busy-ness

January is a month of lots of promotion and pushes for small groups! So I've been busy keeping up with connecting people and doing administrative work! I was able to serve Jason by aiding him in his small group dinner that he put on for all of Hope Chapel's small group leaders and it went really well! Almost 70 people came! It was good to touch base with all of them and assess our mission of outreach and growth. It's a lot of work! But I'm adoring it. We have started a leadership team for Rise that I am blessed to be a part of and the excitement of growth and equipping is definitely something I am enjoying being a part of. Rise is going on a hike this Saturday that I am looking forward to as well!

Alyssa and I are slowly continuing making our room homey. We put up a shelf on Monday (a day off!) and even though it seemed completely and unnecessarily complicated......we did it! I could just sing praises about Alyssa all day long, we have such fun together and I can't think of a better person to be serving our King with! :) And Christy and Jena were both gone to the Tweens Camp up in the mountains so we had a pretty quiet home for the weekend. Praise the Lord for the work He did with those Tweens over the weekend. Quite a few of them accepted Christ! Please pray for continued encouragement and ministry opps.

I discovered Tutti Frutti and love their coconut frozen yogurt with pineapple, papaya, and strawberries. It's so good!

We have a volunteer receptionist at Hope, named Shannon, and she is the most encouraging woman of God! Some of us intern girls were blessed to grab dinner and just chat with her about life. I'm looking forward to the next time we hang out with Shannon!

Something I've been connecting this past week is that what energizes us is a passion. I have been able to identify some of the things that energize me.... Singing/worship, connecting people, and sharing the gospel. I come away from those situations feeling completely amped with adrenaline and ready for more! So it's been a solid challenge to look at some of the things that I really pull energy from, recognizing that they are my passions, and then pursuing them more! This has been especially helpful in what I want to pursue for my future.

Here is a good word from 1st Samuel 12:20-25

"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

Risa