"We may, indeed, be sure that perfect chastity - like perfect charity - will not be attained by any merely human efforts. You must ask for God's help. Even when you have done so, it may seem to you for a long time that no help, or less help than you need, is being given. Never mind. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again. For however important chastity (or courage, or truthfulness, or any other virtue) may be, this process trains us in habits of the soul which are more important still. It cures our illusions about ourselves and teaches us to depend on God. We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and, on the other, that we need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection."
-C.S. Lewis
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
A Great Problem to Have
It's currently 5:35am and the crickets are chirping in tandem with these dreadful AC units that keep kicking on and off at an extremely high decimal. You'd think one would cancel the other out, but nope. I can hear them both. Very well.
I taught myself the Greek Alphabet this morning and I've already been to work and back (sadly I have to go back in at 7:30 and I'm debating on whether or not they'll even realize if I show up again because it'd be worth staying home if they didn't). I'm thinking some C.S. Lewis is up next, or maybe just some good 'ole Genesis, but hopefully I'll fall asleep before I get to choose either.
So how did week one go? Well, for a lack of a better answer, week one has simply left me exhausted (i.e. I just spelled "exhausted" a-c-h-a-u-s-t-e-d and made the past tense of "spell" into "spelt") and I could really use a Sabbath right about now.
Aside from work and classes, Aaron and I got to go to the Snow Shack for a dreamsicle flavored snow cone topped with marshmallow sauce yesterday (which is quickly becoming a custom of ours; I'm sure you're scratching your head as to why). After being sick last week and being so busy this week, something so simple as being able to sit down at a picnic table and relax in his company for a short while was incredible. We had band practice afterward, which, went well, but my voice was pretty out of sorts, which actually means it was REALLY out of sorts. Understandable I suppose considering my tonsils and throat were covered in blisters this time last week but come on, who's making excuses?
I'm just thankful I got sick LAST week.
Side tracking a little bit, but I don't think I ever mentioned what classes I'm taking this semester - so for those of you at home who are interested (ahem, Granddad), the schedule looks like this:
Genesis (BIBL 410)
Philosophy (PHIL 201)
Ancient Greek (GREK 201)
Methods of Teaching the Bible (CHMN 4-something)
Hermeneutics (BIBL 48-something)
The classes are great, but making it to them on time is another story because:
1) It takes me a good 15 minutes to find a place to park because, as a friend of mine has put it, Liberty has a vision to build anything and everything besides more parking,
2) I push my way through flocks of freshman to get on a bus (yes, I totally cut in line and I'm 100% unrepentant about it), or
3) I end up deciding to book it across campus on my own two feet with only 15 minutes to spare in between classes. My asthma is hating me for that one.
During the midst of all of that frustration, I'm dumbfounded because even when I'm struggling to get from North to Towns in time for class, I'm realizing all the while that it's a wonderful problem to have. I'm grateful that the Lord can cut through all of the noise and allow me see what an incredible blessing it is to be in college at all let alone be here. Even when I have to wake up at 3:30am to go to work, it's a great problem to have. Most of the time. ;)
The same concept is even convicting me as I sit in my air conditioned apartment, exhausted, and being pushed to the edge of insanity due to these stupid crickets and the AC units roaring on and off like a freight train. God still cuts through the noise and reminds me that "It's a great problem to have."
I guess I'd have to agree with Him and say that yeah; it's a very great problem to have.
-C
I taught myself the Greek Alphabet this morning and I've already been to work and back (sadly I have to go back in at 7:30 and I'm debating on whether or not they'll even realize if I show up again because it'd be worth staying home if they didn't). I'm thinking some C.S. Lewis is up next, or maybe just some good 'ole Genesis, but hopefully I'll fall asleep before I get to choose either.
So how did week one go? Well, for a lack of a better answer, week one has simply left me exhausted (i.e. I just spelled "exhausted" a-c-h-a-u-s-t-e-d and made the past tense of "spell" into "spelt") and I could really use a Sabbath right about now.
Aside from work and classes, Aaron and I got to go to the Snow Shack for a dreamsicle flavored snow cone topped with marshmallow sauce yesterday (which is quickly becoming a custom of ours; I'm sure you're scratching your head as to why). After being sick last week and being so busy this week, something so simple as being able to sit down at a picnic table and relax in his company for a short while was incredible. We had band practice afterward, which, went well, but my voice was pretty out of sorts, which actually means it was REALLY out of sorts. Understandable I suppose considering my tonsils and throat were covered in blisters this time last week but come on, who's making excuses?
I'm just thankful I got sick LAST week.
Side tracking a little bit, but I don't think I ever mentioned what classes I'm taking this semester - so for those of you at home who are interested (ahem, Granddad), the schedule looks like this:
Genesis (BIBL 410)
Philosophy (PHIL 201)
Ancient Greek (GREK 201)
Methods of Teaching the Bible (CHMN 4-something)
Hermeneutics (BIBL 48-something)
The classes are great, but making it to them on time is another story because:
1) It takes me a good 15 minutes to find a place to park because, as a friend of mine has put it, Liberty has a vision to build anything and everything besides more parking,
2) I push my way through flocks of freshman to get on a bus (yes, I totally cut in line and I'm 100% unrepentant about it), or
3) I end up deciding to book it across campus on my own two feet with only 15 minutes to spare in between classes. My asthma is hating me for that one.
During the midst of all of that frustration, I'm dumbfounded because even when I'm struggling to get from North to Towns in time for class, I'm realizing all the while that it's a wonderful problem to have. I'm grateful that the Lord can cut through all of the noise and allow me see what an incredible blessing it is to be in college at all let alone be here. Even when I have to wake up at 3:30am to go to work, it's a great problem to have. Most of the time. ;)
The same concept is even convicting me as I sit in my air conditioned apartment, exhausted, and being pushed to the edge of insanity due to these stupid crickets and the AC units roaring on and off like a freight train. God still cuts through the noise and reminds me that "It's a great problem to have."
I guess I'd have to agree with Him and say that yeah; it's a very great problem to have.
-C
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Semester Two
Tomorrow is the first day of my second semester here at Liberty. It’ll be quite different from the first, considering that it’s a new season and I have a new major - amongst plenty of other things.
I’ll try to keep this short because if I want to survive tomorrow I’m gonna have to. My day begins in six and a half hours (that’s right: 3:30am) for work. I get off at 11 and then I’ll have to jet to class to be there by 11:25 – which, I don’t foresee happening. I have four classes back to back from there on out and I’ll finally be able to leave campus and come home at 3:45. Holy Crap. The only thing that could possibly make it any worse is if I had to wear a size 2XL “Yes I Can Help You Shirt.”
Heh. Scratch that.
Already happening.
Of course I’m being a little dramatic, but it’s warranted. I have no idea how this week is going to pan out, but with the uncertainty comes a whole lot of excitement.
-C
Thursday, August 19, 2010
mason jar soap dispenser
My friend Sarah absolutely loves mason jars. She used them in her wedding and ended up giving us twenty-four of them to take home with us last weekend. We gave twelve to Aaron and then kept twelve, and aside from using them as drink glasses I thought I'd get creative. I hadn't bought a soap dispenser for the bathroom yet - I just haven't been able to justify buying a collection of bathroom counter items that cost around around $10 an item (I'm talking about your soap dispenser, soap dish, toothbrush holder, tumblers..etc.). It can get expensive! Here's an alternative that you can put together yourself without having to go to the store. Yep. That's right people. I'm talking FREE.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
More Ch-Ch-Changes.
SO!
I cook Cajun food now, which I guess was bound to happen at one point or another since I have a boyfriend who grew up in Louisiana... (and because if I didn't, my roommate would dominate for the title of best cook in apartment 508. Mmm. Not acceptable).
...And I apparently make Cajun casseroles out of the leftovers:
Essentially I just took what was left over from our Crawfish boil (Potatoes, Smoked Sausage, Corn, all boiled with Old Bay seasoning) and threw it in a casserole dish. I didn't put any of the leftover Crawfish in there because I wanted to marinate them to make Etouffe for another time (which I have a recipe for) and so not to waste good Crawfish on my first casserole experiment.
After cutting up the potatoes, sausage, and corn, I cut up one small white onion and a green pepper from my dad's garden, added some elbow macaroni, Cream of Celery, Cream of Chicken and some milk. I put a little more Cajun seasoning in there with some Onion Power and garlic and then gave it a generous helping of Sharp Cheddar Cheese and Aaron and I ate it tonight for dinner. As you can see, we pretty much killed it. It was actually amazing, but I guess you can't really go wrong with casseroles. Especially when they're Cajun.
Another change that has my feet hurting all the time is my new job at the Liberty Bookstore. It's actually great, and although it can be tedious sometimes, I don't have to wear a uniform and I don't come home smelling like fried food. Another plus is that I'm surrounded by books, and I get a 25% discount on textbooks for class and 35% off anything on the top floor, including their books, merchandise, and Starbucks coffee :)
It's super exhausting and my body isn't quite used to the 4 a.m. wake up call yet (I work morning shifts which begin at 5 a.m.), but I love it because I get to leave at 10 am and I have the rest of the day to just chill.
Working there has also led me to make another change...
...and that would be my major.
I ended up switching my major back to a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion and I couldn't be anymore excited about the change. Working at the bookstore and seeing all of the amazing books I'd be reading if I were a Religion major made me really bummed, so I ended up switching a couple days ago. I did some math and figured out that it'd take me three years to graduate if I were to stick with the Music degree (I need SIX semesters of choir! Absurd). I have 76 credits so far, which puts me at Junior status. There's no way I'm staying three years just to take choir. Heck. No.
So that's about all that's going on here in Lynchburg. I'll be working six days this upcoming week, but I get tomorrow off, which means I'm heading home to Harrisonburg to see my Aletheia Family. It's been forever.
I miss them.
-C
I cook Cajun food now, which I guess was bound to happen at one point or another since I have a boyfriend who grew up in Louisiana... (and because if I didn't, my roommate would dominate for the title of best cook in apartment 508. Mmm. Not acceptable).
...And I apparently make Cajun casseroles out of the leftovers:
Essentially I just took what was left over from our Crawfish boil (Potatoes, Smoked Sausage, Corn, all boiled with Old Bay seasoning) and threw it in a casserole dish. I didn't put any of the leftover Crawfish in there because I wanted to marinate them to make Etouffe for another time (which I have a recipe for) and so not to waste good Crawfish on my first casserole experiment.
After cutting up the potatoes, sausage, and corn, I cut up one small white onion and a green pepper from my dad's garden, added some elbow macaroni, Cream of Celery, Cream of Chicken and some milk. I put a little more Cajun seasoning in there with some Onion Power and garlic and then gave it a generous helping of Sharp Cheddar Cheese and Aaron and I ate it tonight for dinner. As you can see, we pretty much killed it. It was actually amazing, but I guess you can't really go wrong with casseroles. Especially when they're Cajun.
Another change that has my feet hurting all the time is my new job at the Liberty Bookstore. It's actually great, and although it can be tedious sometimes, I don't have to wear a uniform and I don't come home smelling like fried food. Another plus is that I'm surrounded by books, and I get a 25% discount on textbooks for class and 35% off anything on the top floor, including their books, merchandise, and Starbucks coffee :)
It's super exhausting and my body isn't quite used to the 4 a.m. wake up call yet (I work morning shifts which begin at 5 a.m.), but I love it because I get to leave at 10 am and I have the rest of the day to just chill.
Working there has also led me to make another change...
...and that would be my major.
I ended up switching my major back to a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion and I couldn't be anymore excited about the change. Working at the bookstore and seeing all of the amazing books I'd be reading if I were a Religion major made me really bummed, so I ended up switching a couple days ago. I did some math and figured out that it'd take me three years to graduate if I were to stick with the Music degree (I need SIX semesters of choir! Absurd). I have 76 credits so far, which puts me at Junior status. There's no way I'm staying three years just to take choir. Heck. No.
So that's about all that's going on here in Lynchburg. I'll be working six days this upcoming week, but I get tomorrow off, which means I'm heading home to Harrisonburg to see my Aletheia Family. It's been forever.
I miss them.
-C
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Something in the Water.
Good thing: I checked my Liberty e-mail this morning and found out that I got offered that temporary job at the bookstore for the month of August and for the first week of September.
Bad thing: The e-mail was sent on the 26th of July and it is now August 4th. Orientation was the 31st. Fail.
Good thing: Brooke Fraser's new single "Something in the Water."
Bad thing: I now have to demonstrate an insane amount of patience waiting for her album to drop on October 12th. Even worse, I just realized that I probably won't even be able to afford it since I didn't check my e-mail. Check your e-mail, people.
Good thing: Martha's cooking.
Bad thing: She doesn't live with me.
Good thing: Conway Family Reunion this weekend in Clearfield, PA.
Bad thing: I'll keep it to myself, although it may have something to do with not seeing my boyfriend for five days. Lamesauce. Go ahead, make jokes.
-C
Bad thing: The e-mail was sent on the 26th of July and it is now August 4th. Orientation was the 31st. Fail.
Good thing: Brooke Fraser's new single "Something in the Water."
Bad thing: I now have to demonstrate an insane amount of patience waiting for her album to drop on October 12th. Even worse, I just realized that I probably won't even be able to afford it since I didn't check my e-mail. Check your e-mail, people.
Good thing: Martha's cooking.
Bad thing: She doesn't live with me.
Good thing: Conway Family Reunion this weekend in Clearfield, PA.
Bad thing: I'll keep it to myself, although it may have something to do with not seeing my boyfriend for five days. Lamesauce. Go ahead, make jokes.
-C
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