I am Your servant come to bring You glory

As some of you may know I have been going through a steps program through my church. When I first signed up for this program I was as nervous and anxious as someone can get. I was ready to be drained (emotionally and physically) from my past, present, and future sins. I was afraid of admitting that I had some problems I had never shared with only a select few and let alone to a whole group. Like I said nervous and anxious by what I had heard from previous member who had gone through it.

Well, all of those fears have yet to conquer me. Though this has been a struggle between me and the enemy though! Steps is a pretty big thing to be doing for the Lord, a closer relationship, and more sanctification, more glory to God; that doesn't sound like something the enemy absolutely enjoys. Some struggles that can be prayed for are: my time with the Lord, a strong desire to be with him and in the word especially when I'm tired, and for me to be obedient. When I go through inventories of my resentments/hurts and fears its hard not to feel the hurt and get emotionally again when He reveals those strongholds that I have actually stored away and not really put to death.

As I go through the daily devotionals and the going deeper questions I feel like I learn something new like of my pride (alot of my pride), sexual immorality, guilt and shame, and forgiveness. I am also reminded of his abundant grace and mercy for me, my goodness, a-bun-dant! Being revealed my sins and having to confess and deal with them is not a punishment, it's a reminder of his redemption of my life and soul. It's a reminder of my need for Him and his everlasting for me. My past, present and future sins being confessed and not just cleaning on the surface but deep deep down in the dark of my heart there is one thing that I am constantly being reminded of is that he can has redeemed it all! There is nothing in that I have and will do that Jesus has not already bought with his saving and perfect blood, nothing.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present not future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God this is in Christ Jesus our Lord."-Romans 8:38-39

Pinterest anyone?

So, my new favorite thing? You guessed it, Pinterest!

When I was first introduced to this wonderful website I was spending time with my lovely friend Shauna Lynn. She said have you ever heard of Pinterest? and I said no, what's that? Shauna being the great friend that she is pulled up the app on her iTouch and explained to me how this addiction works!

Let me say...SO COOL!!!

1 week, 12 boards, and 546 pins later...

How many ideas that I have or had suggested to me all in one place and never forgotten by me again. I get to physically see ideas for my future classroom and activities for my students. I have also found some "goldmine" of other first grade teacher blogs that I am now following! As you know I love crafts, and on pinterest there are so many crafts...and now (yes, you're catching on) all in one place! Another bonus, being a college student I also have the ingredients to make my own cleaning supplies and laundry detergent for some much cheapest and the same exact effect as the store brands. I have also been recently been on a hunt for a recipe box that I can "make-over" to keep my recipes in. Now that I have found I can keep my recipes all in one place my hunt is now less frantic.

I'm sure I can go on about how cool Pinterest is, but I will take part in your new addiction by providing not one but two links in this blog for you to click on!

Pin recipes. Pin crafts. Pin random junk. Pin your future house. Go forth and pin my friends!

Click here to check out my boards and follow me

"Give me an apron and call me Betty Crocker...or your wife"

Ok, so, originally this blog post was titled "The petal is to the metal". Well, due to the fact that I was supposed to "catch ya'll up" from getting back in the states to now...that would be yet another very long post. So...let's just start, um, let's say the last week instead? Deal? Ok. "Fasten your seat belts kids!" I am still living in the sweetest town of Denton, TX! Thank the Lord for his faithfulness, really!! (If you wanna know the story on how I got back here, you can ask, it's pretty amazing-so like Him!) I'm still going to school for elementary education, I cannot believe that I am half way there; I'm so close but so far away. (and I'm going to be 21 soon, weird).

I have currently started do a program called "Steps" at my church. In case you're curious on what that is click hither: Steps at The Village Church I have had the desire to do this program for the past year, but, now timing is perfect and I was allowed to do it this semester. I want grow and be stretched in my walk with Christ. Already walking into this of hearing how "exausting or scary" it was to do this...naturally I did too. To confront and revealed the nastiness, my sickness of sin- deal with it and be held accountable for it? I mean Who would "Yeah, I'm so ready, let's do this, no big deal pshh!" And ultimately be able to say that my hope, my everything my faith is in Christ alone. To search comfort from Him, be fulfilled by His love. To live a Gospel centered life, not because I 'know' the Gospel but because I am constantly being changed by it. To allow God to reveal more of who He is to me and to be more and more like Jesus and less and less of me. I may be doing some updates on what the Lord will be revealing to me on here to share: revelations, convictions, may be even encouragement to you as well.

Which leads me to the next think: I also recently joined a Home Group at my church to be in deeper community with my church body. I'm soooo excited to do life with these women ( I joined a multigen women's group)! I'm also hoping to find a mentor as well to impart her wisdom on me :) That starts this Sunday and it also starts our church wide study on the book The Reason for God by Tim Keller. I love when our church grows, serves, and prays corporately! It is a family. (...that may be another blog)

I also just became apart of the new Bath & Body Works Team! My first day was Monday and that was just full of orientation video and filling out paperwork. I'd like to say my first "real" day is Friday when we get to work the floor! Already on the first day I was trying to resist to buy things? I mean how can you not leave buying at least one thing right? So...I'm pretty sure later on into working I will have bought more products I can carry! To my friends and family: just start to make a list of your favorite scents for birthdays and holidays! ;)

Lastly, the reason for the title of this blog: Lemon Blueberry cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese frosting!

Yep, I was in a baking mood and two of favorite people lent me their oven today to bake these bomb cupcakes! I got the recipe off of the Food Channel Network ( the same recipe used on Cupcake Wars too!) Now to be honest if this was my own recipe I would be a bit reluctant to share it with the whole world, but, since it's not....here: The Deliciouso Cupcakes

Anyhoo. I'm letting out a big sigh. I've been meaning to update ya'll for a while, really. I'll try to work on make it more often...then maybe they'll be shorter right? We'll see how much time I'll get in reality between the phases of more growing up. If you are an avid reader and haven't "officially followed me" do it, you'll get my updates faster! :) Until then my friends, I love you all so dearly, I pray for you often!

OH...yeah...I came back from Thailand.

In case you were wondering, "Did Alicia love Thailand so much she stayed?" I hate to break the news to you, but, I did not get to stay. Unfortunately, it's just how the rules go friends So, I am back in the Lone Star state, I have been for a little over a month. Many, many things have happened in this past monthish but that is for my next blog. Titled "The pedal is to the metal!" Gosh! So much happened since my last post about Thailand, where to even start?! Let's just do the last three weeks.

We continued to go the village and the last Tuesday we were there we got to give "care packages" to the poorest families in the village. The children that we did bible studies with decided they wanted to perform a Thai christian children song with the dominantly Buddhist village they live amongst. The lady who had been letting us hold the bible studies in her house (who is also a Christian) ended up sharing her testimony with the village as well.
I would say that the last month was the month that we were just so invested in our new friends that we had made from the universities. We just kept inviting them to everything that we did like go to the movies, go to the children's home, walking street, our goodbye party, sticky waterfalls. I loved getting to do life with Net, Tide, and Aung this summer that we built a trust with them that we could deepen our relationship and connect them to the Baan Kanoon. On the night before out last day we went walking street with them and they had bought us each gifts, Aung wrote us little notes of encouragements and favorite memories with us, and Net even started to cry and didn't want to say goodbye.

We got to go the children's home "The House of Blessing" and just love on those kids there. Not only did we get to go as the "Texas Team" but with other missionaries from Texas, Georgia, Journeymen, Baan Kanoon leaders. I loved this day mostly because I remember looking around and seeing everyone from these different teams, different lives, different languages just using their gifts the Lord made them with whether that was making bracelets, playing games, talking, singing and dancing. Everyone working together for the glory of God- what a glimpse of heaven!

We also did our last Saturday of bible study/ hanging out with the people who live in the slums. The adult bible study lasted a bit longer than usual this Saturday because they had grown much more attentive to the sharing of the Gospel that Sa had with them! The children, Kati, and I after our bible study got to play games and take pictures (they lovelove those so much) with the language barrier that was probably the best way to share the Gospel with them to do the things they love WITH them.

We got to ride elephants and climb up and down the "sticky waterfall". Yes, it was as awesome as it sounds!!

Sawadee Ka to Texas Team! Our last week the Baan Kanoon threw a going away party for us. We had all of the people that we met and built relationships with come and hang out with us, eat, and even have a "Q & A". My favorite part was not only having our friends there, but, they shared how we impacted their lives, how they saw God in us. It was such an encouragement!

Words will never be able to describe how much this summer changed my life. I will never be able to thank God for sending me to Thailand, for growing me, for using me to fulfill what he had for me to do to glorify him this summer. I grew in my faith, in my walk with God, my love for him. I came home to so much encouragement, friends and family that were eager to hear what God did this summer! If I have the chance to go back, I will take it in a heartbeat! I have fallen in love with Thailand and the people there! I learned more about God and his character (His faithfulness, His sovereignty, His mercy, His love) especially when everything that I was used to and clung to was 'stripped' away. I am grateful to God for his plan for my life, I could honestly leave and replay the summer saying "I fulfilled the purpose He had for me and He is definitely working in Thailand!" "Amazing!" and Awesome!" will never amount to how...the lasting relationships, the memories...my. life. was. changed.

Our Dear Nikki

During this summer our team has had the privilege to build a relationship with a 74 year old Thai woman named Nikki. The more we got to visit with Nikki, she would open up more and more with us. Nikki is the sweetest company anyone could have telling you her past stories of events in her life. Nikki also felt so comfortable and open with us to invite us into her apartment and told us more stories of her with her pictures she stores of husband, children, grand and great children. She also told us about what she believed and it was then when we got to see how strong in her faith of Buddhism and then that we realized how open she was with us. Since then we have been so prayerful about the next step God wanted us to take in this relationship with Nikki.

Today me and Nikki ran into each other. We stopped to say greetings and then she asked me to come to a restaurant with her, there she bought me tea and we talked about our days and the news. The subject of family came up in our conversation again and I told her that I had brought pictures of my friends and family to share with my new friends here in Thailand. I told her if she would like to see them she was more than welcome to come to our apartment and I would love to share stories with her like she did us. She took me up on the offer.



I was sharing stories about my life with my pictures with Nikki. I had brought pictures of my baptism with me here with the intention of sharing with any of our Thai friends who got close enough. I told Nikki what that was and I asked her if she knew what baptism was and she said "no". I told her "It's what followers of Jesus do" I got a blank stare and proceeded to ask her "Have you ever heard about Jesus?" And she responded "No, I don't understand, I don't know what you are talking about" And I took a deep breath and said "Ok, I'm going to try to explain this to you how you would understand it, is that ok?" She said "ok"

What an opportunity to "flat out" share to share Gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time to someone who many have been praying for, to someone who had no idea of the Gospel period! Before I shared clearly saw the opportunity God had perfectly planned for me today and I prayed that he would talk through me. I can say that I would not be able to tell you verbatim how I shared the Gospel with Nikki, I know that it was spirit lead. I too learned something about my walk with God while sharing with Nikki. After, thinking about how I shared remembering how EXCITED I was to tell this AMAZING story like I was hearing it for the first time and to see Nikki's eyes widened as mine did to. All I could think was "Wow! This is real happening and I know but I don't know what I'm saying. Thank you, Lord for this!" Nikki asked more about what we thought about heaven because it was different than she believed and nodded her head and she "oh ok" looked at my pictures and nodded her head and said "that's good" We said our "see you laters" and she went back to her room and I sat down to pray.


I pray that our team gets to continue this relationship with her for the next 2 weeks that we have left her and just LOVE on her. That the Thai people that live here continue to reach out to her and walk with her. I pray that God stirs in her heart and she questions here curiosity. I pray that she would seek the truth, understand it, and want it. I pray that I would not be anxious that I may never get to see her be saved, but, rejoice in how God used me to bring her and glory to himself. Thank you for reading til the end! I'm so glad that you got to be apart of another piece of how God is working in Chiang Mai! Please pray for Nikki and our team!

Different stories, different perspectives, but the same God working! Check out Amy and/or Shauna's blog to read what they did with more Thai friends today:
"One Day"
Shauna's Blog