The Wonderful Cross

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

See from his head, his hands, his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown

O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live
O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace draw near and bless
Your name

Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all

We sang this song tonight at church, and I love it! I love the power of these lyrics and how true and sweet they are. I love coming back to the point of knowing that my life has been paid for by Jesus and the wonderful cross. I love that truth more than anything else. I have to remember that because of that suffering, Christ demands my soul, my life, my all. I without a shadow of a doubt give him my all. I pray that my love for Him would never cease to increase, and that my life would continue to be an image of His. I pray that every person I come into contact with would feel the love of Christ that lives within my soul. My life has been bought, and I'm so thankful to be a daughter to the King who will reign forever. I thank God for the work that He has done in my life thus far. His love is everlasting, and unchanging, forever and ever. He is eternal, unlike anything else that you've ever known. Amen.

Likes and dislikes...

Likes: I really enjoy looking at sunsets, I think I see the Lord's beauty shine more through a sunset than any other thing I've come into contact with. A conversation over a great cup of coffee at Dominican Joe is always good for my soul. I had one of the best conversations there just last night with a very dear friend of mine. I really like to sleep late. If I had my choice, I would go to bed around 2am every night, and get up around 10am. I like watching the News, because I'm a little bit of a nerd. I've become addictive to text messages. There's something about sending a message that's much more fun than having a thirty second conversation. I really like watching college sports, in particular college football. That's my favorite thing to do on Saturday's in the fall. My favorite TV show is, The Hills. I have a healthy/unhealthy obsession with Lauren Conrad. (I feel the eye rolling from everyone reading this blog). I like sleeping with the fan on. When I'm stressed or have had a long day, one of my favorite things to do is get my eyebrows waxed. Strange? Maybe? Whatever. Eating Gelato at Central Market is one of my favorite things to do with my roommate. Sitting on the beach in the Dominican Republic is probably one of the most relaxing things I've ever done. My favorite type of food is breakfast food. I love jamming out to worship music on the way to work. My bible from my freshmen year of college is one of my favorite things ever. I like flashing the hook'em sign. I love the Austin skyline.

Dislikes: My biggest pet peeve in the ENTIRE world is when people don't return my phone calls/texts/messages, etc. etc. I've literally had to pray about this, because it's probably the most frustrating thing to me. Something about it just makes me want to scream. I don't like to get up early (see above about my liking of sleep). I don't like heels. I don't enjoy paying for gas. I wish I could do more with that money. I don't like awkward conversations. I don't like "those girls". You know what I mean. I hate (yes hate) being lost, especially if I'm the one driving.

That's all for now... just a little insight on my crazy/awesome life.

Godspeed.

Love.Faith.Hope


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leticia ana
1 john 3:18

The Dominican Republic

If we are remotely good friends you probably already know that I've been to the DR. You probably know that I spent five glorious weeks there this summer. You might even have seen a change in me since I've been back. Regardless, you should know that the Lord has given me a heart to serve this country, it's people, and in particular it's children.

I spent five weeks this summer, sweating for Jesus, literally. The Lord showed me so much about love while I was there. Going into my trip, I thought I knew a lot about the area of love. It was one of those fruits that I felt I "had" down. It's one of those fruits that I thought was easy, and therefore I had it "perfected". God challenged me to love people while I was there that weren't always easy to love, and He showed me that in order to carry out the love of Christ, I would have to show it equally to anyone I came in contact with. The Lord blessed me tremendously with an amazing support system of believers who had all given up their summers in the States to go and serve this country along side me. God showed me for the first time in my entire life what true community looked liked. It blew my socks off.... (I never wore socks, but you get it). It was amazing what it was like living, cooking, serving, laughing, crying, sweating, and most of all loving one another as a staff this summer. That picture of community will forever hold a very near and dear place in my heart. I <3 MAK interns/staff Summer 2007!!!

Fast forward six months and my return to Austin. I've been praying since I've been back about my return. The Lord and I made it official last week as I booked my plane ticket to Puerto Plata, DR for March 2nd. I have been given the opportunity to spend twelve glorious days there. Words on this screen cannot convey how excited I am. I'll be serving along side two of the greatest girls I know, Camille and Robin, working at the new Colegio Makarios! Woohoo! I know the Lord is going to do big things in my life, again. I'll pray that I'll come back with a new outlook, and will come back a different person.

Please join me in prayer for round 2.

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 1:27

Let's do this.

Godspeed.

Love.Faith.Hope

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leticia ana
i juan 3:18

Such is life...

I'm not sure if a single soul will ever read this, but here's goes nothing.

I've been alive for a little over 24 years, I've graduated from the best college (haha) in the country, the University of Texas at Austin. I've been a lot of places, and seen a lot of things, A LOT. Life has been good thus far.

In all those things, the one thing that I've learned is that God is good, and God is faithful, always and forever. Through all the knowledge that I've come across, and all the formal "education" I've had, that's the only thing that I know without a doubt to be good, and to be true. God has showed me his faithfulness of the years of my life, but in particular the past five and half where I've been walking with Him as faithful as a I could. There were times where I felt on fire, and there were times that I felt like I was dead (in a non morbid way), there were times where I felt loved, and there were times when I didn't, there were times that I was strong, and there were times when I was weak, there were times when I was filled, and times where I was drier than a cactus in the Arizona desert. Through all of these times, the Lord continued to show me how good and sovereign He is, He was, and how He always will be.

The Lord has poured out an abundant amount of love, grace, and mercy into so many areas of my life. And what better way than to pour the same amount and more into the life of others around me. I've been blessed to know some good good people. Some in different seasons in my life that are over, and some that I know I'll be friends with forever, or so I hope. My love for people continues to grow as I continue to love the Lord. He's changed my heart in so many ways over the past five years, that when I look back on my life before I was walking with Him, I'm kind of uneasy about the person that I was before. Even though I wasn't walking with Him in those times, I felt the Holy Spirit in my life, and working on my heart. I felt Him close doors that needed to be closed in my life. I felt Him open doors and opportunities to bring me closer to Him. Nothing in life is a coincidence. Everything in life is perfectly planned in His will, and will carry out exactly how He sees it. Isn't that freakin sweet?

I could go on and on, but that's all for now. It's after 11pm, and I'm supposedly an "adult" now so I should probably go to bed so I can work for the man tomorrow! What does that even mean?

Godspeed.

Love.Faith.Hope

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leticia ana
i john 3:18