Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The End of the Beginning

The curtain has almost closed on this semester. It's hard to believe that three months ago, i arrived on this campus knowing virtually no one and not knowing anything about the school. Finals are upon me, and the urge to go home is strong. I have really learned a lot this semester. Besides lessons in various classes i feel that i have really grown this semester. A guy i go to church with and i were talking about our decisions to transfer here. It's both of our first semesters, and we agreed that we couldn't have made a better choice. I'm so glad that i made the switch and if i had it to do over i would make the same decision in a heartbeat.

Here are some pics we took on extension yesterday...pretty much i go to an awesome church with awesome people....So here we are...in the back are ryan, alex (we don't know about his facial expression, which is why we had to take another), and aaron. In the front, betsy, me, lori, and rachel (who came for the first time this week but fit in perfectly).
O there you go alex, now thats a face we can use...

When we stopped at Red Robin, Ryan had to get a pic like Kramer :-)

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

12 days of Christmas...




So as i said, i would include pics of my floor when everyone finished decorating their door... so it begins with these banners to announce our theme... On the first day of Christmas, Marantha gave to me, a dorm sup in a fir tree...
On the second day of Christmas, Maranatha gave to me 2 concrete mixers...ok these are really from Culvers...
On the third day of Christmas Maranatha gave to me, 3 pairs of nylons....
On the fourth day fo Christmas, Maranatha gave to me 4 paper passes...
On the fifth day of Christmas, Maranatha gave to me 5 days of finalsOn the sixth day of Christmas, Maranatha gave to me 6 blow dryers running
On the seventh day of Christmas, Maranatha gave to me 7 girls a-shoppingOn the eighth day of Christmas Maranatha gave to me 8 couples skatingOn the nineth day of Christmas, Maranatha gave to me, 9 cups a-brewin'On the tenth day of Christmas, Maranatha gave to me 10 nurses studying

On the elevnth day of Christmas, Maranatha gave to me 11 guards a lurkingOn the twelveth day of Christmas, Maranata gave to me 12 trains a chuggin'

Sunday, December 02, 2007

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Everywhere i turn, Christmas is jumping out at me....and i love it! We decorated our floor with the theme, The Twelve Days of Christmas Maranatha style...pictures will follow when everyone gets their doors decorated. In chapel we sing Christmas songs everyday, half of which i have never heard in my life, and at times leave me longing for something familiar, but its nice to hear the Christmas cheer. Christmas trees are EVERYWHERE, and they are so beautiful. I just love Christmas; it puts everyone in a good mood, its a great time to be able to go home, and it reminds us of the miracle of Christ birth. Honestly, what more could you ask for in a season?
Speaking of Christmas, i was a little nervous this year about gift money. My family has never been big on gifts, but i just really wanted to get everyone something this year. On Thursday night, Rachel and i were decorating the bathroom door with our amazing construction paper fire place (ok, since ur BEGGING me to put pics up of the amazing door my roommates and i decorated, i guess i can put those up early, so check out below) when a girl that lives across the hall from us asked us if we wanted to make money...after serious consideration that lasted about .352 seconds, we said yes, and she told us about a cleaning job that needed done. So, this morning Rachel and i got up...(yep, thats right we can get up on Saturdays if we try) and we were off to clean. We had no idea what or where we were cleaning, we just knew to meet in front of the welcome center at 8. Well, we learned we were cleaning a museum...you know like one of those houses that gets converted into a museum. At first i thought it was a museum for dust sculptures, but once we started cleaning, i saw that they had some pretty cool stuff. So we cleaned all morning, and then the owner of the cleaning business took all of us out to lunch and let us order whatever we wanted...i got some amazing fajitas...mmmm...my mouth is watering just thinking about them... So, now i have money for Christmas presents and to go see NT II over break...can i do all that for fifty bucks?? I can if im thrifty ;-)


On a completely different topic, pray for all the students and faculty at BJ. They are having a small outbreak of whooping cough, and as a result they are ending the semester a week early. I called a friend of mine there to make sure he was still alive and healthy, which thankfully he was, and he filled me in on all of it. Pretty crazy stuff...Anyhow, it was really great talking to him...i really haven't kept in touch with people this semester like i should...sorry about that...its been busy. Well...miss everyone at home, and can't wait to see you over break...12 more sleeps!

Look its my amazing roommates in our first room pic of the semester...with our amazing door!And here's the bathroom door that Rachel and i decorated...Yay! for construction paper fireplaces

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Time for Change

As the days of the semester dwindle and going home seems like an actual possibility, we begin to be restless. Homework is no longer a satisfying way to spend our time...not that it ever was..., so we begin to look for other things to do. That is just what happened last night when two of my roommates and i decided to rearrange our room. For 25 minutes we shoved furniture and discussed the best place for that alarm clock, or this chair to go. We climbed over beds, squeezed through tight spots made by the desk that had taken temporary residence in the middle of the room, and gawked at all the things that our bunk beds had been concealing. Through the whole process, we were kinda wondering what our missing roommate would think of the change. We tried to be as courteous as possible by keeping all her things in relative proximity to her bed, and just crossed our fingers and hoped she liked that we turned our room on end while she was out. Well, when she got back, she opened the door and i heard...o...wow...i couldn't tell if it was a good wow or not, so i just waited...about three seconds later, after she had taken it all in she threw her arms in the air and yelled I LOVE IT! I guess its a good thing we were all ready for a change...

Friday, November 23, 2007

Thanksgiving BREAK!

So here i am at Erica's house, and I'm enjoying my Thanksgiving break. It really has been a break. There hasn't been any crazy running around, just time to sit back and relax. AND most importantly, time to catch up on some much needed Facebook. We had an amazingly delicious Thanksgiving dinner. I've also gotten to do my laundry (without scrounging for quarters). The only sad part of this weekend is that we came to the conclusion that our Tennesee trip just isn't going to work out this semester. It's sad...i really wanted to go and i was looking forward to seeing friends and meeting new ppl.

But the most important thing is: I'LL BE HOME THREE WEEKS FROM TONIGHT!!!! ok so im just a little excited about it. Anyway, we're about to go eat dinner in a little bit and i have to attack erica for trying to whip me with her hair. :-D

Monday, November 19, 2007

Coffee

Whoever thought of grinding up beans off of a tree, running hot water through them, and then adding milk and sugar is the winner of today's most important innovation of all time award. Tomorrow starts the beginning of our Thanksgiving break and this past weekend i went to Chicago. That leaves a lot of work to do with little (actually no) time to do it. So, i have become accustomed to...okay slightly dependent....alright already, i've become addicted to a cup of coffee on mornings that i wake up before 7:30am. Along with those "early morning" cups of coffee, i have recently been forced to stay up utill all hours of the night to finish assignments that have been piling up and refuse to be delayed any longer. Last night...or was it this morning, i was up until 4:30...yeah thats a.m, but i finished my paper, and i plan on enjoying a massive afternoon nap. I should have just hooked up a caffeine iv to keep me going. I am about to go to psychology...and try to sit through the whole class and stay awake. I need another cup of coffee...




On a subject that has nothing to do with (well except maybe to explain th reason as to why my paper wasn't done) my sleep depravation, Chicago was amazing. We left on Friday afternoon and arrived at Rachel's grandparent's house to a yummy dinner that her grandma "threw together" (it was amazing....i'd like to see a meal that she actually plans out). Then we went to her aunts house, after arriving, we went to Kohl's at 1030 at night and proceeded to shop until midnight. The next day we got up, and i went to David's Bridal with two of her aunt's friends while Rachel went to the airport to pick up her other aunt and uncle. Then we hit downtown! Chicago was amazing....i just loved being downtown anywhere. Overall it was an amazing weekend.
This is the Hershey's store in downtown Chicago.

Here we were just a little bored at Gap

Look!!!! It's Erie Street!!! I was so excited...and yeah it is in reference to Lake Erie!!! Can you tell i miss home???

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Late Lights and Lost Causes

So here i sit on the extremely comfortable floor of my dorm, and i've been working on homework all day. For those of you that know me, you know that isn't normal. Actually, some people reading this are probably doubting that i have even cracked a book today, but i really have. I have three papers due in the next few days, and i haven't really typed a single word yet. My day has been filled with the glorious activities of research and reading...o and we did short sheet my roommate's bed,but that was only a five minute break. Not only am i studying, but I'm staying up late in order to accomplish something...remember, i don't sacrifice sleep for anything, and here i am planning to get less than 6 hrs of sleep just to get up and do it all again tomorrow. However, i do get an hour nap on the way to Beloit for church tomorrow night...now that its dark and i can't do homework in the car.

So im reading my book for Gen. Psych..How to get to know your Teenager...which is great since i have teenagers and everything. And guess what, I get to write a book report on it. For being a Christian Psychology book it seems very self-centered. Then i have a pile of books for my 6-8 page Heritage paper...yep...and i have to read 300 pages. Ok, im done venting now...no really i am.

YAY!! I'm going to Chicago this weekend...woo woo for a needed break from school. THEN, Thanksgiving break is only a week away, and i get to go stay with my good friend Erica. I'm excited although i really wish i was going to see my family. Then, not even a week later, I'm going to TN!! So pray for this crazy week...

And finally let me leave you with this incredible prayer verse i got this week: (1Ti 2:8) I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.~ how amazing would it be if this verse was accomplished?

Monday, November 12, 2007

Lookin' like an idiot what's new?

Take two thin strips of metal...attach them to two very uncomfortable boots, then put them on your feet and try to stay upright while being thrust out onto an ice covered surface. To me, that makes about as much sense as jumping off the roof with cardboard wings and expecting to fly, but on Saturday, for the first time in my life, i went iceskating. Now for those of you that don't know, not only do i not iceskate, but i don't roller blade, roller skate, skateboard, or ski either. I just have this thing about attaching anything abnormal to my feet. By the time i got on the ice the only things i was thinking is how do i stay vertical, and what am i doing here? My answer to the first question was move as slowly as possible even when getting passed by small children...however that didn't seem to completely remedy the problem and i ended up on the ice three times. To answer the second question, my brain rehearsed the scenario that occurred after ali asked me what i was doing saturday night, and i responded that i had no idea. She proceeded to point her toothbrush at me and say, "you're going iceskating with us!!!!" The "us" happened to be about 20 ppl from school...It sounded fun...i must have had a mental lapse. When we got there i tried to convince everyone that i could just sit on the sidelines and watch...that didn't happen. The night did end with us all having a ton of fun at Texas Roadhouse....some pics are included for your enjoyment...luckily none of them include me actually skating.
This is one of the rachels on my floor and I

Here i am with part of the group...And my table at Roadhouse...we walked in with a party of 18...it was interesting

and finally, charlotte, katie, and i after we got done skating

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Around my mind and back again

Another week is upon us...and im just tired. This week is Missions Conference which is great. This is definitely the biggest missions conference i have ever seen with about 45 missionary families present. It really is amazing to see it all.

So the highlights of my week so far. Well there was church on Sunday. When one of the guys i go to church with asked the kids how many gods there are, a little boy answered...three, Peter, James and John. Then Monday morning, between my super roommates, we had an alarm going off every 5 blessed minutes from 5:15 to 6:45. I was very tempted to rewire their various alarm systems (or in other words break their cell phones). Then something very exciting happened on Monday. The wonderful people of WCBC managed to surprise me with the college care Walmart gift card. Usually i know when it's coming because sneaky little me reads the bulletins they send me, but the didnt put it in the bulletin this time, so it was a total surprise! Hmmm...so its tuesday and nothing spectacular or noteworthy has occured so far....o wait, my dad did call me and tell me that there is a possibility of him going to California with the red cross to help with disaster relief, but thats all. I hope any of you dedicated readers (if any of you are left) have had a wonderful week!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Mid-point of the Semester

So a few new things have happened in my life...i got my hair cut...like 7 inches off, and i got my new phone...woowoo!! Let's see, what else....O, Im getting an A in psych!!! That's extremely exciting to me. Im doing well in all my classes but that was the one that seemed to give me some trouble. This semester is hitting the mid-point, and im starting to hit the "I WANNA GO HOME" point, not that i don't love it here...i do. i just want to go see everyone for like a weekend and come back. Hopefully Christmas comes fast enough. Don't really have a ton of time, but i thought i'd put some pics up here since i can't put them on facebook too often
Yep...its me with my new hair...
These are the ppl i go to church with on Wednesdays...aaron was trying to get all of us in on his phone.
Here's my crazy group after Fall Festival...Rachel thinks she looks like a nun...

Look we took a nice one!!

We had a little too much fun...

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Sentamentalism

I used to think i wasn't the sentimental type, but within the past few years i have repeatedly seen a thread of sentimentalism running through my mind. I pushed it away until today when i was forced to see the harsh reality that i am senimental to my core. It's spirit week here at school, and after day one (Home state day), it has been a lot of fun. Well, as tomorrow is out of style, and you all know that i don't own anything that could be considered out of style (riiight)...Heidi, Rachel, Amy, and i headed out to find each of us the hideous fashion don't we would be willing to wear in front of our classmates. I found a great 90's sweatshirt at our first stop for a dollar, and against my better judgment i bought it. It really looks like someone threw up highlighter all over it, and it induces the gag reflex on sight. When we reached our second stop, i wasn't looking for anything...on my budget, the dollar was pushing it. Anway, i was walking through the aisles, wandering aimlessly, and laughing at Amy, heidi, and rachel, when something caught my eye. On a shelf full of stuffed animals marked 25 cents sat a little "Miss Piggy" plush. I'm sure many ppl had walked by the same shelf and even seen the same plush, but my mind was screaming at me faster than my hands could reach for it. This very plush was exactly the same as one of the set of 4 that my grandfather had bought me as a 1 1/2 year old little girl. I had to buy the plush, but as i looked up, there staring back at me was Fozzie. Then i had them 2 of the very toys that my grandfather had bought me from McDonalds. So 53 cents later, i am the proud owner of a piece of my childhood, and the knowledge that i am about as sentimental as they come.



Here are some pics of school so far!
Rachel and i taking a pic with our duckies at walmart
This is me at ShopKo...in the...uhhh...crafty disguise section
Rachel and i on Home state day...yeah we made our shirts they're pretty much awesome

Me, Rachel, Amy, and Heidi in our homemade Home State day shirts after we got back for thrift stores.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Refocusing

Ok, so i'm not so sure that anyone reads this anymore, but i like writing on it so i'll update it anyway. This week has definitely been an interesting one. Nothing huge happened, just a lot of little things piling up that i don't really feel like divulging right now, but Wednesday chapel was class chapel. I attended the Junior class chapel, and heard a devotional on refocusing our lives to Christ. I guess i've been holding on to that this week. Just read Col 3...its pretty powerful.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Culture Shock

So in my Foundations of Ed (sociology) class we have been studying culture, and i believe the correct term for my current condition is "culture shock." That is coming from a culture to which you have become assimilated and encountering another culture that seems completely foreign. i can say that after 3 years at Crown, I began to accept it as my norm. Thats not to say i followed all the wonderful rules, but i accepted the fact that i had them. Upon arriving on campus this semester at MBBC, i observed things i hadn't seen on a campus in three years. For example girls and guys are allowed to walk into town together, girls are allowed to wear pants for certain activities, shirts with writing are allowed, people who aren't KJVO aren't in league with the devil, we can stay up late, and there aren't times set aside for the entire campus to study, but the part that hit me the hardest is that with all these things happening and allowed, this isn't some "trap of liberalism" or "Bible college in name only." For three years i have been taught (although indirectly, taught all the same) that if a college doesn't have the strictest standards of living then they are not following God's will. I guess i am just learning something else here, something that God meant for us to know and practice all the time. Man has a free will, and God wants worship and praise that man has decided to give him freely. God doesn't want our forced praise or our mechanical service. He wants us to worship Him because of who he is, not because we are required to do so. The philosophy i heard voiced before was if you are start now because you are forced, you will begin to do it when you aren't being forced, but is that even what God wants? Does He want our praise, worship, and service to be a habit we picked up?


Anyway, all that to say this, I'm having a great time here, and i KNOW im in God's will. Pray for me, i haven't found a job yet, but i KNOW this is where God wants me, so i know he'll provide. Last night i went to a little party (pretty much 8 of us watching a movie and eating food)Today i slept in and went to a football game. It was a ton of fun. I can honestly say that i am glad that i am at a school where influence and academics are equally important, where the students matter, and where i am treated like an adult.
God used Crown in my life for a specific purpose, and i learned a lot there about my life, my God, and my friends, so please don't take this as a "Crown bashing" post. I am just in the center of God's will and loving every minute of it!

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Reflections

Well, to say that this summer has flown by would be sadly inaccurate. I guess the end just snuck up on me. So many things have happened to me this summer. I've gotten closer to some of my good friends and farther away from some i still consider good friends. I've learned lessons about life, and had a few interesting moments. I've made memories that will last me a lifetime. Today i went paintballing. That was....well...interesting. It was definitely fun. Well, as fun as being shot can be. I got hit a few times, and that hurt pretty bad, but just hanging out with my friends was so much fun. God has blessed me so much with an amazing church that not only hang out after services, but actually want to get together and do things whether they be ministry or just fun. I am really nervous about going to MBBC, but God has shown me again and again thats what he has for me.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

When an amazing book becomes a mediocre movie...

Right now, im sitting here, at 1:19 am, by myself in my house. I'm a little freaked out cause my neighborhood is now full of delinquent juveniles, who would rather break into houses and blow up cars than go home and sleep or do something more productive, and im at home by myself cause my parents are on vacation and my brother is at work. To make it all even better, I've been reading books about twisted realities, and im currently watching a movie about a man with mulitple personalities that is trying to blow himself up. Thats what is really irking me. This movie is a horrendous attempt at recreating an amazing book, and instead of serving the book ANY justice at all, it is butchering the complexities that made the plot gripping in the first place. The book was so vivid that it wouldn't be hard to recreate some of the details, but instead some of the most important parts have been cut.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

In whatsoever state I am...

So, lately (as in the pas 2 days) i have been praying about some things that really don't matter too much in the scope of eternity, but they have been weighing rather heavily on my heart and mind. It is kind of nice to have something to think about while im at work since it passes the time more quickly, the almost ten hours yesterday just flew by, but i just want this taken care of. Unfortunately, i'm not writing to say that God has tied all the ends of all the little strings together in a magnicient looking package. This morning i read the book of Philippians (lately in my devos, i have been reading an entire epistle just to get the overview of the book). The thing that really jumped out at me was the necessity of the Christian to be content. Christ was humbled to be obedient to death, but he never grumbled or complained. In chapter 4, Paul tells the philippian church that he has learned to be content not matter what state he was in. Contentment isn't an easy state to reach, but when you do, it's amazing... That's what i need to pray for...contentment, and then everything else will work out...

On a side note, looking at the verse sometimes makes me think about being content in any state, whether going to school in TN, living in PA, visiting friends in OH, or transferring to WI. God with with me wherever i go...

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Stirred or changed?


Yesterday i got a phone call telling me that there had been an accident. Three of the guys from school had been travelling for New Testament Church Pioneers. Their SUV had rolled over and pinned one of them under the car. He died before the rescue crews could free him. Lee Waller was one of the godliest Christians i had ever met. I went on visitation with him for a few months my sophomore year, and he had a vision for souls. I've had very little to do since i heard the news, and i have been thinking a lot (which i know i do far too much sometimes). I thought about what this would be like if one of my friends had been taken to eternity. How would our relationship end? Would they know that i love them? Would i be able to live knowing our relationship was right? Would there be a senseless grudge between us? Then i started thinking what would happen if it had been me? Lee was serving the Lord. He was encouraging pastors and church members. What am I doing for the Lord? I am praying that Lee didn't die in vain. I am praying that Lee's Christian example will not just stir people but change them. Please pray for the Waller family, his girlfriend Jessica, the Peoples Baptist Church, Crown College, and Pastor Sexton. Also please pray for Scott Davis and Zach Gillit as they were travelling with Lee and are dealing with this loss and the tramua of the accident.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Eventful days

Well, since i last wrote, a lot as happened. I turned 21, which was a lot better than turning 20 (at least my family remembered this time...but i didn't get to go out...jk), our house got broken into (my brother's laptop and all his software got stolen), i was in a wedding, i saw pirates 3 (which i considered a horrible waste of time and money), i started my job (i hate it), i started teaching 4-6th grade at my church (i love it), and prolly a list of ten things i am forgetting to mention. I prolly would have written earlier, except our internet was down for 2 weeks. I miss everyone like crazy, which seems to be a theme of my life this summer. Just thought i would give a quick update.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

So...

I just read my last post, and realized i must have been pretty tired when i wrote it. It is all true, my friends are awesome, but I say it all the time, and i'm guessing some of you have read about it a few times.

So my summer so far has been pretty good. I got a job that isn't factory. I'm actually working as a restaurant baker. I go in tomorrow to fill out paper work. I've gotten to hang out with friends for a while. There has only been one upsetting part of the summer, and that is the critical injury of my computer. I shut it the other day and the lid just split. I took it in to Best Buy, only to find out my warranty had expired 6 days before. That was a pretty rough moment, so now, i have to wait till i get start my job, get my first check, send my money to maranatha, and then get my computer fixed...so much for saving up money...catch ya guys later!

Friday, May 18, 2007

How much do we miss?



How you ever thought how much we miss out on because we are afraid to tell others what we think of them? How much do we lose that we never had because we never ask for it in the first place? How many friendships could have really gotten close if you would have taken the risk to tell someone you care about them? Caring about people is a risk. Telling them you care is more of a risk. Caring makes you vulnerable. Telling them you care lets them know you are vulnerable. A friend can hurt you so much more than an enemy...an enemy can hurt your ego, but a friend can hurt your heart. So here i am bearing my heart...you are special to me...all of my friends that read this...you have the ability to hurt my heart, but i'm telling you because i trust you never would purposely hurt me...so amber, lauren, Am, heather, mark, krissy, tom, rachel, addrienne, and anyone else i might forget on this list. I love you guys...

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Why do we torture ourselves?

Why do single girls torture themselves by listening to sappy love songs, watching sappy chick flicks, and reading romance novels. Girls, here's how it goes, the perfect girl (usually perfect on the inside) gets the perfect guy and they live happily ever after...always. Then, the poor single girl that read/watched/listened walks away with a pit in her stomach wishing it could be her. How dumb is that??? It is never like that in real life, usually it is the mediocre girl gets the mediocre guy (who in her eyes IS perfect, which is how it should be), and they live together, having problems now and then. This world isn't making it any easier to be a single girl. Not that i am complaining. I am single ***big suprise*** and i am having fun. I'm not tied down to anyone. I don't have to meet them at a certain time, spend hours of my life "looking special" for that "special someone." I have time to go out with my friends when the phone rings, and sit around doing whatever for hours. When God sends *him* along, i will be excited about it, but until then, i'm having too much fun to spend time being sappy.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Finals are almost over...

So it has been a rather long week. I am sitting at G and S right now and writing this while amber studies for her speech final. That's right it's finals. The time when teachers test to see if you were really learning what they were trying to teach you all semester, but if you ask me, they are checking a little late. I am going home in 5 days. We have to stick around for graduation, which has been slightly annoying in years past, but not so much this year since pretty much everyone i know here is graduating.
It has been an insanely long week, and i am suffering from sleep deprivation. I got about 3 or 4 hours on monday and then worked for 9 hours on tues. (def. not complaining about the extra money on my check.). I decided to trying to get an extra hour or so on tues. night, only to wake up to my phone ringing because somehow, one of my friends has a system where he knows when i'm sleeping and he only calls then. So we talked for about...ummm...2 min. and then i was going back to sleep, but before i could my roommate, who had a little more energy than usual, came in the room and told me that one of our friends had fallen off a horse and broke some ribs and accumulated some fluid around her heart, and she was in the hospital. That woke me up, and i couldn't get back to sleep for about 45 minutes. I called my friend today (they moved her out of ICU, so she has her own room and phone now) and she seems to be doing really good and they might let her go today. She actually has hairline fractures on the vertebrae in her back, and they are hoping they will heal on their own. So she's doing better, and i am exhausted.

4 finals down, 2 to go, and 5 days before i go home!!!

Monday, April 23, 2007

Being an armor bearer

So i have been searching and searching...and now i know. No, i still don't know exactly what i am going to do with my life, but i know I want to be an "armor bearer" for the rest of my life. I want to encourage someone else who is serving the Lord. I don't know if i am going to get married, or just encourage my pastor and those around me. This comes from the passage in I Samuel 14 where Jonathan and his armor bearer went to battle with the Philistines. The armor bearer was a great encourager to Jonathan. He told him to do what was in his heart and that he would follow him according to his heart. I want to be the person that goes behind and helps someone to better serve the Lord. That doesn't mean i won't do anything for the Lord with my life. Just because the armorbearer was following Jonathan doesn't mean he wasn't in the battle. He was still fighting, working, and striving. This is what i want to do. I don't have to struggle through life thinking there is nothing for me to do. There is always someone out there to encourage. So know this, serve the Lord with your life and all you have to do is ask me to help you, and i will be right there to back you up. None of this was really my own thoughts....today was a great chapel.

Friday, April 06, 2007

We're friends for a reason

Well, im back at school and counting down the days. Still waiting for a yearbook, but that is another ranting for another day. i am also not going to complain about shirt sleeves, although its true that all of our sleeves in the super cute picture to the left of this paragraph are now considered unacceptable. Nor am i going to express my irritation with the fact that we have to be out of our dorm this week 45 min before there is anything to do (which would be great if i had a boyfriend to talk to the whole time...but o well :-p).





Today i am thankful for the things God has given me here. This post has come about because today in chapel (which had to have the most announcements ever recorded in a college chapel), Dr. Sexton had us tell the person next to us the one thing we loved about Crown the most. I grabbed Amber's arm and told her that the thing i am most thankful for here are my friends. They make this place bearable. Although being friends with two Ambers can make life a little more confusing sometimes, i wouldn't trade 'em for the world. I can't say i've ever had friends quite like them, but then i don't think there are many ppl like them in the world...i mean if there were two heathers, they might blow up the world. :-p Even if God just brought me here to meet them...it would be worth it...but you guys better not break, i paid a lot of money for you, and i don't think there is a return policy. I'm really blessed that i have more than one best friend!!


Amber: You are going to make the best nurse ever!! I know you are going to do awesome next year at IPFW, but maybe i can stop by on my way to maranatha.


Lauren: no matter what you decide you are going to excell...but you better come home to visit, and if you ever get a pet dolphin i want to meet it.


Amber: You are one of the most musical ppl i know, and you are going to do great! And you'll be an awesome piano teacher...if your students hang on for more than one lesson.



Heather: If you don't blow up this world, you are going to be the coolest science teacher ever, but i don't recommend pig stomachs for middle school age...


Keep in touch next year!!

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Thanks

Thank you all for praying. my aunt passed away yesterday afternoon, but sadly, we don't think she got saved. She had let my dad leave a tract with her, so hopefully she was able to read it and get saved. With God all things are possible. Now please pray for safety for Charles and i, we will be leaving after classes today to go home for the funeral.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Sometimes we do stupid things

Have you ever done something that looked really fun, so you did it, and then later you realized it was really stupid, but you would probably do it again it a heartbeat, given the right precautions. Well, i did something along those lines last night. Nothing really astounding or breath taking although afterwards i did feel like i might hurl. Here's what happened, Heather and i had to go park her truck in the pit (the really retarded parking lot that our dorm is forced to park in although we are much closer to the back lot and there are other dorms closer to the pit). I was in a pretty weird mood, not really a good mood, but not necessarily a bad mood either, and Heather and I decided it would be fun to roll down the hill that we have to hike up to get out of the pit because they have not installed the stairs that common sense sees as necessary. So we got to the top of the hill, and then rolled back down. We did it once or twice and got some other girls to do it. I guess the whole campus was just in a weird mood. This idea probably wouldn't have been such an unintelligent decision if it wasn't for the fact that i am allergic to grass. Right now i am sitting here trying not to move my elbows because they broke out from the grass. So pretty much, I'm sitting here feeling like an idiot, and i thought i would share it with you.

***Yesterday, my mom called me and told me that my aunt is getting worse fast. They exected her to die last night or this morning. I haven't gotten a call yet this morning, so i am assuming that means she lived through the night. Please pray she gets saved before she dies. Also, please pray for Charles and i as we will probably be driving home for the funeral.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Utter Amazement at the goodness of God

This weekend is Spring Break. For me, just those words stir up pictures of home, family, friends, and those who are closest to me. One thing hit me differently this time when i returned home. I guess like every other person who leaves home, I didn't really think the big things would ever change. I mean i expected more faces at church, and new buildings would spring up around my community, but never anything big. This time i was hit in the face with change, and i was hit hard. It was a strange impact, not something that hurt too much, just a sudden and forceful jab. I guess the main changes that struck me were those at church. I walked into sunday school this morning to the same great class i have for the past three years of visits home and summer vacation. It was different, people i didn't recognize, people i have known forever are married, and even a new person teaching. I walked over to church after (our sunday school is in another building than our church), and the whole auditorium was packed out. The auditorium even had a few changes, including extra chairs on the platform to contain the massive choir that continues to grow, and a projector thing (which my pastor informed me was a four thousand dollar projector thing) hanging from the ceiling. The choir made their way to the platform, and there weren't enough chairs for us. Service started and our new staff made announcements and led music. There were so many new faces, i didn't know which were first time visitors and which were now regular attenders. I just couldn't stop thinking of the goodness of God that i saw has been working since i have been gone. God is allowing my church to grow, and i am so excited to see where it is going.

Another update on my aunt...she was admitted to the hospital on Friday because some of her levels were low, and while she was there, she started to have trouble breathing. The doctors think her lungs have partially collapsed. This put off the kidney removal pretty much indefinitely. Her only chance now is prayer. Please pray!!! Please pray for her spiritually. She isn't open right now to having anyone come and talk to her. Pray that God will soften her heart.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Quick Update

Spring break is around the corner...really, we leave tomorrow, and then after a ten hour car trip (eight and a half if the spedometer's broken lol) i will be home!!! I can't wait to get out of the car, go to my church, and see all my friends from home...except of course for the ones at college...kate and ashley :'( I might even get to see heidi on Friday, if i can convince ppl they want to go with me at 2am...

Well, a quick update on my aunt. My dad called me last night and told me that they think the cancer has moved to her brain. They are planning to remove her kidney in a week or two, and they are hoping that will slow the growth of the cancer, but they told her there isn't really treatment for kidney cancer. Please pray for her salvation!! It is on the top of my prayer list, and i hope you would add it to yours. My dad is taking it hard, but doing well. Pray for him as well.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Please pray

Well, I know i just posted 2 days ago, and most likely no one read it, but i have a need to post again. This time it is to ask all my friends to pray. I guess i could tell the 3 of you that read this sometime, but i am hoping that by getting this out in on the web, more people can pray. I found out today that my aunt has cancer. It started in her kidney and spread to her liver, spine, lymph nodes, and lungs. I don't know very much about her chances, but with God all things are possible. More importantly than her health is her spiritual condition. To my knowledge, she isn't saved. I am praying that this will give my family a chance to witness to her. Also please pray for the rest of my dad's family, none of them are saved, and i am praying that we will be able to witness to them. They have had a rough time with cancer in the family. My grandma died of cancer, my aunt (by marriage) also died of cancer, my dad had cancer, and now my aunt.

Thanks for praying!

Saturday, March 03, 2007

More than just content

I am trying to be content, but i don't just want to be content. I want to have a great time and learn a plethora of things (about life and myself and if im lucky "religion in america"). I want to experience everything i can. I don't want to leave this place, look back and only see that i was "content" my last semester. Right now, i am dying to get out of here, and get on with my life. I want to go to the next place i know God has for me, but i feel like i might be getting the cart before the horse (please excuse the horrible cliche). I know God is leading me to Maranatha next year, but i also know that God has me here for one more semester for a reason. I know there is something here i am supposed to learn, but i just want to get on with it. I need to be more than just content, and let God work.


Now with that all off my brain, i have had an awesome weekend. Last night, Lauren, Amber, Am, Heather, and i hit the mall, roaming around for most of the night, and then hitting McKay's (used bookstore where i spend far too much money) when the mall closed. After an extremely uneventful visitation (not one person home and a few vacant houses in a part of town that wasn't the cleanest or safest looking...and i was getting annoyed because no one is ever home) and lunch, Heather, Am, and i headed downtown. We don't go downtown often, although i really don't know why because it is a ton of fun just walking around and taking dumb pics. We started with Book Eddy, another really cool bookstore that sells old, used books. i walked around for a while checked out the new additions to their eclectic decor and then retreated to the truck to read the book i had already brought with me. About the time i started to fall asleep in the front of a truck in downtown knoxville, Am and Heather came out, and we headed for the river. i had never been to the river, but one visit has me hooked. It's beautiful and a ton of fun to roam around. When the camera died, we decided to get a bite to eat, so here we sit... i love downtown.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Where'd it go??

So not to keep going back to the same point, but until now, i have been a relatively healthy person. I never really HAD to stay in...for sickness anyway. Then last week the whole McAlister's incident. Well, Thursday, i had a sore throat...by Friday i had a severe case of strep. I'm recovering...antibiotics are wonderful. I can't say who gave me strep....although there are a few possibilities. See, once my immune system was down from my stomach virus/flu thing, it hasn't had a chance to recover. I live in a germ pit. I'm not being mean. I live with 32 girls, so there is little choice but for it to be in a germ pit. Well, since the only thing i really do is sleep there, it wouldn't really be bad, but then I work in a germ pit. Once again, not being mean. I work with toddlers. So maybe when i find that respite i've been waiting for, I'll be healthy again, but until then, I drudge to the germ pits.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Pain: not a depressing post

So right now, i am in some intense pain...i really have no idea what i did, but my back is rebelling against the common misconception that your body is supposed to move. (Like i said, i don't know what i did, but it could have something to do with my trying to attack heather last night.) Any way, i have been sitting here, trying not to move, or laugh which heather (and mike online) have been making me do all night. Just warning you all, i have been very pensive lately. God has really been working in my life, and i am really excited about it. It amazes me that i see God doing so much in my life, but i am searching more than ever about what i believe, and i feel like i know less now than i ever have in my whole life. Maybe that's how it is, maybe when you have no idea where you are, you can rely on God more. It's really like pain, the more you are in, the more you can rely on the doctor, and people around you, instead of pushing through life trying to make it on your own. God is amazing because he can take something that looks worthless and hopeless and mold it into something so amazing and breathtaking, that people will come from miles away, just to see the transformation.
Well, i'm gonna go find some painkillers...mike your mental one isn't working...

Monday, February 12, 2007

Not for those with weak stomachs

A legacy has ended. A fear overcome. Neither by my choice. Those with weak stomachs may want to stop reading now, but i know that sense of adventure will keep you reading on. Don't say i didn't warn you. Saturday started like any other sat. I got up, went to "storytime with Bob" (a.k.a. visitation), and then went about doing various random things that i can't write about due to the possibility of disciplinary action...lol. I hadn't been feeling well since Tues., but i didn't think much of it...because i hadn't felt good since tues, and i felt the same, so why should i stay in the little box they try to call a room and sleep, when i could be out having fun with my friends? So out i went to Mcalisters. McAlisters is definitely one of my favorite places in the world. We got our typical nacho basket, which i didn't really feel like eating, so after a handful of chips or so, i called it quits on that. For another two hours, i sat there talking, chatting, and having a good old time. I was talking to my good friend mike, when i had this intense urge to leave. (Mike had just told me i should go home and lie down) I asked the girls if we could go, and then it was all over. The poor cali's crew had a floor to clean, and i was in the bathroom...(don't say i didn't warn you). Now, when your food...revisits you in public, it can be a quite embarrassing situation. Add that to the trauma of not throwing up in 12 years, and having 4 friends running around trying to help and it can lend itself (looking back) to be a pretty funny incident. Pretty much, Sunday didn't exist for me, as i slept about 21 hours of it away. Here i am sitting in a mail room about to go to work when i should be in my little box of a room sleeping away a monday. O well...at least i've kept my jello and popsicles down so far.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Redneck day...


Though i have been living in the south for about three years now, i have tried hard to ignore my surroundings and go on living like the good yankee i am. Well, today was an exception. I allowed myself to be included in the most redneck day of all time. It all started on my way back from lunch (and my first piano lesson). I was riding along looking out the window and saw a side view mirror laying on the side of the road that looked very similar to the one that had been hanging off my friend's truck since she hit a mailbox last week. I looked on the door and realized that it was the mirror that HAD been hanging there when i saw several wires in the place where the mirror used to be. I told my friend who hadn't really noticed that the mirror had fallen off, so we pulled into the parking lot, and i, being the good friend i am, proceeded to walk the side of beavercreek to get to the mirror (that was much farther away than i seemed to remember). I finally got there and inconspicuously picked up the mirror (now when i say mirror, please understand that it is just the casing of the mirror, all the glass shattered out of it during the mailbox incident last week). I waved to the ppl i knew that were driving by, ran back to the truck, and continued to laugh about it for a good while.

We went back to the dorm to change before we went out for a day we hoped wouldn't be mind numbingly boring. While we were there, i went to the fridge and grabbed the mammoth pie my boss had given me on Friday and a few forks. So here we were, all three of us back in the truck (yeah the truck with no mirror) eating pie and listening to oldies. One of my friends was singing into her fork, thankfully she wasn't the one driving. We headed to one of our favorite hangouts...McKay's...it is only one of the coolest used bookstores in the entire world! We had to park in the overflow parking because the whole McKay's lot was full. We didn't think too much about it, parked and went in. I found a piano book, and my friends found various interesting books that were published cerca 1974. We paid and walked out to the truck. It was then we noticed the ginormous "pools and spas" service van behind us, and realized there was no possible way we were going to make it out with both the van and my friend's truck in one piece, well except the pieces my friend's truck was already in. We tried for a few minutes and then i trudged my way to the pools and spa store to ask if they wouldn't mind backing their huge van up about a foot and a half. The guy at the counter told me there was nothing he could do because he wasn't on "the list" of ppl that were allowed to drive it, and he wasn't really going to do anything about moving it. So i just stared at him. I told him that we really didn't WANT to hit the van, and he replied that he didn't want us to hit it either. Despite the desire he had that we not hit the van, he still wasn't going to offer me anyway to help the situation, so i asked him if anyone was there that could move it. He looked at me blankly, and then told me that if i go out and look around outside for a different guy, then that guy might be able to help me. Instead of trying to get anything else (like him finding his coworker for me) from this guy, i walked outside hoping to find the guy that was on "the list." Amidst the throng of people that had decided they wanted to check out McKay's today, i found a guy that looked like he might have worked with the jerk i had been talking to. I explained the situation, and he volunteered to get my friend's truck out for her. He got in and zipped it out in about five seconds...i don't think he was as nervous about the big van as we were. We all got back in the truck, which now that i think of it, was probably a little wierd to the guy that we had all gotten out in the first place. O well, that's what happens when a girl goes to a Christian college where you aren't really supposed to ride with any guy for any reason, unless you share part of their genetic code.

It's now only 5:15, so who knows how crazy the rest of our day could get, but so far...it's been interesting.