"What do I stand for?"

Our weekly Cru meeting has been having 270-300 students in attendance this year!  We praise God for the chance to clearly communicate the Gospel to so many students! To start the year off, we are doing a series that looks at popular song lyrics and how those lyrics show a desire we all have that can be found through Christ.

Last week, I looked at the song "Some Nights" by Fun. and 2 Corinthians 5 to see how we find what we stand for.

Check out the talk here:


Sep 24, 2012 from uicru on Vimeo.

They didn't film the first minute where we listened to the song, so if you need a refresher here is the music video.

And lastly, here are the verses I am speaking from:

 ¹⁴ For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; ¹⁵ and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

¹⁶ From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

-2 Corinthians 5:14-20

Returning to a Place of Change

July 2006: 19 year old Me on Summer Project VA Beach, just blocks from where I am living today!

I just had to check the calendar to see how long we have been in Virginia Beach: 2 and a half weeks, but it has felt like a month!!  So much happens when we wake up, "go to work", eat meals, go to sleep, all in the same motel as the 70 students we are working with.

If you missed it, Alex and I are in VA Beach for a Summer Project. College students involved with Cru all over the country come here and live in a less than ideal motel to grow in their relationship with God, learn leadership skills, be discipled by staff, and get lots of training and practice in sharing their faith.

Many times these last 2.5 weeks I have paused and breathed in the amount of sentiment in the air. 6 years ago, the summer after my freshman year, I took the biggest step in my young Christian faith and hopped on a plane to attend this project as a student. I had no clue what I was getting into, but now 6 years later, it has brought me to tears seeing how much God had planned. 

Watching 4th of July Fireworks over the Ocean in 2006 with my new friends!

I worked at Haagen Dazs for my summer job. It is now a Gyro place.... I  can't decide what is worse for you, Gyros or ice cream but I love both. :)

Walking into project I was a very "Me-Centered" Christian. I thought the Christian life was about my happiness and my 5 year plan being fulfilled, while doing "God" things on the side.  Throughout the 10 week trip, God transformed my heart in so many ways and completely changed the direction that I had planned for my life .

I experienced vulnerability with women for the first time; I was around men that loved the Lord and raised my standards for what to look for in a husband; I led my first Bible study and discipled my first girls; I shared the beautiful message of how Jesus had transformed my life with literally over a hundred people and saw many of them come to believe it for themselves; I learned how to talk about my faith while working a 40 hour/week job; I was taught how to deeply study a book of the Bible; and I mostly saw that the Christian life wasn't actually about me.

My roommate, Ashley, & Staff discipler, Cynthia. 2 of the most influential people for me that summer.

The most life-changing thing I learned while I was in Virginia Beach 6 years ago, was that there are 3 things that will last forever: God, His Word and People.  If I have even 80 years on this very temporary earth, I want to spend them living for and investing in things that will last for eternity.  God used this truth to grow my heart for him, for people, and for spending the better hours of my day talking to people about Jesus- the One who exchanges peoples' eternal death for eternal life.

I can remember the night so vividly. We had just talked about the reality of the world. It was brand new news to me that entire countries in the world had absolutely zero Christians in them and if people wanted to even learn about Jesus they could be put to death. We learned that billions of people have never seen a Bible, or even know what a cross signifies. I remember crying. And I remember asking the Lord to use my life, in whatever way he wanted, in whatever country he wanted, in whatever discomforts it required, so that I could be a part of his plan for people to hear about his great love.  My heart broke thinking about the billions of people that don't know or don't have access to the hope, freedom and power found in Jesus. 

I prayed so much that summer for my future. Offering it to God, and trusting that if he sent Christ to purchase my life on the cross, than he most certainly had the details of it figured out too.  I love that now, 6 years later, I am doing exactly what he had so passionately placed on my heart to do; married to a man that so passionately wants to invest his life in the same things as well.
 
It feels surreal sitting in some of the same meeting rooms, same coffee shops,  listening to some of the same talks, knowing that God had all of this planned for me way back then. Nothing changed in His plan, he was just in the process of changing me.

A Craigslist Friendship

Yes, you read that right.
 I did make a new friendship over Craigslist. 
Do I normally search for new friends on Craigslist?
Of course not!

I want to introduce you to my sweet friend, Umbreen.

     The University of Illinois has over 8000 international students ranking it second for the most internationals at a university. That means 20% of the student population comes from China, India, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Isreal, etc!!!! This is one of my most favorite things about living in Champaign. We have an incredible amount of opportunities to learn about different cultures and meet people from countries we couldn't dream of visiting, all in our small Midwestern town.

So back to Umbreen and our Craigslist encounter:

     In January, I was selling a suitcase and got an email from a student new to campus looking to replace hers that was damaged during travel.  I responded with details of the luggage, asked where she was from, and if there was anything I could help her with as she got settled in.  She was from Pakistan, had been in the US for a few days, and needed to know where to buy a mattress. I welcomed her to America, directed her to a furniture store, and then invited her to church with Alex and I that Sunday.
     It is hard for us to believe, but many internationals have never seen or been inside a church before, so many are excited to come as a tourist experience. (Ironically, our church meets in a gymnasium so it wasn't as picture-worthy as she probably imagined).
   Umbreen responded excitedly with our invitation, and we met that Sunday as we picked her up from her research lab on campus.

     97% of Pakistanis are Muslim, including Umbreen. She had never met a Christian, so we had many wonderful conversations about our differing faiths.  We also loved sitting on the quad, talking about jewelry, makeup, marriage, food, and Alex. (She just loved Alex. In fact, she specifically called him tonight to say goodbye before she flew back to Pakistan.)
     Some of my favorite moments this semester were when Umbreen cooked me Pakistani food along with her friend from Mexico, and when she came to my Church Small Group for milkshake night and and fell in love with my friends' baby. (She will be a great mother!)

Umbreen's spicy food that was even too spicy for Evelia, her Mexican friend!

Not her baby :)

    Today, I said goodbye to Umbreen. She flies back to Pakistan in the morning to finish her masters degree and to marry the man she has trusted her parents in choosing for her. It was a sad goodbye, but I told her over and over how grateful I am that God gave me the opportunity to become friends with her.  My eyes and heart were opened up to a whole new country and people.

    I don't normally "encourage" you to do anything when you read this blog, but today I want to highly encourage you to make friends with an international student or family.  Many times they are here alone, trying to get around a city where they barely know the language, and wanting to experience real American things. They would 9 times out of 10 be delighted by a new friendship or even just a quick, welcoming conversation. 

Don't know where to start? (& don't want to start with Craigslist. haha) Here are a few ideas:

-Simply say hello at the grocery store. If they are looking lost, ask if you can help, and then ask where they are from.

-When you see them waiting for the bus with their 10 bags of groceries, offer to give them a ride home. (last year I met these 3 adorable Chinese girls, who had only been in America for 1 day, while they were waiting to begin their 1 hour bus ride commute back to their apt that was only 4 miles away! They were so grateful for the ride that they each took pictures with me when I dropped them off.)

- Bake some break & bake cookies and take them over to their house/apt to introduce yourself. This American tradition might feel outdated, but since everything is new to them, they will think its completely normal!

-Mostly, keep your eyes and heart open to the many people of this world that probably live and shop in your neighborhood, and would be more than eager to make an American friend.

10 Things I love about my Birthday Man!

Today is Alex's 25th Birthday. It hit him hard last night when he was pondering how long until we turn 50 and he said, " So, in 30 years, when we are like 50... NO, oh my gosh,  IN 25 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!"
   So in honor of my sweet husband turning a quarter of a century, I would like to share just 10 of the many things I love about him.

1. He loves Jesus humbly. Alex steadily and humbly follows Jesus in a way that always amazes me. My favorite moments are when I walk into his office and he is sitting with the Bible wide open, writing down prayers and thoughts in his journal.

2. He is growing into a Man. I think this is a perk of marrying young, like we did. Of course, Alex was a grown man when we got married, but over the last 2 years, and especially in the last 9 months, I have seen him grow so much into adulthood. Watching him lead us in support raising, watching him give talks in front of 250 students, watching him take initiative in ministry. He is just growing up. :)

3. He still can make me laugh like no one else. This was one of the reasons I fell in love with him and its still true today. He is just so funny.

4. He is right in all the places I am wrong. He is still the clean one and I am the messy one. He is my "rest coordinator" when I work too much. He is my "technology minimizer" when I am surrounded by my phone, kindle, laptop, and ipad doing work on all of them. He isn't afraid of what people think about him, when I am struggling to seek approval from others.... oh the list could go on and on.


5. He still lets me tease him. Teasing is my love language. I love to tease and I love to be teased. Maybe its the youngest child in me. :) Anyways, Alex is always a good sport when I tease him, which is almost everyday. He just has a few quirks that can't go by un-teased.

6. He has great taste in music. I think it is rare to marry someone where you barely have to compromise on any music choices with. We have seen a few great concerts in our time together, but my favorites are our own personal concerts when I'm crazily dancing around the room and he is just reading or something chill.

7. He is FINALLY figuring out things he loves. When we first got married he had no favorites. He was pretty "middle of the road" about everything. Well this does not fly around me, the creator of annual "100 things I love" lists. Alex is now really starting to love things!  He loves Manchego cheese, collecting Starbucks mugs, grilling, Fantasy Basketball, and Spikeball. I love encouraging his new loves and jumping on every bandwagon he wants to jump onto.

8. He is always up for one of my adventures. He lets me get excited about new places to visit or new restaurants to try out. I planned our summer vacation for this July, and he still barely knows where we are going.

9. He is actively fighting sin. I remember before marrying him someone asked, "Is he humble and teachable?" This was important because he would never be perfect, but if he was humble and teachable to the Lord, he would actively fight sin. I love seeing him do this. A great example is that he is fighting passivity in marriage, by intentionally thinking of a question to get to know me everyday. Obviously, this is serving me, but his heart behind it is what means the most.

 10. He breathes freedom into everything I do.  Whenever I am feeling unsure, insecure, or stressed, Alex is so quick to breathe freedom into whatever I am doing! I see this most in finances. Alex trusts God so much with our money, so when I start to get worried or want to buy a new shirt, he is quick to breathe freedom by showing me the budget, reminding me of how God provides, and encouraging me to buy the shirt.


Well, that is my wonderful husband.  I think I love his birthday more than he does, because without his birthday, I wouldn't have gotten to spend my life with him!

My Favorite Photographer

Jasmine, the photographer, and Jason, the fiance.

My good friend Jasmine, has been there for so many of my big life events, and most of them she has been behind the lens of a camera. She helped with our engagement photo shoot; we were one of the first weddings she shot; she captured the beauty of my sister's wedding, and last weekend she asked if we wanted to have a few pictures taken, just for fun. I have looked through them 100 times because she is just soooooo talented!!!! (and my hubby looks super cute in them too. hehe)

Not only is Jasmine my favorite photographer, but she is one of our closest friends! She is creative, genuine, passionate, and follows Jesus with a faith that has led to her many countries and more recently a move across the US. Another thing we love about Jasmine, is that she is marrying a great friend of ours. Alex will be a groomsman for Jason in their wedding in July.

Jasmine is going to be super embarrassed by this post, but when I love something, I have to tell people about it. (Maybe that is why I am in full time ministry...) If you are looking for someone to shoot your wedding, family pics, baby pics, senior pics, etc. check out her website: JasmineNicolePhoto.com. You actually might stumble upon her by accident too since she is going to be featured in the Style Me Pretty Wedding blog this month! (a HUGE deal in the wedding photography world!) Also, don't worry about her needing to travel from her current home in New Mexico to do a photoshoot. She travels all the time to do photo sessions and visit family, so she is very flexible. In fact, she will be in Illinois almost the entire summer.

Here are some of my favorite life moments that Jasmine has captured over the years.

October 31, 2009

Our Giant Bridal Party

My sister and Doug's Wedding- April 2011

Isn't my nephew adorable!?!?!

April 2012 in Gibson City

So What Do We Really Do in PCB?!

   A week in Panama City Beach, Florida sounds like a pretty sweet perk to any job, but let me assure you that last week was not a vacation.  University of Illinois Cru loaded 63 students and 6 staff into cars and a charter bus to meet 800 other Cru college students at a conference called Big Break.

   The purpose of the conference is to grow students' hearts for Jesus and train and equip them on how to dialogue with people about spiritual things.  Statistically, only 2% of Christians talk about their faith with non-Christians once a year! If Jesus is the most important and impacting part of our life, then we should be talking about him MUCH more! This conference does a great job giving students practice, teaching, and confidence to come back and engage in spiritual conversations with their friends and family.

Here is what our week looked like in pictures:

Every morning, Roger Hershey, shared from the Bible on why it is urgent to engage in conversations about Jesus, how we can be confident because of the Holy Spirit, and then taught very practical skills. One of my favorite mornings of teaching was on How to Listen Well. Instead of just talking at people, we are called to listen, engage, and care for people wherever they are at. 

Every day in the afternoon, our students took big steps of faith to engage with the other Spring Breakers on the beach.  This always invokes the most fear. It is easy to hear a conference message, but then to turn around and do it is one of the most growing parts of the week. The always surprising part is that the Spring Breakers are so interested in talking about spiritual things. We ask them about their religious background, listen to their experiences, and find out where they are doubting or confused about Jesus.  Even after doing this for years, I get a little nervous, but so many times people leave the conversation thanking us for asking question and getting to know them in a deep way. A common thing I hear is, "I've always wanted to talk about this stuff, but I never know who to talk about it with."  That makes me realize that talking about Jesus doesn't have to be taboo. People have questions and are just waiting for people to talk about it.

Two nights of the week we have Creative Dates. First, a boys room asks a girls room out for dinner and then cooks a big delicious meal for them!  This night the girls room cooked stir fry for the boys. As staff, we get to jump in and enjoy the feast and the community. Always a highlight of the trip. 

After dinner, we would meet back up for another meeting. The Worship band led us in a sweet time of praising God for all He did that day and then we would hear more teaching from the Bible from Matt Mikalatos. He is one of Alex and I's favorite speakers.  He is incredibly creative and thinks so uniquely when he talks about Jesus.  Every night, I learned more about the love of Christ and what a true relationship with him looks like.

The last night we go out to dinner for a big U of I celebration. It is so fun to see how close the group of 69 of us got over the week!  Real community happens when we take steps of faith together and are going after the same goal.  These are 2 of the 5 Chinese international students that came with us on the trip. I had so much fun getting to know them throughout the week. Its such a blessing that all 69 of us will go back to the same campus with all that we learned and grew in. 

This is my 3rd Big Break on staff and every year I value it more and more.  I am constantly so thankful for my job and the immense privilege it is to get to invest in students!

Seeing Jesus as Black & White- My Talk at Cu

Here is the video from the talk I gave last week at Cru on 1 John 1:1-10.  There were a few things on the power point that didn't make it in the video so I am including the graphics of them here.

Seeing Jesus as "Black and White" from uicru on Vimeo.

A way that many people view the Christian life that can lead to performance and self-righteousness:













A way to view the Christian Life that brings repentance and transformation.














1 John 1:1-10

1  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— ²  the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— ³  that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

⁵  This the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.