My Room!

Thought you all might enjoy some photos of mine and Holly's room!

Here's Holl relaxing on her bed

And another shot of our bedsMy shelf and entrance to our room

Our desks--side by side so we can look out at the sunshine together =) Oh, and check out our groovy Ikea light!
The awesome banner thingie that some of the sophomores here made for me! So encouraging!

Another shot of our desks from Holl's bed
Hope you enjoyed them! I'll try to post more photos as we have more fun! :)

Oh, and here's a look at the crazy people living in this room!!

First Week with the Girls!

Just a quick update to let you all know how things are going! I met all of my girls on Monday--all but one that is, because one of them ended up not coming to school here. So I am now mentoring 6 beautiful women of the Lord and I love them already! We had our first cell group meeting on Tuesday and we begin one-on-ones this coming week. I am blessed to be able to have these 6 girls in my life this year; I know that the Lord is going to use them to speak into my life and teach me many things!
On another note, today was our first day of class for the Fall semester-- Evangelism, Discipleship, and Community. As part of class today we broke up into groups of four and shared our testimonies with each other. I loved it, because sharing your testimony gets to such a deep part of your life opens up a whole new realm of who you are to others. I was very encouraged by it, and am looking forward to what else this class will bring. And hopefully I'll even learn more about discipling to benefit myself and my girls as I mentor!
My roomie unfortunately came down with a cold a couple days ago, and since then my body has been fighting getting the same, so please pray that my immune system would stay strong! I'm trying to get enough rest, but it proves difficult with my schedule! Thank you for your endless prayers on my behalf. :)

Rejoicing Always,

Jules

Grace

By the grace of God, I am what I am.


And yet I have so far to go. Funny how the times I think I am ready to minister to others the Lord totally shatters my paradigm and instead I end up being ministered to. The times I think I have it all together the Lord reminds me that I am a broken vessel capable of nothing on my own.
But then He shows me grace.
Oh grace, that undeserved favor. Grace— that preciousness, that kindness—bestowed upon one so unworthy. That glorious reminder that without the King of Kings life is gone. But, oh, grace abounds, and because it does, I go on. The Creator of this broken vessel sees fit to lift my face and speak life over me. He sings His delight over me and pours life back into me.
“Without You I have nothing. Without You life is gone. Without You I have nothing but these broken words and lifeless melody that lead me to this empty song. Will You be the words I sing? Will you be my melody? Will You be the song that I sing, and the life within me? Will You be my everything?” (Audra Lynn)


By the grace of God, I am what I am.

Home Away From Home

Well, friends, it's that time again! Actually this update is definitely not as punctual as I would have liked for it to be. I am once again in Minnesota -- that blessed state. For those of you who have never been, you are missing out, I tell ya. Life since I got here has been wild! I'm looking forward to having some down time... when I go home at Christmas! Ok, so that might be a slight exaggeration, but honestly, this is gonna be a wild year. I have been in meetings every day this week pertaining to either sophomore re-entry stuff or mentoring information. It's a lot!!! I am still very excited about being a mentor, but now I'm looking at this year a little more realistically and realizing it will be a very challenging one. I know that it is going to be a year of a lot of sacrifice and I am praying for the Lord's grace and power to not just survive, but thrive -- to reach new heights in my relationship with the Lord and others, and to be able to see great growth in the lives of my girls. I'm looking ahead to the prize.

The Lord has been pouring out blessings upon me during my 5 days here, primarily through my wonderful roommate and best friend, Holly. She has been a constant encouragement and insane blessing to me, doing things like unpacking all my belongings for me while I sit in long meetings! Who does that?! Haha! Only my wonderful Holly Doll. :) I am praying that the Lord gives me opportunities to bless her as well. I really feel like she is going to be one of the greatest blessings to me throughout this entire year.

Also, as you can imagine, it has been wonderful being back with Ryan again. He is heading into one of his busiest seasons as he coaches volleyball at North Central University, so I have been comparing my schedule to his and hoping we get some time to see each other this fall.... Haha, ok so it won't be quite that bad, but we are both going to be exceedingly busy and I am looking forward to the times when we will be able to enjoy each other's company during this time. Pray for us both!

Overall, I feel like the Lord is ready to do some refining work in my life, asking me what I am going to be willing to let go of in order to get the most out of this year. He wants me to let go of the things that are fleeting and live each day with eternity's values in view.

Please pray for me as I begin this next year. The Lord has so much in store for me!

::Pray for the freshman class coming on Monday, that the Lord would be preparing their hearts for what He wants to do in them this year.
::Pray that I would not be overwhelmed by everything on my plate, but would just take things one day at a time trusting the Lord to sustain me through a very busy, very challenging (but also quite possibly very rewarding!) season of life.
::Pray that I would not get sick this year. I am prone to get sick, especially under such stress and without enough rest. Please pray with me that the Lord would just protect me completely from getting sick!

Thank you everyone for your support and love! I could not do this without you. You are the wind beneath my wings! :)

Rejoicing Always!

Julie

At the Crossroads

It is these moments in life that are bittersweet. I'm on the brink of a new adventure -- in just one week I will be leaving home to live at school for another eight months. This is a time that I know will challenge me and grow me in ways that I would not experience growth if I remained at home with my family. I am very excited about what these next few months will bring, and I'm eager to live them with purpose, seizing each and every divine moment. On the other hand however, I am leaving home. Last night (and this whole summer really) I enjoyed beautiful moments with my family... basking in their love and laughing till I cried. It is those times in my life that remind me of what is really important, and I am rebuked for all the time I have wasted on worthless things when I could have been pouring into the lives of my family and receiving blessing.

So I am at a crossroads which I almost prefer not to find myself standing at. In walking forward I am seizing one thing and letting go of another. I know what I am missing when I am away from home and it makes my heart ache. Yet when the Lord has called me forward what can I do but walk forward and remember that "If I must go, things I trust will be better off without me" (Caedmon's Call)? God has ordained and purposed that I be away from my family at this time -- probably as much for their good as for mine, in whatever mysterious way the Lord works. I trust Him, and so I take leave.

Already, I know I have greater adventures awaiting me at Bethany than I originally thought. As of last Friday I have decided to step into a role a great responsibility: I am going to be a mentor for the incoming freshman class. The dean at my school called me on Wednesday asking me to consider stepping into this position, and I have agreed to do so -- after much prayer and consultation of my many advisors! I will have a cell group of 7 freshman girls that I will meet with one-on-one once a week and also lead as a group weekly as well. My heart is thrilled at this opportunity; it is something I have dreamed of doing since I was in middle school. I will be able to disciple this group of young women and perhaps have great impact in their lives during this school year. I know my mentor last year at school played a huge part in my spiritual growth. So I am excited at the idea, but also know that it will be a huge responsibility to lead these girls, manage my own classes, and be in a serious relationship all at the same time. Yet I know that He who calls me is faithful, who also will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24)! Without the Lord, I am not confident at all that I can do this, but with the Lord I know that I do nothing on my own and that He will use me in the lives of my girls and use them in my life too! It is an exciting prospect.

So at this moment, looking at my last week home before I embark on a new adventure, I am making one decision, and that is to hold on to the hand of my Savior with all my might, and to hold loosely to the things that are fleeting. It is all I can do -- I am declaring my dependence on Christ.