MiSURA

giving birth to eight children.. in ONE pregnancy?! i dunno why this article caught my attention. it's not like it's the first time it's happened. maybe bc i'm getting older.. and it's time to get.. umm married.. yknow. that whole jazz. check out the Q&A on octuplets as well. and how you would possibly raise eight children at once. i think it's pretty insane. each child weighs like 2lbs!!

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well i'm just sitting here @ work, perusing bbc.com. my 2pm class is canceled. my meeting w. my mentor is also canceled. so i'm just at work til 1230pm and then i'm donnne! the koinonia spring retreat is this weekend. i'm super super super pumped. last year was amazing.. but i have great hopes for this year's. this year's theme is based on Romans 12:2 - Do not conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

1. What is the world? Why does Paul say not to conform to it? Where do we fit in?
2. How do you transform your mind? What does true repentance look like?
3. How do you know what God's willl is? Can we trust that it is "good, pleasing, and perfect"?

And the theme itself is To Fit or NOT to Fit? Meaning will we choose to fit in the world where everything seems good.. or will we choose to NOT fit in the world and be separate? I think the retreat tshirt design made by our fabulous janet will make more sense:

I always talk about how I see things in jigsaw puzzles. And that was my vision for this retreat. I see our lives as puzzle pieces. Pieces that make up the world. But to each individual, there is a specific calling and that is the one piece in the center that isn't placed. As followers of Christ we have been called to be separate from the world. But it's still a choice. Will you choose to fit comfortably in the world and be like it.. or will you choose to receive God's calling, transform your mind, and NOT fit in the world? I hope that made sense... O____o

I'm just really really excited.

Please pray for revival, renewed commitments, and a zeal to serve our Lord. And for the weather. It's pretty mad right now with all the snow, but yea. Pray for safety for the speaker (flying in from DC) and for our drivers.

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I'm still memorizing II Corinthians.
Here's the next chunk I'll be memorizing.
Please keep me in check! I'll update sometime soon about my convictions and lessons learned. =)

okay. people need to inform me about things like goodreads. otherwise i sit around totally ignorant. =) check it outtttt

i didn't realize i read so many dang books.
too bad i don't remember a lot of them. but now i will thanks to this fancy schmancy network.
i'm also finding it quite impossible to track down every single book i've read since high school. o well. when it comes up, i'll update my list.

When I first met and discussed the parameters of my internship with my mentor, I was taken aback a bit because it sounded like I was going to work in the conservation dept. And I was like, "MM.... that's not what I signed up for." But thank goodness, she explained some more and now I'm satisfied. =)

So. What am I doing? It's not 100% clear right now what I'll be doing for the rest of the semester, but for the time being, I am researching the language of art historians vs. language of conservators. Then I need to be able to translate that so that the general public can understand. This is really great because I want to be able to help the public understand the work of art on a deeper level and this internship will achieve that ... just in a diff. way than I expected. But it's cool. I like reading about facts that I can trust and basing conclusions off of that instead of grabbing interpretations out of thin air and expecting it to be credible.

It looks like I'm reeeeally gonna be working on my writing (which I need desperate help in). And reading a lot (which will help me, too). I'm scared to show that I suck at those two skills, but thank goodness Jesus' grace is sufficient for me and I can boast in my weaknesses (II Cor 12:9).

Question to ponder... what is the difference between a copy, an imitation, and a replica of a work of art?

Nailed v1-2 =)

I've decided I'm gonna memorize the book of II Corinthians.
The link Gerald posted up said not to start w. anything too long.... but o well. I kind of already know II Corinthians (the order, specific passages) and it's my favorite book.

I'm not sure if I have a schedule or not. But I'm gonna be adding small chunks once I've mastered the previous chunk(s). If that takes a day, great. If a week, okay. If a month.. uhh... If a year? Hopefully it won't go to that length.

If you ever see me in person, ask me to recite whatever I've memorized up to that day. To keep me accountable. And even if you don't see me in person, drop me an email or call me, whatever. Again, to keep me accountable. Or to catch up. That would be nice, too. =)

I'm so excited to get started! Here I go!!

shout out to robin3!!
YEAYUHH

EDIT AGAIN!: Genius. just genius. Why didn't I see this before?! aigooo. Pastor John Piper's recommendations for Bible Reading Plans. Never too late to start one! =)

wish list? def. the ESV study bible...

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EDIT: I read this after I listened to the sermon. The Word is also a SWORD.

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AHH.. i am so convicted.
all that i'm trying to "solve".. these "heart matters" are gonna remain as individual puzzle pieces unless i go to the Word and find out what GOD wants of me. what kind of restoration GOD has planned for me. only through the Word can i put together these puzzle pieces.

i wrote in my journal at AF1 that if there's one thing i want my small group girls to get out of the retreat, i want it to be that the Word needs to be like an extension of their hand. i bought them these twistable crayons (which i am in love with, by the way) to make reading the Word more interesting, if you will. for me, i like to highlight as i go along, it helps me remember bc i'm a visual learner. for them, it may be coloring-your-Bible-101, but at least they'll know why they received the crayons.

i also asked myself, why do i want them to grasp this truth?
i see my life as a biiig jigsaw puzzle. as i live each day, every person i encounter, each gift i receive, every prayer lifted up, etc. is a puzzle piece that is added to this entire jigsaw puzzle. some things are in my control (what time i wake up, choosing to walk to my next class, doing my QT) and some things just aren't (what the pastor will speak about on sunday morning, a car accident that i read about in the news, etc). but ultimately, i know that my life is NOT in my own hands. it is in God's hands. and if i try to put this puzzle together w.o His wisdom, then it's gonna turn out to be one ugly, messed-up puzzle. His WORD helps me to complete this puzzle to put the right pieces in their respective places. We have SO many questions about life and we don't know how to go about answering them. look! it's all in the Bible. if you didn't know, it's because you're not reading it.

lately, i haven't been memorizing the Bible. But listening to Pastor John Piper's message on John 15:1-7, i have been convicted to start it up again. i encourage you to also listen/watch it. He opened the sermon by reciting the following passages: Psalm 1, Psalm 16, Psalm 103, Romans 5:1-8, Romans 8, Matthew 6:25-34, I Corinthians 13. He just kept on reciting for about 15 minutes. It was incredible. Word for word, he knew all those passages.

more than just reading and paraphrasing, we must know and understand God's WORD because it is life-giving and is a powerful weapon against the evil one. (Pastor John Piper gives many more reasons why we should memorize Scripture).


thank you Lord for growing in me everyday.

what is at the heart of the matter of all that i do?
coming back from the retreat.. i have so much to confront in terms of heart matters.


india.arie is absolutely phenomenal. i have no idea if she's a believer or not.. but her lyrics make me think so. anyway. lots to think and pray about. heart of the matter... and heart matters.



the video is of both "heart of the matter" and a jazzy rendition of umbrella.