Topic

Well today I don't really have a topic. Partly because it's late, partly because I'm fried from lifeguarding! I might as well give the few viewers a life update. Well....today I woke up, ate a bowl of cereal...jk. I went to centennial. I lifeguard, then I teach classes to some pretty cute children, then I take my lifeguard class. Today we got to practice "dying" and saving people! Always fun. I had a mass skype with like 9 people at one time! Life is good. Now I'm falling asleep....maybe I'll have more inspiration tomorrow...goodnight.

God's Got my Back!

God is SOOO good. I've been trusting him with my life more than ever recently. My school schedule has been completely messed up (as I've mentioned.) So I've decided to trust God completely with my life plans. He intern has blessed me tremendously and constantly reminded me He's there for me and He's got my back. For example: I get a verse of the day e-mailed to me daily. This is the one I received yesterday: "The Lord will work out his plans for my life - for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me." -Psalm 138:8. The first part is a reminder of how He is there for me, the second part is my prayer to Him!

NCU chapel has been a constant reminder how God is always there for me. 2 days ago the speaker talked about eagles (referring to the verse in Isaiah talking about how God will lift us up on eagles wings.) Well...eagles are pretty nifty. They have these dandy wings that can lock. Why is this important? When all the other birdies take cover before a storm, the eagle will fly straight into it with its wings locked and a thermal current will lift it up and over the storm through smooth air. Analogy: God will give us the strength to fly straight into the storm and He will take us through it as long as we trust Him.

Another eagle fact: the mom eagle will push her eaglets off a cliff. Why? To test their strength. If they are unable to make it on their own, mama swoops down and catches them before they hit rock bottom. Takes them to the top and repeats until the learn to fly. Analogy: God will let us fall, there will be challenges, but we just have to trust Him. We need to trust that He will pick us up and keep on letting us fall until we are strong enough to soar.

There are so many analogies and other stories of how God has been evident and working in my life. It is so cool! However, I have to catch a bus now so I can go to NCU chapel. Trust God and find out where He takes you! I promise you it will be cooler than you could ever imagine!

Faith through a Lightsaber

Crazy things have been happening to me recently. 4 days before class is supposed to start, I am informed I have to drop 2 of my classes at the U of M. Yesterday I go to my German class and am told I have to switch to a higher class. Right now I'm in between a class change so I only have Karate today. Anyway, the whole schedule changes has enabled me to go to North Central University Chapel on a daily basis (almost like being at camp, going to chapel everyday!) I also got accepted to take high school AP classes online. The way God works is incredible.

Yesterday afternoon/evening was a bit frustrating. I had to miss SLS (a leadership bible study) due to my dad being unable to drive from his surgery. Still not sure the reason for that. I also realized I had lost my cell phone and it was absolutely nowhere to be found. Not good. However 90% of Minneapolis has free WiFi so I am able to call home still thanks to google technology. My mom was still worried about me being downtown without a cell phone, especially taking the bus route to NCU. I reassured her that God was on my side, plus I had my lightsaber and was starting karate the next day (today.) So with the combination of God, my ninja skills and Jedi skills I would be fine.

This morning the craziness continues. I had the most amazing bus ride. Well at least on the second bus....on my 766 I slept. I took the 50U from downtown the the U of M campus like I always do. Unlike usual, I had an interesting conversation. Now most of the time people just mind their own business on the bus and if the stranger next to them starts talking to them they usually get freaked out. Today...completely different story. I was sitting on the bus still drowsy from my nap on the previous bus. A guy sat down next to me and after a few seconds of staring at my backpack asked, "Is that an umbrella or an lightsaber?!" I excitedly reply it was a lightsaber. He asked why I carried it, I told him it was self defense and also a "camp thing." We got to talking and I told him about the fast I'm doing (www.awake21.org.) I also talked a bit about my faith. I didn't have the time to find out his spiritual background, but he was very intrigued by what I had to say. It is amazing they way God can use things to talk about your faith!

Martin Luther King Junior Day

Today is MLK day. Not Milk day, MLK: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It is a national holiday when we reminisce about decisions our nation has made and how we overcame. MLK day is associated with the civil rights movement. The gain of equality amongst all ethnicities in our nation. You know: Rosa Parks refusing to move on the bus, Brown vs. Board of Education, Little Rock Nine, Freedom Riders and all those other things.

Why was Martin Luther King Junior so inspirational? Because he had a dream?! Perhaps. Was it just his dream? No, many people were fighting for equality and shared the same dream. MLK as well as the other major known people and groups associated with the civil rights movement stood up for what they believed in, and what they knew was right. They took action.

If you don't have time to listen to the entire speech, listen to just this short excerpt of MLK's famous, "I have a dream speech"

"Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last." America is now a free country, I think Dr. King would be proud of how far our nation has come. However we are not free quite yet. We are held down by sin. But through Jesus, when we reach heaven we can truly say, "free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last."

Jaeson Ma

So I was googling literally like an hour ago and I typed in encouraging notes. This youtube video popped up. I did the natural thing and clicked on it. It was fun and seemed like something I'd do: put notes on someone's car on a random day. The thing that stuck out...one of the phrases he put on a card, "do your best and let God do the rest." Number 1- I'm doing P90X and the phrase is, "do the best and forget the rest." Number 2- we should try our best in life, but we WILL fail and that is where God's grace comes in and He can take over and be our strength.

The guy who did this video had a channel and a whole bunch of videos. So I checked them out (well I'm still in the process. This guy has blown me away so far. It is amazing. He is all about love...true love...God's love. He is great! This one just made my day though. Check it out:

The Return of I'm Counting on God

Remember this song? I know I already used this song but it is sooo fitting. I'll get back to that.

So my dad had surgery on Monday, went better than planned. I get to spend pretty much every moment with him now. It is actually fun and we get to do a lot of things together. However, this means that everyone in my family are a lot busier than usual and focused on my dad. We hadn't gotten our mail in a while. Yesterday, I received a letter I should have gotten a while ago. It was from the U notifying me due to my low grades (B- GPA) I had to drop most of my classes.

This was NOT good. It caused a whole bunch of crying, stressing, and not good-ness. It was a mess. However it caused me to rely on God. Obviously my plans for my life weren't working, so I just had to trust God. Even in all the chaos, putting my full trust in God felt amazing! The feeling that I got realizing that even if my life was a disaster, I had God and he would take care of me and always love me, man that was a relief.

I ended up talking to my very wise friend Kate Rabago. I told her that I just wanted the strength and endurance just to get through the night. She brought up this song. Even though I was freaking out. God gives me joy...he gives me the strength I need to make it through the day. And with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26.) God has my back. I can always rely on Him. So new life plans: listen to God and rely on Him more.

I'm counting on God!

Prayer

Prayer is amazing. It is extremely complex, yet incredibly simple. Lightly prayer has been a frequent topic in my life. On Wednesday nights at church we've focused a lot on prayer and how we should envision ourselves in front of God's throne like Isaiah or as John describes in Revelation 4. My favorite verse is "Pray continually" or as another version puts it, "pray without ceasing." -1st Thessalonians 5:17. Our prayer should be never ending. Talk to God, that's how simple it is. Tell Him what's on your mind. During swimming I pass the time during long sets by just talking to Him like He's my best friend because it is.

There are 2 newish prayer things in my life. 1 I would love for you all to pray with me. My dad. He is having surgery on his shoulder and bicep tomorrow. The recovery is supposed to take a while and it is a fairly serious procedure.

The other newish prayer thing is I'm starting a fast tomorrow. No, I am not fasting food, however that is one of the days. But I am doing a fast along with thousands of other people. Each day is a different thing to fast such as: facebook, video games, fast food, sweets and other things. Check out the website: http://www.awake21.org/. Fasting is about giving up something to spend more time with God.

I'm excited where God is taking me in my prayer life! Where is God taking you? Do you even believe in God? Do you have a relationship with Him? Do you ever take the time to just talk to Him? If you said no to any of the above you can change that. Talk to me, I'd love to sort things out for you....or just start talking to Him. It doesn't have to be fancy, formal, drawn out or whatever...just talk. He is always listening!

I Make War!

Today was amazing! I started my lifeguarding class! At the end of March I will be ARC and BSA certified! I'm super excited for Saturdays now! I get to teach little kids and hang out with new friends, have a great time and finally get lifeguard certified! I could go on for ages...but pretty much...it's amazing! Then my mom, dad and I went out to eat! I almost forgot: I talked to my friend Vladimir on Skype for over an hour and a half. Which would be pathetic, but he lives 3 and a half hours away! Today was exciting!

So I have a youtube video I really love...so I shall share it!

We need to stop letting Satan win. We need to fight back. We can't just sit there. We have to do something. Fight against our sins. MAKE WAR!

Humble Pie

So today I decided to be rebellious. And by rebellious I mean "rebellious." So my brother came home from Mexico and whenever he says home we end up getting ridiculous lists from my mom. We have to do house chores which we procrastinate and eventually do a half job. Today the list said, "No TV or Computer until you clean your room and clear off the table." Considering I got up at 8 and didn't go downstairs until 10:30ish meant I already hadn't obeyed the list. Whoops. So what do I do...go back upstairs and play even more Balloon Towers Defense 4 (almost defeated it!) Then I have the usual thoughts, "I could go clean....eh...I could go workout...today's my easy day...I could...thinking is too hard."

Around 11 I decided to just get up and clean. Not my room though...that would be doing what I'm told and I'm a teenager so it's in my job description to be rebellious. So instead I cleaned the ENTIRE house: swept, mopped, scrubbed, organized, dusted, vacuumed and whatever else needed to be done. I spent 5 hours intensely cleaning. Oh and while I was folding towels and such I watched TV...room still not clean...broke the list! Haha. Yup...I'm a rebel!

Instead of using this to do something I wanted this weekend I told my brother that if my parents ask it was the magic cleaning fairy. My goal: being humble. Today my mom and dad came home from work together. They noticed about 1/8 of the things I did, but they were VERY grateful. They asked who did it...my brother and I both said the magic cleaning fairy. However, as time went on, I just wanted to say, "IT WAS ME WHO DID ALL THE WORK!!!!" Why? Because my brother was doing dishes at the current moment so it made it look like he was doing the work. I didn't like the fact that he was getting credit subconsciously in my parent's minds.

Isn't this how we all are. When we accomplish something we want the credit and want to show off and brag. God calls us to do just the opposite. 2 verses I like are:

"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." -Matthew 23:12

I will get a reward for being humble eventually! The other verse is:

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." -James 4:6

I like that one because it was a memory verse for the camper at Trout last summer!

Anyway....humble=good. Even though I wish I could get instant gratification from all the cleaning I did, I just have to keep in mind that all the work I do and strife I go through- God will pay me back!

Fun update: Tomorrow I start my lifeguarding class! I'm super excited. While I'm there I get to see a camp friend! Yay! Happy Friday!

Oops

Haha...sorry guys. I haven't posted in ages. I quit posting when the pressure of finals started and just didn't get back into the routine post finals. Now I'm super bored because I don't have school until the 18th. I'm going nuts just saying. Post suggestions of things to do (I already have been reading a bunch, working out, all those typical time killers...I just want something productive to do.) To catch up...finals went ok. I didn't get the grades I wanted...but I still passed all my classes. What more could you want out of a college class. Anyway. Life is good. Because it's less than a week into the new year I might as well post my resolutions:

1) Get a 6 pack. Yes...as in abs! :D

2) Successfully get my lifeguard license (I start my class Saturday.)

3) Fulltime cook and/or lifeguard at Trout.

4) Spend time with God everyday!

5) Be a positive influence

6) Use every possible opportunity to tell others about God!

7) Get a decent job

8) Get drivers license

Yup! I have more ridiculous ones too. But yup. That's what I'm up to!