I desperately hope that all of you have seen Remember the Titans and are pictureing the scene where Cheryl is telling Nicky all about the game and Nicky has to pull her back to reality and tell her "I DO NOT CARE!" that has nothing to do with anything really.
Unfortunately, this has been my mentality for the past couple of weeks. I simply want to have fun, to live without consequence I want to run around telling everyone I DO NOT CARE! Seriously there are roughly three weeks of school left before I graduate and move home, where I will spend roughly three months before moving to Africa. It would stand to reason then, that what I do in the next few weeks or months will be soon forgotten when I leave.
As much I as want for this to be true I know that it is so very far from the truth. I have learned over the past years that things will be remembered. There simply is no living without consequence. The rational part of me knows that this is good... better than simply running wily nilly around, but there is just a part of me that wants to be free from thinking about and analyzing every move I make and every word I say. Again, I realize that this is dumb and that I cannot live in this way. I am not certain what happened or when in happened but I suppose now I need someone shouting at me pulling me back to reality saying YOU HAVE TO CARE! I am so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful friends here at school who are very willing to do this for me everyday. Whether that be literally shouting at me or just a glance that says more than words ever could. I am glad to have friends going through the same things who I am able to process with and gain wisdom from. God is so magnificent, so faithful to provide everything and everyone I could every need in my life.
I was very worried at the beginning of this semester that I would be not being able to "live where I am at" that I would be so consumed with moving that I would be unable to maintain relationships well and I would be come a recluse of sorts. I am afraid that in some strange way just the opposite has happened I have worked very hard to build relationships and pour into people that I may never see again. This has been a beautiful semester of learning and growing good things have happened, but everyday is a fight to care, to not become a tool for Satan, to not give into fleshly desires.
I think some of this may simply be a way of not having to think of all of the terrifying changes that are about to occur in my life. Graduating means leaving a home and family that I have know for the last four years, moving halfway across the world... well I think we can all imagine what that means. So I guess in some crazy (and we all know I am crazy), in some crazy way simply not caring means not having to think about all those things not having to process through what is next. I have never been really good with change... and I think, looking back, that to some degree this is how I usually handle it. I guess this time it has just been more defined, more present in my everyday life. I can't say that it has all been bad, like I said I have made some great friends and really been able to open up to people that I may not have before. I have learned even more, once again, in a different way that I have to lean of God for all of my strength. Sometimes I really wish those things would just stick.... why can I not remember things like that... mmm
So there you have it, a very raw, very honest look into my life.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
I really am going to Africa
and so I have started a new blog so that you can follow my adventures there! The title is still in the works but you can find it at http://alyinmalawi.blogspot.com/ HOORAY!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Here we go again...
Once again I have been reminded of a lesson that I have learned many times. I hope that one day this will stick with me and I will no longer have to continue to forget it and learn it over and over and over... life is just much better when I can remember the important things. Anyway. I have been reminded that the attitude I take into something will greatly the effect the outcome. For example, my beautiful roommates and I went to passion over the break which was absolutely amazing. I have come away from those four days with an fresh look on life and the what is most important. Sometimes I just find myself getting really excited about the things that we talked about at Passion and the things that I am still learning weeks later. There is always some fear that after an event such as Passion the "high" eventually wears off and things are pretty much back to normal. But, I believe that this was a completely different type of experience and the fruit of that will be seen for a very long time.
I've also been extremely excited about so many things in my life coming together. So many different aspects of my life and people in my life are putting forth the same challenges and everyone seems to be on the same page about tons of different things. This is just another reminder for me that my God is bigger than what I see here and He puts people in a place and time for a reason.
mmm.... In other news Africa is still in the works, waiting for our "official" acceptance and working on have patience in that. For now I'm just trying to live my life where God has put me for now, to love people and glorify God in everything that I do.
SO long for now. :)
I've also been extremely excited about so many things in my life coming together. So many different aspects of my life and people in my life are putting forth the same challenges and everyone seems to be on the same page about tons of different things. This is just another reminder for me that my God is bigger than what I see here and He puts people in a place and time for a reason.
mmm.... In other news Africa is still in the works, waiting for our "official" acceptance and working on have patience in that. For now I'm just trying to live my life where God has put me for now, to love people and glorify God in everything that I do.
SO long for now. :)
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Aly in Africa?!!
This my dear friends is shaping up to be an extremely true statement, and I am thoroughly excited about it! I believe that for many of you this will be a rather shocking statement... don't worry it was for me too, but as I tell you this story you may find that there is no way that our fantastic God is not putting this together.
I suppose this all started when Lauren, a girl from my church serving in Tanzania, came and spoke at church about what she was doing there. Later that same week she showed up at small group, and shared in more detail what she was doing in Tanzania and what God was teaching her through that. During these times that she spoke I felt God clearly calling me to go and do something in Africa.... I think we all know that I ignored this. Fortunately, about this same time Ogles, you can read about her here: http://allisoninmalawi.blogspot.com/, was really sensing that God was calling her to work in Africa as well. So it was rather hard to ignore God telling me to do something when someone so close to me is constantly talking about if .For this, I am grateful. At some point in all of this I began to really pray about what serving in Africa would look like for me and how that would happen.
One evening we ran into the Kyser family at wal-mart and they started telling us all about their plans to move to Malawi and how God had called them there. Personally, I was excited and ready to go... I like to believe i hid this well, but others may have a different story so... yeah. So about a week later Ogles came home from the Open house she had been to at the Kyser's at crawled into my bed and started telling me all about ABC, which you can read all about here http://africanbiblecolleges.org/, and her plans to go... After what I think was at least an hour, if not two...I finally said well Ogles I've been praying about going to Africa... and I told her that my devotion early that week had been about Jesus sending his disciples out in pairs to serve together. At this point I was still just praying and looking into ABC. However, I was out one afternoon picking up a book my mom asked me to bring home and I was just browsing the store when I came across a collection of C. S. Lewis' books all bound in one book... I picked it up and thumbed through it and said to myself, "this will be really convenient for when I go to Africa." I then book the book down and left the store immediately.
Over Thanksgiving I continued to look into ABC, and I talked my mom and let her know that I was seriously considering moving to Malawi to work with ABC after I graduated college... and that was about it. When we went back to school everything really started falling into place. Ogles and I were able to have dinner with Jan Harper who is wonderful and works for ABC. Another girl that is currently serving with ABC came to eat with us as well. It was a wonderful evening of being able to ask questions and simply learn more about what we would be doing and how that would work.
This is my favorite story to date... Ogles and I had been out with Max finishing up some Christmas shopping at Barnes and Noble when we came across the Nook... and after looking at it for a while we we decided that should we go to Malawi we should invest in a Nook, because books are simply impractical in Africa. Later that evening we were talking to Ammie about our plans to get a Nook. Ammie went to class the next day and a girl in her class had just purchased a Nook and was telling them all how wonderful it was. Ammie told them that Ogles and I were thinking about getting one for when we moved to Africa. Another woman in her class asked her if we were planning to missionaries there and if it would be possible for her Sunday school class to purchase the Nook for us as a mission project. Ammie told her that she could get in touch with us and figure out more about it. That was on a Monday. The following Wednesday the woman handed Ammie an envelope with $277 in it for Ogles and I to get a Nook! Oh my STARS! What a wonderful reminder of the promise of God's provision in everything that we do! I am so excited about how God is growing and teaching me.
To bring everyone up to speed I have sent in my application and believe that all of my references have been turned in as well. Everything seems to be falling into place and I am simply waiting for official confirmation from ABC. There is still much support raising and preparing to be done, but for now I would greatly appreciate your continued prayers as God leads me down this journey.
I suppose this all started when Lauren, a girl from my church serving in Tanzania, came and spoke at church about what she was doing there. Later that same week she showed up at small group, and shared in more detail what she was doing in Tanzania and what God was teaching her through that. During these times that she spoke I felt God clearly calling me to go and do something in Africa.... I think we all know that I ignored this. Fortunately, about this same time Ogles, you can read about her here: http://allisoninmalawi.blogspot.com/, was really sensing that God was calling her to work in Africa as well. So it was rather hard to ignore God telling me to do something when someone so close to me is constantly talking about if .For this, I am grateful. At some point in all of this I began to really pray about what serving in Africa would look like for me and how that would happen.
One evening we ran into the Kyser family at wal-mart and they started telling us all about their plans to move to Malawi and how God had called them there. Personally, I was excited and ready to go... I like to believe i hid this well, but others may have a different story so... yeah. So about a week later Ogles came home from the Open house she had been to at the Kyser's at crawled into my bed and started telling me all about ABC, which you can read all about here http://africanbiblecolleges.org/, and her plans to go... After what I think was at least an hour, if not two...I finally said well Ogles I've been praying about going to Africa... and I told her that my devotion early that week had been about Jesus sending his disciples out in pairs to serve together. At this point I was still just praying and looking into ABC. However, I was out one afternoon picking up a book my mom asked me to bring home and I was just browsing the store when I came across a collection of C. S. Lewis' books all bound in one book... I picked it up and thumbed through it and said to myself, "this will be really convenient for when I go to Africa." I then book the book down and left the store immediately.
Over Thanksgiving I continued to look into ABC, and I talked my mom and let her know that I was seriously considering moving to Malawi to work with ABC after I graduated college... and that was about it. When we went back to school everything really started falling into place. Ogles and I were able to have dinner with Jan Harper who is wonderful and works for ABC. Another girl that is currently serving with ABC came to eat with us as well. It was a wonderful evening of being able to ask questions and simply learn more about what we would be doing and how that would work.
This is my favorite story to date... Ogles and I had been out with Max finishing up some Christmas shopping at Barnes and Noble when we came across the Nook... and after looking at it for a while we we decided that should we go to Malawi we should invest in a Nook, because books are simply impractical in Africa. Later that evening we were talking to Ammie about our plans to get a Nook. Ammie went to class the next day and a girl in her class had just purchased a Nook and was telling them all how wonderful it was. Ammie told them that Ogles and I were thinking about getting one for when we moved to Africa. Another woman in her class asked her if we were planning to missionaries there and if it would be possible for her Sunday school class to purchase the Nook for us as a mission project. Ammie told her that she could get in touch with us and figure out more about it. That was on a Monday. The following Wednesday the woman handed Ammie an envelope with $277 in it for Ogles and I to get a Nook! Oh my STARS! What a wonderful reminder of the promise of God's provision in everything that we do! I am so excited about how God is growing and teaching me.
To bring everyone up to speed I have sent in my application and believe that all of my references have been turned in as well. Everything seems to be falling into place and I am simply waiting for official confirmation from ABC. There is still much support raising and preparing to be done, but for now I would greatly appreciate your continued prayers as God leads me down this journey.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Fresh Perspective
For some reason being home always allows me to look at things from a different point of view. Maybe its the fact that I just have time to actually think, or maybe it's being able to step outside of all the things that are happening and simply think about them, or maybe its a combination of the two. Most likely the third option. I am so incredibly excited about being home, sometimes I just stop and look around to make sure that I really am home and its not just all a dream. It seems like the past semester flew by before I could even stop and enjoy it. I mean don't get me wrong we had some good times and did some really exciting things. I learned A LOT about myself and the people I love dearly. But mostly I learned things about myself which is weird because I went into the semester thinking I already knew a lot about myself and that I needed to be focusing on what I was going to do with my life. Apparently that wasn't the case. However, I am thrilled at what the end of the semester has looked like and I am extremely excited about refueling over the break and then heading back to finish out the year.
This semester has given me the opportunity to figure out what I really think is important and what I want to spend my time doing. I have realized that people are more important to me that activities or things or many other things in life. I'm not certain that I didn't know this before, but I think now I am more willing and able to put this belief into practice. I have also learned that there are somethings in life that I will never be able to change. While I'm am still not happy about this, it has made many aspects of my life much easier. I have also realized that you can't make everyone happy, there will be times in life when someone will be upset, and they maybe upset for a very long time. This has probably been the hardest lesson to learn. I've spent a large portion of my life being the peace keeper in most things and relationships in my life. But, sometimes having peace is not always the best answer? mmmh... I'm still not too sure about this. But not everyone will be happy all the time, I'll work on that.
....
All of that being said I have a few goals for the break...
First and foremost I am trying very hard to remove several words/phrases from my vocabulary... "I feel like..." is the first one to go. "Moron" "idiot" and other things like that also must go.
The second thing I am trying very hard to do is think very carefully about what I say... I'm not sure what this might really mean... I don't know that its fair to say that I will only say exactly what I mean because jokes and sarcasm are a large part of my personality and I don't think it's fair for people to expect me to not joke, but I'm still praying about this and making sure my motives aren't selfish.
For now these are the two big ones, I am certain there are plenty more things I could work on but I think that resolving these two big ones will help in many many areas of my life!
Much to the aggravation of many this post does not contain certain BIG information about my life. Sorry kids, the next one I promise!
This semester has given me the opportunity to figure out what I really think is important and what I want to spend my time doing. I have realized that people are more important to me that activities or things or many other things in life. I'm not certain that I didn't know this before, but I think now I am more willing and able to put this belief into practice. I have also learned that there are somethings in life that I will never be able to change. While I'm am still not happy about this, it has made many aspects of my life much easier. I have also realized that you can't make everyone happy, there will be times in life when someone will be upset, and they maybe upset for a very long time. This has probably been the hardest lesson to learn. I've spent a large portion of my life being the peace keeper in most things and relationships in my life. But, sometimes having peace is not always the best answer? mmmh... I'm still not too sure about this. But not everyone will be happy all the time, I'll work on that.
....
All of that being said I have a few goals for the break...
First and foremost I am trying very hard to remove several words/phrases from my vocabulary... "I feel like..." is the first one to go. "Moron" "idiot" and other things like that also must go.
The second thing I am trying very hard to do is think very carefully about what I say... I'm not sure what this might really mean... I don't know that its fair to say that I will only say exactly what I mean because jokes and sarcasm are a large part of my personality and I don't think it's fair for people to expect me to not joke, but I'm still praying about this and making sure my motives aren't selfish.
For now these are the two big ones, I am certain there are plenty more things I could work on but I think that resolving these two big ones will help in many many areas of my life!
Much to the aggravation of many this post does not contain certain BIG information about my life. Sorry kids, the next one I promise!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Still absolutely amazed...
So i'm certain I have said all of this before, but its still just really apparent to be that God is working here. I have seen and felt God change my attitude, my perspective, and just really work in real ways in my life all semester, and ESPECIALLY in the last few week. AND! not only do I see Him working in me I see Him in my friends, in people that I don't know very well, in situations where the only ting that could save them from insanity is God. For the first time... pretty much ever I am not running from school as fast as I can in an effort to not eat everyone around me. I'm a little worried about what will happen when I go home and realize that not everyone has been living in the same Spirit filled environment. I know, thanks to reminders from a few beautiful people, that God will work while I'm at home and I'll be home for a reason. However this doesn't change the fact that leaving this will still be hard. Don't get me wrong this is definitely a MUCH needed break. School is hard! relationships are stressful, living each and everyday is sometimes a challenge. But in the end, its all completely 100% worth it!!! *sigh* Praise the Lord for working in me even in the tough times, and showing me that the tough times are often the most rewarding, and the times we learn to grow and stand firm in our faith. I have seen that God will provide for me in the big ways and the small... *sigh*
IN other news... ITS CHRISTMAS!!! I am so so so ready for everything that this entails! Christmas is a beautiful time of year, and we should relish in it more than we do. My God is big, my God made a HUGE sacrifice for me. Why in the world would I not be excited about celebrating the beautiful and perfect gift that the baby Jesus was for me? WHY would I not want to share this joy with everyone I know in whatever way I can, WHY would I not take advantage of the mood and spirit of people all around me who excited and open to what Christmas really means! Why? Christmas Scrooges will not last long at my Christmas.
"1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of[a] Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.[b]
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:1-3
"1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. 21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived." Luke 2:1-21
IN other news... ITS CHRISTMAS!!! I am so so so ready for everything that this entails! Christmas is a beautiful time of year, and we should relish in it more than we do. My God is big, my God made a HUGE sacrifice for me. Why in the world would I not be excited about celebrating the beautiful and perfect gift that the baby Jesus was for me? WHY would I not want to share this joy with everyone I know in whatever way I can, WHY would I not take advantage of the mood and spirit of people all around me who excited and open to what Christmas really means! Why? Christmas Scrooges will not last long at my Christmas.
"1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of[a] Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.[b]
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:1-3
"1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. 21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived." Luke 2:1-21
Friday, December 3, 2010
EXCITEMENT!
So many things in my life are incredibly exciting right now! A few of them I am not quite ready to share, but keep your eyes open for exciting things to come. Other things however, are just too too fantastic to keep to myself. For example, MY GOD IS GREAT! I'm pretty sure that I say something along these lines several thousand times a day, but I mean it with everything I have in me and the inability to express just how I feel is, at times, extremely overwhelming. This semester has be crazy, a whirlwind of emotions and activities. I have been able to meet some of the most incredible people this semester, all of them are lovely and beautiful and I have been so incredibly blessed to have them in my life. Its also CHRISTMAS!!! Seriously, it just really doesn't get much better than that! Christmas means so many beautiful things. The excitement is overwhelming!!! The mere fact that MY magnificent God gave up is precious Son, so that HE would be my SAVIOR!!!! Lets just be honest kids NOTHING beats that! Ahhh! The last thing I will torture you all with is the fact that WE ARE GOING TO PASSION!! 16pazzillion college students gathered in one city for three day all for the purpose of worshiping and praising the name of precious savior! WOW.!. That is incredible! I canNOT wait. ON top of that I get to go with two of the greatest people on the planet, BERKELL AND OGLES!!!! I am so looking forward to spending the week with these beautiful women praising our precious savior! oh MY goodNESS!!! THIS IS BRILLIANT AND MAGNIFICENT AND SPECTACULAR AND AMAZING AAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNDDDDDDD This isn't even the best part!!!! lfajfl;jglkjasgjoaigja;lkdgjlalnldkgjlasdghlakdnblanblkasndblnfsbl;kahsdgoihas;dlgkasld;kgha;sghl;skdgjh;lkasfgl;aksdjgl;kasjg;laksdjg;lkasdjg;lkasjgdj aslkgnjasfg
27Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God"?
28Have you not known? Have you not heard?The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
brilliant.
27Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God"?
28Have you not known? Have you not heard?The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
brilliant.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Well I'm back again... still quite excited about the semester and with a few more realizations about my life. (I know you're really excited.) When you love God and seek him whole heartedly than loving people will just happen. God will fill you with love and energy and willingness to pour out HIS love on everyone you come across. In an effort to be completely honest, I must tell you that I am not always the most committed person when it comes to reading my Bible and intentionally spending time alone with God everyday. However, for the past two weeks I have been very intentional in seeking out God and looking for times to read my Bible, pray, and simply spend time in the presence of my magnificent God. Because of this I have been a much happier and more pleasant person. This is another one of those things that I know will happen, I've done it before, I've seen the results, but I am so often caught up in the busyness of my life that I simply don't do it. And that is just stupid. Really really stupid. I am so greatful (I realize this is wrong) to my God, my beautiful precious Savior who continues to pursue me even when I am doing nothing to show my love. My hope and prayer is that I will never forget that my God is great, my God is big, and my God is love. I pray that I will be able to live these things out and show them to everyone around me through the strength that God gives me.
I have been very encouraged by the life of a dear friend of mine who past away yesterday. Christian Schmidt was an amazing man of God who lived his life for God until the very end. He praised our God through pain and suffering he used every bit of energy given to him to spread the good news of a precious Savior. He fought the good fight and is now praising God without hindrance, without pain, He is happier than ever worshiping our brilliant Creator. How willing am I to live this same kind of life to spend myself, every last ounce of energy I have, to bring good news to a hurting world?
MY GOD IS SO GOOD I DO NOT EVEN HAVE THE WORDS TO EXPRESS MY LOVE!
I have been very encouraged by the life of a dear friend of mine who past away yesterday. Christian Schmidt was an amazing man of God who lived his life for God until the very end. He praised our God through pain and suffering he used every bit of energy given to him to spread the good news of a precious Savior. He fought the good fight and is now praising God without hindrance, without pain, He is happier than ever worshiping our brilliant Creator. How willing am I to live this same kind of life to spend myself, every last ounce of energy I have, to bring good news to a hurting world?
MY GOD IS SO GOOD I DO NOT EVEN HAVE THE WORDS TO EXPRESS MY LOVE!
Monday, October 25, 2010
LOVE IS BRILLIANT!
So the semester has been shaping up quite nicely, and I'm very excited about it. God is so cool. There are so many things that I started learning this summer that are finally beginning to make sense. Some of it is not so easy, and some of it is just good reminders that of God has already done for me, and things that I have already learned.
Coming back to something always brings special events, activities, and situations. There are the same people that were there last time, but some of them are gone and there are new people who we are often unsure of where they even came from. We quickly realize though that all of the people have been placed in our lives for a reason, and we are called to love them and care about them, we are simply called to be their friend. All of it is really really fun.
We also come back with new experiences. We all spent the summer apart, learning and experiencing different things, and we some how have to figure out how to live in old situations with new experiences... At this point many of us have done this over and over again, but it never really gets any easier.
I personally have been struggling with several things that God has been teaching me. Learning how to love new people while still loving the old ones isn't always easy, and not always something that I really want to do. Investing so much time into situations I won't be in for long is not something that really makes me excited. Fortunately, I have learned through experiences that running from the things that God has called you to will only get you chased by whales. SO lets just not do that right? Loving people is hard, people are messy and complicated, people have problems and lives and baggage, and its just not pretty. But people are beautiful. People are created by God IN HIS IMAGE! Everyone you know... think about even the crazy people. God wants people to know about his love and the abundant life that is found only in Him... We need to be willing, I need to be willing, to love people that are hard to love. God is working in me, God is working in my friends (the new ones and the old ones), God is moving on our campus, God is moving in our city and it is BRILLIANT!
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35
Coming back to something always brings special events, activities, and situations. There are the same people that were there last time, but some of them are gone and there are new people who we are often unsure of where they even came from. We quickly realize though that all of the people have been placed in our lives for a reason, and we are called to love them and care about them, we are simply called to be their friend. All of it is really really fun.
We also come back with new experiences. We all spent the summer apart, learning and experiencing different things, and we some how have to figure out how to live in old situations with new experiences... At this point many of us have done this over and over again, but it never really gets any easier.
I personally have been struggling with several things that God has been teaching me. Learning how to love new people while still loving the old ones isn't always easy, and not always something that I really want to do. Investing so much time into situations I won't be in for long is not something that really makes me excited. Fortunately, I have learned through experiences that running from the things that God has called you to will only get you chased by whales. SO lets just not do that right? Loving people is hard, people are messy and complicated, people have problems and lives and baggage, and its just not pretty. But people are beautiful. People are created by God IN HIS IMAGE! Everyone you know... think about even the crazy people. God wants people to know about his love and the abundant life that is found only in Him... We need to be willing, I need to be willing, to love people that are hard to love. God is working in me, God is working in my friends (the new ones and the old ones), God is moving on our campus, God is moving in our city and it is BRILLIANT!
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Well, its been a while...
So I realized the other day that it has been quite some time since I had posted anything here... Honestly it feels like it's only been about a day, but really it's been a very very very long time.... Basically school is wonderful.... I was so so so so so so so excited when I got home and saw my family!! They're beautiful and happy and fabulous and it was great! AND THEN I got to see my friends and I just REALLY love my friends. We have done so many CRAZY things already this semester... basically every weekend has been filled with insanity.. Random trips to the mall, Roller derby, homework, Resident Evil 4, more roller derby... NOSE PIERCING!, A random concert something something something, VOTN conference.. it was all just fabulous, and I pretty sure that it's never going to calm down ever again, and I am very okay with all of this. I realized every day that I am still processing bits and pieces of the summer, and figuring how those things fit in my life now, and that is just really great, but also really scary... I'm still learning a lot about myself, and learning that God uses me in my weaknesses which is just GRRREEAAAAAAAAAAAT! .... well, hopefully I'll be back again very very soon with some fabulous new realization.
:)
:)
Monday, August 2, 2010
Emotions are weird.
Why is it that the end of something is always accompanied by such a mix of emotions and feelings. I think Relient K was right when they said emotional girls should all wear mood rings, I could use some help myself. This is my last week here in Ohio for the summer. It has been such an amazing experience. I have learned a lot about ministry, about kids, about myself, quite honestly I feel like my brain is over drive and I will probably need about 6 years to process all of this, but will have to make do with about 6 days. Anyway, I'm really truly sad about leaving next week, which is not really a new emotion, but maybe it is a little. Usually when big things are over I'm just happy to be done. I'm a very strange person we all know this. SO yeah, I'm sad to go, but I'm also really looking forward to being home. I'm sure I've mentioned before that I REALLY LIKE MY FAMILY A LOT! and as irritating and loud and crazy and despite the fact that my dad won't let my pierce my nose (some one make sure he reads this okay?) I really missed spending the summer with them. It's always an experience, like relearning how to live with people again of course then I just go back to school and I have to relearn how to live with those people. OH life is crazy and wonderful and just... So along with being sad and happy comes this weird feeling that time is like going a little bit wacky. Sometimes a minute can feel like an hour and other times and hour feels like a minute, and sometimes I just really want the time to pass so I can go home and others I want the time to last so I can stay and enjoy the things I've done here this summer. I really really don't like this at all!!!! emotions are really not a good thing for people who like to feel that they are in control. Not that I have any trouble showing my emotions, just ask anyone who has spent any amount of time in the Caf on macncheese day. Sometimes it just really doesn't end well. But I would really just like to have one emotion a good one or a not so good one I don't really mind but the weird mix is just freaking me out and I have worked very hard at not being a freak out... well mostly. So yeah I don't really know how I feel about any of this. I'm going to listen to relient k and maybe figure something out.... probably not it'll just confirm the fact that I think this is all very frustrating. Well there ya go.
until next time.
until next time.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
SO MANY TREASURES!
Well, as most of you know (I think...) Last weekend my gramma's basement got some water in it because of the RAIIIINNNN! Ugh, I also think most of you know how I feel about the rain. Well anyway we've been spending some time cleaning up water and cleaning different things up. and there is SOO much crazy stuff down there. Like this rock with a bunch of little rocks with eyes glued on it with a sign that says "rock concert" that's just really good times. and REALLY old pictures of my dad along with tons of other things that are just too great to be described with words. I'm sad that no one was here to enjoy it with me. However, along with the great things there are some not so great things like 50 jillion year old carpet soaked in rain water... GROSS! And the smell oh the smell is horrid! But I think we're making progress. I was able to put some of my fabulous treasure hunting skills to good use when we were trying to find and extension cord with the third hole OR the nose as I like to call it among all of the other fabulous things in the basement. I found one. I was excited. Maybe too excited. Oh well. Also I found out who my new room mate is! Ahhh! I am so excited. Her name is Sooyeon Song, she's gorgeous I'm excited. In other news I have no other news. I'm excited and sad about going home. Okay
Until next time.
Until next time.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
They didn't sleep...
Well, it has been quite some time not really only a couple of days, but whatever. I would like to start by telling you all about my weekend. This weekend was the youth lock-in-event-funness-thing at the church here which I have been looking forward to for quite some time. And it was a lot of fun. We started with a little nerf war which can only mean good things, I think? anyway. After that we play tons of super fun games that no really things are fun, but they play them anyway. Well, I really think they're fun, and its just really really great. We also ate hot dogs and vanilla ice cream because it was hot dog and vanilla ice cream day! Delicious!! And they we split up for devos, and wonderfulness that can only happen when genders are separated. Rumor has it that the boys went to bed rather early. We girls, however, still had many many things to do. We gave each other facials, and painted nails, and ate food, and watched movies, and laughed and giggled and just did wonderful girl things. Now it has been my experience at EVERY event I have been to (until now) that everyone will fall asleep by 5am. It just happens at some point the sugar runs out and people just crash. NOT this is time. They didn't sleep... not at all. Well, one girl did sleep but the other 5 were still going strong when their parents came this morning. I had no idea that that was even possible. Because of this experience I have new found respect for people who do not like mornings. I was a bit foul (a bit may be giving myself too much credit). But I survived and I had a great time I really do have this strange love for preteens they're just so stinkin' funny and great I can't help it. OH man so much goodness.
The rest of my life is relatively uneventful which I am perfectly okay with. I have been celebrating fabulous holidays however. Sunday was Ice cream sundae (haaa!.) and so we had ice cream and greatness after church (thank you Mrs. Kim) and Tuesday was Celebrate your big-ugly truck day AND moon day. I wasn't really sure what to do so I just counted lots of big-ugly trucks... like 50 and made sure I spent time looking at the moon (hahahahahaha!) and enjoying it. Wednesday was junk food day which I celebrated a little bit of all week... especially this weekend oh man so much much junk it wasn't even funny. and of course vanilla ice cream and hot dog day. It's all so exciting.
Well, my time here in OH is quickly coming to an end. The summer has really just flown by.. its crazy I have my ticket booked and I'll be leaving August 9Th sometime in the evening (secretly I know the exact time, but I'm trying really hard not to be a planing freak... OGLES!) I will be sad to go, but I have enjoyed my time here so much, and I'm really excited to see what God has in store.
Ahhh!
The rest of my life is relatively uneventful which I am perfectly okay with. I have been celebrating fabulous holidays however. Sunday was Ice cream sundae (haaa!.) and so we had ice cream and greatness after church (thank you Mrs. Kim) and Tuesday was Celebrate your big-ugly truck day AND moon day. I wasn't really sure what to do so I just counted lots of big-ugly trucks... like 50 and made sure I spent time looking at the moon (hahahahahaha!) and enjoying it. Wednesday was junk food day which I celebrated a little bit of all week... especially this weekend oh man so much much junk it wasn't even funny. and of course vanilla ice cream and hot dog day. It's all so exciting.
Well, my time here in OH is quickly coming to an end. The summer has really just flown by.. its crazy I have my ticket booked and I'll be leaving August 9Th sometime in the evening (secretly I know the exact time, but I'm trying really hard not to be a planing freak... OGLES!) I will be sad to go, but I have enjoyed my time here so much, and I'm really excited to see what God has in store.
Ahhh!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Because everyone is dying to know...
Okay well maybe my head is a bit to big today, well most days for that matter. But after my brush with the geekier side of myself I just needed a little pick me up. Okay really none of that is true but several (and my several I mean at least 3) people have asked me what I did for pandemonium day and cow appreciation day. So I'm sad to report that my day was not filled with as much pandemonium as I know it's capable of holding, but its been a long week so maybe that was for the best. It's been VBS week here in Ohio. So lets just say from 6-8 the pandemonium was in full swing. I also had some a few pandemonium laden moments on my drive home. Really I just thought I was on the wrong rode, and then the music got loud all by itself and my phone was ringing with an unknown number, but I was on the right road.. and apparently if you spin the ipod thing the volume goes up, and one push of a button silences the cell phone with little effort. So basically nothing a good scream can't fix, right?
As far as cows go I was really unsure of weather I should have eaten all things cow related or if I should steer clear... so since I don't really like most products from cows any way I just didn't eat any. Not even ice cream... clearly this dilemma left me more confused than I originally thought. So I just decided to celebrate cows with and outfit devoted to their greatness. An adorable shirt with cows on it, paired with a wonderful black skirt, and a phenomenal black and white cow bow! I was adorable. (Maybe that's what got into me.)
So there you have it I have been celebrating like its not anybody's business. And so now as far as my todo list goes I'm all caught up... or at least as well as can be expected, some things just take longer than others. Also I think lists are bad for me they only enable my dominant type A personality. I've been fighting off the urge to go back through my planner and add in things that I did, but didn't right down and continue planning the rest of the summer down to every last second. Like I said fighting off this urge. Its a struggle, but now people will be asking me and I don't want to have to say that I did it so maybe that will help me resist. mmmm
until next time.
As far as cows go I was really unsure of weather I should have eaten all things cow related or if I should steer clear... so since I don't really like most products from cows any way I just didn't eat any. Not even ice cream... clearly this dilemma left me more confused than I originally thought. So I just decided to celebrate cows with and outfit devoted to their greatness. An adorable shirt with cows on it, paired with a wonderful black skirt, and a phenomenal black and white cow bow! I was adorable. (Maybe that's what got into me.)
So there you have it I have been celebrating like its not anybody's business. And so now as far as my todo list goes I'm all caught up... or at least as well as can be expected, some things just take longer than others. Also I think lists are bad for me they only enable my dominant type A personality. I've been fighting off the urge to go back through my planner and add in things that I did, but didn't right down and continue planning the rest of the summer down to every last second. Like I said fighting off this urge. Its a struggle, but now people will be asking me and I don't want to have to say that I did it so maybe that will help me resist. mmmm
until next time.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Embrace my geekness? You got it.
For those of you not really concerned with my geeky life I would skip to the START HERE portion of today's Brilliant Post
Let me just start by saying that I have not and most likely never will consider myself a "cool" person. The "in" crowd is not a place I really care to be. Cute.. cute I've got covered. Basically I've got cute down to a science, and short of a few fussing incidents its saved me every time. But today was not about embracing my cutness... It was about embracing my geekness, and apparently somewhere deep down inside it was all just waiting for this day to come. While I didn't have any sudden jump in IQ points or find myself spouting off completely random information to people (well there may have been a bit of spouting) I was quite geeky all the same. What I lack in other areas I made up for in basic weirdness and clumsiness that can only be allowed on a day in which embracing one's geekness in something to strive for. So here is the rundown... Lets just say one of the first things on my todo list when I get home is a hair cut. Today was a very geeky hair day not even a pony tail was going to look remotely calm, quite frankly it was just depressing. But it just gets better. While waiting on my grandmother to pay at this rather classy hair salon I started laughing at the people behind the counter... I'm not really certain what the reason for this was most likely something they said or did. Not a normal person would play this off... a geeky person (or myself today) just continues in the bliss that is social ignorance and is severely judged by the other party. Having some once of normal in me I had a very strong urge to put to use one of the fabulous dance moves I've learned from Caleb and run out (okay maybe normal was a bad word choice) Had I been alone I probably would have, but to save my grandmother from myself I just left quietly. Following the salon episode I spent at least 2 hours in bookstores. Once we finally made it home I found myself sitting on the couch reading a book until ,of course, I was running late. I had to find and so I had a few errand to run before Bible school. Could they have waited? Of course. But being the adorable geek that I am this was my schedule and I was sticking to it. So Walmart was my first stop, at which I realize the shoes I am wearing are completely impractical for the task ahead and so I purchase some different ones. Very practical sneakers. My geek points just went up. After picking up a few other things and checking out. I ran into this pour guy in the parking lot and dropped everything. Fortunately he was cute and did help me get my stuff out of the parking lot, but oh my goodness. The only thing I could think of was Steve Urkel has apparently posses me for the day. And so my day goes on. Possibly my favorite part of the entire day was stopping at a local party supply looking for Jumbo sunglasses. I was running late and so I just asked the first person I saw who worked there... He had no clue, but directed me to someone who might know. And they had them! and so after fumbling and knocking down about 5 pairs of Jumbo Sunglasses I announced to the woman that she was in fact my hero, and I was very excited about the sunglasses she just had no idea. Seriously I think she was regretting the second look for them. But oh well. The rest of my day was pretty calm. I did start talking to myself, and comment on the fact that I was talking to myself, then comment on the fact that I was commenting on the fact that I was talking to myself... yeah. My original plan for embracing my geekness was a pair of crazy Urkel glasses, and some bad shoes.. ha! who needs costumes when you've got the real deal?
START HERE!!!!!
I want to thank everyone who has been praying for me, and encouraging me this summer. Although I'm not in Peru or Bolivia or anywhere else that is equally terrifying it still means the world to me. I have learned so much this summer, it's amazing! And the summer is still young! (That may be a terrifying thought...) It's funny how God works... we prayed for big things to happen this summer, that we would learn and grow and be stretched and pushed outside of our comfort zones, and I'm certain many of us have, but God knows what we can handle and that constantly amazes me. One of the most important things I've learned about myself this summer is that I'm a skip-to-the-end-of-the-book person. Once I know the characters and the basic plot line I just want to see how it all ends up, but than where is the fun in that right? So I'm working very hard to be a read-ALL-the-details-person, and finding that I quite enjoy it. Who knew?! I am so thankful for this opportunity and I plan to remember it forever.
As far as my todo list goes I'm doing quite well. I am extremely happy! Deep sea adventure is fabulous and wonderful, and I am thoroughly enjoying myself. If you didn't skip ahead you're well aware that my geekness has been embraced enough today to last me at least a week... Pandemonium and cows will be getting their day. The stressing thing is a learning process, but I'm working on it. If you were even wondering about the coke thing, we need to talk. My muscles are not aching yet, but I feel the pain in my future. Not crying of things that are not worthy of tears... who really decides what is worthy and what isn't. I mean Macaroni is very important. Live right now... that's my plan and I'm sticking to it!
*deep breath* :D
Let me just start by saying that I have not and most likely never will consider myself a "cool" person. The "in" crowd is not a place I really care to be. Cute.. cute I've got covered. Basically I've got cute down to a science, and short of a few fussing incidents its saved me every time. But today was not about embracing my cutness... It was about embracing my geekness, and apparently somewhere deep down inside it was all just waiting for this day to come. While I didn't have any sudden jump in IQ points or find myself spouting off completely random information to people (well there may have been a bit of spouting) I was quite geeky all the same. What I lack in other areas I made up for in basic weirdness and clumsiness that can only be allowed on a day in which embracing one's geekness in something to strive for. So here is the rundown... Lets just say one of the first things on my todo list when I get home is a hair cut. Today was a very geeky hair day not even a pony tail was going to look remotely calm, quite frankly it was just depressing. But it just gets better. While waiting on my grandmother to pay at this rather classy hair salon I started laughing at the people behind the counter... I'm not really certain what the reason for this was most likely something they said or did. Not a normal person would play this off... a geeky person (or myself today) just continues in the bliss that is social ignorance and is severely judged by the other party. Having some once of normal in me I had a very strong urge to put to use one of the fabulous dance moves I've learned from Caleb and run out (okay maybe normal was a bad word choice) Had I been alone I probably would have, but to save my grandmother from myself I just left quietly. Following the salon episode I spent at least 2 hours in bookstores. Once we finally made it home I found myself sitting on the couch reading a book until ,of course, I was running late. I had to find and so I had a few errand to run before Bible school. Could they have waited? Of course. But being the adorable geek that I am this was my schedule and I was sticking to it. So Walmart was my first stop, at which I realize the shoes I am wearing are completely impractical for the task ahead and so I purchase some different ones. Very practical sneakers. My geek points just went up. After picking up a few other things and checking out. I ran into this pour guy in the parking lot and dropped everything. Fortunately he was cute and did help me get my stuff out of the parking lot, but oh my goodness. The only thing I could think of was Steve Urkel has apparently posses me for the day. And so my day goes on. Possibly my favorite part of the entire day was stopping at a local party supply looking for Jumbo sunglasses. I was running late and so I just asked the first person I saw who worked there... He had no clue, but directed me to someone who might know. And they had them! and so after fumbling and knocking down about 5 pairs of Jumbo Sunglasses I announced to the woman that she was in fact my hero, and I was very excited about the sunglasses she just had no idea. Seriously I think she was regretting the second look for them. But oh well. The rest of my day was pretty calm. I did start talking to myself, and comment on the fact that I was talking to myself, then comment on the fact that I was commenting on the fact that I was talking to myself... yeah. My original plan for embracing my geekness was a pair of crazy Urkel glasses, and some bad shoes.. ha! who needs costumes when you've got the real deal?
START HERE!!!!!
I want to thank everyone who has been praying for me, and encouraging me this summer. Although I'm not in Peru or Bolivia or anywhere else that is equally terrifying it still means the world to me. I have learned so much this summer, it's amazing! And the summer is still young! (That may be a terrifying thought...) It's funny how God works... we prayed for big things to happen this summer, that we would learn and grow and be stretched and pushed outside of our comfort zones, and I'm certain many of us have, but God knows what we can handle and that constantly amazes me. One of the most important things I've learned about myself this summer is that I'm a skip-to-the-end-of-the-book person. Once I know the characters and the basic plot line I just want to see how it all ends up, but than where is the fun in that right? So I'm working very hard to be a read-ALL-the-details-person, and finding that I quite enjoy it. Who knew?! I am so thankful for this opportunity and I plan to remember it forever.
As far as my todo list goes I'm doing quite well. I am extremely happy! Deep sea adventure is fabulous and wonderful, and I am thoroughly enjoying myself. If you didn't skip ahead you're well aware that my geekness has been embraced enough today to last me at least a week... Pandemonium and cows will be getting their day. The stressing thing is a learning process, but I'm working on it. If you were even wondering about the coke thing, we need to talk. My muscles are not aching yet, but I feel the pain in my future. Not crying of things that are not worthy of tears... who really decides what is worthy and what isn't. I mean Macaroni is very important. Live right now... that's my plan and I'm sticking to it!
*deep breath* :D
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Satan is stupid and someone should tell him.
1. oietrnvaoenb.xckbjoiwrgnakdgoeinra/;nnba;utiouewkgjkslnvkdjasl;kgjeo;itualkjgdksbndsklgjsaoitujiowertujkseldgjdskjdsklgjaseiotuowaeitgjusliahgsdlkgjsdlakgjewoitgjuwoireghjsdlkgjhaskldfjdlskjf
2. If you don't know what #1. means consider yourself lucky.
3. Mr. Glasses Cutehair + a snoring store clerk = at least twenty minutes of great times.
4. Never ever ever take for granted true friends
5. Crying MUST be good for the soul.
6. Shameless flirting will probably get me into trouble someday... actually it already has, well maybe someday I'll learn. :\
7. Kids getting extremely excited over VBS games makes me unnecessarily happy.
8. Teddy Bear picnic... we'll be making in an annual event.
9. ...___________...
10. #9 is not for lack of things to say.
So it's been a very interesting day here in Alliance OH. I have and an overwhelming urge to just go home. Now, don't get me wrong I am really enjoying my stay here. I love getting to know the students and learning more about them, as well as learning about myself. Well, maybe not so much the learning about myself part, but its good none the less. Maybe it's just because my family was here last week and we all know that I mostly likely have an unhealthy attachment to my family (if there even is such a thing) and for whatever reason today I just really wanted to go home. I have felt the grip of Satan in my life today like I have never felt him before. I'm almost certain that anyone I saw today was convinced that I had probably just been through some kind of tragedy. Try as I might the smile that I love to wear was just not coming out today. Maybe it's just the midsummer blues or something I'm not really sure. But I do know that I have made the decision to make the best of everything and have fun everywhere I go. Worry and anxiety (which come quite naturally to me) are two activities that I refuse to engage in. Satan, unfortunately, is very much aware of this and for whatever reason has targeted me and and my anxious self. But the week is young and the summer has plenty of summer life left in it and I refuse to pulled down and troubled by Satan and his stupid antics. Also I am mainly writing this because it will help me (I know that sounds really selfish) Many who know me well know that making sure people do not see me is struggle has been a life goal for some time. I have realized (with the help of a few people)that we all struggle and sometimes the struggle is better for your faith than the lack thereof. and so there you have it I am very much struggling to be this week.(Why I am compelled to write all of that and leave it in is completely and totally unknown to me... I deleated it about 20 times, but I just kept writing the same thing again. UGH!)
And so I have several goals for this week
1. Be happy.
2. Enjoy the deep sea adventure everyday.
3. Embrace my geekness.
4. Have one day filled with PANDEMONIUM!
5. Celebrate cows in all their greatness.
6. Do not stress about things I have no control over.
7. Drink coke.
8. Smile until my muscles ache.
9. Do not cry over anything that is not worthy of tears.
10. Live in the right now.
"4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7
I have adopted this as sort of a life verse, and honestly hadn't given it much thought for most of the summer as far as my own life goes. But the last time I read it I was convicted because I was most definitely not living this out. I am always amazed by God and the way he teaches us, me especially I suppose. mmmh. Praying for my friends and family this week.
Until next time...
2. If you don't know what #1. means consider yourself lucky.
3. Mr. Glasses Cutehair + a snoring store clerk = at least twenty minutes of great times.
4. Never ever ever take for granted true friends
5. Crying MUST be good for the soul.
6. Shameless flirting will probably get me into trouble someday... actually it already has, well maybe someday I'll learn. :\
7. Kids getting extremely excited over VBS games makes me unnecessarily happy.
8. Teddy Bear picnic... we'll be making in an annual event.
9. ...___________...
10. #9 is not for lack of things to say.
So it's been a very interesting day here in Alliance OH. I have and an overwhelming urge to just go home. Now, don't get me wrong I am really enjoying my stay here. I love getting to know the students and learning more about them, as well as learning about myself. Well, maybe not so much the learning about myself part, but its good none the less. Maybe it's just because my family was here last week and we all know that I mostly likely have an unhealthy attachment to my family (if there even is such a thing) and for whatever reason today I just really wanted to go home. I have felt the grip of Satan in my life today like I have never felt him before. I'm almost certain that anyone I saw today was convinced that I had probably just been through some kind of tragedy. Try as I might the smile that I love to wear was just not coming out today. Maybe it's just the midsummer blues or something I'm not really sure. But I do know that I have made the decision to make the best of everything and have fun everywhere I go. Worry and anxiety (which come quite naturally to me) are two activities that I refuse to engage in. Satan, unfortunately, is very much aware of this and for whatever reason has targeted me and and my anxious self. But the week is young and the summer has plenty of summer life left in it and I refuse to pulled down and troubled by Satan and his stupid antics. Also I am mainly writing this because it will help me (I know that sounds really selfish) Many who know me well know that making sure people do not see me is struggle has been a life goal for some time. I have realized (with the help of a few people)that we all struggle and sometimes the struggle is better for your faith than the lack thereof. and so there you have it I am very much struggling to be this week.(Why I am compelled to write all of that and leave it in is completely and totally unknown to me... I deleated it about 20 times, but I just kept writing the same thing again. UGH!)
And so I have several goals for this week
1. Be happy.
2. Enjoy the deep sea adventure everyday.
3. Embrace my geekness.
4. Have one day filled with PANDEMONIUM!
5. Celebrate cows in all their greatness.
6. Do not stress about things I have no control over.
7. Drink coke.
8. Smile until my muscles ache.
9. Do not cry over anything that is not worthy of tears.
10. Live in the right now.
"4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7
I have adopted this as sort of a life verse, and honestly hadn't given it much thought for most of the summer as far as my own life goes. But the last time I read it I was convicted because I was most definitely not living this out. I am always amazed by God and the way he teaches us, me especially I suppose. mmmh. Praying for my friends and family this week.
Until next time...
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Summer
First I have just spent the last hours catching up on everyone because I haven't been on the computer since my parents arrived last Thursday. They headed out early this morning so they should be home Friday sometime. Ahhh! I don't really know... I think I'm really bad at typing stuff because I just like to talk and it takes much longer to type especially if I'm expected to present something with few or no errors. ANYWAY! I must admit that I've been slacking in celebrating the holidays this week because my family has been here, and that's been all kinds of fun and excitement.
So Friday we spent the day at Amish country which is always fun, definitely a good experience. Saturday we just went and did a little errand running and then my aunt and uncle came in with their three kids. So there was a lot of running around and eating a little kid stuff including a slip and slide! WHAT FUN! Sunday we went to church which is always one of my favorite activities, and then we just hung out at the house where there was more eating and fun and little kids and craziness. BUT it was good times. Monday we saw TOY STORY THREE IN THREE D!!!! Oh my goodness what a great movie! Everyone should see it! It's so much fun! Tuesday we went to the zoo! I really like the zoo it's just fun times. I believe that we should all go to the zoo all the time, every day it would be fun! okay?... okay! Wednesday we didn't really do too much my mom and I did a little shopping which is always fun and then I went to church Wednesday evening which was really great! We looked at Philippians 4 which is just a really great passage you should read it. The kids are great and there was actually a big crowd it was great! God is just really really cool, and seeing him work here is wonderful! I don't really have any big plans for the rest of the week. I really really miss my friends and I'm looking forward August and good times then, but in the mean time I'm praying for everyone as they serve everywhere.
So Friday we spent the day at Amish country which is always fun, definitely a good experience. Saturday we just went and did a little errand running and then my aunt and uncle came in with their three kids. So there was a lot of running around and eating a little kid stuff including a slip and slide! WHAT FUN! Sunday we went to church which is always one of my favorite activities, and then we just hung out at the house where there was more eating and fun and little kids and craziness. BUT it was good times. Monday we saw TOY STORY THREE IN THREE D!!!! Oh my goodness what a great movie! Everyone should see it! It's so much fun! Tuesday we went to the zoo! I really like the zoo it's just fun times. I believe that we should all go to the zoo all the time, every day it would be fun! okay?... okay! Wednesday we didn't really do too much my mom and I did a little shopping which is always fun and then I went to church Wednesday evening which was really great! We looked at Philippians 4 which is just a really great passage you should read it. The kids are great and there was actually a big crowd it was great! God is just really really cool, and seeing him work here is wonderful! I don't really have any big plans for the rest of the week. I really really miss my friends and I'm looking forward August and good times then, but in the mean time I'm praying for everyone as they serve everywhere.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
A Hug Holiday!
Well I am very sad to report that I did not hug very many people yesterday. Had I been at home I probably would have just hugged random strangers and not really thought twice about it. However, this isn't really "hugging territory." I might also have a slightly skewed idea of what is appropriate and what isn't after spending the last three years at MC SOOO I just figured I would be on the safe side.
I did however do a little google investigation and found that hugging is a very serious action. It is most definitely awkward for EVERYONE, and there is hugging etiquette to be followed! I had no IDEA! It's very funny though. But some the rules only work if the other person doesn't know them. Like you should only hug someone as tightly as they hug you... well who decides? And you should wait for someone to "come in" for a hug before you do.. again what if you're both waiting?? And there are different types of hugs front hugs, side hugs, bear hugs, lift you up in the air hugs, Still two feet apart hugs, the list goes on and depending on the people hugging I'm sure there are even more! I honestly had no clue that hugging was such an art form. I suppose that's what happens when you grow up in the south and people just dive right in and hug people they've never seen before. I must admit I tend to have my reservations about hugging strangers (mostly by strangers I mean creepers, and I think we all know what I mean). I am also a firm believer in the fact that hugging is very awkward in most situations, but its this weird kind of good okay awkward that we all secretly like even if we won't admit to it. Hugging is good for the sole. There are studies (I'm not saying they're real) that show that hugging really helps people. Helping everything from bad attitudes to poor health. I'm pretty sure it's true, it's just like laughing and smiling and all of the other wonderful things we're able to do it. We should do them and often! Hugging is good. It makes people happy and that's just a good life choice. Don't you agree? I thought you might.
Looking forward to hanging out with the youth tonight.
Continue hugging everyone you know!
Until next time...
I did however do a little google investigation and found that hugging is a very serious action. It is most definitely awkward for EVERYONE, and there is hugging etiquette to be followed! I had no IDEA! It's very funny though. But some the rules only work if the other person doesn't know them. Like you should only hug someone as tightly as they hug you... well who decides? And you should wait for someone to "come in" for a hug before you do.. again what if you're both waiting?? And there are different types of hugs front hugs, side hugs, bear hugs, lift you up in the air hugs, Still two feet apart hugs, the list goes on and depending on the people hugging I'm sure there are even more! I honestly had no clue that hugging was such an art form. I suppose that's what happens when you grow up in the south and people just dive right in and hug people they've never seen before. I must admit I tend to have my reservations about hugging strangers (mostly by strangers I mean creepers, and I think we all know what I mean). I am also a firm believer in the fact that hugging is very awkward in most situations, but its this weird kind of good okay awkward that we all secretly like even if we won't admit to it. Hugging is good for the sole. There are studies (I'm not saying they're real) that show that hugging really helps people. Helping everything from bad attitudes to poor health. I'm pretty sure it's true, it's just like laughing and smiling and all of the other wonderful things we're able to do it. We should do them and often! Hugging is good. It makes people happy and that's just a good life choice. Don't you agree? I thought you might.
Looking forward to hanging out with the youth tonight.
Continue hugging everyone you know!
Until next time...
Monday, June 28, 2010
SUNGLASSES DAY
Who doesn't love a good pair of sun glasses? I mean really they can just be so much fun! If you want to be incognito, or if you're going for that very aloof spy look, or even if you just really don't want to have squint down the road all evening. Enjoying a day at the beach, sunglasses are the perfect accessory not to mention the lovely raccoon eyes that result from a long day at the beach in your lovely shades. My personal favorite a cute little baby in sunglasses seriously you can't tell me that doesn't make you smile. Sunglasses have also been known to be quite fun to wear at night. (thats all I'm saying about that)So we all need to be sure we've wiped off our sunglasses and are wearing them proudly, and not just one day of the year.
And of course what better way to celebrate than with a PARTY!!! Okay well the party wasn't really for sunglasses it was a get together for the children's quizzers who worked very hard this past year studying scripture (if you don't know what quizzing is I'm sorry its a great thing you should really look into it). Any way we had the party and it was fun and we ate food and I had everyone wear crazy sunglasses and it was just good times.
In other news, nothing to crazy my parents and little kids are coming at the end of this week so that should be fun. Its that time of the year again, thats right VBS so that'll be here in a couple of weeks. I think it'll be fun and exciting getting any number of kids in one place at one time is always exciting! ummm other than that not really a whole whole lot going on. Just haning out and having fun, planning tons of craziness for all of life.
Until next time!
And of course what better way to celebrate than with a PARTY!!! Okay well the party wasn't really for sunglasses it was a get together for the children's quizzers who worked very hard this past year studying scripture (if you don't know what quizzing is I'm sorry its a great thing you should really look into it). Any way we had the party and it was fun and we ate food and I had everyone wear crazy sunglasses and it was just good times.
In other news, nothing to crazy my parents and little kids are coming at the end of this week so that should be fun. Its that time of the year again, thats right VBS so that'll be here in a couple of weeks. I think it'll be fun and exciting getting any number of kids in one place at one time is always exciting! ummm other than that not really a whole whole lot going on. Just haning out and having fun, planning tons of craziness for all of life.
Until next time!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Forgiveness Day
June 26, yesterday, was forgiveness day. I secretly hoped all day that someone would make me really mad so that I could forgive them. I also tried to think of a lot of things that I might need to forgive people for and I honestly could not think of anything I was very frustrating so I suppose I didn't do a very good job of celebrating, but on a good note not being mad at people and not having people mad at me is quite nice.
Not much in other news, just doing the same ole things but its fun!
:D
Not much in other news, just doing the same ole things but its fun!
:D
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