simply come

"you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about ME. 
and you are unwilling to come to Me"
John 5:39-40

"the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy; but I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly"
John 10:10

I think that this is so true and so relatable.
Jesus came to give life, ABUNDANT life.  And what's amazing about that is that He came to bring eternal life, absolutely YES, praise God! But not only eternal life but abundant life to us where we are now.  In John 10:10 He is referring to the abundant life that He desires to bring to us NOW.  Although I'm excited for eternity with Jesus, I can't wait to see Him in all of His glory described in Revelation and be with Him for eternity..the here and now is still really hard. Life is an amazing, wonderful blessing, but it's also full of struggle, hurt, tears, bitterness, abuse and addictions for many.  But God say's that He wants to rescue us from that.  Jesus says that He came to save us from anger and bitterness, from addictions, from pain and hurt that others have caused.  He wants to give abundant life to us now in this life on earth.. eternity begins now.

how awesome is that?

But He says look..you're doing it all wrong.  You're making it complicated and harder and doing more than you need to.  You're going to scriptures and searching them so hard for answers.  Stop that.
come to me. 
I am the answer.  I will give you life.

I know that I complicate that a lot.  "I don't know how to go to Him.  I don't know how to cast all of this on Him who cares for me." So I just keep going back and keep looking for answers.  Either that or just deal with it myself.  and you know what? It never works.  But He just says "come to me.  I will give you life.  I will do that rest.  Just come."

"Return to rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you."
Psalm 116:7

Great faithfulness.

Wow...although my time in Europe is not over for another couple of days, my time in Austria is over over overrrr. I left Austria just two days ago..and I already miss it so much. I'm convinced that it's the best place in the world.
 
Looking back on the past month in Austria, so many things come to mind..
Great friends
Great fun
Great memories
Great challenges
Great FAITHFULNESS
I know it's not that cool to have so many words starting with the same letter or word, but once I got to three I just felt like I needed to keep the great pattern.

Great Friends- Rebecca, Melissa, Amanda, Liz, Kristen, Cassie, Jacy, Honor. So many wonderful women that I had to chance and the privlege of meeting and getting to know.  I came expecting to have a hard time making friends and building relationships, and I left tearing up because I had to say goodbye. Although it is bittersweet, I am confident that this is not the end of these friendships.  I know that we have formed deep friendships that will last, even after we return back to America and live states away.

Great fun- so.much.fun. So many times that I stopped and thought about how I was just having the absolute time of my life.  I mean..how can living on your own..(well with strangers but basically on your own)... in Europe for a month not be a blast!? Too many fun times to count..but I'll share one fun time. It was on the second day that we were in London, before we had even gotten to Austria.  On a whim, about 7 other people and I decided to rent some bikes and take ourselves on a little bike tour fun time around London.  I wish I could describe how crazy and fun this was.  The streets of London are similar to those of New York City, I'd say. Crazy busy. Cars, buses, trucks, and motorcycles going wherever they want to, squeezing between cars, and using the sidewalk, if necessary.  Oh, don't forget, in London they drive on the opposite side of the road.  Because of the incredible number of people on the sidewalks, bikers are not allowed there.  Bikes are supposed to act like cars.  Perfect.  It was basically the most terrifying but fun 5 hours ever.  Second time that I have been around these 7 people and we had numerous near death experiences.  So wonderful. So fun. So so great.  Bonded for life.

Great memories- You know those days that are a complete failure but because of how funny it was and the people you made the memory with, you wouldn't have it any other way? Well, that happened. One of my favorite memories was "day trip to Munich." This was by far the most ridiculous, disastrous, hilarious day on my entire trip thus far, and I wouldn't change it for the world. We just went ahead and named the day.. "day trip to Munich." I wish that I could describe the day in a way that would do it justice, but it's just one of those stories that you needed to be there for in order to understand the magnitude. So, I'm sorry, this was a terrible memory to choose to use for this part of my post. But I'm thankful. So many memories were made over the past month. So many things that I will never forget.

Great challenges- mmm. mhm. Challenges for sure.  But, the things that were challenging to me during my trip to Austria were not the things that I anticipated to be challenging.  Like I said, I expected to have a hard time making friends, but the Lord answered that prayer and allowed me to have such good friendships.  What a blessing.  Something that was hard that I never thought would be was just being away from home and alone.  How naive am I? I've always loved to travel.  I have always loved going, being new places and seeing new things. Love, love, LOVE it. But this trip was much different.  Except for my clothes and Jesus, nothing was familiar to me.  Once I got to Europe I realized that I had literally never gone on a trip without a lot of people that I knew and that made me comfortable.  I had literally never been out of my comfort zone that much. This was my first experience of something so new and foreign...alone. And it was for 6 weeks..not just a week. That was a challenge.

Great faithfulness- THIS right here is the best.  God's faithfulness is what I am reminded of the most looking pack on the past month in Austria. The Lord has so graciously shown me His faithfulness in so many ways. Looking through my journal, there are many places where I wrote "I prayed.....YOU ANSWERED." Thank you, Lord. I have never been able to see His work so clearly and consistently. Thank you, Father, for allowing me to see a glimpse of what you're doing. A glimpse of your work. A glimpse of your faithfulness, because I know that you always are. Each thing listed above, the friends, fun, and memories..they are all a testimony to the Lord's faithfulness. I have seen Him answer my prayers and the prayers of others. I have heard Him speak and I have known His presence. I have witnessed Him moving in the hearts of people and have rejoiced over that. 

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;

Lamentations 3:22

A few years ago, in high school, I went on a mission trip to Thailand.  There we worked with a missionary by the name of Isaac.  Our time in Thailand was amazing and we were able to see the Lord do incredible things that only He could do.  It truly was amazing.  But whenever we were at the airport in Bangkok, about to go through security to start our journey back home, Isaac said something to us..

"When you're in the valley, don't forget what you saw on the mountaintop."

This is something that I will never forget and I will pass on to many people.  When I return home and enter back into reality and normalcy after my time in Austria, I pray that I would not forget the things that the Lord has done.  Whenever I struggle to see the Lord's faithfulness, would I recall His incredible faithfulness to me in the past.  Lord, you are so good. Your faithful love never ends,  it never ceases..even when I cease to remember it.  Remind me of this.

Let what we do in here..

A HUGE tourist attraction here are all of the churches.  And rightly so, they are beautiful. Incredibly elaborate and ornate.  They have high ceilings that are made of gold, have gorgeous murals and awesome architecture.  They truly are a sight to see.  These churches are an attraction not only because of the amazing architecture, but also because of the history behind them.  Mozart was baptized in one of the cathedrals in Salzburg and he also performed in many of the churches around the area.  People who love music and him want to come see that as well.

I've noticed this all over Europe, not just in Salzburg. In Vienna, London, Prague, and Munich, the same trend stays constant: people love to tour and see churches.  Pretty much every tourist in any European city goes to visit these crazy churches to take pictures.
so did I.

But what about Jesus?

Three specific things have really gotten me thinking more about this subject....

1. The second day being in Salzburg, we went on a city tour and went to a famous church on the top of a mountain. Of course it was breathtaking. When we were inside, it was dark and the mood was very somber.  You could hear the choir, or maybe just a cd.. singing. or playing.. quietly in the background.  There are candles around that you can light if you pay 50 cents.  Up at the front of the church there was an alter and an enormous cross with Jesus on it.
The church was full of people.
Everyone was walking around with their fanny packs around their waist, sunglasses on their head, water bottle in their hand, and cameras up to their face snapping pictures of everything.
There's nothing wrong with that.. I'm being a tourist too.  But its got me thinking. It seems that everyone comes to these churches solely to see how cool they are.. do people even consider Jesus when they enter into this place of worship?
When we left the church and began our trek down the mountain, Rebecca said,
"I just wonder..in all of that, God, are you glorified?"

2. The next thing that got me thinking about this happened that next weekend.  We were in Munich and we had just gotten done visiting a church there.  A few of us were walking around the city, trying to find the subway.  We were kind of in a rush so we weren't being too observant and attentive to our surroundings, but something did catch my attention.  We walked past a group of about 5-7 people about my age that were singing.  One had a guitar and they were singing Matt Redman's song that goes "I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it, when it's all about you, it's all about you, Jesus."
What's interesting about that song is that whenever he wrote it, it was out of conviction because he felt like it was easy to get caught up and worried about things about church.  Things like the set up of the stage, the lights, and all that when really.. it's all about Jesus.
"I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it."
So anyways, it was really a beautiful thing to hear that group of people singing.  In the middle of this incredibly busy city.  In the very center of all the hustle and bustle, you hear this group of students singing
"I'm coming back to the heart of worship, where it's all about You, it's all about Jesus."
Beautiful. Jesus smiles.

3. The last thing that got me thinking about this happened on the train ride back from Prague, two weeks ago.  It's the same guy that I talked about in my last post, but this man sharing our compartment on the train started to talk to us about church.  He was from somewhere in Czech, close to Prague, and he was a Christian.  He was telling us about how in Prague, there are so many people.  There are so many tourists everywhere.
"But the churches are empty. There is no on one in them. There is no passion."
sad.
But, it is the truth. It's exactly what I have noticed from the second day in Salzburg.  The main event in these churches is photography.
Lord, are you glorified?

You know when you have a song stuck in your head.. for 4 weeks?  I do. I have almost constantly been thinking of a song while I have been in Salzburg. Every time I walk alone or just randomly, this song comes into my mind:
"Let what we do in here, fill the streets out there.."

I know that the church is not a building. The church is the body of believers, God's people. But I just have been thinking.. I would love if the main event that happened at these churches, was no longer tourism.  I would love it if God was glorified and magnified in those places even more.
I pray, that what happens in the hearts of those who know Jesus Christ and the power in His resurrection, that that passion and sincerity, would fill the streets and fill the churches of Salzburg.

YOU are the God of this city, be glorified.

Weekend trip to Prague..Czech.

Pretty clever title, huh?  Thanks to my dear friend Rebecca, she's pretty witty and punny.

So, this weekend I went to Prague, along with 6 other girls.  It was incredible.  Exceeded all of my expectations.  We went with reservations to a hostel but zero plans. ZERO. We went without a map. Without a guidebook.  Without any knowledge of the Czech Republic.  Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. But it was an absolute blast and could not have been better.

This post might seem negative..but it's not.

I'm not going to write about all of the fun and cool awesome wonderful things that we were able to do and see..I'm going to write about my impression of Prague.

First impression: These people are rude.
example one: on the train ride when we were almost to Prague, a woman working came to our compartment.  Normally when the attendants come, they are wanting to check your ticket. So, of course, I gave mine to her.  I was sitting with one of my feet underneath me, so the side of my food was on the chair. The woman started yelling at me (in Czech, mind you, so I had no idea what she was saying) and pointing at my foot.  So I moved it and she threw my ticket back at me.  When I said sorry she just gave me a disapproving look, shut the door to the compartment, and walked away.
gosh. rude.
example two: Similar thing happened a little later to another girl, Melissa.  We were on the bus, public transportation, you know.  She turned around to talk to someone behind her and went to kind of put her foot on the chair next to her.  Before her foot could even reach the chair, the elderly woman sitting across from her reached across and slapped Melissa's leg. 
gosh. rude.
NOTE TO SELF: two feet on the floor at all times when in the Czech Republic.
example three: Now we were on the tram. We had seats because we got on early but as we went through all of the stops, the tram started to fill up and get really crowded.  A woman carrying a baby came and so another friend, Liz, got up to give her her seat so she could sit with her baby.  The woman took the seat but didn't acknowledge the favor in any way. Not even a smile.
gosh, rude.
(all within the first 2 hours)
I have more examples..but I will spare them.

First impression: the Czech people do not seem friendly and do not find anything humorous. If something is offensive to them, they do will not mask it, they will let you know.
I'm not bashing the people, hang with me here..
Anyone that we interacted with seemed to be extremely put out by us.  They seemed angry, but we didn't know why. We just assumed they were angry people.  If you were to smile at someone, they just looked at you in return.  This is something that I am not used to.  Not in America and not in Salzburg.  Everyone in Salzburg has been so kind and friendly.
oh, how i miss home.

But. I was guilty of the fundamental attribution error.
If you're familiar with psychology you know what that means.  But if not, the fundamental attribution error is basically jumping to conclusions without considering explanations.  ex: you're driving and you get cut off.  Automatically, you call the person that cut you off a jerk and think he's awful.  But really, he cut you off because there was a biker on the side of the road that he saw last second and was trying to avoid hitting him. fundamental attribution error.

Czech people are just so rude, unfriendly, and angry. That's just how they are. Fundamental attribution error.

The fact that they acted rude and unfriendly is true.  But just because they are that way...just because that's how they are is not a good explanation.  That is where the error is.  There are many factors that cause them to generally come across this way.

On one of the train rides home to Salzburg, a few of us sat next to a kind gentleman who was from somewhere in Czech, nearish to Prague.  But we (mostly Rebecca) started talking to him about his life, beliefs, and history of Czech.  Through this conversation, it became evident that we had jumped to some conclusions about these people.  It became evident that there were deep reasons behind the way that things worked in the Czech Republic. 
The man that we were talking to was an English speaker.  When asked when he started to learn English he told us that he had been learning and practicing the language for 17 years now. Until 17 years ago, Czech Republic was a communist country and they were forbidden to learn any other language.  ahhhh.
Forgive me, I know nothing about history so this was all new to me.
Basically, when Czech Republic was Czechoslovakia it was in pretty bad shape.  The man that we were talking to..his sister died at the age of nine due to the communism. During this time, many people in Czechoslovakia lost their faith because of all of the hardships they had to endure through.
ahhhh. It begins to make more sense why my first impression was the way that it was.
Not becoming independent until 1993, Czech Republic is a relatively new country. ahhhh.
For the first time in my life, I was really interested in history.  This is fascinating.  It really does affect the way that people act and the way that the world works today.

Through talking to him more, we also found out that the people of Czech are extremely dissatisfied with the government.  No matter the state of it, whether it's good or bad, they will always be unhappy with it.  This, he explained, makes the people seem angry all of the time.  ahhh, it's coming together.

One last thing we asked him about was the deal with the feet. What in the world is up with the feet? I mean, I know that it's not the most polite thing in the world to put your feet on chairs..but does it really deserve a slap on the leg and a ticket being thrown at you?
The deal with the feet is that the Czech people have a big care for the people after then.  It is considered extremely rude to put your feet somewhere that people will be later.  It's not because they are the rudest people ever.. It is because they care and want to leave things as nice as possible for the next people.

fundamental attribution error. guilty.

Unshakeable

Salzburg, Austria is easily the most beautiful place I have ever seen with my eyes.
I hope that everyone can see it someday because pictures simply do not do it justice. 




Sometimes, when you are in beautiful places like Colorado or the beach you have this moment. You look around at the incredible scenery and you just think "wow, God you are so good and you are so powerful that you made all of this. Praise You!"

"Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is FULL of His glory!" Isaiah 6:3

I had this same thought today as I was sitting out looking at this city..but a different thought followed. I haven't gotten used to the scenery around here yet and I'm always a bit awestruck by the incredible views. I was just thinking how great it is here and how the Lord had made these amazing mountains and this cool cool city and it was all in the palm of His hands. What a God. Amazing.
...I don't want to ruin it, but after I had the thought.."this is all so temporary. One day, all of this will be gone. As amazing and incredible and wonderful as this is..in comparison..it doesn't matter."
In comparison to what?
 Knowing Jesus.
Knowing the One who created it all.

"I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. the removal of things that are shaken--that is, things that have been made--in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.  Therefore let us be grateful for recieving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:26-29

wow.
Our God is a consuming fire. He will not be shaken. He cannot be shaken.
Praise Him.
I am so thankful that I know Him. His creation is beautiful and I love being blessed to be able to explore and to see it. But it is only a glance. It is only a small preview of what is to come. The things on earth that we put so much stock and worth in.. they are shakeable and one day will be consumed. But the Kingdom of God, which you have recieved.. unshakeable.

Guten tag!

So, I've been living in Europe for a week now..
I'd like to share with you some differences that I've noticed.

In Europe..

• people walk everywhere. walk, run, bike..all of the above. where I am living is a mile or more to the university. we just walk there. everyone walks there. if I were at home, there would be no question of walking..I'd definitely be driving.
• people here aren't only active but also so healthy! Their portion sizes I have noticed are so much smaller. it's so different from our "supersize it, please" tendencies in America. But small portions are just as satisfying, just not indulgent.
• they are much more "green." Their dumpsters are literally 1/4 the size of our dumpsters in America, it's pretty impressive actually.
• people dress really nicely. 24/7 they are dressing to impress.
• instead of crossing their fingers for good luck, they hold their thumbs. That's just a fun little something.

Coffee. Der kaffee.
I have drank so much coffee since I've been here. There are the cutest cafe's on every corner in Austria. You will probably pass about 7 on your way to virtually anywhere. It's something they really value here, and for some reason, it always sounds so good.

Living here is a blast. It is so fun to feel like I am actually living on my own in another country.  We went down to the Spar (local grocery store), and bought groceries. We make meals for ourselves and we eat together in the kitchen. It's so cool..we live here. For now.

weeeeeeee...short I know. more laterrrr!

Bis spater!

First Impressions..

I'm a pretty bad blogger...but here's my FIRST POST FROM AUSTRIA!
I've been in Europe for five days now, and it has been an absolute blast. Something completely new and has put to shame every one of my expectations.

It's been an interesting thing, you know, going to a new and unfamiliar place. All of the sudden moving to another country for five weeks. Entering into this completely new circumstance. Not knowing a single person and the only familiar things being your clothes.
Jesus, I trust You.
It's something that I thought would be new and different for sure. But never did I expect it to be hard.
Expectation one: it will be easy and totally normal to adjust to, broken. 

It's hard to enter into something completely unfamiliar. At first, before I was able to really meet people and form real friendships with them, it was a difficult thing. It was easy to feel alone.

"whom have I in Heaven but You." Psalm 73

But God is faithful. "Let us hold fast to the hope that we profess for He who promised IS FAITHFUL." 
On the very first night being in London He had already began to teach me. The Lord has shown me that this is not all new and unfamiliar. The surroundings, people, and situations might be different, but HE is with me. He is my ONE HOPE, the one that sustains.

"there is nothing on earth I desire besides You." Psalm 73

Whew, these were some hard lessons and big challenges on the first night.  But He is so good and so faithful.  He has provided me with great friendships on this trip already! He has heard my prayers and those of my friends and has been faithful and gracious to answer them! I've made great friends and been incredibly blessed with such an encouraging friendship. And it's only day five! I can't imagine.. what does the Lord have in store for me for the month ahead?
Expectation two: it will be awkward and hard to make good friends, broken. After the second day.
Praises.

London, England.
How amazing! I loved my time in London. A short three days but we got to see Westminister Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the Bridge Tower, the London Bridge, and more! It was so wonderful. So many sites to see, so much fun to be had. We rented bikes and biked around London probably 12 or so miles, what an adventure in that London traffic.

Salzburg, Austria.
HOW AMAZING IS THIS.
THIS is my home for the next month of my life. Salzburg, Austria. Maybe the most beautiful place on earth. The birth place of Mozart. The place of where Sound of Music was filmed. How wonderful. These pictures don't do this place justice, I wish you could see it for yourself.

eeeeek, I love it here. Living in Austria for a month..here.we.gooooo!

Things I've always wanted..

We all have those things that we've always wanted. I'm not meaning materialistic things or gagets that we have always wanted to own. What I mean is a way of being.  Whether in your character or hobbies that you wish that you were better or more consistant at.
For example, some things that I have always wanted..
to be a reader. I've never been the intellectual person who loves to read and is just able to read for hours on end.. but I want to be a person who really enjoys a good book and is able to relax and feel release by reading.
to be a coffee drinker.  mmm, how I have aways wished that I loved the taste of a good cup of just normal, plain coffee.  I can't describe the reasoning behind this desire, but I have always wanted to enjoy coffee. As I've come realize, coffee is an acquired taste. So good news! I can make myself love coffee! It's in the works and I have a little taste for it already.  
There are many more things that we want and many things we all wish that we could change about ourselves.  You can get deep if you choose, but I'm not going there today.
The point of this post is really just to say that I've always wanted to be a blogger.  So, here's my go at it.  Embracing the desire to become a blogger.. and we'll see how this goes!