Leadership Capstone, Colorado

  Last week, I took my second trip to Colorado in three months.  Actually, I just realized I forgot to write about my time at the World-Changers' Summit!  To quickly describe it: it was incredible!

  This trip to Colorado was a four-day leadership intensive for school.  I am currently taking Dr. Jeff Myers' third leadership course, titled Leadership Learning & Execution.  Sixty-one other students and I are in week seven of eleven of this class.  I have taken Dr. Myers' two other leadership classes also: Leadership Theory & Practice and Leadership Management & Communication.  These courses have all been amazing!  This third class has been focusing on mentoring, which has been such a blessing!  I started mentoring two girls last fall and I love it!  But since I have never been mentored, I had no idea how mentoring worked...just that I felt called to do it.  I was so excited to find out mentoring was the focus of this class!  I have a mentoree and a mentor for this class, both of whom have been blessings to me!  When a student completes all three classes of the Signature Leadership Courses, they receive a leadership certification for completing over 360 hours of leadership training!  I'm looking forward to receiving that in about a month!

  The one thing that differentiates this class from the other two is that there is a four day Capstone mid-way through.  Everyone in the class gathered in beautiful Estes Park, Colorado to learn together!  Although I didn't know what to expect and was a bit nervous about meeting my fellow students, I was really excited to hear Dr. Myers speak.  And my nervousness quickly melted away when I met my roommates!

they were the best.

we spent way too long taking these group selfies.

  We stayed in our room the first....two hours....and just talked.  It was never so easy to carry on conversation than with these girls!

"Planning is everything, but plans are nothing."

~Dwight Eisenhower

  The sessions were beyond amazing, in my opinion!  I had heard Dr. Myers speak in person at the World-Changers' Summit in January, but unfortunately he only spoke for one session there.  Last week, we heard him speak for over eight hours, and it was the general consensus that we could have listened for hours more!  All we would have needed were snacks and bathroom breaks, and listening to him for 24/7 would have been welcomed and easy! :)  I learned many principles last week about mentoring and coaching that I cannot wait to apply!

  I also had the opportunity, on the second night, to sit at the dinner table with Dr. Myers along with about eight others (although, by the end, that crowd had grown to about fifteen).  My roommate, also sitting at the table, asked him, "Dr. Myers, what do you love most about your job?".  First, you should know that Dr. Myers is the president of Summit Ministries, a very successful and highly regarded ministry.  And his answer was this, "I love being able to help others succeed at their jobs."  Wow!  I was blown away by his humility and wisdom as he continued to explain.

"I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing."

~Ronald Reagan

  Another highlight of the week occurred the first evening.  My CollegePlus coach, Heidi, showed up!!!  She had four students there last week, so she surprised all of us by coming!  Heidi has been my coach since the beginning of CollegePlus...three years ago.  It was so fun to finally meet her in person and get to know her better!

  On the second day, there was about two hours of "unstructured activities" (must be the grown-up way of saying "free time").  I joined a small group of people who were going to spend some time in worship.  In the end, we sang for about two and a half hours!  It was such a blessed time of worshiping our Lord together.

  For a few projects throughout the Capstone, we were split into ten groups.  My group consisted of eight others.  They were so fun to hang out and work with throughout the week!  It was so encouraging to hear the dreams they have to serve the Lord and further His kingdom...I'm excited to see what He does through each of them as we stay in touch!

thanks, Jeanne, for joining our group!  we loved having you with us!

"God doesn't just reveal His plans; He reveals Himself."

  The last night, since we didn't have sessions in the morning, I decided I didn't care how much sleep I got (a common decision the last night of CP gatherings).  One of our roommates was leaving at 3am, so we decided to stay up with her.  Around midnight, some girls across the hall invited us over to watch a movie.  So...seven of us squished on a double bed to watch an action film on an iPad.  It was so fun, and photo-worthy...unfortunately, we were too tired to think of that.  I ended up getting about three hours of sleep that night.  :)

  I had a later flight (5:30pm) on Saturday, as did several others.  We were able to sit at the airport together for about four hours before we all split.

Liz and I at the airport

  And eventually, it was time for me to say goodbye to these beautiful mountains.

  Overall, it was a blessed time where I learned a ton, met a lot of new friends, and had such a fun time!  These classes are awesome and unfortunately, there's only three.  I will be savoring these last few weeks of this class!  Although, I do have to admit that I'm pretty excited for the three week break I get after its done. :)  

 God bless,

   Sierra

Imitators of Christ

  Quite a while ago, I watched a Youtube video (unfortunately, I couldn't find it) of a mom and daughters on a talk show.  This trio were Christians, yet spent the entire time on the show spouting out judgements.  Their judgements were made in a very inconsistent manner and were also not made in a Christ-like manner.

  After finishing the video, it wasn't hard for me to believe that some people have a hard time with Christians.  As humans, we set stereotypes...perhaps especially after seeing a video such as the one I watched.  It's no different for anything else!  If a Mormon, atheist, evolutionist, homeschooler, etc. were to go on TV, we'd probably come to believe that all Mormons, atheists, evolutionists, homeschoolers etc. believe exactly what they do!  But that's not true!  Not all Christians believe the exact thing, nor do all Christians act the same way.  I know people who judge others a lot and out loud and have often felt judged by them myself.  But not everyone is like that.

  Sometimes, on Pinterest, I'll run across a pin that sort of has a controversial saying...or people think it does.  It's interesting to read the comments on the pins (although you have to be careful of language sometimes).  Recently, I was scrolling through comments on a pin about a specific person.  There were a few people commenting who claimed to be Christians yet the words which followed after that claim included curse words along with very rude and unChrist-like statements directed towards that person and also a group of people.  Again, after seeing those comments, it's not hard to imagine that people have a hard time taking Christians seriously.  If we're claiming one thing, and then acting another way...should we be taken seriously?

  The following four verses/passages often remind me how important it is to not judge others.

"When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, 'Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'"

~John 8:7

  And then comes this verse which puts it all to rest.

"As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one.'"    ~Romans 3:10

  And in Matthew,

"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."      

~Matthew 7:2

And another:

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."      

~Matthew 7:3-5

 Now, I do not claim to never cast a judgement on someone.  This post is a reminder to me just as much to anyone else.

 Today, I saw this quote and it inspired me to write this post:

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

~Gandhi

  Honestly, I wouldn't be too open to someone who claimed to believe one thing and saw their actions said otherwise.  Not everyone, but a lot of people know what's in the Bible.  They know that the Bible says to not judge others.  So when they hear or see us making a judgement, it isn't lost on them that we just went against the Word that we claim to be our life book!  When they see how we are rude to others, strangers or acquaintances, they recognize that we've gone against the Lord's second greatest commandment.

"Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

~Matthew 22:37-39

The last verse I want to share pretty much sums it all up:

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children."

~Ephesians 5:1

Let's strive together to show the world how Jesus would act towards them.  He loves them just as much He loves you and I.  Let's be imitators of Christ.

In Christ's Love,

    Sierra

So Far So Good

  Yesterday morning, I didn't really have any "resolutions" or goals to complete in 2014.  For the first time, I created a strict budget that I wanted to stick to, but that had more to do with situations that will be presenting themselves this year than, "This year, I want to spend my money more wisely." (although I do want that, too).

  However, this morning my mom informed me of something my church is doing together (I didn't attend this past Sunday so I hadn't heard of it yet).  Our church is encouraging the congregation to read the Bible every single day, no matter how much.  They've suggested three different ways to do this, although if we had our own way, it would still count.  The three options they presented were: 1) read a verse a day and one "story" a week; 2) read an overview of the Bible; 3) read through the Bible in a year.  Because I already have an app for a verse of the day, I decided to read through the Bible in 2014.  This will require reading about 3 or 4 chapters day, and because I'd like to walk away with more knowledge, I'm taking notes.

  Thus, a resolution or goal was started!  Tomorrow, I will continue with Genesis, chapter 12.  A few months ago, my mom gave me a new study Bible that she had received, brand new, for free.  During my Bible study on Tuesday nights, the footnotes, maps, charts, and other tidbits have allowed me to dig even deeper into God's Word!  I'm looking forward to reading the entire Bible and learning more and more about the God I serve this year.  I've never done this before, but it's definitely something that I need to stick to.

  But there's a second goal that I made.

  Around 1:00am New Year's Day, being the weird person I am, I was looking through my own Pinterest boards -- mostly reading quotes I'd pinned in the past.  I came across this one...

  ...and I thought to myself, What a fun goal that would be!.  It wasn't until later that afternoon when I ran into Target that I thought of it again.  I made a friendly comment to the cashier and in reply, she smiled at me and said, "Thank you for that!"  I guess it doesn't take a lot to make someone's day a little brighter.  It can be a friendly comment to a stranger, a sweet note to a friend, or a "thank you" to a family member.

  I hope and pray that no matter what your goals are this year, that you are able to stick to them. :)  I'm usually not very good about sticking to my goals, but I'm hoping that since I just picked two, I'll be able to.

  Love in Christ,

  Sierra

in 36 hours...

In 36 hours, this group will all be leaving their houses to meet at 3:15am to head to the airport.

I can't wait for this trip to Haiti!  We have such a wonderful team, and I know God is going to work through each of us and in each of us.

I can't believe we're only 36 hours away from leaving!  Not only that, but I can't believe all we'll be doing within those 36 hours: packing, working, shopping, and school (at least I'll be doing school!).  Not to mention any preparations that have yet to be made.

Your prayers for our safety and health are greatly appreciated.  I recently read a book called When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.  This is a wonderful book to read especially when going on a short-term mission trip.  Anyway, this book included the following quote:

"Until we embrace our mutual brokenness, our work with low-income people is likely to do far more harm than good." (pg. 61)

Which leads me to my next prayer request: please pray that we will realize our mutual brokenness and have a godly mindset as we head down to Haiti.

With love,

Sierra

three doors -- only one left open

I gotta start with a little background first before I go into this really cool story about how God has been working in my life.

 In January, I started cleaning for a homeschool family twice a month.  Since it wasn't all that often, it worked well with my school and my schedule in general.  It left me worn out, but I enjoyed talking to the kids as I cleaned and hearing their stories about Tonka trucks, camping trips, and forts.  This family has four children, but the mom's parents lived with them, also, due to health reasons.

 At the beginning of March, I "accidentally" stumbled across an internship opportunity at the Target Corporate Center in Minneapolis.  It was an internship for the job as a Business Analyst.  Long story short, that job had always sounded very interesting to me and for a really long time, I'd wanted to work at the Target Corporate Center (and truly, I have no idea why...).  So after long nights putting together a resume that actually mattered, a high school transcript, and filling out the application form, I applied for this internship.  I knew that whether or not I got the internship, that whole applying experience was good for me.

 When the middle of March rolled around, my dad took me out for breakfast and told me of yet another opportunity.  First, let me say that he is the co-owner of a small business that builds elevators - nothing electrical, just "the box".  His company builds custom elevators and you can see their work in Chicago, Santa Monica, even Dubai in Abu Dhabi!  Anyway, his two sales men have been asking for a "third person" to deal with emails and some phone calls and handle other odd jobs to help them so they can focus on the bigger things that may (and do) come up.  My dad's co-owner has a son who is my age, and they were thinking that together, this summer, we could fill this position for these sales guys.  My dad told me at breakfast that morning that they were only just considering opening the position but wanted to know if I'd be interested.  I said yes, I'd be interested.

 So when I got home from breakfast that morning, my mind was reeling with questions like, "If I got the internship, what would happen with the cleaning job?" and "If I got the internship and my dad's position, I'd still have the cleaning job - how do I go about that?".  I was worrying about having to make the decision of which job I would have to keep, because I could only take one.

 Well, the week following breakfast with my dad, I got a phone call from the mom of the family I clean for.  A position opened up and she was able to put her parents in a nursing home.  Due to the fact that this opened up a lot of time for her family to be able to keep up the cleaning duties, she didn't need me any longer to clean.  Although I was kind of counting on that extra income, I knew that it was probably for the best, and I wasn't upset or even disappointed.  I had a peace about it.

 Last week, when I was in Virginia, I got an email at 1am as a group of us were sitting around the table playing games and talking.  I could see it was from the Target Corporation and it said that my status had been updated on my account - I had to log in to see it.  So I tried.  Due to several reasons, such as the fact that I was on my phone, plus, it was one o'clock in the morning, I was unable to remember my account information, so I had to wait.  The next morning, I still had no luck, so I texted my sister back home and had her get on my laptop and find my account information.  Finally, I was able to log in!!  What I saw made me almost sigh in relief.  I had not gotten the internship.  My heart barely sank, I was totally fine with it.  Yes, it would have been completely amazing had I gotten the internship, but the months leading up to this summer would have been stressful, I would have been nervous, and I would have been commuting almost an hour and a half each way every day.

 I called my mom and told her.  She said she agreed - it was probably a good thing I didn't get it.  I called my dad.  He didn't answer.  When I got a hold of him 30 minutes later, he said he had been in a meeting.  He had been meeting about that "third person" position (I'm going to have to find a title for that position).  They decided that I could start at the end of April!!!

 Now, if you didn't catch the exciting thing in all that, I will say this:

I had three very open doors.  And one by one, God shut the doors until there was one left open.  And it happened to be the door that I would have felt most comfortable walking into; the one that is more likely to lead to bigger possibilities; the one that I get to work for/with my dad! 

 Only God could do that.

I thank Him I only had to wait in the hallway for a little while...

 I just had to share that with you.  I don't believe in coincidences.  I believe in a God who orchestrates everything according to His purpose.  You probably hear a lot of people say, "we just can't see the bigger picture yet".  Sometimes, in life, people have to wait a long time to see just a glimpse of the bigger picture.  This time, for me, I didn't have to wait very long.  Only three weeks.  But what would have normally been disappointments, got me more and more excited that God had something better in mind.  I didn't have to make that decision.  It was made for me and set before me.  I couldn't ask for anything more.  

 In my Bible study group last night, we read from Ephesians 3.  This is what verses 20 & 21 say, which I believe fit very well with all that I just said:

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen."

To Him be the glory forever and ever!  AMEN!!!

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."     ~Romans 8:28

God bless,

  Sierra

Peaceful Chaos

 Life lately has been sooo busy.  I feel like every minute is flying by without my noticing it, and all of a sudden, it's midnight and time to go to sleep again.  Life has been just routine lately.  I wake up, do school, and then go where I need to be.  I've been reminding myself of this quote:

 I've been studying for the Biology CLEP test for the past several weeks.  There are days when I feel discouraged, and there are days when I feel like I could take it now and ace it (which would not happen.  ever.).  Science is...not my strong suit, so it gets stressful.  I've been absorbing so much more than I did when I was doing science for high school.  The scariest thing with taking these tests is that you don't know what's going to be on it.  You can get tips and suggestions from other students who have taken the test, but CLEP has several different variations of each test, and you never know which one you're going to get.  Anyway, I'm taking the test on the 29th, and I am confident that I will pass.

 Last weekend, I had some college friends over.  They are all from Minnesota, but drove quite a ways to come hangout for a while.  But it was so much fun!  We played Spoons, the Family Game, and a new game I had learned over my birthday.  It was just a fun time of fellowship with awesome people.  :D

 I'm counting down the days before I leave for Virginia.  Only 16!!!  I'm so excited!  I get to meet, in person, a couple of really good friends, some new friends, and I believe there may be a couple of people I had the privilege of meeting at the gathering here in MN.  We're going to tour Washington D.C., Mount Vernon, laugh a lot, go hiking, play games, watch movies, laugh a lot, sleep a little, and have tons and tons of fun!!!!!!  Eeeeeeeeep! :D

 Today I had my second degree consultation.  Yes, I have joined the ranks with countless other indecisive, college students: I've changed my major.  Today I went from being an Economics major (which really doesn't interest me) to being an Organizational Leadership major (which, if you know me, totally describes me).  My degree template looks so different now, but I have a feeling these courses I'll be taking and even the tests I'll be taking will be a lot more fun for me than the Economics courses and tests.  Now I can't wait to talk to my coach and decide what order I'll do them all in!! :D

 LIVE has been going well, praise the Lord!  It's been growing - from 16 to 18 girls (and to think we started with 5)!  We have quite the full house when LIVE days come around.  Yesterday, after singing three energetic songs, I was asked to open the windows because it got so hot downstairs with everyone dancing around!  The Lord's been good to our group; I just can't believe it'll be April before we know it and then we'll be going on summer break!  But I'm praying about several things right now to grow and develop the ministry next fall since I'll be graduated from high school (yay!).

 Besides those bigger things, I've been busy finishing high school Latin and Economics (almost.done!), attending a Bible study every Tuesday night, cleaning at my two cleaning jobs, planning my graduation party (which just got bumped up 2 weeks) and trying super super hard not to be distracted by my excitement for my upcoming trip.

 What's new with you?

Love,
  Sierra

Comparisons

 How often do we compare ourselves with other Christians.  We may look at them, think they are stronger Christians than we are, and compare our lives to theirs.  Our church to theirs.  Our convictions to theirs.  Our Bible version to theirs.  We worry what they will think when they find out what movies we watch.

 God has given each one of us different convictions.  Different convictions than our friends, than our pastor, even different than our parents sometimes!  But it's not up to them (or us!) to decide what is right and what is wrong.  That is God's job.

 When we compare ourselves with others, we often put ourselves down.  We tell ourselves we aren't as strong of Christians as them.  We don't go to the right church.  We need to go buy a new Bible.

 Sometimes, comparison stems from judgements made against us.  It hurts when people are judgmental against us.  But Who is the ultimate Judge?  Who is the One Judge who really truly matters?  God!  God sent His Son, Jesus, to be the example we are to follow.  We need to to follow His example.  Whatever our pastors, teachers, spiritual leaders say, it is our job to compare that to the Scriptures and then live accordingly.

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to to the Father except through me."       

~John 14:6

Other times, when we compare ourselves to others, we are the ones judging them.  We may look at the books they read or the shows they watch or even the clothes they wear and come to the conclusion that they aren't Christians.  But, really, is that the way we are to live?  Even if they aren't Christians, they don't have to hope that we have and it's our job to show them the love of Christ.  It's our job to be positive examples to them.

"...[He] said to them, 'Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'"
~John 8:7

God bless,

  Sierra

until next week!

I realize I haven't posted a good post in a while.  I have been waiting for this week for six months.  On Thursday, I will be headed out for five days to meet my CollegePlus friends.  In person.  The other day, I updated my status on a social network site and said, "I couldn't be more excited!".  I found out today, that wasn't so true.  I think of someone who will be there, or I see pictures of people who will be there, or I see photos of other gatherings that have happened, and I just can't wait!  

 Last week, God gave me a surprise.  I invited Laura (from this post) to come early and come to the gathering.  A couple days later, on Thursday, we got the "yes"!  Instead of waiting until Thursday, now I'm waiting for Wednesday to come.  She also will be staying a few days after the get-together!  I'm so excited!  

 Anyway, I wanted to share a few quotes/Bible verses with you.  These are ones I've found and they've really encouraged me.  This is just to "tide you over" until my super long post comes next week or the week after (I have a feeling it'll take a while to sort through all the photos that will be taken by over 25 people).

^this kind of describes how I feel this week^

Until next week!

   ~Sierra

The Avengers vs. Jesus

 Last weekend, I went to see The Avengers with some friends.  I wasn't really expecting to like the movie since I'm not really into superheroes and I knew nothing about any of these heroes.  Of course, I'd heard my brother talk about them, but besides their names, I couldn't have cared less. :)

 So when I saw The Avengers, I was very surprised that I liked it!  I didn't just like it as in "oh, it was okay for a superhero movie".  I liked it as in, "Woah!  That was awesome, let's quote the movie all the way home!". :)  But that night, as I was doing my devotions, my verse of the day was Psalm 33:20 which says, "...He is our help and our shield".  I thought it was funny how God put that verse there for me to see that night.  He was reminding me that He is THE superhero!  There are six main Avengers, which, put all together are a forced to be reckoned with (by humans).  However, Jesus is one -- just one -- whose qualities and abilities surpass these six superheroes all together.

 Steve Rogers, once a puny, soldier-wanna-be, became Captain America in the 1940's when Mr. Stark (Iron Man's father) did an experiment on him, which resulted in him becoming super strong.  Captain America's weapon is not only his strength, but his shield which is made of the remaining of a rare element.  As seen in the movie Captain America, he sacrifices his life to save New York City.  He crashes an aircraft and supposedly dies, yet, when the aircraft is discovered in 2011, he is found frozen -- but he's still alive.

"The Lord is my strength and my shield..."   ~Psalm 28:7

Romanoff: they're basically gods. [describing Loki & Thor]

Captain A: Ma'am, there's only one God and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that.

 One part of the Captain America movie that stood out to me was when Steve Rogers was still the weakling.  He had enlisted in the Army and was in training when a sergeant, who didn't believe Rogers was good enough to be in the Army, threw an object and shouted grenade.  The other soldiers in training all ran and hid, but Rogers jumped on top of the "grenade" to protect everyone else.  That shows what kind of man Steve Rogers is.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."   ~Romans 5:8

 Thor, the Norse god of thunder, also has out-of-this-world strength.  He has some back-story, but since I haven't seen Thor, the movie, I don't know what it is. ;)  His weapon is a hammer which, I think, has some magnetic pull to Thor, so whenever he reaches for it, no matter where it is, it flies at him.

Banner: I don't think we should be focusing on Loki.  That 

guy's brain is a bag full of cats.  You can smell crazy on him.

Thor: Have a care how you speak....He is my brother.

Romanoff: he killed eighty people in two days.

Thor: He's adopted.

"Is not my word like fire," declares the Lord, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?"  ~Jeremiah 23:29

 Bruce Banner is a regular man who becomes Hulk -- an ugly green giant.  Although Banner can work hard to control himself from becoming Hulk, when he transforms into the monster, he is no longer in control of himself and ends up hurting those he cares about.  Hulk's strength is just as great as his size.

Loki: I have an army.

Stark: We have a Hulk.

I liked Banner a lot better than Hulk.  Plus, I thought Hulk was scary.  Hence this photo.

"...And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear..."                          ~1 Corinthians 10:13

"my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation.  He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior -- from violent people you save me."                                         ~2 Samuel 22:3

 Iron Man was created by multi-billionaire, genius, and head of Stark Industries, Tony Stark.  Stark has designed an iron outfit that can make him fly, can endure tons of strength, and is embedded with the latest technology.

Rogers: Stark, we need a plan of attack!

Stark: I have a plan: attack!

"...your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."   ~Matthew 6:8

"...He is their stronghold in time of trouble."   ~Psalm 37:39

 Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, is a main character in this movie, however I don't think she's very "superhero-y".  She can certainly fight, and aim guns, but I don't know if she's actually a superhero.  

Stark: Guys, I'm bringing the party to you!

[Iron Man leads bad guys to rest of The Avengers]

Romanoff: I don't see how that's a party.

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."   ~Proverbs 31:30

 Hawkeye.  I'd never heard of him before.  He started as a bad guy, but then he converted. :)  He could shoot his bow and arrow like a pro and he's scaling a building in the photo below! 

Romanoff: This is just like Budapest all over again!

Hawkeye: You and I remember Budapest very differently.

"But God will shoot them with his arrows; they will suddenly be struck down."    ~Psalm 64:7

"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand."    ~John 10:28

 Now, that verse was God talking!  No earthly, man-made superhero.  A heavenly, Creator of earth, out-of-this-world superhero.  One who didn't get His strength from being an experiment's guinea pig, or from lightning or from inventing his own iron suit complete with advanced technology.  God isn't superficial.  He's not "too good to be true".  He's as real as the air we are breathing.  He's "the way, the truth, and the life".  

 The Avengers was a good movie.  I can see why little boys like pretending to be superheroes -- they get to save the day!  But no Superman, Iron Man, Captain America can compare to my superhero.

Jesus.  He's my superhero.

Love in Christ,
   Sierra

Keep in Mind...

 Love in Christ,

 Sierra

More Beautiful You

 Yesterday, I had a LIVE for Christ meeting.  We talked about 'accepting the way God created you'.  This is such an important topic for anybody.  I wrote a bit about this topic back in July.
 At our meeting yesterday, I shared this video:

 As one of the girls pointed out after seeing this video, "You are supposed to bring out your natural features with make-up, not cover them up and create new ones."

 I'd like to share this quote with you:

"If the world didn't create me, the world cannot define me."    ~unknown

  Always remember Psalm 139:14, which says, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

~Sierra

January 9, 2012

Today's Verse: "But He said, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."  ~2 Corinthians 12:9

Today's Quote: "There is no pit so deep where God's love is not deeper still."   ~Corrie Ten Boom

Today's Photo: 

 It's been quite the week.  It's been a bit hard getting back into the hang of school, but I'm getting there. :)

 Friday, my cousin and her kids came to sleepover, which was so much fun!  Saturday, was such a productive day for me!  I was wiped out, but it was nice curl up and watch a movie that night.  Sunday, my mom and I had a Brazil trip meeting.  Our dates were confirmed: June 24th to July 4th.  Wow, it seems so close now that it's 2012!  We discussed fundraising, did some team building activities, and talked a bit about our schedule leading up to the trip.

 This week is a busy one, but we'll see how much gets accomplished.

This week I'm thankful for...

181. my sister turning 13

182. cousins sleeping over

183. eBay

184. having a quiet day

185. two video calls with CP! sisters

186. having a study buddy

187. family game night

188. youth group worship team

189. Crazy Love by Francis Chan study

190. prayer

 ~Sierra

Living in the Moment

 I read something in the Bible the other night.  It's found in Luke 10:39-42 and it says,

"She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.  She came to Him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?  Tell her to help me!'  'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed -- or indeed only one.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'"

 This was part of my Christmas Bible plan I'm going through right now.  Especially during this time of the year, how often do we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season?  Many people this time of year are thinking about Christmas plans, Christmas gifts, school mid-terms, and getting distracted by so much more. I, myself, have been very wrapped up in school this month so far.  Studying for the Introductory Psychology CLEP test has been difficult, and if you know me, you know that I don't deal well under stress.  I encourage you not to get caught up in "tomorrow", but live in the precious moment you're in.

"Yesterday's the past and tomorrow's the future.  Today is a gift -- which is why they call it the present."    ~Bill Keane

 In other news, I passed my Introductory Psychology CLEP test this morning!  That brings me to 27 college credits!  I have one more test to go before I become a college Sophomore!

This week I'm thankful for...
141. fabulous performances of my church's Christmas play
142. being able to be a part of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
143. willing, helpful friends
144. another great LIVE for Christ meeting
145. seeing The Gospel According to Scrooge with my family
146. making cards all day
147. Grandpa visiting
148. girls' movie night with my mom and sister
149. prayer call with people around the country
150. passing Introductory Psychology

My favorite Christmas album this week is: How Many Kings - Songs for Christmas by Downhere

 In Christ,
     ~Sierra~

It's Sunday

Today's Verse: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him."   ~Lamentations 3:22-25

Today's Quote: "Time is a very precious gift of God; so precious that it's only given to us moment by moment."    ~Amelia Barr

Today's Photo:

 Today we had another Brazil team meeting.  I'm so excited!  We had a few more answers today such as a closer estimation price wise, what we'll be doing while there, and got a little closer at knowing the dates.  The big ball that was dropped was the price estimation...quite a bit more than we initially thought.  However, if God is calling us to go, He will provide!

This week I'm thankful for...
131. youth group
132. great dress rehearsal for the Christmas play
133. relaxing Sundays
134. texting friends across the country
135. informational Brazil meeting
136. serving at the Operation Christmas Child processing center
137. receiving birthday wishes when it wasn't my birthday
138. game time with my mom and sister
139. watching I Love Lucy with my sister
140. decorating our Christmas tree

Favorite Christmas album of the week: It's a Wonderful Christmas by Michael W. Smith.

 Have a wonderful week!
 ~Sierra

Pin Holes in the Curtains of Heaven

 Every time I go to Trout Lake Camp, I feel so incredibly close to God.  The speakers are enthusiastic, easy to listen to, and present the Gospel in fun and clear ways; often including analogies from their own lives.  The bands are fun, talented, and put their whole hearts into the songs.  The games they plan are fun, fun, and fun (I don't know what else to say) :).  The food they prepare is pretty much great.  I've been to only a couple other camps in my lifetime and they don't even hold a candle to TLC's food.  :)

 On Friday night, we drove in the driveway of TLC at about 8:45.  The highlight of that night was worship.  Unfortunately, the songs we sang were not the "traditional" Trout Lake Camps songs (such as Every Move I Make, Undignified, The Hippo Song, etc.), the songs we did sing were equally amazing.  My two favorite songs we sang were How He Loves Us and Inside Out.

 On Saturday, after a terrible nights sleep (I'm not going to lie), our day consisted of food, TAG (Time Alone with God) time, chapel (which includes the speaker and band), game, food, lots of free time (which included....drum roll, please...the zip line!), food, game, chapel, and finally ending with the HUGE bonfire.  The bonfire was totally awesome because 1) it was big, 2) we could be outside and warm at the same time, and 3) it was nice to relax and get to know some of the girls better.  The zip line was crazy awesome, too!  But at chapel that night, there was a big party in heaven as a handful of pre-teens and teens accepted Christ as their personal Savior.  What a testimony!

 Sunday, I didn't want to wake up (as opposed to Saturday am, when I was lying there awake waiting for the leader's alarm to go off so I could get off my squeaky bed), but we ate, did TAG time, went to chapel, ate, and left.

 Lately, I've been hearing a lot about how vast the universe is.  I mean, I've heard about it in Sunday school, I read about it in Crazy Love by Francis Chan, now I heard about it at TLC, and there's one other place that I can't remember right now.  Information such as this: the Milky Way galaxy is 100,000 light years across; at the speed of light, you could travel around the earth 7-3/4 times in ONE second; that no one really knows how many galaxies there are in the universe, but there have been estimates that there are more galaxies than there are grains of sand.  Now if you think of how vast Milky Way is, and know that the Milky Way is in no way the largest galaxy out there, just think of how big and wide and of incomprehensible size the universe that GOD created is!  You think of that, and tell me how small we humans are.  We may be small, but we are in no way invisible to our God; we are in no way unloved by our God; we are in no way and never will be forgotten by our God, because our God loves each of us SO much!
 The pastor/speaker told a story of a man who realized that the sky was this big, thick, black curtain covering heaven, but the stars were little pin-pricked holes in the curtain and they were revealing only a little (yet a lot at the same time) of God's glory.  So if you were to remove that curtain, only then would you see the fullness of God's glory.
 There is no way to actually comprehend just how much God loves each of us.  No matter how many times we fail, His mercy remains.
 That reminds me of a song we sang this weekend.  Inside Out is what it's called and it is written by Hillsong.  Below are the lyrics to this amazing worship song.

A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

My heart and my soul, I give You control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise, become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out, O my soul cries out

My Soul cries out to You
My Soul cries out to You

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out, O my soul cries out

 My favorite line in this song is where it says, "The art of losing myself in bringing You praise".  Losing myself in bringing God praise and glory is an art?  If so...have I mastered that art?  Have you?

 I'd like to share another song with you.  It's called How He Loves Us and it's by David Crowder Band.

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us oh
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

And we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don't have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

That He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

 With my arms raised, and tears almost breaking through, I sang this song.  God is a jealous god and He is jealous for me.  How am I able to comprehend that?  The majority of the song is made of five, very simple words: "Oh how He loves us!"  His love is like a hurricane.  Can you imagine: someone loving us SO much we're about to break in the wake of His love?  Imagine it...not only imagine it...believe it -- because it's 100% true!  We are drowning in His grace...what do you say to that?  Then the song says, "I don't have time to maintain these regrets/When I think about the way/That He loves us".  He loves us so much that He's put our past behind Him!  Why can't we?

 It reminds me of this quote by an unknown speaker, "You don't need to worry about your future, if God is in your present, and your past is behind you."

 So, you can't say I didn't warn you about the long post, because I did. :)

 On a side note, I wanted to quick tell you about our last LIVE for Christ meeting.  We had 10 girls present, we did skits and talked about Gaining a Clear Conscience.  I'm planning a Harvest Party for November, so we're all looking forward to that!  Going to be lots of fun!  God totally has His hands on this group!

 This week I'm thankful for:
81. another great discipleship group meeting
82. learning about budgeting
83. Trout Lake Camps
84. pastors who are willing to speak at youth retreats
85. zip lines
86. trying to understand just how much God loves us
87. new, warm, red sweatshirts
88. catching up in school
89. journals
90. Microsoft Word :)

 Congratulations if you read this whole thing! :)

 In Christ,
      Sierra

October 11, 2011

 I saw a rainbow last night.  The full arch -- beautiful and bright against the dark clouds.  The other rainbow next to it was not as bright, but nevertheless visible.  I was reminded of all of God's everlasting promises to us.  And that He keeps every. single. one.

Today's Verse: "Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."    ~Genesis 9:16

Today's Quote: "Just as there comes a sunbeam into every cottage window, so comes a love-beam of God's care for every separate need."    ~Nathaniel Hawthorn

I'm thankful for...
51. God's amazing promises
52. my awesome chiropractor
53. setting goals for school
54. a full, double rainbow
55. my Bible app
56. the example set by Philip (in Acts)
57. Google docs
58. the new film Courageous
59. getting together with friends
60. having an activity-free day

 Have a blessed week!

 ~Sierra

There's a Place...

 The other night, my family watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader after listening to Focus On The Family's audio theater version.  We've also recently listened to and watched Prince Caspian.  As I was listening to these two exciting stories, I was reminded that these C.S. Lewis children's stories are close allegories to the Christian life.  One of my favorite quotes from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is below:

Lucy: "Aslan, will we ever meet with you in our world?"                                                Aslan: "You shall."                                                                                                         Lucy: "How?"                                                                                                              Aslan: "Because there I have another name.  You must learn to know me by that name.  This was the very reason you were brought to Narnia; that knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."

 At the end of this movie, as the credits start to roll, a song starts to fade in.  It's called There's a Place for Us and it's sung by Carrie Underwood.  Just a beautiful song!  And it has so much truth in it!  Here is the link so you can listen to it.

 My favorite quote from The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is:

Aslan [to Lucy]: "But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."

 Isn't that true with God, too?!  As we grow in Christ and in our faith, we find God majesty and magnificence to be bigger and bigger!

This week I'm thankful for...
 31. martyrs who leave powerful legacies
 32. Biblical allegories
 33. singers who have beautiful, strong voices
 34. high practice test scores
 35. long car rides while listening to audio theater
 36. great first discipleship group meeting
 37. sleeping in
 38. phone calls from far-away friends
 39. making plans with friends
 40. meeting new people

 Leaning on Him,
    Sierra

September 13, 2011

Today’s Verse: “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.  For who is God besides the Lord?  And who is the Rock except our God?”    ~Psalm 18:30-31  (NIV)

Today’s Quote: “God wants to continually add to us, to develop and enlarge us – always building on what He has already taught and built in us.”            ~A.B. Simpson

Today’s Photo:

 What I’m thankful for…

11. being welcomed into a new community

12. homemade raspberry pie

13. early morning swims

14. studying the Bible with other like-minded girls

15. piles of blankets on my bed to keep me warm

16. grocery shopping with my mom

17. hot showers

18. playing board games with friends

19. 9/11 will never be forgotten

20. encouragement from friends

 Have a great week!

 ~Sierra 

September 7, 2011

 The first week of September is almost done!  What on earth?!

Today's Verse: "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in him."  ~Nahum 1:7 (NIV)

Today's Quote: "People are just about as happy as they make up their mind to be."   ~Abraham Lincoln

Today's Photo:

 I think I need to take some more pictures!  But it's getting to be autumn, so maybe I'll be able to catch some photo opportunities with the gorgeous leaves changing!

 Have a great day!

 In Christ,

    Sierra