3-Day for the Cure

I just wanted to make this post to bring awareness to the continual need to fund breast cancer research. I'm sure you guys all know someone who has battled or is currently battling breast cancer. Why not help out how you can and financially support breast cancer research? No amount is too small! Someone I know has personally battled and survived breast cancer, and she now does anything she can to help find the cure. Her name is DeLese Range, and she is the mother to one of my friends at Iowa State. She is such a strong, inspirational woman, and she has beaten cancer twice. If you want to read about her incredible story and/or make a financial contribution as she will be doing the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure 60 mile walk again this year then click here. Remember, no amount is too small! Please also join me in sending up some prayers for Mrs. Range as she trains and fundraises for this event.  

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.  -2 Corinthians 4:7-9

Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.  -Isaiah 41:10

Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.  -John 16:20

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  -Proberbs 3:5

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  -2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Blah

I've officially failed at this blog thing. Nothing too exciting happening in my life now anyways besides my new phone. I love my droid (minus the update) so flushing my old phone down the toilet--which takes skill by the way--wasn't such a bad thing after all.

& it's VEISHEA week now. woot woot. Had a pre-veishea event this past weekend at the Theta Chi formal which was pretty fun. Including having to go into the hotel tunnel w/ all the other guests because of the tornado. The best part may have been taking over the DJ music by hooking up my Zune and starting a Michael Jackson dance party with Voss.

A few pictures from formal:

Speaking of Michael Jackson... everyone should read the book Michael Jackson Conspiracy by Aphrodite Jones. Great book. Speaks the truth. I love that man. I love his music. I love who he was as a person. I love how caring, sweet, loving, and child like he was. It's such a sad, sad, sad story how this sweet man was so greatly taken advantage of by money hungry people and the sick, lying, disgusting media. Such a sad story. I miss him greatly, and I wish so badly that I could have seen a concert and met him. I love Michael Jackson. "It's all about the love. L.O.V.E." Also, if you haven't seen the movie This Is It you definitely should... now. A-mazing. Love. Michael. & if you ever want to make me cry then play Beyonce live in concert singing her MJ tribute "Halo". I tear up every time. Love. Michael.

The Fallen

The other night I was reading one of my daily devotionals called Discovering God's Daily Agenda, and the scripture of the day was Obadiah 1:11. I just want to quote some of the devo to you,

"What is your reaction to newspaper headlines about the CEO whose empire has crumbled due to unethical accounting practices? What about the athlete whose career ended abruptly due to a test that came back positive for steroids? How about the family down the street whose teenage son--unsupervised by his parents for so many years--was just arrested?

Our own heart's condition is revealed by how we treat those who have fallen. A hardened heart is indifferent about, or even rejoices in, another's calamity. A contrite heart--a heart that knows its own sin, that knows that 'there but for the grace of God go I,' a heart filled with Christlike compassion and love--breaks for those who stumble.

How does one's heart become more like Christ's? God is the One who opens our eyes to our own sin and pride... by bringing us to the cross to ponder the price paid for our sins... and by washing us clean with His forgiving love. A heart humbled by its own sin extends grace and love rather than judgment to those who fall."

I love that last line. That devotional really struck home with me, and I think that it probably does with most people. I feel as though I have been on the "fallen" side of things the past couple years, and it is so hard to be kicked when you're down. The only thing that would get me through was Christ's love and Him extending His love through my family.

I catch myself a lot lately thinking, "I don't know the whole story," or "Who am I?". I have countless times judged and criticized others for their shortcomings, but who am I to do so? Isn't the act of judging another person a shortcoming in itself?

We need to extend Christ's love especially to those who have fallen and those who are struggling. We've all had low points and just think of how it felt when Christ's love was shown through someone, and then think of how it felt when it wasn't. Let's work to fill our heart's with Christ's love so we can be the high point during someone's struggle by showing them God's grace instead of throwing another stone and being the reason they stay down longer.

We need to LOVE. Not only people we personally know but everyone. Strangers. Celebrities. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the lives of movie stars, athletes, musicians, etc.--especially me sometimes. In the words of the great Michael Jackson, "People don't stop to think what they're saying sometime and the effect it can have on a person." No matter how famous or how rich, everyone is just a human, a sinning human, but still very much deserving of the love of our Savior.

All in all, this devo really got to me because it is something that I personally need to work on, and it is also something that I have felt the effects of recently. So let's humble ourselves, own up to our personal sin, and extend Jesus' love instead of judgment to those who have fallen. Because who are we to judge?

Thank you, Mama. Bathroom drama.

Thank you, Mom, for teaching me to always unplug things such as my toaster, hair dryer, and straightener when I am done using them even if they're turned off. So my valentine's day got off to a marvelous start. I used the bathroom outside my room, squirted a couple shots of hand sanitizer on my palms because I'm all out of hand soap, then sprinted up the stairs to see if my food was done. While I was in the kitchen, I heard the sound of water running downstairs, and I got really confused as to why I would've left the sink running. It instantly hit me that I never used the sink so I immediately bounded down the stairs hoping that it wasn't what I thought. Without hesitation, I rushed into the bathroom, and the immediate soaking of my sock confirmed my dreaded guess before I even saw the toilet. Much not to my surprise, the toilet had backed up for the third time in two weeks for no apparent reason. With urgency, I sloshed through the water and reached for the knob behind the toilet to stop Bathroom Pond from expanding into Basement Lake. My eyes dashed across the bathroom floor for anything needing to be rescued. I picked up my bag and placed it into the bathtub without too much concern for its health. As I looked behind the bathroom door, I saw my hairdryer. Drowning in water. Whoops? Thankful that it was my hairdryer that I had been contemplating replacing because of its recent lack of effort and not my expensive straightener, I scooped it up and took it to the hallway to dry it off. While taking off my sopping wet socks and drying my toilet water infested blow dryer, I realized that this could've been a bad situation had my hair dryer been plugged in. Mesi, Jezi, for keeping me safe, and thank you, Mama Jo, for making it a habit for me to unplug everything. Lesson of the day: unplug things when you're done & don't set your blow dryer on the ground because your crappy (haha) toilet might turn into a flowing water fountain when you least expect it. Plus side: I got a new toilet installed today thanks to RESGI. & I'm out.

Cherish the moments.

So first off I just wanted to say that I still can't get enough of the Little Darth Vader commercial from the Super Bowl. It always puts a smile on my face. So cute. :)

Anyways... some good moments in the last couple weeks. My little brother Corey had his senior night for basketball. Senior night. I can't believe he's a senior. During that game he also hit a three quarter court shot at the buzzer of the first quarter -- his first points of the senior night game. If you missed it, it was shown last night on the local news channel KWWL. Here's the link Corey's 3/4 court shot. He also scored his 1,000th career point vs Colo-Nesco. They play their first round of districts next Thursday vs Tripoli at Tripoli at 7pm... you should go!! If we don't come out with the W I'm going to be all tears I think because that'll be the last time I watch my brother play high school ball. 

Short & Sweet. Off to order some Pita Pit because I am starvinggg. :)

When I say I'm a Christian...

When I say ... "I am a Christian,"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."
I'm whispering "I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say ... "I am a Christian,"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble,
And need CHRIST to be my guide.

When I say ... "I am a Christian,"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak,
And need HIS strength to carry on.

When I say ... "I am a Christian,"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed,
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say ... "I am a Christian,"
I'm not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are far too visible,
But God believes I am worth it.

When I say ... "I am a Christian,"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches,
So I call upon His name.

When I say ... "I am a Christian,"
I'm not holier than thou.
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace somehow.

Pro Bowl Sunday

It's about that time... pro bowl starts in approx 90 minutes. I'm so stoked to watch Michael Vick... it has been too long. Hopefully, Vick & Witten or Miles Austin will connect for several yards and then Jerry Jones will wake up and realize "hey, we need this guy on our team... screw tony." That would be a beautiful thing. :) I'd have my #7 jersey on preorder. 

I would also like to state that Reggie Miller has made the most 3 pointers in NBA history, and he also holds the NBA's 4 point play record with 24. I'm going to keep stating that for as long as I can because it's apparently the year to break Reggie Miller's records... young punks. 

Also, if you would like a good laugh you can check out my moonwalk videos on facebook. They're slightly ridiculous. I think #2 is my favorite, but the one that's the closest to looking somewhat like a moonwalk is #3.

#2

#3

So... I started this post a few hours ago... that's what happens when I'm at work. I get distracted. I was so excited when I heard Kris Allen was singing the National Anthem. No one had come in to the hotel for hours, and then as soon as Kris was about to start singing some guy came in wanting a room. I had to turn the breakfast TV up so I could hear it at least while I was checking the guy in. Anyways, this Pro Bowl is just an embarrassment. NFC, baby! 


Jason & Minivan are coming to bring me pizza since I've been working since 7am. What great friends I have! :) I suppose I should go get some plates and stuff out for when they get here. Have a great night people! :)

Here I go again on my own

Alright, alright so I'm starting this thing back up because I'm at work and things are really slow right now, and this seems more appealing then tryna study. I'm currently working another back to back double shift. 32 out of 40 hours. It gets kind of boring so this is keeping me entertained. 

I went to my first Salt Company of the semester this week. I absolutely love The Salt Company. Salt takes place at Cornerstone Church in Ames on Thursday nights, and it's a bunch (sometimes around 800) of college students who get together to worship with the band and listen to a great message. I love it. Absolutely love it. You should definitely come check it out!! :) Anyways, the message on Thursday was on Daniel chapter 3. It was about the story of Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego. In short, King Nebuchadnezzar commanded everyone to bow down and worship a gold statue when music played, and when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused he threatened to throw them in a fiery furnace. The three of them told the king they would not bow down to anyone or anything but God so King Neb threw them in the fire to burn. When he realized they weren't burning and were unharmed he ordered them to come out of the furnace and for everyone else to worship God. Here's a song based on this story. "Burn Us Up" by Shane and Shane. If you want to watch the message from Thursday night or from previous weeks you can view them at Salt's website which I linked to earlier.

You ever known someone for a short amount of time, but you feel like they're one of your closest friends? I met my friend Kendra on our mission trip to Haiti. I automatically feel really close to everyone on that trip just because I shared a life changing experience with them. Anyways I'm so thankful to have met her, and I know God put her in my life to help me in my faith. I know where I want to be on my walk with the Lord, and I know the truth. I just need help letting go of worldly things and the idea that my life is all about me when I know it needs to be all about Him. I'm struggling with this daily, but it's something that is absolutely worth it all, and I am so grateful that God has brought Kendra into my life to give me support, encouragement, and to also call me out. I'm just learning to give my burdens over to Jesus. Let Him carry me. How awesome is it that the King of kings wants to help me with my struggles? 

"Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." -Psalm 55:22

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." -1 Peter 5:7

Okay well my 16 hour shift is almost over. I'm sure I'll write again tomorrow.