"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." ~ Proverbs 31:30

Monday, January 23, 2012

Excerpts of "Boethius"

To other animals ignorance of themselves is natural; in men it is a fault.  How plainly and how widely do you err by thinking that anything can be adorned by ornaments that belong to others!  Surely that cannot be.

......

Wherefore honor comes not to virtue from holding office, but comes from virtues there practiced.

.....

If death can carry away happiness, the whole race of mortals is sinking into wretchedness to be found upon the border of death.  But we know that many have sought the enjoyment of happiness not only by death, but even by sorrow and sufferings: how then can the presence of this life make us happy, when its end cannot make us unhappy?

Saturday, January 21, 2012

These Things Take Time

I wanna know why pain makes me stronger
I wanna know why good men die
Why am I so afraid of the dark
But I stray from the Light?

I wanna know why You gave me eyes
When faith is how I see
And tell me is it easier to doubt
Or harder to believe?

Oh, there's so many questions stirring in me

And I wonder why
Sometimes the truth ain't easy to find?
I wanna know all the answers
But I'm learning that these things take time
Yeah, these things take time

How could success make us feel like failures?
And the harder we fall the harder we try
The more I have the more I need
Just to feel like I'm getting by

Oh, there's so many questions and one short life

And I'm wondering why
Sometimes the truth ain't easy to find
I wanna know all the answers
But I'm learning that these things take time
Yeah, these things take time

And we spend so much time chasing our tails
Hoping to find every last answer to everything in life
So many questions, not enough time

But I'm still wondering why
Sometimes the truth ain't easy to find
I wanna know all the answers
But I'm learning that these things take time
Yeah, these things take time

Hey, we all wanna understand why
Evil lives and good men die
On the way to heaven the truth unwinds
These things take time
These things take time
Yeah, these things take time
~ Sanctus Real

Friday, January 20, 2012

Thankfulness Part 3

21.  "Soul Sister"
22.  Getting back into the exercise
23.  Getting internet installed
24.  Hermeneutics
25.  Water
26.  Comfy couches to crash on
27.  "Haven't Met You Yet"
28.  The rodeo
29.  Eating pie
30.  Listening to music with Mica

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Blessings



No, I'm not going through a hard time, I just really like this song! :D So beautiful, so sincere, so real.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Thankfulness Part 2

11.  Having the most number of textbooks for one semester than I've ever had, but paying the less for them than I ever have
12.  Naps
13.  Beautiful weather
14.  Running trails 2 minutes away from home
15.  Hot showers
16.  Work/study jobs
17.  Good books
18.  Clean clothes
19.  Email conversations
20.  Phone calls where Dad sets it on speaker phone so the whole family can be all together again

Monday, January 16, 2012

Thankfulness Part 1

1.  A roof over my head
2.  Great roommates
3.  A very cool New Testament professor
4.  Having Big Lots right across the street, easy walking distance
5.  Country music
6.  Tuna sandwiches
7.  A soft mattress
8.  Proverbs
9.  Spending time on the 1,200 acre cattle ranch
10.  Feeding a baby cow  (way cool!)

Saturday, January 14, 2012

I, Wisdom



I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.  The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.  Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.  I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength.  By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly.  I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.  Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness.  My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.  I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.

Proverbs 8:12-21

Friday, January 13, 2012

Settling

Wow!  I can't believe I've already been in my new home for 6 days!  When did this happen?  Whatever happened to the whole "I'm just gonna stay at home, attend UT, and work at HEB" plan?  And here I am.

It didn't really sink in that I was going to stay here until Luke and my parents drove away.  It was rough, but I told myself to get over it, because this will be my home for at least the next 4.5 months, so I'd better learn to like it real quick.  :)

The day after I moved in, I caught a ride to church with one of my roommates, and directly afterwards, we headed over the house of a very kind family from the church.  We spent the entire day over there, cooking and getting the house ready for other members of the church to come over.  Hanging out with a family in a real home was exactly what I needed that day.  Isn't it funny how God knew that?  ;)

I've been keeping semi-busy, what with going to the school for work/study interviews (I'll be working in the library twice a week), making school and rent payments, and tagging along with my roommates to some of their various activities.  Last night was probably my favorite evening so far as we hung out in one of the guys' apartments that is in our same complex.  They made dinner, and then we watched America's Funniest Videos, talked, laughed, and just enjoyed being around other people.  Let's face it, having connections definitely helps it feel more home-like.  :)

Well, to wrap up, here's a list of the books I'll be studying for the next couple of months (I'm very excited!) :

  • 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible
  • God's Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible
  • Grasping God's Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible
  • Jesus: A Very Short Introduction
  • The New Testament in Antiquity: A Survey of the New Testament within its Cultural Context
  • After You Believe
  • Imitation of Christ
  • Letters Along the Way
  • True Spirituality
And that's all for now!  May God bless you as you go throughout your wonderful day!  :)



Friday, January 6, 2012

It's an Adventure!


"It's an adventure!  It's exciting!  You get to do something new, something you've never done before!  So study on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.  Go to class, do well, then go do something fun on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays!  You'll love it!"

Oh Esther, this is just what I needed.  Thanks for the encouragement and the building up of excitement, because until I talked to you, it was just something I'd have to walk through.  Now, it's a whole new realm of possibilities.  :)

Criswell, here I come!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

I Have a Shelter

I have a shelter in the storm
When troubles pour upon me
Though fears are rising like a flood
My soul can rest securely
O Jesus, I will hide in You
My place of peace and solace
No trial is deeper than Your love
That comforts all my sorrows

I have a shelter in the storm
When all my sins accuse me
Though justice charges me with guilt
Your grace will not refuse me
O Jesus, I will hide in You
Who bore my condemnation
I find my refuge in Your wounds
For there I find salvation

I have a shelter in the storm
When constant winds would break me
For in my weakness, I have learned
Your strength will not forsake me
O Jesus, I will hide in You
The One who bears my burdens
With faithful hands that cannot fail
You’ll bring me home to heaven

~Sovereign Grace Music

Monday, January 2, 2012

On your marks!

Wowee!

My set departure for Criswell College is fast approaching!  At first I was taken a bit off guard after I found out I have to be there sooner than originally expected, but I've finally resigned myself to it.  ;)

My last day of work was Saturday.  It was rough saying goodbye to my work family, but I'm not quite finished yet.  I've still got to say goodbye to my peeps in produce, grocery, and dairy!  And there were a few people on the front end who weren't there Saturday.  (Zach just rolls his eyes when he hears that I know everybody in the store.  He likes to keep himself to the front end, and that's it.  :P)  Yesterday I drove around to various parts of the state to say goodbye to some friends who I won't see again til May.  They're all near and dear to my heart, and I can't wait to see them when I get back!

Today I've been spending some time cleaning up my room and making a mental note of what I still need to buy before I'm completely ready.  It seems to be a list a mile long that continues to grow every time I sit down.

I decided today that I'll bring 3 Bibles with me:  two will be my huge attack Bibles (one ESV study Bible, and the other a NASB word study Bible) and my easier-to-handle-no-frills ESV.

I am excited about finally having the chance to try my hand in the kitchen!  For Christmas I got a casserole cookbook, and I'll be spending some serious time copying down some of my favorite recipes from home.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it all.  Yeah, I'll probably end up doing simple things most of the time, like microwave dinners, but I'm vowing to do at least one good, home cooked meal a week.  At least, that's the plan for now....

And there you have it -- a crazy, random-yet-somewhat-connected post about the things that have been keeping me occupied.