Transformed

I guess I really don't know what to say. To tell you of all that God has done in my life in the past three or so months would require explaining some things in a depth that I don't really want to go to. Let me just say that He has done so much healing and transformation that I can honestly say that I am not the same person I was when school started. The most obvious difference is the fact that, a few weeks ago, I came to the realization that I am perfectly content on the NDSU campus. That's so weird to say, because my whole life I've hated living here. I've known it's where God has called us, but that didn't change the fact that I still considered the Cities to be home. To fully understand this difference, I'd have to go into a lot more detail, but suffice to say I know that God has called me to the campus, and I'm perfectly content and satisfied with it. A couple of friends used to ask me, "If God called your family back to the Cities, would you want to go with them?" And I used to answer "Of course! I want to go back with or without them!" But now? I don't know what I'd say. My heart is so fully for the kids on campus that I don't want to leave it. I'm even looking forward to going back to school because I'm ready to pour into their lives again. I continually stand amazed at this, because not only am I content, but the anger I used to battle has been totally eradicated. There is such pure joy flowing from me that I can honestly say I know what it means to have the joy of the Lord as my strength. A lot of this change I know has to do with Fargo First, Chi Alpha, and one amazing girl God has used to change my life. When the semester started, I felt like I was, in a way, losing my family; but instead, God has extended my family. Through Chi Alpha I have been surrounded by amazing Christian girls who love their Savior and who love each other. I feel closer to some of these girls, in the few months I've known them, than I do to my friends I've known my entire life. And that leads to another change in my life. I have grown so much in my walk with the Lord this semester. A few months ago I started praying something to the extent of "God I want my heart to beat with Yours. I want my heart to break over everything Yours breaks for. I want my heart to burst with joy everytime Yours does. Open my eyes so I can see the way You do." And I'm finding that the closer I draw to my Savior, the closer I get to everyone around me, and the more love and joy start to flow through me. All I want to do is pour into the lives of the people around me, especially the girls He has given me at Chi Alpha. And you wouldn't believe how many times I've questioned this. It seems so backwards, but then, I'm the one that's had it backwards the whole time. I'll ask "God is this really how it's supposed to be?" It feels wrong, almost, to love those around me so much. Like I'm not loving Jesus enough or not focusing on Him or something, I guess. Sometimes I think He just shakes His head at me. Because for as many times as I've asked, His answer is always the same. "Andrea, when are you going to get it through your head?! THIS IS MY HEART! The closer you draw to Me, the more like Me you become, the more you're going to love people!"
No, it's not always easy. Of course there are still days that I struggle. This past month my family and I have dealt with some things that have been pretty tough, and there are still times when all I want to do is cry. Or scream and throw things around. But in the end God has carried me through, and He has filled me with such an intense love for my family (including my Chi Alpha family) that all I can say is it's awesome. People have always told me "You are so blessed." And yeah, I believed them, but sometimes it was hard to see. Now, every single day tears come to my eyes as I realize that "yeah, I am so blessed. So, so blessed."

This really only scratches the smallest surface of all He has done in me. I could go on and on, but it's hard to explain in writing. If you spend any amount of time with me, you'll pretty much hear about Chi Alpha nonstop, because that's where my heart is. And if you ask me about Tiffany, I could spend hours telling you all the ways God has used her to help walk me through some trials, to answer my prayers, to challenge me, and to just be there for me. She has been a blessing beyond anything I could ever have imagined or asked for.

Blogger has been really frustrating with uploading pictures lately, so here are a couple links instead.
Here are some pictures I took when I was bored over break.
Here are some family pictures from 2009, including some from last week.

Did you believe?

As he sought a safe and dry place for his wife to stay
Did your heart start to race as you began to realize
That this was no ordinary man, with no ordinary wife
Did your hands start to tremble at the thought
Of God Himself seeking your help?
Or did you simply see a woman about to give birth
A woman with no place to stay
And no place to lay her babe?
Did you believe?

Was the compassion you felt the same as it always had been
Or did it flow from you with such intensity
That you could not ignore the Divine nature of love
The love that was so beautifully shown that night?
Did you believe?

Did you show them to the stable and then turn away
To go and attend all of the others at the inn
All of those who demanded your attention?
Or did you look back a second time and wonder
At the strange way God would choose to enter the world
Did you believe?

When the baby uttered His first cry
Did you smile as you always did
When a newborn child wailed in the night?
Or did a shiver run down your spine
As you understood that you were hearing the very cry of God Almighty?
Did you believe?

As the shepherds came seeking a newborn babe in a manger
Did you smile in contempt at their crazy story?
Did you ignore the ruckus as they crowded the stable
Thinking it was only their foolish imaginations causing such an uproar?
Or did you follow them to the stable
Barely daring to breathe as they told of the angels
Of the message, of the sign?
Did you whisper your awe as you wondered
Why God Almighty would reveal Himself to lowly shepherds?
Did you believe?

When the wise men related their experience
Of following the brightest star in heaven
In hopes of seeing the coming King
Did you shake your head and discard the theory?
Did you tell them to look elsewhere?
Did you think them crazy as they began to quote Scripture
In defense of their quest for the Holy One of Israel?
Did you say “It couldn’t happen here”?
Or did tears begin to stream down your face
As you began to comprehend the fact
That this night was the beginning of redemption
Not just for Israel, but for all of humanity?
Did your heart burst with joy and humility
As you realized that God Almighty had chosen you
To help bring His beloved Son into the world?
Did you believe?

I'm done . . .

It's weird not being in class, and not having homework, and not being away from home, etc. You get the idea. I've begun to formulate a long post about the semester, but right now I have no motivation to sit down and write it all out. So maybe later. Or tomorrow. Or never. I don't know. But for now, suffice to say that I'm done, and I finished the semester with a 4.0 in all my classes. So getting on the Dean's List was a good accomplishment, though I will say right here and now that all credit for that goes to my wonderful Savior--He's the One who deserves all the honor and glory.
However, the GPA isn't the big story--it's what God has brought about in my life throughout the semester. Like I said, I may get around to writing about it. Maybe tonight, maybe not at all. But my God is amazing, and that pretty much sums it up.
Click here for a few pictures from finals week, as well as some that have already been posted here on the blog.

From the Inside Out

A thousand times I've failed
Still Your mercy remains
Should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in Your grace
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

My heart and my soul
I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord
Let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Everlasting
Your light will shine
When all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring
You praise from the inside out
Lord my soul cries out.

~Hillsong

I've been tagged . . .

Thanks Hannah, for the tag. And since I have nothing else to do, it'll give me something to write about. :)

Rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.

2. Copy the award.

3. Post it in your blog.

4. Tell us 7 things that your readers don't know.

5. Link 7 new bloggers as recipients.

6. Notify winners of award with comment on their blog.

7. Keep being an encouragement!

Seven things people don't know. Oh boy, well here we go. Note: I'm really bored right now, so it'll probably be pretty long. :)

1) I am a part of a group on Facebook called "I judge you when you use poor grammar," and it's true. I am an absolute grammar freak. My family calls me the grammar police, and I don't mind a bit. It drives me absolutely crazy when people use improper grammar, spelling, or punctuation. My biggest pet peeve (besides improper verb/noun agreement) is using adjectives when you should use adverbs (i.e. slow, instead of slowly). And yes, to all you writers out there, I do edit your stuff as I read. :)

2) I'm finding that spending time in the Word and in prayer each morning is vital to how my day goes. I know that's a no-brainer for most people, but when the semester first started, I felt like I didn't have time to read the Bible in the morning, so it'd get put off 'til the evening, and by then I was too tired, etc. But now that I'm in the Word every morning, my days go so much better. And starting the day in prayer helps to keep me in His presence throughout the day. I'm also finding that the more time I give to God, the more time I seem to have--or the more productive He makes my time. It's crazy, 'cause He doesn't require me to, for example, spend time at Chi Alpha, or at small group, or so much time in prayer and in the word; but when I do, He blesses me so much. It's not only that He gives me that time back twofold; it's that He so fills me with His presence that I want to give Him all my time. This semester, I've gone from focusing on schoolwork alone, and not giving God nearly the attention that He so deserves; to where I have to work to have motivation to do school. All I want to do is bask in His presence. So I'm learning how to do both at the same time; and when I do, He blesses my study time and makes it so productive.

3) I have major food texture issues. My family tells me on a regular basis how weird they find it, but I can't help it. I can't even explain exactly what it is; there are just certain foods that I just can't eat. One thing would be if it's sort of crunchy, or sort of crunchy-yet-soft foods. So foods like onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, or water chestnuts are out. And I also don't like most desserts or junk food. I love chocolate, of course, but would rather do without the rest--pie, cheescake, and pretty much all candy.

4) God has literally saved my life, probably many many times, but I can think of three in particular. When I was three, I ran out into a parking lot without paying any attention, and ran right in front of a car that was driven by a teenager. It was totally God's protection that they were being watchful, and they stopped before they would have run into me (and yes, I do remember this experience--very clearly. So does my mom!). When I was nine, I had appendicitis, and the doctors sent me home saying I just had the flu or something. And the ONLY reason they said I didn't have appendicitis is that when I was lying on the examining table, they asked me to stand up, and I did. Their thought was "Oh, people with appendicitis can't do that, 'cause it hurts too much." Inside, I was going, "Hello, I'm not a wimp. Yeah it hurts, but if you tell me to do something, I'm gonna do it!" Anyway, they sent me home and said to come back in twelve hours if it wasn't better. By all human standards, my appendix probably should have ruptured and I should have had to battle a horrible internal infection. But once again the grace of God protected me and they finally figured it out and removed the appendix before it ruptured (but I still was in the hospital for five days). The last one is actually an instance where instant obedience saved my life. I don't remember how old I was, but one time my dad and I were taking my cousins over to a park, and just as I was going to cross the (empty) street, my dad yelled "ANDREA, STOP!" I literally froze in place, and from out of nowhere a car came screaming past where I would have been standing just a moment later. My parents taught me from a very young age to obey instantly, and to this day if someone tells me to stop, I freeze without even thinking. So as an encouragement to any parents reading this, teaching your kids instant obedience may be challenging, but it could end up saving their lives.

5) I have watched maybe four or five vidoes or TV shows since school started (and that'd be stretching it). And I have yet to watch more than one or two quarters of a football game (except for Carl's games, but those were in person). And yet I'm finding that I have no desire for any of it. Part of the reason is that Sunday afternoons I'm busy doing schoolwork or whatever else needs to get done before the evening. But mostly, I don't care about football, movies, whatever, anymore. I'd rather be spending time in worship, reading my Bible, doing school, or just hanging out with family or friends. I'm not saying any of it is bad; if you want to watch the stuff, great. And have fun while you're at it. But don't take it personally if I would rather not.

6) I'm running out of things to say. I guess I could say something about music, though you all have probably heard me talk about it before. I am still amazed at the passion God has instilled in me. And yet, throughout the years I took piano lessons, I have to admit that I slacked off a lot. Carl and I were pretty much at the same level throughout the years, but if I'm going to be honest, he worked twice as hard as I did. Now, does that make me a better pianist? Absolutely not. Mostly, it makes me lazy. :) In fact, it makes him the better pianist, because it was hard work and determination that got him to the level he plays at now. Not to say that it was only hard work; Carl has an amazing ability to play the piano, and it's a joy to listen to him (most of the time). But God has given me a natural ability to play, and because of that, I never had to work as hard as he did. That's not to say I didn't work at it; I did. I practiced. I cried. I prayed. It was hard, and there were times I wanted to quit. But God refused to allow the fire burning within me to die, and because of it, I still LOVE music. It pierces through to the very depths of my soul and moves me in ways I could never describe. And now that I'm not taking lessons, Carl's definitely surpassing me in ability. I still play as often as I can, but not the challenging stuff he does. And now Robbie is playing, and for all his hard work, it won't be too long before he surpasses me, too.

7) I can't think of anything else right now. Anyone want to remind me of random facts about myself? :) If I come up with something, I'll add it later.

I'm not going to tag anyone in particular, but if you're interested, feel free. Just let me know so I can see it!

GO VIKINGS!!

Some of us Vikings fans amuse ourselves by scaring every Wisconsin fan we see strutting down the street with that obnoxious green and gold "Packer" on their shirt and/or hat. We swerve our vehicles as if to hit them, and swerve back just missing them (not that I condone such an act - of course not!).

One day, while driving down the road with my wife, I saw a priest walking. I thought I would do a good deed, so I pulled over and asked the priest, "Where are you going, Father?"

"I'm going to say Mass at Our Lady of the Hills Church, about 2 miles down the road," replied the priest.

"Climb in, Father. I'll give you a lift."

The priest climbed into the rear passenger seat, and we continued down the road.

Suddenly, I saw a Wisconsin fan walking down the road, with that irritating "Packer" shirt on, and I instinctively swerved as if to hit him. But, as usual, swerved back into the road just in time.

Even though I was certain that I had missed the guy, I still heard a loud thud. Not understanding where the noise came from, I glanced in my mirrors, but still didn't see anything.

I then remembered the priest. I turned to him and said, "Sorry Father, I almost hit that Packer fan."

"That's OK," replied the priest, "I got him with the door!"

GO VIKES!