Thankfulness = Happiness

Thankfulness ushers in the Lord's presence and brings satisfaction to your life.
Psalm 100: 3

Flying home for Christmas break after fall semester 2010, I wrote this list of things that make me happy, things that I'm thankful for:
- Expressions of being ecstatic, like AAAHHHHH, bah!, Yay, wahoo, etc.
- Being in the sky (preferably without an assisting aircraft, but most commonly with one
- Motivation songs: one that came to mind at the time is "Go," by Boyslikegirls. Songs that empower me and assure me that, really, I can do it
- Running - like I've never run so good in my life
- Being loved and liked unconditionally... "unconditional positive regard" for those psych wizzes
- Smiling, because of a memory or thought, when I'm in a place where no one knows me... like airports, a Starbucks, in a race, etc
- DONE: completing little tasks on a regular basis, like making my bed, reading homeowork ahead, doing the dishes, dusting, organizing, vacuuming, writing letters, checking my voicemail, etc
- New places and adventures! Portland, for example, my fav =)
- Knowing that I've blessed or motivated someone else
- Lists
- Being excited. About something. About anything. It's just a good feeling!
- Good grades. They mean I've accomplished some goals and have loved the Lord with all my mind
- New seasons
- Knowing God is my constant, everything, the Truth, the Way

The picture above is a collage of things the McNelson staff is thankful for! We made it at one point last semester. It is now in the lobby of Nelson and always reminds me of an endless number of things to be thankful for! =) Try to read some of them!

Pictures

C+R+E+A+T+I+V+E W+O+R+S+H+I+P Pictures from our hall: Tie-dying, scripture art, the LIVE OUT LOUD wall with all our handprints outside our common room, slippin' slide, the Ps 1 passage inside our prayer closet, the mailbox outside my door and the gumball machine (we are using it to collect $$ to buy the AD, RD, and cleaning lady each a gift at the end of the year), my room where we have bedtime stories and tea parties, group pics, + a few other things. Enjoy =)

C+R+E+A+T+I+V+E W+O+R+S+H+I+P

This is the theme I chose for my hall... Why is this our hall theme?

First, I think I’ve shared this before, but one of my favorite life verses is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength,” found in Luke 10, verse 27. Those four things capture everything we are to the core! They mean to love Him with more than just our words, or just our beliefs, or just our actions.

They mean that God can be worshiped by more than just song. Everything we do, when done with the heart and mindset of pleasing Christ, can worship and glorify Him! What an awesome opportunity we have! What an encouragement to start worshiping Him with what we are doing RIGHT NOW, even if what we did 10 minutes ago didn’t. What an inspiration to think outside the box in search of ways to worship him. It’s a constant opportunity to be creative.

I read a book this summer, called, “Scribbles in the Sand,” by Michael Card. In it, Card shares a similar idea to what I shared above. He focused around the example that Christ set in John 8:1-12, when an adulteress woman was brought before Him, the Light of the World. Jesus’ response to the woman’s accusers condemning her before Him was simply (arguably, very not simply) to bend down and scribble in the sand. What He wrote, or drew, was never recorded. Why?? Because what was written has never been the point. It was creative way, thinking outside the box, to capture attention, and to worship and listen to the Father. It was un-condemning. It was self-less. Loving. Powerful!

My vision and heart for my hall in Res Life this year has been to provide an environment that enables the girls to live in wonderful creative worship like this. Each of them has different talents, hobbies, majors, gifts, etc. I want for each of them to have opportunity to express those things and encourage each other to live out loud (so was the freshman theme this year) for the Lord in every way they can.

Here are a few of the ways I’ve tried to do this:

First, each of the RAs were responsible for decorating their hall at the start of the year, before everyone else arrived. One of the things I decorated with were clipboards. I put them up throughout the hall for the girls to hang up various things, like verses, quotes, drawings, songs, pictures, etc. I started them off by putting up a bunch of verses (In the following blog, I'll post some pictures of these and some of the activities mention below).

Also, I put a small table at the end of the hallway with a quote book, for the sake of good memories, and note cards where the girls can write prayer requests or hall activity ideas to put in the mailbox outside my door. They have come up with some great activity ideas: tie-dye party, OFFICE party, slippin’ slide extravaganza (yes, we had a slippin’ slide. haha. And it was awesome!!! Ssshhhh), girl’s night out- Abuello's and the drive-in, concerts, secret valentines, welcome back parties, etc.

At our first hall get-together, I asked each of the girls to bring something that represented them… it was incredible to see the things everyone brought… We learned how diverse our group was :) Hopefully all these things build their confidence and bring them all together in love.

We sit out in the hallways telling stories of times we’ve felt homesick to comfort girls who are feeling homesick. We worship together, watch movies together, have bedtime stories together, and tea parties together. We’ve made 2 AM rushes to the ER and 6 AM morning runs. Girls have shared in their deepest sorrows, through death and pain, and their greatest joys, through life and success. We’ve LIVED together.

We’ve all done so many things together that bring so much life to our hall! I don’t say these things for any other reason than I guess to share how much I love getting to know each of the 32 (plus the few that moved after the first semester) girls on my hall and love the challenge of trying to encourage them (and love being encouraged by them myself) to use who they are, everything about them, to give sacrifices of praise to God!

Lord, I ask that this hall would be a place where you are truly worshiped and joyfully feared. You are SO good and SO powerful. Thank you so much for the wonderful women I live with! Please plant a beautiful passion for purity in each of their hearts. And a hatred for the things that are not of You. Fill us with compassion and understanding for each other. Jesus, we want Your name to resonate through this hall and peace to fill each room. This is Your place and these are Your children. Do with us what You will. May everything we go through this year only bring us closer to You and reveal Your heart to us! Conform us to Your image. I love You, Jesus. For You and for Your glory. Amen :)

Starting Spring 2011

This is my journal entry from 1/18/11

Today is the first day of classes for my second spring semester here at ACU. There is SO much I want to say.

First, I've just been inspired this morning by Sharlane Flanagan videos and Loui Zamperini stories from Seabiscuit. I really like this quote from Zamperini: "I'm trying to improve. Never give up, no matter what. Even if you get last place -- finish."

Second, I watched The Lord of the Rings, the Return of the King, last night and was very encouraged. I've been pretty excited about this semester, but nervous in anticipation nonetheless. One thing that Pippin said relates to my feelings, except expressed in a much more dramatic way (obviously): ...okay, I don't remember the exact words, but it was something like "I fear this battle that is inescapable. But standing on the brink of it, just waiting for what is inevitable, is so much worse." Yes, this semester will be hard, but it's totally possible to do a fantastic job!

The thought of dying terrified Pippin. But, as Gandolf comforted him with: "death is not the end!" This hard semester, as with any challenging time in life is never as bad as we think. Because on the Other Side are white shores, and beyond that, eternal cities of splendor! Yay, so exciting! It's thoughts and hopes like that that totally pump me up and make me feel ready to face anything.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

Psalm 16 continues to be a very powerful passage for me too! Oh, and Psalm 37:4 - Have fun with Jesus and He will make your dreams come true! How cool is that?! SO, I commit to dreaming big and loving life =)

"You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever." Psalm 16:11

The Key to Victory

Wow, I feel like I just had a huge epiphany today.

Epiphany = a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiate by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience (thanks to dictionary.com).

There’s three parts to this. It’s an analogy for what my spiritual state has been this past year. I’ll start with where I was last semester, go on to where I’ve been this semester, and finally to the epiphany of some words the Lord gave to me a year ago.

Last semester was extremely hard for me! It still really feels weird saying this, because I am and always have been just a naturally really happy person, but if ever I were to come close to depression, it was last semester. Please know that from the beginning I never doubted God. Rather, I grew to love Him and depend on Him more than ever in this time. Nevertheless, there would be nights that I just wouldn’t be able to sleep. I’d call my mom (my beloved mom) in the wee hours of the morning and she would just pray, pray, and pray for me over the phone until I was at peace enough to finally get some sleep.

Exodus 17:8-15, one of my favorite Bible passages, tells the story of when Joshua fought the Amalekites. Amalek is always a symbol of the flesh. Vs 16 talks about this perpetual battle that men will face from “generation to generation.” People will always have to fight the flesh. I was fighting the flesh. Fighting sadness. Fighting attacks at all angles from the enemy. “We fight not against flesh and blood.” While Joshua was down, fighting in the ‘Valley of Interaction,’ Moses, Aaron, and Hur were up on the ‘Mountain of Intercession.” Whenever Moses would hold up the Rod of the Lord above his head, with the help of Aaron and Hur, Joshua would be winning the battle against the Amalekites. So it was with my mom and me. She was my Moses, Aaron, and Hur, praying for me, interceding on behalf of me, helping me defeat the Amalekites. The battle was won by prayer, not by Joshua or his sword (… i.e. not only by the Word of God, as the sword is referred to).

1 Timothy 2:8 says to lift up holy hands in prayer =). Luke 18 says to always pray and not to faint or loose heart. Faith changes things. Prayer changes you and me! This transformation that takes place is more important than the outcome of a situation.

Who else stood on a mountain top on behalf of me? Who ever lives to intercede for me? Haha, no, not my mom here, but my Creator and Heavenly Father!

Also, during this time the Lord had someone share Psalm 91 with me. Verse one says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Here, the Most High, which is “El Elione,” emphasizes God’s majesty, and the Almighty, which is “El Shaddai,” implies the tender care, such as that of a nursing mother. But when the two terms are used together, they speak of God as a mountain-like majesty, in whose presence there is a “secret place” or a shadow (with help from my Bible commentary and previous marginal scribbling). Okay, there are a million verses that declare the security we have under the shadow of His wings! The secret… the ONLY place it’s possible to be in the shadow of the mountain is when your in the valley!

Now I’m in a new season. Literally, since the first of the year, the Lord has been taking me out of that low valley of depression and sadness. By no means am I at the top of the mountain yet; However, I have a hope and anticipation for when I get to the top of what an amazing sight I will see ahead of me! It’s also not at all easy. Have you ever climbed a mountain? It’s hard! But it’s a good hard and I know I can only come out stronger in the end. I’m still in the shadow… climbing up!

The epiphany! I read my first blog, from May 10^th, 2010. Haha =) In that blog I used the analogy of entering the head of a trail and how “there is going to be bumpy dirt, border-trail shrubs,” etc, but “At the end comes victory… and always a little more strength and confidence.” No joke… maybe this is only crazy awesome to me, but in my mind these connections and implications to my life are out of this world! The Lord is always with us, always for us, always strengthening us, and always speaking to us. And I'm excited for the mountain top, the Real Mountain Top, Mt. Zion, where we'll finally see Him!

McNelson Staff

The Staff I Work With

The McDonald and Nelson Halls staff work together. Shannon B. is the Residence Director (RD; not pictured above) and lives in an apartment in Nelson. Jess S. is the Assistant Director (AD; far right) for Nelson and Gerina D. (not pictured) is the AD for McDonald. The two Resident Assistants (RAs) in McDonald are Lindsay S. and Brittany H. (both not pictured). The RAs for Nelson include Irene A. (far left), Whitney B. (between Irene and me), Jada Y. (between Jess and me), Anno H. (not pictured), Brittany T. (not pictured), and me (in the middle).

These women are SSOO amazing to me. As warned when they were inducted into Res Life, they live their lives in a fish bowl. People watch them and they are expected to live exemplary lives that reflect the mission of Res Life:
The mission of Residence Life Education and Housing is to support ACU's mission by offering intentional, Christ-centered living and learning communities that provide opportunities for student learning, student success, and authentic relationships in excellent residential facilities.

Each of them have been faithfully committed to weekly devotionals as a staff, weekly staff meetings, organizing bimonthly hall programs/activities, 6+ hours of intentional relational contact with the girls on their hall, encouraging one another in everything, being open to grow, setting high standards for themselves, praying, and still being excellent students! I don't know how they do it, but it blows my mind!

Remember how crazy your freshmen hall was? The circumstances these women face on a regular basis are insane! One thing I've been so overwhelmingly reminded of this year is God's faithfulness to only call us to the things He will empower us to do. It's been ridiculously amazing to see the Lord give each of us such peace despite all of the caos and sadness we face. It's also been amazing to experience the power of such a close and positive community... I love the girls on my hall! They bring so much joy to my life.

Thank You so much, Jesus, for the friendships that are forming because of You calling us here. Lift up the Res Life staff I work with to see Your face and be enthralled by Your beauty. Give them confidence to surrender themselves constantly into Your hands. We love You so much!

P.S. About 3 weeks ago I was welcomed onto the Res Life staff for Morris Hall, a sophomore hall. I am SO STOKED about that and can't wait to blog about it.

"Do Your Best and Give God the Rest"

Wheeww (*big sigh*), obviously I failed at keeping up with this blog. That being said, I have undoubtably had it constantly on my heart to keep post blogs, I've just been extremely lacking in the time to be able to do so. Nevertheless, I will seize this moment! As this semester continues on, I can just see mediocrity creeping into the lives of many of my residents and I know they were made for more and are capable of more. This is my cry for them.


"Do your best and give God the rest." I've been learning the value of this quote from Pastor Jon Courson, the pastor from my home church Applegate Christian Fellowship, lately. The most important thing in life is to LOVE the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as our self. This means being intentionally involved only in the things we can devote our energy to and intentionally devote our energy in the things we are involved in. This requires looking at current situations with a very futuristic perspective. Be careful to invest only in the things we are called to. Then dare to do big things! Let go of burdens. Place everything In God's Hands.

Also, like the parable of the coins in Luke 19 (v.11-27): take what the Lord has given you, the gifts and talents you have, and instead of stuffing them away, make the most of them. "Let your light so shine before men, that they might see you good works and glorify your Father in heaven" Matthew 5:16.

These things remind me to intentionally do things as unto my Faithful Creator. What better opportunity to glorify Him than right now? I know this looks different for EVERYONE, but take a few moments to write out the things you're involved in and what your role is in them. Think about what other people's roles are. How can you encourage them in that?

Live life openly. I've noticed that the more I am able to admit my weaknesses before others, the more I am enabled to improve in those areas (a story that is an awesome example of this, hopefully to come later). People love to make other people happy! It's innate and it's so good! When you live openly before God, He empowers you. He empowers us to be His servants. I do my part. He does His.

There is "love, joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit," as my current favorite song puts it. So wake up (Psalm 63), dress up (Ephesians 6), and give it up (John 3:30) to Him. All of it. Anything. Everything. Then DO IT. God out there. Make a positive difference whenever there's opportunity. Seek out opportunity. Have you ever seen God answer a prayer in your life? God pray for someone, that they might experience the same joy!

Live selflessly. Seek vision. Acknowledge Him.

Side note: My off-the-top-of-my-head definition of VISION is a heavenly direction that motivates you toward godliness, transformation, contentment, love, and satisfaction.
Another side note: Please pray for me to be an encouragement to my girls without offending them. Pray that they would become the leaders and followers of Christ that I know that they are.