We try to live like Jesus before we live like people who need Jesus. The truth is, I am not like Jesus. I need Him.

The "Mellow Mix"

I am compiling a cd of "mellow" music. I like it a whole lot. I've been listening to it all night. Sigh...so good. Carry You (Dispatch) Galileo (Indigo Girls), Grateful for Her Beauty (David Wilcox), I Will Follow You Into the Dark (Death Cab), Colorblind (Counting Crows), and Come Away With Me (Norah Jones). I'm still working on it. And don't worry (josh!) I found free music on their myspace's. Woo!

Who is man that you are mindful of Him?

Wow. I love sunsets.

Aaah!!

Don't ever watch Murder By Numbers...creepy. I just watched it tonight with Hannah. We were alone in her dark house and it was definitely a yucky feeling. We were both creeped out afterwards and walked around the house together...haha it was FUN.

We first ate dinner at PEI WEI (yuuuum) then we went to blockbuster and got the movie (the guy told us it was a good choice! :)). Then we went to starbucks so she could show Josh her new hair cut (it looks super cute)...we went to walgreens to get candy for the movie (sour straws!!! woohoo!!). Then we watched the movie. Afterwards we sat on her kitchen counter for a while and talked (in a well-lit room!) and then drove to starbucks and talked some more...it was SO nice to catch up. Sigh...I've missed nights like this!

I got a call today from Fry's. They want me to come in for a second interview on Tuesday...I'm assuming that means I passed the drug test...? Whew! :) Hopefully I can start work soon...car insurance will be due for payment soon.

Kristen and Jay leave monday (SAD!) so I am probably going to spend as much time as possible with them in the next few days. Hmmm...it could be kind of hard because they are busy packing. Oh well. I am good at distracting :) hehe.

So...real quick--scary story. After dropping Hannah off at work I got home around 11:40 and I was super freaked out from the movie still. I had to walk up the dark front walk and get inside and everyone was already asleep. So I went and told my parents I was home (its the rule :)) and saw that the office door was shut (and the blue-green glow of the computer showed under the door). My guess was that Luke was on the computer since he always is late at night. So I went and opened the door but no one was in there. I figured he was asleep and just forgot to turn the computer off. So I went and looked down the hall but his bedroom door was open and no one was in there. By this time I was a little upset because I thought he was trying to be funny (as he often tries to be) by hiding from me and then scarying me. Don't forget--I just watched murder by numbers...and I have a pretty good imagination--sometimes it runs wild.
So...Luke's car was out front but he was nowhere inside. I decided i didn't want to play his game of hide-and-seek so I got ready for bed and crawled in. But as I lay there, trying to fall asleep, all I could think about was "what if Luke has been kidnapped" or "what if Luke is lying bleeding in a ditch somewhere while I try to sleep." I quickly concluded that there was no way Iw as going to be able to fall asleep. So I got up and checked the house again: not in his room, not in the den, not in the bathroom, not in the office. Weird. So I woke mom up and we both looked. We couldn't find him anywhere! scary! I think I was much more concerned than she was (probably because of that silly movie!). She thought maybe a friend had come and picked him up (which was still strange). We both went back to the office and she opened the door to the clothes-line. The screen was open. (once again-CREEPY!). Mom stepped out first and looked around the corner...THERE HE WAS! Laying on the air conditioner talking on the phone (with a girl!!). Apparently he had been out there for two hours....I don't know why on earth he was talking on the phone out there. Weirdest place of all. Why not go out on the back patio? Why not talk in his room? Anyway...I had almost had 30+ heart attacks by that point because I was imagining him murdered somewhere. Ugh...sometimes my imagination is more of a curse than a blessing.
Don't worry--Luke is safe! And now I am going to bed. Hopefully I won't have nightmares. yuck. Goodnight!

Taking Clothes Off the Line

I just finished getting the clothes off the line. It is 11:05 pm. It is getting really windy outside so my mom got up to ask me if I would bring the clothes in.

The desert is beautiful at night. It has cooled off and tonight the air is thick with moisture--not heavy or sticky, but just ready to rain. I could feel the storm coming and smell the rain...the smell of a desert rain is one of my all-time favorite smells. I love it.

The wind is gaining momentum. It is battering the screen door and rattling the windows. It's exciting. I love the anticipation that grows with the coming of the storm. I hope it pours. I think the monsoons will start early this year. That excites me. It is supposed to be an especially wet monsoon season, too. It's about time! Tucson has been in drought long enough (about 7 years...yuck!).

I went to starbucks tonight to read. I have been doing that a lot lately. It is good to be away from home and alone for a bit. It is also nice to read...I'm still reading Irresistible Revolution. I am learning a lot from it and being challenged a lot. The nice thing is, on top of the information it provides me, it also contains a lot of references to other material--and footnotes. So I can access other sources, too.

I've been thinking a lot about the meaning and value of LIFE. My views on so much have been challenged a lot lately. It is exciting but also frightening. I am realizing how little I know and how few opinions/stances I hold. But let me just tell you--as I grow more informed, I am quickly growing more opinionated about a lot of things (such as: poverty, war, abortion, capital punishment, the church, America, the person of Jesus, etc.). It might seem like a random list but all of these issues are coming together for me as I evaluate my life (duties, responsibilities, privileges, calling) as a follower of Christ. Above all, I seek direction in knowing how to handle these new opinions. Sure, its good to be informed and have opinions. But if you don't do anything with them but talk and argue, what's the point. Difference is made through action. I want this to become very real to me.

As I sat alone at Starbucks and read, lots of thoughts were going through my head. Aside from the direct subjects related to my reading material, I was thinking a lot about my friends. I am really missing Hillsdale friends. Every day I am confronted with the reality that I am not going back...weird. I think it is finally starting to sink in. I sat on my bed and cried for about 20 minutes the other day. And then tonight on my way to starbucks I cried some more. It's just a weird transition to make because the future is so clouded right now. I know I have said the future will be good (and I absolutely believe it, don't get me wrong) but there is healthiness in the grieving process.I guess for now I am just experiencing the loss--and the pain that comes with it. I'm just really emotional right now....ugh, and Kristen and Jay are leaving for Oregon a week from today. I'm so excited for them (and actually rahter jealous) but I am going to miss them an awful lot. I like being able to spend time with them. Kristen is a wonderful friend to talk to...

I got a letter from Moody on Saturday. One person dropped out so I am now 10th on the list. It means progress, but its hard because there is still so much unknown. I have done an awful job of trusting God lately. I am thankful that He is a forgiving God, and that He helps me in my unbelief. When I am weak, in Him I am made strong. I thank Him for that because I sure am weak. I fear not getting in for the fall...because I fear a harder transition at mid semester. I fear being at home for the fall semester (even though earning money would be nice) because it would be really hard to be home alone when everyone else goes back to school.

I pray that God would take these fears and toss them to the wind. Would you pray with me? I am learning (and even failing...because I wouldn't be human if I didn't) to trust God. I am learning to hand over my life to Him--and to receive in its place the joy of His love and the treasure of His Son. It is a beautiful exchange, but a difficult one for my pride to make. It's frustrating--to be a broken, wounded sinner.

So...I guess that's where I am right now. Hopefully it makes some kind of sense :)
I'm learning that life with Jesus is hard but it is so rich. So rich. And that's the way He said it would be...

I love you guys!

BUMMER

So...my pictures are taking FOREVER to upload through blogger right now....and not all of them will. SAD. So, to see SOME pictures from our amazing sibling adventure weekend, look at my xanga: www.xanga.com/where_I_began

Sorry! Hopefully I'll be able to get it to working soon...because there are MORE pictures I want to show :) and more I want to write.

Enjoy those ones for now!!

Simple Pleasures

Tonight we had dinner with old family friends. They invited another friend of theirs to come who is a missionary with Wycliffe and it was SO NEAT to have her there and hear her stories. Man...there are some really incredible people in this world...who have seen and experienced some pretty amazing things. whoa. :)

THEN!...on the way home (it was just me and my brother in my car) we drove with the windows down. Sigh. You might not be able to understand, but that is one of my ALL TIME favorite things to do at night--drive with the windows down and the music WAY up. It is pretty much amazing. Plus, the friends live over in the foothills so we were driving up near the mountains and had an amazing view of the tucson city lights. And the songs on the radio were perfect: "we are the champions," "when soul meets body," "sweet home alabama" (i don't remember the others).

Aaaah. I am so content right now. And tomorrow we (my sister, Jay, brother and I) leave early for the Grand Canyon. I CAN'T wait! I am going to take so many pictures. I wish you guys could see it. It would take your breath away. I hope you can (at one time or another) come visit me and I will take you to see it.

Call me if you want. It's the weekend so we get free cell minutes! woohoo. Although, I might be down in the Grand Canyon an probably won't have my cell phone :) That would definitely not be the time or place to be talking on a phone. YUCK.

Hallie, I forgot about this dinner thing we had tonight when I talked to you this afternoon, so I couldn't call. I'll try maybe tomorrow evening/night or sunday evening/night. I want to talk! :)

Josh! What did you do to your hair?? :)

Jared!...when do you get here? I'm so excited.

"Be still and know that I AM God..."

"Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change, He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend Through thorny waysleads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertakeTo guide the future, as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know His voiceWho ruled them while He dwelt below. Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart, And all is darkened in the vale of tears,Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart, Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.

Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay From His own fullness all He takes away. Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on When we shall be forever with the Lord. When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored. Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past, All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise On earth, believing, to thy Lord on high; Acknowledge Himin all thy works and ways,So shall He view thee with a well-pleased eye.Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine."

What a wonderful hymn!!
--------------------------------------
Confronting things in yourself is often so very difficult...especially when it is something you don't really want to change (or can't...on your own). I would appreciate your prayers. I'm making some tough realizations about my life, my actions, etc. It's kind of painful...good, but painful.

I miss you, Hillsdale friends! But I am also very happy to be spending time with you, Tucson friends :) God is good...and He's teaching me lots. It is just a little overwhelming at times.

Also...I have been listening to my "Andrea's leaving and we all feel rotten" mix, my "roadtrip" mix, and my " roommate" mix a lot...they bring back SO many memories...and make me miss so many people I love. Sigh. I took a nap today while listening to the roommate mix. I miss you, Hallie!

I love you, friends!!

Real Update Coming Soon...

I am going to update soon, I promise!! I have lots going on...mostly I am crazy busy reading and researching and finding articles, etc. It's lots of fun. I'll fill you in soon :)

Jesus, the Motilone

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'" Isaiah 52:7

Just a small part of a story I really like...

"...If you are big and powerful, you have to become small and weak in order to work with other weak beings. It was a perfect parallel for what God had done in Jesus.
But there were so many unknown factors in the way the Motilones reasoned. How could I be sure that I would convey the right thing?
I couldn't. Yet I felt sure God had given me this time to speak. So i took the word for "becoming like an ant" and used it for incarnation. "God is incarnated into man," I said.
They gasped. There was a tense, hushed silence. The idea that God had become a man stunned them.
'Where did He walk?' the witch doctor asked in a whisper.
Every Motilone has his own trail. it is his personal point of identity. You walk on someone's trail if you want to find him. God would have a trail, too. If you want to find God, you walk on His trail.
My blood was racing, my heart pounding. 'Jesus Christ is God become man,' I said. 'He can show you God's trail.'
A look of astonishment, almost fear, spread over their faces. the man who had been shouting into the hole looked at me.
'Show us Christ,' he said in a coarse whisper.
I fumbled for an answer. 'You killed Christ,' I said. 'You destroyed God.'
His eyes got big. 'I killed Christ? I did that? How did I do that? And how can God be killed?'
I wanted to tell them that Jesus' death had freed them from meaninglessness, from death and the powers of evil.
'How do evil, death and deception find power over the Motilone people?' I asked.
'Through the ears,' Bobby answered, because language is so important to the Motilones. it is the essence of life. If evil language comes through the ears, it means death.
'Do you remember,' I said, 'how after a hunt for wild boars the leader cuts the skin from the animal and puts it over his head to cover his ears and keep the evil spirits of the jungle out?'
They nodded, listening closely.
'Jesus Christ was murdered,' I said. 'But just as you pull the skin over the chieftain's head to hide his ears, so Jesus--when He died --pulled His blood over your deception and hides it from the sight of God.'
I stood looking at them, hoping desperately that they would understand. then I saw on their faces that they did.
I told them Jesus was buried. A wave of grief swept over them. The man who was searching for his brother's language began to weep.It was the first time I had ever seen a Motilone cry. But the thought that God was dead, that they were lost, brought tears and sobs.
I picked up my Bible, opened it and said, 'The Bible speaks that Jesus came alive after death and is alive today.'
One of the men grabbed the Bible from my hand and put it to his ear. 'I can't hear a thing,' he said.
I took it back. 'the way the bible speaks does not change,' I said. 'It is like the papers of your speech that I have. They say the same word one day to the next. The Bible sayd that Jesus came to life. It is God's banana stalk.'
I showed him the page and told him that the little black markings had meaning.
'No one has ever come back from the dead in all Motilone history,' he said.
'I know,' I replied. 'But Jesus did. It is proof that He is really God's Son.'
They asked many more questions. Some I didn't fully understand. But I was sure that God had spoken through me. That night I prayed, 'god, give validity to Your Word. Make it touch these lives.' I claimed God's promise that His Word would not return to Him without any response.
Yet there didn't seem to be any response. I continued to walk the trails with Bobby, giving medicine to the witch doctors and showing them how to do their work more effectively.
One evening, though, Bobby began to ask questions. We were sitting around a fire. The light flicked over him. His face was serious.
'How can I walk on Jesus' trail?' he asked. 'No Motilone has ever done it. it's a new thing. There is no other Motilone to tell how to do it.'
I remembered the problems I had had as a boy, how it sometimes appeared impossible to keep on believing in Jesus when my family and friends were so opposed to my commitment. That was what Bobby was going through.
'Bobby,' I said, 'do you remember my first Festival of the Arrows, the first time I had seen all the Motilones gathered to sing their song?' the festival was the most important ceremony in the Motilone culture.
He nodded. The fire flared up momentarily, and I could see his eyes, staring intently at me.
'Do you remember that I was afraid to climb in the high hammocks to sing, for fear that the rope would break? And I told you that I would sing only if I could have one foot in the hammock and one foot on the ground?'
'Yes, Bruchko.'
'And what did you say to me?'
He laughed. "I told you you had to have both feet in the hammock. You have to be suspended,' I said."
'Yes,' I said. 'You have to be suspended. That is how it is when you follow Jesus, Bobby. No man can tell you how to walk His trail. Only Jesus can. But to find out you have to tie your hammock strings into Him and be suspended in God.'
Bobby said nothing. The fire danced in his eyes.Then he stood up and walked off into the darkness.
The next day he came to me, 'Bruchko,' he said, 'I want to tie my hammock strings into Jesus Christ.But how can I? I can't see Him or touch Him.'
'You have talked to spirits, haven't you?
'Oh,' he said. 'I see now.'
The next day he had a big grin on his face. 'Bruchko, I've tied my hammock strings into Jesus. Now I speak a new language.'
I didn't understand what he meant. 'Have you learned some of the Spanish I speak?'
He laughed a clean, sweet laugh. 'No, Bruchko, I speak a new language.'
Then I understood. To a Motilone, language is life. If Bobby had a new life, he had a new way of speaking. His speech would be Christ-oriented.
We put our hands on each other's shoulders. My mind swept back to the first time I had met Jesus and the life I had felt flow into me. Now my brother Bobby was experiencing Jesus himself, in the same way. He had begun to walk with Jesus.
'Jesus Christ has risen from the dead!' Bobby shouted, so that the sound filtered far off into the jungle. 'He has walked our trails! I have met Him!'
From that day our friendship was enhanced by our love for Jesus. We talked constantly about Him, and Bobby asked me many questions. But he never asked the color of Jesus' hair or whether He had blue eyes. To Bobby, the answers were obvious: Jesus had dark skin, and His eyes were black. He wore a G-string and hunted with bows and arrows.
Jesus was a Motilone."

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves." Luke 10:2, 3

Wondering What Movie to Rent?...

I recommend "A Time To Kill" with Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Ashley Judd, etc...

I haven't cried that hard during a movie in a long time. It is a great film.

I lift my eyes up to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord...maker of heaven and earth.

The earth is so beautiful. I miss the spring flowers but the mountains are astounding. It has been semi rainy the past few days...black clouds, lightning behind the mountains. Sigh...its breathtaking.

Here It Is

Here's the book list I promised. I decided to make a fairly extensive one, though I am sure I left some out. Oh well. This way you have lots to choose from (at least lots of ideas!!). I guess that's all. It's late and I am ready for bed...Happy reading :)

Oh!...and let me know if you have other ideas of books not on any of my lists. I'm always looking for new ones. thanks!

Books I am Currently Reading:
The Return of the Prodigal Son (Henri Nouwen)
Future Grace (John Piper)
With Justice for All (John Perkins)

Books I Recommend:
As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner)
Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky)
Peace Like a River (Leif Enger)
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
1984 (George Orwell)
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
The Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
Cry, the Beloved Country (Alan Paton)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
The Immoralist (Andre Gide)
The Chosen (Chaim Potok)
The Promise (Chaim Potok)
My Name is Asher Lev (Chaim Potok)
Through Gates of Splendor (Elizabeth Elliot)
These Strange Ashes (Elizabeth Elliot)
Bruchko (Bruce Olsen)
Shadow of the Almighty (Elizabeth Elliot)
The Four Quartets (T.S. Eliot)
Don't Waste Your Life (John Piper)
The Holiness of God (RC Sproul)
Surprised by Joy (C.S. Lewis)
A Grief Observed (C.S. Lewis)
A Severe Mercy (Sheldon Vanauken)
Passion and Purity (Elizabeth Elliot)

Books on My List:
Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development (John Perkins)
The Urban Face of Mission (Harvie M. Conn)
He Shines in all That's Fair: Culture and Common Grace (Richard Mouw)
Eternity in Their Hearts (Don Richardson)
Hinds Feet in High Places (Hannah Hurnard)
The Great Divorce (C.S. Lewis)
The Problem of Pain (C.S. Lewis)
Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis)
Poems (C.S. Lewis)
Cat's Cradle (Kurt Vonnegut)
The Violent Bear it Away (Flannery O'Conner)
The Mill on The Floss (George Eliot)
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
The Wasteland (T.S. Eliot)
Guns, Germs and Steel (Jared Diamond...i think?)
The Crisis of Islam (Bernard Lewis)
The Gulag Archipelago (Alexander Solzhenitsyn)
Anthem (Ayn Rand)
Diary or David Brainerd
The God Who is There (Francis Schaeffer)
A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael (Elizabeth Elliot)
Let the Nations Be Glad (John Piper)
Desiring God (John Piper)

Easy Reading I Recommend:
The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis)
The Westing Game (ellen Raskin)
A Wrinkle in Time (Madeline L' Engle)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Spear)
The Bronze Bow (Elizabeth George Spear)
Secret of the Andes (Ann Nolan Clark)
Johnny Tremain (Esther Forbes)
Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame)
Across Five Aprils (Irene Hunt)
Banner in the Sky (James Ramsey Ulman)
Mara, Daughter of the Nile (Eloise Jarvis McGraw)
The Jungle Series (Ron Snell)
Little House on the Prairie Series (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

A Night At Home

It has been a wonderful Mother's Day. Jay and Kristen came over after Church and we all made lunch for mom. Kristen made Indian fry bread (YUM!!) and we had Navajo tacos. Oh my...I have missed these kinds of meals :) Then mom opened her presents (a therma-ret pillow and swiss army knife for camping). They all went up to the neighbor's to swim and I stayed home and wrote letters. It was so wonderful to catch up on things. I have been spending most of my time at home so far, which has been really nice. I have finished deep cleaning my room--getting rid of old stuff and moving new stuff in. It feels so good to start fresh at home.

I am still job searching. I picked up a bunch of applications on Sat. for health food stores. Tomorrow I am going to drop them all off and perhaps talk with a manager or two (wish me luck!...and please pray that it will go well!!). I hate doing stuff like this. Grrr...I hope I find a job soon.

Tomorrow Kristen and I are also hanging out. We're going to run a few errands and go thrift store shopping (woohoo!!). Perhaps we'll make it to the Unicef store :)

Wednesday I am having dinner with Sarah (can't wait). I don't have anything else planned this week. I babysit on Sunday (a nice bit of money while I am out of a job). I really miss the health food store. Sad...I wish I could have brought it with me and worked at it here. Alas...

I am going to start into my reading. I can't wait. I am beginning Henri Nouwen's "The Return of the Prodigal Son" and so far (though I have read very little) it is good. I am also planning on reading Flannery O'Conner's "The Violent Bear it Away" along with more T.S. Eliot poetry and a few other books. I'll keep you posted on my reading progress :) Perhaps one of these days I will post a recommended reading list, for those of you that need ideas :)

I hope the beginning of summer finds you all well! I pray it is a time of good thinking and lots of growth...

Back in tucson

I'm back in Arizona. It feels so weird. I can't really explain it. I don't really like the feeling...at all. Sigh....

Oh My

Exactly three minutes ago I walked out of my last final...American Heritage with Dr. Birzer. Whew..I am officially FINISHED with my freshman year of college. weird. I can't believe it! I am so tired and jittery.


This has been such an amazing year.

don't lie to me
tell me something true
'cause i'm only free
when i look at you

and you look so good it hurts
and love, i come undone

but i don’t want medication
just give me liberation
even if it cuts my legs right out from underneath
don’t give me medication
i want the real sensation
even when living feels just like death to me

don't paint my face
i need to see the scars
so i don't forget
the back of my tutor's arm

'cause i just can't keep it straight
which kills and which one saves


‘cause the truth is i need you just like the air i breathe
just like a freight train needs the tracks beneath
so i’d rather suffer my whole life and be this rich man’s wife
if loving you means suffering

(Medication by Derek Webb)

Think on these words...

Be still, my soul:
the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently
the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God
to order and provide;
In every change,
He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul:
thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways
leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul:
thy God doth undertake
To guide the future,
as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence
let nothing shake;
All now mysterious
shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul:
the waves and winds
still know His voice
Who ruled them
while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul:
when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened
in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know
His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe
thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul:
thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness
all He takes away.

Be still, my soul:
the hour is hastening on
When we shall be
forever with the Lord.
When disappointment,
grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot,
love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul:
when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed
we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul:
begin the song of praise
On earth, believing,
to thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him
in all thy works and ways,
So shall He view
thee with a well-pleased eye.
Be still, my soul:
the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds
shall but more brightly shine.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This is such a beautiful hymn. There is such convicting truth in these words...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Roommate Date!!!

I love finals. No extra busy work--just study and get tested. Plenty of time to hang out and do fun and crazy things.

Today was so much fun!!! After our 8 AM religion final, Hallie and I had a special adventure...

First of all...a special thanks to our good friend Josh for letting us use his CAR!!! I took Hallie to the North Woods Coffee Co. in Coldwater for lunch. It was so amazing. I LOVE that place...it bring back so many memories of when Kristen was here. Sigh.

Anyway, we brought along the road-trip mix and listened to it with the windows down (including the SUN ROOF!...oh man :)). It is a beautiful sunny day and the air is so warm and fresh. The country was beautiful...I love driving. We had a wonderful chat over lunch and then we got coffee and chatted some more...and sang along to the road-trip mix as it was blaring out the windows the whole way home.....aaah what fun. These are the times we'll remember most...Spontaneous, out of the same-old same-old, togetherness FUN!

PS I really miss driving. I haven't driven since spring break...and I even brought Josh's car back in one piece. yay.
PSS I can't wait to listen to the road-trip mix driving around tucson this summer. It really is a wonderful collection :)







Josh's COOL sunglasses.... ;)

Random Thoughts

Instead of studying...

I had my last class with Dr. Birzer yesterday. It was a bit sad. I enjoyed that class SO MUCH. It was a great last class. Birzer shared some really wonderful quotes with us that I wanted post:

John Paul II called Auschwitz the “Golgotha of the modern world. . . . built for the negation of faith—faith in God and faith in man. . . . [meant] to trample radically not only on love but on all signs of human dignity, of humanity . . . . built on hatred and contempt for man in the name of a crazed ideology.”

In assessing a century of ideological terror, John Paul II concluded: “It is by uniting their sufferings for the sake of truth and freedom to the sufferings of . . . the cross that man is able to accomplish the miracle of peace and is in a position to discern the often narrow path between cowardice which gives in to evil and the violence which, under the illusion of fighting evil, only makes it worse.”

Russell Kirk: "At the back of every discussion of the good society lies this question, What is the object of human life? The enlightened conservative does not believe that the end or aim of life is competition; or success; or enjoyment; or longevity; or power; or possessions. He believes, instead, that the object of life is Love. He knows that the just and ordered society is that in which Love governs us, so far as Love ever can reign in this world of sorrows; and he knows that the anarchical or the tyrannical society is that in which Love lies corrupt. He has learnt that Love is the source of all being, and that Hell itself is ordained by Love. He understands that Death, when we have finished the part that was assigned to us, is the reward of Love. And he apprehends the truth that the greatest happiness ever granted to a man is the privilege of being happy in the hour of his death."

Also. I am in the middle of reading this wonderful article by Piper about John G. Paton. Here is the link, I highly recommend it. http://www.desiringgod.org/library/biographies/patton.pdf

And lastly...another thing I've been thinking about and wrestling with:
"I find I must drive myself to study, following the 'ought' of conscience to gain anything at all from the Scripture, lacking any desire at times. it is important to learn respect and obedience to the 'inner must' if godliness is to be a state of soul with me. I may no longer depend on pleasant impulses to bring me before the Lord. I must rather respond to principles I know to be right, whether I feel them to be enjoyable or not." -Jim Elliot

There are my random thoughts for the day :) Enjoy!
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Since I am still bored and trying to avoid studying for finals (probably a bad idea ;)), I have decided to post some pictures...