Just yesterday I remebered that I have a blog that I want to update every week. These past 3 weeks have been crazy. I was so busy and didn't really get enough sleep! Yet, God totally carried me through it.
But it is defenetley the reason why I haven't posted anything on here for so long!

Like you guys know, I have been working with the Beauty Arise Ministy in Los Angeles. A ministry that helps women finding their true identity in God and speaking truth into their lives!
So when I came back to Switzerland in December, I sat down with different women and shared with them the vision of Beauty Arise. 4 of them joined the team and we have been starting to plan our first event. Just last thursday (one day before our first event) we had a 5th girl asking if she could be able to help and we welcomed her in our team!

Seriously our first event was so amazing. Around 30 women came and we all had a really good time. The 5 women of the team all shared a little testimony how God has transformed us and why we have a heart and a passion for women finding their identity in God. The 6th girl of the team will get another chance to share her awesome story but it would have been to spontanious for her to share already cause we just welcomed her in the team. But she did a wonderful job helping and serving us!!

We got so many positiv responses to the whole evening. After the event a few girls and me went out. One of the the girls said she was so touched by each and every story. And on sunday when I went to church some of the girls that came, walked up to me and said that they really enjoyed it. And one offered her help for a next event or something! God is so good!

So that's a little update of how everything went. But these weeks, while I was working as a store manager and preparing this Beauty Arise Event I felt often so weak. And sometimes I felt like it doesn't make sense what I'm doing. It was defently Satan trying to destroy something great! So often it scares me. to be in the position I am at. As a store manager the bad of the store weights on my shoulders. But the good mostly weights on the team. It is often like that..
In Beauty Arise I stand in front of people and share my heart and my life with these women. I tell them about my struggles and my victories. I have realized it is a good place to be but also super hard.
I know people watch me everywhere..(Not in a creepy way) Just the other day a friend from a gocery store of the mall where I am working at told me "Hey my friend told me you have a beautiful voice, she has heard you sing in church". I thought it was really fun cause I had no clue who she is. And it gave me also the realization that people can see me. They watch what I am doing.

The last week I was struggeling really hard with the desire to smoke cigarettes. I was just stressed and tired and the thought of smoking a cigarette seemed so relaxing. But seriously, the only thing that held me back the whole time was that I knew that people watch me.
I have a responsabilty on my shoulder that I am proud of but that is hard to have sometimes. But it gives me accountability. I can't just think about myself anymore. People look up to me or see me, when I don't see them. They want to see if I live what I "preach"!

God has been challenging me through this process and I am so thankful. Hahaha but I am a little tired, and sometimes I really just want to do what I feel like to do, but I gotta remember that I can change people's lives in the way I live and depend on God.

I really hope any of these words made sense to you. Cause I was processing my thoughts and the feelings of my heart. And they're really confusing sometimes!

May God bless you and remind you espacially these next days of his never ending grace.

The Beauty Arise Switzerland Crew=)

(Stefanie Urech, Me, Stefanie von Arx->the newest member, Fabienne Hunziker,

Nicole Hunziker, Janine Silva Cunha)

 Fellowship and food, the best combination

Me explaining the beginning of Beauty Arise and the vision of it.

The snacks for the event. We had defentley more then enough=)

The gift of friendships

I have been reflecting on my life a little bit!

I look back and see how God has blessed me with such awesome friends over and over again. It has not always been easy for me. I am such a relational person and most who know me know that I would love to be a wife rather sooner then later =) But God's plans for us are most of the times so different than our own plans. I have seen lots of my friends getting married and having babies. And even this summer 3 of my close girlfriends are getting married. 

So you can imagine that it is challenge for me to trust God with my future. Cause sometimes I defenetley have thoughts like, "God have you forgotten about me? Didn't you put the desire in my heart to get married and have kids? So why do you let me wait for so long? Oh well another SAFE THE DATE card! Maybe there is something wrong with me! Do I have too high expectations?"

These thoughts are all just lies from Satan. So I try not to give it too much of my time. But they still want to overtake my thinking at times.

But in all of this time of waiting and doubting, the Lord has placed many awesome friends in my life. I am so thankful for all of them. I know that the Lord has not forgotten me. He knows the desires of my heart. But he also knows that it is not the right time yet so he gives me tons of awesome girls to walk with me in all those seasons of hoping and growing. 

I think friendships really are a gift. A heavenly gift. And we gotta treasure this gift. Friends can hurt us. I know, but we also can hurt friends. I think we just have to be really humble. We have to forgive. Even if we don't want to forgive at times. But Jesus said forgive 7x70. So let's forgive, if we are mad. Cause God has given friends to us so they can carry us through hard times. But he has also given us friends so they can be excited with us.

He has given us friends to laugh with but also to cry with. We really have to take care of our friendships. Cause it is soooooooo valueable. 

Jesus is our great example of how to do friendships. We can look at the way he treated his disciples, but also so many people he didn't even know. And he also wants a friendship with us. He doesn't want us to have quiet time every morning just so it is done. He wants US!! OUR TIME! He wants to be included. He wants to laugh and cry with us. So he gives us friends here on earth. It is not complicated to have friends. We just have to value them more then ourselves. We have to put them first. I guess that's a little harder. But we can ask the Lord to help us. We can ask him to make us more like Jesus. And then we just love our friends. We invest in their lives.

So if you might have a hard time being single and waiting for your spouse, or you are fighting with one of your friends or everything is just going well, cherish the friendships God has given you. Cause no one can take those friendships away from you. You can learn so much from your friends and you can be an example to them! Be thankful for your friends and love on them.

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. John 13:34

(Sarah Faye: Georgia! I staffed her DTS and we fell in love with eachother=) in a really pure way of course. We live on different continets but still we message eachother and pray for each other. )

(Steffi, Debi, Mary! 3 Sisters! Debi and me are close friends since over 10 years. So I also know her sisters ... We all got older and the age difference doesn't really matter anymore. So we all became super good friends and I am so thankful for those 3 women of God. It is ha gift to have them in my life)

(Steffi: We used to go to school together but never really talked too much. Around 4 years ago we met and started hanging out. It kind of endet up in a fight over a boy: A few weeks ago she messaged me on facebook. We met, and it was like the fight was forgotten. I mean we talked about it and we both apologized for our mistakes and we forgave. Now we are growing together with God and learn what it means to have our contenment in Christ)

(Jessica: Met her at Ywam La: We only started being super close friends after we knew eachother for 2 years. Crazy. But God has allowed us to deepen our friendship even if we live 1000 of miles apart from eachother)

There are tons of stories/pictures I would love to post but it would take a little too long! But I think you know what I am trying to say.

I want to encourage you to cherish your friendships. Make new friends and forgive your friends who have hurt you. It is worth it!

I love you guys and I am so thankful that you are reading my blog. It encourages me to keep doing what I'm doing!!