Children of God

These are two of my favorite verses when it comes to who we are in Christ, children of God. When I read these verses I am reminded of God's role as my Father. These verses really touch my heart, because for many years I have felt rejected by my earthly father and it has been important for me to be reminded of who my true Father is. When I look at these verses and dwell on the fact that I am not born of natural descent, human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God...I am in awe. God could have just said," he gave the right to become children of God," and then stopped, but the fact that He wanted to make it so clear that He loved me and wanted me even before I was born really gets to me. It is almost like God is saying to me, "You were mine from the beginning, I wanted you. Don't think that anyone else had anything to do with making you, because I made you. You are my child" (God doesn't just come out and say these things, but this is something that has been placed in my heart).

"We love because he FIRST loved us" (1 John 4:19).

Truth...

 

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but at times I know I have a problem with following rules and commands. Being truly obedient has never been easy for me. I can be obedient through my actions, but in my heart and mind I am often disobedient. God has been teaching me a lot lately about what it means to be truly obedient to Him.

Today, after I got back from downtown San Jose I decided to make a Truth Wall. I wrote out Bible verses that God has been using to reach me or placing on my heart and I wrote them down on a piece of colored paper and then placed them on the wall next to my bed. I need Scripture that I can turn to quickly in my time of need and I need reminders of God's sovereignty and of whom I am in Him. I am also working on memorizing Scripture so these wall reminders will help me in memorizing some of the verses that I have been studying lately. 

Weekend Trip to the Arenal Volcano...

This past weekend was such a blessing, seriously...it was wonderful. Thank you Lord. Spending the weekend at a resort, laughing, swimming, and spending time with friends, and taking in the beauty of God's creation....wow!

I have been truly blessed with some wonderful friends here in Costa Rica and this weekend I was able to go away with some of those girls to the Arenal Volcano.

"Arenal is Costa Rica’s best-known volcano. It’s a stratovolcano – a large, symmetrical volcano that’s built upon layers of ash, rock and lava – and at 5,437 feet, it stands high above the rest of the countryside. After nearly 400 of years of inactivity, Arenal began erupting in 1968, when it exploded and buried over 5 mi² (15 km²) in rocks, lava and ash. That eruptive cycle took pause in 2010 when the volcano entered into an indefinite resting phrase." - http://www.arenal.net/

We stayed at Los Lagos which is a nice resort near the volcano. While I was there, I was able to do one of my favorite things....SWIM! I absolutely love swimming and it was so much fun to be able to swim in a pool. I also really enjoyed hanging out with friends, they are such a fun group of girls. The volcano was also amazing, good job God! I love nature and just being able to walk around or sit and stare at God's beautiful creations. The balcony in our room looked out towards the volcano and was the perfect spot to sit and stare at the volcano.

While at Los Lagos, I also got to try something that a year ago I never could of imagined doing...I went zip-lining. This was a terrifying, thrilling, exciting, and fun experience all rolled into one. I zipped in the air on 12 different cables, which were stretched out to almost 2 miles, through the rainforest. I am terrified of heights so this was quite an experience, one that I will probably not be repeating in the future but it was still a lot of fun.

While walking up to the volcano lookout and while at the hotel reading God's Word, God opened my eyes up to some things that I have been thinking about lately and that have been on my heart. God has been teaching me some things and little by little He continues revealing more of Himself to me about who He is and who I am. It was nice to be able to walk and talk with God while being surround by the beauty of the forest and the volcano and the laughter of close friends.

Thank you Lord for the exceptionally great weekend!

This Weekend...

Tomorrow morning, I will be heading to the Arenal Volcano with some friends from school. We have an extended weekend so we will be staying til Monday. I am really excited to be able to spend some time with friends and try new things. We will be going zip-ling, which I am quite scared about but at the same time excited. I have never been very fond of heights so we will see what happens. While at Arenal, we will also be going to the volcano and taking a dip in the hot springs. Please pray for us as we travel.

Pray...

For the group of students who will be traveling to Panama today. Thanks.

(FYI: I am not going to Panama but I did coordinate this trip.)

Building Relationships...

This trimester my host mom, Sonia, (a.k.a. mamî) and I have been meeting weekly to discuss the culture in Costa Rica. I absolutely love talking with mamî. Every Wednesday night, our conversation topic is different and by the time we finish talking our conversation topic might have completely changed. I talk with mamî every week because I want to build a relationship with her, the homework is secondary in my eyes as long as I am still practicing and speaking Spanish.

This week, our conversation went a bit deeper. We started out talking about vacations and by the end of our conversation we were talking about God and she shared with me part of her testimony. As we sat there talking I started getting tears in my eyes, as I listened to her share her testimony and as she talked about her relationship with the Lord. This is one of those conversations that I will never forget.

Thank you Lord for my wonderful host family and specifically for mamî.

A few things I am thankful for...

• Chai Tea
• Hoodie
• Sweatpants
• Thunder
• Rain
• Music
• Friends
• Laughter
• Cooking
• Coffee 

Now put all of those things in one day and you have a pretty great day. Thank you Lord.

Even though, Costa Rica doesn't really have a fall season today really felt like fall to me in many ways. It has been a bit cooler the past couple days so that has helped, and today I actually pulled out my Columbia jacket for the third time this month. Not only that, but I also got to wear my sweatpants and hoodie, one of my favorite wardrobe combinations. I also got to help my friend, Kate, make cookies and apple cider (oh one of the many smells of fall that I love).  Now, I am drinking hot tea on a cold rainy night, thank you Lord.

"Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:19b-20