Sickness be gone

Well I am sick again. I went to the doctor, and I have another sinus infection. I believe this is my 5th one this winter season…I’m going to be breaking records soon. But this time I have an added bonus….I also have an eye infection. I had to go bigger this time, of course. I have medicine now though so here we go! On to better days. Seriously though because the next few days are going to be beautiful outside and that is where you will find me. I need the sunshine! I have been ready for it this whole winter.

I am also looking forward to next week when my grandparents are here! It’s going to be a good week! Busy, but when is my life not crazy busy?

 Much love, B

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Your Kingdom Come

In our morning meetings we have been discussing what the city of Richmond would look like if God’s kingdom came today. We each wrote down a few ways in which Richmond city would be different, and now we are looking at what we can do to move towards these things.

Here are some of the things people wrote down:

• End to poverty
• Racial reconciliation
• No child in need
• A church for the homeless
• Refugees are welcomed
• Peace between people
• Everyone is joyful
• Chains are broken
• Freedom from violence
• Testimony to the world

These are all things that would occur if God’s kingdom came today. We can have the hope that these things will occur one day. In the mean time we should be working towards these things as a body of believers. We are called to participate in these things while we are here so that God’s kingdom would be on earth as it is in heaven. The places that we live should be different because we are there.

Much love, B

Book of Mormon

For my internship program we have to read the Book of Mormon so that we have a better understanding of other religious texts. We already completed the Qur’an a few months ago! The Book of Mormon so far is really just the same thing repeated over and over again. This is my simplified version of it. A prophet tells a group of people that they need to repent of their sins and that Jesus will die for their sins so they can be forgiven. If they don’t repent then bad things will happen to them. The people have to have a sign in order to believe that God is real. Once they see a sign, they repent of their sins and everything is good. There is peace for a while until some wicked person comes along and tells the people that there is no God. The people are convinced and no longer believe in God. Bad things happen to them and they wonder why. Then a prophet comes along and reminds them about Jesus and how they need to repent. Then the cycle starts all over again. This is the basis of what continues to happen throughout the Book of Mormon.

Now while I do not believe in Mormonism, I do think this points to a common theme in life of forgetting God. In the Bible, there are many scriptures that warn people against the ease of forgetting God and the things He has done. The Bible warns against idolatry and pridefulness as this leads to forgetfulness. It also warns against forgetting God’s covenants and the ways he has been faithful. Israel continually forgot God, and they suffered the consequences. It is mentioned pretty frequently in the Bible, so clearly God knew we would need to be reminded about this. Today it can be just as easy to forget about God. We allow our kids, job, and other circumstances to take up all of our time, which means we don’t devote time to God. He doesn’t come first like He should. He comes whenever we can fit Him into our schedule. But let’s allow this to serve as our continual reminder to orient our lives with God at the center. And luckily there is grace when we do forget.

Much love, B

Easter Fun

Worship team for Easter! We have fun together.

Much love, B

The last few days I have not felt like myself. I go through periods like this at various points throughout the year where I am low on energy and am kind of out of it. I just feel tired and like I’m shutting down in general. My appetite disappears, and I get low on sleep. It’s hard to explain aside from that I don’t feel like my normal self. Nothing has particularly happened that would cause me to feel this way. Although it could be stress I suppose because often my reaction to stress is to shut down. In these moments I have to pray and ask God to give me strength and joy and energy and really just life because I don’t have much of that right now.

Much love, B

Resurrected King

Even though Easter weekend is over, it still has me thinking about how incredible Jesus dying on the cross for our sins really is. God loves us so much that he created a way for us to be reconciled with him forever. I will always be in awe that God loves me this much. That instead of letting me die an eternal death that I deserve because of my sin, he made a way for Jesus to be sacrificed so that all my sins were forgiven. This means that I can live for eternity with him in heaven. That is honestly so incredible. Every Easter I honestly cannot hold back the tears when I think of the gravity of the sacrifice that Jesus made for me. Jesus died on the cross for me, and then defeated death through his resurrection three days later. This shows the power of God…that nothing could come against him….not even death. He has control over all things. But it also shows the power that lives in us when we believe in Christ. We get to live forever with the resurrected king, and that is truly amazing.

“By Your spirit I will rise from the ashes of defeat

The resurrected King, is resurrecting me

In Your name I come alive to declare Your victory

The resurrected King, is resurrecting me”

Much love, B

Computer Problems

The track pad on my computer started popping up when I got back from my trip. It was just a little bit so I assumed that something was wrong with the trackpad. I bought a computer mouse and didn’t think anything of it. But it slowly started popping up more. Then yesterday I opened my computer to find my trackpad like it is in the photo. It was completely lifted on one side and was split. This is when I realized something was really wrong with my computer.

I sent a photo to my boyfriend who informed me that the battery was most likely expanding and that I needed to stop using my computer so that the battery wouldn’t explode. This caused me to have a little bit of a freakout moment because I was worried how much all of this would cost me, and I was worried that the battery could have messed up more things with my computer. I didn’t touch my computer all day and took it to my boyfriend’s house so that he could remove the battery. The battery was definitely swollen, but it looks like we caught it just in time. I bought a new battery online and that should be the only thing that I have to replace, so I am extremely thankful for that!

Much love, B

Easter Weekend

It was a really good weekend. I got Good Friday off, which meant I got to relax and just enjoy the day with my boyfriend and his family. My church did three services this weekend at each campus, and I sang at our south campus. Being a part of the worship team is always my favorite thing, and singing for Easter was so much fun. The team had such a great time leading people in praising God, and there were multiple people that emailed our pastor saying that they were going to pursue a relationship with God again after coming to one of our services. That is amazing. Some of these people had written God off completely, but were moved by the people and the message that was given. I am always in awe of the ways God moves in people’s lives and how he invites me to be a part of it.

After the evening service on Saturday, I went and had dinner with my boyfriend’s family. We ate a delicious meal that his mother cooked and then watched the Final Four. Villanova is most likely going to win this year. Their threes are on point, and they are just a really strong team in general. Then on Sunday I sang for two services and got to spend the day with my family. It was a really good day with the people I love, celebrating the best thing ever…the resurrection of Jesus. That is what this weekend is all about, and I am always blown away that God loves us so much that He would do this for us.

Much love, B

Community

I love my small group a lot. It is important to have a good community group that you do life with.

Much love, B

Good quote

“A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.” – Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill gave famous wartime speeches that inspired people through World War 2. That’s pretty good. I’d take his advice.

Also this quote is so true. I’ve sat through so many speeches that bored me to tears because people just drone on and on. Cover the subject, but make it short. Churchill really does just sum it up nicely!

Much love, B