Life Lessons 101

Wow, life has been a crazy whirlwind lately!! I went to Yakima with my youth group last week to work with Habitat for Humanty for a week, and it was an AWESOME experience!! I was able to serve God and His children through my hard work (despite my sun-burned, or roasted, legs and arms :p), get to know other kids from my YG a LOT better, hang out with the youth group of the church we were staying at, and have a flame reignited in my heart, mind, and life for my God and His word. I could talk for hours on this, but I have more to cover, so I won't... 0:)

Then, starting this last Monday morning, I worked as a Travel Guide in my church's VBS program. A Travel Guide is a leader that sticks with one age group over the 4 days and works with the individule kids. This year the theme was an Amazon Jungle Adventure, so we learned all about the Amazon and the animals there, made animal/bug/jungle crafts, played topic-related games, and sang fun songs with motions like:


"Pack your Bible, grab your gear, get on-board cuz we're outta here!
Down the river, through the trees, the jungle waits for you and me!
Come along with me to the amazing Amazon!
What things we'll see in the amazing Amazon!
No need to fear in the amazing Amazon!
Jesus is here in the amazing Amazon!"


This year I got to work with the Primary group (K-1st grade completed), and it was amazing to see the love and innocence (or lack thereof in some) that these angels held in their precious little eyes! But I learned a LOT through working with them from how to explain the Gospel to a 7 year old girl to seeing things in their most simple and beautiful nature to actually getting things out of the Bible stories that other adults told the kids over the week! In the way of the stories, one gal told the story of Elijah and how he went to the widow and asked her for water and bread. Now, who knows how many billions of times I've heard that story!

Basic plot line is this: Elijah is in hiding from an evil king, there's a famine in the land so he goes in search of food/water, finds a widow gathering wood and asks her for a drink and some bread, and turns out she only has about a handful of flour and a little bit of oil left. In fact, she just happened to be collecting the last pieces of wood so she could bake up what little flour and oil she had left into bread so she and her son could, as she told Elijah, "..have our last meal and then die.." basically. But he insists on her baking him some bread, so she takes most of what she has left and bakes him the bread. Now, this is where it got interesting..

Whenever I've heard the story in the past, they always tell it that she went back to bake the last few bites of bread for her and her son, and when she reached into the flour jar... Wait! It's FULL!!! Flips the lid on the oil can... It's full too!! In fact they're BOTH overflowing with flour and oil when before she had been basically out. Now that's nice and all, but I *really* like how this lady told it! She said she pictures the widow going back and reaching in and finding a full handful of flour, but not much more. She's totally blown away tho because she *knew* she didn't have more than half a handful there. And same with the oil! There was just enough to make what she needed for that day. :) And every day she came back, there was miraculasly enough flour and oil left over to take care of her, her son's, and Elijah's needs. I really like the sound of that, oddly enough, because instead of being overwhelmed and possibly spoiled by the over-abundance, the three of them were blessed by constantly having *just enough* to supply for our needs! The Bible says His blessings are sufficient, not not wasted. Didn't God tell the Israelites to gather just enough manna to get them through the day and no more? I really like the thought of my God being sufficient to supply my needs. :)

Anyway, enough for tonight. Right now my needs are a good night's sleep after 2 weeks loaded with hard work and short amounts of sleep. :p So sleep well all of you! :) God bless, and may you experience God's devine sufficiency in your life throughout this week!

Much love in Him,

<>< Christi <><

The sky was growing dark...

The air was thin and cold, and the moon and stars barely shown through the thick cloud cover.

7 year old Grace was lost. *Hopelessly* lost. She and her father had been hiking through the mountains all day and he had warned her to stay close and follow him. But there was this side trail, and she reeeally wanted to know where it would go, so she had decided to try it. After all, how bad could it be?

"Just as long as I make it quick and get back on the main trail, then I can catch back up with daddy!" One turn led to another, which led to another, which led to another, and before she knew it, she was lost.

She wandered around in darkness for hours trying to find the one trail that would lead her back to the campsite. Up this hill, down another. Along a stream, beside a canyon. Scaling some glaciers, falling over snow fields. No matter where she went and how far she walked, she just seemed to be getting herself deeper into trouble.

Finally Grace came to a clearing on a hill. She looked around, anxiously scanning the surrounding forest for any sign of her father or camp. No luck. Grace fell to her knees as tears began to flow from eyes that were previously attempting to hide the fear she felt inside. But as the realization of the truth began to hit her, all attemts failed miserably. She was alone in a dark forest and couldn't find her way home to her father. What was she to do?!?

Just then, she heard a noise: Footsteps! Then she saw something moving slowly toward her: A flashlight! She cried out with all the energy she had left as her father ran up to her and picked her up in his arms and held her tightly."

(Hey guys, I have to get off now because it's getting late and I'm very tired and leaving for a mission trip to Yakima tomorrow! So, if you see this in time, be praying for my youth group as we work with Habitat for Humanity to do whatever work is needed so that we can more effectivly reach those who need Him. It's gunna be an awesome trip, and we'd really appreciate your prayers! God bless you all, and I'll finish it when I get home... and after I learn the answer. :) Have an awesome week!!!)

Updates Galore!

Hey ya'll! :D I'm back again!!! *hears groans through computer speakers and dodges a digital rotten tomato* Ahhh, good to be home again..? :p Lol!

Anyway, sorry about the last 4 messages; I was kinda sorta trying to update my Blog by phone, and it kept telling me that the message wasn't sending, so I kept sending it. I finally got fed up and gave up. And none too soon I guess! :p

Moving right along, lol... An update. :) I just got home from a 10-day vacation to the East coast with my family (for more info on that, as well as pictures, check out my other blog :D). It was an awesome trip! ;) But even better than going places I've never been, spending "quality" time with my family (:P), and making memories that will last a lifetime, was the fact that I learned a lesson I wish I could have learned YEARS ago.

So I have this HUGE issue with something that shouldn't even BE an issue. It's called "Being Myself". Not a cool thing to not be able to do. You live your life struggling to retain your own identity, yet changing this and that detail here and there over and over again to make other people like you till the point that you're no longer you anymore. Make sense? I hope so. I'm not gunna try to re-write it. It's 1:30am for cryin' out loud! :p

So, the lesson. I got this awesome oppertunity to meet up with a friend while I was other there. He's an old friend, and it's been *forever* since I last saw him, but we had been talking on the phone beforehand about it, and we were both totally pumped! :D But the closer we got to the 28th (the day they were gunna drive down and join us in DC), the more nervous I got. "What if he won't like me? What if he thinks I'm wierd and he never wants to talk to me again cuz I scared him or something? Could this cause me to loose one of my best friends?? :(" Even though we knew each other sooooo well, it was still really scary. I spent the days sweating and the nights tossing and turning, worrying about how it would go. :p How lame was that?

I guess one of the biggest causes of trying to hide who you are is that you aren't comfortable with who you are to begin with. Wow, brilliant, I know. So, after this realization hit me like a bowling ball plowing over a billiard ball, I started thinking. What is it about myself I don't like? What am I not comfortable with or what am I afraid other people are going to see? ..... Hours of thought finally brought me to the conclusion that there really isn't much. :)

So one night before the 28th, I talked to TJ about it. It turned out he said he was kinda nervous about it too. Then it hit me: If we spent the whole time being nervous of what the other thought, then, even though we're good friends, we won't be able to get much farther past "Hi!" and "Bye!". :( I was starting to realize that I needed to change for this to work. WOW!!! WAIT JUST A SEC!!!! Change *just* so a guy doesn't think you're NUTSO?!?!? ... Yes. :)

Now, don't get me wrong. If you haven't caught on already, the change would be to change all the changes. To remove all the fake personality implants. To destroy all doubt and fear that I have about me. God made me with the body and personality I have, so who am I to throw all that away and change it for something as temporary as acceptance?!?!? Nobody. Yet God took me and made me a somebody, and gave that somebody something that no one in this world has to give back to the world. What's that? ... I dunno, you tell me! :p I'm still trying to figure this all out, haha!

Anyway, long story short (or not so short, lol): I decided that I wouldn't let temporary things get in my way, and I was just gunna be myself. That way I wouldn't have to worry about anything! The way I looked, talked, acted, moved, conversation, fun, all that stuff... I gave it up to God, and you know what? :) He gave it back to me. ;)

I went on to have more fun in that one day than I think I have had since 1st or 2nd grade. I was able to BE MYSELF, do what *I* wanted to do and say and act how *I* wanted to act, and I was soooo relaxed and NOT WORRIED! :) It was the first stress-free day around friends I've had in what seems like forever. I got back to our hotel that night and almost cried because I hadn't felt that good in so long!

So, I had the rest of the trip to think about that day and how it applied to my life in general. I was able to start changing while I was still gone so, now that I'm home, I feel like a new person. I'm finally the ME God made ME to be! :D I went to Jr. High tonight, and for the first time I wasn't worried about what I said or did to impress the kids or keep from looking/sounding stupid... I was able to be myself, and I had more fun with the kids tonight than all the youth events we've had put together!!!!!!!!!!! It felt amazing to be having fun with the people I love and not have to be worried. Instead of worried, I was overcome by a sense of peace and understanding that I was finally doing the right thing. After all those years of TRYING to be right, and changing to achieve that, I finally made the change that mattered. :)

Now, I'm still struggling with it because it's hard to change lifelong habits so quickly, lol. :p But I know that God was able to use the down time I had on vacation and away from my friends (after the 28th at least) to speed up the strengthening process. The real test will be tomorrow night at Sr. High yg with my friends that are my own age, and that I've been artificial with since 7th grade. It'll be hard, but I know it's worth it now, and I know how much I want and need this. :)

Anyway, I'm done now. Sorry that was sooo long! I just had to write / talk out my thoughts somewhere, hehe! :) If you think of it, please be praying for me that I'll be able to change me to BE me 24/7. I'd really seriously appreciate it!!! 0:3 God bless you all, and you're totally all in my prayers as well! Have an awesome week! :)