Hitting the Books

   Today marked my first official day of classes. Surprisingly, I loved all my classes and with the exception of my roommates and I all trying to decide what to wear, everything went fantastic. My first class was Voice, but that ended up being one of my favorite classes of the day! Who would have thought. ;)

   And on a side note, we've got verses up all over our dorm and the one on my end of the hall is Galatians 2:20. how cool is that?!

   Tomorrow, I'll start my harder 3 day (Monday. Wednesday. Friday.) classes so I'm little nervous about that. But God knows and I'm sure it will almost be as nice as today. Maybe. lol

Home Away From Home

    I packed my boxes with a big knot in my stomach. Everything was simply going by far TOO fast! I had a whirlwind summer and here I was ... packing to head back to college.

    Around Noon today, we pulled the van and the car up to the Jordan dorm and began to unload. What had I been thinking? Where would all that stuff go? Would I like my roommates?  My mind was plagued by questions I didn't have the energy to answer.

     And then, my Mom and my amazing sister K got in there and together we worked a miracle amongst that big old pile of mess! Within an hour's time, everything was in its own little place and the only thing I had to stress out about was what I'd do with my free time until our 10:45 curfew.

     I crashed on my neatly made bed -- a smaller version of my own comfy bed at home -- and pulled out some stationary. Last semester, communication with anyone outside of school was pretty much nonexistent so I have predetermined to redeem myself if at all possible. ;)

    Surprise. Surprise. Some of you just might end up with a little bit of snail mail from N.C.

    So I addressed my envelopes and after discovering I could go off campus without a pass just for this weekend, I grabbed my bag and hit the road. My friend Andrea -- who doesn't know Right from Left when giving me directions (only because we're so caught up in talking, mind you) -- her brother Joe and I stopped by Wal-Mart before heading to their church. Andrea is the RU secretary so she had to make her lovely appearance. :)

     We chatted for awhile and then I left, in hopes of finding some amazing deals at the Goodwill. I ended up finding a black and white Toile dress from Ann Taylor LOFT for under $5. I did a little window shopping, and ended up at Broad river Coffee Shop to check my email and all that fun stuff.

   So I'm sitting here in the dark, cozy little loft of the Coffee Shop all by myself and loving it entirely. There's a group of Gardener web girls in the living room area below me and they're just talking, talking, talking up a storm! Thankfully, it's a semi interesting conversation ;) jk

  

"Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit."
 – Peter Ustinov

   I'm babysitting tonight, and as I was washing the supper dishes VT runs into the kitchen and asks if she can sing me the new song she learned at Bible Study. The song was Marching in the Lord's Army and it went something like this ...

     "I inna Loood's ooomeee. I inna Loood's ooomeee. I not goooona moaaaaach in the trees. Wide up the couchery. Soot the oatery. I inna Loood's ooomeee!"

    And then she smiles up at me, her little blue eyes just sparkling with two year old pride. Now, if that doesn't just melt your heart I really don't know what will. I thought it was absolutely adorable! =)

A Victory Tower, indeed.

  I don't typically post politically, but there's an issue at hand that is simply growing by leaps and bounds. The American people are outraged at the mere mention of builing an Islamic Mosque on Ground Zero.

  I wasn't too keen on the idea when they were playing around with the possibility several years ago, and I'm really disgusted that the American Government isn't doing anything to stop it. In my opinion, its a disgrace to the memory of over 3,000 Americans who lost their lives at the hands of the Islamic terrorists on September 11th.

   Why was building an Islamic Mosque on Ground Zero ever considered?!

   We can sit back in the comfort of our everyday, ordinary lives and shake our heads at the government. But it can only get worse from here. If more people STOOD UP for what is right, the government might actually start shaping up and taking notice.

   The American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) is currently taking the lead in this critical rising case. They represent Tim Brown -- a decorated firefighter who lost nearly 100 friends on 9/11, as well as a firsthand witness to the horrors of that day.

   Tim will never forget, neither will many Americans across the nation. But the memory isn't as sharp as it once was, and we've begun to let things slide. After all, preparations are underway for this Islamic Mosque and Americans have only just begun to stir.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/08/03/john-tantillo-ground-zero-mosque-islam-anti-defamation-league/
 
    I don't know. It sounds like the makings of a Victory Tower for the Islamic people. But check out the link and feel free to voice your opinions. I'd love to hear what you think.

    I was reading in Luke 4 this morning and was struck by one verse in particular.

         18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.

     I began to think about all the things that we've been able to do through the Lord, and how He has chosen to use us to reach out to the people all around us. The poor, the brokenhearted, the blind as well as the bruised.

     All those opportunities to minister would never have been possible if we hadn't opened our hearts to the moving of the Holy Spirit. It sounds pretty simple, but it really just blew my mind in a profound way.

     Since becoming a Christian, what are some ways you have most enjoyed serving God?