Working on my Christar application etc. Would appreciate your prayers! Thanks!

some random extras

first book of break, check

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

The story of Afghani Amir. The cover was right. It was heart-wrenching and evocative. There were parts that I didn't know if I could keep reading (although it is noted that I thought the author did an excellent job of writing the horror but leaving out unnecessary explicit details.) The cover says that it's the story of redemption. Although I was almost physically sickened by some of the plot with the abuse of children and the sickening evil (sometimes reminding me of the Roman guards whipping Jesus in The Passion, laughing), I was definitely more heart-broken by the end. Redemption is found in doing good? Guilt can be washed away by doing something better? It was a very good read - riveting. But it made me more thankful for God's overwhelming gracious pursuit of me. Freedom only comes in Christ. There is no good apart from Him.

Bowling pictures with my little undergrad friend Liz who is going over seas for the next three weeks to Asia for missions - woohoo!

TEFL Christmas party at my house playing the three-pieces-of-paper game... pictures here.

weird.

As each paper came due, each presentation was given, and my Isaiah final completed... I felt more and more sad. Most of my life has been consumed with schoolwork and studying and learning. And for the most part, I have absolutely loved it. So now the reigns have been pulled back and I realize that with the pull comes change. This has been a rough semester, in more ways than ten. I am extremely thankful for all that the Lord has done and all the accomplishments that have happened not only academically but spiritually and emotionally as well. But I'm (should I say it?) scared of change. A lot of my TEFL friends will not be here next semester, I won't have the hard push like this semester, and it will be my last semester at CIU. ...I know, I know. God is still God, He is still on the throne, and it's not about staying here forever. I do want to begin life. I'm just glum right now.

Last night we had a huge thunder storm. I had my window open and the blinds up and I was reading my first book of the break (The Kite Runner) but there were more than a couple times that I was caught off guard by the ferocity of the thunder and lightening. And then, all of the sudden, God whispered to me, "I'm bigger. I control even that." And my whole body just relaxed into a total calm. I finished a few more chapters and went to sleep with a smile on my face as the storm continued to rage.

Pictures from the Christmas Concert at Riverland Hills Baptist Church (I'll post more later.)

outline from my exegesis of Isaiah 43:1-7

God’s Passion for His People (Isaiah 43:1-7)

I. God’s Possession (43:1,7)
A. His people were created by Him (v.1a, 7c)
B. His people were redeemed by Him (v.1b, 7a-b)
1. No need to fear (v.1b)
2. Called by His name (v.1b, 7a)
3. For His glory (v.7b)

II. God’s Willingness to Save (43:2-3, 4b-6)
A. Amidst trials (v.2)
1. In water or fire
2. No need to fear
B. Sacrificing others (v.3, 4b)
1. Because He is Israel’s Savior (v.3a)
2. Giving up others (v.3b, 4b)
a. Egypt, Cush, Seba (v.3b)
b. Men and peoples (v.4b)
C. Gathering from all parts of the earth (v.5-6)
1. East and west (v.5)
2. North and South (v.6a)
3. From afar and the end of the earth (v.6b)

III. God’s Emotional Heart (43:4a)
A. His people are precious to Him
B. His people are honored by Him
C. His people are loved by Him

(I changed around the font and such so that you could see the points more clearly. Of course my original outline I use tabs.)

pictures

Getting accomplished...

I almost started freaking out today after Bible Translation class out of excitement for all that God has helped me to accomplish!!! The end is drawing near - hallelujah!

So I finished (minus some small editing) my second Bible translation project and presented this morning. It was so fun, truly. Love it. One of the best classes I've ever taken - peaked what I'm interested in as well as giving tons of new insights into my Christianity. Really cool.

Today I'm having lunch with my boss and coworker (yeah!) and then I have afternoon class. I'll turn in my two lesson plans (well, one of them is actually one part of three different lesson plans) and do a small sample teaching to my class (as though they were my ESL students). We have a great time. I'm having them write a story about the Norman Rockwell picture entitled "Bottom Drawer" where the little boy finds the Santa outfit. I entitled my advanced ESL lesson plan "Christmas Curiosity" and they will have to use functional phrases like "I wonder what happened," "...is the person who...," "Why is that?" and vocabulary like warn, guess, advise, look, and hide. Heehee... fun, huh? Oh, and also, for my reading lesson plan I used a great short story called "Arthur the Rat" that I had to read for my diction class at MiraCosta.

Anyway, after class I'm hanging out with my friend Veronica and then we're going to the Grad/Sem Christmas party. Then I'm going to the library - woohoo! Another night at the library until midnight, just like last night. But... the end is drawing near!!!

Keep praying for...
...my Isaiah notebook (so close to being finished, just a few more things)
...Isaiah term paper (hopefully I can finish it tomorrow)
...Isaiah final (I hope to study all day Monday on this and do nothing else)

Also, I do have a black skirt that I'm wearing on Sunday but I still need a shirt - pray I find one!!

THANK YOU!!! God bless you ten fold for praying for me. :o)

Calm...

I can definitely feel your prayers. In the midst of the most difficult semester, in the midst of the most difficult week and a half of that semester, I am surprising myself at this calm that is over me. Ever since I left for Baltimore last Wednesday I just prayed that I would relax, go day by day, do what I can. I'm just amazed and I truly give praise and thanks to the One who is doing it for me and thanks to you for praying to Him on my behalf. (Heh, that sentence reminds me of Paul.)

So I had one of my Bible translation projects presentations this morning and it went well (thanks for all of you who helped me with the testing part!) The actual paper isn't due until next Friday (praise the Lord!) although all I really need to do is finalize the editing in a couple places of the 37 page paper. My second Bible translation project presentation will be on Friday morning and I haven't quite finished it yet (it will be more like 50 pages!) I also have two lesson plans, one which I will have to teach to my class, due on Friday. One of the lesson plans is finished and I hope to finish the other one tonight. Then I need to finish my notebook for Isaiah (about 14 pages of exegesis), do an entire term paper which will require a load of library time, and study for a humongous final - all due next Tuesday morning. :o) Keep up the prayers please!!!

On top of all this, I had choir practice tonight, another rehearsal on Saturday morning, and rehearsal and concert on Sunday evening. This is all good and I'm still glad I'm participating. But there is one thing you could pray for (laugh if you wish but praying will help even this) and oddly my sense of calm was not-so-calm after tonight when I found out that what I was planning on wearing isn't specific enough with what they're asking. So I've already asked some people if they have some stuff I could borrow but if you could just pray that the clothes come together quickly, easily, I feel comfortable and beautiful in them, and affordable, that would be great.

Thank you again. God is wonderful!!!

A really fluffy gray mouse!

The ostrich's nostrils are the mouse's eyes.
The ostrich's eyes are the mouse's ears.

Can you see it?

Baltimore

two things then back to work

First, what is this a picture of?

I know what it is really a picture of but also looks like another animal to me... can you see it? It makes me laugh every time!

Second, I burnt myself really badly this morning on the oven. The blister is about an inch long, 1/4 of an inch wife and (seriously) 1/4 of an inch high. The redness slowly spread out all over my wrist to the size a jelly jar lid. It hurts really horribly and is on my right wrist. Pray that it heals. Good little Anita put some burn butter on it which helped.

I studied for ten hours today and then had choir practice at church. My brain hurts, literally. But thank you for your prayers (whoever you are out there [besides mom, dad, gma, laurie, becs, laurie, em, and jennie). The three projects I wanted to accomplish by choir tonight are now at 90%, 70%, and 40% completion. I don't have morning class tomorrow so I'll study (skipping Thanksgiving meal at the school where I taught ESL at the beginning of the semester - waaaaaaah!) I'll also take my computer to work tomorrow afternoon. But then I promised Anita I would hang out with her, although now we're going out to dinner with our friend Carrie because her parents are in town and she wants us to meet them. Then Matt asked if he could throw a surprise party at our house for his sister who is here. So that will be fun but I have to go to bed so I can drive 8&1/2 hours on Wednesday to go to Baltimore where I'll spend three nights with Heather K. - wahoo! But then 8&1/2 hours back on Saturday all by my lonesome (yeah, I went to a bridal shower on Sunday and they were all talking about how they have to travel for so many hours for Thanksgiving - but at least they have significant others!) Anyway, Jesus loves me, this I know. I think I decided to take my computer with me on my trip and take a short break there and back to work on homework at an eatery or something. Sunday I'll go to my new church again (yes, I know, please don't scold) and after church I'm hanging out with my small group from that church (yippee!) But then I'll come home and study (we're not supposed to study on Sundays but I do fairly frequently; yes, I'm naughty.) My last two weeks are packed mainly with school work: Isaiah notebook, Isaiah exegesis paper, Isaiah final (HUGE!), two practicum tutoring sessions with Zach, Translation oral presentations and written projects, Translation final, Proficiency and Reading Lesson Plans for Techniques, and Microteaching for Techniques. Yes, I want to cry. Please, please pray that I can get this all done. I truly feel like there is no possible way that it will doable. But I have been analyzing verses all day including, "With God all things are possible!" Even butt-loads (sorry) of homework? Also, on December 7th, I have a Christmas concert at Riverland Hills Baptist church and two dress rehearsals (one on Saturday morning and one on Sunday afternoon) before the concert. It'll be glorious though and Nielson and Young will be there too - whoopee! They are thrilling to watch and listen to. *sigh* Anyway, and now what am I doing? Blogging! But it gives you specifics to pray for! THANK YOU!!!

this morning - 23*. expected high for today - 46*.

two words: ni brrrrrrrrr.

wow. God comes through, as usual.

I said absolutely yes to my internship for next summer. I will write more when I know more. But thanks for praying. Please continue to pray as more of the details are worked out now.

Also please keep praying for my school. Nothing matters (well, Jesus does always) if I don't complete my assignments this semester, and complete them well and with delight! But I feel like my brain is just completely dead, totally dry, I just can't concentrate at all. Please, please pray for energy and focus to push through these projects.

God bless you ten-fold for blessing me!!

good morning!

it was 26* this morning when i got up. of course, it's because it's clear and if any sort of precipitation were to come the temperature would be back up. but, oh dear, it was cold for little katie.

my how things change... or, my how God changes things...

So I don't want to give details out yet as there is no clear confirmation but there have definitely been new happenings about my next semester, summer internship, and full-time work in the future! Please, please be in prayer that I would be in prayer, that I would willingly walk where God leads, and that I would listen to Him ever intently because He will speak in His perfect timing. Wahoo!

This is what I did yesterday evening.

California & Onward (dates fixed)

Wednesday, November 5th -- Worked at 8, went to Translation class at 9:25, skipped chapel to come home and finish packing, went to Practicum at 12:35 only to find out that the teacher wasn't expecting me and they weren't going to do much anyway, made the 1&1/2 hour drive to Charlotte, parked my car in long term parking, made it to the gate in plenty of time to eat some chicken before hand. Flight left for Houston then San Diego at 4:20. God's coolness: if I hadn't gone to Practicum class, Veronica wouldn't have been able to give me a magazine of various word games for my flights, they have been so much fun to work on!

Thursday, November 6th -- Went to Disneyland with Emmy, there was hardly anyone there so we went on all our favorites more than once, took pictures while on Thunder Mountain, shared a Turkey leg for lunch, went to the Blue Bayou for dinner, listened to a really cool fiddle player and made requests for the pianist at the Resort. Witnessed a horrible accident on the way home, literally rolling over parts of the entangled mess and being the first to call 9-1-1. God's coolness: had amazing time with sister and were totally protected from harm.

Friday, November 7th -- Had a massage, went to lunch at Four Seasons with mom and grandma, the smoked mozzarella was delicious, drove up to Torrance and met up with Tim, Melissa, and bride Kayti, did last minute wedding errands with them, went to dinner with them and Jason and Victor at Hawaiian food, went to their church's Friday college and career worship night, had time alone with the bride that night. God's coolness: walking into a Costco situated just 15 minutes from the center of downtown Los Angeles was absolutely thrilling, I couldn't stop smiling at the diversity of people and languages, perhaps God will eventually lead me there after all.

Saturday, November 8th -- Had Starbucks with the bride, lazily hung out for awhile, went to lunch at BJ's with Chris and Cindy, the three girls plus new friend Summer went and had our nails done, I got my eyebrows waxed too, went to the church for rehearsal which was hilarious, loud, and with so many nontraditional elements to the wedding many of us wondered how it would go the next day, went to rehearsal dinner at Jason's mom's house, Kayti cried talking about everyone, so did Jason, ate Thai food, went to Redondo beach coffee shop with girls in the wedding, went to home in Palos Verdes with a gorgeous overlook of the city, finally went to bed about 12:30. God's coolness: more realization of my continued love for LA, Kayti was so calm, and back at the house where we slept Cindy, Aimee, Summer, and I prayed over Kayti before going to sleep.

Sunday, November 9th -- Woke up at 7, took showers, Summer and I went looking for safety pins but almost everything was still closed, ended up finding some at Ralph's after asking the really good looking Hispanic guy working at Cost Market (or something like that), bought Starbucks for all back at the house, everyone had their make-up and hair done, went to the church to finish dressing and photos, ceremony, more pictures, reception, 1&1/2 hour drive home alone bawling the first 30 min. and completely ruining my beautiful made-up face. God's coolness: the ceremony was unbelievably God-centered and people couldn't have left without knowing that Christ alone would be exalted in that marriage.

Monday, November 10th -- Met a hard-core covenant "theologian". Flight left at 11:20, arrived back in Charlotte at 10:45ish, drove 1&1/2 hours home after getting luggage and trekking to the car, arrived back in Columbia just before 1am, exhausted. God's coolness: not bad flights, sandwich snacks on both flights, more fun word puzzles.

Tuesday, November 11th -- Made it to Isaiah although barely coherent, skipped chapel to come home and sleep, worked from 1-4pm, came home to do chores, homework, and first shower since arrival before tutoring at Ben Lippen from 7-8pm. God's coolness: survived. Also, Zach was the sophomore from China I tutored and it went really well including finishing the time by praying out loud for him.

Please pray for the these last five weeks of school especially for three huge projects - 7 verses from Isaiah complete exegetical study and two Bible translation projects.

God is wonderful! Pray I know this forever!

California pictures

Tutoring

I begin tutoring at Ben Lippen High School, International Guy's House 3A, for 1 hour on Tuesday night the eleventh.

woah... i have a lot of work to do in these final six weeks.

would appreciate your prayers. :o)

...more future possibilities

(just for summer internship or for longer...) (in no particular order)

1. Teaching ESL in the Ukraine at ZBCS.
2. Teaching ESL with Christar in the Middle East or Central Asia or Southern Asia.
3. Teaching ESL somewhere with SEND International.
4. Teaching ESL at an orphanage with OM in Central Asia.
(These are ones that I've made contact with and they are now making contact back with me!)

But I've also thought about...
5. Teaching ESL in the LAUSD.
6. Teaching ESL at Richland One (where I just finished my practicum teaching.)
7. Teaching ESL on a cruise liner to the international workers.

Prayer Requests

I've been feeling oddly and deeply lonely lately.

I continue to pray and seek the Lord's guidance for my future as I continue to look into different options. I listened to a sermon this morning from CW Smith who reminded to rest in the beautiful, amazing sovereignty of a gracious, loving, and good God. The characteristics of God make His sovereignty wonderful.

Some specifics:

1. I want to teach ESL.
2. I possibly want to do something else that involves linguistics/translation work.
3. I don't want to go back to school (at least not anytime soon).
4. I feel like I want to get settled someplace and start building relationships and a life but, on the other hand, I'm still young and single and maybe it would still be a good time to not make roots yet since I'm unsure as to where I would want those roots to be.
5. I tend to think that I want to live/work in a lower economic status area.
6. I tend to think that I want to teach children/youth.
7. I inquired with OM about teaching ESL at an orphanage in central Asia.
8. I love music.
9. I don't want to be alone.
10. I want to die praising God for the life that I've lived through Him, by Him, and for Him.

I think there's more but I got distracted by something so you can pray for these things for now. I'll keep you posted on what God does.

more beautiful flowers

Richland One ESL

Woohoo! 9 students today and we did restaurant skits. It was hilarious. I bit my tongue several times because I just wanted to laugh. So now we have...

Soonja - South Korea
Franz - Columbia
Pedro - Spain
Sandra, Mercedes, Primitiva, Maria, Ernesto, & Sandra - Mexico

I was dancing in my classroom after my last student left the room.

planting & carving

Pooh Bear!

Since Anita "stole" mine, I "stole" Donna's boys'... Yes, he actually spent the night with me last night after I had been over at Donna's house and holding him the entire time. You have to admit that he is adorable!

"Only Trust Him"

Come, ev'ry soul by sin oppressed,
There's mercy with the Lord,
And he will surely give you rest
By trusting in his word.
Only trust him, only trust him,
only trust him now;
He will save you, he will save you,
he will save you now.

For Jesus shed his precious blood
Rich blessings to bestow;
Plunge now into the crimson flood
That washes white as snow.
Only trust him, only trust him,
only trust him now;
He will save you, he will save you,
he will save you now.

Yes, Jesus is the truth, the way,
That leads you into rest;
Believe in him without delay
And you are fully blest.
Only trust him, only trust him,
only trust him now;
He will save you, he will save you,
he will save you now.

Come, then, and join this holy band,
And on to glory go,
To dwell in that celestial land
Where joys immortal flow.
Only trust him, only trust him,
only trust him now;
He will save you, he will save you,
he will save you now.

"At Calvary"

Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucifeid,
Knowing not it was for me he died
On Calvary.
Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty
At Calvary.

By God's Word at last my sin I learned;
Then I trembled at the law I'd spurned,
Till my guilty soul implorying turned
To Calvary.
Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty
At Calvary.

Now I've giv'n to Jesus ev'rything,
Now I gladly own him as my King,
Now my raptured soul can only sing
Of Calvary.
Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty
At Calvary.

Oh, the love that drew slavation's plan!
Oh, the grace that bro't it down to man!
Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span
At Clavary.
Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty
At Calvary.

fiesta time, fiesta time - boo yaw, boo yaw

8 out of 34 ...long story.

I actually had an absolutely wonderful time! The food was soooooo good (enchiladas, mexican rice, beans, guacamole, chips, salsa, sour cream, chocolate ice cream). I am sooooo full.

Guests:
Sam + a friend from First Pres, Sarah
Mika, my dear friend from CIU last year
Karen, my TEFL buddy from last year
Veronica, my TEFL buddy from last year and this year
Heather, my new TEFL buddy from this year
Mark, my new TEFL buddy from this year

And I made them play the three pieces of paper game! So fun! After the third round the teams were tied so we went ahead and did round four which is sound effects. Hilarious! At some point during the game, Mark was making fun and asked if the fifth round was facial expressions... hahahaha! Well there was going to be one now! No joke! It was soooo great! I almost wet my pants. Especially when Sam and Mark did them - so great!

Thank you, Lord, for good friends, yummy food, and laughter!!! Woohoo!

Scriptures

Paul had just been talking about not knowing where to go and preach...
"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and amon those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, bu as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ." He continues... "Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of teh SPirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. Forif what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold.... Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (2nd Corinthians 2:14-17; 3:1-12 & 17)
The whole of 2nd Corinthians chapters 4 and 5 are wonderful too.

happenings...

(in no specific order)

...susana (my last year landlord's wife) taught me how to make spanish tortilla. so yummy! one day i had it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

...i babysat the letexier kids last night. we played spy and it reminded me my childhood. then we played an extremely long game of double trouble.

...i have been going to riverland hills baptist church since the start of the semester. at about 3,000 people i was surprised to have never heard about it before. the big news: i joined the choir (well for christmas anyway)! it has been a wonderful gift that God has given to me. choir practice on wednesday nights are absolutely wonderful, i never want them to end. i finally encouraged my friend karen to join me and she is now hooked as well. and last weekend when we had friends over, my new friend manyen from taiwan found out that i was in a church choir and said that was one of the only things she prayed to be a part of when she came to the united states. so i took her with me last wednesday - haha! she had a great time and will be coming back with me next week. i'm so happy. the choir director laughed when he saw me with two friends last week, using the word "friendly" to describe me. i found that quite hilarious.

...i did microteaching in my techniques class a week ago and surprisingly fell right into teacher mode despite the fact that i was esl teaching my english speaking peers. it was fun. but then i had to be student for other people's microteaching and let's just on a friday afternoon, i was reprimanded more than, uh, three times for not paying attention. i felt bad. i tried to be better this past friday but unfortunately still was reprimanded. good thing our real professor, joe (my landlord from last year), is more casual... or something.

...my real esl teaching is still coming along. each week of writing my lesson plans is a little better - praise the Lord! tomorrow dr. hislop will be sitting in on my class. so even though he's the most precious professor in the whole world (i am not kidding), i am still kinda scared.

...i love my housemate.

...Jesus loves me.

...i invited 30 (no joke!) people over to my house on saturday night for a mexican potluck - woohoo! i think there will probably be around 15 but we'll still have a grand time. ah, my stomach can hardly wait.

...the video below was made just because. i really really like that song because of the words (words that have been so good to engrave on my heart right now) and because of the musicality. i hope you enjoy as well.

...on tuesday i met with a really awesome christar lady about teaching esl in iraq. very interesting... and then she told me her brother was the wycliffe recruiter for indonesia. we are now in e-mail correspondence. pray the Lord clearly directs, i wait patiently, and i am eager to do whatever He asks. (pray, too, that i can have a human companion this summer. i will go alone [because it will be with Jesus] if He asks me to but for many many reasons, i would really love to have a human companion with me too.)

...Praise HIM!

choir anthem lyrics

When you're up against a struggle that shatters all your dreams,

and your hopes have been cruelly crushed by Satan's manifested scheme;

And you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fears,

don't let the faith you're standin' in seem to disappear.

Praise the Lord, He can work through those who praise Him;

Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise.

Praise the Lord, for the chains that seem to bind you

serve only to remind you that they are powerless behind you

when you praise Him.

Now Satan is a liar and he wants to make us think that we are paupers,

when he knowshimself we're children of the King.

So lift up the mighty shield of faith for the battle must be won;

We know that Jesus Christ is risen, so the work's already done.

Praise the Lord, He can work through those who praise Him;

Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise.

Praise the Lord, for the chains that seem to bind you

serve only to remind you that they are powerless behind you

when you praise Him.

written for my roommate's birthday

A is for Anita
Little and kind
Generous and sweet
With a really great mind

N is for needing
The Lord by her side
Always constant in prayer
She seeks to abide

I is for immeasurable
The worth of her soul
Jesus redeemed her
Now she’s made whole

T is for teachable
She’s honest and real
Love for the Scriptures
Is known by her zeal

A is for Always
Covered in grace
Waiting for her Savior
Whom she’ll see face to face

Your laughter is gorgeous
Your singing, what fun!
I pray you’ll press on
Till this race is done

Hold tightly to Him
Your faith he perfects
He will guide your way
He faithfully protects

God constantly changes
Molds into and makes
A beautiful woman
His own for His sake

testimony

this is the testimony of sweet natalie. i first talked to her in my isaiah class. very gentle, truthful, and so extremely full of joy. you would have to meet her to understand how incredible she is. we were talking about signs in isaiah one day and dr. luc brought up about praying "oh, Lord, if this person is "the one" have them sit next to me in class today" (or something like that) and how that is not what God means a lot of the time by giving us a sign. a few stories were shared though about God doing things very similar to that in people's lives and one of them was natalie's. i think everyone in class was laughing and crying by the time she finished. i don't have time to share that story with you but yesterday in chaplain's chapel to the women natalie shared a brief testimony. i'll let her tell you.

"Today I want to share with you two things that have been key for me in growing in my identity with Christ. Trusting in God's sovereignty has been so very important for me. When baby's are born doctors assign them a number based upon their overall health - the highest, I believe, is either a ten or an eleven. Well, I was an 11, a perfectly healthy baby. However, within thirty minutes, all that changed and they found me in my crib unattended and not breathing. As a result of a lack of oxygen, I live daily with speech difficulties, a different walk, and other difficulties. Girls, it is knowing in the depths of my soul that He was with me then, when I was alone and not breathing and that He is with me now that gives me the strength and joy in the midst of difficulty. Knowing that I am exactly how God needs me to be allows me to continue to walk into rooms of people who constantly measure each other on external realities. Knowing that God makes no mistakes gives me confidence in a world where I should have none.

The other key that has been crucial in developing my identity in Christ is believing that God is able to do anything! I came to CIU right after high school in 1999. That year our year verse was Eph. 3:20, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to this power that is at work within us." Every day I would walk into chapel, looking at that verse and believing that God was able to do the impossible in my life. One area that seemed so very impossible for me on many levels was marriage. God was able to do far beyond what I could imagine. This summer, Kevin, my husband and I celebrated five years of marriage. A marriage filled with closeness, safety, and laughter.

My tenth year high school reunion is fast approaching. I bet one thing that my classmates remember about me is that I used to cry a lot in school. I think partly due to my home, the cruelty of kids, and being overwhelmed physically. But here again, God has done the impossible. Girls, I am about to graduate with my master's in pastoral counseling. I want to giggle. God has taken me, who was labeled in second grade as socially inept, and is making me a counselor. God is taking my weakness and it is becoming strength in His hands.

In closing, I just want to say that finding my identity in Christ has been and will continue to be a process. What a sense of joy and freedom I have experienced in knowing that He will continue to grow and mold me until I see His face."

1st day of teaching

I had 4 students today: Soonja, Saray, Debora, and Wendy. I think my interaction with them went well considering that it was a first day of a new teaching situation. It is my lesson plans from scratch that need help. You can pray for that. And please pray for relationships to be built even though I will only see them once a week. Hopefully next week Primitiva and Franz will be there as well.

God can be trusted.

Columbia and Chuuk

COCKROACHES!

My light was off, I was listening to my iPod, just about to go to sleep and I felt this huge thing on my head. Yup. And when I turned on the light there was another one on the wall right above my head. I pretty much was screaming bloody murder, but so was Anita when I showed her. It took us about an hour to finally kill one of them. We lost the other one. I spent the night on the sofa in the living room ...with the light on.

"Until a person or a nation is convinced of God's complete trustworthiness, they cannot lay aside the lust for their own security and become God's servant." - John N. Oswalt

Prayer Requests

• Isaiah exegesis - I love it, it's just a lot of work and time.
• Translation homework - Again, I love it, just a lot of time and effort.
• Picture File - It's due on Friday and I've barely started. Pray I do it well and get all the pictures I need to. That it's organized well, looks cool, and will be helpful for teaching.
• LESSON PLAN - My first lesson plan is due on Thursday (my first day of teaching is on Monday.) I am lost, quite frankly. We start from absolute scratch. There is no curriculum. We make it up ourselves. I'm teaching Level One students who don't know much of anything. I know this is the reason why I'm doing practicum and taking a techniques course so that I learn how to do all this but I haven't learned it yet! Please, pray for me.
• Teaching on Monday - For good relationships with my students.
• Anita (my housemate) and me - We're going through a lot of emotional stuff right now and our hearts are heavy and if we're not cracking up, we're sobbing. And yet we both have incredibly full loads and lots of things that we know we need to be accomplishing in our lives as well.
• For broken relationships, especially one particular one. I got angry and hurt and let my evil mouth run away. Pray for restoration and peace.
• Time with the Lord. Truly, He puts things in perspective, gives hope, grace, and peace. I am tired but pray that being with Him is better than anything.

Thank you.

small tefl reunion w/apple pie - i miss them... and i am SO FULL

Gracia Burnham

She spoke in chapel today. Watch an intro. video here.

more about Isaiah from Oswalt

"Isaiah is a book of contrasts. Again and again polar opposite are played off against each other, as is apparent from even cursory study of the first six chapters. Some of the contrasts are: divine glory versus human degradation; judgment versus redemption; height versus depth; God's wisdom versus the idols' stupidity; fecundity (yeah, I had to look that up) and abundance versus barrenness and desolation; arrogance versus humility. ...There is no reason to conclude that the author is merely enamored with a literary device. Rather, as is clear from ch. 6, his whole pattern of thought has been affected by the tremendous contrast between the greatness of God and the corruption of humanity. But caught up with this contrast is the amazing paradox that if humanity will lay aside its pretensions to deity, the true God will raise us to fellowship with himself. These two thoughts form the heart of the book's theology.

(Speaking of the theology of God in the book of Isaiah) ...But [God's] greatness is not merely in his power; it is also in his ability to stoop. Conquerors cannot bend down to the lowly; the God of eternity is mighty enough to do so. Isaiah seems to be saying that if humanity could ever glimpse the true picture of God's greatness and glory, our problem would be o its way to being solved. ...Above everything else the realization which struck the prophet in his call experience (ch. 6) was the realization of the terrifying "otherness" of God. ...Because of his faithfulness, because he alone is the Maker, and because he will do what is right, he may be trusted to redeem; and his willingness to redeem against all the odds will be the vindication of his holiness as well as the expression of it. Refusal to trust in him is in fact a denial of his holiness. Finally, it is God's purpose that his people should share his character. ...God is free to do anything, even something brand new, to serve his sovereign, faithful purposes.

(Speaking of the theology of humanity and the world in the book of Isaiah) ...The harder we try to make ourselves something, the more like nothing we become. Isaiah notes frequently that it is God who smashes these pretensions. And so it is. ...Though they tried to exclude the Holy One from their computations, he was too real to be so excluded. ...On the other hand, just as pretensions to significance must lead to insignificance for creation, so will the giving of true significance to God result in glory for humanity and the world. ...When God, the personal Creator, is exalted as Holy Lord, the purposeful Maker, then the universe is a place of value and significance. Likewise, human beings are important because God chooses to make them reflections of his glory and to share his holy character with them. Are the failures and atrocities of humanity signs of its fundamental worthlessness? No, they are the results of refusals to let God be Lord. If we will allow him his rightful place, then redemption, exaltation, and glory are ours.

(Speaking of the theology of sin in the book of Isaiah) ...God is the only Lord, and the only Holy One. He has made all things for his sovereign purposes; he is directing history to its final conclusion of universal health and peace. How incredible, then, that human being, the work of his hands, should stand up against him and say no! Yet we have done so, and all the evil in the world springs from that refusal to accept God's fundamental lordship. ...For Isaiah this rebellion is an expression of human pride. We refuse to accept our creatureliness; we refuse to admit that we are dependent. ...The fruit of alienation, unfaithfulness, and oppression is destruction - the rampant self seeks to destroy everything it cannot control.

(Speaking of the theology of judgment and redemption in the book of Isaiah) ...God is not content for judgment to be the last word. ...According to Isaiah, the basis of redemption lies precisely in the faithfulness of a God who is willing to let his anger go and is unwilling that his people should be estranged from him. ..Thus it is plain that the means of salvation can only be through God's activity. Humanity is helpless to redeem itself in God's sight or even to change its behavior. ...Who is this atoning One through whom redemption comes? It is the ideal king, the promised anointed one (Messiah). This picture of the one who suffers with his people, redeems his people, rules over his people, and suffers for his people gives a total view of the means whereby God expects to deliver his people from both the causes and the effects of sin. ...The conditions for redemption are everywhere the same in the book: a renunciation of one's own pride and a corresponding acknowledgment of God's sole rulership, an acceptance of God's provision for deliverance, and a willingness to function as God's servant. ..Redemption is not merely people's deliverance from the guilt of past sins, but also the sharing of his holy character. ...Sin produces degradation, but submission produces glory. ...God alone is truly glorious. ...But God does not want us to destroy ourselves; rather, he wishes to impart his glory to all who will abandon their trust in themselves, accept his free grace, and commit themselves to righteous living. It is the servants of the Holy who find true glory. To be redeemed, in Isaiah's view, is to have gladly accepted the role of servant."

And this is only a highlight of what I read. Ugh. So good.

a really good sammich

toast two slices of country oat bread in the toaster. after, put one piece of toast in the microwave with two slices of pepper jack cheese on it for 15 seconds. take out of microwave and layer with fresh guacamole, chicken breast lunch meat, and tomato slices. on the other piece of toast add a small spreading of yellow mustard. top the sandwich, cut in half, and eat each bite with your eyes closed and a (closed) smile on your face.

yesterday

my precious housemate had her chinese ben lippen high school leadership team over last night. six christians, some who came to know the Lord last year through a ministry that she led. they were wonderful. i immediately enjoyed being around them. unfortunately, i didn't stay because i had been invited elsewhere and anita had previously told me that they would probably speak mandarin the entire time. i am excited that they will be coming often though, reminds me of chuuk a little.

i was off to a birthday party for my friend betsy who is an mk from colombia. she is living with a very very close friend of mine jennie who is from encinitas and lived in costa rica for awhile. their other apartmentmate is carrie who lived in mali as a nurse for a couple years (and is coming over to my house on thursday for dinner.) jennie asked me to pick up her friend ray on campus because he doesn't have a car. he is from costa rica. suffice it to say, even though we just met, we laughed our faces off all the way to the party. the other people that were there was a couple from sweden (andreas and sarah - precious!), rebecca (another mk from colombia), kristi (an mk from the philippines and taught in china for a couple years), a couple that betsy had met through an international ministry where the wife was from ecuador and the husband american, and mac. it was so much fun. ray and i were the last to leave at almost midnight.

praise the Lord.

Humble?

"I hate, I despise, I loathe masked piety. I detest the jerk in the mirror every morning. The venemous viper of pride seems to always lurk in God's garden of my soul. Why can't other people see?! Are they blind?! Why don't they think?! Am I the only one who knows what's going on here?!?! He resists the Jim, oops, I mean the proud; He gives grace to the humble. I can't be counted among that number - the humble!Who will deliver me from this body of death?Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! He has done it all! He found me in my sin. He is my substitute. He has given me of His Spirit. He bought me with a price. I am His and He is mine. His mercy is new every morning. I cannot cause the reservoir of "grace upon grace" to ever be emptied of the smallest drop. I have died with Jesus. I have risen with Jesus. Herein lies my humility. "

- taken from the blog of Jim Thompson (Donna Thompson's [my boss] son)

from jennie siemens

it's like walking through sweat

it has been sooooooooooo humid here lately. it's sick. anita and i were saying that it's preparing us for the mission field (perhaps) (along with the cockroach). but i do have to admit that it was a little frightening during the thunder and lightening storm all alone in my little mobile home. yes, i was even counting. but then it stopped and the sound of the rain on the roof was quite soothing. praise the Lord who created it all.

laughter

anita (my precious housemate) and i laughed our faces off last night over dinner. we had rice, vegetables, and chicken curry - yummy. we were telling stories about food flying off forks and landing in other people's laps. later, we found a dead cockroach which we were both scared to put in the trash and moved a huge chest about ten feet. the laughter felt really good but i think we've both had a really rough first week. we are thankful to God for laughter though. (and we sat next to each other in chapel today where the speaker just had to bring up cockroaches and, thus, our laughter began all over again...)

(this pictue was linked to a "hahaha!" on an e-mail to sent to me by rebecca boone. suffice it to say, i laughed heartily for a good hour. it is now the picture on my desktop and, yes, i have hugged my computer screen.)

Isaiah

"...it will suffice here merely to sketch the outlines in order to convey the sense of the point being made. The central theme of the book relates to the nature and destiny of the people of God. While this people is, on the one hand, destroyed and corrupted (ch. 1), it is called to be a manifestation of the glory of the only God in the world (2:1-5). This calling may be summed up in the word servanthood. The book then seeks to answer the question: How can a sinful, corrupt people become the servants of God? This theme is developed in the following way: Chs. 1-6 set forth the problem (chs. 1-5, sinful yet called) and the solution (ch. 6 , a vision of the Holy One). The rest of the book works out the ramifications and the implications of this introduction. Chs. 7-39 are unified by their recurring emphasis upon trust. They demonstrate that Israel's problems stem from her tendency to trust the nations instead of God. Furthermore, they show that God alone is trustworthy, and that Israel can only become God's servant, a light to the nations, if she comes to that place of radical trust. But it is not enough for God to be shown trustworthy. True enough, that trust is the essential basis for a person or a nation to lay aside pretensions to self-sufficiency and accept the servant's role. But what will actually motivate that person or nation to do so? For example, in Judah's case, although God had demonstrated his supreme trustworthiness in delivering Jerusalem from Sennacherib, Judah would still not relinquish her trust in the nations and their idols. The result was that God would not and could not defend her from Babylon.

The Judeans had encountered the truth of chs. 7-39, but they had not acted upon it in a long-term way. Why not? The problem was motivation. What could motivate the Judeans to trust God? The answer is found in chs. 40-48 and in the kind of vision of God given to Isaiah in ch. 6. When the nation as a whole, repining in exile in Babylon, can sense not only God's inestimable greatness but also his boundless love in continuing to chose them as his own despite their sin, then they will be motivated to trust him and join Isaiah in answering "Here am I."

But before that "Here am I," between motivating vision and willing response, must come another step. Can sinful Israel become servant Israel merely be choosing to do so? No, and neither could Isaiah of the unclean lips become Isaiah the messenger through mere choice. Put another way, the question is, by what means shall Israel's servanthood be achieved? The answer, as revealed in chs. 49-55, is the Servant. Here comes the rounding out of the vision of the Messiah as initially given in chs. 9 and 11. BY means of his self-giving and by means of his ideal servanthood, Israel's sins may be forgiven and the hopes of chs. 40-52 are able to give way to the realization and celebration of chs. 54-55.

Despite the joy of the realization that God has not only chose and redeemed, however, there remains the outworking of that servanthood. Here, as was revealed to Isaiah at the close of his vision, all is not gladness and light. Rather, the realities of human inability and divine ability must find a concrete meeting point. These realities are dealt with in chs. 56-66, coming to their climax with the revelation of God's glory through his people in ch. 66."

- John N. Oswalt

mr. toad's wild ride

my classes:
isaiah with dr. luc - amazing! it will be time consuming but absolutely wonderful!
techniques of tefl with joe - i laughed my face off on friday. will be very fun to finally have a class to learn about all the fun things i can do in my classroom to "facilitate" language learning.
gospels with dr. howell - dropped - but God wanted me to have been in the first class.
practicum with dr. yin - she is ciu's new tefl professor and i love her! she is gentle, sweet, organized, brilliant, and hilarious. i spent some time in her office the other day talking about different things and then later met her precious daughter. dr. yin is chinese and her husband is south korean. practicum will be fun (although i still greatly miss my fellow students from last year.) i will update when i know when and where i'll be teaching, tutoring, etc. but i am super excited about it!
intro. to bible translation with joe - wahoo! joe and dr. hislop made this a faculty directed studies for me. i will be going to joe's undergrad course (which i went to on friday and loved, there are only three other students in the class) and doing two translation projects. this is thrilling.
classes - whew!

God is trustworthy. Pray to Him for me please!

vacation games with mom

from carlsbad to el paso, texas. to abilene with peggy & ray and then mckinney with judy & ivan & butch (& james & erin & tiger-man.) to jackson, tennessee to "the mouth."

i drove the +500 miles to mouth of wilson, virginia, today. so that meant mom was in the passenger seat trying to come up with creative things to do. last year she made me say all the states in alphabetical order. this year, it was all the capitals (thankfully, not in alphabetical order.) if i couldn't think of the capital, she would proceed to give me some hints. i hope you enjoy some of them as much as i did.

Montgomery, Alabama
Juneau, Alaska - my clue: how my Korean students say 'did you know?'
Phoenix, Arizona
Little Rock, Arkansas
Sacramento, California - mom's clue: the Lord's supper in Spanish (I didn't need a clue.)
Denver, Colorado - mom's: a famous country western singer whose first name is John
Hartford, Connecticut - mine: "In _____, Harrisburg, & Hampshire hurricanes hardly ever happen."
Dover, Delaware - mine: the horse Eliza Doolittle cheers for
Tallahassee, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia - mine: where Scarlet O'Hara went to see her aunt
Honolulu, Hawaii
Boise, Idaho - mine: what little girls say - "BOYS! Eeeeee!"
Springfield, Illinois
Des Moines, Iowa
Topeka, Kansas
Frankfort, Kentucky - mom's (& my personal favorite): the guy who went to Samoa with Rebecca
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Augusta, Maine - mom's: Caesar at the time of Jesus' birth
Annapolis, Maryland
Boston, Massachusetts - Emily's would have been: "ooooooh!"
Lansing, Michigan
St. Paul, Minnesota
Jackson, Mississippi
Jefferson City, Missouri - mom's: our music minister's son
Helena, Montana
Lincoln, Nebraska
Carson City, Nevada
Concord, New Hampshire
Trenton, New Jersey
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Albany, New York - mom's: the first syllable is a man's name spelled with two letters
Raleigh, North Carolina
Bismarck, North Dakota - mom's: a ship & something having to do with her brother's first name and the beginning sound of his last name (my first guess with mom's clue was Brasmark)
Columbus, Ohio
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Salem, Oregon
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Providence, Rhode Island
Columbia, South Carolina
Pierre, South Dakota
Nashville, Tennessee - mom's: the city we just drove through
Austin, Texas
Salt Lake City, Utah
Montpelier, Vermont - mom's: a big, French hill (hahahahahahaha!)
Richmond, Virginia
Olympia, Washington
Charleston, West Virginia - mom's: the real name of Emily's date to the prom
Madison, Wisconsin
Cheyenne, Wyoming

TADA!

a pic of the boys from erika (with a little to drink)

my last day @ cisl! (new link w/more pics)

go here to see pics

Earthquake & Erika

Yesterday, while trying to explain the difference between "used to" and "is used to", I started thinking, "Hmm... I didn't feel this dizzy just a second ago." Then Ki Hyun shouted, "OMG!" And I realized everyone could feel the movement. It was incredible how long the swaying of the building lasted when you're on the 12th floor. You could literally see the walls going back and forth, a very strange sensation. At first we were all going to leave but the administration at the main building was contacted and they said if everyone/thing was okay to continue class. About five minutes later a building inspector came and evacuated us all outside to the parking lot though. We only had a half an hour left of class so classes were cancelled and I was able to catch the earlier train home. Weird times. But I have to admit that the rain in San Diego in the middle of August a couple days ago had already reminded me that, "Jesus is coming soon!"

Today Erika pulled me aside during break because she wanted to tell me something that happened to her yesterday on her way home. She said that she was riding the bus like she normally does and was listening to music with her head phones. All she said was that she was thinking about "everything" and wondering "is this true or is that true?" Eventually a man got on the bus and sat near her. But she didn't say anything to him and just waited until her bus stop came. When she stood up to leave, still with these predicaments in her head as to what was true, the man spoke to her and said, "Anything's possible." She said that she was very taken aback by what he said but was amazed and wanted to know what I thought. I told her that sometimes God uses circumstances and people to confirm to people that He is real. I told her that He generally only uses ways for certain people who will actually be affected by what He does. I told her she wasn't crazy. God is real. I also told her that even for me, the more I pray and see God's answers to prayers, the more I have faith that He is real and the more I pray and so on. You could tell she was amazed by all of this. God is making her think. Continue praying for Erika (and me.)

God is cool. Always.

Cindy's Bachelorette Party @ Big Bear Lake

cindy, debbie, katie, katie, kayti, krista, lauren, rebecca, little cabin in the woods, overflowing jacuzzi, king size bed with cindy, pine tree smell, stars, moon, morning devotions on the back patio, music, dancing, chips & salsa, candy, candy, candy, the three pieces of paper game, chasing cinderella in the conservatory, taking pictures, cinnamon life with bananas, ants, chicken caesar salad sandwiches, foosball, getting crushed at nerts, kicking butt at nerts, laughing, talking, butt smacking, singing, disney sing-along-songs, sleeping beauty, big bear village, ice cream, teddy bear cafe, playing herbie up the mountain, opening presents, receiving favors, raffi, seven eleven, staying up until three am... for pictures, go here.

Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice!

discussion group book MUST READ

Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day by James Emery White

...excerpts from chapter 4, "Deepening Our Souls"...



"The world will only be changed when those who call themselves Christians begin to follow Christ, becoming scandalously present in the world in all of their Christlike particularity. Such a life is a formidable presence, forever marking everything in its wake - or not."



"To live for God, we must live with God. But what does this mean? The answer rests in the goal of all spiritual formation, which is to be marked by the fruit of the Spirit - such things as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control. But the fruit of the Spirit is just that. Fruit. The metaphor is important. Fruit does not exist in and of itself. It is something that is produced. It comes from a life source - a branch or a vine. A person does not decide to be patient, much less will to be patient. Patience must be cultivated from the source of patience. That is why the Bible speaks of such things flowing from the Spirit. They emanate from a life with, in and through the Spirit. Only when a spiritual life is cultivated will spiritual fruit be manifest. The true goal of spiritual formation is not the fruit of the Spirit but the relational intimacy that produces the fruit of the Spirit."



"An intimate relationship with God has become something subtly woven into the deepest recesses of our private life instead of a reckless love bursting out of the seams of our soul, exploding into the world around us."



"Love is... a pursuit."



"The impact of most Christ followers on this world is minimal because the degree to which we seek intimacy with Christ is minimal. When there is little that reflects a relationship with Christ in us, we have little of Christ to offer."



"To seek God's face is a serious call, one which is to be engaged with utmost earnestness."



"We conform to the patterns of the world, when we could be morphed into the very image of Christ (Rom. 12:1-2). We focus on religion instead of relationship. Practice instead of passion. Such a life - not rooted in an authentic relationship with God, full of rhetoric and posturing, form and mannerism - is all but empty. We become people possessed with knowledge "about" as opposed to an acquaintance "with." But only intimate relationship with the living God leads to true spirituality. And only true spirituality can affect the world."



"I know that it is a spiritual life that I most want. It is from the depths of the soul that a life most clearly and significantly speaks, and makes its mark and is able to bring Christ to bear on the world. Any life-giving water I might offer to those who thirst is drawn from the well of my soul. ...But there lies the rub. I say I hunger for this, but do I? In truth, I don't always want to go deep. It is easier - far easier - to live my life on the surface waters of communion with God. Going deep with God, as with anyone, is demanding, difficult, time-consuming; it calls for intentionality and discipline, purpose and drive. Like most, I know there is more, but I have often found myself to be inconsistent - or unwilling - in the effort."


He goes on to talk about knowing God through reading His Word, prayer, solitude and silence.

Excellent.

a definition of worship

you do the things you do and you don't do the things you don't do because you love God. you worship God.

the weekend

friday at 5 cindy came over and we went to johnny carino's for dinner in san marcos. they have especially yummy italian bread that comes with olive oil and garlic for dipping into. then we headed over to massage envy where i took my bride (as her maid of honor) for her first massage. we had a couples room. it was extremely wonderful. afterwards we rented fool's gold and ps i love you. we watched fool's gold (not as bad as i thought but still pretty *roll your eyes*). then we shared my air mattress and fell asleep while reminiscing about all the things we used to play at cindy's chestnut, cameo, & fire mountain homes, grandma braswell's home, and here at 1729.

we woke up, took showers, had coffee, and headed off to irvine the next morning to meet up with kayti and two of her other bridesmaids whom we had never met (the third one was unable to come). they were very nice and kayti had us play a quiz about her and jason where cindy and i tied for highest. kayti also gave us gifts of cute starbucks mugs with m&ms. we walked around the spectrum for awhile and then departed.

cindy and i drove to cindy and chris' new place in rancho s.m. and went to the pool for some sun and nap time (or pop-bubble-on-iphone time for cindy). then we showered and chris took the three of us to dinner. chris' meatloaf was four times as big as his fist as well as his mashed potatoes and veggies. i had a prime rib sandwhich that was superb. we walked back over to their house aferwards and played a rousing game of nerts and blackjack. it was great. cindy and i slept on the living room floor in our sleeping bags.

sunday morning (this am) i left cindy and chris' and drove up to torrance to go to church with kayti. church was very God-glorifying, full of truth, and exactly what God wanted me to hear today. it was good to be up in torrance with kayti and see the place where she'll live as jason's wife come november. we had good conversation before lunch, during lunch, and after lunch. then i drove back home.

it was another good weekend and i thank the Lord for His blessings of friendships and good times.

another school week starts tomorrow.

Lord, You are good and Your mercies endureth forever!

Ki Hyun

Intelligent, witty, good-looking, studious, and diligent - what's not to love? Especially for a teacher.

Yesterday Ki Hyun had been in the room while Erika and I were talking. Towards the end of class today, I had them doing some reading comprehension practice, which is usually on the more difficult side for my students. Ki Hyun stayed after I let everyone leave because he was asking vocabulary questions - he didn't know that "introduce" could be used in a context other than new people and he didn't know that "lean" could mean "with little fat" only that it meant to put your weight up against the wall. Beginning to pack up his things, he asked me, "What creed are you?" Eventually I said, "You mean religion?" "Yes," he said. I told him that when people usually ask me that question I say that I believe in the one true God and in His Son Jesus Christ. He didn't quite understand that so I did eventually say that I was a Christian. He said, "Oh, you are Catholic?" So then I was trying to explain that, no, I am not a Catholic Christian rather a Protestant Christian. So then I asked him what his creed was. Ki Hyun said, "Me. I believe in myself. I work hard, I do the things I want, I live life my way by what I see." "So you don't believe in God?" You could tell it was hard for him to say absolutely that he didn't believe in God or a god. I had found out the other day that one of his other Korean friends in a different class went to a Korean church in Mira Mesa so I said (praying that this was a good church, although I do know that it is baptist), "You should go with your friend sometime." He said that he didn't like church because it is just better to give to the poor and do social services outside of the church. I said, "Sometimes I agree with you." We were about to part ways and as he said good bye I simply said, "Think about God the rest of your day." He smiled politely. I said, "Remember, I don't say that I am this religion or that religion, but that I talk to the one true God and He talks to me through Jesus Christ." Again, Ki Hyun smiled and almost shaking his head he said, "Ok." You could tell he thought I was a little strange.

Please, pray for God to do His work in Ki Hyun.

God is listening and acting...

FIRST. I have been feeling better. Most of the nausea has gone although my stomach isn't yet back to normal. God upheld me through my first week of classes though. He is strong.

SECOND. Class has been going okay. I am learning how to teach in this context, use this curriculum, understand and help these students. Miguel, the 14 year old, will be leaving for Spain after Friday. I also had a new student today from Spain, Esther. She has very poor verbal skills from what I could tell today. These are the three main things I have been praying: 1) That I will not show partiality! I do not do this as far as grading is concerned but sometimes it is so hard to not want to always talk to and call on and be more interested in a few of them. But this is not what God has done. Help me to unbelievably kind and interested in each individual. 2) That I would teach with excellence. I wondered about this for awhile because I am not perfect and how am I supposed to be the excellent Christian worker when I fail sometimes? But I am learning that sometimes excellence means confession. Excellence includes admitting when I was mistaken and fixing it rather than moving on and hoping no one will notice. And 3) That I would have opportunity to talk about the Lord.

THIRD. (And the best one!) GOD provided a perfect opportunity to have me talk on His behalf. We were working on "wish" grammar yesterday and I noticed on Erika's paper (from the Czech Republic) that she had written, "I wish I could meet God." So today during break, I sat down next to her and told her that I noticed her paper yesterday. I asked her what she knew about God and what she thought of Him. She said that her grandmother used to tell her stories about God and that she said He always knew what you were doing. Erika said that sometimes that made her worried because she knew what she was doing was bad sometimes. I told her I felt the same way sometimes BUT that I could then look to Jesus for taking the punishment for my sins and that, through Jesus' death and God's grace, I can know that God loves me still because I believe in Him. We talked some more and ultimately she said that she didn't know what was true. I asked if I could pray that God would show her what was truth and I encouraged her to do the same. Erika is extremely sweet and open to talking about anything and everything. Pray that God will work in her heart and provide the perfect opportunity for her to come to a true saving trust in the work of Jesus Christ.

On the train ride home today I started another summer reading book by Jim Cymbala. I have read books by him before and am always encouraged and excited to love the Lord afterwards. It was good to read especially after God's work today in me and in Erika. Cymbala wrote that true, earnest prayer should produce more true, earnest prayer.

God is awesome. Always.

finding joy...

buy it here and read it. you will want to live how she did.

work

FIRST. I need you all to pray for me. I have been feeling very, very ill over the last few days. I feel feverish, nauseous, and have terrible headaches. I hardly eat anything all day because it just makes me want to throw up. So please pray that God in His sweet mercy will heal whatever is going on with me physically. It is extremely uncomfortable.

SECOND. I work in the summer building for Converse which is a couple blocks shorter walk than the Broadway main office. My classroom windows have a north-east view of the city and on the hill you can see the bell tower and dome at Balboa park. The train rides have been fine (although I wonder if motion sickness is part of my problem.)

THIRD. My students: Ana, Miguel (14), & Enric from Spain; Erika from the Czech Republic; Oliver from Switzerland; Valentine from Italy; and Ki Hyun & Hye Ran from Korea. They have already caught me off guard with grammar questions or asking me if a statement is correct that I almost end up believing it is only because I've heard it so much from them. But it's only my third day and I'm really trying to learn - hah - and get the students to learn. Pray that we are productive in learning English, that I am a clear communicator, and that they try their best. Pray that I love them no matter what, am kind always to them, and that my interest in them during, before, and after class present opportunities for them to learn more about me... and the God who loves us all.

Thanks.

weekend

friday we (mom, dad, & em) met the boones & brian at stage coach park in la costa. we played some frisbee and imagine if, ate yummy picnic food, and danced to the jazz music concert. afterwards we all went back to the boones house for ice cream and apple pie. unfortunately a fog bank rolled in and we were unable to see any fireworks. the shows probably weren't that exciting compared to the riveting game of screw your neighbor the nine of us played around the kitchen table. even though mr. boone was hand writing and mrs. boone was playing for blood, the ultimate showdown was between mom and brian in the end. mom was champ, brian was chump (or loser, according to mrs. boone.) suffice it to say, we all laughed our faces off.

saturday i drove up to santa clarita listening to the sweet tunes of tchaikovsky and mozart. i made it to starbucks and had almost finished another chapter in my book and downed my grande coffee frappuccino light by the time laurie called. she came by and we chatted it up for awhile. eventually i looked through the window and across the parking lot and saw my roommate from my freshmen year walking hand in hand with her husband (whom i hadn't seen since i was in their wedding [one of the happiest days of my life] three years ago.) i ran out of starbucks with my arms flailing. the four of us had dinner at good ol' corner bakery, one of my sc favs, then went and changed for kristi & brian's wedding at placerita.

when i first found out that kristi and brian were engaged, i was ecstatic. they are just one of those couples that you look at and can't help but know they were perfectly designed by God for each other (and ultimately for Him.) their sense of humor, wit, service, and tenderness in both of them exhibit their uniqueness as God's chosen people. i know He was very pleased when they committed to Him yesterday evening to commit to each other for the rest of their lives. brian has always had a great smile but i seriously thought his smile grew ten times bigger with kristi, his sweet wife, by his side. precious.

after the wedding heather jumped in my car and we went to alhambra where matt and heather have been living since getting married. we watched olympic trials for awhile, chatted, and then eventually went to bed. i think we all three were pretty tired. but it was good to see them again and i really appreciate them letting me spend the night.

i left around nine in the morning to head to a church in east l.a. that i have been wanting to go to. i drove by the same block several times before i eventually found the building. once i found the building, i couldn't find the entrance. once i found the entrance, i couldn't find parking. so i decided to go ahead and drive back to cbad. i listened to a sermon from ciu on the way home and when i walked into my home church their sermon was just about to start. then i went out to lunch at a new mexican place which was pretty yummy.

all in all, it was a good weekend. i have my own level 3 students in my own little classroom beginning on tuesday. i'm thrilled and nervous. but God is cool, always.

you can see some pictures here.

fifth chapter excerpt

Count It All Joy! The Story of Joy Ridderhof & Gospel Recordings, Inc. by Phyllis Thompson

"Arrangements were being made for her to board the S.S. McKinley with Ann at the end of October, to set off on their first journey across the Pacific. But on the day they were due to go and get their passports they both realised they hadn't the necessary nine dollars required to pay for them. Nine dollars is a small sum compared with $485, the price of each ticket, bu it is an enormous amount if you don't happen to have it when obtaining your passport depends on it. It was what was called a 'pocketbook emergency', and Joy saw it as a cause of rejoicing, because now they would see what God would do! ...By the afternoon the money was in hand, and they got their passports."

second chapter excerpt

Count It All Joy! The Story of Joy Ridderhof & Gospel Recordings Inc. by Phyllis Thompson

When Don Pedro in Marcala, Honduras, accepted Christ... "The knelt together in the plain little room, the three of them. Joy and Arthur prayed aloud, as was their custom, uninhibited, praising God for His Spirit's work in the heart of this man, praying that he might be truly born of that same Spirit. They waited for Don Pedro to pray, but he was silent. 'Don Pedro, have you accepted the Lord?' they asked, and when Don Pedro lifted his head his face was aglow. 'Have you accepted the Lord?' It had not seemed like that at all. It had not occurred to him that he was in a position to accept or reject. It was quite the other way round. His answer was one Joy never forgot, as with the expression of one who has been released suddenly from bondage he said, 'He has accepted me.'"

first chapter excerpt

Count It All Joy! The Story of Joy Ridderhof & Gospel Recordings, Inc. by Phyllis Thompson

First talking of thoughts of wishing suicide wasn't wrong to commit and then speaking of fear of giving speeches... "Preparing for examinations was almost equally alarming. She worried about them for weeks before hand. 'I suppose worrying goes with being conscientious,' she said to herself reassuringly. It was really quite a good quality. It was not so easy to find a justification for being irritable, however, especially with one's own mother, and for some reason Joy could not explain, there were times when her mother exasperated her. This was all wrong for a Christian, but try as she would the irritation continually cropped up in impatient actions or explosive remarks. It made her feel guilty and ashamed, and the only comfort she could find in that was that at least it proved she was neither indifferent nor hardened, a careless unrepentant backslider. Altogether, an underlying sense of anxiety was perhaps an indispensable adjunct to the Christian life. It might even be an evidence of sincerity, of an earnest desire to become the sort of person God expected one to be." ...(keep reading)... "It came as a shock therefore when the eminent preacher invited for a Victorious Life Conference at the church Joy attended asserted uncompromisingly, 'Worry is sin!' Joy had never heard such a definition of her permanent condition of mind before. More than anything else Dr. R. C. McQuilkin said in that opening address the simple pronouncement arrested her. That worry was sin, an offence against God as heinous as any crime man can commit was an entirely new thought. She had lived with worry so long that she had come to regard it vaguely as a sort of uncomfortable virtue. To throw it out, to be rid of it for ever was a prospect at once alluring and alarming. The question was not only whether it was possible, but whether it was right. Joy went home after that first meeting with her mind absorbed by what she had heard. The speaker's strong, melodious voice, the conviction with which he spoke, his reasoned arguments based on the Scriptures had all combined to grip her attention, but it was the promise of deliverance from worry that stirred her most deeply. Could it be true? If you trust you don't worry, if you worry you don't trust sounded logical, but was it possible to be scrupulous in doing your duty without being anxious about it?" ... "'Oh, I'm in such a dilemma!' and then, to her own amazement, 'And I can't even worry about it!' That week was the most significant of her life, and had a profound and lasting effect on her theology. The responsibility of man had always loomed large with her, and her Christian life had been lived mainly in dependence on her own efforts, but now the sovereignty of God loomed even larger. The power and the reliability of the Heavenly Father who loved her were what she was called upon to trust in. To doubt Him was unbelief, and unbelief was sin. She would sin no more. Faith in God should be her attitude, and praise to Him for His willingness and ability to bring good out of everything - including her own silly mistakes. The sense of freedom this brought was inexpressible, and with it came an overmastering desire to learn more about God had suddenly become so relevant to everyday life."