First Week of Classes

Nursing school is good so far! I'm learning a lot and it's just been three days. I'm on my lunchbreak now, so I have some time to write! I've been busy since last weekend with my friends, and I haven't even had time to check facebook! Oh my.

But everything is going so well, I'm very happy right now. So we'll see what happens in the next few weeks with my learnin' and the "new chapter" in my life. haha

Two days...wow!

Well, got back at Bryan at about 8:00 last night, took my self defense final, got up today, took my last Biblical foundations final, went out to eat at the best Mexican resaurant, bought cookies and gummy worms and ate them, then I was told to write another blog post by Savannah and Kristen.

So this is what I'm doing. Kristen I shall miss you so much! (She told me to say this, but I will sincerely miss her.) I'll miss everyone, of course. Rose and I are sitting in the hallway. This is what I'll miss :( Us girls hanging out in the hall, talking and laughing with whoever walks by.

BUT...I'm ready to go home! New territory to cover and new friends to make! I'm flippin' excited about it all. Now every post I've written for the past few weeks sound the same but this is what's happening right now so when Monday rolls around hopefully I'll have something new to write about.

Now. Three classes tomorrow...movie night, my last night here, and then a presentation Thursday morning and I'm outta here. I'll get back at like 1:00, then I have a birthday party for my little cousin Rebekah later that day, and then my amazing Bible study that I've started to go to. I love it, like really really love it. And guess what I'm going to nursing school. Ok that's it, I have nothing more to write, goodnight.

Still Waiting...

Sorry people I can't think of anything interesting or important to write about these past few days. Just waiting for next Thursday to roll around, then I'll be coming home for good!
I cannot wait to start the nursing school!! The suspense is absolutely killing me.
Being bored out of my mind is not helping!
So I'll write on here if anything interesting happens to happen.

God has kept His promises!

I don't know if you're supposed to be inspired and rejoice in Biblical Foundations homework, but I did today. I've put off writing two papers for a while, and I had to cram them all in today! (After I went to the park with my friends and ate Chinese at the new restaurant.) The book we're writing on talks about the big picture of scripture. The book outlines Genesis to Revelation, revealing the storyline of the whole Bible. The story this author came up with was the Kingdom. He argues that from Genesis throughout the whole Bible, God promises His people a kingdom, and we see that kingdom fulfilled in Jesus. (Some of you might be familiar with the Firm Foundations Bible study. This is pretty much the same thing.)

Then I was reminded of some awesome lyrics: "God has kept His promises, what a work of grace this is, Son of Mary, chosen One, the Lamb of God has come." (Glory Be To God, Sovereign Grace Music)

Wow! From the beginning of time-NO-before the beginning of time, God knew that man would fall in the garden. He told them about a deliverer that would crush Satan's head. Then, we see a picture of what would happen for us throughout the whole Old Testament. God kept His promise. His Word is true! That's amazing!

So, I need to work on that paper...just had to stop and write this down.

Squeakin' By!

I have only four- pretty much three- weeks left of college. I got back today (Monday) at 12:30, so that's half a day, then I'm leaving on Wednesday in the middle of the day, so I just have one full day of this week to be here. I'm so excited for Easter, the family's having a cookout at Mamaw's house Sunday- very exciting, I can't wait!

Let me catch ya'll up on a few things:

I'm going to be able to get credit for a full year of college, and I only have to take one final in Biblical Foundations! That's a good deal for me. I just have to turn in a paper for Hebrews, and just show up the rest of the time. I'm moving my stuff back home slowly, so the transition back home will be effortless. :) Then when I get home, I'll have to get rid of some crap I don't need. Not looking forward to organizing all the STUFF.

oh! Got some new Keens! Little River Trading Company had a 20% off sale...I hit that up! Now bring on summer, I'm ready to do some hiking! I almost thought about buying Vibram Five Fingers...that's next on the list. Along with some white Toms. New black Chacos?? Hiking boots?? oooh I know rock climbing shoes! or new Asics...gotta have footwear for every activity ya know. Got the cowboy boots for riding too. Barefoot covers the rest. :)

Anyways...

I visited Cornerstone Church of Knoxville two weeks ago--loved it. I was impressed with the whole thing, the preaching, music, prayer, was all very Christ centered. It was great.

Then, I went to a new Bible study last night--loved it too! It was fantastic, so I'll be going back again--they meet on Sunday nights and Thursday nights. I am pretty durn excited about getting plugged into a group again...since I haven't been in a year or two. Looking forward to see what God's gonna do with this group! They also want to start a church plant, so I'm praying about how I should fit into that. I'm not new to church plants...it can be frustrating but really great sometimes too. I was also greatly encouraged last night by the conversations I had with my new friends I met! I've been bummed out about Blount County churches lately, and realized that I shouldn't be that way, and now hopefully I can be involved and not be so negative now!

I think that's it. Oh- had my first blood test today...that was exciting. I didn't pass out...I barely felt the needle. I think I can stick someone else with a needle, but watching it stick me is not very fun. I START NURSING CLASSES IN ALMOST THREE WEEKS!!!!!

Boy, I need prayer for a lot of things. I've been stuck in a mood for a week, and I need to get out of it. I hurt my leg running (as soon as I get to where I want to be, I can't run :( stupid stress fractures slow me down) So that hasn't set well with me, I'm a horrible patient. So now I'm resting my leg and apparently my arches are causing the problems when I run. So frustrating. Grrrrrrrr.

Christ needs to be the center of my life, not everything else. I'm struggling to remember that. Nothing else is really that important.

Well, Self Defense class is next tonight, so I guess I'll close! Goodnight

Holiness

Last night I finished the book I've occasionally written about on here. Holiness by J.C. Ryle is a must read for Christians! I loved it. Since I've talked about it on here before, I'll just give a small summary.

The first few chapters deal with what holiness is and why we need to strive to be holy. He lays out the differences between sanctification and justification, which we are able to improve on (sanctification) and which one is already accomplished for us, our righteousness that we can't work on (justification). Then he talks about fighting for holiness, growing in it, and he gives a few biblical examples of Lot, Lot's wife, Moses, and then wraps the book up with the best chapter in the book: Christ is All. The last chapter really made the book come full-circle, it was great.

So if you haven't read it, grab a copy!

Is Technology Killing Us?

Not literally killing us, but is it hurting us?

The weather here just turned GORGEOUS and I have been outside for the past two days laying in the sun, running, and walking downtown. As I was laying in the sun earlier, I realized I forgot my music. But then I thought, "Do I really need something in my ear, constantly entertaining me?"

No, I don't.

Do we need to constantly check Facebook and our e-mail, or constantly be reading blogs and "expressing" ourselves to the online world? Um, no. The only rest my poor laptop gets is when I'm not connected to high speed at home.

Another issue: texting. Do we have to always know what everyone else is doing? Twitter and Facebook statuses are bad enough.

In one way, it's good to be connected with people, so you can influence them for Christ's and the Gospel's sake. But come on, that's no excuse for obsessive facebooking. Not only is it very self-centered to think everyone else wants to know how great your life is, and to post it every five seconds, its kind of stupid. Why are we so obsessed with doing that? I guess it comes back to self-centerdness, that's all I can come up with. The desire to have many comments assuring ourselves that we are loved by at least a few of our facebook friends. I don't know.

I'm guilty of doing this of course. I tell myself I'm posting things for my family to see, whatever, which I am, but it is fun to see how many friends you can get and how well liked you are. It's a nice feeling. Facebook is an ego feeder. We are already sinning human beings, how much more fuel do we need to boost our image? Not much, that's for sure. So stop making the first priority of the morning be turning on the stupid computer and checking what people say to you, and what other people are talking about. Who cares, really. Living people are much more important than the little profile picture you stare at. Is someone's FB profile really all there is to the person? I hope not, geez.

Chatting with friends for hours is kind of dumb, too. Chatting in person or on the phone is not dumb, but typing and tapping away, staring at the stupid screen, laughing occasionally to the words, is not ok. I don't know where that caught on! Again, I'm terribly guilty. I "chat" or type to my cousin almost everyday for long periods of time. It's nice, but isn't it nicer to actually hear the person? You lose your discretion and discernment. I've typed things to people I totally regret. You also can't look in the person's eyes or hear the tone of their voice. Real easy to lie through typed words. I'll still IM with my cousin, because I'll make the case for convenience or whatever, but it's still not the best form of communication.

The internet can be a great place, but also a dangerous place. There are many helpful sites I frequent, but there is so much crap out there.

Another issue that's pressing is having everything ON DEMAND. Right here, right now. I don't think it's healthy for an already lazy, dependent, flawed human (speaking of myself, of course) to have the world at their fingertips. You want to know the lyrics to that song? BAM type it in Google, and we have the answer in less than three seconds. Want to indulge in those funny videos? Youtube, baby. BAM we're laughing at something stupid. Pandora radio, anything, anytime. Want a recipe? type it in and you've got it. Too bad it won't shoot the pulled pork out of the screen for us. Maybe that's next.

When I was little, we had one TV, a VCR, and I think my daddy had a radio and a turntable. That was it for technology. Besides a microwave and washing machine. But we kept the wood stove. My cousin and I talk about this a lot. We were very content playing in the yard with our pets, and ourselves. We made up games to play, and had woods to build things in, and creeks and ponds to entertain us for hours! I was big on Barbie's and stuffed animals for years. We even played with bows and arrows and bb guns. And we played sports a lot. Very low tech indeed. I know of a first grader today that has a stinking cell phone. What??? Yes.

I also know a kid younger than 10, I forget how old he is, but his parents got him an iPod Touch for Christmas. Wow. Last year this kid got his own portable DVD player, and his face was always two inches away from the screen. Now. Is that good for children? I don't think so. My parents won't even buy us a cell phone plan. :/ I'm 19.

Give them a bike and a stuffed animal, and they'll be fine.

I'm not saying I know everything about technology and raising kids. I have a laptop, cell phone, mp3, camera, and I want an iPod touch to replace the old mp3 player, which is a cheapie to begin with. I'm not totally against it, but I need to remind myself to show moderation and use it sparingly. Unlimited everything is not good. We want it, but it's not good for us. Another big lesson from the parents. They wouldn't indulge our pleas for unlimited-everything, and looking back, we are better for it.

So go read a book or just sit and admire God's creation without something sticking out of your ears, or something flashing in front of your face.






For whoever loves Napoleon Dynamite...you'll get this without me having to explain. :)

The Final Stretch!

Last week was spring break, it was great, so that was why I haven't written anything in a while. Friday night I came home, my family went out to eat at my favorite Japanese restaurant, Osaka, and my brother's girlfriend got to come along, and she came home with us afterward and watched a movie while I bothered them.
Saturday was awesome. My friend Amber and I volunteered for Love89 at Winterjam, a huge Christian concert. We got there at 3 and people were already lined up to get in. (The concert started at 5.) So Amber and I volunteered to sell t-shirts right at the front, where we had a great view of the concert and I got to see my favorite bands! (Third Day and Newsboys of course.) We stood up and sold things for about 6 hours straight, and ended up leaving at about 10:30. Then Amber came home with me and we went to church in the morning.
Monday was interesting, I got to go to the doctor, fun stuff, then Daddy took me to Lemongrass to eat some sushi! It was really good, I was impressed.
On Tuesday, my friend Katie, who is engaged!!! and I went to eat at Salsaritas, visited a bridal shop, then went to work out a little at The Rush. Then, I went to visit John, Rochele, and the kiddos and got to go biking before the weather turned gross! We biked 9 miles, and then went home with them to eat burritos! After that we had to get some Wii action in. Fun night.
Wednesday, Hannah, Mamaw, and I went to Mr. Gatti's to eat some pizza, and I stuffed myself once again. But it was so good.
Thursday I was home all day by myself, so I cleaned some, and did whatever.
On Friday, Mama and I went to town, went to Burger King, and I got an awesome new workout DVD that busted my tail, and I'm still a little sore from it. The $9 was totally worth it mother.
Saturday we went to Mamaw and Papaw's with Andy and Luke, and had lunch, then came home and watched The Proposal, then just chilled for the rest of the day.
Sunday at 4 I left for Bryan, and now I'm back!

So now I have 6 weeks of Bryan left, and then I'll get to start training to be a nurse! I'm so excited.

AMAZING DAY!!

The post I wrote earlier today was about how snowy and gloomy it was outside. Then...two of my friends found out that they made RA for next year! Congratulations Katlyn and Rachel!! Then...my CLF leader from last semester is in the hall, and so I ambushed her because she got engaged this weekend!! Her story is soooo amazing. God's hand is all over that story, it's incredible. So we were rejoicing with Becky in the hall, along with my friend Amelia who is also engaged, and then my RA Rachel comes down, who is ALSO engaged, and so we were having a great time just laughing and being amazed, Kristen and I are the only ones not engaged, so we were just rejoicing along with them. :)

Then...I see I have a text message on my phone. It's from my mother, and says, "Call me as soon as you can, I have good news." So I'm freaking out, thinking what in the world could it be? She answered the phone and let me listen to the answering machine, which was a message from Blount Memorial's Nursing School. AND I GOT ACCEPTED!!!! I screamed! Then my RA hears me and comes in and gives me a hug while I'm screaming in Mama's ear (sorry).
AHHHHH!!!!! I'm ecstatic right now.
And I just pleaded with God last night to let me get accepted and to know His will. AND I GOT AN ANSWER TODAY!
I'm blown away!! God is so good. Our hall has had such good news lately, you hear screams of happiness almost every second because someone is finding out something good from someone. Thank you Lord!
I think I've called everyone and told everyone I can...

But classes start on April 26th, so the only sad thing about this situation is that I'll be leaving Bryan in a few weeks. :( BUT I promise I'll come visit. All the time. So I'll have to talk with my professors about taking my finals so I can get credit for a full year of college. I'm not gonna lie, I will miss it here, but I know this is what I should be doing.
Now I'm gonna party like crazy! Just kidding, I'll still get to bed on time and do good in my classes.

Time to get off the computer and spend precious time with my friends!

"I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name oh most high."
Psalm 9:1-2

And I Wore a Tank Top Three Days Ago

This...is snow. I don't know what happened to the sun, but it's gone now.

I'm so ready for spring break, as are all of my friends. Hopefully break will bring about some nice weather. It won't be long!!! At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Aerobics class is cancelled today, so it's up to me to find something productive to do. I'm going to borrow my friend's ab ripper X DVD, or the yoga one, I haven't decided yet. I need to do something to pass the time, this is the longest week ever!

The rest of the week is pretty low key, we have a hall event Wednesday; Yuri is cooking Honduran food for us at Danielle (our hall parent)'s house. I'm excited about that. Then one more day, and on Friday, Katie and I are leaving for home at about 11:00! (Hopefully my parents will take me to eat Japanese food for dinner??? PLEASE!)

Nothing exciting is happening, so I'll just leave you with a little thought. I'm borrowing it from Holiness.

Read through the gospels and familiarize yourself with the works of Jesus. He performed amazing miracles and taught great things to His followers. Study His parables. What do they mean? Notice how the crowds chased after Him and wouldn't let Him rest. We should also search the Scriptures and learn everything we can about our Savior as the Son of Man that came down to earth.

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. for by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:15-17

Fun Times on the Riviera

Last night, after spring banquet, SGA planned a cruise on a riverboat in Chattanooga. My friends and I skipped the banquet part, since we don't really have boys to go with, so banquet's kind of pointless without a dude, so we went out to eat in Hixson. The restaurant was called the Acropolis, it was supposed to be like Greek-American food. It was pretty durn good, I like Greek food. Then we went to Starbucks to pass some time before boarding the riverboat at 11:00. So I ordered some Passion tea, and we sat in Starbucks for an hour before finding our way through the ghetto to the Riverfront. I have video footage...lol

Then we had to wait in the boat's giftshop until it was time to board. We took some pictures, and talked to everyone, then we got to load the boat! It was very exciting. The first floor had poker and blackjack, the second floor had other games, that's where we stayed most of the time. We could also go to the top deck and side decks but it was too cold to stay out there for too long. But it was beautiful! The lights were reflecting off the river, and the night was so pretty!

So inside the boat, from like 12:00 to 1:00, we played Uno and Jenga, and had a blast. Everyone had a great time, everyone was screaming and laughing, it was awesome. The only bad part was having to walk in crazy heels all night. But other than that, it was so amazing! Great experience.

We rolled in Dayton at about 2:00, and we were sooo tired. So I went to bed at about 2:45, slept all day, and I am so thankful we had a good time and no one got hurt or lost in the hood. Detours can be a little scary sometimes. Haha. Don't worry mother, it was all good. After a while. Just kidding!

Here's a few pictures of us on the boat! There's more on my facebook.

Pray for North Korea

North Korea has been on the mind of my friend lately, and lo and behold, this month's Voice of the Martyrs newsletter was on North Korea, so I gave it to her. Then, we get an email that tells us a missionary who works with organizations to help North Korea will be speaking at one of our clubs (SSTOP, students stopping the trafficking of persons) on Thursday night. It was all very ironic and happened within a few days of us talking about North Korea in her room.

Anyways, we went to the meeting, which ended up lasting from 9:30 to 11, because we stayed and talked to the lady. Her name was Lisa, I think.

Here's a little history on North Korea. As everyone knows, no one is allowed in or out of the country. It is ran by an evil dictator named Kim Jung Il. His father, Kim Il Sung, is worshipped as the father, Kim Jung Il is the son, and they have another diety they worship called Juche, which represtents the spirit of unity amongst the people. The citizens of NK worship their dictator as a god, and it is required that every household has a picture of him that they bow down to. The country is very poor, but they plate statues of their leader with gold. The dictator starves his people for the benefit of the army.

China is free compared to NK. There is no freedom for North Koreans. This country is also the worst persecutor of Christians.

"The Persecuted Church Global Report 2010" from VOM reports that the population is 1.69% Christian, most of them being in concentration camps, according to our speaker, Lisa.

There are a total of 23 million people in North Korea. 13 million of the people are severly malnourished. In one decade, 3 million died from the famine. There are 400,000 refugees hiding in China, and 200,000 imprisoned in concentration camps. There are about 20 concentration camps in NK.

The only way to escape to freedom, preferrably South Korea or China, is through a river, where guards are lined up on the borders to shoot anyone or capture them to send them back, most likely to be executed or to concentration camps. The North Korean people are scared of Americans, Lisa said that they are taught in school that we have horns and tails! It's incredible the lies the people are being fed through their government.

There are very few NK refugees in the US. I think she said there were a total of around 40. What a small number. Many of them are Christians, and she has met a lot of them at rallies and galas.

Lisa told us she partners with three organizations to help the people.

One is called 318 Partners. They are going as a group to South Korea in April to launch balloons with aid over the border to the people of NK. Their website is http://www.318partners.org/

Another group is the North Korean Freedom Coalition. http://www.nkfreedom.org/

And the last one that centers more around young adults is LiNK. http://www.linkglobal.org/

To wrap this post up, I would encourage everyone who reads this to pray for North Korea. It is such a dark and hostile country. At breakfast this morning my friends and I reflected on how amazingly blessed we are to be eating a lot of food and reading the Bible openly. Unfortunately, this is not the norm in hostile countries, and the only way we can help right now is to pray. Lisa encouraged us to pray first for the government. Also pray for the people who are being tortured and starved by their leader. And finally, remember our brothers and sisters that are the only light in that country. God is powerful, and prayer can accomplish much.

Real Women

Last night, the Worldview team organized an event at Harmony House for girls only. So a few friends and I went, and oh my goodness...it was amazing. Let me tell ya'll a little about it.

First I want to say Bryan College has some durn amazing people. If I could get a degree in "sit and listen to what God has done in your life" then I so would. But anyways, they advertised around the halls with posters and made chapel announcements about this "Real Women of Bryan College" night, and we all wanted to go and what a blessing it was.

Four women were there to share about their lives. The first one to share was Mrs. Clark, one of our professor's wives. She is a stay at home mother with four kids, and one on the way. She told about her single life, how she met her husband, and how she is living her life at home. So encouraging. (She also mentioned that she was reformed.)

Next was the school Psychologist, Liz Mosley. She talked about counseling, and how to love people. I really needed this, as I get aggravated so easily and forget to love people, especially those close to me. Her talk was also very encouraging, not to mention inspiring. It really made me evaluate where I am in relationships with my friends and gave me a desire to build strong friendships and find new ones!

My English professor spoke after Liz, her name is Dr. Impson. She talked about her life, and what she wanted to be when she was younger, then how God changed her life around, and how she had to go through trials to be where God wants her to be. Again, very very encouraging.

Finally, Judy Olsen, one of our secretaries, talked to us about intercessory prayer. She is an amazing lady, and from hearing her testimony of praying for everyone, it made me realize that this is what God wants us all to do. Prayer is powerful. I saw that I need to be talking to God more than I do. Mrs. Olsen was also a great encouragement.

Wow. Overall, this event was incredible, helped me realize some things, and encouraged me immensely. (This may be the most I've ever used the word encouraged...but there are no other words!) It was great to live out Titus 2:4-5 and hear older women teach us younger women.

Other than that, I was wired up on coffee, so I went to the intramural basketball tournament with my friends and had a great time laughing and having fun. And I'm happy to report my energy is back again. Thank you God. I also have been reminded that even if it is snowing and I want it to be summer, "this is the day that the Lord has made." So I will rejoice and be glad in it. It's a good thing to rejoice. Ok, that's it, have a great day!

(One more thing:) This verse hopped out at me this morning:

But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
Jude 20-23

What a lovely day. (sarcasm)

Today was one of those days.

Ughhh. That's how I've been all day.

This weekend was very fun, and I didn't get enough sleep, so that could explain some of it. A few of my friends came home with me and we did everything there is to do in Maryville, Knoxville, and the mountains--almost everything; I ran out of money.

So last night I went to sleep at 10 o'clock, refused to get up and run this morning, and slept in until 9:00. All day I've been lazy and hateful. I didn't even scream in excitement as I opened my copy of the Septuagint and Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament. Not my usual behavior. I was aware of how single I am, how hard it is to trust God, how I'm failing in life, how cold it is outside...I am so discontent. And selfish. Not to mention prideful. I better stop before I start cussing, because I sure have been in my head.

I don't know what to do! Then I took a shower and reflected on how I was acting. Then the song "Your Grace is Enough" popped into my head, and now I'm feeling a little bit better.

Of course I don't want to complain to the whole world...kind of sounds like it though...but I also want to encourage everyone that God has promised us He will give us the desires of our hearts. He also promises that His will will be done and it's going to be good. So get past yourself *I'm talking to myself now* and stop moping around!

God has blessed me beyond anything I could of imagined. I go to an amazing Christian school, where everywhere I turn there's a friend. I have the most awesome family in the world, and I realized that this weekend because my friends kept saying how great they were. I live in a country where I can do or be whatever I want. And I'm healthy and I can learn anything as long as I dedicate myself to it.

WHY THE HECK would I be discontent? I should be jumping for joy every second of the day, even when I'm asleep! God has blessed us all way way way more than we deserve because, honestly, we all deserve one thing only, and that's hell. Anything better than hell is wonderful. God is so gracious. Not only did he let me take that breath I just took, but He SAVED me by His grace. Why me? I will never be able to answer that. I don't even know if I would waste the energy to save me. I don't understand how He could love someone like me-- that Jesus would leave glory to come and die for me. Wow, it really is amazing grace. I should just shut up and not ask for anything else EVER because I already have enough.

So...I hope tomorrow will be a better day. I hate when I get like this, but it happens. Sigh. Someday I'll look back and be married and have an even greater life than I have now and think how silly I was. I hope so...and I'm praying so. Until then, I'll just have to wait and pray!

Goodnight!

Weekend!

After another week of studying Greek and reading through commentaries and going to aerobics class, it's finally the weekend!
Yesterday (Thursday) was Day of Prayer at Bryan, and that means that all classes are cancelled, and students are able to have a day full of rest and prayer. So I woke up at 10:00, which is way late! And went to chapel and had a great worship service. The whole morning was a good time of prayer. So after that, we made a trip to Wal-Mart, got surprise birthday cakes for two friends, and hid them in my fridge. Then at 5:30, 14 of us managed to squeeze in at one table at Delia's Mexican...the best Mexican food in Dayton, and had birthday dinner for Rachel L. and Jandi. So much fun, these people are hilarious. That was last night. I forgot to take pictures, sorry :(
Here's what's going to happen this weekend, and I'm so excited!
Three of my friends, Lauren, Rose, and my roommate Rachel, are coming home with me and we're gonna have the best time ever. I've been excited all week.
Well that's pretty much it, time to go to class!

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

Yep. Just so everyone knows, I (along with two of my friends) have kept our goals of working out everyday (pretty much)! And I haven't had a Coke (or Pepsi or Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew or ANYTHING but Sprite when I was sick) since August! I was a hardcore Dr. Pepper addict, so this is impressive for me. Still need to work on cutting out sweets, it's really hard. Overall, I'm very encouraged and excited about these fabulous health goals I've set! Yay! Lauren and I worked out for an hour and played around with a basketball in the gym tonight, so I'm feelin' good! I miss playing basketball with my cousins and brother...can't wait for summer still!!!

Chapter That Made Me Go "hmmm"

I've been reading Holiness, by J.C. Ryle for the past few weeks, and ran across a very interesting chapter this week. The title of the chapter is assurance. I agree with what Ryle has to say ultimately, but I never had thought about it this way. He gives four points that he expounds upon:

I. An assured hope is a true and scriptural thing. (Check, I understand that one for sure.)
II. A man may never arrive at this assured hope, and yet be saved. (Hmmm...)
III.An assured hope is exceedingly to be desired. (Yep.)
IV. Causes why an assured hope is seldom attained. (Yes.)

I followed him on the first point, then the second point is what made me think. He asserts first that a person may have saving faith in Christ, but never reach that full assurance. He says all God's children have faith, but not all assurance. I've always held to the thought that we should strive for assurance, and test ourselves to see if we are in the faith if we didn't have assurance. I can't decide if I agree with Ryle's position of a man having received grace and that he is a Christian, yet they still can never reach full assurance. I would like to think that once a person is saved, of course they will have doubts and fears about death, but ultimately they will not be afraid. Ryle says that there are degrees in our sanctification, which I agree with. In our justification, there are no degrees, once it happens it has happened. I also agree with this. Ryle quotes Romans 10:11 and says this: "'Whosoever believeth on Him'--not whosoever has a strong and mighty faith--'Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed." Of course "bare, simple faith saves a man", but shouldn't a true Christian have a degree of assurance? Maybe not all the time, but even faith as small as a mustard seed is still faith, and we can be assured with small faith.

Ryle says faith is the root and assurance the flower. You can't have the flower without the root, but you can have the root without the flower. "Faith is life. Assurance is more than life...it is health, strength, power, vigour, activity, energy, manliness, beauty." I find it hard to swallow the thought that Ryle is bringing forth here. I think that Christians of course are Christians, but I think they have some assurance to hold onto. Am I making sense? Probably not, but this was tumbling through my mind today, and I thought I'd write it down.

I have struggled with doubt, everyone has, of course. But then I overcame it, and had assurance. Doubts come again and again, but I believe that a person can get over it and find assurance, but not after struggling--which just makes us grow stronger. As it says in Acts 17, "He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead." That's assuring to me...and then again..."And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end."

I don't think I misunderstood Ryle-faith is faith, and that alone saves us, but it was just a new concept to me, I guess, to think that a Christian can never reach assurance. It's nice to run across new concepts every now and then and to think about them.

This was a quote that made me go "hmm" (in a good way) in the notes of the chapter:
"This weak faith will as truly apprehend God's merciful promises for the pardon of sin as strong faith, though not so soundly. Even as a man with a palsied hand can stretch it out as well to receive a gift at the hand of a king as he that is more sound, though it may be not so firmly and steadfastly." (William Perkins, 1612)

And I liked this one:
"Faith is not created perfect at the first, as Adam was; but is like a man in the ordinary course of nature, who is frist an infant, then a child, then a youth, then a man." (Richard Ward, 1640)

So to summarize...I know what Ryle was getting at. In the end, this is what he says, "The believer who follows the Lord most fully and aims at the highest degree of holiness will ordinarily enjoy the most assured hope, and have the clearest persuasion of his own salvation." Using Scripture, Ryle exhorted his readers to pursue assurance, and not just sit back and be afraid. In the end, this chapter was thought provoking and good.

--I'm listening to Chris Tomlin's "Mighty Is the Power of the Cross", which is a good theme song to this post. :)

Update

I haven't posted in a few days, I guess I just haven't been inspired. The weather here is not very pretty, and I left my coat at home, so now I have to walk around in lightweight jackets. But I am walking very fast, so it's good exercise. Let me see...for those who don't know, I am waiting at least 6 weeks to hear back from the nursing school to see if I can be accepted, spring break is in two weeks, and I still want it to be summer.

Last night my friends and I went to Harmony House for a Haiti benefit concert. I got an amazing smoothie and listened to some cool music, then came back to campus and sat in my RD's apartment with a bunch of friends and watched The Office while eating cookies and watching my RA Rachel make Valentines. After deciding NOT to work out last night, Rose and I decided to get up this morning and go to the gym. We've made it a habit to get up early and workout on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. I've managed to stay sore for the whole week but I think that's good. Gotta get in shape for summer!! I watched the Notebook the other night, couldn't fall asleep, found my friends who couldn't sleep at 1:30 in the morning, and we had a small party in her room. Then I got tired and went to sleep. I have restrained myself from watching The Notebook again..I just love that movie!

Classes are going good, I still have Hebrews commentaries to catch up on, and class is in a few hours, so I need to get on that I guess. :/ I need to clean my room too. Not that it's dirty...which it's not by the way...I just need to sweep and clean the sink. Tomorrow is Saturday, so I'll get to wake up early and go to the nursing home with some friends, and then there is a ballgame later on, so maybe I'll hit that up. Next weekend is banquet, but my friends and I have decided to skip the banquet, eat in Chattanooga, and join everyone that went to banquet on a riverboat ride later that night. That's exciting, we'll get to dress up hopefully.

That's really all I can think of. Life's been pretty chill here lately, nothing exciting. Hopefully the weather will warm up, and we can actually do fun things outside. That's all!

A Little Lighthearted Calvinist Humor

"I Think My Wife's A Calvinist"
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZdoSG0IdNE&feature=related

So after having to keep my mouth shut and not screaming at people who were questioning election, our biblical foundations professor showed us this video and my mood improved. :) The wife the man is singing about will be my husband singing to me one day...haha. Just watch it.
I found it humerous. (Normal people probably won't get the jokes. Just the crazy calvinist people like me.) The related videos on the side are about bashing calvinism, so just ignore those.

And for the people who are questioning election:

Romans 8:28-30
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Humility: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney

Since I've had nothing too interesting to report in my life, I thought I'd let today's post be about a book. Last night, I finished C.J. Mahaney's book Humility: True Greatness. On my scale, this book would get a fantastic. (That's equal to 9.5, the Bible always being a 10. :)) So it was a pretty good book! If you haven't read it, read it. It can't be too expensive, because it's a small book.

First, I love C.J. (Can I call him C.J.?) Ok. He starts the book out by saying how humbling it is to write about humility. And I'll add that it is also humbling to read about humility, because I see how not humble I really am.

Second, the book was oozing with Scripture. This is always a good thing, especially when you're reading and trusting a human author. But he does a very fine job of staying focused in the Word and not making up his own theories.

Third, his book is very applicable and easy to understand. Even at the end of the book, he summarizes the areas where we can work on humility and weaken our pride. I copied them down and plan on printing them out. He had tips like, waking up and realizing your dependence on God, practicing spiritual disciplines, and encouragin others...things like that. I'll let you read the book yourself to get the rest of the goodness.

Just trust me, it was an excellent book, and didn't take me very long to read. Loved it loved it loved it. So that's my thoughts for today. Now I have to go to Greek, which is also a very humbling class. :/

Effective Singleness?

Singleness is not very fun all the time. At least not for me, and there are days that I just want to give up. I don't want to throw myself a pity party so the whole blogging world can see, but this issue is frequently heavy on my heart. So, since I've been single for 19 years of my life, and I have just recently been connected to high speed internet, I have access to resources that have helped put singleness in a better light.

Sure, it womps to not have that glorious relationship with someone who loves you and who you may marry someday. That's what we were created for, and that desire to have someone is only natural. But what if things aren't working out? It is so hard to trust that God has it all under control and that He is the one we should set our hope in--not some stupid boy. Because ladies, they are all pretty dumb, and a few smart ones will admit it. Don't want to tell all the secrets of girl-world though. But knowing that boys are clueless is a pretty big topic.

So, what do we single girls do? Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters have a wonderful blog called girltalk. I've been reading it since the beginning of the school year. These women post topics that women care about and singleness is one of them. I ran across this quite some time ago, and I have to read it every now and then to get a grip on myself and remind myself where my focus should be. Helpful hint: Chick flicks and mushy songs DO NOT help. Not at all. So don't torture yourself. Instead, I've tried to ignore those temptations to watch a good story that only makes me miserable, and turn to other, more helpful sources. Here are a few good pointers that girltalk gives single girls:

Pursue undivided devotion
--Instead of spending our time worrying about the things of the world, we should be wholly devoted to the Lord. As single women, we do not have the worries of a husband and children yet. No having to fix dinner for a family, no going to the grocery store, doing laundry for everyone, or cleaning up after messy kids (and husbands). So this time can be used solely for the Lord. We can spend time in the Word, prayer, praise, and service. It is our privilege to have time to be focused on learning all we can about our God. Don't let the world in to mess with your minds.

Become a theologian
--(I like this one. Being a Bible major is really helpful for this deal and it's one of my hobbies anyways, so I'll encourage not only single girls but everyone to become a theologian. :))
Theology=the study of God. What better way to spend your single years than digging into the Word and finding out all you can about the attributes of God? Personal Bible study is very helpful. Grab a commentary and take a stab at a book of the Bible that really interests you. I'm required to read a Hebrews commentary for a class, and it's some deep stuff! I'm really learning a lot. Also, find trusted, solid authors that are authorities on a topic you are interested in. Right now, I'm reading through Holiness, by J.C. Ryle, and it is a great book. I love anything written by John Piper (Desiring God, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die), J.I. Packer (Knowing God, Concise Theology), C.J. Mahaney (The Cross-Centered Life, Humility), R.C. Sproul (In the Presence of God, What is Reformed Theology), and C.S. Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, and many more Puritan dead guys, but I don't want to take up too much space.

Help the men
--This pointer just encourages single girls to let the men lead-to encourage our brothers in Christ to step up and be men. Give them opportunities to lead. This doesn't mean to follow any man without question. But we can ask advice of our fathers, elders, and guy friends, and give them a chance to seek the Lord and give godly advice. Men should be leaders, and women should encourage them. Show appreciation when a man takes up his role and leads, even if he messes up, we should still encourage.

Choose friends carefully
--Single ladies have great opportunities to build amazing friendships during this time of singleness. I know this from experience. We should seek out godly friends to help us grow, and in turn, we can help them. A women's dorm is naturally the best place for this to happen. We live with each other for months. I won't give too many details, but just know that being around friends constantly has helped me build strong relationships. But while we are working on these relationships, we can also spend our time seeking friends that are not usually in our group of friends. Befriend someone that needs a friend. What better way to show Christ's love? Iron sharpens iron, and while some friends have different opinions, we find that we can learn from them, and perhaps change our way of thinking about things. Also, we should find older women to help us grow. Titus 2:4 says that older women are supposed to train younger women to love their husbands and children. So find a friend in a godly married woman who can train you. (Mothers can count, too.)

Nurture children
--Oh boy. If you have a desire to be a mother someday, why not practice with other people's children? Where can we do this? The nursery at church. Family get-togethers. Friends' homes. Children seem to be everywhere. So single ladies, this means we can spend our time helping and nurturing the children in our lives. My cousin teaches 4 year old Sunday School at her church. She doesn't realize I'm writing this, and she probably doesn't realize that I've noticed, but she is showing such a great example of this concept. She also keeps the nursery, and is devoted to loving her younger brothers. This girl's staying busy nurturing those kids. I'm proud of her.

Prepare for an important career
--This is the big one. Prepare for your future career as a wife and mother. I'm not that thrilled to be writing about this one, because I fail miserably in it. But, as single women, we can be helping our mothers cook, clean, and the like, because hey, that's what we'll hopefully be doing someday! "Rachel, check the laundry!" Ugh. I cringe. I think, well, if it's my husband's laundry I'll do it happily. Oh really.
Get off your butt and help your mother! (Oh, that was painful to type.) I've dug myself a hole now because she'll read this, and expect more out of me. Bring it on. lol
But seriously, we're not little girls anymore. We need to learn responsibility and how to take care of a house and family. Also, keeping your body healthy and being a good steward of your finances is preparing for that important career.

Be devoted to good works
--Finally, be devoted to good works. Spend time visiting a nursing home or helping someone with their chores. Be loving to your siblings. Read the Word and see where you're lacking, and work on being devoted to good works. Of course, I'll have to clarify, that these works don't make you anymore justified before God, but God commands us to be holy. Right now, in our singleness, we can work on becoming more like Christ.

There's a few things we can be working on. It's not a magic formula, and I'm sure there's more that could be added. This has just helped me along, and I wanted to share.

Don't Waste Your Life

Last night at Grace Community Church, we had a commissioning service for Greg and Beth, who will be going out on the mission field in a few weeks. It was a great time of worship and fellowship and it was obvious that Greg and Beth will be greatly missed. (And I'm a little upset because they are both over at our house tonight...and I had to go back to college. Everyone gets to have fun without poor me.)

Anyways, last night, after prayers by elders from different churches, singing, testimonies by the Burnetts, and a message from the ABWE man, Greg announced that we would be hearing something a little different, and that was a song called Don't Waste Your Life by Lecrae. For those who have never heard of Lecrae, he's a Christian rapper-and the song featured Dwayne Tryumf. (Tryumf...triumph...get it? haha. I liked that.)

I was excited...but this was in church with a bunch of reformed old people who hate rap! (Just kidding!...just kidding.) So the music started playing, and the lyrics flashed up on the big screen so everyone could follow along with the words.

First, the music was awesome. Then, the lyrics were even more awesome! Look it up on youtube if you want to hear it.

Here are the lyrics that they printed out for us:

Don't Waste Your Life by Lecrae

I know a lot of people out there scared they gone die
couple of em thinking they'll be livin in the sky
but while I'm here livin man I gotta ask why
what am here fo I gotta figure out
waste my life, no I gotta make it count
if Christ is real then what am I gone do about
all of the things in Luke 12:15 down to 21 you really oughta go check it out
Paul said if Christ ain't resurrect then we wasted our lives well that implies that our life's built around Jesus being alive
everyday I'm living tryin show the world why
Christ is more than everything you'll ever try
better than pretty women and sinning and living
to get a minute of any women and men that you admire ain't no lie
we created for Him outta the dust he made us for Him
Elects us and He saves us for Him Jesus comes and raises for Him
magnify the Father why bother with something lesser
He made us so we could bless Him and to the world we confess Him
resurrects Him so I know I got life matter fact better man I know I got Christ
if you don't see His ways in my days and nights
you can hit my brakes you can stop my lights
man I lost my rights I lost my life
forget the money cars and toss that ice
the cost is Christ
and they could never offer me anything on the planet that'll cost that price

Armed and dangerous
so the devil just can't handle us
Christian youth them a stand with us
Livin' n driven, given a vision, fulfillin the commission He handed us
London to Los Angeles
Da rap evangelist
Ma daddy wouldn't abandon us
I gotta backpack full of tracts plus I keep a Johnny Mac
So are you ready to jam with us
so lets go, gimme the word an lets go
Persecution lets go
Tribulation lets go
across the nation lets go
procrastination bes go
hung on the cross in the cold
died for the young and the old
can't say you never know
heaven knows
how many souls are going to hell or to heaven so we gotta go in and get em

Suffer yeah do it for Christ if you trying to figure what to do with your life
if you making money hope you doing it right
because the money is God's you better steward it right
stay focused if you ain't got no ride
your life ain't wrapped up in what you drive
the clothes you wear the job you work
the color your skin naw we christian first
people living life for a job make a lil money start living for a car
get em a house a wife kids and a dog when they retire they living high on the hog
but guess what they didn't ever really live at all to live is Christ yeah that's Paul I recall
to die is gain so for Christ we give it all He's the treasure you'll find in the mall
your money your singleness marriage talent and time
they were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine
that's why it's Christ in my rhymes that's why it's Christ all the time
my whole world is built around Him He's the life in my lines
I refused to waste my life he's too true ta chase that ice
here's my gifts and time cause I'm constantly trying to be used to praise the Christ
If he's truly raised to life then this news should change your life
and by His grace you can put your faith in place that rules your days and nights.

Don't wanna waste my life.

Thanks Greg and Beth, good choice :)

Crash and Burn

As Christians, our lives are on display for others to see. We will be critically analyzed by the world to see if we really believe what we say. It would be much easier if we could just live our lives without having the world watching. But it's not that way. If we mess up, of course God grants us forgiveness, but we have just risked dragging the name of Christ through the mud.

The Hindenburg blimp catastrophe is a picture of how if we profess to be followers of Christ, then deliberately put His name to shame, we will look like a huge disaster to the world of critics watching. I'm not saying that we won't mess up. We are guaranteed to sin. What I'm saying is that if we profess to be Christians, and then continue to live in unrepented sin, whether it be drinking, lying, or adultrey, our lives will be a huge explosion to our Christian witness.

The link below is a video of the Hindenburg explosion. The blimp was flying in the air with no sign of the impending disaster. Then, all of the sudden, it burst into flames and the world watched as it fell from the sky to burn on the ground. If we profess to be Christians, and truly love the Lord, the world is watching. If we continue to live in sin, and others see it, first, we are possibly not true followers of Christ. Secondly, the world rejoices to see Christians fail. Our witness will look like that blimp, crashing and burning from the sky. Christianity is no joke; it's serious and it's the only thing that really matters. It's a hard fight, but true Christians count it joy and will fight sin and the world until the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywLwFXcoSQw&feature=fvw

(Sorry, I don't know how to put a video straight onto a post! :) I encourage everyone to look at the youtube video, though.)

Minnie Grindstaff (Grandmother)

A year ago today, my great-grandmother passed away. She was 92 years old, and lived in the same area of the county her whole life. She raised three children, my aunt Juanita, my grandma Laura, and uncle R.L. She was married to Ben Grindstaff, my grandad who died a few years ago. She dedicated her life to serving her family and never got tired of who she was and the lot God had given her--she was content with her life. My uncle Raymond preached her funeral last year, and I will never forget it. He preached through Proverbs 31 as a testimony to my grandmother. I am so inspired by her life of simple Christian service, and want this post to honor her.

She truly embodied the Proverbs 31 woman. She had a quiet humble nature, she never put on airs. When she was younger, she tended a garden, quilted, made clothes, canned vegetables and made the best apple butter in the world. Her husband was a deacon at church, and everyone in the community spoke well of them. Her children loved her and took care of her in her own home until she died. She was never a lazy woman, and her children can attest to that. She could shoot a shotgun better than my grandad, and she never learned how to drive a car. She went to the beach once in her life, but prefered to stay home close to the mountains. She always had a Bible next to her chair, along with a Sunday school quarterly and the newspaper. She had a quiet sense of humor, and never complained about her ailments. She was an amazing woman. Although she never went to college or had any international adventures, she was used by God all the same. I wrote out Proverbs 31 below, and every verse matches my grandmother's life. What an inspiration.

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hand to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the fruit of her hands and let her works praise her in the gates.

Proverbs 31:10-31

I Love Reading the Multi-Vitamin Label!

I have been on a health kick. And when I do something, it's usually 100%--I go psycho obsessive. (Unless it's something I'm not into...hmm, like homework?) In the past it's been music, academics, basketball, shopping, Scripture memory, and even friendships. Oh, there's more, but we won't go there!

I usually stick with something for a long while, but I have been known to just lose interest and quit. That's something I want to change. One goal this semester is to not be overly obsessive over one thing and get burnt out on it. Like the health kick, I want it to be a lasting pattern in my life.

My childhood life was consumed with playing basketball. My room was decked out with pictures of ball players and trophies. I loved it for a few years when I was younger. But then, something new came along, piano lessons, and I took that up and basketball was a thing of the past. Middle school was all about music. I picked up several instruments, played in church, and again, decked my room out this time with music notes and pictures. I would practice three hours a day, 15 hours a week, and I had one proud piano teacher. But, in high school, my tune changed once again, and I gave my all to my youth group and friends. High school was also about keeping up the GPA so I would get good scholarships. I quit piano lessons, but still played in church and just for fun. But the three hours a day laid aside for practice became nonexistent. I'll stop here, the list of obsessions could go on for awhile. :)

One thing I've learned so far in my short little life is that MODERATION is a good thing. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit for a reason! I'm a firm believer in diligence and hard work. It's good to put your heart into what you love. But what I'm fighting against is my "obsess/burn-out" pattern.

So, the reason for this post is for me to look back at what I wrote publically, and remind myself not to be a crazy obsessed person. Health kicks are a good thing, I just hope it doesn't end. I'm loving the treadmill (did two miles this morning!) and working out with my friends is more fun than laying around the dorm. I am DYING for summer to get here so I can hike, tan, swim, ride bikes...ahhhhh I can't wait!! I'll probably be working most of the days, but that's what evenings are for, right? Looking forward to it!



(Hannah, Kelsey, and me)


Happiness? Tan? Just been swimming in the river? No make-up?


YES.

What I Learned in Church Today...

Today, I attended Westminster Presbyterian (PCA) with Rose and Lauren, and Lauren's mother and sister Karen came to visit, so they came too. I love Westminster, first because the Christ exalting worship, and also because of the sound preaching. Good reasons to like a church!

I liked the order of the service, this is how it goes: there's a greeting time, congregational reading (today it was from 1 Chronicles 29:11-13), two hymns, prayer, Psalm reading, more hymns, offering, and then the message. After the sermon, the congregation repeated a catechism that was in the bulletin (Q: How does Christ execute the office of a king? A: Christ executes the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.), and then sings another hymn.

The church just started a study in the Psalms, and last week was Psalm 1. This week, Pastor Johnson preached on Psalm 2. One of my favorite things to listen to is how Christ is revealed through the Old Testament, so this was really good to hear this morning when I was a little tired, sore, and mad because of the rain.

Psalm 2:1-12
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

This psalm was written by David, as Paul tells us in Acts 4:25, when his kingdom was being plotted against. But Paul tells us that this Psalm also refers to the nations plotting against Jesus, the Anointed One. (Little sidenote: David is seen as the type, Jesus the antitype. David was the temporal king, Jesus the eternal king.)

Psalm 2 speaks of the people's revolt against God. Rebellion against God first occured in Genesis 3, and human nature hasn't changed since. The people were tired of submitting to God because they thought they had a better solution to their problems. This is seen in the world today, when the world tries to solve the problem by education, or politics. Rebels don't want God telling them how to live their own lives. They refuse to obey.

But in verse 4, the Psalm says that God laughs at their folly and scoffs at man's rebellion. He is not threatened by a weak man's rebellion, and he doesn't ignore it either. Verse 6 says that he has set his king on the hill. These humans are rebelling against the God who made the heavens and earth, and who destroyed the earth with a flood! In verses 7-9, God gives the nations to his Son, gives him the earth for his possession. All authority on earth and in heaven is given to Jesus. Verse 9 says he will break the rebellious with a rod of iron and smash them to pieces like a pot.

Then we're given a warning to be wise, and to serve the Lord with fear and trembling. Also, it says that those who take refuge in him are blessed. Whew! So there is hope for those rebels that have turned their backs on God. That's quite humbling to know that even though we are rotten rebels, Christ, who rules in heaven, still loves us and came on the earth in the midst of all this mess to die for us and redeem us.

What I love about this Psalm, is that it clearly portrays God's character of a righteous judge that hates sin, and loving savior. Jesus, who was given all the earth as a possession, is the manifestation of the love of God for a world in rebellion. Pastor Johnson said, "the only safe place from God's wrath is in Him." If we see the world in reality, we find that it wants no part of Jesus. The world scoffs at holiness and Christlikeness. The world is still rebelling against God, and will always be in rebellion until God destroys evil. But we have a hope to look to Christ and follow him, and here we will be saved from the world and all the sin and rebellion that is so deadly.

Have the heart of the psalmist, see the world in reality, and implore the world to embrace Christ!

I Pity the Fool!

I was reading through Proverbs, and a few weeks ago, this verse stood out to me:

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 1:7

A fool is someone that despises wisdom and instruction. I don't want to be a fool. Well then, what is widsom and instruction?

Job 12:12 says that "Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days." Uh-oh. Old people are wise? No way, I don't want to listen to some old person harp on things they think they know. We'll come back to that later.

Again, in Job 28:28, it says, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding." Psalm 110:10, and Proverbs 9:10 says the same thing. So wisdom is listening to old people and fearing God while turning away from evil? Yes. But it's more than just that.

Wisdom dwells with prudence and finds knowledge and discretion. (Proverbs 8:12) Taking advice and not being insolent is wisdom. (Proverbs 13:10) With the humble is wisdom. (Prov. 11:2) Trusting our own minds is foolish, but walking in wisdom will deliver us. (Prov. 28:26) The world's wisdom doesn't know God. God made the wisdom of the world foolish. (1 Corinthians 1:20) Is it not a great thought that our God is the God of true wisdom?

Today's world doesn't put much stock into wisdom. In fact, it is much more accepted to be an idiot on purpose than to be smart and put God's gift of wisdom to use. I typed the word "wisdom" into Google, and the choices I got all had to do with "wisdom teeth." Does our society really think acquiring wisdom is that important? Not at all. James exhorts us that if we lack wisdom, to ask of God, who gives wisdom to all generously and without reproach. (James 1:5) Fearing the Lord and asking him for wisdom is how we begin to be wise.

Back to listening to our elders. I'll be the first to admit that I am very stubborn, and when someone older than me gives me advice, (my parents, for example) I automatically rebel and want to do the opposite. I've messed up many times in the past by being a fool, and going with the rebellious approach. (Not that I'm wise now, but from experience and reading what God has to say about it, I think I'll do things differently in the future.)

In reality, I'm barely two decades old. I haven't experienced enough to know how to make the best decisions sometimes. That's why God gave us parents, grandparents, and friends that are older. Instead of thinking they are out-dated and ridiculous, odds are they have experienced more than us, and actually do know a little about living. God gave them wisdom to help us younger people make it through this hard life. It's our choice whether we accept the wisdom, or ignore it foolishly.

From much experience of being a fool, I just wanted to share with everyone what has been on my mind about wisdom. Don't be a fool!! Listen to your elders, but most importantly pay attention to God's Word and pray about the decisions you have to make. This is how we will grow wiser.




The only picture I could think of for this was Mr. T. Lol. Sorry I couldn't help myself. If you don't get it, I'm sorry. :)

Here's the deal...

I'm a little late coming with the New Year's Resolutions, but now that I've actually found my ambition that I had lost, and I actually have a life outside of school, I want to be the best I can be.

So here's what I'm going to do. (I'm writing this for everyone to see so I'll hold myself accountable. I work better when I write things down.)

I decided this last night. With a Concepts of Phys. Fitness class, aerobics, and the threat of weight gain, I'm going to make some changes. This semester, since it is my last one at college, will be a semester of CHANGE and HOPE...I'm just kidding. But really I want to use this semester to set some lifelong patterns, health-wise, relationship-wise, and spiritual-wise, if those are even words. But today's post will be focusing on the health aspect of my "changes" that will be made. Watch out family, when I come home things'll be different! and don't make fun of me, because that would be mean. :)

Ok, so here's the dealio. First institution of change in this lifestyle I'm now living...

1) Get to bed by 11:15. That way I might be asleep by 11:30 after I finish all the reading I do before I go to sleep. I have it narrowed down to three books. Gosh..when I finish them I'll just do one.

2)Get out of bed by 7:00. I don't have classes until 9:30 and 10:00 on some days, so this may be hard, but if I get up, I can read my Bible at breakfast, finish homework, and maybe even workout when the weather is agreeable. This will be good. Hard maybe, but good.

3)Cut out the sweets! Oh no! Yes. I am TERRIBLE about desserts. You can ask anyone that knows me...I always have to have dessert. That, my friends, is going to change. (So don't let me eat desserts. I'll cut it down to only once a week. On Fridays. That sounds good.) Oh, and chocolate milk DOESN'T count. It's milk so it's healthy.

4)Make sure I get enough vegetables. I hate them. If I put enough honey mustard on a salad, I'm fine. But that's not the healthiest venue, I fear. So. I must force myself to eat vegetables. Without all the fattening dressing. For lunch, I must have vegetables with whatever else I'm eating. And that whatever else I'm eating must be something healthy. They do a good job with giving us varieties here, so it shouldn't be too hard to find something good that is good for me.

5)Exercise at least four times a week (or more). I have aerobics on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so that's two days. I just need two other days to go to the gym, or when the weather is nice to run outside. I can do that.

6)Drink more water. That's easy, I'll just carry a water bottle around with me.

7)I need to keep track of this. For aerobics, we have to keep a log of when we exercise, so that should be no problem. But maybe I need to keep track of what I'm eating.

I don't have stress problems. No worries there. But if I do get overwhelmed, getting to bed on time and eating right will lower the stress level.

Well that's my pitch for changing my life. I just hope I stick with it!

(This is a picture of me and my friends about to enjoy a molten chocolate cake at Chilis. Just sayin, the unhealthy-ness needs to stop!)

We're going to India!

No, I'm not going to India. I wish. But a few of my friends are! (I'll be with them in spirit, lol.) I am so excited for them, so I wanted to tell everyone out there about these awesome people that are going to spend their summer ministering to a missionary family in India!

At Bryan, there's this thing called the Acts Project. You have to apply for the program, and then take a class during the spring semester in order to intern for the summer. There are many countries that students can go to, but it just so happens that four students that are extrememly precious and amazing got picked to go to the same place.

Kristen, Savannah, Seth, and Andrew are the four students. I do not know the guys as well as the girls, but from what I can tell, from eating dinner with them last night, they are pretty darn cool, and I'm so jealous I'm not going!

Kristen and Savannah are two of my many wonderful friends here. Kristen and I live on the same hall, and I know Savannah through a mutual friend, and we have Greek and Hebrews together. A-maz-ing girls. I just want to tell everyone reading this that I am blessed by knowing these girls! They have such great hearts for the Lord and for people. Seeing the four of them last night at dinner rejoicing together over the excitement in store for them, I was blown away, and I was even excited. God is going to do something really cool with these people this summer. I can't say how envious I am of them! Love you guys!

(In the picture: Kristen, Katlyn, Me, and Lauren. I don't have a pic of Savannah. :( I'll have to change that.)

So join me in prayer for my friends, and for the missionaries we know in India, and for the whole country. While we're at it, let's just pray for the whole world.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8

Surveying the Cross

I was reading C.J. Mahaney's book, Humility, this morning, and here's what stood out to me the most. The whole book is fantastic, but if I had to choose one thing to write about, this would be it: surveying the cross.

The chapter is called "As Each Day Begins". C.J. lays out practical strategies for cultivating humility, some of which include waking up each day acknowledging your need for God, thanking God, casting your cares on Him, making the most of your time commuting, practicing prayer and other spiritual disciplines, and the first and most important he talks about is reflecting on the wonder of the cross to kill our pride and to humble ourselves before Him. On page 66 he quotes John Owen, "Fill your affections with the cross of Christ that there may be no room for sin."

Our day should be filled with reflecting on what Christ has done for us. Realizing our need for a Savior daily helps us to not only humble ourselves, but makes us thankful and worship Him.

Reflect on the cross:

"He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquained with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:3-5

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh." Romans 8:1-3

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8

"So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him to others, one on either side, and Jesus between them....After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), I thirst...When Jesus received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." John 19:17-18, 28, 30

"...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted." Hebrews 12:2-3

D.A. Carson said, "How can anyone be arrogant when he stands beside the cross?"

Let's look to the cross first for our salvation. When we are there, we see the great work that was accomplished and the love that was shown for us, sinners who deserve only hell. How sobering this is, that the perfect Son of God would humiliate Himself by a criminal's death.

"When I survey the Wondrous Cross", composed by Isaac Watts, sums up this post well:

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of Glory died

My richest gain I count but loss

And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it Lord that I should boast

Save in the death of Christ my God

All the vain things that charm me most

I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet

Sorrow and love flow mingled down

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine

That were a present far too small

Love so amazing so divine

Demands my soul, my life, my all!

Who are you feeding? The Internal Struggle

The young man tells the old man that there are two wolves that continually fight within him; a white wolf and a black wolf.


The old man asks, "Which one prevails?"


The young man answers, "The one that I feed always wins."

Our sanctification as Christians, growing in grace, knowledge, and holiness, is a constant struggle. "Sanctification is that inward spiritual work which the Lord Jesus Christ works in a man by the Holy Ghost, when He calls him to be a true believer....He seperates him from his natural love of sin and the world, puts a new principle in his heart, and makes him pratically godly in life." (J.C. Ryle, Holiness, pg. 19) Sanctification is not doing works so we will be justified before God, Jesus already accomplished righteousness for us on the cross, we did not do a single act to save ourselves.

However, we are commanded in Scripture to be holy as Christ is holy. To show ourselves approved. We are to strive for holiness and fight to live a godly life. "For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness." 1 Thessalonians 4:7

How do we do that? Do we just sit around and wait for the Holy Spirit to physically make us work for the Lord? Or are we prompted by the Word of God, prayer, and His spirit to will us to do good works? James 2:14-26 says faith without works is dead. Useless.

As Christians we have been granted a new life! One that is certainly not free from sin while we are in the world. But, we are commanded to be holy. We are to strive and fight against our old nature, putting to death the flesh daily. Colossians 3:5 says to "put to death what is earthly in you."

Two natures are at war in believers, just like the internal fighting wolves.

The one that is fed will win. If we corrupt our minds with obscenity and worldliness, our sinful nature will be the one that wins and devours us.

But if we abide in the Word, feeding our desires of the spirit, then our holy nature through Christ will win and we will be bringing honor to the Lord.

What are we feeding our spiritual selves? Garbage or health food?




"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8

(A very wise man, my daddy, told me about the little story about the wolves I used. Thanks Daddy, it was very helpful!)

How is the Bible our lens of life? The Big Idea of Vocation

Today in Dr. Jones's Biblical Foundations class, I had no problem staying awake because the topic was very interesting. So interesting that I wanted to tell everyone about it.

Vocation- what is it?

The reformers used the term priesthood of believers to say that everyone has a vocation, callings that include responsibilities and blessings. This turned every kind of work into a sacred calling. It encourages attention to each person's uniqueness, talents, and personality. The purpose of our vocation is to serve others, and have an impact on the culture around us.

How do we know we've found our vocation, or our calling?

We notice God and realize how He is at work in us. We realize the part we play in His design. Let's not view our vocation as something awaiting us in the future. Even being a student is a calling. Our Christian calling is to be played out in whatever our daily life consists of, even in the realm of the ordinary. Whatever we are called to do, we should pursue it with all our passion.

So I was thinking, and I figured that right now I am temporarily called to be a student where I'm at, but in the near future hopefully I'll become a nursing students, then a nurse, and then my ultimate aim is to be a wife and mother. I've seen God work to give me the desire for these things, and right now I am so excited to see what will happen through that.

Pretty cool, right?

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ." Philippians 1:27

What a day

Yesterday was MLK day. Here at Bryan, we spend that day doing community service projects around Dayton. Well, Anna, Jessalyn, and I signed up for Washing Mrs. Pankey's Windows with Dr. Turner. So we all loaded into Dr. Turners mini-van along with his adorable five year old daughter Sydney, and went across town to the house we were supposed to windex. It was about 9:00 am when we arrived, and after struggling to pull off screens and reach high up windows, we were finished with our project in about an hour and a half. It is widely known here at Bryan that MLK day projects should last the whole day, so we were a little perplexed about what to do next. So we drove back to campus, after dropping off Dr. Turner's kids' movies at the library, and found Danielle, the director for the day, and she said that some people were needed at Laurelbrook nursing home. She asked if anyone could play the piano or sing, and I said that I could, and Anna and Jessalyn agreed to sing.

Little did we know what the day would hold for us.

I had been to Laurelbrook once before with the nursing home ministry, so I knew what to expect going in. This nursing home is for the elderly that certainly cannot take care of themselves without around the clock care. I've been to many nursing homes, and this one is the neediest I have ever visited.
We were met at the door by Dorka, the wonderful and caring activities coordinator (she's from the Dominican Republic) who told us what she wanted us to do for the day. We thought we were just there to entertain with some old hymns for the residents. But after a few songs, she wanted us to visit a few residents that were stuck in their rooms. Some of them could not even talk or look straight at us, but Dorka, now one of my heroes, talked to them and showed them love even when they seemed to be unresponsive. We visited the residents with Dorka for a good long while. She really enjoyed introducing us to her patients and encouraged us to do the talking. She clearly loves her job and I noticed her constantly talking about the Lord. It was such an encouragement to hear her and see her work so cheerfully in a place full of death and sickness.
Dorka let us eat lunch, but warned us jokingly that if we didn't come back she would be upset. Anna drove us to one of her friends houses so we could eat in a cleaner environment. Then promptly at 1:00 we showed back up at Laurelbrook, and Dorka announced that we would help her give "hand massages" to the residents. The three of us were a little confused as to how we would do this, but Dorka hastily brought out the lotion, germ-X, disposable gloves, and washcloths, and told us what to do for a hand massage. "It's good to stimulate them," she said. Needless to say, we were hesitant, but I kept telling myself, I want to be a nurse, and this is nothing compared to what I'll be doing later on. And surprisingly, I found myself enjoying our little task. We had the privilege of humbling ourselves and serving people who hardly knew what was going on. As I talked to my "clients" I found that they enjoyed the service being done to them, and more than anything they just liked being loved by another person. I don't even remember how many hands I massaged, but Dorka wanted me to make room-calls to the shut-ins that couldn't be wheeled out front, because she knew they would enjoy their hands getting lotioned-up too.

At about 2:00, we walked out of Laurelbrook exhausted! I'm going to have to work on that, too, if I want to be a nurse. It wore me out.

Overall, the day was amazing. We were forced outside our comfort zones and had the opportunity to practically serve "the least of these".

Catching Up

Before I write anything else, I wanted to update everyone on my situation. As most everyone that knows me knows, I am a Bible major at Bryan College. For now. I am just a freshman, and last semester I was having doubts about whether this was where God really wanted me to be. And if my degree could possibly be helpful after school. Through a little research, a few ideas were implanted in my mind, but I never took them seriously until the day after Christmas. It was then that one of the ideas basically exploded in my mind, and I knew right then what I needed to be doing with my life. I had been waiting on this answer for quite some time, and it is amazing to see that God slowly opened my eyes to what I needed to be pursuing. Although Biblical Studies is an awesome major, and I love learning Greek and taking Bible classes, the direction I am NOW heading is toward nursing! Definitely a surprise to my parents, and everyone I told actually. But I had such a great peace about it and after much prayer, I believe this is where I can be used most effectively. I want to thank everyone for being so encouraging, too, I have not heard a negative word said to my face about my decision. So I am fairly encouraged and excited at the moment. The only sad part is that I will not be returning to Bryan next year. But I'll visit. :)

Last semester was a bit on the rough side. I had many adjustments to make, both spiritually and physically. Stubborness is a huge fault of mine, and also laziness and the habit of failing to put God first. That gets you into dangerous waters, people. But finally, this semester, after laying in bed for a day or two with the plague that overtook my dorm, I had time to think a few things over and spend time in the Word and prayer, which I needed so desperately. How strange it is that what we love to do most when we're doing it, prayer for example, is so easy to fall away from. Then when we fall away from it we're miserable. Why don't we just do it and not fall away from what we love in the first place?

Oh, I know. Sin. Worldliness. Selfishness.

THANK THE LORD for Christ's sacrifice on the cross to save us from ourselves, from our daily sin. In Him and through Him alone we can strive to live for Him and be holy as He is holy. Ahhh, this makes me happy. Now I have a reason to live. :) Struggles come and go, and as they go they leave you growing.

I don't want this post to become too lengthy. I tend to write on forever when I hit a high point. I just wanted to update everyone on what was going on, and that I do not want this blog to be about me, necessarily. I named this blog Salt and Light for a reason. First reason is that my CLF group last semester had a theme of salt and light, and it has been on my mind. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:13-14 that we as Christians are the salt of the earth and a light to the dark world. Pretty durn cool. So therefore I want to spend my life being a light in the darkness and hopefully God will use me in whatever way He chooses to spread His light. Second reason I named it that is cuz I thought it sounded really awesome and it just popped into my head.

So, thanks for reading this, family and friends. Love ya'll!