Motivation

Sometimes you just need a little motivation from Rocky.....

PSALM 84

Really loving this passage: Psalm 84- highlighted some of my favorite verses, but I love it all. 

biblegateway

English Standard Version (ESV)

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)The Gittith.^[a] A Psalm of ^(B)the Sons of Korah.

84 

How ^(C)lovely is your ^(D)dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!

² 

My soul ^(E)longs, yes, ^(F)faints

    for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

    to ^(G)the living God.

³ 

Even the sparrow finds a home,

   and the swallow a nest for herself,

    where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

    ^(H)my King and my God.

⁴ 

Blessed are those who dwell in your house,

    ever ^(J)singing your praise! Selah

⁵ 

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

^(K)in whose heart are the highways to Zion.^[b]
6 

As they go through the Valley of Baca

    they make it a place of springs;

    ^(L)the early rain also covers it with ^(M)pools.

⁷ 

They go ^(N)from strength to strength;

    each one ^(O)appears before God in Zion.

⁸ 

O ^(P)Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
⁹ 

^(Q)Behold our ^(R)shield, O God;

    look on the face of your anointed!

¹⁰ 

For a day ^(S)in your courts is better
 than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be ^(T)a doorkeeper in the house of my God

    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

¹¹ 

For the Lord God is ^(U)a sun and ^(V)shield;

    the Lord bestows favor and honor.

^(W)No good thing does he withhold

    from those who ^(X)walk uprightly.

¹² 

O Lord of hosts,
 ^(Y)blessed is the one who trusts in you!

4th Annual CCC-San Marcos Iron Chef Competition

 Ding, ding, ding.....Let's get ready to rumblllllleeeee!
That's right, Oct 20 was our 4th annual  women's cooking war, and it was delicioso!

What is this all about you ask?  Well, let me fill you in....


The women of Christ Community Church- San Marcos love to cook, chat, and bond, and what better way to bond than over some great meals. In fact, we love bonding so much that we decided to make a little competition of it, so for the past 4 years we have successfully used this competition as an opportunity to get to know the women of our church. From high school ,college, and young adults, to married and experienced moms and wives, we come together to learn life skills, hear encouraging stories and build community....

Titus 2: 3 says this, "^3 (C)Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, ^(D)not slanderers ^(E)or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴ and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled, ^(F)pure, ^(G)working at home, kind, and ^(H)submissive to their own husbands, ^(I)that the word of God may not be reviled. 

Our goal is to put into practice the word of God, using Titus 2:3-5 as a premise to why we do what we do, and to have a blast  while teaching and learning from  each other our different tricks of the trade when it comes to  not just cooking, but life as well.  It is so encouraging to see such a diverse group of women working together in the kitchen, trying new and challenging recipes and having fun . Plus, many of our experienced cooks have cool  gadgets that I will be putting on my wish list of  kitchen essentials, because every girl needs cool kitchen gadgets.

This was my fourth year participating in CCC-iron chef and I teamed up with Kendra and used her kitchen. Our team name was the e-LEMON-ators. Our ingredients were: ginger snaps cookies, kale, peppermint, and rice paper. We threw down, chopped up, sliced, diced, and shredded our way through the kitchen to cook up some tasty creations for our judges to enjoy. In the end- we lost! haha- but at least we had an intimidating name, sort of. Here are some pics of the day. Enjoy and I'm sure we'll get a KO ( knockout) next time.

our team: The e-LEMON-ators- taken with instagram

the ingredients- taken with instagram

the RUMBLE- taken with instagram

the THROWDOWN-  (we made the spring rolls) taken with instagram

the Lovely Ladies

the WINNERS: THE INTIMIDATION APRONS
my roomate, Kristin ( in the middle), was on this team

Aloha Hawaii

It's been awhile, but it's good to be back. 
I recently took a trip to Hawaii to enjoy some time away, but also to celebrate the marriage of amazing friends, the Kuranishi's. Such an awesome last name, and a great looking couple! Congratulations!

Ryan and Shannon Kuranishi

 During this trip, I soaked up the sun, hiked up trails, enjoyed some awe inspiring sights and the magnificent beauty set before me, and I cried.... not so surprising once you get to know me. jaja =) It was a magical time. My goals were to enjoy time with my sister, best friend Janet,  and  throw in some exercise, so even though I'm not much of a runner, I made a decision to get in a morning run on the beach with the intention of  taking time to talk with God and just listen. 

 One particular morning, as I set out, I began to take notice of the early risers, with their star-bucks coffee in hand, taking in the morning beauty that the sun was unraveling. The awe of expression on their faces was noticeable as  they, as well as I, became mesmerized with the beauty set before us. When I made it to the dock I stood, prayed, and at once salty tears came streaming down my face. In front of me was the vast endless ocean, behind me glorious mountains, palm trees, and of course people, so many people. My heart went out to them, like it does so many times when I am on the campus,  traveling on a plane, or just in a shopping mart, as I  heard the holy spirit say,  "set before you is so much beauty and wondrous things, end even with all this beauty and majesty that you see, YOU are the crowning glory of all my majesty and work- fearfully and wonderfully made set before people to lead them to my joy everlasting- I CHOOSE YOU, I CHOSE YOU, I PREDESTINED YOU ... For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. I was hoping that my sweat masked my tears, but probably not, as I thanked God for this revelation of who he made me to be; to shine for his glory...For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land (Zech 16:b)... and to not shrink back but be bold . Simultaneously, I prayed for courage to GO and lead others to him; to his true joy, peace, and the love everlasting that he offers us; to call into family the many brothers and sisters just waiting to be accepted and loved.

 We are  bearers of GOOD NEWS chosen by God created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (eph 2:10). Our lives should reflect and direct people to Jesus- the way, truth and LIFE.  Even in a place as beautiful as Hawaii, there is a greater depth of  the beauty of truth inside of us just waiting to be revealed to others.  Jesus chooses to reveal himself  TO humans THROUGH humans." Peter Dusan. Will we have the courage to expose this truth? .....

 God sometimes uses a beautiful backdrop to reignite the flame inside of us because he desires us to know him, and to be known by him; he desires for his people to be brought back to him, so he chooses us to go and tell ..... Therefore, I am persuaded and driven by the fear of the Lord to persuade others.... I desire to live passionately and purposefully for Jesus Christ; to live others focused, see lives changed, destinies called forth, people empowered with the Gospel, because GOD CHOSE ME & he CHOOSES YOU. 

I'm Back

Well, I'm back!
It's been awhile since I last updated this blog, and to tell you the truth I didn't think I'd come back. It has come my understanding that sitting down and writing out a plan is not a super power of mine, and  neither is blogging. I'd much rather read other blogs, or take a walk outside, when it's not 2000 degrees,  like it often is in TEXAS, or just sit and relax. Don't think  that I'm content to let my life stay that way which is why, today,I decided to get back to blogging. 

Also, my roommate now has a blog, and she's an excellent story teller/writer so you definitely got to check her out : Kristin Carafano. She is part of the inspiration for this blog, so props to my homie! AND,  if you're reading this and cringing at the numerous grammar mistakes then you may want to check me out later when I have mastered the art of correct punctuation, or use it as a learning tool on how not to construct a sentence. =) 

 

With that said, I gotta jet and save some of my thoughts for later. 

Remember, "This is the day the Lord has made BE GLAD IN IT!"

hasta luego!

elissa

In the Beginning.....

..... I had a thought. In fact I have lots of thoughts, and now there is a place to put them; this blog =)

This  blog is really exciting for me, and will enable me to continue to share life with you as I work on campus,  learn new things and travel different places. Hope you enjoy my thoughts!