Life

Life has been too sweet to me recently. Last weekend I went to Visalia with the ICS Seniors to one of my professors friends homes. It was a time of reflection, giggles, and praising the Lord for who He has made us and for where He has brought us. One of my favorite things about the weekend is that we wrote purpose and vision statements.These statements did not come out of the blue but were thought out responses to who God has made us and by looking at our past. I really loved this weekend because I was with my five closest girlfriends and one of my favorite professors for all sessions. It was a time of praying for God's guidance and pure encouragement from my friends. It was so powerful to be with people who really do know  you inside out.

Some people do not reflecting on the past, but the past really is the key to your future. The past can be seen as this:

Rowing teams row backwards, with the destination being forward. They have to look backwards in order to go forwards. The way that they do this is by knowing the landmarks that will lead them forward. They know these very well and use them as their guide.

That is exactly how life is for us. We need to look at the past in order to see what God has been doing. There are many chapters, hurts, praises, divine interventions, etc. All of these things have made us who we are... God has already written our story. It is so important to recognize these things.

I will be the first to say that I thought I was going to hate having a weekend devoted to Life Maps and to this kind of stuff... but it has helped me realize how God has made me and where He is taking me.

Here is my purpose statement (of being). This is who I am in Christ and how God has made me/desires for me to live. Please keep me to it:

My purpose is to abide in Christ and to love others in an intimate and real way that shine's Christ's light. I live a life of faithfulness to the calling of God, having kingdom eyes, and to show that true obedience brings ultimate freedom and joy.

Life update:
I want to push the pause button on life right now. I love Southern California and I am going to miss all my crazy friends like crazy. I devoted today to truly being a Sabbath. I do not allow myself to do that often. I went to church with my sister (awesome message by Mr. Nick Saltas), passed out on the couch, planted flowers, road my bike to the park with Emily, swung on the swings at the park, played with the little kids, played frisbee, layed in the grass, and had In and Out for dinner. You might not think that is Sabbathing... but it was for me. I needed the kid to come out in me. Prayer for a smooth and joyful transition would be greatly appreciated (definitely glad one of my strengths if adaptability)!