Lancer Diaries has been such an awesome opportunity for me. In these past couple of months, my only hope is that someone (even if it was just one person, anywhere in the world), was encouraged to live their life for God and share Jesus with someone that didn’t know Him. It was cool to write some fun posts about the shows I’ve been to, Christian university stereotypes and the random in-betweens. But more importantly, I was more stoked to share what God put on my heart.
Thanks for letting me show you my heart.
*Special thanks to my amazing roommates (Alex, Lauren, Nikki & Kelli) who previewed all my blogs and the several revisions I made to them. I’m more than blessed to call them friends and share my CBU experiences this year with them.
Well, folks- I’ll see you around campus next year. Don’t be shy too say what’s up.
Pass the Torch- Wednesday night, I went to “Pass the Torch” (or Pat's the torch- as evidenced by the Smith Hall guys), where current RAs passed the torch to the future RAs of 09-10 (woot woot!). R.A. stands for Resident Assistant, which is basically like the supervisor of a designated living area. Anyway, the current RAs of each living area put together a short presentation of experiences and introduction to welcome us to the Residence Life staff. Among some of my favorites were UP Men (hip hop dance off), and the Cottages (the possum song). Needless to say, I am proud to announce that I have been chosen to be an R.A. next year, and I am stoked! Congrats to the new 09-10 Residence Life staff (or as we like to say "Rez Life")!
ISP Commissioning Chapel- ISP, a.k.a. International Service Projects a.k.a. CBU missions is an awesome opportunity to spread the gospel to the nations as God commands us to. Today we got to worship and pray with the teams that are embarking on this summer mission. Among them, my roommate Alex who's going to Panama, SO proud of her! If you missed chapel, remember to pray for the teams and for the lives that will be forever changed as a result of their courageous and willing hearts. CBU is truly a university dedicated to the Great Commission.
Only a week left of school, folks! It’s the final stretch! Best of luck to you all!
Last night I attended an Easter musical portrayed through the eyes of Pilot’s wife, Claudia. She had dreams of Jesus and wanted to warn her husband not to have anything to do with him. And although she tried, Jesus was still crucified. After His resurrection, Claudia understood that Jesus had to die for the sins of man and was overwhelmed because Jesus is not only alive, but alive in her heart.
If Jesus is in my heart, I feel like I should look and feel and act differently. But I seem to get so caught up in my day-to-day schedule that I forget what that looks like. I’m only a mere human, but as I’ve said in my previous blogs, my only life’s purpose is to glorify God.
This Sunday I’m going to an Easter Sunrise Gathering with some close friends and family. We’re going to a park in Corona to worship and celebrate the resurrection of Christ. My friend Chris, who’s organizing this event said "I heard once that when people gather in the name of Jesus, they shouldn't be able to leave without the community around them knowing that God was there". So he's encouraging us to bring donations for the Corona-Norco Settlement House, where people are hurting and in need.
This, is what it looks like to have Jesus alive in your heart. I am at a loss for words when I remember what God did for me today. He sent His only son to die on the cross, for me. The least I can do, is live like Jesus is alive in my heart.
Tonight I attended CRASH- a discipleship meeting with other students here at CBU. We learned a practical way to share the gospel with unbelievers. Prior to the last half of our meeting, we watched a YouTube video of a comedian who was an atheist.
The comedian explained that after one of his shows, a businessman spoke with him; complimented him and gave him a pocket-sized Bible with a phone number and email address inside for follow up. The comedian was quite impressed by this because he knew that the businessman believed that heaven and hell existed. He knew he wanted to share this with the comedian because he didn’t want him to go to hell. Plain and simple, right? What was the comedian’s response to this, you ask? How much do you have to hate someone not to share your faith?[Whoa.] The comedian gave this analogy: If you knew someone was about to be hit by a truck, wouldn’t you do everything in your power to save them? Even throw yourselves on them to get them out of the way?
You see, there’s no difference when we're faced with sharing our faith. We all have our opinions of what strategies do or do not work, but in reality, are we even sharing at all?God didn’t save us so we could keep salvation to ourselves. In Acts 20:24, Luke writes “I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
I find myself 100% guilty, so don’t take this for some type of holy rollin’ trip. I’m challenging myself and I’m challenging you to share the gospel with others. We need to have compassion for the lost, develop relationships and reach out to them. I would hate to think that I had the opportunity to share with someone and didn’t because I felt awkward or exposed. Let's put aside meaningless conversation and get real with people about our faith. This kind of conversation is the most important one we could ever have.
I basically had a bit of a meltdown earlier today. Spring break passed me by faster than Lindsay Lohan’s musical career. And now my friends, we’re down to the final stretch of the semester. I just about hit my computer screen in the face last night because I had a midterm and two projects due today… I’m sure now you can see why. As I sit here, winding down from my rollercoaster of a day, here are some of the things that have lifted my spirits:
Twilight Midnight Release Party- Yes, I am not ashamed and I have the special edition DVD to prove it.
Twitter- Please note, I am no stranger to this social network. Twitter is easy, just answer the question "what are you doing?", trust me it gets interesting. I’ve had a twitter account for over 2 years now. Follow me. Disneyland Pass- you can now pay monthly, hence the reason for my purchase. Only $16 a month to visit the happiest place on earth whenever … I … want. Conflict Management- Watching my two roommates duke it out at the Lancer Arms event Funna Punch ‘Em. As you can see, here at CBU we like to solve our conflicts using large padded weapons. 25 Things I Hate About Facebook- I couldn’t agree more. And yet, I’m still a slave to it.
It’s really difficult to focus on anything when my mind is on full blast summer mode already. Alas, I shall return to my paper writing and intellectual thought. Thank you for allowing me to ramble and a very happy weekend to you.
Turn on a good song and I'm the friend in the car who knows each lyric and guitar riff to almost every song. And if I don't, I'll learn it and add it to the library of music that makes up my mind. I have major difficulty answering the question of my favorite song or type of music because I take interest in various artists and genres.
Music strikes the chords of my heart in unexplainable ways. Whenever I go to a show I find it absolutely imperative that I find my way up to the front so I can literally feel the music and almost completely lose my hearing. This may sound painful to you, but to me, it's the closest to heaven that I'll ever be... and I don't want to go home right now -- what the?! (Goo Goo Dolls, get OUT of my head).
Here are a couple of pictures of bands that rocked my socks live, mostly rock/alternative bands:
Say Anything at the Grove in Anaheim. These guys are seriously out of control with their energy. Every band member had a mic and I'm pretty sure that was to emphasize certain parts of their songs, and it worked. The crowd was totally into it. Oh and the lead vocalist Max Bemis sticks out his tongue after every other word he sings. Why? Because he can.
Angels and Airwaves at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. Probably one of the most amazing shows I've ever been to. Even thinking about the lighting and ambiance of the entire night makes my hairs stand. Their music makes me feel like I'm flying, which is their intention, I'm sure. Their set was pure perfection.They rocked... end of story.
The Almost at the Soma in San Diego, a smaller venue but fantastic nontheless. The lead singer, Aaron Gillespie is the drummer from the band Underoath and The Almost is his side project. Aaron, you genius, you.
Anberlin also at the Soma in San Diego. This was just after they released their new album New Surrender. Stephen Christian, the lead singer was so sincere and thanked the crowd several times after each song. He seemed really, well, nice. The drummer threw a water bottle and it landed in my crossed arms. It was unopened and quite refreshing in the midst of the blazing heat and sweat in the crowd.They were awesome and so is their new album.
Among others that are not pictured:
Sleeping Giant at a venue in Chino. So powerful. You need to see them live for yourself. It'll do you some good, humble you, and make you crazy for Jesus.
Emery also at the Soma and they were SO much fun. These guys can work the stage. Personally, I'm not that into them, but if you can give me a legitimate reason to be, I'll reconsider.
I absolutely plan to and MUST see:
Coldplay - I seem to have missed them EVERY time they're in So Cal. Not okay, not okay at all.
Blink 182 - reunited and it feels so good. I know you're excited to see them too. This brings back major teenage memories.
Incubus - one of my favorites. Hopefully they release something new and tour in our area soon.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this incredible opportunity I have this semester as a Lancer Diaries blogger. I believe that my position is much bigger than myself and the things I do. What’s been on my heart lately is our generation.
We’ve become people who claim the Christian title, and become satisfied with being perceived as just that. It’s not enough.I believe God wants more of us, and our world needs more of God. Are we making this a reality? Or are we depending on others to take on responsibility so Christians (as a whole) can get the credit? Like I said last week, we were created to give God glory.
In chapel on Wednesday, John Montgomery spoke about one of my favorite scriptures Matthew 16:24, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’”The three main points he emphasized were to DENY ourselves, TAKE UP THE CROSS and FOLLOW HIM.
God is moving in such a powerful way today, and I am STOKED about it. He is revealing Himself in incredible ways to people who didn’t know Him, and now believe. The time to act is now. Not when we’re done with college, or older, or more spiritual. We can’t keep putting off sharing our faith with others. We put so much stress on where God wants us to be in the future, when all along, He has us right where we are for the purpose of those who need Him. We come in contact with people who don’t know Christ as their Savior every day, even on campus. I’m totally talking about myself here, too. If a person died tomorrow and you HAD a chance to talk to them about Christ, what would you feel?
Here at CBU, we’re blessed to have awesome professors and leaders who would be more than willing to help you: 1. Accept Christ (if you haven’t) 2. Share the gospel with others (not just for pastors or missionaries... for you and me)
God has set apart our generation… and we need to r e s p o n d.
Last week in class, I watched a video on the Islam faith. More specifically, the last of the 5 pillars of faith, the pilgrimage to Mecca called Hajj. During one of the highlights of Hajj, Muslims stand all day and pray to Allah. I watched as they prayed with tears coming down their faces, longing to be close to Allah.
This convicted me in more ways than I could have ever imagined. As I watched these Muslims cry out to Allah, my heart was burdened for them because they are trying so hard to seek God, but because they do not believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, they are so far away from Him. Our hearts should be burdened. I was hurting for them and in the same moment, upset with myself. This brought two questions to mind:
Do I long for God so completely that I find myself in tears, desperate to be as close to him as humanly possible?
Am I living my life in such a way that people can see Christ through me and want the relationship with Him that I have?
I thank God for being gracious and merciful. I thank Him for not founding my relationship with Him by a ritual of works. But does this mean that I should take Him for granted? Should I only visit Him on Sundays and carry on with the rest of my week? No. God’s purpose for creating us is so that He can be praised. I find myself selfish in many ways, claiming my life as my own at times. I forget why I’m here. I want to seek God and be completely enveloped in everything that He is.
I’m here to give you an insight to my story, which consists of a number of things both in and outside of CBU.
For instance, I come from a family of 7 kids. I know, I know, bring on the "cold winter" and "'did your parents own a TV" comments. My parents are wonderful and have been married for more than 30 years (cue applause.)
Like many of you, I’ve been through some tough patches and challenging times in my life. Since then, I've rededicated my life to Christ and try to live my life for Him in every way.
This past weekend my boyfriend Ryan and I did a skit for the Inland Empire Marriage Conference, which was a bit awkward because we're not married. But hey, it was a blast and because of that conference, relationships were renewed and blessed. That's good enough for me.
This weekend I'll be up in the mountains co-leading worship with Ryan at a youth retreat. I'm seriously so stoked on what God's going to do in the lives of the teens there.
Living my life for Christ goes much further than singing a song or performing a skit. It has everything to do with our relationships, our efforts and our responsibilities. I was at a night of worship earlier that was put on by the school's student club Praise Divine Worshipers, here on campus. There was a poem that was recited that spoke about getting out of the groove of our everyday lives. I don't think I could have agreed more with every word in that poem. It was a reminder not to remain caught up in our own selves but with God and His purpose for us.
It's 1:29am and I am seriously beat. All my roommates are asleep, which means I should be too.
