I find that it is something you can never get enough of and is always a wonderful thing to give. I am blessed beyond belief to be part of such a great community hear at CBU, I thank God every day for this blessing! One of the coolest things about being part of this community is that I am continually blessed by so many people in so many ways even when they have no idea. This where I have found my encouragement lately....
Brittany Ingold
This really awesome girl happens to be my roommate, and I feel like the luckiest person to share a room with her. She was Brie's roommate last year and we just decided to be roommates without really knowing each other that well. She encourages me everyday, I get excited every time we get to hang out, she makes me laugh like crazy, she has the heart of a warrior, and most importantly is a God fearing woman who teaches me so much about living for Christ and she doesn't even know it.
Dylan Haddad, Jonathan Cottrell & Travis Mulder
Dylan is one of my good friends, we transferred to CBU at the same time and I was instantly drawn to him because of his witty sense of humor and beautiful heart. Dylan has a passion for reading and discovering Christ in any way possible, I truly admire him! He will stand up for his faith any day and takes pride in being a follower of Christ when everyone around him thinks otherwise. Any girl would be lucky to have this guy and I feel blessed to call him my friend.
Jon is a very close friend of mine and he can always make me smile and then piss me off 5 seconds later, but that is part of his charm. Like Dylan, Jon and I transferred to CBU at the same time and I have no recollection of how we met. It has been a pleasure to watch him grow in so may ways over the past couple of years, to overcome adversity and strive to be a Man of Christ. I can't wait to see where God takes him in the future!
Travis is also part of the group of us that transferred in at the same time. He is unlike any guy I have ever met. He goes from goof to bible answer man in a matter of seconds. I have a lot of respect for him, more than he knows. I also think I got my obsession for naming everything from him :)
Brianna Kaiser
This girl is on the other side of the country and still encourages me on a daily basis. I can also say with confidence that she is going to change the world! She is off learning all kinds of cool things at what I have termed "Jesus School". I miss her terribly but at the same time have a great peace about her being gone because I know God is using her to further his kingdom and share his love with the nations and I could not admire anyone more doing what Christ created us to do. Im pretty sure this girl expanded my heart and my soul, I can't think of too many other people that know me and understand me the way she does.
David Sandlin
I met David at the beginning of last year at the New Student Orientation Retreat, thats NSOR for you Calbap people, and he quickly became one of my favorite people. I think more people at CBU know him than don't. If you haven't read the recent note he posted on Facebook then you should. David and I were talking tonight about the crazy stuff going on in his life and all the things God is teaching him. At the end of our discussion my heart literally swelled when he said "I know I don't have to worry anymore because God will take care of me." Now I know this is kind of a 'no duh' statement but really how often do we forget this simple fact? I know I do all the time!!! I was so encouraged by our conversation and so excited for the things God is doing in his life and how he is using it to bless others, I know I have been blessed by it. And bonus, David happens to be my date to Yule this year and I can't imagine a better one!
The other Roommates (Candy, Nancy, Jeni & Kendra)
I would talk about them each individually but that could be a blog post within itself. I love the feeling of coming home and being able to relax. I can't express to you how encouraging it is to come home and be excited to see your roommates and want to spend as much time with them as possible. They have made my senior so great!!! They have all taught me so much, and I have found joy in living with each of them. Thank you ladies for making my senior year wonderful!
Lindsey Turner
I had the privilege of serving with Lindsey in Thailand this summer and I think I learned just as much from her as I did from the Thai people. We don't get to hang out a lot because of our busy schedules but I cherish our coffee dates and random meetings around school. I always feel encouraged by our conversations because she always wants to know what God is doing in my life and always eager to tell me the same. I really admire people who are so willing to share what God is working on in their lives even when it isn't pretty. She has a passion to share the Lord and it is truly contagious, I honestly believe that she too will change the world. God has blessed her with awesome talents and it is amazing to see her use those for his glory. She might kill me for putting up this picture of her but its honestly how remember her, at a massage place in Thailand where we had to change into more clothes than we were wearing to get a massage :)
Taylor Fagg
Another person I don't get to see enough but still brightens my day when I do. Taylor was also part of the 07 spring transfer group. I have watched Taylor grow in so many ways sometimes I think he is a whole different person, in a good way though. I admire him because he is straight foreword and is not afraid to try new things even though everyone around him is against it. The thing I admire most about him is that he has just decided to 'be happy', which means he has decided to live in that true happiness that can only come from Christ. Along with Dylan, Jon, and Travis I feel protective of him as though he were a brother. With all of these guys it brings joy to my heart to see them happy and succeeding but at the same time makes my heart hurt to see them sad or angry. I am so thankful to have all of them in my life and part of my CBU family. This picture is from our orientation a couple of years ago but it makes me smile :)
Ultimately Christ is the true source of my encouragement but I know that he uses these incredible people to provide some of it, and that is one thing I am thankful for this holiday season! I hope that Christ has somehow encourgaed you by reading this.
