2010: Great Expectations

As the end of a year approaches, I find myself and others reflecting on the current year and making plans and goals for the year to come. Sometimes dreams and visions get pushed aside throughout the year, but as a new year begins those dreams and visions sparkle and shine. Again hearts are captured and desires are stirred up, giving hope that something better will come for that new year.

It's New Years Eve and the commercials on TV encourage me to think about this past year and to make new goals for the new year. I am pleased with the things that I have done in 2009 and I look forward to 2010 with great expectations.

Last year was filled with lots of love and being patient for the next step in missions in my life.

As 2010 begins (tomorrow), I have great expectations for things in my life to unfold. It is hard for me to explain why I feel this way, and why I believe that things are going to unfold. The best way I can explain it is a feeling of anticipation in my spirit and I am standing on the promises God’s given me. I am really excited to see how God orchestrates His plans for my life throughout the year.

Home Is Where Your Heart Is

Home is ultimately not about a place to live but about the people with whom you are most fully alive. Home is about love, relationship, community, and belonging, and we are all searching for home. --- Soul Cravings by Erwin Raphael McManus

I am back home again. Christmas has come and gone and 2010 is just around the corner. It feels so surreal. It's always nice to be home even though I miss my friends in YWAM. While involved in YWAM I meet a lot of people from all over the world, but by the end of a school many of those people I will probably never see again. It's kind of depressing, but I have hope because in March I will be going back to YWAM Denver to join staff with 10 or more of my classmates. I will be signing a contract for a year. I may be there longer but I am talking it a year at a time. Right now I am not sure what types of jobs I will be doing, but I will know soon enough. Some of the jobs that I could be doing are the following: childcare, hospitality, housekeeping, helping out in the kitchen for meal preparations, miscellaneous personnel jobs, working directly with a school/disciplining students, and many other jobs. I will be working from 9 am-5 pm, Monday through Friday which leaves no time for another job. I will have several perks like being given vacation time, being with friends who are like family, etc. The biggest perk is doing what I love: serving people and loving people.

I am so excited for this next step in my life. Not only is Denver, Colorado like my home away from home, but I will be doing the thing that I have been wanting to do for the past 3 years --> to be a full time missionary. However, it is bitter-sweet to move out of my parents house and live almost 1,000 miles away from home. Nothing will ever take that feeling of love, comfort, family, and peace like being in the place where I grew up; the place filled with many memories of which I call home.

Thanksgiving at the Care Center

Thinking back on last year - I spent a couple hours helping out at a local homeless shelter and it felt so good to help people out on a day that I typically like to spend with my family. This year I am in Colorado and decided not to go home for Thanksgiving. In our school we have been doing weekly local outreaches. Myself and a few other of my classmates have been going to The Care Center almost every Monday night. (The Care Center is set up like a nursing home but the residents are mostly people with physical or mental handicaps.)We have seen the anticipation on the residents faces when we get there, and can see the sadness in their eyes when we have to leave. One lady that I have grown close to is Patty (in the pictures). She is very nice and just lights up when she sees us. I look forward to seeing her every week and just hanging out with her.

It felt so great to take a couple hours out of my Thanksgiving day to just hang out with some really cool people who didn't get to see their family this holiday. I think this is a Thanksgiving that I will always cherish.

The Leadership School Called PHASE 2

It's going into the 9th week of school for me, that means the leadership school only has 3 more weeks left. I am learning a lot about Principles in Leadership, Pitfalls in Leadership, God's Word (the importance of staying in the Word as a Leader), Faith in Finances, Effective Personal Ministry, and Strength Finders (learning about our top 5 strengths and how to effectively use our strengths in leadership). But I am also learning more about what God is calling me to do and what He wants me to work in my personal life. I have been really diligent with my time and disciplined in getting my homework done on time, if not early. I am surprised at how I haven't procrastinated much and I am wondering if I finally "grew up". :-) I do not have a love for reading, and so far a good portion of my homework has been reading books and doing book reports. But despite the busy lifestyle that is YWAM, I am learning a lot.

Moving onto other topics, the weather here has been beautiful. Colorado is always inconsistent and at the beginning of October the leaves were changing and then it snowed about a half inch so all of the beautiful leaves quickly turned into many shades of browns.

Then about a week later it snowed for about 24hrs and we got about 2 feet of snow. While it was snowing I listened to some Christmas music and dreamed of Christmas. Three days later the snow was almost gone with it reaching up into the 60's. It was nice though to get a little taste of winter and the feeling of Christmas. It was so nice.

I was thinking about touring with a band to the East Coast after my school ends on December 18th, but after thinking and praying about it more I have decided to go home after my school ends. I will be home for Christmas and I will be staying home for about 2 months. In March, I am going to come back to Colorado and be a full time missionary for at least a year. I am so excited about it, and I am so excited to discover more of what God has planned for my life.

VIdeo Blog # 6 - A Simple Update

In this Video Blog I talk about the busy months I've had working, where I work and what I do. I also talk about my near future plans.

UPDATE: on the baby Robins (Greedy & Williena Robinz) also included in this video!

Watch and Enjoy!

:-)

Making Dream Come True

My 24th birthday is tomorrow and I was trying to think of what I wanted to do on my birthday.
Many things came to mind like: go shopping, go on a romantic date, hang out with friends, go bowling with friends, etc. However, I am trying to save money and I do not have a significant other right now to go on a romantic date with. Also, I have to work. So I thought about what would make me happy... getting up early, getting the most out of my day, take some pictures of the beautiful scenery that's around me, work out and spend time with family. And that's exactly what I am going to do! :-)

I can't just sit around waiting for my dreams to come true, so I am going to make my dreams come true by doing what makes me the most happy for my birthday. And no, I'm not going to go out and find a boyfriend to go out on a romantic date. But I will do everything that is practical and cost efficient. :-)

Greedy and Williena Robinz

Sitting in the windowsill


Williena and Greedy resting where I sleep



Bath time!!!

Day 1: Looking for food

through this experience. It was bitter-sweet to let them go, but I knew it was best for them to be where they were intended to be - in the wild.

Motherly Instinct

So I have rescued 2 baby Robins from work and I am hand raising them until they are ready to be set back into the wild. I got them Sunday May 24th and they are more work than I thought they would be. They need to eat every 30 minutes and if needed they can go for 2-3 hours once a day. I am feeding them worms and a berry mixture (which consists of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and 12 grain whole wheat bread crumbs). They were about 1 week old when I got them and they are growing fast.

I've nicknamed one "Greedy SOB (Son of a Bird) because it's more aggressive over the food and always seems to never stop eating. The other I just nicknamed today "One Eye Willie" because I found a drop of mud on one of it's eye/eyelid and I tried to carefully clean it off. This was probably from a piece of mud falling off a worm during feeding. It will sometimes open it's eye, but most of the time it's closed. I'm sure it's eye will be fine in a couple days.

Other than that the babies are 11 days old today and I am looking forward to their "fledgling" stage... when they will get out of the nest and begin to fly short distances and learn how to take a bath, hunt, and exercise their wings. However it will be interesting and fun for me (a human) to teach them their independence as a bird.

Since I've had "my babies" I've noticed an increase of my own motherly instincts kick in. My attention gets drawn to the slightest noise that resembles their chirp and even when I know they are safe I cannot seem to focus clearly on the thing I was previously focused on until I go check on them. And I am attached (obviously since I'm calling them "my babies"). Even when I left them with my grandma for 45 minutes just to pick up some things at Wal-Mart, I found myself getting excited to see the birds as I pulled into her driveway. Also, in between feedings I'll find myself staring at the birds and seeing how much they have grown and how little they still are, then I realize that it's time for me to feed them again. :-)

I do believe that God is preparing me for the day when I will have my own family. And I can happily say that I think I am just about ready. And by "just about" I mean that I'm just lacking the Wonderful Godly Man that I will one day call My Husband. But as every day goes by I feel closer and closer to meeting him and knowing that he is "the one".

But anyways that day will come... back to the robins.

About the mother of the baby robins I am raising: I've had to take the baby robins to work a few times because of the busy feeding schedule and I thought maybe the mom would hear her babies chirping, but I never spotted her. So I am assuming she is busy taking care of another nest of baby robins.

Stay tuned to see a couple videos of the baby robins before I let them go back into the wild. :-)


The day I got them



4 days later (today)
Greedy on the right and Willie on the left

A Little Creativity

This is my 4th Video Blog this year. Since I was busy working more during the month of April, I didn't have much time to put together a blog... so this is my blog for April & May.

I am really enjoying my new hobbies (crocheting and painting) and I am looking forward to learning how to sew and knit. Just a couple more things that I will learn from my talented grandmother.

Right In The Middle

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait

Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

--- Song written and sung by John Waller
"While I Wait"

This is where I am ... I am waiting. My life could go in 2 different directions and I'm right in the middle of knowing what is going to happen.
1 direction could be what I desperately want to do: Go to YWAM Denver in the Fall and do their leadership school (Phase 2), possibly go on outreach after the 3 month school, then prayerfully consider becoming a full time missionary with YWAM Denver.
Or the other direction could be: Stay at home, continue to work and serve my church family, save up money to do missions trips to Africa or where ever God leads, invest in friendships and family. With either direction God is behind it. The only way that I could do the 1st direction I mentioned is by God providing a financial miracle. And I'm waiting for that financial miracle, because there is no way that I can physically do to get the money that I need in 5 months.
While I'm waiting ... But patiently I will wait.


Decision # 1


OR


Decision # 2

Moving in Slow Motion

Continuing on from the last blog:

There are days when I feel like I've taken a step forward and other days when I feel like I've taken a step backwards. Day after day I feel like the world keeps moving and the things that I know God wants for me are moving in slow motion. But are those things moving in slow motion or just not as fast as I would like them to move.

This year in my blogs I've been talking about how I need a significant amount of money to do what I believe God has called me to do. It's extremely frustrating because when I get a some extra cash, an unexpected bill seems to pop up. I'm trying to save money for the leadership school that I believe God has told me to do this fall, but I've only got 5 months now to get the money that I need.

I've asked God and even friends if they have any ideas on how I could get some cash. But God is still quiet and I'm not sure what to do. I've pursued God about getting a 2nd job numerous times, but I never have peace about it and then He'll bless me by picking up some extra hours at my job. I've still been trying to Give God More Spiritually , but it's difficult when like last month I'd work the equivalent of a full time job (my current set hours are part time hours).

Despite my frustration and being impatient, I've been praising God for the little ways that He blesses me and continues to bless me.

P.S. God gave all of us extra organs that we don't need to survive on, so maybe I could sell some organs... like one of my kidneys. Just Kidding! Ha Ha! :-)

What Does That Look Like?

About a month ago, I was feeling like someone had hit the "pause button" on my life. I felt like no matter how much I'd push forward, I'd end up not going anywhere. I was frustraited with God, because I was lacking any direction from Him. So I asked some respected elders in my church to pray for me. I told them that if God wanted me to head in another direction of my life, then NOW would be the time for Him to lead me to where ever He wanted me to go. After praying for me the couple told me that I needed to give more spiritually, but what does that look like?! I understood what they told me, but as time went on I realized that I still had no clue what specifically I was to do.

Once again, I pushed forawrd in my life and with the things I believe God was telling me to do. But instead of feeling like my life was "paused" I felt like it was going in slow motion. I decided to not stress about things not going my way, and just relax as I planned for a road trip with a couple friends to Colorado for 2 of my good friends wedding (March 14th).

On the way home from Colorado, a wise friend confirmed some things about what he believed God was laying on his heart to tell me. It was about giving spiritually and some ideas on how to do that.


I enjoy giving. I feel like I give so much of myself, time, money, and other things freely... sometimes a little too freely. I don't consult God in what I'm giving and I've realized sometimes I'll say "I really feel like God wants me to give __________ to you." But really it's me being impulsive and the adrenaline of being spontaneous makes me think that God's telling me these things.

I believe that consulting God more about the things I give, and giving more to Him spiritually is going to be a HUGE step in maturity and growth spiritually.

With this said, I feel like it's going to be a slow process, which makes me anxious about the things I need (finances) and I'm feeling the crunch (6 months) of when I need these things. But I know that God has put this passion inside my life for a reason, and that reason is not for failure. I know God will provide, and I need to be patient for His timing for it all take place.


I made my 3rd Video Blog while I was at the YWAM Denver base, and I've put some pictures in the video as well to help you see the place where I know God has called me for another season of my life.

Watch and Enjoy!

P.S. Comments are always welcomed!!!

My Faith in God = God's Faithfulness

Just a brief update from the last blog.
After completing the all natural cleanse, I feel amazing! I feel more alert, have a clearer mind, I lost 10-15 lbs, and I'm still trying to break old habits by making healthier choices and practicing moderation. I often tell people that I feel like I've drank a cup of coffee without the negative effects, and the energy I have continues throughout the day.

Now, here's my 2nd Video Blog about Faith and Faithfulness. Also, here's a scripture God gave me last week about having Faith in Him and He will show me His faithfulness.

He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." - Matthew 13:31-32 NIV

Cleansing

Day 15 of 21:

For 15 days I've been doing an all natural body cleanse which is also a liver detox. Days 1-10 I was ONLY eating raw fruits and vegetables, and taking vitamins and minerals. The 1st day I had a terrible headache which lasted through most of the next day. A cold was going around and I got it. I almost thought I should quit the cleanse, but I knew that if I quit I'd either have a lot of vitamins left over or I'd just have to start over from day 1. So I pressed on and I got over my cold much faster than other times. On day 11 I was able to allow my taste buds to have a dance party with fish and chicken. Mmmm... it tasted SO good.

How am I feeling now? GREAT! Most days I feel like I've had a cup of coffee without the tired feeling after it wears off. My energy has increased, I'm more focused, and I just feel good for eating healthy. I have also lost an average of a pound a day of weight. When I've gone on the Wii Fit my BMI continues to go decrease to a healthy BMI, and my Wii Fit age has gone from 48 to 30.

While being on this cleanse, I've noticed things about my eating habits... they are terrible. When I'm really hungry I reach for the the thing that will give me the quickest fix to get rid of my hunger pains, which are usually things filled with refined sugars or something that processed. I hardly ever want to eat a piece of fruit or even munch on some veggies.

Just the other day I realized that I have bad eating habits with my spiritual life. I may "eat" good for a season, but then I binge on junk:TV, movies, music, things on the Internet, etc. or sometimes I become spiritually anorexic by not eating at all (reading the Bible, praying, etc). As is true in the flesh, it is not spiritually healthy that I have developed these bad eating habits. I need to do a spiritual cleanse.

So, I've started a spiritual cleanse. I'm making sure I read my Bible and pray everyday. I've also put a filter and a conscious effort to be careful what I watch and listen to. I'm hoping that this isn't just a season that I periodically go through, but a life change. And I am aware that I will encounter things along the way that will make me want to quit, but I know that I have enough discipline to press on.

More Reflections of 2008

So there I was unloading dishwasher when I began to have a conversation with God. I started talking and voicing all of my problems; asking Him to take care of them. A few minutes later I realized I wasn't talking,nor was I thinking of my problems. I was remembering the things God taught me during 2008 and wondered why I wasn't ecstatic about 2009anymore. God is always faithful to fulfill His promises, so what happened to that excitement of what God is going to do...?

Thinking back on 2008...

God has taught me many things about being a mother. I've spent many days being with children: In the Spring, I helped out with nursery in my church, watching and teaching about 1-4 toddlers (some of them only knew Spanish); In the Summer, I babysat my cousins (then ages 6, 9, and 11); And in the Fall/Winter, I began working with physically and mentally handicapped adults in their home (which sometimes would be like dealing with children). God also showed me how He's teaching me how to be a wife through Proverbs 31, by serving with a giving attitude, by learning how to cook and clean with a loving heart, learning how to crochet, and how to live selflessly. Oh, how quickly I had forgotten about these things I've learned. I've tried do these things on my own before, but it took God to mold and soften my heart to effectively learn what it was that He wanted me to learn.

So as I found myself silently reflecting on 2008, I noticed a smile come across my face and a giggle burst out of my voice. God didn't teach me how to be a wife and a mother for no reason. So as every day passes I get more and more excited for the days when I will be a wife and a mother.


P.S. Some day I would love to be a stay at home mom.

Words for the New Year

At the end of every year I ask God what He is asking of me for the upcoming new year. And every year I ask, I get at least 1 word.

The word for 2007 was Sacrifice. He taught me so much about that with little things like giving up social time with friends to work or do fundraisers, to big things like losing friends when they were killed for doing what God called them to do.

The word for 2008 didn't come to me until 3 months into the year and it was Serve. A word I thought would be easy but was everything but easy. However, I did notice my character slowly growing with this action word.

And now as I've asked God to reveal to me something for the year 2009, He's given me Love and Patience. I absolutely love to love, but I have a feeling that the word love is going to have a whole different meaning to me as I patiently press on through this New Year.

I've decided to do something a little different and a little more personal this time. So please watch my 1st video blog to hear a little more about what I am passionate about and also what God's been doing in my life.

Love,
Rebecca Lynne