riches of His glory

-The God of Glory-
"How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth"

-Ephesians 1:3-10

I've been stuck on the riches of His glory lately. Adopted in. Free from ALL sin. The focus of His love. God's desire is for me to enter in and accept His lavish gift-giving by the hand of Jesus Christ. I am free. FREE. Not just barely free, but ABUNDANTLY FREE! It's amazing, truly. All my needs are met. I can't gain or lose anything. You delight in us having this life. Message of salvation. A long range plan. Everything is summed up in Him.

Life lately:
Top down in Leslie's car. Wind in my hair. Sun beams on my skin. An Upcountry day. New shortcut. Gorgeous sunset. Uncle Pat's. Darkness. Campfire. Riding in the back of Dave's truck. Bright night sky. Fun talks. Laughter. Safe. Home. Sunday naps. Volleyball at Big Beach. PB & J and chips & salsa. Reading homework. Laundry. So heavy. Tired arms from SUP. Escape to rain and mountains in Wailuku with Jenny. Massive rainbow. God's Promise. Steven and I awkwardly taking apart old decorations. Sheet metal pinwheels of death! Clinging to a large falling pinwheel. "You got it?" "Nope!" Classic. Volunteering for Awana's Xterra night. Witnessing small children falling off bikes. No injuries under my watch :) Gardening in the Hope courtyard. John John let me use a pickaxe. Aggressive. Make my day! Announcement Memos. Announcement slides. Service Formats. Worship graphics. MCing. Service CD. Writing a wedding song with Steven for Michael and Michelle's wedding. Backwards hat. The Gathering. Biking Kihei. Keawakapu. Working the Bookstore for extra money on Saturdays. Change into dress. Sound check. Sang with awesome musicians for the reception. Janky trip in the Death Star with Lisa. A Lisa and Risa Spicy Chicken Wendy's Date. Love her. It's the simple things in life.I just love when God gives you glimpses of how INCREDIBLE His glorious riches are. I get a glimpse of it every time I sing to Him. Or when I see rainbows. Or sunsets. Or when I laugh really hard. Or dance parties with my girls. He doesn't want us to miss a thing. Not one thing. He wants us to have everything. Sigh. We shine through Him. We are the apple of His eye :)

Risa

favorite things of ROCKtober

Thing #1:
SUP with these two cutie pies. They are so precious to me! They have such amazing hearts. We just pile our boards and paddles into our janky van and book it to the beach! I love being with these girls out on the water. Last time we went out, we came back to Leslie's and she treated us to french press blueberry coffee (she got it from her fall trip to the East Coast) and it is INCREDIBLE! And I drank it out of this legit hand warming mug. Bliss. I love paddle boarding, but it is 100 times better when you're in good company :)


Thing #2:
My Fender Guitar. I am so thankful that I have my own guitar. This beauty has traveled so many places with me. More and more I'll grab my guitar when I'm home alone and have a sweet time of worship, singing to my King. "Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord."-Eph 5:19. I love writing music; on my own and with the talents of Steven. I love that I'm always learning something new on the guitar. I love that it is always being played by others when we have people over. I love jam sessions with my whole heart! I could sit and listen to an acoustic guitar all day long. I would love to get better at piano, but for now I will continue conquering bridging, muting, and strumming. Also, I would love to name my guitar--any suggestions? Yep, I love my guitar.


Thing #3:
Nike's Tempo Track shorts. I currently own 6 pairs that I have accumulated over the past 5 years. They keep coming out with cool colors, so I keep buying them! I wear them as often as I can! They are amazing! Biking, hiking, sitting, beaching, office work, driving, they are perfect! I will probably collect more in the future. They are in such great condition and I wear them constantly. I love that it's October and I can still wear them 24/7.


Thing #4:
Moleskine Journals. I bought my first one in June and LOVED it. I've been journaling since I learned how to write, basically, so I'm always looking for a good journal. I've used everything from thick leather bound journals to tattered composition notebooks. Right now, these bad boys are my favorite! I'm already on my fourth one and planning on buying more. They look really cute on my white shelf too! So great.

So these are a few of my favorite ROCKtober things. I hope you like them :)

Risa

fake fall :)

Since seasons on Maui don't really exist like they do on the mainland, we compromise and do fall like things. Last weekend we went and bought pumpkins and carved them on our lanai. I had forgotten how much fun it is! We invited lots of friends over and ate pumpkin pie, drank hot apple cider, and Lisa baked us up some pumpkin seeds :) We didn't have work on Columbus Day, so we took advantage of our day off and did fun Maui things! Alyssa and I have been paddle boarding every time we get a chance, so that is how I started my Monday morning. It was kinda rough out, so I got quite the workout! Sea turtle sightings make it worth it every time. Seriously. I came home, made a smoothie, and then the four of us intern girls were invited to spend the day with our friend Tara, whose husband is an elder at Hope. They live in Launiupoko which is close to Lahaina, and the view from their back yard is straight up stunning! We vegged by their pool most of the day and Tara blessed us in such a big way by feeding us and chatting with us. I am still blown away daily at the community here in Maui. I definitely want to open up my home the way homes have been opened up to us. It's such a blessing!!

Sometimes this internship is bogus. And intense. Haha I've realized my blog entries make it look like I'm living the dream here. Which is true. But it's tiring and occasionally stressful. I guess I can't say that anyone ever told me a life of full-time ministry at a church would be easy. I still have absolutely no clue what degree I want to finish college with or what career suits me or where I'll be living after this internship ends. I'm really learning what it looks like to rely on the Lord in every detail of my life. Turns out that lesson keeps needing to be learned :) I just want to be close to my Papa God!

"Now you've got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I'm on the right way."
--Psalm 16:10-11 (Message)

my heart is full

Good morning!

This past week I experienced some new Maui things! I dropped off Leslie at the airport and drove her convertible back to Kihei listening to my reggae jams under the Maui night sky. I got to go to the Maui County Fair, which was epic, I must say. I tried poi mochi (see photo) which is definitely an island favorite. I don't know what I was really expecting to be different about a county fair in Maui compared to Kansas, but it still had the same long lines, greasy food, and excited kids to ride on rides that are scary mainly because you're not actually sure if they'll stay together while you are on them! Sunday morning I was on the worship team, and I lead a couple songs. Steven and I sang a duet during communion. Because of Your Love by Phil Wickham. I realize more and more what a passion the Lord has given me for singing. I am energized by it, and I love every second I am anywhere singing praises to Jesus. On Sunday night, I took advantage of a hammock in Wailea and listened to the waves crash, and saw shooting stars through the branches of a palm tree.

On Mondays and Thursdays, I have what the interns fondly call "green time" where we serve in another area of the church outside our ministry. Some interns do outdoor maintenance around the Hope campus, some work in the bookstore, and others clean toilets. It is hard work and it's humbling. After my green time on Monday, my friend Jenny picked me up (she had a day off from her job) and we went to the beach. When we were chatting in the ocean while the waves gently lapped at the shore, we were both so stoked that this is the kind of thing we get to do on our day off! I get to splash around in the ocean! I always feel so uplifted when I spend time with Jenny. We just talked about God's Word, and rejoiced in what the Lord is doing in our lives.

We went to Jamba Juice and tried out the Pumpkin smoothie (it was really good!) and then split an acai bowl together. MAN I love the acai primo bowl from Jamba with my whole heart. Acai, banana, almonds, coconut, and honey. It's amazing. Seriously :)

The Lord totally orchestrated a rockin' night of fellowship that night! As you can see from the photo, we had a lot of people over!! And 4 more people came after we took the photo! We ate dinner together--I'm learning to cook for others on my own and not be an awkward flamingo in the kitchen. The guitar always makes an appearance when we all hang out. We have a lot of musical talent in our group which is so amazing. New people came over which I just love and we ended up playing a hilarious game of telephone pictionary. Maui is just such a sweet place to live as a young adult. I'm so thankful for the Ohana the Lord has given me here.
-It's a Good Thing to Hope for Help From God-
"God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over)
He's all I've got left.

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
It's a good thing when you're young
to stick it out through the hard times."
-Lamentations 3: 22-27