Quick stop

Just wanted to drop by and say hey! The weekend went by rather quickly, but it was fun. We got to teach Ira to play racquetball on Saturday night, and that was great! She learns quickly. Sunday was a good day; Ira came to church and really enjoyed it. We hope she comes back.

That afternoon, I got a call from one of my oldest and dearest friends, Terri-Lynn! I've known her since I was 9, and we went through almost every year of school together since 4th grade up through our senior year of high school--and that's quite rare in the MK world. She called from Canada and we got to talk for almost an hour, catching up and everything. It was great! I even found out that her dad, who's in Asia right now, just recently saw my dad in Indonesia. They randomly ran into each other at a hotel there--small world! Anyways, it was great to talk with her and catch up on things.

School today went by well. I ran by the store tonight and then got some homework done with Lance at the library. So things are going well! Just wanted to drop by and update briefly. God bless!

By the by, I thought this was an interesting thought:

a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right...
Thomas Payne
Common Sense

Busy days...

Wow, I had totally meant to update sooner than this. Seriously, the week just flies by, and I'm never sure where it went. Hmm...let's see, I last posted on Monday...what happened on Tuesday? I can't totally remember. OH!! Wait! I've got it now! And this is pretty cool news, too. (Dun-da-dun, drum roll, please) I actually got hired on Tuesday. Yes, I have a job! That may not be a big deal for some of you, but this is about the first real job I've had. What is it, you may ask? Well, I'm working for the history center at the library, and basically I'm transcribing old interviews they have on video. It's a lot of fun! The best part of it is that I get to do it on my own schedule, on my own laptop. So I have the tape, and I can just put it in whenever (between classes, afternoon, evening), continue typing up the interview, and I can finish whenever I need to. Pretty sweet, huh? It's fun, and I'm excited! And guess who I have to thank for such an awesome job? Christina!! Yay for Christina! She's such a sweetheart. That girl makes any day bright. She works at the history center at the library, so she was the one who let me know about the position, which was very cool. Hmm...anything else on Tuesday? I don't really think so...Christina, Lance, and I hung out some at Java City that night, talking...I think that was about it.

Wednesday...hmmm. Don't remember anything out of the ordinary happening on Wednesday. I had classes...oh, I did have my first test, which was in my Critical Thinking class. I think it went ok. I was kinda tired that day. Thursday was a pretty busy day. I had class from 8:00-1:00, and then I took a couple of hours to start my transcribing. Oh, and actually, on Thursday, Lance got hired for a job, too: the same one as mine! Christina (of course) hooked him up, too. They still needed several transcriptionists, and Lance had had experience with that before, so he got hired as well. Pretty spiffy, huh? Then that afternoon, I went to babysit Graham and Bethany (which was a fun time, as always). Graham's really into "Cowboys and Indians," so we played that for a while (they let me be the chief). He also showed me a Lone Ranger episode that he liked. So babysitting was fun.

Lance picked me up and we went back to the school and ate supper with Christina, Kirstin, and Ira. Ah, Ira...I haven't told you about her yet, have I? She lives next to Kirstin and Christina and is a grad student here; she's from India! That's so cool to me because we lived around several Indian families in Malaysia, so she reminds me a little bit of "home." She's 28 and married, but her husband is working in Buffalo, New York, so they don't get to see each other a lot. She's really sweet, and she's getting her masters in counseling and human development (I think). She already has a masters from India in cell biology or something smart like that. Anyway, she's been hanging out with us more, and we all really like her. She's so funny, she's always saying that us "younger people" have so much more energy, and that her husband says that when she comes back from being around college students, she's going to be "hipper" than he is. :-) She's also a Hindu, and the exciting part is that Christina just invited her to come to church with us on Sunday, and she's coming! How cool is that? So please be keeping her in your prayers; as far as I know, she's never been told the full gospel.

Thursday evening, after we ate with those three wonderful girls, Lance had a concert he was going to for his recital credits he needs (because he's a music major, they have to go to a certain number of concerts and recitals). So I was going with him, and then we convinced Christina to come. After the concert, we met up with Cole, whom several of you will remember from previous mention of him on this blog. We hadn't hung out in a while so it was good to catch up.

Yesterday, Friday, was a pretty good day. I worked some that morning on my transcription before class, then I went to tennis (which was cancelled due to weather), and then choir. That afternoon, Lance and I worked on our transcribing in the library, and then I went to take a brief nap. Christina, Kirstin, Nick (who'd come in to visit), Melissa, Rachel G., Lance, and I all went out to eat. We came back and played foosball and a pool game over at the student center before watching The Emperor's New Groove back at the lobby. I love that movie!! It's so cute. Anyways, we had fun.

So that's about everything up until now, and I have to run off to meet a couple of people to go eat lunch with. I'll try to update again soon! My love to all of you, and have a fabulous weekend.

Christina and Kirstin (have I mentioned what awesome, beautiful friends they are?!) 

Lance and me (have I mentioned what a sweet boyfriend he is?) 

"Just another manic Monday"

Mondays, Mondays...
Hey friends! Don't have time to write a whole book for you, but thought I'd stop in. Just wanted you to know I had a lovely weekend...I adore weekends! They're such nice breaks in the midst of things. Last night I even got to talk with my mom, the first time in a while. My dad is back from Indonesia right now, my sister is just starting school, and Mom has just finished helping to plan a wedding in addition to continuing to help the victims from the tsunami. It has already been a full month since that occurred; hard to believe, isn't it? So needless to say, they've been busy and working almost non-stop since then. Please keep them in your prayers when you think about it, particularly for strength and endurance.

Today was definitely a Monday. I did get to sleep late in the morning, since my first class is tennis at 11:00, but I was doing some homework right before I ran out the door, and I ended up running off without my keys. So yes, first thing in the morning, I've locked myself out of my room. I go play tennis for a while, and we got out early, about 11:30 or so. I have class at noon. So I'm trying to find an RA who can open my room for me so I can get a shower and grab all my books before running off to choir. Fortunately, I found an RA who opened my door, I took a speedy shower, ran out of my room at about 11:50 with my hair still wet, and made it to choir just in time. Then I get there and realize I'd forgotten to take my medicine (which I proceeded to forget to take until, like, 3:50 today--and I'm supposed to take it in the morning). So I started off my day on a rather flustered note; when I told Kirstin about it, she said, "It's definitely a Monday for you, isn't it?" But honestly, my day got better.

After that, I went to the rest of my classes, went to eat with my friends, studied in the library with Lance, and then he and I went to play racquetball (great work out, by the way). Even though I've just started learning how to play racquetball (this was my fourth time to play), I manage to keep up with Lance pretty well--our games were very evenly matched, even though he won 2 out of 3 of them.

So yes, now I'm getting ready for bed. You know, I love getting to go to bed at night. It's one of my favorite parts of the day. It's so nice to lie down...relax...sink into your mattress and snuggle under the sheets...close your eyes...slow your breathing...

Good night...

The Father's Love Letter

Lance sent this to me in an e-mail, and I wanted to share it with you. It's a link to a beautiful "love letter" to us from God. Please take the time to check it out (and let the narrator read it to you, as well), because it's an incredible reminder of the love God has for us. When we see how much worth God places on our lives, we are inspired to live differently; and when we see how much he loves us, I believe that we are inspired to love him more. I'd encourage you to read this love letter from your heavenly Father--may it change and bless your heart today.

The Father's Love Letter

Me and Osa at the farm (Osa is the adorable bundle of fur I'm holding). 

Lance and the baby goat (who became quite attached to Lance) 

Lance and Morgan putting the baby goat and Osa closer together 

Jake (left) with Lance; Jake is holding Twinkletoes, one of the many cats on the farm, and Lance has the adorable puppy Osa. 

Three-Day Weekend (equals FUN!)

Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since I've been on. As the title of this post will let you know, we just got done having a three-day weekend due to having Monday off because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Yay for days off from school! Seriously, it was so nice. In some ways, it was bad because we just got back to school, then we have a three-day weekend, and it just puts you back into vacation mode. But fortunately we survived and are back into school (somewhat reluctantly, somewhat gladly). So I'm here to give you a brief update of the exciting weekend:

Friday--in the afternoon after classes, a few of us did some homework in the library for a while (aren't we studious?!). Then we (Christina, Kirstin, Lance, and I) all went to eat at one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants here, Dos Amigos. It's great food for great prices. Then the four of us went to play tennis, even though it was freezing; and it ended up being a lot of fun. I'm sure anyone who was any good at tennis would've laughed extremely hard to see us all trying to play, but hey, we had a blast. We played for a good while that night before going to bed.

Saturday--slept late! The girls and I (Christina, Kirstin, Melissa, and Ashley) met for brunch, ate, and talked for a while. Then we all went off to get some homework done (again, so studious!) since we were going to see a movie that afternoon. What movie, you may ask? Well, it's one my sister has been recommending to me forever: The Phantom of the Opera. Ashley couldn't come because she had to work, and Rachel wasn't in town, but Christina, Kirstin, Lance, Melissa, and I were all going to go. Melissa invited Jared, a friend of ours, to go as well. The movie ended up being quite good! It was definitely a musical, but the music was pretty fantastic. Lance especially enjoyed it (being our music major), and all the rest of us loved it, too. So, Lins, great recommendation! After the movie, we all went to eat, and then Jared and Melissa went off to hang out, and the rest of us went to Wal-Mart to buy (dun-da-dun!) racquetball racquets. Lance and Christina both have one, and they both love it, so Kirstin and I decided we'd get a racquet so we all could play. It ended up being a lot of fun! I discovered I really enjoy racqetball (except for when Lance nailed me with the ball right in my side--I have a welt to prove it).

Sunday--we all went to church that morning, then Lance, Kirstin, and I left right after church to drive to Ft. Worth. Nick met Kirstin at Lance's house and took her back to her home, while Lance and I stayed a little bit at his house before going to visit some friends of ours ("Uncle" Matt, "Aunt" Miriam, Jake, and Morgan) at their farm. They've just finished building a dormitory there (although it's like a really nice, big house) for a non-profit organization they've created. So anyways, it was our first time to see it all built, and it was really great to get to visit with them. The kids were thrilled to have Lance there, mainly because he'd play X-box with them (I read during most of those parts). It was fun to visit, and there were several people there besides the main family. That night we got to go outside and look at the stars; it's the perfect place to do it because it's out in the country with no lights nearby. Aunt Miriam's dad was there, and he was an expert on all the stars, so he lent us some binoculars that let us see the stars so well. He pointed out a comet that was going by (!) and another galaxy we could see, as well as several neat star clusters. Lance and I stayed outside peering up at the stars through those binoculars as long as we could before the cold finally drove us back inside (I was losing feeling in my hands!). Then we watched a movie with the kids that night and finally got to bed (somewhat late).

Monday--woke up at 9:30. We ate breakfast and watched Monsters, Inc. (I forget why we decided to turn that on), and then Jake and Morgan took us out to see the goats (they had new baby goats!). Then the kids and Lance went to play X-box again. I read some and got to wander around the farm a bit. I went with Aunt Miriam and some friends of hers to feed the donkeys, which was fun, and I played with their new puppy. Oooh, I forgot to mention the puppy!! She seriously is the cutest thing in the whole world! At 6-7 weeks, she definitely likes to bite on anything that gets near her, but she's adorable as she bounds around, trying to tackle the goats and cats alike. Her name is Osa, which is Spanish for "bear" (just for those of you who don't know--I'm not trying to insult your intelligence). She definitely looks like a little fuzzy bear--she looks comparable to the Ewoks in Star Wars! She was a definite highlight of the visit. After a while, Lance and I left around 2:30 to drive back to Ft. Worth; after we got back, we went out to eat with two friends of ours, Cassie and Bryan. I know Cassie from school, and Lance knew Bryan from church. Well...both of them are extremely into anime (Japanese cartoon animation), and the more we thought about it, the more we thought these two should meet. Were we ever right!! Those two hit it off like crazy. At supper, Lance and I sat there quietly about 80-90% of the time (no hyperbole) as the other two talked on and on. We went back to Cassie's house to watch some anime, and Kirstin met us there that night to ride back with us. Well it took us forever to leave, just because Cassie and Bryan kept talking and talking! Bryan even asked for her phone number before he left. Anyways, our match-making venture was quite a success; the two of them definitely really liked the other! Even if they just end up as friends, it should be a neat relationship; Lance and I were so proud of ourselves! So we finally got off that night after all of that. Kirstin went to sleep part of the way there, and Lance and I talked while he drove back. We got in pretty late and thus went straight to bed.

Tuesday--pretty normal day. Went to classes, did homework. Ah, but early in the evening, Lance and I played tennis again, and then met Christin and Kirstin to play racqetball. Let's just say that we ended up playing for three hours!! It was SO much fun! I'm finally getting the hang of it. We definitely got a great work out, which was awesome.

Wednesday (today)--again, pretty normal day. Classes, homework. Speaking of homework, I'm about to go get on some more of that. Sorry it's been a while since I really got to post much! Hope this has caught you all up (I know my life is terribly thrilling). I will probably put up a couple of pictures from our trip to the farm soon, so look out for those. Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful week! God bless.

As school gets in gear...

Things have gone very well for the first couple of days back at school! So far I enjoy all my classes, and my schedule isn't too bad. My worst day will be Tuesday, which involves class from 8:00-3:00. The class from 1:00-3:00 (ok, 1:00-2:50) is a lab for my Biology class, and we don't have to go to lab during the first week, so my Tuesday yesterday wasn't that bad. My schedule runs through lunch on most days, but I still find time for a late lunch or to at least make sure I've had a very good breakfast.

My favorite part of this semester, of course, has been seeing my friends again. It's so wonderful to be back with the amazing girl friends God has given me! I have class with almost all of them except Christina (sniff). Kirstin is in choir now with me and Melissa (and Lance!), so I'm super excited about that. I was surprised to find out I have a class with Rachel as well; we're in a Critical Thinking course, and it's actually quite interesting. We are proceeding to drive our friends crazy by attempting to "critically analyze" everything we do now.

Having Lance here has been really neat. It took me a day or two to get used to it, but it's really neat to be able to see him in choir, around campus, or in-between/after classes. We went to play tennis last night for a couple of hours, and that was a lot of fun! (Neither of us are that great; I've only played a handful of times, and Lance had never played at all. Even so, we managed to have a wonderful time learning how to go from bad to "ok.") I went to buy a tennis racquet tonight at Wal-Mart because I'm actually taking a tennis class. I have it Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and so far I've never had to show up for more than 5 minutes. We may actually get to play some on Friday...keep your fingers crossed!

Another exciting factor: you remember those adorable kids I got to babysit for? Well, I usually babysat for them on Wednesday afternoons, but I have class on Wednesday afternoons this semester, so I thought that I was going to have to give that up. I got a call on Monday night, though, from the dad, and he asked me about babysitting again. Turns out, they can work their schedule out so that I would babysit on Thursday afternoons instead--which works out great with my schedule! I was so excited; I felt like that was such a gift from the Lord. The extra babysitting money helps, but it's also such a neat experience...the kids are such sweethearts! So I was very thankful that God allowed it to all work out.

Well, I'm about to head off to do some reading for my classes tomorrow. My love to every one of you! I pray that God would remind you in a special way this week how very much he loves you. Someone once said that if we ever truly caught a glimpse of how God sees us and the plans he has for us, then we would rise up and never be the same again. My prayer for myself, and for each of you, is that we might catch even a small idea of that image and plan God has for us. May we rise up and never be the same again.

First day of school

Just wanted to stop in briefly and let you all know that my first day of school went well! Most of my classes were just to have an introduction to the course, so it was nice to get out early for most of those. I've enjoyed all the classes so far as well as my professors. We'll see how tomorrow goes!

Saturday...

Well, it's Saturday evening, and school starts on Monday morning. Hard to believe this break has gone by so quickly! It's been a great one, though, with time to spend with family and a couple of friends. It'll be exciting for the new semester to start, to see how things go. It'll probably be summer already before I know it!

I've had a fun last few days. Lance got to cook supper for my family on Thursday night, and he did an excellent job! The fajitas he made were delicious. Almost everyone got seconds (or thirds). We decided that we weren't really going to have enough time to get a good visit in with our friends at the farm we'd planned on going to, so we decided to try that some other weekend. Instead, Lance stayed with my aunt and uncle (we got to play with their new ping-pong table after we cleaned up from supper!), and then he and I met "Aunt" Betty for our lunch date the next day. We had such a good visit with her...she's the sweetest lady! She asked a lot about my family, since she was a missionary herself for many years and understands crises like these.

I came back over to Dallas today in time to greet my cousin, Jeff, who just got back from his time with his family in Egypt. We just got done having barbeque over at my aunt's and uncle's, and now Jeff is getting ready to get his jet-lagged body to sleep while I'm preparing to finish my packing for school. Tomorrow I'll go to church, leave here around 1:00, meet Lance in Ft. Worth, and then it's back to school!

May the Lord bless all of you in a very special way this week.

Last week of the break

My days of freedom are winding slowly down...but I don't mind too much. These next several days should be a lot of fun. Lance is coming over this afternoon to help me do some shopping, and then we're going back to Ft. Worth this evening to hopefully see some friends of ours. Tomorrow we'll be shopping for ingredients for fajitas, which Lance is cooking for my aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandparents tomorrow night! Lance is actually a really great cook, so I know it'll be good. Then we'll drive on to the farm of some dear family friends I've known forever...they are an awesome family! We'll look forward to getting to visit with them, and then Friday afternoon we'll come back to Ft. Worth. That evening we'll have supper with an even older family friend who's worked closely with my grandparents for many, many years. She goes to Lance's church, so she's taking us out to eat before we both go back to school on Sunday. Then I'll spend all of Saturday with my family; two of my cousins are coming back from Egypt where they were visiting their parents for Christmas. I'm looking forward to that. I'll get to go with them to church on Sunday, and then we'll head over to Ft. Worth. Lance and I will drive on back to school that afternoon...and voila!

Just wanted to give a brief update on my family: they are doing well and keeping busy. Dad is in Indonesia right now helping to assess the damage and begin some networking to help crisis victims. He said to really pray for the people there--it's obvious that most of them are severely traumatized and will need some counseling as well as disaster-relief supplies. My mom is still in Malaysia, but she's unfortunately sick at the moment. Please pray for healing for her and strength as she continues her work ministering to people there. My sister is doing well and enjoying her school break...she even has her braces off now! I know it's a big monument for her. Thanks to so many of you who have written or called to see how my family was doing. The best thing you can continue to do is pray for them and the people affected by all this devastation.

That's my update for now...I hope all of you have a great week, richly blessed by God's love. To my friends at school...I'll see you guys on Sunday!

Pictures of the effects of the waves in Malaysia

The multiple smaller waves that hit the beach in Malaysia 

The second smaller wave as it began heading towards the shore of my old school 

The waves as they begin sweeping over the edge of my old school 

Damage done to the wall between my old school and the beach by the waves that hit Malaysia 

Birthdays and Anniversaries

Today is my beloved and beautiful grandmother's birthday! Just wanted to announce that publicly and wish her a happy birthday. She is a blessing and example to me; I love and respect her dearly!

Also, it's my other grandparents' 60th anniversary! Happy anniversary to them, too! It was so fun to be with them for Christmas this year.

He Was There

This is something I sent out in an e-mail several days ago:
I sat tonight watching fresh images of the waters of death that have destroyed lives and cities, and I again grappled to understand. I wrote a post on my blog earlier, trying to give more details of all that had happened in Malaysia, though I wasn’t even there to see it. And tonight, I sat listening to a song by Avalon on WOW 2005 called “You Were There.” It’s a beautiful song…and I began thinking of all the death and destruction that had occurred, realizing that even in all of that, God had been there. I sat down and wrote…well, something. It’s not exactly a poem, or prose either. But it came from a part of me that was trying to understand all that happened, and a part of me that believes a God stronger than the forces of nature was there during it all. Some would say, “Well if he was there, why didn’t he stop it?” I don’t know; I couldn’t answer that question. But there’s a part of me that feels like just knowing God was there—he saw everything unfold, felt the pain and terror of each person—well, somehow, it helps me just a little. It might not to those who have lost loved ones or everything they owned…but even in all of that, God was there. He is there now. He will be there.
And that brings hope.

When a force that shook the foundations of the earth began to unleash devastation,
You were there.
When the power of 1 million atomic bombs ripped through the oceans’ depths, You were there.
You saw it begin.
You saw the power and fury of the earth You created let loose.
When water surged and waves rose, You were there.
When a watery wall of death leaped up from the sea, You were there.
You saw the oceans You made begin to flow on their course of destruction.
When these waves began their mission of death, You were there.
You saw them ripple along their way, like ripples in a pond,
But this was not only pond, and the waves were not only ripples.
When these unleashed forces of the oceans began to crash onto beaches, You were there.
When wave upon wave of water hit shores thousands of miles from where they began,
You were there.
When these waves crashed away everything in their path, You were there.
When the people You loved enough to die for ran for their very lives, You were there.
When houses fell and possessions were swept away, You were there.
You saw as these waves broke buildings, stole lives, left terror and grief in their wake.
Did Your heart break? I don’t have to ask.
I imagine Your tears would put the waters of tsunamis to shame.
In the midst of death and destruction, the God of the Universe was there. You were there.
You saw each life ebb away. You heard the wails of grief. You saw the terror of children.
You were there.
When bodies lay littered along the beaches of nations, You were there.
When widows and orphans looked for the loved ones they would never find, You were there.
When the peoples of the world reeled in shock at the destruction of a few hours, You were there.
When the dead were counted and the number grew to incomprehensible figures,
You were there.
When people began to reach out and help one another, You were there.
When the world was bonded together by a crisis too terrible to understand, You were there.
When people touched one another in love, holding one another against this nightmare,
You were there.
When relief began to be sent, You were there.
When the world began to sacrifice for its neighbors in the name of humanity, You were there.
In the love and giving of self to those who are left with nothing, You will be there.
In the months to come, when buildings and lives are rebuilt, You will be there.
When people begin to cope with shock and life defined by death and loss, You will be there.
We do not understand. Understanding may not come. But we know this:
You were there.
Maybe that’s enough.
In death and destruction, the God of us all was there.
His power and might are greater than the force that shook the earth.
His love and grace are greater and more all-consuming than the waves that stole away lives.
And that kind of God was there…he will be there.
All is not lost.
For in the aftermath of it all…he is here.

God is our refuge and strength,
Always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear, even if earthquakes come
And the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!...
The nations are in an uproar, and kingdoms crumble!
God thunders, and the earth melts!
The Lord Almighty is here among us;
The God of Israel is our fortress. (Selah)…
Be silent, and know I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.
The Lord Almighty is here among us;
The God of Israel is our fortress.
-Psalm 46:1-3, 6-7, 10-11 (emphasis mine)

Stopping by

Hello friends! I just wanted to drop by and write off a quick post about how things have been going. I guess this is my first post in the year 2005! Pretty incredible, isn't it? I'm going to be writing the wrong year on things for a while.

I hope all of you had a wonderful and blessed New Years. I got to go up to Ft. Worth on Thursday evening with Lance's mom, who happened to be in the area. We had a lovely visit on the way over; Lance's mom is one of the sweetest ladies you'll ever meet. I got to watch Forrest Gump for the first time with Lance and his brother-in-law, Phil, that evening, and then the next day we spent time around the house. One guy I knew from Lance's church, who's good friends with Lance, came over, and it was nice to see him since it had been a while. He brought Elf, which was also a very cute movie. Lance's family was in and out all day, and then that evening everyone converged and visited, ate, played games, ate some more, and had an overall wonderful time. We got to play Scene It and Trivial Pursuit, both of which I enjoyed. When it got to the New Years, everyone gathered together, joined hands, and counted down the last ten seconds to 2005. Then we prayed during the first minute of the New Year, and then it was hugs, kisses, and "Happy New Years!" all around.

I got to bed around 2:00 that night, and I don't think we did too much the next day. Lance met my granddad again half-way between Dallas and Ft. Worth, so I got back over here yesterday evening. Today I went to church and then went with my aunt and uncle to visit some old friends whom I'd known on the mission field. They're some of our oldest and dearest friends; I've known them since I was 10. They were moving to Oklahoma, so we went by to eat, help them pack, and say goodbye. I went out to eat with my aunt, uncle, and cousins tonight, too, so I've spent most of the day with them.

And now, I will be getting to bed shortly! May God bless you richly in this new year and continue to draw you closer to himself.