It's been awhile...

Since I have been slacking on the blog posts I thought I would shoot out a quick list update on what's been shaking in Sheffield, England. 

1.  I continue to learn new words like brolley for umbrella and learn new phrases like chucking it down or tipping it down to use when it's raining a lot.

2.  As of late I find myself craving a fountain pop from the states. 

3.  I recently purchased plane tickets for a summer trip home and noticed I labeled both my leave and return dates in my calendar as "Fly Home" - it's a blessing and yet sometimes hard having two homes.  

4.  Last weekend my community went to the Prouders Towers (Ally's parents house) for a weekend getaway! 

View of the Lake District - Money!

Ca-Ca-Ca Community - yes we are lacking people of the male gender...we are recruiting...

5.  I continue to love the bacon & brie here! 

6.  Recently I have gained two American friends - that seems wierd to write. 

7.  This past Wednesday around 50 women young & old came to do one thing - seek the presence of the Jesus!  It was really encouraging to see women so up for it and hungry! 

8.  LOVE LOVE LOVE - this is the majority of what Jesus is teaching me about these days & that there is NO FEAR in perfect love.  So much I could unpack here....another post! :) 

9.  I finished Season 1 of Downton Abbey - now onto Season 2!!  Care Care, Tay Tay, Rachel "pancakes" Randall, Stacey "char-ley" Rathjen,  Gusta with the Musta, Asian Rachel - you all come to mind as people who would enjoy this show!!  Check it out! 

10.  Recent question I have been reflecting on...Do I love Jesus more since when I first came to England?  How I measure the results....Do I love people more?! 

Random Fun...

A few random photos from this past week!

Another thanks to Jenny Tokheim! I never liked to get mail in the states but now I love it! So this big package got me real excited! Time will tell if I can actually grow these plants...

Coffee with Beautiful Bina or Mina - either way she's a beauty!

On Monday Rachel, Adam, & Sam I took a trip to see Pippa in Harrogate!

First stop - MacDonald's. Gosh we are wierd...

Pippa's parents cafe - sadly being a bank holiday on Monday it wasn't open...

Interesting bunch we are.... :)

Saturday morning I got the privilege of speaking to these young folks about the river of life & jumping all in!

Saturday night at Kebabish!

Followed by more Turkish goodness!

You can't take these two anywhere...

Two stories that never get old...

There are two stories that I pray never get old in my life. The first of course is the story of Jesus and the cross. It's the story that brought me from death to life, the story that gives me a hope and future, the story that rescued me from a life of emptiness and striving, the story that completes me in every capacity.

The second story I pray I never get tired of telling is my "God-story" (as they say back home.) It's how I became a Christian, a believer, one of those born agains :) - whatever you like to call it. People often ask, "Oh, do you have a good story?!" AND I always think flippin' yes I have a good story, doesn't everyone who has a story have a good one?! Stinkin' saved me mate, figure it out!

With that said, my story must be told again and probably more often to be honest (but that's for another post)....

Growing up going to church every Sunday I knew that God, church, & Jesus were important, but not until I was about 21 did I realize that God & Jesus needed to be my whole life.

When I was a freshmen in high school I started drinking, partying doing all that "bad" stuff, more or less just living for myself. I wasn't necessarily a bad teenager I did well in school, had lots of friends, excelled in sports, and never got caught drinking so all to say I was living the life and enjoying every minute of it!

My first year of university basically consisted of me doing whatever would bring me the most joy and pleasure, and finally at the end of my first year of I was tired of going out 6 nights a week and was seriously starting to wonder if there was more to life than this. I jumped into my sorority Bible study and starting meeting weekly the leader. ( By the way, Carolyn, I am eternally grateful for your heart to minister to us naughty sorority ladies! :) - you were the first to show me it's all about a relationship with Jesus!

Later that year I was attending a Greek Christian conference in Indianapolis the light bulb finally went on and as we were singing Here I am to Worship I broke down. All this time I had been worshipping myself and honestly worshipping others as well AND had no regard for the God who created me and loved me from the moment He had me in mind. I was humbled and couldn't stop crying for quite awhile. (Jen and Nicole I am sure you still think I had lost it!) My mind flooded with thoughts of everything I had done to separate myself from God and yet He was still offering me forgiveness and had paid the price for me.

I am still humbled to think that He would choose me. My story is a great one (this is obviously the short version) but my story and everyone who has a God-story needs to share it because testimony breeds testimony. I am thankful that at Easter we can remember the best story that's ever been told and will be told. It's the story of forgiveness, victory, life and freedom!

My only question is - Do you know the story of Jesus in such a way that it gives you a story to tell as well?! If you don't, then you might want to take a look at the story again.