the job

things that have occured over the last few weeks at work that make me realize THIS is why I love what I do:

-one of the kindergarten boys just randomly sat next to me and without saying anything he put his arm around me and says "heyyyyy miss lizzy"
- the kids telling me they like my hair only on the days that I had no time to do it and it looks completely out of control.
-stories that involve about 100 "well he said and then i said and then he said"s
-a kindergartner who with all seriousness raised his hand for a prayer request during prayer time and said "my dad has diarrhea"
-kaitlyn chu coming up to me and telling me that "one half of her is telling her to go for it and the other half of her is telling her no kaitlyn don't" and then pointing to the sides which were telling his this ( she is in second grade)

lifegroup

I went to my first lifegroup meeting last night and it was absolutely AMAZING! Becky and her husband cooked us all an amazing dinner and then we all just spent some time fellowshiping and getting to know each other. I definitely feel like God has placed me into this group specifically and I am beyond excited to see what He has in store. The group was extremely diverse and yet every seemed to get along so well which I loved. I was so struck by the fact that in a non-christian community I don't think there's anyway all of these people would be such close friends because they all seem to be from such different worlds, but I believe through the power of God's love and through the fact that they were all coming together for one purpose, to glorify Him, they have this amazing bond. Everyone was also super open and I got to here some pretty amazing testimonies already, I was blown away. The leaders are also the sweetest couple.
thank you for your prayers in this new journey in my life! I'll definitely keep you posted!

exclusion and embrace

" You were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation" (Revelation 5:9) "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28)

" All the churches of Jesus Christ, scattered in diverse cultures, have been redeemed for God by the blood of the Lamb to form one multicultural community of faith. The "blood" that binds them as brothers and sisters is more precious than the "blood", language, the customs, political allegiances, or economic interests that may separate them.
we reject the false doctrine, as though a church should place allegiance to the culture it inhabits and the nation to which it belongs above the commitment to brothers and sisters from other cultures and nations, servants of the one Jesus Christ, their common Lord, and members of God's new community.


....................

The proper distance from a culture does not take Christians out of that culture. Christians are not the insiders who have taken flight to a new "Christian culture" and become outsiders to their own culture; rather when they have responded to the call of the Gospel they have stepped, as it were, with one foot outside their own culture while the other remaining firmly planted in it. They are distant, and yet they belong....distance born out of allegiance to God and God's future...
Both distance and belonging are essential. Belonging without distance destroys...but distance without belonging isolates."

-Miroslav Volf
Exclusion and Embrace

well...

today I sat behind a girl in anthropology with the most gorgeous long curly hair and it made me really sad.

I love my new haircut, but sometimes I do miss my long hair.
a lot of you are probably thinking, wow if this isn't a shallow and pointless post then I don't know what is.

maybe it is a little shallow.
but honestly, chopping all my hair off has been one of the most humbling things I have done in a while.


in other news I'm joining a lifegroup through rockharbor on thursday nights and I am BEYOND excited to see God work through it. I had been debating joining one for quite a while, and then last sunday night I sat next to the nicest woman I have ever met and I learned that her and her husband actually lead a lifegroup and they had been looking for someone to fill an empty spot.
After meeting them I decided that it was in no way a coincidence that I had sat right next to them, but instead a complete God thing.
So I start next thursday. Please keep me in your prayers that I'm able to get everything out of it that God would want me to and that I am able to open up to people and maybe meet some new friends =)