hard lessons that give the book meaning regularly. And although it started out slow, kind of hard to get into...Its become quite an exciting tale and now all of the sudden it's 2013! So grateful that God's still writing, I can't wait to see what happens next. HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Share Joy
As anyone who knows me, knows...I love sports. All kinds of sports. Lately I've been getting more into surfing and rock climbing. My school schedule was EXACTLY how I wanted it. German, Statistics, Soccer, Karate, and Surfing. It was glorious. I was able to run, swim, and climb outside of school and get credit for surfing, soccer, and karate. Life was GREAT!
Then one day at soccer I was playing goalie and broke my little pinky! I broke it so badly that I needed to have surgery. This is where I learned an important life lesson.
A pinky is small and seemingly insignificant. Just like one person is seemingly insignificant in respect to the size of the earth. However, my pinky has had such a big affect on all aspects of my life; School, work, hobbies, etc..and just like my pinky unexpectedly affected other aspects of my life, maybe you will unexpectedly have a huge impact on someone else's life. Don't assume you won't be remembered. Assume that you are going to positively impact a beautiful life. Share love, encouragement, honesty, excitement. Share the gifts that God has given you. Share joy!
Then one day at soccer I was playing goalie and broke my little pinky! I broke it so badly that I needed to have surgery. This is where I learned an important life lesson.
A pinky is small and seemingly insignificant. Just like one person is seemingly insignificant in respect to the size of the earth. However, my pinky has had such a big affect on all aspects of my life; School, work, hobbies, etc..and just like my pinky unexpectedly affected other aspects of my life, maybe you will unexpectedly have a huge impact on someone else's life. Don't assume you won't be remembered. Assume that you are going to positively impact a beautiful life. Share love, encouragement, honesty, excitement. Share the gifts that God has given you. Share joy!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Swimming!
Looking through the water is like looking through a brilliant crystal with the suns rays shining through. As I glide through the water it brushes over my skin refreshing me while all the H2O molecules together challenge my muscles and lungs with every stroke, and when I finally finish I feel such a sense of accomplishment.
To me, this is such an encouragement! It makes me think of everyday life. It looks beautiful, the gigantic trees, the vast blue sky, the rolling green meadows, the fluttering butterflies and buzzing bees! As you walk through life however, you are faced with many challenging choices, many circumstances that you can't control. But God is always there to refresh you and encourage you, offering timely advice and alternate choices. And when you finish, He will be there with open arms, ready to welcome you home.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Kerri Kimmel!
A few years ago I started working with Wyldlife, the Junior High version of Younglife. One of my fellow leaders was Kerri! We became friends and her sweet smile, infectious laughter, and love for the kids always rekindles my passion for Younglife. An organization that is focused on reaching out to the furthest out kid, forming relationships with them, and walking through life with them, all the while showing them God's love.
Kerri is just about to graduate college and asked me to take her senior portraits. We had a lot of fun and i just wanted to share a few of the shots!
Kerri is just about to graduate college and asked me to take her senior portraits. We had a lot of fun and i just wanted to share a few of the shots!
Such a beautiful heart to match her beautiful smile!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Trip around the WORLD!
TRIP UPDATE!
As you know, Lindsay has joined the movement and so, Sara, Lindsay and I are together planning this massive trip around the world. When I say planning, I mean that we are planning to go, but have no idea all the details yet. This trip won't be going underway until we graduate college. (so about 2 years) BUT we are going to start doing some fundraising soon!
At first we were just going to have a personal adventure trip but then over the course of a few months God started making it very clear to each of us separately that he had a bigger vision for this trip. So now, we are beyond stoked to set out discipling and loving on people all over the world in the name of Jesus Christ. We are all super excited for the way he is already preparing our hearts for this and the lessons we are learning. SO COOL!
As you know, Lindsay has joined the movement and so, Sara, Lindsay and I are together planning this massive trip around the world. When I say planning, I mean that we are planning to go, but have no idea all the details yet. This trip won't be going underway until we graduate college. (so about 2 years) BUT we are going to start doing some fundraising soon!
At first we were just going to have a personal adventure trip but then over the course of a few months God started making it very clear to each of us separately that he had a bigger vision for this trip. So now, we are beyond stoked to set out discipling and loving on people all over the world in the name of Jesus Christ. We are all super excited for the way he is already preparing our hearts for this and the lessons we are learning. SO COOL!
So this is us, plus our other friend Jackie
It will just be me and the brunettes on the trip though =)
A little side update:
Last night I got the pleasure of visiting with some of my friends from my DTS!
Amanda and Matt are on tour with some other organizations and a few bands promoting their non-profit, Pick a Pocket! (Amanda is in the black sweatshirt and matt is on the right) David works with Pick a Pocket too, but is living in San Diego now, He's the guy in the maroon shirt. My friend Josh and I drove down to see them and it was SUCH A GREAT NIGHT! So good to see them!
Keep them in your prayers they will still be on tour for another month or so!
Monday, March 5, 2012
It's been a while...
I realize it's been about a gazillion years since i posted last, but that does not by any means mean that nothing worth posting about has been happening!
These past few months have been a whirlwind! My schedule has been chaos and school is crazy and everything is just going by so fast! Everything about me is getting stretched and molded and to be honest, I'm not enjoying it too much! Of course I'm enjoying spending time with my friends and learning about the subjects I'm taking at school; but the stretching and growing part has been hard.
I got home from church tonight feeling flustered and a little uneasy and I didn't really know why! I had a fantastic day at the beach with my friend Lindsay and at our Life Group and then saw so many friends at church it was just a great day! So why was I feeling like this, one might ask.
Well I did ask. GOD! WHY DO I FEEL LIKE THIS!? It has kind of been a reoccurring feeling throughout the past week or so. "Please reveal to me things i need to deal with or bring before you because I DONT KNOW" I prayed in desperation. (I hate feeling any way other than happy, so i'm always pretty eager to figure out problems and get rid of them) Finally I realized that every single day this week i've had a conversation with someone about spreading yourself too thin. EVERY SINGLE DAY!
and what am i doing...? i'm spreading myself too thin. I say yes to everything even when there really is no time on the clock to do these things and with so many commitments and so little time i'm really sucking at everything and doing nothing well. and because of this i'm tired and worn out and unmotivated and wanting to escape. Which puts me in my favorite place, dream land. I escape to my head planning adventures and places I have to go! It's really great, my ideal life. But that is not the plan God has for me and it's taking me out of the here and now that I need to deal with and learn from. There is SO MUCH I could be doing if i was present. and also, if i didn't already have 98349823 commitments.
and after all that I'm going to share the obscure lesson i learned from all this.
I need to sit still and listen to God with a ready heart and my mouth closed. With his gentle cues and gracious reminders, he guides us through day to day life. Had I been doing that EVERY DAY I would have realized all this forever ago and possibly avoided all the frustration.
God is good. Alllll the time.
These past few months have been a whirlwind! My schedule has been chaos and school is crazy and everything is just going by so fast! Everything about me is getting stretched and molded and to be honest, I'm not enjoying it too much! Of course I'm enjoying spending time with my friends and learning about the subjects I'm taking at school; but the stretching and growing part has been hard.
I got home from church tonight feeling flustered and a little uneasy and I didn't really know why! I had a fantastic day at the beach with my friend Lindsay and at our Life Group and then saw so many friends at church it was just a great day! So why was I feeling like this, one might ask.
Well I did ask. GOD! WHY DO I FEEL LIKE THIS!? It has kind of been a reoccurring feeling throughout the past week or so. "Please reveal to me things i need to deal with or bring before you because I DONT KNOW" I prayed in desperation. (I hate feeling any way other than happy, so i'm always pretty eager to figure out problems and get rid of them) Finally I realized that every single day this week i've had a conversation with someone about spreading yourself too thin. EVERY SINGLE DAY!
and what am i doing...? i'm spreading myself too thin. I say yes to everything even when there really is no time on the clock to do these things and with so many commitments and so little time i'm really sucking at everything and doing nothing well. and because of this i'm tired and worn out and unmotivated and wanting to escape. Which puts me in my favorite place, dream land. I escape to my head planning adventures and places I have to go! It's really great, my ideal life. But that is not the plan God has for me and it's taking me out of the here and now that I need to deal with and learn from. There is SO MUCH I could be doing if i was present. and also, if i didn't already have 98349823 commitments.
and after all that I'm going to share the obscure lesson i learned from all this.
I need to sit still and listen to God with a ready heart and my mouth closed. With his gentle cues and gracious reminders, he guides us through day to day life. Had I been doing that EVERY DAY I would have realized all this forever ago and possibly avoided all the frustration.
God is good. Alllll the time.
Friday, January 27, 2012
When life gives you lemons...
Man I really hate that phrase....
First of all, who decided that lemons needed to be bad things?! Lemons are filled with vitamin C which prevents scurvy! And they add excellent flavoring to food dishes and I love lemon sorbet! and Lemon bars...Lemons are a perfectly wonderful creation!
Second of all, It's just dumb. That is all. There doesn't need to be a second point. My first point is valid enough. On with my post now...
ab-so-lute val-ue:
The positive real number equal to the given real number but disregarding its sign. Absolute value is always positive or zero, but never negative.
^ This is the real phrase. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". Think about it, The stupid phrase is trying to say, when tough times come your way take something positive away from it.
I think that in life difficult times are bound to happen! There are always always ups and downs but having a positive outlook helps one get through said tough time and on with life. There is invariably something to learn from every situation in life.
if a = bad (-) then |bad| =
bad^2
since two negatives make a positive, then bad^2 = good (+) and when you take the square root of the new good, you are left with a positive!!
Personally, I am striving to live my life after the example Jesus set, He took bad and made it good (the absolute value method) and so I have decided to plant this same theory into my life. I am determined to learn and thank God for the junky times as that is a perfect opportunity for Him to shine and bring revelation and give wisdom.
ps: my mom said a cool thing "Mathematics is an expression of God's perfection". Consider it.
First of all, who decided that lemons needed to be bad things?! Lemons are filled with vitamin C which prevents scurvy! And they add excellent flavoring to food dishes and I love lemon sorbet! and Lemon bars...Lemons are a perfectly wonderful creation!
Second of all, It's just dumb. That is all. There doesn't need to be a second point. My first point is valid enough. On with my post now...
ab-so-lute val-ue:
The positive real number equal to the given real number but disregarding its sign. Absolute value is always positive or zero, but never negative.^ This is the real phrase. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". Think about it, The stupid phrase is trying to say, when tough times come your way take something positive away from it.
I think that in life difficult times are bound to happen! There are always always ups and downs but having a positive outlook helps one get through said tough time and on with life. There is invariably something to learn from every situation in life.
if a = bad (-) then |bad| =
bad^2 since two negatives make a positive, then bad^2 = good (+) and when you take the square root of the new good, you are left with a positive!!
Personally, I am striving to live my life after the example Jesus set, He took bad and made it good (the absolute value method) and so I have decided to plant this same theory into my life. I am determined to learn and thank God for the junky times as that is a perfect opportunity for Him to shine and bring revelation and give wisdom.
ps: my mom said a cool thing "Mathematics is an expression of God's perfection". Consider it.
Funny thoughts
I was in my anatomy lecture today and we were talking about blood and the different types of blood and what having a positive or negative Rh means. We also talked about the nutrients in blood and how blood caries many of the nutrients around to your organs and what not.
I guess it's important to know that while the teacher is teaching I am usually listening intently while simultaneously having 939483 other thoughts inside my head. So when I heard him talking about our blood absorbing the nutrients and transporting it to other places I was thinking "man it's a good thing food tastes good" which lead me to think "I bet God created food to taste good" ---> "man it's a good thing he gave us taste buds or else it wouldn't matter..." ---> "oh my goodness! God giving us taste buds and making food taste good is like how we put little kids medicine in ice cream, or try to disguise veggies, He wanted to make sure that we got the proper nutrients our bodies need so he disguised them in delicious foods!" and Then of course I had to laugh at myself for getting all that from learning about blood. But I'm for realz serious about this. I bet that's what he did.
I guess it's important to know that while the teacher is teaching I am usually listening intently while simultaneously having 939483 other thoughts inside my head. So when I heard him talking about our blood absorbing the nutrients and transporting it to other places I was thinking "man it's a good thing food tastes good" which lead me to think "I bet God created food to taste good" ---> "man it's a good thing he gave us taste buds or else it wouldn't matter..." ---> "oh my goodness! God giving us taste buds and making food taste good is like how we put little kids medicine in ice cream, or try to disguise veggies, He wanted to make sure that we got the proper nutrients our bodies need so he disguised them in delicious foods!" and Then of course I had to laugh at myself for getting all that from learning about blood. But I'm for realz serious about this. I bet that's what he did.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Heart!!
wow! Cardiac Muscle Tissue is found only in your heart. It's cells are joined end to end and the resulting fibers are branched and interconnected in complex networks.
This is just a model of the heart but look how intricate it is!
This is a close up of Cardiac Muscle Tissue.
You can see the fibers there and the cells.
The heart works involuntarily, meaning you don't have to tell your heart to pump. It just does, It can even work if there is no nerve impulses! It's incredible how the heart was designed in such a perfect way. Blows my mind!
I sat there in class and my jaw nearly dropped in amazement! It's so beautiful how we were so perfectly designed and created. Every time I learn something new about the human body I become more and more impressed with my creator!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Current Cravings
I currently have a couple cravings....
1) TO GO TO THE ZOO!!
1) TO GO TO THE ZOO!!
I want to see the Flamingos!!
And the cute little Elephants!!
And some monkeys and other animals too of course...
2) TO ROCK CLIMB!
Climbin' on my mind!
I am seriously considering getting a membership to a rock climbing gym.
I think this would also be a pretty good investment as I am going to be doing a lot of rock climbing in the future. *cough cough* Yosemite and Patagonia!
Might as well do it in style, right?
hahahahha
I crack myself up.
3) TO SWIM IN THE OCEAN!
Yes, I do live in California, 10 minutes from the beach, but no,
I don't spend nearly enough time in the ocean!!
And I suddenly have a massive craving to swim with the fishies in the sea and feel the pull of the waves!
4) TO RIDE A MOTORCYCLE!!
I have a need for speed!
The truth is, even if you aren't going that fast on a bike, it feels like you are going SO FAST!
And I do love going fast.
It's so pretty!!!
5) SKYDIVING!!
OH MY WORD!
If someone said to me, "Becca, I have decided to take you skyding because I am a really cool person and I do cool things like that" I would fall over dead right then and there from happiness. It's true.
SO. SICK.
Well, that is it for now. Those are my main cravings. I also wouldn't mind going kayaking again, it's been a while!
People
People are the most interesting and complicated beings on this planet if you ask me. Everything is complicated about them! From their psyche to their biological makeup. No two people are a like and no two personalities are just the same. Sure, there are similarities, but no two people are just alike. Even siamese twins who's bodies are connected have totally different personalities and outlooks.
One of my favorite things to do is talk to people. I LOVE chatting and hearing peoples outlooks, finding out what they believe and why, seeing or hearing about positive change taking place in a person's life brings me boundless joy. And I am so so blessed to have friends who's lives shine with God's beautiful healing, reconciliation, and revival. He has such a way of breathing life into the dead and lost and lifting them up and giving them the strength to grow in ways they could never imagine. God takes those weak spots we have in our lives and turns them into little shining gardens of hope and beauty. HE IS SO GOOD!
Monday, January 9, 2012
THE TRIFECTA!
Lately I've been thinking a lot about the way I live my life and comparing it to the way I'd like to live my life. Some goals I have and what not...but I've realized that for me, and I think for others too...we need three key things: Faith, Courage, and an Active mentality.
Faith - Life without faith is like a cannon ball without a cannon! It just sits there. In church the other week ago we talked about happiness vs. joy. Happiness is an emotion you feel when something in life is going your way. When you are having fun or when something good happens. But Joy is something you can feel even in dark times. It's a deep happiness straight from God that keeps you going no matter what you are going through. It's like a higher level of happiness that comes from Jesus Christ!
And that brings me back to faith, Having faith in God that he will take care of you and feed you with that joy and he will guide your path helps you to live life with courage!
Courage - Life is scary and hard, so you have just got to have courage to enjoy it! If you come at every circumstance with courage and fearlessness you will be able to live in a much more active way!
Active vs. Passive - If you have big dreams and God fills you with passion and desires, but all you do is sit and think about them...well then you are just a bump on a log. Things don't change when you are just THINKING about wanting change. Peoples lives don't get touched when you are just THINKING about reaching out. My point is, dreaming and planning is nice, but in order to make a difference one needs to move! Give God a little something to work with! Think about it. If your car is parked in the garage and you want it to be parked on the street, it's a lot easier to get it there when the engine is on and it's rolling backwards. All you have to do is steer! But if the car just sits in the garage with the ignition off....well then it's just a parked car.
That was a pretty crap example, my apologies, but it made so much sense in my head.
and that concludes my thoughts for this evening.
School starts tomorrow, and I am so nervous! I'm like a little girl!! Sooo, I'm going to sleep so I can not think about being nervous anymore. hehe Goodnight!
Faith - Life without faith is like a cannon ball without a cannon! It just sits there. In church the other week ago we talked about happiness vs. joy. Happiness is an emotion you feel when something in life is going your way. When you are having fun or when something good happens. But Joy is something you can feel even in dark times. It's a deep happiness straight from God that keeps you going no matter what you are going through. It's like a higher level of happiness that comes from Jesus Christ!
And that brings me back to faith, Having faith in God that he will take care of you and feed you with that joy and he will guide your path helps you to live life with courage!
Courage - Life is scary and hard, so you have just got to have courage to enjoy it! If you come at every circumstance with courage and fearlessness you will be able to live in a much more active way!
Active vs. Passive - If you have big dreams and God fills you with passion and desires, but all you do is sit and think about them...well then you are just a bump on a log. Things don't change when you are just THINKING about wanting change. Peoples lives don't get touched when you are just THINKING about reaching out. My point is, dreaming and planning is nice, but in order to make a difference one needs to move! Give God a little something to work with! Think about it. If your car is parked in the garage and you want it to be parked on the street, it's a lot easier to get it there when the engine is on and it's rolling backwards. All you have to do is steer! But if the car just sits in the garage with the ignition off....well then it's just a parked car.
That was a pretty crap example, my apologies, but it made so much sense in my head.
and that concludes my thoughts for this evening.
School starts tomorrow, and I am so nervous! I'm like a little girl!! Sooo, I'm going to sleep so I can not think about being nervous anymore. hehe Goodnight!
Adventures Of This Weekend!
Saturday morning I was awakened by the sound of lions roaring and birds chirping, It was incredible! I felt like I was waking up in an African safari!....and then I realized it was my alarm clock. 7am on a Saturday morning. "sweet, I have no where to be I can just lay here a bit longer" I thought to myself, after a brief moment it came back to me! I had a skype date that I was now 10 minutes late to!
To my excitement, my dear friend Eva (from Germany) was still online.
To my excitement, my dear friend Eva (from Germany) was still online.
(Eva and I walking around Dresden, last year just before Christmas)
We had so much fun talking and catching up. Can't wait to go back and visit!
Not but an hour after Eva and I hung up, Sara was pulling up to my house to pick me up for a hike! Two of our other friends, Lindsay and Jacquie came along too!
(Left to Right: Sara, Lindsay, Jacquie, Me)
The hike was a blast! It was a pretty easy one, with just mild off-roading excitement down the side of the mountain, but it was so great to just hang out and chat with friends.
After the hike Sara and I hit up the Counter, a burger restaurant, to satisfy our cravings =)
Our post lunch time activities consisted of painting the interior of my house,(we got most of the stairwell down and the upstairs hallway) and attending our Friend, JP's band's show.
They are so good!
(JP and I with water bottles in our back pockets)
SUNDAY!
This afternoon I had the privilege of accompanying Lindsay and Angie on a wonderful bike ride along the beach!
Linds and Ang have this list of 52 exciting things they want to do this year, and #1 on their list was to ride a tandem bike. So today we did that!
(pics stolen from their blog)
135lovingandliving.wordpress.
CHECK IT OUT!
(Angie and Lindsay on their Tandem bike, How cute are they?!)
(The three of us. We made it to Huntington, YAY!)
(Beautiful sunset, with Catalina Island in the distance)
Thank you God for amazing friends and beautiful scenery to enjoy their company in. Seriously, You did a FANTASTIC job creating the Earth. I feel so lucky to know the worlds best artist!! xoxo
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Dead bug.
So a few months ago I was climbing into my car after a long day at school and noticed a little spider crawling on my windshield and immediately flipped on my wipers. Who wants a creepy bug in their face anyways, right? That's what I thought!
On my way home I stopped at the mall to pick up a sandwich from the bakery and as I settled back into my car I saw a little moth that was missing a leg fluttering around on my windshield and I thought, "poor little moth!". Didn't even think to activate the bug euthanizing device.
About 5-10 minutes later as I was driving on the freeway It hit me! A revelation!!
Why was I so quick to kill the spider? Because it was creepy. That's why. But what if the spider was really the sweet creature and the moth was a little brat with a bad agenda. What if these bugs were really humans. Would I be just that quick in dismissing a person who was dressed different and had ugly hair?
Now of course, these were bugs so it's not the same. However it really hit my heart. As a human it is so easy to just judge by outward appearance. Which of course happens all the time, and in more serious cases such as in China, disabled people are viewed as less valuable. Of course that's more drastic but the thing is that it happens and I really want to keep my heart in check. Everyone, even the creepy spiders deserve to be treated with respect. Boy am I glad that God just looks at our hearts.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Goodbye 2011...
This past year has been full of experiences! Both easy experiences, and difficult ones. I wrote, and re-wrote that sentence a hundred times, trying to word it just right. At first I had written, "good and bad experiences" but decided that wasn't an accurate account. Non of my experiences were "bad" per say, just difficult. I learned from everything and I can say that I am leaving 2011 and entering 2012 a much wiser young adult with much more life experience. With that being said, the only thing expected of this year is that I grow and learn more. I have no idea what God has for me this year, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that he will surprise me, like he always does.
Sometimes I look at finishing school as this massive road block. "How am I ever going to finish?" But tonight I was reminded that nothing is too big or tiresome for God. "For when I am weak, then I am strong." God gives us strength to get through even the most grueling tasks and in our weakness he's able to shine so bright.
A great note to start 2012 on. Humility and surrender. So welcome, 2012, I am happy to meet you and eager to see where you take me next on this wonderful adventure.
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