Growing Up Archive

  • Comfort and Strength from God

    Comfort and Strength from God

    Submitted by Hank…Ms. B, a resident at one of the senior homes we hold Sunday services for, recently lost her mother.  We got to know Ms. B over the past few months, and she asked us to help organize a memorial service.  I had never...

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  • Found by God

    Found by God

    Submitted by Mike…Entering college I was a very firm naturalist. My father, being very well educated in natural sciences encouraged me towards learning more about the world around me and caused me to always take great interest in my science classes. As schools confidently taught...

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  • A Picture of Perseverence

    A Picture of Perseverence

    Submitted by Ulia…This past Sunday, we celebrated Grandma Bessie’s 101st birthday!  Despite her age and her weak body, she is amazingly cheerful and thankful, and she thanks God for sustaining her these many years. When I first began visiting Crown Bay at the beginning of summer,...

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  • Small Steps leading to Big Blessings

    Small Steps leading to Big Blessings

    Submitted by Sijii… When I look back on the past four years of my life, three major life-transforming decisions come to mind.  The first was committing myself to my small group, second committing myself to God and third, committing myself to God’s work. The first...

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  • God’s Bigger Picture

    God’s Bigger Picture

    Submitted by Janet… Now that I’m ending an important chapter of my life and reflecting on the past 4 years, I can see how God has changed my life and has directed me to a better path. I first came into Berkeley excited for my...

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  • Why So Much Love?

    Why So Much Love?

    Submitted by Mike… Coming into Berkeley, I expected to learn and experience a lot of new things. Attending one of the top educational institutions in the world, I learned a lot (or at least, I think I learned a lot). And having spent my time...

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  • A New Sense of Community

    A New Sense of Community

    Submitted by Francisca… These past few days I meditated on what’s the most drastic way my life has changed because of God and it would be becoming part of His community.  Coming into college I was very withdrawn from the world, I was so used...

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  • A God who redeems

    A God who redeems

    Submitted by Diana… Looking back on my high school days, I shudder when I think of some of the decisions I made. While for me it was a time of adjustment and trial, having just emigrated from Mexico, I also remember those days with a...

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  • Full and satisfied

    Full and satisfied

    Submitted by Olivia (from Gracpoint Hsinchu)… The long awaited NTU (National Taiwan University) discussion small group “Pause” finally started on October 7, 2009 (clap + cheer)! Two years after Koinonia came to Hsinchu, Taiwan, we’re finally in a new city and new campus, making connections...

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  • Hsinchu / Austin Discipleship Retreats

    Hsinchu / Austin Discipleship Retreats

    Austin and Taiwan both had their very first discipleship retreats this past weekend.  (Austin retreat picture above.) I am just amazed and so thankful as it’s just been one year since we started Austin and two years since we started Taiwan, but the sense of...

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  • Doing the Famine Gracepoint Style

    Doing the Famine Gracepoint Style

    Submitted by Judy… Gracepoint Fellowship Church of Berkeley, CA had the privilege of participating in World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine for the second time this year. Starting in May, Gracepoint Fellowship Church members – from Pastor Ed and his wife Kelly Kang, to youth and college...

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  • What a journey

    What a journey

    It’ll be our 20th year anniversary this fall!  No, not for us and our husbands (it’s all of our 14th year anniversaries this year), but for my peers and I.  It was the Fall Retreat 1989 on Labor Day weekend of our freshman year when...

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  • Stepping stones

    Stepping stones

    Submitted by Gina… We had a time of memorializing some stones this past weekend at the Praxis Discipleship Retreat. (Joshua 4: “Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder…to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children...

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  • Senior retreat in Yosemite

    Senior retreat in Yosemite

    Submitted by Sheri (after my own senior discipleship retreat back in 2007)… Arriving after a few weeks of winter break, this past senior retreat was an uplifting and refreshing time for me and many of my peers. Yosemite –a long time favorite of our church...

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  • Growing through difficulties (especially a difficult child)

    Growing through difficulties (especially a difficult child)

    Submitted by Eunice (September 2007) Our firstborn, Elijah, was a relatively “easy” child – healthy, and never gave us a lot of reason to worry. Our second son, Micah, on the other hand, in his first 15 months of life, provided for me many vivid...

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  • My 15th NSWN

    My 15th NSWN

    Wanted to share this with NSWN right around the corner….     This past weekend (Sept 2008), I attended Gracepoint Fellowship Church’s New Student Welcome Night for the 15th time since I graduated college! And it never gets old. We do the same skit every year, but...

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  • To feed a child

    To feed a child

    Submitted by Kevin, Senior, SFSU 30hour famine really forced me to not eat. I never fasted before and my intentions going into it were very relaxed. I told myself that it wouldn’t be so bad because it was just for a day and that there...

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  • Seed that’s been planted

    Seed that’s been planted

    Submitted by Joyce… This was from a few years ago, but since our 5th graders just “graduated” from Joyland… Graduation Sunday was our last Sunday with the 6th graders before we sent them off to Element. Teacher Michelle gave a message about the importance of...

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  • Fear of the dark

    Fear of the dark

    Submitted by Mark… After coming home from work one night, my back then 2-year-old son and I went out from our garage to ride our bikes along the adjacent backroad. When we got to the end of the road, he realized all of a sudden...

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  • Living out a vision

    Living out a vision

    Submitted by Eunice… Last summer, we held the first annual Sophomore Discipleship Retreat at Sierra Lodge, led by Pastor Ed and Kelly Kang. It had only been a year since we first met these sophomores as wide-eyed frosh, and many of them didn’t really know...

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  • How can you?

    How can you?

    Submitted by Jin… Several years ago, an overarching sentiment I felt can be captured in the words of “How can you?” It is an episode of my life I am very ashamed about and not anything I ever want to relive again. In the summer...

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  • Impacting kids as a helper

    Impacting kids as a helper

    Submitted by Hugo… Excited about the idea about being a part of Impact, I applied to be a Team Lead right away. I was so set on being one that under the application I even marked that position for both my first and second choice,...

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  • Sophomore discipleship retreat

    Sophomore discipleship retreat

    Submitted by Tim…    Don’t miss out on this year’s retreat sophomores!  I think one of the best parts of the retreat was the atmosphere. It was eye opening and thought provoking while still being fun and relaxed. Some people expected another winter retreat with all...

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  • Blessing through pain

    Blessing through pain

    Submitted by Sarah…    The past four years or so with my chronic hand condition (repetitive stress injury) has taught me a lot and I feel that it has been a real growing experience. My hand problems started back in the late 90s but weren’t so...

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  • Fasting is not my thing

    Fasting is not my thing

    Submitted by James….    Fasting has never been my thing. In fact, I have never fasted before, and the last thing I would plan to do is to give up food for any purpose. Food is simply too important to me. I understood the tragedy of...

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