Winter Jam!

On Sunday, I went to Winter Jam as one of many sponsors with my church’s Youth Group. It was AMAZING! All of the performers were so good! It’s always such an incredible experience to worship God surrounded by thousands of other believers – and it was good to just let loose and have fun! Here are some picture from that night. (Sorry they’re not very good quality – my camera broke, so they’re from my phone).

Missy & Me waiting for it to start :)

Jason Castro from American Idol

Missy, Me, & our Great-Uncle Terry

Newsboys' drums in the air! And then they turned on the side & spun in a circle...CRAZY!

I'll try to post more pictures if I can figure out how to get them off my phone :)

Going Beyond

This past weekend was the busiest weekend by far since I've been home, but one of the best! On Friday night & Saturday morning I went with my Mom, Sister, and ladies from our church to a Going Beyond Simulcast at Minier Christian Church. The speaker for this simulcast was Priscilla Shirer. I had never heard her speak before, but was looking forward to hearing the message she was bringing. I knew the theme for the weekend was "Life Interrupted" and she was going to discuss Jonah, but I wasn't sure what I was going to learn from it - I didn't think I had many interruptions in my life. I learned SO much from her message, that I wanted to share it.


I learned that an interruption is really a divine intervention from God, re-directing you from the path that you've chosen for yourself back to the path that God has chosen for you, which ultimately is a much better way! Interruptions aren't all bad. They can be good, too. Two examples she used were speaking directly at me.

First, she used an example of a season in your life lasting longer than you thought it would (i.e. being single). This is something that I have been struggling with for awhile. In my “perfect” life, I would have already been married & raising a family, but God has other plans for me. I have been trying for awhile now to figure out the “why” of this season and it’s just been in the past week that I have been able to grasp the reason. I’m the type of person that when I commit myself to something, I put everything into it. I focus on it & think of it at all times – I prioritize it first above everything else. I know that if I were in a relationship now, that is what would happen – that person would take priority over everything else, and not intentionally, but out of past habits, over God. That is why I’m in this long season of being single - because I need to use this time to focus on my relationship with God, to learn more about Him, and to strengthen & deepen that relationship. And when the next season in my life begins, I will be prepared & ready to have a commitment to someone else without placing them over my relationship with God.

Another example that she used as an interruption was God calling you into a new ministry (i.e. being a missionary in Thailand). I hadn’t thought of this as an interruption, until this weekend, but it is – it’s something I would never have done going down my own path, but when God re-directed me onto His path, it’s what I’m now doing. There were two things she said that really struck me about this. First, she said of the ministry work (and I’m paraphrasing), “It’s not about you. It’s about doing the work for His Kingdom, that God has called you to do, that He has laid out since before time began.” This really struck me because I keep getting overwhelmed with the idea of wanting to do so much good work in Thailand – Will I be able to do it? What if I’m not good enough? etc. etc. When I was reminded that God has been preparing this work from before time began, it put me at ease knowing that He is in control & He has a plan & a purpose for me - I just need to let Him do it. The second thing that she said is, “The work is not only for them (the people you are serving). The work is also for you to be able to see & experience God’s power instead of just reading about it.” This definitely re-energized me! I am SO looking forward to seeing not only how God will work through me to serve the people in Thailand, but also how He will work in me & change me in this season of my life! May He get all the praise & glory for the change you see in me!

There is so much more that I learned from this simulcast, but this is turning into a novel, so I’ll keep it short :) I just wanted to be able to put this out there in case anyone else needs to hear it as much as I did!

Catch Up...

I have really gotten behind in blogging since I've been home! To those of you that follow this, I am sorry! I will do better. My biggest problem is that if I'm going to do something, I want to do my best. So, I wait until I have the time to sit down & do my best, which usually consists of writing, reading, re-writing, reading again, & again, re-writing. I haven't had that much time, or have needed that time to do other things, so I've gotten behind. And once I get a little behind, I get WAY overwhelmed at the idea of catching up! So, from here on out I'm going to update as I have the time and not worry so much about it being perfect :) (I'll apologize in advance for any mistakes)

The past month that I've been home has been busy at times, slow other times, but overall productive! It has been so great to see everyone again and spend time with my family!

I have now finished my power point presentation for partnership development! Now, I need to start developing partnerships :) I have a couple speaking opportunities scheduled this month, but need to set up more. If you, or your church, or anyone else you know, would be interested in setting up a time to meet with me to discuss my ministry & how you can be a part of it, please, don't hesitate to contact me! Even if you don't feel like you can support me financially, I would love the opportunity to just share with you what God is doing in my life & where I'm headed!

Thank you all for reading my updates & following my journey :) Stay tuned for more updates SOON...

Serving Him,
Alicia