Here at GMU

Well I made it safely to Virginia! :) It was a really long drive and I was almost hit by a car but... I'm here now and the weather is definitely better here than at home. My trip started out with such a blessing! One of my best friends decided to send me a very large one-time contribution to help me get started on the right track. What a wonderful gift it was and I am so blessed that she would want to support me in that way! Since being here and visiting GMU I have been able to see Elizabeth and get all the fun details about her engagement and actually got to see the ring! It was very purdy there on her finger :) I was also able to connect with some of the women from GMU who I will and had worked with through Campus Crusade. One of the freshman women who I had a chance to get to know last semester had just decided to become a Christian and so I am completely excited and thrilled to see how the Lord has been working here since I had left. I was also able to get some work done while James has been in classes and studying. I saw my good friend Amy and loved being able to catch up with her also. I am excited to look at some apartments while I am here to see my possibilities for living this summer. I am too excited to to think that I could be moved back out here by this summer!!!! Praise God! :) Today I have to make a bunch of phone calls and do some class work for my New Testament class. Although James is here, he's been sick and mid-terms have been killing his time. I feel so bad for him and just hope he gets better soon. But it is so wonderful to see him! I miss him so very much :) And I am definitely looking forward to camping in the mountains with our friends, it should be a good time. I'll update you all some more later and maybe send some pictures. (I have to go take pictures of GMU a little later) But I pray all are well and joyful today :) Bye!

update on stuff

Today I have so much to do!!!! I just got the oil in my car changed and now I'm at a coffee shop checking my email and enjoying my quiet time. But... so much more is waiting for tonight :) I have to make a lot of phone calls, clean my mom's house, get things packed for my trip, and get some final things done for Devon's Bridal shower tomorrow :) I am excited for the shower it will be a lot of fun and great to see how many lives Devon and Justin have touched and been blessed by in their relationship with eachother. I wish I was as excited about the rest of the stuff I get to do tonight! Oh well, guess I'll have to find a way to make it all fun :) On sunday I am driving to Virginia to do some support appointments, look for housing in the area, etc. It will be wonderful to see James again!!! I miss him so much and want see him and spend some good time time with him. We and like 4 other couples are going to go camping over the next weekend in Shannadoah (I think that's how you spell it) Valley. I'm hoping the weather will be dry. I think it will be so much fun though. I love all the girls who are going! I also get to see my friend Elizabeth who is newly engaged and I haven't seen her since last summer since she lives in TX. She is coming to Virginia the same time I am :) I am so blessed to be able to make this trip but I am a little scared of driving so we will see how it all goes. It'll be about 11 hrs. of driving. I just pray there is no snow or rain! Well I've got to get back to working and getting things done but just wanted to update everyone on what is going on.... Bye!!! :)

slowly but surely...it's coming!

Yes, it's beginning to feel like spring is on its way. Maybe not weather wise, but definitely life wise. Everyone is going on spring breaks, brighter colored clothes are making their way to the store fronts, weddings are coming, and even better Easter is a whole lot closer. (What makes me always laugh is the fact that in Michigan we've actually had snow on Easter before!!!) It's not necessarily just the activities of people that make me feel like spring is near... but the earth is actually slowly getting there too. Have you noticed that its not dark by 6pm anymore? The sun is coming back, and so is our energy! I've noticed that I have a lot more energy at the end of the day also. It's so weird how it all happens :) It makes me smile though, because today I was thinking about the seasons. And how there is a time for everything. I am reminded of Ecclesiastes 3 which says....
"For everything there is a season, and la time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. "
I love thinking about this. It is beautiful in itself to think about seasons. But then when you apply the changing of seasons to your own life... wow! Right now things are okay but I am definitely feeling antsy about wanting to be at full support level and on my assignment at GMU. But I know that God doesn't view growth like a chart with timelines. He views growth as a development of character. He has placed me right here, right now for a reason and I know it is for the enrichment of my soul. So I am thanking the Lord for the challenges and uncomfortable time this is for me. God isn't concerned with my comfort only my heart. I only pray that I would be sensitive to the Spirit who is guiding me to walk by faith towards the much awaited, glorious, and perfect.... spring. So I am praising the Lord for this in-between winter and spring time, for I am blessed to have this opportunity to grow :) Well once again it's late and I'm not sure how my thoughts are transmitting onto the blog...heh. Night to all!

Ezra

So... recently I just finished reading Ezra and while there are a lot of interesting points this one at the end really struck me. So Ezra led the second of three waves of returning exiles to Jerusalem. They were sent back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Well upon returning many of the Jewish people had intermarried and born children with people not of the Jewish faith and of the different lands. Okay, so you might not think this is a big deal...but the Jews who returned to Jerusalem were to separate themselves from the other peoples. The point of keeping themselves separate is to keep them pure and not let the ways of other peoples and their beliefs cause the Jews to stumble into sin. Well needless to say that is exactly what was happening to the Jewish people and thing that was most surprising was that the leaders of Jerusalem were leading the pack of intermarriage!!! I thought it was neat how all of Jerusalem came together and admitted their sins before God and sought to make things right. The people realized that this sin that they had committed was so huge that it would take a while to make things right, but they were committed to it and they eventually made things right. I thought that was very interesting and neat! So many times we hide our sins and hope they go away. Or even confess our sins to God and hide our true selves from the body of Christ. But here is a people who came clean with eachother admitting their sins publicly and in front of God. (They even recorded everyone's in particular and their confession of intermarriage in the Bible!) The other really awesome thing is that these people realized that their sin was so huge that it wouldn't fix itself over night. I make that mistake a lot! I think that with a wave of the magic wand that everything will be better and I won't have to deal with the results of my sin. But that is so wrong. What the Lord's people knew was that it took honesty, humbleness, and commitment to follow in His ways and truly get rid of the sin that they had committed. So that is my prayer, that I would be honest, humble, and committed to God in order that He might be at work through me and so that I can continue to discover the blessings that He bestows on those whose complete trust is in Him. I pray that I would have a sacrificial kind of love, less of me and my stupid ways of sin and more of Him and His amazing love! Well that's kind of what I was thinking about today.
Right now I am in a coffee shop with my friend Maggie and tonight we are going to a fun movie! I am currently still working on support and sent out a TON of letters. Next week I have a lot of phone calls to make but I am trusting that the Lord is walking before me in those conversations. I like being home but at the same time I am so ready to get started in ministry work!!!! So I am very excited to be going to Virginia at the end of the month to check things out and do some support raising there. I think it will help spur on the excitement of it all! I guess its now time to do some real work! Uuugghhh! God bless everyone!

PICTURES!!!

Okay so I got a little carried away with all the pictures and updating my profile! Ooops! It only took me like 3 hours but that's okay I feel like I have a real blog now :) So if you all get a chance please check out all the pictures that I posted :) There is a lot of em! Hope you all feel a little better by getting a glimpse into my life and some of the people in it. Well it's 2 am and time for bed good night everyone!!!!

This is a picture from the Christmas party this year at George Mason University! We are wearing old lady rain bonettes, Kathie won them at our gift exchange! 

This is me and Madison... she is my cousin and she is one of the fastest growing kids I know in this picture she is 6 I think! I love her very much! :) Plus she gives really good hugs! 

Awe... it's JAMES!!! This is my favorite picture of him because it shows his side smile :) 

Okay this one is my family... my dad's side. Here it goes from left to right, front row: me, Mac, Mason, Madison, YongChung. Back row: Don, Dad, Carol, Heather, Barney, and Shawn. P.s. Dyllon is in Heather's stomach... you'll have to trust me on this... he's cute! 

Sara and me...she is the coolest girl I know! Not to mention she has an amazing talent for music! 

Yay!!! This was my small group at New Staff Training :) They truly are the best!!!  

Awe! My roomies from New Staff Training with Campus Crusade for Christ :) What a great time!!! I miss those girls! 

This was taken during my second trip to visit James... we're at the air and space museum :) Purdy up in the tower isn't it? 

ta da! ... it's us again! 

It's just too good to be true...can't take my eyes off of you. ...(I always liked that song!) 

James and me, around this time last year :) 

this is the true story...mmmm...foood 

... I like to think I'm scrappy! 

old bible study girls :)