Farewell Crossview Party!

My church had a fun party on Sunday evening to give thanks to the Lord for our time together as a church. Here are some pictures from the party where we ate el pollo loco, watched a slideshow, played games, photoboothed it up, thanked God specifically for one another, and ate dessert. Its becoming all too real that these people who I adore- I will not see them as often as Id like, and there are icky sticky emotions! But God is sovereign and good always. I was glad to have a celebration like this :)

Tina and Paulo Got Married :)

My best friend got married at her home this weekend. Ive been to this home many many times in my life, but indeed this visit was a special one :) Being friends with tina for 18 years, seeing her look stunning in her white dress was a day I very much looked forward to. Her hair was beautiful- she did it herself!!! Oh the many talents of this girl! Paulo and Tina are so darn cute. They are affectionate and clearly loving towards one another. Paulo (who is from Brazil) is just a sweet man, Ive had a chance to hang out with him several times during his trips to the United States. He even played a hilarious trick on Jose by replacing a soap bar with a slice of cheese. Jose ended up rubbing that cheese on his face! :p It was a nice, simple, caring, double-languaged, ceremony filled with support from all who attended (even those in Spirit like Paulos fam in Brazil)! Tinas mama baked a most beautiful cake. Can you believe that! She also cooked for us delicious goodies afterwards. May many more memories be shared between these two and may they be apart of my life all the more! They are trekking up to SF for this season for their careers. Will visit SOON! I snapped a couple hundred pictures that day but those are a handful of my favs.

Thank you, Crossview!

I am thankful that Jesus is King and our High Priest. Although it seems SO SO bitter that Crossview is ending, it is awesome to know that God does everything for my good because I love Him. I wanted to give thanks for my almost 2 years at Crossview.

10 Things I loved about Crossview

The Gospel
The gospel message was preached to me every single Sunday from the pulpit. The gospel message was repeated to me by other members on days when I had unbelief, fell into temptation over and over, or neglected to be satisfied in Christ alone. I constantly need this truth and it was refreshing to receive it as often as I did. This gospel message is the good news that Jesus, the blameless and perfect Son of our Creator bore our past, present, and future sins on a cross and died for who would believe in Him. By his suffering and wounds those who would have faith in Christ have been healed and called out of darkness into marvelous light. Those who trust in Christ are now God's people and have received mercy. I am thankful this good news drove Crossview to live for Christ as its foundation and sole joy.

My Pastor
PJ...PJ....PJ. I love my pastor's preaching. I have learned a lot as I attempt to listen actively for 1 hour every Sunday. He exposits the scripture verse by verse giving context and application of the text. He gives solid points while God convicts and encourages my heart during the preaching. He encourages visiting Christians, our local church, and nonChristians. In addition Gods grace through him on the pulpit, PJ is a wonderful shepard to me personally. He has taken time to know me, encourage me, celebrate certain milestones with me, and rebuke me. He has certainly shown me areas where I have grown and areas where I am ignorant and am in need of God. I have been prayed for and cared for by this man. And finally in addition to that, I really see integrity and a lot of love in PJ.I see integrity in his willingness to be transparent to his brothers in fighting sin. I see the way he loves his wife and family and how they love me. That stems from his leadership. His vision for church planting and telling all the good news is so encouraging. I am looking forward to Lord willing continuing to be sheparded by him :)

My Sisters
OH GOSH. how do I not straight up start crying now! These girls will probably make me the most emotional as Crossview disbands. I will miss those who I wont be gathering with but do HOPE to continue to share life with them. Ive never had a more open honest loving grace filled relationship with a group of a girls. These women truly rejoiced with me and carried my burdens. There were moments of rebuke in times of sin but oh how there were sweet moments of God's grace as Jesus made me white as snow. These were tough questions asked of my heart, and tears as I dealt with the consequences of sin, but the words of truth that flowed from these women was so edifying. Ive read with these girls, have had hours upon hours of raw conversations with them, laughed together in all our silliness, were broken hearted together as we saw our depravity. There was no saving face, or pretending to be a Christian woman. We are all sinners, who are now saints because of Christ. I am thankful we had each other as a great gift from the Lord. They were lights to me. It was a means for Him to be glorified in all our interactions.

My Brothers
I think prior to coming to Crossview, I was jaded by men in my life who didnt really value or protect or care for a woman. I found it normal for a man to be sexual, crude, and prideful. For a season, I desired that in a man. I have been blessed a manifold times by the men at my church. I will miss these community of brothers being together. I personally have seen my own fiance grow so much specifically because of men who love the Lord, want to lead their wives well, truly learning how to be sacrificial servants, and hate sin. I will miss the absolute ridiculousness between these guys as well as real true love for one another. I enjoyed reaping the benefits of them being intentional, bold, compassionate, challenging, and loving.

Praying
It has been a joy to make prayer such an important and vital heart beat to our church. We would pray at least 5 times during sunday gatherings uniting as a church under the Lord. We praised the Lord, confessed our multitude of sins as a whole, asked God's to discern the text during the preaching, prayed as we were sent off for the week to make disciples and enjoy the Lord, and during communion as we broke break and wine. We had prayer lists which was helpful to remind us to contact others to ask how to pray for them. I had brothers and sisters a like pray for me throughout the week- in person, over the telephone, or text. We see prayer requests via email to the entire church and we are able to let them know we prayed for them. Crossview was imperfect, and we should have prayed more, I know I definitely should have, and need to continue to grow in this.

Singing Together
I loved loved loved singing with my church. The voices of broken sinners praising our God who is our hope. Ah-soooo good. While we are all different types of people gathering together, we have one voice singing hymns and psalms of praise. I came from a big church where I very much enjoyed the band playing and the loudness of the musical instruments. Coming to CV I came to learn and absolutely love singing hymns to a guitar. It was all about the gospel truth be embedded into the songs that called my heart to sing. Singing as a church certainly helped me bind my wandering heart to Thee. These were my fav songs to sing at Crossview: Jesus Paid It All, Before the Throne, In Christ Alone, How Deep, Jesus, Thank You, You're All to Us

My Local Church
One of the reasons why I came to Crossview was that I was learning the importance of the local church. Church Membership. Accountability. Being part of the body. This local church (although it was a 35 minutes drive away, 45 minutes if Jose's driving ;p) was my imperfect and yet perfect for me home church. These people discipled me and let me disciple them. In fact we were called to do just that in our covenant. I witnessed 3 excommunications for unrepentant sin, in which Ive seen 1 restoration and deep wrestling in the heart for the other 2. Ive seen only by God's grace has He kept me from stumbling into a nonchristian and a big reason is because God is using my local church to remind me of the good news.

Meeting Needs
The coolest thing I was blessed by was that our church was almost always meeting mental and physical needs. Ive seen bills paid, money given, homes shared, food given time shared to find housing or peace of mind. It was a blessing to see people who didnt even know a person that well give without hesitation, expectatoin, or strings attached. Thsi is because the Lord has given us MORE than we deserve. Our money is not our money- it is the Lords. Our time is ought to be spend glorifying Jesus. We ought to be cheerful givers. I saw displays of that time and time again and my heart rejoiced.

Eating Together
This was not just a tradition done after Sunday gatherings- but a part of life in order to bless one another. This is where a big chunk of my money goes to- but gladly so. I eat with people all the time in order to listen, speak, carry burdens and celebrate with them. Eating after sunday services were always wonderful- I got to see people give to the church to the provide lunch for others, serve others food, and then the speaking of truth after and sharing life was always beautiful to see. I hope to continue to eat with others and provide food for others whether on the street or in my own home in marriage.

Disciples Making Disciples
Oh how this was engraved into my head and heart during my time here. I saw the importance of not only being a disciple of Jesus but also being a disciple who wants to make disciples of Jesus. Following the great commission but also continuing to teach other women and encourage men in Christ! Ive seen members try to live this out on a daily and I will try to live the same way. One thing I would like to grow in at the next local church I am a member of are practical and good opportunities for missions either locally or overseas. I feel strongly about evangelism and gospelizing others and would like Jesus's help to shape me into Him in telling other the good news more often. Pray for me and this new season!

I am looking forward to to transferring to a new church. I will keep you updated on pending membership in the future.

Oh, Crossview! :'( Thank you for so much! Oh Jesus, My Lord - an even bigger Thank YOU!

2 Timothy 2

I am cherishing these Sundays with my Crossview Church family. I am writing these blogs to remind me that God speaks through the preaching of God's sovereign word, the gathering of believers, the praying of sinners, and singing of broken yet redeemed people. Here are some things that encouraged me from Sunday's gathering

This text gives us clear pictures of how we are to be faithful to Christ- as a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer.

Verse 9B

"But the word of God is not bound!"

This is so brilliantly uplifting. Although I fail, my God and His word has no end, boundary, or limitation. It runs to ends of the earth, reconciling sinner to God.

Verse 10

"I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory."

I must remember this goal. This ought to be my every moment thinking and the ultimate vision in loving others. Verses 14 and 16

"...not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers."

"But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness..."

Aas a woman and as a sinner- I talk. This is how I more effectively communicate with others. This is where I am prone to sin daily! My heart wanders into nonsense talk, puffing my heart and head up. May this convict me to stop my tongue from falling into this trap.

Verses 22-26

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, table to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

APPLY APPLY APPLY! In a day, or month, or years from now, look back into this blog and hopefully God has given you grace to grow in these areas. Ask accountability for help in this!

One of my favorite parts of the gathering was my church celebrating mine and Jose's engagement. They really have encouraged us the ENTIRE way whether it was by praying, giving wisdom, giving helpful words when we were discouraged, and telling us we were honoring the Lord by moving into this season. It was wonderful to have them rejoice with us. We are thankful.

FRISCO TRIP

Jose and I were warned a couple times not mention "Frisco" but only names like The Bay, or The City, or Norcal... But Jose couldn't help himself (the Noob) and kept asking dear friends questions and the happenings about "Frisco". Here is our trip!

We flew there on Virgin and my aunt kindly let us stay in her beautiful home!!!!

We started off Friday with Jose finishing his sermon for school... I got to relax :)

We headed out to explore the city on our own! We Barted (We fancied this type of transportation!) over to Embarcedero where we walked another 25 minutes to pier 39. Let me tell you about the walking. We WALKED. I will never complain again about walking a measly 0.2 miles or something. These city people WALK and they are FAST. We are suburb-y, slow paced, chillers who need to exercise more to keep up!

Jose was more than happy to try the fried seafood while I loved their clam chowder. I dont like seafood, so he was glad to get his fill!

We saw sea lions, all sorts of people, and beautiful water, scenery, and perfect weather.

We also got to have delicious chocolate at you know where! bomb.

Jose got to meet my dearest friend Sarah finally and I was glad we were all able to eat together! She showed us around North Beach and taught us the way of the Uber!

Saturday we got to go on a lovely short hike with my aunt and her friend through redwood trees!

We then met up with my best college friends- Shelley, Jie, and Kevin. We ate some tasty, flavorful wings, boba, visited these beautiful stairs, and checked out Lands End! That was breathtaking and truly had us reflecting on God's mercy and creation. They generously drove us around Richmond and Mission District where we went to this little hip coffee place.

Jason met up with us and we ate at a cool burger joint! Was delish. We caught up and talked about his move to SF, and God's favor in our lives. It was delightful indeed.

We got up early to go out for bfast just me and him :D

Sunday Jose and I were looking forward to visiting Reality SF Church. We were thankful to see these brothers and sisters in the Lord trying to be lights in this city. Singing was a blessing and the preaching was applicable and encouraging.
Jose got to meet two more GFs from college where we ate sandwiches and ice cream. It was lovely!

We met up with family and went pedal boating- on a BUM BOAT (no motor). This was hilarious because we were very slow. But it was fun for my cousins to meet jose. We ate thai food afterwards too!

Jose and I took the mega bus home- which I am still considering whether that was the best way of transportation for us because we were very achy throughout the night with little sleep. All in all- we kept saying how much we loved our trip :) Thank you SF! Thank you God!

Psalm 32

My pastor (PJ) preached on this passage a couple of Sundays ago. In God's perfect way, He has reminded me of this sovereign word in multiple occasions since then. Ive read it with sisters, explained the gospel through it to others, and it has been solid food for my soul. 

Let me try to convey its blessings to me.

Verse 2

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

I desire to have no deceit, to have integrity, to have wholeness in Christ. I used to have a HUGE issue with this in the past, but by the grace of God am being conformed daily to His son, and with His help I am growing more in integrity.

Verse 3

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

This is absolutely true when I have un-confessed and unrepentant sin building up as I try to save face. It is a BLESSING to confess to the Lord and to others real sins, struggles, and temptations in order to enjoy Christ more. It is so freeing.

Verse 6

Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found

It was a REALLY big wake up call for me to remember that God does not OWE me anything and I cannot demand from him that He keeps me in His favor as His elect. In every moment, I need to remember to go to God with a supplication of prayers as He is near and is keeping me now.

Verse 8

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

This be applicable to me daily, and may I kill my sins of pride, stubbornness and disobedience to God.

Verse 10

Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.

Now this is where the Gospel was all up in my face and heart. Jesus was on the cross bearing the HEAVY weight of our sin, sorrowful for all of our wickedness from the past, present and future. BUT the love- the steadfast love of God the Father surrounded His Son and He raised Jesus from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of God- glorified! Because Jesus trusted and was obedient to the Father, steadfast love surrounded Him on the cross. Now, I know His steadfast love can do the same in my life, and fill me with joy, if I continue to trust the Lord.

Verse 11

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

An exhortation for you, for me, for all Christians who are called to rejoice because of how blessed we are in Christ!

Super September

I love September. It carries a bit of heat from summer but everyone is looking forward to the cool down part of Fall. Its a month where school begins for some, a new season for others, and I always feel refreshed. Its also my month of birth which is an added bonus! Aside from bday festivities, SF trip, and getting engaged to my bff, heres what went down!

I had coffee with Kim. Weve been doing this once a year since high school!

Dinner with friends to send off our friend Jason to SF for a new season

Cali Adventure with Jess- her first time at cars land!

Acai bowls with Tina!

Times are a-changin with my Crossview Church and Im excited for them. Will blog about that soon.
Line dancing for the first time with new friends!

Celebrating Pawluk and Shelbys engagement at their fancy party!

Having family visitors from SF over for dinner- which we all helped to prepare!

Homemade dinner with friends and lots of laughing
Spending time with Fiona
Favorite tv show time with family!
I am really thankful for these moments that God allows me to share with beautiful people.