Fast Track

Well, things have been moving really quickly lately. First of all, the wedding of my friend Rachel is less than a month away! That has made things fairly busy. Second of all, I have two weeks left of school. I actually started this blog when I moved here for school, what an adventure that has been! But of course God has been good through the whole thing. I have really loved school, and am racing to finish, but am also looking forward to the next thing that God has for me. Third of all is the move. We are still trying to sell the house, but we have every hope and joy that all will be in Gods timing. We had some friends living in the basement for a few months, because when we decided to move so did they...well as it would happen they sold their house that day, and now they are moving out because they found a place in Boise....oh the irony! Last of all, my sister-in-law has a due date!!!! Jan 2!
Wow! That was a very brief way to write down everything that has been going on in my life =) I have another story idea, and I cant wait to start working on it, but at the moment I think it wise to finish the two or three that I am working on already before plunging into the next. I cant tell you how many "Chapter 1"s I have! Oh well, I enjoy playing with the ideas just as much as I enjoy finally writing them down and then reading them later. Did you know that Alexandre Dumas never went back and read his work?! Amazing, he did not read The 3 Musketeers until 15 years after he had written it! Well....back to work, so long all!

New Life

My brother and his wife are having a baby!!!!! This is the first one, and I am soooo excited! They have not been married for very long, but I know that God has everything under control. I found out last night, and as I have been telling people, I have been met with both concern, joy, and bewilderment. I think that the thing that amazes me the most is how much I already love this little life that is so tiny and yet has been touched by the hand of God and made into something extraordinary.
I have been enjoying the new life all around me this spring, but the new life of a new human being is something that far outweighs anything that could ever happen. My prayer life has officially shifted a bit, and from now on this child will be covered in prayer for protection, wisdom, joy, and a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus.
P. S. I decided to make it pink because I feel all rosy =)

Worth a 1000 words...

I found myself today really wishing that I had a better camera, and a way to post pictures on this blog. Pictures are a way to say something that you cannot express in words. Being a writer, I am fairly good at expressing myself in words, but sometimes just a simple snap shot can give inspiration and love and joy to a whole afternoon. I was in Barns and Nobel yesterday, I love to look at the books, but sometimes I am more inspired by the cover, or the people around me than I am by the words. For this reason, I enjoy reading blogs that have a lot of pictures, and wish that I could give that to someone, anyone who finds themselves reading my blog.
Perhaps I should take a class and find out how to do all of this stuff, but at the same time I want to "take a class" for just about everything...It's a good thing that I like school. There are so many things out there to learn and enjoy.
The other reason that I would really love to get a new camera is because, first off I am almost done with school, and will be moving soon, so I want to begin to capture some of the wonderful people, places and memories that I have here. When we move I'd like to take pictures of that. And....I feel that God is going to be taking me overseas soon, it would be nice to really be able to capture and show people my adventures. Weather I go back to Africa, to Israel, to Europe, or on a boat trip to Fiji. So, what do you think? Should I start saving for a camera...or perhaps a plane ticket? ;)

Conotations and Paradigms

So much of what we see and do is related directly to our connotations and paradigms, and so often do we only see through these lenses that it becomes nearly impossible to see something new. Furthermore, the longer we look through these ideas only, the more they become ingrained into our brains until it is nearly impossible to see things any other way. This is why we call older people "narrow minded".
There is however, a way around this fate of being "stuck in our ways", and that is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. But, we have to let Him take control. The Bible says to "take every thought captive to Christ." What do you think would happen if we submitted every idea and belief to the infinite being who created thought in the first place? So often we take the term "take captive" and say that He is locking us up and stifling any creative thought, but if you think about it, since He is the creator, would that not be freeing?
It is our connotations and paradigms only that make us thing of God as a controlling party-pooper who does not want us to have any fun. If we sit down and read the Bible, read His story just for what it is, a simple story about God and His creation, and what he did with it, then we will begin to see this whole world in a new light. Why not try and read it from God's perspective instead of the peoples? Just read the text, if for no other reason that it is an ancient story filled with some of the most influential ideas, and beautiful poetry ever written, and you will see what will happen...