A New Day Has Come

"Time flies when you are having fun" Right? I must be having the time of my life then, because I can't even account for where all the time has gone. Not only that but I am in my junior year at college, which is crazy busy in itself. There are so many stories and things to update you all on. I am sorry that I haven't been able to make the time to let you all in but know that I would love to know all and share all when I come home again.

I am officially done with my third year of college in the last week of April, and will be home after my band tour by the second weekend of May. Life is going quite well, I can't believe how much God has blessed me and been faithful to me especially in this past year. I am so grateful and each new day that comes, I praise him for it, for all that it contains.

A couple weeks ago at church Pastor Jim Bricker gave a message on "seeing myself as God sees me" It was an amazing and impacting message. I want to share some points of it with you.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength. Eph 1:18-19

GOD'S VIEW OF YOU!
1) God Sees you as acceptable- Titus 3:5-7
2) God sees you as valuable- Luke 12:24, and 1Cor 7:23
Value = who it belongs to and how much someone is willing to pay
3) God sees you as lovable- John 3: 16, and Isaiah 54: 10
God's love is based on his character, not my perfection or performance
4) God sees you as forgivable- Eph 1:4, and Isaiah 43:25
5) God sees you as capable- 2Cor 3:5-6, and Phil 4:13


God is so good, know his love, experience his love, and share his love.

Everything here in Indy is going to pick up from here on out even more so than normal since it is close to the end. If any of you are interested I have my last concert of the semester on April 22 at 7:30 pm here on campus. Keep going strong my friends and know that God has EVERYTHING under his control (and remember He made the entire universe, therefore, his control is all you need).

Living Happily Ever After in Christs Love

Chris

Vision

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,

be all else but naught to me, save that thou art;

be thou my best thought in the day and the night,

both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word,

be thou ever with me, and I with thee Lord;

be thou my great Father, and I thy true son;

be thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise:

be thou mine inheritance now and always;

be thou and thou only the first in my heart;

O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, thou heaven's bright sun,

O grant me its joys after victory is won;

great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

still be thou my vision, O Ruler of all.

How hard is it to have the perspective and vision of Jesus? Do we see what he sees in others, do we see what he has for us. Are his promises and commands clear to us? Lately these questions have been running through my mind. God has so much out there for us, there are open opportunities and Divine appointments happening all the time. Open your eyes, allow God to be your vision the first and only in your life.

Now on a not so serious note : ) I am now wearing contacts... it changes your view on a lot of things. 1) you wont ever have to take your contacts out once you walk in a warm building from the cold outside weather to defog your lenses. 2) you don't have to adjust your contacts if they slide down your nose or get crooked. 3) contacts take a little while to get used to and boy am I funny looking trying to put them in ; ). 4) I like the new change.

so that's about all from me. Vision.... think about it. What is your vision, where are you going? What are you looking at and through who's eyes are you looking? Spring break is this coming Saturday. Florida can't seem more exciting than it does now. But what beautiful weather today yeah? I completely enjoyed it. Well, this is all for me. Have a great week, especially those who are on spring break, enjoy and God bless you.
Looking through his eyes

Christina

Whew...

Yikes,
Life since the last post has been super busy and crazy, yet it has been wonderfully fun.
School work has picked up quite a bit. Projects, tests, homework assignments, tons of readings, study guides, and you name it has been on my to do list the last two weeks.
In the craziness, I of course make time for fun and relaxation, you know to stay sane. So, here is what my last two weekends have looked like.
1st Weekend was absolutely amazing and CHEAP! (the best two combinations)
Thursday night we (the girls in the quad and game night attenders ; )) went bowling across the street for only a couple dollars. Friday after classes we had the wonderful privilege to go swing dancing all for quite a long time, at Fountain Square FOR FREE ;). I love swing dancing, almost more than line dancing...I know sacrilegious right. Saturday I went and had an eye glasses appointment and the that night I won tickets to a Blake Shelton concert at the Murat downtown Indy. I took my roommate and we got all dressed up and had an absolute blast. To top off the night we made a stop at Starbucks for a fantastic drink and muffin... awe Starbucks. Sunday we all went to the Vineyard again and loved that. Later in the afternoon the girls and I took a little visit to June's house. She is the cute, little, older, British lady that swipes our card to get into the cafeteria. We were there from about 5pm to 10pm and she still didn't want us to leave. We talked, played games, and ate her home cooking. It was wonderful.

Weekend #2
I had a concert on Friday night that all of my girls, my grandma, and Matt came to. Thanks guys : ) They Genevieve and I drove home to spend the weekend at my house with my wonderfully amazing and crazy busy family. It was a good time and it was very very nice to see all of my family and hang out with them.
I will be home again for Easter, right after spring break which is March 8-the 15.

God has been very good and showing himself faithful every day. As I continue to trust him and learn more about myself, I am lost in his Majesty.
Keep Seeking Him
Chris

The Word

This week I am just going to update with some verses that have been meaningful to me in my readings this past week also with some quotes from Oswald Chambers' book "My Utmost for His Highest” Short but sweet

"For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined...we went through fire and through water; but you brought us out to rich fulfillment." Psalms 66:10-12b

"Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? NO! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if e have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death...NO, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loves us. All I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, life can't. The angles can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39

Be encouraged and blessed
Christina

Renewed and Refreshed

This week has been one of the fastest couple of days that I have had in a very long time. It seems like I have been here at school for years already this semester, yet again it seems like only days.

Here are some of the highlights of the week:
~Classes are going super well, I never knew school could be this fun and so relaxed. Its amazing what happens when one only takes 18 credits comparatively to 21... what was I thinking all those semesters? My favorite classes so far have been my Exercise Prescription class, which is mostly application of many of my previous classes, Intro to Psychology, which is new to me and very intriguing, and my medical Spanish terminology class. I really enjoy them so far.
~I have had a lot of great times already with the girls down here at school. Laughter is such a gift and I am so blessed with a great roommate and group of friends. We got to go ice skating downtown on Friday absolutely free which makes anything so much more fun : )
~My interview on Friday went REALLY well actually. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. The entire thing was a conversation, interesting, and almost fun. There are actually 4 spots available and I was one of 24 interviewed. I can actually say that I am fine either way the results may fall. God is good and has a great sense of humor.
~The girls and I went and visited a new church today. It was great to be at a regular Sunday service again and be fed, Praise God for his word. The topic was on "how to stay refreshed"

Be encouraged, be bless, be refreshed by Him the river of life for your soul!!!
Christina

~Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. Hebrews 12:1

A New Start

A new semester has begun and instead of sending out monotonous emails to you all who don't want to read them, I have created this blog to write frequently and for you all to see and read. I hope this makes things easier for you all and better to stay in touch. Please feel free to send emails if you wish or just to comment on these posts. I will try to update them at least once a week with all the exciting thing God is doing in my life.

A New Start

I can't believe I am starting my sixth semester here at the University of Indianapolis. This semester is going to be different than the rest, or at least changed from what it was last semester. Already it is shaping up to be so because of my class load. I am taking the least amount of credit hours since my first semester here, so only 18, and the classes so far after a week have been really enjoyable and fun. Who could have imagined school fun...?
God has blessed me so much already this semester. I decided not to work over Christmas break because I really needed a real break for once. It was a huge trust issue knowing that I really could use the money. However, God in his great provision has given me what I would have made over break and more in a couple different ways in this first week. The money came because I changed my classes around and dropped a credit that I already payed for, so I will get reimbursed from it. On Thursday I won a semester worth books, so I won't have to pay for them and will get money back for them. And the last thing is that I received some money from my car (Ludicrous) which is not longer with us...tear...
God has been so good and faithful. He blows my mind.

Some of you know all that has taken place recently in my life. And I just want to share another way that God is being extremely gracious and blessing me greatly. I have received an email from Physical Therapy School saying that two spots have opened up for the fall enrollment and that I have an interview on Friday the 25 of January to try and get in again. I am very uncertain about this whole thing, yet today I went out and bought a dress suit for the interview and am trying to prepare myself for it. What an unexpected and unplanned for event. We will see what takes place. Please be praying for me during that day.

I want to thank all of you for the amazing time, memories, laughs, and joys that we shared over my month of Christmas break. It was one of my best breaks yet and I am so overjoyed that I could spend it with all of you. God has been very good to me. So thank you for everything!

Please post a comment, or shoot me an email to let me know what's going on in your life and what I can be praying for. Let's be intentional this semester and really dig in deeper with Christ and with each other. God bless and keep going strong!
Because of Him
Chris