Three weeks and a year.

There is nothing really to say. Life is busy.


Coming to the end of three years here at Moody have made me think about my coming last year. What will it hold? Our city offers so many opportunities, many of which I have passed up, but this ought not be. In my last year I want to embrace the city. By the grace of God there will not be much free time, but there will be a bit of spending money. One goal is to see a play on the Chicago version of Broadway. Another goal is to swim in Lake Michigan. With the ladies of 6 West, to visit new and exciting dessert places, all through the city. More importantly, I want to see my heart break for this lost city. On Friday night I watched a movie that was dirtier than anything I could imagine. There are two responses required: first, pray for a pure mind in word and deed following exposure to that filth, second, pray for those who have been so corrupted that they find this type of movie amusing. The bubble of Moody, and my life, is so rarely penetrated, that when it happens I go into a state of shock. You see, no one really needs to be exposed to the filth of the world, we know how dirty it is. But then we fail to pray for our lost friends. We fail to desire an increase in the kingdom of God. And that's when we need to be shocked into obedience again. This city needs Christ! Pray with me for it to know Him!

hmmmm. other thoughts of recent days:

Surrender is something that needs to happen almost hourly.

Home and family are precious.

God is a wonderful provider. He has a huge fan in me.

You can't run very long on fumes. You need to be connected to the spring of life every day, or you will run dry.

Tell someone of the goodness of our God today! Praise Him!

It is far to easy to procrastinate.

ants

This summer, for my internship with Moody, God is sending me to Thailand. My excitement and fear for everything is building with each passing day. Moody tries to prepare us as best they can, requiring a 5-7 page country report. For that, and also just out of pure curiosity, I've been researching Thailand a lot the past few weeks. The goal is to learn how to not be offensive to the people of Thailand. Things learned so far:

~Smile, it'll cover a world of frustration.
~Don't show your frustration or anger, loss of one's temper is terrible.
-Feet are never to be pointed at anyone, that is insulting.
-To Buddhists the head is sacred, therefore it should never be touched.
-The king is held in high respect, don't say anything disrespectful.

The culture where I have been raised is so very different. My hope is to be mostly a learner, trying not to offend while there. When things get stressful I do have a bit of a temper, so this is something I know God will have to help me with. One thing that I discovered: in Thailand they eat ants. Part of being a learner is eating what is served to you. Can't wait.




On a completely different note, but related because its about ants. God has been trying to teach me to look out of my little ant hole and see the much bigger picture. The past week has been pretty stressful homework wise, plus other distractions in my mindset and life, some good, some bad. But the result has been I have been terrible selfish. Example: I'm gathering prayer partners for my internship. I've asked a few good friends if they would pray for me one day a week. One of my friends (I'd left a message about this on her phone) called me yesterday. My class was just starting, so I did not answer, but I thought to myself "She's probably calling back about the prayer thing" (ME focused...always). She wasn't. She left a message saying that she was really hoping to talk with me, that she needed to process through stuff with someone. That smacked me in the face. Stop thinking your world is all that matters.

I should be writing a paper...

Actually I have five papers due tomorrow. And I am almost done with number one. So, I thought, I'll spend some time online writing a blog entry no one will read. Wise, no?


Sundays are my family day. After church I take the train out to Katrina and Ash's apartment and recalibrate. They are the best part of my week, and love hanging out with them. After spending a day with them, the rest of the week seems doable.

This has been a really rough week homework wise, tons due. And when there is a ton of homework there is little time for rest. So I come to the end of the week weary. My sabbath with Katrina and Ash was the light at the end of the tunnel. Then the realization hits me. They are out of town. I can't see them. This is very sad. If you guys ever read this, know I love you very much. You've made this college experience great. It stinks when you're not here.

On a happy note: I found and bought cheep Russian juice at the store today. After a year negative memories just fall away from my mind, and all I remember is the good. This is happening with my Russian trip. God was good in bringing me through last summer.