EMpressions

The Fight I Didn't See Coming

2011-08-06T00:04:00.001-04:00

I am in a love-hate relationship with this verse:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will direct your path."
Proverbs 3:5-6

I love this verse because it tells me that all I have to do is trust God.
I hate this verse because it tells me that all I have to do is trust God.

Do you see my dilemma?

Yes, well, there seems to be a disconnect between my head and my heart.
On one hand I love this verse, because it says that I don't have to worry about things and that I just need to trust God - besides, He's got it all figured out anyway! My logical thought process goes something like this: "Trust God, that's all. That's all He asks - trust Him, follow Him in righteousness, and trust Him with my life. He'll do what needs to be done. He'll lead, and I won't have to do anything to make my life something beautiful...that's His business, that's what He does. If I try to do it by myself, it will be anything but beautiful, and I definitely don't want that."

But then my selfish heart says, "Yeah, buuuuuut, I really want this, and I'm sure that it's the best. So I'll just do what I think will work so that my life turns out the way I want it to."

What's wrong with this picture? The loop between my head and heart has short-circuited, leaving me in this internal fight. This battle seems to have no end in sight, it's distracting, and very exhausting. I don't understand why my heart tries to trump my head, even though my head knows what is right.

So you see, Proverbs 3:5-6 is quite the taskmaster for me. I hate it when it tells my selfish heart that its efforts are futile, but I love it when it reminds me that all I have to do is trust God! When my selfish heart starts to take over, it gently (ok, and sometimes not so gently) tugs me back to the Scriptures and the pure heart of God... "Trust me, daughter. Stop trying to do things your way and just trust Me. I know what I'm doing, and it's going to be way better than you can even dream of. But you have to trust Me."

So, I guess I really do love Proverbs 3:5-6. Like, a lot. It just takes me a while to get there sometimes.

Fail on, my brethren, fail on.

2011-06-23T16:06:00.011-04:00

If there’s one thing I have learned in my twenty-one years of church, it’s that you can make an analogy of pretty much ANYTHING. I’m practically thinking in analogies now. It’s scary. You don’t want to know.

I was actually thinking about an analogy when I noticed that you can make an analogy out of anything. Weird.

To prove my point, I will make an analogy. Right here. Right now. I know, didn’t see that coming, right?

So I was driving to work the other day and heard this new song on the radio called “Before you Fly.” It’s by Ginny Owens (who, by the way, is blind), one of my favorite Christian Singer/Songwriters. The chorus says:

"Spread your wings
in the sun
don’t give up
there’s more to come
You will find
when you try
you always fall before you fly"

I really like this song, and not just because the phrase “take that to the bank” is in it. The song takes the picture of a bird learning to fly. At least I’m assuming that - I hope it’s not talking about an airplane - “You always fall before you fly.” Yikes. Anyways, it takes the picture of that baby bird trying to fly, and inevitably falling before he actually flies.

I actually witnessed this the other day. I was sitting out on the front porch, and saw a bird who was having some difficulty flying. He didn’t look small, so I didn’t think it was a baby. He would get a few fleeting moments of air, and then fell back down to the ground. I originally thought he was having wing trouble, perhaps an injured or broken wing (or too much turbulence perhaps?). But as I watched him, he kept trying and eventually his air time got longer and higher, and he began to soar for part of his flight. I realized now that he was having no problems with his wing but really had just never figured out the secret to flying. A few minutes later, I saw another bird, similarly colored, doing this same thing, and he got the ‘hang’ of it, too.

[Enter analogy stage right.]

When I heard this song on the radio in the car, my mind immediately went to those two birdies who fell several times before they learned how to fly. It was essential for them to fall a few times so that they could correct what they were doing wrong and then perfect their skill. Without the falling part, they wouldn’t have had the flying part.

Isn’t the same thing true in life? We always fall before we fly. I actually just heard a sermon about this same thing on Sunday. I was visiting a church on the other side of the state and the pastor there talked about “failure.” (Perhaps not the best choice for a Father’s Day sermon...fail!) I’m seeing this theme of failure/falling popping up frequently in my life these days...that makes me a little nervous, especially in my internship summer!

Let’s be honest. Failure is inevitable. It’s part of the human condition. It is common, it can be devastating and discouraging, and is often misunderstood. But the good thing is, it’s not fatal, it’s not an enemy, and it’s not final. Michael Jordan, arguably the most famous athletic figure in America, said that his failure was actually the key to his success:

“I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot...and missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

You may have heard about how Post-It notes came into existence: Spencer Silver was trying to make a new adhesive for 3M that was super strong, but instead he made one that was so weak that it could be easily lifted off. Fail! Little did he know, the forgetful person’s best friend was born! Success!

Failure is something everyone experiences. But, undoubtedly, failure makes us all better at whatever we are trying to do. Without failure, we would never learn anything! We all know that we can’t be perfect and do everything right the first time we try it. Failure is never fun (unless your coach ordered pizza despite the outcome of the game), but without the pain of failure, the success wouldn’t be as sweet.

To put a cherry on top, think about this: Jesus even guaranteed failure, imperfection, and trials. In John 16:33, Jesus says, “In this world you will have tribulation...” Basically, He says, “Nobody ever said it would be easy!” Thankfully, He doesn’t stop there. (If He did, we would be in trouble for sure...and I also wouldn’t have mentioned it in this post.) He goes on to say, “...But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus has taken care of everything for us and pretty soon we won’t have to remember the failures of this world! As my Grandpa used to say, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!” We have the fantastic hope of Heaven! WIN!

We will fail, but the more we fail, the more we learn. It would be a tragedy to be perfect at something but never learn anything new! Keep failing and keep learning...success only comes through failure! Fail on, my brethren, fail on.

So, essentially, each failure is kind of a success! In the long run, more failures = more successes! Epic Fail = Epic Win!

There you have it. A post chock full of analogies, some of them intended, others just kind of slipped out...oops!

I don’t know, maybe this post was a failure...Or was it?

Bearers of Hope

2011-06-12T16:17:00.000-04:00

What's the best thing about summer? You got it - NO SCHOOL!

Or so I thought...

Well you know I just love school SO much that I just couldn't go 3 months without it, so I had to take a summer class. Yeah, something like that. Anyways...

So I'm taking a summer online class - World Literature. Might as well make the best of it, right?

This is a Discussion Board posting assignment after reading Dante's Inferno. The assignment was to place someone in whichever circle of Hell (as described by Dante) they deserved. It is a difficult thing to write of, so I decided to put a little spin on it. See what you think...

You may recognize the name Rahab. Well, you may know her better by her full name: Rahab the Prostitute. Rahab lived in the city of Jericho - a pagan, godless nation. Jericho was a city surrounded by walls, hence the song, “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came a-tumblin’ down.” Anyways, Rahab was known for her profession, be it wholesome or not.

Rahab lived just inside the wall of the city. Perhaps she was in a corner or just on a wall. Either way, her location undoubtedly helped her business. Her “clients” knew exactly where she was, and word-of-mouth advertisement was easy to describe her location.

Not only was she a pagan (which would have left her in Circle one, melancholy and hopeless), she was a panderer, a seducer. According to Dante, Rahab’s final resting place would be in Circle VIII, in Bolgia 1. Her punishment would have been, as Dante described it, “whipped by devils.”

The cool thing about Rahab’s story is that it doesn’t end with her eternal punishment. After a rendezvous with a couple of Israelites (the people who followed the one true God, Jehovah), her heart was changed. She also became a God-follower, thereby escaping the perils of Hell. Whether or not Dante’s description was accurate, she was prevented from eternal punishment. You can read Rahab’s story in the Old Testament book of Joshua, chapters 2 and 6.

(The Good News is: You don’t have to wind up in any part of Hell, either.)

Perhaps it will cause some to ponder the afterlife and their final destination. Perhaps it will open some discussion. Or maybe it will just fester in someone's heart. I'll never really know, but one thing I do know - we are called to bring hope to a lost world and if I can, I'm going to slip that hope into any corner I can find. Even in a discussion board based on a secular piece of literature.

Getting Excited for the End of the World

2011-05-19T23:04:00.003-04:00

Well, the end of the world is happening on Saturday, or so they say. Are you ready? Are you excited? Are you scared? Do you have enough food and water in your basement to last the next seven years?

(I will leave the discussion of eschatological and theological problems with this latest world judgement prediction to the pros. Read an excellent article by theologian and professor Dr. David Mappes here http://baptistbulletin.org/?p=15913 .)

What would you do if you knew the end of the world was coming in two days? If anyone had "end of the world" feelings, it was Moses. He was faced with several huge crises in his life. I mean, he was the leader of an entire race of people. No pressure there!

Moses was asked to stand up to the most powerful ruler of his time and proclaimed ten devastating end-of-the-world plagues on his country. Finally, when they gained freedom from Egypt, they came to an enormous body of water which would surely seal their doom by their quickly approaching enemy army...Seemingly another end-of-the-world feeling for Moses (not to mention the million people behind him). Fast forward a few years to see Moses coming down from the mountain after talking with God and what does he see? The entire nation having a party over a gold statue, forgetting about the Almighty God who had brought them out of Egypt and across the Red Sea...perhaps another day of confusion and end-of-the-world thoughts for Moses.

But in Exodus 33 we see Moses ask a special question that we've never seen anyone else ask before. In the midst of a life of end-of-the-world thoughts and feelings, Moses asks a huge favor: He wanted to see God's glory. "Please let me see your glorious presence." (Exodus 33:18)

Moses wanted above all else to see God's glory. He desired to see and know God for all that He is. God did allow Him to see all of His goodness, showing His backside, because no human can see the I AM and live. God's goodness alone was undoubtedly overwhelming for Moses; His face glowed for some time after His intimate encounter with the Almighty Elohim. (Exodus 33:19-23; 34:29-30)

Through experiences that maybe felt like the end of the world for Moses, he had a one-track mind. He was excited to see God's glory. He was ready for it, and it was surely an experience that he could find few words to describe.

So, when we are faced with the thought of "the end of the world," what do we do or think first? Freak out? Fear? Confusion? Disappointment? As Christians, there is no reason for these feelings; We have so much more to look forward to, whenever it happens! Do we get excited about seeing God in all His indescribable glory? Does that get us exhilarated? Are we thrilled by the scene we picture in our minds? Are we completely enraptured (pun intended) in the idea of finally seeing God's glorious presence?

While we do not know when Christ will return (Matthew 24:36, 25:13; Acts 1:7), we DO know that Christ's return could happen at any minute. We should be living with such expectancy every single day, regardless of whatever the latest judgement day date setters are saying. Get excited! Moses face glowed with simply seeing God's goodness; Imagine what God's GLORY will be like!

Living in the Red Cord District

2011-04-02T12:43:00.002-04:00

Rahab. Now there was someone who was known by her job. She was defined by her occupation, what she did. You usually see her name accompanied by two other words: the prostitute. Rahab the prostitute. (Joshua chapters 2 and 6 tell her story.)

Then one day a couple of guys came to her door. But they were different. They weren't the sleazy, shady-looking kind of guys that usually knocked at her door. They didn't want what she was selling. By this she was intrigued. She let them in, listened to their story, and helped them out.

You know the story. The two guys were from Israel, that nomadic people that lived in tents out there in the desert. They were there checking out the city for Joshua, Israel's leader. But then the King got wind of it and would have none of it. When the king's men came to Rahab's house looking for them, she protected them on her roof. (Her unethical means do not condone sin but show that God can use even our sinful mistakes for His purposes.)

Through her experience with these men, and this encounter with the God of Israel, her heart was turned toward God. I think this is the first door-to-door conversion recorded in history! She was convinced that the Lord was behind all of it: "I've heard about your God. I've heard about the things He has done for you, and how He has destroyed entire nations. No wonder we're all terrified of you! Your God is surely the LORD of all. Please, I beg you, promise me that my family and I will be saved from the Lord's destruction of Jericho!"

So she hung a red cord in her window, like the men told her to. It was probably the same rope that she let the spies down from her house by (2:15). It was kind of a strange, almost random thing to do to be saved from destruction, but because of her faith in the Lord, God of Israel, she did it. She left that red rope in her window, and when Jericho fell, she and her entire household were rescued (6:22-23).

The next time we see Rahab, she is in the genealogy listed in Matthew 1! She was in the line of our Savior, Jesus Christ! Rahab was Boaz's Grandma, and Boaz was David's great-grandpa.

Rahab also shows up in the Hall of Faith, Hebrews 11. An unlikely place for a prostitute, one might think. Thanks to that simple red cord and Rahab's tireless faith, she landed herself a spot smack-dab in the middle of Hebrews 11. "It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute did not die with all the others in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies" (Hebrews 11:31).

She was saved from physical destruction through a red cord hanging in her window. She was saved from spiritual destruction through a thread of faith strung through her heart. Rahab moved from the Red Light District to the Red Cord District, and as a result ended up in Both Matthew 1 and Hebrews 11. Didn't see that coming!

A simple red cord. Rahab's entire household was saved by a simple red cord and the faith that kept that cord in the window.

How many times are we asked to possess and employ faith that we don't think we have? How often are we asked to do something as simple as hanging a cord from the window of our lives? How often do we obey God when He asks us for simple childlike faith that what God says is true?Sometimes God asks us to do simple things, like Rahab's red cord. Other times we are asked to do strange things, also like that red cord - A seemingly odd way to be saved from destruction.

So, while we may not be living in the Red Light District, we need to pick up and move to the Red Cord District, where simple yet steadfast faith makes a beautiful home.

Whatever You Do, DON'T FORGET!

2011-02-06T00:42:00.005-05:00

"It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment? For the moment passes, it is forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone." ~Vita Sackville-West

I've been bugging my mom to start writing stuff down. Over Christmas break, we were working on my parents' wedding album, converting it all to a scrapbooking album with picture-perserving paper and tape. It was so much fun! I got to see their wedding pictures and heard the stories behind the pictures. I said, "Mom, you have to write about these pictures. You have to write a paragraph explaining that ten days before your wedding, Dad was in the hospital with appendicitis! You have to write down that you and Grandma made your wedding dress, and the week before your wedding you tore the sleeves out because you didn't like them!" Those stories - even if only valuable to me - will be lost, forgotten, if it isn't written down. The heritage that is represented in this album is priceless and it is something that I cannot afford to lose.

I'm becoming even more convinced that journaling is a sacred practice that I need to be committed to. I'm not talking about the mushy 14-year-old "Dear Diary, today I fell in love with Bill Williams..." journaling - although that may qualify. I'm not talking about writing about what you had for lunch that day either. I'm talking about real writing. About life, preferably yours. Writing about what you're learning, what books you're reading, what books you'd like to read, what interesting things happened that day, what terrible things happened that day, and what your heart desires for tomorrow.

A journal page is a snapshot of one day of life. It may read something like "Today, I slept in, (which felt really good) did a ton of homework, and then went to Wal-Mart. Nothing exciting happened, but it was a good day. I took three other girls with me to Wal-Mart, so it was more fun than just going by myself. It rained today and was kind of gross outside, so it was nice to hang out with some people in the dorm instead of just hiding away in my corner bedroom. I'm so thankful to be here at this school!"

Or, it may read something like this: "Today I read Galatians 4. it talks about how Jesus Christ has freed us from the law. Paul was writing to the Galatians, who had turned away from the true Gospel and back to trying to obey the Jewish Law to win God's favor. We were once slaves to the law, but now Christ has given us FREEEEEEEEDOM!"

Or it may be a combination of both.

It's a way to REMEMBER where you've been, where you're at, and where you're going. Key word: REMEMBER.

This was the demise of the Israelites.

Time and time again, God did amazing things, and they kept forgetting. They won a battle, they crossed a river, they didn't starve to death, their shoes didn't wear out - all by God's grace. But could they remember what God had done the next time they were hungry? When they were up against tough guys? No. So God said: "Make an altar." Altars were Old Testament blogs. They were there to help the people remember what God had done in the past for them. Because - let's be honest - the Israelites had really good forgetters.

When you keep a journal, you can look back at where you've been and say things like: "God is so faithful!" "Well, that was stupid of me." "God is so good to me." "I've come a long way since then." God's faithfulness is remembered and celebrated. Sometimes, when I'm having a bad day, I'll grab one of my past journals and read a day that was really good. I am reminded of God's promises, His everlasting love, goodness, and FAITHFULNESS. And I think that's what God intended when he created Altars. And pens. And the internet. (Here, I resist the urge to make a smart-butt comment about Al Gore.)

So I don't care if your journal consists of a 3x5 card of what God is teaching you or something that He did. Or if it's a 300 page notebook. Or an online blog. Whatever you do, DON'T FORGET.

So yes, Mom (because I know you're the only one reading this), I DO want to know that Dad's wedding ring only cost $20 in 1969, and that your lace sleeves were too much to handle a week before your wedding. Because 41 years later, you're still married, because of His Faithful Grace.

This isn't what I signed up for! Oh wait...maybe it was...

2011-01-24T01:19:00.002-05:00

Alright...
It's Sunday night. I'm putting off the dread of Monday morning by staying up late...it makes the weekend seem longer.
That, and I took a 2 hour nap this afternoon, so I'm not going to sleep anytime soon. That probably wasn't one of my brighter moments. Oh well. Now you get to read this!

Here I am - back for another semester of thrashing by my textbooks. It's a double thrashing, really: First, I buy textbooks for unreasonable amounts of money, just to have them kick my behind at their first binding crack. Self-inflicted pain! And they say college makes us smarter!

Junior year. I'm about ready to go around to the underclassmen to warn them NOT to have a junior year...But I feel that may do more harm than good. That being said, I am kind of regretting this whole junior year of college thing. I'm taking a solid 17 credits, working 2 jobs, and I'm an RA. That's intense. Good classes though - which helps immensely!

Physiological Psychology (yes, that's what it's called. Don't ask me to explain it, cuz i'm not sure I even spelled it right. It's 4 credits. I'm scared.)
Theology IV (Ecclesiology and Baptist Distinctives. Good material + Great professor = favorite class)
Psychology of Learning and Education ("POLE" Looks interesting. Sort of.)
Dynamics of Discipleship (Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about. A class about discipleship! Probably one of the most applicable classes BBC offers. Sweet!)
Women Counseling Women (Sounds good...except it's a night class. And we all know how dangerous night classes are...)
Issues in Professionalism (online class, which is cool, except there is still a weekend of lectures, and a good amount of work to be done.)

The good news is...only 14 more weeks to go!

We actually had a snow/ice day on Tuesday, the second day of classes! It was nice, except I'm still missing one syllabus (Night class on Tuesday was also cancelled), so that makes me a little nervous. But I'm sure it will be fine. At least it's the class with that prof that never knows what's going on! You know, that one prof who is really fun to listen to and learn about life from, but at the end of a class it's like, "Ok, so what did we learn today...?" Yep.

So anyways - I'll try to come up for air every once in a while and update you on this junior year nonsense. It's going to be a good semester, but a tough one. Hopefully I'll make it out alive. If I don't - you'll know what happened...another college kid driven to insanity, huddled in the corner with stacks of notecards, drinking espresso and mumbling something about MLA format. Don't say I didn't warn ya.

In other news, it's -11 here tonight. Hopefully it will be warmer tomorrow...always good to stay "positive!" The good thing about living on a small campus is that on days like today, you don't have to be out in the cold very long. Although the walk to the cafeteria is pretty long at -11 degrees. "Global warming" is at it again...!

At the end of the day (or the beginning, whichever you'd like to call it at this point. It's 1:15 am), God is good. He is faithful, and His grace is enough. His grace is enough to help me pass Junior year (nothing short of a miracle) and I will be smiling on the other side. :)

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness!"
Lamentations 3:22

What you learn in college...

2010-10-28T22:59:00.000-04:00

What you learn in college cannot be found in a book.

Things like...

-Quarters are priceless treasures that are to be saved and used only for laundry.
-Said laundry may or may not be done once in a three-week period.
-Minutes are actually 120 seconds long on Fridays.
-Friday nights contain little or no brain power.
-A student will have at least one class each semester that he or she cannot stand.
-A student will have at least one class each semester that he or she cannot understand.
-Graduation day is the end of the world and the foreseeable future.
-A trip to Wal-Mart is the highlight of your week.
-Going to lunch or dinner in the cafeteria with a significant other would constitute a date.
-Dating couples can be spotted across campus.
-Lengths of dating relationships can be predicted down to the day.
-Coffee can be used as a bribe for many different things.
-Students would pay extra to have coffee run through the campus drinking fountains.
-Caffeine is considered a food group.
-Ice Cream is a reasonable option for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
-Dorm life is an experience that one will never forget.
-Dorm life is an experience that one wishes they would forget.
-Anything without a name on it is up for grabs.
-Anything with a name on it is up for grabs.
-No matter how many times you see a person fall up the steps with an armful of books, it will still be funny.
-Hilarious, actually.
-If you are brave enough to root for a rival team while on campus, you are brave enough to withstand the consequential swirly.
-Morning people are more annoying at 8am classes than they are at 9am classes.
-Time in the shower and/or in front of the mirror is rationed.
-So is toilet paper.
-The Library is a place of necessity, not of want.
-So is the cafeteria.
-Professors possess many things like Master’s degrees, Doctorates, and your entire college career and unforeseeable future.
-Package slips in your mailbox are to be removed and promptly bragged about to whoever is in the mailroom trying to get their box open.
-That is, if you can get YOUR box open.
-Learning comes in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes they look like the letters “A,” “B,” or “See you next semester!”

I'm Back! (And YOU Thought You Got Rid of Me!)

2010-09-21T09:45:00.003-04:00

Woah! Sorry to leave ya hangin' there...

Well...welcome to Junior year! Crazy to think that I am half-way done with college! When did that happen?

Okay well...the good news is I am staying out of trouble...the bad news is I don't really have time to think! I am taking 16 credits and I'm working 2 jobs, AND I'm on the Student Leadership Council. So - it's a pretty busy semester, but so far so good.

In other news, I'm again working in the Communications & Marketing Department writing news stories for BBC's website. I don't write all of them, but I do a lot of the research. It's fun!

The Underground Cafe is also a favorite place of mine...Although I don't drink coffee (they might want to rethink hiring non-coffee drinkers at a Coffeehouse), I can make some pretty darn good coffee. Dare I say it is growing on me? I mean, not that I'm actually growing coffee beans on my arms (that could get awkward)...rather, I'm starting to enjoy select coffee-flavored drinks. However, there is a difference between "drinking coffee" and liking coffee flavored drinks...

So, I've already been at school for a little over a month, but it really feels like I've been here forever. The summer was way too fun, and I'm still grieving its passing. This generally takes the form of daily phone calls home, which are pretty much my favorite part of the day...Hm, I don't know if that's good or bad! This much I know: My MOM doesn't mind! :)

I've already been involved in a lot of random things this semester. Last week, I participated in Scranton's "Race for the Cure" where over 5000 people gathered to raise money for Breast Cancer research (Susan G. Komen Centers) through running and/or walking a 5K course. I've never been part of anything like that before, and it was amazing to see so many people come out for a cause that has affected so many lives. My roommate lost her mom to breast cancer, so I wore a sign on my back that said "I race in memory of Robyn Leonard." It was humbling to be a part of something so much bigger than myself or even just the tiny school of Baptist Bible College. It was moving to see so many people gathered for a common cause. That was only 5000 people...Imagine what Heaven will be like! Amazing!

On a side note, I'm adopted!

No, I'm NOT saying that my parents waited almost 21 years to tell me I was adopted - that might start some rumors. What I MEAN to say is that I've been "adopted" by a couple in the church that I go to here - Summit Baptist Bible Church. They are starting an "adopt a college kid" program (which is a FANTASTIC idea) and some of the empty nesters are taking on some college kids to keep an eye out for us. I'm pretty excited about it. The people who have "adopted" me actually work right here on BBC campus, so I get to see them fairly often. I'm pretty excited. It's going to be fun. I'm so thankful for such godly men and women who take time to build into my life. God is so good to me!

Well that's about it right now...just trying to stay on top of everything. This weekend is Rob Laing's wedding in Lancaster, PA, which is only about 2 hours away from here, so I'm really looking forward to being there and seeing everyone! And after that, Bible Conference is only in 2 weeks, which gives us at least 4 days off of classes, and my parents are coming out for a visit then! So I'm super excited about that. The semester is going by fast...and it's already the first day of fall! What?!?

God is good!!!

Stay classy, my friends.

-The one, the only, Emily :)

Sweet sweet summertime

2010-07-21T10:34:00.000-04:00

Why does summer always seem to blow by so fast? I feel like I just got home and now I'm already thinking about what I need to be getting ready for school! Ugh. That's the ONLY bad thing about summer!

This summer has been fantastic, though. I have a job working with teenagers! How much better does it get! I "babysit" a 12 and 14 year old each afternoon. While they are old enough to take care of themselves, their parents just want someone around to watch them in the pool, take them places and hang out with them. It's a real tough job...but hey, somebody's gotta do it!

Seriously, this is the best job I think I've ever had! Hanging out with teens! I love it! The best part is, God just kind of dropped this job into my lap. I had been looking all over for a job and had applied to a ton of places, and then one day I got a call about this job, and it was perfect! I'm loving it. God is so good to me!!

I'm also really loving time with my youth group. It's really fun and I love having relationships with the teenagers. I'm also writing some study guides to be used with mentoring students, and I'm really enjoying that as well.

Mix a couple of fun vacations in with that, and I'd say this summer has definitely been a good one. I head back to school in about a month, which I'm not too excited about at the moment, but oh well. Enjoying the time home as much as I can!

Hmmm...I love summer. :)

Theology = Love

2010-06-25T11:51:00.001-04:00

Theologians. What pops into your head when you hear that word?

Bible-thumpers? Intellectuals? Professors? Crazy people?

The truth of the matter is, we are all theologians. Everyone has their own set of theological beliefs. Even athiests do! Athiests believe there is no god, and that, in and of itself is a theology. Catholics have their own theology; Mormons have their own theology; Jehovah's Witnesses have their own theology, and the list goes on and on...

Our theological beliefs determine how we view, worship, and serve God. The problem is, while everyone believes some kind of theology, that theology may or may not be biblically correct. And in order to fully love God, we must believe the truth about him.

John Piper says this about "right thinking about God," or, a biblically correct Theology:

"Thinking is for the sake of something greater. And that greater thing is loving God. So the act of loving God will always need right thinking about God. If our means of loving is restricted, then our love for God weakens. Our head and heart must be united for Christ to produce God honoring action and long lasting satisfaction."

Piper states that right thinking about God (a biblically correct theology) must precede love for God. If we don't KNOW God, how can we LOVE Him? Worship Him? Serve Him? Live for Him?

The thought then follows that we must be teaching theology in our churches. If theology produces love, and love inevitably produces worship, service, and outbursts of that love towards others (evangelism), then right thinking about God is what we must first be teaching before jumping right towards the "How-To" of the Christian life. If we know God, we will love Him, and if we love God, the rest will fall in line. Our worship, service and evangelism is simply an outworking of love...they come naturally!

I'm at a Bible College with students just like me, who have grown up in church all their lives and have never heard of "systematic theology" - Theology, Christology, Bibliology etc... Even the "church kids" don't know biblically correct theology! Our churches are dropping the ball. If my generation knows little to nothing about theology, what makes you think everybody else does? Yes, we do need to be teaching theology in our youth groups, but we also need to be teaching theology in our adult ministries as well. A whole generation has gone by with little training in theology, and now we are trying to treat the symptoms instead of the problem. We must start teaching Theology BEFORE we teach the "How-To's" of the Christian life.

"So the act of loving God will always need right thinking about God."

How to Be Depressed...the Right Way - Psalm 13

2010-05-25T00:37:00.001-04:00

Psalm 13

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?

² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

³ Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

⁴ my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

⁶ I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.

I love this Psalm. It is painfully honest and vulnerable. David has juxtaposed two very familiar scenes of life: God's seeming silence in the face of adversity and His everlasting love and faithfulness.

How many times have we found ourselves in the same state of weariness: "How long, O LORD?... How long...everyday sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph?" Our laments sound more like "Why is this happening to me? Why me, LORD? When are you going to show up and save the day? Any time, LORD...right about now would be great! Will you forget me forEVER?"

While we are probably not running out in the woods from a king who is out for our blood like David was, we often find ourselves between a rock and a hard place, throwing prayers much like this up to God. Laments like these litter the Psalms, teaching vulnerability and an honest heart before God.

However, by the end of the Psalm, after David has painted a bleak picture of his life and situation, proclaims, "But I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for He has been good to me." He hasn't forgotten God's goodness and faithfulness to him in past days. He doesn't dwell on his uncertain circumstances but instead chooses to remember God's unfailing love, His perfect salvation, His goodness and grace.

Perhaps, through our tears, heart-wrenching sobs and cries of desperation that we lay at the foot of our Lord, Jehovah, we are to finish our prayers just as David has shown us: "for He has been good to me."

May this be my heart's desire...

2010-05-15T16:35:00.000-04:00

"My dear Jesus, my Savior, is so deeply written in my heart, that I feel confident, that if my heart were to be cut open and chopped to pieces, the name of Jesus would be found written on every piece." Ignatius, a student under John, martyred in Rome, 111 AD.

Pretty is as Pretty does

2010-05-13T00:04:00.000-04:00

I Peter 3:3-4 says:

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

2 years down, 2 to go...wait, what?!

2010-05-10T23:02:00.009-04:00

Phew!!!
There it went...my sophomore year!
Crazy!
So now I'm home, back in good ol' Michigan! I'm not sure what to do with myself yet - I don't have any homework, reading, or papers to write, and I don't have anywhere to be. Something must be wrong! Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining...Just gotta get used to being home!
This last semester has been awesome. God is so good. I have made some pretty amazing friends, which I am so very thankful for. The classes - well, most of the classes - were really good. I have really learned so much this year at BBC and I cannot believe how blessed I am to be able to be studying God's Word at BBC under such godly men and women.

The friends I have made this year have been some of the most fun, interesting, and encouraging people I know. I am so blessed! My group of friends is quite diverse and I would have never picked all of us out to be friends, but that's what I love about it. We're so different but I wouldn't trade them for the world. I miss them!

God is so good, and I constantly stand in amazement of His love and grace. A favorite song of mine says, "If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking!"

So there's a little de-briefing for you. Currently, I'm looking for a job, and a car, so if you have any leads on either of those, well, you know where to find me! :) Looking forward to being home with the family for the summer, and working with our teenagers in our youth group - can't wait!

Thanks for reading!

Learning and Serving Him,
Emily

In like a Lion and out like a...Lion??

2010-03-31T19:35:00.002-04:00

Holy smokes! Only 21 school days left? Why, why, that's just insane! Simply nonsense! Crazy talk!?!?!?

Well, the rumors are true, folks. Today IS actually the last day of March and we now move into April...phew! The first 3 months of 2010 have BLOWN by! I can hardly believe summer is this close.

Although, you wouldn't be able to tell that by the weather we've had in Northeastern PA recently! We had a great week last week with sun and birds and all the fixins for Spring.
And then Old Man Winter came back for a visit...he just couldn't leave us alone, he loves us that much! We got about 2 INCHES of SNOW. Well, it started as rain and then turned into sleet/hail....and then these huge snowflakes. It was beautiful, but somehow the silently falling ginormous snowflakes lose some of their magic when it's MARCH 30. I guess this year it was in like a Lion AND out like a Lion!

But alas, Old Man Winter decided it was time to go, and today the sun conquered victorious in the mountains of Pennsylvania...Spring is getting ready to spring!

God is so good, and I am so blessed!
Only by His grace have I gotten this far in my 19-credits 2 jobs semester...Thank you, Lord!

Next semester won't be so bad. I just got my schedule today. I6 credits, 6 classes. Not so hard to swallow. And, of course, the profs are amazing! It's going to be great.

But -- I don't really want to think about next fall right now...I've got my sights set on summer! Yay, summer! It's just around the corner and I can feel it now!!

I'm currently looking for a summer job. I've applied to 2 places (at home) and haven't heard back from either of them yet, but hopefully I will hear something soon! If you know of any place that is hiring for the summer, please let me know!
Also, if you find yourself befuddled as to what to do with that extra car sitting in the driveway (or the back yard, if you live in the country...) I would be more than happy to help take that off your hands... ;)

In other news, I think it's about time for me to stop procrastinating and get back to work...slacker!

Home Sweet Home!

2010-03-16T11:05:00.002-04:00

Ahhhh Spring Break!! Music to a college kid's ears!!

It is a much needed break for sure. I can't believe the semester is more than half way over, and I'm almost half way through college! That's just crazy talk. There's only 6 weeks of school left after spring break. I hope they will go as fast as the first 9 have gone!! I think they will.

It's so good to be home. But at the same time, it's weird, because all my stuff is still at school, so I feel like I don't know where anything is. Oh well. I'm not too anxious to get back to school quite yet.

This semester has gone well. It is flying by, but perhaps that has something to do with how busy I am. Phew! 18 credits and 2 jobs....won't be doing that again! Learned that one the hard way I guess. Classes are going well, and I love all of them (it's the work that I'm not a fan of).
But it's good. I'm not complaining, I'm pretty much loving mostly every minute of it. I'm so blessed to be at Baptist Bible College! Cool!

...But I am looking forward to being home for the summer...I mean, who isn't?

My jobs are going well -- I love working at the Underground Cafe. It's pretty fun, and I'm getting to know a lot of people. Plus I know how to make reeeeeeaaaally good coffee (not that I would even know, I don't drink it! ha!)! My communications job is going well - I'm learning so much about writing/journalism etc. I write most of the news stories on the school website ( www.bbc.edu ). Even though my name is not on it, you can just have the satisfaction of knowing that you know who wrote it. :)

Other than that, I don't really have much to say. Nothing much to report!

My apologies for being somewhat sporadic with this blogging thing...yeah I don't know if you caught the 18 credits and 2 jobs thing...that probably has something to do with it. I'll try my best to keep you more up to date the next six weeks (and then...summer!)

OH I'll have to post some pictures of "Narnia Summit." We had a good 2 feet of snow a couple weeks ago that aided in giving us a 4 day weekend...it was great. And so beautiful!

Ok -- until the next unforeseen time at which I post...
later!

-me :)

SNOW MUCH FUN!

2010-02-13T00:25:00.000-05:00

I LOVE SNOW!

...more to come. :)

Ah, Friday...

2010-01-29T20:25:00.003-05:00

Well, it's another Friday night and I can feel it already...it's going to be a long semester. But a good one, nonetheless.

The weeks go by fast, but I have a lot of work. a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. As in, I probably should get off the computer and start working. But what's the fun in that? Exactly.

So far, the semester is going really well. It's only week three, and I'm ready to go home. Yep, it's going to be a long semester. But I think it will go by fast. That doesn't really make any sense, but that's okay. I mean, it's like this: The week goes by fast when you're not waiting for it to go by. But, when you feel like it will never end, then it goes by really slow. It's all in your head!!!

Okay, enough rambling.

Naps are a college kid's best friend. And Fridays. We like Fridays too.
Oh, and packages in the mail. we REALLY like packages in the mail!!!
........................
ME Box 269
Baptist Bible College
538 Venard Rd
Clarks Summit, PA 18411
................................

In other news, you'll want to visit the website and read my latest news story. You won't find my name on it, but you will just have the satisfaction in knowing that you know the author. It's nothing much - I just write what they tell me to. But I like it. And you can keep updated on the happenings at BBC! To visit BBC's website, click here!
(And don't forget to become a fan of BBC's facebook fan page!)

And, I think that's all I've got. I'm pretty much drawing a blank ...it's Friday, what can I say?

God is good. His grace is sufficient, and His blessings are bountiful. Life is good!!

TEN

2010-01-16T21:49:00.002-05:00

Welcome to 2010!! "Twenty-Ten," "Two-Thousand Ten," "Oh-Ten" (ha)...what will YOU say??
I simply cannot believe it is already 2010. I remember when we celebrated "Y2K" - TEN YEARS ago! Man I feel old. I remember waking up on 1/1/2000 saying, "Woah, the 1900's was yesterday." Weird!! It's weird, but cool at the same time - this is the first decade that I can fully remember. I was born in 1989 - so the first half of the 90's passed me by pretty quickly. But these past years I remember very vividly...which is cool!!

ANYWAYS. Enough reminiscing.

I'm back at school, good ol' Baptist Bible College here in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. Christmas break was far too short...but alas, here I am once again, starting in on my 2nd semester here at BBC. First semester went by fast! And I have a feeling 2nd semester is going to go by just as fast - if not faster. And at this point....from my little corner in dorm room, I'm thinking that it wouldn't be such a bad thing if it went by fast. :) But, always remember to enjoy it. :)

The semester has started, and I survived my first week of it. Whew! I am taking 18 credits (Don't know what I was thinking when i signed up for THAT) and I love each (okay, most) of my classes. It's going to be a good semester. However, I also am handling a couple part-time jobs on campus. I'm working at our campus coffeehouse, "The Underground Cafe" a few hours a week as a "barista" which I love. I'm also writing for the communications/marketing dept. I'm writing news stories for the website. So if you get a chance, stop by www.bbc.edu for the news...even though my name isn't on it, you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you know who wrote it! I'm learning SO much in this job, and sometimes feel rather ...slightly less than smart, but that's ok, I love it! God surely provides!

Well -- I have gotten off to a little bit of a rocky start this semester, just trying to get my schedule and workload in perspective, but that's ok. It's going to be a great semester and I'm excited. It's going to be one heck of a ride, that's for sure!

I will keep you updated as I go on this adventure known as 2nd semester of Sophomore year...or at least TRY to keep you updated!! Thanks for reading!! See you soon!

Emily :)

2009-12-19T15:11:00.002-05:00

Please stand by for Emily's witty commentary. We will return to regular programming shortly. Thank you for your patience.

'Twas the Night Before Finals...

2009-12-13T23:07:00.005-05:00

...And all through the dorms

Not a creature was sleeping, but that was the norm

The students were nestled all slumped at their desks

While visions of scantrons danced through their heads

Their study guides covered the desks in piles

In hopes their efforts would be worthwhile.

When out in the lounge their arose such a clatter

When a book flew across and hit the wall with a splatter

"Agh, Lacky and Lytle and both the Shumakers

And Cragoe and Schloegel!" cry all the test takers.
"Your tests and exams they make me go crazy,

And I'll probably wake up with my brain all hazy!"

Their shouts and their cries rise up from their rooms

As they study and study for the week of gloom

Christmas break awaits on the other side of this week

But finals create a schism that looks rather bleak.

When at last the time for testing is come,

Hard preparations will prove well for some.

The Residence Halls fall silent in the morning

While nervous butterflies flitter with warning.

"Do your best on this exam" they all will say,
But what everyone really wants is only an "A."

From bed to breakfast with study guides in hand

"Some last minute cramming won't hurt," they demand.

They trudge up the stairs of the floors of Jackson Hall

Where the semester's last judgment will take place for all.

And then with a sigh the pencils will strike

A, B, C, or D - pick the one you most like.

When you are finished, hand it in with a smile,

And to your teachers say goodbye for a while.

Now take a deep breath and exclaim "I'm done!"

Don't answer the question, "Now wasn't that fun?!"

The students now leave skipping with glee,

For finals are over and their families to see.

Within minutes, it seems, they drive out of sight.

Shouting, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!"

The End is Near!!!

2009-12-07T23:19:00.002-05:00

Well, it looks like another late night post from the 2nd room of A suite in Thomson Hall!

First off, can we just take a moment to ponder the fact that the month on the Calendar now starts with the letter "D?!" (The sad thing is, I had to stop and go through the months of the year to make sure that last sentence was correct before writing it. True story.)

Seriously, December is here and college students everywhere are celebrating - well, almost. They first cringe at the thought of "finals week" (insert dramatic music here) and shortly after that there are celebratory shouts and dances taking place across America's college campuses (insert happy accomplishment music here).

So, welcome, December!

Only 9 days until I get to be home!!! Well, if I wait another 24 minutes, 8 days...
My handy-dandy paper chain told me so!! Yes, my roommate and I made a paperchain to count down the days until the end of the semester/Christmas break! It's red, green and gold. Perfect, I know.

The moral of the story is ...life is always more fun when you revert back to elementary school and pull out those crazy paper chain-making skills! :)

In other news, I wrote some pretty fun stuff for this month's Anchor (BBC's monthly paper) which I'm kind of excited about. I might post something soon, so keep an eye out for it... :) It's one of my favorite things that I'm involved in here at BBC!

Anywho -- It's late, once again, and I should go to bed. Yay for 9 o'clock classes! Eh, it's not too bad. If I go to bed now I can get 8 hours of zzz's....which is awesome for a college kid! :)

With that said, I bid you farewell and good night....

"...Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" :)

p.s. yay, Christmas music!!!

De Ja Vu? De Ja Vu?

2009-11-10T22:45:00.003-05:00

Okay, a short post tonight to tide you over until I can find time to post that ISN'T me procrastinating...
Oh wait, that will never happen.
Okay, a short post tonight because, despite my hour and a half nap this afternoon, I'm still tired. And I have an 8er (8 o'clock class) tomorrow morning...so I am attempting to put my body in a dormant state in order to save up potential energy so that it can be used as kinetic energy in the hours following.
In other words, I want to go to sleep (but I think you caught the idea).

The countdown is on! Hm, anyone else have de ja vu?? Only a few short weeks ago I was counting down the days to coming here to BBC (or Bravo-Bravo-Charlie as my brother likes to put it), and NOW I'm counting down the days to going HOME! There's no place like it! Man I wish I had a pair of those red (sparkly!) heels...

14 days until Thanksgiving break - the days are a-flyin'! I can't wait. I could list the things that I'm looking forward to MOST about being home, but you would soon lose interest and the daunting task of reading the list would most likely overwhelm you and you would probably just say "well, I'll quit while I'm ahead" and stop reading. Don't feel bad - I would do the same thing!

I guess the biggest thing that I'm looking forward to (well, after ya know, the whole FAMILY part) about being home is having some HOME COOKIN'! Real meat, in the form of a flightless bird (preferrably dead and cooked to perfection), artery-clogging gravy (with which to douse said bird), and the only good way to eat yams (that is, with brown sugar and crispy flakes on top) are just a few of the images that 'dance in my head' each night when I am 'snug in my bed' (whoops, wrong holiday). And, not to be forgotten, the all-important climax to every Gehman family gathering..."Mom's homemade Apple Pie!" (can you get more HOME than that? I think not!). THESE are [just] a few of my FAVORITE things!

tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttgggggggggggggggggggggggggggbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnghsadks
whoops sorry...drifted off there for a couple minutes...

The moral of the story is...Only a few short days (and one LONG day in a car) until I'm home safe and sound taking part in the glorious festivities of that holiday of feasting and giving thanks! And for that I am giving THANKS!

Speaking of which, THANKS for reading...

2009-11-01T21:43:00.003-05:00

In my frantic search to find something, ANYTHING to do OTHER than Homework, my computer cursor found its way to my nifty little blog...
Ahhh procrastination
at its finest!

Well, my writing habits have digressed and for this I apologize. My personal journal has also suffered the consequences of an addiction to sleep and the taskmaster of college life! The past couple weeks have been somewhat crazy. At times I'm almost completely convinced that my professors get together each week to figure out how they can make me scramble to put all the pieces of my academic life together in time! This week they certainly gave me a run for my money! Well, let me rephrase that...they already have my money! And to think...all of that money and in the end, all I get is a little piece of paper...I could make my own diploma! Now there's a higher-level thought!
The moral of the story is...never believe it when someone tells you that college is a breeze...I mean we do get some pretty high winds here but I wouldn't call any of them "breezes"...
Um... yeah. I'm pretty much working my fingers to the bone and by the end of the semester my brain will be mush! But, to quote my little friend Khalil, "I am okay with that now!"

Yikes, my mind is a scary place to be at 10:07 pm!

If you are still reading, you get a gold star and a sticker that says, "You're #1!"

Okay, so what's really going on with me, you ask? Well, if you've been paying any attention at all, you know that I have been working hard! Today, I was sitting in church and the thought dawned on me: "The last time I was off-campus was LAST Sunday, to go to church!" And I realized how much of a bookworm I am (and not really the good kind, but more of the academic OCD kind of bookworm)!! Which isn't a bad thing, but there comes a time in a college student's life when they really just need to get off campus!

Okay, in all seriousness (who am I kidding, seriousness isn't really going to make it into this post) - School is going well. There are two classes that I'm absolutely loving, mostly because of the professors (MAN are they SMART!) and partly because of the material. The rest of them, well...come to your own conclusions :)
The good part is - the semester is more than 1/2 way over, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel - or so I'm told! We're all looking forward to Thanksgiving break for sure!
In other news...I tried a new church this morning, which I REALLY liked, and I think I will keep going. I'm excited for that!
God is teaching me SO much here, and the more I learn the more I realize how tiny I am compared to the Great and Mighty God that we serve!!

Well, I have procrastinated long enough -- I really should get to those last few pages of reading...oh, joy! The reading never ends...it is endless...there is no end to this tunnel nor is there a light...page after page after page...the reading...and reading...

Hey, thanks for reading! ;)

Welcome to October!

2009-10-04T21:53:00.002-04:00

Woah!!! Did you see that?? I think it was September, but it was going so fast I almost didn't see it. Yikes! Where did it go? The days are a-flyin'! Fall is here, and so are its beautiful colors. The mountains here are amazing, spotted with bursts of orange and red...I will post some pictures soon so you can see what I see everyday! I wish this season was longer! This is my favorite season. Colors, leaves on the ground, cooler weather and, best of all, FOOTBALL! College football in particular...GO BLUE! I do love Michigan football...and living here in PA is slowly making me a Penn State fan -- If they aren't showing the MI game, I can always count to find the Penn State game on 3 or 4 channels!
BBC Defenders Football - Undefeated since 1932!! ;)

In other news...

I competed in my first collegiate athletic event last weekend...Yep! It's true! I'm a student athlete! At this point, you may be wondering what kind of athletic event I would be able to participate in...because, let's face it -- There isn't a picture of me in the dictionary under "student athlete"!! Let's just say, the Women's Tennis team was extremely desperate. Apparently, they were going to have to forfeit last week's match if they didn't have another girl. Well, I couldn't really come up with a good reason to not do it (other than that I didn't have any experience...they didnt' care!) and I felt really bad that they would have to forfeit...and I didn't have the heart to say no...So I told them that I had little to no experience playing tennis - and they still let me on the team! Crazy! As long as they know what they are getting....hah! So I went and played in the match. We had to go to Baltimore, Maryland (I'd never been there, either!), so it was quite a drive. We lost the match overall 8-1, but all things considered, I think I played fairly well. I won 6 out of the 18 games in my singles match...which isn't that great if you're a REAL tennis player...but if you're not (like me), I wouldn't say that's too bad! I told the girl I played that it was the best match I'd played all season! She didn't have a clue that it was the ONLY match I'd played all season! Haha! I had a lot of fun, and I'm staying on the team for the rest of the season. Since last weekend I've only played exhibition (which means it doesn't count for the season record) because #7 in the lineup, and only 6 girls play at the match. But it's still fun and I'm having a great time. :)
http://www.bbcdefenders.com/ <<< I'm on here!

Anywho...
This next week is Bible Conference here on campus...which is kind of our fall break, but not really. We only have classes on Monday and Tuesday and the rest of the week is Bible Conference...Chapels and workshops galore! I'm looking forward to the break.

welp...that's about it for now...I'm about to fall into bed and get some shuteye. Sleep has become sacred!
Goodnight!

2009-09-09T16:18:00.003-04:00

iHola mi amigos! Bienvenidos a mi "blog" nuevo.

Okay, that's about all I can do in Spanish for right now. I've been using my Spanish Bible a little bit this week in some of my classes and I'm not doing too bad - although sometime it is fairly hard to keep up with it. Just a little challenge for me to make life interesting (okay, maybe to just make my 9am classes more interesting...)

So - Baptist Bible College! Here I am - you've seen the pictures - I am really here! I went to the first home soccer game this last saturday. It was a good game - unfortunately, we didn't win - but we only lost by one, and it was really close. Very exciting to watch - even though I'm not a huge fan of soccer, it was fun to be there. I think next week I'll paint my face - half blue and half white -- I'll be ready for both the BBC Defenders' soccer game and the Penn State game (the Nittany Lions seem to be the favorite around here..altho I did get to watch the MI last week too!!)! Yay, multitasking! :)

In other news...

I really like all my classes - and by all I mean most - and by most I mean maybe 2. Just kidding - let's go with "most." Today, my favorite class was Theology II. Dr. Cragoe is probably my favorite professor (so far). His wife, Mrs. Cragoe, regularly attends all of his classes and she is a very sweet lady. They don't have any kids of their own, so they "adopt" all of us college kids as their own - how cool! I like them a lot. And Dr. Cragoe is VERY smart (hence the prefix, "Dr.") and interesting to listen to. I have him M-W-F and I enjoy his class very much. Another class I like is History ----- now that you have picked yourself up from the floor from the shock that the last statement caused you to go into....keep reading.

Miss Cagley is our history of Western Civ & Thought professor - and she again is very knowledgable in her subject and presents it as an epic story. I'm never bored in her class (which adds to me liking it) and I especially like how she weaves in the Bible -- when and where this happened in the Bible and in History - how very interesting. I like the class lecture (which is 1/2 the battle) but not a huge fan of the work -- but who is?

Principles of Bible study is another favorite -- Dr. Lytle (another extremely smart man) is very interesting to listen to and I appreciate his dry humor. He cracks me up. His class is a longer one but only T and Th so it is bearable. The material is so interesting to me -- how to study your Bible in depth and so that you can get the most out of it. What an applicable class to take at Bible college (which is probably why it is required)!! :)

So, for the most part, I like my classes. But it wouldn't be college if you didn't have a class you didn't like, would it? true. So there are a couple classes that aren't my favorite, but the good thing is, it's only a semester!

I went to a church called Parker Hill Community Church this past Sunday. It was awesome. It was different than my home church but I liked it a lot. They didn't get too heretical - although ...it's it okay that they didn't have pews but just chairs? not sure...but there wasn't any lightning strikes so I think it's okay...

Anywho - I really liked it and I'm excited to get involved and see how God will use me there - hopefully I can get involved with the youth group there and get some cool experience with the church. I'm looking forward to it!

So - the rumors are true - I'm doing well here at BBC and excited for the rest of the semester (but looking forward to a break to come home too). THANK YOU for all of your prayers - keep 'em coming!! Oh -- and just in case you didn't get my address from before.....

Emily Gehman #269

Baptist Bible College

538 Venard Rd

Clarks Summit, PA 18411

JUST IN CASE you needed that address ...

just sayin'...

2009-09-02T16:40:00.002-04:00

THOMSON A SUITE RM 2!

Notice the Michigan paraphernalia :)

And the Love from Michigan wall, which is fairly

empty....!!! ;)

2009-08-30T13:27:00.002-04:00

OK, I will crawl out of my little homework hole long enough to update you on my first week at BBC...okay, who am I kidding - I haven't done any homework this weekend!!

It has been a crazy first week of classes - hardly time for a breather! Between getting settled in the dorm, going to meetings left and right and then starting classes - there has been little time for relaxation! So far, I like all - or at least most - of my classes...

Monday : Old Testament History (9am), West. Civ (12n), and Theology II (2p)
Tuesday: Old Testament Prophets (9a), Principles of Bible Study (11:30a)
Wednesday: Proclaiming the Gospel (8a), OT History (9a), West. Civ (12n) and Theo II (2)
Thursday: OT Prophets, Principles of Bible Study
Friday: Proclaiming the Gospel, OT History, West. Civ, and Theo II

Now just imagine a 4+ page syllabus for each of those classes - and you will understand what this week had entitled for me. Talk about information overload! yes. Oh - throw 3 softball (fall ball) practices in there somewhere and complete the picture!

I like my classes, and I'm excited for the Bible that I'm diving into so far. Yay Bible College!

In other news...
Yesterday was the New Student retreat at Dorney Park. Dorney Park is a small amusement park in Allentown, PA that is pretty much a mini (and I mean mini) Cedar Point. It was fun -- didn't have to wait more than 2 mintues for any ride -- first time that has ever happened to me before! Of course, when all you know is Cedar Point - well it just doesn't stand a chance, but that wasn't the point of the trip, I know. It was fun, I'm glad I went (plus it was free...what good college kid passes up a free trip to an amusement park??). However, that did keep me from doing anything productive (i.e. homework) yesterday... Oh well, It was worth it! :-)

So, I guess that's what I should be doing now - Homework. Not too much for this first week but lots of reading. but I can do that! :-)

And...just for your information - not that you should write this down or anything...I'm not saying you should do anything with this information but just IN CASE you need it...

Emily Gehman Box #269
Baptist Bible College
538 Venard Road
Clarks Summit, PA 18411

;-)

Pictures to come...stay tuned!

Arriving at Destination!

2009-08-21T22:53:00.004-04:00

Welp, I'm here, safe and sound!!! I'm laying on my nice comfy bed in a nice dark room about to konk out right here on my keyboard. I got up at 6:15 this morning! I can't remember the last time I saw 6:15AM!!!!! The drive out was a little longer than we expected but not unbearable. Slightly, maybe, but we made it.

Man, I'm excited! Actually, I really just want to get into everything - jump in with both feet (which will come soon enough -- Tuesday!). I'm looking forward to it. My - I mean our - room, or at least my half of the room is a disaster, but will be better soon..hopefully. :-)

I am ready for this awesome ride...trusting God and following Him is surely an adventure but one that I am ready to go on! I feel good here. This is where I am supposed to be right now. God is good. :-)

T-27 hours and counting...

2009-08-20T09:32:00.003-04:00

In a few short hours I will be cruising through the hills of Pennsylvania...to my little slice of Heaven (I wish!!) in the Pinocchio Mountains! Uh, I mean the Pocono Mountains. Tomorrow is moving day and I'm convinced it will be complete and total chaos on campus. But I suppose it wouldn't be right if it wasn't. I am glad I am on the bottom floor...only one set of stairs to deal with and it is going DOWN! That will make it easier.

Well, I'm excited. It will be good. Hard to leave, but once I get there and 'plugged in' I will be fine. God is good!

I'm ready. Let's go!

Nostalgia at its best

2009-08-12T10:24:00.003-04:00

Well, it has come down to my last full week at home. Though, not without excitement, mind you. Thanks to the 5 inches of rain and plenty of lightning and wind, we found ourselves in the dark on Sunday night. Nothin' like a good ole power outtage to make you realize that procrastinating on that big pile of laundry maybe wasn't the best decision. We were out from Sunday night about 8ish til about 3 yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. It was fun. I said that we should turn Amish and then we wouldn't have this problem!

Needless to say, we are all thankful that it is back on. Now for that laundry...

Ah, it's waited this long, it can wait a few more minutes. Besides, there's more than one way to wear a pair of underwear!

So now I have become consumed with seeing how much of my life will fit into the car. Yes. It's a good thing we own more than just the Volkswagen (Although I do think my little Jetta will be lonely without me...). Packing is hard work. With this being my first year away, I have no idea what I will be needing. I can only rely on advice from everyone else who has been there (and depending on the person, can be somewhat tricky...). So it will be interesting for sure. I may be sending half of what I take back home til Christmas! Or I may be running to Walmart every week for the stuff I forgot...Hard to tell but I think I'll be okay (I am thankful for the Walmart only 3 miles away!)

I leave Michigan on Thursday the 20th and arrive in Pennsylvania on Friday the 21st. Why such a long trip, you ask? Pennsylvania isn't THAT far from Michigan! Well, it really depends on who's driving... plus Ohio road speeds are kind of ridiculous.
Just kidding (well, not about the OH road speeds). We're making a stop in Marblehead, OH to spend the night with Adam and Linda and then Linda is coming with us the rest of the way (how's that for a sister-in-law from OH! Score!) which I am pretty excited about. Plus it shortens the trip about 3 hours, so instead of 9 hrs out in one day it will be 3 hrs to OH and 6 hrs to PA. Sounds good to me!

So like I said, this is my last full week in this great state of Michigan (oh trust me, I will be bringing plenty of MI paraphernalia, so it will feel like Michigan for sure). And perhaps I am over-dramatizing this, but you have to understand - this is kind of like the end of the world for me because I can't really see past the next week and a half or so. So over-dramatizing? Maybe. Feeling too nostalgic? Maybe not.

Okay, seriously. My room is starting to smell from the pile of laundry. So that is my next task. Wish me luck!!

T-21 Days! Not that anyone's counting...

2009-08-01T10:39:00.000-04:00

Hello there!!! Thanks for tuning in...

It is now August! In just a few short weeks I will be traveling across the country to the grand old state of Pennsylvaney to begin a new adventure... College! Excitement is coursing through my veins....well, maybe some of that is caffeine, too.

This past year I attended Oakland Community College here in Auburn Hills, Michigan for my freshman classes. I have saved a lot of money and have enjoyed the extra year here at home. But now it is time to cut my strings, fly the coup, spread my wings, take the plu--oh wait... let's not get carried away, here.

Baptist Bible College is located in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania - about a half hour out of Scranton (yes, Scranton, where they shoot "The Office"). BBC is about 1/4 of the size of your local highschool - no, I'm not kidding. Including undergrad, gradschool & seminary, there are a little over 1,000 students. My graduating class will have about two to three hundred people in it, if I'm lucky. But that is one of the things I love about it!

You might be wondering how one can afford Bible College. Well -- I'm still wondering that too! Let's just say it's...slightly more expensive than community college...!!! But by the Grace of God and his unending provision and faithfulness, I have watched my school bill shrink and shrink over the past few months -- and I have no idea how. The God we serve is one amazing guy.

I will be studying Biblical Counseling and because of the rigorous Bible classes at BBC, I will have the equivalent of a double major -- A major in Bible and major in Biblical Counseling. And you know what that means -- lots and lots and LOTS of reading. BBC will make an early riser and a speed reader out of me yet! ...

I'm so excited to see what God has in store for me. It will surely be a never ending learning and stretching experience - and I can't wait to get started. God is good. This blog is to keep you - my faithful reader[s] (hi, mom!) - updated on what God is teaching me throughout this ride. Thanks for reading!

So -- Only 3 weeks before I leave for this great adventure. I'm nervous, excited, scared, thrilled, anxious....and the list goes on. But there's one thing I know for sure: I'm ready. Let's go!