Beware of Christians

Tonight my church in Austin held a screening of the documentary, "Beware of Christians." I was expecting some crazy, hard-core, over-the-top emotional documentary on Christianity, but was pleasantly surprised to realize that although it was a serious film, it had me laughing my head off much of the time. It's about these 4 college-age guys who have kind of gotten tired of Americanized Christianity and take off on a trip across Europe seeking God's guidance on what it really means to be a follower of Christ. They dissect some sticky topics for any culture such as materialism, sex, alcohol, and media/entertainment, and really try to figure out what God says about them all in the Bible. The main question they had for themselves was, "What happens when four college Christians give up on religion and start following Jesus?"

In the past two years or so, the Lord has challenged me to ask myself the same question. I've really had to evaluate my faith. First, I had to figure out for sure if my faith was really my own or just something I 'inherited' from my parents and grandparents. Once I wrestled through my own beliefs and made sure I knew truth, I had to figure out what my life needed to look like as I pursued a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. I am in no way saying that I am perfect, because I have definitely screwed up along the way and will continue to screw up because I am a sinner and my only redemption is in the saving grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. I can tell you, however, that despite the mess I've made of myself, my life is different with Jesus in it. For most of my life, I have been programmed to respond with "Baptist" or "Protestant" when someone asks my religion. But recently I've begun to respond with "follower of Christ." I say that because nowhere in the Bible does it compartmentalize Catholicism, or Protestantism, and nowhere does it further discriminate into "Roman Catholic," "Orthodox," "Methodist," "Southern Baptist," "Pentecostal," or the like. Does that mean I'm going to sever all ties with the Southern Baptist church? Of course not. My beliefs align with theirs because I believe the Bible is the Word of God and is truth just as they do. But am I going to identify as a Baptist over a true follower of Christ as so many people do these days? I would hope not. Jesus is the bottom line. He's the reason I'm here. God sent Jesus, his only son, to die for me because He loved me, and He did the same for you. God in and of Himself is worthy of a response from us, the added fact that He sacrificed His own son for our good just seals the deal if you were at all hesitant.

Many of you may not know what to think about Jesus, and I would love to talk with you about it. I have a question for those of you who claim Christianity though - what would it look like for you to give up on "religion" and just follow Jesus?

Matthew 11:28

So I know that in Matthew, Jesus says, "Come to me all you who are burdened and weary and I will give you rest," I just never took it literally until today. I have been exhausted lately studying for test after test, but I planned to wake up at 9am today. Instead, I woke up at 12:43pm. I have class at 1. Just imagine the chaos that ensued in my room as I jumped out of bed and threw on some jeans, a hoodie, and a hat because my hair was an absolute mess. I probably could have won America's Funniest Home Videos ten times over. On the plus side, I feel great after a good night's sleep, despite missing lunch and having to sit in class and a meeting for 4 1/2 hours. AND UT is showing HP7 Part 2 on the main mall tonight, so I can't complain.

I don't even know what to do with myself this week because I don't have any tests in the immediate future to study for. It's going to be a good weekend.

Praying for my friends in Africa today...really missing them, especially this awesome lady!

I fail at keeping up with blogs...

Sorry to anyone who actually reads this thing...the good ole University of Texas has kept my schedule pretty jam-packed lately. I should probably recap the past 4 or 5 months, otherwise nothing I say in the future will make sense. Here goes...

-God provided in an enormous way for me to be able to go back to Senegal (financially, spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally...you get the picture)
-God let me see some amazing things and some amazing people in my short time back in Senegal
-God reminded me that even when things don't go as [I] planned, His plan is always better
-God allowed me to come back to the University of Texas and continue my education to become a nurse for His glory

I think that about sums it up. If you want to know more about what the Lord is teaching me, or what He taught me on my second trip to Africa, let me know! There's just no way I could ever fully do His work justice in a blog.

Here's one of my favorite pictures from the trip. Love this family!



"If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."
-2 Corinthians 5:13-15

Home, Sweet Home

Well, for the next 3 months Baytown is my home yet again. I'm SO thankful it's summertime, but I must say, I miss Austin already.

Sorry for not posting in so long, you've got college finals to thank for that one. As nursing students who need stinkin' crazy grades to get into the nursing school at UT, my friends, Kristen, Lauren, and I kind of dug ourselves into a hole for the last couple of weeks of school to study polypeptides, carbohydrates, and the ever-infamous depression and bipolar mental illnesses.. Don't worry, we took breaks! (Ask me about our trip to Hula Hut...THAT was interesting.) But it all seems to have paid off. I'm still waiting on my bio grade though, so keep your fingers crossed! I never would have made it through this semester without the awesome friends God saw fit to give me - my nursing girls as well as my HCBCUT girls. They kept me focused and sane (for the most part). ;)

I finished finals on Thursday, hung out Friday, and FINALLY went kayaking on Saturday with Kaitlyn, her uncle, and Zach out on Lake Austin. We had a ton of fun even when Kaitlyn and I managed to flip our kayak while a ton of people watched...and laughed. Obviously. We also rented these paddle boards (they look like a surfboards), but you stand up on them and paddle yourself around with a big long paddle. That was probably my favorite part, even if I was a bit shaky at first. My arms were definitely sore the next day.

Sunday I checked out of Kinsolving, told my roommate, Allegra, goodbye, and headed off to HCBC one last time for the semester. After that it was homeward bound, but of course Kaitlyn and I had to say bye to one of the most awesome girls we met all semester (don't worry, Amanda - we'll have a skype date soon!)

After a relatively short drive, I was back home. Got to go to lifegroup and see what God is doing in my home church, and I have to say that I'm pretty excited about it. I was a little worried coming home, but God blew that worry out of the water. As we sang on Sunday morning, "Because You're with me, I will not fear."

And just so you know that I haven't fallen off the face of the planet since I got home, here's a picture of what I've been doing.



Yes, that would be my closet. I'm in the process of getting rid of old clothes and attempting to organize it. HA! I'll let you know how that pans out. And if you happen to be well-versed in closet organization, I could definitely use your expertise! Wish me luck!

Peeps and a kick-booty bio grade?

I'll take it. The Lord has blessed my manic studying efforts yet again and I am SO thankful. An epic celebratory dance party just ended in my room if that tells you how excited I am.

Praise Jesus!

Oh, and it was just sprinkling in Austin, so praise Him for that too!

Rolla Coasta

This week...wow. That's all I can say. Easton Corbin with Lindsay and Sunayana was stinkin' amazing last weekend. I even managed to snag one of his guitar picks he threw into the crowd! Too bad it was back to reality the next day for a stressful week of getting ready for a global health presentation and a biology test. Story of my life. Well, story of spring 2011 at least.

Took my bio test on Good Friday and headed home right after. Pretty nice drive minus the crazy wind and random wildfires on the side of I-10, but I have decided that most of the people in Baytown just shouldn't drive. People in Austin drive slow, people in Houston drive like maniacs, but people in Baytown just can't drive. There's such a thing as driver's ed...but it's probably best to go somewhere else to take it.

Spent the night hanging out with my mom and dad, had to twist their arms to get them to take me to El Toro. ;) There are some good restaurants in Austin, but the tex-mex just doesn't compare to home. Today I watched movies and snuggled with my puppy. Yes, she actually watched some of them. She likes Pirates of the Caribbean - smart dog.

Spending Easter with my Highlands church family tomorrow, then heading back to Austin. I've only been out of ATX for a day and I already miss it!

I'm so STINKIN' excited.

Please go watch the SNL Surprise Party video if you have no clue what that title was a reference to. SO hilarious.

Anyway, the past week has been kind of crazy for me. God pretty much hit me upside my head with His love and truth because I just wasn't getting it for a while. There's just so much going on that I'm a little frazzled, but at the same time I stand in awe of the God who's got His finger on it all.

I'm going home tomorrow afternoon to spend the evening/part of Saturday with my amazing mom and dad, and of course the famous Daisy May (only the BEST dog in the entire world). But before that I'll be working on a Global Health presentation that I'm actually kind of excited about...which is strange.

And get ready for this, Saturday I'm going to College Station to see....Easton Corbin!!! Ah, so exited!! Lindsay and I have been waiting for this day for so long and it's finally almost here! It's too bad that Sunday means back to work after church. Once the presentation is finished, it's only a doozie of a bio test between me and Easter.

I am so pumped about what God is doing here at UT though - stinkin' awesome stuff. I am so blessed to have the friends that I do and opportunities that God has trusted me with. And with that, I'm signing off. Yay for 8am classes!

Embarrassing moments number 58742, 58743, and 58744

I am telling you - someone really should have gotten the last 2 weeks of my life on video. I was going to tell you the story behind this title, but you'll have to ask me for that one. I'd rather not post yet another embarrassing moment on the internet for all to read...much less three.

Anyway, I wanted to give you guys a heads up on what I'll be doing this summer. Besides spending time with family, I will be going back to Senegal, West Africa. At this point, I have no money to pay for it, no job, and no prospects. I know that if God wants me to go, He will provide a way for me to get there, but His way may include the generosity of my friends and family. I absolutely hate asking for money, but at this point it's all I can do. I'll work as much as I can during the summer before the trip, but after that it's out of my hands. I will be sending out support letters explaining what we're doing there and asking mainly for prayer, but if you feel so led to donate just know that your money will not go to waste. If you are interested in receiving more information, email me at flamingorock01@aim.com (excuse the name - I've had that address since about 7th grade! haha). Here's just a little taste of Senegal... :)

I am now the proud owner of

a pink feather boa. Thank you, Mellow Mushroom Bag-o-Crap for 3rd place trivia winners.

Nothing too exciting really happened today. One of the trivia rounds was all about Nicktoons. That was pretty cool. Other than that, I've been procrastinating. What else is new?

Oh, and my phone finally bit the dust so if you think I need your number, text me your name and I'll put you in my contacts.

Love y'all!

He Reigns

So I am definitely NOT a weepy person at all, but tonight as I was reading for my Global Health class, I surprised myself. This week's topic is natural disasters and complex humanitarian emergencies. To put it simply - all the awful things in the world that kill hundreds of thousands of people all the time.

I read about genocide, civil wars, hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, and the horrible fear that people in many places live in day in and day out. My heart absolutely broke for this world as I realized that many of the people that are killed by these disasters do not know the Lord. Many of them probably have never even heard the name, Jesus. And the sad thing is, many of us who are sitting pretty (for the time being) couldn't care less. We're so apathetic and it's really pathetic. For a few minutes after reading, I was almost angry - angry that God would let these things happen, and disappointed in humans in general for being so horrendous to each other.

I must have been getting a little carried away in my thoughts because at that moment, "He Reigns" by The Newsboys came on Pandora. God always knows just what I need, and at that moment I needed to realize that I am not responsible for saving the world, God could do that on His own. I'm responsible for being faithful to Him and He will do the rest. He wants "every tribe, every tongue, every nation" to know Him, but I have to stop trying to get ahead of His plan. As if I could out-do the Creator anyway!

Praise the Lord for not only being my savior, but Lord of all - all the nations, the world, the universe - and don't you forget it.

Running barefoot in the rain

Being the college student that I am and having to walk to class everyday, I check the weather most mornings. I did check today, but I assumed that the 30% chance of rain that's ALWAYS there was not going to actually amount to anything. I. Was. Wrong. I looked out the window before I left and all was well. Got down the stairs and across the street only for the floodgates to open. I took cover at the SSB while I waited for the light to change. My flipflops were useless, so I took them off and ran. The one time I forgot my umbrella I actually needed it.

But enough about the rain, is it the weekend yet? This past weekend was a freakin' blast! Lindsay came in from College Station and we hit the ground running. Hula Hut, last night of Rez Week,and hit up Midnight Rodeo for some two-steppin' Friday night. Saturday was just as busy - introduced Linds to a Kinsolving lunch, took her to a Longhorn Baseball game, met up with our awesome Memphis friends for a tye-dye party, and went dancing again at Midnight Rodeo. Oh yeah, and went to Kerbey Lane at 3am. I feel like a real college student now. BUT I have realized that I would not survive as a partier. It's just not gonna happen - I was exhausted and sober, I'd hate to see what that felt like after drinking! We took Lindsay to her car in Round Rock after church, and I crashed as soon as I got back. Did all of my work Sunday night, but the rest of the weekend was definitely worth it!

That one thing

So Rez Week so far = stinkin' awesome. The gospel has been preached both nights so far, and I really think that even if you are already a Christ follower you need to have the gospel preached to you. What exactly is the gospel, you ask? Google defines it as:

-The teaching or revelation of Christ
-A thing that is absolutely true
-A set of principles or beliefs
-The record of Jesus' life and teaching in the first four books of the New Testament

All of these, I believe, are things that really show who Jesus was, who Jesus still is through Christ followers today, and who Jesus will always be. In fact, God led me to the book of Matthew (one of the gospels) today. In Matthew 10, Jesus is talking about sending out the 12 apostles 2 by 2 to tell people about the kingdom of heaven. He talks about how they will not always make other people happy with what they're doing. Even their own family probably will not understand their beliefs and convictions. Is that okay with you? Is it enough for you to just be like your teacher, no strings attached to this world? Jesus says it should be. If you're a follower of Christ, what are you not letting go of? God showed me last night that one thing that I tend to desire before him, and he can definitely show you if you ask. He does not hold anything back. Praise God for that!

Barbecue sandwiches and frozen bananas

I just had a great lunch for 2 bucks, can't beat that! Now on to biology reading and later some psychology. What a day.

Ready for Rez Week tonight, talking about having an undivided heart for God. If you're at UT, it's definitely worthwhile! Josh Tullis from Hill Country Bible Church UT is leading worship tonight - come join us at 7pm in front of Gregory Gym, if it's raining it will be in ART 1.102! See ya then!

Dance in the elevator?

Why yes, yes I did. Found out I made a stinkin' awesome grade on my bio test, and all the glory goes to God on that one. I could NOT get into studying last week, but the Lord provided! He promised me bio would be taken care of, and it was. So excited right now!

Hopefully this good grade will motivate me to finish a paper that's due tomorrow and study for my psych test Friday! Is it bad that I'm already looking forward to the weekend?! BUT, I am totally pumped about Rez Week on campus this week. Worship every night at 7 in Gregory Plaza and 24 hour coffee/tea and prayer! Ask me about it!

Love y'all!

Santa Yalla

Hope I wrote that correctly, it should say, "Praise God" in Wolof. Tonight, for some reason, I am really missing my friends in Senegal, but so thankful that I even know them! These views aren't half bad either! ;) Praise God for such a beautiful place and wonderful people!

I should be reading psychology...story of my life.

I really should be reading, but I HAVE to share this with you guys. My mind is absolutely blown right now at how God puts everything together perfectly. (And no, this is not about Memphis, but I promise one day I'll finish telling about that trip...maybe.)

Anyway, so Friday I was a complete basket case because of my biology test. I got out of psychology at 11 and headed to Kinsolving to grab some lunch before some last minute reviewing and I was just about freaking out. But as I was walking through the doors, I felt like God was telling me to slow down - not to worry about biology so much because the people around me were far more important than me going over the Citric Acid Cycle in cellular respiration for the 50,000th time. Naturally, I tried to rationalize things with God about how much I really needed to study and I just needed to sit by myself and not bother anyone with my Jesus talk. That was a dumb idea on my part, because when a guy sat down at the table next to my booth, the Holy Spirit would not let it go. I probably sat in my booth for 10 minutes arguing with the spirit about not knowing what to say and how that guy really didn't want to talk to my crazy self. So, I finished eating, packed up my stuff, and looked over at the guy and noticed he was done eating and just chilling. I was about to miss my chance completely. So I stood up with all my stuff, and after that it was no longer me talking.

I asked if he had a few minutes and when he said, "Yes," I sat down. I asked about his day and told him that I honestly felt like God was leading me to talk to him. He was really nice and responsive which made things a little easier. We got to talking about school, and then somehow there was a nice little segue into the topic of faith. I asked about his and then got to tell him about mine and share Jesus with him. I was scared to death about saying something wrong until I remembered something I learned in Memphis - any time the gospel is lovingly shared, it's a win. It doesn't matter if you stumble over your words. The important thing is that someone heard the gospel.

And tonight, my friend, Morgan, and I were in the Kinsolving lounge studying and decided to go get some food. We had planned to go get a slice of pizza at a place down the street, but it was closed so we went to the Jack-in-the-Box right next door instead.

We ordered our food and then found a table and sat down. Not long after that an older African American man walked in and just started talking to us. He was talking a little crazy and it was hard to get a word in edge-wise with this guy, but he told us he was a former Marine who lost his foot, and in the past three years he's lost 7 people in his family - most to Diabetes. After some joking about us partying, he found out we are Christians. Morgan and I both were so excited to get to talk to this man about Jesus, but we wanted to respect him and let him get what he wanted to say out, so we just let him keep talking for a few minutes. It's not like he was letting us say much anyway! When we were just about to start talking though, his food was ready and he jumped up from his seat and said, "Gotta go! I wish you success in everything!" and walked off. We were both kind of upset that we didn't get to share the gospel with him, but God just gave me a peace that us simply talking to that man for a few minutes was a blessing to him, and the fact that he knew we were Christ followers was huge.

I just pray that more followers of Christ will be put into the lives of both of the guys I talked to this week. God is good, all the time!

Blast from the past...

I have SO much to say just from today alone (and it's only 1:45, mind you), but I know that if I don't tell you about the rest of the Memphis trip now, it may never make its way on here, so let's do this:

I ended last time on the Monday of our trip where we visited the Civil Rights Museum, and ate some AMAZING Gus's Fried Chicken. After that we worked in Uptown cleaning/organizing a church/community center (at the church where Michael Oher's youth pastor still works, how neat!). I spent most of my time on shuffling cans/food around in the pantry with Kaelye, Zach, and Chelsea just trying to make order out of chaos, and trying not to think about the dead mouse that I happened to find within the first five minutes of working. We got it done though, so we helped with other odd jobs around the building. I was so proud of how efficiently our team was working. No one complained a bit! We even finished early so we got to go back to our home away from home for a much needed nap!

Later that night, we met up with the Iowans (another mission group in Memphis the same time we were there) and got to do a Q&A with Ricky Jenkins, the preacher from Fellowship Memphis Downtown. He spoke a lot about racial reconciliation which was good for me to hear because my hometown is pretty diverse, but there are still a ton of problems to work through. Many hurt, lost people that we could be talking to but aren't, and it's all because of our silly racial divisions.

Ricky started off reading from John 4 about Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well. The background of this situation is this: Jews hated Samaritans so much they'd add days to their journeys just to avoid going through Samaritan territory. Also, women in that time were pretty much only valued for their ability to have children. So basically, everything in the world was against Jesus (a Jew) having a conversation with this woman (a Samaritan). In fact, he could have been dragged out of the city and stoned just for speaking to her. Did he let that stop him? Nope. Jesus' followers were bewildered that he was talking to a woman, much less a Samaritan woman that just happened to be a "lady-of-the-night." One of the big things to draw from this is, even when she wasn't thinking about him, he was thinking about her. Jesus found her just as she was and loved her.

As a result of Jesus' intentionality, someone who probably never would have been saved was, and it wasn't just an emotional thing like so many Americans get sucked into, but it was a heart change. Before meeting Jesus, this woman was an outcast in her own society, but after meeting Jesus, she went back into the town and joyfully told her story. Have you really met Jesus? If you said yes, has it changed your heart and your actions? Imagine what God could do with your life if you started being intentional about sharing the good news that is Jesus Christ!

We learned all of that to apply it to this: in Memphis (and really anywhere today), racism is organized- it is understood and expected, just as it was in biblical times between Jews and Samaritans. We have to accept the fact that people will probably see you as racist, even just by talking to other races, and especially when you try to teach someone of another race something (even if you don't mean it like that at all.) A lot of what Memphis is dealing with are old wounds. Many people think that "time heals all wounds," but Ricky said it well in saying, "God heals all wounds in time." People will not initially accept the racial reconciliation that these churches are trying to induce, but when those people actually see people living out what they're preaching, in essence, living out the gospel, things will start to change.

Another thing that Ricky talked about that I myself am guilty of is don't assume that because you're different from whoever you're speaking to you have to ask 40,000 questions. I'm the kind of person who LOVES learning about other people - their culture, their lives, them in general, so I'm sure I can fall into the category of the annoying-20-questions-girl sometimes. The best way to get to know someone is to lay down your rights, do life with them, and BE the gospel. As a college student, I will never be more available to do life with people than I am right now, so that really hit me hard. Life will pick up and life will get busy, but right now I have time to make the most of, and I need to start doing it!

I didn't realize that I was going to put in so much info, so I'll let y'all chew on that for a while before I talk more about the trip! Hopefully I'm not boring you to death, I'm just so excited for how God moved and what God is doing in the lives of the Memphians and in my own!

By the way, I survived my biology test. Don't know the grade, but I'm DONE. Yay for the weekend!

Biology is intense.

I haven't even been studying for very long and my brain already needs a break from all this biology. The info on the rest of the Memphis trip is coming, promise! But for now, a cute story from the Kinsolving lounge...

So I'm sitting in the lounge minding my own business, throwing a bit of a pity party because of how much junk I have to know for bio, when I see a few people walking past the entrance of the lounge. There was a girl sitting a couple of tables away from me when a boy walked past. Get ready for one of the cutest things ever - guy walks past, does double take, and BEAMS when he sees this girl. I mean, absolutely RADIATES happiness. And they were a little nerdy together, but that just made it even more cute.

And now it's back to studying my life away. Test tomorrow. Not looking forward to that. Hopefully I'll get the rest of my Memphis stories up by the end of the week. Maybe even some hilarious videos if I can figure out how to do that!

Wish me luck!

My Awful Blogging Skills...

I have to be one of the worst bloggers on the planet. It's been about 6 months since my last post, so here's a quick recap:

-Moved to Austin to go to UT
-Met some awesome friends through HCBCUT (Hill Country Bible Church UT) and my classes
-Watched UT football games, even though we lost most of them
-Saw tobyMac, Third Day, Michael W. Smith, Jason Gray, Jars of Clay, Brandon Heath, and Cory Morrow in concert
-Survived my first semester with Mostly A's and one B+...stupid Chemistry
-Had a relaxing Christmas break with my family
-Started my second semester in January
-Studied like a maniac (and still am-this is just my procrastination activity for the day...I have a biology test in two days)
-Went to my first Texas Longhorn Baseball game
-Just got back from a stinkin' amazing mission trip to Memphis, TN with the best HCBCUTers in the world
-Did a TON of other fun things in between!

The Lord has blessed me and taught me so much in the past year, I don't even know where to start. I guess I'll just talk about what has impacted me most recently, and that would definitely be the Memphis trip, which was the best trip ever.

After lugging all of our stuff down the drag from Kinsolving to the church and getting strange stares from homeless people, my friends, Kaitlyn and Amanda, and I set off with about 20 other people crammed in 2 vans for Memphis around 6:45am the first Saturday morning of Spring Break. I have to admit I was nervous about this trip- I only really knew 3 people going. Once we got going, it was like we had known each other forever though. The 12 hour trip didn't seem so long. We got to the church we were staying in Saturday night, and went to Fellowship Memphis downtown the next morning to hear Ricky Jenkins speak. He definitely did not water down the Word. After that we ate some great burgers, learned a little bit of Memphis' history, and headed out to Zion Christian Cemetery - one of the oldest African American cemeteries, but not always has it had a good reputation. At one point, it was a huge center for all kinds of crime because of the huge overgrowth. Luckily, a group stepped up to start the cleanup and it's been getting better ever since. There are about 22,000 people buried there, but you wouldn't even know it driving past the small entrance. Crazy stuff.

The next day we were supposed to go back to the cemetery, but it was rainy so we got the chance to go to the Civil Rights Museum and site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s untimely death. So much history recorded in that place from slavery to Jim Crow to the end of the Civil Rights movement. After that we went to a neighborhood called Uptown where we helped clean up a church/community center.

There was so much going on last week that it's going to take me a while to get it all in, so enjoy the break as I head off for some intense biology studying. You'll get the rest of the story soon, promise! It seems like a slow start to the week, but I'm telling you - it picks up! Hang tight and I'll get you the details. Be prepared for some awesome stories of God's work.

-Alicia