immersion

During worship last week, I saw one of those typical worship background images and yet it stuck out to me for some reason. There was a girl standing with her arms raised into the sun as she was silhouetted. Here's the cool thing, her left arm was cutting through the space on the image where the sun was. The glare going back into the camera lens was so bright, the arm disappeared into the sun.

I want my life to be like that.

First, that people can look into my life and not help but see the Son. Second, that my life will continually blend into God's that I may become less and He may become more...

"...when darkness and light collide...light always wins."

and by his wounds we are healed...

There are so many things I could write about Jesus and how amazing He is in this space. But one way this was expressed in my life today was in my inability to journal. I heard this talk on silence and solitude this past week at our Collegiate conference and something about that struck me. I think it had to deal with how multi-tasking my brain can be.

But this last week I ended up hurting my wrist, so as I sat beneath a large oak tree getting time with God intending to journal out my thoughts...my hand hurt so bad I could not write without pain. So I set down my pen and listened. In Ecclesiastes it says to not be in a hurry to leave the king's presence. So I sat and had a sweet time partially talking, but mostly listening to what my Savior had to say. What a sweet afternoon.

The Office Wedding Reception...

So in honor of Jim and Pam getting married on the office...we held a wedding reception in one of the dorms at CSULB. Complete with wedding cake, sparkling cider toasts to the Halpert's, wedding pics and dance parties...it was one of the most enjoyable times I've had thus far in Long Beach.

ROI- Return on Investments

ROI's are an interesting concept. Being able to determine as a company where your resources are best put to use by measuring where a profit is produced and determining what to do in the case of a profit loss by changing the company's game plan.

As believers, we don't have this privilege. We are called to love and love well. This does not mean we always get to see the result of our love in a person's life or we can measure where to invest by numbers or seen gain. We don't always get to see the impact we make in someone's life. We do not get to choose who to not love based on their actions or opinions of us, but we are called to love.

There are people who are easier to love than others, though I don't think that justifies us not loving others well. There are times in life I would love to see a return on my investment in someone. Times where I can see that year I invested in some girl was not a waste, but she is pursuing Christ and helping others do the same along the way. But I don't always get that privileged. God has called me to love, not sit back and watch apathetically.

The other week I heard this comparison that has stuck with me...

As Christians, we are like fans at a football game. All sitting around watching a few guys put all of their practice into reality. But really, we are the ones needing to get on the field and play, not expecting the professionals to do it (pastors, missionaries, etc). But realizing we are all supposed to be out there, ministering, exactly where God has put each of us.

We are not called to sit back blessed by God to be fat and happy cheering on the team on the field, but we are meant to engage, to love.

As scary as it can be, I'm grabbing my helmet of salvation and heading out to the field...you in?

Great Game!

Man, what a great game! This is one of my favorite photos I took! Notice the ball directly in the top middle! Thanks for the error Angels! Rangers victory at the last Angels home game of the season! That feels good! Thanks Gabe for cheering and Alissa for the b-day gift!

Gazebos and Gelato

There is a Gazebo in Parker Square that I used to love going to hen it just opened. Van Dyke's Soda Shoppe was there and Parker Square was just in its beginnings so that not too many people knew about it. I took the class of 06 Senior portraits there and could be found making gelato trips on too many occasions to count.

One of my favorite things to do there was to sing Sound of Music's "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" while dancing around and jumping from bench to bench with friends pretending we live in a different time. There is something about pretending life is a musical that is just so amazing to me. You look at the Sound of Music or singing in the rain or Newsies or My Fair Lady that makes life sound so more appealing!

Beyond Belief

In the past 3 days, I started and finished Josh Hamilton's book, Beyond Belief. There is one line at the end I fell in love with.

"You might still be reading a book about Josh Hamilton if I had not turned my life over to Jesus Christ..."

This Ranger's outfielder gets something I wish I could on a more daily basis. This life is not about us. It is not about how comfortable I am or the house I live in or the car I drive or the places I go to. But "He must become greater, I must become less (Jn. 3:30)."

Sometimes in Long Beach I find my heart yearning for comfort. Wanting close friends to hang out with and Suzi at the local boba place to know my order as I walk in the door. I want so desperately to not get lost going to the grocery store and a place to come home to that feels like my own. But if these things were the case, I would not be following God's will for my life at the moment. It's not about Alicia. It's not about comfort, but obedience. The Christian life goes beyond belief into life and practice.

And though it is hard, Long Beach is my new home. We just don't know each other well yet.

happy home

You have to love the ability we have to get together as a group of friends and bond over things such as card games and Beatles Rock Band! After a long couple of days passing out flyers and getting the Navigators name out, a bunch of students came over for a night of fellowship and games at mine and Alissa's house (shown on right).


Getting the Beatles new Rock band for the wii for my birthday was such an amazing gift! Thank you mom & dad & the wickett's! It's been great to see & sometimes hear the students rock out!


I challenged a couple of the students to a game called Nertz. I think playing with 10 was a little intense even for me!

Jeremiah 20:9

Today was an amazing day in Long Beach besides the soreness and sunburns I am experiencing as a result of a 3 1/2 hour bike ride! I spent some time in Jeremiah today and it was neat to see in the midst of people turning their backs on God, how I found encouragement. I was encouraged as in Chapter 18 I remembered sometimes God changes the design of the pot for better as is the potter. Sometimes life may not look how I expected, but it is for good.

Then I read Jeremiah 20:9,

But if I say, “I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a burning fire,
shut up in my bones,
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.

and in response, I came up with this. It is a mixed media piece and it looks different in person, but I like the reminder. Sometimes it is fun to play with other mediums than photography for me though I am not too good at it. What a sweet reminder before the semester starts.

God of this City

You’re the God of this city
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You are

You’re the light in this darkness
You’re the hope to the hopeless
You’re the peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city

photo of Los Angeles :: (c) Alicia D. Garcia :: 17 Aug 2009 outside Dodger Stadium

Story of my Life at the Moment

As of today I am going to be calling California home for the next two years at least. I honestly never thought I'd live there in my lifetime!

Happy Birthday Mom! Sorry I can't be there to tell you in person! I love you!

Less than one week...

It's been so easy to tell people that Aug. 15th is when I'm packing up and moving to Long Beach, it is harder when that reality is less than a week away.

I know for my mom's birthday this Saturday she would love nothing more than me being in Texas and yet God has called me to CSULB for the next two years. I'm not all the way there yet as I am praying hard for $9, 744 in the next 6 days. It has been a little difficult coming back to the desert of Arizona as I am remembered of what I am going to truly miss so dearly.

It seems so odd to me that I moved to the desert and ended up liking it. It's almost time to pack up once again and head west. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

15 books

Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. List 15 books you've read that WILL ALWAYS STICK WITH YOU. They should be the first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

1. Maniac Magee- amazing book that I still try to read again at least once a year.
2. Dr. Mr. Henshaw - I totally wrote a journal to a friend just like the kid in the book did.
3. Blue Like Jazz- I love the way Donald writes.
4. Zorro by Isabel Allende- One of my all time favorite books! I don't know why I haven't bought a copy. If you get a chance, read it!
5. Too Many Tamales- This was the first book I read aloud on my own.
6. The Book of Bunny Suicides- Alexa first introduced me to it and it's very interesting!
7. The Republic- the cave allegory is one I love using to illustrate God in our society!
8. The Essential Calvin & Hobbes- It's Essential!
9. Humility by C.J. Mahaney, This book was given to me by a woman on staff at ASU because I house-sat for her...it had some really good stuff that taught me a lot on rest.
10. Case for Faith
11. The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus- the Rhino illustration has stuck
12. Angels & Demons- really intertaining when you take it for what it is...fiction
13. Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
14. The Phantom Tollbooth
15. The Polar Express- when we read this in kindergarten, our teacher lined up the chairs like we were on a train, played a tape with train noises, dimmed the room lights to reveal a Christmas tree and gave us each a hot chocolate with colored marshmellows as she read the book outloud. It was amazing! Thanks Mrs. Murphy!


...your turn!

empty pages

It seems to me the times I want to look back on and remember are the times I am absolutely horrible at keeping up in my journal! I'm reading in Jeremiah and was thinking about how the Israelites became so distracted they completely forgot all the amazing things God had done for them! I don't want a couple of months or even years to go by and forget all the amazing things God has revealed to me this summer through funding and life. I am going to make it a point to journal more these last few weeks of summer...if you see me, please hold me to it!

Exactly One Month!

It's so odd for me to try and think that I am only one month away from moving into my new home out in Long Beach. God has led me into this new adventure of serving with the Navigators on EDGE Corps. As I am so excited to get started into this new ministry, it can seem a bit intimidating to start over again.

As weird as it may sound to m Dutch, New Zealand or Texan friends, After four years, I somehow fell in love with the desert unbeknown to me! But God works in His own time and way and has called me to California for this next season. I'm really excited for the training and experience as well as I feel blessed to be able to have Bible study twice a month with dear friends who know me and encourage me!

I truly am excited for this next adventure...I just can't believe it's all coming up so fast! One month!

He knows...

One of the stories that has resonated in my heart since my time in Colorado has been Mark 12:1-12. It is the story of a paralytic being brought to Jesus by his friends.

Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." (v. 3-5 NIV)

I think of being one of the other people in the room having dirt and debris from the roof falling around them. The sun was creeping in to the packed room through the expanding hole. And yet one of the things I love the most is this man's friends simply knew they had to get him to Jesus. After lowering the paralytic through the hole they didn't give Jesus instructions or tell Him what their friend's need were. They just got him there. And Jesus's response was a greater need than maybe the friends knew...He forgave the man's sin. And then after knowing what the others were thinking Jesus told the man to take his mat and walk as well.

Well, if this room were really crowded and as the verse states, the man took his mat and made his way through the wall to wall crowd to go home. He probably had to maneuver through the amazed crowd just to get out the door!

But here is the part that sticks with me! Sometimes I don't know exactly what my friends need prayer for at the time. Sometimes prayer requests can deter as our humanness may block out of fear what is really going on. So what I am doing in particular for a friend of mine is just praying to put her in front of Jesus. I have no idea what exactly is going on in her heart, but I know Jesus has the answer. I'm not going to lie, she has been through a lot these past few months. So I pray and do what I can to dig through that roof and lower her at His beautiful feet. And as she is lowered through the hole and presented before Him, I pray she looks up and sees Him as well.

Welcome to Babylon

http://www.paradisechurch.com/explore/messages/audio/556.mp3

There are a lot of announcements...but I truly enjoyed this message from my church back in Arizona.

Trusting God...

Most of the 10 days I spent in training at Colorado Springs had something dealing with the idea of trusting God. When I think of trusting God to provide in what may seem to me as strange or odd ways, I can't help but think of Elijah and the ravens feeding him in 1 Kings 17. So meet Elijah the duck. He is being given exactly what he needs by God, who is using a bird to provide.

This is my desktop background so while I am fund-raising $34,000 by Aug. 15th, I won't forget who my bread is ultimately coming from. Will you join me in praising God for the work I know He is doing and is going to do?

worse than silence...

I love Gomer Pyle. I remember waking up on the weekends and watching this show with my sister. I love how not everything is black and white like the Sargent thinks. I think sometimes we go about things in the wrong way. Preparation is good, but ultimately, decisions have to be made for individuals on their own. Here is the cool thing though, as believers, we are here to hold one another accountable and help see truth where Satan loves to keep it hidden. Gomer gets the point in knowing when to stop role-playing long enough to help Duke, his fellow marine, up. Even if in training Duke had his thumb injured, he probably learned to not stand off-balance, but instead to stand firm.

Though they are instructed to not pause, it is important to know when we need to stop what we are doing to try and help someone out. It's the idea of caring for someone else more than what you think they will think of you. It's caring for someone enough to tell them the truth in the way they need to hear it. There is something special about community, it is not just about living life all happy and contrite, but it is about living life together. And the reality of that is sometimes you do get to celebrate joy with one another, but other times you get to speak truth and appear as the 'bad guy' or outsider. Then there are times yet where you have truth spoken to you.

I think of the scene in Remember the Titans where Gary has a choice to make between letting Ray stay on the team even though he didn't block for Rev or telling him he's off the team. I can imagine that was perhaps one of the most difficult things Gary ever had to do. But sometimes we have to tell our friends the hard things...even if it means losing them for a bit in some capacity. I don't think anyone really likes being Gary in that situation...but how much worse would it have been for him to remain silent?

PRAYER REQUEST FOR MIKE BEDIENT

So if you know anything about my time with the Navigators at Arizona State, you can bet our campus director Mike Bedient played a large part in why I have grown in Christ these past four years. As he has stepped in numerous times on my behalf, I now come to you on his behalf. Mike is currently leading a team of staff and students in Russia where he and his family used to minister for years.

Mike just had a heart attack while over there and is currently in a hospital in Pushkin. PLEASE PRAY FOR MIKE'S HEALTH! These past two days I have seen tons of spiritual warfare so please pray for Navigator ministries at ASU and other campuses as Satan would love to have a foothold. Clothe Long Beach and Arizona State with prayers speaking of the power of the blood of Christ. Pray for Mike's family as they are in Arizona and are eager to find out news of their father's health.

I'll keep updated as soon as I know anything.

UPDATE FROM A FRIEND'S E-MAIL THAT I FEEL WRAPS IT UP 1am 27 June

Thank you for standing in the gap in prayer. Here is a prayer update I received on our campus director, Mike. He is in stable condition, and they have to transfer him to a hospital in Berlin for a procedure. Things are still critical and unknown, so please keep praying:

• Please pray that Mike will stay strong during the flight transfer - they had to find some specialized equipment in order to transport him - and there was concern regarding whether or not Mike was strong enough for the flight
• Please continue to pray for wisdom for the doctors and decision-makers - they still need to run some important tests in order to better assess the situation
• Mike's family is understandably very shaken by this - pray for peace and comfort for Sheri and the kids
• This has all been very taxing (emotionally and physically) on the remaining mission team in Russia - please pray for strength and wisdom to continue the work as God leads
• Pray that God would be glorified through this! Especially in Russia, as many Russians have been deeply affected by this

"O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption" Psalm 130:7

UPDATE 11:24pm Sat. night

In case you haven't heard, Mike will have bypass surgery sometime during the next 12 hours. He is now at a heart specialty hospital in Berlin. Sheri is staying with a sister of a German Navigator. Praise God for His family! Keep Praying!!

We got an update from Sheri. It turns out that Mike had a DOUBLE bypass instead of quadruple. He is still in an induced coma, although it is gradually being reduced. Sheri says he may as well sleep because of all the stuff he is is hooked up to! The doctors say he is progressing as they would expect and hope. They are talking of 7-10 days in intensive care. They still have a long road ahead of them.

Good Advice...

A dear friend of mine left me some very special advice..."If you get exhausted, or depressed, or overwhelmed or something, check out Isaiah 40:28-29. Or really all of Isaiah 40, and just remember how great and comforting our God is." Reading over this passage has been very encouraging to me during the stressful, tedious, and somewhat scary times in funding school.

I only have a day and a half left in Colorado, but it has been an amazing time. It's so amazing to me to see how God brought together 30 individuals and in just under 10 days made us feel truly like family members.

I just wish I could be in Tempe today to wish a very Happy Birthday to one of my best friends in person! So, happy birthday Brad!