Defending my Faith

I recently found myself speaking out when I usually try to be more or less open to others and reserved when speaking my beliefs in a discussion.
I will say that I have a very tender heart and I genuinely care for all people.
I do not like confrontation and I prefer to open my mind, eyes, ears and heart to others and where they come from.
When I feel attacked or like someone has something against me, I can't stop thinking of what I could have said or done to make one feel that way. Everything in me gets stirred up and I'm hurt very deep and personally.
In 2007 I realized my desire to, simply put, love people.
I adapted a love for cultures and a heart to interact with people of all lifestyles.
When it comes to my faith, I do not prefer to get into debates or apologetics. Or to have an "I'm right, your wrong mentality.
My education is in Intercultural Studies. I am no Scholar, but I've studied many religions and believe I have been trained in quality fundamentals to finding common ground with others, no matter the culture or religion. I've researched case studies and practiced cross-cultural communications to best understand human relationships and ways to share my faith in a trusting and honest relationship.
It is my heart and hope that because of the way I speak, act, live and love, others will see my faith in me and learn about God because it's a part of my life, not because I have a good argument or go to church.

So in my recent 'speaking out,' I stated: "I can tolerate when people don't believe in Jesus, or any diety for that matter, but suggesting that he was not a man that walked on earth is ignorant." - In response to an article about an atheist student that dressed up as Jesus for 'fictional character' day in school.
Many people do not believe in Jesus as the Messiah or God or even a deity because it is believed there is no scientific evidence.
If then, we take away the mysterious figure of Jesus [as a man on earth], there would be no Christianity.

I believe that God is the Creator - (Matthew 28:19; John 1:14; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6)
I believe the Bible is authoritative and God-inspired - (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
I believe Jesus Christ is fully God, fully MAN - that walked this earth - (Matthew 1:18-2:12; John 1:1-18; Romans 3:21-26; 1 Corinthians 12; Philippians 2:5-8; Colossians 1:15-23; Hebrews 1:1-13; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 1:1-2:2)
Significantly, I believe that my life is an opportunity to continue to share the story of Jesus - even if I never met him in person. And I believe that part of following Christ requires a holistic mission. It's not just about me and God. It's also about my relationship with others and defending those in need in Christ's name.

From Zondervan's Handbook to the History of Christianity by Jonathan Hill, it says this about Jesus:
For greater details on Jesus' life we must turn to the four accounts of Jesus known as the 'canonical Gospels' (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). To be sure, there are other non-Christian sources which mention Jesus in passing, thereby confirming that Jesus was a historical person. For example, the Roman historian Tacticus (c. AD 55-120) recounts the Jesus 'underwent the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate' (Annals 15:44); and Josephus, a Jewish historian (writing c. AD 90), says much the same, describing as Jesus as a 'wise man', a 'teacher', a 'worker of incredible deeds' and the one who brought into existence the 'tribe of the Christians'.

Personally, I feel that discounting the existence of Jesus on earth due to lack of 'scientific evidence' also encourages the disbelief and falsification of any documented or spoken history for that matter. Though I believe, I can understand if one finds it difficult to believe Jesus as fully man and fully God. But to suggest that Jesus - a documented man that changed history, stirred people's lives for thousands of years and still has a following - never existed is ignorant. Perhaps uninformed is a word that's easier to swallow.

I say all of these things not to cause an argument or discussion or whatever it is. But from the depths of my heart, I want others to know that there is evidence of the existence of Jesus Christ on this earth. Although some may have different views on the importance of that claim, I am beyond happy to get to know you. To try to understand where you come from and what your beliefs are in the hope that you would respect me in the same way. Yes, I will say I've had some doubts about this life in being a follower of Christ, but the more I've studied Scripture and developed a relationship with God, I cannot deny our Creator in heaven and on earth.

Top 15

reasons why we are thrilled to move 

In No Specific Order:

1. We get a chance to live on the west coast

2. We get to attend and serve at South Bay Church

3. We can take a paid-for road trip across country when me move

4. Our parents, family and friends have an opportunity and reason to travel to the west coast

5. I have a much higher chance at getting a job in my field

6. We are close to awesome locations and new places to hike and be outdoors

7. We are a weekend driving distance from Disneyland

8. We can hopefully reunite with some of our extended families

9. We get to be trained in ministry by amazing leaders and church planters

10. We feel 100% it is an answer to prayer

11. The area is so culturally and nationality diverse

12. We will have easy access to buying local, fresh and organic

13. We can watch sunsets over the ocean

14. We hear there are no mosquitos to contend with

15. We can eat at the Grove Restaurant in Hayes Valley, San Fran on the weekends

From the East to West!

california

This past year has been kind of up in the air whether JM would stay in the Coast Guard or not. It seemed as though every few months there were opportunities to get out or stay in. Though being in the military is not exactly our favorite choice, we cannot deny the support we've had because of it.
This May, JM will be graduating from Liberty University with a Religion degree [I can't believe it's just a few weeks away]. He has been doing online school for the past 4 years to get his bachelors while in the military. I'm so proud of him. He's been able to pay for school with Tuition Assistance offered to active duty military personnel. That means even when he gets out, he will still have the GI-Bill.
All this to say, JM signed for 6 years with the Coast Guard when he went in. He has been in for 5 years now and we are up to transfer this summer. With many cuts going on in the Coast Guard, there was a possibility we could get out early. Our thought/ plan was that we would get out this summer or finish his last year here and go into ministry when the time was up. We desire to be in full-time ministry! But as many of you may know, we believe it is important to go into full-time ministry debt-free. We understand that it is not always possible, but we believe as good stewards, we should be responsible for our finances and pay off all possible debt - aside from a mortgage if we were to buy. It is a risk in this economy to trust that we can make enough money to pay off our debt in the time we hope - but God is also a great provider. Also, we believe that training or interning under the leadership of others is valuable before taking on the endeavor of church planting or leadership for that matter.
We went to San Francisco for our 1-year anniversary in early January. We were excited to visit the West Coast and South Bay Church, a church our mentors launched in 2009. We had a great vacation and visit to the church, but knew that it would most-likely be a long time before we made it back to the West Coast. We got to share with the pastors everything we've been through in the last few years and bring them up to date with our lives.
Shortly after we got back from our vacation, we got a phone call from JM's Detailer asking us to list our top choices from a list of 5 locations for a transfer. We had it in our minds that we would be getting out, but made the list just to see. Our #1 was in Washington State, just for fun. A day later, the Detailer called JM to say he picked Alameda, CA - just minutes from San Francisco. He gave us two days to decide if we would take the job. After a lot of prayer and weighing pro's and con's, we decided to take it. We don't believe in coincidence. Not only were we in California weeks before, we had an opportunity to visit the church that has been in our hearts for years.
We trust that everything happens for a reason and that God can use even our mistakes for His good work. Though in military life, "you can't always get what you want" (thanks Mick Jagger), we trust that God has allowed us to benefit from the opportunity. Although it's not a lot of money, we have a steady income and housing benefits, JM has school paid for and we have great insurance.
Our prayer in whether or not we transferred and extended the enlistment or got out was this: that God would provide a steady income to pay off our debt (significantly my school loans) in 3 years and that we would have the opportunity to serve and be trained in ministry. We believe that answer came in this opportunity to take the job in Alameda, CA. So in just 2 months we will be making our cross-country move to the Bay area, CALIFORNIA! And we are so excited to join the South Bay Church family and train under their mentorship and leadership! We plan to move to the South Bay area and JM will commute to work so we can live and serve in community with our church family.
We know that in taking this job, we must be prepared for surprises - being in the military, you have to understand that you don't always get what you signed up for. So in understanding that, we know that we still have an amazing opportunity and that we have to trust that no matter what, we made this decision based on what we believed was best for us. We are so thankful for the support of our family as we take this journey along with a 3,000 mile move across the country. We believe we are being faithful to what God has in store for us and our families trust that!

As you can see, we are moving almost directly straight across the country!

Here's our route for our two week road trip when we move!

Stay tuned for the opportunities in California we are so excited about!

Hike to Mt. Mitchell 2012

Luscious Spring

We recently returned from a trip to Buffalo, NY where the weather was much colder than at home. When I woke up on Monday morning back in my own bed, I was amazed at all the changes of spring. Everything is in full bloom, full of life and color. It's amazing what color can do for us. I feel revived, fresh and full of life. The sunshine is amazing and the mild temperatures I could die for. So for that, I want to share a flower I am in love with!

ranunculus

the beautiful thing is that they come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes.

i am presently hooked on this flower!

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