Everyone, right now, stop and read Jared's post here.

He puts it so poignantly (of course). This has been the very thing on my heart these past few months, especially during my stay at UMHB.

I could write forever and ever and ever about the way that my heart breaks for these people, how I see this more and more (especially going to a BU), and how much I've been actually changed and long to see Christians who are broken and as a result are changed forever. And I may write a little about this now. We'll see how long-winded I feel tonight :).

As I've posted before a few times, I've been learning a lot about prayer. It sounds really trite... but prayer is SO important. Prayer of FAITH. If we aren't seeing God moving, it's not because He's not, or because He doesn't want to. I firmly believe that we are not praying enough. That if we just ASK by the blood of Christ, and pray with faith in the finished work of the Cross, knowing that God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, that He will move! I mean, I've always known that prayer is important, and especially these past few years I've really tried to make it a daily thing, and have journaled my prayers through the years, but I read passages like this...

"And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ... The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (it availeth much). Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit."
James 5:15-18

And I think, Where is this happening? Do I see that in my life? Do I really have faith when I pray? Is my prayer the prayer of a righteous person, free of sin and changed by His grace, that it may avail much? I'm convinced that this has not so much been the case.

I think about this campus, about my friends, Belton, TX, the people we enjoy criticizing (I'm not digging at anyone... I'm saying this out of pure conviction. Why aren't I praying for people like Joel Osteen? Or his congregation, who is hungry for the bread of LIFE but are getting fed cotton candy? Do I not want them to be saved too? Do I not want people who attend mega-churches and believe in the Prosperity gospel to be broken and be filled with the Spirit, and take it to the World? This really hit me hard the other day.) ... God has the power to save! He's Mighty to Save! Many times I do not pray as if I'm praying to the Creator who holds the Key, who Alone has the power to save. I feel like I pray as if it's kind of just a last resort, a nod in someone else's direction; not as if souls are heading towards Hell and I, by the blood of Christ, can knock on His door (and keep knocking!) and ask that He saves them, with faith - not praying "If it's Your will", but praying as if it IS His will.

God has provided Antioch for me in this season, and I am so thankful, because I have learned about prayer in every single way since I've started going there. Lives are being changed. There has been salvation already this semester, through this tiny, tiny (and I mean tiny) church. It's not because they are special; they just pray. Lifegroup, Refuge, Early Morning Prayer, Prayer Nights... it's all grounded in prayer, and a lot of the time is held for the purpose of prayer. They have a burden for this community, and for UMHB, and for the surrounding communities, and for the world. It's really stretched me and opened my eyes to see all that needs to be prayed for. There's much work to be done!

Beg for God to move with me. There's so much that He can do, and so much I believe He wants to do. We must ask, and beg, and keep knocking until we see Him move.


In other news... I'm coming home Friday, for Zach's party, and, ultimately, Bethie's play :). And I'll be at church on Sunday! See you guys there... :)

I just officially turned down that job that I posted about a few posts ago. I know that I had pretty much already decided to not take it, but Mr. Egan called me twice after the interview, once to tell me to consider working even if I can't commit to summer (which I did consider it for a little bit), and the second (just a few minutes ago) basically to tell me that he really wants me to work there.

But I had to turn it down. I really, really don't want or need a job right now. I mean, yes, my personal financial state isn't exactly where I would like it to be, and it would be nice to have more money, but I have all that I need (i.e. I'm not paying for my own tuition, I have money for the food I need each week, etc. I'm being provided for, and the money I spend is not money that I need to spend, but choose to), and don't need extra money because I'm sure that I would just spend it. I need to steward the little I have now well before I let myself handle more. Plus I feel it would be unfair for me to take it just because it pays well, because I know that there are people he's interviewing who probably need it a lot more than I do.

These justifications could very well be just me talking my way out of having another responsibility :),  but they make sense enough to me!

Besides, I've gotten into a nice rhythm up here, and if I were to work 15-20 hours a week, it would really rock the boat! So, I really hope that I made the right decision. I think that I did. But if I didn't, he said I'm welcome anytime. :)

Today has been SUCH a good day! Andrew perked up by the time we got to Belton (in two hours flat, by the way!), and we arrived just in time for church! It was awesome to be able to introduce Andrew to my friends and Lifegroup leaders and such from Antioch :).

After church, a guy from my Lifegroup got baptized in a creek right outside of church!! It was super-exciting. And it is a beautiful day. Thank You, Lord!

Then, everyone went to Schoepf's (a crazy-authentic good ol' Texas barbeque place), where I had brisket. It was pretty incredible! My favorite part about going to this place, though, was that Andrew, Sarah (LG leader), Joey (Sarah's husband's brother; also my LG leader) and I sat together at a little table and ate and talked together for, like, an hour and a half! We were the last ones from Antioch at the restaurant and had a great time. It was pretty awesome! I was just SO happy that Andrew was there with me to meet the new, wonderful people in my life! :)

Now, just doing laundry (washing my sheets... which is ridiculous. I NEVER washed my sheets at home, which is probably disgusting, but whatever. For some reason, when I got to college it seemed like a good idea. I've done it twice now. College really does change you! ;) and about to do the dreaded Design stuff, and read for Business. Should be a laid-back night, though!

Later, dudes! Hope your Sunday has been restful and wonderful.

Well, today was another fun day!

Woke up, had the traditional Grandma Breakfast Tacos, and then showered and went to UTSA to meet Lauren Rice! Got to see her room, and then we went to Olive Garden, and had a really nice talk! It was wonderful being able to see her again.

After that, went back to Grandma's house, and napped a little :). After that, went through some scrapbooks and listened as Andrew "interviewed" Grandma a little more. It is all so fascinating.

Of course, though, as you can guess... with the combination of the talks about the older times and the scrapbooks (full of old pictures, of course), at one point I did break down emotionally. I don't know what it is about me. I'm crazy. But I had a good cry and played the piano for a while, which seemed to help :).

Then all four of us went to Chipotle, and then got ingredients for Cheesecake Sopapilla at Target (cream cheese, Pillsbury Crescent rolls). I googled the recipe, and then Grandma and I made CS while Andrew interviewed Grandpa, who actually did a lot of talking (and of course, it was all fascinating), despite his claims that he's "been nowhere and done nothin'". We then all watched Miracle (Bethany's new second favorite movie of all time!), after which I spent about 20 minutes breaking Andrew down, trying to convince him to wake up at 7:30 so we can make it back to Belton in time for church. Thank you, bro! I love you!! :)

So, goodnight! It's been a great weekend. Tomorrow will consist of church, lunch, stressing over Design (I'll probably spend 3 or so hours on my project, the first two of which will be spent staring at the paper, of course), and reading for Business. Hopefully a nap, too, and some laundry. Love you guys!

Andrew and I are currently in San Antonio, with Grandma and Grandpa. It's really neat, because we've never been here just us. It's really nice! We had a wonderful home-cooked meal... roast, potatoes, carrots, corn, etc. The whole nine yards! And then she made cookies :). I have a wonderful Grandma.

After, we played Canasta. It was Grandma and I against Andrew and Grandpa... We had a pretty rough start, but we got with the program by the second or third round. We ended up being a little over 1000 points behind Grandpa and Andrew when they won. Gpa especially did really good. But I am getting better at it! And I don't hate the game now... :)

Right now, Andrew's asking Grandma about her childhood and about Great-grandma Shirley and such, recording it so he can start compiling something. It's really fascinating!

This is going to be a great weekend. :)

Listening to this song ("Happy Day", written by Tim Hughes; I'm listening to the Kim Walker version) played at my church every once in a while. Never fails to bring tears to my eyes and a huge smile to my face! Have a great Thursday, all :)

The Greatest day in history,
     Death is beaten,
You have rescued me!
Sing it out, Jesus is alive!
The empty cross,
    The empty grave,
Life eternal, You have won the day!
Shout it out, Jesus is alive,
He's alive!

Oh happy day, happy day,
You washed my sin away!
Oh happy day, happy day,
I'll never be the same;
Forever I am changed!

When I stand,
   in that Place
Free at last, meeting face to face
I am Yours, Jesus You are mine;
Endless joy,
    Perfect Peace,
Earthly pain finally will cease;
Celebrate, Jesus is alive,
He's alive!

Oh, what a Glorious Day,
What a glorious way
That You have saved me!
Oh what a glorious day
What a glorious name,
Jesus!

As most of you probably know, I respond pretty emotionally to the weather changes; when Summer turns to Fall/Winter, it makes me gloomy and long for sunshine. When Winter turns to Spring, and when Spring finally blooms fully to Summer, my joy is pretty much overflowing and inescapable! Of course, I don't base my joy or peace off of the weather (at least I hope not!)... but I was created as a deeply emotional person, and I suppose this is a side-effect.

All of this is to say that today was rainy and cold, in more ways than one.

But the image of Summertime and the joys that come with it fills my mind, reminding me of the Life that I have been given through Jesus Christ. Though this is quickly turning into a season of days like these, when I both physically and emotionally feel cold and in a dark place, as I like to quote, "within me lies an invincible Summer". Thank the Lord! Grace for the wayward heart, fire and warmth of the Spirit abundant, His voice in whispers, Life blooming in every corner.

"Oh, I'd be a fool to forfeit / the chance to take a Moment
For You to Rise like the Dawn / over my Cold, tired heart
What I thought I had lost / it finds me when I Stop,
Stop and Listen"
(Bethany Dillon, "Stop and Listen")

Today has been very interesting!

So, Wednesday mornings at 6:30 at the gazebo right outside of my dorm, conveniently enough, is EMP (Early Morning Prayer) that the Lifegroups do. They remind us about it every Tuesday night at LG, but each Wednesday I have not had enough willpower to wake up, no matter how much I might subconsciously want to. However, this morning, I finally woke up... and not even with my alarm! It was the strangest thing. My eye started hurting and itching really painfully at 5:00 in the morning, and I woke up suddenly. And I was like, AWAKE. I wasn't even tired. So I tried going back to sleep, but couldn't, and then just figured it would be wise to just stay awake anyway. So I did my Bible readings by the light of my cellphone, took a shower, and went to the gazebo at 6:30. And MAN was it cold!!!! I didn't even think about it (half because I'm still in summer mode, and half because I hadn't been up  and outside that early in weeks and forgot how much cooler it is in the morning!), and so I didn't have a jacket.. AND, my hair was wet. PERF! hah. Anyways, but EMP was really neat. We sang a few songs together and then prayed in groups about specific things, today for the leadership of the church. Then it was cut short because at 7 it was See You At the Pole, which I hadn't been to since my Sophomore year, I'm pretty sure! So that was really neat. It was still really cold, but it was neat to pray with fellow UMHB-ers for our campus, new president, nation, and ultimately for the world. We also sang some songs and such, of course.

I've really been learning the importance of prayer lately. And man have I been getting opportunities to do it with other people! So neat. Oh, and I also ate breakfast at Hardy for the first time since Welcome Week. It was actually good. They had french toast! ha.

In other news... I have a meeting with Career Services at 2:30... not sure that I want to go to it or that I am eager to hear what they have to say about the results of my little career test thingie... but I'm going to go! I also have a major OT test tomorrow, but I'm not very nervous. I don't have anything else to do today but study for it, so I'll do that. But I also have to work on TWO designs for Design. It's actually extremely frustrating. What we're having to do is make black and white designs out of paper (2-D) representing certain elements/themes of art, such as, for these two, Continuity and Rhythm. I almost started crying today, because I simply cannot do it! I just cut things out and stare at the paper for an hour and a half, basically. I mean, I moved things around, but ended up just sliding it all off over and over again. I didn't even paste anything down! But, I'm forcing myself to really try. So I'm going to put something together tonight and bring it in tomorrow for her to look at so she can help me before the Critique on Monday. Thankfully, she's really eager to help. And it also doesn't hurt that she really likes me, especially since my hard work at the Festival on Sunday! :)

Mmkay... I'm off to write another letter or two, send them off, go to Career Services, possibly cry (just kidding:), and then study for OT and do my Design stuff. Wish me luck. And maybe I'll even fit in some Zumba in there somewhere... :)

Prayer, prayer, prayer... !

In praying as I mentioned in an earlier post, the phrase that keeps coming to my mind to describe this situation is "ripe for redemption".

A quote from Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster...

Perhaps the most astonishing characteristic of Jesus' praying is that when he prayed for others he never concluded by saying "If it be Thy will". Nor did the apostles or prophets when they were praying for others. They obviously believed that they knew what the will of God was before they prayed the prayer of faith. They were so immersed in the milieu of the Holy Spirit that when they encountered a specific situation, they knew what should be done. Their praying was so positive that it often took the form of a direct, authoritative command: "Walk," "Be well," "Stand up." I saw that when praying for others there was evidently no room for indecisive, tentative, half-hoping, "If it be Thy will" prayers.

May there no longer be any doubt; There is hope!

So, remember that post from a week ago? Same exact thing happened last night (that thing where I couldn't go to sleep for a long time). So I did what I did last Monday.... went to bed super-early (this time, it was more like 7:30).

But this time I think it may have actually back-fired (notice the time...).

I'll work it out.


Oh, and I'll post more on this later, but in just the past two days, I've been offered a job I didn't even know existed out of the blue, interviewed for it, and confident that I should not take the job. Glad that's dealt with. :)

I have seen with my own eyes
Your faithfulness, O God
So I refuse to believe the lies
That war against my soul

You rescued me from all my fears
And loosed the chains of wasted years!

You’re my Savior, Restorer,
Rebuilder, Rewarder;
My Refuge, Redeemer,
Defender, My Healer, Savior!

Now my heart is overwhelmed
By all sufficient Grace,
For I have seen my weaknesses
Become Your perfect Strength.

You’ve rescued me from all my fears
And loosed the chains of wasted years!

Behold the One who holds me in His hands,
The God who comes and turns my mourning into dance!

"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."
Romans 12:28-29

Now, I'm "home" - that is, at UMHB.

Let me give you a little rundown of my weekend! It was pretty amazing :).

Wednesday: Ate at El Gallo (!!!!!!!!!!!) with mom, dad, Mama, and Papa :). It was wonderful. Then we went to Piccomolo! THEN... I got to go to ABS to see my ABS girls (Bethie, Beth Wiebe, Carly, Kristi, Leigh-Anne, and the gang)!!! Ah, it was wonderful. Went home, went to sleep.

Thursday: Slept in till noon... it was pretty great. Went to Mac Grill with momma (I dined fine this weekend!) :). Then I went home and just chilled for a few hours, then went to Steak N' Shake with dad! A very successful daddy-date. Then, I went to mama and papa's house, talked with them for about an hour (had a wonderful conversation with Mama!), and then went to bed! It was a very nice rest.

Friday: Woke up, ate Mama's famous biscuits (I got pretty much all my favorite food this weekend), then went with them to watch mom's intense 3-hour tennis match. It was pretty epic! Good to see her play. She's getting very good! After that, we went to Pappasitos (told you...:), and then went back to Mama and Papa's house to read for OT (Gen. 25-50. Woah there!) and then NAPPED, then met the fam and brought Beth and Blake to SCREEEEEAM! Ah, that was loads of fun. :) I got to see pretty much everyone from church there. Oh my goodness... it was wonderful. Went to iHop afterwards with some pretty awesome people, had some pretty amazing strawberry-banana pancakes... then went home and watched Miracle (Beth's new 2nd favorite movie of all time!), which was actually very good (hasn't made my top 5 yet, but I suppose I'll have to see). It was a pleasant combination of sports and patriotism. U-S-A! U-S-A!

Saturday: Slept in, went with dad to fill my gas up and get a printer cartridge, saw the fam minus Bethany off to Blake's soccer game (had to say goodbye :( ...), went to McAlisters with Bethany, then came back, finished my Design project, and headed out at 3. Got to Belton at about 5:20, and went to Tad and Sherry Smith's house (the pastor of Antioch and his wife) for Section Connection (where the Lifegroups get together). We ate food and just hung out. It was very nice! I got to meet more people from ACC.

Now... I unpacked (never fun), and then am now doing laundry. Will probably finish OT reading (Exodus 1-15), type up some OT notes (because I took up pretty much every part of the page - my handwriting is microscopic! Writing in the margins, the top space... Efficiency?), and start my speech for Public Speaking (blech). I think I'll organize my scrapbooking stuff a little more and then call it a night.


I mean... just in case you guys were wondering ;). I know that at least someone out there enjoys reading about every minute of my life. ...Maybe.



As a side-note, I really enjoy driving. The 2 in a half hour drive pretty much seems like nothing. 2 in a half hours for me means 2 in a half cd's :). On the way home, I listened to Bethany Dillon's new cd, Jars of Clay's Who We Are Instead, and most of By the Tree's Shoot Me Down (probably one of my favorite cd's of all time). On the way to Belton, listened to a few songs off of Bethany Dillon's cd, By the Tree's Shoot Me Down again, Sandra McCracken's Live Under Lights and Wires, and then just listened to a mix I made about a month ago. There is something very beautiful about listening to a cd all the way through in it's intended order of songs. And I have this tendency to skip songs before they are even completley done because I get impatient... but on the road, I have forced myself to just let it play without interference. It's pretty rewarding! :)

Mmkay, I think that's enough rambling for now. Goodnight!

You have NO idea how much it warmed my heart to see familiar places as I neared home... passing Cy-Fair HS on 290 was a biggie! Ahhhhh. It was beautiful.

Needless to say, I AM HOME!!!!!!!!!!

My room is a little different, mostly because all my sentimental stuff is at college (and, oddly enough, because my room is actually kind of clean), and mom threw away my old sheets and bought new ones (out of respect for mother, I will not share my opinion on this at this time ;). We went to El Gallo tonight, and then Piccomolo. Then I surprised the Lyon House ABS (formerly Swan house), which was WONDERFUL. It made me soo happy to see those familiar faces!! I was so overwhelmed with happiness, my face was extremely warm, and I'm sure I was talking a thousand miles an hour. But it was great!

Of course, being home has already come with emotion :). Just had a great, long talk with my parents about pretty much everything pertaining to "the future". I was reminded of how much I don't understand, and how much plans have changed. Let me just outline this...

-Freshman year, I wanted to go to A&M and become a Math teacher, most likely.
-Sophomore year, I wanted to go to UNT and be a music major.
-Junior year, for half of it I wanted to go to UNT and be a music major, the other half I wanted to go to Southwestern and study French, and Western Europe in general in some sort of International Studies program.
-Senior year... ha. I was reading through my old blogs from Senior year, and myyy how things changed! One blog, I was like, SOUTHWESTERN!! I LOVE IT! and then, I visited it, and the next was like, It's not the one. Then, there was a series of confused (and, of course, completely UMHB-less) blogs with various colleges, most of which I didn't actually want to go to (like OBU, TCU, Baylor, etc.). Then, somehow UMHB got thrown in the mix. I didn't even blog about it. I'm pretty sure I wasn't even considering going until late Spring semester; about the time I considered going is about the time I knew that I was going to go there. Interesting how it worked.

Talking with my parents, I realized how strange it all is. Like, I so thought that I knew exactly what I wanted... and then, the plans changed, and UMHB doesn't even offer what I was so set on. But, I mean, I know that I'm supposed to be there; it's been so confirmed in just this month that I'm there for a reason. So, I'm there. Now what?

Anyways, more on that later. Probably should go to bed. Goodnight!

Today was wonderful! Here's why...

1. Got all my homework for tomorrow done before my first class (at 1)
2. Got to leave Public Speaking half an hour early
3. Finally came up with a topic for my speech (which will be on Tuesday); topic, being Christmas in Nebraska, focused on the famous Lutheran Church on Christmas Eve story (the "Silent Night"). The Roberts family is still spoken about in whispers in Potter by old people because of it. It's pretty epic
4. I got 12 hours of sleep last night
5. Good hair day. So rare for me as of late
6. Crunch & Pump. Effective. I am going to hurt tomorrow
7. Daddy assumed I was trapped under something heavy because I had called him and accidentally hung up right after he answered, and then he called me back and I didn't answer. I love my father
8. Lifegroup tonight was wonderful. We talked about the Church
9. I'm coming home Thursday !!!!!!!!
10. Old Testament was great and fascinating
11. I'm just excited for the future!

Mmkay, that's it for now :).

Oh, as for negatives...

1. My room is negative on hundred degrees and there is no way to control it. Last night I slept with, like, three comforters.

Alright, NOW I'm satisfied. :)

Song for the day...

You changed my mind
You said something I had never heard
Something that is too high
It's left me limping and in wonder

Because all the things I know
Suddenly seem so small

When You build, it feels like You tear me apart
When you heal, it always leaves a scar
And even when You fill, You leave me with a beggar's heart

Hands reaching through barred windows
Falling asleep on the sidewalk
You say You draw near to the low
Now I'm here, I know I'm not low enough

"Beggar's Heart" by Bethany Dillon

Goodnight!

Oh my goodness. Best night of sleep of my life. :)

Went to bed at 8 (I feel pretty much RIGHT asleep!), and woke up at about 8:45. And my sleep wasn't even interrupted, except once because of some pain, but I took Advil and fell back asleep in no time! Oh, thank You, Lord. I feel aaaaaaaaaaaawesome. :)

Except, I had this really really weird dream... it had to do with this mega-extreme hide n' go seek game, played with Andrew, Beth, Callie, Danielle, and Chino. It was all of us against Ben Linus, I'm pretty sure. I think that Ecko was even with him. Weird! But we totally won. We played like, out in a jungle somewhere, and then in my house. It was really weird. And kind of creepy. But whatevs.

No class until 1... before then, I'm going to write a mini-paper for Freshman Seminar (250 words) and maybe do a little reading. Have a good day, all!

So, it's been a FIGHT to not take a nap today. Especially since I was done with my obligations at 12:30. So I basically just kept busy with homework (not that I had much...), painting toenails, etc. and then worked out and ate, took a shower, and then I just did my hair. I feel great! And I'm so excited about the stellar sleep I'm gettin' tonight. 'Cause I am so gettin' it. The plan is to go to bed around 8. :)


I definitely recommend the new Bethany Dillon cd, Stop & Listen. I listened to it two times through today. It is wonderful!

Goodnight!

So, the result of the agony of last night... I am pretty sure I did not actually get to sleep until 2:30, or maybe even 3. Blech. What is wrong with me?!

In other news, I just got a package; the new Bethany Dillon cd! Woohoo! I am super-excited about it. The glory and thrill of getting an actual, physical CD with cover art and all will never go away for me!

Took my first college test today; Business. 21 questions, 5 points each. It was one of those tests that made me think, "If I get anything less than an A on this test, I do not deserve to be in college". Easy-schmeasy.

Funny story: so, pretty much everytime I go to the Hardy cafeteria to eat dinner, in conjuction with my actual meal I usually get salad. For me, salad consists of dark green leafy things and tomatoes, and maybe a little bit of Italian dressing. So, I got my usual salad, with my dark green leafy stuff instead of the iceburg lettuce, because I am pretty sure it is way more healthy. So, as I was eating it, my friend Heather finally said, "Have you always liked spinach?", causing me to pause mid-chew. "What?" - "Spinach. That is spinach, and you eat it like every day." - "No this isn't, this is lettuce!" - "No... that is spinach." Jamie agreed. But that's impossible! I Hate spinach! I vowed I would never eat it (well, kind of. It's usually jokingly in conversations like, "Do you like spinach?" - "No." - "Have you ever tried it?" - "No, and I never will")!

...So apparently I've been eating spinach all year, and apparently I kind of like it. The jury is still out on whether or not I will proceed to eat the substance now that I am aware that it is spinach... my stubbornness could possibly be that thick to prevent me from doing so :). I'll keep you updated.

Now, for a little Old Testament reading, then I am done for the day. I'm starting to really like college... ;).

Not much news right now except for the fact that it seems that it is back to the way that it used to be; These past few days, it has taken me forever to go to sleep. I just lied in bed for an hour and a half! I am pretty stinking tired, but I just cannot go to sleep. :(

I am still writing a bunch of letters. This weekend, I wrote to 9 people. Maybe one of them will even respond, and I will get mail! Oh, what a joyous day that will be. Getting mail in college is the best :).

I watched A Walk to Remember earlier this evening. Still a great movie.

Thursday, come quickly!!!

Well, today was extremely productive... :)

I slept in until 1 (which actually hasn't happened since, like, two summers ago. So don't tase me! I needed the sleep), went to Target and CVS to get some stuff, came back, cleaned, did laundry, ate dinner, and now I'm organizing all my stuff for scrapbooking!! ... There is a lot of stuff. I keep everything, haha. So that's fun! Hopefully that will give me some motivation to actually scrapbook and not just talk about doing it. I'm super excited!

It's been raining since Thursday. Last night, it was really nice. For some reason, driving in the rain in the dark did something for my soul. It was extremely scary (I was hunched over like a grandma the whole time), but cathartic somehow. Everyone needs a good, cold, dark rain every once in a while. But, now, it's just annoying, to be honest. And it's freezing in my dorm room... I'm not actually sure that I can do anything about it, either! Oh well. I'll live. It's just a tad depressing... because all of this is reminding me that the sunny days of summer are slowly being ripped from my grip. Ah, to learn to embrace new seasons...

Besides all of that... things are just pretty regular! I'm writing a lot of notes. I have a Business test Monday. Gag. But I'm going home next Thursday night... and I'm SUPER EXCITED!! It's time. It will have been a little over a month! Ridiculous! Too long. :) And I will come home to a much-needed El Gallo dinner! I've been craving it. Mmmm...

Alright, well I'll go for now. Goodnight!

So, Grandma and Grandpa just stopped by and talked with me for about an hour in the gazebo on their way home from Nebraska! It was wonderful :). They told me all about their trip. It was all very fascinating, and, of course, great to see family!

Another thing about my OT Professor that I forgot to post: Tuesday, we were talking about the different theories of authorship of the Pentateuch, and one of the issues brought up about all that was the different names used for God throughout, for example, some of the time they use Elohim, some YHWH, etc. What was really cool, though, is whenever he was talking about YHWH, the actual holy name of God. He talked about it with such reverence (and he also wrote it in Hebrew, which was just plain cool); he actually never even said it, because I think he considers it to be very sacred. He said that he's very careful in using it, and that whenever he teaches Hebrew, he uses Adonai instead whenever it comes up, just like the Jews did (as to avoid taking His name in vain - best way is to just never say it!), and even as our Bibles do; whenever it comes up in regular English Bibles, most of the time it says LORD in capital letters, which actually is Adonai, if I remember correctly. Anyways, I was just so inspired and touched once again by my professor's passion for and complete reverence towards God and His Word!

And now, to "start my day" well (no class until 1:), a passage from a book I'm reading, and a wonderful hymn that was stuck in my head this morning...

God created me - and you - to live with a single, all-embracing, all-transforming passion - namely, a passion to glorify God by enjoying and displaying his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. Enjoying and displaying are both crucial. If we try to display the excellence of God without joy in it, we will display a shell of hypocrisy and create scorn or legalism. But if we claim to enjoy his excellence and do not display it for others to see and admire, we deceive ourselves, because the mark of God-enthralled joy is to overflow and expand by extending itself into the hearts of others. The wasted life is the life without a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.

Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

3. Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love. 

Blessed Assurance, written by Fanny J. Crosby