Dear friends,
Another month has gone by already! I feel like time is really blowing by.. What a crazy thing - time - sometimes it feels like it just drags on, and others it zooms past with the blink of an eye. I am reminded more of the importance in living each day to the fullest. To learning how to "be" and enjoy the little things, those things that make you smile. It's worth it! Let us learn to plan for our futures, learn from our pasts, but LIVE for today.
This month started out with an epic camping trip with my team in the Margaret River area in WA, about 5 hours south of Perth. It was such an incredible week of community and learning, and just simply taking in the crazy beauty of the ocean coastline. I will have many memories from that week for a long time, and I hope to never forget the amazing sites we were able to see. The lecture topic that week was, "Lordship", or "Making Jesus Lord of Your Life". I thought is was cool to tie in the beauty and vastness of the nature we were seeing, with the idea of our Creator. Each day we would get up and have breakfast together at our campsite, then head out on a hike from our site to the coastline, then along the ocean until we found a good spot to stop and have lectures. One day we stopped under a rock cave, another day we sat next to a rock pool with the ocean roaring around us. We spent in-between time at the ocean, eating great food together, hiking and exploring, or just siting around the campfire sharing stories. It was a really cool time of learning and bonding and just sharing life together with our team.
Some more highlights of this month have been getting to be apart of the Christmas choir that is starting to practice, getting to know people on my team better, and just exploring more of Perth City, and learning more of what it looks like to intentionally follow Jesus.
Jesus really is awesome, you guys! I can't share enough how at peace and how blessed I am to know that I can live a life with Jesus. I am amazed by the truth I am experiencing and learning as I look deeper into who this person is that Christians claim to follow - and I really think that is the key. There is so much "religion" or "religious" stereotypes that come to mind when you think "church", "Christian", or whatever it may be. But I think the key is to actually study and look at the person of Jesus. I have seen the undeniable evidence of truth and change in people that have decided to follow this Jesus, and have decided to give their life to seeking truth and living a life of love for others. I'm convinced it is totally worth it, and totally beautiful. I am amazed at how my life has changed and is changing as I seek to understand more about who Jesus was and how I can try to be like Him. And I am blessed by the breath of life I am absorbing as I do this. My hope is to keep digging deeper into what it means to know this Jesus, what it means to live out the truths I am seeing and understanding, and what it means to really, truly live a life that is whole-hearted and intentional - a life that blesses and serves others above myself, and seeks to know truth and live it out.
My friends, life is worth living. Life is worth loving. Joy is worth embracing. People are worth loving. And YOU are valuable and worth the life you have. Whatever your circumstance or current situation, I encourage you to look for those things that make you smile. I encourage you to ask hard questions. I encourage you to search out, "what is truth?", and embrace the truth you do find. I encourage you to think positively. I encourage you to step outside the box and dream big. What would you do if you could really do anything? What is at the core of who you are? It's worth searching out, and to keep searching out. Even if your situation is really difficult, the thing we have in common is that we are living. We have a life, and it's worth fighting for. And not just for ourselves, but to bring life to others. There is enough negativity in the world, it's worth being some good in it. So, I encourage you to learn from your past, dream and plan for your future, but learn to LIVE for today, because right now is all we really have.
Another month has gone by already! I feel like time is really blowing by.. What a crazy thing - time - sometimes it feels like it just drags on, and others it zooms past with the blink of an eye. I am reminded more of the importance in living each day to the fullest. To learning how to "be" and enjoy the little things, those things that make you smile. It's worth it! Let us learn to plan for our futures, learn from our pasts, but LIVE for today.
This month started out with an epic camping trip with my team in the Margaret River area in WA, about 5 hours south of Perth. It was such an incredible week of community and learning, and just simply taking in the crazy beauty of the ocean coastline. I will have many memories from that week for a long time, and I hope to never forget the amazing sites we were able to see. The lecture topic that week was, "Lordship", or "Making Jesus Lord of Your Life". I thought is was cool to tie in the beauty and vastness of the nature we were seeing, with the idea of our Creator. Each day we would get up and have breakfast together at our campsite, then head out on a hike from our site to the coastline, then along the ocean until we found a good spot to stop and have lectures. One day we stopped under a rock cave, another day we sat next to a rock pool with the ocean roaring around us. We spent in-between time at the ocean, eating great food together, hiking and exploring, or just siting around the campfire sharing stories. It was a really cool time of learning and bonding and just sharing life together with our team.
Some more highlights of this month have been getting to be apart of the Christmas choir that is starting to practice, getting to know people on my team better, and just exploring more of Perth City, and learning more of what it looks like to intentionally follow Jesus.
Jesus really is awesome, you guys! I can't share enough how at peace and how blessed I am to know that I can live a life with Jesus. I am amazed by the truth I am experiencing and learning as I look deeper into who this person is that Christians claim to follow - and I really think that is the key. There is so much "religion" or "religious" stereotypes that come to mind when you think "church", "Christian", or whatever it may be. But I think the key is to actually study and look at the person of Jesus. I have seen the undeniable evidence of truth and change in people that have decided to follow this Jesus, and have decided to give their life to seeking truth and living a life of love for others. I'm convinced it is totally worth it, and totally beautiful. I am amazed at how my life has changed and is changing as I seek to understand more about who Jesus was and how I can try to be like Him. And I am blessed by the breath of life I am absorbing as I do this. My hope is to keep digging deeper into what it means to know this Jesus, what it means to live out the truths I am seeing and understanding, and what it means to really, truly live a life that is whole-hearted and intentional - a life that blesses and serves others above myself, and seeks to know truth and live it out.
My friends, life is worth living. Life is worth loving. Joy is worth embracing. People are worth loving. And YOU are valuable and worth the life you have. Whatever your circumstance or current situation, I encourage you to look for those things that make you smile. I encourage you to ask hard questions. I encourage you to search out, "what is truth?", and embrace the truth you do find. I encourage you to think positively. I encourage you to step outside the box and dream big. What would you do if you could really do anything? What is at the core of who you are? It's worth searching out, and to keep searching out. Even if your situation is really difficult, the thing we have in common is that we are living. We have a life, and it's worth fighting for. And not just for ourselves, but to bring life to others. There is enough negativity in the world, it's worth being some good in it. So, I encourage you to learn from your past, dream and plan for your future, but learn to LIVE for today, because right now is all we really have.
Beautiful photos! Beautiful words to live by!
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