Word on the Road

I made it home...in pretty good time if I say so myself. :)

The trip was much needed time with the Lord. I listened two music and three sermons. I have heard them all before multiple times and I am still amazed at the way the Lord speaks to me through them. His Word never returns void. :) What encouragement that is for evangelism and preaching. His Word is Living and Active and sharper than any two-edge sword.

I am started to feel better which I am very thankful for. Thanks to everyone for the bday and get well wishes.

The sky tonight is clear and littered with bright crystal stars. They are beautiful. I hadn't realized how much I missed seeing them until this evening. God knows every one of them by name, you know. :)

I can tell my cat missed me...she mawled my arm when I picked her up. Much more welcoming greeting than I usually get I suppose. Hehe.

Tomorrow my sister and I got to worship at MH and share in the top-secret Celebration Weekend. I am very excited!

Well, my family calls...

Current Events in My Life

Today is the last day of classes for the semester...though I am not attending them. I caught some kind of bug and was up all last night and most of the morning sick. I have been this sick in many years. Thankfully, I am starting to feel a little better and may even try to go to work for a few hours.

Two things happen in two days:
1. I get to go home to Missouri
2. I turn 25

Remember how the store I work at was nominated as Louisville's Best Businesses in the Wedding Invitation Category. Well, we won. :) I don't think we get anything but the sheer joy of winning...which I am fine with. :)

My sister and I bought my Mom's Christmas present online last night. One present down, a few more to go.

Semester in Review: This semester has been one of the most difficult. Not because the work load as been overbearing but I have been apathetic towards my schoolwork as well as weary of it and I have been undisciplined in general. The Lord has taught me much through it all. Key themese have been spiritual warfare, perseverance, trust/faith, the need to watch my life and doctrine and accountability. This semester I was forced to have an accountability partner for my Spiritual Disciplines class. I dreaded the assignment first, but it has actually been a blessing. I have gained a new sister and Christ and learned the importance of opening up to others. I also translated an entire book of the Bible (1 John) which is such a privilege.

I am still praying about studying/serving overseas next semester. My sister is also praying about going to Romania with Mobap this spring. Please join us as we pray for these things.

Oh, oh...I saw both new Batman movies this past week (Batman Begins & The Dark Knight). They were so good! The acting (minus Katie Holmes), storylines and action scenes were superb. I cannot wait until the third one gets underway!

The Kabob Party we had went well. We were so privileged to have a Muslim family attend and for them to hang around a group of Christians most of the night. This was an answer to prayer for my friend that brought them and I am so thankful to the Lord that He used our small party in such a way.

The Lord has been bidding me to return to Him and I am finally listening. I have been very selfish with my free time lately and I have been ignoring His promptings to seek Him more. Of this I am ashamed. How could I? But I did and through sermons and lectures I have heard over the past week of so I see my sin and trying to get back into a disciplined way of life. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ that He never stops pursuing us! If you have not met with Him today or even this week, it's not too late. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you...He promised and He is faithful!

Breaking Out of the Bubble

First, I must say that I finished my Greek paper! :)

Second, I exercised my right as an American citizen today by voting. My roommate and I got up early, threw on hoodies and ran out the door to vote when the poles opened. I voted for the lesser of the two evils (McCain). I take comfort in the fact, however, that the Lord reigns over this election and His purpose will be accomplished.

These past few weeks have been extremely busy...but not completely with schoolwork. I have decided to break out of the seminary bubble of studying that I had been sucked into. It has been so great to hang out with and serve others. Over the past couple of weeks my roommate and I have pushed our homework aside and had dinner with our neighbors, attended each other's churches' truck or treat (below), had a couple friends over and attended a birthday party. On Sunday, I went with my boss to Otter Creek and did a little hiking (below). It was absolutely beautiful there. The Lord has been so gracious in blessing these times and also by blessing my studies. This week, we are having our neighbors over and then we are having a kabob-themed party this weekend. Fun times. :) The Lord has used these times to refresh me and break me out of the rut I had fell into of work, work, work. My pastor (from home) encouraged me find the ways that refresh my spirit while I am at seminary and this semester I have not been good at doing this. It happened so slyly that I hadn't noticed until the Lord showed me...and I am so thankful He did. :)

The Lord has been teaching me so much about Church History, Greek and Spiritual Warfare through my classes. Please pray that all this learning will not puff me up (1 Corinthians 8:1) but will make me fall even more in love with my Savior. He is so much more worthy than what I have to offer Him and I cannot wait to see Him face to face.

I get to go home the whole week of Thanksgiving! I am so excited. This also means that I get to attend my home church's annual celebration event and I get to attend Two weekend gatherings. :) Plus, I get to spend the whole week with my sister. I miss her.

The Lord continues to amaze me with His provision and continues to teach me about trusting Him.

There is more to say, but I am so tired. I think I may go to bed...even though it is not yet 9:00.

A Momentous Occasion :)

Ahhh!

I just realized today that my Greek Syntax paper is due in two weeks!

Marching Forward

The past few weeks have been a battle spiritually. I can sense that the Lord is about to do something in my life and the enemy is aroused. The Lord has been gracious by bringing Scripture to my mind (the Sword of the Spirit) and covering me with the prayers of my fellow warriors. I have been learning a lot about spiritual warfare in my Spiritual Warfare class, and now I feel the heat of the battle. It has been hard, but I pray by His strength I will stand firm.

Today, the Lord once again allowed me to talk to someone about Christ. While the last time was expected, this one totally was not. I was in the Wal-Mart parking lot, putting groceries in my car, when a young man approached me and told me that his vehicle had ran out of gas. I told him I didn't have any cash, but he said he had a gas container so I walked with him to the Wal-Mart gas station and we filled it up. During this time, I learned he was from L.A., is starting classes this week at a welding school, why he moved to Louisville, and that his girlfriend/wife is pregnant. I shared with him that I also moved here to go to school. Announcing that I go to seminary, of course, steers the conversation towards spiritual matters so we talked about God, Jesus, and Judgment Day. He has a Roman Catholic and Church of Christ background and his significant other (who I later discovered was waiting for him in the truck) has Baptist roots. I am not sure where they stand with the Lord, but they know some Truth. I recommended them to a church on the KY side of the river (where they live) and gave them one of the sermon series I had in my car. I will probably never see them again, but I hope and pray that the Lord would guide them towards Himself. Their names are Billy and Tiffany. Please pray for them. What is really interesting about this situation is that just yesterday I was asking the Lord how I was going to be able to be a witness for Him overseas if I am not a witness for Him here where I'm comfortable, and I asked him to give me opportunities to share His goodness. So He did. :) "Ask and you shall receive." Be assured that God does hear our prayers and He will answer them in His own way and time.

This past week was Fall Break, and, sadly, it is swiftly coming to an end. I did not accomplish all my goals (as usual, I set the standard too high), but I did have two lovely days of no work and no school. One was especially sweet because I got to spend the majority of it with the Lord. Those two days were such a blessing away from schoolwork because even though I didn't accomplish all my goals, I stayed plenty busy with a 10 page paper, reading, a Greek midterm, and a Spiritual Warfare midterm [not the one I am facing right now outside of the classroom, but the one for my actual class ;)]. Speaking of which, I listened to a sermon on spiritual warfare after taking my test which spoke about the armor of God. Besides it being what I needed to hear, I wished I had listened to it before my test so I could have written a better essay on the armor of God, hehe.

I am still praying about serving overseas in the coming year. The sixth month program is still heavy on my mind. I looked at the jobs and locations avaiable and, while I long to work with orphans, an ESL teaching position in South America struck a chord in me. I will keep you posted as the Lord directs me.

I have been considering sharing a struggle in my life (which few people know about) that the Lord delivered me from several years ago. My reasons for sharing: 1. to testify to the Lord's goodness, providence & power; 2. to be more vulnerable (which, if you know me, is something I fight against); and 3. to encourage anyone who might stumble across this blog who is going through a similar struggle. My reasons for not sharing: 1. I am not sure if I am ready to be that vulnerable; 2. I really can't think of another reason at the moment, but I am sure there is a really good one that would be inserted here ;).

There is more to share, but I am too tired to remember what...

Update on Mi Mama

My mom was released from the hospital today. She was told she had a blood clot yesterday then told that she didn't today (the doctor had assumed without looking at the ultrasound). The Ear, Nose & Throat doctor saw her this morning and verified that she has TMJ (lockjaw) which was caused by an arthritic flair-up. Since there is basically nothing they can do but give her pain meds (which she already has plenty of at home), they sent her home. She is feeling much better, however. Thank you for your prayers. I know that she is feeling better because of the Lord's faithfulness to hear His prayerful people.

Aside: The lessons of the Lord are sweet, albeit bitter while in the midst. But I would rather be in the Valley of Trials with the Lord's presence than on the Mountain of Ease while feeling far from Him. His fellowship is sweeter by the day and I wouldn't trade it for the world.