I take a look back at the life Christ died for, mine. Although He was always there I wasn’t always aware. I was lost but now I am found and f o r e v e r grateful. Not only did I gain an identity in Him but I also gained a purpose, love. I must love others the way He has relentlessly and undauntedly loved me. In that love I pray that the world will see Jesus and be drawn to His light, love, and grace.

I take a look back at the life Christ died for, mine. Although He was always there I wasn’t always aware. I was lost but now I am found and f o r e v e r grateful. Not only did I gain an identity in Him but I also gained a purpose, love. I must love others the way He has relentlessly and undauntedly loved me. In that love I pray that the world will see Jesus and be drawn to His light, love, and grace.

I take a look back at the life Christ died for, mine. Although He was always there I wasn’t always aware. I was lost but now I am found and f o r e v e r grateful. Not only did I gain an identity in Him but I also gained a purpose, love. I must love others the way He has relentlessly and undauntedly loved me. In that love I pray that the world will see Jesus and be drawn to His light, love, and grace.

I take a look back at the life Christ died for, mine. Although He was always there I wasn’t always aware. I was lost but now I am found and f o r e v e r grateful. Not only did I gain an identity in Him but I also gained a purpose, love. I must love others the way He has relentlessly and undauntedly loved me. In that love I pray that the world will see Jesus and be drawn to His light, love, and grace.

A Message of Compassion

I am sure that you all have heard of the story about how Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 with only 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. If you haven’t, can I encourage you to do so? It’s in Matthew 14. It was a great miracle Jesus preformed that day but that is not the main focus of what I am writing about now. While reading this story I was really touched by a certain line:

"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."

Now to fully take in this moment you have to know about the one prior. Jesus had just heard His friend John the Baptist was murdered and because of that He left his disciples to be alone. It’s not many times in the Bible when you hear about Jesus venturing off to be by himself so for the times that He did you know it must have been something serious. Although Jesus had a heart for all those who died John the Baptist hit a little closer to home. Not only was John the one to baptized Jesus, they were also cousins. So to then hear John died due to a selfish king’s senseless actions made it even harder to bare. 

Whether troubled times are up ahead, you are in the midst of them, or you just got through them, to continually stand firm like He did is a thing many of us wish we could do. 
That is what truly snags at my heart strings. Jesus gave up his own personal time to be with the people. He had a heart to see beyond himself and reach the helpless. Imagine if everyone - me included - just gave up a little of their time instead of justifying it to fit their needs. Imagine how much lovelier the world would be.

Despite feeling upset and wanting to be alone, Jesus put his emotions aside for the need of others. How does someone do that? The death of any loved one makes focusing your mind on anything else one of the most difficult tasks in the world. Nonetheless, Jesus still HAD COMPASSION when the people came seeking him out. Everyone would have understood the circumstances had He chosen to say He couldn’t help but He didn’t. In His grief Jesus saw that He was still able to bless and help others so He did just that. In his sadness He still had a heart for everyone.

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Your grace and compassion know no end. Thank you Jesus for being the purest form of love this world has ever known.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cboH_vVyvE?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

Guest Blogger: March

I used to work in a shoe store; you would know that if you saw my wardrobe. They say that if you own 2 pairs of shoes then you are in the top 10% of the wealthiest in the world, well given my collection I could possibly be the 1%!


I worked there for 2 years whilst studying and made some great friends. Generally my work mates were all girls, they ranged from 18-23 years old, I love them all, they are generous, funny, caring and beautiful but the one thing they all have in common is that they are obsessed with cosmetic surgery! A lot of the conversations they had with each other were about what they were getting done, what they’ve had done and what they are hoping to get done. Which for me, coming from the Church bubble really really surprised me.

What I realised is that we are all broken people, and we’re all searching for something. What I’ve noticed, not just about them but myself is that we are looking for approval and acceptance, and I saw this in my friends from work. Maybe it was approval from themselves, maybe from each other, maybe from boyfriends, other friends or maybe from society as a whole.

I tend to have this same cry as well, that I “need” to be liked by everyone, that if I’m not, then there is something wrong with me, and it needs to be fixed. But what I believe as a Christian is that Jesus fulfills every single one of our needs, whether it’s comfort, security, approval, acceptance or anything else we can come up with. The reason why Christians are, and should be, so counter-cultural is that we are simply fulfilled by Jesus, that we don’t need the things of this world.

 

So what I decided to do was put my thoughts to paper, on this idea that it’s quite obvious we’re not all “perfect”, there are things about ourselves that we don’t like or that we wish we could change, and it’s not just physical things but also our personalities and fixing our broken relationship with God. I want these girls to understand about the God that created them, what he thinks about them and that through Jesus they have ALL the approval they could ever need and ALL the acceptance they could ever want.


This is a revolutionary idea, and it’s a challenge, when the whole world is going one direction, it’s not the easiest thing to take a step of faith and decide to go the opposite direction. There isn’t always an instant pay off, sometimes we may not see the fruit of our choices but it is a game changer when we can get to a place as Paul did in Philippians 3:8 when we can say “I consider all things as loss…that I may gain Christ”.

What a life we have been called to live!

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For the month of February I’d like you all to meet Josh Hawkins. Not only does he inspire but he’s just an all-around chill and funny guy with a great story to tell. Don’t believe me, just click on the word funny and you’ll see what I mean. After you have been thoroughly convinced head on over to his blog, Hi Josh for some more cool stuff.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Movin' to the country, gon' eat me lotta peaches

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If you’re like me and you have ventured out to the great unknown or are planning to, here is a compilation of a few things - some practical and some more personal - I have learned about moving to another city/country/continent (Pick one that suits you best).

Leave your baggage behind. Your future self will thank you for it. When you forgo all the things that you only think you need and hold on to items of actual importance and quality your view of everything changes for the better. And I am not simply talking about physical items either, I mean things like moments and emotions too. Travel light and go further. Not to mention, it gives you a great excuse to fully immerse yourself in that new culture and get accustomed to something else.

"If you use the same bricks from your old house to build a new home, you’re gonna get the same results." While it’s cool to say that you were given a fresh start it’s not cool have spent all your time wasting it. Use this opportune time to exceed your past expectations. Put in more work. Change your style. Be adventurous. Be an introvert. Start going on daily walks. Go ahead and put your first dollar into that savings account you’ve been planning to create for the last 5 years. Read a book. Join a plant club. Now is the best time to do anything.

Take public transportation for the first 3 months. Your future self will also thank  you for this because when you finally get that yellow Lambo you will have  a better sense of your surroundings and  actually know where you’re going.

Know that it is MORE than okay to not make friends within the first few months of your arrival. There are a lot of blogs out there that advise you to make all the besties you can but I want you to know, it’s okay if you don’t follow that path. I’m not saying you will go through the same thing, but because I expected to have great friends off the bat actually made it harder and a lot more disappointing when it didn’t happen. However, I used that time to connect with God and with myself (see 2 paragraphs below). Eventually, I did find (actually, more like they found me) a really solid group of people that I have come to call family.

Work. You may have come here to start anew, climb up the (add your preferred field of work here) ladder but things will take time. Be prepared to use your brain, hands and heart to (l)earn all that you can.

Hang out with yourself. And no  I’m not just talking about spending alone time at home and watching T.V. I mean go out, have coffee, attend an exhibition at your local - or the next town over - museum. Be open to new. Get to know yourself again. Chances are, with a change in location, you also have a few changes in personality. Find out what you don’t like anymore, or get invested in something you have now come to love. Additionally, with that said, don’t forget old “habits”. These are the things that ground you. For me, it’s spending time with God by reading the Bible, praying, and listing to praise and worship music. It helps me to remember that although I took this trip by myself I am not alone. For you, it could be talking to your sister at least once a week, finding time to cook dinner during the weekend, running in the mornings, etc.

Start a savings account like ASAP. Don’t say that you just spent all your money on food, gas, rent, internet, etc. Blah, blah, blah. All that was heard was a  long list of excuses. You can start with putting at least one dollar a day away and build on it from there.

Ask questions. Don’t be a nervous Nicholas and think asking will make you look dumb. You know what will, walking around the same intersection for more than 10 minutes because you thought you could figure it out yourself. Same goes with everything else, ask what’s in the food before you spend 20 dollars on the plate, raise your hand in class when the word “ute” gets brought up like 20 times and you have no clue what a ute is, stop someone so you can find out what time it is, etc. Just ask questions.

Call home at least once a week and keep in contact with your friends. I would say no explanation needed here but I really want to drive this point home. Don’t forget where you came from and the support system that helped you to get to where you are. It’s all too easy to go a while without reaching out but even if it’s just a little  text or email to say “I miss you”.  Also, never  ever underestimate the power of leaving a message. Just because they didn’t pick up on the first try, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t love to hear you when they get the chance to check their voice mail (Call me cray but I still have a few messages saved from my siblings and parents from over a year ago just because it warms my heart to hear them when I know they can’t talk).

 I’ve said it before (#6) but I’ll repeat myself for good measure. Tread cautiously when it comes to social network pages. Don’t spend so much time on those sites and end up wishing you had a different life. Pictures and posts from other people only tell you 1/4 of the story and none of the true struggle. I can assure you that they are going through the same thing you are.

Oh yes, and lastly, stay thankful. There will be moments where you will question your reasoning and/or sanity for being here  but remember how blessed you are to be in a position that thousands of others would fight tooth and nail for. You might think you have gotten nowhere but I bet if your 6-year-old self could, he or she would PROUDLY bring you in to show you off on career day.

From Portland, Oregon to Sydney, Australia

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This time last year I was a 21-year-old girl with two suitcases to her name and a head full of dreams. Today I’m still that same girl, only I’m 22, those suitcases are now unpacked with the belongings settled in my closet, and that head of mine now has bigger dreams.

These last 12 months have been such a whirlwind of emotions, thoughts, and actions. I’m finding it quite difficult to actually sum up everything I’ve been through to present to you guys in a cute little package. However, as I write this, the song Oceans by Hillsong comes to mind.

For all the countless times this song has been played and the  of hundreds of  others that it has been quoted on one blog or another, I am sure that with each one this song has held a different meaning.

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"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine”

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My year has been nothing like I planned or hoped but with that said, it has actually been far better and greater than I imagined. Never would I have imagined myself leading a small campus youth group while en route to becoming a campus minister (Don’t let the title scare you There are no tight white collars and lack of colors around here). I surely would not have seen myself befriending the people I have today - not because of who they are but because of who I was. Lastly, amongst many other unmentioned things, everyday I seem to fall in love with God and His grace a bit more than I think to be possible.

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As easy as it was to list all those things that I have been blessed with, getting them was not. I’ve had my fair share of troubles and doubts, times where all I wanted to do was run back home, travel back in time and pretend that my problems were not my own. However, I couldn’t and the the realization that I couldn’t was painful and surprisingly tiring.

Australia is not some place where you go and the sun shines ever yday, life is  easy and full. It is not the place where your dreams come true… unless you will it to be. For a good portion of this last year, I relied solely on the fact that I had moved to AUSTRALIA! , and that living here would all of a sudden make my life cool and complete. But like any unstable foundation, that excuse started to crumble. God showed me that even the greenest of grasses can turn brown without Him. The most beautiful places on earth are mere smudges without His guiding hand to help you see.

That is one of the biggest lessons I have learned this year. I think God brought me to this exact place to help me realize that. It took a lot of hard work on my part and unreasonable amounts of patience, grace, love, and understanding on His to get me to this permanent mindset.

So whether this next year brings me back Oregon rain or keeps me under Sydney sun, I know I am going to be okay and even more grateful for any position I am put in.

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Lastly, to all who were with me from the beginning or even yesterday; if you read a blog post or all of them; encouraged me; missed sleep because of the crazy Australia-America time difference just to give me an ear to talk to; dished out advice or a mouthful of prayer; if you are family, friends, or just an acquittance; whatever hand you put in or fingerprint you left upon my life I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. This journey and my life would not be the same without you. The blessings you all have been to me, I pray the same for you 100 fold. I love you guys.

Selah

Some days I forget to selah (pause, breathe, and give thanks) and that leaves me with an overwhelming feeling of stress, doubt, and anxiety. However, before those feelings have time to take root, this is what God tells me:

If you stop comparing you can see it.
If you stop rushing you can feel it.
If you stop complaining you can hear it.
If you just stop you can notice that life is good.
Life is beautiful.
You are blessed.

It’s then that I am reminded of the truth, that I am right where I need (and want) to be.

God is not a "Becky"

Have you ever had  one of those: “you bought something really cute with your best friend only to have gotten home and realize that the blue one you didn’t get looked totally better on you than the red one that’s now sitting in the back if your closet. And come to find out that same best friend totally thought you were making a mistake but was too nice to tell you anyway” moments? For purpose’s sake lets call that friend Becky* - everyone has a friend like Becky right? They mean well but that kind-hearted persona of theirs doesn’t bid well with the moments you really need tough love. 

I found myself reminiscing over my years in high school when I realized how grateful I now am that God was anything but a Becky during that time. 
Yes, I had my fair share of let-downs, minor disappointments, and changed plans but that was God’s way of tough love. The tough love that up until now I never knew I needed. 
(Disclaimer: it’s about to get a bit personal) If I had had the courage to ask a certain guy to Winter Formal I would have never gone stag with a group of girls and had one of the most fun nights of my high school career; if I did make the varsity volleyball team I would have never learned about certain  skills/gifts I had while participating on my school’s  leadership team. Or take that time I somehow managed to turn down that one guy who asked me out (TERRIBLE, in fact, HORRENDOUS flirting skills on my end), if I said yes I who knows how that relationship would have changed me. 

Look, what I’m trying to say here is that a “no” can be just as great as a “yes”. It’s all up to you on how it’s perceived.  
 
God is gonna give us a few “no”s in life but it’s not to harm us, it may hurt but it definitely won’t harm us. Nos are the necessary guidelines we need in life in order to make our years the best possible. They are ways of God saying, ”I love you so very much that saying no is the only way I can protect you from the harm you cannot see.”  Or in my case,  they are His way of saying, “Hold on I have something way greater in store for you.”

Just think, when you finally get that yes, it wouldn’t be as sweet if it weren’t preceded by a few of those two-lettered words. So from now on, whatever “no” comes your way take it with a grain of salt but with a whole dash of love.
"I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." - Jeremiah 29:11 (The Message)

Ps. Nothing against the name or any person named Becky, it was just the first name that came to mind.