Thankful Day 11

Today I am thankful for Christmas Decorations. 

Yes I am one of those people who would decorate on October 1st if I could. 

This year decorations went up November 8. 

A tree. 

Lights. 

Wreaths. 

Stockings. 

Candy dishes shaped like stars and trees. 

Lights, oh so many lights. 

I am thankful that it is Christmas season. 

Although this is one of the most commercialized holidays driven by material goods. At the heart of it we get to celebrate the birth of our Savior. 

A birthday that changes everything. 

I pray for opportunities this season to share the good news with others. 

To point the glory back to God. 

As sit here and get to be reminded of the reason for the lights, trees, stockings and wreaths I am thankful that Jesus came!

Thankful Day 9/10

I am thankful for home cooked meals. 

I have been blessed to receive some amazing home cooked meals lately and even had the opportunity to cook tonight.  The process can be challenging but the end result so exciting! Either you prepare ahead of time and gather ingredients you know will work together or you look around with what you have and decide to get creative. Either way it's a process and the end result is a learning experience. I hope to always challenge myself to continue learning in the kitchen, to continue cultivating, to continue creating. 

Thankful Day 8

Today I am thankful for Saturdays!

Saturday come with endless opportunities. 

One could stay in bed all day. 

Head to the beach, to Tahoe for the day, catch up on errands from the week. 

This Saturday was filled with a birthday party for my favorite niece, community time with some of my favorite ladies and decorating my house for Christmas! 

Thankful Day 7

Today I am thankful for my health. 

I woke up today with a sore throat. Like most sore throats I thought I could drink some tea, limit my vocal interactions and I would be ok. 

At the end of my day I can tell you that is not the case. I stood in line at Safeway among your typical Friday night shoppers. Between desserts and flowers I put my throat tea, cough drops and soup. 

This will only last a few days and I will be back to 100%. However I am struck with the humbling reminder that so many are not as fortunate to be able to run to the store for a quick remedy. We are so blessed to have common aid readily accessible to us. 

So as I wait for my tea to cool I will continue to thank God that He is the ultimate healer and pray that when I wake I will be able to swallow again without pain! 

Thankful Day 6

Today I am thankful for laughter. 

There are so many "types" of laughs. 

People laugh when they feel awkward. 

People laugh because they think they have to.

People laugh because others are laughing. 

People laugh when they are nervous. 

But true laughter when it catches you off guard and something is really fun. That laughter has the ability to feed the soul. 

True laughter brings tears of joy  

True laughter takes away your ability to speak. 

With tears running down your face you look at each other and just keep laughing.

Laughing is contagious. Even if you don't know what started it if you see two people consumed in laughter you can't  help but smile. 

I pray that you all experience good hearty, my stomach hurts, I can't stop, I'm crying- laughter. 

And when the tears dry up and you can't remember what you are laughing about you begin to laugh at yourselves all over again. 

Thankful Day 5

Today I am thankful for leadership. 

I am thankful to have people who pour into me. 

To have people who know me and love me. 

People who see potentional when I see road blocks. 

I choose to submit myself to living transparently to allow my life to become all that God has planned for. 

To be truly humble to wisdom and being called higher. 

Great leadership inspires. It cultivates. It dreams together and puts words into action. 

I pray that I will always seek great leadership and allow myself to be discipled to live fully alive, fully present. 

Thankful Day 4

Today I am thankful for community. 

I have the rare privilege to sit front row to some incredible women. Together we share our wins and failures. We sing with joy and cry in grief together. When I am around them I can be completely me. Completely broken, frustrated, and defeated because together we remind each other that our victory is won, our future is spoken for and because of Jesus we can wake up each day with joy in our hearts and hope for the future.  

I am thankful for sisters who call me higher. 

I am thankful for quite moments when the Holy Spirit is speaking and together we can listen. 

I am thankful for love undeserved. 

I am thankful for forgiveness extended again and again. 

I am thankful for laughter that ends in tears and tears than end in laughter. 

I honestly know I am blessed and thank God for allowing me to experience His love through such incredible women. 

Thankful Day 3

Today I am thankful for day light savings! I know it was technically yesterday but waking up for the day was so much easier today when it felt later than the clock said! This also means that at the end of my day I am headed to bed much earlier than normal but hey maybe this is the start of catching up on my sleep!

Thankful Day 2

I am thankful for worship. 

One of my favorite things about being planted in New Life Church is the worship atmosphere. Each week we begin and finish service with songs of praise. What I always appreciate about the songs we sing is how they encourage the desperate, seek after the lost and celebrate the character of God. Tonight was no exception. 

I encourage you to search the song below and allow the lyrics to pour over you as you face the trials of this world. 

Strong God by Desperation Band 

Father to the fatherless
Defender of the weak
Freedom for the prisoner
We sing

This is God in His holy place
This is God clothed in love and strength

Sing out, lift your voice and cry out
Awesome is our strong God, mighty is our God

With us in the wilderness
Faithful to provide
Every breath and every step
We see

This is God in His holy place
This is God clothed in love and strength

Sing out, lift your voice and cry out
Awesome is our strong God, mighty is our God

Sing out, raise your hands and shout out
Awesome is our strong God, mighty is our God

There is no higher, no
There is no greater, no
There is none stronger than our God

Sing out, lift your voice and cry out
Awesome is our strong God, mighty is our God

Sing out, raise your hands and shout out
Awesome is our strong God, mighty is our God

Mighty is our God
Mighty is our God

Thankful Day 1

November 1st means red cups are back at Starbucks. This means Christmas is just around the corner. The happiest time of the year is upon us but before we deck the halls and put up the tree, I want to take the next 30 days to be intentionally thankful. 

Today I am thankful for friendship. I have been blessed by incredible friends throughout my life. Today I was able to spend time with an old friend. Our friendship has been through its fair share of ups and downs and through that our trust has grown, respect increased and understanding deepened. I am thankful for their wisdom, encouragement and ability to make me laugh. 

10' 12' 14': Living from the Victory

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

Thursday nights you will find me at Life Group. Tonight was no exception. The score was 3-2 somewhere in the 4th or 5th inning when I left my house. I knew we were still down by a run but also had to turn my attention to the group and surrender my focus to the potential pennant winning game. As we ended the night I glanced at my phone and read 

Breaking News: Giants reach 3rd World Series in 5 years, def. Cards, 6-3, on Travis Ishikawa 3-run HR in 9th.

I was ecstatic and disappointed. Knowing that I could share in the excitement but grieving that I didn't actually get to experience it on the edge of my seat play by play.  Believe me when I tell you my time was well spent at Life Group and I wouldn't have taken back my decision to not move Life Group to a Giants watching party, although I did consider it. As we wrapped up and headed home, I was walking up the stairs to my door reading text messages and Facebook status updates filled with excitement and celebration, I knew it must have been an incredible game. 

I walked in to the post game playing and said causally "I wish they would replay the game." My brilliant roommate grabbed the remote and began to rewind the game. She had been watching since the 8th. This meant I could relive Michael Morse hitting a homer to tie it up in the bottom of the 8th to see Jeremy Affeldt retire Oscar Taveras to escape a bases loaded top of the ninth. This is when the true magic happened. Panda singles, Belt gets walked and Ishikawa approaches the plate. Two pitches  in and the heat rests on the shoulders of Michael Wacha, 2-0. Swing and a hit, Ishikawa has just hit a home run to bring the score to 6-3, the Giants are going to the World Series. 

As I sat on the edge of my seat watching the game unfold knowing the outcome I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 15:57. Although I knew the final score I was still experiencing the play by play. This is how we should live our lives. We know that Victory is ours because of the cross 2,000 years ago. Watching the game knowing that victory was coming didn't take away from the excitement but removed the anxiety that would normally accompany a 3-3 score in the bottom of the ninth. The fact that the tomb was empty and Christ rose should remove the anxiety we experience in our lives. I understand that there will always be things out of our control that throw us a curveball but can I tell you that those experiences don't catch God off guard. God is in control and has a perfect plan for each of us. We get to live in the Victory, Romans 8:37 Paul says "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us." Be encouraged, you may feel like it's the bottom of the ninth with two outs but God has one more at bat and He will reign Victorious in your life. Trust in Him and believe that together we Own the Pennant. 

#OrangeOctober #3in5 

We Can All Hit Grand Slams

If you're around me for very long you'll learn that I love sports. From playing to watching, movies to TV shows, I am usually in if it involves sports. I am especially fond of the inspirational speeches given right before the big game in movies. Before I get into my point I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

1. Friday Night Lights Perfect

2. Miracle Great Moments

3. Any Given Sunday Game of Inches

Tonight as most Bay Area sports fans know, the San Francisco Giants played in the wildcard playoff game against the Pittsburg Pirates. In the top of the fourth Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Belt and Hunter Pence stood on base as Brandon Crawford hits the first ever grand slam by a short stop in postseason play. It was beautiful. The atmosphere was set, a sea of fans in black t-shirts (Gold not Orange), three eager runners ready to get on their horses, and one pitcher praying that this would be the pitch to turn the tables his way. Crawford makes contact and it goes back, back, back to the first row of the outfield. A hitter's dream, just far enough that he can jog the 360 feet from home plate to be greeted again in minutes by teammates.  This started the momentum that carried the Giants through the rest of the game and into the playoffs.

As I watched Crawford round third base and join his teammates in celebration I was reminded that our lives are filled with opportunities for grand slams. Now we may not be in front of 40,000 people playing a sport we train for eight months out of the year, however we do play for a team and are equipped to bring home a victory.  God has called each of us to play a role in the victory He set out before us. The difference between the victory we saw on ESPN tonight and the one I am talking about is we have no control over the overcome, in fact Romans 8 tells us the outcome is already decided, "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us."

Looking back people won't remember who was on base when Crawford hit the grand slam that put his name in the record books next to Buster Posey (2012), Will Clark (1989) and Chuck Hiller (1962) as fellow Giants players to hit grand slams in a postseason game. I hope to live my life so that when people look back on it they won't remember my name but rather the God who I gave my life to. While living in a world driven by Facebook likes, Instagram <3, and Retweets, I urge us all to remember that our victory comes from this fact: He loved us first.

Each player has a role to play in making a grand slam happen, all had to face the pitcher, get on base and remain safe while allowing the player after them to continue the trend. In our world there are opportunities with our smiles, a conversation with a stranger, remembering to text your friend when they told you they were going through a tough time. Together we can build communities that hit grand slams by being there for people and showing them the love that Jesus came to demonstrate. In John 13:34-35 Jesus says "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

I hope this is how we approach the opportunities in our lives to hit grand slams. Let's do our part, play our role and encourage the next person to do the same. All with the same goal in mind: Make Jesus Famous. There are grand slams happening all the time, and recognizing your role only helps to bring all the runners home.


Here's to an #OrangeOctober

Why I Went Into The Water

Sunday September 28th marks a day I will never forget. At 11:30am I took off my flip flops and stepped into a tank a water and professed my faith to Jesus in front of family, friends, and hundreds of strangers. I want to take a few moments and explain how I found myself soaking wet, tears running down my face, with my heart filled with Joy.

I was raised in an Episcopalian church, often known as "Catholic Light." Growing up I was drawn into the youth ministry of the local Presbyterian church. Here I experience a lot of firsts. My first small group, my first winter retreat, my first summer camp. When I was 12 years old I accepted Jesus into my heart and confessed Him as my Savior. I am so grateful for my parents and my youth leaders for always guiding me towards Jesus.

Fast forward ten years and my 22 year old self walked into an apartment in Walnut Creek that I later would realize changed everything. I was invited to join a bible study of women ranging from college students, recent grads, and young professionals. We had three things in common. 1. We were all in transition. 2. We all knew the leader Becki Parr. 3. We all longed to know more of who Jesus is. It was on those three commonalities that we began to build one of the most sacred small groups I have been privilege to be a part of. It was there in that living room that I would learn about New Life Church and attend for my first time.

Over the next three years I would learn about water baptisms. To be honest the first time I heard about them I remember being very confused since I was baptized as an infant. God would change my heart from confusion to elation over the next three years. As I learned more about the character of God and who He created me to be, I knew I wanted to be baptized.

There were two main reasons I desired to be baptized. The first was to fulfill the scriptures. Jesus was baptized and commands us to be baptized, Matthew 28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." As a symbolic representation of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans 6:4 "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  The second was a recommitment to God's call on my life. Through my baptism I was able to physically bury the old and be reborn with New Life in Christ.

My baptism represented my decision to center my life around Jesus and spreading His light to the world. So at 25 years old standing in a tank of water with my pastors arms around me and my family and friends arms stretched out I answered one of the most profound questions "Is this decision to be baptized my profession of faith in Jesus Christ?" My answer "Yes!" And so I am baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.