"Fruit" for Thought

Oh friends. My heart and head have been spinning all day with thoughts and revelations, and I simply must type them out to put my mind at ease. This morning we had a beautiful candle service to celebrate the coming of our King, and Pastor Troy was reading from a passage concerning “light” that reminded me of two separate passages:

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14 

… which spurred me on to the verse:

“You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” Matthew 7:16

And I began to think...dangerous, I know… But I began to ask myself -- what kind of fruit am I bearing? Is the Jesus I say I serve, and the spiritual fruit being produced in my life reflective of who Jesus really is? By living my life, do people want my Jesus? It’s a humbling thought, because I had to answer honestly, not always.

We live in an independent, “don’t judge me,” “this is my life” type of society. But the sheer reality is, people make judgements all the time. We judge which babysitter is worthy of caring for our children. We judge which spouse we will take, or who we will date. We judge whether or not to trust someone. We judge people, things, ourselves. As Christians, we know we will be judged, even condemned, for our faith. Which brings me back to the question that haunted me all day… What Jesus am I showing through my life? What fruits in my life are present, amidst judgement and persecution and the distractions of everyday life that point to my Savior? Am I a testament of grace? Of joy? Of understanding? Of telling the truth in love? Or am I instead a testament of complacency and self-reliance -- am I simply a good person??

As the new year approaches and as we celebrate the beginning of our Savior’s journey to the cross, take a moment to think, to really confront yourself, what Jesus am I showing?? The results may be humbling, but if they will know us by our fruits, shouldn’t we start being dangerously aware of how we help people encounter our Jesus??

Merry Christmas, dear friends, and may this season challenge you as much as it blesses you. Remember that without God’s sacrifice, there would be no celebration.

Rep.

Lessons...

There is nothing quite so maddening as having an entire post typed, and then all get erased...here is my second go around...

Sometimes life just stinks. Can you relate? Sometimes you look at situations in your life and you think how in the world did it get to this point? Am I alone in this?

My best friends and I have started holding each other accountable on a frequent basis. As new mamas, it's hard sometime to fit everything in a single day, and we were tired of not making our devotional times a priority. This has been a great challenge to me, as I have learned to form new habits and time management skills, but the greatest result has been watching how faithful the Lord is to meet me right where I am. Here's what he's been teaching me in some unexpected places, like the books of Hosea and Amos...

We have mostly all been told at one time or another that God's love is undeniable. That it is powerful. That it is all-covering, forgiving. And don't get me wrong, I love this aspect of God. But the Lord had other lessons to teach me these past few weeks. Just as God is love, God is justice. Yes, God will judge you. And he is not going to judge you by your own standards. He's going to judge you, me, us by HIS standards, despite our American mentality of "anything goes." Reading through Hosea and Amos, people who denied God went through some pretty wild stuff. And worse than the wild stuff? Those people were separated from God. They were separated from the love that is so characteristic of God. God pursues us even when we run from him, but he also promises punishment if we do not turn from our sinfulness. That's lesson one.

Lesson two: Because God is just, he promises to vindicate his people. God knows when someone wrongs you. He knows when someone makes a wrong assumption about you. If you are serving him, be promises to vindicate you. Normally I used the word "save" because it was a churchy word, but I have fallen in love with this word vindicate. I don't want to be saved from my sin, or from people who sin against me, I want to be vindicated! I want to grow and change and thrive! Jesus promises us that he will do that. Love and justice go hand in hand. 

Lesson three. Okay. So lesson one and two were all fine and good. But I still felt like sometimes life just stinks. And you know what? It always will. We live in a world corrupted by the sinful hearts of mankind, and that will never change until the Lord's return. And my heart felt so heavy at the realization that there are some things in my life that may never be resolved this side of eternity.  That brought so much sadness to my already-aching heart. As I have been praying I have been really trying to relinquish my anxiety and truly cast my cares upon my Lord. And tonight, it finally clicked. Last week my mom bought me a MudLove bracelet that says Esperanza on it, which means hope. As I was praying, I caught a glimpse of my bracelet (since I write out my prayers and I wear my bracelet on my right hand). This word, this one word, finally put together the pieces I had been learning the past few weeks. The Lord loves me. The Lord will vindicate me. My timing is not the timeline by which he works. I have to trust... to hope... in the promises that he has left for me. This simple realization changed the way I prayed tonight after a few days of higher levels of anxiety than I was comfortable with --

                           

                               "Lord, let your hope- your esperanza - shine in my dark places." 

We all have dark places. We all have hurts. We all have baggage.  And we all have to answer for the sins that are not covered in blood through confession to God. But above all, we all have hope. And for now, for tonight, that is all my hurting heart needs to know. 

What is the Lord teaching you this week?

Open Hands.

Disclaimer: This is NOT a political post. These are thoughts swirling around in my whimsical brain that may or may not make any sense to anyone but myself.

I was asked to lead worship on an upcoming Sunday as my worship leader will be out of town. I said yes, albeit reluctantly, as I have always considered myself more of a "behind-the-scenes" person. Once I accepted this huge honor and responsibility, I started thinking and planning out introductions to songs, etc. I have this image in my head of people praying. But not just praying... I have this vision (for myself included) of entering into the Almighty Presence of the Father with open hands. This is something I picked up in college, where from time to time when I would pray, instead of kneeling or just closing my eyes, I would simply hold my hands out to signify to God that I was letting go, and/or willing to receive whatever He wanted to give to me, be it encouragement or command, conviction or revelation.

WHAT IF we lived our lives with open hands, every day? WHAT IF we were willing to accept conviction with the "Well done, good and faithful servant?" WHAT IF we allowed Jesus to transform us in such a way that people around us would be forced to notice a beautiful difference without us even saying a word?

Think about it! What would happen to our schools -- our nation -- our WORLD if we approached everyday with open hands?

I have been married for almost 2 years now, and anyone who has been married for a significant amount of time can attest that sometimes it is hard to live with another human being, no matter how deep your love and affection for them goes. I married Justin knowing that every morning I would choose  to love him. That was my promise. I don't have to.  I have free will and I choose to, just like Jesus chooses to love me, and because I am standing by my promise, God has grown my love for my husband everyday since the day I married him. That being said, if we are willing to choose our spouses and choose our places of employment, and for goodness sakes choose what we have for breakfast, can't we also choose to live our lives with open hands? Can't we choose to live our lives in complete surrender no matter the cost???

I think fear gets in the way of us opening our hands completely. I know it does for me. I don't want to go through hard stuff. I don't want my faith to be tested. I would really like an easy life (wouldn't we all?). But that's not how life is. If everyone's life were easy, then there would be no reason for us to need a Savior. I have found that in the trials in my life I am the most joyful, because I have seen different sides of God that I can't see when everything is easy, simply because I tend to fool myself that I can make it on my own.

No one will ever be perfect, this we know full-well. But I do believe that we can have flawless intentions. If we allow ourselves to be fully available, hands open wide, to our Creator, and allow Him to transform us, His Will will supercede ours. It won't matter what anyone else thinks about us, because He will make our paths straight, just like He promised.

So here's my next step: make daily decisions to open my hands to Jesus. It's quite simple, really.

Will you join me?

Anxieties of a New Mom

It's finally here...the end of my maternity leave. I am down to only one full week before I go back to teaching full-time. First, let me get one thing straight -- I am confident that the Lord has given me a heart and a passion for high school students and for the role I play as a teacher in helping shape both their minds and futures. Those of you who have had conversations with me also know that I absolutely adore my job. It's my mission field. It's what God designed me for. He has made this so strikingly clear to me in countless ways, countless times. I know God made me a teacher. But God also created me to be a mom.

My sweet little son turned 12 weeks old this past Wednesday. Seriously? Where did these past 12 weeks go??? It seems like yesterday I was holding his sweet little body for the first time in the cold hospital room, desperately trying to figure out breast-feeding and how to change a diaper with a sore circumcision, and wondering how in the world my body would ever heal from something so painful. I remember looking at my little miracle, and tearing up just at the site of his perfect little fists and ears, wondering how anyone could look at a newborn baby and not believe that there was an Almighty Creator that had designed this little bundle to perfection. But it wasn't yesterday. It was nearly three months ago. And after three months of waking up at my leisure and spending all day with my precious boy, I now face the unknown of being a working mommy.

Those of you who are not mothers probably think I am crazy when I say I  bawl every time I think about leaving Ellis for a workday. I trust my babysitters with my LIFE, but the thought of not spending the day with my boy brings on a sadness only a mother can understand. By spending so much time together, I have gotten to bond with this child and experience so many "firsts" -- his first smile, his first laugh, his first coos. I see him smile when I wake him up from a nap. I have learned what his cries mean. He knows me, and it shows. I can't help but thinking that the first morning I leave him, he will in his small, developing mind think that I am abandoning him. How do you explain to a three month old that you will be back in a few hours? You don't. You can't. You simply have to suck it up, cry a little, and pray for the day to go quickly.

My husband keeps "reassuring" me that women have been doing this for hundreds of years, and I know he means well, but I find no comfort in those words. Other women may have done it, but I haven't. I have never had to leave Ellis for a whole day. And the thought of it is downright heartbreaking.

Let me say again that I LOVE my job. And I really do feel that this is what I am called to do with my life. My heart is the heart of a teacher, but also the heart of a mommy. I know this is not one of my most profound posts, but getting my anxieties out in words helps me not feel so muddled up inside. I'm thankful God has placed me in the classroom, and I am looking forward to what this year brings. Please pray for my emotional strength as I prepare to leave being a full-time mom and transition back into the education world. Pray for balance and clarity and focus so that I may raise Ellis in the Word, nourishing him with love and truth and attention, but also pray that I may shower love and truth and affection on the students that pass through my classroom. Jesus, help me to mirror You for both my child and my classroom.

One Year Later....

Wow...over a year has past since my last post. SO MUCH has happened since then. As I reread my last post, I had to stop and smile to myself. While remembering one reason that had brought on all my frustration, I looked at the date of my post -- April 14. This was just 8 days before God answered a prayer that I had been praying for soooo looooong. 8 days after my last post, I went to the Bluegate restaurant in Shipshewana, Indiana....and my life was forever changed. My life was not changed because of the great Amish food for which the Bluegate is known, but rather by WHO was with me at the restaurant. My accompaniment...ok, ok, date...was none other than Justin Blotkamp, a man from (get this!) my hometown of Kimmell. For those of you who have never been to Kimmell, it's really not that big, and I am kind of shocked when I don't know someone that lives there, but it indeed happened.

One year later, Justin is still such a blessing to my life. He encourages me to be the woman I should be in the Lord. He is the leader of our relationship in every way, and is my constant comfort and encouragement. I can honestly say that I have never loved any man more. Yes, I said love. This is serious. :) The Lord has answered so many prayers with Justin. One that makes my stomach go all crazy with butterflies is one that I want to share with anyone who actually still reads these blogs....

When I was 4 years old, I was adopted by my mom's new husband (an entirely different story.) My name changed legally from "Brittany Victoria Hough" to "Brittany Victoria Replogle." Many would not notice this, but my new name has 8  letters in each part. As a small child, this was important. My name was "even" -- perfect. The even-ness of my name signified that I was wanted - needed - loved. When I would play "pretend," I realized something -- someday my name would change for real, and most likely my new name would not have 8 letters. A small piece of me never wanted to get married. I didn't want to lose something that was so important to my small heart. When I started dating boys in late middle school, I would always count the letters in their last names to see if their names fit. This was a ritual that I repeated all throughout my high school years, but was never fulfilled. I decided this was a silly notion and forgot about it until late into my junior year of college.....

In mid-April of my senior year, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Cheryl Mast, asking if I knew who Justin Blotkamp was. I had no idea what the meaning of the text was, but I assumed that it was a dating set-up. Without even thinking, I counted the letters in his last name -- a perfect 8. Before I even met this man, I knew he was going to be special, and I was so much more than right!

I guess my reason behind sharing this with you is to encourage you that we serve a God that always has our best interests at heart, and longs to gives us the desires of our soul (even the small ones!) When you feel like you are so frustrated you can't go on, just remember that a blessing could be as close as 8 days away! (or sooner :) )

God Bless, and Keep Trusting :)
Rep

Thanks for the Memories...But it's a big new world out there.

Time is a funny thing, you know. No matter how many times you want time to speed up or slow down, it seems to do the exact opposite. Another downright frustrating thing about time is that you cannot predict what it will bring. You can look back, and you can experience the moment, but never can you discern what is to happen tomorrow. I am entering my last few weeks as a college student. I have had many times the past few weeks to reminisce on what crazy, incredible, stupid, and ridiculous things I did to pass time here at Bethel. Some of these memories have brought laughter (and lots of it), and some have brought tears. I have been both blessed and cursed by the memories of the past four years, and the funny thing about all this reminiscing is that as a freshman four years ago, I never would have guessed I would be on other side of things, remembering instead of living.

I honestly thought I would be in college forever. Four years seemed like an eternity. I was scared to death to come to college and have to make new friends, and many times I was convinced I would never succeed in making many solid friendships, at least like the ones I was used to growing up. Now here I am, a graduating senior, devastated that I have to leave so many wonderful people, that have made such an impact on my life. It's hard to hear people talk about "next year" and what all wonders are going to take place and know that I will no longer be here, and that Bethel College will carry on like I was never here. That's where God steps in.

I feel a tap on my shoulder. "Brittany," a voice whispers. "Stop being afraid. You think the past four years have been great? Just wait till you see what is next. This was just the preparation." What a promise in the midst of my very frequent freak out sessions of becoming an adult and leaving the comfort of the Bubble. The beauty of being a child of God is that the adventure doesn't stop with college. In fact, I would argue that it does not fully begin to bear fruit until AFTER college. So even though these have been some of the best years of my life, I can rest assured that as long as I am walking hand-in-hand with the Almighty, my life is about to change in an incredible, unfathomable, unpredictable, and beautiful way. Move over, Bethel College, my life is about to begin :)

Cliche and Overlooked.

I know that November usually brings an overboard, obsessive emphasis on the idea of Thanks-giving and being thankful. And that is not the motivation behind this post. This past week I was blessed, challenged, and convicted much more than I had anticipated. On Wednesday we were so privileged to have the Children of the World Choir in chapel performing for us. This choir was made up of children from Uganda, Nepal, and the Philippines who were orphaned or underprivileged. They had cute little songs and cute little dances to go along, drawing out many "oohs and ahhhs" from the congregation. But even though their little dances were "so cute," there was a specific time in the service where instead of the simple "oh-ah" response, a deep stirring arose in the depths of my soul. The kids invited us all to stand with them and sing along as they sang "Revelation Song." This was the only song that did not have a choreography for, and as we all stood there singing to the same God despite our age, culture, and situational differences, these precious, precious children were closing their eyes and raising their hands to God in innocent, perfect praise. These children, who were raising awareness for the dire need for clean water in their home villages, who stood before us with needs that we Americans cannot even fathom, were PRAISING. Tears welled up in my eyes as I guiltily thought about how many times I complain about the dumbest, most insignificant junk that is in my life. Compared to us these children have nothing, yet it is they who are able to surrender everything and be one with Christ.

So many times we get so caught up in the noise that is this life. I'm as guilty as anyone, if not more so. I get by on my "busy-ness" and have no time to just allow myself to praise God in the little things he provides as evidence that He is Love. He is Good. He is intimately concerned with my well-being. As I tried to contain the tears as I listened to those sweet, young voices sing praise to OUR God, I caught a glimpse of what God wants my, as well as your, spirits to be like. There is a reason Jesus said "let the children come to me." Our praise, our faithfulness, and our pursuit of Christ should be with the innocence and enthusiasm of a child.

God grant us the strength to humble ourselves to be CHILDREN of the Kingdom, rather than trying to be the leaders. Your will. Not ours.

Be blessed. And be thankful.

"When lies become the truth, that's when I run to you." -Lady Antebellum

Think about it. How often do we as Christians let the lies of Satan become the Truth we define our lives by? I know I'm as guilty as anyone, if not more. I have found that the older I get, and the busier I get, the louder the lies become, and the more believable they become. I get a bad grade, and I automatically believe that I'm dumb or stupid -- incapable of academic success. I don't have a boyfriend or get "asked out" and I am automatically not pretty enough, or unworthy. WHY DO I DO THIS? Why do I allow myself to rest in the lies? Why do I not realize that these thoughts of inadequacy are not of God by any means, but of God's eternal sworn enemy? I live and breathe and MOPE in the LIES of Satan, making myself an easy target for the enemy to gain a foothold in my life. Think about it. If you allow yourself to believe the lies, you eventually crash, rather in anger or depression, and find yourself in a dark place where you can't see God.

So what do we do about this? HOW do we live above the lies of Satan? I wish there was an easy, cut and dry formula that simply says do this and all your troubles will be no more. It's not that simple. As Christians we are in a battle. A daily battle for our hearts. The harder we search after Christ, the harder the devil will try to pull us away, plain and simple. We have to work at this thing called Christianity. And if we succeed, we will have a reward that will be worth more than any words can say.

The best advice I can offer to conquer this battle of lies v. truth is to dive into the word. God didn't just think, "oh I think I will have people write a book today." He had the Word written for our benefit, to help us conquer the doubt and lies that are directly from the Evil One. When Satan whispers lies into your ear, and they start to sound like truth, run to the Father. Dive into the Word. Search for the truth. The Truth that trumps the lies and brings peace and freedom. It's not always easy, but it's so worth it. God is Love. God is Encouragement. God is Freedom. Are you letting Him be???

"I love you with an everlasting love. So I will continue to show you my kindness." ~Jeremiah 31:3

Surrendered to Your Name

I don't feel I need to add to the words of this song. They speak in and of themselves. Feel free to youtube it..it's beautiful.

Hillsong United -- Arms Open Wide
Take my life, I lay it down
At the cross, where I am found.
All I have I give to you, Oh God.
Take my hands and make them clean
Keep my heart in purity, that I may walk in
All you have for me.

Chorus:
Ohhh here I stand, arms open wide
Ohhh I am Yours, and You are mine.
Jesus.

Take my moments and my days
Let each breath that I take
Be every only for You, Oh God
Chorus

Bridge:

My whole life is Yours, I give it all

Surrendered to Your name

And forever I pray have Your way

Lord have Your way!! (repeat)


If that's not challenging, I don't know what is. :) Be Blessed.

Lookin' UP!!!

Overall, this week has made me stressed, exhausted, cranky, confused, busy, and sore. Sometimes I feel as if I am drowning in my responsibilities. I can't get a grip on everything I need to get done. I'm unmotivated. Lazy. I feel out of touch with school. Home. God. As I lay here on my couch, pile of homework on the floor, dirty laundry in a basket, and agenda full of duties I should have done 3 days ago, squandering in my failure to accomplish everything, Jesus meets me. He meets me in the unexpected....He meets me in a surprisingly warm day. A game of HORSE. A new friend. A good song that stays in your head all day.

If I have learned anything in my college career, it's that no matter how sad.mad.hurt.depressed.alone.happy.peaceful.frustrated.broken I feel, God is there. Because God is not a feeling. And he doesn't not draw near to us because of how we are feeling. He walks with us. He hurts with us. He laughs with us. He IS with us. 24 hours a day. 365 days a year. And all the time in between.

So in your times of confusion, as you enter mid-terms and the heat of the semester, rather than looking at the massive amount of things that seem impossible to accomplish, look up. Look up because you have a great, big God smiling back down at you.

Someday my Prince will come...

Beside You

Sometimes you just find a song that speaks to you. You become obsessed with it, you listen to it on repeat, and maybe even find yourself applying the lyrics to your own life. At least that is what happens to me. Finding new, quality music is one of my favorite things, so I was floored when my good friend, Ann Beachy, shared the above song with me a few nights ago. Long story short, this song has been the soundtrack of my week.

I know that this blog is usually revolving around a scripture that has spoken to me, but this song has just really touched me. Besides, I'm a girl, and I'm a hopeless romantic at the end of the day (just ask my mom :)), and sometimes I just need me a GOOD love song. This is an exact description of "Beside You" by Marianas Trench.

As I have been reading through the Proverbs (which I just finished last night!!!), I have been learning a lot about what scripture has to say about being a Godly wife. Now I know that I am no where near becoming a wife, but I still feel God preparing me daily to become the woman I will need to be when I meet my husband. Love was designed by God. The greatest commandment deals with love for the Father, and I believe that God had a special special plan for love between a man and a woman as well. This kind of love is a unique love, shared only between two people. And as I have been learning about being a Godly wife, and therefore thinking about what that encompasses, it makes me so excited to meet a Godly man. The Godly man for ME. And I think that is why this song touched me so. "If your heart wears thin, I will hold you up, And I will hide you When it gets too much. I'll be right beside you. I'll be right beside you. I will stay. Nobody will break you." I love that chorus, because for me, it paints a picture of what a Godly relationship with a Godly man will look like. Support. Trust. Faithfulness. Comfort. A Partner. Someone to help carry your earthly burden. Lyrics like this, scripture like the Proverbs, A great big God with promises He WILL fulfill, equals one very excited daughter...waiting to meet her Prince :)

"I am coming undone"

What does it mean to follow Christ? Really? David Crowder says it perfectly in his song "You are my Joy." He says when the Holy Spirit's fire is burning within us, we "come undone." To come undone, we have to DIE. Not a physical death, but a spiritual death. The past week or so, there has been a constant theme of total surrender showing up around every corner in my life, whether it be sermons I hear, verses I read, songs I sing, or evidence I see in people's lives around me. And the more I am exposed to this idea of surrender, the more I am finding the peace it brings to my soul to know that my heart belongs to the Lord. But I am also learning that total surrender is not a one time thing that soon becomes a memory. It's a conscious, daily decision. There are so many situations in my life that I would love to take into my own hands, people I would love to make decisions for to make my life easier, and problems I want to solve my way, on my time. But that is not what I am supposed to do. Instead, God is placing me in a position where I have to make a decision. Every morning when I get out of bed, I have to decide. Is today going to be captained by Brittany or the Almighty. Days captained by Brittany rarely turn out well, (in case you were wondering) and these days I often go to sleep discouraged, frustrated, and spiritually starved. God doesn't just come into our lives one time at church camp and then give us a cheesecake of a life for the rest of eternity. No. When we make a decision to accept and follow Christ, we are committing to a daily death to ourselves so that we can serve Him and HIS ways, not our own. I'm not sure if this applies to anyone else right now, but it's something I have been dealing heavily with. Just taking my death grip off of my life and letting God take me and mold me into His plan rather than mine. It's not always easy or fun necessarily to step out into the unknown that is sometimes the will of God, but I can say that when I allow Him to have his way with my life, I end up more blessed and refreshed than I ever dreamed I would have been at the beginning. So with that, I challenge you, my friends and fellow siblings in Christ, that from now on when you wake up in the morning, start making conscious decisions to allow yourself to die, and God to take you on the wild adventure that is the Christian walk.

Count Your Blessings...Name Them One by One...

How often we forget how incredibly blessed we are! We're always striving for the next phase, the next class, the next weekend, the next year. The Bible tells us to let tomorrow take care of itself, and to worry about today. On Friday morning, God decided to wake up for a special date with him, and as I was reading my devotions, I ran across some verses that were a fantastic kick-off to the weekend, one of them going something like this:
       "Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house." ~Proverbs 24:27
Maybe I took this verse completely out of context, but it really got me thinking. There are some areas in my life that I "can't wait for." I so desperately want to be a college graduate. A teacher. A wife. A mom. And I believe those are all really Godly desires, and perhaps soon I will become those. But my purpose, my calling, is not to live in the future. My responsibility is to take care of the now so that when the time comes for those other things, I can be the best I can be. With this new mindset, I entered my first weekend of my senior year of college. Honestly, it was one of the most socially jam-packed and busy/stressful weekends in a while, but you know what? It was absolute bliss. I was living in, and for, the right now. I was connecting with and appreciating people that God has allowed to be a part of my life. I even met new people! God has so much joy for his children if we choose to not only live for Him, but if we choose to simply LIVE and EMBRACE this time we have been blessed to have. So get out there and plant your fields, friends, for tomorrow will take care of itself :)

How He Loves Us....

As I was spending some much needed time with a great friend tonight, we were surfing the net and I showed her the JesusCulture version of the song "How He Loves Us." This song has the words of my heart. I had never heard it until I started working camps this summer. And I heard it at every camp and conference I attended or worked. And no matter how many times I heard it, it never failed to leave me completely in awe of my Creator. Take a moment to think about those words.....he is JEALOUS for me...For who?? For ME. Who am I to deserve such love??? Who am I that the God of creation would fight for my affections, attentions, love, and service???? The song then goes on to talk about how beautiful the Father is, yet how great his affections are for us. Wow. God created everything, yet He still reaches out to us. He doesnt want to live without US. What a great big God we serve!!!

I had always been told how big God is, but honestly the past 6 months He has proved himself 100 times over. I can't believe it has been 6 whole months since I had to say goodbye to my best friend and brother, but I have been living a miracle, which has left me in love with the Savior of this world. God has been so faithful to meet me right where I am and just let me cry, laugh, or do whatever I need to. And He has brought blessing after blessing across my path, leaving even my hardest days filled with a million little love notes from Him. My Savior LIVES, my Savior LOVES...my Savior's always there for me!! Praise the Lord, we serve a God who is alive and reigning, and ever-loving toward His children :)

Be blessed, dear friends, and keep serving our God :)

Ahhh..snow, ice, freezing temperatures, and mountains of homework that actually have set due dates. Its, um, good to be back in America? Some days I'm less than enthusiastic about being back in the states. Bring me back that wonderful tropical weather, Omega blasting from next door, and yes, I'd even go for some mangu right about now.

But honestly, the transition continues. And not necessarily in a negative way. Each day I wake up in this country, I seem to remember, appreciate, or learn something new about my Dominican experience. It was hard to miss some of the lessons when I was carrying them out, and now that I have a chance to reflect and focus on what happened,God continues to reveal new truths about Himself and what he wants me to be.

Balance is so hard. So much of me is still stuk in Dominican mode. Schedule-free and wonderful. Unfortunatel enough, that doesnt fly in American college. So it's been a constant struggle to actually make myself sit down and do my homework. I would much rather be socializing...or doing anything really. It's harder than ever to really put my heart into my studies when its floating around elsewhere, even though studying is essentially the point of being in college. But I guess this is all part of the readjusting process, I just need to relax and go with the flow. God has it under control...

Es oficial! Estaria ir a la republica dominicana el otono luego! Estoy tan nerviosa y tan emocionada! Hable con Josh Hartsell ayer y me ayudo con los cosas siguientes. Y anoche, fui con mis amigos para mirar una pelicula. La pelicula fue The Dark Knight. Es una pelicula tan buena! Y tambien, ahora tengo un trabajo. Este domingo, estaria empezar de Bath and Body Works. Yo estoy feliz porque necesito dinero para la D.R. y tambien una computadora nueva. Esta fin de semana Amy esta viajando a su casa en Arkansas para una boda. Ella esta tan feliz. Enotonces, sin ella, no se que hacer para el fin de semana. Probablmente la tarea, pero todavia yo no se. Tengo mucha tarea esta semana, y tambien tengo mucho estres. Pero es todo bien, porque la semana luega tengo una vacacion a Illinois!!!!! Bueno, tengo que ir, porque tengo muchas cosas para hacer. Se quiero todos!!!!

~Frita

Hoy recibi una oportunidad magnifica! El otono luego, estaria moviendo a la republica domincana. Estoy tan emocionada, pero estoy nerviosa tambien. Estaria a vivir en la D.R. por tres meses...tres meses sin mi familia....sin mis amigos.....sin todo que esta familiar. Pero, yo se que esta es algo que dios quiere me hago. La parte que estoy mas emociado con es el facto que por cuatro semanas puedo trabajar en una escuela dominicana! Entonces puedo ensenar espanol mas facil porque estaria sumergido en espanol todo el tiempo....Estoy tan feliz que Dios me da esta regalo...esta opotunidad para servirlo. Por favor, me recuerden en sus oraciones. Se quiero todos ustedes.

En Cristo....
Rep

Realizo que nadie lee mis notas, entonces decidi a escribir todo en espanol. No tengo una clase de espanol este semestre, y yo necesito practicar todavia. Este semana soy muy preocupada. Tengo tres examenes y tengo demasiado estres. Este ano yo estaba haciendo toda mi tarea ANTES de yo tengo que hacerlo. Es una sopresa? Para, mi, si :) Tengo dos examenes en la manana, un de matematicas y una de gobierno. Para mi examen de matematicas puedo tener una carta de informacion, entonces no estoy muy preocupada con esta. Pero para mi examen de gobierno, no tengo nada....solamente la informacion que yo puedo recodordar :0! Bueno, pienso que es tiempo para salir, porque es la tiempo para frisbee! Abrazos por todos!

Con mucho amor,
Rep

So here I am, Sunday night, after a really long and tiring week. Last week was spiritual emphasis week and it was excellent! The speaker was awesome and God really used him! But between the spiritual exhaustion on top of the physical exhaustion from cross country and having the stomach flu, it was kind of a hard week. But so worth it.

I went home this weekend, and it was really good! I surprised my mom for her birthday on saturday and she was so excited that I came, she screamed! It made me smile....We had all my brothers over, as well as the neighbors, Jason and Emily and their daughter Jackie. It was a lot of fun, and I got to hold my nephew Aiden again! He is getting so big already! (I have pics on facebook for anyone interested)

So this week is my birthday! On thursday I will be turning twenty...you could say I am pretty stoked. We're not sure what we are gonna do yet, but we definitely wanna do something. It's my last few days as a teenager! Anyways, I think that is all for now!

Love to All,
*Frita*

Me again! Well, its the start of a new year! I cant believe i am a sophomore in college already! Its so good to be back on campus and seeing everyone again, I missed them so much over the summer! Im living in Tuckey 201/203, and I'm super-suiting with Amy, Emma, and Chelsie Bennett, a transfer from Michigan. ITs working out well and there is a lot more space with two rooms. Cross is getting underway, and we have had some crazy hot weather and some pretty tough workouts. But its great to be with the team. There are some really cool freshman on the team this year, and I love hanging out with them!

I am now an aunt of six...Aiden Cristopher Replogle was born about two weeks ago. He joins Alexis and Callista Jo and proud parents Julie and Cris. He is so cute :)

Spiritual Emphasis week starts next week and I am, in a word, pumped. Last year was amazing and I can only trust that God will work like that again.

Im thinking that is all for now, well that I can write on here for everyone to see anyways ;)

Love to you all,
~Frita~