Minnesota: It was bound to happen eventually

I love to travel. I could care less where I'm going as long as I'm going somewhere new, with people that I love. I get to do one of my all time favorite things with Ryan this Saturday- travel to Minnesota! This trip sort of became a last minute, good timing, now or never type of things. We've always talked about going out there since both of us have family in Minnesota, and now we actually get to go! It'll be 5 days full of Ryan's family and my family. We'll probably be family-ed out by the end and say "what were we thinking" at the end. I have to say I'm super pumped for this place: Mall of America-- a shopping dream!

I'm especially excited to see my uncle, aunt and cousin. It has been over 4 years since I last saw them at my grandparents funerals and that's a long time! A lot has changed since then, most notably for my uncle. He has been battling cancer for awhile now which is soon going to be taking him to be with the Lord. What a testament his life has been on so many lives! Talk about not wasting your life or your cancer! I greatly admire the courage and passion for the Lord that my uncle has. Read his journal here and you'll see what I mean.
My mom's side of the family has been hit with cancer and death the most. I can't tell you how much I have learned about the peace that surpasses all understanding during those times of loss. My grandparents were my second set of parents and two people that I was always close to because well, they lived next door! My grandparents and my uncle are people who inspire me to not waste my life here on this earth. Life is such a precious gift and we are commanded to use it for the glory of God and the building of his kingdom. The Lord has hit so many lessons home through each passing family member. I am truly blessed with THE best family in the world. But I'm just a little bias :)
ps: I'm super excited about this coming into my life!

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Cru Update!

Love it! I can't tell you how pumped I am about Cru this year! It will be our second "full blown" year and I know it's going to be the best one yet! I'm expecting huge things and I know that God is going to completely blow those expectations away, just like He did last year. It's so cool to be on the other end as a leader, seeing plans develop and lots of conversations that go something like this:

"Do you think we can do this?"
"Uh nope, but God can!"

We are whole-heartedly jumping all in. There are lots of new and exciting things coming up even just this semester. This summer, the Lord has been especially preparing me for leadership. I'm so excited to serve with the "2nd generation" of leaders, and they are all so excited to serve. It's so much easier being excited about something when everyone else is pumped about it too. So here's what I'm expecting this year:

-to pack out the Washington Room weekly. I mean we were pretty much comfortably to capacity last year so it's only going to get better!
-to see a lot of local church involvement. We're working with a few local churches, especially in the first few weeks of the fall semester.
-to take double the amount of students to Radiate '10 in Baltimore, MD and a group of people to Big Break for the first time.
-to see Launch groups really take off (wow, no pun intended!)
-to see lives changed on CNU's campus and more outreach opportunities seized.
-to grow beyond our expectations, both in numbers and spiritually.
-to be really challenged by other leaders, staff members, Cru people and the Lord.

That's a super broad list, but there are lots of cool ideas we have for this year! I am SO unbelievably honored that the Lord gave me the call to be a Cru leader. I think it has blessed me more than I could have possibly imagined. For all you leaders, get excited. The Lord has great plans for this ministry and I am praying for each one of you! For those who have never been to Cru at CNU, seriously get on it. God is actively and visibly working in the lives of students at CNU. Be changed or be a part of seeing lives change. Yay, okay there's my update!

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