Of Fun Times and Spiritual Growth...

     I feel like I should put this disclaimer (is that the correct word?) right up front: this is going to be a rather disconnected and rambling post. I have not posted in quite some time (what's new?) and SOOOO much has happened in my life since I last posted that I could probably write ten posts to cover it all. Seriously. But that would be pretty much impossible to accomplish along with staying on top of schoolwork, ministry, time with God, practicing piano, and church; not to mention a social life! So I shall ATTEMPT to summarize :) Here it goes!
     The past week has been full of fun things like a skit/improv show, getting a free cupcake, playing my favorite Hobbit songs on the piano, trying Thai food for the first time, and dressing up to go to a super-fancy restaurant for dessert (Ghirardelli cheesecake = YUM!). I also went on a prayer walk with the Student Missions Fellowship in an awesome Mexican neighborhood called "La Villita" or "Little Village". It. Was. Amazing. I absolutely fell in love with that area in the course of a couple hours! Hopefully I'll be spending more time in La Villita in the future (possibly Practical Christian Ministry next year?).
     And of course I've been doing school. A lot! Usually it's quite enjoyable, and always I learn so much and am amazed at just how much information our brains can process! I'm so glad God gave us the capacity to learn :)
     Besides being a fun and informative season of life, I have found this past month to be the most challenging, convicting, and growth-inducing period of my 20 years so far. To save time and also share with you a snapshot of what God has been doing in my personal life, I'm going to do something I normally don't do and copy a few passages from my journal on here....
     9-8-14: "Trial and error. Learn from your mistakes. The best way to learn your way around is to get lost a few times. You'll never know until you try. Same basic thought, different ways to word it. I think college is definitely a time to take risks, try new things, and be adventurous. College in and of itself is a risk! And as with any risk, there are many chances to fail. But when you fall off a horse (which I have twice, by the way...literally) what do you do? Get back on! You can't let the failures get you down. Life goes on, and sometimes the greatest adventures happen when things don't go as planned! Bottom line? I can't be afraid of failure. There is something freeing in knowing it's OK to not be perfect. To not get it right every single time. To know that life goes on when I fail to meet standards set by myself or others..."
     9-17-14: "Today I was brought face-to-face multiple times with the raw humanity of every person. Nobody is just a statistic or a stereotype or a first impression. Nobody is an emotionless drone immune to the brokenness of our world. Nobody is the sum of all their successes...or failures. Nobody is completely devoid of the ability to do evil or good. Nobody doesn't need unconditional, genuine love. Every person is unique, yet we are united by an unbreakable bond of similarities. We're all human."
     9-24-14: "You know what hit me really hard today? I AM often ashamed of the gospel of the Gospel of Christ. Why? I have no idea! That's what's so frustrating! When I'm alone with the Lord I love Him more than anything and commit my life to His service. But when I'm out in the world it's a different story... If I were God, I would have written me off as a hopeless case a LONG time ago! (Reason #5,876 I'm glad I'm not God! :)"
     9-23-14: "Jesus You are so merciful. Thank You for Your incomprehensible mercy and grace! I love You!"
     So that was really long, and if you read it all the way through, kudos to you! I hope you've been encouraged in some way by reading this post. And if you're reading this as a brother or sister in Christ, I would love it if you could be praying for me (message me or comment and I'd love to be praying for you as well)! I am LOVING it here, but that doesn't make things easy. Most of all, pray that God would give me boldness in sharing the Gospel every single day, both in my words and in the way I live. Speaking of prayer, here's my random quote of the day:
     "Sometimes we think we are too busy to pray. That also is a great mistake, for praying is a saving of time. . . . God can multiply our ability to make use of time. If we give the Lord his due we shall have enough for all necessary purposes. In this matter keep first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Your other engagements will run smoothly if you do not forget your engagement with God" (Charles Spurgeon, qtd. in "Ministry Is..." by Earley & Gutierrez).

    

Scavenger Hunts, Disney Shows, and Homework- OH MY!

     Have you ever given a doughnut to a police officer? Started a spontaneous aerobics class in a public park? Gone to a Disney Princess show with a group of college girls? Created an annotated bibliography for an exegetical paper for hermeneutics? Neither had I, until this weekend :)
     This is not going to be a long post, but I thought I'd share a little about what's been going on these past few days in Chicago.
     Saturday: I went on a city-wide photo/video scavenger hunt with some peeps from my floor and our brother floor. Hence the first two questions in my first paragraph. Here are a few other items on the list- "Play ring around the rosy around the bean," "Go into Chick-fil-a and ask for a hamburger," and "Perform air band concert in front of Hard Rock Cafe." Needless to say, it was a totally normal evening (or not!).
     Sunday: The day started by visiting a new church (pray for me during the church-hunting phase of being here). I enjoyed it, but don't know yet if it will be my "home" church. Then I came back to campus and cooked! I have missed cooking so much! Oh, I need to share this story really quickly. About a week ago, I went to the campus post office and there was a really big heavy package. I opened it up, and it was all sorts of cooking stuff! Jars of homemade soup starters, mix for cake-in-a-mug, cream cheese frosting, cooking spray, potatoes, and more! Thanks Mom and Dad for such a thoughtful gift :) THEN. Disney on Ice. Need I say more? It was so much fun! I'll try to have some pictures soon...
     Today: Basically just school. But that's not a bad thing! I am loving learning about church history, methods of evangelism, how to give a speech, and how to study the Bible. I'm just glad that I've had lots of opportunities to balance the rather intense schoolwork with spontaneous fun stuff!
     Anyway.... That's what's been going on lately. Next on the list? Sleep :) Zzzzzz.....


    

Greetings from the Windy City!

     Two years ago (when I graduated high school) if you had told me I would end up going to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, I probably would have laughed. I definitely wouldn't have believed you! "Me? The self-declared mountain girl move away from everything I know and love to go to college in one of the biggest cities in our country? Ha!" (MBI had actually been suggested to me before, and I wrote it off without even considering it). Well, I believe God has a sense of humor, because, guess what? I've been here for over three weeks now! And, though the journey that led me here over the past two years was definitely not easy and I didn't understand what God was doing, I wouldn't change it for the world. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails" (Proverbs 19:21, NIV).
     I love my school. That's not to say that I haven't dealt with some pretty intense homesickness, or that everything's been just peachy, but I know without a doubt I'm where God wants me and this has been the greatest, most exciting, most challenging and thrilling adventure of my life thus far! I don't have time to go into detail on everything that's happened since August 20th, or all the amazing friends I've made, or how much I love all of my classes, but suffice it to say, as I said earlier, I love my school :)
     So I realize I have not been in the world of blogging since being here, but I'm going to try to do at least a short post at least once a week from here on out. We'll see how it goes! Here are a few pix, then I need to go study...

Nail party with the girls on my floor :)

The Cloud Gate, AKA The Bean

I found the pianos!!!

Studying in the student center...

Campus at night

Campus during the day with a random vintage effect...

Studying essentials

Some random area of Chicago