A Moment Captured

Outside my window...it’s dark, and there is a fire alarm going off on the other side of campus, but it’s warm and Springy!

I am thankful for ...my mom, my dad, my sister, my brother, and my friends who understand and care about me in more ways than I can count.

I am remembering ...the movie and ice cream nights that I’ve had with my friends this year after long weeks of schoolwork.

On my mind ...the difficult realization that I came to yesterday afternoon and how I am going to deal with it the last few weeks of school.

From the learning room ...women can be leaders!

From the kitchen ...tea and mint ice cream to make me feel better after a rough day.

I am wearing ...shorts (first time in 2011!), a long-sleeve shirt, and a cardigan.

I am creating ...a list of potential graduate schools to research for next year.

I am going ...to go downstairs in a bit and call my deerie.

I am reading … “See Jane Lead: 99 Ways for Women to Take Charge at Work”, and the Holy Bible.

I am hoping ...that I can continue to ask the Lord to guide me as I navigate the challenges of college life.

I am hearing ...the soundtrack of “Annie” and other Broadway classics from my Pandora station.

Around the house ...well, my dorm room is somewhat cluttered at the moment, as my clothes are hung all around to dry after laundry this morning.

One of my favorite things ...spending time drinking tea and reading in the gorgeous sunshine.

A few plans for the rest of the week ...mostly homework—essays galore, final exams, and lots of event planning for the last week of school.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing ...

Spring is in the Air

Here in New Hampshire, Spring comes late. I can hardly remember a year that all the snow in our yard had melted by Memorial Day, but this year, Spring was REALLY late. At school, the University canceled classes on April 1st, because there was too much snow and ice to clear from the pathways. Just last Saturday I was home for Easter and our daffodils (which had just begun to bloom the day before) were covered by an inch of snow by lunchtime. Fortunately it all melted off to reveal a beautiful Easter morning so that we could have our egg hunt outside, but we were a little worried!

As I finish up my semester here on the seacoast, Daddie has been working away to start my vegetables for the garden. He's already direct-seeded potatoes, garlic, onions, parsley, beans, peas, lettuce, and soybeans outside, while inside the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and pumpkins are sitting on a heating pad in the bathtub to plant in May.

I'm so excited for pickling and preserving this year! I've been serving my dill pickles at every family function since last August, so it'll be fun to try some new recipes and stock up for the
coming year.

Sacrifice

Blessings on Palm Sunday!

Hosanna, loud hosanna, the little children sang;
Through pillared court and temple the lovely anthem rang.
To Jesus, who had blessed them close folded to His breast,
The children sang their praises, the simplest and the best.

From Olivet they followed mid an exultant crowd,
The victor palm branch waving, and chanting clear and loud.
The Lord of men and angels rode on in lowly state,
Nor scorned that little children should on His bidding wait.

“Hosanna in the highest!” that ancient song we sing,
For Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord of heaven our King.
O may we ever praise Him with heart and life and voice,
And in His blissful presence eternally rejoice!

http://www.hymnsite.com/midifiles/umh27820.mid

Deep Thought

In the past few days I've had the opportunity to talk with a few of my friends about the future, and what I want to do after I graduate 13 months from now (gulp)!

It's interesting, because until very recently, I haven't had many friends that I felt I could share my religious convictions and spiritual thoughts with, but suddenly I find myself surrounded by Christians who encourage and challenge me. Last Friday my friend Grace came to share her testimony with me, and after we discussed it and cried a little, we had a very deep conversation about relationships, love, purity, and family. Since 2009 I have felt particularly skittish about relationships, because the one time that I entered into an "official" relationship, I wasn't treated with respect. The entire ordeal lasted only three months, but the entire experience of being put-down, patronized, dismissed, and somewhat offended, has weighed on me heavily for nearly two years.

If someone gave me the chance now to undo what happened in 2009, I would be tempted to take the opportunity-- but then I never would have become closer to God. It was during that relationship that I prayed to God for direction, because the boy I was dating was very adamant that religion should not be a part of his life or mine. Having been raised in a Christian home, but only truly accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior during my first year in college, I was still impressionable and easily swayed. In the end, it was God that spoke to my heart saying that this was not the right place for me. My recovery took a long time, but I turned to God for support more than I ever had before, and my relationship with Him became so much stronger and more personal.

Now, after all this time feeling that I was the only Christian in a sea of people, God has revealed to me how His grace is to be seen everywhere. For one thing, He reunited me with my childhood friend Grace. Grace is a devout and enthusiastic woman of God, and her journey in faith led her path to cross mine again when she moved into a dorm room down the hall from me at the beginning of the semester. Grace is involved in many Christian-based activities around campus, and has been encouraging me to attend events and meetings with her, as well as take the time to pray out loud with each other.

The Lord has also reintroduced me to a boy whom I have known since my freshman year in college. This young man has much in common with me, and in the past three years we have often found ourselves joining the same groups, holding the same jobs, and meeting the same friends. Suddenly this semester, God saw fit to open our hearts to each other even more. We have been attending church together with some friends for a few months now, joining each other for meals, praying together, and somehow we came up with the idea to have "movie nights" every so often. Two weeks ago we watched "Singin' In the Rain" with some other residents of our dorm, and last weekend we watched "The Princess Bride".

"The Princess Bride" was not really his ideal movie (although I thought the swashbuckling adventure would have been enough to win him...), but it was really what happened after the movie that made the "movie night" most enjoyable. There was a concert on campus, so most people were out and about, and we had the downstairs lounge to ourselves. This was fine, because we were sharing our "war stories" of the Resident Assistant job, and talking about some issues that had recently come up in his staff meeting. The conversation gently diverged from the topic of social justice in college to our personal beliefs, and the beliefs of our families. From there we talked about faith, church, and how we came to be who we were. Eventually, we discussed the terrifying idea of "the real world" which looms ever nearer. I remember expressing my dismay at the prospects of settling into a career that I did not love, and in response he said something that has stayed with me. He said that while getting a job was important, and getting a job that you enjoyed was preferable, those were not the things that mattered most in life. For him, relationships with others, love, marriage, and eventually children were the things that would color his life.

The more I think about that statement, the more I fall in love with that idea. If it in God's plan for my life to find a job that I am completely satisfied with, He will make it happen. But it is more important to God that I grow up to become a godly woman, a good Christian, and a follower of His Word than anything else.