Hurricanes

There were no classes on Monday (due to Sandy) and you know what that means! Campus-wide refusal to do homework! Favorite part of classes being cancelled? Well, that classes are cancelled.. but also the uproar that emerges onto a hall at 11:30 p.m. when the girls realize there are no classes the next day. It hit "Christmas morning" on the excitement-radar Sunday night. Interesting times.

I've written so little in my blog this semester. I'm so ashamed. Sorry to the people who read this, if you're out there. This is not intentional, I assure you. I blame college.

In other news, my dorm is being torn down. Maybe this surprises you readers, but it shouldn't (and it shouldn't surprise me either.. even though I was in shock for a few days) because if God's sending rain for me to trust Him, why not send the hurricane (isn't that appropriate.. oh Sandy) for me to completely depend on Him? This is just another instance where I am required to trust God fully.
Last year, my semester's theme was probably "Making God my first love" and "not allowing people to become an idol." If there's a theme for this semester, it's definitely been TRUSTING God with EVERYTHING- every little measly detail until, one day, the big detail hits, and I'm prepared to trust Him. So I would say this whole, "being kicked out of my home" thing is a low to medium occurrence that will happen in my life where I will need to trust God, and I'm sure that I'll have more dramatic situations in the future. I would rather not think about that now and just focus what He's put in front of me now, no matter how minor it all may seem in the big picture. "But where will we live?" we ask. "Don't know, don't care. How's that?" is the reply. Just kidding.. that's a quote from "The Emperor's New Groove," but ya know. It's a great reference. I couldn't help myself.


So basically. While this has been the most stressful, confusing and frustrating semester probably of my whole college career up until now, this has probably been the best semester of my life due to me being forced to trust God and the growth that has taken place in my life. Really though, trusting God truly does bring peace while bitterness just brings more hurt.


So yeah, that's my update!

Peace that Passes Understanding

It's amazing that sometimes in the most desperate, frustrating times, God is most present and rest most attainable. When we relent to God's plan, whether extremely uncomfortable or not, God blesses.

It's a rare occasion when I find myself letting myself go to God and trusting Him wholly, but when I do, it's incredible. The Bible is spot on when it names God's peace as one that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7). Oh, don't worry, I had my panic/shock moment last week, but honestly, the fact that I'm not in panic/shock right now and am at peace in Jesus is absolutely divine. There is no other explanation except GOD.

I shared a post a few weeks ago and mentioned Joshua 1's reference to being able to rest in God when we follow His will, and I still fully stand by that. To add to that thought from Joshua, Joshua 4 talks about the importance of passing on to the next generation the lessons God has taught us and the experiences that He has gotten us through.

In order to get through the difficult times in the present, it is essential to REMEMBER what God has gotten us through in the past. We have to remember.

Joshua 4:4-7
⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; ⁵ and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, ⁶ that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ⁷ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

It is crucial that we take action and leave physical reminders for ourselves and for those who come after us, burning into our beings the memories of past hardships and the phases God has taken us through in order to learn and to grow, remembering that it was (and is) HE who gave (and gives) us victory in this situation and brought (and brings) us into another stage.

Maybe that's why I like to journal so much (and always have). It's funny, awkward and extremely humiliating to see some of my past thoughts, writings and perspectives, but it also opens my eyes to what God has taught me and how He's grown me so far. It also gives me hope that He will continue to do so and reminds me that this is what's going on right.

This hard stuff? That's growth in the making.
These humiliating situations? That's the knee-dropping necessities.
The discomfort? That's the molding of my heart.

Jesus, I trust You.

Your Society

Here's something I wrote after hearing the song "Selling the News," by Switchfoot. 

"Your Society." 

They tell us our minds are twisted and society has spun us into a web, when in reality, the true spiders are "they."

"You're telling us who to love and how to love," they complain, their minds collapsing and their hearts consuming their sense of right versus wrong.

God meant it when He called the heart deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 29:11).
It seems that the world has had a Freaky Friday moment with right and wrong, right frightened by wrong's manipulation and scheming. Forgetting the ruth and devouring the lies that the Liar so wishes us to believe, masking our failures and sins with "freedom" and swimming in the false perception of love and meaning- this is the condition of our world.

They ask us who we are to "define" love, when the true question is, who are we to defy the One named Love, skewing His character and warping His creation.

The media, with their strings, dance their marionettes to the song of money, self-defeating lust and flesh-eating policies. "Society blinds us and defines us,' they say. This is a clue to their scheme- they silently declare their agenda, spilling out their secret motivations to pollute the minds of individuals through modern mechanisms. The internet and television hold the blackened keys to mesmerizing the minds of the currently innocent, telling them these Liar-spun lies of misplaced worth. Well, our response will always remain: We WILL not be consumed by your society.

They have mindlessly abandoned the Father, and they cling to the fathers they've created to fulfill their lack of love and sense of meaningless existence. If only they knew existence holds more and the truth is before their eyes... Instead they reign in their misery, wishing for the world to submit to their throne of pain and evil. If only their eyes knew Love and their hearts would not eat up their mind with deceit.

"Lost" is the name of their land, and they hold their country with an iron fist, containing their members in a tyrannical dungeon of sin. "Alone in our dark world we will not remain," they yell in shame. "We drag others into our pit of hell and devour the vulnerable in their weaknesses. Join us!" they selfishly exclaim.

The pathway is wide and destructive, but it can be avoided by way of the Savior. Grab hold of this Savior, confused members of society, and eat not of the poison fruit which leads to eternal death. A moment of temporal pleasure or a lifetime of pure and undefiled joy? The choice is yours, but the clocks drain quickly.

Stretching-->Obedience-->Rest

I haven't blogged in a while.. which is sad, but it's ok.
I've started a few blog posts and haven't finished them, but some of them are the type that accumulate with information over time (surprises ahead!)

It has been a crazy semester so far. And by crazy I mean insane. And by insane I mean psychopathic. And all of that is an understatement.
Just kidding, I bet other people in the world are going through more crazy, insane and psychopathic things, but everything always seems worse and weirder when it's you.

First of all, September is over! *faded cheering in the background*
I don't know why it is, but September never fails to be the worst month ever. Always and forever. It's like the month of September knows that when it comes around, it's time to bring out the worst emotions in Daisy possible. Thankfully, God sped up September a little bit this semester, so it didn't last as long as last year. That was a blessing.
However, despite my lack of appreciate for the month of September, God has taught me that I have SO much to be thankful for, whether I enjoy September or not. That is another post for another time (oh don't you worry.. it's coming). I find that September is my peak month for complaining, and I also find that this habit needs to change. Whether I like the month or not, God created it and I am still alive in the month, and He expects me to make the most of every day and be thankful.

God has been really stretching me lately- in ways I didn't see coming (of course) and never thought I'd experience at this age.
I'm learning that I am so THANKFUL for my friends here at college. Two of my best friends, Heather and Andrew, have definitely been large contributors of joy to my semester, and I do believe God has placed them in my life strategically at this time.
I'm learning that the way to overcome anger towards a person is often just to pray for them- it's nearly impossible to hold bitterness against someone when you're praying for them to the God of the universe. It sort of just... happens that way.
I'm learning that my classes are actually useful to my life and that there are professors who actually care about my well-being (which means the world).
I'm learning that rest is NECESSARY, and God grants it to those who obey Him and follow His will.
I'm learning that the way my day goes cannot be based on others moods (or else it constantly will be bad and roller-coaster like).
I'm learning that I'm not responsible for other people's attitudes or responses to my boundaries.
I'm learning that only God is constant and can sustain me.
I'm learning that God takes care of us, whether we think He will or not.
I'm learning that trusting God wholeheartedly with my entire life is one of the hardest things in the Christian life EVER.
Basically, in a nutshell, I'm learning that growing up is hard.

The other day I read a passage in Joshua 1 that really encouraged me....
Joshua 1:10-18
¹⁰ Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, ¹¹ “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’”
¹² And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke, saying, ¹³ “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.’ ¹⁴ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them, ¹⁵ until the Lord has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
¹⁶ So they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. ¹⁷ Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses. ¹⁸ Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.”
  
The main thing that God is teaching me right now is that 
If we are obedient to God and follow His will, then He will give us REST. (vs 13-15). Joshua OBEYS and leads others to obey as well. (vs 16).