The Commentary

Thanksgiving break finally rolled around and I took advantage of the down time. Probably a little too much, the homework that I took home with good intentions never left the bag! I thought of blogging several times, but I didn't have convenient Internet access. Now I just have a lot to say.

I arrived home Wednesday evening after a long car ride in the backseat of my cousin's car. She had said yes to too many people about hitching a ride home SO it took forever to pack the car to fit everyone! We made it, but not before I had to pray several times for God to help my attitude!

Once I unloaded the car at Mom and Dad's the evening was spent vegging...well...until about 11pm. My mother decided that White Castle's sounded good. My parents and I jumped in the car and off we trucked.

Thanksgiving day was odd this year. In our family it is getting to the point where several people have moved or gotten married and have to alternate holidays. I guess it was just weird not to have everyone there. Change comes and life goes on! We did go out to my aunt and uncle's that night. That's when the real party started! lol

Now, along came Friday and with it Lauren! A friend from school spent the rest of the weekend with us. We all went to Kent and Lisa's again to watch the Colts game and Christmas movies.
Ok, let me pause the commentary here to insert another mouse story (see older post). Allow me to set the scene...Meaghan and Lauren were sitting on the loveseat directly accross from the couch on which I was sitting. My mom was in the recliner next to the loveseat and Lisa was sitting in an office chair by me. My mother very calmly states " There's a mouse." For a second we all just looked at her like she had a third eyeball, then we saw it! Apparently it came from underneath the loveseat and charged towards my couch. Feet went up everywhere. Meaghan and Lauren huddled on the loveseat. My mom reclined and laughed so hard she needed her oxygen. Lisa stood on the office chair. My feet were already on the couch, but I did scream.
The guys were watching the ball game upstairs, but after the screaming they came down to rescue us. Lisa started setting traps and my cousin Nathan started placing them under the couch. The poor mouse was frozen under there. Probably because of all the commotion from the humans. By the time it was all said and done there was a barricade of mouse traps around the couch. We caught the mouse within a few minutes.

Craziness. Anyway, lots more happened. The weekend was full of blogging moments, but now this post is EXTREMELY long and my mind is starting turn to mush.

One more thing....on Thanksgiving day.....I backed my parents 2006 Envoy into something. I am not really sure how or what, but the car was in my possession so apparently it was me!Needless to say there were a few stressful moments that morning. I'm okay though that is what is really important. Right?

Resting

Every once in awhile we college students get a day of rest. Rest from the everyday grind and tedious schedules we are forced to keep "during the best years of our life." Our brains sit idle while we laze on the couch eating potato chips and watching movies. I must say, dear friends and prayer partners, I am looking forward to it. Thanksgiving break is coming. The end is in sight.

There is, however, another thought I would like to share. Though I truly enjoy the few days at Thanksgiving to recuperate from the busyness of life, I am learning that resting on God is more important. The thought finally penetrated my mind and heart this week. God had a lot to say. The words of a song that I posted earlier kept running through my mind: "And even as I lay my all at Your feet, oh Lord, still I know You are worthy of more." Anything we can muster up just isn't good enough. Our good character, the people we please, the heartache we've have made it through, the many times we just do "the right thing"or make the right decision is not good enough. That thought is so depressing at first, but the most amazing thing is that God isn't asking us to be "good enough." He doesn't require us to prove ourselves worthy of His love and grace. He just gives it! We can actually rest on the fact that we are not perfect, and never will be, because God loves us anyway!

Truly resting is nice.

"I Will Survive"

I was putting away books in the library the other day when a friend stopped to say hello. Apparently I looked like I felt...overwhelmed and stressed out. He gave me some of the best advice I have recieved lately. "Go to your room and blare 'I Will Survive' or 'Deliver Us' from the Prince of Eygpt soundtrack." A smile surfaces thinking about it now! I plan on following the given advice...and soon!

It is short, but that is all I have to say for now.

My brain is going several different directions today so the following might seem like incoherent psychobabble.
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I am very thankful for a few key people in my life. I have been thinking about what life would be like if I didn't have certain folk around. One being my mom. She was in the hospital all last weekend with bronchitis. For most people that is not a big deal, but for her it is life threatening. She has a lung disease called Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonia so even a simple chest cold is dangerous. I love her! She is great and I don't relish the fact that one day she won't be here.

Janette is another one I have been thinking about. She is my bestest friend in the whole world! Enough said. She is awesome!
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School. Wow. Three weeks until Thanksgiving break and we are all counting down the days. Sometimes it seems like the wonderful holiday will never arrive. I am so excited about sitting around with the family and visiting, eating, remembering, and playing games. Not having class is also a nice plus :)

We just hosted a Leadership Conference here and it turned out better than I ever thought. I must confess that I wasn't thrilled with being required to attend services every night, but H.B. London (VP of Focus on the Family) was great. He really got me thinking and probing around in my life. One of the most introspective times for me was Wednesday night. He talked about our dreams, the "Reubens" in our lives, and the cisterns in which we are caught. I learned a little about myself. It was good for me.
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I got new pictures of Ethan. One is on display at the side of this blog page. He is growing up too fast! Hopefully I will get to see him over New Years.
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OK. I think I am done for now. Maybe I'll post something worth reading in the next few days! Until then hope you weekend is as good as mine will be. I AM FINALLY GOING HOME!!!!!!

Worthy of More

First, let me just say that I will never cease to be amazed at the fact that God is so good. The past few weeks have been somewhat tremulous, but He has made Himself so close to me. The peace that has He has granted leaves me to stand in awe. Several times this past week God has calmed my fears or sent someone to encourage me. I guess I shouldn't be so amazed that God keeps His word and takes care of His own, but I am.
I learned a new song last weekend called "You Are Worthy of More." It has been on my mind all week so I am going to share it with you.

You Are Worthy of More
You ordered every planet into place.
Then came and washed my soul in Heaven's Grace.
And I will never understand all the kindness of Your Hand,
but I know I owe You all I am.

You are worthy of more than I could ever offer.
I am kneeling before Your Holiness, dear Father.
And even as I lay my all at Your feet, oh Lord,
still I know You are worthy of more.

You know my deepest heart before I pray.
You walk the path ahead of me each day.
And I will never understand all the kindness of Your Hand,
but I know I owe You all I am.

You are worthy of more than I could ever offer.
I am kneeling before Your Holiness, dear Father.
And even as I lay my all at Your feet, oh Lord,
still I know You are worthy of more.

The Mouse and other Stories

I have started attending the best church in the world. Wesleyan Evangelistic Church in Dayton, Ohio. John Manley is the pastor. I absolutely love going. Not only are the church services meaningful and uplifting, the people are awesome. One, in particular, needs mentioned :Grace Anne. Truly a Proverbs 31 woman. She has two daughters, sixteen and two years old. Every weekend she allows Jessica and I to invade her family on Saturday night so we don't have to get up early and drive to Dayton from Cinci. She fixes the best home cooked meals I have had in a long time. Aside from the two of us, Grace Anne has another family of five over for dinner every Sunday and sometimes they spent Sat. night too. Her house is absolutely kept immaculate, which brings me to the mouse story!
Saturday night was a CRAZY night. We didn't get to the house until after nine because Jessica was teaching piano lessens at the church and we were so tired. Anyway, I was sitting on the couch when Grace Anne walked through the kitchen and stopped to pick up a piece of "dirt." It was actually a slug! So Jessica grabbed the salt and we tried to get rid of the thing. A few minutes later I ran up stairs to change. On my way back down I saw something running on the stairs. Of course it was a mouse. I stopped with my feet on two different steps. The mouse was not even as long as my finger and it crouched in the corner at the other end of the step. It really was cute. I called for Jessica, trying to be as quiet as I could because I didn't want it to move off the stairs. Jessica called for Dave (Grace Anne's husband). I knew if I called Grace Anne she would scream, but she came along with Dave. Dave grabbed a kitchen towel and came at me and the mouse. The mouse ran straight for my foot. I screamed and jumped backwards and up a few steps. I was so scared that it would run up my leg! Finally we got it outside. (No, we didn't kill it!) Grace Anne was mortified and kept asking if we were scared to sleep in her house.
This post is getting too long so I am going to end it. Tune in next time to read...The Other Stories!

I'm Back :)

Well, the title of this post applies to a number of things in my life. First, I am back to the blogging world. Second, I am back on the ol' hilltop. School is in full swing, which is the main reason I have not posted in awhile. I am so busy! There are simply not enough hours in the day.
Not a lot has happened, but I will give you a short rundown on the recent happenings. The school year always starts with a Fall Revival. This year was no different. It was a VERY good week. God really met with us in a special. You know how some revivals are uplifting and encouraging? Others are soul searching times and still some are just a series of services we feel an obligation to attend. This particular revival seemed to be more of a soul searching time. It was great to feel a spiritual connection with the rest of the school.
Classes are decent. That is all I have to say on the subject. Fun has been had though. (Not during classes.) One of my favorite things in the world to do is to see just how much I can get the freshmen to believe. The stories have ranged from Ms. Vernon (the Dean of Women) turning the water off at eleven to checking student ID's on the elevator. Pranks are always fun too. (I am not going to confess a thing so you can stop sitting on the edge of your seats, my friends.)
Overall life has been pretty mundane. This is not a bad thing. I am actually quite thankful. It is peaceful.
Well, there you have it. If I think of anything else to say I will blog again!