In the lull of the day.

Hey everyone who reads this... like all 3 people or so... haha. How are ya doin? (feel free to comment after you're reading this). I don't really know what direction I'm gonna go with this post either. A few somewhat interesting things have been happening in my life. At Daniel Heights... well... that's still not ever going to be a fun job. There's a TON of gossip and drama at work and I'm so sick of it. It's like I'm in high school again, only the people are older, but they all act the same... even the bosses which makes it that much worse. Eck... I don't know what to do about it. Every time someone does something that someone else doesn't like, the someone else will start telling everyone else about it and everyone agrees with what everyone says but won't tell it to the actual person, so the problem with everybody just escalates until everyone just hates each other and so times goes on.

Ah, now that felt good to get out. At least on Monday I get a day off for memorial day, so I get to finally sleep in on Sunday! You have no idea how happy that makes me. :D

So anyhow, I STILL need to get to reading my Bible on a regular basis. I am going to try to start a "read the Bible in a year" thing on the first of June and see how that turns out. I might start trying to get ahead a bit. I think I'm gonna plan to print out a page with everything and cross out some chapter every time I read it. If I miss a day or a chapter, then I'll leave it blank and continue on to the next days so I don't feel like I'm getting behind and give up. Then in my spare time, I'll go back and start filling in the gaps hopefully. I want to gain a thirst for God's Word again, which I've had but have been lacking in lately.

I really hope people at HTC don't mind me going to their house after work like every day. They seem to be pretty ok with it, but I think it gets old after a while and they don't want to tell me to leave. Meanwhile I have my other group of friends doing things sometimes after work but I hope to be doing something with cru people because our interests are more similar. I work with a lot of my high school friends, so yeah. It's sorta a routine everyday. Go to work way too early. Get tired throughout the day, go to HTC and hang out and do something uber fun sometimes and then go back home early so I can wake up early the next day. After doing that like every day, you want a change... especially before 3:30.

I worked out a couple of days ago and I'm still sore now... its so sad. I didn't stretch out my arms enough... I'll live. It's nice to have a reminder that I did something though.

Well, I guess that's it for now. I'm a little tired and kinda want to sleep, but I have the weekend to catch up on that a bit.

Catcha later.

Into the swing of things

Well, Summer has definitely begun. This summer is totally different than any other summer I've ever had. I am still at home, but I have a different group of friends (campus crusade friends) that I hang out with the majority of the time. All my other summers I always spent with the same high school friends. Crusade people often do more stuff rather than going to walmart all the time and watching movies (which there is also a time for). Today, a whole bunch of people just hung out at HTC which was sweet. We just talked and ate some pizza and played some mario kart 64. We didn't do a whole lot, but it's great that we don't have to and can still have a great time.

The part of the summer I don't like is my job, which takes up a whole bunch of it. I work at Daniel Heights apartments, doing maintenance of all kinds. The majority of the work is painting, but there is also changing shower heads, scrubbing things like greasy kitchen fans and changing lights, moving furniture... it's really varied sometimes and I can't list everything but you get the gist of it. I have to wake up at 5:50 to take a shower and grab a lunch to bring and head out the door by 6:25-6:30ish so I can get to work by 7. Then it goes until 3:30 where I can do whatever I want for the rest of the day. It's nice, except I can't do stuff late into the night because to get 8 hours of sleep I'd have to be in bed by 9:55... that's never gonna happen cuz that's way too early! So, I just get little sleep and catch up a bit on weekends.

One thing I'm really grateful for is HTC and the girls living there. They don't mind me going there after work everyday and changing into some clean clothes after work and just relaxing a bit there. I really wish there was a way I could show my appreciation to them.

Well, I am getting a bit of a cold, like runny nose type symptoms. I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday because I think this acute sickness is because of my lack of sleep. It is however, still cold out, cuz it's Upper Michigan and it's always cold out... I can't wait until my first 80 degree day! I LOVE heat. Speaking of heat, it reminds me of Florida and my Big Break Spring Break trip down there with Campus Crusade. It was so decently warm and sunny and I found the resort I stayed at on street view on google maps so I could look at in in 3D. It brought back all sorts of memories and I really want to go back! Luckily I'll get to next year. I'm already excited for it and there are so many other fun things going on before then too!

Well, this was sorta a different kind of blog than most of mine. This is more just updating people what's going on in my life. I'm so glad God has shown me all these great people and let me get to know them. I need to focus on God more. I am always much more joyful when I do that. Without God, the happiness is temporary. Happiness and joy are two totally separate things. You can be happy and still lack joy.

Please pray for me as I go on through the summer that I'll be in the Word a lot more. Also, pray for some of my friends I know who are not in their campus crusade groups and they had to go home that God will show them that people are still thinking about them and they are cared for and they shouldn't be feeling too lonely because God is always there and they can read the Bible and grow closer to Him in their spare time. I know when I'm not around friends I feel really lonely and I can relate, so pray for them as well. I guess that'll wrap things up for now. Thanks for readin'!

Awesome Day! 2 days from my birthday!

Alrighty, so I had a great day yesterday and today! I got to hang out with a bunch of friends last night until late. We did some fun things... some things I won't mention, but fun. I also got to say a couple more goodbyes which is really sad. Everyone is leaving for the summer... and by everyone, I mean a bunch, but quite a few are staying as well. Davy Jones in particular I may never see again along with his brother and his brothers girlfriend who came up who I got to know a little better. Leslie is also leaving for the summer among other people.

Before it got dark, I went on a bike ride with Kyle Goetz in Houghton and across the bridge, around to chutes and ladders and back to HTC. Then I went to Pizza Hut with the family and then went back to HTC for another bike ride. The second bike ride was rough after the day before that day (two days ago), I went on a 4 hour hike that was quite exhuasting for my out of shape body. The second bike ride went down by the canal almost all the way to chassel and back.

Today, I woke up and was sort of sick to my stomach, so I wasn't able to go to church, but it's not the flu. I must have just eaten something that didn't agree with me. Anyways, I slept a little longer until like noon. Then I decided to read my Bible. I haven't been doing it like I should, so I got some really good time in with God. I read Psalms chapter 9 through chapter 19. I then read a topical Bible book thing I have. Then I read a voice of the Martyrs devotional.

Together, those three things made me realize that God delights in His children when they are walking in His ways. We truly can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. In one of the Psalms I read, it mentioned how Christ is a mediator between the father and us and even though we still sin, we have Faith in Christ who died for us. I like to think of it kinda like God is a train and we are tied to the tracks by the ropes of our sin. God is just and won't tolerate sin. However, God sent his Son to be sorta like Superman to go in front of that train and stop it from destroying us. The only thing about analogies is that they are never quite right on, because Christ went through GREAT pain to pay for our sins and superman only has to push. God knows that we're born into sin and we need a blood sacrifice, so Jesus is there to take on all the wrath of God for us.

Knowing this, we need to really follow Christs example and live a life that pleases him. I have also thought about the fact that the greatest love you can have for someone is to die for that person. I want to be that kind of person willing to lay my life down for a friend. This is exactly what Christ did. Even though He is perfect and He is God, he humbled Himself by becoming man to die for us so we could be saved. If one of my earthly friends payed such a severe price, a bloody death on a cross after being beaten, and it was all for me... I would live the rest of my life with a whole different mindset. The best part is that Christ rose again 3 days after He died according to prophecy in scripture, so we serve a living God. Christ died for us and He is risen again. We owe Him our lives of service and by doing that, we will get a great reward in Heaven. It pleases God when His children honor Him and serve him. Living in sin is like nailing Jesus on the cross every time.

Why is it that we do such things? Well, we were born into a sin nature, but if we have faith in Jesus, then we are born again. We have put off the old self and put on the new self which is created to be like Christ Jesus (This is found in Ephesians somewhere...). We can now live for God with hope. Christ will return and I want to be on His side.

This whole thing is really refreshing to me. Who knew you could get so much out of reading the Bible for like half an hour/45 minutes? I need to do this more often. I do not have joy when I don't.

As a birthday resolution, I'm going to read the Bible every day. I don't want to waste my summer away pleasing myself. I want to live for God and share His love to others!

This post is already pretty long, but I strongly encourage you to go read Psalm 16. It shows David's confidence and joy in God because he is living for Him. We can do great things for God when we are living for Him and following Him and there is NOTHING better!

Cool Psalm

Ok, forget the numbering post idea. I'm getting sick of it.

So, I was reading my friend Lauren's Blog and she was talking about how the Psalms are really awesome and uplifting, so I figured I should read some because I haven't been reading my Bible lately and didn't really know where to start. I read a bunch of good ones but Psalm 5 was especially awesome:

Psalm 5
1 Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my sighing.

2 Listen to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.

4 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
with you the wicked cannot dwell.

5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
you hate all who do wrong.

6 You destroy those who tell lies;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
the LORD abhors.

7 But I, by your great mercy,
will come into your house;
in reverence will I bow down
toward your holy temple.

8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
because of my enemies—
make straight your way before me.

9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
their heart is filled with destruction.
Their throat is an open grave;
with their tongue they speak deceit.

10 Declare them guilty, O God!
Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,
for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12 For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

This is really encouraging when you're walking with the Lord! It's also encouragement to be walking with the Lord because being against Him is the worst possible place to be!

This has been an odd sort of day. Yesterday I had 3 exams in a row which was horrible... I wasn't a fan, but it was nice to get 3 out of 5 out of the way. I have two more exams tomorrow on Wednesday and then I'll be all done! This middle day though is just lame. I just came down to Houghton and have been sitting here in the Campus Cafe for forever. I also learned that my wireless built into my laptop does not and will not work with the new setup of "Rovernet 2.0." I couldn't figure it out and so I brought it to the Tech support people. Figures that they couldn't figure it out either. Oh well. I'll just have to get some external wireless hardware and it should be fine. That'll cost me 30 bucks that I don't have though. I might do that next year when I need it because now that it's so close to the end of the year and I won't be hanging around Tech non-stopped, then it doesn't seem so necessary.

WOW! Ok, so I just took a break to read another Psalm! I read Psalm 6 cuz it came next. I won't copy it down for you like Psalm 5, but you should totally read it. Many times when I sin, I feel so guilty afterwards and it's so hard to restore my relationship with God. That Psalm shows me the mercy of God!

Ok, Psalm 6:9-10 are just irresistable, so I'm putting them on here:
Psalm 6
9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.

10 All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed;
they will turn back in sudden disgrace.

Have a great day!

Post 12: (I was off by one post) Slipping up on Blogging.

Hey all, I know it's been a while. I haven't been too busy to blog, I just don't have as much cool good stuff to write about lately because I haven't been reading my Bible and praying consistently as I should. My dad had an intersting spell at work today. I talked to my mom and she said he couldn't concentrate and he didn't feel like he was actually at where he was at is the best way I could describe it. Anyways, he was feeling really strange, so my mom came and picked him up and brought him to the Emergency Room. His blood pressure was really high and as of me now writing this, he's in intensive care overnight so they can run some tests and see if they can figure out what's going on. If you could pray for my dad, that would be awesome!

So I drove home today to shovel the foot of sopping sticky wet snow off of my driveway. Well actually I used the snow-blower because shoveling all that would have been a nightmare! Then I came back down to Houghton so I could help Ben move out of his house and into another. It was actually pretty fun helping out. He really appreciated it to. Then I got home at like 1:45 and wrote my World Cultures paper and now here I am typing. It's certainly been an odd day.

Since this blog is supposed to be kind of a journal for myself that can be read publicly, for the sake of myself, I'm going to write that it is definitely necessary and worth it to be reading the Bible daily and meditating on God's Word. As soon as we get away from that, life starts getting messed up. I was encouraged today by reading a chapter in I Corinthians. I ended up calling a friend and telling him to read it to and I think he did, so that was cool.

I also got my granola bar in the mail today! woot. It actually didn't taste all that good. It had chocolate, but it also had almonds and rasberry, the latter of which is decent, but almonds are not my favorite. It was really cool to eat it with Titus and Eric though cuz we all ordered them online at the same time and all decided to eat them together.

This summer I really hope to start a ministry at work. If nothing else, I plan to work hard at work which is NOT common at Daniel Heights. I figured if I worked hard and took only 15 minute breaks like we're supposed to, not only would I be doing what's right, but if people ask me why I'm being so diligent, I can tell them I'm doing it for the Lord and possibly share the gospel with them. That would be sweet. I told my friend and brother this and they both discouraged me from doing it. I couldn't believe it! However, I can sort of see their point that you shouldn't be shoving the truth down people's throats, especially when they don't want to hear it and I plan on talking to them as I'm led by the Holy Spirit and if they start complaining or something and make up stories about me and I get fired, well then it's all for the Kingdom of God and every bit of it is absolutely worth it. God will take care of me an show me another job if necessary. However, I don't think it will be much of an issue.

Well I really need to get some sleep. It's 2:40 in the morning and I gotta get up at 8:45 and Wednesdays have classes from 10 until 4 straight in a row and some things going on in the evenings, so I'm going to get to bed. If you read this soon, if you could pray for my dad and for my quiet time with God, that'd be awesome! Until then...

Post 10: It's been a while...

Well, life has been fairly busy lately. I haven't make a blog post since the friday before this last one! Today was Easter, which was awesome. It's the one time of year where a lot of people go to church who would not otherwise go because they feel obligated because it's the day that Christ rose from the dead and conquered the grave! Woot. Jesus is awesome. On Saturday, with Campus Crusade and any other people invited, I watched the Passion of the Christ. It was good to see that movie again as it reminds me of all the pain that Christ went through to save me from my sins. The total pain he felts was certainly not all physical, or perhaps not even mostly physical, but for the First time in all of eternity, the Son of God was seperated from the Father because he took on the weight of all of our sin. I wish I could more fully understand that.

I think if you took that far enough, all of us Christians would realize how much we need to be out sharing the gospel! Many people after watching that movie are affected by it and love Jesus more because of it but don't actually take the step of faith and share the gospel. Now if you're reading this, I'm not putting myself on a pedestal of anything, for I myself certainly do not share the gospel nearly as much as I should. This is why I'm glad that God has put Godly people in my life to help guide me to do some things I wouldn't usually do. After watching the movie, we went out to the campus cafe and met up and then split up into groups of two to go and share the gospel with people anywhere on campus. Quite honestly, the thought terrifies me, being my shy self... at least to new people. However, to KNOW that I have the Holy Spirit inside of me who is working through me, I know that all I need to do is take that step and start talking to people and I will be led to say the right things by the Holy Spirit.

So, that being said, Helen and I went up to a couple of guys and introduced ourselves. We talked to them about life and whatnot and then brought up Easter. I found out they were Catholic and they went to church about every other week or so they said. From the sounds of the conversation and the fact that after a fair amount of small talk, they wanted to get going, I do not think they were Christians just from the responses I was getting, but since they had to go, I just pray that God will use the little we were able to tell them to cause them to really examine their faith and see if it's real. I wasn't able to share the Gospel. I'm really excited for when we do this next week. I hope more people join us!

There are so many thoughts running through my head right now that it's hard to decide what path to take and write about. I guess I can start off by saying my mind hasn't quite been where it should be lately. Nobody ever said living a Christian life would be easy... especially not a life that's pleasing to God, but it should be something we strive for and I've somewhat put it on the back burner by not reading my Bible daily. I MUST get back into that. My days go by SO much better that way.

Oh, there's a track of thought worth talking about: the encounter. I really really enjoyed the encounter. If anyone is reading this blog who doesn't go to Michigan Tech, they're like... whaaaa? An encounter is a worship service that one of my friends headed up just to unite the Christians on campus and for the purpose of outreaching to people. We sang some awesome songs and watched a really really powerful video called fruitcake and ice cream. It's about a girl who went from being totally against God to becoming a Christian in 14 days because of the love of her new Christian roommate who simply listened to her and loved her as we are commanded to love others. The speaker in the movie read from her journal so we could see her thoughts and it was so powerful and moving. After that, we had more singing, then there were some girls who did a praise dance which is a form of worship I'm not too familiar with, but I enjoyed it. I think it was great to do that on campus right inside a residence hall. There were like 70 people? That's a guess, but it was quite a lot. We filled all the seats we had in there. I truly wish I could show how much I appreciate everyone who helped out with that!

Summer is approaching fast! There's very little left in the school year, yet so much more work to be done. Be praying for me that I will be able to focus on my schoolwork more near the end here. I really need to work harder than I have been if I want to get my grades back up.

I want to close this up with the lyrics of a song we sang at Vespers, which is just an evening worship service at a local church for all college students in the area. It's one of my favorite songs and it has a really good message in it. It's called "How Deep the Fathers Love for Us"

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
(REPEAT)

I truly want to apply that song to my life and live it out. It captures the message of Easter! Well farewell for now. I think I gave plenty of words to chew on.

Post 9: Friday!

Well, I just got out of World Cultures... a class I'm doing very horribly in by the way. I hope I pass it. It's gonna kill my GPA for sure. Today we watched a movie called rabbit proof fence. It's a true story about these girls that were taken away from their mom because they were "halfbreeds". They escaped the place they were taken and they had people tracking them all over the place and were almost caught many many times. It's a true story and they walked hundreds and hundreds of miles to get back. One of the girls got caught when she was bribed by a guy who told them to go to the train station and get a ride there. She was so tired so she wanted to go there, but she was taken. I saw this movie from a different view than most would. I saw God working in their lives and providing the exact means of escaping. When the one girl did not follow the two sisters, it was like a picture of her falling into temptation. It's the kind of temptation that Satan tempts us with. He makes something look so appealing and so much easier, but it is just a trap or a snare. Rather we need to stay the course and focus on God and He will work all things together for good.

Now this movie wasn't really Christian in any way, in fact, it was quite the opposite. The place they were taken, the people there actually wanted to "train" them to be more white like. They had nuns and a church where they forced the children to go and recite prayers. The "Christian" type things were just the opposite of what Christianity is all about, so it sort of bothered me, but to see God's protection on these girls, it was amazing because it's a true story. I so wish others could see the movie through these eyes.

Moving onto the rest of the day. There are many many different things I could do tonight and I really don't know which one to pick. One group of friends is watching Fiddler on the Roof which I've never seen, another group is watching Bolt somewhere at some point, and a third group is sharing the gospel around downtown Houghton or somewhere else maybe and we call that Commandos after something we did at Big Break that was similar. Along with those three things, there is a Youth Service we're planning at my church and all night long there is a standathon. There are so many things to do and so many choices to make. I'll have to read my Bible and pray a bit to see where God leads me. Right now, I'm probably going to go do Commandos and share the gospel, because that is probably the most important because I think our youth service at my church is going to go just fine without me.

I also could use some sleep. Last night for Shenanigans (our social/outreach event after every TNT (our Thursday Night Thing (our large group meeting for Campus Crusade (the best organization ever)))), we walked downtown just to walk and talk as a group. It was really fun to just hang out while walking and some went to cyberia and the rest of us walked to Hardees. After eating at Hardees, we walked down by Chutes and Ladders which is a park along the canal. Most of us kept walking but me and a few others climbed around on the equipment. It's actually illegal because the park is closed after dark, but we were doing no harm and the police didn't come by, so it worked out ok. After that, we jogged almost all the way to the bridge to catch up with the rest of the group that kept walking and we ended up walking back to HTC and hanging out there. I left a little early (early being at like 1 AM) to go home because I had to drive and not fall asleep at the wheel as well as the fact that I needed to drive back to campus made staying any longer undesirable.

Well, I was just called by Eric VanDrie and we're gonna head into the Commercial side of Houghton and do some gathering of materials (a.k.a. shopping), so I gotta get going. This post is probably gettin' pretty long anyways. Have a Great day!

P.S. In a blog of a friend of mine, she put at the end to read Psalm 18. It's a really cool Psalm that she challenged her readers to read and I did and I'm really glad I did, so you should read it too! God's amazing.