Best Week Ever

I spent this past week in Lubbock at LCU's Encounter, which is a spiritual camp for high school students. It was an INCREDIBLE week!! The theme was Rise and the whole point was to encourage the teens to stand up for what is right, to BE the church and not just sit in church buildings being holy. I heard one of the most amazing lessons I have ever heard from Wes Horn on The Upside Down Revolution. It was an incredible week and I feel very inspired and passionate about the future. 

It was SO fun hanging out with lots of friends all week since I know I won't be seeing them for a while. Saturday Kory and I had lunch with several friends so we could enjoy some good ole Tex-Mex food one last time. Surprisingly, it wasn't as hard to say goodbye to everyone as I thought it would be. It helps that I'll be back in Lubbock in just a couple months for Rynn's wedding, so I will see a lot of people then. I am also just so very excited about moving to Oregon that I am not spending much time being sad. 

Rosa's with awesome friends...oh how I will miss this!

Our last picture in Texas! Yes, we are really good at color coordination :)

Kory will come down to Artesia Monday and we'll get everything packed and loaded to drive away Tuesday morning. We'll drive to Phoenix and stay with my older brother, Ty, Tuesday night. Wednesday we'll drive to Northern CA and probably stay in Sacramento. Then, Thursday we'll finish the drive to Myrtle Creek, OR and that will become HOME. Oh goodness, I am ready to have a home and unpack my suitcases for a while. 

On a Lighter Note...

I figured we all needed a break from heavy posts, so here are a few fun facts I have learned this week!

1.) According to a study at a Washington Medical Center, duct tape removes warts better than freezing therapy. One theory on why the effectiveness is that the tape irritates the area, which stimulates the immune system. Here it the technique in case you're thinking of trying it: Clean wart, cover with duct tape. Remove after six days and soak wart in warm water. Use pumice or an emery board to rub away soft areas. Leave tape off overnight; reapply the next morning. Repeat until wart is gone--usually about two months.

2.) One more reason you shouldn't smoke: over the course of five years, smokers turn out to develop nearly double the memory decline of nonsmokers. Imagine what is happening to your brain cells if you smoke for 30 years??

3.) Spanish conquistadors discovered that avocado seeds yield a milky fluid that turns red when exposed to air. They used this indelible natural ink in documents that are preserved to this day. 

I am packing like a crazy woman today. I leave for Lubbock tomorrow and will be there for 10 days for Encounter. I love this week! It is always the highlight of my summer! After it is over, I will come home, load up and move to Oregon! Yikes! I am trying to have everything packed and ready when I leave tomorrow so I don't have to worry about anything when I get back to Artesia. 

It seems like I waited so long to find out what my next step was going to be and now it is all happening so fast! I can't wait to hang out with friends and family over the next week and a half. I'll certainly enjoy the time spent with them since it will be a while before I see everyone again. Hope you have a great weekend!

Reclamation

My point in all of this talk about patriotism really has nothing to do with America. I believe our loyalty and our allegiance belong to God alone. I simply use our dedication to America as an example of how willing we are to devote ourselves to earthly causes. 

I think it is high time that Christians begin to reclaim a few things in this world. Many symbols or ideas are from God and yet the very mention of them today draws your thoughts to a particular group or place. Here are just a few I can think of:

Rainbow--Homosexuals

Hope--Barack Obama 

Freedom--United States of America

Peace--Hippies

The rainbow is a symbol of God's promise to his people. I wish more churches had rainbows in their buildings along with crosses. People need to be reminded that our God loves us, protects us and has made promises to us he will forever keep. 

Our hope comes from God. He is the only one who holds our tomorrows and thus, the can give us hope for them. When we trust a person to give us hope, we are telling God that He isn't big enough to care for all of our needs. We are saying we need a person here on earth to really take care of things. 

Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Now this is not talking about the freedom of speech or freedom from oppressive leaders. The freedom Paul writes about is freedom from the law. I missed the scripture where we were told the Christian life is one of freedom and independence. We are told there will be hardships and persecution and that we are to count them as blessings. Let's spend our time freeing others from the bondage of sin instead of reveling in the fact that we live in the land of the free.

I have a bracelet with a peace sign on it and TONS of people have called me a hippie or said something to that effect when they see me wearing it. Why aren't Christians the most vocal people fighting for peace in this world? Wouldn't it be great if those who followed Christ were known for promoting and working towards peace?

I wonder which of these statements would infuriate more people? 

1) Obama is the greatest leader America has ever seen.

2) Christianity isn't relevant in today's world.

3) George Bush was the worst President in American History.

Why are we SO quick to become passionate/angry/excited about politics and so slow to do the same when it comes to eternal matters?

And I'm proud to be an...

I have been thinking a lot about patriotism/American pride/freedom lately. I think part of this is because I have seen a lot of patriotic displays recently with Memorial Day last month and the Independence Day coming up next month. 

With that in mind, I would like to share my thoughts with you on the subject. Before I begin, however, I want to make a few disclaimers. I do not hate America. I am VERY grateful to have been given so many opportunities that I might not have been afforded in another country. If anything, my travels abroad have shown me many great things about the U.S. Nothing I say is intended to hurt or offend anyone. That is the beauty of my blog...I get to say what I want! :) haha  I do not believe that people with pride in America don't love Jesus. I believe the real question is loyalty. 

Now, I think I will probably do several posts about these subjects so that I don't end up with one incredibly long blog post that is too long for any person to read. I will begin with patriotism. Here are a few quotes on the subject that I really enjoy:

"Patriotism is the conviction that your country is better than everyone else's because you were born in it." -George Bernard Shaw

"The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naive and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair."  -H.L. Mencken

"During times of war, hatred becomes quite respectable, even though it has to masquerade often under the guise of patriotism."  -Howard Thurman

"When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism as the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and the purity of its heart."  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?" -Pablo Casals

Patriotism is such an interesting thing when you really think about it. Why does it make me a bad American citizen if I don't proclaim that it is the greatest country in the history of mankind? What is it about America that inherently makes it #1? Would these same Patriotic Americans be chanting: "Uruguay! All the way!" if they were born in a different country? When did Christian and Patriot become synonymous? I genuinely don't have answers to all of these questions. If I did, I'd be writing a New York Times best-selling book instead of a blog that 3 people read :) 

I leave you with a picture of a bumper sticker and t-shirt that I have seen several times. It is really quite appalling to me that someone would even make this design...and certainly that thousands of people would support it! 

Get Oregon-ized!

Well it is now 100% official! Kory and I are moving to Oregon!!! YAY!! I am beyond thrilled about the future! When Kory called to tell me it was a done deal, I was in Hastings and I was literally cheering and dancing around. I am sure I got a couple strange looks but I didn't even notice because I was too busy celebrating!

Kory will be the youth minister at Tri-City Church of Christ. There are three little towns all together in the SW corner of the state where we will live. Before you ask, let me answer a few questions that I know you are wondering. 1)No, we are not married or engaged. 2)No, I do not have a job there, nor do I have any leads so far. 3)No, we do not have a place for either one of us to live. 4)Yes, it is very far away from Texas. AND 5)Yes, I am VERY excited about this move!

We will be moving on June 14 or so, depending on how soon we can get everything together and ready. It will be a 3-day drive, but I am sure we can make this a fun road trip! I will continue to update as I find out more details and make the move out West. I am confident God will be with me every step of the way and I can't wait to start this next adventure in my life!

I have never been to Oregon, but have heard from EVERYONE that it is absolutely gorgeous! Here are a few pictures of the beautiful state for you to feast your eyes upon :)

George Bush visits Artesia

My parents and I attended a scholarship reception yesterday for the Artesia High School graduating class of 2009. The Chase's are a VERY generous family in Artesia that gives away a ton of scholarships each year for Artesia students to attend college.

It was held in the Bulldog Pit, which is the AHS basketball stadium. The students who received the scholarships in 2007, 2008 and 2009 were seated on the floor.

I stole these next few pictures off Facebook, but they were better than the ones I got on my camera. The keynote speaker was former President George W. Bush.

Artesia made National News because this is only the 2nd time Bush has made a public appearance since he left office (the other time was in Canada).

Moving from Europe back to Artesia, NM is quite a culture shock! If you don't know the area, it is a small town, Republican, conservative, predominantly Christian town in SE New Mexico with a population of about 15-20,000. I was looking at one of my friend's pictures on FB today and she had a picture of her with Mr. Bush. The caption to her picture was "He is the most amazing and intelligent man!" When I saw that, I just chuckled to myself because I thought of what people in Europe would say if they read that comment...or most people in America besides Texas and Southern New Mexico.

He mentioned at the beginning of his speech that is so good to be out of Washington. I can only imagine how glad he is to be visiting places where he is supported and thanked and encouraged more than he is hated and criticized.

So many people were living out their biggest dream by meeting him yesterday. People cried through his whole speech, waited in line for hours to see him and went CRAZY when he walked into the room. Kids were shaking and had sweaty palms as they nervously prepared to shake his hand. He really is a rock star around here :)

Ambigram Genius

If you haven't seen Angels and Demons yet, you are most definitely missing out. Get thee to a movie theatre immediately!

One of my pet peeves is when people watch a movie based on a book and then complain because the book was better. Well of course it is--get over it! They are two completely different mediums and I wish people could appreciate the movie as a movie and quit comparing it to the book. Yes, the story was altered a little for the movie, but it was done very well. 

It was awesome seeing so many places in the movie that I recently got to visit. I also re-read the book a couple weeks ago so it helped that the story was fresh in my mind. 

There are so many things I could say about this movie, but I will only say this. If you enjoyed the movie, you should read the book! It is fantastic in an altogether different way :) It is lengthy, but SO worth it. In fact, I think you should read all of Dan Brown's books because he is just that great.