So, the mother-daughter girls' weekend has been a smashing success. My mom goes home tomorrow (today) and Shannon's mom goes home on Tuesday - we've all had tons of fun. On Friday Mom went to a couple classes with me, then when Shannon's mom arrived we went out for a quick dinner at Salad Works and then saw Sahanghee's improv show (Without a Net), which was awesome. Quite entertaining. Then yesterday (Saturday) we got up early and hopped on a train to NYC. We walked around, peeked in a few stores, then had lunch at Cafe Edison - which has now become a tradition. I ate there with Binu on the choir trip, with my mom over spring break, with my mom and Shannon during our NYC trip in the fall. It's economical and a cultural experience! After that we were off to the theatre to see Mamma Mia, which was AWESOME! Oh my goodness, I loved it. You see, I can think of very few things I like watching people do on stage more than I like watching them absolutely have the time of their lives, and that's what this show was all about. It was fun, it was clean, it was upbeat... made you wanna sing and dance along! After that we did some shopping - did most of it in H & M, though I also got a bathing suit from the humongous Old Navy. And of course, Shannon and I bought cute little scarves from a guy on the street. Then we were off to a fancy dinner at... Tavern on the Green. It was beautiful and delicious and really quite a treat. After that we took a cab back to Penn Station, walked around a little but everything was closed, so that was the end of our trip. This morning we all got up and went to Catholic mass, then had brunch at Commons (hehe - they wanted to!), then we did some walking around in the city, including a visit to the Liberty Bell. After that Mom and I went to my church, then we met Shannon and her mom for Chinese at Beijing. Shannon had wind ensemble after that, so Mom and I came back and Shannon's mom went with her. After that we met at Ben and Jerry's, then we introduced my mom to Gilmore Girls! And now it's sleepy time... Yup. Sleepy time. And read-German-story time. Love and peace to all!! | |
My mommy is here! She and I and Shannon and her mom are having a mother-daughter weekend - totally fun. Yay! Other piece of news: I declared a major today! I am officially a German major now. :) Yippee! Alright folks, I'm out, but I love ya to pieces. | |
Well, I got word that Sarah Keenan says I should update this thing, so, here I am. What's new these days? Well... Jesus Week rocks! It started last Wednesday (with the Ginny Owens concert) and ends tomorrow/today (it's AM now, I know) with Campus Wide Worship. Tonight was the Coffeehouse, which totally rocked. Some totally amazing performances, such a blessing... wow! FM sang, and we sang my solo again - not really sure why, but I was honored to get to sing it. Awesome night. Also, on Saturday we had an evangelism training session which was amazing, lots of people came and we had a really great talk about all aspects of evangelism. It was encouraging and inspiring, and got me thinking about all kinds of things for the rest of the semester and the summer too. Sweet. Speaking of the summer... that's been possibly the number one thing on my mind lately. I have a lot of goals for the summer, and I really really hope I accomplish them. I'm excited about working at the museum (teaching science camp, for those who don't know). I'm excited to spend time with people I haven't spent as much time with and really rekindle some relationships. I'm excited to hang with my family. And... I'm excited about serving my church this summer. I confess, I'm nervous about it. I don't know what's coming, and I don't know what it will be like. It feels different now that I've been here, and I don't know what that will be like for me this summer. However it goes, though, I know God will use it to His glory, and that's the goal I have to keep my heart set on. I just wanna love people. But it gets so hard for me when they don't return it. It's a weakness of mine, I know, and I want to learn to get past it. I want to learn to rejoice when I love someone and they don't notice. Prayer request! Another prayer request would be my reading/studying time in God's Word. I find it harder and harder these days to keep myself motivated, and it doesn't make sense for me to feel that way. I should be dying to read more. I should have a hunger and a thirst for it. So, needless to say, that's what I want to have. On a totally different subject - I think I've settled on a major, at least for right now. I think I'm gonna be a German major. I'm meeting with a woman in the German department on Thursday to talk about it. I'm very excited. My current German prof (whom I still love to death, btw) is excited too! Fun times! Well everybody, I should really either do work now or go to bed. I love you folks to pieces, I hope life is treating you well, and if it isn't, I hope you're still rejoicing because of God's love for you. Till next time! | |||
Last night was amazing. The Ginny Owens concert... not only is she phenomenal (and I got to meet her and sing Near to Your Warmth to her with FM), but she sang this song that basically told me my life's story and it encouraged and inspired me so much! Tears were just streaming down my face - it was so awesome... The song is called "Call Me Beautiful." (The words are in the post below this.) Before she sang she told this whole story/testimony about how she wrote this song. She talked about how as a kid, when she realized that her life was forming a story, she decided early on that she wanted to have "heroes" to make the story more exciting. As she got older, she kept having to find new heroes, and it became exhausting. These "heroes" let her down, they disappointed her, and she had to work really hard to please them. At some point - I think it was in college, actually - she realized that God was the only One who could be her hero. God wanted to be her hero - He loved her more than anyone else would ever love her, He never let her down, He never disappointed her. She had to let God be her Hero. And it's hard, because those other "heroes" are tangible. But through faith, she had to let God be her Hero, and in doing that she discovered that the "story" was better than she could dream after all. I think of Ephesians 3:21 - God can do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine. By letting go of our "heroes" and accepting our one true Hero, we are set free. It hit me that I could really be free from my "heroes." I could be free of the burdens of trying to please them, trying to cope when they disappoint me, trying to hold on to them when they're running in the oppostite direction. I could be free from the burden of trying to make my life into a picture-perfect story with a "hero" who turned my life around and made me who I am, complete with all the picture-perfect moments, the sentimentality... I don't have to do that because God IS my Hero, I am made perfect in Him, and His plan for my life is far better than anything I could dream of and try to create on my own. When I met Ginny Owens after the concert I thanked her for that song and told her how much it meant to me. I told her that the hardest thing for me about coming to college was letting go of those "heroes," and going home seeing that they weren't the same and they didn't really have time for me anymore. She agreed and she told me it's an everyday battle. It's not something we can conquer overnight. She thinks it's a struggle we face everyday, keeping God as our Hero and not looking for or holding onto someone else. But, praise God - He helps us, guides us, and strengthens us in this. He'll seek us out to love us and show us how badly He wants to be our Hero - and how great a Hero He is. And because of the reconciliation we have in Christ, He looks at us and calls us beautiful. We are beautiful to Him - His precious children. Wow... Love and peace to all. | |||
I’ve been waiting, for a hero who’s brave and strong – Someone to love me, someone to tell me I belong, So I pretend I’m satisfied, As I stand watching from the sidelines, Till You pull me in to the light and say,
And You call me beautiful, say You’ve loved me all along, And You’ve always held the keys to unlock my soul, Oh You call me beautiful.
There’s a smile on my face, and a brand new light in my eyes, It’s a new day, and I’ve never felt so alive – I feel as if I could conquer anything, Oh that’s what Your love has done for me. And now all I want to be is everything You say I can be –
Oh You call me beautiful, say You’ve loved me all along, And You’ve always held the keys to unlock my soul, But I didn’t know – Now I can finally start to live, Take those chances I have missed, Things will be so different, Now that I know You call me beautiful.
The story is better than I could dream after all, Now this is reality; To know You and to hear You call me beautiful, Call me beautiful… "Call Me Beautiful" - Ginny Owens |
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
19 eh? What a random age. It doesn't really feel like a birthday. Maybe that's because I'm just too busy though... My family is the coolest. They called me this morning and sang to me, and my mom sent me flowers today - they're gorgeous - and I miss 'em! They're coming a week from tomorrow - yay! I also got a present from my awesome roomie today. And we found out we're living in Sansom West next year - room 716! We officially have a kitchen for next year! I got lots of fun emails and e-cards today too - from Scott, Amy Thomas (who also called me around 1 am to wish me a happy b-day), Sarah Keenan, Jen Heim, my grandparents, and Jean called me earlier today. And Facebook messages - lots of Facebook messages! I have such awesome friends. Alright, gotta clean my room now. An a capella group from Duke is coming to sing with us tonight - yay! Gigs are fun... much much love to everyone. |
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen