Sunday, September 26, 2010

I'm a Barbie girrl in a Barbie worrrld

It's probably time to write an update. The weekend starts on Friday morning for me. :D I don't have any classes at all on Friday and just work. I can't even tell you what I did. It was kind of just a chill day. Oh no wait. I spent a good hour working out, worked, and then hung out with Alex, Brittany, Katie, and Emily. We watched a movie...and then yesterday we walked around Eburg, got frozen yogurt, and watched another movie. :) Today we drove to Costco in Yakima and I got cookie dough and fruit snacks! (next on my list is a tray to bake my cookies on) I don't think we have any plans for tonight...probably just finish my reading that's due Tuesday. Maybe get dinner at some point. Been back in Galatians which is good. Kinda over my head some nights. But I'm looking forward to listening to Mark Driscoll's sermon online tonight.

Friday, September 24, 2010

We are wild and young/and we have just begun/slow it down/these should be the best days of your life

Today I laughed so hard that my abs hurt. They literally ached. That might be partially due to the fact that on Fridays I don't have any classes so I slept in late and spent an hour in the gym, but it also partially has to do with the fact that Alex, Brittney, and Katie are just fantastic. Alex is my roommate, Brittney is our suitemate (who was also a friend of Alex's from last year), and Katie is a friend of Brittney's from last year. Yeah, life in Eburg is slow. But it's kind of nice at the same time. We'll see if I still think that after the weekend lol.

Thursday night I visited Fuel which is the Campus Crusade ministry. It seemed nice enough..I've just been spoiled with the hardcore preaching at Mars Hill. I think I'll end up going back. It's the only campus group that doesn't meet on Tuesday nights and I have a class on Tuesday nights this quarter. I gave my name to the girl who's leading the women's Bible study in my hall so there's potential for good happenings. Now I just need to find a church.

Work sucks. I've never had a good boss in any of my regular jobs and this job is no different. Ok that's not true. Half of the time I have a good boss. I just get annoyed because first of all, I'm new. So don't get mad at me for standing around because I thought everything was done since you never taught me I had other jobs. Also, if you see me slacking when there is work I know that I need to do, then I'll accept a lecture. But when I'm actually working and you come over and give me a list of things to do like I'm just playing around....that just ticks me off. Especially since there are half a dozen other people around me who AREN'T doing their jobs. Finally, don't take life so seriously. We're college students. We're running a cafe. It's not the CIA, people's lives aren't compromised if I'm actually talking with my customers. But it's a job and LOTS of people around campus are looking for jobs so I feel blessed to have it.

And it was beautifully sunny this afternoon. I just adore most of the weather here. We'll have occasional sprinkles but it's still sunny while it's sprinkling. It was cloudy one day, but other than that I don't usually need a jacket during the afternoon.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Let the classes begin!!

Classes started today! I have an 8am class every day except Friday.....So far they're all great. I'll be writing a LOT of papers this quarter. Not a lot of crazy-big ones, but quite a few 1-page reading responses.

Still working on making friends. And still working on Skyping with Caroline. I think the worst part is when I'm walking down the mallway under all the beautiful trees and with the warm sun, and think "oh I should call Hannah and see if she wants to hangout tonight." :(

Monday, September 20, 2010

Here I am...

in my dorm room. I have everything totally set up, and I love it. All I need is food. But I'll get some tomorrow. It's a really nice room. Not super big, but it's not the closet that some of my friends had. My roommate is cool. She's been a big help, showing me around everywhere and answering a million and one questions. I still feel awkward, though, without any friends. I would trade the nice room to have friends right now. And I KNOW it takes time, so no one needs to tell me that. It's just annoying to have to go eat lunch alone. I actually just decided NOT to eat because I didn't want to eat alone. That's also partially why I'm getting more food to have in my room. And tomorrow I'm also getting milk so I can make coffee!! :)

I have no idea what's going on tonight. Since we're not a Freshman dorm, we don't really have all those "welcome weekend" activities. I'll probably just watch a movie. I had my first day of work today, too, and I'm just exhausted.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Tomorrow

I'm moving tomorrow. So today is crazy packing day. I might get to babysit this evening, which would be really great!! I've had a really fantastic week, though. Like yesterday I hung out with Mary and Abby. Afterwards, I went to Panera for lunch and saw Arielle and Mrs. Rivard and talked with them for a little while, too! AND it was my mom's birthday so we had the whole family go out to Red Robin. It was just a fun day.

Thursday night I started getting nervous...just about the details. Will I like my floor? Will my room be big enough? Will I make new friends quickly enough? Will someone show me how to get internet set up & how the cafeteria works? (Cause it's really wierd) There's just so much change. I'm really hoping that the transition will go smoothly....and the good thing is that I know everyone else in my dorm is making the same move. Although most of them are probably returning students. But whatever. That just means there'll be more people to help me out! :)

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

9/14/10

When I talk in my room, I hear an echo. That's how empty it is. With Simba here, the days seem to fly by. That and I'm on the go a lot this week...I have somewhere to be every day except Saturday. And I have 3 books to read and 12 episodes of one of my favorite TV shows to watch before I head out. And that's about all I have to say.

Monday, September 13, 2010

It's so good to be alive in such a hazardous world/To be alive and see the victory unfurled

Today little guide dog puppy Simba came over for part of the week. He's a darling little 13-week-old black lab. All legs, big floppy ears, and he loves pouncing around the floor. Since he's just a baby we're not going many places with him. He's going to Starbucks with me when I hang out with Cortney today, and Tully's tomorrow when I hang out with Sam. Oh, and to Eburg on Weds for the job interview.

I also got to meet with a deputy at Sammamish Police Department to talk about starting an explorer post. She especially wanted to find out what we do exactly and what would be the selling points to get people interested in joining the post. I'm really excited for them! It'll be great to have a post on the plateau and hopefully it'll be some good competition for Redmond. I also offered to help out with mock scenes on the off-weeks if they'd like. So cool! It was fun just to talk through why I've loved being an Explorer. Like one of her questions is what was the biggest thing I've learned? I think it's just having that self confidence when you walk into a room that "I'm an officer so I'm not going to let you walk all over me." Sure, I'm not an officer yet but that's an attitude we're taught from day 1 because it can be hard to actually develop that strong presence. And learning to balance that with being a person who it's easy to talk to....I guess I just value myself more than I did before. That like I've said on here before about how I learned at Academy how to push yourself. Like I remember our 2nd night, we were all exhausted and had just gotten done with evening formation. After evening formation we went to TAC time where basically they could do whatever they wanted with us. We'd been running, doing 6-inch leg lifts, pushups, etc all day and then our TACs decided to take us on a run. We had no idea how far we were going to go, we just had to find some reserve of energy and go. And our head TAC led the run so he set a pretty quick pace. And we did even more PT after the little run.

6 days ladies and gentlemen.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Simon Says

raise your hand if you're leaving for school in 7 days! *hand shoots up* I had my last guide dog meeting today which was kind of sad. I mean, I know I'll be back for breaks but like Tracey said, life will never be the same again. So I keep getting more and more excited..especially as this is a real week of "lasts". Like tonight is the last Sunday night I'll be living in this house, sleeping in this bed.

But the evidence of God's grace I want to post about today is just my awesome friends. I have people in my life whom I know I can turn to about anything. I had a situation that really just sucks come up, and my tendency is to keep it to myself and hide the imperfections in my life. But I decided to reach out and tell Caroline about it, and I know that she cares. Jill is coming back soon (which means she'll be able to talk again and to come visit me at school!!!) and I've missed her lots. I'm taking a trip over to Eburg on Weds for a job interview, and Shannon and one of her friends will be coming along. And stuff like I have all these situations that come up that remind me of Explorers or Academy, and I can just text or message Jake and he always "gets" it. Not to mention that we've had some pretty great talks in general, too. Hannah is the nuttiest girl I know, but I absolutely adore the way she lives for Jesus in a down-to-earth way. This morning at church I was kind of feeling alone even though I was surrounded by people, and Emily J saw me, smiled, and waved, and a little while later Jill D poked me as I passed her in the communion line. I'm hanging out with Cortney for the first time in a LONG time, tomorrow and I can't wait to see her beautiful little face. She has this intensity and passion about life and living it well that I just adore. God has blessed me with some radically amazing people.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

come, come fallen ones/dance in the healing stream

It's early in the day, so there may be more evidences of God's grace that show up today, but this one is so exciting to me that I just had to post. I'm interviewing for a job on campus working in one of the little Cafes. From the phone conversation I had with the lady, it sounded to me like if I came in for the interview that I'll get the job. :) Sure, it's not the best job in the world and sure, I've done harder jobs. But at this point it's the fact that God may have provided me with a source of income--even if it's not the most fun, it makes me so joyful!

The deal with paying for college is that I have enough cash and scholarships to get me through winter quarter for sure, and maybe part of spring quarter. But with a job, I'm pretty sure that the rest of the funding will come in.

Thank you, Jesus.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Thursday, September 9, 2010

My community group has been God showing me his love and grace over and over. I'm sad to be leaving them--they even got me a cake. God bless, Redmond Ridge CG!!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

11 days

This afternoon was my busiest day (so far) in September. I had lunch with Danielle, met up with my roommate, and then coffee with Hannah. It was all really great! I can't say I had a favorite out of the three. Danielle is just goofy and I think she brings out a side of me that rarely anyone ever gets to see. We had lunch at Panera and then went shopping for her new apartment at Target. I even convinced her to buy a very unnecessary but cute piggy bank which I named Gus. And for the rest of the time with her, Gus and I bonded. Let's just say that I don't think Danielle will ever be able to see Gus without thinking of me :)

It was awesome to meet Alex and apparently we're pretty similar! We have similar sleep schedules, similar values, and similar opinions on partying etc. She doesn't have a boyfriend and is excited that I'm bringing my espresso machine :) I just think we'll fit well together. The funniest thing is that she has black and purple colors to her stuff and I have black and lime green. So they'll compliment each other well. I'm just excited. She says she's the kind of person who loves having the room's door open so that people can stop by and hang out. I love her already.

And then there's Hannah. What can I say about Hannah? Well, anything I say will be taken the wrong way online, so let's just say that I like her very much and leave it at that.

I've decided to start packing up my stuff that I'm taking with me. And I should also probably start on washing all my clothes and stuff. Since I have brand new towels, sheets, etc. and most of it is colored, I figured I should wash them before I go so that the colors are all set when I get there. Like people keep telling me, it's an exciting time.

Evidences of God's grace: people that God put in my life and the ability to be much more open that I love Jesus--even with people I don't really know

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Redmond Explorers: "Born to lead!"

Last meeting with my wonderful post today. I will miss that group so so much. But I will see them in December :) I wanted to go on a ridealong with one of our advisors before I left, but she said she's not taking any right now so I'm going to see if I can get one with two of my TACs at Academy and have offered to give rides if I wanted.


I've been doing some online back-to-school clothes shopping! I haven't bought new clothes in...over a year. So it's fun!


Today God showed his grace and humor while I was driving home from Explorers. That's all I'm going to say.

Monday, September 6, 2010

I'd go the whole wide world just to find her

2 weeks left. 13 days actually. Lunch with Amanda and then hanging out with Miss Laura. Those are two lovely ladies. I made some of the most fantastic friends at Bear Creek. The thing I love about Laura is that she's just one of those people who you can talk to. And I love that she's insanely busy but she made time for me :)

Evidences of God's Grace today:

  • pecans
  • bright pink bike lock for school
  • grande toffee mocha
  • umbrellas in the rain
  • talking about Jesus with Laura


Love ya Laura!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

my name is graven on His hands

car rides with my big brother, Pastor Bill Clem, Mars Hill Church in Ballard, iced caramel macchiatos, straight hair, 3 year olds, Modest Mouse, not having to work.

thank you Jesus

Saturday, September 4, 2010

you could be happy, I hope you are, you make me happier than I've been by far

It's been a whirlwind of a week!!

  • See-ya-later dates started
  • Running regularly restarted
  • I put the wrong kind of dish soap into the dishwasher where I was babysiting and ended up with suds all over their hardwood floor
  • I spent some good time studying in Galatians and learning (again) about living a life wholly and completely for Jesus 
  • Listened to a convicting sermon about being on mission
  • Prepped my very last Toddler 3 lesson for church
  • Put internet on my phone
  • Saw my little brother get his Webelos uniform
  • Watched two friends begin their journey as a married couple
  • Got a voicemail from my lovey, Caroline
I have gotten out of the habit of posting evidences of God's grace so I'm going to do my best to post at least those every day.

Evidences of God's Grace in my life today--watching Mr. Jon Siek and Ms. Brandi Ferrell become Mr. and Mrs. Siek. Seeing the beauty in the creation of marriage and how wonderful love is when Jesus is at the center. I rode to the wedding with Heather and Patrick who have been married for a year or two and have a beautiful marriage. And at the wedding I saw Jason and Lindsay who have been married for about a year and are expecting their first baby in February. It makes me so excited to find the right guy, and is such a good reminder that love where Jesus is first is the best way to go.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Repentance, textbooks, and 16-passenger vans

We talked a lot about reaching out to non-Christians and sharing our faith with them today. When I was reading through the Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll, this quote stuck out to me that came to mind when we were talking about being on mission in our areas:

As long as Christians fail to repent of self-righteousness, we will continue to speak of evangelism in terms such as outreach which implies we will not embrace lost people but will keep them at least an arm's length away...Repentance enables us to kneel humbly with fellow sinners at the foot of the cross so they can see Jesus without our pride rising up to encumber their view.

In other news, I ordered 2 of my textbooks today. This fall my classes will all be pretty sweet and I'm excited to get started!

I was thinking about Academy again, trying to keep memories fresh. And I was remembering the last day, Sunday, Graduation day, and we all woke up with this kind of "whatever" mood. Like what can they do to us today? Nothing we haven't done already. No one yelled at us in the mess hall, and I don't think I did any pushups all day. Instead, we all carpooled over to the rec center and practiced marching in to graduation and how the ceremony would go. Getting there was an adventure since we didn't have a Redmond officer to drive us. We ended up riding in vans with other posts and my van was crammed full of guys. There will probably 20 people in our 16 passenger van. But for some reason I managed to get put in the shot gun seat so I had it easy :) And on the ride over I had a great time talking to a deputy about why he joined a county department instead of city. He didn't have a reputation for being the easiest person to talk to so I was half scared to be stuck next to him the whole ride but he turned out to be pretty cool. Goes to show you can't believe everything you hear :)

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Beginning of the End

I've started the process of saying goodbyes. :( It's funny because it's not really like they're actually goodbyes to me, it's more like we're just hanging out before I get ridiculously busy. But they ARE goodbyes. I am making a point of getting pictures with everyone so that I can re-do my photo collage with the people that I actually care about in this phase of my life, lol.

Last night we had an Explorer meeting and I really can't get over how much I will miss that group. It's only been a few months, but they've been amazing months. I'm wondering how possible it would be to get a post started in Eburg. Hmmmm....

Oh, and I'm studying Galatians right now. And it's pretty cool because I'm reading this commentary by Martin Luther and it talks about how we always need to remind ourselves about Christ's righteousness because we forget it way too easily. And that's so true! It's so easy to just follow the world's righteous standards, but it's good to keep renewing my mind.