Sorry it has bee na while since I last had time to write! These past three weeks have been crazy, but in an incredibly good way! God has been opening so many doors, and I feel He is giving me energy I never knew that I had to accomplish the tasks He has placed in front of me. CRU began two weeks ago, and we are having our third meeting tonight. God has blessed us with a large group this year, and I pray that they will all continue to come, even as the weeks and months go by. Also, small groups have begun, which has opened up another door of business for me. Being a co-leader, I was asked to help make all of the new freshman and transfer students in CRU feel welcome, but especially in my own Bible study. There are about 20 girls, and I have had the opportunity to talk to all of them at one point or another. Now, I am trying to build and deepen relationships even more by askign them out for coffee, or lunch. It has been amazing, and such a growing experience for me so far, and I pray that it continues to be in the future as well.
Classes have been going extremely well also. I dropped one of the classes I was initially signed up for, which means that I am only enrolled in 14 units, which is the least I have ever taken. It is amazing though, and I have been blessed so far with only minimum amounts of homework. I am also enjoying the classes I am taking, which helps make them oh so much more bearable. God has definitely blessed me in allowing me not to have too much homework to occupy my evenings and weekends, which makes much more time for social events.
As far as spiritually, I feel I have been doing ok. Not as well as I would like to be doing, but I have definitely been feeling God moving. I have not put enough time and effort into making time for God daily, which is something I feel I need to do more of, but I am working daily to try and set aside more time. I find that if I do my devotion first thing in the morning, I am more productive and focused all day long. If I wait until night time, I am usually too tired, or just don't feel like putting my remaining time and energy into deciphering the Bible. I am so blessed, though, because God has allowed me to be part of CRU's discipleship this semester, which ivolves me have a Bible study weekly with the CRU female leaders. We have only had one meeting so far, but it was so refreshing, and I can tell it is going to be a much needed time when I can be filled up by those Godly women God has placed in my life. I am also glad because the group I am in is very small, there are only 2 of us and then the leaders, which I really enjoy. I find I can connect so much more, and on so much more of a deeper level when I am only surrounded with a few people, than if it was a larger group.
CRU, school, and work are taking up the majority of my time, but I have also had so many opportunities to have fun, go hiking, go jet skiing, hang out with friends, and countless other things. This year is beginning to seem like a repeat of last year, only better and more comfortable, since I feel establishes now and able to step out and follow where God is leading me this year. My only concern is that I am taking on too much, as always, but so far I have been ok. Thankfully, I am managing my time pretty well, and for that I feel so grateful! God is good, and He provides and meets all of our needs! Have a blessed day :0)

The First Week

(Friday 8/29) This has been an incredibly tiring, but also fulfilling first week of school for me. Both in a physical and spiritual sense, I feel like God has been teaching me so much, stretching me, and revealing His plan for me. Starting Sunday, I have been meeting the new members of CRU, mainly freshman and transfer students and getting to know them. I can't even count the number of people I have gone up to and started conversations with, and the entire process has been so tiring! It is definitely not my first instinct to go up to people I don't even know and act outgoing and friendly, and to keep a conversation going. God has definitely been giving me strength and the words to speak, because I would not have lasted very long on my own! I have always been so afraid and timid when it comes to talking to new people, but for some reason I have been feeling strangely at peace and excited even to talk new people. Conversation has been something I always considered a weakness, but I know now that God has other plans for me. Just today I was reading in Exodus 3 and 4, where Moses was sent by God to Egypt to free the Israelites. As I read his excuses when summoned by God, I was taken back by how similar they appeared to my own. With God all things are possible, and He desires to use any willing heart to serve Him. Moses felt he was ill-equipped for the task that God has given him, but he ended up being used by God to do miraculous things. I feel as if God has been breaking me down to realize that I can be used, and I desire to be used, and if I allow God to stretch and use me, He will. Yesterday, for example, I went to Jon and Bon's with some of the CRU leaders and new girls from CRU. Then after, Annemarie and I stayed downtown at the Farmer's Market. We decided earlier this week we wanted to begin evangelizing, so we started last night. We prayed before we started, and during our prayer a lady sat down next to us. We decided that this was a sign from God to talk to her, so we went over and started a conversation. After a few minutes, Annemarie brought up CRU, and then we jumped into the new kind of evangelism we are trying out. It involves asking the person if they think they are a good person, then asking the person if they think they are a good person, then asking if we can judge that based on the Ten Commandments. After this, we asked if they think, based on their answer, that they're going to heaven. The story of Jesus comes in next. The first lady we talked to said no to the Ten Commandments question, but we still spent a few minutes chatting with her about the Bible and God. Then, we went to talk to another girl. It was now my turn to bring up CRU into the conversation. At first, I was nervous and stumbled over my words, a bit, but then I suddenly felt this change inside of me, and it was as if God was talking over, I don't even remember what I said, but I kept talking and asking questions. She seemed interested and even said she would try and come to CRU. After we left, I was filled with such joy of the Lord! I have never felt such a joyful feeling, and I felt as if this was what I was made for. God called us to tell others about Him, and the feeling it gave me was indescribable. God has been calling me to tell others about His name my entire Christian life, but only now did I fully try and listen and answer His call. I pray that yesterday would have been a turning point for me, and from now on I would feel overwhelmed by my strong desire to serve Him.