CLICK HERE FOR BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND MYSPACE LAYOUTS »

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Then she prayed...

So, last night we talked about defeating the obstacle of prayerlessness in our Bible study. With prayer comes POWER, PROTECTION, and PASSION. Thats huge. May I never doubt the necessity of prayer. May I pray during the high times of life and in the low times of life...and in the middle. May I pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17).


I read a really cool article on prayer by a guy named Edward M. Bounds, who was known to rise at 4am and spend at least 3 hours in prayer. Here is a portion of the article that really stuck out to me:


Christian soldiers, fighting the good fight of faith, have access to a place of retreat to which they continually return for prayer. "Praying always with all prayer" is a clear statement of the imperative need of much praying, and of many kinds of praying, by him who, fighting the good fight of faith, would win out in the end over all his foes.


It cannot be stated too frequently that the life of a Christian is a warfare, an intense conflict, a lifelong contest. The life to which Holy Scripture calls us is no picnic or holiday junket. It is no pastime, no pleasure jaunt. It entails effort, wrestling, struggling; it demands the putting forth of the full energy of the spirit in order to frustrate the foe and to come off, at the last, more than a conquerer.


What a misconception many people have of the Christian life! How little the average church member appears to know of the character of the conflict, and of its demands upon him! He seems scarcely to realize that the world, the flesh, and the devil will oppose his onward march, and will defeat him utterly, unless he gives himself to constant vigilance and unceasing prayer.


Sunday, May 17, 2009

Long live soccer; May penalty shootouts die.

I love soccer. Its my favorite sport by far. I love to watch it. I love to coach it. And most of all, I love to play it. But I have a huge problem with soccer that I need to take a moment to address and vent about. I hate penalty shootouts. When both teams pour their hearts into the game, are tied, and have to go on to penalty shootouts to determine the winner, I hate it. Especially when my team outplays the other team, but loses in the shootout. Sure, its an exciting way to end an intense game as far as the fans are concerned. But, as a player, I think it is a cheap and lazy way to determine a win. Hockey has it right: keep playing until a goal is scored. May the most skilled and best in shape team win. So, in my opinion, may penalty shootouts die.



But, we can take a look at the bright side: Penalty shootouts do not have to happen often and for that I am thankful. Long live soccer! :)

Friday, May 15, 2009

A Mosaic About Me!

The Rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search (http://www.flickr.com/).
b. Using ONLY the first page, pick an image to represent your answer.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What is your favorite color?
4. Favorite drink?
5. Dream vacation?
6. Favorite hobby?
7. What you want to be when you grow up?
8. What do you love most in life?
9. One word to describe you?








Monday, May 11, 2009

Spain, we will meet again!!!













So, great news to the few who read this: I have a plan!

What??? Kristin has a plan??? No way!

Yep, its true. I know the basics of what my next two years will hold. This year, I will keep doing what I do with my crazy fun busy life as well as raising prayer/financial support. Then, the plan is to leave for Spain June 2010 for a 10 month to a year long apprenticeship in Spain! Leaving June makes me happy because there are a lot of people I love and have developed strong relationships with here that will all be graduating high school next year.

This apprenticeship is SO perfect for me because I was pretty much freaking out over going there for the long haul as a single missionary without knowing what I would be doing or if I would even be any use there. So, this plan for an apprenticeship came up where I would live their for about a year (similar to what I did in Peru after high school), take language classes, observe the ministry, get involved where I can, build relationships with the Team in Spain as well as with Spaniards, and be mentored by the missionaries there during that time. After that time, I can either make my big long term commitment or see that God wants me somewhere else. So...YAY for less pressure!!!

I am hoping that I will stay in Caceres, Spain so I am including pics of that beautiful city (to make you all want to come visit me!) :)