living a risky life.

Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened.

Jesus told me this, and he wasn't kidding.
I asked God for people to lead out in life, ministry and relationships and though it took longer than I initially expected (and wanted, for that matter), but he has clearly provided. I have been blessed with some wonderful leaders who see God's light in me and call out those things that are being developed so that small fire can be fanned into flames. I love being surrounded by people that clearly see my leadership qualities.

I want to be a leader, called out by God to face my fears & the world on the front lines.

I sought out people who need Jesus, people who need more love, people who are broken, people who want to laugh, people who want to live a crazy life for God. I have been seeking these people and BAM, here they are. Right in the midst of the crazy life I live in. There are people who needs healing words from God, confirming words from God, my own words about who God is and what He does, has done & is doing. Realizing that my story of redemption give HOPE to those who are lost & seeking. When I seek & find broken people I open the door for them to seek & find Jesus.

This world NEEDS God and it NEEDS adequate leaders who are not afraid to step out of their comfort zone and say, "Yes! I desire to do your will, oh God. I want to see your face before I ever see your hand bless me! I want to KNOW the One in whom I trust!" When I knocked on the door of God's holy temple and said, "hey, what do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go?" doors LITERALLY opened.

This year already looks like it's going to be marked by courage & risk-taking. Jesus gave me the image of a cliff. I am standing with one foot on the edge. This one foot represents how far i've come and that I am not afraid to step out and be different. It represents my foundation in Christ so far and it's a confirmation to me that I am constantly walking toward him. However, my other foot is still behind. This is my fear. I am afraid to take that last radical step up to the edge. I am scared to raise my hands in worship. I am scared to call out spiritual pride. I am scared to ask my brother to come to church.

Yes, I have these fears, but I have SOOO many more that have been completely shattered thus far in my walk. Jesus told me that this year, like Peter, I will step out of the boat and I will walk on water with Jesus. I will TRUST him with everything I have. Yeah, I'll sink a little, but when I reach out for his hand, He's right there - ALWAYS. What an incredible truth! I have no idea the ways God is going to use me this year but I know he's got some great surprises in store for me. The call to trust more and step out and take risks is absolutely terrifying, but God wouldn't call me to these things if he didn't know I could do them. To those much has been given, much is expected. I want to arrive at the door of 2012 hearing "Well done my good and faithful servant."

"Do what it takes to make yourself available for God to use you to change the world."


I wonder where God is calling you to take risks?

slow down everyone, you're movin too fast..

Freshman year of college .. come and gone. That is probably one of the craziest things I have ever said. When did that even happen? I really still can't believe it. And I also cannot believe that it is summer and I have 4 months to do whatever I want!

Here's a few updates on my life ..
1. I love college. Way better than high school.

2. I went to the school for the first time today. It was a blast. One of the kids on my street goes to Morton now which is fun. I thought he was in like third grade still. My how they grow up!

3. Random fact: I bought myself a guitar for Christmas and now, 5 months later, I can play 3 songs!

4. After moving everything back to my room at home from the dorm I can now conclude that ... I AM A HOARDER. My room is full of junk and more junk and even more junk. I have 2 small dressers full of junk. And a big dresser with 2 drawers full of junk. and shoe boxes full of junk. and junk on my floor and junk in the bathroom and junk on the walls. just STUFF. stuff I do NOT need.

5. I want to give away a lot of my clothes that I don't wear. I have already gotten rid of some, but there is more to come. If you like t-shirts and/or want to make a t-shirt blanket with me.. bring it on!

6. I will never drink lemonade through a straw again. The only way to fully experience the wonderful taste of lemonade is straight from the cup! I promise.

7. Winter means I listen to Death Cab for Cutie.. summer means I listen to Jack Johnson. Good thing he has a new CD coming out soon! YAY!

Also.. HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO! You celebrate your victories, Mexico. Today was altogther wonderful. I got to hang out with some middle school babies at fca, in the hallway & at lunch. I also got to hang out with Anna .. who I will only get to lead WL with for a little bit.. she loves cinco de mayo! Then I just layed out and played my guitar until I got a call from Chelsea and Kaitlin asking if I wanted to clebrate Cinco de Mayo with Chipotle and McDonalds.. of course. We witnessed a car wreck.. scary! Then the three of us hung out at Jacobson Park! We sat in the paddle boats, but didn't go anywhere because they're all locked up... LAME. We got on the swings and ran through the playground where we had to stop and take a sit because we are old. This is where we decided that we are going to all buy kites to take to Windy Gap next week. We're gonna see how windy Windy Gap really is! Then we went to go see Jenna. She was watching Lilo & Stitch.. one of her favorites. (: I got A Million Miles in a Thousand Years from her .. I cannot wait to read it!

What a wonderful day. God must REALLLLY love me. (:

Grace. Peace. LOVE.

where the heck have I been???

Friends, I am a terrible blogger. This semester has been SO crazy. I've done all kinds of really awesome and fun things and I have completely failed at keeping you informed!
Now that I'm over having a fail blog, I'd like to inform you on my life and everything that has happened this semester if I can remember it.

DECEMBER - JANUARY! longest winter break of my schooling career. It was fantastic but I definietly got bored. I hug out a lot with my dear friends Joshua Doss and Nathan Dilly, and of course... BECCA! There was a small mishap in the rain one day.I warned everyone to be careful going down my steps becuase they get verrry slippery. Needless to say, I first fell down all the steps and then the hill in my front yard and had to change my pants. Very funny.

FEBRUARY! A cold and historically boring month. Also my birthday! Valentine's day was NOT a bust this year. I had CRACKER BARRELL with my friends Bebo & Elizabeth, Nathan Dilly and .... VINNY! Then we headed to on of my first UK basketball games. IT was awesome. For my birthday I had lots of friends come with me to BD's MONGOLIAN GRILL for lunch. Everyone enjoyed some sweet hibachi cusutom meals. Adaeze got me a wonderful scarf aka a 'pashmina' it's cool and really pretty. THANKS GIRL! February was also filled by something we like to call YOUNGLIFE LEADER TRAINING! A bunch of friends and I gathered on Sundays after 608 to learn cool things about young life and what it means to be a leader. Very fun! Back to Basics will remain in my top 5 favorite books.. probably for life. Leader training = LEADER PLACEMENT. I believe 12 of us that did training ended up getting placed. ME BEBO AND CODY are now a part of the MMS WYLDLIFE TEAM. It's awesome! I also went to see Ben Soliee and Daniel Martin Moore at CD Central with my friend Joshua Doss. It was my first time seeing them and It was verrry fun. And it's always good to support local artists! BUY THEIR CD! (:

MARCH! March 1st Nathan and I became official. My first boyfriend in college and my first relationship with the Lord guiding my path. It's been fun! We're very different people but he is awesome and we're learning to deal with each other's quirks... I'm pretty quirky (: ON March 6th I successfully flushed my LG VU down the toilet in White Hall.. that was definitely awesome. EXCEPT NOT! haha. March also means SPRING BREAK! Kaitlin, Laura and I went to LAS VEGAS!!! It is soooo beautiful there. It's a totally different type of beautiful, too. There's no grass or really pretty green trees which seemed weird, BUT.... I never knew rocks could be so beautiful. Vegas was a mission/service trip with CSF. We got to help out with several organizations that really melted my heart. FAMILY PROMISE & OPPORTUNITY VILLAGE being the most amazing of them all.
After spending a few days in the fabulous Las Vegas we headed off to THE GRAND CANYON. Let me tell you something .... if you ever do anything in your life... if you ever want to see how amazing God is and how incredible his love is for us... GO TO THE GRAND CANYON!!! It's the most incredibly enourmously beautiful work of art that only God's hands could create and only his mind could think up. AWESOME! GO there, HIKE it, LOVE it. My advice... Go in March before it gets to be BLAZING HOT. We pretty much got to experience all the seasons. It was about 25 degrees while we slept and as you hike down into the canyon, every mile you go down increases 10 degrees. It was 60s near the bottom. PRETTY COOL!!!! I'll probably follow this up with another post full of pictures ... GET EXCITED!


Wellllll that's pretty much the gist of what's been going on since my last post. Sorry that I am such a terrible blog keeper-upper.

God is sooo amazing and I hope you go to sleep every night reminded of all the ways He reigns in this world and his amazing love for you, I know I do!

Grace & Peace,
AARIKA (:

"..and love your neighbor as yourself."

"You wake the sun in the morning.
You paint the sky in the evening.
You make the stars shine brightly
just because you love me.
You allow the rain to fall, let the wind blow.
You brush the trees on my window.
You dress the moonlight softly
just because you love me."

First of all, praise God for his unchanging love (romans 8:38-39) and the beauty of all His creation.

Second of all I would like to say that I love college. It's so much better than I could have ever imagined. The communities I'm a part of, the people who have embraced me and the girls who live around me have made my first semester a pure joy. Not only am I growing as a person and a student, but as a child of God. I have been a follower of Jesus for a little over a year and I could have never imagined that I would ever be where I am, thinking the way I do, loving the way I do and craving to serve and grow more and more the way I do. I LOVE it and I don't want to ever lose heart. I have reached a mountain top and I don't ever want to come down. In every aspect of my life, God is ever-present. Sometimes I just want to cry tears of joy because I'm so thankful for everything I have been given. Things like breathing, sight and laughter have all new meanings in everyday life.

Today I listened to a sermon on Fasting and Feasting. Feasting is a metaphor. We can feast with almost anything at any moment by extracting every bit of joy with it. You can feast on walking, biking, sex, food, even breath. Through eating a piece of chocolate, the audience learned how to feast. He told them to breath, relax, open up and enjoy the chocolate like it was their last. To conduct the joy of their mouth to their hearts. When we are feasting on the last piece of chocolate we will ever get, we don't want it to go to our stomachs.. you want it to go to your heart. Your stomach may be empty, but your heart is ALWAYS full - full of hope, full of love, full of light, full of joy, full of peace. Our hearts are full in endless amounts, but most of us forget it's even there. He called the audience to reactivate their heart's endless fullness.

Our only job is to feast because the groom is always with us. Pay attention, taste, and be joyful. Take what you love and transform it into the vehicle that takes you to God.

For a while I thought that I should be fasting from the things that I was giving too much importance. The fact that I almost always have an excess of meal swipes so i eat more than i should or the extra time in my day I spend napping.. little things I take for granted. I have learned that there are so many great things in my life. If I would take the time to feast on the good things that God has brought into my life, I can praise Him in new ways and feel full. Full of joy, full of peace, full of light, full of hope and full of love (hmm.. John 10:10?) When I am full and aware of the fullness of my heart and the huge presence of God I have more of myself to give away. More of myself that I can use to love people and serve people (Mark 10:43-44.)

It's weird that in College Life, bible study, my growth group reading Crazy Love, Synergy, Shift, 608, Centerpoint Church and just random occurances in my life, EVERYTHING is fitting together. You wouldn't think that YL, CSF, CPC & Southland .. 4 different organizations would all be on the same exact page. It's so awesome how God is bringing all of these things together like puzzle pieces revealing a bigger picture, slowly but surely.

"I see a generation rising up to take their place..
with selfless faith, with selfless faith.
I see a near revival, stirring as we pray and seek..
we're on our knees, we're on our knees.
Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest."

We're all on a mission to save and change the world with God's love. To show hope to the hopeless and love to the lost, confused, broken and sinful. They need us.. they need Christ. (James 2:15-17.) Let's get on our knees in prayer for the lost and needy people that are so close to us. Let's not miss the little opportunities. Lets not miss God's whispers.

A big God can do a lot with a little.

LOVE.

September 10th was World Suicide Prevention Day. As I skimmed the Facebook update on the topic, I was drawn in to the message as I have been many times before. A message that calls anyone and everyone to provide hope to the hopeless, and to perform small acts of kindness that can change, and even save a person's life. This is more true than anything I have ever heard, and it is such a simple concept. Why do we struggle with the simple things? I've heard time and time again that simple isn't always easy, but why not? Falling into the traps of this world have made the simple things in life so difficult, forgotten and looked down upon because everyone has this goal of making themselves number one. Those people are the biggest source of the problems in our world today. Our world, full of self-loving and self-loathing people, has corrupted everyone in its wake. Think about how hard it is not to judge someone at first sight. A judgemental mindset has become the norm and I'm NOT ok with it. As Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility value others above yourselves. Not looking to your own interests, but to the interests of others." If even a small group of people in our city changed their selfish thoughts to selfless acts the whole world could begin to change. It really is THAT simple.

I think a radical love is what our world needs and I'm so glad to be a part of a group of people trying to change the world. Slowly but surely I truely believe it can happen. Our corrupt world needs to be renewed and refreshed by an uncontainable sense of hope and love. Not only is my church, Southland, on this mission, but so is the organization, To Write Love On Her Arms.

As said in Francis Chan's recent book, Crazy Love, "I believe He wants us to love others so much that we go to extremes to help them, I believe he wants us to be known for giving - of our time, our money, and our abilities - and to start a movement of "giving" churches. In so doing, we can alleviate the suffering in the world and change the reputation of His bride in America. Some people, even some at my church, have told me flat-out. 'You're crazy.' But I can't imagine devoting my life to a greater vision."
This is exactly how I feel. Not only do I want to help change the image of the church in America, but also love others so much that I'll go to extremes to help them. To love others in such a huge way that they can't help but ask questions and begin to love themselves and others in return. This is what Christ and a few bold people did for me and that is ALL I want to do with my life.

This vision doesn't even have to be felt by people who call themselves Christians.. people feel this tug on their hearts everyday. There are people all around the world, people who have given up on the church and people of other religions that feel called to love in extreme ways and give their lives and everything in them for the sake of others. I undoubtably know there is a God who is calling my heart to love people in any circumstances of life. But why do these radical lovers hate the church? We need to change their image and show them the raw, absurd love of God and His son. Their eternal love so surpasses our understanding and ability that there is no way that with their help the whole world can't be changed.

I feel like its so easy for beleivers and non-believers alike to question God in really unappreciative ways, like God was created for us. NO. "All things were created by him and for him." The Bible clearly states that many times. So why when we are unhappy with our circumstances or the conditions of the world do we question God as to why they're like that? Why did WE ever let it get like that? We, the world, sinful people, have destroyed God's beautiful, flawless creation. We fail over and over and if we just stopped to praise Him constantly and love and give in His name, all the bad would fall away. I believe that with everything I have. You're thinking .. yeah, it could happen, but not in this generation. NO. If we all would just stop, praise Him constantly, love a little more and give daily in His name, our generation can change the world.
This thought started with suicide prevention. Suicide started from self-pity and self-pity started when someone felt unloved. WHY IS THERE ANYONE IN THIS WORLD THAT FEELS UNLOVED.

I'm going to change the world in the name if Jesus and His unfailing love.

college, a new adventure.

so first of all can i just say that i love college. my roommate is so fun and our room is beginning to feel like home. i have a few pictures but they're all pre-decorating so they're a little blah.

the first picture is my side and the second is my roommate, kayla's.

the first is a picture from where i sit under my loft looking through my mirror and the second is my "tea party" table. i got crap for it for a while but we've all come to love it.

kayla and i have decorated out mirrors with window crayons and moved things around over and over (not the big stuff, but food and random things.) kayla is from nothern kentucky and she is biracial. she's hillarious and we get along very well. occasionally i like to talk ghetto and she always gets a kick out of it. almost every night since we've been here we've shared snippits of our lives with each other and i'm really glad God brought her in my life for me to love and accept with open arms and an open heart.

i also have 2 other new friends. chelsea who lives to the right of me and shelbi who lives to the left. they are both from different cities in ohio and did younglife in high school like i did. we are alike in a lot of ways and once we found out we had something in common we easily attached to each other, unaware of what our friendships would bring to each others lives. if you know anything about me you know that im never ready on time... neither is chelsea. shelbi on the other hand hates being late and is always early. together we're usually almost on time to everything we go to haha. if i remember correctly the first thing we went to together was 608 and they loved it. from the statement the It series made, to the atmosphere of the church, to that weeks acapella worship, they were sold. then we started going to CSF things together. first to shift and then to synergy (which blew my mind with happiness). at shift they got to meet one of my favorite singers and now, a new freind, adaeze. becca and syerra know about my secret obsession with her music but i just can't get enough of the meaning behind the lyrics to her songs and how the things they speak were part of what kept me going through struggles i faced when i was first learning how to give my all to God. somehow i let it slip that she was like my hero and chels and shelbi made it a point to have someone introduce her to me. i was so embarassed and now i seriously see her everywhere haha. but enough about that, and more about college!

monday wednesday and friday i have elem. calculus and chemistry and i'm not gonna lie they're my favorite classes and i'm kinda disappointed that i didn't try to take che 105 because i really think i could have done it. i know it's just the first week or whatever, but i have an incredible professor and you can tell she loves what she does and she's very good at it and wants to make it understandable to her students. i'm actually still excited to start learning calculus and i'm pretty sure i'll need some help with it because my professor is kindof vague and i have never taken calculus but i like math so i think i'll be fine! (im such a loser haha.) on tuesdays and thursdays i have com 252 (interpersonal com), german 104 (weimar berlin), and a discovery seminar about islamic beliefs. sadly, no one has started communicating in my communications class. it's awkward and uncomfortable, but the professor is a hoot! shes so energetic and excited about everything and she makes me wish i wasn't so shy sometimes haha. today she wore chacos and a dress. i'm not really ok with that. no lies, my german 104 teacher is a stud and he knows more about germany than i could ever think about knowing about anything ever. he wore chacos with socks today. also not ok. my islamic beliefs class is incredibly boring because the professor is a soft spoken, deep- and mono-toned muslim man who continues to repeat himself over and over saying the same thing that we understood the first time he said it because i'm pretty sure he has nothing else to talk about for the class yet. by the time i get to this class i'm already either about to fall asleep or so hungry i could eat myself. (i survive off of tictacs alone.) i should learn to pack my lunch or get coffee before my first class bc i tried to get some at 11 and that was a BAD idea. the line was like 15 people long and i only had about 12 minutes before class started by the time i got there.

i have a new love also. working out. well i dont think i can say love yet, but i went to the underground monday with shelbi and we ran and did elliptical machines and abs and arms and bikes and man, i felt good afterwards. go endorphins, go! i felt so good the rest of the day and even better after a cold coke (another love of mine). except it really sucked to have to walk up the 4 flights of stairs to get to my room afterwards. ):

so basically all i have to say is i love college and i love every person God has brought in and out of my life through coming to live on campus and the things he has taught me so far. i have been tested and pushed, accepted and comforted, encouraged and called inspiring by people i have known for a week and 4 days... and there's still 4 years to come!

i can't wait to tell stories about my freshman year.

love & big hugs from room 447 (:

la la la.

hi, i love shopping. i love pretty, dressy and fashionable clothes! you probably couldn't tell that from all the t-shirts i wear, but if you look in my closet i have lots of dressy tops! i lovee dressing up but i usually only do it when i'm cleaning/organizing my room (prime time for practicing walking in heels if you ask me + a good work out for your legs!)

say hello to my new shirt and join me in welcoming my new love for Ann Taylor Loft Petites!

the ruffles are a big trend -and have been for a while - and they were all over ATL. it was awesome! everywhere i looked i saw something else to fall in love with.. i even met a new friend while i was shopping. she works at ann taylor & she goes to UK. her 2 roommates are majoring in the 2 things im considering (marketing & dietetics) what a coincidence. it was a fun day!

Though it was last years accessory i believe it will come back.. i love scarves!

i bought 2 today. one is my favorite shade of light green and the other a deep indigo & purple plaid. they were half price and i want more!

i have recently been inspired to be crafty. the inspiration comes from a work crew friend, emily. i have a veryy comfortable plain grey hoodie from Aerie that got a huge hole in the first day i had it. i never really minded they eyesore and continued to wear it. when emily noticed the hole she told me about how she likes to patch things on really plain shirts, hoodies & jeans to make them more unique which she strives to be all around. i gave it to her before we left & a few weeks later in the mail i recieved cookies and my favorite grey hoodie with a cute purple patch and other little tidbits to spice it up. I LOVE IT (its packed with all my other hoodies for college or i would show you a picture.)

but about being crafty ... i have an awesome F21 grey vest that is missing a button. ):

but i have decided to remove all the others and replacing them with colorful ones!

here's where i get to use my home ec skills from 7th grade.

i am also very thrifty! nothing i bought today WASN'T on sale! (thats a lie i bought at $16 necklace at AE .. oopsie!) i've been selling old clothes, shoes and books to platos, goodwill and half price books this month and have found many deals in the process. my last trip to indiana i got 8 new goodwill t-shirts! i also got 40% off on friends & family night at Platos where i bought 14 things for $100 including Sperry's, PINK sweatpants, AE jeans and 3 dresses. and TODAY i actually found my chemistry book for this semester at half-price books for a mere $7.98.

BEAT THAT! haha. plus todd thomas owes me a text book for a deal he made with me.

(good thing i rock at wakeboarding!)

i love deals .. and TREATS.

A cow and an apple tree button i got in a bag of assorted buttons from walmart.

that's definitely a treat!