1 year

it is offically the start of my second year in colorado. God sure is amazing. Thank you God for your unpredictable, amazing, ever loving plans. You know the plans you have for me, and i thank you for them. I pray for another fantastic adventurous year. :):):)

Appreciating psalm 23

Campaigners was really great tonight. :)

When i was individually reading, I once again fell upon Psalm 23. I keep opening and reading that. But tonight, I grasped a part which I havent quite apreciated until tonight.

I know this line by heart, and say it all the time, and I think it makes me skim over the rest.. I say this 23:4 "Even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

Tonight I opened my heart, and read again and grasped this next line... "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me". Ive been recently praying for wisdom, direction and confidence as a leader. I feel inadequate, especially when I look at others knowledge and understanding of the bible, and people ask questions that I dont know how to answer. man do I appreciate those questions, but it questions my ability as a leader.

But to appreciate the verse, I thought huh..God is my staff..He is the one guiding me. I can lean on Him. I can be comforted to know that I dont have to have the answers, to be knowledgeable, because God is leading the way. He is my staff, and will lead me to be a better guide so i can be a better leader. No need to fret my inadequcies, that God will "guide me in paths of righteousness for his names sake" and will show the way. He will give me wisdom, courage, and accept humbleness of not knowing the answers.

I am Yours.

All of creation....sing with me now....

Was once lost, but now am found. was blind but now i see.

Amazing love. how can it be? That you my King would die for me??

Our God, is an awesome God!!!

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades.

I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
Cause I am yours..
I am yours..

I will fear no evil, for my God is with me!!

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Your grace is enough

I will lift my eyes to the maker...

Everyone, you dont have to run, you dont have to hide from grace

Beautiful Lord, awesome and mighty, your worth brings me to my knees

You are holy. Holy. Holy.

Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe.

My redeemer lives!

O praise the one who paid my debt and raised His life up from the dead.

My chains are gone, Ive been set free, my God my savior, has randsomed me.

Unending love, amazing grace

I could sing of your love forever...


Cant stop worshiping. Praise Him for His plans and purpose. happy easter. :)

What do I have to lose?

Younglife Club was really great last night. Being a new leader now at Cherry Creek, however makes me laugh because I remember when I first started leading back in Michigan.

I remembered talking to kids, and having them walk away from you when you were talking because their friend came or someone cooler is there, Or standing akwardly in the lunchroom and so on. And its hard to find that courage to put yourself in those akward situations, yet here I am, giving it a whirl here in Colorado. I mean, what do I have to lose anyway???

It took me a while to decide to be a leader again. I LOVED leading wyldlife in Michigan, and was scared to do Younglife here. Being in a new state, new city, having no friends and not really knowing anyone, starting new job new everything, the idea of being a leader as well made me reaaally nervous.

But I prayed for a long time about it, met with the area director about it and questioned myself time and time again. When it came to it, I realized I was putting in too many excuses in the equation. I was afraid. Afraid of not being good enough, afraid I wouldnt have time because I had SO much crazy stuff going on, afraid I was too old compared to the other leaders, afraid of failing, afraid and doubting myself because I dont always remember bible verses, am terrible with club talks, or that I always make the right decisions and so on and so forth.

Brad our area director kept pursing me, and I continued to pray. As I prayed, I thought you know, there is a reason why Brad hasnt given up on me...and there was a reason why God placed it on my heart to even consider doing it..I thought what did I have to lose? Nothing really...What changed my heart is thinking of why I would be a good leader. I mean, it only shows how human we are, and how much we really need to rely on God. It holds me accountable. I think of all the mistakes i have made, think of my story, and thought of how awesome it would be to share my stories about about God to help them not make the same mistakes I have. How cool it would be for these High School kids to know God and to have Him in their lives..How much better life would be for them! And I was excited for the relationships i was going to create, and how much JOY I get when I can help someone and so on. I thought about how much JOY i get when i am around people, and how God is opening this HUGE opportunity to love and be create relationships. It was a really cool feeling when i realized this, because I was excited. I know I fail at things, But I KNOW God doesnt.

And to answer the question, what do I have to lose?? Nothing. Because I know that I have God, and He will not fail me. I may not look forward to stand akwardly in a lunchroom or at club or kids not liking me or whatever, but I am excited for it. Because I know God has a purpose in me. And i know I will make a difference in peoples lives, even if they dont see now. And it comes down to the Younglife slogan, I was made for this. :) It is so true.

I was made to love God, and to love on kids.

I pray to God that He will use me as a light and example as a follower of Jesus.

dreams.

Sometimes I cant beleive I am where I am. It amazes me, when I look back, and think wow. Gods plan is so good. I couldnt plan anything the way He does. I have dreamed about living in Colorado. Ever since I was a little kid. I remember discussions with one of my friends after graduation saying I wanted to move to Colorado.

God will always make our dreams come true. In His time. In His way. Our dreams may not look exactly the way we had intended them, but God plans it better. I can recall so many times where I was like really God?? But now when I look back I think...Oh. I get it. :) Ha. It just blows my mind.

Anyways, Found this really amazing article at http://junialeigh.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/acheiving-your-god-given-dream/ and there is one quote that stuck out to me... "A lot of us would have given up AFTER having gone through just one of these tests. And that reason is the reason why many dreams from God never materialize...we give up too soon."

Have faith my friends. With God, all things are possible.

excitedddd

So God is so cool. I still cant beleive I live here in Colorado. And get to enjoy the comforts of the Niedzinski home, yet embrace the uncertainty and unfamiliar life I am learning here. Praise God for his never failing love and His plans and the purpose He has for me. I am doing a bible study with an amazing fellow Michigander named Alicia. I met her out here, thanks for friends of friends. Her like me, embraced this calling to come to Colorado. Im excited to get to know her more, and appreciate and am greatful for her friendship. We are starting to do random adventures on the weekends to get aquainted with Colorado. One weekend we went snowshoeing for the first time, another weekend we visited the Coors brewery and red rocks ampitheater. But, anyways, I was driving one day and was listening to K Love christian radio, and heard about a Switchfoot concert playing at red rocks ampitheater. Instantly thought to call Alicia, for us to look into it. Check this out! www.thecallingconference.org Little did we know, it not only is a Switchfoot concert, but a conference with speakers and bands all calling out to God. I couldnt be more stoked to be not only going to this concert, but being able to worship God in such an amazing backdrop, to be able to within the beauty of His creation, to be able to boast his beautiful majestic creation. I have chills thinking about it. and we are going with 10 people to the concert! So excited! :)

enjoy the struggle

Colorado is amazing. I praise God daily for bringing me here. I praise Him for his challenge, this adventure He presented me. I've been stripped away from all of my known comforts....job, family, friends, home, city, state, church, and so on. But its teaching me to rely on Him. To go to Him first...even when He is silent. Hes teaching me more things than I ever thought imaginable. I have slipped up a few times here, but its something Hes teaching me slowly. I cant have all the answers now, even when I pray for comforts and friends and answers. :) Its not easy, and Im learning, thats Hes who I cling to when I am lonely. When Im scared. When I feel loved. When Im happy. When I feel blessed. Which these are emotions I feel daily. My emotions are as uncertain and always changing as is my surroundings. Its definitly a struggle, some days easier than others, but I am learning. I am learning more about me. about colorado. about Him. I need to not only be patient with Him, but to be patient with ME. To ignore MY WANTS and what I NEED, and what HE can do for ME, but what I CAN DO FOR HIM.

To quote an amazing friend of mine....enjoy the struggle. :) and THAT...I plan to do. Hugs.

time flies

Wow. its been MONTHS since my last post. And sooo much happens in such that time. Heres a quick sum up...full of working, amazing friends, amazing family, leaps of faith, and amazing adventues.

June-took AMAZING girls to Wyldlife camp at Timberwolf lake. Took a trip with my family to Colorado for a family reunion...amaazing.
July-nothing too intense, work, friends family
August- blahh working away
September-Younglife leader weekend retreat to Timberwolf Lake. Met Shelley Sandler from Denver,CO the speaker for the weekend.......a sign possibly? :):)
October- quit my job and took a leap of faith and moved to Colorado!! My mom and I took a roadtrip and traveled to Colorado--my new home on October 26th. Packed my bags and left for my new adventure :)
November-The job hunting began...experienced my first thanksgiving without my mom, dad and siblings, but had the blessing to share it with the Niedzinskis!
December-LANDED A JOB!! Only a month in....PRAISE GOD. a general dental office. www.drpatdds.com. Couldnt feel more blessed, my boss is awesome!!! Had the opportunity to go home for a few days to celebrate christmas. Unfortunally, it was such a short visit, i missed alot of friends.
January-Spent new years day with Uncle Jerry and Lauren at Copper mountain. We skied in negative 15 degree weather!!! So fun!
February-Nicole came for a visit!!!! :) We skiied vail and copper mountain in 18 inches of powder!! so cool!

MARCH!!!! Holy smokes!! Where did time go????? more to come

beauty.

could it really be a whole month since i checked this? wow. i have a ton of blogs to catch up on with my friends and family.

anywhooo I just started reading captivating. A quick clip i wanted to share.

"Every woman has a beauty to unveil. Every woman. Because she bears the image of God. She doesn't have to conjure it, go get it from a salon, have plastic surgury or breast implants. No, beauty is an essence that is given to every woman at her creation."

"We didnt say that a woman is prized only for her good looks. We did not say that a woman is here merely to complete a man, therefore a single women is somehow missing her destiny. What we said was, first, that Eve is the crown of creation. There is something uniquely magnificent and powerful about a woman. We tried to reveal the immeasureable dignity, the holiness of your feminine heart by showing that it is GOD who longs for romance, it is GOD who longs to be our ezer, it is GOD who reveals beauty as essential to live. You are the image bearer of this God. That is why you long for those things too.. THERE IS A RADIANCE HIDDEN IN YOUR HEART THAT THE WORLD DESPERATELY NEEDS."

Kabam.

I am beautiful. You are beautiful. The world desperately needs our beauty.

BAPTIZIM! :)

Last night, I was baptized in the name of the Father, the son, the holy spirit by one of my best friends Katie Sweeney.

Words really cannot even come close to describe my emotions, thoughts, feelings and so on... 7 people including myself were baptized last night at the last Younglife Leadership meeting. Praise God!

What an amazing feeling to witness Christ in so many people...not only could I feel Christ, but I could see Him pouring out of the eyes and smiles of the baptizimers. Love was truely evident last night.

I stand by what I said last night, too long I have been talking the talk...I want to walk the walk.

God gave me life. And I will live my life for you.

made new

Im getting baptized tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

God hear our prayers

Hear our cries Lord,
Hear our prayers
Take our burdens
Calm our fears

God will you make us
A people that love you
Please take our offering
That we set before You
God hear our prayers
That we're lifting up to You
God see our tears
That we're struggling to see through
God, hear our prayers to You

In our weakness,
You remain
When we're broken
You sustain

God will you make us
A people that love you
Please take our offerings
That we set before you
God hear our prayers
We're lifting them up to you
God see our tears
That we're struggling to see through

God hear our prayers
We lift them to you.
God hear our prayers
Lord make our hearts true
Will you make our hearts true?

Hear our prayers Lord

God will you make us
A people that love You
Please take our offerings
That we set before you
God hear our prayers
That we're lifting up to You
God see our tears
That were struggling to see through
God hear our prayers
As we lift them to heaven
We're praying that angels
Receive and embrace them
The hopes of the empty
The cries of the broken
We're reaching our hands out
Oh Lord will You hold them?


God hear our prayers. We are crying out to you. God we might not understand your plans, but hear ours prayers. And we will continue to pray. So God hear our prayers. Were lifting them up to you.

Talents

Matthew 25:14-30.

As I lay here, and listen to my friend's amazing piano and singing on myspace, the parable of the talents came to mind. Matthew 25:14-30.

We are all given talents from God, and it is up to us how we use it. Some may be small, or great, but its important is when we use those talents, we glorify God. God is happiest when we use these talents with passion.

I am surrounded by so many talented, gifted people in my life. I could go on forever, but to give two examples;

My friend, Josh Dadd, recently moved to Nashville, TN, embracing his passion and gift of music. When you listen, you can hear his passion screaming out it in his voice and every time he presses a piano key. http://www.myspace/jdaddband

My Grandma, who recently wrote a book, embracing her passion of God and family through her talent of stories and writing. You can read and feel her love pouring through the pages
I could go on all night about all the people in my life who are ever so talented in so many ways.

One thing i know is that my friends were given the talent to put up with me!! Am I ever greatful for their talents of love, friendship, smiles, laughter, tears, dreams, goals, etc etc ect. I wish I could share about them all, post pictures of them all, but i really dont have enough time or space :) Too many people in my life I love!!!! For now i praise them for gifts, and how many of them use their gifts for the glory of God. What great examples they are to me. :) I love you. :)

Hows your love life?

I was just recently asked how my love life was. HA. what love life? :) and this person went on about dating, ect ect and im thinking UGH. Yet again another reminder that I am single, dont have a boyfriend, not married, etc. And what an unfair question "hows your love life??" is.

BUT the way I really want to reply is ... its amazing and great. I have friends and family I see and talk to on a weekly basis that I LOVE and cant ever get enough of and just not enough time to see. I am creating new and continuing old relationships and am daily surrounded by people i LOVE. Every day at work, I spread my LOVE to children with my passion of dentisty and the gifts God gave me. At wyldlife, leadership..ect ect. everywhere I go, I have LOVE in my life.

So asking how my love life is, in my opinion, is an unfair question. :) I may not have a boyfriend or a husband or whatever, but I can tell you there sure are people in my life that i feel LOVE and FRIENDSHIP with, which reminds me daily why God is so good. And God has plans and purpose for me. Someday my man will come, God willing. But for now, it poses the question, "I am feeling the love? Am I spreading the love?? Truely...how is YOUR love life??"

"This is what I tell you to do: Love each other just as I have loved you. No one can have greater love than to give his life for his friends." -John 15:12-13

heart so full :)

today is one of those days I dont want to end. :) Went to church, had a great running buddy, FINALLY gave a friend her christmas present, relaxed at home, had dinner with my teammate and had a BLAST at wyldlife club. and now i just got done eating a 3 minute cake with my roommates.

check out www.dizzy-dee.com/recipe/chocolate-cake-in-5-minutes. SOOOO cool!!!!

My heart is so full at this moment. :)

when the crazzies of tomorrow come, I will think of the joyous moments i had today adn how beautiful the sun is when it shines. and i look forward to hangin out with some wyldlife girls at we the kings concert tomorrow! :) YES

Today's bible verse came up and i wanted to share it.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; it leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." -Jeremiah 17:7-8

I love you too.

God is love.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
--1 John 4:7-8

"We love, because he FIRST loved us." -1 John 4:19

God IS love. I may not fully know what love is, but the more I am reading and learning, I feel closer to God, and coming closer to understanding the word. There is so much I dont know about God, but there is one thing I do know....that God loves me, and loves ALL.

We often use the word love in daily conversation.."I love that movie." or even "I love riding bikes." The definition we think of love is NOWHERE near the kind of love Jesus has for us, that we sometimes cant understand how much He truely loves us. I can easily name people who are in my life that I love. And one could ask, how do you know? And you could says words, but really, you can just feel it. An unexplainable emotion. One thing too I know is that God has someone here for me, someday, in His time and His will. However, no one, no one, could ever compare to God's love, and the evergrowing love I have towards Christ. He forever will be my number one.

As i sit, I wonder...why do I love Jesus? And I wonder how many times the word LOVE is used in the bible? I am sure the word love is used plenty, because Jesus so portrays and expresses love. Love seriously should be our top priority in all we do.

One huge thing too that I praise God by saying I love you God, but I really should be saying "I love you too." Because He loves me, and Jesus, I love you too. :)

power of prayers

we are in hard times right now. just look around and you can see it...you turn on the television and your hear about another natural disaster, another forclosure, unemployment, disease, famine, school closings, etc ect.


my family decided in times like this how important it is to put on the full armor of God. God only leads us into battle if we are are prepared to win. So we need to be prepared.


So as an extended family, we are going to work with Christ and stand as one to help our family members (friends as well.) We designated Thursday's, as a day to re-prioritize whats important. To simplify our day, and to remember we live and serve for God's glory, and remember the power of prayer.


We are going to fast and pray as a spiritual disipline for family memebers that need healing every Thursday.

umm. i just wanna be me.

I had my first experience with subbing today. Let me tell you...it was an experience, and thats putting it in nice terms.

It definitly woke me up as to what I have been studying this week. I'll start by sharing a small piece of my experience. Lets just say before the day even began, I was taken aback. So this dentist I was helping out shared with me the day before that I needed to wear black pants and a white button down top to work. I shared with her that I wasnt sure if I had those, but would do my best and that I had my lab coat to wear too. So I came to work with black pants, a white top (no buttons) and my lab coat. I walk in, and the first thing she says is, "take your coat off, its wrinkly you cant wear that. The she says, hike up your pants and tuck your shirt in. Then she goes, i dont like that shirt, and gets a shirt thats hers to wear." ummmmmmmmmm.

So that was the morning-before the day even started!! talk about me being intimidated and nervous!!! After we dismissed the patient for the day, she says thank you, and I go get my keys and coat. Then she approaches me and says,"being a woman in the workplace is tough. And you being a young woman, well that is tough too. People dont look at you with much authority." She then procceeded to tell me that in the workforce women need to present themselves and wear makeup and have their hair nice and clothes look nice. UMMM. excuse me???? there was a little babble about my attire blah blah blah and i stopped listening because i was so taken aback. In my mind, i did what she asked (wore black) and freaking helped her out!!

Never in my life have I felt so small. words cant really explain my feelings. She might as well told me I looked like crap. I was so stoked that I helped someone out, and i was crushed. I was even a little off to begin with in the morning because of the start i had. Maybe im looking into this too deeply, but i cant help how I feel. Im sorry, but in my opinion, that was NOT okay to do.

and with that, it made me really look at myself and think...am I ok? Do I look professional? Do people take me seriously? Should I wear makeup and present myself?? Because in my head, I think it is more important to BE qualified than LOOK qualified. This person judged me from square one and didnt even give me a CHANCE to be me. UGG. And i felt the urge to share, well i dont wear dress pants to work, i thought you wear scrubs, ect ect etc. but i kept my mouth shut.

In our culture, there is SO much expectations, and people who look down on you, judge you. And its so easy to get sucked into being something your not. To presenting yourself as something, but really feel something different.

I just saw a commercial for Old Navy, and its said,"dont give up your dream of being fake.." seriously??

I was so hurt by today..but im trying to not let it get to me. God created me for a purpose. He LOVES me as who I am. He loves that I wear headbands in my hair, dont wear makeup and wear cute scrubs to work. You know, I shouldnt be ashamed of who I am. And I shouldnt let the rejection of others weigh me down in guilt and self doubt.

I feel a lot better letting this out. Ive had my share of "pretending" to be something Im not...and it doesnt work out right or good. Its better to just be yourself. And I thought I'd end this post with one of my favorites...

"Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you." -Dr. Suess.

Let it be to you.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galations 5:1

God didnt not intend us to be held captive by anything; He wants us to be free. Currently, I am in the process of breaking free of things I am feeling captivated by. And a lot of them I am finding, I didnt know was.

I speak for myself, but Im sure others feel the same way...that we dont deserve to be free. We carry around our "baggage" and are excuse is, "thats just who I am." or "Im a failure anyway." and get sucked in.

STOP LISTENING TO THE DEVILS LIES! The devil knows how to get under our skin, deep within our deepest closets of crap.

My mom ALWAYS tells me, you are what you think you are. And you know what....that is great advice. If i think I look like crap, Im going to feel like crap too. If i feel like Im going to fail a test, well with that attitude, Im one step closer to it. and so on. And when i think thoughts like, "Im a failure.." well the devil freakin wins. I need to train this heart to not listen to the lies. I AM WORTHY...because God lets me be.

So why do we hide in our "baggage" and not lift it up to Him? In Genesis 3:8-13, Adam hides himself because he was afraid and because he was naked. Or even in 1 Samuel 10:22, he hides himself among the baggage.

Why do we hide? Whether its hiding in the baggage, or hiding behind it, why?? What are we afraid of?

No matter what, God loves us. And will always love us.

To end this note, in Matthew 9:28-29, "And when He had come into the house, the blind man came to Him. And Jesus said, "Do you beleive that I am able to do this?" They said t0 Him, Yes Lord. Then He touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith, let it be to you."

According to your faith, let it be to you......

running.

Ive been having a lot of blah days lately for reasons I dont know why. And today was one of those days....but a PERFECT day for a run.

I ran 4 miles today. And it was much needed. It was subconciously needed...because when I got a good 1/2 mile in, emotions came pouring out. I ran 2 miles, completly bawling. Couldnt say ive EVER done that, but I needed it I guess. Im sure I looked like a crazy person as cars drove by on Holt road, but I didnt even notice. It was one of those moments where I couldnt stop, and had absolutly no idea why.

The last 2 miles were very peaceful. The sun was shining across the snow glazed open country fields, with nothing but my shadow following me. and it was great.

But having done, I feel completly better. however, my legs are rather sore. :)