A hike I took on my little trip to Hot Springs AK with Darby
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. - Hebrews 4:14-16
I have really taken comfort in how Jesus is one who can empathize with our weaknesses recently. We don't serve a distant or cold God who is unconcerned with our lives. Jesus came down to earth and experienced humanness. He draws close to us in our joy and despair. He draws close to me as I navigate all the transitions of leaving FOCUS, becoming a social worker, and three of my closest friends becoming married. It's been a mixture of excitement, uncertainty, stress, and joy. Part of me wants the changes to slow down and part of me wants the changed to have already happened. A song that keeps being laid on my heart as I move towards this new chapter in life is I don't wanna go by Chris Renzema. This has been the song of my heart the past few years. The chorus states: I don't wanna go if you're not going before me. This is my prayer that no matter where I go I want to go where God is going. I never want to step out without him. I want to join him in what he is doing. I am excited to see where that goes in this next chapter as a social worker.
I will forever be grateful for the past seven years with focus. (Four as a student and three on staff!) What a special and beautiful time where I got to participate in what God is doing on the college campus. Not only has my life be transformed I have gotten to witness and be a part of others lives being changed. And Jesus isn't done moving. Thank you for being on my ministry team the past couple of years. You have been a part of Jesus's kingdom work at UTA as well. You made this time possible for me.
To wrap up here are some photos from the past month.
Sophie and Juli! I love these girls. Sophie with be an apprentice at UTA this fall. Juli will be starting the nursing program!
Bachelorette for Stephanie. We met through FOCUS in my undergrad. She is a dear friend of mine and I am so excited for her.
Bridal party for Kaylee's wedding!
Kaylee my sweet friend and roommate of the past three years on her wedding day.
From Emily M's wedding day with the roomies. I love this girl endlessly.
Don't forget to check out the student testimony below!
Cedar Ridge Preserve School is officially back in session and so is campus ministry! It has been sweet getting back into the swing of core and meeting up with students. Many interactions have been virtual lately due to the increase of COVID cases. I am so thankful that there are ways we can meet in person safely and virtually when that is not an option. Ministry would be much more difficult without the technology we have today. On a hike with Juli and Riannon Due to COVID we rotate the people who can come to our weekly ministry-wide meetings (Deep Dive) with the service streamed to the rest of the community. It was my cores turn this past week and it was so special to get to come in person again. We also started our outdoor worship session that we are going to be doing every week before deep dive from now on. Worshipping as a church body is so vital and important. Every time I get a special chance to do it again safely I remember how sweet and filling the experience is. I am psych...
Hi everyone! November is here! Here is an update on how things are going: Fall Camp 2018! Fall Camp happened earlier this month and it went so well. Fall Camp is an event where we spend 24 hours worshiping and learning about God, playing games, and deepening friendships. This event is usually when students start to feel more of a sense of community. They start to see more of the vision of what Christian community can look like. The second day of camp before we left, we took time to let students share about what God had been teaching them. So many students shared that we went overtime! It was so encouraging to hear the ways God had been working in their lives and how God had used the trip to touch their lives. Many students come in not knowing what it is like to be a part of genuine, Christ-centered community, so events like this are very special. It's like a little taste of heaven! Students enjoying time together at Fall camp Another big event that happened this mo...
God has continued to be so faithful this past month. Here are a few highlights! Here is a picture from Pizza Theology. Gives you an idea of how many students from all the FOCUS campuses come. I am always so blown away and encouraged by it! Pizza Theology happened earlier in November and went so well. Hundreds of college students came out to learn about God and His word for several hours on a Sunday afternoon. That alone is a testament to God working on our college campuses. A big take away from that night was that the only way to be fully human is to follow Jesus and become empowered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus modeled this for us. Where we failed by falling into temptation, Jesus succeeded. Jesus didn't reach for glory or power outside of God. He was completely to faithful to God. By obeying God and walking in the Spirit we can have restoration now! What a powerful message for our college students. So many of the students I talked to were impacted by this in one way...
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