Speaking Life

I was listening to my favorite songs on Spotify. I finished one song, and of course, before the next could come up, the Spotify app played a commercial. Promotions for various songs went on, and the announcer was talking about how these songs would “give your spring break a boost!” Then they closed the commercial with a little segment of one of the songs, “Talk Dirty”. it had a catchy , but slightly annoying tune, and a neat instrumental part that got easily stuck in my head. The commercial faded away, and the next song in my playlist started, one of my favorites. I quickly forgot the annoying commercial song as the opening cords of the song started, and I got ready to enjoy this favorite. “Some days life feels perfect, other days it just ain’t workin.” My thoughts went back to the annoying commercial. It was saying that those songs would make life more perfect. How will this song compare? Here’s my paraphrase of the lyrics of the song : “We can turn a heart with the words we say. Mountains crumble with every syllable; hope can live or die. So speak life To the deadest darkest night. Speak life when the sun won't shine and you don't know why. Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted; Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope,…love,…life. Speak life. Well it's crazy to imagine the words from our lips as the arms of compassion.” What a contrast! The world tells us to talk dirty, and live for yourself. But what does the Bible say? Our words are so important! They can be life! I talk all the time, but I rarely think of the eternal impact my words have. I want to encourage you to “Raise your thoughts a little higher, Use your words to inspire, Joy will fall like rain, When you speak life with the things you say. So Speak life.”

Green Bean War

I was watching two little kids, a boy (3 years old) and a girl (2 years old) one day. They were having a good time, until lunch-time came. Mom had made green beans and macaroni-and-cheese, my old favorites. I was happy, and the kids seemed happy too. They took one look at the mac n' cheese and were pointing at it, asking for it, with big smiles on their faces. Then the inevitable happened. I opened the lid to the green bean container. I heaped a pile into my bowl, and proceeded to give each of the kids a small helping. The little girl was okay for a while, but the boy didn't even look at his. Mom and I tried to explain to them that if they eat their green beans, they could have some mac n' cheese. That didn't seem to help them much. We finally told them to eat just one more bite of green beans, then they could eat the macaroni. But even that was too much. All we asked was one bite, and they could have their favorite food, with a cookie for dessert. But, no, it was too much to ask. For me, I was used to eating my greens. I ate mine all up, and had 2 bowls of macaroni before the kids finally gave up and left the table. It was sad to see that they thought that mac n’ cheese wasn't worth eating something they didn't like. Good thing I'd learned to eat my veggies a long time ago! Sometimes I act like those little kids. "God, that's too big. Let's just skip that part, and get to the good stuff." I let tiny little things get in the way of having God wants to give me! Why on earth do I have to be so stubborn? Those kids only had to get through 20 seconds of green beans, but they decided it wasn't worth it. They could have even enjoyed the beans like I now do! Trials are not desirable to us. But if that's what God uses to get me to a place where I can enjoy something else even better, what am I waiting for? There's no need to fight God. He knows that the green beans will actually help me, and can even be something l might enjoy, with His help. Praise God for the trials, because through them, He brings us something better.

Snow

God made my day today. It snowed. There was something wonderful about walking aimlessly across campus, with huge, fluffy flakes drifting down on my head. I love the feeling on my cheeks that comes from the special coldness that snow brings! I was thinking of the verse "Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:7). That's what happened to me this morning. It was a normal day. I woke up, and ate breakfast and was doing school work. My head ached a little, and I was tired. My stomach didn't feel too great either. I could have found anything to complain about. But when the snow started to drift down to the ground, I found something to be excited about. God changed my attitude, and made it as white as snow. Sure, I have lots of homework, but why should I complain about it? It snowed! God cares about me so much that he gave me one of my favorite things to spice up an otherwise ordinary and uninteresting day. Isn't God good? He knows just how to make our days special, despite all the cares and problems that Satan wants to force on us. Today, think about the ways God has blessed you. Ignore the lies Satan tells. Don't let him distract you from the special things God has in store for you. Let God make you whiter than snow!

Home Again!

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! I think I write a post like this every time it's almost break time.... I guess I just get hit with the same realization each time. I only have 5.11 days till I get on the plane in Pasco to head home. I am SO excited! Not only have I been away from home and family for a long time, but I've also just finished my first quarter of my first year of college. A lot of stuff has happened, and I just can't wait to be home again. Plus, I hear there's actually snow at home (We haven't been that fortunate here yet). Every once in a while, I get the "butterflies in my stomach" feeling -- I'm headed home! No day has passed this week that I haven't thought about home, and realized how much I can hardly wait to be there! Similarly, we are all headed to our Heavenly home, where we will meet Jesus, and all our friends and family from here on earth. I think that this life here is the most stressful thing we'll have to go through. But it's almost through! I was thinking about Heaven the other day, and realized that I haven't thought about it in a LONG time. Its not something I think about every day, how I can't wait to be there and how wonderful it will be. But with all the pressures of this life, how can we help but think about it! Heaven is our Hope! We know that this too will pass, and we will soon be at peace. Isn't that something important to think about? When was the last time you thought about Heaven? When did you last think of the wonderful promise and hope of eternal life with Jesus?

Appreciation

These are just some thoughts that have been running though my head today. They're a little scrambled, but I hope you can make sense of them. Today was Student Appreciation Day. Staff members went around campus, sporting a balloon, and a grocery bag full of ziplock-bagged cookies. I received one, with an orange (my favorite color) note attached: "It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up." Inside the bag I found a perfect cookie -- Chocolate mint. What a nice way to be appreciated! I know that I don't thank people enough. I hardly ever tell my parents how much I am indebted to them for their training. Who would I be today if they had not followed the Bible example: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it," (Proverbs 22:6 KJV). How often I've felt tormented by evil, but I have the firm training from the hand of God, through my family and it helps me. I don't often think to thank my roommate for all the enjoyment and happiness she brings. I hear of people whose rooming arrangements just didn't work. Praise God, I had the roommate or my choice, my tried and true friend. Even in this Holiday time of Thanksgiving, and Christmas, I don't think to thank God for the peace He brings, and for holding me up. Praise God that I can trust Him! He will take care of my deficiencies, and will also help me do my best. So I only have 13.01 days left till I board my plane for home. I can't tell you how exciting that is! That's something to be appreciative for! But I also have 13.00 days of tests, finals, and deadlines. Shoot, way to take all the fun out of the next few days. But I know I can trust God to take care of me, and to carry me though. That's really something to be thankful for! So what are you thankful for? Who do you appreciate?

Hitting Home

I have a problem with things hitting me. At least today. In Tumbling class, the floor kept on hitting me. Or maybe I was hitting the floor.... Well, either way, I think I was hurt by it more than the floor was by me. I get hit by homework assignments that I forget about or put off. My funny-bone was getting hit during supper (in a figurative way. But that's a good thing). Just now, I went to the bathroom, that the stall door hit my thumb in its closing jaws. I really hope that doesn't turn purple. Then, after I got back to my room, I was getting something out of the fridge and as I shut the door (forgetting that my arm was still in it) I hit my arm. While I was thinking about some of these things hitting me, something else hit me -- a thought. I'm in college. It was kind of one of those thoughts that sent shivers down my spine. My whole life I have wanted to be in college. While doing my 2nd grade school-work at home, I would go out into the living room or my bedroom and pretend that I was a college student, cool enough to do school-work on the couch. I always thought that my life would be "perfect" once I got to college. It's not that I wanted to leave home, it's just that I idealized that future part of my life, and wanted to be there instead of where I was. Now I'm there. That thought really hit home to me as I walked the hallway of my college dorm. God has been blessing me so much more than I deserve. But more often then not, I am too focused on my "to-do list" to think about where He has been leading me. He still tries to guide me softly, as is His way. But sometimes He just hits me with a thought like "Wake up Heather!" He's not rude, but He has a way of getting His point across. He really know's how to hit home. "I'm here." That's a thought that is seemingly simply, but ultimately is complex. "What am I doing here?" "Am I making my presence here worth it? Or am I just cumbering the ground?" What can I say to make something like this hit home for you? How has God been leading, and how have you been responding? I guess the main, home-hitting thought I have is this: I am here. Praise God.

Sabbath, September 15

This is a sort of journal entry of yesterday's happenings. God has kept us safe, and has been blessing us. Sabbath, September 15 So for one of the first times in our history as roommates, Sam was up before me this morning. You see, her Mind-clock is set two hours ahead of here -- Minnesota time. I’m set one hour back from here -- Alaska. So she woke up at 6:30 here and said her clock said it was 8:30. I groaned, and said that my clock said it was 5:30. But by the time I woke up again, she had some nice oatmeal and a cup of tea ready. It was so nice! The Fountainview people here got together for Sabbath School this morning. It was wonderful to sing together again! We also had an encouraging conversation about this school year that faces us. Church was nice, and ironically, the offering was for the Alaska Conference. I think the pipe organ is going to take a little bit of getting used to, but it was still beautiful. After lunch, with friends, of rice and curry, we headed to Pioneer Park. They have a little bird aviary, with several species of beautiful birds, including several different types of pheasants. There was even what looked like a white peacock! So we all walked around there for a while. Then we found a nice place on the grass, in the shade, and talked for a while. It’s so great to be here with my friends! So far, we have Sam (and her family), Shannon, Heidi, Carmen, Eddy, Kyle (and his family) and me. But more people are supposed to be showing up tomorrow. After we had been at the park for a while, we stood up, sang “Sweet, Sweet Spirit” and “Side by Side,” joined hands and prayed. Then we left, came back to campus. On our way, we saw a layer of clouds, gray with light peach/gold lining. It shone so beautifully, and the sky gave me the impression that there is a fire around here somewhere. The sun, low in the clouds, was red and we could look straight at it. I’ve never seen clouds do this before, but it looked the the sun was casting shadows of the gold-lined clouds on the other clouds behind them. It looked incredible! After supper and stuff, we went to Walmart. It was only a couple miles away! But we spent a few hours in there and got all the stuff we’ll need for a while. Boy, was that an experience... But this whole thing has been a new experience.