John 9

The sermon in church today was on John 9, which is the story of the blind man who Jesus heals. What I usually take from this story is that Jesus has compassion for everyone. I received so much more than that today and I am just so thankful that God is continually molding me and shaping me to be a better witness for Him. Here are some things I took from today:

• Jesus always sees something in others that no one else sees.
  
• No matter what happens in life, good or bad, it is all meant to glorify God.
  
• Life is always better when we place everything we have in the hands of Jesus.
• Also, when you have Jesus, you have EVERYTHING.

During the sermon, the pastor said something that really hit home. He talked about how the blind man had no idea who this guy talking to him was, and all of a sudden, he hears spitting and the rubbing together of mud and saliva. Then he feels something cool on his eyes. Yet, after all he has heard and felt, he does not pull away. He says "yes" to Jesus. Then I thought, do I say yes to Jesus? When I sat and really thought about the answer, a knot formed in my stomach. I know exactly who Jesus is and I love Him, but I don't always say yes to Him. I don't give Him everything I have. My biggest problem is that I don't give Him my time. I would rather sleep or sew or be on facebook than spend time with my Savior. How sad is that?

So it is 2 days before I leave for San Diego and I don't want this to be the case anymore. I want to be a good steward of my time and devote it all to the Lord. I want everything I say and do to glorify God. I want my actions to be a witness for Jesus. He deserves my everything and I want to give it to Him, just like the blind man in John 9.

Splenda

No, this post is not about my love for artificial sweetener...I just didn't feel like titling it "Sweet." Anyways, I'm just loving life right now. God is doing some pretty sweet things and I enjoy soaking them up day after day. The first thing that comes to mind is my relationship with Jadee (the Chi Omega in the picture). She is awesome. God has orchestrated both our lives so that we could find each other in college and learn and grow from one another. The whole thing just blows my mind! I met her at church through a friend and then she was in my recruitment group and then we just started meeting and before we knew it, I was discipling her! The semester has been so cool and we'll both be in San Diego this summer so I'm super pumped for that. I know that I'm supposed to be mentoring her, but God has used her to show me so many things as well. I've learned to be fearless because I know who I am in God and I am confident in Him. I've learned to listen to others more and ask questions instead of selfishly talking about myself. I've learned to laugh at myself...even more than I already do. Last, but not least, I've learned to care about others and to be compassionate. Jadee cares so deeply for others and it blows my mind! Seeing how much she cares for others caused me to examine my own thoughts and my heart, and I realized that sometimes, I don't show compassion and I don't care about others. I may act like I care or put on a smile, but my heart will be ugly. Not cool. Jadee emulates God's love and compassion for others. That is where I want to be and I am so thankful that God has shown me this. He is constantly preparing me for this summer and it makes me so happy. I made her a vision plan for the summer and if I may say so myself, it's pretty cool. I used a pink journal and used some stickers to put her name on the front, then I went crazy on the inside with stickers, pictures, and colored pens. It was fantastic. We went to breakfast this morning and I gave it to her and it was so much fun! We talked for hours about this and that and I loved every minute of it. I am so thankful and blessed that God has placed her in my life! I know that there is still so much to come for the both of us.

On Friday night, we had Crown Ball. It was my first date party since fall 2008! The theme was prom so I got all dressed up and I did my makeup all pretty and stuff. The truth is I hate wearing that much makeup. It was fun for the night, but I was so glad to take it off. I just feel gross when I know there's a ton of makeup on my face. My idea of enough makeup is bronzer and a little blush. My crazy days are when I actually put on mascara! Anyways, my dress was short, strapless, and red with flower/ruffle things at the bottom. It was so cute and I borrowed it from one of the other Zetas. I guess expanded closets are a perk of being in a sorority. I also got to wear my black and silver glitter heels which I never get to wear! I think that was the most exciting part for me. Oh, and my date actually matched me! I didn't tell him what I was wearing because I didn't think it was a big deal, but some of our friends intervened and found him a nice red tie to wear with a black shirt. The night was pretty interesting, but a lot of fun. There was even a chocolate fountain!!! You can never go wrong with a chocolate fountain in my book.

And now, it's finals week. Time to spend every waking hour of the next 4 days studying. Oh, and on top of that, I have to pack for the summer. Craziness. But, it will all be worth it when I go home to see my family and then go out to San Diego. I just want to be done with school...right now. I will end by saying that if you don't hear from me in the next week, it is because I am buried in my notes, so don't worry. See you in a week...or whenever.

Oh Dear...

Let's see...where do I begin? So much has happened this past month and it all just runs together in my brain. Spring break was forever ago, but it was so good to go home and see my family! I'm such a homebody when I go back and I love spending time with them. They refresh my life. That week was needed because the weeks following spring break were devoted to greek sing and greek week. April is probably the most stressful month of my entire year. It's so much fun, but I am always glad when it's over. The first 2 weeks were spent practicing for greek sing. Our theme this year was the roaring 20's and I got to act! It was so much fun and we put on an amazing show! We got third place, then went straight into greek week, which was filled with activities. Greek olympics was last Saturday and all of our practice paid off. We won tug, which never happens!!! I'm pretty sure the last time Zeta won tug was about 8 years ago. We also won pyramid and chariot...so awesome!

Another update: I have officially raised all of my support for San Diego this summer!!! It has been so amazing to see God work through His provision and it is so reassuring for me. I know this is where God wants me this summer and I am so ready to go. I will leave on May 19th and drive out to San Diego with some friends. On the 21st, I fly back to Albuquerque for a wedding, then back to San Diego on the 23rd. I will be there until July 7th. I honestly cannot wait to get out there. God has moved in me and changed me so much this past year. I am not the same girl that went to San Diego a year ago. God used San Diego Summer Project to change my life and I cannot wait to see how God uses it in the lives of students this summer. We are going through Luke and I am actually responsible to write one of the studies we'll be doing with 2 other student staff members. I'm nervous for this because I don't think I know how to properly study the Bible in the first place, but I know God will use this to teach me something.

We had our last Sagebrush-Las Cruces service last Sunday. Todd, the senior pastor at the church, came and spoke live and it was so cool! For the first time in a while, I was able to completely let my guard down and just praise Jesus for all that He has done for me and is doing for me. It felt so good to be reminded of the freedom I have in Christ. On that note, I'm working through a Beth Moore study right now on Daniel and it is incredible. I have learned so many things from it, but I guess an underlying them is to live for Jesus-no matter what. Daniel always did, even when he was exiled from Judah to Babylon. He continued to love the Lord and serve Him and he prospered in all that he did. Plus, he lived in Babylon and there are so many connections to the Babylon of the Bible and to the world we live in today. We are living in a modern day Babylon, and I want to live in it like Daniel did.

Now, it's time for the end of school. Tomorrow is a biology test, then El Paso and date party on Friday, then study time this weekend so I can ace my finals next week! I feel like the end of school is crazier than this whole past month has been, but it will all be worth it when it's done!

Motto for the week: Love Jesus. Love others.