Sing winter

The snow is silently sprinkling outside my window. It's a Sunday afternoon. Silent, save for the occasional car that passes by on the street below. My soul is rested and satisfied. The beauty of winter surrounds me: millions of perfectly tiny, unique snowflakes are falling and resting on streets, sidewalks, steps, and shrubs. The below-zero air is crisp and nippy, but it's warm in here.

There's something really special about winter. If you're not a winter-sports or snow kind of person, you're probably grumbling about having to shovel your driveway, scrape off your windshield, or driving visually impaired. If it's not any of those, it's the cold itself. You're probably dreaming about being able to wear flip flops and tank tops again, or a perfect sandy beach on a deserted island in the middle of Pacific.
Not me! I am loving every moment of it. Well, okay, I'm not gonna lie - there are times when I can't feel my feet and when the cold goes through my bones that I could really go for some time on the beach in Kona, buuuuut for the most part, I am loving it (especially when I am all warm and bundled up!). For someone that has grown up in a desert her whole life and who has never experienced anything below 10C to her remembrance, winter is kind of a big deal!

It's bringing out the inner child in me; wonder and awe are being awakened in my heart. I run over and peek out my window when I wake up to the sound of someone shoveling snow outside. It makes me want to jump up and down and dash outside so I can play in it or catch snowflakes on my tongue. It's deeper than that, though. It's like God is romancing my heart in a new way. He's showing me other aspects of the beauty of His character as He unveils sides of His creativity through winter that I've never seen before.
The desert is one of the most peaceful places I've ever been in, but a silent, snow-covered forest is pretty comparable. There's so much beauty in winter that is often overlooked. I love the sound of packed snow crunching under my feet, the sight of the branches clothed in white, and the peace that accompanies the falling flakes. I love that there's still life and beauty during a season where everything is supposed to be "dead". You see, He makes dead things come alive. That's who my God is.

May your heart be reawakened to the beauty of winter.
May you learn to marvel at the small things in life.
May you experience joy in ways you have never before.

Frozen in time: a perfect snowflake caught in my hair

He knows me and He loves me

So I realize it's been close to a year since I last wrote on here...and I've decided to (hopefully) revive this blog of mine! I decided it needed a makeover so I totally redid the design. It's a lot more "me" now!

Lots of things have changed since a year ago. It's been one big adventure! I apologize for not writing more during DTS! DTS literally took me halfway around the world, from Hawaii back to the Middle East. Yes, I went back! I did not see that coming, but God has His ways, and they are so much higher and better than mine! Outreach was a whole lot of growing, stretching, crying, and laughing. I went with a team of 8 other amazing people. We became like family as we lived, ate, loved, and worked together 24-7. We saw God work miracles in our hearts and others. We saw Him heal people physically and emotionally. We experienced the availability of His presence as we went about our days. We continually encouraged and poured into each other. You should know, though, that IT WAS MESSY! But that's the beauty of it. God took a bunch of broken yet willing people who did not have everything together, and yet still worked through us to make something beautiful.
He uses weak and broken vessels to show His glory through. 
So that was outreach in a very small nutshell.

Two and a half hard, broken, and lonely months post-DTS began to unfold. Being reunited with my family was wonderful, and getting to spend time with extended family was great, buuuuut it was lonely. To be frank, it sucked. I began to wonder and doubt if what God had done in my heart during DTS was legitimate. After being surrounded by hundreds of fiery, Jesus-loving young people, and after spending three months with my outreach family, I went back to nothing. I didn't really have any friends in the areas where we stayed for the summer. It wasn't like I was going "home" either as I really didn't see North America as my home. I felt like I was stuck in limbo a lot of the time, pretty much still living out of a suitcase. I was ready to settle and put down some roots somewhere! I had a huge struggle during DTS over what to do after and whether or not university was for me. I really just wanted God to let me loose in the world, so that I could jump right in and partner with His heart for the nations. I thought I was ready, but, looking back, I don't think I was - a lot of refining needed to happen first! So, I decided to take the plunge and go back to school. I had applied to a small school in a city that I had never heard of before. I don't really know how it all happened, but all I can say to explain it was that it was God!

So here I am, in Brantford, Ontario, sitting in my room in university residence, learning about Plato and Kant, human rights, and leadership, and falling more in love with Jesus. I still marvel at how God brought me here! To think that a year ago, I was in Kona under the palm trees, not having a CLUE of where I'd be later that year, and look where I am now! I have to tell you, it's like God set this all up just for me (funny thing...)! Who knew that there would be a small community of passionate worshipers who want to see God transform their city through kindness? Who knew that relationships could grow deep so fast after only five months? Who knew that I'd have an abundance of lifelong friends and an incredible sisterhood already? Who knew that there would be other people like me in such a random place? Who knew that Brantford would be the best place in the whole world for me to be and grow right now? Who knew, who knew, who knew?!
God knew. He knows. He knows ME and He LOVES me!