Thoughts...

1. I woke up this morning and realized that I have a TON of stuff to get done before school ends... and guess what!? Next week is the last week of classes.

2. I bought a Yoga DVD -- I need it to get rid of all these knots in my back and shoulders.

3. I love reading. And when I read, I lose track of time. It's not that I mean to, or even that I know in the back of my mind that I have been reading for a while... It's that I get so consumed by the story, that I am the story, that I lose track of time. This, for the average person that has a life, is not a good thing.

4. I just bought a book off Amazon.com for $0.01. WoOpWoOp! Yes, I paid shipping.. but still, that's awesome.

5. I feel like I could pass out every time that I eat. Anytime I eat, whether it's a snack or meal, I get so sleepy I could fall out of my chair.

6.  I'm completely ready for summer.

7. My favorite color nail polish is black. And, according to my friend Bryce, that would make me Emo. But, alas, I am not.

8. Today, in my weekly reminder to my Fusion (Bible Study) group, the subject line (which is always random. always) was this: "Are you wearing space pants? Because your butt is out of this world!" I laughed for a full 10 minutes afterwards. Picking my subject line for my reminder email is a favorite part of the week.

9. Don't eat pixie sticks. They make you sick.

10. I love chatting with people on Gmail Chat. It makes me feel close to them, and I always get either a good laugh or some wise advice.

11. Jesus has set me free. He broke the chains that no one else can see, and released me. It's so much easier to run to Him now.

One Last Time...

Dear friends-who-are-unable-to-post-on-my-wall,

I think I have fixed it finally.

So try again, you can practice on this blog post. =)

Go down to where it says "comments".

Click.

Scroll down, and enter your comment into the text bos.
Underneath the text box it says "Comment as:" use the arrow down and select Name/URL.
Enter in your name, and leave the URL box blank.
Click the "Post Comment" button.

I believe this should work.
I disabled an extra add-on that requires you to write the messed up letters that appear in a box.
This should make it easier for you to comment.

If this doesn't work... I enjoy the comments that you send via email. =) Thank you.

I got the favor!

Philippians 4:19: And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.



Malachi 3:10-11: Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now in this,'' says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. 11. "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,'' says the Lord of hosts;



1 Peter 5:7: casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.



Proverbs 8:35: For whoever find me finds life, and recieves favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 3:3-4 (New Living Translation): 3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. 4 Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.


Psalms 5:12: For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.
 
 
How could anyone ever possible say that God doesn't want to give us favor? That He wants to pour out His blessings on us? He cares for us, and He wants our lives to be filled with Him and be filled with good and happy things. And I believe that this favor is evident in our day to day lives. Let me share a story.
 
My best friend, Jennifer, was eating at a restaurant in Murray with a group of old high school friends and somehow got into this same discussion... Jennifer simply said, "I have the favor of God." Her friend said that wasn't true... and that she couldn't just say that. It went back and forth and the whole while Jennifer was insistant upon the fact that she had the favor of God on her life. That she was blessed. This favor/blessing showed up daily, she said. There would be certain situations where she would either recieve something, be protected, or simply blessed. Her friend simply would not believe her. Several minutes later, a waitress walked by with a yummy looking dessert. Jennifer, my always vocal friend, said out loud that it looked amazing. The next time the waitress came back through, she brought Jennifer this exact dessert... free of charge. The reason? She said she felt that Jennifer was favored. Had she heard the conversation and tried to help prove a point? Nope. Not at all. She had no clue.
 
I have a similar story that happened last week. Due to some inconsistancy, forgetfullness and the mistake of "making assumptions" with the head of the social work department, several of the Junior class had some trouble. Apparantly the head advisor didn't inform the students a year ago that they needed to make sure to take so many hours... in order to graduate. Well, right now I can think of about 5 students that this happened to. Everyone was freaking out. Plans were being made for summer classes and 18 hours the next semester. Tempers were rising, brows were lowering, mouths were pouting. The entire classroom was buzzing with the "excitement" of it all. I was getting anxious as well, wondering if the same was going to happen to me, when all of the sudden I remembered that I had the favor of God! And I began claiming it over my life and my situation. I didn't complain with the rest of the class. I simply said that I knew I wasn't going to have to stress about it.... it was going to be allright, no matter how it turned out for me.
 

Well guess what? Due to the amazing Miss Meagan Short, I am perfectly on time to graduate! Two semesters ago I had Meagan, who worked in Sparks hall at the time and helped students with their MAP reports (a "map" that shows you classes and hours you have had or still need to take), look over my classes with me. While everyone else is going to be cramming in summer classes and taking 18 hours next semester in order to graduate on time... I'm relaxing through the summer with no classes. Oh, and I'm only takin 12 hours next semester. It's simply lovely.

 

Now that's favor!!

 

Adding to my book collection...

So today I finish classes and come back to my cozy house... my attention is immediately grabbed by this facinating brown cardbord box that is sitting on the dining room table. Dare I hope it's for me? Ah! It is! I give a shout of delight and race to find a knife to open it with! Inside *gasp!* are B-O-O-K-S.

They are from my dearest Aunt Julie. And I am awfully excited! (See picture below)

(my excited face, but with no makeup - sorry)

She bought me three books!
1) same kind of different as me - by Ron Hall and Denver Moore, with Lyan Vincent
2) A Girl of the Limberlost - by Gene Stratton Porter
3) No Compromise: the life story of Keith Green

I'm pretty excited to read these lovely books... unfortunately it is going to have to wait until summer. *sigh* School beckons...




Blog topic for tomorrow: I got the Favor!

Horses, Job Offers, and Brilliant Ideas

This is Danni. She lives on a farm. Well, she lives in Murray, but her parents live on a farm. And this weekend, we got to go to her house.

Danni's family is absolutely amazing, and are some of the best hosts and hostesses I have ever met. They are warm and welcoming, honest and genuine, sweet and sassy. And they randomly ask people to come live with them. (I'll explain that later)

I can easily and truthfully say that Danni's house is one of my all-time favorite places to visit.

This is city-girl-J-lo, my best friend. Jennifer was born to live in the city.... you have no idea how true this statement is.

This weekend when we went to Danni's, Jennifer came along and we had a wonderful time. A highlight that, of course, included Jennifer was watching a highly suspenseful movie, "When a Stranger Calls" and watching Jennifer jump out of her seat (she was laying down) and give a gut-wrenching throaty scream. =) How fun!

And this is me with my new best friend, Duster.

The best part of this weekend was that we got to go horse back riding on Duster and Jake, two of LeeAnne and Patrick's horses. We road all over the farm in the most beautiful weather we have had in a while.
The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the fields were a brilliant green.

I love farm life. This isn't something that I just recently figured out... I have always loved being outside and I have always loved animals, and I have always wanted a cow. The fact is, this trip just intensified the desire to live on a farm. And while we were out riding I fell in love with horses. I haven't ridden a horse since my family moved away from our Mountain Shadow Manor Lane horse ranch in California, where we bred Arabians. It's been a long time, about 11 years. Well, Duster brought back that love of horses that is in my blood -- I get it from my parents. I remembered how to saddle a horse, put in the bit, and lunge the horse before riding it. I feel quite pleased with myself, since no one showed me how to do this, it was just something that I remembered to do and was good at. Nobody even had to tighten the girth on the saddle! *score*

Not only do I really REALLY want to live on a farm now, but I must own horses. It's a given. There is no way to get around it. And I need to have a dog like Rain (sorry, I don't have a picture of this golden haired beauty) to ride the trails of my 235 acre ranch with me.

Do you get the picture? I want to live on a ranch, own horses, go horseback riding, plant a garden, have a cow (not figuratively, literally), walk in the woods, and spend quiet times sitting on a log in a flower-carpeted meadow. 

To make it worse, LeeAnne offered me a job. As a live in Nanny. If you were to open up my journal and read it, you would probably find where on some dream-infested days I have entered in my desire to be a live-in Nanny. That's how much I love kids. Well, Tanner and Macy are great, LeeAnne's farm is great, LeeAnne's horses are great, LeeAnne's house is great (there are chickens under the porch!!) and LeeAnne is great. That's a lot of greatness for one farm. She said that she would pay me $25 a day and give me room and board. In return, I would "slave away" while watching the two children. I would "work" and participate in the children's daily activities to keep them safe and keep them from getting bored while the parents were at work.... The job description is gruesome, I know, but I must go on. I would have to play outside, go fishing, and ride horses all day long.

Gah. It's killing me. Unfortunately, *sob* I can't. I have to stay here in Murray and work at Sparks to earn a lot of money. If it weren't for the fact that from January to May I won't be able to work due to my social work internship, and for the fact that I will be going to grad school in May where I will also not be working.... I would call LeeAnne right now and tell her I'm there.

But it's ok. Life moves on. I'm pretty sure that I will somehow get to live on a farm someday. What would be REALLY awesome and would incorporate ALL my desires would be this (imagine with me): I could work at a residential treatment center ranch.

Here's what that would do:
1) Allow me to share the all-consuming love of Jesus with people who desperately need it.
2) Allow me to use my Masters in Social Work.
3) Allow me to be a counselor/therapist.
4) Allow me to work with eating disorders and self-injury.
5) Allow me to work in a residential setting.
6) Allow me to work in a christian work place.
7) Allow me to live on a ranch.
8) Allow me to have animals.
9) Allow me to play outside.
10) Allow me to go horseback riding. (It's a type of therapy!)

It's brilliant.

Those are basically ten things that I have wanted to do for years now....
And it would be perfect.

So instead of pining away for a summer job that I desperately want but cannot have, I will pray that maybe one day God will be able to use me in a residential center for girls.... that is a horse ranch. And has lots of animals. And a garden.