busy days and a model mother

This past week has been pretty busy at our house. We've all had to be places one day or another, and it's been my job a few hours most of them to try to keep order in the house.... I have had a good chance to see my housekeeping shortcomings! If the boys are kept in line, the house is tidy but not like Mom would have kept it. Maybe there's plenty of laundry left in the laundry room, or only some of the dishes are done. Or, if the house is clean and kept up, then I find out the boys have been up to something they shouldn't have been up to! Mom, you have a big job! I hope I get better at this as the summer goes on. I'm blessed with a wonderful mother who manages to keep the house clean, the laundry done, the boys in line, and get everyone where they need to be, and she does it while making me feel very happy to be here :-). She's still my best friend, and we talk and laugh constantly. I love being in the kitchen with her, cooking and talking and listening to music. The boys are fun to be around (mostly, haha, they are twelve and sixteen!) and a change from living in a building full of girls. It's nice to be with lots of girls, but after growing up with these boys, I'm glad to have them back for a while. They're funnier and less dramatic than a dorm hall ;-) and they have sooo much energy!
Anyway, I've happily still managed to ride Charise again, have fun cooking in the kitchen while Mom is gone and testing my improvising skills (fun!), and finish a book. I read Gene Stratton-Porter's The Keeper of the Bees, which was wonderful :) I love anything by her. I love old-fashioned books so much! They're full of simple, good lives that are very refreshing to me to read.
Tomorrow I work until two, and then it's time to work on dinner and birthday plans, etc. I think it will be a fun day :) I will try tomorrow to work on being a domestic goddess... but you know, I always like the barn too much to truly be a domestic goddess, so maybe I'll just try for being helpful :-)

First Day

Tuesday was my first day of actually working at Aero. I like the job! It's pretty easy, but not boring. I like helping customers. :) I don't work too many hours, but hopefully I'll get more as the store gets busier- people are starting to buy clothes now for vacations, and celebrating school being out by shopping ;)
My friend Angie and I have made a weekly habit of having her come over every Wednesday. We watch a movie and usually fall asleep in the middle of it ;) and she brings her lovely Taylor guitar over! Yesterday she and I watched a few episodes of the BBC Robin Hood series, which we love :) it just came out on DVD, so she rented it last week and brought it over yesterday.

And finally, I rode my pony :) It feels so good to be in the saddle again! Okay, maybe my legs are sore ;) but that's a price I'm willing to pay. Six years of work with my little Arabian mare have really payed off, and she's such fun to ride. We just walked, trotted, and cantered in the pasture; once she and I are both fit again, I'll set up jumps- maybe build one or two with some old boards- and we'll have fun with those. Charise and I both love jumping! For now, though, just riding is wonderful. Making friends with my Rebel Man is going well, too- instead of trotting up and biting me, he now waits by the fence and says hello to me when I come out by standing in front of me, and sometimes sniffing my face. It's nice to be friends and not have to be so careful around him now! I'm glad to have such a big, cute gelding, even if he does need some work. I am so blessed!

Chocolate Souffle

Today felt like a baking day, but not just an ordinary baking day... I wanted to make something more involved than cookies or cornbread. But I also wanted to make something lowfat (coming home from college is really where the freshman 15 threaten to attack!), which I didn't think would end up being something chocolate. But then I found, on another blog, a recipe for lowfat chocolate souffles! I thought souffles sounded fun, so I made them. They just got out... and oh, they're so good! It's a wonderful recipe that doesn't taste at all low far or low calorie, but it is :) Mmm! They were also really simple, and took me just over a half an hour to get into the oven. Here's the recipe:

5 t. sugar for ramekins (optional)
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
2 T. flour
1/2 c. lowfat milk
4 egg whites
2 egg yolks
1/8 t. cream of tartar
3 T + 1 t. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla

(1) Move oven rack to lower third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Spray ramekins (1-cup size: 8 ramekins) with cooking spray and sugar cups, like flouring a pan.

(2) Sift powdered sugar, cocoa, and flour into top of a double boiler (two pans of the same size, stacked, with water in the bottom one works wel) and stir in milk and 1/2 cup water. Whisk until smooth. Cook over gently simmering water, whisking continuously, for about 10 minutes or until it thickens. Remove from heat.

(3) Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar on medium speed until medium peaks form. Gradually sprinkle sugar in and beat on high speed until stiff but not dry.

(4) Whisk the egg yolks and vanilla into chocolate mixture. Fold about a quarter of the egg whites in, to lighten, then fold in the rest.

(5) Divide evenly among the cups, leaving 1/4 inch under rims. Put ramekins on a baking sheet and bake 15-17 minutes, until risen (well) above rims. [You can add 1/3 cup chocolate chips to the batter along with the egg whites, without adding too much to these! Mmm!]

New Job!

I got a job today! I had a group interview at Aeropostale, at the mall. We had the interview, which was pretty short, and the manager told us that she would call us by Monday about the job. I went back into the store (we had the interview in the food court) to look at clothes, since I have to wear their brand or clothes like them, and the manager called me over and offered me the job right there! It was such a God-thing, since I've been trying for three weeks to get a job and had two other interviews and this one went so well. I think it will be a pretty fun job, too- just helping people buy clothes and keeping the clothes in order. I have start next week with training on Monday. Thank you, Lord!
Here are two of the shirts I got for work:

Home For The Summer :)

(watching one of Daniel's basball games ;) )
I got home on Wednesday night around eight o'clock. It was so nice to be home and to see Grandma Rosie again too. Since then we've been in the kitchen, out to tea, shopping, and out to see the horses. It's a wonderful feeling to be home for three months with no homework ;)
So far, my plans for the summer include reading books, spending time in the kitchen, getting a job, going to Israel, and talking to friends, both here and in Michigan. I'll miss them but I'm excited to see the people I've been away from for three months. :)
Yesterday, we had mother's day lunch (fish, rice, asparagus, pineapple, cherries, and challah, mmm!) and then we had a little birthday party for Grandma. We made a little brownie-cake (just bakes the brownies in a springform pan!) and drizzled caramel over the top, then sprinkled crushed peanuts on top. It was good! It's nice to have her here.
Today, it's supposed to get up to eighty, and I'm going to do a little baking before I go out and read in the sunshine!

The Final Weekend

This is the last weekend of my freshman year at Hillsdale! It's finals week, and it seems like there are more study break opportunities than ever... not good for me, because I still have all five finals coming up! Most of my friends have taken one or two already. Oh well, we'll all be studying crazily together this evening. Thursday night I went through older chapters of Wheelock to test my memory, and I was amazed at how good it was for practicing vocabulary! So that's one final looking a little less scary ;)
Last night some of our guy friends brought pizza over to our room, which was really nice and really fun. Then today we're going to "Seize the Cheese" (haha, don't ask why that's what they chose) Which is a picnic and then a race down a hill after a big wheel of cheese. =) Should be pretty hilarious! Then it's back to Wheelock, West, Hamilton, Jefferson...
God bless your weekends :=)

Almost Over

I'm so excited that this semester is almost over! I have one more of each of my classes, then five days until my first final, and I get home May ninth!
This weekend was a sort of end-of-semester celebration (I'm sure next weekend will be too whenever we're not cramming). On Friday we went out for dinner instead of going to SAGA, our cafeteria, which is always so nice. Then we had a few friends in and out of our room, playing guitar and talking, until swing club, which was open dance this time. It was really fun, especially since we spent most of the time teaching one of our friends to dance. At first he said he hated dancing, but by the end of the night when he'd done really well and learned everything we had time to teach him about East Coast swing, he decided to come back next semester every week.
Yesterday was a busy day. After brunch, we went to see As You Like It put on by some students in our arboretum. It was very well acted, and a lot of fun. After that was what our school called "Centralhallapalooza", which was a bunch of student bands playing good live music, some inflatables, and really good ice cream. That was also a lot of fun. Then, to top it all off, Clara and I came back and wrote papers. ;) They were short, just three pages, so that was nice to get them done. Today is just a homework day, finishing up work that's due by Tuesday.
I'm going to miss my friends~ we had a lot of fun this weekend, as we always do~ but I can't wait to be at home, in the kitchen drinking iced tea, or out in the barn playing with the ponies, or playing games with the boys. I know God will get me through these last few days of finishing papers before the end of the semester, and through finals week, and then I'll be back in Washington! :-)

Another Day In The Life

Two weeks until the end of school! I am very excited to go home. It's such a weird feeling to be almost done with my freshman year of college. I don't feel old enough. Well, actually, now a freshman in college just doesn't sound very old to me, because high school sounds really young! It's been such a good year. I've learned even more than I thought I would, spiritually and intelectually. I'm so thankful I can be here.
This week was pretty normal; I did homework every night, with the occasional break to talk, then on Friday we went to the Coffee House again to hear our guys play again. They were really good, and this time we stayed to hear more good music. Clara and I also walked into town because it was so beautiful outside. Saturday I played soccer with Bryan, and was really encouraged by talking to him about how he's been putting God first and setting the example for his suitemates, our other good guy friends.
Today Natalie and I ran into our Tevya- dancing friend, who caught me up on the past season of 24 (that he watched from eleven one night until eight the next morning without stopping to sleep!) It seems to be a Monday thing.
Anyway, nothing much is happening around here, except that it's starting to buzz with the mixed feelings about going home for the summer.
One last thing~ some T.S. Eliot from "Journey of the Magi" that Dr. Smith sent us:

"All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we lead all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I have seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old Dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death."

This sounds rather depressing at first, but I think it's amazing. Doesn't it describe how we should feel when we've come into God's presence, when we've met him personally, and we come back to the world? Shouldn't we feel like going back, instead of feeling at home with the old idols of our world? I think Eliot captured both the feeling of the Magi who were changed by their encounter with Jesus, and the feeling we have when we encounter Christ. I wish I desired death to the world the same way the Magi who is speaking desires it~ I hope that I am brought to a deeper desire every day to live encountering Christ.

Being Sustained

I am so thankful right now. I have been feeling increasingly stressed as the semester gets closer to being over; first of all, I still can't think about leaving my roomie for good, never to live with her again... and second, I always feel like I ought to have worked harder. I know that straight A's are not a necessity and are hardly a possibility here (for me- I value time to breathe too much ;)) but I still feel like I'm never quite caught up. I've finally come to the conclusion that this is just a harder semester than last.
But today has been a good day, and I have been reminded that the Lord is sustaining and upholding me. :) It started out so sunny, no snow anymore ;) and classes went as normal. I got paid for the phone-a-thon right after class; that was really encouraging because I was paid more than I thought I would be! I came back and had time to take a very short nap before finishing a rough draft of an english research paper, then went to dinner with my RA who is amazing, then I read Ivan Illych. It was very satisfying to finish the story today- it's only 57 pages, but it's nice all the same! Clara was studying for Greek with some friends, which when they finished, turned into a mini party during which the boys revealed that they know how to dance like Tevya and sing like the Phantom. Oh dear. :P That was just a fun time to relax and realize that grades are not the only reason I'm here. :) I love the people! We have fun studying, maybe too much fun... and we help encourage each other. I'm so thankful that God has given them to me to sustain me, and I am only hoping I can help do the same for them :)

*Whew*

Wow, I never thought one philosophy paper could be so much trouble! But it's done- well, for now. In a week or two I'll get it back with MANY notes on it, what to fix, what to include in the final draft- thank goodness for teachers who do rough drafts! But this paper has been so hard for me! I am not a philosophy person! I'm also used to coming to a solid conclusion in my papers, which Dr. Stephens did not want us to do- just give the potential for a conclusion. yikes.
Here is what Clara and I thought of this asignment...

But now, since school closes today at noon, it's done and sent in! Yay! This just makes my weekend so much better :-)
I'm going to try to write something for Easter, but in case things get busy, Happy Eater :-)

A Tuesday Afternoon

Wow, I can't beleive it's been a month since I wrote last! I didn't think I'd been quite that lazy... ;)

I guess one reason I haven't written is that not much has happened here at school. But I did go home for spring break! I met my handsome and sweet new gelding, who I made friends with and also a mutual agreement not to kill each other... he is an off-the-track Thoroughbred and needs some manners. But he is really sweet and complacent most of the time! He and Charise eat nose-to-nose, and he's a big giant boy, up above my head. *grin*

(here he is!)

Spring break was fun! Nice and relaxing. I watched movies with my family, even some James Bond with the boys; had lunch with a friend; had a friend come and stay for a few days; rode both horses; went to church; and did very little homework ;) Which was not as big a deal even as I thought it would be. The only consequence was that I was up untl two doing latin my first night back- pretty normal.
Yesterday I registered for fall classes! I am taking Science and science lab, Old Testament Survey (with my friend Besty), Intro to Music Studies, Understanding Music, Guitar, and hopefully Renaissance British Literature (also with Besty!) Ren. Lit. is a list-only class now, which means only people on the professor's list can get in, but Dr. Smith can't get away from me. He put me on the list and told me to check back to make sure I got in :) He's so funny. I went to ask him to get me into the class yesterday, and he had several of his advisees visiting to get approval on their schedules, so he took mine and said, "Why don't I remember going over this with you?" hehe. I said, "Because we didn't... Dr. Burke is my advisor." And he laughed (that one absent-minded professor laugh) and said, "Now, why did I think you were my... oh.. maybe because you took English 101 and now you're taking 102 and next you'll be taking 302..." hehe. I just might make him my advisor next year; Dr. Burke happens to be Philosophy chair, which could get dangerous. Phil. is not my friend. That is a C class if I ever took one!
Only five weeks until home! I am so excited. I may work for Becky, who has an insurance office, as a part-time secretary. That way I can get time off when I need it, especially to help out at summer camp in the first week of July. That will get me ready for my fall RA job! Which I am also excited about. The more I think about it, the more perfect Olds sounds like for me to be an RA next year- it's a quirky old dorm but fun, and freshman will be fun to deal with. ;)
Lastly... we're reading Crime and Punishment in English... and I just have to put a few quotes up!

"He was, incidentally, quite an extraordinarily handsome young man, with beautiful dark eyes, dark brown hair, over medium height, slim, and well-built."

"Darling Polya, my name is Rodion. Please say a prayer for me, to, sometimes- 'and thy servant Rodion'- nothing more."
"I'll pray for you every day of my life," the little girl said warmly, and suddenly she smiled again, threw her arms around his neck and again hugged him affectionately.
Raskolnikov gave her his name and address and promised to come next day for certain. The little girl went away completely enraptured by him." [And Dr. Smith adds, "which is unusual for our hero..." heehee]

Well, I'd better go. Enjoy the rest of Crime and Punishment sometime for yourself- Dostoyevsky is so brilliant! If I could major in Crime and Punishment I would ;)

What is love?

It's been a while... things get busy here around midterm time. ;) Fortunately, I'm done with midterms until Monday, and then I will be done with them until April! So I thought I could finally take time to write something again. I was inspired the other day by a friend to look up verses about love, what love is and what it looks like. Here are some I found.

John 15:13: "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friends."

1 John 5:3: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."

Song of Solomon 8:6: "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death... many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man were to give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly scorned."

Romans 5:5: "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

1 John 3:16: "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for our brethren... my little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and truth."

Ephesians 5:2: "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us, an offering and a sweet smelling aroma."

Proverbs 10:12: "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins."

Psalm 31:23: "Oh, love the Lord, all you his saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord."

1 Corinthians 13:4: "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy, love does not parade itself, it is not puffed up, does not behave rudely; love does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in truth; love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, love never fails."

A different sort of Friday night

Last night, there was no swing club, but our Student Activities Board puts on a coffee house in our snack bar once a month with free coffee and live music, and a friend was playing last night, so we went to cheer him on. He and a friend of his played some songs the friend wrote, and they sounded really good. I love coffee and live accoustic guitar. :-) He was really excited that we came to see them play, so it was fun.
After that, we went to Galloway (one of the boys' dorms) so that we could learn to play guitar hero. Let's just say that last night does not bode well for my future as a guitar player ;) I made it through freebird after I think five tries... so we went and watched the Office instead, which was really fun. It was college-style: Geoff hooked his iPod up to Rick's computer, Sam brought pop-tarts, Dan gave Clara and I a fuzzy blanket he doesn't ever use, and six of us crowded into a tiny little dorm room to watch. It was great. I'd never seen it before, but I think I may have to keep watching. :-)
Today... I have to write a paper on the Northwest Ordinance, which I need to read first. So I'm going to settle down with some coffee, a notebook, and my American History reader, and get writing. Thank you, Lord, for coffee, for Clara and my girls, for snow, and for church to look forward to tomorrow! And for grace, that always keeps me thinking and singing.

I woke up today to two sweet valetines on my desk- one from Natalie and one from Mary Beth. Natalie wrote that she preffered mine and Amy and Clara's serenades to those of the Mu Alpha boys- and that is saying alot; Natalie is in love with the whole music fraternity. ;) And Mary Beth's said, "I want a valentine who cries when she laughs." She knows that I am forever lamenting that I cannot laugh without looking like a mess, tears streaks and mascara and all, whenever I laugh, and made me smile about it :) But the best was when I actually sat down at my desk to read and saw the sheet music I put up there a few days ago: "I Love You, Lord." It reminded me of the One who loves me more than anyone else in the whole world :) It was a sweet reminder, and I felt so blessed and loved as I walked through the foot-deep snow to class. Here's the song that came to mind, written by a band of friends from church, one they taught us for worship at summer camp.

Stolen My Heart

In my life, you've heard me say I love you
How can I show you it's true?
Hear my heart, it longs for more of you
I've fallen deeply in love with

You have stolen my heart
I'm captivated by you
And never will you and I part
I've fallen deeply in love with you

You and I together forever
Nothing can stand in the way
My love for you grows stronger with each new day
I've fallen deeply in love with

You have stolen my heart
I'm captivated by you
And never will you and I part
I've fallen deeply in love with you

~Dodging Failure

I love this song. It's always a challenge to me because it reminds me to mean what I say. One day at our church's college group, we talked about the word "love" and how deep its meaning really is. It's beautiful :-)
I love you, Lord.

Remaining In The Land

It is a very cold Monday evening here! But the sun is still shining, and I have Scottish breakfast tea, and that makes me happy :)
I was just thinking about about our pastor Rick Norr's message on Sunday; he talked about abiding in the land God has given us until He tells us to leave it. He was teaching on Genesis 26, when God tells Isaac to stay where he is even though there is a famine in the land, so that God can bless him through his circumstances and use him to bless others there.
I thought it was good, but didn't think it applied to me specifically right now, since I wanted to come here to Hillsdale in the first place. Then Sunday evening I was looking at a website of grooming and student jobs for big barns, and I realized I was thinking, "I wonder how soon I can have this kind of job? I wonder if I could get it next summer? Am I really supposed to be reading Colonial history now when my goal is to be a horse trainer?" Once I started asking that, I realized that Pastor Rick's message applied to me more than I'd realized. If I'm looking three and a half years ahead to the job I want, instead of being blessed and blessing others in this place I wanted so much, then I'm not remaining in the land I've been given.
I am so thankful for the Bible, and for a pastor who speaks the word of God with respect and intelligence. I pray that I would love this land, until it's time to move on... which will be fun too. :) But I really do love it here, and I am so thankful for my life.

A day in the life of History 105, with illustrations...

I thought this picture was funny, and that Felix would appreciate being included in history class. He is, after all, the professor.

2/2/07
Connections between the Great Awakening and Independance
*the people realize that the Church of England is not the only way to salvation
*they realize that no "Church" is; only Christ. John Whitfield unassociated itinerant preacher.
*Learned to be free of institutons. If they didn't need institutions, they didn't need the institution of English rule. Freedom & Independance.

-Two intellectual traditions: Religious/Enlightenment
1.
*Religious: Judeo-Christian faith. Man inherently evil.
*Enlightenment: Baconian science, reason emphasized. Man inherently good & able to perfect himself.
2.
*Religious: Man powerless to save himslef
*Enlightenment: Man can perfect himself through reason
3.
*Religious: Truth revealed in Word of God
*Enlightenment: Truth revealed in nature & discovered through reason.

I think you get the idea... it's pretty interesting... but watch out. This is what happens when you study too long:

Hebrews

Happy Weekend to you all :)
I am re-reading Hebrews right now, and coming across some of my favorite verses, so I wanted to put some of them up here.

6:17-19: "Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus..."

7:19: "... for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the brining in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God."

7:25-26: "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He alsways lived to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, seperate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens..."

10:19-23: "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us... let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith... let us hold fast the consfession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

These are some of my favorites. :-) God is so good to provide so for us when we don't deserve it, and to draw us into the Holiest of his presence!

Move Me

I love this song by Echoing Angels... I was listening to it on their website today (www.echoingangels.com) and I just felt like the first verse especially applied to me the past few weeks; not every day, but often. I love it. All of their songs are amazing, especially You Alone and Hallelujah and this one. I love worship music. :-)


Move Me

Shannon Cochran, Chris Peevy and Scotty Wilbanks

Here I am, come move me

For I am standing still

Take my hand and guide me

Closer to your will

I’m like a cry without the tears

Like a heart without the fears

I want you to want me

I know that I need you

I want you to want me

Because I want you

For so long I’ve wasted

This life you’ve given me

I felt and tasted

But I have never seen

I’m like a cry without the tears

Like a heart without the fears

Chorus

When it’s all said and done

When it’s finally over

I know this is true

I may still be standing here

But I’ll be moved by you

Chorus

Because I want you

I need you

I want you

I need you

I want you

I need you

I want you

A day in room 112

I can't say enough how much God has blessed me in my life right now. Just being here is an amazing gift. Yesterday in a CCA (Center For Constructive Alternatives) lecture the evening speaker said he thinks far too many people go to college. I disagree. Well, I don't think everyone needs to go to college, but I do think everyone needs an opportunity to learn about Aristotle and Benjamin Franklin and Machiavelli and Dostoyevsky. We read here; that's all- guided discussion, good explanations. So if people can learn what we learn here without coming here, then they ought to do it. I don't see how a man who has benefited from his education and the person it made him can say that not everyone should improve themselves by learning to reason and remember.
Actual classes are only one way i've been blessed here! My roommate is so wonderful. She and I are so close already, and she's such an encouragement. Please pray that she can come back next year! If she doesn't have enough money, she'll have to go to Eastern MI instead, and I will be very very sad.
Our friends right around the coner and up the stairs are amazing too. Amy and Natlie and Mary Beth all pretty much live in mine and Clara's room, anyway :-) They're here almost evening to talk and do homework. I love it.
My everyday life has its little blessings too. Right now I have Bebo Norman's new CD turned all the way up (not very loud) and am singing right along.. because Clara's in class ;) I would be so sad without my music every day. I would rather sing than drink coffee.. and that's something I love alot too :-)
Constantly on my mind? New Horse!! He's big enough for the boys to ride, so he's sort of everyone's, but he happens to be my dream horse, so I'm really excited. He's a big, beautiful Throroughbred gelding, affectionately known as "my man". lol.
Actually, the greatest blessing is that God walks alongside me every day giving me strength. I get tired, and I get tired of studying. I miss my family, all of you, and I miss home. But Mom and Dad support me, and He holds my hand every minute and makes it beautiful. Thank you, Father, for everything. :-)

Swing Fridays and Jesus

Every Friday here at Hillsdale is swing club. Before I came, I had never learned any dance, but now Clara, Amy, Natalie, and I go every week, and it's so fun. It's a nice thing to look forward to on the last, tired day of the week, and it's so fun to see people and dance together!
Tonight we learned the Shag, which is a lot like East Coast swing, but I think it's more fun. We were there for three hours; one of those hours was a shag lesson, and the other two was just dancing. Natalie's amazing, so she got a lot of dances, and Clara's just learning but she's also good, and she got plenty; Amy's adorable and is also learning, and she got several dances, including several in a row when Tom and Keaton were teaching her. I danced with the girls when they weren't dancing with guys- I'm still learning almost everything, and I don't have Clara and Natalie's natural ability, so I didn't get any dances until the end of the dance, when Tom asked me to dance. He asked if I knew the lindy, which I don't, because I missed that week, and so he just started dancing... I followed and had a blast, just following what he led, and I didn't realize until the dance was over and I watched he and Clara do the same thing that he'd just taught me the lindy! Unfortunately I didn't know that so I doubt I could do it again! Unless it's with Tom. Next week i'll just have him teach me again.
Being "resuced" from a sad lack of dances by Tom started me thinking about how Jesus rescues us. We wait around, hoping for some kind of dance to come along, and then He comes and shows us something we never knew. Suddenly our perception of what is amazing is changed, and we fall in love with the Perfect One. The song we danced to was Accidentally In Love, which I think is fitting, because just like you don't really accidentally fall in love but rather discover how wonderful your new love is, God knows we'll fall in love with Him if we'll accept Him. That is not to say I'm in love with Tom, of course, but that I am in love with God! I pray that I will not be distracted by lesser joys, but rather hold onto what I know is best.

I Will Lift My Eyes
Written by Bebo Norman and Jason Ingram

God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near, calm my fear
And take my doubt

Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can’t climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

God, my God, let Mercy sing
Her melody over me
God, right here all I bring
Is all of me

‘Cause You are and You were and You will be forever
The Lover I need to save me
‘Cause You fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God
So hold me now

Written by Bebo Norman and Jason Ingram