It's my dream!!

I'm officially going to Masai, Kenya!!! Seriously, I don't think words can express my extreme happiness. =D I got the call this afternoon and still can't believe it's actually true. Every year since I was 15, I hoped and prayed that I would be able to go and every year God had different plans for me. It's a good thing that we can't see the future. If I had known at 15 that I wouldn't be going to Africa until I was 22, I don't know how well I would've handled that. I knew that I would one day go, but I had no idea how long it would be. Obviously, at 15, I was hoping it would be the next year or so. I'm glad that God is in control of my life and knows what is best for me! I'll certainly be staying busy the next couple weeks with getting all the paperwork figured out and sent in. But it's all worth it! I'm so excited and happy that this dream of mine is actually coming true! It's really the best news ever, right?!?! =D

I finished my second week of school! I really am grateful to get through each week. I'm finding out that working and going to school can be extremely difficult. I really can't rely on getting anything done at work, because if I do, I get upset when we have to run calls. So, if I have the mindset that I will probably not get any homework done while working, then I'll be happy when I do. :) Yesterday, I actually got quite a bit done while working. I did math while on a transport and when I got back I finished up some Anatomy and Psychology. It was actually a really slow day and we only had one call besides the transport. For those of you wondering, I do enjoy school to some extent. I don't like that I can't come home as much anymore. :( Because I have classes Tuesday through Thursday, I end up working the weekends...totally lame, but it'll be worth it once I'm finished. At least, that's what I tell myself. ;-)

Well, I will probably be posting again at some point to let you all know about my latest nephew. :) No, he's not here yet, but I really hope he comes soon cause I want to meet him! My mom will be coming up to spend a week with Elisabeth and Patrick to help them with the baby...but they will have to share her, because I want some time with her too. ;)

Well, I really need to quit procrastinating about writing my paper and just do it. Unfortunately though, these: http://www.ziplist.com/recipes/376122-Cookie_Dough_Dip_Recipe, http://www.somethingswanky.com/2012/01/brownie-batter-dip.html, keep begging me to make them. I just may have to give into the temptation.... ;)

This is THE WEEK! ;)

This is a big week for me. Tuesday, I start classes for the very first time! I'm really looking forward to it and hope everything goes smoothly. Yes, I am nervous. I know the first week shouldn't be too bad, but looking ahead I realized how difficult it will be to work, go to classes, and study. I think it's next week that I'm scheduled to work 8 hour shifts, so five days of working plus 3 days of classes. And I would like to fit in some time to sleep too.... ;) I'm sure it won't take me too long to feel like I'm going crazy, but thankfully, I have a heavenly Father who has promised to be with me every step of the way. I really couldn't ask for anything better. :)

This week is also important because I find out if I go to Africa. I was told that I would know  by the end of this week if I was going. I want nothing more than to be able to go and serve, but I realize that God may have other plans for me. If I end up staying in the states this summer, I'll probably take summer classes and move farther along in that direction. I used to hate it when people would tell me that Africa would still be there a year from now and that there's no rush to go. I don't hate it so much anymore, because I know that God will provide a way for me to go in His own timing. I won't make it there any sooner no matter how hard I try.  :)

Well, I hope everyone else has a wonderful week! :)

Choosing Forgiveness

So, I'm trying to finish a few books before my classes start up since I don't think I'll have time to do much besides study and work. Anyway, I'm reading Choosing Forgiveness by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It's a must-read, in my opinion. I think each of us can "forgive" someone without actually forgiving them. You tell someone you've forgiven them and then you constantly talk about the hurt that that person has done in your life. Is that really forgiveness? We're such sinful human beings that we don't want to forget the bad someone has done in our life. We want others to see them as bad as we do. But how is that Christlike? When Jesus died on the cross He died for our sins. Our slate is wiped clean and we're given a fresh start. Why can't we forgive others like that? Well, you may say it's because we're not perfect like Christ. That's true. But, how can you never forgive someone when Christ has forgiven you? What example do you show to other nonbelievers? They see you go about professing to be a Christian and how you have been forgiven, but then they see you can't even forgive someone who hurt you in some way, either physically or mentally. And why is that? It's because we want our friends to see the bad in someone else so we look better and our faults will be overlooked.
Is this not true? Haven't each one of us fallen into this snare before? As much as I would love to say that I haven't, I can't. I have said that I've forgiven and then I will constantly bring up how that person hurt me.  I don't want it to be like that anymore. I want to say to others that when I forgive someone there's a sign that I hold to that says "No Fishing Allowed". And what that means is that I won't go fishing to bring up all the past hurt and mistakes that someone did to me. I will leave it and move on. Start over and make a fresh start because Christ did the same for me.
I know I make mistakes and it won't always be easy to forgive others and not go "fishing", but by God's grace, I will do my best.

Here are some quotes from Nancy's book:

Every time I refuse to forgive , anytime I hold a grudge, I am like the man who grabbed his debtor by the throat, demanding, "Pay back what you owe me."

One Definition of Unforgiveness: Like drinking poison and hoping someone else would die.

The Devil always wins when we fail to forgive.

As believers, we are told that God has forgiven "all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross."

At one time, the "record" was right there, accusing us, exposing us, vindicating His righteous anger against us. But with one press of the delete key, our holy, merciful God erased the whole thing. Nothing was saved on a backup disk. Nothing printed out in hard copy. Nothing stored in a separate folder or filing cabinet in case it proved useful to whip it out again someday. 

All of it, deleted. Forever. All because of Christ's death on the cross---in our place. Debt canceled. 

This was God's way of dealing with what we had done to Him. And that is what He asks us to do with others' sins against us.

We of all people should appreciate the joy of forgiveness. . . by knowing what a treasure it is to be purely and perfectly forgiven.

. . .when we extend to others the forgiveness that Christ extended to us on the cross, we reflect the mercy and grace of God to a world that desperately needs to be forgiven.

When it comes to forgiveness, our Lord would not command us to do something that He would not enable us to do. Or that He hasn't done Himself.

Christmas, New Years, and sickness.....

Wow, didn't realize it had been so long since I last posted! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, cause I sure did! :) I was able to be home from Friday to Monday and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's so much better than being stuck here in Columbia.... ;) Columbia is a cool city to live in, but when you don't have many friends that live here, then it can just be plain boring. Right now I'm sitting all by myself in the apartment, listening to music and being a bum. My roommates went home for Christmas so it's kinda strange to not have someone to talk to. It's probably a good thing they aren't here though, because I have made an incredibly big mess in the kitchen and haven't cleaned it up yet. I'm procrastinating since my bedroom really needs to be picked up too. It looks like a tornado came through my bedroom and the kitchen without tearing up anything else. Strange, right? ;) Despite what you may be thinking, I'm not really a dirty person. I like having things clean and so as soon as I finish writing this I'll be cleaning everything up. :) Oh, and if you're wondering why I have a dirty kitchen, it's because I'm baking things to sell. :) I have several people signed up for cinnamon rolls, cookies and cupcakes. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be able to get all the orders done by afternoon. :)
Does anybody else hate being tired? I feel like I've had little sleep this last week or so and yet I have been able to get 8 hours of sleep some days. There has been days though that I've gotten 3 and 4 hours of sleep though too and I think that's what's messing me up.

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So, that was written last week and I never got around to finishing it up. We hadn't even gotten through New Years when I posted that....weird how time flies sometimes. Anyway, I had a wonderful time home with my family again for New Years. Us kids stayed up till midnight and we rang in the New Year by drinking sparkling grape juice from wine glasses and listening to Auld Lang Syne. Mom and dad had gone to bed and so we tried being quiet, but I don't think we succeeded very well. ;) lol, I wish I could remember all the quotes that people said that night. Some were pretty hilarious! I do remember one between Jacob and Nathan. And btw, this is probably 10 minutes or so before midnight... ;)
Jacob: "So, are we all going to say what our New Year resolutions are?"
Nate: *rubs his belly* "Mine is to not get fat this year."
Jacob: "You can't say until after the New Year! Now you are going to get fat."
Haha, I thought it was hilarious anyway. ;)

This week hasn't been my greatest.... I've gotten a cold and it's a little stinker! It refuses to go away and I'm really starting to dislike it. I made it through my 40 hours for the week and so now I can rest up and hopefully get better before school starts. I hadn't been sick since last summer, and so I was kinda disappointed to not make it all the way through winter without getting anything. It's actually been a long time since I've been this sick.... Fever, neck pain and a really bad sore throat. There were a couple times at work that I had trouble talking with my pt's because my throat hurt so much. Let's just say that it's probably the quietest I've ever been at work...since first starting out. I didn't tell anyone at work that I wasn't feeling well, so they probably thought I was just mad about something since I didn't say a whole lot. ;)

School starts on Tuesday and I'm excited and pretty nervous. I keep hoping that I didn't take on too much. The good thing is that God can provide the strength I need to get through... We really can't do anything without Him.

Well, I'm going to get some more water and finish my book.... maybe I'll be better at posting this year. No promises though.