Tuesday, January 25, 2005

no capitol letters, no words period.

Well, I will use caps in the post, but not for the subject. I once again am so tired I just want to crawl into bed for a week. But, no breaks for me. I have so much to do and so little time. So this is just to let you know that I am alive, and that if you don't hear from me this semester, don't be surprised. Well, not really but this is certainly not my first priority. Sleep well friends!

Thursday, January 06, 2005

Let Wonder Replace Worry

It's after 11:30 Wednesday night. I should be in bed sleeping. Instead I'm reading some quotes and trying to get the "g" key on the keyboard to stop sticking. Right now any word with a "g" in it is causing me some minor difficulties. I have found some rather challenging quotes in the pile I've been reading, including the one used as the subject of this post. I'll share the other three that have me pondering this evening.

I have never heard of a tombstone that said, "I wish I would have worked more".
Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, tell your storm how big your God is.
Attitude is the difference between ordeal and adventure.


4 Days from now I will be back in the dorm at college. I'll be in a new room with a new roommate. Tonight I feel as though it's a long way off. It's been a very weird break. A lot of things have changed and become reality over break. It's true though, no matter how hard you and your college try not to put you in a bubble, you really are. I've been back in the "real" world for almost 3 weeks now, and as this time comes to an end, I have a few thoughts to share with you.

I have never heard of a tombstone that said, "I wish I would have worked more".
This quote is so true. In my logic class this fall, the instructor asked us all to write down why we were attending college, in essence, what was the point of being there? I wrote a list, but the first thing on my list was this, "To be better equipped to serve the Lord." We all seemed to think that we would discuss what we had all written down, but Mr. Hudson simply challenged us and then said the statement that is the summary of why we should be at Bible college. I will qualify by saying this is his opinion but I think it's totally true. "To learn how to better glorify God". Period. Our entire lives are to be made up of glorifying God. How often I fail.

Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, tell your storm how big your God is.
It seems that we so often are so self-centered that we only see the world as how it affects us. Less than 2 weeks ago over 100,000 people died. I don't want to know how this tragedy is going to affect the world, or how it relates to us except for one fact. Less than 2 weeks ago over 100,000 people died, and how many of them are now burning in hell because they didn't believe? That sounds harsh, well it is. God is big, He's incomprehensible, and we have a world to tell that to. Forget you, glorify God by spending HIS life in you serving others. How often I fail at this.

Attitude is the difference between ordeal and adventure.
We are only given one life. We never know how long it will last. Oh, how many times we've all heard that. I wonder what it will take for that to really sink in though. I hear about a teenager killed in a car crash and think, well that will never be me. A girl by the name of Katie Poirer comes to mind. She was simply working at a convenience store, doing her job, when her life changed and was ended. I want to live adventures. I want to travel the world and experience things I've never known. But as I dream about doing that, somewhere inside of me I wonder if and when I get to the top of the Great Wall, the Eiffel Tower, when I see the ocean, or a kangaroo hopping about, or hear the London Symphony play, will I truly be in awe and feel the magnificence?
Then I picture holding a starving baby in India, or listening to drums beat in South America, or help girls escape "slavery" in Nepal, or simply be a nanny in Italy, or simply work in a "typical" American job for the rest of my life, will I see an adventure in that?

I know this, life can be an ordeal, but I pray tonight that I will have lived my life to the glory of God. As I look back over the last 3 weeks I realize that I wanted to "do" so much more. I wanted to serve more. Then I say well it will be different next time. I pray that I don't get to the end of my life and wish that I had a next time.

May we embrace Adventure, tell the storms how big God is, live unselfishly, stand in wonder and awe, and truly glorify God with the time He has given us.

Sunday, January 02, 2005

Ask and You Shall Receive

Well for all my wishing for more snow, I certainly got my wish. As my dad and I shoveled out the 5-12 inches of snow that fell yesterday and last night, I certainly thought of ironic timing. Hopefully I'll be headed into town this evening to enjoy that snow with my college friends from here at home. It will be one of our last times all together with our "pastor" the sponsor of our group. Ahhh memories. All this powder definitely looks good for snowboarding on Friday. I pray that the weather stays nice and that I can indeed carve it up for the first time in almost 2 years. Take care and enjoy whatever weather you are enjoying. Although I must say ours is the best. :-)