God never fails

There's been several things that have gone on in the last few days that have made an impact on me.  

-Watching the movie "Fireproof"

-Got offered not one, but TWO jobs ( I accepted the higher paying one)

-God is showering me with His grace after sinning against Him

-The K's son had a friend that was killed in a car accident this afternoon

Being short on sleep time tonite, I can't really explain all these in detail right now.  Also, I would love to share about all the cool truths I learned about the Holy Spirit through my readings this weekend but Ill save that for later.  

I do want to share the passage that has brought HOPE to me this weekend :

Ephesians 2:1-10 

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you one walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in KINDNESS toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

"Him we proclaim..."

I have been blessed to be able to go to a gals study group from the Career class, that studies the letter of Paul, an apostle of Jesus, written to the Colossians.  We are doing a study of the letter through a Synthetic Method.  Basically a synthetic study helps us see the purpose and plan of the book (letter).  The author had information or subject matter he wanted to communicate to his readers.  The synthetic method helps discover that message through means of repeated readings of the letter, ignoring details and concentrating on the interpretation of the book as a whole, each reading focusing on different aspects of the content, finding themes, getting the big picture.  

I've found that as I have been reading the entire book several times in one sitting, I am growing in my love for God and His Word in general.  It is awesome!  :)  Colossians is not just another book in the Bible.  It was written by a man named Paul.  It was a letter written to the people of Colossai to warn and admonish them of false prophecy being taught there.  The leader of the study typed up the book of Colossians in letter form (without the chapters and verses) to give us a better picture of what the letter really looked like when it was written.  Just reading the letter over and over on my sheets of paper is making the WORD come alive to me!!  This is awesome because: "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. "  This letter written in 60 A.D. was not just written for the Colossians, but for me today in 2008!  Why would God's Word lie and contradict himself when he says it is living in Hebrews 4:12, just as "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God." (John 1:1)??  And, "All Scripture is breathed out BY God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16).  

Here is Paul's letter written to the people of Colossai, and to you and me:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church.  He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent (superior or above all others). For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation- if you continue in your faith, established and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a servant. 

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of the body, which is the church. {www.soniclight.org gave me some insight into what this sentence might mean: This "regards the afflictions of Christ as Christ's actual sufferings now, not on the cross but in and through Paul whom He indwelt (2 Cor. 11:23-28). When believers suffer, Christ also suffers because He indwells us (Acts 9:4).  "It is no wonder, then, that Paul rejoiced in his sufferings. Seen in the light of his union with Christ, they were transfigured and made an occasion for fellowship with Him, as well as a benefit to the body, the church."} I have become it's servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the Word of God in its fullness- the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints (Christians).  To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

---------------

I'm so thankful for God using our brother Paul to communicate this important message!  This is so helpful for me in many many ways.  Also, just picturing the sweat Paul must have worked up while writing this, gets my blood pumping.  He was a SERVANT.  He gave all he had for the gospel of Jesus!  He presented God's Word to the people.  What a privilege to be part of God's plan for the entire human race.  God used this Word for all the peoples of the earth to read and hear for HOPE and for Glory.  We can have assurance that the books of the Bible are written by God especially when in the book of John chapter 14:23-26, Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.  And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.  These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all these things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. "  Through reading God's Word, we can have hope in this dark world.  These were real words that came out of Jesus mouth!!  I want to learn more about Paul and how he lived his life for the sake of Jesus.  But more importantly, I want to learn more about Jesus, the image of God in flesh, who came here to live among us and show us that we can be reconciled to the Holy One.  

i like giving titles to my entries

This past weekend I totally flopped on getting my reading done for my class.  I mentioned in my last entry about my lack of discipline...that was one of the major areas that I was refering too.  Today I worked hard on my time management and made a tiny amount of progress in that.   I feel so good about that.  It is rewarding to be disciplined. And to be productive.  Or at least feel that way.  

I had the interview today with the child care job...went well.  I am waiting to hear back in the next few days.  I could be working 8-5pm Tues. through Friday. (I could pay off my loans alot quicker that way!)  God will either provide it or not.  Waiting on Him for this one.  

The class was so intense yesterday. With the lectures and observing the counseling sessions. Pastor Viars taught a section about the Doctrine of Spiritual Growth.  He's really got a passion.  He really loves God and His Word and the application of the Bible in people's lives.  He covered alot of different topics, but there were a few that got me.  He talked about Ephesians 4:11-16 : the GOAL of the church.  This whole passage speaks on GROWTH.  Not just a church growing, but personal growth.  "...so that we may no longer be children..."  "...we are to grow up in every way into him who is the Head, into Christ," "when each part is working properly , makes the body grow so that is builds itself up in love."  Pastor V. shared that every year, he and the church elders/staff go down the list of EVERY member in the church, and they make sure they know where that person (or familiy) is at spiritually.  They take God's word so seriously that if they DON'T know where/how that family is doing (if there's any sinful struggles) then they schedule a time to meet up with them.  If a family is not handling sin properly in a Biblical God-honoring way, then the church intervenes and encourages counseling, or if the fam decides not to deal with it, then there will be some church discipline. They take their role as leaders in the church seriously and esp. God's word seriously.  Faith Baptist is at about 1800 members right now. 

My point is not to share about the means of action that are taken if a family is not obeying the Lord and growing.  But I just wanted to share about the fact that God is serious about growth as believers.  Wow.  Through the scripture we looked at while talking about this, I woke up a little bit, if ya know what I mean.  We talked about Jesus.  He grew.  Luke 2:52  Romans 8:28, 29 (to be more Christ-like).  2 Peter 3:18.  It's scary to think about a person (myself included) struggling with the same sin issues for years.  Most believers don't even acknowledge the sin they struggle with.  

Something that discourages alot of believers (in my own struggle and observation), is that they don't see the change they'd like in their lives.  When I struggle with a sinful issue, over and over, it is discouraging.  It's hard to see yourself fail again and again. But, I have to realize that I am growing, even if it's not straight up.  A popular phrase I've heard up here, is "Progressive Sanctification".  We first believe Jesus as Savior and Lord and and confess our sin and ask for forgiveness.  We are then justified.  No sooner than we finish a prayer and we sin again.  We confess and repent and ask forgiveness.  We go through the day.  5 minutes later, we realize we've sinned again.  We confess, repent and ask forgiveness.  I feel as though I go back to square one every time.  Like I can't make any gain or real change.  Well, I have to start believing and understanding scripture when it talks about growth. ( Paul was a God worshipper. He was a stud, but even he didn't "arrive".  "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own." (Philippians 3:13)).  

I am only growing more like Christ if I deal with my sin in a Biblical God honoring way.  Confession, repentance, and then "put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness".   Ephesians 4:20-24.  I have to realize what sin I am committing and then start thinking and acting like Christ.  Tonite, I was jealous of something.  Instead of being jealous like the old Renae before Christ, I should be practicing rejoicing with other's sucesses and be thankful. 

We wouldn't be commanded to grow if we were already complete and perfect, would we?   

Failures and goodies

Today was full of so many wonderful gifts...the sermon this morning at Faith, the song we listened to in service, the joy of being connected to a body of believers of Jesus, being able to read the Bible in freedom, good Indian food at Taj Mahal, my nap, reading homework for my class, talking with my cousin, random conversations, catching up with an old friend and discussing heart and world issues, typing on my laptop on the floor, etc.  

God in His grace and mercy decided to bless me today even though I was not disciplined in certain things.  That's who God is.  That's what I am learning about Him more and more.  He gives when I deserve death for the sin in my heart.  

The song the music pastor sang this morning in church was called "Carried to the Table".

Here are the lyrics that shattered the moldings of pride that gripped my heart this morning:

Carried to the Table

Wounded and forsaken

I was shattered by the fall

Broken and forgotten

Feeling lost and all alone

Summoned by the King

Into the Master's courts

Lifted by the Savior

And cradled in His arms

I was carried to the table 

Seated where I don't belong

Carried to the Table

Swept away by His love

And I don't see my brokenness anymore

When Im seated at the table of the Lord

Im carried to the table

The table of the Lord

Fighting thoughts of fear

And wondering why He called my name

Am I good enough to share this cup

This world has left me lame

Even in my weakness

The Savior called my name

In His holy presence

Im healed and unashamed

You carried me, my God

You carried me

God has seated me at a place at His banqueting table of love...a table I am not worthy to sit at.  I will never be worthy to sit at on this earth.  Praise God for His love and the LOVE of Jesus!!!  Praise Him for WHO HE IS.  He is the only ONE who can help us see without the guilt and shame that fogs our eyes.  He really carried me last year.  I really had let myself get beaten up by the sin I chose for myself and He had to CARRY me back to Him.  Praise Him!!

The K's House

Finally some answers!

So this is Claire.  She makes me laugh!  She reminds me alot of our first dog, Minnie because of her temperament and coloring.  But she sure is sweet and a cuddler.  The K's took her to get her hair cut on Tuesday.  It'd been a long time, so the barber decided to shave her I guess.  When I got back to the house after gals Bible study, I walked in and she came to greet me like usual.  I barely recognized her and I think she knew it!  She kind of cowered away and hid...I think she was embarrassed.  She looked so tiny and rat-like!  ha! I put a before and after picture.  I guess when the doggies get a trim, they get a complimentary bow or scarf put on them...cute... :)

So here's an update to the latest decisions:

I sat down with Jeff last nite to look at my finances for the next year.  This really gave some clue as to whether I could do the internship.  Financially I could swing it, but with the schedule, it would be insane.  Today, I met with the director of VOH for my second interview.  I told her right up front that I would not be able to commit to the internship right now.  When my class is over in December, things might look a little different.  But for now, I am going to volunteer there and get some experience.  It's been such a battle deciding all of this these past few weeks. I had so much peace last nite about it all.  It was so nice.  :)  

BIBLICAL COUNSELING CLASS ON MONDAY:  

Monday was our second class...and it was great!  We started by finishing up with the Key Elements in the Counseling Process.  (As a note, these are all developed by God's word, the writings of Jay Adams, and the Biblical Counseling Ministry at Faith Baptist).  The Key Elements are: 1. Gather Data, 2. Find out the Problem, 3. Establish involvement, 4. Give HOPE, 5. Proper Instruction, 6. Give homework.

I enjoyed hearing about Giving homework.  To give a counselee homework, is to challenge them to actually put God's word to work in their life.  Just talking about your life problems all day is not going to change anything!  You actually have to work at growth!  (If only Id realized that a long time ago...there is no born a superChristian.) 

Next we spent a while comparing counseling philosophies.  This was good to look at.  Some guidelines to think about are : How do people propose to know what they knew?  By science research?  What is their view of man?  Do people have to take medicine to cure everything?  What is the GOAL of counseling?  What is the role of the counselor?  So then we looked at the counseling methods of Freud, Skinner, Rogers, and then God.

Through reading and conversation in the last year, it has come to my attention that there is alot of modern psych. mixed into what is being taught in the Christian Orthodox church today.  Im talking about issues of ADHD, depression, schizophrenia, etc.  I think our society is too quick to diagnose people's symptoms as a mental illness when it really could be a sin issue.  There is alot on this topic, so I'll write more later.  I wanted to give a heads up to this topic though.  

I observed 3 counseling sessions on Monday.  All three were very different: counselor personality and style as well as the case.  The last counselor I observed was so patient with this one couple.  I was sitting there in my chair just watching this new married couple.  They were both on their 3rd marriage, dealing with all kinds of issues.  One of them has grown up going to church, but has never had someone sit down & explain salvation to her.  The husband did not show that he knew Jesus personally. I just couldn't help but think: where in the world do you start to help this couple?? But, they are ready to work and make changes in their life! Praise God!  I observe the same cases all semester until they are finished, so Im curious to see what work they are going to do as well as the Holy Spirit in their hearts.

I want to share about all the cases I observed but this is getting long.  

Hostas

Since being up here in Indiana, I've been thinking about different plant species.  You would think that by having a dad who specializes in plants and trees I would know alot about them, but I really don't.  Not using him as a resource was bad decision on my part.  My cousin has just started working on her garden in the last 2 years and is really enjoying it.  I am somewhat envious of this because I have been longing to have a garden of my own. Not having a house yet and moving around alot kind of prevents me from doing some experimenting with planting.  Anyway, my cousin has been showing me her "hostas" on the side of her house and how she had to move them to shade.  They are a really interesting flower.  They are perennials and sometimes have white, yellow, or pink flowers.  They get sunburnt easily so they prefer shade (as my cousin learned).  There's one type of hosta called "hosta plantaginea", sometimes called "August lily" because it blooms in late summer.  But the thing this plant is known for is that it's flowers open up in the evening and close by morning.  Again, they don't like the sun.  That is so amazing!  I would love to get my hands on one.  Don't know how popular they are though.  

German Fest!

I haven't made time to post in the last few days out of being busy preparing for my class today.  On Saturday, my cousin, Theresa, and I went to "German Fest".  This was a fundraiser hosted by St. Bonifus, a Catholic church, in downtown West Lafayette.  Upon arrival, I quickly began to notice the many number of people dressed in their German attire, suspenders and all. There was a very loud band playing a variety of 70's rock with a hint of German flair (whatever that means).  They had formed a dance area in front of the stage with hay bails, filled with young and old dancing unashamedly.  

Alot of the men's outfits were beautifully woven and fun to look at.  (Not that I was trying to look at the men...)  But anyway,  I wanted to get a picture of one of the men's suits but was having a hard time trying to be sneaky (like my younger sis.)  Instead, I spotted a smaller man in his suit and asked him if I could take a picture with him. :) He got so excited, he handed over his camera to get a picture too!  I picked up on the fact that he was not from America by his Hispanic accent and that he was not high on personal space. 

Later on in the evening, Theresa and I decide that we are thirsty.  As we are standing in the ticket line, I see to the left a guy that looks very similar someone I knew from KSU.  I look closer and realize it is him, wearing his German garb and all!  We chatted for a while and I found out he had moved here in January with another guy from KSU.  It was so good to see some familiar faces.  I had to take a picture with him too!   

Not too long after I run into my friends from KSU, we bump into the small man I took a picture with.  He came off as interested in my cousin by asking many personal questions (where does she live) and I we grew weary of him.  He then informed us he was from Mexico and he was a priest!  I didn't really know whether to believe him or not.  As we are talking with him, my friend from KSU comes up and says, "Hey, have you guys met Father Gustavo yet?"   :)  Haha.  Wow.  It turned out that he is currently attending St. Bonifus and that he knows "Father" very well.  It was quite amusing to learn.

(I recorded the band playing but I could only fit a little snippet).

Rain, starbucks, endurance, cold fingers

Today was probably the most unproductive day.  Im just laughing at myself.  I worked on stuff at the house all morning, then finally got myself decent enough to head out into the world to turn in some applications.  I drove all the way out to this dinky little daycare in the rain to turn in my app.  When I got there, I just sat in the car looking out the window.  I love working with children, seeing them learn and grow and discover life.  But I am absolutely tired of working in daycares.  Most of them are not focused on teaching children about the most important thing in the world, which is about a relationship with Jesus Christ to receive salvation.  As an assistant and even as a lead teacher, you have to follow the policies and rules formed by the state regs and the directors of the building.  I am just burnt out from that.  If I have a choice, I would choose to work somewhere else other than that.  Whatever the Lord provides...I might have an interview with an assisted living place called Green Tree.  I would be a resident assistant, assisting an elderly client around their apt. with whatever duties need done.  I love working with elderly just about as much as with children. (I am not trying to compare them at all.)  Children are still maturing and learning and growing.  Elderly have already matured and are still learning themselves.  

Anyway, here is some scripture that is so exciting for me to read at this weird time in life:

Romans 15:4

"We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.  For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.  May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God."

Im still curious about what this means exactly.  But I do like what it says about how through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have HOPE.  I'm very thirsty for Hope lately.  

My fingers are cold typing in the stream of A.C. at Starbucks, so Im going to read now.  

On a personal note...

Currently, I am trying to find answers to many different questions.  I am waiting to hear back on some jobs I've applied for as well as thinking through the decision to do the internship I've mentioned with the Vision of Hope.  The policies set up for the house for the ladies have been prayed over and thought through for some time now.  God has been working with that ministry through the staff, giving them wisdom on how to structure the program.  Girls that enter the house have been living lives of sinful entrapment in the form of : abuse, anorexia, bulimia, self-harm, unplanned pregnancy, etc.  When they agree to live there, they commit to work hard on growing in those areas with the structure, which includes counseling, learning to eat and live in a healthy way, learning responsibility, learning about God's word and how it can apply to every area of life...etc.  I greatly respect the policies and the structure they have set up for the girls. 

My understanding of what my responsibilities/expectations would be as an intern are not lining up with what they are requiring.  Since my arrival here in Lafayette, I have found out more about the position that is making me think through more deeply about my desire to do this.  Some of the things are: be in room by 10pm with lights out; only being able to use my cell phone in the lobby;  having an orderly and tidy room at all times like the girls;  etc.  Alot of those things are required to help set an example to the girls.  Just thinking about to what degree do I come alongside these gals and do the others things I am responsible for: class and a job (to pay loans and bills).  Also I thought it was going to work out that I only commit to the internship for 3 months and live with the Kesslers.  But, because there are more gals interviewing for the position, I would not be as good a candidate compared to someone who can commit to at least 6 months and live on-site.  This is alot for me to think about and pray through.

On Tuesday, my dad was working for a customer doing some pruning and suffered some kind of ceasure/stroke.  He called my mom from his truck and told her he didn't know what he was had been doing and didn't think he was ok. My mom picked him up and took him to the E.R.  There they gave him some aspirin and took some tests (MRI, CAT scan, carotid artery ultra sound) and kept him over nite.  They did not find anything on any of those tests that hinted at a stroke or seizure.  His thinking and memory are significantly slow and delayed, as well as his speech.  He says he feels like he's in a fog.  Today, he says he feels like the fog is gone somewhat.  The neurologist went in to see him today to look into other possibilities of what might have happened.  He suspected it might have been a seizure so he put him on some seizure meds for 5 days and they are going to run an EEG to check his brain waves.  Please pray for full recovery, for wisdom for the doctors, energy for both my mom and dad as my mom helps with business duties, and for God to be praised for His faithfulness and love.  God is a rock in my family and I know everyone is clinging to it right now.   Because of His grace and steadfast love, he is willing to teach us through this.  

Word

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Acts 20:32 "And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified."

Yesterday was the first day of my Biblical counseling class.  It was exciting, intense, slow, fast, interesting, and challenging.  Most of the morning consisted of sessions of intro topics of:

-What Makes Biblical Counseling Biblical

-Definitions of Biblical Counseling

-Why Counsel?

-Key Elements in Counseling Process

In the section "What makes Biblical....", we talked alot about the theology of the Bible.  Sometimes in the church, there is counsel given that is not founded on the theology of God's word, but on bits and pieces of modern psychology, Christian literature, and personal convictions.  This was really interesting to think about.  There was a man named James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) who recognized the popular interest in the inerrancy of scripture.  (He predicted that the next wave of theologian interest in the Christian church would be sufficiency of God's word (for the next century)). 

To honor God and the truth of His Word with their counsel, Faith Baptist has developed a theological pyramid to help guide them.  The 6 levels of the pyramid represent 6 components that need to be included in the theology of counsel.  The bottom level is of course the Bible, the 5th is principles of Bible study and interpretation, the 4th deals with the translation/grammar, and word forms of scripture, the 3rd is using doctrine of God's word "Biblical theology", the 2nd uses the "fruit" of Biblical theology into a system, and the 1st level is "Practical theology" - how to actually grow and change.  The pyramid contains the meat of the methods of counsel used at FBC.  It kinda confuses me with the big words, but I understand why it is needed.

The pyramid is something I would just like to skip over, but that just goes to show how careless I might have been in the past to just try to counsel by the first level (how to grow and change). I am learning that teaching others how to grow and change is not the only thing I should focus on in the future.  

One of the 6 key elements they have developed for the counseling process includes giving hope.

A definition of hope they gave was: a firm belief of God's ability and promise to bring goodness out of chaos in the future.  Brent Aucoin gave an example of this element from Genesis chapter one that got me fired up!  Genesis 1:1-2 "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep..."

Brent pointed out that God created the earth as formless and empty/void.  It was chaotic and a mess. God then went on to create the earth as beautiful with order, and abundant life.  God had a plan of beauty for something originally created as messy.  The same God who created this earth with all the beauty of the sea and mountains, is more than capable to make something beautiful out of our caotic lives.  We can give those around us hope from the beginning of the Bible, before Jesus was even mentioned by name.   :)

Praise God for His Word!  It sure gives me hope that He will make something beautiful out of the mess of my schedule right now...

Websites: Faith Baptist Church

Someone recently asked me for the notes/recordings of the sermon I mentioned last Sunday.  Here is the website where you can read and listen to Pastor Viars sermons: 

http://www.faithlafayette.org/SermonFiles.aspx 

The last picture is of the Vision of Hope house.

Downtown

I think my new favorite thing is hanging out with my cousin Theresa.  Today I met up with my mom's cousin, Theresa.  She has lived in Lafayette for a while now, working at Purdue U.  We discovered as we were shopping that we are similar in our shopping styles.  We both don't like it for an extended period of time. Shopping is fun for a while, but we are not turbo bunnies.  I did find some cool shoes I need though.  

After shopping and hanging out, I drove around Lafayette for a while just for the heck of it and snapped a few shots of the gorgeous sunset.  Wow, it was awesome.  I got a few looks as I would suddenly pull over and whip out my camera.  But I think its because I'm a slow driver and from Kansas. 

Lafayette water, applications and Claire

Well, made it through the first week... :)  When I got back from the lakehouse, I hit the ground running.  My first few days were challenging but good.  Spent a couple just trying to find my way around the city!!   But that's ok.  You all should be proud of me because I didn't really get lost LOST/direction turned like usual.   

Currently, I pretty much have the internship with the Vision of Hope (house for girls), am waiting to hear back about a job, and getting ready for my first day of my Biblical counseling class on Monday.  YAY!!  

I met with the director of VOH today to talk about me working as an off-site intern (someone not living at the house with the girls) and it went well. I am seeing how much of a learning opp. this is going to be!  Wow.  Im going to have to be tough and stern with the girls about the policies and rules.  Almost all the girls who come in have had no structure at all in their lives, so that's what the biggest challenge is....listening to authority.  The goal with all the rules is to teach them not only how to make healthy/smart decisions for their life, but why.  Alot of the girls come in not knowing who God is.  They, like alot of people (even believers) don't have a truthful understanding of who God is.  (I was one of them).  I desire to do this internship because I am just recently starting to see how the Bible is really worth studying and believing.  I am just starting to see how God's Word is sufficient for EVERYTHING in my life.  I desire to see girls with broken lives learn about the hope and strength we can have in Jesus.  It takes hard work to change, and growth is definitely a life long process.  

Tonite, I got to hang out with a group from the church known as the "College and Career" class. It was a hang out nite at one of the girls house and we had some amazing Asian cooking.  :)  It was really nice to be with people my own age.  The people in the group are from ages 25-35. I felt like I was hangin with the "Singles" group back at TBC, but different.  I miss you guys by the way!!  :(  When I stop and think about the fact that I don't have a kindred spirit here yet, it gets me down.  So what I'm trying to practice instead is focusing on how good God is and the fact that He was the One who brought me here...so I KNOW He will provide.  Practicing that has been a challenge.  Also, I have been trying not to be expectant of others and just serving them instead.  That humbles me for sure.  

I miss Kansas...especially the water.  The water here has an iron taste to it. Im sticking with bottled water for a while.  LOL.  The Kesslers have a dog named Claire.  She sympathizes with me about the water, so that helps.  

Goodnite y'all.  

Window to my weekend

Love motivates to Serve

God has brought me safely to Indiana!  My parents and I left early last Friday morning and rolled into Lafayette around 7pm.  Jeff and Jana Kessler greeted us with a warm meal of love and hospitality.  It was so good to see them again!!  I had stayed with them in February for the week of the Biblical counseling training conference.   Saturday morning, my parents and I met up with my mom's cousin, Theresa, pictured here.  She works in the admin. office at Purdue University.  That afternoon, there was an event called "Global Fest" featured by the students and faculty at the college. The event offered cultural/ethnic music, food and a marketplace hosted by the clubs of international students on campus.  God used this time with our cousin to catch up and learn about each other.  It was an awesome time.  

The little boy with BBQ on his face was sitting across from me at my table and I could not resist taking his picture...:)  

Sunday morning, we (my parents and I )  went with the Kesslers to the church they attend, Faith Baptist (where I will also be taking my course).  It was so wonderful to be back at Faith, where I had spent many hours soaking in TRUTHS of God's Word and learning about how to apply it to life.  Pastor Viars spoke about what to do during the time you are learning to see others sins against you as good.  It challenged me quite a bit. After church my parents took off to meet up with some friends in Chicago, and we headed up to the Kessler's lakehouse in Bloomington.  Here, I got to meet Jana's mom and son and daughter and their daughter's husband.  Their son brought his 3 friends all about my age and we had a good time swimming and hanging out. We rode out on the lake last nite and were blessed to enjoy the beautiful sunset! (I will post pics as soon as we get back to the K's.)  We will be leaving tomorrow to head back to Lafayette. 

Tonite I am reflecting on the "love" and "service" I have been witnessing.  I have been treated like true royalty since my arrival in IN.  The K's have sacrificed so much of their time and energy to serve me, it humbles me.  They bring me drinks and make sure I am comfortable at all times.  Today Jana and Gran-O (her mom) and I went shopping and bought a few things.  When we arrived home, I caught on to their ritual of "fashion show".  :)  Jeff positioned himself on the couch to prepare for all of us to show him what we had bought!  :)  As I showed him one of the items I had brought (a dress), I noticed he was very attentive.  When I had laid the dress back down on the table, he commented, "I think I like the dress the best".  It was not the fact that he let me know that he liked my dress, but it was the very manner he went about it.  I can't really describe what I am wanting to say, but just that he took the time to listen and care about what we had done today. Im guessing most men are not interested in the many purchases their wives make.  So for him to care about the little things we were excited about buying meant alot.  I have seen so many examples of love between J and J, it just brings me to tears.  It is such an example of Jesus' love for me.  Im so thankful.