and the answer is?.......

YES, this is the end of school... It turned out to be three forms to fill out instead of two, but other then that, I'm on my way to being done!!!

What is happening after that is still in the works. One thing I know for sure is that I'm going to Italy!!! That's right, I've waited to travel til I graduated and now I'm ready to book my trip for early Spring.

Other then that, there are a lot of open doors and possibilities. I guess I'll just wait to see where God leads me....

Is this the end of school??

I've decided I HAVE to be done with school. So of course I thought I should check with my advisor to see what I need to do to graduate. I figured he would tell me that I had to jump through a million hoops-- but quite the contrary. I just need to take one more class, write-up and present my thesis, and turn in two forms!!

So, I guess that means for once paperwork, busywork, and politics have been iliminated from the process for me to graduate with a master's degree. I have this very wierd feeling that some how this must be much harder then it sounds.

Well, I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I go to turn in my two forms :)

I want to shout with joy, but I'll wait till tomorrow....

long time...

Wow, it's been a really long time since I've posted.. Maybe that's because I've been so busy????
God is still great.... I have been so blessed that it's hard to take it all in sometimes. In response, I want to keep doing the things that He has called me to......

I know it's short.. but it's been a while so I'll start off with just a little bit of info!!

Old times....new times..

Sometimes I wonder what life is really about. You see the same people, have the same conversations and do the same things over and over again. God puts people there to make the day go by and give hope for tomorrow. The days come and the days go by. There seems to be no change towards the things that I want. I have no control over the things that happen around me. What to say, what to do? There seems to be a distance that didn't used to be there. Why?

I have a dream...

July 6, 2006

Visions Become Reality
LISTEN:
READ:

The parched ground shall become a pool . . . —Isaiah 35:7

About this cover
We always have a vision of something before it actually becomes real to us. When we realize that the vision is real, but is not yet real in us, Satan comes to us with his temptations, and we are inclined to say that there is no point in even trying to continue. Instead of the vision becoming real to us, we have entered into a valley of humiliation.

Life is not as idle ore,
But iron dug from central gloom,
And battered by the shocks of doom
To shape and use.

God gives us a vision, and then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision. It is in the valley that so many of us give up and faint. Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have patience. Just think of the enormous amount of free time God has! He is never in a hurry. Yet we are always in such a frantic hurry. While still in the light of the glory of the vision, we go right out to do things, but the vision is not yet real in us. God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision. Ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work. He is getting us into the shape of the goal He has for us, and yet over and over again we try to escape from the Sculptor’s hand in an effort to batter ourselves into the shape of our own goal.

The vision that God gives is not some unattainable castle in the sky, but a vision of what God wants you to be down here. Allow the Potter to put you on His wheel and whirl you around as He desires. Then as surely as God is God, and you are you, you will turn out as an exact likeness of the vision. But don’t lose heart in the process. If you have ever had a vision from God, you may try as you will to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never allow it.

This is Awesome... you have to listen to it!

I finally got a chance to hear Mike Yankoski who spoke at Grace back in April. I'm not sure if you know who he is, but he and a friend spent 5 months living on the streets and he talks about helping the homeless.

His message is like nothing I've every heard. His goal isn't to bash the church or show us how distant we are from people that aren't in our social group. Instead, he gives practicle examples of how to help and also the reality that Jesus said that the homeless will always be with us. Instead of trying to solve their problems, we are commanded to help those that WE come in contact with - not change their lives.

Ok, here's the link the audio is under "Mike Yankoski"....

Issues around me...

Ok, so after going to global commute (put on by the invisible children group) I've taken on a new outlook on being involved in issues that are going on around me. I used to think that getting involved with issues were a waste of time but after writing a letter to President Bush about Africa during the global commute I see it as my obligation to the next generation.


So, here's the ones that I've recently written letters about:

Save the internet: This is for real, I checked snopes.com before I filled out the information for the letter. This is big business trying to regulate the use of the internet. I wrote an email this morning, and already got a response from both our senators. Here's a link to information about it.

One: I know they are always sending out information, but it is my personal responsibility to help those in need when just 5 min. of my time can make a difference. Here's a quote about what's going on right now and a link to where to put your name on the list. "within the next 2 weeks the U.S. Senate is poised to slash billions of dollars from President Bush's plan to fight AIDS and poverty."

Ok, so now I've put my two cents worth out there. Don't feel obligated to get involved, I just wanted to let other's know what's going on....

PS. If you have any worthy cause that you think is important, feel free to reply to this post!!1

Bend - OR

Yep, that's right... I was with the fam last weekend and it was so much fun... Here's some pictures from the weekend....
pictures

School and Sleep

Ok, so I've just finally come to two realizations:
1. School = never getting enough sleep no matter what classes I seem to take
2. doing a project = eventually finishing a class no matter how little or much effort I put into the project (ok, maybe there is a point where if the project was really bad I would have to retake a class, but not my point!!)

what this means???
I've always wanted to turn in really nice work and have professors like what I do. This always ends up taking a lot of extra time and effort. Of course this makes homework take forever and takes away more hours from sleeping.

So the answer is: get more sleep by doing what is assigned and not trying to make every project an outstanding piece of work.

I'm sure most everyone else figured this out a long long time ago. But being the perfectionist that I am it's taken 6 years of college to figure it out!!

Here's to more sleep and passing grades!!

Job

Some really cool news:
I found out today that my job has extended from 1 year to 2 years if I so desire to stay in San Luis Obispo and stay at the job I'm in.

What a great opportunity God has given me when I didn't' think it was possible to find a job that fit me so well...

Ok, I hope this puts the Spanish speaker at ease since I blogged TWICE in one day!!!

Believe - Trust - Obey

Yea, ok I know it's been a while and got a post this morning from an angry reader, all in spanish I might add, telling me to please write... so here is..

God is so good!! Ok, so you ask WHY (glad you asked) Not because everything in my life is going wonderful, I haven't won the lottery, or bought a house in San Luis Obispo, BUT instead it's because I finally realized that it doesn't really matter if the things in life I always thought would happen, never ever happen....

The reason is because I know that God is in control, He has it all planned out. I'm the kind of person that wants to have the rest of my life planned out. Ok, so right now I'd settle for just having the rest of the year planned out. But, I realized yesterday that I don't' have to have it figured out. I just have to live everyday... Believe, Obey, Trust (kinda like the song from Sunday school) and my life will be full of Joy, Peace, and contentment!!!

The choice is up to me... I'm choosing to live in the present and believe God at His word, so that way no matter what life's journeys are, nothing can shake the peace and joy God gives me :)

Peak of the Climb...

Ok, so I know I haven't blogged in a really really long time. The reason is because something heavy has been on my mind and I didn't know how to put it into words.


So here it is... Have you ever been on a really really long hike up a steep hill, or been on a really long run that that seems like it will never end? Or, have you ever ran a marathon? I haven't done this, but from what I've heard it pushes you to the end of yourself and if you're normal, you never ever want to run one again. Well, that's how I feel spiritually.

It's that feeling when you get to the top of a really big hill and you can see the horizon and there are still many more hills to come, even bigger ones then the one you just came up. It feels daunting, impossible and you start to question why you ever stated out on this path. Once you continue on and regain strength on the downhill side seem ready for the next peak, but then once again when you reach the top you feel almost as exhausted as you felt at the top of the last peak.

I believe God at His word and I know at the end of the day that I'd rather be in His will following Him then be anywhere else. However, the cost to follow Him is great. So great right now that I feel that to follow Him is more then I can do. As I write this I have head knowledge of all the answers to this. As Romans says; "I can do all things though Him that strengthens me" but my heart still tells me that the sacrifices that I make for Christ everyday go against everything that I want to do.

I blindly continue to have faith and follow Christ but be forewarned my friends, the cost of following Christ is great....

Just Do It!!

Ok, I've been reading John and James at the same time and last night they totally came together and it just amazed me so much that I must blog about it...

 

In John chapter 9 Jesus heals the blind man, yea a story I've read so many times I almost just skipped over it.  However, as I read it this time for some reason I gained a new prospective of Jesus' miracle.  Jesus healed the blind man but the blind man still had to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam before he could see. 

This might seem very insignificant, however when you read it with James 2:14-25 it sheds a different light on the John passage.  

 

The point- we have to not only have faith in Jesus we have to also do faith in Jesus.  "So you see that Abraham's faith and the things he did worked together.  His faith was made perfect by what he did" (James 2:22 NCV).  The passage goes on to talk about how faith without works is nothing.  This got me thinking that maybe God is doing miracles around us everyday but we don't see them because we aren't "doing" faith. We say "God I believe in you" but then when it comes to stepping out and doing what He has put on our hearts, we shy away and get preoccupied with things that are more convenient and considered normal.     Our minds reason away doing faith.  We reason away why we can't do something great for God.  Maybe this is saying hi to someone I meet in a store or class.... Maybe it's being faithful to the things God has asked me to do..But when all this becomes a habit and I have grown in my faith of who God is, maybe doing faith is more then this.

 

Well, as of right now I'm not sure where I need to DO faith.  But I know that I didn't just happen to read these two passages on the same day and have this conviction if it wasn't for a reason. 

 

Do faith my friends.....

 

Einstein - Good & Evil

Has anyone else ever read this?  I found it and I'm wondering if it's really true.... 

 

 Did God create everything that exists? Does evil exist? Did God create evil?

 

 A University professor at a well known institution of higher learning

 challenged his students with this question. "Did God create everything that

 exists?" A student bravely replied, "Yes he did!"

 

 "God created everything?" The professor asked.

  

 "Yes sir, he certainly did," the student replied.

  

 The professor answered, "If God created everything; then God created evil.

 And, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works

 define who we are, then we can assume God is evil."

  

The student became quiet and did not answer the professor's

hypothetical definition. The professor, quite pleased with himself,

boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian

faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "May I ask you a question,

professor?" "Of course", replied the professor. The student stood up

and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

  

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never

been cold?" The other students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to

the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence

of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or

transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or

transmit energy.

Absolute zero (-460 F) is the total absence of heat; and all matter

becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist.

We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?" The professor

responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not

exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we

can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to

break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of

each color.

You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a

world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a

certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this

correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when

there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

  

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course, as I have already said.

We see it everyday. It is in the daily examples of man's inhumanity to

man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world.

These manifestations are nothing else but evil. To this the student

replied, "Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist unto

itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness

and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God.

God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man

does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that

comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that comes when there is no

light."

  

The professor sat down.

  

The young man's name -- Albert Einstein

Missing Friends

talked to my good friend Ernie tonight who's in the Marshall Islands... it's hard to miss friends..

Just about the best party ever!!

 

Ok, I've been waiting to get my pictures back before I blogged this.... but  I  just wanted to thank everyone for coming to the Christmas party last Sunday... Good times, good wine, but best of all wonderful friends.... It's not every day we are all dressed up nice and all together.. We'll have to do it again sometime

The Parable Girls