Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Late Nights and Long Talks....

Do you ever have nights where you just don't want to sleep? Trust me, they happen rarely at college. :-) I was all set to go to bed tonight and found myself wide awake with my mind racing. So, instead of doing the logical thing and laying there until I dozed off I decided to post on here again. This means that after months of long absence I'm posting twice in the space of a few days...what's wrong here? Probablly nothing I say after 12:00 makes sense to anyone, but that's ok.
Hmmm. what's running through my mind? Right now, I'm reminded of how many things I am thankful for in life....(Aaron do you mind if I borrow an idea from one of your previous posts? :-)
I am so blessed....what am I thankful for?
The many dear friends God has given to me
Being able to simply live and enjoy life
Finding joy in the little things
Playing the piano
Singing loudly when no one is listening
Classes to stretch my thinking
Philosophical discussions
A roommate who can read my mind
Late nights and long talks
Laughter
My bed
The fact that 7:00 classes won't last forever
Waking up and hitting snooze
Sweatpants and sweatshirts
Being able to run
Eating home-cooked food
Seeing the new life of spring come to the earth
Melting snow
The ocean
Sunsets (and sunrises if I am awake)
Pictures to remember memories
Girlfriends to share secrets with
A family who loves me
A God who saved me
God's Word to guide me
Eternity to look forward to.....

"At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You..." Ps. 119:62

Monday, March 20, 2006

And So It Goes...

To reasure all of you reading this post...I am much more faithful in keeping up with my schoolwotk than I am at updating this web-site :-) Where does time go? This semester has literally flown by! By the way Happy First Day of Spring! The only problem is that it's supposed to snow tonight. sigh. I can't wait for warm breezes, budding trees, and sunny days.

I'm not sure how to summarize all that has been happening in my life over the past couple of months. It's difficult to describe all the ways things change and exactly how God works. As far as schoolwork goes, this has been a difficult semester. There have been many papers, projects, and tests to stay on top of. It's been very good for me, though and teaching me more discipline in every area of my life. God has been so good to allow me to accomplish everything. Now we're down to less than eight weeks!

The biggest excitement in my life was finding out on March 3rd that I was officially accepted into the ARRIBA! program! Since that time I've had the added challenge of filling out all the paperwork and organizing things for the trip. It's so amazing to watch God work in every little detail. Sometimes it seems overwhelming, but then God reminds me that I'm not the one doing anything anyway. It's all of Him!

One of the greatest things God used in my life this semester was our Spring Chorale Tour. This year we traveled over our Spring Break to various places in Michigan and Illinois, giving thirteen concerts in ten days. Our program was Sola gratia...sola fide (Grace alone, Faith alone) Being able to spend that time serving the Lord in ministry, building relationships with people in churches as well as fellow Chorale members, and growing in Christ was incredible. Through so many songs in our program, God spoke directly to my heart about my level of trust in Him. The biggest thing I learned was that I am totally dependent on the grace of God in every area of my life. Not only did His grace save me, it is what sustains me every minute of every day. Only by His grace can I hope to accomplish anything, or bring any glory to Him. I was also challenged to really live out my faith in Christ; to have a faith that will not always over-analyze and search, but instead will simply rest in simple, Childlike trust in a God who never fails.

Sola gratia....sola fide!