Whew! One more week to go until spring break and I'm on my way to Guatemala. I'm sort of nervous about the trip, so please pray that God would fill me with His peace about the matter.
Today, I figured that I would share with those who don't know (and perhaps refresh the memory of those who do know) about how I got my nickname Triple B. For those of you who don't know, I went to a really small Christian school, Livingston Christian Schools, located in Pinckney, Michigan. Due to its small size, everyone is family and students really get to know the teachers well. I think I was about in 9th grade, and it was Easter time. Mr. Nast, the principal of the school, had a big jar of Jelly Belly jelly beans on his desk. I usually had volleyball practice at 5:00, so I had some time to kill between the time that school let out and the time that volleyball practice actually started. I probably should have been doing homework, but most of the time I would find myself wandering into Mr. Nast's office, sitting in a chair, and eating jelly beans while talking to Mr. Nast about various things. I ended up eating so many of the jelly beans from the jar, that Mr. Nast dubbed me with the nickname Belly Bean Bandit, or Triple B. The nickname has stuck ever since. So, in case any of you were wondering where the name "Triple B" came from, that is the story behind it.
This week, I have really realized where the Lord has been gracious to me in my own life. Where has He been gracious to you? Thank Him for his grace and faithfulness.
Words I learned this week: protectorate, per annum, apposite, mete, salacious, wheedle, abnegate, raffish, attenuate, redolent, preen, vituperation.
Quotes:
"True beauty does not come from fresh makeup, the latest hairstyle, or how you look in your blue jeans. Rather, it radiates from the inside out, from a heart that delights in the Lord."~Shannon Ethridge
"Your words matter to God-- both what you say and how you say it."~Shannon Ehtridge
"Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind." Psalm 26:2
Just a reminder that because I will be in Guatemala, I will not write a blog next Sunday, nor probably the next, but I will be excited to share everything about the trip in my next blog post on April 1.
Have a good week, everyone! Thanks for reading!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Week in Review Jan. 27- Mar. 4
Greetings, everyone!
Tornado season has arrived! However, nothing has really affected Northwest Arkansas yet. I was looking at the tornado maps though, and it seems like April is the most dangerous month for where I am at, so it looks as though it will only get increasingly worse. So please pray for protection and safety. Also, please pray for the families and cities who have already been hit horribly by tornadoes. Pray for them as they rebuild. Speaking of tornadoes, sometimes I wish that God's power and might could be displayed through tornadoes without the destruction and death that comes with it, but that thought also reminds me of Isaiah 55:8-9, "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'"
This week, strangely, I was homesick for the first time since the beginning of this semester. It started off with me just missing family life/the family unit. I was missing how in a family, there always seems to be someone to go to for a particular need. For example, if I need advice on some important topic, then I go to my dad. If I need advice on women things, I go to my older sister. If I just need to relax and be goofy or need someone to make me food, I go to my younger sister. (She's an excellent chef!) If I need fashion advice, I ask my younger brother. Just kidding! That role is actually reserved for my mother. But you get the picture. Here at college, however, sometimes I do not know who to go to for certain things. Certainly I have my best friend Janeen, but it would be a lot to ask of her to provide all of those things for me. Thus, I think I learned two important lessons from the homesickness episode I had earlier this week:
1. I need to connect with other people more. I need to attend activities and events that will help me to get to know other people on campus. (I already do this somewhat, but I also think I need to be more intentional about it.)
2. Find what I need in God first of all. When we have times of brokenness, I feel that God may sometimes be testing us to see if we will really rely on Him. Certainly He provides us with other people from whom we can obtain encouragement at times, but I also feel that He should be our ultimate source of strength and hope.
I also learned this week that it is easy for things to start out small and progress into even bigger things. It is often this way with sin. So, be on your guard. Is there anything in your life that you need to reassess and do differently? What sins are you indulging that seem small, but then may progress into bigger things?
Only two more weeks until spring break, and that means only two more weeks until Guatemala! I cannot wait to see what God is going to through all of the people who are going. Of course, it is important to remember that the satan is at work trying to impede what we want to do. So please pray that everything would work out according to plan.
This week, I have also learned what a great struggle it can be to live a Spirit-filled life. Though those who are in Christ have been filled with the Holy Spirit, we still have a sinful nature. These two natures are always at war with one another. We are engaged in a great spiritual battle.
In addition, I must say that as a result of my Honors English class, I have come to better appreciate poetry, more so than I did before. Much of the Psalms is poetry, and it amazes me to think that God formatted His part of His Word that way, which makes it easier to memorize.
Words I learned this week: missive, eclectic, cabaret, facile, recalcitrant, macabre, torte, suppurating, pyracantha, volition, pseudpigrapha, epistolary, parenetic, hortatory.
Quotes:
"What a great responsibility is laid upon us as Christians, to be imitators of the love of God in Christ."
"Nothing reveals the character of a man like his tongue. The tongue reveals what is going on inside."
"All the speeches you are making may be very fine and true, but I'd rather see your Savior by observing what you do; for I may not comprehend Him through the fine advice you give, but there's no misunderstanding when I see the way you live!"
Please pray for me in the week ahead, because it will be a busy one. It's also a busy week for the nation, with Super Tuesday and everything. Pray also that I might live a Spirit-filled life.
If you have any suggestions for how I might improve this blog or any ideas of what you would like to see in it, then please let me know.
I'll finish this post with some verses that brought me great comfort this week: ""May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." ~1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. Thank goodness that it does not depend on us to sanctify ourselves. Thank you, Lord, that you are not finished with me yet!
Tornado season has arrived! However, nothing has really affected Northwest Arkansas yet. I was looking at the tornado maps though, and it seems like April is the most dangerous month for where I am at, so it looks as though it will only get increasingly worse. So please pray for protection and safety. Also, please pray for the families and cities who have already been hit horribly by tornadoes. Pray for them as they rebuild. Speaking of tornadoes, sometimes I wish that God's power and might could be displayed through tornadoes without the destruction and death that comes with it, but that thought also reminds me of Isaiah 55:8-9, "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'"
This week, strangely, I was homesick for the first time since the beginning of this semester. It started off with me just missing family life/the family unit. I was missing how in a family, there always seems to be someone to go to for a particular need. For example, if I need advice on some important topic, then I go to my dad. If I need advice on women things, I go to my older sister. If I just need to relax and be goofy or need someone to make me food, I go to my younger sister. (She's an excellent chef!) If I need fashion advice, I ask my younger brother. Just kidding! That role is actually reserved for my mother. But you get the picture. Here at college, however, sometimes I do not know who to go to for certain things. Certainly I have my best friend Janeen, but it would be a lot to ask of her to provide all of those things for me. Thus, I think I learned two important lessons from the homesickness episode I had earlier this week:
1. I need to connect with other people more. I need to attend activities and events that will help me to get to know other people on campus. (I already do this somewhat, but I also think I need to be more intentional about it.)
2. Find what I need in God first of all. When we have times of brokenness, I feel that God may sometimes be testing us to see if we will really rely on Him. Certainly He provides us with other people from whom we can obtain encouragement at times, but I also feel that He should be our ultimate source of strength and hope.
I also learned this week that it is easy for things to start out small and progress into even bigger things. It is often this way with sin. So, be on your guard. Is there anything in your life that you need to reassess and do differently? What sins are you indulging that seem small, but then may progress into bigger things?
Only two more weeks until spring break, and that means only two more weeks until Guatemala! I cannot wait to see what God is going to through all of the people who are going. Of course, it is important to remember that the satan is at work trying to impede what we want to do. So please pray that everything would work out according to plan.
This week, I have also learned what a great struggle it can be to live a Spirit-filled life. Though those who are in Christ have been filled with the Holy Spirit, we still have a sinful nature. These two natures are always at war with one another. We are engaged in a great spiritual battle.
In addition, I must say that as a result of my Honors English class, I have come to better appreciate poetry, more so than I did before. Much of the Psalms is poetry, and it amazes me to think that God formatted His part of His Word that way, which makes it easier to memorize.
Words I learned this week: missive, eclectic, cabaret, facile, recalcitrant, macabre, torte, suppurating, pyracantha, volition, pseudpigrapha, epistolary, parenetic, hortatory.
Quotes:
"What a great responsibility is laid upon us as Christians, to be imitators of the love of God in Christ."
"Nothing reveals the character of a man like his tongue. The tongue reveals what is going on inside."
"All the speeches you are making may be very fine and true, but I'd rather see your Savior by observing what you do; for I may not comprehend Him through the fine advice you give, but there's no misunderstanding when I see the way you live!"
Please pray for me in the week ahead, because it will be a busy one. It's also a busy week for the nation, with Super Tuesday and everything. Pray also that I might live a Spirit-filled life.
If you have any suggestions for how I might improve this blog or any ideas of what you would like to see in it, then please let me know.
I'll finish this post with some verses that brought me great comfort this week: ""May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." ~1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. Thank goodness that it does not depend on us to sanctify ourselves. Thank you, Lord, that you are not finished with me yet!
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