Currently Listening Broken & Beautiful By Mark Schultz see related

Okay, okay,

It's been forever.  Not as long as some people I know, but still forever.    Oh well.  I'm off on another semester that is quite possibly one of my craziest and in the meantime trying to fit in a gazillion things at once.  (Is that a real measurement?) 

I went to Athens this weekend, which was an amazingly spur of the moment awesome decision.  I had a blast, including the 4 1/2 hour car ride each way - me and God alone time!  I'm totally in love with my boyfriend, just to put that out there...

For the few people who keep up with my life, that's basically it - just along for the journey God is taking me on.  I love every activity (besides maybe homework) I'm doing this semester (hanging out with awesome 7th graders, loving on a bunch of girls in Bible study, and chillin with one of the cutest 2 year olds out there) and maybe even some of my classes.  I'm learning an incredible amount from my Savior and trying not to panic too much realizing that I will be graduating in December.  Prayer is awesome and it really does work, by the way! 

I hope that everything else in cyberland is going well and that at some point I might actually get to really post a good, long something for one or two people to read.  Until then, I'm just going to hope I can catch up on sleep! 

Until then,

~D~

Psalm 27:14

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."

Currently Listening Winter Wonderland By Point of Grace see related

8 Days Until Christmas!!!!!!!!!

I know that will be seven days in about 12 minutes, but hey, whatever works....

This isn't a very exciting post, but I thought I'd put a wonderful note up saying that I am done with exams, I am home, I start a job for two weeks tomorrow, and I've done well on my grades as best I know!  I'm excited!!!!  David and Susan get married this Saturday (woo-hoo!) and I'm crazy busy until then!  Anyways, that's about all I have right now. 

I'll update soon - I promise! 

~D~

1 John 1:5

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all."

Currently Listening A Christmas to Remember By Amy Grant see related

What motivates me? 

A question that just occurred to me, but one I think I try to answer in some form or another so often.  I admit that I have not been as focused on Christ as I should have been the last few weeks, maybe longer, and I have let myself slip into some sort of complacent stage.  I don't say that I am totally complacent; I am not.  I just don't feel the burn inside to know God, to teach girls about Him, and to seek His face more and more like I did.  I pray about it, and pray that I will continue to have a hunger and thirst for Him, but it is slow going.  I get so wrapped up in other things, in school work, in sleep, in television (though I must admit God did teach me a lot about that), in other people, that I forget to enjoy God.  It seems almost a strange concept at the moment, just sitting and enjoying God.  Often my favorite moments with Him are outside, by the ocean or sitting under trees, but that is not really possible here.  So I must learn to enjoy God just sitting in my room, walking to class, or talking with others.  If my motivation is to enjoy God in everything I do, to seek His will at all times and bask in His beauty, then how much more could He use me?!  How much more could He teach me?  I want to burn with passion for Him like I do other things, and I want that to rub off on others.  Even when I am not feeling well, even when I am tired and don't feel like being nice, I want Christ to come out in me and I want the world to know that I am enjoying Him. 

Am I worshiping my Creator today? 

~D~

Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Currently Listening A Grateful People By Watermark see related

So, thus ends my week of no outside media (except for class).  God has taught me a lot and has shown me that I can focus on Him all the time, and that I should.  Because I have not been off in la-la land, imposed by television, movies, or books, I have been able to see and appreciate the miracles God does every day!  Last night at Freshman Bible Study, we had 81 freshmen!  I had been praying for 60 freshmen, enough for 6 in each group.  During my quiet time, studying Numbers, God showed me some really cool verses:

"1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. 3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron's name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. 4 Place them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you. 5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites."

 6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron's staff was among them. 7 Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the Tent of the Testimony.

 8 The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. 9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the LORD's presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his own staff." Numbers 17:1-9

So, instead of just saying, hey, you know my heart and because you are sharing my passions, this is what I will do, no, God decided to go above and beyond what man asked.  How cool is that!  This is also knowing that in the weeks to come, more people will show up.  God is amazing! 

The little miracles are what I will be looking for as I continue on in life, striving to seek the face of God.  While I will now have books and movies and television to distract me, I pray that God will show me Himself through all of it and that I will see that the life God has for me here, serving Him, is so much way cooler than anything fiction has to offer. 

So, until next time,

~D~

Numbers 23:12

"Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?"

Currently Reading Essentials of Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences By Frederick J Gravetter, Larry B. Wallnau see related

Well, as I sit here relatively confused and semi-hurt, I figured I will write another blog.  I'm not totally sure what about yet, so bear with me. 

This week God asked me to do something pretty hard.  No television and no books for a week.  (Unfortunately school books are allowed...)  When I watch tv, movies, or read books, I get caught up in a world that is not my own and lose focus on the here and now and what God has to say to me.  This is not saying that God cannot teach me through these things, on the contrary one of the most important lessons He taught me this summer was from a four dollar wal-mart Christian fiction novel.  However, more and more frequently I have found it difficult to pull myself away from the ficticious world in which I am residing and come back to reality.  Often my thoughts would be consumed with daydreams about the characters and the world in which they live.  TV was getting about equal, except that sometimes provoked no thought, just allowed me to escape reality.  In my reality where I have to deal with hard issues (such as my best friend getting married and moving far away) it is not good to ignore it.  So, in order to grab my attention back, God asked this of me.  And, using the lesson I learned this summer, I said yes.  I will say yes to God, no matter what He asks me, even before He asks it of me.  I am at the end of day three, and let me tell you, it has been interesting.  The first day wasn't so bad, I have gone days before without watching tv or reading, just staying busy.  Yesterday wasn't all that bad either, just a little more of "now what?" going through my head.  Today, however, has been quite the challenge.  Temptation just to pick up a book has been intense.  However, God is getting me through it, through the power of His strength alone.  I could not do it myself, I am much too weak-willed.  Praying to Him resulted in me realizing how much I need to rely on Him all the time, not just now.  How often do I fail at that?  Not focusing my mind on other books and tv has allowed me to realize the power of the Word of God and allow me to crave it.  I am reading through Numbers and Deuteronomy with Luke, and even though those books may seem dry and boring, God speaks to me through them.  His word is awesome and powerful, even just looking at numbers of men in Israel.  There is no telling what else God will teach me during the rest of this time.  My prayer is that He continues to remind me of this and how to focus on Him, not on the things of this world.  Not to escape reality.  Not to take for granted the time that I could have with Him, the time that He can use me to minister to other souls on this earth. 

I am really enjoying living in this apartment with Katy and Vanessa.  I love having my own room that I can shut the door to and talk on the phone or do my quiet time.  Both of them are great and can cook pretty good too!   

If anyone ever tries to tell you that long distance relationships are not as hard as they might seem, don't believe them.  Keeping the relationship healthy is not the bad part, it is the part that aches for missing them so much.  It is harder when there is no immediate end in sight.  But God is in control and is the center of it all.  Whatever brings Him the most glory is where I'll be. 

Well, I think that is all for now kiddos.  I'll keep you updated on what else God teaches me this week.  I hope you are allowing Him to teach you too! 

Oh, yeah, and I put up a few of the best pictures from France in the photos area. 

Forever His,

~D~

Deuteronomy 30:14

"No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it."