This weekend, we will be making the trek down to Pine Valley, CA for our annual regional conference, where the Navigators from various campuses around California, Arizona, Utah, and Hawaii will gather for worship and messages. Every year, UCR seems to increase in the number of students represented. The first first year, one student attended. Me and RJ’s first year, we had 3 students join us. Last year we had 11. This year I believe we have 15. God is growing our little ministry! Oh, how my heart did swell last year when RJ and I emceed and had a little cheer section of UCR students that did not exist 2 years ago! God is good!
This year, God seems to be giving UCR more responsibilities at conference. RJ is co-leading a workshop with our campus director on quiet times, I am on the worship team on keyboard and bringing my mad harmonies, my “brother” is emceeing, my real brother is also on the worship team (not from UCR, but thought I’d throw him in there), and some students from our group are performing a thought-provoking skit at conference. If there is one thing we could ask of you, we would ask for your prayers! We have been experiencing significant spiritual oppression and warfare in the past couple of weeks, and we are definitely in need God’s protection over us this weekend!
Please pray:
1. For safe travels down to Pine Valley, CA.
2. For RJ and Brandon as they co-lead the workshop on spending time with God. You can pray for the other workshop leaders as well. =)
3. For the worship team, that we would be unified and that the Spirit of God would fill us and use us in mighty ways this weekend.
4. For the skit team, as they prepare and that they would honor God with their acting.
5. For protection against spiritual attack, that God would stand guard and surround us with His safety.
6. That people would be brought into the throne room of Jesus and that lives would be touched and changed by the power of the gospel.
7. For the speaker, John Hess, that his message would be from God and that it would resonate in the hearts of students and staff.
Thanks! We are thankful you are in this work with us, though maybe not in person, but definitely in prayer. =)
Here is my yearly “goodbye old year” and “hello new year” post!
Highlights and Events of 2009:
1. Kicked off an amazing and fruitful ministry at UC Riverside, and are blessed with regulars who we absolutely love and adore!
2. I re-enrolled as a post-”bachelorette” at Cal State San Bernardino to take classes I need to apply for my Master’s in clinical counseling. Go Coyotes!…?
3. RJ and I have gotten into a sweet groove of balancing ministry and marriage, having worked out a ton of the newlywed kinks the first few months of marriage. We’re better communicators, we are more mindful of the other’s needs and desires, we see Jesus more through each other…it’s just what I imagined partnership in marriage and in Christ to be! And it’s SO MUCH fun!! =)
4. RJ himself is quite a gift to me. He is patient, loving, kind, thoughtful, he speaks truth when I need to hear it, he has so much depth to him, loves Jesus and others well, sees the best in others, and the longer I’m with him the more I fall in love with him. Plus he is good looking and manly. =)
5. We went to our first marriage retreat in 2009 and were blessed by the knowledge and experience and wisdom of others who have been on the road longer than we have.
6. I found a delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe that is AMAZING. Chewy, like store bought ones! Jenny made me make them 3 times when we were in San Diego on break.
7. I threw up three times in 2009. I haven’t thrown up since 2002 or something! Twice was food poisoning, once was the flu. Booooo! But I’m slowly getting over my phobia of throwing up.
8. We were able to go “home” to Rochester, NY! Well, it’s my hometown anyways. We were able to visit Weggies, eat garbage plates (yuuuuuuuuuuuuuum!!), and I was able to show RJ my old house, high school, and church, not to mention catch up with some really amazing people!
9. RJ and I were asked to be my youth group’s summer retreat speakers! My church and another church in the area joined forces to make a super retreat, and the topic was Inside Out: Gospel Transformation. What an honor! And we had such a wonderful time with the youth and were so welcomed by them. And lemme tell you, they are WAY more well-behaved than the youth when I was in youth group! We were so naughty.
10. We went on a mini-vacation to Toronto, where my family used to vacation at least once or twice a year. I took RJ to all the places we used to go to. We visited the Royal Ontario Museum and saw the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Toronto Zoo, the CN Towers, watched a Blue Jay’s game, went to Chinatown, Pacific Mall, and the Ontario Science Museum. We also stopped by Niagara Falls on the way up, and I was finally able to go on the Maid in the Mist, the boat that takes you right by the falls!
11. We were able to lead a team at a Summer Training Program on Marriage, Sex, Dating, and the Gospel at Cal State San Marcos for 2 weeks. It was way fun, and we learned a lot and were able to process through a lot of valuable insights!
12. My grandpa passed away on Thanksgiving. =(
13. I made it halfway up the C hike at UCR…this year I’m hoping to make it all the way up!
14. I completed the Cheeburger Cheeburger challenge! Whooo!!! Success!! =)
15. I learned how to make barbeque pulled pork. I can’t believe how simple and cheap it is, I feel ripped off all those times I paid for a barbeque pulled pork sandwich!
16. We became credit card debt free!! FREEDOM!!! =)
17. We have babies, thanks to Alli. =)
18. Did I mention we’re published in The Knot: Southern California Spring/Summer 2010 magazine??? =) =)
19. I got my hair permed for the first time EVER. Will probably do it again too!
20. We dressed up as cows to get a free meal at Chick Fil A. Yes, those are baby bottle nipples taped to styrofoam plates. What now!
21. We went to the weddings of four couples we love and adore! Two couples were RJ’s cousins!
22. Saw Common perform at UCR…you know…the guy from Terminator Salvation?? And Ben Lee.
23. Roadtripped with 11 students to Sacramento in October…crazy fun!
24. Played violin with me pa at Good Friday service.
25. Did we mention we bought a house?? =) God, in His grace, decided to bless us with the perfect little house! We were able to see God throughout the entire process, and know this is exactly where He wants us! Check out our updated video tour!
26. I was able to start using our Crockpot and KitchenAid mixer, along with unpacking tons of other wedding gifts we weren’t able to use because of storage! I LOOOOVE it!!
27. We went back to Destin, FL for our collegiate staff conference. What a beautiful location!
28. RJ was able to bring out the inner handyman that was dormant while we lived in the apartment complex because now we don’t have a Tony (the handyman at the apartment) to call when we have problems! RJ has hooked up our gas washer and dryer and fixed a leaky bath spigot…what a manly man! =)
29. I am continuing to see God’s perfect timing of His plan and will for our lives, and that we just need to be patient and wait for Him to work and not try to make things happen by settling for less than the best.
30. As I grow older, my view of God’s love has expanded, as has my view of my depravity…resulting in my view of God’s grace to increase all the more.
Resolutions for 2010:
1. Health: Always health! But after being sick so long after food poisoning, I’m realizing I need to strengthen my immune system and be proactive about my health! I’m resolving to be more active, to eat better, to stop drinking Diet Coke (I’ve been clean for about 3 weeks now!), and to drink more water. I’m doin pretty well so far!
2. God: I want to be more consistent in times with Jesus, so I’ve resolved to read the entire New Testament in three months. That’s about 6 pages per day. Now, I’m a pretty slow reader but I’m doing pretty well so far! I also want to get back into journaling daily like I used to and chronicling all of life’s events. A great quote from the staff conference in Sandestin: “Don’t coast on the passions of your youth.” Guilty!
3. Get into grad school!! Well, is this really a resolution? It’s what I hope to see happen in 2010!
4. Encourage more, serve more, love more. No regrets!
5. Keep in better touch with people. I really suck at it!
There are probably many more highlights and events in 2009 that I forgot, and more things I will need to resolve to do, but this is it for now! Hope you stuck with me the entire way through! =) Happy new year!
