Running, Turning, Running

As I start the second semester of my junior year of college, I am hit with the sudden realization that God is chasing me. Not that I didn't know God was out to get me (that's a good thing, by the way), I just hadn't realized I was running so hard from Him. And for all my running, I wasn't getting anywhere. I don't know why I even bothered because it's not like life was more exciting or happy, in fact, it was just the opposite. Nothing was ever really "bad," I was just never fully satisfied with anything I did.

I'm pretty good at faking it 'til I make it, so only the people closest to me have seen me at my worst, and even the thought of that is devastating to me. Alicia cannot have issues. Alicia cannot show weakness. Alicia has to have it together... False. I am as screwed up a person as any of you. None of us are perfect, not one. It's funny because I usually pride myself on being able to read people, but recently I was fooled, and by another "follower of Christ" no less. When I came to terms with all that had actually been going on, I had the audacity to become angry at God for allowing that person to act in such a manner. I remember thinking, "Christians don't do that crap, especially not to each other." Then I realized something...I am no better than that person - I'm just a different kind of jerk. This person is still my brother in Christ. Does that mean he is not responsible for his actions? Of course he is. It just means that I cannot judge him before I pull the plank out of my own eye and realize I've done the similar things to others as well. Acting out of anger here would do me no good.

"Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12).

People screw up, fellow Christians screw up. Does that make them our enemy? No, but Satan would love if you allowed it to. Humans are constantly in the wrong, thank God for the perfect sacrifice we have in Christ for our misdoings. Leviticus 1 talks about burnt offerings the Levites were to bring to God. Each offering was a sacrifice - defined in Webster's dictionary as something precious being given away, or the destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else. These burnt offerings had to be a male from the herd without defect which would make atonement for the Levites' sins. In the Hebrew language, "atonement" is "kaphar," meaning that the sin and sinner would be covered so that neither could be seen. In order for the offering to be acceptable to God, there were certain things the person giving the offering had to do. One was to lay his hand on the head of the offering before killing it. This symbolized many things including the confession of sin, consent to substitution of the animal for the sins committed, acceptance of the victim that was to be slain in the sinner's place, and belief in sin transference (Spurgeon, 1877). Now, this kind of offering showed devotion to God. Other offerings took place to symbolize other things, but I focus on this for now because it shows that we are not even close to being worthy of coming to God without something to cover our sinful nature. God hates sin, but oh that we would see His love for the sinner by making a way for us to come back to Him, that He wants to "reconcile to himself all things, in heaven and on earth by making peace through Christ's blood shed on the cross" (Colossians 1:20). My hope is in Him, I believe these things are true. The burnt offering in the time of the Levites was just a glimpse of what the sacrifice of Jesus would be like.

Praise the Lord that Jesus didn't just die for certain people, he died for all because all have fallen short in this world. I know many of you think I'm a complete idiot for believing the things that I do, but I will tell you that I have seen God do amazing things. You can try to refute the Bible, but you cannot change what I know to be true because of what I have seen in my own life. I accepted Christ as my Savior a long time ago, but I'm learning more and more everyday that he is everything - my hope, my strength, my acceptance in this world. I am only fully satisfied in Him. Believe it or not, God has offered that same satisfaction to you, too.

Help me get to Haiti!

Friends,

I will be going on a trip to Haiti in March with a group of students from Hill Country Bible Church UT. We will be partnering with Mission of Hope (www.mohhaiti.org) while we are there. The cost of the trip is $2000 per person. I am writing this to ask for your prayer and financial support if you feel so led to give. Anything, and I mean anything, you are able to give is helpful. If you are unable to give at this time, prayers are just as welcome as our team prepares for this trip.

There are two ways you can donate:

1.) Send a check to HCUT:

Hill Country Bible Church UT
405 W. 22nd St.
Austin, TX 78705

Pay to the Order of: “Hill Country Bible Church UT”
Memo: “Haiti – Alicia”

2.) Visit this website to give electronically*: www.hillcountryut.org/give/give-online

In the "note" portion please write "Haiti - Alicia"

*Please be aware that a small fee (~3%) will be kept by the electronic the transfer service provider if you give electronically.


Below are the deadlines we must abide by in raising our funds:

December 1st – 20% ($400)
February 1st – 60% ($1,200)
March 1st – 100% ($2,000)




Your support means the world to me as I prepare to take part in God's work in Haiti. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you!
Alicia

Alicia still blogs? Uh, what?

As I stated last year, I am HORRIBLE at keeping up with this thing. Not sure why I still have it besides the fact that every now and then I get the itch to rant- er...write about my oh so interesting life. (I'm being facetious. No I'm not... Okay, yes I am.)

Are you ready to be amazed?
-started a new job in an ER in May and "Jesus, JESUS, Jesus" I'm blessed (great story behind that one, but you MUST ask in person to hear my fabulous storytelling skills)
-watched my brother get married in Vegas via the internet while I studied for exams in Austin...I like to think we're keeping up with the times
-started nursing school in August (read: no social life starting in August)
-found out I'm going to be an aunt come May
-still have a minimal social life (any and all friendly encounters have been over coffee with a textbook in arm's reach)
-ran my first 5k
-will be going to Haiti over spring break


I'm sure there's more, but once again, I have to go study. Story of my life. I'll be back to write more.*







*in 7 months. Or not ever. Either way, I know you're all sitting on the edge of your seats in eager anticipation.

In all things.

Once again, I am the worst at keeping up with a blog, and if you still happen to read this old thing, God bless you.

I've been in college for almost two years now, not sure of where I'd be for the next two, but the Lord has blessed me immensely. I will be attending the University of Texas School of Nursing in the fall, and I am so grateful for the opportunities I've been given and the ones still to come.

As I look back at the last two years, I see so many prayers answered, and I see a completely different girl in myself than when I started here. Two years ago I was terrified about attending a university with 50,000 other students. The first day of classes I walked into an auditorium with hundreds of people there for the same reason I was, although I'm pretty sure we learned totally different things. Yes, we both learned the basics of chemistry, but the more I learned about ions and molecules, the more classes I went to, the more people I met, the more I learned to see the Lord in it all.

All of my life I've been given things: a family, a home, friends, and most importantly a Savior that loved me enough to take my sins upon himself as a sacrifice. His love never fails, and he never ceases to give. Of course, he takes away just as he gives - loved ones die or move away, there are disappointments in life - but all of it is done out of love for us. The things the Lord does for us (no matter whether we see them as good or bad) are the things that best show his love for us at that moment. "And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, those called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28.

I've been given friends all over Texas, all over America, and all over the world. Whenever I think of you, I pray for you. I pray that you will know the Father as I have, that you will know Him even better. I hope you know that. I'm not a saint by any means, but I am redeemed in Christ, and all I want in life is for you to know that same truth for yourself. As much as I've changed since I first began my education at the University of Texas, that desire of mine will always remain.

I'm beyond excited to see what the Lord has planned for the next two years and beyond. Hit me up if I haven't seen you in a while, I guarantee I miss you!

I'm so FREAKIN' excited.

Go watch the SNL "Surprise Party" skit if you don't get the reference in my title.

Why am I so FREAKIN' excited, you may ask...
-my brother is engaged
-it's a new semester
-my application to the University of Texas School of Nursing is due in about 3 weeks
and most of all
-God is good, even when I am not.

Will try to write more later. Gotta catch up on some school stuff...and by school stuff I mean reading, sleep, and drinking massive amounts of caffeine.

Love,
Alicia

"Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." Psalm 115:1

P.S. Here are some pictures of me and my awesome friends that I have been so blessed with. :)

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!