Often times we think, after getting out of a relationship, that it is a race to see who will date someone else first. However, I believe if there is any test (and clearly this competitive mindset is less than mature, but hey we all think it so let’s be real), it is to see who will not end up in another breakup first. So that’s one of the reasons why I’ve seen staying single as a strong move. Not only does singleness (not the desperate, “I can’t wait to be in a relationship” but the “I’m just fine without one” mentality), show independence and strength but it shows wholeness. It shows that you do not need someone else to “complete you” (gag). You are whole. Christ is the only one that completes us and makes us whole. No person can fulfill that for you.

But being single also helps you to figure out who you are and what you want. It allows you to invest in relationships with friends and family. It allows you to have freedom. It allows for healing. It also gives you time to figure out what you want in a relationship. And ultimately, you dodge breakups by not rushing. Let’s admit it, only fools rush in. Taking time for yourself is totally healthy and it feels good. It is strength because it’s easy to get into relationships, it’s hard to wait for the right relationship.

So while I may be alone, in the words of Kelly Clarkson, doesn’t mean I’m lonely. I’m far from lonely. The lonely are the ones who NEED that next relationship to mask their loneliness for a time. But the fear of being lonely, only causes you to run into traps that lead to being alone.

I know I am never alone for my God is with me. His being promises me that. So yes my relationship status may say “single” and may stay that way for a while, but I am completely okay with that. Because I for one, will not let just anybody change that. When God brings around the right man, then I will have avoided much heartbreak for his sake. He will have a whole person to be in a relationship with. A whole person, only dependent on the Lord who will be healthy and able to love him with a selfless love. The sad truth is, the lonely can’t love selflessly because they are loving with the hope of love returned. Selfless love comes from deep commitment to a person, and it gives love as a free gift expecting nothing in return…just as the Father has loved us.

is coming true.

God is moving things faster than I ever expected.

It’s actually happening.

and in the end, more will be placed back into the hands of their Creator.

Hearts will be healed, and lives will begin.

Because a relationship with the Lord is the only life there is. All else is death.

Eternal life is knowing Jesus, my Lord.

So let’s snatch people out of death and introduce them to life.

…after all, that’s what the dream is all about.

Monday night. 7:27pm. be there!

This above phrase is often my facebook status when Monday rolls around, or at least something to that effect. Monday evenings are when we have “club” for Young Life. This is the big night of the week when we invite high schoolers to come hang out and have a blast. I could go on about how cool club is and ultimately how awesome this ministry is, but I’m going to try to stick to the story. However, if you have questions and want to know more about Young Life, please do-ask me :)

This Monday night was scheduled to be an event we like to call, “Skit Club.” What that means is that instead of our regular schedule, we (and by we I mean leaders and kids but mostly kids!) put together a night a hilarious skits to perform before the message is given.

A good while ago, oh I’d say over a month, our team had a meeting. When skit night came up, I was all over it. I really wanted an opportunity to step up as a leader, to plan this night like never before, and to make it a great time for kids and leaders. However, the Tuesday before skit night came like a thief in the night. All of a sudden, through the mist of dead week, then finals - wrapping up the school year, skit night was here! Our “head leader” met with me to discuss the approaching club and all I had to offer was a skeleton idea of what I wanted the night to look like.

That evening we talked details for how to get kids involved, when we would have them practice and brainstormed ideas for skits. And I left determined to take what I had and run with it. All kinds of ideas had been floating around in my mind for weeks but now was the time to put it all on paper and execute.

My first task was to have skits picked out for kids to sign up the very next morning when we would meet for Bible study, we like to call it “campaigners.” So I stayed up late that evening searching for skits, watching videos, gathering ideas, typing up a schedule, figuring our how many kids we needed, and preparing myself for the early morning scrabble that would take place as we asked kids to volunteer.

Let me tell you, I worked harder on that then I worked on homework or studied for finals. Not because it was painstaking work, no no no. Simply because once I got started I didn’t want to stop. I loved what I was doing. I loved knowing that somehow what I was doing was going to further the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. I loved the thought that kids were going to be working with leaders to put this night together. It thrilled me.

And when I showed up Wednesday morning with my folder full of papers and my imagination full of ideas, I enthusiastically explained each new skit to our campaigners. Skit after skit they volunteered and filled every position we had. I was so impressed by their willingness to sacrifice some dignity for the sake of others’ joy.

Some volunteered to stub their toes, some to drink what looked like chunky milk, some to be tackled by someone twice their size, some to eat a hairy peanut butter sandwich, some to dance and sing to a song from the Lion King, some to sneeze incessantly, some to have banana smashed in their face, some to read pop songs as if it was “dramatic poetry” and the list goes on. The bottom line is, I know some really awesome high schoolers.

Additionally, I have an awesome team. Not only do these leaders volunteer their time to be with high school kids, but they weekly put together an awesome club. Not only did they volunteer to be in a goofy leader skit, but they each took on a skit and helped their kids put it together. Not only did they dedicate time and effort to this event, but they showed kids who Jesus is through their excellent leadership of those kids. By this team I am endlessly impressed and blessed. I’m so thankful that I get to work with a group of people who have a heart for lost kids and for the Gospel of Christ. For this, I thank my Lord. I am so grateful that He has allowed me to be a part of what He is doing.

After Wednesday morning, the task of putting together this night was at the forefront of my mind daily. It almost didn’t matter much to me anymore that I was moving out of the dorms, had another final or two to finish, and had a fun weekend planned - my heart and mind were fixed on Monday night. I tried to post a video on our campaigner facebook page each day to stir excitement and to keep kids from forgetting about their roles in the club to come. Kids were encouraged to make it their own and to invite as many friends to come as possible. Someone made an event on facebook, others posted statuses about it, some kids even met before Monday to work on their skit together. By all of this I was encouraged and impressed.

Monday came and I headed off to my favorite coffee shop. I spent the morning and early afternoon piecing together final details for the night. Just about everything was in place and when six o’clock rolled around, the kids showed up ready to shine. We had schedules, and lists, and scripts, and transitions. But most importantly, we had people. People ready to laugh. People ready to make others laugh. People excited to be there, to play their part, and to do what it takes to put on “Skit Club.”

Skit after skit, I watched kids own the night. They took control of their club and had a blast doing that. I watched kids laugh until their abs ached and they got to be kids. And at the end of the night they listened to one of our leaders share Jesus with them. With the “toothbrush challenge” given to them, they headed off to Carl’s Jr to have conversations with leaders and enjoy time with their friends. One more Monday night, so many more seeds planted in the hearts of kids who are dying to know this God that loves them so.

In her freshly coffee-stained car, Austen, her sister and I drove out to Portland. We found a nice spot to park, put some money in the meter and went to an evening church service.

We enjoyed some great worship, met some people, watched people get baptized, and heard a great message on a passage from Philippians. Also, I ran in to a girl I had met at a Young Life camp. We were excited to be reunited and to talk about the things God is doing in our lives and in our ministries.

After church, we decided to grab donuts so we hit up Voodoo Too. That’s right, we hit both Voodoo Donut shops in Portland within 24 hours.

When we got back home, I got to have a conversation with Austen’s dad about Young Life and other youth ministries. This was a very encouraging conversation and interesting as I gleaned from his research and experience.

Besides the fact that it is always encouraging to talk about my experience with Young Life and the direction I believe God is leading me in that, it is also encouraging to have opportunities to inform people about what this ministry is all about. Although I feel this is the very thing that I am still learning, God is equipping me for my calling. He keeps me humble through it all but encourages me not to buy into the lies that say that I am not adequate for the road ahead, the big adventure of life that God has invited me into.

One thing you should know about the family I was staying with is that they love their coffee. Naturally, the next morning started with a coffee-run.

Everyone wrote their order on an orange sticky-note. Austen and I took the orders and were off for the 30-45 minute round trip to the nearest Dutch Brothers.

Go to Dutch. Order your five drinks. Get them home. Enjoy your coffee.

Sounds like a pretty easy list of tasks to complete, right?

As anticipated, the line was long with at least six cars and a few people standing outside at the window. This was something we were both used to, so we sat back and waited patiently for our turn to order. We finally pulled up to the window and we handed in our order of drinks.

So far, so good.

The girl at the window handed us a drink carrier with three drinks. We waited for the last two drinks, redistributed them (Austen wanted her coffee so we placed it in her cup holder), and when we were handed the last drinks we placed them in the carrier. We paid for our drinks, said thank you, and pulled out. We soon arrived home and everyone got their drinks and lived happily every after…wait. Rewind. That is not at all how the story ends.

Of course that’s how it was supposed to go, but why then the title coffee stains for such a stain-free story? Put the car in reverse and let’s go back to that moment when we got the very last drink.

The last drink given to us was a large iced coffee drink. It wascarefullyplaced in to the cup holder. It seemed happy and content in that temporary home, but we quickly found out how false that was.

Austen pulled out of Dutch, boom ba-doom-doom (you can hear it too, can’t you?), and soon the drink went flying! Coffee went flying, ice went flying, and we soon had an empty cup on our hands. We pulled into the parking lot across the street from Dutch to find that most of the coffee and ice had conveniently landed in the cup holder, yes the same cup holder containing Austen’s coffee! Her hot kicker was swimming in iced coffee, and her first move? Save her coffee! ..of course! We drove back over to Dutch, and it couldn’t have been more than 90 seconds since we had pulled out. The employees there new just what had happened and quickly armed us with towels and a new coffee,thanks Dutch!

It took two towels and several hand scoops of ice to empty out that cup holder. Practically the entire coffee was in there! Thankfully, not a whole lot of coffee got on the floor and seats. Slightly less frazzled, now that the mess was clean, we went for our second attempt to complete our mission. This second attempt was far more successful than the first. When we got back, we told the story to her family and handed out their coffees. We concluded this adventure with the acknowledgment that Austen’s car has “mocha” colored seats, which hide coffee stains so well.

Anne directed me out of Newberg and off we were, on to Oregon City where I would meet up with a friend of mine and stay with her family for the weekend.

As soon as I arrived at her place it was time to head out the door for our girls night out. Her sister’s prom was that night and we were going to use the limo her sister and friends took to prom while they danced the night away. So we went to dinner, by we I mean Austen, her mom and a couple of her mom’s friends. After dinner the limo had already dropped the kids off at prom and the five of us ladies took charge of the limo.

A night like that is never complete with out music, good food and laughs, all of which we enjoyed the whole night through. We had chips and salsa, amongst other snacks, while in the limo. We also had a great driver who was funny and enjoyed joking and laughing with us.

We drove around Portland and enjoyed the excitement of the Cinco De Mayo festival that was being held there. We rolled down the windows and waved to pedestrians. I used the quote from Princess Diaries and said, “Thank you for being here today” in a British accent to the people we waved at.

First, we stopped at a fancy chocolate shop where we purchased a few “shots” of drinking chocolate. This was rich, warm, dark chocolate like I’ve never tasted before.

Our second stop was a little place called VooDoo donuts. Usually, this place is packed with a line that stretches along the outside of the building. However, we came at just the right time when the line was barely out of the door. We quickly ordered our donuts, with one for our awesome driver of course, and headed out the door back to our large black limo.

After that, we decided to just drive past the prom and past as many people downtown as possible. We had a blast waving at people and interacting. We sometimes even kept the window half way up and only stuck our hands out to wave, trying to look like celebrities. We laughed and laughed at our goofy attempts at our 15 minutes of fame and at the various responses people gave to us. Some people took out cameras and started snapping photos of us- a few crazy women enjoying a Girls. Night. Out. :)

Hello :) it has been far too long since I have written consistently, or at all for that matter. Therefore, I have concluded that the best way to kick off this summer is to write a series of blogs documenting what I have been calling “My Adventure.”

I moved out of my dorm room officially on Saturday and that is where this adventure begins. When I left, the dorm was basically abandoned and no one was there to watch me pull out of that parking lot for the last time. It was a goodbye I was not anxious to make and I took my time that afternoon. And as I shut the door of my car, I could hear the sound of a completed book being shut. This chapter of my life is over and that is not just bitter but it is thrilling as well.

Thrilling? Well, sure! Because it means that a new stage of life is before me. God is calling me to step forward into a new season of “adulthood.” Not only do I have this summer of working, volunteering, and summer courses to look forward to, but I also have this ten day adventure before me. I left Corban on my way to the start of a week and a half of couch hopping, fast food, driving, spontaneous activities, young life stuff, possible interviews, and lots of coffee.

I’m not sure of what this week will hold. And that is partially what makes it an adventure. And so far there have been some stories worth telling. So for the few people out there who might actually follow this series, thank you. And I hope you enjoy the stories that are soon to be experienced and shared.

Welcome to the adventure. Let’s see where God takes us :)

Anne is a key character that I should introduce to you before I begin this series of stories. Anne helps me, a directionally challenged California driver. She is the voice that leads this adventure, geographically at least. Anne is my navigator, literally. You see, I have an Android phone that has a navigation system that leads me to each destination that I will talk about. I named her Anne because for one she has a female voice but also she is an ANdroid. ;) see what I did there?

So as Anne and I pulled out of the parking lot of a dorm that would no longer be my home, my friendly GPS led me to Newberg, Oregon. It was there that I would pay the student price for a ticket to see a few high school choirs perform for state!

Why was I at a high school choir state competition, you ask? Well, you see, I am involved in a high school ministry with awesome kids and some of them were performing. Naturally, I wanted to be there to support them.

I arrived at the college where the competition was held, and nostalgia kicked in as I had been here before. This particular college just happens to be the one that more than two years ago, I thought I would be the one where I would end up at. This had been my number one choice for months however, it was not at all where God was leading me. God led me right to where I was supposed to be and I am so thankful for that.

As I entered the building my eyes and ears were open for kids that I know. I mean, that’s the whole reason I was there! So I found a place to sit and watched one choir perform. When they finished I quickly exited and went to retrieve my glasses from the car. I hate to admit it, but I need them. And I wanted to be able to see the kids up on stage so I wasn’t going to let my eyes get in the way of that.

When I got back inside I decided that getting a “good seat” was not my first priority. I observed that kids were lining up in the lobby before they got up on stage, and decided that I would plant myself out in the lobby until I saw my kids come through. Soon enough it was the moment we were all waiting for (excuse the drama, but it’s kind of fun right?). The high school I was waiting for was lined up and walking into the lobby. I stood where they couldn’t help but pass me. I said hello to every kid I recognized and even some I didn’t know at all! A few kids ran up and gave me giant hugs, this was exactly why I was there. I got to wish them all good luck and encouraged them before they even hit the stage.

As they walked in, I did the same and grabbed myself a seat- which is so much easier to do when you’re alone then when you’re with a group! I planted myself in a chair, put my glasses on and grinned from ear to ear as those kids quickly filed on to the stage.

I know that I am a biased source, but let me tell you, those kids were fantastic! They even won second place at the end of it and the highest overall performance score. They blessed me with their songs, some of which were praising the Lord. One song was completely based on Psalm 23. As I listened to their songs I couldn’t help but smile at the fact that they were praising God, and yet many of them didn’t even know it. Some of those kids, possibly most of them, don’t know the God that they were singing about or why theyshall fear no evil.It was beautiful to know that my God was receiving praise and that all the people in that room could hear it. This stirred my heart for God and for the gospel.

I left that evening blessed, encouraged and ready for the next installment of my adventure… :)

learning that loving someone includes being happy for them in the hard times when you want to be jealous or angry, just because they’re happy.
even if it breaks you. even if what makes them happy means they can’t exist to you.

Losing something precious to you, letting it spread its wings, may be the hardest thing for you but the best thing for the one you love. This can be true in so many different circumstances.

All I know is it would be silly for me to be anything but happy. Your happiness should never break my heart, there’s just no reason for it. So I’m looking for a remedy for the constant sting, smiling and laughing for you instead of looking back.

You are happy, and that is exactly what I prayed for. I have to see this as answered prayer, because any other view is not truth, nor reality and only breaks me into more pieces than I was ever made of.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about this word adore. Haven’t you ever just adored someone? I know I have. There have been people in my life that I simply adored, or that I still adore.
Adoring, is not completely synonymous with love, appreciation or esteem. There is a difference - you see, we easily tell someone we love them. It is far more rare to say: “I adore you.” Love seems to be more of a choice; we choose who we love. When you adore someone, they seem to somehow (often unintentionally) choose you.

Adoring someone is when you can turn to look at the object of your adoration and instantly a smile dances across your face - it really doesn’t matter what mundane thing that person is doing, you are filled with happiness at the sight of that person you adore. It won’t matter to you if he smells bad, you’ll hug him. Forget sleep, you’ll stay up to talk to her. You anticipate time spent with that person, you anticipate a response, you anticipate their sound, scent, and presence. You’ll want that person to know how deeply you care for him or her. When you adore someone, you adore them simply for being who they are. You adore them for them. You adore their characteristics, their quirks, their existence.

Lately, this is the word God is talking to me about. ADORE.

“Child, adore me,” is what I hear Him saying to me.

I’ve been exploring this idea of what it means to adore God. To adore Him simply because of his existence. There are many parallels between adoring God and what it looks like to adore other people. The biggest difference is that God completely deserves this adoration. I want my life to be a statement that says, “I adore you, Lord.” Every single aspect of my life can show the world that I adore the Great I Am.

Learning this concept is so beautiful, but adoration requires abandonment. In order to show complete adoration of God, I must abandon all else. I have to abandon self, desires, dreams. And yet we have to see that it is worth it, because God, in our adoration, reveals His greatest to us. He is the giver of all good gifts and He replaces all those things we abandon with Himself, knowing that He is all we could ever hope for, dream of, or desire.


God chose us to adore Him not just because He loves us, not because of what He did for us, and not because of what He continues to do for us. We are chosen to adore Him for who He is. We can adore Him simply for His existence. How beautiful our worship might look if we kept this in mind. What a joy to see that He made us to adore Him, He who is love, He who chose us.


Come, let us ADORE Him.

you catch yourself smiling because of all the beautiful things the day held :)