Why Do We Suffer?

On July 29, 2011, I got a call with some shocking news.  One of my best high school friends was killed in a motorcycle accident while on vacation in Hawaii.  It makes me realize how fragile and temporary life really is, but more than that it makes me thankful that I have the hope of an eternity in heaven.  I also know that Kristin had that hope in her life, and lived out her faith.
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I don't think of high school without thinking about Kristin and everything she meant to me.  We had a lot in common and were always dreaming of our futures.  When we were in 8th grade we drew out a picture of how we wanted our lives to go (below)... hers with JD and mine with Nate... It is pretty remarkable that both of our dreams came true when we married the men we started dating in 8th grade (and are still married to them).  It is also heart breaking to know that Kristin's plans for a family with JD will never come to be, and I feel a little guilty that I still have that chance.
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(Notice the details... We are pregnant, and those are churches in the background where Nate and JD are youth pastors)

Kristin had a way with people, and was friends with everyone.  She didn't overlook the outcasts and had a smile and laugh that lit up the room.  I will never forget some of her looks and one she would always give me when she sang on stage.... kind of a "I'm doing this because you pressured me, but I love it" thing.  She used her singing talents for the Lord, and will leave a lasting impression on everyone that ever got to listen.  I will also always remember her fun, shoot me in the arm, personality.  She took me to Hooters on my 19th birthday just to see my face turn red.  I woke her up on her wedding day and documented everything, and she was a bridesmaid in my wedding. And, I will forever count her as one of my best friends.

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I know that Kristin's life was not wasted and am very happy to have the peace that she is in heaven right now in the very presence of Jesus, who she loved so much.  I also know that she would want the love of her Heavenly Father to be preached a little, and this sermon from a few weeks ago has been on my mind, so here goes....

Why We Suffer?

*Suffering is a normal part of being a Christian... but the suffering doesn't win!

4 Reasons We Suffer As Christians

1- Sometimes we suffer for the cause of Christ.

"We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body."

-2 Cor. 4:10-11

"...though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

-1 Peter 1:6-7

When we suffer the right way: we start to look more like Christ, and God is glorified.

2-Sometimes we suffer for the benefit of others

"We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection (salvation)."

-2 Cor. 13:9

We want others to notice our perfect peace in difficult times.  People should say, "look at the way the handled ____."

The difficult times set us, as Christians, apart from other moral people.

3-Sometimes we suffer for our own inner renewal.

"Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."

-2 Cor. 4:16

As we get older, our body wears out more and more, but your relationship with God should be growing more and more.

"Jesus Said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me..... For when I am weak, then I am strong."

-2 Cor. 12:9-10

4- We suffer because our treasure is in heaven.

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

-2 Cor 4: 17-18

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Kristin had a personal relationship with Christ.  She understood that there is life after death.  If you have questions about your eternity, get it figured out today.  You are not a Christian just because, you were born in America or because you're a good person.  Don't be sad for Kristin because she isn't up in Heaven wishing she was here on earth.... But seriously examine your own heart and make sure you will be seeing her again.

God said, “It is not good for man to be alone…”

On July 9, Allie and Corbin got married.  I can remember bugging her about when they were going to start dating…. like in this picture I put on facebook in 2006 with the caption “I’m not saying anything.” It was taken at our house while watching LOST.  Ahhh, those are some good memories.

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I feel like Nate and I really got to watch these two grow up and I can’t wait to see where God leads them in the future.  I look forward to talking about being in ministry together.

To Allie,

Your wedding was so beautiful, but what was even more stunning was the radiant love that you two share for our Heavenly Father and each other.  It still brings a tear to my eye when I think about Corbin standing at the alter waiting for you, or watching you both pray for each other and your marriage.  I feel like you guys are a lot like us and I am excited for you to fall more in love with each other and Him as you serve side by side.  Being married is the greatest!  My one piece of advice is to be selfless… in your marriage and your ministry.  Always think of each other before you think of yourself.  Always keep God’s will as the first priority in ministry and remember that He will make everything right.  Everyone will always have more things or answers or normalcy, but find hope and peace in the fact that we are working for a bigger purpose.  Trust Him… and trust each other… and life is a piece of cake ;)  We love you guys and will always be here for you.  We look forward to catching up every now and then so keep us in the loop of what is going on at the Hobbs house.

Until next time, 

Happy 4th of July

After the mission trip, we had a very chill 4th of July.  I am so thankful for great friends in my life!  Zack, Hollie, and Gage came over for pizza and we just hung out.

PowerPlant Mission Phoenix

June 26-July 2

We worked with PowerPlant this year and it was a great experience.  Last year we introduced the working mission trip to our students where we literally put a roof on a house and built wheelchair ramps.  This year we worked with a church planter in Phoenix, AZ and got to build some relationships, put on a vacation Bible school, and see two little girls accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.  It was great!

My sweet husband has a way with kids :)

This is my pal Christian.  He was too cute.

Our group eating some good pizza.

I love these girls so much.

My fingers were bleeding after making so many balloon animals.  That is a butterfly and a dog if you can’t tell.

Another “matching shirt” picture.  We have been on too many trips to count…. but I wouldn’t trade any of it.

Ain’t that a Grand Canyon

The next trip of the summer came just seven days after we got back from San Francisco.  And in that seven days we did two weeks worth of work, had a women’s ministry meeting, a parent meeting, and an outing to white water.

We loaded up on Sunday after church and headed to the dry heat in Phoenix, AZ.  On the way we took a little detour to see the Grand Canyon.  It was a sight to see and we were all really glad to be able to see it!

It was so beautiful that it looked fake.  It looked just like every picture we had ever seen.   

If You’re Going to San Francisco…

Hello Blogging world.  I am happy to be back home after all our summer adventures.  It has been the craziest schedule to date, but everything was wonderful.  It was somewhat hard for this homebody to keep going week after week, but it was all worth it. 

First things first.  From June 9-17 we went on vacation with Mom and Dad to San Francisco!  It was stinking awesome.  I’ll let the pictures tell the story…

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We drove to Dallas and flew non stop to San Francisco, California!  We stayed in hotel #1 and then got up, rented a car…. and stayed in it for the next 2 days. Ha.

We got to see a lot of San Francisco and the central west part of California.  I was surprised at how industrial everything looked… It wasn’t really the sunny CA I was expecting.  We drove along the coast for… well ever… It was beautiful, but after a few hours going 30 mph around curve after curve in the middle of a mountain, we were happy to find a bigger road.

We made our way through miles of farmland and gorgeous vineyards to see some magnificent redwoods.  It was something everyone should see before they die.  Add the California Redwoods to your bucket list!  It was truly awe-inspiring.  Nate says it was the quietest place he has ever been with trees as high as you can see.

My Dad had always wanted to see a Redwood forest, and it was great to get to be there with him. 

Next, we stayed at hotel #2 and then made our way through more mountains to good ‘ol Yosemite National Park.

We went to the Hetch Hetchy Dam first, and it was a sight to see.  We stayed there for a while just looking at all the waterfalls and the beautiful scenery.  You can hike to all the waterfalls, but we only had a limited amount of time before the sun went down, and the park is huge…. like you could drive for hours and hours all over the place to see tons of different things.

I climbed a rock to get a good picture with my Nate.  Behind us you can see the famous half dome.

This is a great picture of Mom and Dad at the Mirror Lake.

Everything was so beautiful at Yosemite.  I loved all the huge waterfalls and being there with my family.  Someone could literally spend a whole week there looking at what we saw in a just a few hours.  I will never forget it.

Next, we stayed at hotel #3 and then journeyed back to San Fran by driving the south part of Hwy 1.  It was much better than the north part…. Nobody got car sick.  We got to see more farmland and more coast.  The ocean was freezing.

Nate and Mom were excited to get some fresh strawberries from a stand on the side of the road.  It was neat.

We got back to the city and looked around a bit before checking into hotel #4.  That night we got to go to AT&T Park for a Giants game.  Nate has joked about wanted to see every baseball park in the US, so I guess this is one more we can check off the list.

It was pretty great….  We were freezing, but loved every minute.

The next day, we took a double decked bus tour of the city.  We got to see almost everything in the two days we spent listening to tour guides and hoping on and off.  By the end of the second day our favorite guide, Ed, knew us by name.  (He had been to OKC earlier in the year and thought Braum’s was the greatest restaurant he had ever been to. Ha)

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip.  This is the famous “Painted Ladies” on “Postcard Row” in Alamo Square.  They call the yellow one the Full House house and the Victorian on the end just sold for $2 million.

Me at Pier 39 in the Wharf looking at all the Sea Lions.  I could have watched them all day.

Nate’s first time on a submarine.  We took a tour of the USS Pampanito.

Nate is trying to show how big the cables are on the Golden Gate bridge.  What you can’t see in the picture are all the tiny little cables in the middle…. I forget how many Ed said were in there, but if you took the bridge apart the cables would wrap around the earth three times or something.

        

Best spaghetti I have ever eaten award goes to: The Original Restaurant in Little Italy.  Mmmmm.

We went a ton more places, but there is only so many pictures that should be allowed in one blog post… I think this is my max.

On our last couple days in San Fran we moved to hotel #5 at the wharf.  Nate ate lots of clam chowder and I ate lots of Boudin bread.  On our last day there, we went to Alcatraz.

Nate taking the tour.

Great view from Alcatraz…. They said that is one thing that made this prison so tough… The prisoners would be able to hear people laughing and living their life just a swim away, but they couldn’t get there.

First In-N-Out burger.  It was pretty good.

Riding the famous cable car.

And, one more baseball game.  We took the subway over to Oakland and watched the A’s.

This is us on our last day at the wharf.  I love this picture because you can see the city behind us.