My Church is Amazing!!

It's amazing how many servants we have in our church. This morning we had probably 20 people come out at 9:30 this morning to make sack lunches for the soup kitchen. We had one of our home groups organize it and it was so much fun laughing and sticking cheese on sandwiches. The people are amazing to come out so early in the morning on their Saturday off, and serve with our church. Our church is so blessed with people who have servant's hearts. I appreciate my church so much, and I'm not saying this just because I'm the pastor's daughter. I'm saying this because it is true. Some people go to church just because it's the right thing to do or because they have to. I go to church because I enjoy it and I look forward to it. Church isn't meant to be a burden. The typical thought of a church is a big southern baptist preacher standing at the pulpit with a bible in one hand and a handkerchief in the other. He's sweating and pounding on the wooden pulpit, a 100 people sitting in the long pews fanning and screaming hallelujah. Hymnals in every pew and pencils to fill out your guest form and shaking the preacher's hand before you leave. Wednesday night church and paying five dollars to get in for your meal, and of course Sunday night church always. Church doesn't have to be this way! It can be fun! No doubt some people's tastes are different, and they enjoy traditional church but not everyone had the same opinion. I attended traditional church for most of my life until a couple of years ago when we started Capstone. I believe that our church has a different air about it as in the feeling is different when you walk in the room. Also, I love that our church doesn't meet in a traditional church building with a steeple. People don't believe me when I tell them that we meet in a movie theater for church but it's amazing! I usually get asked why we meet there and I'm like, it's perfect! We have so much fun, and the environment is so relaxed that it's more of a party with God than a boring 2 hour sermon and Sunday school. I believe that church can be fun! If you don't believe it then I'll show you!

My Revelation!

Okay so I was sitting in class yesterday totally immersed in this book that I was reading, and I had a total revelation. I just felt this pull on an idea that came to my mind of what I want to do for the rest of my life. I had decided that I felt led to go to college and apply for one of those 3 week missions programs to a Spanish speaking country and work with children. I also want to study abroad and major in Spanish. I love the thought of going to Panama or Peru for a semester experiencing the people and the culture. I love the idea of missions, and as the Cuba trip approaches, I really want to be focused on the idea of doing it for a lifetime. I want to really experience it more than I did on the last trip. I just really felt the pull of this being the thing I want to do with my life! So yeah, anyways, I've developed this relationship with the librarians today because every time I came into the library I set off the alarm...yeah...everytime. It turned out to be a tag in my sweater from Old Navy, but then after I cut it out, I walked out to leave and it went off again...so I checked my pants, and there was one on my pocket. The one thing I always get nervous about in stores is the alarm going off and me getting arrested...scary!!! So I guessed I conquered my fear today!!

Amazed...

Sometimes I am amazed and appalled at how many people take God's word for granted...I found this passage in Leviticus 19 that says,
"Do not steal."
"Do not lie."
"Do not deceive on another."
"Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord."
"Don't defraud your neighbor or rob him."
"...but fear your God. I am the Lord."
"Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt."
"...Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."

Twice by Christina Georgina Rossetti

I took my heart in my hand (O my love, O my love),

I said: Let me fall or stand,

Let me live or die,

But this once hear me speak (O my love, O my love)-

Yet a woman's words are weak;

You should speak, not I.
You took my heart in your hand

With a friendly smile,

With a critical eye you scann'd,

Then set it down,

And said, 'It is still unripe,

Better wait awhile;

Wait while the skylarks pipe,

Till the corn grows brown.'

As you set it down it broke—

Broke, but I did not wince;

I smiled at the speech you spoke,

At your judgement I heard:But I have not often smiled

Since then, nor question'd since,

Nor cared for cornflowers wild,

Nor sung with the singing bird.
I take my heart in my hand,

O my God, O my God,

My broken heart in my hand:

Thou hast seen, judge Thou.

My hope was written on sand,

O my God, O my God:

Now let thy judgement stand—

Yea, judge me now.
This contemn'd of a man,

This marr'd one heedless day,

This heart take thou to scan

Both within and without:

Refine with fire its gold,

Purge Thou its dross away—

Yea, hold it in Thy hold,

Whence none can pluck it out.
I take my heart in my hand—

I shall not die, but live—

Before Thy face I stand;

I, for Thou callest such:

All that I have I bring,

All that I am I give,

Smile Thou and I shall sing,

But shall not question much.

Air Cubano-English Lit. Story

The time had finally come. The excitement, the adrenaline was pumping through my veins. My heart racing, my thoughts were scattered on every person, and all my surroundings. I am standing in the Miami airport about to go to a communist country in which no American can go. Where am I going you ask? Cuba is my destination with a passport in my hand and my luggage and I’m set. As we all eat snacks waiting to board the plane, we hear our flight number being called.
We walk down the stairs and on to the runway. As we are walking, I notice how small the plane is. On the side of the plane it says “Air Cubano,” with a little door and a staircase where the flight attendant welcomes us on board. She greets us with a warm hello as we go up the rickety staircase to our seats. The seats are very close together with a smooth blue fabric on them all with little compartments above them. The aisle is only big enough for one person, with one seat on the right, and two seats on the left. I glanced down at my ticket and saw my seat number, and luckily my seat was not by itself. I was two rows from the front and about four rows from the back and when I went to sit down, I gave my father the window seat. I did not want to see us take off or fly over the ocean, since I have never flown over the ocean before. When we sat down I put my book bag at my feet and got out my word search booklet to keep my mind off the plane.
After everyone had been seated the flight attendant shut the door and began to explain the emergency procedures. Wow, that’s a good way to calm my nerves, let’s talk about crashing and what to do if we don’t die! As the plane started up, one propeller started turning but the other one didn’t. When I get nervous I ask a lot of questions, so I turned to my dad and asked, “Why is only one propeller moving?” “It’s okay, it just starts after the other one,” said my dad. I was starting to panic so I decided not to listen to the flight attendant talking about emergency procedures. It’s time to take off, so we buckle our seat belts and prepare to fly. Both propellers are spinning as we pull onto the runway. My dad turns to me and says, “We’re next!” As we start to gain speed my heart drops and all the other sound is drowned out by the sound of the engine.
We get off the ground and everyone claps and cheers, especially the Cuban-Americans in the back. The Cuban-Americans were so happy just to be off the ground because they only get to go back to Cuba every four years. All of the sudden our plane drops down and everyone screams. I grab my father’s hand and my heart jumps back into my throat. All of the Cubans in the back of the plane laugh like it’s a roller coaster, while I’m scared to death! I seriously thought in that moment, on that plane that I was going to die. I prepared myself for the thought of dying and everything that comes with it. At that moment I instantly thought of a verse that we had memorized in church some time ago. It was 1st Timothy 1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self discipline.” I knew in that instant that God would take care of me and my life was in his hands.
As soon as we landed and we got our bags I ran off the plane and kissed the ground! I was never so happy to be on land ever in my life. Once we arrived at the Cuban airport, we had to go to a special side of the airport in a building for Americans and Cuban-Americans. We could not be in the airport with everyone else; instead it was just us Americans with Cuban policemen. Walking in that building was just scary in and of itself. There were probably about ten policemen, all speaking Spanish, and so we were very confused. The building was small with little hallways with glass openings in the offices. Right before one of the offices was a yellow line that said “pare,” or stop in big yellow letters. The whole building reeked of cigarette smoke and on the wall there were big posters that said things like, “Welcome to Cuba,” and “Cuba is great!”
Each one of us had to walk up to one of the little offices and had the person our papers and our passport. I was to go to the window with my father, but as I walked up to the window the officer said that I had to back up and wait my turn. I should have been allowed to go with my father because I’m a minor but she would not allow it. As I watch my father being questioned, she finally says that he can go, and he asks if he can wait for me. The lady gets mad and says no and she lets him through the door to the other side. She says next and I approach the window shaking nervously. I hand her my papers and passport and she starts typing all of it into the computer. As she picks up my passport she holds it up and looks at me then back at the picture. Continually she stares at me and back at the picture, and I start to get a little scared. Then she handed me my papers and says, “Welcome to Cuba,” and then opens the door.
As I pass through the door and see everyone standing there I pass through security and move on to pick up my bags. My father asks me what happened and I told him that everything was fine and she didn’t ask me anything. He tells me to take my money to the currency exchange and get some Cuban pesos. We probably waited about 30 minutes for our bags to come through and finally we saw our first bag. After we retrieved all our bags we had to leave the airport and look for Isaac and Eduardo, two of our Cuban pastors. We pass through the sliding doors and see a fence with hundreds of Cubans behind it waiting to see if their family is coming through to see them. We pass through the gate to see the bus, Eduardo, David, and Isaac. We all greet each other with big hugs and a kiss on each cheek. Wow. It’s so good to be here.

Blogging...

Wow...I totally and completly forgot that I had a blog! Wow! I just thought I'd say hi since I haven't written in forever! -lol-

God is Speaking...

The other night when I was doing my devotional, I was thinking. I had just been really down that week, I was reviewing in my mind all of the stuff that'd been going on over the week, and it just made me even more depressed. Then, in my devotional it had this verse. It was Psalms 43:5 and it said, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." After I read that I was like, WOW!! It was as if God was talking straight to me and asking me if I was okay, and what was wrong. So later that week problems continued to persist. Once again in my devotional one of the verses spoke to me. 2 Samuel 6:21-22 said, "...I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes..." I was then thinking, God is just telling me to go crazy! He wants me to be happy and rejoice in him and not care what other people say! The same thing happened with 2 Corinthians 12:9 when I was feeling like I couldn't do any thing right. It says, "...Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." This just made me feel great to think that I can rejoice that I'm not perfect! Wow! I can rejoice even in my imperfections! That makes me so happy, and glorifies God even more to admit that he is perfect and all powerful! Just thought I'd share some of my week with you!