2013 - A year of Blessing and Adventure

Another year has FLOWN by and I sit here in MY home reflecting on all God did in 2013. This time last year I was getting ready to start my final semester of college, was busy applying for jobs, seeking God's direction and wondering with great anticipation for what God would do in my life post-college. In last years New Year's post, I wrote the following:

'I have no idea what will be happening once I graduate. And, I am ok with that. Sometimes it is nice to not know what God is bringing next...I am resting in the unknown. Here's to 2013 being a year of blessing and adventure!' 

Seriously, if I had any idea of what God would be calling me to after college, I would have simply laughed and said NO WAY! God BLEW my mind by giving me the opportunity to serve Him through Highlands. I would have laughed at the thought that God would put me in such a place of leadership and responsibility right after college...and not only that..merely DAYS after graduating....in the field I majored in! Who would have THOUGHT!?

The Chalet at Mount Baker. HS Winter
Retreat 2013. 

This year has definitely been one of the most wild and adventure-filled years of my life. I have fallen so much more in love with the Lord as I have seen Him provide in ways BEYOND what I could even dream of. I have no DOUBT that He will continue to allow me to fall more in love with Him because that is what He wants. He wants us to be so in love with Him that His love radiates out of us and shows others who God is. THAT is my biggest prayer!

Growing up I was often told by those older than me that 'college will be the best years of your life.' There is definitely some truth to that. I made life-long friends, learned valuable lessons about God, myself and ministry. I made some amazing memories that I know I will have with me for the rest of my life. I LOVED college. Every bit of it...the stress, the papers, the classes, the learning...I thrived in college and miss it from time to time. But really, I am LOVING this season of life that God has put me in. The last 7 months have looked completely different than anything I ever imagined my life could be...but it is WAY better and I wouldn't change it for anything.

2013 was a year of drastic growth, adventure, blessing and JOY. I am SO beyond excited to see what God has in store for 2014. I know it will not be easy. I will fail, I will doubt and I will question...but in my core...I will KNOW that God has me where He has me for a reason and I am STOKED to be allowed to serve Him like I do.

Here's to 2014 being a year of contentment, fun and JOY in all things!!!

"All for you and for YOUR Glory"

As I sit and write this update, I am in the heart of Music City: downtown Nashville, Tennessee. I am right next door to the Country Music hall of fame museum and just a block or so down from the Ryman. It has been such a blessing to be able to come to Nashville for the National Youth Workers Convention. I am so grateful that Highlands believes in training and equipping their staff and I have loved hearing from many seasoned ministry leaders. 

Even though this is a Youth Ministry convention and I do Chilren's Ministry, I have been able to take away a lot of ideas on leadership that I can apply to myself and my ministry context working with Children. I have been attending the more generic leadership seminars this week. I went to one the other day entitled: 'Being a Leader Worth Following' with Greg Stier. Greg works with the organization Dare 2 Share….equipping young people to share their faith with their friends and family. I had never heard Greg speak before but I was soon captivated by his ability to tell a story, command the attention of the room and speak so much truth in such simple phrases. 

"It isn't about what you do for Jesus, it's about what Jesus can do through you." 

Greg said the above statement and suddenly I was transfixed on this comment. "It isn't about what you do for Jesus…" So often I have found myself saying that I want to do this or that for Jesus. I have been taught this principle by many people, with good intentions, but with such an essential element lacking. If we look at everything this way, suddenly it isn't about Jesus at all. It is about how I can do this, or how I can plan this event, or how I can bring this many people to Jesus. When, reality is, Jesus doesn't need me to do a thing. Yes, we need to steward ourselves well, but really, Jesus will be working in people's lives wether or not I am here to influence them and tell them about Jesus. I am not the super star individual, HE is and I should be getting out of His way and directing people to Him working through me, not simply what I can do by myself.

Then looking at the next part of the phrase, "It's about what Jesus can do through you." THIS is where we must keep our focus. God has given me the gifts, the talents and the personality I have for a reason and HE will move through me if I am willing to surrender everything and allow Him to work. When we look at everything in this perspective, the focus is taken off of us, and onto Jesus, saying, "Jesus do with me what you please…I will go where you direct…" When we are willing to surrender our desires, passions, future and 'our plans' Jesus is willing and READY to do amazing things with our faith. 

A picture from the Big Room with all of us worshiping
together. Such an awesome experience! 

Another neat thing about this convention is that there have been some awesome worship. We heard from Audrey Assad, Rend Collective Experiment and Shane and Shane to name a few. I do not remember which artist sang this particular song but this has been my prayer all week….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h64opCwLZCw

Glory to God Forever 

My favorite part of the song is this: 

Take my life and let it be 

All for You and for Your glory 

Take my life and let it be Yours

May this be the prayer of your heart as well as many of you serve in different capacities at various Churches. May we allow Jesus to use us for all His glory, not simply to add another thing to our 'I did this for Jesus' list. 

Jesus is MORE than Enough

As the calendar changes into November I find myself sitting and watching the now bare trees sway in the late fall windstorms. This week we had a power outage, some rain and a few days of beautiful fall weather. As I see fall flying by I look ahead to what are my favorite 2 months of the year. The middle of November into early January are my favorites. Yes, I like Spring because of the beautiful flowers and anticipation of summer. Summer is good because it is restful and full of many outdoor adventures and now a new favorite: summer camps! Fall is great because of football and a new year beginning. But, for me...this season...now until January is my absolute favorite. 

My girls. I just love them all! <3

These last few weeks have flown by with a vacation to Portland to visit my Vancouver kids and see my school friends again. I LOVED being able to surprise my girls. It was a sweet reunion with hugs, laughter and a few tears (for me!) :) I came back rejuvenated and full of love from people that know me so well and again, praising the Lord for how He provides.       

         

After a few quick days in the office we were headed to Seabrook for a Children's and Student Ministries Staff retreat. It was so refreshing to get away for a few days at the beach to rest, play, spend lots of time with Jesus and be away from the crazy life of ministry. I have been craving time with the team for months now and it was so good to be able to really build relationships with the men and women I am so blessed to serve Jesus with. I am still unpacking all that God was wanting to teach me this week but I think I have a bit of an idea so I thought I would share. 

Nothing beats a walk on the beach. Even in the windy
cold of November!

During our time away, we were working through a study by James Macdonald looking at The Promises of God. We walked through five different promises and unpacked each of those. Each of these promises spoke so clearly to me but the underlying theme that I found myself going back to: Is Jesus Enough? As I have stepped into this ministry I have found myself believing lies, doubting God is going to use ME to do His work, comparing myself to those who have been in ministry a long time...failing to remember that they once were new to ministry...just like me. Our last morning on retreat it felt as if I was hit in the face with a softball going a million miles an hour. This whole time, I have compared myself, doubted and believed lies of inadequacy without even really realizing. I have been suffering through all of these with the most harmful one: doubting Jesus is Enough for me. I realize now that all the needs of my ministry and all the needs I have in my personal life can all be answered in Jesus and Him alone. It is by His grace we live each day. Psalms 23:1 says, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." I realize now that I have failed to allow the Lord to be ALL I need. I hate my sin and I hate the fact that I do not realize all that the Lord has given me by simply giving me Himself. 

I have discovered this week that, for me, Jesus is Enough. And, not only that, He is MORE than enough for me. Will you allow Him to be More than Enough for YOU?

The Importance of Remembering...

I don't know about you, but I sometimes fail to remember. I know this is something I have written about before, but I am human and need reminders every now and again. This week I remembered and again, I end the week AMAZED at the work of God.

Circa 1997?: Sparkie Jennica with my awesome Sparks leaders
and Cubbie Jori Anne. 

On Wednesday evening, we had an Awana Leaders Meeting. Towards the end of the evening our commander was talking about how you never know what kids you are influencing. The future Moms, Dads, Business owner, youth pastors, construction workers, etc are surrounding us. We never know what God will do with each of these little lives...only God does. But, for a few hours each week, WE get to influence them. We get to play, have fun, share Jesus with them and love these precious angels. Our Commander showed this picture. This is me probably 16 or so years ago. Back then I was simply a kid, playing hard and learning Bible verses but NO idea I would ever be influencing so many young lives for the rest of my life.

Flash forward to 2013. A fresh graduate and the one overseeing the Awana program at our church. Only God knew what He would be doing with my life. I had no idea, my parents had no idea and my Sparks leaders had no idea they were leading a future Elementary Ministries Director. Thank goodness only God knew that! There is so much comfort knowing that I simply OBEYED what God was calling me to do and he lead me to today. I wasn't an outstanding child, I disobeyed my parents, I got in trouble and thought that I knew what was best. But God used that. Today, I am twenty three years old, single and absolutely LOVING doing ministry full time. I get to influence so many children and the leaders that love them. I get to share Jesus with hundreds of students. I get to experience the joy of a child on a regular basis and I am reminded again why I do what I do.

2013: I get to spend my life loving students and sharing Jesus with
them!? Can this even be happening to me!?

This week I remembered that I did nothing but simply OBEY. It is my prayer that this is how I live my life...everyday. Simply obeying where God is calling me to go, what God is calling me to do and who God is calling me to be. It has always been my dream to someday be a mom so I can spend my days loving little children and that is EXACTLY what I am doing. My heart is so full of joy right now and I am so amazed at how God moves. So for you, dear reader, what is God reminding you of? What has He walked you through? What has He shown his faithfulness in your life?

Tonight, I am remembering what God has done, is doing and look forward with much anticipation to what He will be doing as I continue this rocky journey called life. Thanks for walking with me as I daily fall more in love with my Faithful Heavenly Father.

September 1st Already!?

Well, the whirlwind of summer camps and craziness is slowing down and we are about to launch into fall. It is here, this week we got the rain, football is kicking off and our fall schedule is finally here. It is hard to believe that 3 full months at Highlands are done. That is a quarter of the year - completed...and not only that...THRIVING! God has been SO good and that is what my summer has been. Stories of God's goodness have been sprinkled all over my summer and I am BEYOND blessed and thankful for all God has given me.

I can't believe all God has done this summer and all the stories I have from this summer. I should have started school again this week and I can hardly believe that I have graduated college. I still don't feel old enough to be done with school! It has now been a week since I have been in my new house and slowly, my little house is becoming a home. Because I am finally getting settled in, I thought it was time for a blog update and pictures!




After the craziest summer of my life, I am ready for routine. I am ready for a set schedule. I am ready to see what God wants to do with the rest of the year. I am so blessed to be serving at Highlands and a part of an awesome family. As I sit in my home I remember back to 4 months ago and am AMAZED at God's goodness and how much has changed since then. I was in my last few weeks of college and NO clue what God would do in the coming weeks. I can hardly imagine what God will continue to do with my life as I daily seek to follow HIM and be ALL he has called me to be.

Thank you, dear friends for praying so faithfully for me this summer as I have navigated a whole new adventure. Please continue to pray for me. For trust in God's ultimate plan and that I choose to be joyful even on the hard days (more on that in my next post).

You are NEVER alone

The LOVELY ladies I spent a week at JH
Camp with! 

This summer is FLYING by and I can't believe we are just a few weeks away from September and my first fall kick off! A few weeks ago I got to spend a week at junior high camp with some awesome young ladies. They were FULL of energy and our cabin was NEVER boring. I had a blast spending time in the sun, playing games, swimming, being 'Monique' in the 'Voice' competition and laughing till I cried. After coming home exhausted but thrilled by the work God did, I toured and said YES to a cute little duplex just half a mile from the church. Another AWESOME gift from the Lord and another 'God is ALWAYS Faithful' story.

Last night I came home from High School camp where I spent another week pouring into the lives of students. We played hard and slept hard and hand an awesome time making memories that I KNOW will last forever. The theme for the week was 'Never Beyond Repair' talking about how no matter what we go through in life, no matter what our past looks like, we are never beyond repair in God's eyes, and we are always welcome to come to him. 

Spent an afternoon in the sun at Lincoln City
during HS camp. I am SO beyond blessed
to be doing full time ministry like I am! 

Going into the week, I had no idea just how much God was wanting to teach me. As we are moving through summer, the reality of not going back to Multnomah in the fall is really sinking in. My community of friends is in Portland and not in Renton, yet, that is where God is calling me to be. I am serving with every ounce of my being but will be filled up less as I begin to establish my own community. This week at camp was a reminder that even though my friends may not be around all the time, I am EXACTLY where God has called me to be and for that, I am filled with so much peace, beyond my imagination. Jesus loves me so much and has designed this season of my life for a specific purpose and He will never leave me.

Thank you for your continued prayers as I journey through life following where my God is calling me to be. Continue to pray with me as there are a lot of details to take care of before our big Fall Kick Off. And expect a new blog in the coming days showing off my new home...I move THIS WEEK! :)

The Faithfulness of God

When I sit and think about what I feel my life has been, I could easily call it a whirlwind. From graduation, to interviews, to being hired, to working for a month, then a mission trip to Canada. Wow...a LOT has happened in my life and I can honestly say that it has been so much fun to see God work!

The last few weeks I got to spend time with my Vancouver youth group on a mission trip to Canada. It was one of the most memorable trips I have ever been on...not necessarily for events that happened but for the life change I got to see. The last few weeks were a God-send because I was reminded again just how much ministry is important and why God has called me to be doing what I am doing. This last week I got to see my students grow in so many ways...I saw the boys become men and the girls became ladies who love the Lord so much. I felt like a proud mom and was reminded again why I do what I do.

As I reflected back, I remembered nights when I doubted my investment in the teenagers, I wondered if anything I said ever actually got through. I got to spend my last day traveling with my small group girls and our driver, Tyler, and we all talked. I thanked them for the memories I had and noted how I saw God working in each of them. When we were giving our final tear-filled goodbyes, I realized just how much those 'little' things meant. Sometimes in ministry we get wrapped up in the details, the events, the trips, the retreats and we so quickly forget the little things that make the life change. Sunday I leave for a week at junior high camp, in a cabin with a group of middle school girls. As I head in to this week, I think of all that will happen and I am so excited to see what God is going to do!

So, as we move through the summer, I am learning so much about how when we are faithful to God, he is faithful to us and he gives us exactly what we need when we don't even realize we need it! Just as the sun sets every night God is faithful to his children! We serve an AMAZING God and I am so blessed to be serving him with all my life. Thank you for continuing to pray for energy and strength to get through this busy camp season!