hope

HOPE:

   to desire with expectation of obtainment

such a small word,

such a big meaning.

i feel like i place my hope in so much:

i hope i will get called off work,

i hope i will be able to live overseas,

i hope to be married.

most importantly, i hope in Jesus.

the Lord promises the following:

"For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever."

Psalms 9:18

as i think about Sudan-

the death, the starvation, the injustice-

i am nothing short of being utterly overwhelmed. 

watched this video for the first time.

it was really difficult to get through.

but, as jimmy dugan said in "a league of their own":

"the hard is what makes it great."

it may be hard to watch, but so important to do so!

please take seven minutes to educate your self

and identify with people who live in hopelessness.

i see nothing but hopelessness in this video.

but i cling to words in Psalm 9:18

because in them, i am reminded that there is hope.

there is hope!

while Christ is the ultimate bringer of hope,

restoring those who would believe with the Father,

we are ambassadors of this hope.

i pray that you will join me in bringing hope to the people of Sudan by giving finicially, praying fervently, and telling with urgency.

side note: 

please let me know if you have questions about what's going on, what to know how to practically join this effort, or think we're just plain stupid. let's make this conversation happen!

Help People, Get Stuff

Hope for Sudan.

written about it,

tweeted about it,

trying to tell the world about it.

thankfully, i have lots of help.

like her and her and her and her, 

just to name a few.

in fact, we've had some MAJOR help 

from some amazingly cool people.

jess is hosting a Hope for Sudan giveaway. 

all the prizes have been donated.

yea, you heard that right.

DONATED.

"how do you enter?" i hear you begin to say.

well, let me tell you!

all you have to do is talk.

or type, i guess.

help us spread the word about Sudan.

tweet it.

facebook it.

grab the button. 

JUST TELL PEOPLE!

for more info on entering, check out jess's blog.

easy peasy, i say,

easy stinkin' peasy.

Hope for Sudan

i know i "get behind" a lot of causes.
but that's because there are a lot of causes that need backing.

this '"cause", if you will, is urgent.
i learned recently of the horrors going on in Sudan,
specifically the border region.
did you know approximately 200,000 people are dying of starvation?
i sure didn't.



now that i do know what 's going on, i can't keep silent.
i am grateful for the men who have been working to get information out there about the atrocities in the border region of Sudan.
i am also grateful and excited that my church will be taking part in the efforts to ease suffering, both physical and eternal.

here are the facts:

from http://hope4sudan.hopesanmateo.org/

it's hard for me to grasp this level of suffering.

i know i have never seen or experienced anything to this magnitude.

but i know God has called His Church to do something about it.

the task is daunting at times when i think about it with my small, imperfect logic.

but then i remember that the God who fed 5,000 people on a hillside with five loaves and two fish can provide mightily for the people in this border region.

i ask you to join in this task with us in faith.

as we step out in such faith, i believe the task to be very simple:

give,

pray,

go.

in this moment, i ask you to give.

give five dollars.

give 1,000.

just give.

you can donate here or mail a check to the follow address.

   Hope Church of San Mateo
   PO Box 25268
   San Mateo CA 94402

then, i ask you to pray.

pray for this effort;

pray for those who will die today because

their bodies just can't take it anymore;

pray for that people would hear the name of Jesus and His saving work and believe!

i ask you to help us mobilize this effort.

link this blog on your facebook, twitter, instagram, whatever.

write about it on your own blog.

make the logo or a picture of Sudan your profile pic.

tell your friends, families, and coworkers.

pray about how you and your home church would join the effort.

i'm not asking you to go this moment,

or even at the end of august.

but what i am asking is that you would engage this people through prayer and through mobilization.

however, i do pray that the Lord would do a lasting work among this people through Christ followers throughout the world. and i believe that includes physically flying half way across the world to meet, encourage, and love people.

so please, join us?

"He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?"

Micah 6:8



mountain vacay

i love mid-week getaways.
less traffic, less people, more fun.

this past week, i had the chance to visit 

with some of my very favorite people.

cherith and angela are legit. 

adventures abound during our time together.

this time, angela and i headed up to mariposa, 

just outside of yosemite.

we met up with cherith, who is spending some of her summer with her grandparents in this sweet dig:

this doesn't even cover how gorgeous the view is!

angela and i got into town and the party was on. 

after some delicious sandos made by our very talented cher bear,

we went grocery shopping to make dinner for her grandparents.

a little thank you, if you will.

taco salad was on the menu.

and it was ridiculously good.

at dinner, we realized it was our two year friend-versary.

well, ang and i have known each other for dayzzz, but we call it that anyway.

we celebrated the day with an amazing sun set and ride around the property.

that night, we got to hear about cher's time overseas,

learned how to dougie and cat daddy,

and slept in a yurt in the backyard. 

yea, we are that cool.

despite our late bed time,

we were up early and headed to yosemite for a hike.

i haven't been to this park since i was a child,

and even then, i have no memory of it's splendor.

when we entered the park, we were the obnoxious

tourists who stopped to take a pic at the sign.

here's a mere sampling of our amazing day in the park.

we "only" did the hike to vernal and nevada falls. 

 

we had lunch at the top of vernal falls and then hiked up to nevada falls.

please believe, i almost died.

but it was worth it for two reasons:

the absolutely majestic view

and i can say i did it.

 

there is nothing better than being in God's creation with dear friends.

i am so grateful for this mid-week vacay.

next goal:

biking in yosemite.

who's in?

Fourth of July

i'm not the most patriotic person.

i cringe at songs like "God bless america,"

assuming that God hasn't already 

or that He is under some obligation to do so.

but that's neither here nor there.

my friend and not-so-fake friend hosted a linky party 

for fourth of july.

i wrote this post on the fourth itself, a bit more 

serious than the one to follow. 

check it.

but here's how the day went.

after work, i slept. 

#standard

up next, BBQ with church.

i wore this outfit just for you, kim, katy, and hannah!

that necklace was my grandma's. 

glad to have a reason to wear it!

back to the church thing.

seriously, these people rock my socks. 

i love the convos we have and how real we can be with each other.

i am excited and encouraged how the Lord will grow us in the months and years to come!

 

after dinner, we headed to f.c.

us and the rest of the peninsula.

busy as it was, i was glad to hang out with some amazing people.

phone hacking, snuggle time, and fireworks.

so good.

two of my coworkers made their way down from s.f. to hang out!

what a blessing! love these girls somethin fierce.

i've never been a big fan of fireworks.

they are super pretty and fun, don't get me wrong.

i just couldn't understand why people were so obsessed with them.

 

this year, i figured out why they are so cool.

for about twenty minutes, everyone around you is quite and focused on the same thing.

there is such awe about these lights in the sky.

i don't know about you, but i kept thinking about the people i was with and the joy that being with them brings.

i think this is the magic of fireworks.

can't wait to revel in next year's fireworks!

anyhoo, that's a little recap of my fourth.

hope yours was super rad, too!

linking up!

PinterTest Kitchen: July

pinterest. 

did your heart just skip a beat

and a smile come across your face?

we all love this site that fosters creativity and laughter.

i love getting a chance to try some of these things out at least once a month with my friend's linky party, "pintertest kitchen." if you haven't tried something off pinterest or haven't linked up, you should!

this month, i tried another recipe (since this white girl don't craft).

open face chicken caprese sandwhich.

are you drooling yet?

i love all things caprese so this was a natural selection.

here's the original post:

 

so good right???

so promising, so easy.

ingredients:

-2 small chicken breasts (or 1 large breast)

-salt & pepper

-4 slices hearty bread (french or country)

-butter

-2 vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into 1/4″ slices

-4-5 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

-2oz fontina or mozzarella cheese, cut into slices

 pre-sliced cheese: genious.

the author recommends fontina cheese, but i couldn't find it.

i also used flaxseed bread from the farmer's market and heirloom tomatoes.

SO GOOD!

okay, here's what you do:

1) slice the chicken in strips, season with salt and pepper on both sides and grill/cook until cooked through. set aside.

2) set oven to "broil." slice the loaf of bread to make cool looking diagonal pieces. put them on a cookie sheet (with foil for easy clean up), butter one side (lightly for a lower cal option), and place under broiler until crispy/toasted around the edges. (if using white bread, this would be "golden brown. not the case with the flax bread).

3) slice the tomatoes and cut the basil into strips. 

4) layer your ingredients on the cooked bread: chicken, tomato, cheese, and basil. (i REALLY like basil, so i put some in between the chicken and tomato, too).

5) place in oven and broil until cheese is melted.

 my sister helped me enjoy the final project. 

perfect since it serves two!

honestly, you're a fool if you don't try this recipe.

so easy, so good, so fresh!

perfect for a summer meal!

it would be great as an appetizer using smaller slices of bread.

eat up while i link up!

sobering July 4th

my job is pretty fantastic.
amidst the lack of sleep and super busy nights
lies absolute amazingness.


i work in one of my favorite cities in the world
doing what i was created to do,
and i get to do it with some stinking amazing people!
the Lord has been gracious to provide such perfection in my job
and i am grateful!


however, my job can be very sobering.
i work with an extremely underserved and
all-too-often forgotten group of people.


"support our troops."
you see it everywhere these days.
bumper stickers say it,
politicians say it,
celebrities say it.


but i don't think we fully grasp how much
support this group of people need.


i joke more than i should about how all of my patients,
although hospitalized for medical reasons,
have psychiatric issues:
post traumatic stress.
substance abuse.
depression.
anxiety.


so many are homeless.
so many live without hope.
this is sobering to me.
working with broken, hurting people brings reality
crushing down on all too often.


as we celebrate our nation's independence today,
i hope we not only remember those who have helped this country gain and maintain its political freedoms,
but we would remember those same men and women who live in captivity to themselves and horrors of the past.
and may we remember the only One who can truly bring freedom.




"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."
Ephesians 2:1-7