Justice for All Outreach: Reflections

Hurting people hurt people. As we began the day on the Auraria campus, I quickly saw this statement portrayed. A flood of emotions swept in as people approached the huge JFA exhibit. The reality of abortion was displayed for all to see and the responses ranged from sorrow to vexation. Needless to say, it was an exhausting day. Nonetheless, I believe I walked away from the JFA outreach with a deeper desire to loose the chains of injustice and set the oppressed free.

After an hour of dialoging with students, my friend Aimee approached me and asked if I would go with her to talk to a rather large guy standing close by. No joke, this guy looked like Vin Diesel. Naturally, I was a little skeptical. What if this guy is pro-choice? He could knock me out with his pinkie! Thankfully, Aimee was sensitive to the Holy Spirit's prompting and we went over and began to talk with him. Ironically, this guy was a giant teddy bear. As we stood with him, we could see the tears behind his sunglasses. He was broken. There are no coincidences. 


Aimee and I stood there heart broken as we heard Eric's story of his girlfriend contemplating abortion. He had just found out this weekend and now he was standing in front of an 8 week picture of a fetus in tears. She wouldn't return his calls and refused to see him. He so desperately wanted to keep this child. 


Phew! What a tough situation. It is hard to see hope in the midst of darkness. However, God was there! Aimee and I were able to encourage Eric to not be passive and to take a stance for the life of this child. We suggested writing her a letter and he agreed that he would. Then, we were able to pray with him in the middle of a campus where Christianity was non-existent and relativism was rampant.  God showed up, He is so good! 


We were able to exchange e-mail addresses with Eric and hope that he will keep us posted. We haven't heard the result yet but are continuing to pray that Eric's girlfriend would choose life. Would you join us in praying for him and his girlfriend? 


I believe I could sum up the JFA Outreach with the words of Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners" (61:1) . We are called to be a voice to the voiceless, to set the captives free. Why? Because were once enslaved and in darkness but God intervened and brought us into His marvelous light! 

Justice For All Outreach

Tomorrow, I will be heading to Denver with the rest of the FLI students to do a Justice for All Outreach. Justice for all is a pro-life organization that seek to show their concern for all humans in and out of the womb by balancing truth and love. JFA goes to secular campuses all over the United States and educates students about abortion. They strive to dialogue with students about the significance of every human being. 


I would ask that you would please pray for me and the other students at FLI as we go to the campus in Denver tomorrow. Please pray that the weather would be good (it is an outdoor exhibit), we would have boldness to create conversations; to listen to understand; to ask tough questions, lives would be saved and have opportunities to share the gospel. 


I look forward to updating y'all soon! 


11 Corinthians 5:17-21, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come." 

Being Still

Ever stop to think why nothing is so loud as silence? In this day in age, silence is a rarity. We live in an age of constant noise. So much so that we do not even fully understand what it means to be still before the Lord.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to do a "stillness experience" with my internship. I know, I have an amazing internship. Basically, we all headed to Woodmen Valley Chapel for an afternoon of stillness. Our supervisor Tim, gave us three hours to be still before the Lord. The only stipulations were that we must turn off our cell phones and Ipods. He gave us an article entitled, The Surprising Rewards of Silence to help direct us and then we were free to be still before the Lord. For me, this was the most humbling experience. I wanted to share just a few things the Lord taught me during this time.

We've all heard the passage, "Be still, and know that I am God" but do we really understand what David was saying? As I began to read over this verse, I looked up what the word "still" means. Still means to stop striving, let go or relax. For me, this gave the verse a whole new meaning..."Relax and know that I am God". It was then that the Lord began to convict me of my restless heart.

Why are we so afraid to be quiet before the Lord? Is it because we want control? Or maybe it is because we are fearful that we will realize our total depravity. A. W. Tozer once said, "Very few of us know the secret of bathing our souls in silence." We fool ourselves into thinking that we are in control. But in reality, we are not in control. Being still before the Lord causes us to relinquish all control.

In Tim Sanford's article he asks a thought provoking question, "Is Christianity just words on onionskin paper? Or do we want something more, something real and living?" Knowing God and being still go hand in hand. True Christianity stems from knowing God personally. So what can be gained from sitting before a God we cannot see? The very things we try to get elsewhere but cannot. We gain wisdom, humility, peace, faith and intimacy.

So I challenge you to be still before the Lord. Let Him speak to you. Just as Job says, " I am unworthy-how can I reply to you? I have put my hand over my mouth...I have no answer-...I will say no more."
(Job 40:4-5)

Make new friends and keep the old...

Words cannot begin to describe how much God has blessed me with amazing friends. My mom always used to say, "make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold". As cheesy as that may be it has become one of my favorite phrases.

This past week, my sweet friends; Maddison, Mel and Rach came to see me. That is right, they flew all the way from FL and CA to see me (and amazing Colorado). As you can imagine, they are pretty legit friends! These are the girls I have known since elementary school. I always know that we can pick up right where we left off even if it has been a while since we have seen each other. They sharpen me and challenge me to continue to be conformed into the image of Christ. It is always a joy to spend time with them!

We had a blast sharing stories, exploring beautiful Colorado, catching up and challenging one another. We also were happy to be able to go see Carlee in Greeley, Colorado. It was fun to see her adorable apartment (she will be helping me decorate one day) and see where she has lived the past year!

It was also a highlight to introduce Mel, Maddison and Rach to my new friends at Focus. It is amazing how close you can become in a matter of months! I'm so thankful for the community that has been established here.

Needless to say, it was an epic week! Here are a few of the pictures of the awesome time we had...

Garden of the Gods- a must see in the Springs

Haha. Looks like Jeremy won't be climbing:)

The 4 Amigos!

After Garden of the Gods, we headed to Manitou Springs for dinner

Then, we went back to Garden of Gods to see the amazing sunset!

On Friday, we headed up to Greeley, CO to see Carlee. She gave us a wonderful tour of  UNC!

The campus is beautiful!

On Saturday, we headed back to the Springs. Our first stop was Pikes Peak. We went up 13,000 feet with our sweet rental car. When they got the car, the guy said it was our lucky day. haha. This car is not exactly what you would expect to see 3 girls driving...

Pikes Peak is absolutely breathtaking!

We made it to the top! 

One time, I went to Cracker Barrel 

All of us!

Rachel was finally able to catch a flight and arrived Saturday afternoon!

Needless to say, it was an amazing week with the FL girls! Ironically, right after they left, it started to snow. They apparently brought the nice weather and took it back with them! 

From the Secular to the Sacred

What is sacred and what is secular? This is often a question many Christ-followers ask in the santification process. As finite human beings, we often "compartmentalize" areas of life. I frequently find myself saying, "that was a random conversation" or "isn't that a weird coincidence". Then, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Oswald Chambers on this matter. He says, " A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ. A spiritually vigorous saint never believes that his circumstances simply happen at random, nor does he ever think of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred. He sees every situation in which he finds himself as the means of obtaining a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him."

So now you may be saying, "Okay, I think I understand what Chambers is saying but how does this practically play out in my life?". Good question. I often times battle this as well. Then, God shows up and reminds me of His power and character. Let me explain.

I was on the phone with my mom yesterday discussing personality traits and such. I have recently come to the sobering reality that by nature, I am an introvert. The introvert/extrovert topic will be a future blog post.:) As we were discussing my introverted tendencies, I discussed with my mom why it is hard for me to have "small talk" with strangers. That was the jist of our conversation.

Then, I go to our apartment gym. I will go ahead and admit to you that I ashamedly went to work out and conveniently watch The Bachelor at the same time. Ironically, I began to have small talk with a girl who was working out and watching The Bachelor as well. One comment led to another and by the end of the show, I had the opportunity to hear about the struggles she has been facing in the past 2 years. It was an incredible conversation that I pray it will be the beginning of a relationship with this non-believer (please be praying).

I say all this to share with you an invaluable lesson God taught me yet again. Jesus Christ sees every situation as a way to draw us close and know Him (Phil. 3: 10). Every situation is the means for the believer to obtain a greater knowledge of Jesus Christ. Last night, I learned that the Holy Spirit is my helper. Despite what is "difficult" for me to do, He provides help, grace and mercy. It is my prayer that I would continue to be reminded that everything is sacred to the Lord and I hope you will as well!

Soul Surfer

You may remember the incredible story of Bethany Hamilton. As a teenage girl, Bethany was surfing on the North Shore of Hawaii and was attacked by a shark. Although she survived, she lost her arm. Despite all odds, Bethany preserved. She was determined to not give up on surfing. In fact, she was so determined, she was back in the water in less than a month! How was she so determined? Why did she continue to preserve? Bethany will tell you that it was her faith in God that strengthened her. What would seem to be a tragedy to the world was used to bring glory to God. I like to call it a "holy handicap". :)

Pretty incredible story, huh? Well, it gets even better! After years of traveling and sharing with the world about her tragedy, Bethany and her family agreed to make her story into a movie. The Hamilton's believe that Bethany's story is a testimony of God's grace and mercy and want to share it with the world. So, the movie Soul Surfer will be coming to theaters April 8th.

Now you may ask, why are you so passionate about Bethany's story? I'm glad you asked! This past week, I had the opportunity to meet Bethany at Focus on the Family. As a part of Focus Leadership Institute, I was able to do a taped interview with Bethany. The purpose was to get peers to ask Bethany questions regarding her faith, identity in the Lord and how God helped her to overcome the trials she faced. Focus is planning to launch the interview on their site (i believe) when the movie is released. Their desire is that it would be an encouragement and challenge to teenage girls.

I also had the opportunity that night to see the movie for myself. Bethany was there at the end to answer questions we had about the movie. I can honestly say, it is a movie you don't want to miss! make sure to check out the trailer and site below!
soulsurferwave.com

I'll try to post the picture of us with Bethany soon!

Space Jam

Space. It's something few people think about on a regular basis. Maybe every once and a while when you watch a sweet space movie such as Space Jam (taking me back to the 90s) or Apollo 13. Nonetheless, for most, it seems so far away and out of reach. I honestly didn't think about the splendor and significance of space until  I met a few of the Air Force Academy guys.

These guys love space. In fact, they love space so much that they are a part of the Air Force Academy Space Club! In honor of their love for space my roommates, neighbors and I decided to host a super sweet space party! It was epic. This super sweet space night was filled with homemade space club t-shirts, nerds, rocket cookies, a viewing of October Sky and an awesome homemade apple pie (which doesn't really have anything to do with space but it was super good)! Yes, we embraced the nerd inside of us and had an awesome night. No need to explain the awesomeness. I think these pictures prove it...

Our sign: Warning not scientifically accurate

Cam, working hard on the awesome cookies!

 The solar system wall

The guys walked in with these sweet outfits on...

 The awesome roomies

The wonderful homemade pie Jordan and I made!

The Space club girls!

All of us!

Need I say more? :)