The Trees Are On Fire

Ok, here is just one picture of the amazing fall! Seriously you walk amidst the trees and some of them are so brilliant that your eyes see fire. It is so beautiful. We have had some of the most amazing weather the last 2 weeks which has been great. I am preparing for the storm. A week from today I am flying down to San Diego (Carlsbad) for a week, which is going to be amazing. I am going to get to see family and specifically be there for my nephew Matthew's first birthday!!! I can't believe how big he is getting and how old he is already! I have a good feeling that after that week i have a feeling that it will begin the rainy season, but I am ready!

So God is so faithful! We don't have an official date yet but it is almost positive now that we will be moving into a new building Colossae that will much better suite our needs! Also, God has just been showing me so much and refining me. I am really learning what it means to be a follower of Christ, not just mentally but through actually living it out. It is hard, definitely harder than "sunday school" ever held. To be faithful to the extent that Christ demands in the bible takes a lifetime of faithfulness. I am continually learning how to seek after God and follow Him. Allowing God to lead me. Giving up the drivers seat is much harder than it would seem. The church I grew up in loved to use the phrase "Giving God The Steering Wheel Of Your Life" as a term for committing your life to Christ. This is a great analogy, but as I look at it in more depth, I think the majority of us do something more like this, "God, I am giving you the right to ride shotgun in my car, I will let you give me directions when I get lost." I know much of my life sort of was found in that idea, trying to drive myself and never fully giving the whole essence of who I am to Christ. Now I am just trying to completely live that out. All I can say is God is moving me, and I love it.

Please pray for God to begin to give vision to us in Colossae on how we can best impact our city of Tigard and the surrounding cities. We feel God longs to have us out there making a greater impact. Also pray that God continues to bless me with faith.

Brisk Walks Yield Hope

So my last post discussed the introduction of the new season fall, but the weeks or two to follow would truly begin to show the colors of fall! Nights have been cooling all the way into the 30's and days have been hitting a high at about 65. It has been so nice, such a beautiful change in weather. We have been mixing in a combination of rain and sun. Last thursday during work, i glanced outside to see the first hail storm of the season! Such a crazy concept, especially while California is once again on fire. Lord knows I wish I could send down some of our rain to calm the wretched flames.

The Cold Draws Me Outside

These cool nights have motivated me to get out and walk in the brisk moonlit nights. I have done multiple couple mile walks at night and I love them. I put my ipod on and either listen to random music or spend some time with worship music just surveying God's amazing creation and let the cold air bring life to my warm skin. There is something mystical about breathing out deep misty breathes under the starry night. I think what I like so much about these times is that I am all alone, the music playing in my ears and just walking along seems to slow life down for a moment, allowing me to draw near to God, to step back for a moment from all the problems of life which surround me and surrender myself to God's glory.

Copeland's New CD Is Out: "You Are My Sunshine"

Copeland has been one of my favorite bands for a while so i was super stoked that their new CD came out today. The title makes me think about the soon to be very dark and cloudy months up here and realize that my sunshine will not be coming from the sun for a while. I am excited to go through the season though.


So I guess I should be giving some more of a glimpse into whats going on in my life right now. I am officially transfered to the CPK that is closer to me in Tigard and have worked there for a week now. So far it seems like it will be a good thing for me, i am just having to build relationships again but it is good. No other doors have opened for jobs within the engineering field or any other more technical fields for that matter. I am continuing to be patient and faithful, trusting that God knows what He is doing more than I do. I am definitely learning that you can still have a pretty awesome and joyful life without a lot of money. Sure, i can't go do whatever I want to do whenever I want, but the things you plan for are awesome. It is also nice that I am not the only one in this state of financial simplicity. Sharing in this with others has helped build relationships and I am also noticing that me being faithful with my serving job and trusting God in it has allowed me to have an impact on some people and also impact believers who are learning to trust God in financial hardship. So far, every bill has been paid and I have never gone hungry. God is good!


Today I read Psalms 23, even though it is so famous and known, it was definitely encouraging.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.

Even though I walk through
The valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
They comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
In the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;
My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me
All the days of my life,
And I will dwell
In the house of the Lord forever!

Goodbye Summer, It's Time For Fall

Well it is now officially FALL, and I must say that I am quite excited for what that is going to look like here. Strangely, in Oregon that have these things they call "Seasons". If you are in California right now and reading this entry, you are probably perplexed by this word and really don't know the meaning. Well to help you out, basically, in other parts of the country and world the weather actually changes during different times of the year. During fall, leaves change colors, it gets colder, get a crispness in the air. I think you will just have to travel to experience it. So far the weather hasn't changed too much. It started getting colder.... then it warmed up again. But I am excited to take a look at a true season that isn't summer. The other night I was eating dinner and the sun was setting, at first i thought to myself "thats decent, whatever". All the sudden it was ASTOUNDING and GLORIOUS, so i rushed upstairs, grabbed my camera and jumped into my car. I drove as quick as possible (following all traffic laws of course) up to a high peak in the hills behind my house to be able to try and catch the last few minutes of light. Here is one picture, i couldn't get it at it's prime but I think you will still get an idea for it.
Mind you, this is someones property...not a shabby view. All of you southern californiaites are probably thinking, wow that is a 20 million dollar plot of land... Thats not how we roll up here =).

Well to catch up on my life lets see: I am officially transferred from the CPK that was 25 miles away from me to on that is about 10 miles away. This closer store should save a bit of money on gas and they actually get a lot more business so I hope to do better financially there. I started searching for engineering jobs again once the other store wasn't paying my bills and continually I am disappointed by the lack of acknowledgment that any of these engineering companies have given me. So far I am still checking up on different opportunities but God doesn't seem to want me in one of those jobs at this point. I am definitely learning to trust in God's provision (though scary at times.)

Ok, well as of last friday, I am officially 24 YEARS OLD!!! For those of you who are thinking that is considered "Mid Twenties"... well you're wrong, it is still early twenties =). We had a party for my birthday and ashley (another girl from our church who has the same birthday as me) that was themed after the TV show The Office.Yes, that is me up front. I was dressed up as Jim Halpert impersonating Dwight. The party was a ton of fun!

Church stuff is still going great. We are going through as series right now defining what it looks like to have Success within the church and as individuals within the body. We are also looking at how we are able to gauge success. It is really exciting. Next week will be 6 months that we have been a church!!! Can you believe that?!?! Life is crazy.