here goes nothing!

Today is my third full day in East Asia! Before leaving for the orient land, a few people told me I should create a blog to update friends and family throughout the year.  After spending way too long brainstorming a name, I finally made one! I wanted my title to explain who I am and also my current stage of life...

First off, anyone who knows me knows that I am a carefree person.  I am laid back and content in almost every circumstance, but this year the Lord is testing my contentment by moving me halfway across the world.  I'll keep y'all updated on that...

Now on to the "freed" section. Last semester in Auburn I joined a LIFE group with Church of the Highlands.  LIFE stands for Living In Freedom Everyday.  This small group pushed me out of my comfort zone and transformed my relationship with the Lord. I am forever thankful for that group of girls!  God's timing was perfect (as always) and I believe He was preparing my heart for the next year in East Asia. I learned that everyday I choose between the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (TKGE).  The Tree of Life represents freedom, grace, eternal life and forgiveness while TKGE represents bondage, the law, death, judgment and condemnation.  The Lord pointed out areas of my life I needed to surrender to Him, and He also gave me freedom to experience a more intimate friendship with Him.

That's probably enough for the first post.  In the next couple days, I will give some updates from Asia.  I am adjusting to the culture, my team and our city.  Here's a picture my roommate, Anna, took from our balcony this morning.  It's not usually this pretty, but we got lucky today!