Soup!

Today my lunch consisted of a spoonful of peanut butter and an apple. It tasted okay and it really did fill me up for a little while, but kinda felt more snack-ish than like lunch.
Because of this, I want to introduce you to one of my new best friends: microwavable soup! I've bought a couple of these for Wednesday lunches in between chapel and classes and they're grand. They taste good, they're filling, they aren't high maintenance. Sandwiches squish or need refrigeration and take time to make and Tupperware containers tend to leak in my school bag.
I have no idea why I'm posting about this. It's SOUP. But seriously, it's amazing. If you happen to have some sitting around the house or don't like them or heck, if you have a coupon for them... think of your little friend in Washington :)

peace.

Do you have the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension?

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Philippians 4:6&7: "Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

I love that God speaks through His word and that it's real and alive - it really helps during struggles. Through the Bible, God has definitely confirmed things I've been praying about and deepened my desire for Him.

This particular passage is such an awesome reminder to me! I've definitely prayed for this mysterious "peace" and have, in still more mysterious ways, received it. It's been really crazy. Those decisions that seem really huge on my radar totally fade away with the peace of God and I'm able to be content in Him and trust Him without worrying. Like I said, it's crazy.

A year ago I didn't know Spokane existed. I think somewhere far back in my head I knew there was a missionary aviation campus on this side of the country but I didn't think about it so much. Haley got into Moody Spokane a week before I heard back from the school and as soon as I heard about that I researched it a little bit but thought "Oh no, God doesn't want me to do that." I remember telling Mom that very thing when she asked if I would go if I were accepted to Spokane. I was certain that God wanted me at Moody Chicago or no Moody at all. Looking back, being certain of God's will wasn't a very good idea. I wasn't trusting Him at all, just my own instinct.

But anyway, you know the story. As soon as I opened the long-awaited letter from Moody, my eyes searched for the words that would seal my future. Accepted!
...to the Spokane, Washington campus. Um, what? I let out a momentary squeak of a prayer to God, asking Him what in the world He was doing.

And then I felt the peace of God. And it did indeed completely surpass my comprehension. I was completely at peace with moving 2700 miles away to a place I'd never even heard about. I don't understand it at all, even now, but I know it was Him. I had this feeling, five minutes after I opened the letter, that I would go to Washington.

I'm reminded of this because God is good. I thought I'd have some regrets or maybe some lingering doubt but I must have underestimated my Father in heaven. I love this life I've been given in Spokane, Washington. I've been so blessed to love my roommates, love the school I'm going to, and love God more through it all.

What would you do?

What would you do if it were the first day of Spring and it happened to be so sunny that it hit a "heat wave" of 57 degrees?
I imagine it would look something like this:
(yeah, that's snow in the background)

What would you do if you were having a pizza night and no one liked the same topping?
Probably something like this:
(yes, we DO have leftovers!)

just a vessel

Oh have I ever been learning about being a vessel! It's a concept that really keeps coming to mind at the oddest times (to me). As I was running this evening, I started thinking about how my body is a temple and how in essence, I'm nothing more than a shell, given life by God and filled with Him to do His work. I'm nothing at all without Him, as He is the One who gave me life, gave me breath, and even made the vessel for those things to dwell in. I'm completely a product of His handiwork and it fills me with such wonder to think that He made ME for good purposes, His plans. Oh how wonderful is the Lord and Savior I serve!

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

This verse has been going through my head nonstop over the past few weeks as I think about who I am and who God has made me to be. I love its simple truths and once again thank God for revealing Himself like this to us through His word!

"God's work is not man working for God; it is God's own work, though often wrought through man's hands." - Hudson Taylor

I happen to admire this man's story by the way... he was a man who loved God, gave Him his all, and consequently loved people so much that he was willing to do whatever it took to serve them and give them the gospel. He was a worthy vessel.

Warm Wishes

Today happens to be the anniversary of two very special things for three very special people!

My little brother is FOURTEEN today (when I called him he answered with his man-voice that I can't seem to get used to). I definitely remember when he was a baby and he had copper-penny colored hair that would get really dirty from all the people who rubbed his head. He was indeed a very cute baby and though I'm completely biased, I think he's an awfully good looking fourteen-year-old too. Can't believe he's that old! Happy Birthday, Scott!

also,

It's my grandparent's FIFTIETH wedding anniversary! Isn't that awesome? I hear that they're spending it on vacation in Florida where it's warm so Happy Anniversary Granddaddy and Grandmamma! I hope you're having a wonderful time!

love you all :)

Life.

I can't believe it but midterms are next week! That means we're in our seventh week of school and the semester is flying by at a breakneck pace. Lots of things have been going on lately and I hope to share some of them with you.

I had a coupon for a free burger at Red Robin so Molly and I went to the downtown one last weekend and shared the burger (a mushroom burger - YUM!). Since we were getting a free meal, we both got strawberry lemonade. I love the glasses!

You may remember the "Dippin' Dots Snow" from my last post. It's been falling from the sky the past couple days and it turns out that it's hail. We got the brilliant idea yesterday to fill a cup with it. Unfortunately, though it sticks and stays on the grass and bushes outside, it wouldn't stay in a glass. We gave it our best effort though!

I eat so well here. Fried eggs and reheated canned peas for dinner.

And now, I've decided to provide you with some of my life here in Spokane. If you were in this part of my life (that is, if you went to Moody Spokane), these things would probably be true of you:

• You stay up late animatedly discussing Biblical mandates for baptism with your roommates
• You notice that in one section of the library, the book on "Why It's Good to Be Single in Ministry" is remarkably new looking even though it was published in the '70s.
  
• Your living room has piles of books relating to women in ministry, angels and demons, church planting, theology, several Bibles and Bible commentaries, empty boxes of miscellaneous junk food, and water bottles.
  
• You schedule your chapel attendances based on the "FYI" sheets on the back of the bathroom doors.
  
• There are much fewer than six degrees of separation for every person in your school (seriously! so many people from the same graduating class, hometown, church, etc have reconnected here!)
  
• You categorize your friends by "1+3" and "4 years Spokane"
• You know that "the Compound" houses 36 girls, about half of the female population of the school
• You laugh at the very mention of the word "McMath" and respond to the mention of his name with the phrase "Thatsh Adorable!"
  
• Making money after graduation isn't a huge deal
  
• You're going for a BS in BS (Bachelor of Science in Biblical Studies)
• You consider your friends with actual jobs to be very blessed.
  
• Most of the people you're around range in age from 18 to 30 but all will graduate the same year
• Spring Break plans don't center around a beach but about trips west to Seattle, east to Idaho, south to Oregon, north to Canada, or trips 1,000+ miles away to visit family.
• A good majority of people you know are youth interns or youth leaders at their churches in town.
  

And last but not least, I'd like to ask for your prayers. There are a few decisions coming up that need to be made and I don't really like making decisions. Pray that I would and that I'd sense God's leading. Many thanks!

becca's visit and my 20th birthday!

My sister came to visit this weekend! I'm SO glad she was willing to come and see me and where I live. She met so many people and we did a lot of stuff.

On Friday, she went to class with me (at 7:45 even though her plane got in at 11:20 the night before!) and went to chapel. Then we met up with Haley and went downtown to show Becca around. We walked around for quite some time... Beck's poor feet even got blisters! We went to the Passover Seder at school that evening and afterward to one of my friends' house for a movie night.

Here she is going down the wagon slide downtown:
And the three of us at the Falls
Becca and I at Spokane Falls:
The Passover Seder dinner at school
(all day Friday we got SO many comments on how alike we look):
On Saturday we tried to go to Mount Spokane but there was too much snow and it was unsafe. We turned around and spend the day in the apartment. Poor sister was probably bored out of her mind :( We ended the day with a movie and cookies Becca made :)

Sunday we went to church at Crossover (Daylight Savings got to us - we were supposed to leave at 8:30 but I woke up at 8:26 after turning my alarm off in my sleep and Becca wasn't ready either. We left about 10 minutes after we were supposed to... I don't think that's too bad!). After church we set off for Wal-Mart to buy snacks for Becca's trip home on Monday. We got a ride for the way there but had to walk home from Wal-Mart in the snow!

Walking from Wal-Mart in the SNOW!
(It fell in little balls like Dippin' Dots ice cream)

One really great thing was that she was here for my birthday - that was a great present in itself!
Here begins the birthday pictures :)

The sweater she got me for my birthday
(I got two green sweaters for my birthday... yay!)
Leaving for the airport :(
I'd prayed that it would snow while she was here and it DID. Three inches were on the ground when she left Spokane and another three or four fell later in the day... we got a TON of snow for my birthday!
The decorations - Erica put up streamers and balloons while we were taking Becca to the airport.
Nick and Skyler made the "It is your birthday" sign (it's from The Office).
Pepperoni and Garlic Chicken pizza for lunch :)
They kidnapped me!
...and took me to Tomato Street for dinner
(Nick and Skyler met us there too)
We wore these crazy crowns on our heads :)
Our crowns (mine says "I'm 20" on it)
The cookie cake they made for my birthday
Gifts from Amanda
Gifts from Erica
And gifts from Molly (and static-hair from Amanda's balloon)
I had a great birthday - SO many phone calls, Facebook wall posts, gifts, flowers, and a grand total of EIGHT birthday song performances (4 of them from my roommates). Thanks y'all!

Your Heavenly Father Knows

Do not worry then, saying, "What will we eat?" or "What will we drink?" or "What will we wear for clothing?" For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:31-33

thoughts:
At the time this was written, Gentiles didn't represent even a minority of believers. Jews were God's chosen people. Now, however, "Gentiles" kind of represent those outside of the flock of believers. In essence this is saying that unbelievers worry and don't trust God but His people DO.

They seek answers and worry and wonder even though God already knows the problems exist. Worrying is futile because God's already got it! We are His people, so why do we doubt Him?

BUT (instead of worrying) seek FIRST His Kingdom and His righteousness (replace your worry time with time spend studying Him and contemplating that)

applying it:
Instead of behaving like those who are not His own (not trusting Him), we spend time seeking Him to become like Him.
Set your sights on God, His kingdom and His righteousness and don't worry about His provisions for you.

Uh-oh, Spagettio

So, I was in Sandpoint, Idaho today.

It was gorgeous.

There was a beach with snow on it - how cool is that?

There was lots of snow.

And it turns out that when I jumped over it to get in the car, my phone fell into it.

So anyway, this is to let you know that I am phone-less until further notice.

(Unfortunately, it may ring if you call... it was on vibrate and there was a lot of battery left. If anyone answers, tell them to send it my way... thanks!)

See? it was really pretty!

Happy First Day of March :)

We're one fourth of the way through 2009! When you think about it like that it kinda makes you wonder where all the time went and if you did anything meaningful for the first quarter (I guess that it won't technically be until the end of this month but still - that's coming up!).

March is a happy month because everything starts getting warmer (it's 40 degrees today - woohoo!) because Spring is coming! It's usually still a pretty ugly month, with brown grass and unpredictable weather but I still really like it. Oh! And I like it because of the birthdays in this month. There are a lot of people born in March... and I'm one of them! I'll be 20 in just eight days. This March is going to be fun - Becca's coming on Thursday! I'm so excited to give her the grand tour. We were downtown last night and I kept thinking of things to show her when she gets here. Spring Break happens at the end of the month and looking at the overwhelming list of papers and assignments due right before that makes me so thankful for the break... it's good to to have something to look forward to!

Anyway, wanted to pop in and say HAPPY MARCH! Hope you're looking forward to a great month too!