Alfys, you mean Ralphies?

While reading the prompt, I found myself itching my head, searching my taste buds, and wracking my brain for a "traditional" Fretland family meal. Nothing really comes to mind. Sometimes it's my moms rice and chicken bathed in a "this can't be healthy" broth, and sometimes the kitchen smells of water chestnuts wrapped in bacon. Which, honestly isn't really that appealing of a smell. So when I try and put my finger on a food that the whole family comes home for, a meal to bring in the family glow, I think of Pizza Brava.

There's nothing like a good Hawaiian slice of Pizza Brava to get me to eat with the family. The fresh baked cheesey goodness, the juicy pineapple, and the perfectly seasoned dough, it's enough to drive the Fretland house into a world of elastic pants. Not to mention the convenience of having friends with employee discounts...

My family doesn't have any true to the bone traditions, but what we do have is an eye for good movies and the nifty Blockbuster trading system. What else do we have? Pizza.

It's not uncommon for my sisters and I to shut out the light on the nicest day of the year and snuggle up with a good movie. It's a feeling of peace and escape.

So when Dean bean isn't working overtime and my mom isn't working after work, when Laurel isn't at bible study or meeting with a friend over coffee and Kara isn't off being a cheerleader, and when I am not at church, the pizza comes in, the movies are exchanged, and the family tradition sets in.

As for the title of this blog, I would like to apologize to the fans of Alfys. Dean would also apologize that you have to eat it but... that's something else.

Jesus, totally awesome right?!

Gold Creek Community Church is what you would call my home. But the body of Chirst, "the church," is what I love. The church and I meet on sunday mornings, Sunday nights, Tuesday nights, Wednesday nights, Thursday worship practice and small groups, Saturday mornings and nights, and the not so occasional bible study and/or Jesus talk over coffee.

This body of people makes up a community that I am forever blessed to be a apart of. The center of every relationship that I make through this community and the center of the community itself, the heart, is Jesus Christ. The truth binds us heart and soul.

The truth:
-that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised again.
-that He loves us and longs for us to know and love Him.
-that He is at work in the world even in the darkest seasons.
-that He is love, and that the best way to live is to love like He did.
-that Love is best given unconditionally.

The denominations come and go but at the heart of the Church there are these truths, something so wide but undebateable. The people that have recieved, persue, give, know, and desire the Love through Jesus Christ make up the largest community in the world. The body of Christ. A community with a common goal, to be like Him.

There are churches being built, bible studies being started, worship groups being seasoned, missionaries being sent, and small groups being opened to hold our community together. But the biggest bond we have is that we are all the same. We all are unworthy of His gift, we all sin, we all "fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23) we are all selfish, and we are all striving to leave our old selves behind. To be the best version of Christ that we can and to tell as many people as we can about who we love the most.

The church needs only one interest. In 1 Corinthians 16:13 the bible says to "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. AND do everything in love." Love I find is the breaking point for every action that we take. If we love someone we will not wrong them, we won't speak harshly, and we won't whine at them about cleaning the nasty bathroom that makes us gag due to a weak stomache...

Of course the denominations that fall under "The Church" believe, need, and share different values but it all comes down to Jesus Christ. To be like Him. To love like Him.

The Church has definitely been poluted from day one. We all sin and we all pollute the perfect design, but even more so, we are becoming divided against ourselves. I'm convinced if people put baby babtising and speaking in tounges and the eating of meat aside and just realized that someone died for them, the church would be in harmony.

Romans 10:9 "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

That's all it comes down to. That is the goal. To love God and to love others. To show and share with others the love that changed our life.

I am unworthy. I am a liar. I am jealous. I am a murderer. I judge. I cheat. But I strive for perfection. I go against all these selfish desires and persue the love that I was given and persue people with the same. That is why I belong with this community.

When you feel the presence of God in your life, you can't ignore it. When you experience the love He has for you, there is no turning back. You look at the brokeness in the world, and you say, "this wasn't the way it was supposed to be." You look for something that was promised, a covenant, you search for Heaven. And you bring it back to the broken.

I want this community because the friendships I have gained come not from selfish desires but from a common goal. A goal of putting people first, leaving your selfishness behind.

I want this community because when I'm leading worship, and the music becomes silent, and all you can hear are the voices of people just crying out to God, I get a huge smile on my face. Cause I know that God feels loved and I get to share in His joy.

I want this community because this community, despite what the news reads at the end of the night, and despite all the selfish tendencies, and despite what the world would have people believe, we love. And we love knowing that even if we die, we are going somewhere perfect. The design intended and unpolluted.

We believe church is a community. And we believe He loves you.

Yes.

You.

My wallet.

If you found what once was a connected clutch in what is most likely a Starbucks tile floor, you might have a few things to assume. In one half of the woven clutch, you would find multiple gift cards with uncertain amounts of money on them all to the same places. Several to Starbucks, Jamba and an assortment of punch cards (all with only two or three proofs of purcahses.)

In the other half of my clutch you find multiple ID cards with one or two less then professional looking smiles. You would also find less then 20 dollars in cash, a debit card, and probably another gift card to Starbucks.

By now, without finding my wallet, you may be thinking one of the following:
-"This girl types too much, and I don't want to read all of this."
-"She likes coffee too much."
-"I bet she doesn't drink more coffee than me."
-"She's definitely in high school."

Honestly, you couldn't tell a whole lot about me. Except that I drink a lot of coffee, keep things I should just throw away, and that I am enrolled in my senior year of high school. This is just the depth my mind goes though as far as passing judgments or assumptions.

If you chose to assume my character from my clutch, you would miss that I am in Love with a God who Loves everyone. That I don't have a hating bone in my body, literally. I overanalyze every little thing, even things that don't happen. I dislike the sun and would rather close my blinds and have a movie day with my sisters. I love the wintertime for multiple reasons. I look forward to Christmas when Christmas Day is over. I spend most of my time in ministry with my church, reading or catching up with friends while drinking the coffee that I love, or playing/writing music. That I can't hold a grudge for my life. I'm an acoustic folk junkie and I love lavender everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything.

But even that sounds unrealistic. I can get jealous really easily. Dislike onions, don't wash my hair very often, feel inadequate all the time, self limiting, doubting, embaressed easily.

But mostly, I can't imagine the things I would assume about a person from their wallet, because I don't assume. Ever. When I meet someone, I meet them. I look at both sides of the story and I forgive. Pretty simple really.

If you want to assume something about me, I think it's pretty obvious that I'm crazy about Jesus.