While angels in His presence sang, until the courts of heaven rang

We've had a couple days of summer this week, and it's been really nice. The best part of this week has been re-connecting with so many people. I got to have a wonderful, Jesus-filled lunch with Miss Cortney, picnic'd with my favorite Brittney, spontaneously went downtown with Shannon (I love that I don't see her very often, but whenever I do, it's like we haven't ever been apart), visited the farmer's market with Heather, and yesterday I went downtown again with Jill and Shannon (oh yeah, Jill is back from India for 2 weeks. This is awesome).

I wasn't planning on blogging today, but I've been thinking. :) It all started this morning when I realized I don't really have anything to do, so I can go to a park and hang out with Jesus, my journal, and maybe the book we never finished reading. I realized I've never really sat down and gotten back into "quiet time" since I've been back. I also neglected finding a community of Christians to do life with because I didn't want to make friends and then move for a job. This excuse completely disappeared when Heather told me to come to their community group. Thus, I am going. 

Then, a friend posted this link on Facebook. The thinking continued. I've heard the modest talks a million times. I know in my head that wearing certain things is just not okay. But I rarely actually think about why. Why is it that even Christian ladies feel the need to show off their bodies? Why I wear certain things? I've always battled with the idea of what it means to find complete identity in Jesus. So maybe, indeed, we do what we know we shouldn't because we don't understand that Jesus is everything. I don't need to be attractive to guys...Jesus can fill that void. Now I just need to figure out how to put that thought into practice.

I never heard a sweeter voice, it made my aching heart rejoice!

My take-away from church this week: no matter where you're at, it's a good time to be talking about how amazing Jesus is. For me it's been easy to ignore the fact that I'm at a really nice transition phase right now. Instead of being thankful for the time I get to spend with my family, cooking new recipes, and working out, I've just wanted to get a job. But I'm going to choose to focus on how awesome Jesus is for helping me pass all my dispatcher tests, for giving me an opportunity to get back in good shape, and for my new little car!

Speaking of cooking, today I made Cheese Stuffed Everything Pretzels:

They're yummmy!! I think in the future I would like them to be a bit smaller...more of a snack size. But other than that they turned out really well! Pretty easy to make, too. 

I'm off to prep for my oral board tomorrow!

Foooood

I've had all these recipes on Pinterest for a while, but at school we don't really have the ability to make them. I mean, I could go out and buy a ton of supplies but then I'd have left-overs. What does a college student do with a box of corn starch? So since I'm at my parents' house, they already have the ingredients and help me eat whatever I make! Win-win. 

Two weeks ago I made these. They were AMAZING. And delicious. And super easy!

This week, I made Cheesy Pesto Pull-Apart Bread. Again, pretty delicious and easy. I'm not a food photographer, but this is what it looked like.

I'm still trying to decide what to make next. I mean hey, when else am I going to have free ingredients and time to make yummy food!

Oh the love that sought me!

We sang this at church. I think it's my new favorite worship song obsession:


In Tenderness


In tenderness he sought me
Weary and sick with sin
And on his shoulders brought me
Back to his fold again
While angels in his presence sang
Until the courts of heaven rang

Oh the love that sought me
Oh the blood that bought me
Oh the grace that brought me
To the fold
Wondrous grace that brought me
To the fold

He washed the bleeding sin wounds
And poured oil and wine
He whispered to assure me
"i've found you, you are mine,"
I never heard a sweeter voice
It made my aching heart rejoice

He pointed to the nailâ©prints
For me his blood was shed
A mocking crown so thorny
Was placed upon his head
I wondered what he saw in me
To suffer such deep agony

I'm sitting in his presence
The sunshine of his face
While with adoring wonder
His blessings i retrace
It seems as if eternal days
Are far too short to sound
His praise

So while the hours are passing
All now is perfect rest
I'm waiting for the morning
The brightest and the best
When he will call us to his side
To be with him
His spotless bride.



In other news, I have a car now. Yay! I'll introduce him formally in another post. And I'm going to try to make one new recipe per week. Most of them I've found on Pinterest and look scrumptious. Stay tuned for reports on those endeavors.

School's out for...ever!

It's over. I've moved the tassel to the left side. Pending good grades in all my classes, I'm a college graduate. I don't think it's hit me yet. I'll be honest, the ceremony was long, freezing, and slightly boring. I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked. I was more stressed than I wanted. Now I wait. And re-pack. And do free laundry. :)

Oh, listen to the music

God is so good. Praise and recognition really means a lot to me. My challenge to myself this quarter was to do my job for the Lord, not for attention or competition. But, at the end of the college career, it means SO much to me to know that everything I've done for the past 2 years has been noticed. Recognition is just God's way of telling me "hey, you're doing alright!"

Now, I use this blog for two main reasons: to chronicle what's happening in my life because I tend to forget what life used to be like, and to keep my bestie who's in India right now apprised of what's happening in my life. The rest of this post is going to be mainly the first reason...so if you don't like people talking about themselves, now would be a good time to stop reading.

Still here? awesome. In the past few weeks I've received the following:

• Dean's Scholar
• Graduating Magna Cum Laude
• Com Department Excellence in Research award
• Lovely poster from RHLC
• RHA/NRHH Outstanding Leadership Pin 
• RHA cords
• Programming Hall of Fame
• West Basetties Program of the Year award
• Hats off to ya' award

Dean's Scholar--this ties in directly with graduating Magna Cum Laude. Basically, I had decent grades while I was here at CWU. Because of said grades, I'm graduating not only with honors but as one of 34 people in the entire College of Arts and Humanities to be a Dean's Scholar. I'm blown away. I think grades are the factor that determines who is awarded this, but one of my good friends, Eli, has great grades and didn't get Dean's Scholar.....so not sure exactly what factors in to the decision.

Com Excellence in Research--Since I'm doing original research for my senior thesis, I received this award. Apparently, receiving an award at the Com banquet is a big deal. Not everyone wins something. I have worked my behind off on my thesis, so it feels wonderful to see that my professors recognize the work I put in.

RHLC poster--several of my residents wrote not just little "have a good year" notes, but full paragraphs about how much they appreciate me. One said something to the effect of "if I could create an RA from scratch, they would be just like you." As an RA, there are people who just won't like you. And that's tough for me to deal with, since I live with them every day and try to have a positive relationship. To hear that kind of thing, makes this job SO worth it.

RHA/NRHH Outstanding Leadership Pin--this is the one that brought me to tears because I was not expecting it in a million years. RHA is the Residence Hall Association. NRHH is their sister organization. Basically, we plan programs, help residents, spread the word about things, etc. I've been an advisor this year and part of last year as an RA. Every year the executive boards can award a total of 8 outstanding leadership pins and 8 bronze pins. Out of everyone at RHA and NRHH, Brett chose to pick me for his outstanding leadership pin. This is a huge honor. He said "I was surprised this person hasn't been recognized at this level yet. She has an incredible community and just spreads joy wherever she goes. Even though she isn't part of NRHH, I would like to award this pin to Anna..." I think the coolest thing about this is that I don't really know Brett. So apparently, the light that Jesus has allowed me to be is spreading beyond what I realize.

with Brett after being awarded the OL pin

RHA cords--basically, it's honors cords for all the work I've put into RHA. Considering I've led several RHLC meetings by myself, and helped with a ton of little things (when no other staff members consistently did), I'm super excited to be graduating with the support of RHA.

Programming Hall of Fame--basically I did a lot of programs. A lot. Only Khylee and I ever got that from Beck. This year.

Program of the Year--The Green Dot program that Nicole, Andrea, and I worked so hard on, and got such great staff and student participation received campus-wide recognition!

Hats off to ya'--this is another one that almost brought me to tears. One of the people I admire the most here  is one of our Assistant Directors of Housing, Jenna Hyatt. She is an incredible woman of faith and is genuinely sweet and caring. She said she has gotten to award this for 15 years, to 3 people on the housing staff team each year. 3 out of over 120 staff. She awarded one to me and her words were: for integrity, outstanding leadership, and said "I could tell you 1,000 stories of why this person deserves it." I am just blown away by how much of an honor it is to receive recognition from such a wonderful woman.

That's been my last few weeks. Every day I'm just so blessed. I feel like God is looking down and saying "you did well." And the best part is that hopefully some of these people know, like I've told my boss, that I don't compare myself to others. I hold myself to a standard of excellence because I'm doing my work for Jesus--not for other people.

As of now, there are 7 days until I graduate.

VIRGIN Jell-o shots with my girls (Nicole, Riley, and me)

3rd floor RAs....we're just THAT epic

Straight thuggin' at the Bassetties BBQ

We've got each other and that's a lot for love--we'll give it a shot

For my interviewing class, I had to conduct an interview of someone and write up the interview into a narrative. There's this lovely and amazing woman in my life, her name is Jill, and she has been my bestest friend for......several years now. Right now, she's on a mission trip for many many months and will be traveling all across the world. So when I had to interview someone awesome, naturally I thought of her.

Here's Jill's story:

         Sex. To hundreds of young people across the world, sex trafficking is a daily reality. In our globalized world, it has become an even larger problem. People can order sex slaves online and have them delivered within a few short weeks (Not For Sale, 2009). Sex trafficking can be simply defined as people being coerced into submitting to exploitation—specifically sexual exploitation (iast.net, n.d.). The U.S. Department of State estimated that approximately 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across U.S. borders each year (iast.net, n.d., para 8). This is just the number coming into the United States from abroad. Other estimates say as many as four million people are trafficked every year worldwide.

While on a mission trip to Haiti in 2010, Jill Bakke felt God’s calling to pursue missions. Jill attended University of the Nations, a Christian mission-focused university in Kona, Hawaii, to study photography. Injustices of many kinds frustrate Jill, and she decided to bring awareness to the problems across the world through photography. Unlike other mediums, photography puts a face on an issue. Instead of thinking that human trafficking is a problem somewhere far away, photography shows the pain in the women’s eyes and the poverty in which they live. Jill attributes her skill in photography to a gift that God has given her to use in a way that gives him glory—specifically by increasing awareness to these issues. She wishes that people in the United States realized how prevalent sex trafficking is—not only in other countries but in our own figurative backyard.

            Youth With A Mission and PhotogenX forms trips for students to travel around the world and make a difference through ministry. Jill’s group is comprised of eight women and two men—mostly in their early 20s. Complete strangers at the beginning of the trip, these ten people will visit Thailand, India, Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, South Africa, Israel, many countries in Europe, Argentina, and wrap up the trip in Hawaii. Through this journey, the entire team has grown closer together as they share the mission which drives them all—stopping the injustice.

            In Thailand, Jill visited a very small hill tribe to see how the people live, work with a ministry that provides supplies, and photograph what the team discovered. Trafficking can be a problem in this part of the country because the tribes are struck by poverty and need to find a way to pay for goods. Since the ministry has arrived in the village and provided help, the number of trafficking instances has decreased significantly. In this tight-knit community, Jill and her team found that even though they were living in poverty, tribe members were more than happy to share what they had with the visitors.

            Another incredible story came from her visit to Chiang Rai, Thailand. For a week, Jill spent time with a group of monk novices. She heard the stories of why the novices chose the lifestyle and from where they came. According to the head of the group, most of the young men were from the Burma and China areas. To escape the large amount of drug trafficking and avoid being forced into the trafficking lifestyle, parents would send their sons to become monks. After being part of the monkhood for 15 years, the men are allowed to become citizens of Thailand and embark on a lifestyle of their choice. One young man, Tarn, informed Jill that he left his home in China because he desired to have a family and respectable job. The Chinese government had forced Tarn’s father to fight against the drug traffickers, and that life did not appeal to Tarn. Jill explained one of the hardest things was seeing how a young man’s childhood was stripped from him simply because he did not want to live in a place where he could be shot, join the trafficking, or be forced to work in a dangerous government job.

            If people in the United States could know one thing about human trafficking, Jill wishes they knew that it happens everywhere. While most people think it does not exist around them, they have no idea that Seattle is second in the country for sex trafficking—Portland taking first place. This is not a problem that just happens in other places; it is something which affects people all around us. Informed people can help end the problem, and this group desires to start providing the information. To work towards this end, the team will be publishing their photographs at the end of the trip. In the past, publication was a book which compiled photos from all of the photographers. Additionally, Jill and most of her teammates have public blogs on which they publish stories and photos of what they encounter. Those who desire to learn more and become involved in the United States should visit the Not for Sale Campaign website.

            Since she began her trip in Thailand in April, Jill has encountered incredible experiences. She hopes that she can show people Jesus’ love while hearing and documenting their stories. Also, she has a passion for increasing awareness around the world. Her photographs are beautiful and accomplish her goal. As Jill’s work demonstrates, a picture can really be worth a thousand words. 

If you read through that whole thing, here's your reward: some of Jill's other work. Her photos are incredible. As I'm looking to getting my own apartment in the future, I've been trying to figure out which pictures I want to buy prints of to put on my walls....here are my finalists :)