quick update

howdy there, blog world.

it's been awhile.

i guess i don't have much to say these days.

so here's a quick update about what life has held the last few weeks:

i celebrated two years of being a full time nurse!

whoa.

i mean seriously, whoa.

God is SO good to have provided this job

and to have reaffirmed time and time again that 

He has created me to be nurse.

so grateful.

i got to go on a day date with my beautiful coworker.

be jealous.

she's pretty awesome.

went to my last giants game of the season.

yea, i may be crying right now.

thankfully, we won and i got to eat a corndog.

 

my college roommate and i are planning 

to run a half marathon in 2013.

we're aiming for the spring, but, deanna,

i haven't run in 2 weeks. we may have to reassess.

#friendfail

i went to wedding 2 of 4 for 2012.

i've known this special lady for eight years

and it was such an honor to celebrate her special day!

also loved hanging out with these lovely ladies!

bff's....or LONGER

my good friend, kim is away.

i got to watch her puppies one night and it was a blast.

i also had to take over her hospitality duties at church.

thankfully, i had some fantastic help.

church planters in training are the best.

i've gone on a couple hikes with this lovely lady.

kindred spirits just scratch the surface.

grateful that the Lord has brought her to the bay!

phew.

that about covers it.

coming up:

-2 weeks living in san fran

-wedding 3 of 4

-a mug swap

-my friend kimber comes to visit

-a trip to riverside.

man, life is good.

itchy

tonight is one of those nights.

i get them every so often.

sadly haven't had one in i don't know how long.

tonight, i'm itching to be overseas.

as in, i almost bought a one way ticket and emailed my friends overseas to see who would take me kinda night.

the kind of night where my body is restless,

my spirit aches,

my mind won't stop

and my heart burns.

i feel so discouraged that i'm still here,

no where closer to being overseas than i was two years ago.

i work in a comfortable hospital,

i live a comfortable life.

and it makes me sick.

i long for simplicity,

i long to feel purpose again,

i long to live amongst a people that value intentionality.

i know that i need to practice those things here

but man, is it hard!

materialism and entertainment abound.

i just want it to be simple. 

Jesus, help me to remember to live simply!!

with all of this talk of sudan in my circle of friends,

i've been woken up to how much my life isn't much different than those around me.

in fact, as i've talked with my coworkers about hope4sudan, they seem taken aback, "oh, you're a christian?"

geesh. 

i have failed.

i have failed to exalt and glorify the One whom my soul loves.

i'm so easily distracted.

for this i repent and plead with the Lord to bind my wondering heart to Him.

these next few days and weeks will not be easy.

i know the enemy has done much to keep me distracted, but i pray that the Lord will sustain me as i remember and dwell on my first Love.

prone to wonder, Lord i feel it

prone to leave the God i love.

here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it

seal it for Thy courts above

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!