Debriefing 2009

I love the New Year! I am one of those weird people out there that love goals and challenges. So it is always a chance for me to reflect on the past year, the good, the bad, and the ugly. There is something refreshing about starting new and having a clean slate. I always look forward to this post... Here is my 2008 and 2009 New Year's Post.


Here is a question I like to ask as I debrief my previous year, "What is the single best thing that happened in 2009?"


There were lots of great things that happened in 2009:

• My college pastor came to speak to So Cal to speak in chapel
• Completed my first half-marathon.
• I joined a boxing gym!
• I got a guythat was mine in 2009 (however, I didn't get him to stay ;) ).
• I led a team of college students to East Asia.
• I experienced first hand what it means to reach and work among an unreached people group and reminded clearly how ruined I am for the ordinary.
• I got to spend three weeks in Texas visiting family.
• I started working on my second masters degree.
• I helped to train, plan, equip and send over 350 college students serve overseas. Many of these gained a heart for the nations for the first time!
• I completed my first year as staff at California Baptist University.
• Deepend relationships with my two roommates who have become my family.

But I think the greatest thing that happened to me in 2009 was becoming an official member at Sandals Church. It has been a HUGE blessing to be a part of such an amazing community and people who genuinely love me. It has also been wonderful because both of my roommates go to church together and it feels like family. I had forgotten how important it is to be a part of the church, after all Christ died for the church. Sandals is not perfect, but I respect my pastor and am excited to follow his leadership.

These are some of very super Sandals people!

The Boys or our lunch crew (plus Kyle who is not pictured sadly)

My Small Group


Overall, I would say this was a good year. It definitely wasn't my favorite. It definitely had it ups and downs and disappointments, BUT God is faithful and He sustained me. I struggled this past year in my own spiritual growth. This is something that is a gaping regret of 2009. I would say that God and I went to the mattresses this year and it has been a struggle. But thankfully He is faithful when I am not. I am looking forward to that clean slate in 2010.

My 2010 New Year's Resolutions to follow...STAY TUNED!

A Dear Old Friend

Today, I was reconnected with my good friend Michael Pueppke. Mike and I first met when I was in third grade and he was one of the thirteen people that I graduated with in 2001. Recently, I found out that he was diagnosed with Leukemia. This is the second person in our graduating class to be diagnosed with cancer. Lana Beth Fisher, at the young age of 26, passed away from skin cancer three months ago. She left a beautiful legacy of faith and courage, my regret is that I never got a chance to say goodbye.

Mike and I have an interesting past. Even though there were only 13 people in our class we were not friends. I was not COOL enough back in my nerdy days of high school. He was definitely the cool kid, he always has been. After high school graduation, Mike and I went our separate ways, he went off to a state school and I headed off to Dallas Baptist University. I am not sure the depths of darkness he experienced that first year, but what I do know is that through the gracious hand of God, he sent Mike my way to attend DBU our sophomore year. God began to weave our friendship and he oddly became one of my dearest and closest friends in my college career. One of my favorite things about our friendship has always been the depth of the places we have gone in conversation. We both had a love for philosophy and a love for truth. I am not exactly sure how God used me in his life, but I always somehow knew that our friendship in college was quite intentional. We both needed something from each other and since my college days, Mike has always had a special place in my heart.

Unfortunately after college, we lost touch. I guess moving to a foreign country will do that to a friendship. Mike is now married, has a son on the way, and is working on his PhD in British Literature. Oh how time flies.

I was blessed tonight to talk to him. I am thankful for all that God is teaching him and his wife through this trial. I love to see the people of God respond to tragedy and glorify God, it is honestly the most beautiful thing on this earth.

Tonight, I am thankful for Mike's 27 years of life and how God is working in his life. I am also thankful friends of the past that still bless me today in the present!

I wish I had a picture of Mike and I in our college days, to post, but those were days before digital cameras were invented. Don't I sound old?

If anyone is interested in reading his story and his journals, you can read them here.

I'm Free

Tonight something glorious happened! I completed my last assignment for the semester which means that I am officially free from my grad school shackles for about 5 weeks! It's scary how free I feel now that I am no longer oppressed by papers, reading, and looming assignments.

My pastor today also gave a fantastic gospel presentation and reminded my of the freedom I have in Christ!

So thank you Jesus for the freedom I have in you and the small amount of school freedom I have for the next month!

ps- can you tell I am less busy based on the amounts of blogging I am doing???

YES!!!

South Asia Bound

I have some exciting news for my few readers out there that care....
I am hitting up South Asia again this summer May 25-June 15th.
This time, I get to take a team of Cal Baptist students- 7 to be exact.
I also get to lead with one my favorite students and a close friend from Sandals.
Could life get any better this summer?!

Blog world, I am going back home to the land I love so much!!
And this make my little Alicia heart so happy!

Roommate Christmas Photos

Last year on a spontaneous jaunt to Target, me and the roomies picked up the onesie footed pajamas pictured below. We thought they would be silly to take pictures in them and so we did. Soon after their debut on facebook much mockery occurred from some of our favorite people. But, we the roomies, didn't care because we LOOOVED them.

This year, we thought it would be fun to start a tradition of "Christmas Roomie Photos". We wanted this year's photos to be equally as ridiculous and cheezy. We decided to be Christmas presents. What we didn't take into account was how awesome our photographer was. And instead of being really ridiculous they turned out to be incredibly artsy and legit.

Yes, we are a bunch of Christmas presents among a bunch of Christmas trees!

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

Some youth pastors wanted to teach their students about the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

Fun so they made this little diddy. I am not gonna lie, I laughed my head off along with my roomie. Please enjoy and pass along if you want to educate people on good ol' Lottie Moon.

Tweet Cloud

Yes, I am a tweeter! There is this tweet cloud that generates the main words that I use when I tweet. So here is my cloud.

And as my roomie @shortyloh says... "i guess I really am in the clouds..."

Risky

Today, I did something I have never done before.
I invested money.
We will see how this works out.
It might be the stupidist or smartest thing I have done all year.

Time
Will
Tell.