My Favorite Number!

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Day Care worker
2. Library Slave
3. Area Director at Spring Hill Camp
4. Jr High Youth Pastor

Four Movies You Would Watch Over and Over
1. Pirates of the Caribbean
2. Sound of Music
3. Hitch
4. Jared's Home Movies so I can hear his dad's voice

What's on your desk right now?
1. Computer - harddrive, screen, speakers etc
2. Cards from Students
3. An Empty Coffee cup
4. Stuff I need to do and haven't gotten to yet

Four places you have lived:
1. Saskatoon Sakatchewan CANADA
2. Temperance, MI
3. Spokane, WA
4. Long Beach, CA

Four Books I Could Read Over and Over:
1. The Bible (I know I have to say this ... but it's true.)
2. The Heavenly Man
3. Redeeming Love
4. My Utmost for His Highest

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Seinfeld
2. Home Decorating Shows
3. CSI
4. Saved by the Bell

Four favorite places you have been on vacation:
1. Anything that involved my family and a long car ride
2. Hearst Castle
3. Washington State-my family doesn't just go to one city
4. Niagara Falls Ontario

Four websites I visit daily:
1. MySpace
2. Hotmail
3. Google
4. fullydevoted.com

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Mom's Stoganoff
2. Chicken
3. Strawberry's
4. Coffee

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In Azusa
2. Out to lunch with a student
3. getting a massage-AMEN EMILY!
4. Snowboarding with Jared

Four favorite drinks (Non-alcoholic)
1. Butterscotch latte from Zadok's coffee in Pismo Beach, CA
2. Water with Lemon
3. Russian Tea
4. Water with Lemon

Four things I always carry with me:
1. My Phone-gotta make those calls
2. Cherry Chapstick-gotta carry on the tradition
3. Trash that people put in my purse
4. Picture of my nephew EVAN!

How to survive life in LA...

Sometimes it is just overwhelming to be a full time graduate student and youth pastor along with all the other things I attempt to do and do well. So here is how I survive doing all those things while living in LA:

-Catch up with my family and friends in Michigan while driving to Long Beach for work.
-Work out in the mornings
-SPEND TIME ALONE WITH GOD!!!!!!!!!!!
-Go to the salon to have my hair washed and styled since I can't cut it yet
-Spend the last few hours of each day either watching a movie with Jared, going on a walk with Jared, studying with Jared, reading the Bible with Jared, watching Jared make pancakes at 1:00 in the morning, driving with Jared...pretty much anything with Jared in it...
-Do all things well, but not put undue pressure on myself
-Enjoy each minute with my roomates-even though I live in Long Beach half the time...

That's about it...I will not only survive-I will make it through this and do my best:)

Jr. High Winter Camp!

These pictures say it all!

Really Clean!

This was the title of the tract that I signed on that fateful day I decided to "be a christian" in 1986. Of course I am extremely thankful for that day in my life, and more importantly everything that led up to that and ever since then. What I have been realizing more and more every day is that there is an essential NEED to become really clean that can only come through healing in Jesus Christ.

Healing whether it is healing from past sins, hurts, things others have done to wrong you etc, never comes in an instant (or I guess I could say rarely). True healing that lasts is a process that only comes to completion as we allow Jesus to strip us bare: exposing the root of the problem, allowing Him to clease us, and then re-clothe us in His beauty.

For me, this process is almost always difficult and is painful. I never like to see those things in me which I try to desperately to keep hidden. And yet as the healing process continues, I find that I am becoming really clean!

Thank you Lord for your power and patience to make me Really Clean!

Man of God:

Many people strive to be like the man or woman of God they read about in the Bible. We read in the Bible about David being a man after God's own heart, and so many others who are used by God to do great things. However, it is made clear in His Word that just BEING His is the greates thing we can do.

There are many different men and women I have met in life who have displayed different qualities and characteristics of a Godly person. However, I have rarely seen such qualities displayed so consistantly and so authentically as I do in my Best Friend and Love of my Heart: Jared R. Amerine.

For those of you who have not met him, I look forward to the day of that meeting: When you will see exactly what it is in him that has caused me to fall completely in love with him. This humble man of God shows me more of the character of Christ each new day. I look forward to today and tomorrow and then next day because I love seeing God through all that you say and do. (P.S. Just so you all know-He is imperfect. But that's where God is strong! That's what makes all of this work out so well:)

The Greater the Love-the Greater the Pain:

There is an interesting thing with love you see. It seems the more you love someone, the greater the capacity to bring pain upon that person-intentional or not. Everything seems intensified-the good, and the bad.

"How deep the Father's love for us....
How vast beyond all measure..."

These two lines taken from one of my favorite songs really do cause us to dwell upon the great love of God. We often hear about the love God has for us. Yet as I think about it, it seems with this unbelievable amount of love has come an unbelievable amount of pain. Each time we intentionally or unintentionally leave the Lord-deny His love, or ignore His voice.

Father, forgive me for those moments of pain I have brought to Your heart. Thank you for that vast love that will never leave. Help me to love much-though it may hurt at times.

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY! Jr. High Winter Camp!

We head off for Forest Home Camp tomorrow at around 2:30. After we fight our way through LA traffic, myself and 11 other students and leaders will spend 3 glorious days in the mountains-What an awesome time it will be!
Please pray for safety-but most of all for God to change each and every one of us!!!

We get back Sunday afternoon-I love Jr. Highers!

For Emily: My one blog Fan

SOOOOO after a much too long hiatus from this blog-I have returned upon the request of my bestest friend in the whole world...Emily Smith! Rather then explain all I have done in the last month, I figured I would do sort of a picture collage of all the exciting things...including but not limited to...
A week in Michigan...My roomates wedding...Hearst Castle vacation with Jared...Mom and Dad coming out here for a few days...good times I tell you...God is good!

Merry Christmas!

What an amazing Holiday to Celebrate! One of my personal favorites:)
Seriously....
This day we celebrate (although in reality it probably happened in March...but come on) changed history forever. And not just History books or anything like that...my life was changed forever in that one day.
I am so thankful that out of all the memories and traditions, my favorite ones are those which I share with the Lord. Those moments that no one else knows about. Those moments that God and I share as a secret. They make me so happy and joyful unlike any other moment I have in my life or share with any person.
Thank you God for being the best thing in my life and for completly changing my life!

I love you-Happy Birthday!

Jr. High Christmas Party!!!

Last night was our Jr. High Christmas Party. And it rocked.
Seriously-everything was awesome about it! 20 kids showed up. We all laughed a lot. I made them bob for candy canes in a huge bowl of eggnog-what else would make the night complete??? Lighting the advent candles and praying with these amazing students:)

I love them:) Picture to come...

GO HOME!!!

I can not WAIT to go home! And this is the short list why:
1. Evan-my nephew
2. Mom-she rocks
3. Dad-I am in love with him:)
4. Alex-My one and only brother who makes me laugh
5. Becky-The best sister in law a girl could ask for!
6. Emily-My best friend in the world who I can't wait to see because she is pregnant and I have been going through major withdrawls from her!
7. SNOW-yes. snow. I can't wait to shovel!
8. Vanessa-It has been too long since I visited her grave-
9. CrossRoads-too many people I know and love like crazy
10. Christmas-the Teal traditions are the best ever. Yes mom, I will make my bed before I wake you up:)
11. I have not been there since August. I'm sorry, but that is just too long in between visits.
12. New Church-the new CrossRoads building is supossedly really coming along
13. My parents fireplace
14. Drinking eggnog with Dad on Christmas eve
15. Showing everyone pictures of Jared
16. SNOW!
17. Running 10 miles Christmas eve...dang it!
18. Lifestyles. Don you really need to open one up down here.
19. Watching Evan dance. I can't wait
20. Singing with my fam.
21. Giving my entire family their gifts.
22. no work. no school. enough said.
23. SNOW. I can't wait till my nose hairs freeze when I step outside!

Date Night

I am convinced I have the most amazing boyfriend in the entire world. This is for many reasons. One of which is where he took me out for dinner the other night: The Chart House in Newport Beach. Seriously breathtaking view. Amazing food. Jared certainly spared no expense. I am so blessed.

Three Names You Go By
1. Angela
2. Ang
3. Champ (thanks to Jesse)

Three of Your Everyday Essentials
1. phone
2. car
3. prayer

Three Things You Are Wearing Right Now
1. sweatshirt
2. the ever famous jeans
3. slippers because my feet are cold (even in cali!)

Three Things You Want in a Relationship (other than Real Love)
1. Passion for the Lord
2. Joy
3. Someone who can lead me (because I am a handful)

Three Things You Did Yesterday
1. Went to class
2. Bought Christmas presents
3. stayed up till 3 talking and laughing with my roomates

Three Things You want to do really badly right now
1. Spend time with Evan, Becky, Alex, Mom and Dad
2. Take a nap since I was up too late
3. Watch a movie with Jared

Three Places You Want to go on Vacation
1. Michigan-visit the fam
2. Maine-I don't know why
3. Hawaii

Three Things You Want to Do/Be Before You Die
1. Make an impact in the lives of many people
2. Snowboard well
3. Get Married

Three Ways that you are stereotypically a boy/girl
1. I expect guys to know what I'm thinking
2. I go to the bathroom with multiple women
3. I love to feel like I am safe and taken care of

Thanksgiving in Mexico!

So I leave for Mexico tomorrow morning until Sunday-

Prayer for God to do some radical things in our hearts
Prayer for God to use us in mighty ways
Prayer for safety
Prayer for financial assistance

Thanks for your prayers! Though I can't be with my family over Thanksgiving, I am so excited at this chance to be used during this time!

Time to Think:

There's not much better time to think about life then when you are in the waiting room of a hospital and then when you are in a room waiting for heart and lung test results to come back.

The thoughts primarily started out as admitting my own fears to myself. Most of all my fear of death. Until I was reminded that I am not home...no matter where I am on this earth or who I am with, I am not complete or fully at home until I have reached my final resting place with the Lord. My fear comes from leaving what is behind, as well as the unknown things of heaven. How I desire to have FAITH and CONFIDENCE in who Christ is!

I sat there in my hospital bed sitting next to my best friend Jared (pictured above), receiving more phone calls and text messages from more friends than I can even count! The care and response from people around me is truly unbelievable. I sat there knowing that not only was I not alone physically (thanks to Jared and Kari), but I am never facing anything by myself.

As I waited with thoughts of how the test results could come back, Jared offered to read from the Word for me...I asked him to read 2 Chronicles 16:7-9 "Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the LORD your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. Don't you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and horsemen? At that time you relied on the LORD, and he handed them all over to you. The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."

There is so much to glean from that passage. The first of which is how I know often I just put my trust in man, rather then that of God. It is one thing to say it, and a completely different thing to be waiting for potential lfe threatening test results back. I was challenged tonight to put my trust in Christ alone.
The next thing I took from this was how I desire for my heart to be fully committed to Christ-so that when God's eyes are searching my heart, He will see His love has won me over.

Life truly is a vapor. It is here one minute and gone the next. I very well could have heard completely different news tonight. God still has ways to grow in me and is blessing me with more time here on earth to love Him and love people. I am glad. It makes me think...what will I do tomorrow to treat it as it really is...

Locks of Love:

So I've had a few friends ask me how long I'll be growing my hair out for. For those of you who don't know, I've been growing my hair out for almost the last 2 years. Vanessa Pirrone and I decided to grow our hair out together for locks of love about a month before she passed away in a car accident. I decided immediately that I would hold true to that promise no matter how hard it got.
Recently I decided I would cut it on January 23, 2007-exactly 3 years after Vanessa's accident-and give to to locks of love. Here is a picture of how long my hair was when I started: where it was about a year ago, and where it is now...1 year to go!

Changing the World is Like...

After graduating from Spring Arbor University, I left feeling the way many people my age do: Like I could change the world...
Then reality set in...I did not get my dream job, was not surrounded by people with the same vision, and did not see many dreams come to fruition. (say it like "nutrition" with a "fr" instead of a "n")
2 and a half years after I have graduated and thought I had come to grips with reality, I am realizing I had it right the first time! My "reality" came from the fact that my circumstances were not what I had imagined as ideal. God's reality is that He desires to use us as Christ followers to be revolutionaries!!! A revolutionary by the way is someone who changes things-who does not settle for mediocrity. God is continually searching our hearts to see if and when we will be ready for Him to use...I have decided I am ready...I will not be a revolutionary-I AM a revolutionary!

Changing the world is like finally coming to terms with reality!

The Great Outdoors!

Camping with the girls this weekend is probably one of the coolest things I've done in months! Millard Falls was only about 15 minutes from downtown LA and yet was in the middle of the mountains! It was amazing! The trip included a cool hike, a waterfall (pictured), weird camping neighbors, burning my hand on the fire pit, and sharing about the amazing God we love! I will DEFINITELY go there again! Did I mention it was free?!

It's almost official! Here is my first Half Marathon!!!

Place: Huntington Beach California

Date: Sunday February 5

Time: 7:00 a.m.

Distance: 13.1 miles

Goal: 2 hours and 15 minutes (max.) But I don't really know because I've never run anything close to that far before!

Training begins: Monday November 7

Running Partner: Jared Amerine and anyone else who will test themselves!

This is why I work at Light and Life!