It's the simple things

Operation Move-unexpectedly-in-a-single-day: Complete

Introducing:

Natalie's new room. :-)

First and Last

First:

Tomorrow is my first day of school - at a new school with all new people. {Yet, again.}

Last:

Tomorrow is my last day to enjoy being 20 - the last day that I can tell someone my age and not smile and pretend to laugh at a corny joke about alcohol. {Most people believe themselves to be witty when, in fact, they are quite unoriginal!}

And then it struck me

I was about 16 when I began compiling a quote book.  I continue to fill it with verses, phrases, and quotes from any book or author.  It is great fun {to me} to look back through it at times to remember what quotes have struck me as quote-worthy in the past.  I'll admit, it is currently dominated by John Piper. {He's just so quotable!} One such quote I read from the book Future Grace by Piper. . .  I hope it inspires thought in you as it did to me!

      "To be sure, there is unconditional grace. And it is the glorious foundation of all else in the christian     life. But there is also conditional grace. For most people who breath the popular air of grace and compassion today, conditional grace sounds like an oxymoron- like heavy feathers. So, for example, when people hear the promise of James 4:6 that God 'gives grace to the humble,' many have a hard time thinking about grace that is conditional upon humility."

Conditional upon humility,

upon humility,

humility.



Consume me like a fire 'cause I just want something beautiful

I’ve already revealed my thoughts about this coming semester {or this next season in general} in a previous post. And waves of reality are beginning to wash over me. This time in life is short, and sweet, and incredibly hard! Sometimes I want to run for cover, drop all the heavy {and pricey} textbooks and flee from it all. Move to Italy, or find employment on a cruise ship and see the world—anything to get away from the load of this current life.


This season, I’m finding it hard to remain solid, unwavering, grounded. In spite of the constant support of family, friends, and other loved ones I continue to feel incredibly raw about life in general. An uncertain {but still promising?} future is ahead as I begin the descent of my college education. I thought for certain that I’d “have it together” by now, but direction still eludes me. As my cousin Adria said this evening, “I am barreling headlong into who-knows-what.” I just hope it’s something beautiful.

Surprise!

There have been so few times in my life when I have been truly surprised and this weekend was one of them. Felisha came to visit me! It was such wonderful weekend full of adventures exploring Chico, hiking buttes, staying up late, eating fattening and sugar-laden food, taking pictures, etc.
I loved every moment of it. . .

When the answers and the truth cut their ties

Needtobreath: truly and underrated group of musicians.

Put a good face on it!

One of C.S. Lewis’ beloved characters in The Silver Chair goes by the name of Puddleglum. He is incurably pessimistic in the most endearing way and provides a good amount of the comedic dialogue in the novel. One of his most common phrases is in response to his companion’s optimism about what he sees as a dire situation, he exclaims: “That’s putting a good face on it!”

This phrase is one I need to apply to my outlook on this coming semester: I’ll admit, I am dreading, dreading, dreading my return to Chico. I can’t pin-point one specific reason for my dread; I suppose it is caused by several small{ish} things combined. I am, however, trying to “put a good face on it” and really hoping to thrive.

Before 2011 kicks the bucket. . . .

My 2011 Resolution is to Grow where I am planted. I want to be someone who THRIVES! I don’t want to just live day-to-day without passion and joy. So, in order to help myself out, I’ve decided to create a 2011 Bucket list. (Inspired by Felisha’s Blog.)

Here are some small things I’d like to accomplish this year:

Go to an IKEA

Dress up one day for no real reason

Spend a day in Paradise (the town)

Bike through Bidwell Park

Go on a picnic

Plant a sunflower

Go to the movie theater by myself (and watch a movie!)

Be in a Flashmob

Eat something I’ve never eaten before (Exclusions: tongue, liver, and mushrooms of any kind.)

Bake a cake from scratch

Volunteer at the women’s resource clinic in Chico

Make at least one friend in each class

Read a book by an author I’ve never heard of

Lower my “ten-foot poll” (Just a little bit)

Sleep under the stars

Joy at All Times

This is so, so, so relevant.

“We must recognize that there is all the difference in the world between rejoicing and feeling happy. The Scripture tells us that we should always rejoice. Take the Lyrical Epistle of Paul to the Philippians where he says: 'Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice'. He goes on saying it. To rejoice is a command, yes, but there is all the difference in the world between rejoicing and being happy. You cannot make yourself happy, but you can make yourself rejoice, in the sense that you will always rejoice in the Lord. Happiness is something within ourselves, rejoicing is ‘in the Lord’. How important it is then, to draw the distinction between rejoicing in the Lord and feeling happy. Take the fourth chapter of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. There you will find that the great Apostle puts it all very plainly and clearly in that series of extraordinary contrasts which he makes: ‘We are troubled on every side . . . yet not distressed’, ‘we are perplexed . . . but not in despair’, ‘persecuted but not forsaken’, ‘cast down, but not destroyed’ – and so on. In other words the Apostle does not suggest a kind of happy person in a carnal sense, but he was still rejoicing. That is the difference between the two conditions.”

Written by Martin Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) and published in Hymns for the Family of God.

Inspired

{Inexpensive}wall decor, my latest artistic endeavor:

{And the Sepia tone gives it nice dimension, I think.}



November's Reading List and Educational Update

November’s reading list is in a sorry state for I have not completed many of the books I started way back in October! {Frustration!} Instead, I read alternate material.  Before I introduce the two series’ that filled many hours this month, I must first explain that {in general} I spend a good deal of time in the home of my Aunt and Uncle.  And as they home school their youngest two daughters, I have been around during their school time.   This has influenced me to read literature from my youth! Now with that in mind, here is November’s reading list:

The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder:

-Little House in the Big Woods

-Little House on the Prairie

-Farmer Boy

-Little House on Plumb Creek

-By the Shores of Silver Lake

-The Long Winter

-Little Town on the Prairie

-These Happy Golden Years

-The First Four Years

I grew up loving these books! I Think “These Happy Golden Years” was one of the first novels that I read {and liked} that included romance. ;-) It is interesting though, that I identified more with “Ma” in this reading of the first few novels. . . I suppose Ma wasn’t much older than I am now at the time of the series’ beginning. Crazy.

I’m also currently Reading Little House in Brookfield by Maria D. Wilkes which is based on Caroline Quiner {who grew up to be Laura’s “Ma.”}
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis are also on the list.  I read the first couple books in the series when I was young, but I’m revisiting them now.  I’ve also been listening to Focus on the Family’s radio drama of the series on my trips down to So Cal.  {They are very well done!} I’m currently reading the fifth installment of the series “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”  I’ve heard that C.S. Lewis didn’t intend to parallel the Bible through these novels, but I can’t believe how many similarities there are still.

And lastly, I have continued to read Billy Graham’s Autobiography entitled “Just As I am.”



Now, I will diverge from the topic of reading material and move on to another topic that is currently relevant in my life: education. As most of my friends and family know, I’ve taken an alternate route in pursuit of higher education. My first year experience was at a Small Christian University, {which I would still attend if it didn’t cost a fortune and a half!} my second year experience was at the local Jr. College, and now my third year I’m up in Chico. And due to numerous complications with CA budget, transferrable general education courses, and service area requirements I was not accepted to CSU Chico for this fall semester. However, I WAS accepted for this coming spring! {yay!}

Things are really starting to look up. I’ll most likely be able to graduate in 3 semesters, which is GREAT. I’ve worked so hard to be ahead that it would be difficult to bear a delayed graduation. From there, I’ll most likely go to a graduate school somewhere . . . studying who-knows-what. But, it’s okay. The realization of God’s plan is going to be awesome.