Count the Days

Odds and Ends

2011-04-13T09:00:00.003-05:00

Okay okay, I know I have been neglecting this blog, but the past few weeks have been a whirlwind! Which basically just means I'm going to do an obligatory "update" post instead of something more interesting. Sue me.

5. Honduras was awesome! So thankful that the Lord allowed me to participate in His work there. Trip highlights include: teaching VBS, serving with Jeremy and getting to watch him do what he does best, getting to talk and play with some of the cutest kiddos ever, phase 10 tourney and watching other team members serve and have their giftedness used for His glory.

4. I'm officially registered for Summer classes! Right now I'm signed up for Topics in Latin American History, Spanish, Biographies of Outstanding Missionaries and Philosophy and Principles of Christian Education.

3. I may or may not have ran over a gallon of white paint with my dark gray car. I was on a dark highway and I didn't see it in time to swerve, so I ended up with a sweet custom paint job. Thankfully, my friend's husband has a wealth of random knowledge and knew to use lighter fluid to clean it off! So, word to the wise, if you ever get paint all over your car, use lighter fluid and then wash with soap. Works like a charm.

2. I visited my BFFAE in Oklahoma a couple weekends ago! I loved getting to spend time with her and meet all her Okla-homies (I couldn't help myself). Even though the weather wasn't ideal, I really enjoyed getting to fellowship and do life with her for a weekend.

1. On Monday, I turned twenty-one! This week has been full of celebration and I can't wait to fly home tomorrow (best birthday present ever, Yerms) to celebrate with my awesome boyfriend and family. I have felt so special and loved these past few days. I am so grateful for the people in my life that have made it a great birthday and I am beyond excited to see what the Lord has in store for this next year.

Alright, that about covers it! Over and out, bloggies.

Salvation Belongs to the Lord

2011-03-08T08:23:00.003-06:00

In preparing my heart for Honduras the Lord has been so faithful to renew, encourage and sustain me. This morning I was reminded of something that I think is so vital for Believers to understand: Salvation Belongs to the Lord. Here are just a few of the scriptures that reiterate this truth:

Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Psalm 3:8

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. Psalm 37:39

On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Psalm 62:7

I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. Isaiah 43:11

Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. Isaiah 45:21

But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior. Hosea 13:4

But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord! Jonah 2:9

and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:10

After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God... Revelation 19:1

I am so thankful for this truth and for the freedom and comfort that comes from it! I can't wait to see what the Lord does in Honduras. I don't know what this trip will look like, but I am rejoicing in the knowledge that God has the power to save, heal, redeem and restore. May He be glorified and known among all people.

"For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him."
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

Mission Statement

2011-03-02T09:35:00.006-06:00

In one of my classes we were told to create a personal mission statement by which we would live our lives. So, after thinking about it for a while (and completing the 15 page booklet that was meant to help guide us...), this is what I came up with:

My mission is to live a life marked by a heart that longs to serve and worship the Lord. Regardless of circumstances, trials, or the cost; I will seek to daily live a life worthy of the Gospel. My efforts will be driven by grace and my motives driven by love, and I will view myself and others in light of the Cross. In all things, I will remember the reason I have been created, to delight in and worship God alone. In my dealings with people my words will be seasoned with grace and joy, and in every realm of life I will continually pursue God’s will with zeal, faithfulness and humility.

Now I'm just praying my life will resemble my mission. Soli Deo gloria.

Snow Day Essentials

2011-02-09T08:57:00.003-06:00

In honor of our FIFTH snow day, I've decided to compile a list of my 10 snow day essentials... you know, since I'm pretty much an expert at this point ;)

10. Warm, water-proof clothes. If nothing else, Snowpocalypse 2011 has made me realize that I wouldn't make it a week in the north with my current wardrobe! I usually end up just throwing on layer after layer to stay warm and create that oh-so-chic, hobo look.

9. Homemade hot cocoa. One of my roommates makes THE best hot chocolate this side of North Dakota. Throw a little sea salt on the top and BAM, best cold weather drink ever.

8. Playing cards. During snow day 2, my roommates introduced me to a little game called Nertz, and even though there were some frustrating first rounds, I think I finally got the hang of it! I even "nertzed" for the first time during snow day 4! Haha.

7. Friends DVDs seasons 1-10. Okay okay, we don't have all 10 seasons, but we have managed to watch at least 4 of the seasons in record time!

6. Podcasts. So far I haven't had to miss church, but it's nice knowing I can still access sermons online. And the extra time has meant I've gotten to listen to some I probably wouldn't have had time for before!

5. Plenty of soup and Ritz crackers. There is just something so right about a big bowl of hot soup when it's 20 degrees outside. These past two weeks I've been eating taco soup like it's my job.

4. Fleece blankets. If it was socially acceptable I would carry a huge, fleece blanket with me at all times. So cozy.

3. Ice. I know this may sound a little strange, but my townhome has had to nurse more bangs and bruises since the ice came than ever before. I know I don't normally exude grace and balance, but I fell at least 5 times one day!

2. Friends. My friends have been my lifeline these past few days... being stuck on campus would have been a LOT worse without them.

1. Boyce Avenue (or whatever music strikes your fancy). This version of this song is my current obsession.

Spring 2011

2011-01-26T16:50:00.002-06:00

Hey, blogsters! It's hard to believe it has been so long since my last post... I guess I didn't realize how busy this winter break was going to be, and with the Spring semester already in full force I doubt it's going to get any easier at this point! It's okay though, I'm excited for all that this next semester/year has in store :)

Here's how my classes* are shaping up thus far:

- Applied Hermeneutics: This will definitely be my hardest class this semester, but I'm hoping to learn a lot. It's one of my grad classes, so I'm really hoping to start out on a high note!

- Spanish: Last year this was my best grade of the semester (ironic considering I'm terrible at conversational Spanish), but I'm still hoping for a repeat! Oh, and my professor is beyond precious. Love her.

- Biblical Servant Leadership: I haven't actually done anything in this class yet (we meet for the first time tomorrow), but I'm super excited about it! It's my other grad class, so it'll probably have a heavier course load, but it should still be good.

- Psychology of Abnormal Behaviors: Okay, I know it might be weird but I'm super excited about this class. It was originally supposed to fill the coveted blow-off spot in my schedule, but I'm starting to think it's actually going to require some effort on my part... which is okay considering in a couple months I will finally be able to diagnose all the weirdos in my life ;)

*Honorable Mention = Local Church on Mission: I took this as a two week mini in January (I really do LOVE me some mini-mesters!) and it ended up being one of my best decisions ever. This was definitely one of my favorite classes of all time and I learned SO MUCH during our two weeks together. Not to mention getting to learn so much about the missional church movement made me so proud of my church! I am beyond blessed to sit under the leadership of the Village staff and elders and I'm so grateful I get to serve and worship with the men and women there.

Well that about does it for Spring 2011... see ya in May! Just kidding. Hopefully I'll be able to post more once I settle in to a routine this semester. Hasta luego, amigos.

Soon

2010-12-05T17:48:00.003-06:00

Yesterday morning marked another Celebration Sunday for my church, where we gather as a body for a time of testimonies, baptisms and worship. Now even though I love every Sunday at my church, I really love Celebration Sundays. There is just something so special about hearing how the Gospel is transforming the hearts of people and listening, firsthand, as people share how God rescued them from their unfulfilling, sinful lives. I imagine Heaven is like one big Celebration Sunday, where God's children freely rejoice in the glory and love of the Father that saw past our inequities and made us heirs to His throne. I can't even wrap my mind around it, all I know is that today I'm grateful, humbled and I'm celebrating life in Him. Continuing in that spirit of thankfulness, I wanted to share one of the songs we sang yesterday, it's called Soon by Hillsong United:

Soon and very soon
My King is coming
Robed in righteousness
And crowned with love
When I see Him, I shall be made like Him
Soon and very soon

Soon and very soon
I'll be going to the place He has prepared for me
Then my sin erased, my shame forgotten
Soon and very soon

I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul with be satisfied
Soon and very soon

Soon and very soon
See the procession
The angels and the elders round the throne
At His feet I'll lay
My crowns, my worship
Soon and very soon

I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul with be satisfied
Soon and very soon

Though I have not seen Him
My heart knows Him well
Jesus Christ the Lamb, the Lord of heaven

I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul with be satisfied
Soon and very soon
Soon and very soon
Soon and very soon

Friday Facts

2010-11-12T08:13:00.002-06:00

10. Food always tastes better when it's free. Especially when it's free Chick-fil-A for breakfast. YUM.

9. Cooking a big meal can be therapeutic. It can also be nostalgic... hence the copious amounts of taco soup in my fridge/freezer right now.

8. I woke up this morning craving Garth Brooks like pregnant women crave pickles.

7. Cold weather is proving to be an inhibitor for all things school related. Let me explain, cold weather = warm blankets = zero productivity.

6. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

5. I'm super excited about seeing the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows! But what I'm even more excited about is catching up with one of my favorite people in the world. I can't wait, Danica!

4. I've been camped out in Romans 8 the past few days and it has been SO good. "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." Romans 8:29-10

3. I am beyond excited about Thanksgiving and Christmas break. It's time for some much needed quality time with my favorite people. And sweet potato casserole. But mostly the quality time.

2. The other day I bought a shirt that reminds me of Christmas. Every time I look at it I get warm-fuzzies. Also, I started listening to Christmas music last week. This is getting out of hand...

1. This is definitely worth a listen... but you have to listen to the whole thing to see why. Enjoy!

This Just In...

2010-10-26T17:15:00.002-05:00

This afternoon, I officially got accepted into the Gary Cook School of Leadership at DBU! Can I get an AMEN?! This winter I'll start integrating grad courses with my remaining undergrad until I graduate with both degrees (Lord willin') in August of 2012. When I graduate I'll have an BA in Christian Studies with a minor in Sociology and a MA in Global Leadership*. Oh, and for the record, I am so excited to be starting this new chapter in my life (side note: I feel like everything is moving so fast that this might as well be a subheading. Or maybe a paragraph in my "college chapter". You know, something short and sweet).

* Yes, I realize that sounds made up. I promise it's a real degree. It focuses on equipping ministers to reach (and minister to) people on a global scale, beyond cultural/religious/racial barriers, etc.

The Gospel and Discipline

2010-10-25T09:02:00.003-05:00

This week in KV we talked about the promise that God will discipline His children. Originally, I thought this would be a pretty straight forward lesson... right? Wrong. I didn't realize just how difficult it would be for the girls to grasp the concept of loving discipline. But as I asked them about the discipline they received from their earthly fathers it became clear why their vision was so skewed. So many of the girls that I teach are just flat out not disciplined. In fact, when I asked what they thought discipline means, I (literally) got the response "my Daddy never disciplines me because I'm his little princess!". Straight up. An 11 year old girl. She even did a little head-cocked-smile. Of course she's going to have a difficult time understanding why God's promise to discipline His children is a good thing! But Hebrews 12:7-11 says...

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Though it's hard to communicate this to kids that have grown up in a world where their parents made excuses and looked the other way, it is so important for them to understand this because (once again) it points to the beauty of the Gospel! The reason we receive discipline and not wrath is because Christ absorbed that wrath on the Cross. The reason we can be counted as sons and daughters of the King is because He grants us grace to believe through the blood of His Son. And even in His discipline He is gracious, omniscient and holy.

This week, my prayer for my girls is that as they grow in their understanding of the Lord and His promises, they will know more fully the beauty of grace and the gift of discipline. I pray that they would see discipline as a necessary step in God's promise to make us look more like Jesus. And most importantly, I pray that their hearts would understand the beauty and the magnitude of the Gospel.

Chicken Soup for the Blogging Soul

2010-09-27T11:23:00.007-05:00

Hey there, blog friends! I realize I've really been slacking on the whole posting-anything-besides-another-boring-update-or-video thing, but this semester has been kind of, shall we say, JAM PACKED. But in a good, totally bringing it upon myself type of way ;)

Oh, and fyi, this post will have absolutely nothing to do with Chicken Soup... or my blogging soul.

Here's the highlight reel:

1. I joined a multi-generational homegroup!
The group meets on Wednesday nights and consists of married and single people between the ages of 1.5 and 60! We've got a great mix of people at all different stages of life. Surprisingly enough, I'm the youngest one there (excluding the chil'ren and babies), and my roommate and I are the only traditional age college students. It has been an added bonus to meet and talk with people that aren't in college any more. Much needed. Much appreciated.

I can't say enough how much of a blessing it has been to get to interact with and be poured into by people that are serious about pursuing the Lord and honoring Him with their lives. I can't wait to dive in deeper and experience real community with these people, and get to know them on a more personal level. Oh, and if I don't say it enough, I love my church and am so blessed that I get to be a part of worship, fellowship and service with these people.

2. I got my first flat tire...
While I realize this may not count as breaking news, it was still a first for me, and what's a highlight reel without some bloopers?! The summed up version of this story involves me breaking down, in the GHETTO, in the dark of night, with a full bladder, and sending my rescuers on a wild goose chase all across Dallas because I am terrible at giving directions. It's funny in retrospect... ya know, kinda.

3. I'm on an intramural softball team.
I almost forgot how much I enjoy playing team sports! I don't know many people on my team (let's be real, I only know ONE person on my team), but it's been pretty fun so far. If nothing else, it gives me an excuse to get out and be active and meet some new people. So far this season I've realized a few things about my softball strategy 1) I always swing at the first pitch 2) I usually connect with the ball if I swing and 3) I have an uncanny ability to get hit in the shin with baseball bats.

4. I've attended/hosted 1 Gazillion Bridal Showers.
And yes, that's an exact number. This coming weekend (October 2nd) is the wedding of one of my former roommates and sweetest friends, Kayla Dare! I am so excited for her and Steven, and considering how long the engagement was, I know I'm not the only one excited that the wedding day is inching closer! So far this process has consisted of: eating sweets, doing as I'm told, listening to unnecessary drama (because girls will be girls), lots and lots of shopping, being crafty, doing as I'm told, planning, clearing my schedule, dancing and doing as I'm told. It's been quite a ride.

5. I am loving my current living arrangement!
I cannot say enough how grateful I am that the Lord has given me such awesome roommates this year. After my living situation last year, this year has been so good and so needed. Sometimes I feel like it's too good to be true... then I hear my roommate snoring and I remember to keep things in perspective ;) It has been such a blessing to live with other girls that love the Lord and are completely hilarious! Having people to relax and laugh with is a pretty big deal to me, so these girls have been just what the doctor ordered. I love coming home to them :)

Well I think that about wraps it up! Stay tuned, I may (or may not, let's be honest) post in the coming days/weeks!

Favorite. Family. Ever.

2010-09-07T08:21:00.001-05:00

Hallelujah all I have is Christ, Hallelujah, Jesus is my life

2010-09-01T09:02:00.003-05:00

((I cannot get over these lyrics.))

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way.
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave.
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will.
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still.

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross.
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace.

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me.
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose.
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You.

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

All I Have Is Christ from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

[H/T Justin Taylor]

Friday Favorites

2010-08-27T07:51:00.004-05:00

10. Dark chocolate brownies with peanut butter chips. (Thanks for the tip/ingredients, Marie! They were a hit!)

9. The fact that the weather has been significantly cooler here the past few days. The other morning it was 75 degrees outside! IN AUGUST!!!

8. Headstand contests with my roommates. As of right now, I'm the reigning champ. Please, no autographs...

7. My girls in Kids' Village. I'm so grateful I've been able to be a small part of what's happening in KV. I could write blog post after blog post about how wonderful it has been to teach those girls while serving alongside some of the most humble, Gospel-fixated people I've ever met.

6. Getting to go to GroupConnect in a few weeks so I can join a multi-gen homegroup! I've already started praying for discernment and decisiveness... So. Many. Options. So. Little. Time.

5. Pregnant women. They're everywhere, and I like it.

4. Finding that perfect backpack that had alluded me for so long.

3. Getting to spend some sweet time with a freshman girl here on campus. I loved getting to hear her heart for Christ and His Bride.

2. Impromptu story time with my roommates. We've had some *ahem* interesting stories thus far.

1. A Mighty Fortress- Christy Nockels

Fall 2010: Let's Do This

2010-08-18T08:07:00.003-05:00

I realize everyone probably quit caring about my classes a few semesters ago, but to be honest, your lack of caring hasn't phased me :) so I'm gonna post them anyway! You know, cause I'm all about pleasing people.

Fall 2010

Practicum in Personal Evangelism
Christianity in the Pluralistic World
Research Methods
Elementary Spanish
Marriage and Family

I'm pretty excited about Christianity in the Pluralistic World, Practicum in Personal Evangelism and Marriage and Family. But since we're being honest, I think any religion class would have been a welcomed change after the train wreck that was my spring schedule (let's just say there was weeping and gnashing of teeth).

P.S. Not gonna lie, the best part of this schedule is that I don't have class on Monday or Friday :) If only I didn't have to work! Don't worry though, I'm determined to squeeze some 4-day weekends out of this deal.

Straining Toward the Goal

2010-08-09T11:17:00.006-05:00

I feel like a reoccurring theme I've seen in my life these past few weeks has been that of "pressing forward". In dry seasons, in joy, in sadness and in providence, the Lord has been continually teaching me the importance of pressing forward, in to Him. In Philippians 3, Paul touches on this topic after talking about the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord:

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Philippians 3:12-16

I love what Paul says in verse 12, "I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own". So good. I think one of the most important things I'm learning in all of this is that my efforts must be grace-driven, or they're inevitably fruitless. We don't press in to Christ for our own gratification or purposes, but rather, we press in to Him for His glory and purposes (and as a result we are gratified). When we continually press in to Christ for all that He is, as opposed to all that we are/aren't, we find true contentment and joy in Him alone. It takes a certain amount of discipline on our part, but it is only through the grace of God that we are able to know and experience the surpassing worth of Christ.

And finally, I'll leave you with this: Sara Groves has a song called "Painting Pictures of Egypt" that I thought fit pretty perfectly (actually, my friend Maridith was the one that suggested I look up the lyrics when I was talking to her about all this, but whatevs). Groves' lyrics echo Paul's sentiments in verse 13 when he says that he is "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead".

I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I've learned
And those roads closed off to me
While my back was turned

The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise
And the things I know

Oh and P.S. The wedding was great and I have the cutest niece ever...

Love Where You Live

2010-07-28T10:24:00.008-05:00

Earlier today I stumbled across this article, which got me thinking about if/why/how I have been loving my city. I'll be honest, when I first moved to Dallas, I hated it... mostly because it wasn't Houston. But now that I'm going on two years in the Big D, I can honestly say I've grown rather fond of it... all the way down to the inconsiderate drivers, ridiculously hard to navigate highways and big hair (and trust me, just cause it ain't the 80s doesn't mean there isn't some big hair here). One of the most important lessons I've learned since being here is to find contentment and joy in all circumstances and seasons of life. Though I still mourn the loss of good Tex-Mex and being in close proximity to family/friends, I have found that the Lord is faithful to provide in all areas (literally and figuratively). I've grown to really appreciate His plans for my life, and I've learned that regardless of where I am, I am called to love my neighbors, my city, my church and my God. After all, Psalm 24:1 says that "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein"!

So without further ado, here are some of the things I love most about Dallas:

1. My church. I know I probably drone on and on about it a lot, but I really do love my church. I can't wait to join a multi-gen homegroup in the fall so I can plug in with some non-DBU Village goers!

2. Cafe Brazil. My restaurant of choice simply because it's a DFW staple. It's a little trendy/eccentric, but I'm in college... isn't that what it's all about?!

3. The people. I've met some great people since moving here, and I know that if it wasn't for the Big D, our paths might never have crossed.

4. My school/job. Sometimes loving these two has to be a conscious choice, but they have provided me with some great opportunities and I have learned a TON of stuff since being here.

5. More seasons! I know I'm still not fully experiencing all four seasons, but since being in Dallas I've seen acres of red/orange/yellow trees in the fall, my first snow (like legit, "snow up to my knees" snow!) in the winter, tons of blooming flowers and green trees in the springtime (DBU basically puts 85% of our total revenue into our landscaping department), and of course the typical Texas summers...

6. Two words: STATE FAIR. I know gluttony is a sin, but there is something so right about fried PB&J.

7. Location, location, location. It has all the comforts of the big city, suburbs, country and ghetto all within a 30-45 minute drive!

And since seven is the number of completion, I'll leave it at that! At the end of the day, Dallas is a lot easier to love than I originally thought it would be. In fact, I'd completely understand if you wanted to move here after reading my super convincing list ;)

Because You Asked...

2010-07-14T10:14:00.006-05:00

A quick list* of some things I would change, given the opportunity :)

1. Everyone would taste and see the beauty of the Gospel. (Psalm 34:8)

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Titus 2:11-14

2. Tex-Mex would be given to all those who are in need**... and lets be honest, who doesn't need Tex-Mex?!

3. The Church would look more like this and less like this.

4. Sunburns wouldn't exist. So far I've made it all summer without one. Plus I've already purchased the SPF 50 for J-High camp... Camp Tejas, I'm ready for you!

5. I would already be home with CYP peeps :)

* I promise I'm going to post a regular blog one day! Keep hope alive.
** Can you tell I haven't been home in a while? Craving Tex-Mex is one of the tell tale signs!

Picky Schmicky

2010-06-29T10:18:00.010-05:00

So I've realized that there are a few things that I am, ahem, rather particular about. As a tribute to my middle class snobbery, I decided to compile a list.

1. Ozarka bottled water. Clearly (no pun intended), the best bottled water I've ever tasted. Even if I hate the new "eco-friendly" bottles...
2. The ESV translation. It's not that the other translations aren't great... the ESV just so happens to be my most favoritist. Favoration? Exactly.
3. Houston/San Antonio Tex-Mex. Everything else might as well be Taco Cabana.
4. Hair cuts. Hence my current lack of one.
5. Crest toothpaste. The Manu Ginobili of all toothpastes.
6. The San Antonio Spurs. The only basketball team that could single-handedly bring about world peace and end global warming. Hey, it could happen.
7. A&W rootbeer. My beverage of choice when I decide to splurge.
8. Female recording artists. My itunes library is 98% male.
9. Unsweet Iced Tea. FYI: the best iced tea is usually served with good Tex-Mex (see #3), or by my Mama.
10. Body/Sleep positions. I'm almost always moving around trying to readjust and get more comfortable.

That's all I could come up with for now. So tell me, what are you "particular" about?

Belated Fathers Day

2010-06-22T14:24:00.002-05:00

This made me giggle (with a capital G). Enjoy!

Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

Resting in His Promises

2010-06-21T08:47:00.007-05:00

This week in KV (Kids Village) we talked about the parable of the lost sheep, which is probably one of my fave parables (side note: I'm not totally sure it's kosher to have a fave parable, but just go with me on this... I'm also not sure it's okay to use "kosher" and "parable" in that context, but whatevs ;)). This past week had such a clear Gospel-tie-in, that my girls finally started to ask some questions with substance. Which, thankfully, gave me even more of an opportunity to talk explicitly about the Gospel with them, and for some of them to start to finally get it... to understand the beauty, the wonder and the mystery of Jesus' death and resurrection.

So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Luke 15: 3-7

We talked about The Good Shepard that goes after each one of us and pursues us relentlessly. How he rejoices over each of us, the one sinner that repents. We talked about man's sinful nature, and God's perfect Son. We discussed God's unfailing love and our rebellious nature. All of it culminating in the beautiful picture of the cross.

I am so grateful for these girls and the opportunity I have to share Truth with them every week. But more than that, I'm thankful for the Gospel. For God coming after me, the sheep that was lost, and leading me to repentance.

How deep the Father's love for us/ How vast beyond all measure/ That He should give His only Son/ To make a wretch His treasure...
How Deep the Father's Love for Us- Stuart Townend

Great is His Faithfulness

2010-06-09T08:13:00.010-05:00

Hello, blog-friends! So here's the sitch: I have no excuse for not blogging more consistently. Unfortunately, I have not morphed into a superhero that spends all her free blogging time saving orphans and puppies... I've just been unmotivated. But don't fret, I've returned long enough to tease you with a taste of my superb (or completely mediocre, whatevs) blog skills ;)

So I'm not totally sure when this happened, but lately I have been SUPER-DUPER busy. But besides being busy and unmotivated, I have had some really cool things happening. For instance...

1. I bought a bike. Her name is Bella and she's a red, ladies cruiser. Basically, we're besties. I'd post a picture, but my friend Savannah is babysitting since I haven't quite figured out how to transport Bella to my apartment in my medium-sized car...

2. My World Lit class is off to a rip-roarin start! 5:30-10 PM EVERY SINGLE MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY... after working 8-5:30 during the day. Awesome.

3. I'm pretty sure I'm going to drop my Spanish classes. Taking them online from a community college is apparently a bad idea because 1. I'll be unprepared for the rest of my Spanish classes at DBU (according to my Spanish teacher/buddy here) and 2. they are a lot more complicated than I expected! I mean seriously, what student that has to sign up for an ONLINE, COMMUNITY COLLEGE SPANISH CLASS has time to spend hours a day on the internet? Okay okay, maybe I didn't think that decision all the way through. The only problem is, by dropping these two classes, I'm postponing starting my Master's degree another semester (basically I'll start in January instead of August). But I'm becoming increasingly okay with it. I'm tired of killing myself trying to get ahead... anyone smell that? Oh yeah, that's the unmistakable smell of burning out.

4. On Sunday, I went to Hurricane Harbor (water park in Dallas), and it changed my life. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it was definitely a ton of fun! And an added bonus was that I didn't even get sunburned!! WOOHOO! While I was there I even did this one thing/ride/contraption where they strap you to a harness, raise you up 10,000 meters above the Earth, then let you plummet to the ground. It. Was. Awesome. I might or might not be a closet adrenaline junky. Just sayin.

5. The Lord has been continually reminding me of His faithfulness. Though I say I know and trust in His character, He never ceases to amaze me with His goodness and grace. Recently, I stepped out in obedience on something (rather begrudgingly I might add), and since then He has been so faithful to provide for me and reveal His grace and mercy to me. Lord, because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you (Psalm 63:3).

6. I'm going to have to take a second and agree whole-heartedly with my bffae on the issue of Fun Pops. Here's the deal, Fun Pops are the epitome of Summer. Also, I want to go on record as saying Fun Pops are always better when eaten with good friends. Can we please, please, please eat some while we watch MIOBI this weekend, Marie?!

7. This Thursday I'm going to get my first taste (literally) of the Melting Pot. I've heard mixed reviews, but I have four words for you... liquid chocolate and cheese. YUM. Of course, the chocolate and cheese aren't actually together in the same pot...I hope.

8. I can't get enough of the Five Solas lately. The more I research and reflect on them, the more I love them. Sola Scriptura. Sola Fide. Sola Gratia. Sola Christo. Sola Deo Gloria. Maybe one day when I become a better blogger I'll do a series on them... but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

9. I finally scheduled my vacay days! I'll be home in the C-Y-P from July 16th-25th :) Actually, I'll probably be at Camp Tejas part of that time, but that's still up in the air right now.

10. And to make it an even ten, here is one of my favorites. Love me some Hank Williams Sr.

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ

2010-05-27T22:50:00.006-05:00

Recently, as in yesterday, I started going through John Piper's Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ (which you can download for free here) and got to an interesting question/prompt:

"What do you love about Jesus Christ? Make a list of attributes or qualities that cause you to treasure Christ. Include biblical stories that display these qualities."

So without further ado, here is what I initially came up with:

He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. (Hebrews 13:8)

He is omniscient. (John 16:30)

He is Peace, Assurance and Hope for all who believe. (1 Peter 1:13)

He is the purification I so desperately need. (John 3:17, Hebrews 1:3, 1 John 2:2, Isaiah 25:8)

His love is eternal. (Romans 8:38-39, Galatians 2:20)

He is exactly who He says He is. (John 7:28-29, John 8:58, John 10:30, John 12:44-50)

He was obedient, even to death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)

He was tempted in every way and was still without sin. (Matthew 4:1-11, Hebrews 4:15)

He is a healer. (John 4:43-54, Luke 13:10-17, John 11:1-44)

He is the promise of scripture fulfilled. (Isaiah 9: 6-7, Luke 22:35-38, Isaiah 49:6)

He labored in prayer with the Father. (Matthew 26:36-46)

He upholds everything by the word of His mouth. (Hebrews 1:3, John 1:1-5)

He conquered death. (Matthew 28:1-10, Romans 6:4-11, 1 Timothy 1:8-10)

These are the ones that immediately came to mind for me, but what I really want to know is what attributes or qualities make YOU treasure Christ? What stirs your affection for Him?

Encouragement

2010-05-27T15:54:00.002-05:00

A few things that have been encouraging me lately...

1. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height or depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

2. Hurricane by Jimmy Needham. I could listen to this song over and over and over again (and have). After probably 50 listens in the past week it still ministers to me.

3. Worshiping, serving and taking communion (weekly) at The Village Church.

4. My 2nd-5th grade girls that I get to serve every Sunday. They are unbelievably precious and smart, and I am constantly encouraged and challenged by them.

5. Covenant friendships.

6. The fact that I get to come home tomorrow.

7. Pen pals.

8. Hymns. Today's favorite = Blessed Assurance.
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

9. Having a boss that takes the time to know, encourage and joke with me.

10. Being given a clear vision of how the Lord "views me" on Sunday. One of the first times I can remember God giving me a very clear image in order to communicate something. So powerful.

Let's talk about Job

2010-05-13T16:30:00.003-05:00

Can we just take a second and talk about how awesome Job is? Good.

The other day I was sitting around feeling sorry for myself (let's just say working 40 hours a week all summer while friends and family are hours away hasn't exactly been helping my "outlook")... then I started reading through Job and got to this:

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
Job 1:20-21

Umm whoa. Conviction much? Just in case you didn't get that, Job just had every earthly thing that he cherished taken away (minus his wife... but that's a whole 'notha story ;)) and he responds by saying:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

I don't know about you, but I know that when I'm made to be uncomfortable, much less when I'm grieved by something, my first response typically isn't worship. Now, it's not that Job wasn't devastated by the loss of his family and estate (heck, in chapter 3 he curses the day he was born!), but his power lies in his faith and in his knowledge of the Truth.

You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.
Job 10:12

Personally, I know that when I'm feeling sorry for myself or disheartened, it always comes down to a lack of trust. If God is good and does good and wants good, then why be discouraged? It's something I have to constantly remind myself of. I guess that's what I love about Job... he's human but he "gets" it. He worshipped. He didn't accuse or turn away from God, he fell on his knees and worshipped.

Quick Update

2010-04-19T17:59:00.006-05:00

1. Breaking Free was AMAZING. I was so blessed to have the girls I had, and I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with each one of them. My favorite part of the whole weekend was definitely the time I got to spend praying over each of them (individually and as a group). I always leave weekends/events like that feeling like I'm the one that has been blessed and ministered to!

2. I'm applying for grad school/the accelerated degree plan soon. It's pretty surreal, so I keep putting it off. Honestly, it all seems kinda odd, cause I've worked so hard to get to where I am (in terms of hours and such), but I'm still totally intimidated by moving on to the next step.

3. This semester has been unbelievably draining and busy. Thankfully, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Lets just say I'm counting the days until the end of this semester...

4. I spent Saturday night with the one and only LG at UNT :) Sometimes I forget how great it is to spend time catching up with best friends. She is truly wonderful, and it has been amazing to see how the Lord is continuing to transform and mold her into His image.

5. Speaking of best friends, getting to see and spend time with Marie and Molly on my birthday weekend was just icing on the cake. I am so glad I got to see and talk with them some.... the time I get to spend with them is always precious! LOVE you girls! Also, I completely owned at the name-guessing game. Better luck next time, Molly ;)

6. I AM SO READY TO GRADUATE AND JUST DO MINISTRY ALL THE TIME. I get that my classes are "preparing" me and whatnot, but sheesh...I get it already! ha.

7. I'm not a teenager anymore. That's right, I'm a twenty-something (or I guess you could say I'm a twenty-nothing)! All I gotta say is that I am so excited about this season of life and all that the Lord has in store. Jeremiah 29:11 and all that ;)

8. I want to go back to Africa. ASAP. Everytime someone tells me they're going on a mission trip I start daydreaming about the day I get to go back. Hopefully next time I'll get to go for a longer period of time :)

9. My Summer classes are still kinda semi up-in-the-air, but it looks like I'm going to be taking 14 hours. Right now I'm registered for 1st & 2nd Thesselonians, World Literature II, Elementary Spanish I (and lab), and Elementary Spanish II (and lab). Plus I'm working 40 hours a week. Yeah, I know, you're jealous.

10. I started the process to become a small group leader in Kids Village a few weeks ago, and just recently I've started teaching 2nd-5th grade girls! I love it, I love them, and I LOVE serving on a regular basis again. Working with them has been a constant reminder of how much I need to be pleading with the Lord for His intercession and salvation for these kids. Sometimes it breaks my heart to know that they know all the right answers, yet still have hearts that are hard to the Gospel (just like a lot of adults...). But I know we don't sow in vain, so as I pray for God to open their hearts, I'm constantly reminded of His sovereignty and grace. So yeah, it has just been a really sweet time of service for me so far. I definitely don't have any complaints :)

Breaking Free!

2010-04-07T19:14:00.002-05:00

Not a lot of time to write, just wanted to say I am so excited about Breaking Free this weekend! I have eleventh grade girls, and I genuinely cannot wait to meet them, get to know them and share the love of the Lord with them!

If you think about it in the next few days, just be praying for my girls and all the other students attending. I'm hoping it's a really sweet time of learning and growth and that God really stirs their hearts!

Your steadfast love. O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life, in your light do we see light.
Psalm 36: 6-9

Church Survey

2010-04-04T20:49:00.003-05:00

Originally, I was going to write a post about The Village, what it's like to attend/serve/"do life" there... but then I realized I should probably just hear from you guys first!

I know this survey is definitely not going to be exhaustive, but I'd really like to get some insight on how you guys view church, your church, the Church, and ministry in general. Don't feel obligated to answer all of them, but I'd love to get as much input as possible!

1. What do you think the purpose of the Church is? What about the local church? Are they different? If they are different, how so?

2. What are some of the major problems you see facing the Church today? What problems do you see hitting YOUR church the hardest?

3. According to scripture, how do you think churches should be "layed out"?

4. How do you feel about multi-site churches? Small congregations? Do you have a preference? If so, why?

5. What purpose does technology serve in the church?

6. How do you think a "typical" church today would stack up against the New Testament church?

7. What do you think churches need more/less of?

8. What is it that made you decide to become a member (attendee?) of your church now?

9. In your opinion, what is the main thing that different ministries seem to miss? What are they doing right?

10. Finally, do you have any questions about The Village? I certainly don't have all the answers, but I'd love to find out (seriously, I eat this stuff up). I feel like I'm constantly fielding questions from people when they find out I'm a member there.

Give Me One Pure and Holy Passion

2010-03-29T07:50:00.002-05:00

Today marks day 1 of my 4 day fast. If you think about it in the coming days, just keep me in your prayers as I seek the Lord's will and His heart on a few things.

As the title might suggest, One Pure and Holy Passion is kind of my theme song this week (yeah, I have a "fasting theme song", I also have a fasting t-shirt and Psalm 109:24 bookmark... Okay, I lied about the t-shirt. And the bookmark.).

Sadly, since I've been neglecting my blog lately, I've gotten out of blog-shape. Which basically just means I'm going to go take a metaphorical breather (and drink some metaphorical water since Gatorade is on my list of no's this week ;)), and leave you guys with this:

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me on magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You

To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your dicsiple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after you
To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in the truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you

Lord to know and follow hard after you
And to grow as your disciple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you

And this...

¹To you, O LORD, I call;
my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you be silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.
² Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.^{Psalm 28: 1-2}

⁸The LORD is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
⁹Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Psalm 28: 8-9

Which Leads Me to Believe...

2010-03-11T11:18:00.004-06:00

For the past couple of weeks I've been waking up with these mysterious bruises and cuts all over my hands. Since I don't remember anything happening during the day that would cause them, I've come to a few conclusions...

1. I'm probably in a top-secret Fight Club.

2. Since I don't remember anything when I wake up, I'm probably schizophrenic.

3. I must be really good if the only thing getting cuts and bruises are my hands.

Favorite Hymns

2010-03-09T10:26:00.004-06:00

10. I Love You, Lord: "I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship you. O my soul, rejoice!..."

9. Jesus Paid it All: "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow"

8. Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus: "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."

7. Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated: "Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee; take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love"

6. How Great Thou Art: Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee; how great Thou art, how great Thou art!"

5. Be Thou My Vision: "Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that thou art"

4. It is Well with My Soul: "When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billlows roll; whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul"

3. There Is Power in the Blood: " There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder working pow'r in the blood of the Lamb; there is pow'r, pow'r, wonder working pow'r in the precious blood of the Lamb"

2. Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy: "I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms; In the arms of my dear Savior, O there are ten thousand charms"

1. 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus: "'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word; just to rest upon His promise, just to know, 'Thus saith the Lord.'"

So tell me, what are your favorite hymns?

Reviews

2010-03-08T09:37:00.002-06:00

I feel like I've seen a lot of new shows/performances/etc. lately, so in honor of that I decided to write a review post.

1. A little while ago I witnessed my first DBU opera (not to be confused with the many UMHB operas I've attended over the years). For the most part, it was exactly what I expected it to be. The one thing that really surprised me was the acoustics...they were HORRIBLE! Most of the time I couldn't even understand what they were saying (and yes, it was in English). I know that's not technically anyone's fault, but it ruined the experience for me. Oh, and it was held in a high school...not our multi-million dollar chapel building that they opened this year. Go figure.

2. One of my least favorite performances I've EVER seen was the musical "Cats". There were so many things wrong with this musical I hardly know where to begin. It was held at a Community College that strongly resembled the school from NBC's Community (this was actually the highlight of the experience) which lent itself to some funny moments. Besides that, the singing and dancing was...in a word...mediocre. I wasn't expecting Broadway caliber or anything, but I was definitely underwhelmed. The funny thing is I would have been completely okay with all of this had it not been for one (very unfortunate and long-lasting) wardrobe malfunction. I gag a little bit when I think about it too hard. Ugh.

3. Tyrone Well's released his new CD "Metal and Wood". I highly recommend it. I love Tyrone's stuff in general, but this CD takes it back to a more acoustic feel. Definitely more my style. Here's one of my faves: Running Around in My Dreams

4. Shane and Shane preformed here last week and it was AWESOME! I love them, and this concert just solidified that. My only complaint actually had nothing to do with them... there was a particular student (cough cough girl three rows in front of me) that kind of got to me. But for the most part it was thoroughly enjoyable. I'm actually kind of partial to guy musicians... girls usually have to be extra special to stand out to me.

5. I got to go see Alice in Wonderland over the weekend. I liked it...I didn't love it, but I liked it. It was pretty weird and kind of trippy, but mostly I just thought it moved too quickly. There were certain scenes I wished they would have went more in-depth with, and others I wished they would have skipped completely. Also, IDK if it's something about magical wonderlands or what, but there seemed to be an extra dose of gingers in this movie (DEFINITELY a plus ;)).

6. Finished the book "Passion and Purity" by Elizabeth Elliot (lent to me by the one and only Molly Roberts). First of all, it isn't nearly as cliche as it sounds. It was actually a really challenging and encouraging story of Elizabeth and Jim's courtship and how they waited on the Lord's timing and will for their lives, and specifically how they pursued God during all of this/what it looks like to submit to the Lord's will, etc. etc. It was definitely a good read. ((Oh, and if you're reading this Molly, I plan on finishing the other book by the end of this week))

Well that pretty much sums it up. I plan on getting back in the swing of things on this blog...we'll see how it goes :)

Ah Schucks

2010-02-23T14:41:00.002-06:00

Here's the scoop: I finally broke down and got a twitter.... not that I'd really been fighting it or anything (let's be honest, I already read a bunch of different tweeters (twitterers?)), but last night my FR (aka future roomie) convinced me to take the plunge.

So here are my questions:

1. What is it all about?
2. Is there anything I need to know going in?
3. What's your take on Twitter in general*?

*If you absolutely hate it or think it's narcissistic or whatever feel free to not leave a comment ;)

Now Go Forth and Change the World!

2010-02-16T08:19:00.002-06:00

I've been meaning to write on this for a while, but as usual, time has gotten away from me lately...

Anyway, lately I've been noticing a reoccurring theme in chapel (keep in mind I go twice a week, so I've got quite a few under my belt so far this semester ;)). Basically we show up, get 10-15 minutes of emotive worship, then we have 30-40 minutes of high-energy/inspirational speaking, and it always ends with the speaker saying something along the lines of "Now go forth and change the world!".

In theory, I don't have any problems with that phrase, it's just the mindset behind it that gets me. Week after week we hear how we're the generation that's going to make a difference, that everything hinges on what we do from here on out, and how the world is ripe for the taking. While that last part may very well be true, who says it's ours for the taking? My problem with that mindset is that even though the motives may be alright, it still makes much of self instead of much of Him. Who's to say any of us in that room will have a "world changing" impact? I may be wrong, but I can't think of a single scripture that says "you will do great things and change the world!"...it usually looks more like this, "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 1: 30-21) or "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy" (Titus 3: 4-5). I'm so tired of hearing how much potential I have, or how I can do anything I set my mind to...if we're being honest, I think those are both terrible lies that end up tripping up a lot of Christians. Don't get me wrong, Philippians 4:13 is Truth and it holds a lot of power, but I think so many people interpret it as "I CAN DO ALL THINGS through Christ who gives me strength" instead of "I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who gives me strength", make sense? I mean, I know it feels good to get your ego stroked occasionally, but if I hear one more person say "the people in this room are going to radically change the world!" I might just drop out of school and live as a hermit the rest of my life (okay okay...slight exaggeration).

I think wanting the world to change and wanting people to come to Christ are great things for Christians to desire...but there needs to be a constant sacrifice of self. It's never about me or my impact. It's not about how many people will be affected, or how far my influence will reach, it's just about being faithful to the commands of Scripture and making much of His name.

Altimawesome

2010-02-05T17:36:00.004-06:00

For those of you that don't know, I GOT A CAR THIS WEEK!!! It's a 2008 Altima and I LOVE it. After how long I've waited for this I can honestly say it feels just as good as I thought it would! ha.

Anyway, here are some pic's...

Also, feel free to leave name suggestions for it in the comments (and by feel free I mean DO IT). The person who's name suggestion I choose wins a free ride next time I see them!

Suffering Well

2010-01-31T22:43:00.005-06:00

I know I say this all the time, but I am really greatful for my church and the staff and pastors that shepard us.

Recently, Eric Gorski (from the Associated Press), did an article on Matt's battle with cancer entitled Suffering Well: Faith Tested by Pastors Cancer. I really encourage you guys to read it because it gives a lot of insight into his struggle... and besides that it's just a really well written piece.

I'm just so proud of Matt, his family and the leadership at the Village for how they've handled this whole situation. I really think they are suffering well for the Gospel, and I pray that God uses this trial to make much of His name. This story has already been picked up by the Washington Post and the NY Times (as well as papers in Finland and Mexico), so clearly his story is reaching a lot more than originally anticipated.

Soli Deo gloria.

Hey Remember...

2010-01-27T12:52:00.002-06:00

how Justin Timberlake actually has a good voice?

This is probably my favorite recording of this song...ever. Judge me if you must.

Leadership

2010-01-17T13:05:00.002-06:00

This last week I took a mini called Principles of Biblical Leadership. When I signed up for the class I had NO idea what to expect...seriously, there wasn't even a course description online. But it ended up being one of my favorite classes I've taken so far! My professor was this precious 68 year old man who was such a great encourager and just an all around great guy (ex. he brought us breakfast each morning and spent time talking to each of us individually about our lives, spiritual walk, etc). During the class we took quite a few personality profile tests, a spiritual gifts assessment and our conflict style test...

This is what I learned about myself:

I'm a lion/otter mix...meaning I'm assertive, task-oriented and a people person.
My spiritual gifts are leadership and pastoring/sheperding...I think the pastoring/sheperding has more to do with the fact that I big into discipleship and I care about people's spiritual health.
In conflict situations I'm a persuader/collaborater...this one is pretty self-explanatory. Basically, I just want to convince people I'm right and if I can't do that I want for us both to be partially right.

The really strange thing about taking all these profiles/tests was that on every single one of them I ended up having two things tied for first.

This class was by far the smallest I've been in (there were only 9 of us), and I was the only college aged girl...plus we had 4 adult students that were really tight. Since our class was so small (and since our professor was so awesome), the entire week was extremely discussion oriented. We had a really broad range of people and personality types, so it made for some very interesting/enlightening class discussions. Also, one of the older women reminded me of my mom and apparently I reminded her of her oldest daughter, so that was presh.

A couple of times during the week my professor insisted that I set aside a time to meet with him and a few other prof's from the masters program so they can talk with me and brainstorm about my future and just pray with me (gotta love these small Baptist schools). It was really encouraging, and I'm really excited to meet with them and talk about different ministry possibilities.

Anyway, that's been my life these past few days. I'm ready to get back in the routine of the regular semester, but I'm not looking forward to my classes this semester...it'll be my first semester without a religion class. Bleh. Other than that, life is good, sleep is great and God is better. The end.

P.S. For those of you that care, Matt started up The Path series again. It's got to be one of my favorite sermon series of all time, so I highly recommend it.

Social Etiquette

2010-01-08T15:03:00.002-06:00

I know that there are times when I can be less than charming in public (shocking, I know), but sometimes people's lack of consideration and etiquette just kills me! I don't know all the ins and outs of social etiquette, but there are a few things I'm pretty passionate about...

1. Men/boys/guys should always hold the door open for girls/women/chicks.

2. When in a public area, try not to talk loudly on your cell phone... ESPECIALLY if you are using profanities.

3. If you must use your cell phone in a crowded place, you should not use a bluetooth headpiece, speaker phone, or that weird walky-talky feature some phones have.

4. Under no circumstances is it EVER okay to use your cell phone in a public restroom.

5. If you're staring at someone, and they catch you staring, the polite thing to do is look away. To keep staring like it's a "staring contest" is just awkward.

6. Boys should never "holler" at girls they don't know. It's gross and uncomfortable.

7. Burping/farting/etc. should be kept to a minimum in public/mixed company*.

8. Always avoid taking the stall/urinal right next to someone if you can help it.

9. Avoid annoying eating and drinking habits (aka slurping, smacking, talking with your mouth full).

10. Always be polite. If you bump into someone, say excuse me. If someone gives you something, say thank you.

* There may or may not be a few instances where I may or may not have burped in public. Try not to hold it against me... I'm a new woman ;)

Thursday

2010-01-04T10:33:00.003-06:00

The low temp is 17 and it's supposed to be really windy.

No thanks.

Mormonism was #21!

2009-12-30T11:02:00.003-06:00

Today, as I was trolling through the Thinklings archives (these 40 hour work weeks are SOOO difficult ;)), I stumbled across this gem...

According to the Christian Denomination Selector...

My #1 result: Reformed Baptist

My #2 result: Presbyterian Church in America/Orthodox Presbyterian Church

My #3 result: Reformed Churches

My #4 result: Southern Baptist

My #5 result: Assemblies of God

My top five were all pretty close, though I was kinda surprised by the Assemblies of God result. But I guess ya never know...they always say college is the best time to experiment ;)

So what about you?

P.S. Please spare me the comments about how you aren't defined by a denomination or whatever... I get it already! Ha.

For the Ladies

2009-12-29T11:26:00.003-06:00

John Piper's Challenge to Women is awesome, encouraging and convicting.

That all of your life—in whatever calling—be devoted to the glory of God.
That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that peace and joy and strength fill your soul to overflowing.
That this fullness of God overflow in daily acts of love so that people might see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven.
That you be women of the Book, who love and study and obey the Bible in every area of its teaching. That meditation on Biblical truth be the source of hope and faith. And that you continue to grow in understanding through all the chapters of your life, never thinking that study and growth are only for others...

You should really go read the whole thing...

Just do it.

2009-12-28T16:16:00.003-06:00

In an attempt to be more interactive, this post is for all 3 (or so) of you that read this blog. Participation = Required ;)

Now buckle your seat belt, it's time to choose!

Winter or Summer

Christmas or Birthdays

Giving Gifts or Receiving Gifts

Hot Chocolate or Coffee

Ice Cream or Cookies

Watching TV or Reading

Action Adventure or Comedy

Owen Wilson or Luke Wilson

The Notebook or A Walk to Remember

David Keresh or Joseph Smith

Peter or Paul

Snickers or Snickerdoodles

Hot Dogs or Corndogs

Reindeer or Elves

Snowmen or Snowcones

Gloomy Days or Sunshine

Augustine or Calvin

Candler or Driscoll

Soup or Salad

Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus

Michael Buble or John Mayer

History or Sociology

Barak Obama or Michelle Obama

Firefox or Internet Explorer

Mandy Moore: Singer or Actress

Shane&Shane or Hillsong

LeCrae or Kanye

Black Death: Disease or Cult

Funnier: Will Ferrel or Steve Carrell

Don't worry, I'm still alive

2009-12-26T18:09:00.002-06:00

Alright, I won't spend a lot of time apologizing for my lack of blogging, just know that I'm back and plan on getting back in the swing of things.

In other news, Christmas this year was a year of firsts. It was the first year without my grandma, the first year where Kaitlyn really knew what was going on, the first year with Ryan as a almost legitimate bro in law, the first year we didn't go to Papadeux for Christmas Eve dinner, and the first year my dad and I went to the Christmas Eve service alone. But even though it was different, it was still a really sweet time with family, and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with everyone. This past week has gone by SO FAST...I can't believe I have to go back to Dallas on Monday.

So here are some of the highlights of the week:

1. Kaitlyn is so much fun now! Even though I wasn't sure it'd be possible, she's even cuter than before. Also, she called me "My Dani" this trip and my heart just about stopped.

2. My sister, Kelly, got engaged to her long time bf (Ryan).

3. Watching bridal shows with my mom even though she's totally not in to that stuff.

4. Having a long discussion with my dad about ministry.

5. Watching Kaitlyn open all of her Christmas presents...homegirl got a TON of fun toys this year. Oh, and I managed to find her a red-headed doll as part of her gift from me. PERF.

6. Cooking Christmas lunch with my mom (always one of my favorite parts of being home).

7. Spending the night with Molly, Kate, Amanda, and Kelsey.

8. One word: Perm

9. Hanging with my Poppy. He is by far one of my favorite people of all time.

10. Christmas Cafe with LG, Danica and Yermey.

Navigating Dallas = Fail.

2009-12-11T09:20:00.007-06:00

Last night I had a meeting with my group leader from the covenant membership class I attended a while back. It was supposed to be a relatively quick meeting where I just showed up, shared my testimony, asked some questions, and signed the covenant. Only problem was that she wanted to meet me on the other side of Dallas...

I don't know how many of you know this, but I am THE WORST with directions. Seriously, if I was any worse I'd get lost walking to work.

But nevertheless, I was determined to get this meeting knocked out, so I printed out directions and went on my way.

Problem #1: I miss my first exit.
Problem #2: I keep driving for 20 minutes before I realize problem #1.
Problem #3: I turn around to correct my mistake and drive for another 35 minutes...past my exit again.
Problem #4: I finally get on the right track and find the destination...an HOUR after I was supposed to be there.
VICTORY #1: I sign the Covenant!! And I try Bubble Tea...not sure if the last part counts as a victory. Ha.
Problem #5: Insane Dallas traffic on the way back. I probably went 5 mph for 45 minutes.
Problem #6: I almost get run over multiple times.
Problem #7: I take 35E going North...I should have taken 35E going South. Another 45 minutes of wasted time.
Problem #8: I finally turn around and head towards campus and exit Loop 12 West. I should have exited Loop 12 East.
Problem #9: I end up in the ghetto with NO idea where I am or how to find out.
Problem #10: I REALLY had to pee by this point, but couldn't stop anywhere because everything was so shady.
Victory #2: Apparently there was a GPS laying on the passenger side floorboard the whole time.
Victory #3: I finally make it back to campus at 8:35 pm.
Problem #11: I had a final paper due by 11pm.
Victory #4: I finish and submitted my paper at 10:59pm!!

Needless to say last night was a wee bit stressful...but today it's over (can I get an Amen?!). I actually think it's pretty funny now, in an I-hate-my-life type of way ;)

Maybe I should start praying that I marry someone with a great sense of direction... otherwise our poor children will be out of luck!

The best kind of encouragement

2009-12-06T22:04:00.003-06:00

Today at church they showed this video from Matt:

http://hv.thevillagechurch.net/blog/hvpastor/

Hope it blesses you like it blessed me.

Walking in a Paper Wonderland

2009-12-03T18:37:00.008-06:00

This year my office entered the Christmas decorating contest for pretty much the first time ever. It was so intense. Since we didn't have any decorations to speak of, the other student worker (Savannah) and I spent HOURS upon HOURS hand crafting decorations made of paper. They are ridiculously precious. So we spent all day Monday and Tuesday (and a few micelaneous hours before then) decorating our tiny little office, yada yada yada, we ended up not even placing. It was a total robbery. But PTL, one of the advisors threw us a pizza party anyway :)

Since it's Christmas and such I decided to share some of our Christmas spirit with you guys. Enjoy!

What you see when you first walk in...

"Jesus is the reason for the season!"-cheesy AND classy ;)

The paper chain that took me FOREVER

Our faux Christmas tree and Christmas Countdown! (P.S. I know you can't see it, but we made personalized "face" ornaments for everyone in our office...including matching hair and eye color! So legit.)

The precious fireplace, stockings and tree.

Ok, that about sums it up! I know you guys probably don't care, but we worked really hard on all this. Ha. I feel obligated to show it off ;)

Oh, and in case you didn't know, Christmas is only 22 days away!

Sched

2009-11-19T08:35:00.004-06:00

Monday
12-1= Social Psychology

Tuesday
11-12:15= Intro to Computers
2-3= World Lit

Wednesday
12-1= Social Psychology

Thursday
11-12:15= Intro to Computers
12:30-1:45= Meteorology and Space Science
2-3= World Lit

Friday
12-1= Social Psychology

***Besides that, I also plan on taking Political Science from Lonestar, and I'll be taking Principles of Biblical Leadership as a one week, January mini-term.***

I'm not super stoked about my classes or anything, but I decided to bite the bullet and just finish up the rest of my core classes at the same time....I've been procrastinating up to this point. Ha. Oh and for those of you that are paying attention, I've decided that I'm done with Greek. I just don't have the time to commit to studying that it requires (I know that sounds like a lame excuse, but it's legit). I mean, I'm not failing or anything, but it has just become really draining trying to prepare for weekly quizzes and finish all the homework and such. Ah well, maybe I'll pick it up again later in life. But for now, it looks like Spanish might be the better option...

Winter?!

2009-11-16T17:35:00.002-06:00

Since when is it winter in Texas?!

Today I had my annual winter-overreaction and put on every warm article of clothing I owned. I managed to wear boots, tights, a scarf AND a winter coat... all for 40-50 degree weather ;) ha.

But in all fairness, it's a long walk from my apartment to work and that wind is KILLER in the morning!

Hopefully everyone is having a wonderful winter kickoff!

Next step = hot chocolate

New Favorite Phrase

2009-11-11T15:39:00.005-06:00

Lately I've been kind of reflecting on the different things that "stir my affection(s?)" for the Lord.

Here's some of the things I've come up with (both general and specific):

1.The sermon series we're doing at church right now called "The Path". It has been both encouraging and challenging...basically I leave every Sunday evaluating myself and my sin and pondering the goodness and mercy of God.

2. Everything by Tim Hughes

3. Listening to people share their testimonies (not only their conversion stories, but how God is currently at work in them)

4. Reading Acts and Romans. I feel like I've been walking through them for a LONG time, but it has been really intense and incredibly rewarding.

5. Hearing/Learning/Reading about theology. This is a new one, but recently it's all I want to read about. I've been spending most of my work day (when I'm not working of course) reading different articles and doing research.

I'm sure I could think of more, but right now those 5 seem to be doing the trick :)

It's official!

2009-11-09T19:49:00.004-06:00

Well...almost.

This last weekend was my covenant membership class at the Village, and let me tell you, it was WONDERFUL! I feel so blessed and honored to serve, worship and fellowship with the people there. I could gush and gush about it, but I'll spare you and just give you a breakdown of the weekend.

Friday Night:
Basically just a 2 hour Gospel presentation. It was incredible. I have never heard the Gospel so packed-full of Scripture (probably becuase of time restraints! ha). I'm sure my eyes were the size of basketballs the whole time. I'm also pretty sure I spent the next 30 minutes after class recounting the whole thing to my mom.

Saturday Day:
We went over the core values of the church, why we believe what we believe, and all that the covenant entails. I don't think I could summerize it even if I tried, so I'll just say...I love it, I agree wholeheartedly, and YES YES YES. Then at the end they had a Q&A with some of the campus pastors* that was really good and insightful.

I still have to read some articles and meet with my group leader to tell her my conversion story and ask any questions before I sign the covenant, BUT once all that happens I'll officially be a covenant member. VICTORY. I really hope everyone feels as inspired, blessed and encouraged by their church as I do. My heart soars whenever I think about it :)

P.S. Guess who was in my Covenant Class?!?! You guessed it, Tedashii (oh, and 240 other people ;)). Plus he helped lead worship Sunday. Legit.

*Matt wasn't there this weekend, but all the pastors from my campus were, so that was really cool. Every single one of them is so awesome. Gah. Sorry to gush again, can't help it.

I hate...

2009-11-01T21:10:00.003-06:00

1. law & order: criminal intent
2. shaving
3. 40 hour work weeks
4. the Mav's
5. sunburns
6. statistics
7. cold toes and fingers
8. band-aids
9. dress pants
10. blisters

Tyrone Wells

2009-10-24T11:19:00.005-05:00

Last night I got to go to the Tyrone Wells show downtown. It was incredible! He was so good live! He played all my favorites, and even one or two off his upcoming album (which I am definitely going to buy). It was actually really cool, because his set was clean. He's not a Christian artist or anything, but he did have very subtle Christian undertones*...a change of pace from my all-time fave Ernie Halter. Ha.

Anyway, when all was said and done, I had an awesome night. More fun than I've had in a long time. Side-note: the show last night was at the Prophet Bar, and apparently anyone who goes and doesn't drink (either because of their age or by choice) gets a stamp on their hand. The funny part? The stamp is a church ;)

Oh, and here is the picture you requested, Marie...I completely forgot my camera in the car during the show, but I managed to get one of Kailea and I on the way back.

And for those of you who have never heard of Tyrone Wells, here is one of my personal faves...

* Tyrone is actually a PK! It's so legit. I'm pretty sure some of his songs crossover...like his song Stronger: "I'll do my best to be here for you through the years/ But I can't carry all your hidden pain and fears/But there is one who wants to wipe away your tears/ He is waiting/ Lean on the everlasting arms of Jesus"

Soapbox

2009-10-20T17:10:00.007-05:00

The other day, in my Religious Education class, this question was posed to us:

"What do you want to teach a child by the time they are 12?"

During class we were supposed to get in groups and discuss what we thought kids need to know by that stage in their lives, and honestly, I was kind of appalled by the answers I heard. I mean at face-value they were all okay answers, but they just really struck me as complete garbage.

Here are some of the first ones I heard...

actions speak louder than words
how to be a good person
how to be obedient

I mean seriously, are you kidding me?! One girl had the audacity to call me "harsh" because I said that they need to know that they are sinners. How can anyone have an appreciation or understanding of salvation without first knowing what sin is and that they are a sinner? I understand that the average child cannot comprehend the intricacies of theology, but what Jesus-loving Children's Minister can look at the kids in their ministry and knowingly keep the whole Truth from them? Bible stories are great and important in building a foundation for these kids, but knowing who Zaccheus was, or being able to sing the books of the Bible in order isn't going to get anyone any closer to Heaven. Just sayin.

I guess the reason it frustrated me so much was because I was thinking of my own (future/potential) children. I don't want my ten/eleven/twelve year old thinking that "being a good person" or being "obedient" means anything without having a personal, intimate relationship with Christ. I mean sure, I want obedient children ;), but in the grand scheme of things that would not be on the top of my list.

My group mentioned Jesus once (minus my submissions) . And the one time they mentioned Him, the exact words were "...to know Jesus died on a cross". Seriously, that was it. No explanation of His life and why He had to die on a cross, no emphasis on salvation or the Gospel...just flat historical facts. I'm sorry, I know working with kids over the summer and taking classes doesn't make me an expert, but I'm pretty sure the average kid can retain and understand more than that...especially the older ones.

I'm not saying every church should try to scare their kids, or anything like that, but if the thought of Hell scares them...well, it should! Children can be taught all kinds of things as long as they are taught in love and kindness. Give kids the opportunity to understand, instead of withholding Truth from them. Offer them the whole Gospel, not just cartoons or cut-and-dry facts. I know I probably sound like some hardcore beat-truth-into-them type of lady, but I hate the thought of kids wasting what can be the most influential years of growth on pointless trivia or partial Truth.

Alright, I think my rant is over now... *steps off soapbox*

In case you're wondering...

2009-10-19T17:10:00.003-05:00

I have to walk up 162 stairs in order to get from my apartment to my office. Plus I make multiple trips up and down the stairs every day.

Why count them? Because I felt every single one of them today.

But hey, I can hobble with the best of 'em ;)

It's all Greek to me!

2009-10-17T14:02:00.003-05:00

This last week has been a teency bit hectic and stressful, but Praise the Lord, it's the weekend!!! I'm currently watching the Red River Shootout (Hook 'Em!) and am enjoying my first taste of quality alone time (not just time spent alone and studying) in a LONG time.

Since I don't have much to say, I'll just give you the highlights of this past week...

1. Got my grade from my first History of Christianity test...and considering the lack of time I could commit to studying and the amount of material covered, I think I did pretty well. An added bonus was that I had a reason to memorize the Apostles Creed :)

Sidenote: I'm having a really hard time with my schoolwork lately because of my work/class schedule. On the average night I don't even get to start studying/doing homework until like 7pm at the earliest because I work till 6, then have to come home and cook my dinner, and eat before I have time to buckle down and do schoolwork. Add that to the fact that my classes are SOO much harder than I anticipated and it's a recipe for disaster. That said, basically I need to just suck it up and get more disciplined *sigh*, but right now it's just REALLY hard.

2. Homegroup on Wednesday was really good (as usual). I'm finding it easier and easier to open and share with the girls, and it has been really good getting to know them and hearing their struggles, triumphs and what God is teaching them. Having homegroup once a week has definitely been the silver-lining to my weekdays these past couple weeks.

3. Earlier today I got to go on a jog, and it was GLORIOUS outside. Seriously. I haven't seen a day as beautiful as today in a long time. I am so jealous of everyone at the UT/OU game! Today is just one of those days where everything is better outside.

4. Speaking of weather, the past month we have had awful weather here (excluding today, of course). I think I've officially decided that God didn't make me for colder climates. Even when I am just sitting at my desk at work my fingernails turn purple after a while because it is SO COLD. I always love the idea of winter, but I have a feeling it's going to get old really fast this year.

5. Marie and I are ordering aprons so we can be legit Stepford Wives for our costume dance party. I am so excited, it's ridiculous. I am going to wear mine ALL the time :)

6. Also, I am so excited for Thanksgiving. I'm ready to be home. I miss my family. Plus Thanksgiving is my 2nd favorite holiday. It's a BIG DEAL in my family, plus it means I get to cook all day with my mom, which is always really fun. Recently she has started letting me cook some of the dishes all by myself... I'm not gonna lie, I make a mean sweet potato casserole!

7. Exciting News: I'm officially signed up for the covenant membership class at The Village!!! It's actually kind of hard to get in because the classes fill up so quick and they only offer them every so often, but I got in to the one in November. After November 7th I will officially be a "covenant member".

The class is spread out over two days, Friday night and Saturday day. Here are some of the topics it covers:

What is the Church?
Gospel: What does it mean to be a believer in Jesus Christ?
What are the core values?
Why a covenant?
Our philosophy of ministry
Expectations

I am so excited! Hopefully I don't geek out during any of this ;)

8. I took my Greek Midterm yesterday! It was probably the most intimidating test I've ever taken. I don't know if it's just me, but Greek is REALLY hard. Seriously. The other day my History of Christianity prof said that even "Augustine hated Greek because it was so hard"! Basically I studied all night (minus a nap from 2-4am). But I think it might have actually paid off! I haven't gotten my score back yet, but I'm pretty confident I didn't fail, so at least that's something! Ha.

9. Last night my roomie and I finally rearranged and decorated our room! It's so cute! I'll see what I can do about posting pictures or something later so everyone can appreciate our sweet decorating skillz ;)

Prosperity Gospel?

2009-10-10T11:29:00.003-05:00

When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Acts 14: 21-22

Yeah, I didn't think so...

State Fair = Deep Fried Fun

2009-10-08T19:53:00.012-05:00

I just got back from my first ever state fair! It was so much fun, BUT I ate so much that I basically made myself sick. I am so bad about moderation when it comes to stuff like this! I love trying new things in general, so seeing things like fried banana pudding, fried smores and fried anything-else-you-can-imagine definitely put my brain and stomach into overdrive!

Fried PB&J. Surprisingly good and satisfying...not a bad way to start.

My first ever funnel cake!

Probably my favorite picture of us. Ha. We couldn't help ourselves.

Petting zoo! This little guy was pretty much my best friend :)

Fried Butter. We decided to try this just to say we did. Basically it tasted like a biscuit with melted butter inside. Not half bad, BUT our bodies were on the verge of shutting down at this point from grease overload... hence the facial expressions. Ha.

And for those faithful few that are dying to see the henna...

Reasons I could never get a tattoo...

2009-10-08T08:39:00.002-05:00

Last night I was hanging out with a friend, and out of no where she pulled out a tube of henna. For those of you who don't know what henna is, it's a type of body art that is painted on and dyes the skin from anywhere to 1 week to a month (depending on how long you let it set, where on the body, etc etc). Personally, I've always thought it looked really cool, so of course I was pumped I got to do it last night. Only problem is we're a bunch of white girls who seriously lack the artistic skills needed to make an awesome henna design (me more than her... her's was actually really cute). So basically it looks like I just doodled all over myself. Granted, I know it will fade and eventually disappear, but it got me thinking... I could never get a tattoo. I mean, I've always kind of wanted one (and even as I write this I still kind of do), but I would get so tired of it so quickly! I haven't even had my henna on for a full day yet and I'm tired of it! Ha. It's cool though, I'm glad I learned my lesson this way instead of the hard way.

((For those of you that are curious, I'll post pic's of it later...))

In other news: TODAY I GET TO GO TO THE STATE FAIR FOR THE FIRST TIME! I'm ridiculously pumped. Things I want to do while there: eat. Things I plan on eating: Fried PB&J, a corndog (apparently it's a MUST at the fair), and a deep-fried oreo. Goodbye diet, hello fried deliciousness! Ha. I'm going to try to document it as much as possible so you all can share in my joy... plus I'm sure I'll post more thoughts on it later.

And just when you think the day couldn't get any better, I get off work at noon today! Hallelujah! I have high expectations for you Thursday... don't let me down.

Soon

2009-10-06T12:52:00.003-05:00

I officially have a new favorite worship song. DD.

Soon and very soon
My King is coming
Robed in righteousness
And crowned with love
When I see Him, I shall be made like Him
Soon and very soon

Soon and very soon
I'll be going to the place He has prepared for me
Then my sin erased, my shame forgotten
Soon and very soon

I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul with be satisfied
Soon and very soon

Soon and very soon
See the procession
The angels and the elders round the thrown
At His feet I'll lay
My crowns, my worship
Soon and very soon

I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul with be satisfied
Soon and very soon

Though I have not seen Him
My heart knows Him well
Jesus Christ the Lamb, the Lord of heaven

I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul with be satisfied
Soon and very soon
Soon and very soon
Soon and very soon

Hillsong United- Soon

I could (and have) listened to it over and over again. If you haven't heard it I encourage you to go check it out!

P.S. I was going to just post a portion of the lyrics, BUT I like it so much I just posted all of it. Go big or go home!

oh how I've grown...

2009-09-30T19:38:00.004-05:00

Today my boss handed me a card (from the enrollment celebration party that I missed today) that said the following:

"Danielle, you have grown so much! When you first came to the GSB*- as a freshman- you had a look of surprise on your face most of the time- sort of shy- pretty, okay very, quiet- a little reserved didn't know a whole lot about how business offices operate- certainly not a lot of outward confidence. But- always with a light that is shining- always with a sweet voice- sweet spirit- one that reflects the love of the Lord in everything she does. Now- WOW! Talkative! Confident! Laughs! Has a way of showing others "I Can Help!" Thank you, Danielle!"

She read this outloud to our office...and a few others. Ha. Little does she know I've always been the same talkative girl...I just needed some time to adjust!

I thought it was pretty humorous. OH, and my card came with a bookmark that has a fairy and says "get your sparkle on"! That pretty much topped it off for me ;)

Okay, now I'm off to homegroup and then studying my life/week away! Hope everyone is having a good night!

*GSB (for those of you that are completely uninformed) is the Graduate School of Business, where I work on campus.

No. Me. Gusta.

2009-09-27T13:40:00.004-05:00

School is starting to get ridiculous. I actually had to turn down an invite to a social outing tomorrow (something I rarely get these days) so that I can stay in and study for History of Christianity test Wednesday. I'd normally just study for it the night before, but I can't because I have an event for work Tuesday night! Not. Cool.

In other news, I've watched like 10 episodes of Police Women of Broward County this weekend, and it kinda makes me want to be a cop. Seriously. Maybe I'll lead a double life one day: Children's Minister by day... Crime Fighting Heroine by night ;)

Law and Order: 4102

2009-09-23T08:52:00.003-05:00

**In the average college students schedule, achieving a deep, restorative sleep is considered especially vital. In Dallas, Texas, the students who don't get enough sleep are members of an elite squad known as apartment 4102. These are their stories. [insert cool law and order sound effect here: DUM DUM].**

Ok, so I am officially convinced the universe was against me having a good nights sleep last night. First, I woke up a little after midnight (I had only been asleep like 5-10 minutes) feeling really nauseous. Very unusual for me, so I got up and my lovely roommate got up with me and medicated me while I sat in our living room waiting for my stomach to quit doing somersaults. So we hung out of the couch for a while...watched some TV and around 1:30 I decided I was feeling well enough to give this whole sleeping thing another shot.

Well unfortunately our fire alarm had different plans. Around 3:20am I woke up to three PIERCING beeps coming from somewhere in our apartment. I tried to convince myself to fall back asleep, but it was no use. Every 3-7 minutes we'd hear the same noise. So all four of us got up, and started searching our apartment, checking that our oven wasn't left on and burning us down, etc etc...until eventually we decided we should call security so someone could come fix our problem.

Twenty minutes later, and there was still NO security and that alarm was STILL beeping. Ugh. So we call again...waited another 10-15 minutes, until finally I decided to go out looking for security. Yea, sounds a lot more brave than it is, trust me. It turns out he was on the other side of our breezeway just standing, staring off in the distance. Well, we finally corral him in, explain our situation, and he doesn't know what to do! At this point it was pretty laughable since it was creeping closer to 4 am and we still had no solution to the problem. So he calls another security officer, we wait another 10 minutes for him to get there, and once the second guy arrives he realizes we need someone from Apartment Life and calls the "head honcho guy" who gets there in a matter of minutes.

They discussed the problem for a while (it was the alarm in my bedroom...only a few feet away from my coveted bed), and finally decided they'd have to pull the alarm out and disconnect it for the night. Which, when all was said and done, only took like 2 minutes. Awesome.

Needless to say, I didn't even get to crawl back in to bed until a little after 4, and even then I had trouble falling asleep and probably didn't actually snooze until 4:30-4:45. Leaving me with a grand total of 4.5-5 hours of sleep, with no more than 2.5 hours at a time.

But at the moment I seem to be doing ok. I slept through Greek and have every intention of trying to get off work early, so hopefully that all pans out. All I know is that at the moment I am about ready to smash the next fire alarm I see...

I love my church

2009-09-21T15:57:00.006-05:00

Can I just say that I REALLY love my church?! After a long search for a church home, it is such a good feeling to know that I've found a place where I can plug in and really grow in the Word and in fellowship with other believers.

Last Sunday was week two in our ten week series on Progressive Sanctification and it was such a challenging (not to mention painful) sermon to hear. Matt spoke on walking in the light and in fellowship with God from 1 John, and it not only made me completely reevaluate my life and my sins, but it made me look at repentance and redemption in a completely new light (I highly recommend the podcast).

But it's not just the speaking that makes The Village such a great church home...I mean, anyone who has heard Matt Chandler can attest to the fact that he is a phenomenal speaker...but it's more than that. It's the fact that the entire church staff is dedicated to transforming people through the power of the Gospel. It's the fact that it offers and encourages deep, intimate community and authentic relationships. It's the fact that even though it has grown tremendously over the last few years, it is still dedicated to serving people inside and outside the church walls.

My homegroup consists of about 10-13 girls from DBU that are committed to serving Christ and letting Him transform their lives. It has been such a huge blessing to see their hearts and know that there are other people struggling, failing, but still pursuing an intimate relationship with Christ. I can't say enough how grateful I am to be able to fellowship and grow with such a great group of girls and to be a part of such an awesome church. I know everyone probably feels this way about their church (or at least I hope they do), but I just feel so blessed to be able to be involved with The Village.

"The Village Church exists to bring glory to God through lives transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. We desire to live and serve as a community of God's people throughout the city of Dallas exhibiting and extending the love and hope of Jesus Christ." -Steve Hardin, Lead Associate Pastor

Restless, Reformed and Single

2009-09-18T10:35:00.004-05:00

I don't know about you, but I know that when I'm trying to decide if someone is dateable, the first thought in my head is almost always "I wonder how the Doctrines of Grace have changed or affected his life?"!

Finally, a site for someone like ME ;)

SoverignGrace.com finds love for Calvinists everywhere

P.S. If I was ever going to use this site my name would be RighteousReformista. Just so you know.

It Burns SOO Good

2009-09-14T22:42:00.000-05:00

Tonight, for the first time in a long time, I decided to go for a jog around campus...and it was glorious! I've never been one of those people who could just ease in to working out (or anything else for that matter) so I just dove right in. We have this jogging trail around the outer edge of campus that is perfect for nights like this. It has been rainy here for the past couple of days, so outside was misty and cool and the paths were soft and sloppy.

I'm not normally a big "jogger", but I forget sometimes how good it feels to just run. After sitting at a desk all day it was nice to just let loose.

Needless to say I came back drenched in sweat and covered in mud, and chances are tomorrow I'll be walking funny...but it was worth it :) This might have to become my new Monday night routine...

The Awesome List

2009-09-10T08:40:00.003-05:00

Music
Michael Buble
Frank Sinatra
Patsy Cline
Johnny Cash
Ray Charles

Songs
Revelation Song- Kari Jobe (still stuck in my head from chapel last week)
Give Me Jesus- Jeremy Camp
'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus (I've been singing this one all morning. SOO good.)
Georgia- Ray Charles (I could listen to this song over and over and over and never get tired of it)
Feeling Good- Michael Buble

TV Shows
18 and Counting! (I love me some Duggars)
Law and Order SVU ( they've been showing marathons lately AND the new season starts soon!)
Say Yes to the Dress
Make it or Break it (even though it's technically over, it's still playing in my mind ;))

Time Wasters
Napping (something I NEVER get to do anymore)
Procrastinating
Talking with friends
Reading about motherhood/marriage (I know, I know...I'm WAY ahead of the curve)
Cooking/Cleaning (I feel bad saying this is a time waster, but lately I feel like that's all I do when I'm at my apartment)

Foods
Fruit
Chicken
Pasta
Bucky's Fudge (two stops in one weekend! ha)

Classes
History of Christianity
Intro to Religious Education
Greek (even though I secretly hate all the work)

Phrases
Perf! (I sing-songy-say this a dozen times a day)
Look at me, Look at me! (this can also be replaced with "check me out, check me out!"... and for the record, I only say this to my roommates. ha.)
OHHHH, you would. (in order to say this correctly you must put the emphasis on the "OHHHH", and say "you would" very disapprovingly.)

Topics
Acts/The Early Church
Cooking
The future (mine or other people's)

Acts 4: 5-12

2009-09-09T09:40:00.005-05:00

5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:5-12

I have been reading through Acts bit by bit, and so far it has been AWESOME (it helps that I also get to talk about what's going on and the background of it in History of Christianity ;)). Today I got to read this, and it was definitely something I needed/wanted to read and re-read and re-read over again.

"for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved"

I get chill bumps just thinking about it.

Kaitlyn says hi!

2009-09-03T11:04:00.001-05:00

My sister sent me this picture of Kaitlyn in an email and I'm sorry, but could she be any more precious?!

Blessed

2009-09-02T11:11:00.006-05:00

I know I've said this before, but I am so blessed. I'm blessed to have the family and friends I have, I'm blessed to go to a university committed to offering a Christ-centered education, and most of all I'm blessed to know and live in the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Today was the first chapel in our new chapel building, and it was wonderful. Kari Jobe (a DBU alumni. whoop ;)) lead worship and we had a string of different uppity-up's speak, but all that was to be expected. I feel like lot of people complain about chapel (probably because we have to go twice a week every week), and even though their reasons sound valid, I just don't get it. For me there is something really special about getting to worship with other believers, especially 3000 of my closest classmates ;). But seriously, today it was beautiful...there's nothing like hearing a huge group of students sing...

"Jesus your name is power, breath and living water"

Listening to people worship never gets old.

Quirks

2009-09-01T11:20:00.004-05:00

Today I've been thinking a lot about quirks. I mean, we've all got 'em...right? Lord knows my roommates have them! What even qualifies something as a quirk? Does it have to be weird? Does it have to be unique?

All I know is that I love getting a glimpse of people's weird quirks (especially the unexpected ones!). So without further ado, here are some of my own:

Most of you probably already know this, but I really don't like for people to touch me unnecessarily. Example: Today I was sitting at my desk at work and an acquaintance/friend came up behind me and rubbed my shoulders for a couple seconds. Completely unnecessary and unpleasant. To add insult to injury, it was a boy. Double gross.
I have this compulsive desire to always be on time...even if "on time" to me means 15 minutes late. Once I have a set time I think I need to be somewhere, that's what time you can expect me. DD.
I could eat frozen berries by the gallon. I think I've had them every day since I've been up at school. Regular berries aren't as good...they've gotta be frozen.
I feel like this is a common one, but even though I can text all day and night, chances are I'm still going to be a complete train-wreck on the phone.
I'd rather be barefoot. All. The. Time. Example: I was reading an article the other day about how all men who agree with the complementarian viewpoint probably have wives that are "barefoot and pregnant" all the time... which made me laugh, because that's exactly what I want out of life ;)
I type out my thoughts on my leg (or whatever is closest). I'm pretty sure this makes me look crazy, but I usually don't notice when I'm doing it.
I don't brush my hair unless I have to. At most I'll do it once a week.
I learned to read by sight-reading (instead of phonetically) and because of it I am HORRIBLE at spelling, I skip letters/words when I read, and I have a terrible time with pronunciations.
To this day, I still hold on to the grocery cart when I go to the super-market. Especially if I'm with my Mom. Old habits die hard...
Even if my entire body is still, chances are my tongue is still moving. I used to play games as a kid (counting things using my tongue on the inside of my mouth, etc etc), so now I can't help it.
I crack my back every night before I go to sleep. First I twist to the right, then to the left.
I always eat ice-cream out of a mug. If I'm really craving it I'll go for a glass.
The only place I'm ticklish is on the back of my neck, and even then it takes a skilled hand...
Even though I'm am optimist, I always play out worst case scenarios in my head. Not the typical "what if mamaw died...", it's more like a visual image of what would happen if I fell off a motorcycle. On the freeway. Without a helmet.
This is more of a Black Death quirk, but I always assign characters in movies (and sometimes books) to people I know.
I always fold my trash if I can (as opposed to rumpling it up).

So there you have it. I probably have more, but I figured these would suffice!

P.S. Feel free to leave some of your quirks in the comments :)

Sophomore Year = too little sleep + two(ish) years to go :)

2009-08-26T16:08:00.005-05:00

1. These past few days have been pure chaos (or at least that's what it feels like). My work schedule + my class schedule could potentially kill me...SOON. I considered posting my full schedule (both work and class) but I didn't want to sound like a complete whiny-baby, so I refrained ;). Basically, I'm just going to have to buckle down and suck it up. I know that as the year progresses I will adjust and maybe even grow to love it (cross your fingers. ha)...but right now all I know is that I'm tired. All. The. Time. I am just going to have to rely on God to really restore me physically, mentally, and emotionally throughout the year.

2. My apartment situation is interesting to say the least. I really do love the girls I'm living with, I just have a feeling this year will be more of a ministry than a living arrangement for me...

3. Speaking of my apartment, I LOVE LOVE LOVE having my own kitchen :) Definitely my favorite part so far. Also, having my own bathroom/shower again (shared with only one of my roomies) is a HUGE plus. PTL.

4. I have been driving myself crazy lately trying to figure out what I should start reading in my quiet times (because I'm completely cliche and want to have a new routine for this coming school year ;)). I'm thinking of reading through Psalms and (Fill-in-the-Blank), but I can't decide what else to read through...the Gospels? Major/Minor Prophets? Pauline Letters? I know I can't really go wrong, I'm just trying to chose one I can really delve in to...so feel free to give input :)

5. My classes are a little intimidating. I have this sneaking suspicion that Greek is going to eat my lunch (mostly because I REALLY dislike studying). Intro to Religious Education should be pretty tight (and VERY similar to the Educational Ministry of the Church, which I took last semester with the same prof. ha). The big surprise was that my History of Christianity class is almost ALL seniors, so I'm wondering if I should have been warned or something before I signed up for it...but once again, I love the prof (he taught my Christian Doctrine class), so I'm sure I'll like it. And lastly, I have Statistics for Social Sciences (YAWN!). Ugh. I hate math. I hate math. I hate math. So that's pretty much a DD....Oh, and I'm taking an online english from lonestar but I'm not too worried about that.

Anyways, that just about sums it up! I'll try to start posting more regularly now that I'm settling in to a routine.

Some lingering thougts

2009-08-23T00:33:00.002-05:00

Today was my first official day back at DBU...

In related news, it was also my first day living in my apartment (more on this later, promise.).

So far so good. I'm tired and flustered, but thank the Lord, tomorrow is Sunday and I'm getting quality time with my mom.

P.S. I'll try to post some pic's of my new place in my next post...be ready ;)

Yahweh Yireh: The Lord My Provider

2009-08-17T16:56:00.003-05:00

This morning I received a call from the head of the DBU Ministry student program telling me that I could potentially lose my grant money because I had to be endorsed by a church in the Dallas area that could vouch for my service and leadership over the past year. For those of you that don't know, this past year I had to go without a car and was therefore unable to go to the same church on a consistent enough basis (and be able to plug in, hold a position of leadership/service, etc etc). And even though I managed to be in a church every Sunday, there just wasn't any way for me to be in the same one every Sunday. Well as soon as I heard the news I was crushed. If it had been up to me, I would have been plugged in somewhere all last year doing ministry, but because I couldn't seem to find a reliable way to do this I had to just make do. As soon as I got off the phone with him I had to (audibly) remind myself that God has provided a wonderful job and a ton of opportunities to help pay for my college education...there was just no way He would leave me without the means to continue on after He had already done so much to put me at DBU.

And even though I knew and believed God would continue to take care of me and provide, I had no idea it would unfold the way it did...

This afternoon I received a call from the same man saying that he couldn't get me off his mind, and even though it would mean making a major exception for me, he still wanted to help me out and find a way around the problem. After we talked for a little while, he gave me a very small task to complete (I have to get a hand-written note from my pastor at NW) in order to keep my grant money and buy another year until I get the car situation worked out and I get settled in a church. Hallelujah!

I am constantly in awe of God and the ways He choses to get my attention. Though I never doubted His faithfulness, He still managed to show me just how much I underestimate Him. Praise be to God, Yahweh Yireh, My Provider!

¹⁹And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Philippians 4:19-20

Lights! Camera! Awkward!

2009-08-13T00:24:00.003-05:00

Today I learned a very important life lesson... I do not enjoy being on camera (or at least I'm not very good at it)*. It kills me that some people are just naturals when it comes to this kind of stuff, because for some reason, when someone turns a camera on me I just get all awkward and clam up!

Let me just start at the beginning...

Today I was supposed to help Dwight Davis (the Missions pastor) with a video that is going to be used on the church website...unfortunately, I forgot to mention to him that I'm not really good at thinking on my feet and especially not with that amount of pressure! The question I was supposed to answer was "how has going on a mission trip with Northwest changed the way you live at home?", and in my mind I had an awesome answer planned out that would have been both encouraging and insightful...but when it came down to it I was completely lost. I tried to say words like "Jesus" or "missional" or "intentional" as much as possible, but I'm not sure I got out a single coherent thought.

Hopefully whoever is in charge of editing can work wonders!

* for those of you that remember, I was on the video team... but no, I was never very good at it.

Boston and New York City

2009-07-14T19:07:00.007-05:00

Since on my vacay to Boston and NYC with Marie, I have noticed a few key things about life in a big city... but more specifically, life in the Northeast.

1. People are RUDE. Seriously, no one says excuse me or exchanges pleasantries, and almost everyone walks around in a foul mood ready to snap at the first person who does something to set them off.

2. You take public transportation everywhere. This is nice for some of the trips downtown where parking is scarce or expensive, or traffic is too frustrating to bother with, but for the most part, public transportation means unnecessary contact with strangers... and yea...i mean physical contact.

3. Summer here means mid 80's. This has probably been my favorite part of the trip :) the weather has been absolutely beautiful. But, from what I hear, it rains more than shines here in Boston. I'm just glad we've had good weather so far. Our first full day here was like 75 degrees with sunshine and a light breeze (aka PERFECT).

4. Generally speaking it is a lot more liberal here. Example: gay couples and anti-Jesus bumper-stickers are a LOT more common.

5. It is a lot healthier to live here than it is in cozy little Cypress. You walk everywhere (when you aren't taking "the T"), there are hardly any fast food restaurants, and people seem genuinely more concerned with their health.

6. EVERYONE here smokes. I know this completely contradicts my last point, but seriously, it's ridiculous. New York was the worst! You couldn't walk half a block without being immersed in someone else's cigarette smoke. Yuck.

7. Everything is really fast-paced and the people are really high-stressed. It seems like everyone is in their own world... a world that will collapse if they don't make it to their destination in time.

8. People in Boston don't use the letter "r" except for in words that end in "a"... then one magically appears at the end. It is kinda ridiculous. Example: the harbor= "habah" and idea= "idear".

9. Baseball is life. It is as close as a lot of people here come to religion. And it's not any baseball team. If you live in Boston, you live and breathe the Red Sox's. If you live in New York, you live and breathe the Yankee's.

10. Everything is super crowded. Whether it is the train station or just walking through downtown, you officially have no personal space once you arrive in NYC (or Boston for that matter).

Fall Sched.

2009-07-07T09:32:00.002-05:00

I know many of you are DYING to hear what I'm taking next semester and what my class schedule looks like, so I won't keep you waiting any longer... Careful, it's pretty exciting ;)

Monday:
8-9: GREEK
12-1: HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
2-4:30: INTRO TO RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Tuesday:
2-3:15: STATISTICS FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES

Wednesday:
8-9: GREEK
12-1: HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
1-2: GREEK LAB

Thursday:
2-3:15: STATISTICS FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES

Friday:
8-9: GREEK
12-1: HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY

I'm also going to try to squeeze in an online English from Lonestar and a mini-mester or two! That plus 30 hours of work a week should keep me pretty stinkin busy. Wish me luck!

A Danielle Moment

2009-07-04T00:11:00.002-05:00

Lately, I've realized I'm a little bit crazy (and by "a little bit", I mean "a LOTTA bit"). For some reason, whenever I'm trying to explain something or argue a point, I have trouble getting an entire thought out before I contradict myself or argue against myself. I tend to just say what I'm thinking... but sometimes my thoughts are moving too quick for my mouth and I end up saying things out of order, or moving on to another thought before I finish explaining the first one. Make sense?! Yea, I don't get it either.

Here's an example of something other people might hear me say:

I would really struggle if God told me to cut off my hair.
But even if I did it I'm sure God could...
BUT THAT'S NOT MY POINT!
I don't have to do it because it doesn't define me!

When in reality, I was thinking this:

I would really struggle if God told me to cut off my hair;
1) because I can be pretty vain
2) I'm ridiculous about my hair
3) I love red hair
4) there aren't enough red heads in the world
5) girls shouldn't have to cut off their hair if long hair is their "glory"
But at the same time I'm sure God could teach me something and grow me from that experience...oh wait, everyone has that glazed over look in their eyes...wrap it up Danielle! Make this point make sense! Quote Leviticus, yell something, anything! Red hair doesn't define me! Yea... go with that. Wait, why does everyone look so confused?

So next time I say something that doesn't make sense, just nodd and smile...because chances are I don't know what I said either.

Women in Ministry

2009-06-27T10:24:00.008-05:00

Lately I have talked to a LOT of people about what I believe a woman's role in ministry is, what I base that off of, and what I think about how Baptist churches have handled it. Since I'm going into ministry, this is obviously something that has been heavy on my heart for quite a while (two years to be exact ;)). And after all the research/soul-searching/prayer/etc., I think it comes down to a few basic principles that everyone needs to understand when they make up their mind about this issue. They aren't fun to hear for most people (especially women), but God's Word is pretty clear. I'm not saying my view is flawless, or that I'm an expert (I most definitely am NOT), but I think a lot of people (mostly women in my experience) need to be reminded of a few things when forming their opinions on this issue.

So here is what I've come up with so far...

1. Before you form an opinion, you HAVE to understand what Scripture says about women in general, but more specifically, what it says about women in the church and church authorities. Passages like 1 Timothy 2:11-14, 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 are very clear about this issue.

2. You must understand that this is not about male chauvinism or female empowerment, it's about biblical interpretation. I know that a LOT of women and men think the only reason the whole "women in ministry" thing is an issue is because of outdated viewpoints and overbearing men, BUT the reality is, it's an issue that has been around since Paul's time (and even before). Just because women have been "liberated" (whatever that means) since Paul's time, doesn't make the issue any less applicable or valid! Our flesh is deceptive, and it will always question those things that don't seem to feel right...which brings me to my next point...

3. You have to look at this issue separate from how you feel about it. Like I already mentioned, it's about what God's Word says, not how you think or feel it should be. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that as women, we have a tendency to live life based on our emotions, but when it comes to the foundational belief's of a church, or your personal belief's about what Scripture says, it is important to see beyond how you feel and really look into God's Word. Do research, ask older, wise men and women, just don't base it off how you feel. Your emotions are not the same as Truth.

4. Since we come from a generation and culture that teaches self-entitlement, it is important to make a conscious effort to break through that mindset. People are sinful and our flesh is weak...so how is it that Christians (those of us that should be the most aware of our own depravity) would think that we deserve anything? It is by God's grace that people are saved from themselves and their own wickedness, so how did we get the impression that we deserve anything other than God's wrath? Our culture tells us that we deserve things (in this case it's authority and leadership positions), when God's word tells us we deserve death.

5. We have to remember that Christians are set apart and called to be obedient to God's will and commands regardless of whether of not we understand them (Matthew 5:18-19)... I had to remind myself of this a lot when I was searching through scripture looking for "answers". God has laid out a plan for humanity through his Word. I don't understand why some things are the way they are because I am not God. His ways are higher than our ways! I will never understand why people feel that they can pick and chose what scriptures to believe and honor based on convenience. I'm sure most of us have been guilty of this at some point, but when you recognize it for what it is, it's ridiculous! Sure it may be easier to pick and chose what you believe or practice, but God is omniscient. We have to be satisfied with our belief that God is good and wise and wants the best for us!

Now the rambling begins...

The main argument I have heard in favor of women in authority positions over men (in churches) or pastoral roles, is that, when scripture talks about women in ministry, it is talking about a specific group of women at a specific point in time. I've been told countless times (even by professors at my Baptist school! ha) that it was culture/tradition/etc. that influenced Paul's words. I would be a fool not to acknowledge the specific instances Paul was addressing, BUT I also believe that God has established a set system for the way he desires the Church to be run. Isn't it possible (and maybe even probable) that God would chose to use these specific instances to inspire Paul to speak His words of Truth? In 2 Timothy 3:16 it says that "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness". That verse serves as yet another reason we should not take lightly God's instruction... even though it may seem "inconvenient" or "unfair" or even "sexist" to us.

I also don't understand how people can justify looking at this issue from a purely cultural standpoint and not other issues. If 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 is only addressing the women in the church of Corinth, then who's to say homosexuality wasn't a problem that was only applicable to that time and culture? A lot of churches and denominations are dealing with this very issue...in fact, the Episcopalian Church is dealing with it right now just like the Baptist Church is dealing with the "women in ministry" debate! When we start dissecting God's Word to the point of declaring what is and is not valid, we walk a fine line. Again, WE ARE NOT GOD.

I realize Scripture may not give us a black and white diagram of what women are and are not allowed to do, but it does give us principles and guidance for deciding what is and is not Biblical.

My personal conclusions...

It has taken me a LONG time to come to my conclusions, but I have finally reached the point where I feel grounded in what I believe about this issue. I would be lying if I said this process was easy...it was really hard. It challenged me, stretched me, and made me really look at what I believe about God's Word, His character and Biblical interpretation as a whole. When I first felt called into ministry I pleaded with God to change His mind because I didn't know what or how He could possibly use me, BUT he was faithful and pursued me, and after a lot of prayer, sifting through Scripture and Godly council, I am confident that God has made a place for women in the Church. I could list "jobs" that I think would be appropriate, but I'd rather not. If you really look at Scripture and believe in the infallibility of God's Word then I think it's relatively clear. The Bible has laid out some things women should do, like in Titus 2, or the countless examples of women raising up children in the Truth. Unfortunately, a lot of people (including myself for a long time) focus on the negative aspects and the things women have to "miss out on" or are "forbidden from doing". The reality of the situation is that it's a hard Truth for a lot of people, but it is Truth nonetheless...

So what do you think? What are your views on women in ministry?

Random Bits and Pieces

2009-06-16T18:55:00.003-05:00

I don't know what is up with T-Mobile lately, but ever since I got home from school, I NEVER seem to get signal in my house. It is really annoying. I almost always have to walk around or mess with it till I can score some bars. LAME.

In other news, this week has been really crazy so far. VBS is next week and there are a lot of things that need to get done that can't be done until last minute, so yea, it's been pretty intense. BUT I am so excited about VBS! I have never been a part of one (and I can't think of a single reason why...mostly just me being too shy or intimidated to get involved), so I am really pumped to see how it all unfolds.

Reasons I think it's going to be awesome:

It's a "Bible times" VBS.
Bible costumes!!
NW ususally has over 600 kids. WOW.
Different rooms for "the underground church" and Paul.
The curriculum and verses we are using are powerful.

My prayer for all of this is just that God puts the kids there that needs to be there and that we are able to use whatever means available to share the Gospel and hopefully help kids understand Scripture more fully. Gah. I love Children's Ministry.

Oh, and P.S. tomorrow night we have a "mad scientist" coming to put on a show for our Summer in the Zone night!! SOO TIGHT. We're also having a contest to see who can dress up as the most convincing mad scientist. Pretty sure it will be the highlight of my week. Have I mentioned how much I love my job?!

:)

Sin

2009-06-08T20:11:00.002-05:00

Last Friday marked the due date of my mammoth research paper on sin...and I am SO glad to be done. The basis of the paper was supposed to be about why it is important to talk about sin and why Christians seem to always focus on the "negative". I chose that prompt out of probably 15 others because it was the one that most appealed to me, and even though I procrastinated till the last second (like always), it was still a really fun* paper to write. One of my sources came from one of John Piper sermon's, called The Greatest Thing in the World: An Overview of Romans 1-7. You should check the whole thing out, but what really caught my eye was this description of sin...

The glory of God is not honored.
The holiness of God is not reverenced.
The greatness of God is not admired.
The power of God is not praised.
The truth of God is not sought.
The wisdom of God is not esteemed.
The beauty of God is not treasured.
The goodness of God is not savored.
The faithfulness of God is not trusted.
The promises of God are not relied upon.
The commandments of God are not obeyed.
The justice of God is not respected.
The wrath of God is not feared.
The grace of God is not cherished.
The presence of God is not prized.
The person of God is not loved.

The infinite, all-glorious Creator of the universe, by whom and for whom all things exist (Rom. 11:36) - who holds every person's life in being at every moment (Acts 17:25) - is disregarded, disbelieved, disobeyed, and dishonored by everybody in the world. That is the ultimate outrage of the universe.

*By "fun" I mean the kind of fun where, after hours and hours of research, you can still be completely floored by how awesome and full of mercy God is and how wicked and depraved we are.

Competitive Much?!

2009-05-31T21:49:00.002-05:00

For as long as I can remember, I've always been SUPER competitive. I blame it on an entire childhood spent playing sports and the fact that I'm the youngest of four, but to be honest, it effects pretty much every area of my life. Recently, I've been trying to figure out appropriate situations to express my competitiveness...here's what I've come up with so far:

Good Times to be competitive:

When sizing up strangers to see who I could defeat in a random (but necessary) street fight.
When playing sports with other competitive people...not to be confused with playing sports with non-competitive people.
When showing honor (as long as your motives are pure and you don't lose sight of the ultimate goal).
While doing random things that don't matter (aka "who can finish washing their hands first", or "who can write the funniest thing on the birthday card", etc)
When saying outrageous things in the appropriate context.
When trying to get some much needed work done.

Bad Times to be competitive:

When eating. This is a really bad habit to form! Ha.
When playing sports with people who aren't competitive, or are just really bad.
When saying outrageous things in INAPPROPRIATE situations (still working on this one).
When no one else wants to compete.
When doing something that no one else cares about (like writing a paper or doing office work).

Typically, when I'm competing with people, they are completely unaware. I will just have a running tally in my head of what's going on. But sometimes I compete without knowing it...Marie is pretty good about calling me out on this one. Ha.

So what are some other situations/times that make it ok (or inappropriate) to be competitive? I'd love to hear from some other people on this one...

Oh hello, SUMMER!

2009-05-28T23:02:00.002-05:00

So summer has officially started! Woop! I started interning on Tuesday, and so far I LOVE IT. It's my first time really working in children's ministry, and Stephanie (the CM) is keeping me really busy and is really good about explaining why she does things and the logistics of everything, etc etc. I'm totally eating it up.

Wednesday was our first event, and it was a really good one to start out on since it was the end of the year party...and since my life is one big party, it was like having two helpings of awesome ;)

There is just so much I want to learn this summer! Gah. I just hope I retain it all and God uses this to help me in the future.

This weekend should definitely be a fun one. Tomorrow I plan on sleeping as much as possible, then potentially a movie with people that night. Saturday I'm going to a wedding, then a grad party. Then on Sunday I have my first experience in Kidzone! Ha. I'm a little late, but it's better late than never, right? Anyways, I have every intention of blogging regularly once I settle in to a schedule, but I have no idea when that might be. There will definitely be some basketball posts in my immediate future...just a warning ;)

True Story

2009-05-13T19:18:00.002-05:00

The other night I got to go on a late-night adventure with some friends...I don't know if I can fully convey the awesomeness of that night, but I'll give it a shot.

Let me start by saying that for the last couple of days there has been this HUGE fire off I20 (the highway we take to get anywhere and everywhere) and as far as we could tell no one knew what it was or why it was there. The first time I saw it, I assumed it was the beginning of a forest fire because it's surrounded by trees on all sides, but considering it hadn't spread in a couple days, we knew it had to be something else.

Monday night some girl friends and I decided to go grab some coffee around 11, and on the way back to campus we decided we were feeling adventurous and wanted to find out where this fire was coming from. It took us quite a while to find out where it was coming from, but we finally found the road that led to it...only problem was it was REAL sketch. It was a one-way dirt road with really tall trees lining each side (basically the same type of road they use in every horror movie). Needless to say we had come too far to give up, so we decided to call some burly "man" friends to come and help us finish out our adventure...something about just the three of us girls going down a dark road in the middle of the night didn't seem quite right ;) ha.

I kind of thought we were going to stumble upon some type of KKK rally complete with a huge burning cross...but I'm a sucker for an "adventure" so I just pushed this thought to the back of my mind. Well once the guys arrived we all hopped in to the back of one of their trucks and headed on our way (picture 5 college students hanging on for dear life). Anyways, we finally made our way back down that path and we could actually FEEL the heat before we could see it, it was that intense. Then, after what seemed like forever, we reached this HUGE clearing and saw what looked like a GINORMOUS birthday candle*. So there we were, standing in awe of this tunnel of flame, when we noticed a truck on the other side of the clearing making its way in our direction very quickly. Ha. So we ended up having to maneuver our way out of there ASAP.

It ended up being a pretty exciting...mildly anticlimactic, but overall it was definitely an adventure to be remembered.

*Apparently they were burning fossil fuels

SUMMER? Yes, please.

2009-05-11T16:38:00.003-05:00

So my plans have changed...yet again. Ha. But now they're even better than if I would have tried to plan them myself.

I just found out (kind of last minute) that I am going to be able to intern after all! I was dreading not being able to intern somewhere, but felt like I had to do summer school all day, so I didn't have many options. I even turned down an internship earlier in the year because I felt like I HAD to do SS. Thank Goodness God had different and better plans in store for me :) I'm really looking forward to interning in a children's ministry (especially considering that's what I'm thinking about doing for the rest of my life. ha) and I'll still be able to go to Boston/NY with Marie (woop woop!) AND take a summer school class online! Gah. It's perfect.

And as if that wasn't enough, I got offered a new position at work that is pretty stinkin sweet! It's going to mean 30 hour work weeks, and working full-time during our breaks, but it will more than pay for itself. Seriously, it's like the best position you can have on campus as a student :)

On a related note, I'm starting to realize I need to loosen the reigns a little bit. I have my life so tightly mapped out that it's getting a little ridiculous (can I get an Amen from my fellow control freaks?!). I'm sure my little plans make God chuckle...well I guess it's either that, or He is going to smite me for my false sense of independence! ha.

Anyways, I just figured I'd throw an update out there. I know you guys live and breath for this stuff ;)

Tuesdays are for...

2009-05-05T18:55:00.006-05:00

...stealing molly's idea's ;)

I feel like blogging (which is rare these days) and since my brain is complete mush after these last few days of nonstop homework and work, I figured I'd just list out some current faves for you guys...but to be original, I'll do lists of four! ha. Enjoy :)

Boy Names

Noah
Elijah
Micah
Caleb

Girl Names

Grace
Delilah (don't judge me)
Rebekah
Bethany

Phrases

come get some! (said in my best ghetto voice)
hey boy, hey! (compliments of my RA)
thebomb.com (usually preceded by "we are...")
better than ever (because 19 feels SO good ;))

Short-term Goals

Do well on ALL my finals
Maintain my GPA
Sleep at LEAST 6 hours a night (this one probably won't happen)
Figure out my summer situation

Long-term Goals

Graduate (duh)
Work in ministry somewhere...anywhere
Marry and procreate
Be everyone's favorite grandma

Things about DBU

My classes
The wonderful people I've met
Having prof's who care enough to invest in students on a personal level
Campus

Things to do

Talk to people (what can I say... I'm a talker ;)
Sleep
Watch random movies (this one is hit or miss with me)
Procrastinate.

Musicians

Ernie Halter (my #1 for 3 years now, and he's STILL not getting old! ha)
Amos Lee
Frank Sinatra
Jeff Johnson

Songs

Arms of a Woman- Amos Lee
Hosanna- Hillsong
Darlin' I- Tony Lucca
Feeling good- Michael Buble

Things to talk about

Biblical Womanhood and scripture v. evangelical feminism ;)
Other people's love stories
My future
SUMMER

Blessings

DBU and being able to study something that really excites me
My job (as much as I complain about it, it has been steady and SUCH a help)
Having an amazing family that is supportive and willing to challenge me
Awesome friends that bring me so much joy :)

Most Interesting Classes (so far)

Old Testament
Educational Ministry of the Church
Intro to Christian Ministry
New Testament (sadly, this is in spite of my prof)

Movies

Fireproof (because it challenges me)
A Beautiful Mind (because it's my classic)
Far and Away (because Jeremy finally chose one I'd like ;))
Arranged (because I love learning about different religions...and an arranged marriage is REAL tempting these days! ha)

Foods

Soup...even though it's not soup weather anymore :(
Mocha Maddness ice cream
Really good bread...like the German Dark Wheat wholegrain bread I have stashed in my room.
Cheese Enchiladas (because #1. they're delish and #2. I only get them when I am home, so they always go along with me and my rents "debriefing from college" talks :))

Things I miss

My parents
My friends from home
Big Love *sigh*
My bed

Things I need to do more of

Prayer
Cardio
Studying
Sleep

Random things I want to do over summer

Go camping...unchaperoned just cause I can.
Go tubing...because it's thebomb.com.
Cooking and Baking...on a regular basis.
Watch movies...lots of them.

Pastors I listen to

Mark Driscoll
Matt Chandler
Josh Patterson
John Piper

Productivity...

2009-05-03T20:35:00.004-05:00

I am finding it increasingly hard to be productive. I'm just counting down the days till the end of this semester :) I am overdue for a little vacation. But before that I'm taking Christian Doctrine in a mini-mester, which I am REALLY excited about! woop woop! I think it'll be better if I just bullet my thoughts at this point...

I starting to enjoy Christian rap. Yea. Judge me if you must.
I have my first (and hardest) final Thursday! Yikes!
I am SOOO ready to be out of college and in ministry somewhere (but that is a subject for another blog...)
That being said, I still love my classes and the things I get to learn. It is such a blessing to be at a Christian school learning about the things I'm most passionate about!
I have a new favorite ice-cream. Me gusta Mocha Maddness.
It is ridiculous how many sermons I've listened to and books/articles I've read lately on the relationship between husbands and wives.
Speaking of husbands and wives, I totally aced my research paper on Ephesians 5:21-33 :)
I love babies (Just in case you forgot). And I am real excited about spending time with my precious niece over summer!!
Oh, I am super-dee-duper excited about starting greek next semester. but I am also a little nervous that it's going to eat my lunch.
The Spurs are already out of playoffs. It was tragic, BUT I am glad they get more time to rest and start rebuilding the team before next season. I feel a post about them coming up in the near future ;)
I can't wait to reunite with BD over summer!! woop woop. Nothing like being home with besties!
I've had a strong urge to play sports lately. I think it's because I've been couped up indoors writing papers and such.
If I have to write this many papers every semester for the rest of my college career I would probably consider dropping out.
I am really bad at procrastinating. Case in point, I have 7 papers/reports due tuesday and I've only done one of them.
I pulled my first all-nighter last week...well almost. I ended up going to bed at 5am and waking up at 7am, but I still count that as an all-nighter. ESPECIALLY considering how much I like sleep.
I am really sad I'm not interning anywhere this summer, but I keep reminding myself that this is only one season of life, and hopefully I will spend the rest of my life working in a church or being a part of ministry somewhere :)
Verse of the week: "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." 1 Timothy 1:5

Lies I've Believed

2009-04-22T11:09:00.011-05:00

Lately I have been reflecting and working through certain lies and misconceptions I have bought in to over the last few years. Lies that I've believed as a Christian woman, and lies that I think many Christian women believe. This is not an attempt to debunk Paul's teachings that women should be quiet in the church (or argue with any scripture for that matter!), it is just my way of dealing with the way I think our church culture has perverted and manipulated certain scriptures and principles. I am merely speaking from my own experience, so feel free to disagree.

Lie #1:

To have a gentle and quiet spirit, a woman should be practically mute. Strong personalities and women that are boisterous or outgoing are not walking fully in the light, or they are not as holy as those women that tend to keep to themselves.

Let me start by saying that I understand and recognize the importance of using discretion when choosing what you are going to say. Proverbs 13:3 says that, "Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin", so there is a clear Biblical call to use wisdom and good judgment when choosing what to say and when to say it.

However, what I think this has been turned in to is a scale with which to measure a woman based on her personality. In other words, women that are outgoing or talkative must be falling short in this area. I realize this might not be as common of a belief as I think it is, but it is something that has bothered me for some time. Why should a Christian woman be looked upon as inadequate or unwise simply because she is spirited? Sure, there is an extra responsibility that comes with an eagerness to talk, but wasn't this woman's personality shaped and molded by her Creator? Or on the other end of the scale, why should a quiet, reserved woman be put on a pedestal simply because of her quietness?

Women, like men, are endowed by our Creator with certain characteristics and gifts. I believe that even though culture and society can have a negative impact and shape certain (sinful and unbiblical) qualities in us, we are first and foremost the craftsmanship of God. He has equipped and prepared everyone in unique ways, and it is in these differences and similarities that the Body is made complete.

Lie #2:

Modesty is centered around a list of rules and regulations (as opposed to a pursuit of holiness).

This is just another form of legalism, and I am just as guilty (if not more so) than everyone else that has viewed modesty in this way. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most girls find the issue of modesty a controversial and fuzzy topic. Personally, I grew up being taught that it was my responsibility to control the thoughts (and lust) of the men and boys around me based on how I was presenting my body. That is an enormous responsibility, and one that I don't believe to be fully Biblical. I do believe that Christian women have a responsibility to their Christian brothers to help guard their hearts from lust and temptation...but it is impossible for a woman to know or control someone else's thoughts.

This is where I believe legalism steps in. It is so easy to think "well as long as my shorts are this long" or "no body part is overly exposed, so I should be ok". But that is not what the Bible calls us to do. There is a reason that there isn't a concrete list of do's and don'ts in terms of modesty, it's because it is so much more than a list of rules! This is a lesson I'm still learning and something I pray God continues to affirm in me, I just think it's extremely important that Christian girls (and women) learn that modesty starts in the heart and our clothing is just an outpouring of that.

Sinatra and Such

2009-04-19T23:36:00.002-05:00

For those of you that don't know... I randomly go through different phases where I am obsessed with certain kinds/types/styles/genres of music. Right now I can't get enough Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin etc etc.

Here are some of my faves...

I know Michael Buble isn't the same as Frank Sinatra, but I like him...a lot :)

Updates

2009-04-19T20:34:00.003-05:00

Ok Ok, I realize I haven't posted in a while. But don't fret, I'll do 5 Hail Mary's after this ;)

I know I'm probably the only one excited about my classes*, BUT since I am so excited about them, and seeing as this is MY blog, I'm going to go ahead and let that overflow on this post...

May Mini-Mesters:

Christian Doctrine
Marriage and Family

Summer School:

Biology
Language and Literature II

Fall 09' Classes:

Elementary Greek (and lab)
World Literature I
Intro to Religious Education
Social Problems
Political Science

I really want to add one more class to my fall schedule, but I'm probably going to be working 30 hours a week, so more than 16 hours of classes might be academic/social suicide. I'd LOVE to take Jeremiah, but alas, I'll have to wait and take it in another mini-mester... *sigh*

*I got to view the unofficial fall schedule while I was at work (one of the few perks of my job) and decided on my classes for next fall. So basically I'm OOBER excited :)

Spring Sing

2009-04-03T11:43:00.003-05:00

Last night was DBU's annual Spring Sing where some of the school organizations compete against each other in lip-sync battles. I know what you're thinking, and no, it's not just songs and synchronized dance...it's SOO much more ;) The groups have to have dialogue, a theme, and typically they have to be funny (though two of the groups didn't get that memo).

There were some really funny things that happened though, so I figured I'd recap...

We have a girl in our SGA (student government association) that has a dog named Brody that is with her at all times. Technically he's a seizure alert dog that is trained to react in the event that this girl has a seizure. But they managed to work it in to the skit and he played her seeing-eye dog. Anyways, her group was all dressed up as old people, and at one point the guy next to her "drops dead". Automatically Brody starts freaking out and tugging on her arm and darting all over the place, while the rest of the cast kept trying to play along. It was HILARIOUS.
Another group decided to do famous people from the 1990's, so of course they included Bill and Hillary Clinton (no surprise there)...what none of us was expecting, was for them to include Monica. In the scene Bill and Hillary are walking together and Bill starts to lag behind, then out of nowhere comes Monica who holds up a "I love Bill" sign and runs to his side. Then as they walk away Bill slides his hand down her side to her butt! I was kinda surprised they got away with it, so it definitely earned points for shock value.
One of the funniest things of the night was the group that joked about Ray Boltz. Not only was he wearing a sweet mullet, but at the beginning I noticed him checking out Screech's butt... and as if that wasn't enough, they even had the guts to make a reference about "the closet" during his rendition of "Thank You". It was so funny, yet soo sad at the same time.

Ging No More...

2009-03-29T19:18:00.002-05:00

The other day while I was getting ready for work I noticed something that I found very startling. At first I convinced myself that I was seeing things...I mean, SURELY it was some kind of mistake. But upon further inspection, I realized it was EXACTLY as it seemed.

I, Danielle "I'm-18-I-Do-What-I-Want" Weghorst, am going prematurely gray.

I was (and still am) kind of horrified. I had never even considered it as a possibility. It's kind of ironic since I always grew up with people telling me how much they loved my hair color, wanted hair like mine, blah blah blah. I'm still not totally sure how I feel about this new development, I'm just trying to not think about it too much. I also have no idea how long this whole process will take, so right now I'm just going to enjoy every day I have left being a ging :)

Whirlwind

2009-03-18T17:32:00.002-05:00

Sorry about the lack of bloggage recently. Everything seems to be moving 100 miles a minute so I have everything to do and nothing to say at the same time. Ha. I'll just stick to the highlights...

For Spring Break I took a mini-term (Intro to Fine Arts) so that I could just knock it out. It was pretty easy, I still need to write two papers before I can officially put it behind me though.
Rochelles wedding was awesome! I'm so excited for her and Sid! Plus I got to hang out with my besties at the wedding, which made it the most fun I've had in quite a while :)
Had a huge family dinner which is always fun. Got to hang with my siblings and their significant others and my rents...and of course KAITLYN!! She is getting so big and so animated now! I can't wait till summer so I can get in some babysitting time.

I've also been making some big decisions regarding my future. Mostly just hypothetical planning, but that's still a pretty big deal in my book! Here's what I've got so far...

I finally sat down to figure out what I needed to do in order to graduate in three years. It's doable, but it's going to take a little extra effort!

I have also decided to take two more mini-mesters in May, and two summer school classes this summer. I know it sounds like a lot, but I'd much rather knock these classes out now and not have to worry about them later. I'm taking Christian Doctrine and Marriage and Family (two classes I'm really excited about) for my May mini's at DBU, and I'll be taking Biology and English back home at Lonestar this summer.

I've also basically made up my mind to go on and get my M.A.C.E. (Master of Arts in Christian Education) degree after I finish my bachelor's. Originally I was thinking I would go to seminary to do this, BUT good ole DBU just started offering a completely online M.A.C.E. program that would allow me to live and work anywhere and still finish my degree...that earns MAJOR points in my book. Plus it's like 20 less credit hours to do it at DBU than it would be to get it at seminary, and it's the same exact degree.

Well that's pretty much it for now! I'll work on keeping the blogs a little more consistent from here on out...

Isaiah 40:31

2009-03-08T22:49:00.000-05:00

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint
Isaiah 40:31

Papers, Papers, Papers!

2009-03-08T20:58:00.002-05:00

Basically all of my professors decided to schedule our major papers around the same time. It's AWESOME. Luckily, I got to choose the prompts for all of them (for the most part). And even though you probably don't care, I'm going to go ahead and tell you what I'm writing about...

What makes a Successful Preschool Ministry for Educational Ministry of the Church
Living History Interview with someone who lived through WWII for History 1865-Present
Gender roles in my Family of Origin for Human Growth and Development
The Relationship of a Husband and Wife (based on Ephesians 5:21-33) for New Testament

It should be interesting (or extremely tedious ;)) ha. Oh man. Wish me luck!

Check one off the list!

2009-03-05T15:35:00.003-06:00

Today I found out that I'm going to be able to go to a mosque on the 18th!

From what I gather, we'll get to tour the mosque, observe a prayer session, sit through a Q&A with some of the elder-ish men(I have no idea what they're actually called) and then go to an Arab restaurant for dinner :)

I don't know if this was officially on my previous list of goals, but it is definitely something I've always been curious about!

Oh, and apparently one of the men that will be talking to us is a convert that used to be a Southern Baptist*.

*Southern Baptists and Mormons are the top converts to Islam.

John 13:35

2009-03-01T21:29:00.004-06:00

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:35

This week my memory verse is John 13:35, but instead of just posting the verse and nothing else, I decided to add a little bit of my own commentary ;) ha. Bear with me...

It is my prayer and my hearts desire to learn how to love in a way that is pure and selfless. I want to learn to love with no expectations and in a way that is pleasing to God. I want to love so that people will see Christ. I want to love because Christ first loved me. I want to love even when it's not easy...especially when it's not easy. I want to love in all circumstances, and I want to love all people. It is my calling as a believer to share the love of Christ with those around me, and it is such a wonderful blessing and incredible challenge to do so! I pray that in all times and all circumstances we would all be reminded of the love He has bestowed upon us, and our obligation and privilege as believers to share that with others.

Shalom Y'all!

2009-02-26T14:12:00.007-06:00

I'm not sure if any of you have heard about the Cowboy Church Movement that the BGCT started not too long ago, but I'm sure at some point you have seen or heard of one of these churches...if not, it's about time for you to take a trip outside the city limits ;)

To be honest, I hadn't really given them much thought until I heard some of the statistics and stories about the mission of these churches and the people they were reaching out to. In Texas alone there is estimated to be 1 million people that are "actively part of the Western heritage culture, or bear a strong affinity towards it." Some people say that we will need close to 200 churches in order to reach all of these people. And as if that weren't enough, I've read about some of these churches where over 70% of the baptisms are adults (and the majority of those were men).

Now I'm not a cowgirl, nor do I aspire to become one, but knowing that there are Christians that are being intentional about reaching and evangalizing a group of people that have previously felt neglected by the Church makes me optimistic about the future. I can't help but be excited. Regardless of how you feel about the BGCT (and baptists in general), as a believer how can you not be excited about this?! I think we need more movements like this one that will reach people that feel disconnected from modern church culture. I think we need to start going out to meet people where they're at, engage in their lives and culture, and most importantly SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION!

Whew. I need to go get a bottle of water and listen to some Johnny Cash or something ;)

2 Corinthians 5:10

2009-02-25T13:27:00.001-06:00

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
2 Corinthians 5:10

"Danielle wants" lots of things.

2009-02-20T13:23:00.003-06:00

I decided to embrace my inner 7th grade girl...

1) Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search.
2) Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search.
3) Type in "[your name] says" in Google search.
4) Type in "[your name] wants" in Google search.
5) Type in "[your name] does" in Google search.
6) Type in "[your name] hates" in Google search.
7) Type in "[your name] asks" in Google search.
8) Type in "[your name] likes " in Google search.
9) Type in "[your name] eats " in Google search.
10) Type in "[your name] wears " in Google search.
11) Type in "[your name] was arrested for" in Google Search.
12) Type in "[your name] loves" in Google Search.

Mine is pretty rockin...

1) Danielle needs more self respect.
2) Danielle looks like she thinks George is hitting on her...
3) Danielle say's he's annoying.
4) Danielle wants to know, why does God hate Willowcat?
5) Danielle does not chat or instant message online, and does not use email to communicate with fans
6) Danielle hates cold calls from financial advisors.
7) Danielle asks for emergency diary room.
8) Danielle likes Cats. (sick-nasty)
9) Danielle eats a spicyyy samosa.
10) Danielle wears Prada!
11) Danielle was arrested for drunk driving.
12) Danielle loves Robert.

Roses are Red

2009-02-16T11:23:00.006-06:00

Warning: This post is full of estrogen ;)

This past week has reminded me of something...

I do NOT like roses. My roomie came back with a dozen roses last night and now my room is filled with their stale scent. I know that the majority of guys that buy roses for their girlfriends/wives/mothers have good intentions, and a lot of girls genuinely love getting roses...I'm just not that girl. It's not that I think their intentions aren't good, I just think it's a cop-out (unless a girl specifically says her favorite flowers are roses).

However, I really do LOVE flowers.There are so many beautiful, fragrant flowers out there, but it's almost like 99% of Americans don't even know they exist. So here is a list of my favorites (in order of loveliness ;).

1. Hyacinth

2. Tulips

3. Oriental Lily

4. Lilacs