A Little Arizona Sunshine

One week's worth of homework for one class typically takes me 8 hours. Within the last two weeks, I've had to do 8 weeks worth of homework for one class and 6 weeks worth of homework for another class and take two midterms (about 100 hours of work). While working. And attending two meetings a day for Week of Prayer. And doing some volunteer work for GYC. I guess I could compare it to... trying to stuff an elephant into a Polly Pocket. Or trying to tell a giraffe to duck... under a handrail. Or having a gorilla read the Declaration of Independence and write an essay about the mistreatment of the colonies by the King. Wait, that was me two nights ago. I'm less than 9 hours away from my deadline and I'm happy to announce: I got a B on my Religion Midterm, a 96% on my History midterm, and I only have 4 more assignments to complete to be caught up. In order to accomplish this feat, I went on a complete media fast. Instagram and Facebook accounts were deacti...

Mostly because I'm getting used to the concept of being single living here in Spangle Washington. Total number of residents (including the school staff and student population): Approximately 480. Total number of residents that are male: Roughly 210 Total number of those males that are single and over the age of 21: Maybe 25? And number of males that are single, over the age of 21, younger than 40, and Seventh-day Adventist???? ... 3. And I'm not interested in any of those three guys. But that's not the reason I'm writing this post. I'm writing this post because I totally took apart my vacuum this week because it wasn't working. AND FIXED IT. Like a boss. I'd like to thank my grandpa (who is the best mechanic I know) for bestowing his grease-stained genes to me. I'd like to thank my parents for always telling me I could do anything I set my mind to. I'd like to thank my Auntie Audra who showed me first hand what it was like to be a...

I got an unexpected package yesterday.  My good friend Eloyda saw my last blog post on losing Donny. She was moved and shared it with her family, then her Adventurer club at church. It's so encouraging to know that something I wrote was able to touch the hearts of these little ones. They each wrote me a card sharing that they were praying for Jesus to make me happy again. And for me to get another dog. They didn't know that they were the answer to their own prayer. Their cards DID make me happy!  1 Timothy 4:12 says, "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Thank you little ones! What an example. :) 

I'm just trying to make sense of all the thoughts and feelings going through my heart right now. Monday late afternoon, Donny ran into the street in town and was hit by a car. I wasn't prepared for something like this. I know he was just a dog, an animal, but he was the one thing I've taken care of and poured my love into. The furry guy that greeted me with so much love every single time I came home (no matter if only 5 minutes had passed since I'd left...). My thoughts might be scrambled, but here they are: I know I can't blame myself, but that's all I've been doing since he was hit. Why did I sleep in? Why couldn't I have gotten his food from Joe the night before and fed him in the morning like normal? Why did I feel like I needed to go to town right then? Why did I place my needs over the one I was taking care of? Why why why. Or What if? Or If only. These are things I'm starting to realize other people ask when they lose something. A jo...

Last night I led out in a vespers program and this morning I led in the main portion of Sabbath School.  One thing I've been learning here is humility. It's so easy to think you're great at everything when you work with young people that appreciate what you appreciate.  But what if they don't care? What if no matter how great the talk or how interesting the activity -- ultimately they don't care?  It breaks my heart that they don't care about spiritual things. It hurts to think about how they view God. But something else creeps in -- pride. I tend to think, "I am boring. I look incompetent to the teachers around me. I used to be good at this type of thing." When in reality--the word "I" shouldn't even be in my thought process. I've been learning about the role and the power of the Holy Spirit and it has been such a relief and burden lifter in my life. It is HIS responsibility to convict and convert hearts--not mine. What a blessing.  ...

There is a new love in my life:  Donny. This is short for Donatello. He's a Jack-a-poo (Jack Russell/Poodle Mix) and he's a really smart dog. His intelligence could be a good thing... and it sometimes is a bad thing. But he's a great kid. :)  I started looking for a furry friend in September of last year for a couple of reasons.  1. I read Your Pet and Your Health by Dr. David DeRose and Steve Wohlberg and was convicted.  2. I'm sorry but I never read all the way through that book... but I figured a lot of canvassers read my posts... so it'd be fun to reference a book we've all sold at some point.  3. Moving to a new place where you know exactly 2 people is a little daunting. It's easier to take in with a sidekick.  4. After spending 4 months at Weimar and being able to exercise easily because 30 others are doing it too, I wanted a little additional motivation to continue the lifestyle.  5. While owning an animal isn't the exact...

The past 3 weeks I've been here at UCA, one thing stands out. I only cook for 1 person. Do you know what this means? 1. Lots of leftovers 2. You eat the same type of food all week so you don't have items going bad in your fridge 3. Lots of leftovers 4. You get tired of that same type of food, but realize that 40 minutes of prep time isn't worth it to make something else. 5. You start wanting to cook for other people My best friend (for those who don't know who that is, it's Heidi) was always the one in our friendship to invite people over, make food for them, and to take joy in service. I personally never felt that joy. I just felt prune-like hands at the end of it from doing the dishes. (Okay, in all honesty, we had a dishwasher and when we didn't, I usually just entertained her while she cleaned... I know I'm a horrible best friend. I have, for the record, done dishes at her house a few times when I wasn't the partaker in the food. Please...