End of the Semester

I am done with my first semester! Praise the LORD! He is the one who has seen me through and given me the knowledge and strength! God is so good! Oh yeah! It is snowing!

NEW ROOMIE!

New roomate time!

Isn't God Good?

So I have not written in a while!!! I think the last time I really wrote anything was on my Senior Trip. So, what has been going down since then? A LOT!!! For one, I graduated from high school!!! After four long (yet very short) years, I made it! A few days after I graduated I headed to the mountains. I worked at theme park with a campus ministry from the college I am now attending. On Project I was trained to share the Gospel and to study God's Word. There were also weekly theme meetings like "Knowing God" and "Reaching the Nations." I learned sooo much, mainly about myself. Man, am I sinful!!! I saw that I had did not desire God wholeheartedly.  I quietly rebelled against changing my desire the whole summer, or maybe it just wasn't the right time. I know I did not take full advantage of all of the opportunities to grow in a more intimate relationship with Him. But, I would not be who I am if I had not gone. This summer was just a stepping stone to where God has me now!!! I must also say it was the most fun yet the hardest summer of my life. With every challenge also came a  sweet time of fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. We worked hard and we played hard!

I was in the mountains for ten weeks and came back home for two weeks before I left again for my first semester as a college student! Maybe I will go into more detail about this semester later.

Here I am now, almost finished with my first semester (one math test away!!!). College has been my most challenging life experience so far. I didn't know how easy I had it until those college classes started. I don't think it is the difficulty school work so much as it is the diligence that has to be put into preparing for tests, quizzes, speeches, and papers. Mamma's no longer around to ask, "Tess, have you got that homework finished?" Daddy's no longer around to wake me up to go to school. No one is around to see if you have had your daily serving of fruits and vegetables (well I never had that to begin with, but you know what I mean). 

In my case, I have wonderful influences all around me. I want to follow God like they follow Him. I also want to follow God because He has given me the desire to follow Him, not because everyone else is. I guess my problem is a good one to be having at a public school. While some kids go wild at college, I have grown in a more intimate relationship with my Lord and Savior!!! Praise His name!!!

It is...SNOWING!!! Happy December!!!

It is...SNOWING!!! Happy December!!!

The Most Beautiful Tree at School!

Blogs must decrease Facebook must increase

It is interesting how many people don't check their blogs anymore. It makes me wonder if anyone ever reads my blog. There's nothing much to read so I don't blame you if you didn't. If you didn't come then you would have to worry about my controversial picture below.
Yesterday I got hitched to Mr. Left Post. I have pictures!!! I heard someone from the 1770s call Dr. Pepper the nectar of the gods. Quite amusing. Next on my agenda, check my email and swim!

I payed my respects to

I payed my respects to Martha Washington. I yelled huzzah, hissed, and condemned a man to death. A someone called my shirt snazzy.

18 days till graduation and

18 days till graduation and I'm on my one and only Senior Trip! I just ate to much cookie dough! I got to hear Patrick Henry talk.

Encouragement

My Pastor emailed this to me and others:

OTHERS MAY: YOU CANNOT-by G. D. Watson (1845-1924).

---

If God has called you to be really like Jesus, He will draw you into a life
of crucifixion and humility, and put upon you such demands of obedience,
that you will not be able to follow other people, or measure yourself by
other Christians, and in many ways He will seem to let other people do
things which He will not let you do.

Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious and useful, may
push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans,
but you cannot do it, and if you attempt it, you will meet with such
failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

Others may boast of themselves, of their work, of their successes, of
their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such
thing, and if you begin it, He will lead you into some deep mortification
that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, or may have a legacy
left to them, but God may well keep you poor, because He wants
you to have something far better than gold, namely, a helpless dependence
upon Him, that He may have the privilege of supplying your needs day by
day out of an unseen treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward, and keep you hidden
in obscurity, because He wants to produce some choice fragrant fruit for
His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade. He may let
others be great, but keep you small. He may let others do a work for Him
and get the credit for it, but He will have you work and toil on without
knowing how much you are doing; and then to make your work still more
precious He may let others get credit for the work which you have done,
and thus make YOUR REWARD FAR GREATER WHEN JESUS COMES.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you, with a jealous love, and
will rebuke you for little words and feelings or for wasting your time,
which other Christians never feel distressed over. So make up your mind
that God is an Infinitely Sovereign Being, and has a right to do as He
pleases with His own. He may not explain to you a thousand things which
puzzle your reason in His dealings with you, but if you absolutely sell
yourself to be His love slave, He will wrap you up in Jealous Love, and
bestow upon you many blessings.

College Life

I have yet to graduate so I really know little about college life. All I know are stories and experiences I hear from friends. This weekend a friend invited me to visit with her at college over the holiday weekend. College is a world of its own. Many people go crazy when they go to college. I guess how you react to all the ungody influences depends on your personality type and the people you choose as your closest friend. There is a strong group of Christians on the campus that really just want to reach out to the other students, build relationships, share with them the hope of Christ, and disciple them. It is truly amazing. Although they all have to face and learn aweful things in their classes, they are accountable to each other. They do Bible studies together, minister together, do fun things together, learn together, and grow together. They don't look at college life as freedom from their families but a time of accountablilty to God. The college campus to them is their mission field.