A Short Update

     This past week has been very eventful, including (but not limited to) taking calls for a radio event (2 hours of feeling very professional + a free t-shirt = score!), going out to Union Station to serve and pray with the homeless (probably going back tomorrow), having Miss United States as a special guest at the place I tutor, exploring yet another new neighborhood in Chicago (the one I've been going to church in the past 4 weeks), preparing for my first speech (which is tomorrow!), and getting the awesome, God-planned opportunity to witness to 2 different people on the "L"! The last thing I totally credit to the Holy Spirit, because I was terrified and would not have spoken up if it wasn't for His strength and prompting. I love talking about Jesus, but starting conversations with strangers does not come easily for me...  I thank Him for using my friends and I to plant seeds despite our apprehensions :)
     Those were some of the highlights... there were also definite down points, but I don't feel like writing about them right now, so I won't!
     OK, so I guess this is about as good as this post is gonna get, because I'm sitting here getting sleepier and sleepier... There is so much I want to write about, and I have a couple of posts started that I really want to finish, but it'll just have to wait.
      To my friends and family back in Tennessee, my project of building a teleporter has met with some unexpected delays, hopefully soon to be remedied... If worse comes to worse, there are only 52 days until Christmas break! But who's counting? ;)

Random Quote of the Day:
     [In John 21:22] "Jesus is explaining that when He calls you for a specific purpose, you don't have  to worry about what anyone else is doing. Don't begin listening to the lies of the evil one that you should be vitally interested in what is being said about you. Do not even start down the path of worrying about what anybody else is doing in their ministry. Jesus is saying, 'I am your God! I am your Savior! I am your Creator! I am bigger than any Devil who suggests that his word is more profound and truthful than mine! My child, simply keep your eyes on my perfect and loving will for your life." ~Ben Gutierrez and Dave Earley, p. 251 (in Ministry Is..., published by B&H, 2010)

Another Long Rambling Post - Read It If You Dare (It's got pictures)!

     Exactly two months ago today I set of on a grand adventure.
     Exactly two months from today I will be back in Tennessee!
     Therefore, the semester is halfway over!That's hard to believe. In some ways, it feels like I've been here forever, and in other ways I can't believe how fast time is flying...
     As much as I love being here - as much as I love the city lights, my Bible classes, my floor, the library, the coffee shop, and all the wonderful opportunities Chicago has to offer - I can't wait spend Christmas at home with my family. Skype is great, but it is no substitute for physically being with the people you love. I can't wait to play my piano, hang out with Dad, go to Target with Mom and eat hotdogs, stay up late with my brother looking at funny pictures on Facebook, go to the final Hobbit premiere with some of the most awesome people on the planet, go to my church, see the kids and teens from Bible club, cuddle my darling kitty-cat Clarabelle, and take a break from the busyness of college life in general. Anyways, I'm excited about December!
     While I'm thinking about December, here's  a random flashback to LAST December, mostly because I just like making collages on Ribbet.com...

      Now for what has been happening here the past week!
      On Sunday, a friend and I grabbed our cameras and headed out for a fun afternoon in Lincoln Park. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll just show you several thousand words worth of pictures instead of telling you all about it (thanks Kimberlee for some of the pictures!):

     Monday and Tuesday were regular school days, followed by MISSIONS CONFERENCE for the rest of the week! It was wonderful. Way, way, WAY more intense in every way than I expected it would be, but so, so, SO great! I was challenged, convicted, renewed, and inspired to dream big dreams for God.

      I want to live in full surrender to His plans for my life - wherever He may lead me.
      I want to live my life fully devoted to loving Him, loving others, and making an impact in my Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and furthest corners of the world (Acts 1:8)!
      Life with God is an adventure, and one day I'll be able to look back over the story of my life and see how God's fingerprints are on every word, every page, every chapter. In the happy parts, in the exciting parts, in the anxious parts, in the sad and lonely parts, in the easy parts and the hard parts, God is the author of my life story. Wow! I just can't explain how awesome it is to know that God, who loves me and is more powerful than anything ever, is with me always. He is with me in the Appalachian Mountains. He is with me on the 7th floor of a dorm in Chicago. He is with me on the city streets. He will be with me wherever in the world I end up after a graduate, and ten years from then, and ten years from then. Really grasping that truth somehow takes away all fear of the unknown. Whatever God calls me to do, no matter how difficult or even impossible it may seem, He is with me, and that's enough.
      I've said this before, but life with God is an epic adventure! If you're reading this, embrace the adventure. Move where God leads no matter how much fear tries to stop you and no matter how unlikely His leading seems. I never in a million years would have dreamed myself here. But God did. And despite the hardships, I wouldn't change it for the world!
     Give God the pen of your life's story, and embrace the adventure He writes.  

(This has been your essential Tolkien reference of the day. You're welcome :)

Campus in Fall

     If you know me at all (or if you read my last post), you'll know that I LOVE FALL!!! So today, after classes I decided to walk around campus and just take some pictures (something I haven't done in a long time). In the course of about 10 minutes I accumulated about 60 photos that were SO hard to narrow down to just a few to post on here! Soon some girls from my floor and I are going to have a photoshoot with us actually IN the pictures, but for now enjoy the photos of trees, buildings, a squirrel, and random inanimate objects :) Leave a comment to let me know which pix are your favorite!

     And now for the random lyrics of the day:

Come ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love, and pow'r.

I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
O there are ten thousand charms.

Come, ye thirsty, come and welcome,
God's free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Ev'ry grace that brings you nigh.

Come ye weary, heavy laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you're better,
You will never come at all.

Let not conscience make you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.

~"Come, Ye Sinners" by Joseph Hart

And here's the song, in case you want to listen to it!

Happy October!

     Let's see  here... what's happened since last weekend? Well, I turned in two papers - a book report on The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (a really, really good book!) and a summary of my research thus far on 2 Cor. 5:18-21 (which will theoretically turn into a 15-page exegetical paper by the end of the semester). It feels great to turn stuff in! I also went to Little India and had Indian food for the first time for  a friend's birthday, played piano more than usual, did some shopping in an area called Old Town (where I bought a really pretty scarf at a resale shop), Skyped my family twice, bought a new book at Lifeway (Before Amen by Max Lucado), cleaned my room (finally), tried out a new church, got free nuggets from Chick-Fil-A, and have been once again amazed at just how fast time can fly!
     IT'S OCTOBER!!!! October may possibly be my favorite month of the year. I love Fall! The weather here has been crazy-unpredictable (going from 80 to the 30s in the matter of a few days), but beautiful. Granted, it is a different kind of beauty than the mountains of Tennessee; where I'm sure the leaves are starting to turn every shade of yellows, oranges, purples, and reds; but there is beauty here nonetheless. Right now I can see yellow treetops blowing in the wind between red brick buildings and the CTA track, all under a whitish-gray sky.
     Some things coming up this month include Missions Conference, Fall break, answering phones for a Moody Radio event, and giving my first speech! But what I'm really looking forward to is looking back on October and seeing how I grew in my relationship with Jesus. A week or so ago, I decided to dedicate more time than usual to intentional prayer this month. Every morning, every evening, and a longer period of time every Sunday spent talking with my Heavenly Father. I have realized how easy it is to let the demands of schoolwork, ministries, church, friendships, music, etc. (all super-good things, by the way) cause me to neglect my relationship with my Best Friend. Relationships require intentionality. And this definitely includes the Christian's relationship with Christ! Anyway....
     This has been your random-blog-post-of-the-week-by-Amber, and hopefully next week I'll have pictures :)
     HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!!! :D :D :D

Somebody wrote this quote on the SDR (Student Dining Room) menu, and I thought it was just too perfect :)

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