I love that my friends are in love! Anna showed me the wedding website for Levi and her this morning, and I got so excited I just want to post it somewhere. They're relationship has been one I admire, respect, and love...I am so happy they are getting married! Thank you God for this relationship that is so blessed and honoring to You, it's awesome to see people I love be in relationships that are glorifying to You and edifying to each other and those around them.
Check out the website! Beautiful pictures :)
http://levilovesanna.weddingjojo.com/
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
all-sufficient
It has been a painfully long time since I have last blogged, or so it seems. Nope, it really just has been a long time. Let's just say this semester I have been learning quite a lot, and managing my time has not been my strongpoint...therefore blogging has not been toward the top of my to do list.
It is crazy to think of where I was last year... that just one floor below where I am an RA now, I was a freshmen resident experiencing the collegiate life for the first time as well. I did not even want to be an RA until after Christmas haha. These past few months are too much to catch up on now. My once vacant section of hallway is now full of beautiful, unique, and wonderful girls, each whom I love. It's been such a joy to get to know them and be a part of their lives. A few weeks ago I spent hours baking a bazillion pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for them. Haha, first thing like that I have done for them (no wonder, cause it takes so long!) I feel like I have 23 children. Yikes, that is a lot to bake for... :) But it was worth it, and I felt like I finally followed through and accomplished something that has been on my to do list for a while.
Kathryn will be coming back from Zambia in 19 days, and these past couple weeks in particular I have missed her so much. Perhaps it was a combination of stress and exhaustion, and that I have not had much time to be in touch. Friday of Fall break was such a God-send though...we got to Skype for 2 hours!! and the internet didn't cut out once, thank you Lord! It is crazy how much I miss that girl. Picking her up from the airport at Thanksgiving will be such a joyous occasion. When we talked she was just coming off of the hardest night shift in the hospital yet, and hearing her stories were heart-wrenching and sobering. Our 2 hours consisted of much catching up, laughing, and crying together. Her fresh perspective reminded me of how desensitized I have become to the excess in our American culture since being back from Africa myself. That is a frustrating realization, yet quite beneficial at the same time. I think this time hearing it emphasized the focus factor, and how not on track my mind is right now. I was once again reminded of "the North country," that title that my brother gave the passage in Hebrews about fixing your heart and mind on the Kingdom to come. What is my perspective? My decisions, thoughts, actions...what is their root motivation?
Tonight I read yet again another email of hers about an experience with a patient's death and her mourning family. Before heading up to my room, I took something to Emily's room. She talked with me about her struggle with deciding what to do for her cross cultural nursing experience. She mentioned the options and how she currently trying to figure out where God is leading. This caused me to reminisce a lot about how God led me to Kenya two years ago, and I came upstairs and pulled out my Kenya journal. Some things stood out in particular, and as usual I am struck with how incredibly faithful God has been and is...the pages of that diary are filled with the words of a girl being entirely dependent on the Lord for absolutely everything, her struggles, conflicts, discouragement, direction, and experiences in circumstances quite beyond her comfort zone. God's presence and provision is written all over that black leather book.
I was looking for some verses for Emily, yet came across ones that God used to speak to me as well right now.
"For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have" (2 Corinthians 8:12).
"Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you" (2 Corinthians 13:4).
After those verses I had written:
Submit myself to God's authority, resisting the devil and his schemes and footholds. Submit yourself to God and trust Him. Do not fall in the trap of trusting in self. The Lord is all-sufficient, to all.
I cannot quite put into words how perfect the timing of these verses are right now. My struggles lately have been in feeling insufficient, lacking, and weak, and also in seeing how Satan is working to gain footholds I had not previously been noticed.
A few pages later...
Isaiah 45. The Lord makes a beautiful promise to His chosen, His anointed.
Promises...
It is crazy to think of where I was last year... that just one floor below where I am an RA now, I was a freshmen resident experiencing the collegiate life for the first time as well. I did not even want to be an RA until after Christmas haha. These past few months are too much to catch up on now. My once vacant section of hallway is now full of beautiful, unique, and wonderful girls, each whom I love. It's been such a joy to get to know them and be a part of their lives. A few weeks ago I spent hours baking a bazillion pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for them. Haha, first thing like that I have done for them (no wonder, cause it takes so long!) I feel like I have 23 children. Yikes, that is a lot to bake for... :) But it was worth it, and I felt like I finally followed through and accomplished something that has been on my to do list for a while.
Kathryn will be coming back from Zambia in 19 days, and these past couple weeks in particular I have missed her so much. Perhaps it was a combination of stress and exhaustion, and that I have not had much time to be in touch. Friday of Fall break was such a God-send though...we got to Skype for 2 hours!! and the internet didn't cut out once, thank you Lord! It is crazy how much I miss that girl. Picking her up from the airport at Thanksgiving will be such a joyous occasion. When we talked she was just coming off of the hardest night shift in the hospital yet, and hearing her stories were heart-wrenching and sobering. Our 2 hours consisted of much catching up, laughing, and crying together. Her fresh perspective reminded me of how desensitized I have become to the excess in our American culture since being back from Africa myself. That is a frustrating realization, yet quite beneficial at the same time. I think this time hearing it emphasized the focus factor, and how not on track my mind is right now. I was once again reminded of "the North country," that title that my brother gave the passage in Hebrews about fixing your heart and mind on the Kingdom to come. What is my perspective? My decisions, thoughts, actions...what is their root motivation?
Tonight I read yet again another email of hers about an experience with a patient's death and her mourning family. Before heading up to my room, I took something to Emily's room. She talked with me about her struggle with deciding what to do for her cross cultural nursing experience. She mentioned the options and how she currently trying to figure out where God is leading. This caused me to reminisce a lot about how God led me to Kenya two years ago, and I came upstairs and pulled out my Kenya journal. Some things stood out in particular, and as usual I am struck with how incredibly faithful God has been and is...the pages of that diary are filled with the words of a girl being entirely dependent on the Lord for absolutely everything, her struggles, conflicts, discouragement, direction, and experiences in circumstances quite beyond her comfort zone. God's presence and provision is written all over that black leather book.
I was looking for some verses for Emily, yet came across ones that God used to speak to me as well right now.
"For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have" (2 Corinthians 8:12).
"Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you" (2 Corinthians 13:4).
After those verses I had written:
Submit myself to God's authority, resisting the devil and his schemes and footholds. Submit yourself to God and trust Him. Do not fall in the trap of trusting in self. The Lord is all-sufficient, to all.
I cannot quite put into words how perfect the timing of these verses are right now. My struggles lately have been in feeling insufficient, lacking, and weak, and also in seeing how Satan is working to gain footholds I had not previously been noticed.
A few pages later...
Isaiah 45. The Lord makes a beautiful promise to His chosen, His anointed.
Promises...
- "to open doors before them"
- "to go before you to remove the obstacles of impossibility"
- "to give you treasures of darkness and reveal to you the riches stored in secret places
...All so that you may know that HE is the Lord! "The God of Israel, who summons you by name."
It's crazy that those verses that God highlighted for me then, happen to be the passage he showed me as our theme for this year.
Thank you Lord, for these reminders tonight. Should I ever doubt God's perfect timing?
Thursday, August 18, 2011
let the training commence!
My mom left me this verse on a note:
Colossians 1:9-12
"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and as King God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and strength (patience) and joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of light."
Sunday, August 14, 2011
rainy night reminiscing
It has officially set in that I am going back to school in two days. Yikes! This weekend my little nephews (the CUTEST kids in the entire world, I think) stayed at our house for their first time away from Mom and Dad overnight. It was a wonderful time, and every moment with them is a treasured memory, especially because we don't get a ton of time together. Jason and Sherry left to venture home on this rainy night, and I held the umbrella for them as they carried the little babies with their fuzzy blankets and stuffed animals out to the car. I must admit, I'm such a sap, and I teared up a bit watching their sleepy little faces fade away as the car lights diminished.
Yes, I've been feeling rather emotional lately... particularly because I've been finally realizing Kathryn will not be around this semester. And of course as a Kinkel girl (or maybe just a girl haha) I am over sentimentalizing and reminiscing about everything. I am super excited for Kathryn's Africa adventures, but I am definitely going to miss her. Being together this summer has been wonderful, and such a blessing from the Lord. Actually, our whole relationship is a gift from God.
She really is my best friend. I know this semester we will both be pushed in great ways, just in entirely different countries. It will be an adjustment to not be able to see her every day, or even every week...however I take comfort in knowing we have been apart longer before :) And more so in the fact that our loving, faithful, and powerful Savior has her in the palm of His hand. I can't wait to hear about their adventures together in Zambia...and to see how He unfolds the plans for my turn "at home". Our family loves adventures, and we always try to take the chance to travel and experience new things when the opportunities arise, but with that always comes the prior-to-leaving emotions and I dare say, fears. Maybe this sounds ridiculous. Oh well, this is my blog. I'm just being honest.
Growing up with this lovely lady was quite a joy (even though I'm sure at that time I wouldn't use that word to describe it haha...and we aren't done growing up I think we'd both say ;) Being this close now is by the grace of God -- a relationship I treasure dearly. There is not anyone who understands me quite as well as she does, and one of the few people I never get tired of being with. Oh well, that's all I have for tonight. Time to go get some stuff done :)
"Don't be such a ninny. I could never love anyone more than I love my sisters." ~ Little Women
Yes, I've been feeling rather emotional lately... particularly because I've been finally realizing Kathryn will not be around this semester. And of course as a Kinkel girl (or maybe just a girl haha) I am over sentimentalizing and reminiscing about everything. I am super excited for Kathryn's Africa adventures, but I am definitely going to miss her. Being together this summer has been wonderful, and such a blessing from the Lord. Actually, our whole relationship is a gift from God.
 |
| us then. |
Growing up with this lovely lady was quite a joy (even though I'm sure at that time I wouldn't use that word to describe it haha...and we aren't done growing up I think we'd both say ;) Being this close now is by the grace of God -- a relationship I treasure dearly. There is not anyone who understands me quite as well as she does, and one of the few people I never get tired of being with. Oh well, that's all I have for tonight. Time to go get some stuff done :)
 |
| and now. |
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Preparations!
Preparations for E3W unit decor are well underway! I have piles of random craft projects lying all around the house, and I still have to go through everything I brought back from school at the end of May term.
Yesterday Stephen, Kathryn, and I went out and found some maps at The Backpackers Shop, and this morning I tea stained them. Even more special, I found a rather large package of Kenyan black tea that I brought back a couple years ago from Kericho (Kenya's "tea country"). I figured it probably didn't taste that fresh anymore (even though the expiration date says December 2011), but it was perfect for staining. I'd say that's rather meaningful to me, or at least it makes it a little more special than the ordinary.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
small morning find
After a Slow Train latte this morning and time in the Word with some of my favorite ladies (Kim, Anna, and Kathryn), we perused our favorite shop in Oberlin -- Bead Paradise. Not gonna lie, it's pretty great. We could spend hours in there finding beautiful and exotic beads, silks, and knick knacks for any crafting project. I found a section of incense sticks, and among the typical collection, discovered these small boxes!
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| "Fantasia" |
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Surf's Up
Ha, actually the surf wasn't necessarily up...if by saying that phrase it means the conditions are good. The waves were not the best, but regardless Kathryn and I ventured into the ocean during our Florida vacation to check a life goal off our bucket lists!
I no longer am as much of a surfer poser, haha... but I need to go more for it to really count (I must! i think it's addicting :) I absolutely loved it. I only got up a couple times, but still, we had a ton of fun, and I think with chill sports that's all that matters. Aunt Renee has a friend with two boys who have been surfing for a while, and so she asked them if they would teach us how (we later found out they were told they had to teach us...heh heh). Anyways, they were 14 and 16, but they seemed to know what they were doing -- and Kathryn and I felt much more at ease learning from some young'uns rather than guys our own age, haha ;)
I no longer am as much of a surfer poser, haha... but I need to go more for it to really count (I must! i think it's addicting :) I absolutely loved it. I only got up a couple times, but still, we had a ton of fun, and I think with chill sports that's all that matters. Aunt Renee has a friend with two boys who have been surfing for a while, and so she asked them if they would teach us how (we later found out they were told they had to teach us...heh heh). Anyways, they were 14 and 16, but they seemed to know what they were doing -- and Kathryn and I felt much more at ease learning from some young'uns rather than guys our own age, haha ;)
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| us and our "surfer buddies"...the one tried to tell me people often ask him if he's Taylor Lautner...I ignored him and just tried to catch another wave ;) |
Before surfing we also all went snorkeling! In the shallower water we didn't see much, but as soon as we pushed further out we spotted a 2-3 ft sting ray! It was so cool! I didn't know what to do when I saw I was hovering right over it...Scared, yes, but not enough move away from it. Haha, good thing it swam the other direction! Gosh I LOVE water exploration. :) I've added getting my scuba diving certification to my bucket list. I've never spent so much time in the ocean, and it was awesome! When opportunity for a cool exploration or adventure comes up, I must admit I often don't feel like taking it. When those boys came to take us surfing I felt like sunbathing and reading my book. The ocean is one of the things I love the most, but am also the most afraid of. The conditions weren't that good, and I figured since it wasn't meeting my expectations of a perfect setting it wouldn't be fun. How lame! In getting up and conquering that momental lethargy I discovered something I would love to pursue! In life you often have to push yourself and do what you are most afraid of in order to learn and make the most of an adventure.
Why do I live in the midwest? haha, I've definitely got to do this more. Surfing on the Great Lakes? It's possible :)
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| Kathryn's in there somewhere :) |
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