Me with Granddad and Grandmom at the homecoming luncheon this afternoon. Aren't they just the best?! 

Homecoming part 2

Well, most of the major homecoming events are about over. Thursday evening, I went to our All-School Sing, where basically different groups put on mini-musicals in a competition. It's a pretty big deal, and usually a big event. This year's was pretty good.

Yesterday, I got to see my grandparents...woo-hoo! It was so good to see them again. They had come for a luncheon, and I saw them after choir practice. We spent most of the afternoon together, and they helped me run errands to get my medicine, new guitar strings, and even a haircut (1 and 1/2 inches off, if you must know). That evening, we got to eat at the country club with our dear friend "Aunt" Virginia. That lady is so amazing, and I love her to death. She has so much life and spunk in her at 92; I hope I can be like that at half her age! So that was a special evening together.

Today there was an alumni luncheon, and my Aunt Kay and the boys, Kaleb and Seth, drove into town for that. Grandmom and Granddad left shortly after that, and I went to the football game with Aunt Kay, the boys, and Christina. While I was there, I got to run into Lance's sister, Leslie, who graduated from here a couple of years ago. It was neat to randomly run into her. We stayed till about half-time, and then we left (we were ahead 24-0, so I think we ended up winning).

I went back to my room for a couple of hours, did laundry, did homework, talked with Lance on the phone, and even chatted with Christina and Rachel, who both called. Around 6 or 6:30, Aunt Kay and the boys came back from where they're staying, and we all went to the most wonderful burger place in town. We stayed there for a good while, and my aunt and I got to talk about a lot of things. She's so great; I love getting to talk with her. It was really nice just to have a heart-to-heart about some things.

So anyways, they just dropped me off back at my room an hour ago. They'll be at church tomorrow, and then I will head back with them to Dallas for my doctor's appointment on Monday. Yay. :-)

May the God of love, comfort, hope, and peace give you an extra portion of each this week. And remember to smile a lot...it's good for you!

Happy Birthday to Lance!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's Lance's 21st birthday today. Just wanted to wish him a public happy birthday!

(I would write more, but I'm tired. More to come later!)
God bless, and have a fantastic weekend.

Homecoming

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is homecoming weekend. Which means I get to see my grandparents! I found out they just got in tonight, although I won't see them till tomorrow. And my aunt and two cousins will be in on Saturday...so it should be a full weekend!

This week has gone by so fast; I scarcely remember it. Yesterday was fun. I got to babysit, of course, that afternoon, and I had a fun time with the kids. I had taken pictures of them, so I printed them out, and we made photo frames and cards with their pictures to give to their parents. The parents had asked also if I would help start supper that evening because they were taking some food to another teacher who was sick; so I was cutting up potatoes and boiling different dishes, and I had the door open in the next room so I could keep an eye on the kids outside. So I'm standing there, cooking food and watching the kids play in the backyard...and I felt like such a mom. It was weird. (Don't worry, Dad, I know I'm not allowed to have kids for at least another five or six years.) :-)

Then I did laundry last night and studied for a big New Testament test, which I took today. I think it went ok. I also get to sleep in tomorrow, because my PE class was cancelled, so my first class will be choir practice at noon. Our choir practice is really picking up because of our concert next week. Practice is a challenge vocally and mentally, and I usually leave choir practice exhausted (which I did not know was possible). But it's so much fun, too. I'm really excited about our concert!

Today I got to talk with Lance on the phone, and I chatted briefly with Mom online. She told me that a dear Indonesian lady who used to work for us--she lived with us for about ten years--apparently passed away a few years ago. They had just found out about it. So that was pretty hard to hear; this lady was like family to me. Almost all of my childhood memories involve her. I was a little bit in shock after I found out, and then pretty sad. But like Mom said, she's in Heaven now, and she's happy; I can rejoice in that.

You know, I think about Heaven sometimes. Sometimes I think about it a lot of the time. And I think it will be so wonderful. Having moved around so much all my life, it's difficult for me to say where "home" is; and wherever "home" is at that moment, still most of my family and friends are in different places all around the world. I can't wait for Heaven, a permanent home, where almost all the people I've ever loved will all be in one place. There will be no homesickness, no goodbyes. And just imagine getting to be in the presence of the Father, for eternity...it's incredible and awesome and wonderful, all at once. And you know, when I think of getting to Heaven, I realize that that will truly be the best homecoming of all.

Tuhan memberkatimu--the Lord bless you.

Healing Rain

Well, I am terribly disappointed, because I sat down and wrote out a long, wonderful post to put up--and then my computer messed me up, and I lost everything I wrote! Sigh, sigh. Ah well. This post might be slightly more abbreviated.

This weekend, fall break, was awfully nice. I drove up to Ft. Worth with Cassie on Friday morning, and I got to spend most of the afternoon with Lance. We had a good time together, a good time to talk and visit. It was great to see him, since we hadn't truly spent any time together in over two months. For those of you who don't know, Lance and I had taken something of a "break" in our relationship during these last couple of months. While it was a difficult time for me personally, I believe the Lord used it for a lot of good in both our lives. We talked this weekend about things we realized and learned over the last two months, and we decided to pick back up our relationship to see where the Lord might take it. So it ended up being a really good time together, and I was very thankful for it.

Saturday, I was supposed to go up to Dallas to visit family, but my ride fell through--rather, I never got a hold of him! But it gave me more time to spend with Cassie at her house, and Lance also got to hang out with us on Saturday. Sunday, I got to visit my old church (well, it was my church for about three months) with Lance, and that was nice. Cassie and I left to drive back at 4:00; so all in all, it was a great weekend. And because I had homework done, even assignments that weren't due until today, I got to come back and be stress-free.

So now I'm back at school...but only four more weeks till Thanksgiving Break! And then just two more till the semester is over! Wow...how cool is that?

I entitled this entry "Healing Rain" for a few reasons:
1) It has truly RAINED almost all day today
2) Today, I got to pick up Michael W. Smith's new album, Healing Rain, which is quite good; and
3) The Lord has been sending a lot of "healing rain" into my life lately. He has tested and stretched my faith, and he has honored even my small amounts of faith with amazing displays of his faithfulness. I have been so blessed by him. Still, there are things I fear and worry about. All I can do, as Lance is always telling me, is to give it to God. And as my mom once said, trusting God should be our first and most precious resort. It may be scary to look into an undefined future, with all it's "what-ifs." But we know the One who holds that future; and I believe that is enough. I just pray I may be found faithful and obedient each day. And I believe the Lord will guide and lead us into his perfect will, each step of the way.

All I have in this world is fire from above
All I have in this world is You
All the journeys I have walked
I know You've walked them, too
All I want is to be faithful
All I want is You

All I have is a Love that set my world on fire
Let it fall, let it burn in me
Oh, to be a friend of God
Is all that I desire
All I want is to be faithful
All I want is You

--Michael W. Smith
"All I Want"
Healing Rain

CNN.com - Monster Japan typhoon kills dozens - Oct 21, 2004

Click here for story

Sometimes it's easy not to pay attention to what's going on in the rest of the world...but when we take the time to be informed, we won't miss the prayer opportunities God might bring. When better for God to work in people's lives than when in the wake of a tragedy? Let's pray for the people of Japan today, that God would use this to bring these people to seek Him.

Fall Break!

Hey friends! Yay for long weekends! I'm so excited. Today's my last day of school for the week, and tomorrow I head up to the DFW area. I'm riding up with a friend of mine, Cassie, and I'll stay with her. Tomorrow, I'll also get to visit with Lance for a few hours, and I'm looking forward to that! I might also get to see Reed on Saturday, if he wants to come up and meet me in Ft. Worth. One way or another, however, I'm headed up to Dallas that Saturday morning to visit with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. It'll be a full weekend, but I'm hoping it will be a good one, too! I'll probably be offline mostly till then, so my next post may not be till Sunday or Monday.

So, till then, I hope you have a great weekend and that the Lord blesses you richly!

If you need wisdom

As I've been seeking God's will about several things this semester, it's taught me a lot about trust. I've had to trust that God is working out his perfect plans for me, even when I can't see them. He reminded me of this verse the other day; what a blessing that we can go straight to the God of the universe for wisdom! When we aren't sure what to do, when we want him to tell us what it is he wants us to do...he will.

If you need wisdom--if you want to know what God wants you to do--ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
--James 1:5-6 (NLT)

Voice of the Martyrs

Today in chapel we had a speaker from the mission agency Voice of the Martyrs. It was such a good chapel, and I'm loving how so many of our chapels have had missions focuses. Our speaker spoke off of Luke 9:23 where Christ says "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." He spoke on each part using stories from persecuted Christians all over the world. A theme he kept emphasizing was the fact that "It's not about me--it's about finding God's will and doing it." He talked about three points of being a follower of Christ:
1) We must deny ourselves--when we gave our lives to Christ, it's no longer about us. Our self-interests must die, and our goal must be to do the will of God.
2) We must take up our cross--we must be willing to expose ourselves to death for the sake of our Lord.
3) We must follow Christ--we must follow in his footsteps, giving up our lives for the will of God and the salvation of others.

Living for Christ may bring a pretty heavy cost...but I think the eternal cost would be greater if we neglected doing the will of God, that is, giving our all for the sake of his gospel. He gave statistics today that every 3-3 1/2 minutes, a Christian is killed for their faith. That means that in about a single hour's time, about 20 of our Christian brothers and sisters have given up their lives for the sake of Christ. They would rather die than deny their Lord. And that makes me ask myself: what do I ever give up for the sake of my Lord, who gave up everything for me?

He told a story of an 18 year old boy in Sudan who had lost everything. He'd lost his family, he had no home to live in, and he could no longer finish school because he had gone to a Christian school which was now destroyed. Many of his teachers had been killed. For a long time he wandered around the wilderness in Sudan, with no home and very little food to survive on. And when he was asked what hope he had to live on, he replied, "God has asked me to tell my people about him. And I am going to." An 18 year old boy, who has already lost much, is willing to devote himself to telling his people about Christ, though he knows it will most likely cost him his life. And I ask myself again: what am I willing to give up for the sake of my Lord?

I know the Lord has called me to some kind of ministry or missions, most likely overseas, but I am still at a loss to all that will entail. I don't know yet where God wants to send me, but I know that I want to go. I think of Christian brothers and sisters around the world who daily live lives of self-denial for their Christ. They understand, perhaps more than I, what it means to "count it all as nothing for the sake of knowing Christ." When I think of all that these people give, all they endure for the sake of Christ...and when I think of all the people who still live with no hope because they have not yet heard of the God of Hope...I do not know how I could one day look into the face of the One who gave his all for such people, and then to say that I could not find it in my heart to do the same.

I do not know what God will ask of me--it may be comparatively little. But I want to be found faithful to give my all. If only I could ask myself each day: what will I give today for the sake of my Lord? And then if only I could be found faithful to obey.

A great God

Ever have those times in your life where God's just hitting you over the head with something? I think he's been doing that a lot with me lately. I should be getting goose-eggs on my head soon enough! You'd think I'd learn. Unfortunately, God has to keep hammering some things into me; and fortunately, God is willing to keep doing that, proving himself again and again.

This weekend was pretty fun. Friday I had time to do some homework that afternoon/evening, and I checked out a BOOK! Woo-hoo! I'm actually reading a book for pleasure again! I just decided I'd make time for it. I'm reading The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum--great book! I didn't realize it was so long. I'm now on page 249 of 597 pages...I'll finish it someday! Anywho, so I got to read some Friday evening, and then I went to see a later movie with Kirstin, Melissa, Rachel, Kelsey, and a friend of Melissa's, Chrystal. Saturday was a very productive day; I did about 3 and a 1/2 hours of homework. It felt really good to set aside time for homework and get stuff done. So I got a speech ready (which I give tonight) and studied for a test (which I just took). Then I got to read my book again (yay!) and went out to eat with Melissa and Rachel at Luby's. Then we went to Target for a while before going to the mall, where we walked around pretending we were going to buy something. We spent some time at Sonic, talking about things (ok, stuff about the guys in our lives). Then Melissa and Rachel decided to go (last-minute) to a dance going on that night, and I headed back to my room (where I got to read more...yay!).

Sunday was a pretty good day. I got up early to get music ready for Sunday school, although we had a pretty small group that morning. The sermon was really, really good, talking about discouragment and about how God raises us up (Isaiah 40:29, I think). It was rather good for me. That afternoon I had a lot on my mind and was just letting a lot get to me...and God led me to the verse where it says he will give us "abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine." I just felt my spirit crying out, saying, "Lord, I believe it, but it's so hard to even know what to ask for, much less to see the answer. Help me see!" And he sure did. Not right away, but he did.

I went to eat at church that evening and came back to find a message from Lance on my voicemail, so I called him back. We ended up talking for...well, let's just say it was a rather long time. But we had a lot to catch up on, and it was a good talk. He's out of the hospital now and at home, so that's a definite praise! I get to see him this Friday during fall break, so I'm excited about that.

This morning, I've been in an incredibly good mood all day, hyper even. :-) Mostly I'm just amazed at how God can work things out even when we see no possible way. I'm dismayed sometimes at my lack of faith. I believe so much that the Lord is working out his will in my life, but when life keeps going on and I still can't see where it's going, I have a tendancy to pull into myself and fret and try to figure things out. I'm so thankful that God is faithful even when I become faithless. "Lord, I believe...help my unbelief!" He is so good. I forget that the Lord cares more about the things in my life than maybe even I do; I forget that he is more committed to working out his glory and goodness in my life than I am in seeking them. This is God, my Father, my Best Friend, the one who knows and loves me better than anyone else in the whole world! And yet I still lose my focus and start staring at the problems instead of my Problem-Solver. So I'd just like to publicly profess how good God has been, time and again throughout my life, but especially this weekend as he led me from sorrow to thankfulness. I still don't understand everything--very little of it, in fact. But God has given me an incredible reminder that he is very much in control--and that he is good!

May the Lord show you his goodness in your own life this week!

Some pictures!

This is Alan and Graham. Alan is a next door neighbor (age 10) who comes over almost every time I babysit. Graham, in case you were wondering, is dressed up as an Indian. He dresses up all the time! Earlier today he was a cowboy. And he wanted a picture of him and Alan with their jack-o-lantern. 

Here's me and Bethany. Bethany didn't want to be in the boys' picture (above), so I told her we could have our own girls' picture...although then she turned a tad camera-shy. But isn't she a cutie?! 

Here are my gorgeous, blonde, purple-shirted friends Rachel and Melissa. They are so awesome! And they happen to be roommates. You should hear some of the things that go on in that room... 

What a day, what a day...

Phew. You ever have those days where you just feel worn out? Today's one of those days for me. But I'm excited cuz I got some really cute pictures today and I'm about to post them above...so yay for pictures!

Well, let's start with the happenings of yesterday. Jacob had called me on Monday night to ask if he could sit with me in chapel--which I said was fine--and then he asked if I wanted to have breakfast beforehand, which I agreed to as well. But when I woke up yesterday morning at 7:30 so I could get ready, I was thinking, "Why on earth did I agree to this??" It ended up being fun, though, and I did tell him where I stood on the whole dating thing at the moment, and he was fine with that. So we went to chapel, and "our row" (the one I usually sit in with my girl friends) was taken, so Jacob and I sat with Melissa and Jared (who'd asked to sit with Melissa in chapel--what is it with guys asking to sit with a girl in chapel?).

After lunch, my rest of the day wasn't so great; I was tired and really frustrated about some things. I did do Tae-Bo that afternoon--yay for exercise! I think I ended up feeling pretty depressed that evening, although I talked with Rachel on the phone and she made me feel a lot better. Then some friends of mine kidnapped me (literally, pillow case over my head and everything) to drag me off to Java City, except all I got out of it was half a brownie and a later bed-time. But I'm sure their motives were good. :-)

Today's been ok; I've mostly just been tired. My English teacher, Mrs. Patrick, took me out to eat for lunch, which was really nice; she's kind of offered to adopt me, and she made me cookies the other day, which I thought was so sweet! Her mother-in-law came with us, and the mother-in-law has met my granddad, so she was eager to meet me as well. It was so nice of themm, and I had a really great lunch for free!

Choir was fun, and in computer, I got to leave class early because I had finished all our in-class work. So I came back to my room, cleaned it up for room-check, and then I turned on some music and danced around my room (which I haven't done in a long while). That was fun. I took a super-quick nap, and then I went to babysit. I love those kids!! They make my day, especially Bethany--she's just irresistible! We got to make cookies, and apparently the kids had never dipped cookies in milk before, so I taught them how to do that. They thought it was great fun!

I got back in time to eat with Melissa and Rachel and another friend of ours, Michelle. There's a picture above of Rachel and Melissa--those gorgeous girls! They're such blessings to me.

So now, I am preparing to do some homework, and I have determined to get to bed by 10:00 or 10:30 (unless I'm kidnapped again). I could use some good sleep!! And I would also like to say that I've learned something about how I tend to deal with problems: I tend to pull inside myself to dwell on the problem and try to figure it out, when really I should open myself up into the Lord as I release it into his hands. Pray for me as I am learning to rely on the Lord and trust him as never before! He is so worthy of my trust--I want to live my life as an offering of living praise to him, the God who has never failed me, nor forsaken me. Isn't he good?

PS--Exciting news!!! I got a postcard from my family today!! It had Malaysian stamps on it and everything, and my mom, dad, and sister each wrote their own special note. It was so awesome! Here's a big kiss and hug to my most wonderful family that I love and miss dearly! --> BIG KISS! BIG HUG!

Slick, real slick

I would just like to add another entry in the Jacob saga:

Today as I was finishing my outline for my speech, I looked at the print-out of the article Jacob had been underlining key points in for me. Well, scratched at the bottom of the page were the words, "you should go on a date with me soon. Let me know." I about died! The boy's smooth, I'll give him that.

Now, how to answer...

A new week begins

Wow, it's Monday again. Time flies.

Yesterday was a good day at church. I still didn't feel too great, but I still could play guitar for Sunday school. My friend, Josh, came; Josh and I actually went to high school together at my school in Malaysia, and now he's going to another college here in town. Small world, huh? And Jacob came (the super-polite guy from my computer class), so that was cool. The sermon was good--it's theme was "worry about nothing, pray about everything." *sigh* I might get there someday. (I think I'll worry about it in the mean time until I do...just kidding! It was a joke, get it? K, anyways...)

After church, Josh, Christina, Kirstin, Nick, Amber (another girl from our church), and I went to eat at a Chinese food restaurant. Normally I don't like eating American Chinese food, but this ended up being ok. It was amusing though; in the midst of all the Asian food at the buffet, there were tater tots and fried okra. Only in Texas...

We dropped Josh off at his dorm, and then Kirstin went to take a shower. Nick took me to the store nearby so I could buy some contact solution and a couple of other things. Shopping with Nick is an experience! That boy cracks me up. He's a neat guy...he and Kirstin are an adorable couple! I got back to my room about 2:30, after Kirstin came down from her shower--she and Nick were going to do homework--and I was going to go work on a Speech outline. Totally didn't happen. I got back to my room and was so tired, so I decided to take a 1/2 hour nap. But when I woke up, I felt worse than I had when I went to sleep, so I went back to sleep. Thus, I got very little homework done.

Around 5:30, Christina and Kirstin came down. Christina had written a sort of poem, and I really liked it and asked if I could put it to music on my guitar. Well, she let me, and then yesterday she wanted me to sing it for her parents. So they called me on my dorm phone, we put it on speaker, and I had to sing and play it for them (and I had to sing it TWICE, once for each parent). I didn't really mind, but it made me nervous just singing into a speaker phone! Ah, well, anything for Christina. :-)

So then we went to eat our lovely free dinner at FBC. It was almost all girls there, about 6 of us, and then Jacob came a little later to eat. So yeah...once we were getting ready to leave, Jacob had been asking what I had planned for the rest of the evening, and I said I was going to do some studying. And then he asked what time I normally stayed up till, so I told him. (If most of you are a little sharper than I am, you'll see what's coming, although I was oblivious. Kirstin told me later that she totally knew what he was doing) Well, apparently this all led up to his next question: "Would you want to go get a drink later or something, like at Java City?" I was ok with that, and he's a nice guy, so I agreed. He got my number and said he'd call me later, so that I could have time to get some work done. As I left with Kirstin, she was absolutely dying. She was saying, "Oh, you just totally got asked out!" Like I said, she saw it coming, so when he asked me, she said she had to step around the corner to keep from laughing.

Back at the dorm, Kirstin and I ended up talking for a while about some stuff, so I got into my room about 8:00. I couldn't decide what to write my speech on, and I was getting frustrated; and I was tired and didn't feel good. My friend that I've known since I was 9, TL, called, and we taked some. Then I ended up chatting with my Mom online about a situation I've been dealing with...and I ended up absolutely sobbing. So I was a complete mess and decided maybe I wouldn't go out with Jacob after all that night. But then he called (this was around 10:00, I have to add), and I think he could tell I was kinda upset about something, but he was really nice and talked about it a little with me. When I said I hadn't gotten much of my speech done, he suggested that I bring my outline and some of my research so that we could work on it. So I agreed; I figured it would help to get out. We ended up going to Taco Bell, and we ended up staying there till about midnight. We talked for a good while about stuff, and then he helped me with my speech some (which I decided to do about TCKs). So I did get in pretty late, but I felt a lot better afterwards. Jacob's a nice guy and fun to be with. One down side: I'm pretty sure he smokes. So that's not so great; but he's nice overall. And I guess that's the first date I've been on this year.

And--of course, I saw it coming--I woke up with a sore throat this morning. I knew with the way I was getting run down, and how late I got to sleep last night, that I'd probably end up a little sick today. Ah, well. I just had PE, and I have choir and computer class later. Then I'll have a few hours to finish my speech outline for class tonight at 6:00. And yes...that's everything for now!

...I trust in the Lord. I am overcome with joy because of Your unfailing love, for You have seen my troubles, and You care about the anguish of my soul...For the word of the Lord holds true, and everything He does is worthy of our trust...In Him our hearts rejoice, for we are trusting in His holy name. Let Your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in You alone.
--Psalm 31:6b-7; 33:4, 21-22.

My circle of friends: (top-bottom, l-r) me, Kelsey, Melissa, Rachel B., Rachel G., Ashley, and Christina 

Christina, Melissa, and me. These two girls are both absolute sweethearts! 

Circle of friends

Have I mentioned in the last hour how thankful I am for my friends? The Lord has blessed me with some of the most amazingly sweet, kind-hearted, godly friends I could have ever asked for. Last night, a whole bunch of us got together (minus Kirstin, sadly, who was hanging out with Nick) and ate, talked, ate more, talked more, ate more, and finally watched a movie. It was a lot of fun just to be together. I'm posting some pictures above about that evening. So that was a neat time. Most of us have been hit hard in some area or other of our lives this week; I think probably all of us have cried at some point in the last day or two. But just knowing you have these girls who watch your back, are willing to drop anything at the slightest hint to help, and are simply willing to listen...well, that in itself is a major blessing! God always gives us what we need to make it through.

Today I woke up not feeling that great. Christina and I were supposed to go work the morning shift for a Habitat for Humanity project, but I had to call and say I couldn't make it. I went back to sleep and slept till about 11:00, then I got up to go eat lunch in the Cafe with Christina. Christina decided to go work the Habitat for Humanity afternoon shift, and as she was leaving we ran into Kirstin. Well, Kirstin had had a somewhat stressful morning, and she was on her way to a hair-appointment. And then her car won't start. The poor girl was in tears. So I suggested the thing that every girl needs to do when she's stressed: go get an ice-blended coffee drink at the local coffee joint and have a good gab fest. In Malaysia, we'd go get an Ice-Blended at Coffee Bean; in this city, you walk to the local Java City for a Java-Lanche. So Kirstin and I did that, and it was nice to get away a little and talk. Then she met back up with Nick, who helped jump-start her car, and I went back to my room. This was at about 2:00. Well, I pretty much stayed in bed all day and watched movies. My head hurt, my stomach was weird, and I was just at the end of my energy supply, so I rested. At about 6:00, I ran to Chicken Express with Christina, and then we came back to eat.

Now here comes the neat part of my day: I actually got to talk with Lance. It was a little before 8, and I was sitting down to call his mom and check up on him. Well, the little Yahoo tinkerbell sound popped up with a text message from him that he'd sent from his cell phone. Basically he was saying hi and said to give him a call if I wanted to (as if I might not). So I called...and I was really surprised, because I knew that he'd been pretty out of things the last couple of days. Apparently today, the pain has been going down, and he's been a lot more alert. So anyways, we talked about a 1/2 hour, and that was really nice. I haven't heard his voice since his transplant, and I don't remember the last time we talked on the phone...and it was just nice to talk with him. It made me feel so much better, too, just to know he was doing ok. He has the CMV virus, which he got from his kidney transplant, and stage-4 esophagitis; the doctors are thinking that hopefully the pain was simply a result of a combination of those two things. Hopefully he can go home soon; he will have to be on an IV of some meds for 21 days for the CMV virus, I think, but they hope that might be all he has to do. Anyways, that was a definite praise and a bright spot in my day.

So, of course, I immediately called all my friends to let them know I had talked with Lance and that he was doing better; all of them have definitely been praying for him. I think they were all about excited as I was. I want to publically thank Christina, Kirstin, Melissa, Rachel, Ashley, and all my other friends for their incredible friendships, love, and support--ya'll are my angels and gifts from God! I love you guys...and I send out my love to all my other family and friends around the world. Each of you bless me in such a special way. May the Lord bless you in a special way today.

Lance

I found out yesterday that Lance is back in the hospital, in extreme abdominal pain. The doctor's haven't figured out exactly what is causing the pain yet. Please be praying for Lance and his family; pray that the Lord would give the doctors wisdom and show them what's causing the pain. Apparently the pain is pretty bad; Lance's mom said that she's never seen him hurt this much, and that's saying quite a bit. I just pray that the Lord will provide healing and ease Lance of his pain. I can't imagine how discouraging this must be for him and his family, just as he was healing from his kidney transplant as well as an outpatient surgery he'd had last week. Please pray for swift healing, and that the Lord's will would be done. Thanks.

Babysitting pictures: here's Bethany, who's quite a corker! 

the lovely Ms. Bethany (who, by the way, told me today that "millions" of books were kept in places called "lifeberries.") 

Graham (isn't he a cutie?!) 

Graham is quite the acrobatic... 

Bethany, me, and Graham...they're such sweethearts! 

Babysitting!

I tell you, I am falling in love with these two adorable kids, Graham and Bethany, ages 6 and 3 respectively. I think I mentioned before how I would go babysit for my computer teacher; well, he and his wife have asked me if I would like a weekly babysitting job, every Wednesday from 3:00-5:30. Hmm...let me think about it...YES!! Of course, being a college student, the extra money is nice; but the kids are just plain cute, too, so how could I turn it down? So today I started the weekly babysitting part. These kids are so much fun (as you can tell from the pictures I am posting up above)! Today we "made" chickens. That is, they have two, fuzzy, toy chicks, and Graham wanted to make a
"Momma Chicken." So Bethany wants to make them out of paper, so I draw some chickens (well, they passed for chickens in the eyes of a 6 and 3 year old) and we cute them out to put in the basket with the baby chicks. Most of the afternoon revolves around playing with the chickens...it was cute! I had fun, and it's a nice break in my afternoon. I took some pictures (obviously) to put on here so people can see the kiddos I'll be hanging out with each week.

As an aside, I did my computer presentation today on depression. I ran over time. *sigh* I had cut my PowerPoint presentation from 17 to 7 slides so that I could be within the 4-6 minute marker. And each time I practiced, I was around 5 or 5 1/2 minutes. But when I got up there today, I felt like I went way too fast, so I tried to add on a little at the end. Apparently I didn't need to. But maybe I did well enough on the rest of the presentation that I'll only get marked off for being long-winded--we shall see.

K, I'm off to do homework. *sigh again* I'm so glad tomorrow's Thursday...cuz then it's Friday after that! And it's only 2 1/2 weeks till Fall Break!

Believe Me Now

This is a song by Stephen Curtis Chapman on his new album All Things New. It's a beautiful song of God talking to us, asking us if we will believe Him now, whatever is going on in our lives. Do we truly believe that the God who can calm the storm is the same God who invites us to bring our troubled, weary hearts to Him? Do we trust Him to still our hearts like He stilled the waves? Do we trust Him with our futures? Will we choose to believe He is able in the midst of everything we deal with? That's the challenge--and comfort--behind this song; it's been a question the Lord has challenged me with repeatedly this semester: will you believe Me now?

Believe Me Now:

I watch you looking out across the raging water
So sure your only hope lies on the other side
You hear the enemy closing in around you
And I know that you don't have the strength to fight
But do you have the faith to stand, and...

Believe Me now; believe Me here
Remember all the times I've told you loud and clear
I am with you, and I am for you
So believe Me now--believe Me now

I am the One who waved My hand and split the ocean
I am the One who spoke the words and raised the dead
And I've loved you long before I set the world in motion
I know all the fears you're feeling now
But do you remember who I am?
Do you...

Believe Me now; believe Me here
Remember all the times I've told you loud and clear
I am with you, and I am for you
So believe Me now; believe Me now

So believe Me now; believe it's true
I never have, I never will, abandon you
And the God that I have always been, I will forever be
So believe Me now

I am the God Who never wastes a single hurt that you endure
My words are true and all My promises are sure

So believe Me now; Oh, believe Me now

Monday, Monday...continued: rain, Taco Bell, & a super-nice guy

Well, I just had to come back and post a note about today. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it rained. AGAIN. And even I would call it a real rain!! It was so exciting. Except one catch: I had skipped lunch (sorry, Mom) but was planning on walking over to Taco Bell to eat and study for the Speech test I had this evening. Which would mean I'd have to walk across campus to my dorm to get my books, back across campus, and then across the street to Taco Bell. And did I mention it was raining? But I was like, "Well, it's ok, I walked around in the rain in Asia all the time." Ah, but yes, there's a catch! See, in North America, you walk in the rain, you generally get cold later. We don't have the nice, warm humidity here. So anyways, all of this was running through my head in computer class, and the guy next to me was commenting on the rain. I forget if I said something about going to Taco Bell, or how it came up, but all of a sudden he asked, "Would you want a ride somewhere?" (I would just like to add that this is the guy who offered me his coat last computer class when I was cold) So I was like, "Wow, sure, but is that ok? I need to run by my dorm first, too." And he said, "No, it's no problem; I don't have anything else to do; I'd like to." So who can argue with that?

Ok, so leaving the computer building (this guy opens all the doors for me, too), he makes me stay on the steps while he runs to get his car so he can pull it up closer so I won't get wet getting in. And he pulls up making sure the passenger side is closest to me. So I get in, and he drivers me over to my dorm. (Did I mention he has a really nice, cute car? It's a Miata, for those of you who actually know what that is...I didn't/don't, but I know the car's cool!) Again, he turns around to drop me off closest to the side walk. So I run into my dorm, after thanking him profusely for waiting, and grab a jacket and my wallet and books to stuff in my bag before running back out. So I'm coming back towards the car, and he gets out of the car in the rain to walk around the car and open the door for me. I'm going, "K, WOW." So I'm thanking him profusely (again), and he just waves it aside. I told him on the way over to Taco Bell that his parents must have definitely raised him right!

So he gets to Taco Bell, of course pulling up as close as possible so I won't get wet, and says he hopes I get my studying done. So I'm thanking him (profusely, again), and he just turns it around, acting like I've done him a favor, and thanks me for my company. So I get inside, eat, and study, and by the time I'm done, it's dry enough that I can walk back to my dorm. (And it was a lovely walk, by the way) But seriously, I was just so amazed at this guy! (His name's Jacob, as another by the way) I can hardly remember the last time someone was so nice and courteous. I told one of my girl friends, and she about choked and said, "I didn't think guys like that existed anymore!"

Neither did I. But apparently they do.

Monday, Monday...

I would just like to say that I did NOT get to go to IHOP on Saturday. It was very disappointing. But we did go to Cici's Pizza, so that was ok, because I like Cici's, and it's cheap. So Cole, Christina, and I had time to talk and hang out, which was fun. Back at school, Cole left around 9:00, and Christina and I hung out another hour in our room talking and so forth. She is such a sweetheart, and such a wonderful friend!

Sunday was a good day. The worship service went really well, and then I got to eat lunch with a couple at our church who are former missionaries. They offered to have Indonesian food, so I readily agreed--I just didn't know I'd be cooking it! Now, I've never made an Indonesian dish completely by myself, without a recipe, so this was definitely a new experience. But I did it! I just made a simple chicken, cashew, and vegetables stir-fry dish to accompany our rice, and I even managed to figure out the right amount of seasonings (garlic, ginger, green onions, and pepper). I have to admit, I was extremely proud of myself. The afternoon with them was a lot of fun. We talked for a long time about different things, and it was fun because they told me how they first met and got engaged. She was married two weeks before she turned 18! Granted, he was 8 years older...but I still thought that was pretty cool. We also had another dear lady, Mrs. Knecht, who came to eat with us. She is a very sweet lady at our church who really took me in during my depression last semester, so I was thrilled to get to spend more time with her. They had a prayer time for me before I left, which was a blessing.

Here's the bad part: the lady I ate with gave me a book before I left. Now, that's not bad; in fact, it's wonderful. But the bad part was the fact that it was also a gray, rainy, cozy day. Yes, I know...so, guess what I did back in my dorm room? Yup, I curled up and read for 2 and 1/2 hours! It was wonderful. Fortunately, my homework situation was ok, so I could do that. (Although I will have to study more for that speech test today...) Then I ate supper at church with our university group, and then later that evening, Kirstin, Christina, and I had a prayer time together. It was such a special time! We spent over an hour together sharing our hearts and praying. Those girls are so special; I'm so blessed by their friendship! It's so fun to pray with them: their prayers are so sincere and loving, and at the same time, we all manage to giggle through half of our prayers! It's amusing (but I promise it's not irreverent).

Well, that's it for now. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Me and Christina! (Yes, this is what we do for fun on a Saturday night) 

Woo-hoo for weekends!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love weekends? They do tend to go by rather fast, but they're just such a nice break in the scheme of things.

As I mentioned, most of my best girl friends are gone this weekend...but never fear, Christina's here! Dun-dun-da-dum! She and I had a wonderful time together last night. She worked until 5:00 yesterday afternoon, so I spent some time in my room, took a nap, and studied a little for a speech test on Monday. Then we got to go eat at Chicken Express--yay! Have I mentioned lately how much I love their sweet tea? Anywho, we ate and talked there for a good while...we talked about a lot of different things, come to think of it, from boys to politics. It was interesting.

Yes, so then we headed back to the dorm, and she and I hung out in my room. Ok, now both of us had fully intended to be in bed by 11:00 or 11:30. I would just like to state that the road to staying up LATE is paved with good intentions. Granted, we were only up until 1:00, which is much better than it could have been. But anyways, we started off talking about prayer, and we were looking up all these Bible verses on it. Then that led to a bunch of other discussions about stuff in the Bible, like missions, and hell, God's wrath, God's love...a bunch of stuff. We had fun debating about whether or not we would know people in heaven. Then--and I really don't remember how this started--we started reading through my old journals. Well, not really reading through, but we started skimming through my last two journals, looking for the places I mentioned Christina. It was really interesting looking back at everything that had happened since April 2003 (which was when those journals began). And it's interesting to see what I was thinking then about different things, and how it's different from the way I see them now; or seeing how friendships and relationships developed and grew. So yes, we did that and talked until about 1:00 (and I honestly didn't realize it had gotten that late). So finally we got to bed...

...and then I woke up this morning at 11:15. Have I mentioned lately how much I love sleeping in? It's such a cozy feeling. Christina and I just got back from eating brunch in the Cafe. (Like, the entire guy's soccer team was in there...and it made me realize how much I miss soccer! Go figure. Anywho.) So now we're going to do homework, and later on I think we're meeting up with Cole to go to IHOP. Have I mentioned lately how much I love IHOP? Seriously, it's like one of my favorite restaurants ever. I don't know why...but it just is. I have a lot of nice memories of IHOPs. So that will be fun. And then I need to get some songs together for tomorrow at church at some point. And I really AM intending to go to bed early tonight! (We shall see...)

Anyways, I hope that each of you has a wonderful weekend as well. May the Lord bless and guide you in every area of your life, and may he teach you, as he's teaching me, to trust that he's working out his very best for each of us. Much love to all of you!

CNN.com - U.S.: 109 insurgents killed in major offensive - Oct 1, 2004

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Oh Lord, please bring Your peace to this world...but if not, please use this to bring people to find a Peace in You.