Road Trip

Today, myself and two other girls in my sorority, Michelle and Nikki,  went to my hometown...the birthplace of Kum and Go.

After going into Kum and Go, getting some Go Kups, snacks, (a hot dog for Michelle), and walking around the building looking for this sign. We took a couple pictures with it and then stopped by the first Kum and Go's in Hampton and took some pictures by them. Then I gave them both a driving tour of Hampton, which was very exciting!

We took some pictures in front of the court house during our tour and looked at a few shops on Main Street. Then we went back to my house, had some snacks and crafted. We each drew names and crafted a collage for the person we drew. It was super secret who each of us had ;) Anyway it turned out very successfully and we each made very nice collages.

Then we found a bunch of random pictures, quotes, etc. from the magazines and made random collages, which we found funny for friends back at Drake. We then had some supper with my parents, which was nice to have a home-cooked meal. Then we headed back to good old Drake for a very nice road trip.

Overall, I think the day was pretty successful. They got to see my hometown and we made wonderful crafts together. It's so nice to take a break from school every once in a while and just hang out with people without the pressure of needed to do homework right there. I also enjoyed seeing my parents, even if it was only for a short time. I would recommend that every college student take at least a day a week to not do any homework and just do something fun. Whether it's crafting, watching a movie, talking to people, etc. I think it's a very refreshing thing to do! Hope everyone has a great night :)

The Motions

 THE MOTIONS BY MATTHEW WEST

"This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break,
At least I'll be feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of this life

'Cause I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

Sisters

Yesterday I spent a lot of time with my sisters. It was Katelin's birthday dinner so we went to El Rodeo, which was fun. It was really nice to just have dinner with my friends and to see everyone. I had some fried ice cream, which was delicious.

After dinner I got back to the house and a bunch of girls were over watching the movie "Center Stage". I sat with them and did some homework, while trying to watch the movie. I haven't seen this movie since probably middle school so it was fun to watch it again in a large group. I love it when people come over the house to hang out.

After that Michelle invited me to share highs and lows and do a little devotion with herself and Sarah, along with Sarah's sister Michelle who was here for the weekend. It was a great end to my night to talk to these girls and have real conversations about how we feel about relationships with friends, God, etc. We discussed how there are so many times in our lives when we just have superficial relationships with our friends and with God. A lot of it overlapped with what we talked about on Thursday night in small group. How in order for you to have real relationships with people you need to be vulnerable. This is true with our relationship with God as well as our earthy relationships. 

As I reflect on our conversations and my day yesterday I really want to be real with all of the people in my life. I think that it's very important to actually find out what's going on in their lives and actually care about the answer to the questions, 'How are you?'. Also after last night I realized how blessed I am to have sisters at school and at home. Seeing the relationship between Michelle and Sarah also reminded me of my own relationship with my sister. I also feel blessed to be close to her and that she comes to visit me. Even though I wish she would come to Drake so we could have college years to bond. I know that we'll still always be close, which I love!

Madly in Love

"When you are truly in love, you go to great lengths to be with the one you love. You'll drive for hours to be together, even if it's only for a short while. You don't mind staying up late to talk. Walking in the rain is romantic, not annoying. You'll willingly spend a small fortune on the one you're crazy about. When you are apart from each other, it's painful, even miserable. He or she is all you think about; you jump at any chance to be together."  

-Frances Chan Crazy Love page 100

"The critical question for our generation-and for every generation-is this; If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven. If Christ was not there?"

-Frances Chan in Crazy Love page 100 quoting John Piper's book God Is the Gospel.

Both of these quotes are from the chapter we discussed today in small group from the book Crazy Love. I think that they are both really awesome points to think about as I live my life and my relationship with Christ. The first quote really challenges me to want to have that kind of relationship with Jesus. I think there are times in my life, especially in high school and middle school where I truly was that in love. But as I moved on and school, work, etc. has gotten in the way and life's just gotten so hectic. I've fallen out of that love. This book, especially this chapter has really challenged me to have that type of relationship with Jesus. The kind where it's actually a relationship, not me just talking and asking for things. Right now Jesus gets my time right before I go to bed when I'm exhausted and falling asleep. Which isn't fair. I want to be able to listen and respond to God. As I continue in this next few weeks I want to really understand what it's like to fall madly in love with Jesus.

The second quote from John Piper is also very challenging. When I read that description of heaven at first I'm like 'Wow! I can't wait to go there!" then I read the part about Christ not being there, and I have to take a step back and ask myself, 'Would I really be ok with that?' Honestly, right now in my life I probably would be ok with it, because I'm not madly in love with Christ. It also makes me sad to read and really understand that I maybe ok with that and the more I think about it the less ok I am with it. I'm not really sure if this is making sense, but it's how I'm processing things right now. Overall, I want to want Christ in heaven with me no matter what else is there. I want to be so in love with Christ that nothing else about heaven matters, but being in His presence. 

I think it's ok that right now I'm being honest to myself and to God in saying that I don't have this relationship right now. But I think it's good that I want this relationship. I want to fall madly in love and I need God's help to do that. I could never fall that much in love without Him and that's a humbling and amazing thing to think about.

I challenge you to read these two quotes from the book and really think about and ponder them. What do they mean to you? Are you madly in love with Christ, or do you still have a ways to go?

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain

 

Mary Had a Little Lamb

My sister came for the weekend, which was a lot of fun. It was great to see her and just hang out and talk with her. On Friday night we just hung out at the house and watched some wedding shows with girls that came over. We watched 'Say Yes to the Dress' and 'Four Weddings.'

On Saturday we did a little shopping and then when to Chipotle for lunch. After that we came back to the house and got ready for my sorority's Mystery Date party. The theme was famous couples so we went as Mary and a little lamb. It was pretty fun. A nice first exposure to sorority/college parties for her.

After that we went to the movie 'Just Go with It'. We both really enjoyed the movie, it's very funny.

Then we went back to the house and each attempted to do a little homework before going to bed. This morning we went to church then came back and ate lunch. I did a little laundry and made some brownies. She left around 2. Now I'm finishing up some homework and last minute stuff before chapter.

This weekend flew by. I hope you had fun Carina. It was great to see you. I've missed hanging out with you!

Crazy Love

Right now in InterVaristy we are reading the book 'Crazy Love' by Frances Chan. It's about God's love for us. I also lead a Bible study in my sorority house and we're also studying the book at the same time. I've already read the book once, but am getting a lot more out of it this time. [It could be that I'm reading it a lot faster...not starting it at the airport in Addis Ababa in August and then finally finishing it in September]

This weeks topic was about being a lukewarm Christian and serving God our leftovers. This is something that I struggle with. Frances Chan gives a list of examples of being lukewarm such as: going to church every Sunday out of obligation, giving as long as it doesn't interfere with your standard of living, not wanting to be saved from sin only from the penalty of sin, rarely share their faith, don't love God with your whole heart, soul and strength, drink/swear less than your average unbeliever, but otherwise aren't different, and many other examples.

The serving leftovers chapter talked a lot about how God would rather you be hot or cold because then you at least have some passion. About how much we as a church/Christians don't rely on God and therefore cannot fully love him. Part of the reason why we don't do this is because we are wealthy and have a lot of the things we need. We don't feel like we need God to provide our everyday essentials because we can do that ourselves. In reality there are always areas of our lives that we need God to provide for us. That is my prayer for the rest of the week and the rest of our Crazy Love study. For God to reveal all of the areas that I need to fully trust and rely on Him to provide for me.

There is so much other good stuff in this book. If you haven't ever read it I encourage you to. Otherwise I encourage you to read it again, and maybe with others. I'm finding out that I discover so much more during Wednesday nights at Current and then Thursday nights in Bible Study. I do feel like it's making us closer as sisters, which I love. That is all for now.

First Post

This is going to be a short post since I need to get to bed since I have a PDA test in the morning. (No, not Public Displays of Affection, but Principles of Drug Action). I've decided to start a blog because a few of my friends have recently started them and I enjoy reading them, as well as reading other people that I don't know blogs. I'm not sure exactly what this blog will be about. It will probably be a little bit about what goes on in my life each day, what I'm learning, etc. I'm excited for people to read it and enjoy what I'm discovering at the end of my third year in college and end of my first year as a graduate student. So I hope my friend Michelle enjoys the fact that now she can creep on my blog and leave comments like I've been doing to her these first 4 weeks of school. Also I have another older blog about my trip to Ethiopia this summer that you can check out if you're interested. It's emilyhinethiopia.blogspot.com