Spring is here and I'm sneezing like there's no tomorrow!

Hello!
Spring in New England is quite beautiful but I'm thinking the poor plants don't know what to do with themselves. One minute it's 40 degrees and the next it's 90 degrees (like today). Which I think makes the plants populate its pollen even more so. It makes breathing somewhat difficult especially since I do not have air conditioner.

Well some of you probably know this while others have no clue, but my parents have moved across America to the Seattle area. God answered prayers in terms of moving them from where they were from but I'm thinking I should make it a point to be a little more specific in what I pray for next time. ;)Regardless I'm very happy for them and thankful for the Lord's provision. I am VERY excited about Christmas. The farthest west I have been is IL so I'll be able to add a new state onto my travels. In others news, I recently submitted my application to grad school. Hopefully by the time 2014 roles around, I'll have a Masters of Science in Management.

And......it looks like I may be involved with a church plant. I was going to a church in Cambridge but things didn't work out because of some issues with my Bible Study. The chaplain of the school that I work at just informed me that there's going to be a sister church planted in the city that I live in so he put me in contact with the pastor of this new church. I am now meeting with this new pastor and another one on Friday for lunch and I'm pretty pumped about it. Hopefully I'll be able to find out more about their vision and heart beat for the city. As of now, a few of them meet once a week to pray and they are officially starting church meetings in June. So if you think of it, please pray for this as it may be an answer to prayer. Until next time!

JGB

What If?

What if Jesus had never died?

What if God had answered his prayer and had allowed the cup to pass him by?

What if Judas had never betrayed him?

What if Pilate had released Barabas instead of Jesus?

What if angels had come to rescue him?

What if he had not become sin for you; sin for me?

What if his legs had been broken?

What if water and blood had not poured out?

What if the veil of separation had not been ripped in two?

What if God had not forsaken him during his time of despair?

What if man had taken his life instead of him giving it willingly?

If Jesus had not died than I would be lost. If God had answered his son’s prayer then there would have been no cross. If Judas had not betrayed him and Barabas had taken his place then his mission would have not been fulfilled; saving you, saving me. If angels had come to rescue him man would still be lost with no hope, purpose, or life. If he had not become sin for you and me his death would have been in vain. If his legs had been broken, man would have been in control. If water and blood had not been poured out there would have been no proof that he gave up his spirit out of his own will and decision. If the veil had not been ripped in two there would still be a wall of separation between us and God. If God had not forsaken him during this time, then Jesus would not have really become sin since God cannot look upon it. If man had taken his life, prophecy would not have been fulfilled and Jesus would be showing that he had been forced to die for you; forced to die for me. But no! He knew what he was doing and he gave his life for you; gave his life for me, willingly. And he did this why? Because he desires you; he desires me. He is pursuing you and pursuing me to the end of our brokenness. He won’t give up. If man couldn’t kill him, death couldn't stop him and the grave couldn’t and wouldn't hold him then nothing will. Embrace him. He is wanting to embrace you.

Post 22

Where shall I begin?
I have been a slacker in terms of keeping this blog updated. God has been doing some new things in my life and I'm excited to share those things with you in the future. In the mean time I shall try and give a brief re-cap of the past few months:

-New Year's was spent watching a Charlie Brown's Christmas (there's a first for everything)
-A good friend of mine came to visit me a few days after New Year's
-Someone that I graduated with has moved within an hour of me so that's exciting
-I'm looking for a new church (again)
-I was able to visit John and Abigail Adams grave
-I toured the JFK Library
-I joined a Women's Prayer Group associated with a Nazarene Church in the area
-My parents had a surprise visit from me in February (I'm SO thankful they were home)
-I joined the Big Sister Association so I now have a "little sister" that I meet with once a week
-I'm taking some ladies from my dorm to a clayroom and we're painting pottery in a few weeks.
-AND I'm bringing in an instructer to give us a crash course in Self-Defense
-My RA's for the next academic year have been chosen so I'm getting really excited about that yet trying to make sure that I finish out this year strong
-I'm looking at starting Grad School in the fall
-A good friend from D.C. is coming to visit me next month (and I'm SO excited)

Well hopefully I won't wait three more months until I write anything. Until next time! :)

God Doesn't Waste Anything

"Every experience God give us

every person he put in our lives,

is the perfect preparation

for the future"

-Corrie ten Boon

"God doesn't waste anything." I was speaking with someone dear to my heart about if our decisions in life defines who we are as individuals. We came to the conclusion that they don't. The reason being that there are decisions that we may have made 10 years ago, yet we would not make the same ones today because we are different than who we were 10 years ago. BUT it does seem that past decisions do shape and form you into the person you are today; whether good or bad. Yet even the bad can be used for God's glory if we allow him to do so. About three years ago I was in college and in shambles because I had changed my direction of study from Nursing to Communication and I felt as though my world had fallen apart. Yet one sweet dear friend told me "God doesn't waste anything." And I have kept that in my heart and will continue to do so until I'm dead and have gone on to glory. At the moment my friend was telling me this, she was speaking of classes that I had, had to take for Nursing school and what would transfer over to the Communication field of study. Yet she wasn't just talking about classes but certain skills that I had learned while obtaining my license to be a Nurses Aid (which was a part of the Nursing program). The school I attended made sure that we realized that we weren't just caring for a "thing" in order to get paid but we were caring for an individual created by God that needed tender love and the best care possible. And no matter what the task or skill, no matter how gross, disgusting or "low" it might be, we "can do all things through Christ who strengthens us" ("as long as I have my gloves on") as my instructer would say. ;) My friend helped me to realize that those long hard hours, days, weeks, semesters, and years of studying one particular field was not a waste despite the raised eyebrows, questions, and surprised looks by many upon hearing the news.

What I'm trying to say is that we can learn from every single situation we're in; good or bad. Had a bad courting/dating relationship-learn from it. Have a dear friend that you still love but don't really talk to as much-learn what you can from that friendship and how it was beneficial for the both of you. Strayed away from the direction God wanted you to be going-learn from that situation. Were you involved in a ministry that flopped-learn from it. Have you invested in someone to suddenly have them turn their back on you-learn from it.  Had a job you disliked-learn from it. God doesn't waste anything and he is more than able to bring beauty from ashes. He is the potter and we are the clay.

Post 20

This past weekend was draining, but a good draining. I was able to partner with the Admissions Dpt. and put together ENC's first Parent Day in the history of mankind (that I know anything of). It was an all-day event on Saturday which included a performance of the "Messiah" and I was able to attend Sat and Sun performances (I was too distracted to appreciate the performance on Saturday so I went to it again on Sunday and got to sit 2nd row from the front). But here's how the weekend went
Friday night: two friends played the WORST heart-wrenching prank on me that I've ever experienced BUT through the tears, it brought us closer together

Saturday: two friends made me and themselves breakfast (at 7:30 am-so much love!) and helped me set up for Parent Day. Parent Day officially started at 10am and ended at 10pm

Sunday: I skipped church and attended the 2nd performance of the Messiah. AND THEN.....I FOUND A MOUSE IN MY SPARE BEDROOM!   The RA's were having a Christmas Party which included a Yankee Swap so I went into my spare bedroom to find something nice to wrap my present in and here's this small criter looking slightly lost and running back in forth near the window in the room. So I frantically called an RA friend and he came over and killed it (on accident-but he feels more manly by just saying that he killed it). So now I have this terrible vision of me going to sleep and all theses mice flying out of holes in the wall and having a party like on some cartoon that I've seen. But as my RA friend said "as least you don't have rats." So now my spare bedroom door is shut with a towel shoved underneath it while I wait for the Pest Control guy to arrive. That's all for now!

Gone

For many, one of the hardest things to do in life is say "goodbye" to those whom you love especially when you don't know when or if you'll ever see them again. You often feel that those individuals whom you've said "goodbye" to are gone to never again return. Many "goodbyes" leave a void in your heart and in your life that cannot be filled by anyone but the individual that you have parted ways with. But those idividuals who are gone from your life through death or other circumstances are gone physically but are they gone forever? No my friend. Each individual leaves some kind of an impact on your life so much so that the things that you do today, the way that you think, today, the way you talk, today, has been formed by those that have had a part in your past. Remember that good friend you had back in the day or that family member you paid your respects to? Even though you may no longer be in communion with them, a part of them, it could be great or small, is still living through you and other lives that they have impacted.

How are you living through the lives of those around you? Are you the kind of person that sparks a bad memory because of the way you act circumstances out? Do individuals look at you and say "my life is different because this person spoke truth into me...my life is different because this person wasn't nosy and didn't ask a million questions, but they were there.....my life is different because this person let me into their personal space when I had no where else to go and no one else to turn to....my life is different because this person didn't just say they would pray for me but they actually did...my life is different because when everyone else had doubts, this person saw my potential and stood up for me....my life is different because this person stuck by me during my highs and my lows....my life is different because this person allowed themselves to be the hands and feet of God. I challenge you and I challenge myself to not ignore all that those around you have to offer because in order to pour into individuals, you too have to be poured into. What may be gone in the visual is still present in more ways than one.

Post 17

Hello!
It has been a little while since I last gave an update on life. I was able to celebrate a birthday the end of last month so I'm very thankful to be on earth for another year; as I get older I realize even more so how being in my 20's means nothing-death is not defined by age.

This past week has been interesting. I participated in a "walkathon" to help support those struggling with homelessness. But....the "walkathon" was more of a tour of organizations in Boston that minister to those that are homeless. I must say that I had to stop myself at many times during the "walkathon" from laughing. I'm pretty sure my group looked like a pre-school class following around our guide (we all were wearing the same colored shirts (except for me-I was late) and the leader had a big yellow sign with our groups number on it). Oh well....it made a good story. BUT...the church that I have been attending supports social justice so we were able to split up into groups today and go into the community and minister in various ways. My group did a prayer walk around Cambridge which was a blessing to participate in. If this is the church that I'm to be at, I'm excited about the ways I can become involved in it in the future.

God has been giving me the opportunity to invest in the lives of students, which I LOVE! I had a dorm-wide event last week, with the emphasis being on women dealing with fantasizing, porn, and struggling to sustain a healthy mind in a sexually saturized world. About ten people showed up and the lady that came and spoke to the ladies of my dorm did a good introduction session so I'm hoping we can do follow-up ones in the future. One student recently told me that she wants to do a movie night in my apartment with a bunch of ladies, so I'm looking forward to that. I've also been able to cook with a couple of students and show them my very limited knowledge of what can take place in the kitchen (one student thinks that apple sauce is the best thing in the whole world; so I was able to show him how to cook it).

Work does have its challenges. Maintaining harmony amongst office mates can be difficult at times-but we're human so having tention is bound to happen.

A highlight of this month is that I'm going to VA this week!!!!!!! And I'm VERY excited! I need some country air and the fellowship of old friends. :) Well I'm off!

~JGB