Monday, January 26, 2009

God and Lungs

So much has happened since my last post. I can't go into detail about it all...but I'll give it a small effort.

Thursday night, after journal-making, I went to the prophecy meeting. The routine went as normal. Dr. Heth spoke for a while, we worshiped, and then the main student guy described the prophecy process. Like I explained a post or two ago, the guy picks four people randomly, and then everyone else tries to hear from God about those four people. Anyways, before I went, I had a feeling I would get chosen, and I did! Paul told me afterwards that he had had a feeling I would get chosen too. I was excited but nervous. The nerves wore off though after the first guy was prophesied over. The first thing anybody said was from this guy who got the picture from God of a shark fin in the water, but then a dolphin jumps out of the water, and there really is no shark. He said the thought that meant that the guy has no reason to be afraid about something in his life. The guy sitting next to me (who was getting prophesied over) just started to break down in tears immediately. It really seemed like God reached him. He sobbed for several minutes. I don't see any reason why a guy would do that unless God broke through something in his life...

Anyway, after a while, my turn came. I got several responses, but I will mention the most common ones here. Multiple people got images of rushing water. The first person saw a rainstorm, that was making a flood of constant love. Then he saw Noah, and thought this meant that I will tell others of God's love. Someone else saw a showerhead, gushing out water, and interpreted this to mean love coming down as well. Someone else saw a waterfall, with water increasing, and paving new river beads. He saw this to mean that I will be able to reach new people through love. One person got the image of eyes. He felt God was saying that I will be able to see people, and see people who are hungry for God. A girl saw a clock with the hands moving backwards. She said that God will take care of time. When she said that, I immediately thought of the wedding and how I worry about the future. I know it is a general statement (everyone probably has time issues), but still it was comforting. A guy said he saw me standing in a racetrack. But all the cars stopped. He said maybe God wants a calm on your life. One girl had a distinct image of a little girl in a village that was on fire, but then she finds me, and I keep her safe. I don't know what this means, but I thought it was interesting. Many people saw different images of stars. Someone said God guides the stars, he'll guide you. There were many many other things people said but I can't write them all down here...

I walked away that night feeling very encouraged. I don't know how many of those things were actually directly from God, but it was at least encouraging that people were trying to hear from God. I can't say I had a dramatic revelation from God about my life. But I did feel God's presence and was inspired to desire him more, so it definitely was worth it. That was my second time there, so I'm still new to it all. I'm not going to limit God in the way he works.

By the time I got home that night, it was almost midnight. I read in bed for a while and then I got a text from Liz at 1:30am. It read:

"My left lung collapsed and I just had surgery."

!!!

Long story short, she has spontaneous something thorax. She got a hole in her lung somehow (my guess is laughing too much!) and so when she breathed the air was escaping the lung instead of circulating. So air was filling up outside her lung, where it wasn't supposed to be, and the pressure from the outside air caused her lung to collapse. So they did surgery and stuck a tube in there to suck the unwanted air out. I drove over to spend the night with her there at the hospital the night of, and she was so out of it and drugged up that she could hardly stay awake. The nurses were all really nice though and took care of her well. She fell asleep and I was trying to sleep on this chair, but it had huge armrests on it, so I couldn't curl up. The room was dark now and the nurses were gone. This is weird but I asked God, "how can I get comfortable in this chair?" I was thinking there had to be a way I could sleep on it. Immediately after I thought that, a nurse walked in and was like "Oh, let me make that into a bed for you!" She pulls on something underneath the seat and two entire new sections come out of the chair! And wah-lah! It's a full sized padded bed. Then she brings me sheets and blanket (I already had my pillow). It was awesome, and I actually slept well! Anyways, Liz is doing a lot better now and should be out of the hospital on Wednesday or Thursday. Her dad and best friend from home (NY) drove over to see her and are with her now. And my goodness! Liz has the best attitude ever! I woke up in the morning that day, and she's telling me how blessed she is, and how lucky she feels that God is using her and will use this experience in her life!

I think I've hit my word limit for the day. Sleepy time!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

haha








I just like watching the bride's head pop off..! ha!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

"You know, like nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills..."

On Sunday, Paul mentioned that we should do more art type things together. This got me thinking that I don't really have very many hobbies/skills. I don't have any skills like knitting, or cooking, or marathon running, or flying a helicopter, or burping the alphabet. I just have the essential skills like driving a car and tying my shoe laces.

So, I dug in my brain to see what skill I wanted to develop. Because skills don't just appear out of nowhere! You gotta practice them. I decided that it would be nice to know how to make something. So then I thought of making journals! So I started researching this, (hence my last post)...found some sites, and found that it seemed to be more complicated than I expected (if I wanted to do a nice job). Then I remembered that my church (exit 59) was doing a journal making ministry! So I emailed the guy and sure enough, they were meeting the next day to make journals! They are selling the ones they make to try to buy women in Africa out of the sex trade...eventually a team will go there and teach them how to make the journals... so cool! So I went on Monday and I'm going again tonight! I don't think I'm very good at it, but practice, they say, makes perfect.

Oh! Cool thing happened! Today in Contemporary Christian Belief, Speigel talked about developing moral skills. Every virtue or fruit of the Spirit is a skill that needs to be developed...through practice. It seems pretty basic, but that was pretty dawning to me. By the way, my Book of Virtues still hasn't come yet, and I've been faithfully checking my mail every day! Haha, maybe they do that on purpose to make you develop patience! Ho ho! How clever.

Anyway, I'm excited about this new goal for myself now to get some skills! They say self-control is the most important fruit of the Spirit...because all the other virtues branch off of it.

Also, I'm excited about and interested in this new group that has been happening on campus...where students can practice prophecying. I've very slowly (over years) been more open to trusting God's work through spiritual gifts (it started with Ivory!). Last Thursday, I went to the meeting, and the group practiced trying to hear from God to prophecy over four different students. I've never really done something like that before, and it was obvious that God was working through people. I practiced for the first time saying what I thought God was telling me and "prophecied" over two different people. It was a step of faith each time because I wasn't 100% sure that it was God speaking to me...but that's the whole reason they started this group. So that people can practice in a safe environment and learn how to hear and discern God's voice. In a way, we are developing the skill of discernment to recognize God's voice. I'm very excited to go again tonight (9pm at the old prayer chapel)! :)

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. ~1 Cor. 14:1

Sunday, January 18, 2009

love it

Haha, I bet you can't do THIS with a blog!!!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

it feels so wrong...

Ugh, I feel so annoyed. I hate how it's just expected to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a wedding. That's stupid. It feels wrong. I feel like Paul and I started the wedding planning out pretty simple (so I could stay in college, go figure), but my mother and future new mother (in-law) are wanting to spend more money on it than I'm comfortable with. It just feels so wrong to blow so much money for one day. I want the day to be about God, not how everything looks. My future mother-in-law bought us an over $1000 wedding cake for Christmas. I was shocked and humbled, but I also have this other feeling now...just uncomfortable with it I guess. I just can't justify spending $1000 on food, much less cake. I don't know, it just feels so strange. I don't know how I should feel. Thankful? It is a very nice thing to do, but I would never spend my own money that way, so I guess it's hard to accept. It's not like I can reject her gift though. That would seem so rude.

And now I just got a quote back from our florist consultation: $1,350. Gah! Another $1000 that will be gone after that one day. Sigh. I just can't handle it. I just can't handle throwing money away like that. It seems so wrong. The only thing I really ever cared to spend money on was the wedding dress...that could at least be passed on to my daughter someday. But spending on things that are just going to get tossed in the garbage later...how is that okay???

I guess my mom already went out and bought tablecloths and some table decorations...I have no idea what she spent on those...

I want it to be simple from here on out...new florist please!! I don't want to feel guilty walking down the aisle...

coffee & books

Well, I was just going to go to bed, when I realized that was a ridiculous idea, since my hands are shaking and I feel more alert and jittery than a chipmunk. Paul and I went to Starbucks (we wanted to go to Payne's but it was closed!) today and shared a venti mocha...I haven't had coffee since J-term started, but I didn't think it would effect me this much! Especially since I only drank half of it. I think it might be wearing off a little bit though...it's been almost 6 hours already--about time!

Anyway, I've always been a "fluffy" coffee drinker...needing my sugar and creme...latte's...fraps, etc. But I realized today that I've never really given black coffee a chance. I want to transition to black coffee since it's so much cheaper. Paul says to do that I have to just start drinking it for like a month straight. He says to go cold turkey and not put anything in it. He says the real flavor of coffee gets ruined by the other stuff. SO, I'm going to try a black coffee tomorrow at the Jumping Bean. He recommends Papa New Ginea, I think it was.

Well, lately I've been experiencing the guilty joy of buying books on Amazon for $.01. I just can't resist it! Although it comes to like $4 with shipping...but still. Today I bought "The Book of Virtues." I remember reading that when I was a little girl, or someone reading it to me. I love those stories with good morals! So enlightening and life-applicable. I can't wait to get it in the mail! I am just anticipating the nostalgia and wisdom.

There is something about seeing virtues play out in stories (or real life) that make them so much more accessable than trying to figure out just by thinking about it what "love your neighbor" actually means. I wish my J-term class didn't require so much reading! I mean, the book we're reading is pretty good, but I'm burnt out on reading by the time I'm done, so I don't get to read my personal interest books!

Now that I think about it, I don't really have hardly any personal interest books here...books are too heavy to pack in my suitcase! But that's okay, I'll just buy them on Amazon! I do feel kind of bad though, always buying used books, because the money never gets to the author. But on the other hand, buying used books is kind of like recycling, and recycling is good! But it does seem unfair for authors.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Attention Jane Austen and Facebook lovers....
Meet Austenbook.