Exciting happenings of the week

I turned 22 on Monday!

We had REAL chicken for supper tonight - real as in, NOT PROCESSED!! It even had bones. I had three pieces. :D

I'm getting an early start on homework this evening, I have two friends who are going to keep me accountable and make sure I don't go out socializing. :D Then at about 9 I'm going to go down to the Coffee Bean and buy a coffee with some of the money my little siblings sent me for my birthday. :)

My friend and I set up an accountability system today to remind ourselves about something about the Lord Jesus every day...to help each other keep our thoughts pure. :)

I got a really nice note from one of my friends in my box today!

All my Christmas decorations are up!

The Lord is teaching me what it means to press on...and it's good. :)

ONLY 18 more days until I go home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pictures with Emmaus Friends

Getting to know the girls in August who have become my best friends here...Emily and Esther

Roller skating with Heidi and Hannah and Alehandra at Sadie Hawkins

Christina and I together at Sadies

Laughs with Esther A at Sadies

Eating apples with Esther at Oktoberfest

Dressed up for Sadies with Emily

Making Japanese food with Caleb on Thanksgiving break

Breakfast and homework with Victor on Thanksgiving break

At a birthday party with Rachel

At Perkins with Esther, Amanda, and Amy, along with others for a going away party for a friend

Tasting Amy's muffin at Perkins

Saying goodbye to Amanda

Enjoying the first snowfall with Caleb and Victor

Walking in the snow with Joy over Thanksgiving break

In everything

In every little thing
Give thanks.
For unexpected blessings,
For reminders
Of God’s love,
For answers
To hurried, whispered prayers –
Give thanks.

In every greater thing
Give thanks.
For help in big decisions made,
For open doors
Made clear,
For help
In times of bitter trials –
Give thanks.

In every harder thing,
Give thanks.
For loneliness or grief,
For the chance
To suffer for His sake,
For pain, or loss,
Or bitter nights of tears –
Give thanks.

In every good thing from above,
Give thanks.
For promises He gives,
For fellowship
So rich and sweet,
For joy,
And laughter, love, and songs –
Give thanks.

Because His way is perfect,
Because He cares for you,
Because He reaches, teaches, shares,
Give thanks to God,
For He is good.

- Elizabeth Skiles
“Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good.” (Psalm 136:1)

Kansas is far away

It just occured to me that this is the first time I can truly sing along with Bing Crosby...

I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams...

...and really be homesick while singing it.

But I'd rather be there for Thanksgiving.

I close my eyes and see a long table spread with china dishes and steaming bowls of stuffing, potatoes, and yams, baskets overflowing with rolls, a platter of tender white turkey, and clear glasses filled with cinnamony cider and real ice cubes from ice cube trays. I drink in the imaginary fragrance of mums in a vase, woodsmoke coming from the register beneath the table, and the comforting smell of...HOME. I see candles flickering (ah, candles!) and hear loud, boisterous laughter, the clinking of silverware, loud oohs and ahs over the savory dishes, and words of thanks overflowing from grateful hearts of those I love best in the world.

Then I open my eyes and see the white wall of my dorm room, think about a big empty building with 15 students living in it for a week, eating their meals together in the coffee shop downstairs and buried in their books and staring at laptop screens...and am tempted to go to bed crying.

But then I remind myself of the Lord's precious love, and how He provided for me to stay here, and how much joy I will have as I work on the projects He's entrusted me with, and the fellowship I will have with those 15 brothers and sisters, and the fun it will be to visit someone else's home for my favorite holiday...and realize that it will be okay.

But Kansas is still far away...and only in my dreams.

College can make you do crazy things...

So...I never thought a party could be so much fun. We had a Sadie Hawkins party last Sunday here at school. The theme was "Blast from the Past - 1950s" and it WAS a blast.

These pictures, here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=11388&l=5733b&id=503933962 may not mean a lot to you because you don't know the people in them...but you can kind of get an idea...

We had dinner first, in a dining hall that had been completely transformed to look like a 50s diner. The RAs and Student Gov folks were on rollerskates, and served us dinner. It was so much fun! Seriously, we felt like we dropped out of Happy Days. The 50s music helped create the atmosphere amazingly.

Then we had lip sync competitions by floors, each floor lip synching and choreographing a different 50s song, plus lots of competitions and prizes, all in the decked out auditorium. That was wild! We laughed so much and had such a good time.

Then we went roller skating at a rink and skated for 2 hours to more 50s music! Wow! It was sooo fun! I've been paying for it all week (I have some muscles hurting that I didn't realize were even capable of hurting!).

Today a 5-yr-old boy winked at me and a 7-yr-old boy waved at me. If that doesn't make a girl's day, what will?

Life is crazy, but it's going...faster than I'd like.

God is so good! Praise Him today for something He's done for you!