random

In DC, and counting down the days till I'm in Saint Joseph, Michigan.

New Death Cab CD out today.... I'm going to buy some music today. I have come to dislike all 1,200 songs on my ipod. (harrison's music haha)

My sister graduates today... wish i could be there to celebrate.

V for Victory, W for Wedding

My sweet sister is getting married and I couldn't be happier. She deserves to have the most beautiful, whimsical, lovely wedding a girl could have. Mae just got her dress and it's beautiful! I haven't seen it on her but I can imagine. What a joy it will be to have showers and parties and tea times of planning. I'm so excited for this wedding and will do everything in my power to help make it the most magical day of her life!

Deaf

I can be quite self destructive at times... and maybe I don't want to stop!

Things I learned last week:
-Reggae praise music makes me want to be deaf
-Incense is revolting when paired with the above
-I don't feel the least bit stupid singing and dancing like zoo animals in front of 20 people.
-Diet Coke makes you fat.... (according to the Dental Hygenists of CPCC)

I think I can handle the next two days of wedding-ness if I believe that it is a trial that will somehow build character. I'm all about the character building. : ) I've learned an insane amount of ugly truth about myself this week. I'm glad that crap is coming up so that I am tested to see what I'm like under pressure. I think I'm going to make it kind of a game, this whole being like Jesus thing. I enjoy competition with myself so this could work.

All in a sunday....

Seven year old, Noah, walks into the K5-1st class with his hand covering his mouth. Through his fingers I can see the discoloration around his mouth. After asking him if he wanted to play with play-doh he realized that playdoh playing requires two hands. He lowers his hand from his mouth and I see purple- a perfect purple circle around his little mouth. My sister inquires if he drank something purple and he says no. Noah told us how he was sucking on a cup and it got stuck on his face. It takes experience in life to know that you simply breath out to get the cup off instead of continuing to suck. By the time he got the cup off, he had a nice circle bruise around is lips. I'm sure he begged his mother not to make him go to church, but I'm so glad he came. That little purple face has made me smile for weeks.

"This is a rhino" he said, holding up an animal cracker. "Yup" I lied as clearly he was holding up a cat. This proceeded for the next 5 crackers. A dog. No, actually a donkey. A bear. No, a camel. Yes, they are small cookies but a bear does not have a big hump on it's back. A rhino does not have pointy ears and a tail. A dog does not look like a horse. Oh well, why crush his pride so young? : ))

Goodness, I am such a girl. What was I thinking, turning on Steel Magnolias? Steel Magnolias is one of the greatest chick flicks. Love, weddings, life threatening diseases- Steel Magnolias has it all. I lost it while watching the last 20 minutes. I had to stop running on the treadmill because I couldn't see past my tears. I like to say I'm not emotional but you watch that movie and try to hold it together!

In a moment of stupidity I deleted my last two posts.

Me and my dad had an interesting conversation today about the salvation of the world. Ya know, just a normal car ride convo. It got me questioning so much. I know these questions are ones that have plagued christians, and really people of all religions. I understand we live in a fallen world but I feel like that explanation can cover everything. I think I'm going to set my mind to the truth that I can't understand everything. I can barely understand college algebra, let alone the creator of college algebra and all mathematics.

I have to go see a movie! till next time

24/7

What a sweet day it has been. Leaving school today, I contemplated whether or not to go downtown to a local ministry called 24/7. I called my brother who encouraged me to go. I walked into the warehouse to find a dimly lit room with soft worship music playing in the backround. A large open area meets you as you walk in,furnished with couches and a rocking chair or two. On the opposite side of the room there are what seems to be about 10 or 15 little booths with curtain doors. At first I thought nobody was there but then I saw Sandra (not her real name but I couldn't remember) sitting there. She came over and showed me all around. The ministry has many different facets. I was in the prayer room ( more prayer warehouse) which was designed to set up an environment in which you can meet with God. Each one of the "booths" has a different "theme" or purpose. Ranging from praying for Darfur or local criminals to praying to recieve peace or forgiveness. I heard stories about how many people have had experiences with God in this place.

After being shown all around and having been told all about this place, I met with the director, Lisa. (yes, that is her real name... I can't remember everyones name)She told me about opportunities to serve and volunteer my time and skills. She told me about the Justice Project which is a ministry geared toward showing the radical love of Christ. Whether it's through paving roofs, buying washing machines, or providing a shoulder to cry on, they are all about generosity and love. They picked a neighborhood within the city to focus their efforts. By the end of the meeting I was offered a job, fulltime or part time, serving the innercity community! I was floored that I could be paid to do what I love to do! I left there floating and thinking about just how good God is. He turned a meeting that I was very reluctant to go to and turned it into something amazing. I'm not saying I'll take the job or anything but I'll definitely pray about it.

Schedule

I hope this week goes by quickly. I want my parents to be home and I'm really ready for Shawn to be here. I know that before I know it, it'll be Saturday and all will be well. But i guess just right now that seems like a long time away. Another week of working out, school, work, dinner making, and everything else that goes on. Oh how bittersweet my new found consistency in schedule is.

Ok ok, I'll write again. Hopefully this will be the start of weeks of consistent blogging.

I have to go roast a chicken so till next time.....

The posting resumes

So here I am again, back home and writing. No longer am I extremely busy and i have time to write again. It's bittersweet to be back. The past 5 months of life have taught me so much and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to do a DTS. I was thinking about it the other day and it's incredible how I ended up in Denver. God orchestrated the whole thing. Gosh, it's just so insane to think about how much God was directing everything without me even realizing it at the time. I suppose you could say the same for everyone who ended up there in Denver.

I remember in India I never thought that normal life could be going on anywhere in the world. Those moments there were just so consuming that thinking about my family and friends sitting at home, or working, or sleeping in their beds seemed unreal. Now i sit here in the living room with my brother playing video games and my sister and Jen studying and it's unbelievable how fast life goes back to normal. No culture shock, no realization that I've been in an insanely different world. Sometimes I feel like I just closed my eyes in June and woke up in November and had the most real dream where I grew and had the most incredible experience. Although I wouldn't trust my imagination to come up with a dream that could even come close to the reality of these past few months. My expectations were blown out of the water and i couldn't have asked for anything better. One thing I came out of DTS that I didn't go in with is a boyfriend. Shawn is his name and what an journey we've had, a long/hard/horrible/wonderful journey. God taught me so much through this boy. I learned to trust the Lord with my future and with my present. I had to learn to surrender every week, every day, and sometimes every minute to Him. I learned to fear God only and care only what He thinks about me. I'm thankful for this boy but even more thankful for these 5 months that I got to set aside to spend time with the Lord.

I leave for India 2 weeks from tomorrow. Please be praying!!!

Eagle Rock

I'm pretty sure I don't deserve a day like today. Actually I know I don't but I'm glad I serve a good God who loves to bless His children!

We're up at Eagle Rock the mountain campus of YWAM Denver. It is one of the most beautiful places I've been. Maybe it's just everything together that makes it so beautiful... being in the mountains, being able to relax, and just doing life together with my closest friends. We're one large family and I love it here.

From about 11 to 3 this afternoon we hiked up Eagle Rock mountain. It was breathtaking. I went with my 3 friends Matt, Shawn, and Krista. It was somewhat strenuous but the view was worth it. I'm telling you, sitting up at the top of that mountain with my friends talking about how great God is was one of the finer moments of life. Yah, I miss home but God has given me such immense grace to be able to handle this time that I can't even believe it. It's so much easier to praise God among awesome beauty. After dinner there was a full rainbow across the mountains. It was amazing.

This is going to be a great week. Chill class times, running in the mountains, and my parents coming will ensure the greatness of this week.

Again I love and miss all of you!!!

Week 7

Ok, so I said that last week was the fastest, well I stand corrected. I seriously don't know where the days went. This has been my favorite week of classes by far. We were super blessed to have Dean Sherman come in and speak on Spiritual Warfare. I learned immense amounts of knowledge, a lot of practical knowledge.

God has blessed me a ton this week. I got a backpack and a sleeping bag.... for free!! The johnsons went above and beyond and bought me that stuff and more. I don't even know how to be thankful enough! I just really really feel very blessed.

My parents come in 6 days!! Hallelujah! I can't wait to see them. I've actually be homesick the past couple days. It'll be incredible to be refreshed by them.... and have my mom help me pack. : )

We leave for India in 17 days! Can't elaborate more because I'm speechless for now.

I love you all and miss you guys!

Week 6

Sorry i have been such a bad blogger recently.

This week has been interesting. Our topic was the Holy Spirit and our teacher was a man on staff. I learned a lot, but not necessarily in the classroom. A lot of the learning was done on my own as I really sought God on what I believed. I have been putting God in a box and I now realize that I couldn't possibly try to limit God in any way. He is so big and so good. Everything he does for us is the most loving thing possible and that is the most amazing fact to know!

It has been one of the fastest weeks yet! We leave for India in 22 days!! I'm so not ready. At least in the "what to bring" sense. I need a good backpack...not too big...not too small and it's driving me crazy!

Last night we went camping.... in a lodge, at the mountain campus of YWAM. This place was amazing!! It is so beautiful there. I slept under the stars with the chilly colorado mountain air blowing against my face. This morning after one of the best nights sleep and breakfast, we had a mini silent retreat. Basically you just go out into the beauty of nature for a couple hours and just talk with God. It was pretty cool. After packing up our stuff, we headed home for lunch. A nap later and here I sit. I hope this was a sufficient update for now. Love you all!