Spring Semester- Part #1

I have obviously been neglecting this poor blog. There's just so, so much going on around here that every time I sit down to write about it, I get overwhelmed and have no idea where to even begin.

But again, so much is happening and if it doesn't get written down and told somewhere, it's under threat of being forgotten. So, please brace yourself what's likely to be a very long, but exciting, post!

To begin...ugh! This is the problem I've been having!
I'll just start with SALT. What an incredible time we had with another 1,000+ college students, worshiping the Lord and laying their lives down for His Kingdom and His Glory!!! I've been to many SALT conferences over the years, both as a student and as a leader, and never have I ever experienced the move of the Holy Spirit of God like I did at this historical event. Not only was it the largest in attendance, but there was no denying that students were hungry to hear from the Lord and He was eager to speak. We took about 10 students with us and all were touched by the Lord. And some of the following stories are direct results of these few getting serious about the move of God on their campus.

Like I said, the students that went to SALT came back on fire and ready to see some things happen. They got serious about praying and about seeking the Lord. Because of this, some of their friends began to also get serious. Here's a story about one guy...we'll call him "John."

John has been coming around XA for the last several years. He's never shown even an ounce of interest in actually walking with the Lord, but has continued to be faithful to show up to meetings and has even helped to lead worship on Thursday nights. We've prayed and prayed that he would fall in love with the Lord and that he would show some sign of emotion or excitement about the Lord, but we've seen nothing for several years. But something seemed to begin to shift in him after the Christmas break. He contacted Matt and asked if he could meet with him. They talked openly and honestly about changes that needed to be made and soon after we began noticing little changes in him. There was one Thursday night when Matt talked about hearing from the Lord and afterward, gave the students an opportunity for them to press into the presence of God. The worship team was playing and we were getting ready to wrap up the night. Since John was already up front leading worship and Matt was blocked from getting up front (because of all the students on the floor weeping and seeking the Lord), he motioned for John to close us in prayer to dismiss. John started to pray and then, suddenly without warning, he just broke down in tears...couldn't even finish praying. The Lord had obviously gotten a hold of his heart and has continued to draw him ever since then. Thanks be to God that He hears us when we call on Him and that He still speaks to us!!!

Another cool story from that same night about 2 of the girls:
Becca had been seeking the Lord in her private time in the weeks prior to this night specifically about hearing from Him. She wanted to make sure that what she was hearing was actually from Him and not her own thoughts and ideas...understandable, right? She also had been asking the Lord to give her the grace to be obedient to whatever it was that He was asking of her.
Nicole was in the middle of one of those transitional seasons of life where she was on the brink of graduation and therefore, needing to "figure out life" and what her next steps were going to be. She had several options before her and had such a desire to be in the Will of God and not be doing her own thing. But to know the Will of God for her life, she needed to hear from Him directly.
So, we come to this same Thursday night where Matt spoke on what it means to "hear from God" and why it's such a big deal that we hear from Him. He gave the invitation after his message to get alone and on their faces before the Lord and to cultivate an atmosphere in their hearts to hear from Him and receive what He was speaking.
Students were scattered all over the room. Becca was in the back of the room by herself, still asking the Lord for a confidence that what she heard, she would believe was from Him and that she would be obedient to it. He spoke a name to her and she began to question whether or not that was actually Him. He gently reminded her that if she was going to continue to question, then He would not continue to speak to her. She decided she'd better listen and asked Him what to say to Nicole (someone she didn't really even know at all.) All He showed her was an image of a lamppost.
Nicole was sitting alone and off to the side of the room. She was telling the Lord in her heart that she trusted Him completely and that she didn't need to know every detail of how her life was going to go, but that she did need to just simply hear from Him. She specifically asked that He use someone else to speak to her. Not even a minute later, Becca came and sheepishly sat down next to her. She told Nicole that she didn't know what she was needing from the Lord, but that He had put her on Becca's heart and had given her an image of lamppost. Becca told Nicole she didn't know exactly what it meant, but that it was for her, from the Lord.

How amazing is our God who really does hear what's in our hearts and speaks to us in ways that we cannot deny His existence!? He loves us dearly and so wants for our hearts to trust His word. He is a God of specifics and intimately cares about the details of our lives.

One Month Down and Going Strong!

It's been about a month since school at UH started and what a CRAZY and incredible month it's been!

Welcome Week was such a success and we met a great number of new people. We never really know beforehand just how these things will actually turn out. Will we buy tons of food and no one will show up? Or will we underestimate and end up with a mass crowd? Somehow, the LORD put everything in perfect balance and we had lots of people show up to all the events and just enough food to feed and satisfy all those "starving" college students. Here are some of the girls at our main event, the Luau. We had a blast!


Thursday nights are also really going so well. I think more people show up every week. Really, I'm pretty sure it's a different crowd every time, but Matt and I have made it a point to not count how many show up. I'm not really sure why not, but I think it's better for us to not put so much emphasis on numbers. Obviously, we want to grow numerically...UH is a gigantic campus. But we're way more concerned with real spiritual growth. So, we've made it our goal to make maturity and depth our focus.

We just had our first 2010-2011 Leadership Meeting and I cannot say just how proud we are of these incredible students who have stepped up and taken on this unique role of responsibility. We were able to encourage them and give them a chance to express concerns and struggles. It's really a tough thing to build a small group from scratch and to get commitment-phobic college students to be faithful, but they really have made some great connections and rising to the occasion. So proud of them!

Now, we are very much looking forward to our annual Breakaway Retreat in Huntsville. This is such an incredible time where even deeper connections are made and friendships are really fused together. Please be praying with us that students go and that lives are changed. We're expecting the LORD to really do a significant work in their lives. I promise, you will be hearing more about this.

Here are a few pictures from last year's Breakaway.

One Week and Counting...!!!

We are almost exactly ONE WEEK away from the first day of the 2010-2011 school year. I can't believe how fast the summer break has gone. Feels like it was not that long ago that we were wrapping up the last school year.

Life for us, here in Houston, is all a whirlwind with all the plans and details of our yearly Welcome Week events that begin that first day of school, Monday, the 23rd. We've made plans for just about every night of the first week of school (and then some) in order to more easily meet new friends on campus. We've got a game of Kickball planned for Monday night; on Wednesday, a giant, campus-wide Scavenger Hunt ending in free pizza (can't go wrong with free pizza and college students, right?); our very first UHXA worship service of the school year for Thursday night; and a fun Luau complete with roasting animal of some sort for Friday night.

In addition to all the event plans, we're also making sure to keep ourselves and our leadership team emerged in constant prayer. Because we know that even if we make the best of plans and attempt to see everything carried out to the letter, we still need the LORD, in His infinite wisdom and grace, to show up. We've been praying that HE would go before us and pave the way to the hearts of students all over the University of Houston. We know He loves them and longs to have relationship with them more than we ever could imagine.

We really are excited to share all the stories and pictures of this crazy and exciting time of the year. Please be in prayer with us, as I know you will be. The LORD is so faithful to give us such an outstanding team of supporters and pray-ers. We love you so much and are grateful to go fight this battle for you!

You Think Houston is Hot???

Summertime is such a sweet, yet very busy time for us and this summer has been absolutely no exception. From weddings, to family reunions, visiting with friends and traveling, we've been reminded over and over again how rich our life really is. I'd love to tell you all about it, but thankfully, I've already written a little bit about it all (including lots of pictures!) on my other blog. So, please go check it out!

I would, however, like to kinda highlight a few things from our trip to Phoenix, AZ. We were so excited to get to go out west (neither of us had ever been out that far) and spend a week with some of our dearest friends and XA family. This wasn't just a vacation and we knew that from the beginning.

All the directors and staff from all the Chi Alphas in the nation got together last week to celebrate what the LORD has been doing on each campus and to gear up for what is ahead. Not only did we get spoiled by getting to stay at this luxury resort (Arizona Grand Resort), but we also got to spend the week learning how to better reach the students on our campus.

Here are a few things we learned (or were reminded of):

1. The culture in America changes every time a new generation rises. Their questions about life/God/religion and the way in which they ask these questions are also changing.

2. Islam is really on the rise in America and on the American university campus. The best way to reach this group of people is to make one friend at a time...and to be committed to pray for them in love.

3. Our supporters (YOU!) want to hear stories about the people we deal with and want to know how to pray for them. (I also learned that if you choose to have a blog, it's important to update it frequently...I'm trying to get better at this.) :)

4. God's goodness is not contingent on our circumstances. Meaning, He stays the same and He's always good. Even though we may go through some tough times and experience some pretty crummy situations, doesn't mean that He's suddenly stopped being good to us. No, He loves us and if we let it, those crummy situations can be used to glorify Him.

5. True discipleship is like saying marriage vows to someone. "I choose to love you and walk beside you no matter what; for better or worse...til death do us part."

6. It takes a good 2+ days to drive from Houston to Phoenix. And it's not a boring drive at all. I took a big, fat book with me to read along the way, and didn't get very far because I kept getting distracted by God's creative handiwork. Here's a little of what we saw all along the way:

Texas Hill Country

Watch out for that killer cacti!

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
(driving through El Paso right along the border)

I can't remember if this was taken in New Mexico or Arizona.
Either way, we were constantly in awe of the majesty of these mountains.
Can you tell we're from East Texas and have had very little experience with mountains?

We had such a significant time and were really reminded why we do what we do. And we've only been back for less than a week, but the LORD has already made it very clear to us in the last few days (stayed tuned for these awesome stories!) that we are His ambassadors to a very lost and hurting world...right here in Houston, TX.

Making Good on My Previously-Made Promise

Did you think I forgot? Okay, I kinda might have forgotten. But only for a few days. ;)

We have been having a BLAST so far this summer "break" with all the craziness that's going on around here. To start off, we've been meeting with our leadership team every Monday going through our Leadership Training Course. We have 5 new student leaders to add to our returning 4 leaders and LTC gets them each ready to lead a small group throughout the new school year. We discuss all different types of topics related to discipleship and it really has been such a joy to watch these students as they continue to develop a real burden for their friends on the UH campus. Matt and I keep finding ourselves being humbled by their hunger for the LORD and their excitement about reaching the campus of University of Houston. I simply can't wait to share with you all the cool stories that come from watching this group in action.

the 5 newest leaders

(Matthew, Chris, Sam, Daniel and Nicole)

the entire leadership team 2010-2011

In other news:
Something else we're in the midst of realizing about life in college ministry is that the wedding craze never really ends. Here we are, all grown up with most of our friends already married off and entering into the wonderful world of babies. But somehow, we've managed to keep ourselves in the wedding side of life.

All jokes aside, this is one of the most beautiful and exciting things to be apart of when it comes to campus ministry (but not as beautiful and exciting as salvation). We get to see some of these students come out of unhealthy relationships that they don't even realize are unhealthy and enter into ones that are glorifying the LORD and useful to the Kingdom. The LORD really does redeem our bad mistakes and creates new life when we surrender our live to HIM. And then of course, there are also couples where they always have walked with the LORD and those are also exciting to watch as HE continues the story of beauty in their lives.

We got the incredible privilege in the beginning of June to be apart of our VERY FIRST EVER University of Houston Chi Alpha wedding! We met Kristin and Adam at the beginning of the school year. They had already been dating for several years, but were not living for the LORD. They both gave their lives to JESUS and have continued to grow in love with Him and each other ever since. He proposed right after the new year and they got married a few weeks ago. We are so happy for their new life together and all the beauty that will come from it.

Here are a few pictures from the blessed event:

the happy couple

i got to be the Matron of Honor and give a toast. awkward. but sweet.

a Chi Alpha group picture

the next happy couple to get married in October, Dean and Nicole

just wanted to throw in a picture of another VERY happy couple :)

A Post With No Picture

SO many wonderful things are going on right now that I just haven't had the chance to update. And I could probably sit here and tell ya all about it, but I have this silly thing about posting without pictures. I just don't like to do it. Especially, when what I'm writing about actually has a picture or two to go with it. But we're here at Matt's parent's house for the weekend and I don't have any of my pictures.

So, you'll have to wait. Sorry.

But just rest in this: AMAZING things are happening around us here in Houston. And the LORD is continuing to show HIS faithfulness and pour out HIS beauty in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

Just stay tuned for all the stories...and the pictures. ;)

Oh, By the Way...

I believe I have a confession to make to all you loyal readers of this humble blog. For a couple months now, I have been keeping another blog on the side. *GASP*

Now, I realize I may need to explain myself and I intend to do so. You see, I used to write a lot all throughout my school days. While some may grimace at the idea of writing papers and essays, I actually really enjoy it. And I had been feeling a lot lately that I had really lost the skills involved in writing. No, I'm not particularly great at it. And I do make many grammatical and punctuational errors fairly frequently. But there's something about getting my thoughts about various topics down into written form. I also rather enjoy being able to go back to what I wrote about months/ years ago and see the changes that have happened, either progress in writing or just entertainment at visiting different memories.

So why keep TWO blogs and not just mold them into one? Honestly, I'm not too sure. The only reason I can come up with is that some of you are really only interested in our ministry here at UH. And don't get me wrong...I don't for one minute think that absolutely nobody is ever interested in our personal lives. But I'm also not so foolish enough to believe that everyone wants to hear about all that. And I don't at all believe that our lives in ministry are separate from our personal lives. Because I believe that our normal, everyday lives are just that...ministry. I guess it's just easier to be relaxed and maybe even a little goofy on the personal blog. Does that make sense?

Anyway, if you are indeed at all interested in my blabberings and random thoughts and stories, then by all means...please give my other blog a little visit. I'll be more than happy to host you over there on occasion. And between the 2 blogs, you just might be able to know a little bit about what goes on in our lives. And feel free to leave a little comment or such, just to let me know that you stopped by. :) Happy Blogging!