SO Cal... SO Good.

So I've been out here in California with the Yim family these last few days and it has been SUCH A TREAT. (seriously i can't thank them enough for this) I went to Disneyland for the first time since i was 4! we had a blast. Our legs are pretty tired, but two full days strait of Disney/California Adventure will do that to you. Weather's been perfect and the company fantastic. check out my pictures in my facbook photoalbum!
I also got to hang out with Meli and her fam for a little bit (woot!) AND Sarah Etter came over to our hotel and hung out in the hot tub with me for a few HOURS! we were pretty warm by the end but it was SO good.
I fly home bright and early tomorrow and then I get to celebrate Easter and my sister's birthday with my whole family!!!
Thank you Jesus for amazing people in my life.

a week in Indiana

SO.

Its been a good week. I spent the week in Indiana where i was officially comissioned to serve with Reign Ministries on Sunday Morning. Following that, I've spent the week meeting with people to share my vision and invite them to join, as well as touch base wtih many people who already support me. It has truly been a blessed week.

It was also good to get to spend some time with my family. I miss them when I'm in Minnesota, but being home also gives me a reflection perspective that is very positive. I fly out tomorrow for a few days in sunny California! I'm excited to spend time with the Yim family and have a little fun!!!

my logo...

This is my logo.... only with a white background. i was looking for something for the back of my business card, this is what i came up with.  any thoughts?

Love?

Love, not in a romantic form, but in a relational form, both with God and others.

1 Corinthians 14:1a

ESV: “Pursue love”

ASV: “Follow after love”

CEV: “Love should be your guide”

NCV: “You should seek after love”

NLT: “Let love be your highest goal!”

NIV: “Follow the way of love”

The Message: “Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it”

Church hunting

Finding the right church is not an easy task. I had a wise professor once tell our 400 level theology class, "If you find a Perfect Church... whatever you do DON'T JOIN IT!!!! You’ll ruin it." His point was obviously that churches are made up of people and people are not perfect and so if that's what we're looking for in a congregation, we'll be sorely disappointed.

So now I'm trying to find a church. I'm not looking for perfection; I'm looking for a Christ following community of people where I can be challenged in my faith through Biblically sound, relevant teaching and relationships that will spur me on towards growth.
There are hundreds and hundreds of churches in the Twin Cities; I'm just trying to find one.

100...

I wanted something special for my 100th post. so I found a decent globally minded graphic. I know what you're thinking... epic.

Even amidst this glorious occasion, I figured you'd like an update.... since that's the point generally.

Minnesota is GREAT. I love it here. my goal this week is to be more social than I was last week. So I'm working on it. :) But I love being in the office daily. I love my friends here. AND I LOVE SUNSHINE! it has been sunny...litterally... everyday.
Thank you Jesus for sunshine.

I still need a dresser.... boxes are working for now :)

Minnesota Girl...

It's now official: I LIVE IN MINNESOTA!

I cannot even begin to express my excitement in getting here. It was hard to say goodbye and leave NW Indiana, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that THIS here is where I belong.
My friends and family threw me an AMAZING party on friday night, it was the best possible thing to complete the season. We had a blast and of course pulled out electronic guestures for the occasion. It was huge for me to get to see the friends i've had the opportunity to make over the last 2.5 years.
Sunday Jennie and I sang 'Enraptured' (one of my all time favorite worship songs... ever) Becca and Ava killed it on the piano and violin. the whole thing came together amazingly. It wasn't really fair to dad though, seeing as he had to preach right after crying :) I then spent the day with my family and got my car all packed down. Monday morning was a good morning, calm, collected. I slept a little bit longer than my alarm would have liked, but the extra sleep was good in the long run.
I was on the road by noon and after saying my final good byes to April and Bethany, the miles started falling behind me. I stopped in Rockford for Starbucks with Chelsea and then enjoyed the rest of my drive. At one point it was snowing and a little bit icy so i had to turn off the cruise control.... and for anyone who knows highway driving in Wisconsin, you can't speed.... at all. so i was VERY aware of my speed. I enjoyed several conversations with friends, including singing "i'm all alone" to Kaila and her mom. I finally made it into Minnesota and Home to Minnetonka by about 9:30pm where Marge and Darla were there with Michele :) we all unloaded the car and i settled in! (whooohooo!!)
I spent yesterday unpacking all of my stuff, setting up my room/bathroom and getting my bearings of the area, went to Aldi and Cub.
I'm in the office today and I must say, Marge and Darla did a GREAT job of decorating my room and helping me get acclimated to the beauty of Minnesota haha. I'll post a picture soon :)
I'm excited about this transition, (and feeling financially better after this tax return). But I'm still in the support raising mode and now more than ever. I also need a dresser and night stand... have one i can use?

I gave up....

Mark Hoober has been at it for months... He wants all Reign Staff on Twitter so that he can communicate quickly if necessary with all of us. I don't see it as a horrible idea, but I've stood tall against Twitter until now. See this summer camp evacuated due to severe thunderstorms... no one told me... i stayed in my tent all night. SO, a quick tweet would have gotten me out of bed and up to shelter. SO I NOW HAVE TWITTER. And i figure i might as well go all out with it. (you're welcome Brian Meaden) Go to : www.twitter.com/laurabuchelt if you wanna see what all the fuss is about and find out random information about me at random moments of my life. 

AND because pictures are the novels of our day, here's another oldy but a goody....

Good times, good friends.... RS 2001

Geez i was awkward at 17!

Packing,

Well with T Minus one week till my move my life is full of unpacking and repacking! I have a LARGE amount of stuff that has been sitting in boxes from my move home from college 2.5 years ago that has not been touched. So I'm trying to quickly wade through it all. It helps to be jamming out to good music, I made an amazing mix cd (mostly for amanda wann, but since I haven't sent it yet....) and also Zac Brown Band's Cd "The Foundation". Then when I need a break from that i've made some fantastic worship mixes that are second to none.
But digging through things that i haven't seen in a few years pulls up SO many emotions. mostly good. I came across a box of pictures, literally thousands of pictures in albums, frames, and loose. there were also a few notes from friends (Thanks Halbleib), the notes along with the pictures made me so excited and ready to get going. (after looking through many of them and crying for a few hours haha)
I'm still going to be hacking away at support raising. please please please keep that in the forefront of your prayers for me.

ya'll rock.



For your entertainment, I chose a picture from the College Football Archive for ya. Go Goldfish.

Minnesota Bound!!!!!!!!

Well thank you for the welcome Minnesota. It's funny, as I've emailed friends who live in the great state, many of them have said "welcome home" after I tell them about my plans to move back. On February 16, I will be moving to Minnetonka, Minnesota (just west of Minneapolis). I know that while I'm not finished with support raising, that moving up to work out of the office is the absolute best decision.
Your continued prayers are appreciated. I am still in Florida meeting with churches and individuals until Thursday morning, so when I get back, I will have a week and a half to pack and organize everything I own.
This is it, the big move, the dive into adult life as I'll come to know it. I'm so excited on so many levels and yet so torn up about leaving home. I have developed amazing heart friendships in NW Indiana and saying good bye to those will be so much harder than I am giving it credit right now. I know they're not gone forever, but that change is hard.
More to come, but PRAY!!

i recognize....

yes yes, i am fully aware that my readership is down the last week nearly 35% due to my inability to blog consistantly. i'm sorry. life's been rollin on forward, 24 hours have made up each day, and they've been full. things are still on the up and up and the latest on the quest to name my car is that there has been no verdict yet on her name. (did i mention she's a girl?). i want something that fits my cute sporty yet totally rockin awesome sassy car. we shall see i suppose.
i am getting ready to embark on another trip to florida on friday to go to a wedding and then to follow up on some significant support leads. i had a much stronger response when i was there in december than i had anticipated. i'm excited about what God is doing there and since the whole thing (including rental car) will be in the neighborhood of $350 i couldn't pass up the opportunity.
i have big news with regards to my move date, i promise to post that in the next few days... next time i'm feeling whitty and creative. please be in prayer as i am finalizing plans for this huge transition in my life.
yes, this has been written in all lowercase letters on purpose, except of course the name of the Most High. thanks for not letting my readership drop any lower.

Adios Squirrel Cage!!!

The Aspire sold this morning! I was am so excited! Praise God! Thanks for your prayers!!!!!

She's a good car

So far she holds up in snow pretty well, warms up quick, and the cd player works GREAT! I'm trying to sell the Squirrel Cage, we have someone looking at it tomorrow, pray they want it, and that they'll pay my asking price! It would be SOOOOO helpful to have the money from the Aspire to help cover some of the car costs.

Welcome to 2010. AND A CAR!

I am so excited about 2010. I'm not sure why, but it just seems exciting to me. Partially, I'm sure, because there's some life chanage in store for me this year including but not limited to a move to Minnesota. Christmas and New Years was SO great and I loved getting to spend time with my family and friends and celebrate the passing of one year and the beginning of the next.

God is SO good to me, I have a few steps left in order to move to Minnesota, finances... and a car. Well yesterday God cleared one of those two steps. I now own a Black Pontiac Sunfire! Praise God! I still havn't named her and I will be sure to post that when I do :) but what it means for me is that I have a reliable car and supports my mid-february plans to move!!!