i called, You answered

and I Will Rise when he calls my name
no more sorrow,no more pain
i will rise,on eagle's wings
before my God fall on my knee
and rise
i will rise
-"I Will Rise" Chris Tomlin

"ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. for everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened."-Matthew 7:7-8

my God, my God..how You have truly, truly blessed me. i am in such awe right now. who knew 5 weeks would go by so fast and now i am approaching my last week of my first session of classes...i am working off of two hours of sleep due to an all-nighter with homework!!!!! what the heck man?!

but i just can't WAIT to go to the Outer Banks. i am SO excited for the roadtrip down there..it's one of my fav states :o) and to be out in the sun and on the beach for a goooooood tan!

today marks my graduation from Starting Point, which is the membership class thing everyone has to go through at Covenant Life if they are interested in becoming a member and getting involved. i have to say, i have never looked forward to today as much as i ever. i just kept smiling as i drove to church and smiled even BIGGER on the way home even though i am tired.

9 patiently waited out weeks for this...actually more for me because i had to make up some!!!!! but man, oh man. how awesome! i was thinking in the car ride home what to write about..i've been having trouble choosing what to share since so much has happened in the past week!! but i think sharing the joy i have now that i have a church to call home is as amazing as any other story i would tell :0)

looking back, it's been almost four years since i came to faith. freshman year, i used to walk with a group of kids to the nearby church at school since none of us could have cars yet. those were good times. but then when there was thanksgiving, winter, and spring break..i'd pretty much dwindle in my faith because it was so hard to keep at it with my new walk alone here at home. it's a totally different world here and i never felt so discouraged.

i would come home, lock myself in my room with my dog and we'd just listening to worship music while i read my Bible. and everytime, i would wonder and ask God, "when will i find a church here at home to grow so i don't fall away?"

i had found a pretty good church sophmore year when i met a girl that was going to be a freshman at Towson. she lived by me at home and we decided to meet at her church. who woulda knew that it was a church in Germantown, where my mom works! and by the Grace of God, it was a church i was used to from the churches i had been to at Towson. the Pastor captivated me and challenged me with the way he spoke the sermons.

i never sat with the girl or anything, so soon enough, i felt lonely. it was weird to just sit there with no one to talk to and not having met anyone there yet. i felt discouraged that it seemed as if i had not made any progress in the social department after going to this church for a good while.

junior year, i stopped going and had been just jumping around from church to church whether it was at Towson or at a friend;s local church. i wasn't sure where i was to fit in and how to really get plugged in with serving and all. i felt lost, and empty because what i thought church would give me, i was not receiving.

who knew it would only take this past school year for my Father to bless me with two girls (Lena and Charity) that came to InterVarsity one night to lead me to their church. when i first met these two girls, i was already excited by finding out they were from MoCo AND close by to where i lived. they were so excited in sharing with me about their church and how they were involved. i was somewhat nervous, but i asked Lena if i could check out their church with them one Sunday. man, i remember this night like it was yesterday. i can't thank God enough for how welcoming Lena was for letting me sit with her and her family when we finally planned a day for me to come to church.

since mid January, i had been sitting with Lena and her family every Sunday. she'd invite me out to all these lunch outtings with other people i would meet and show me around the church. it didn't take me long to make the decision of really committing to this church. the sermons were really encouraging, the music....took some getting used to, the people there are so nice, and i knew these two girls from school would be there as company.

as i had been growing to know the church more, i had also been growing and spending more time with these two girls at their apartment. i finally decided to take the membership classes because i have been anxious to serve at a church. there is just so much i want to do! for these 9 weeks i missed out on sitting with Lena in the second service and had to get my butt up even earlier! it was a challenge, but it has paid off!

i feel like i am on Cloud 9. i've met my sweet Pastor. i've gotten to know more girls at the church..some who i am living with along with Lena and Charity next year. but these girls have made such an impact on my growth this year..it's incredible. i can't even put into words right now. i CANNOT wait to meet up with my Pastor again to plug me into a caregroup and start serving wherever God leads me. aaaaaaaaaaand about that Baptism thing..hrm. haha, makes me nervous just thinking about it! i am so excited to have the opportunity to spend even more time with these girls at our new apartment next year and also on our carrides to and from caregroup and such. it's gonna be a blast and a growing experience.

i can pretty much say, this is the start of a new chapter in my life. with church under my belt, two summer classes almost done, OBX for the first time, a new computer, a (sometimes) decent job, FINALLY a prayer answered--being able to live with a Christian roommate..and God exceeded by giving me four of them!! slowly trying to get back into fellowship, my faith has been a lot stronger--reading in the Bible a lot more and being diligent in prayer. my relationship with my brother is so special to me. we've established hugs now and then this past year. and it is so amazingly sweet. my mom, brother, dog, and i are all entering a new chapter together as of July when we are now preparing to move into a smaller house, somewhere in Germantown or Gaithersburg. i just found out the papers are finalized in July. sighs. it's gonna be bittersweet, but it's time to move on. i know i've been ready. and i know the rest of the summer and in the next year or two, this new chapter will require A LOT of faith, trust, and hope in Christ.

please keep this in your prayers....

"though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.."-Ecc. 4:12