Fasting

The idea of fasting has intrigued me for a while now. Not complete fasting (no food at all), more like the kind of fasting people do for Lent. Finding one thing, giving it up for about a month, and spending time getting closer to God. I am considering fasting from something during the month of May as a little personal challenge. I'm just not sure what to give up.

I thought about chocolate, but then I would just make up for that loss by eating other sugary things. I could give up added sugar entirely. It scares me but that's kind of the point of fasting, isn't it? :)

I've also thought about doing the social media fast (no Facebook, no Twitter, no Pinterest, maybe even no blog). Or maybe giving up any drinks besides water.

Have you ever fasted? What did you give up? What did you learn from it?

Home!

After a wonderful two-week trip to Thailand and Cambodia, I arrived home this last Friday night around 8:00 pm. I hope to write more later on some of the highlights, but for now I'll just give you a little sneak-peak of the trip.

 This kid was playing some tribal instrument at the market and ROCKING out!

 Some girls from a children's home working in the rice fields

Our day at Angkor Wat (the history of that place is amazing!)

Love God and do as you please

"Love God and do as you please." -St. Augustine

I have read this quote exactly three times in the last couple of weeks. First in a book by Robin Jones Gunn. Then in an article in Relevant Magazine. And finally on a Facebook post. I swear it is following me around! And if you know anything about teaching, you have probably heard that if you want your students to remember something, you should tell it to them at least three times. I don't really know if this is just a coincidence or what... but I do think this is something I needed to hear at this time in my life. I recently made a big decision about college. Even though I feel good about it, I still occasionally question myself. Did I make the right decision? What if God wants me somewhere else? Etc, etc.

Here is the full quote from Augustine:

“Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.”

And that pretty much says it all.

Bon Voyage

If you didn't know already, I'm going on a trip to Thailand and Cambodia in a week and four days (March 15-30). I've been getting excited with it coming up so soon, but it still seemed really far away for some reason. Today we had a meeting with everyone who is going (9 of us total) and it is finally starting to feel so real! I only have 8 days of school between now and then, and one more full weekend. Aaahhh! Like I said, I am way excited, but pretty anxious too. I would love it if you would remember to keep my group and I in your prayers, both as we prepare and when we leave, for safety, health, and that we would make a positive impact. It's going to be a crazy awesome adventure and I can't wait to see what God will do.

Oh and p.s. if you have any great tips for surviving across-the-world flights, let me know. That's the part of the trip I am least looking forward to.

the journey continues!

About a month ago, I wrote about my frustration in choosing a college. Well, since then, so much has happened! I am so happy to say that I have decided to attend Northwest Christian University next year. It's a really great school, and I am looking forward to it so much! Just a few days ago I sent in my form of intent and a deposit on my tuition, so I'd consider it pretty official :) In the meantime, I have been applying for lots of scholarships. Can be tedious, but definitely worth it in the end.

BUT, I get a little break from school in three weeks (!!!) when I go to Thailand and Cambodia! Whaaat?! Three weeks. I can taste it. I'll be going with my parents and six other people from our church, as a mission trip/sight-seeing adventure. Please pray for us as we finish up our preparations for this amazing adventure!

True Love

Today, I am celebrating the One who loves me no matter what. The One who will never let me down. The One who gave up the most precious thing he had in order to save all of us. And I hope that you are too.

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." 
-Ephesians 3:16-19

Why did I not know this before?

I absolutely love flour tortillas. The best ones I have ever had were homemade in Honduras. YUM. So thick and delicious. They hardly even compare to the store bought ones.

So... for my first cooking challenge, I decided to make tortillas! I found this recipe by doing a google search for "easy tortilla recipe" (or something along those lines). Even though I have been wanting to do this for a while, I finally got up the courage yesterday. The results... success!

Not only are they delicious, they are so simple and fast! There are only four ingredients--flour, salt, vegetable oil, and water. Basic things, but they come together in a beautiful way.

Note: You will have to experiment with different thicknesses, but I found that I like them fairly thin. Not paper thin, but most of mine I made too thick and then under-cooked a little due to lack of patience. However, even slightly underdone, I would still highly recommend them.

Widows in their distress

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress..." -James 1:27

I was listening to a podcast one day when this verse came up in the discussion. The host mentioned that we, as Christians, really love this verse, especially the part about orphans. We sponsor starving children from third-world countries, we help out at fundraisers and events to raise money for orphanages, and some people even go to the point of adopting these children and providing them with a safe and loving home. While all of this is wonderful, we do not do very much to care for the widows. Why is that? I have a few ideas, but I am not entirely sure. What I do know is that they do not have easy lives. Think about your great-grandmother (or grandfather, or an elderly person in your church, or the next-door neighbor...). What are a few little things that would make a big difference to this person? It may be as simple as just sitting down and talking with them. Having a simple conversation, listening to their concerns, desires, feelings, etc. and offering some of your own. Or playing a game of cards. Or delivering some groceries. These are not hard things, so why aren't we doing them?

Check out this video, which inspired this post. The Seales are in the process of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. As part of the adoption process, they participated in a Both Hands Project and made the day of a widow in their community. So cool.

A Few Updates

Hello! Happy February! :)

Starting this past Sunday (January 29) I have been taking a break from facebook. It completely eats up my time and I don't like that at all. There are so many other things I could be doing. So I made a plan. For seven days, I would not go on facebook or twitter. We're coming to the close of day five and it's gone really well! I am proud to say that I have not logged into either of those sites since Saturday evening.

In the meantime, I've been spending more time on pinterest (follow me here) and reading other blogs. To find inspiration, I looked at my sister's blog and the ones that she follows, and discovered a few that look really interesting! Maybe I'll share some favorites at a later date, after I've read more. If you have a blog, hit me up with the link! I'd love to read your thoughts.

Also, I am planning to start my cooking challenge this weekend, so keep an eye out for that!

Learning to Cook

I really like the idea of cooking. Food is great, and cooking is fun, plus it is an important life skill. The problem is, I never do it. And, since I've started Pinterest-ing, I've found even more recipes that I want to make! Gah!

Source: http://cookinginstilettos.com/2009/08/09/julieandjulia/

 I really want to come up with some cooking challenge type thing that will help me improve my cooking abilities and keep me accountable. I don't need to be the next Julia Child or anything even remotely close to that. These meals will not be gourmet, but they also will not come straight out of the freezer. At one point I was going to make dinner for my family once a week... that lasted about two weeks. My current thought is that maybe my goal will be to will make a recipe (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert, whatever) once a week. Unless I have a realllly good excuse not to do it one week. But it would have to be at least twice a month.

I think this would be realistic and allow for lots of freedom while still challenging me. What do you think? Also, if you have any delicious (and fairly easy) recipes to recommend, send them my way!

Talent Show

In case you didn't know already, people are really talented. It's so cool to see some of the things that different people are able to do! Seriously. It blows my mind.

Here are some super cool and gifted people I've discovered within the last week or so that I think you should know about too!

1) Jenny & Tyler.
Jenny & Tyler are a married couple who love Jesus and have a band. They are fantastic musicians, and their lyrics are pure truth. Check them out at jennyandtylermusic.com. If you like what you hear, sign up for their email list and get some songs for free! P.S. If you live in or near Newberg, they're gonna be performing at George Fox in a couple weeks.

2) Blimey Cow
Two brothers, Jordan and Josh, make funny (yet so true!) youtube videos. And there's a new one every week, so if you become obsessed with them and watch all of them in a day, no worries. There's more to come :)



If you like this one, I strongly suggest that you go watch some of their other ones on youtube! If you don't like it... well... God likes people with bad senses of humor too. :)

What great talents have you recently discovered?

Decisions, decisions

People say that your senior year of high school goes by fast... and they are right. Seriously, there's only one more week left of this semester. I am halfway through my last year of high school! It's actually a really unbelievable, overwhelming, and yet exciting feeling.

In August, I'll be heading off to college. Where... I'm not sure yet. I have applied to and been accepted to two great schools. It's not too long until I have to commit to one of them. The thing is, decision-making is not my strong suit. Actually, I kind of hate making decisions. It's hard, and scary, and I don't want to make a mistake!

The problem I'm having is that these schools are really similar, and I think I would do well at either one of them. One of them is quite a bit more expensive than the other... but that one is also much closer to home.

If you wouldn't mind taking a second to pray for me, that I would make the right decision, I would be really grateful. Also, if you have any advice about choosing a college, please let me know!

Thank you so much! :)