If We Are the Body

   I am so blessed to be able to listen to uplifting music about all around good things. My car rides are more peaceful, the day doesn't seem so hard and it just puts me in a good mood. This is how God "talks" to me. I hear a song on the radio or in church and he has a lesson in the lyrics for me.
   First it was Stronger by Mandisa, I was having a tough couple of days from not hearing from Robert in a while and I woke up one morning tired from a night of crying to turn on the radio while I jumped in the shower. The words spoke right to my heart, it was God guarding my heart and mind just as he promises (Philippians 4:6-8)
   On another occasion Blessings by Laura Story kept playing on the radio, I knew I was supposed to do something with this song but I had no idea what to do. I first brought it up to a friend who I am helping in her walk with Christ, she said it was just what she needed, it's exactly what she was going through. Awesome! God is awesome, giving me this song to give to Abi in her time of struggle. I thought that was it, but the song kept following me. God had more work for this song to do. Megan, my spiritual "mom," was having a tough time finding content with what God has planned for her life. She mentioned the song and instantly I knew this was where God wanted it, to help Megan and Abi when they needed it most.
   Lately it's been If We Are the Body by Casting Crowns. Romans 12:4-5 says, ^"For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." I am a laborer with Christ, I am a member of the body of Christ. I'm still working on finding my specific function in the body but I have full faith that He will reveal it to me when He sees fit.
   This song presents a sense of responsibility for me personally. God most certainly doesn't need me to carry out his work but he has blessed me by allowing me to take part in it. The conviction I get from this song is that I should be doing everything in accordance with the body of Christ. Thus giving me an outward focus which allows me to love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:37-39) in turn allowing me to try and reach the nations as well as make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). How different could the world be if we all just started with an outward focus? Stop trying to please myself all the time and reach out the person behind me in the Commissary line, (you know those lines are long, should have plenty of time to talk) or the guys with terrible form at the gym, (you know you've seen them) or how about Mr. Skinner who checks my ID coming onto Wheeler daily. It's a simple start, loving others, but it has already changed my life for the better. I wish to see people with Christ's eyes, so I feel the best way for me to start is to stop looking at myself.

My thoughts are all jumbled, but I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.

oh my God!

    Sometimes all I can do is sit back and marvel. This guy, I only recently became more than an ancquaintance with, died for me. Even crazier, it was his dad that sent him to die for me. Let that marinate for a moment. Someone loved me so much that he sent his only son to die... for me, little 'ol me. How overwhelming that kind of love is. I don't know if I could ever love anyone that much. The best part is that he did it for you too.
    God has been so visibly working in my life lately, it's so joyful to see him do so much through me. I've made a friend here, who must have been heaven sent. She was/is so hungry for the Lord but hadn't really realized what to do with that hunger. God gave me the honor of giving her the milk she desired and I know he is working in her to mature her and grow her so that she can start getting in his word and pulling out the meat to satisfy her growing hunger. How great is this guy to let me take part in his work.
    Of course his work isn't always easy, but then again he never said it would be. He flat out tells us that the world will hate us (1 John 3:13, and many others) but they hate us because we do not belong to the world, we are his and his alone. I haven't come into much hate from the world or those around me... yet. But I am glad in knowing that when the hate does come on me I have God in my corner and he has prepared me to fight back with the biggest weapon, the authority given to me through Jesus Christ. God is constantly trying to grow me up so that I can be a good disciple for him, to win people for him.
    There are so many ways that God has challenged me to be better for him. The most recent is that I need to be a better steward. Everything I have is because God has given it to me, he put it out on loan and how disrespectful to waste or break or squander things given to you. I am challenged to live a more minimal lifestyle, which to me right now means not wasting money on useless items. I am doing pretty well so far, I go shopping like normal pick up items I know I don't need, then when it's time to check out I reevaluate the contents of the cart and usually spend an additional half hour putting back unnecessary items before I actually leave the store. One step at a time, eventually I won't even look at the unnecessary items. Another reason I feel convicted to spend less money is so that I can give it back to the Lord. He gave me a loan, I'm paying it back. Interest free of course because he's such a good guy like that.


"If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So that whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord."  ~Romans 14:8

just keep going

  Today I completed my very first triathlon. I had a blast and can't wait to do another. This triathlon was a 500m ocean swim, 12mi bike ride, and a 5k run.
  I severly under estimated the swim, I had mainly trained in a pool and those waves are pretty strong. The bike was good, looking back I feel like I could have gone harder. Finally the run. First of all let me state that running and I don't get along at all. All through the run I kept telling myself to "just keep going" because I knew if I stopped I wouldn't start again. Having said that if I were a better runner I could have finished a lot better. My goal was to finish in an hour and a half. I believe I finished a few minutes beyond that, BUT I placed third in my age group so can you really complain?! The breakdown of my results are here.
  With my motto of the day being "just keep going" it made me think of other instances where I've wanted to give up or have given up and should have just kept going. No matter what the outcome would have been.

progress, onward and upward

Well, as you may have seen on facebook Robert and I have successfully completed our 19th week of this deployment. Woo Hoo! 35 weeks to go, but 2 of those weeks Robert will be on R&R.

There are a few key ingredients to a successful deployment and I thought I'd share a few.

1. A relationship with God.
Duh right?! Well it goes without saying that all my strength comes from the Lord. (Philippians 4:13) I have produced a deeper faith and a closer relationship with Christ through this deployment, not to mention a very active prayer life. However, I am human with a sinful nature and I can get derailed at times. When that happens...

2. A community.
Once again God has blessed me with numerous women who support, encourage and love me. Without them, many of whom are also missing their other half, I'd probably sit inside all day. Thank you ladies, I truly love you.

3. Healthy distractions.
Fruit and Settlers. I know it's an odd combination, but it's true. I've developed a minor addiction to both since Robert has left.

4. A theme song.
That's right, a theme song. No it doesn't blare from speakers when I enter the room, but it is always in my head and the song that can pull me out of any bad mood. I become thuroughly excited when it comes on the radio and belt it out as if no one is watching... even if they are. Stronger, by Mandisa.

 so like I said, onward and upward.

The vacation of ALL vacations

So a lot of you may have known that I just got back to Hawaii from a lengthy vacation. I was away from the island for about 18 days which is the longest vacation I've ever taken in my life. I had an amazing time, got to see a lot of family, eat food we don't have in HI, and shop shops we don't have in HI but it's nice to be back home.
   So my adventure started with me arriving in KC on my birthday so that evening family came over for cake and ribs and all that good stuff. The next morning mom, dad and I took off towards Michigan. Yes, I can still sleep from our driveway until we reach Chicago, and I did. We were in Michigan for about 9 days and in that time I got to see some family, went to Mackinac Island, and spent a ton of time with Michelle. It was abnormally hot but other than that the stay was good and like any other year it was hard to leave.
  On our way home from Michigan we stopped in Illinois to drop in on Jeremy and Elisha. I had never seen their new house, which was beautiful and perfect for them. Sadly we didn't stay long, we left the next morning to return home.
   One back in Kansas my main focus was to get my fill of shopping and food that I don't have access to in Hawaii. Mostly food though, I made sure to hit up Luigi's, Chipotle, Olive Garden, Stix and other chinese restaurants. It was so delicious but I think I've gained some pounds.
   Three days later, my friend Rachel and I were jet setting off to sunny LA for the CrossFit Games. For those of you who don't know, CrossFit is the workout program Robert and I do and the CF Games are basically the olympics for the sport. Even though I wasn't competing it was amazing and inspiring to watch. I can't wait to go back next year.
   Now I'm back in Hawaii enjoying the gym, the neutral weather, my family of believers. These women are truly a blessing to me and I am certain God sent me to Hawaii to grow for Him.