and that's a wrap!

well folks, 2012 is about to be over.
when i was a kid, adults would tell me time would go by even faster when i grew up.
that's one of the truest statements i've ever heard.

this year has been a good one.
let's review, shall we?

i turned 26, celebrating the last year of my mid-twenties.

i also participated in intensive training weekend at my alma mater, 

watching four hundred staff and students eager to serve the Lord.

i watched hope church spread it's wings

as we sent teams to south sudan

and partnered with hurting people there 

as well as in its neighboring country of sudan,

proclaiming Christ all the way.

i loved getting be a part, however small, of God's work in a post-sandy new jersey, 

and spending some precious time with my friend who returned from 

the field after two years in southeast asia. 

i was able to watch four of my dear sisters get married,

went to a few concerts,

and watched and listened to a bunch of giants games.

oh, did i mention that the giants won the world series?

cause they did.

went to tahoe with my sisters and discovered snowshoeing is one of my favorite things.

went to hawaii with my fam,

hiking in yosemite for the first time i can remember,

and hung out in sunny san diego.

said goodbye to my beloved grandmother 

as she went to be with the Lord

and said goodbye to our sweet puppy.

all dogs go to heaven, right?

baked and tried some new recipes,

read a lot of good books,

listened to some fantastic sermons,

and read some soul piercing and spirit quenching scripture. 

and those are just the highlights!

2012 will definitely go in the books as a fantastic year.

as for 2013,

what will it hold?

i have no clue!

but i know that i'm not making any resolutions, per say.

i simply strive towards what i always want:

to love Jesus more and to know Him more,

all the while serving and loving people.

of course i pray that this year would be the year i get to go overseas,

or that i would actually run that half marathon, 

or have some miraculous attitude transformation 

to be a hard core health nut.

but instead of setting my standards on things,

and things often too lofty,

i will set my gaze on Christ,

trusting in His perfect timing and all-sufficient grace,
praying i would fight through laziness and self-absorption.

^"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

ephesians 3:12-14

cincerely,

cindy

weekday weekend

i've been working a lot of weekends,
but i get weekdays off!
there are some serious perks to having these weekdays off.

like getting to hang out some cool people.

Hung out with some folks from church to welcome home jon.

Lots of pictures, lots of stories, some serious tan lines.

Will blog more about hope4sudan soon.

sporadic trip to the giants game with some awesome kids.

it was a horrible game,

but it's always a good night to be at the yard.

 especially when you see delorean on water. 

yea, that's right, a delorean boat in mccovey cove.

giants fans are hard core.

i got to hang out with this cool chica. 

camilla and i make plans to hang out, 

but we both have crazy schedules so it rarely happens.

so grateful it finally worked out!

milk tea with tapioca, central park, handstands,
and breaking rules.
yea, we didn't stay on the path.
whoops.


then i got to hang out with this munchkin.
she's my hippie kindred spirit,
even if she is 17 years younger than me.

she had the choice between the reading bug and coyote point.
the response?
"oh, well, coyote point of course."
ha, i love this kid!

animals, "modern gadgets," tar pit and dinosaurs,
and sea glass searching.
pretty fantastic day, i'd say!

asked kk if we could take a pic together.
her response?
"okaaayyy, but this is the last picture unless 
we see something REALLY cool!"
man, this girl is rough.

thanks for letting me steal her, jess and dave.
hopefully she got her homework done.....



tonight, i'm back to work
and incredibly grateful for the days off to catch up with some pretty rad people.


happy almost-weekend everybody!

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