Old-fashioned

Merry Christmas Eve

The Weekend of Cameras

I literally took a camera with me everywhere I went this weekend.  Today, when I came home from church, I took 4 out of my car.  They were as follows:  my Nikon CoolPix point and shoot, my Olympus SP500-UZ, my grandfather's old Canon T50 35mm SLR, and my brand new baby, a Nikon D3000.  Here's a sampling of the pics I took, not including the 4 rolls of film that have to be developed:

Dear Cassie,

Feel free to steal any of these, or email me and I will send them to you.  I love you!  :)

Finals

I shouldn't be writing this.  I shouldn't be on this website and I shouldn't even be on the internet, for that matter.  But I need a little break.  I'm about 2/3rds of the way through this monstrosity of a study guide for Anatomy and Physiology and its beginning to make me overwhelmed.  


See, tomorrow marks the beginning of finals.  Final exams, final countdowns to break, final times with Dexter just the way it is right now.  We'll be losing a few members next semester, and I'm heartbroken to see them go.  Its just another reminder that life is comprised of seasons and changes.  But its exciting too...one will be studying in Australia, one in South Korea, and one's graduating!  We have the pleasure of sending them off, remembering the place that they've filled in this house, and waiting to hear about their new adventures on the other side of the planet.  


Finals also brings the countdown to a well deserved break.  I've got 2 exams and 15 pages standing between me and a few weeks of rest and catching up with friends at home.  I'm prepared for that time, too.  I've got a reading list (Corrie ten Boom's The Hiding Place, Kevin Roose's The Unlikely Disciple, to name a few), some knitting, and a few tentative plans (can you say a photo scavenger hunt around the greater Philly area?).  But mostly, I'm looking forward to just being.  To not having a schedule or trying to figure out when I need to be where and what I'm responsible for.  I'm looking forward to taking some time to rejuvenate, grow, and get ready for next semester.  Oh, did I mention that with this break I'm also saying goodbye to what I've affectionately termed "my Jr. semester" and ushering in senior year?  Yep, you read that right.  :)

Home

We've gotten into the full swing of Christmas here in Dexter. We've decorated and put up the tree and lights. There's often baking going on in the kitchen or a holiday hymn coming from the piano in the living room. We frolicked in the first snow of the season and built a snowman. Emily and I went on a walk tonight and looked at the lights in Parson's Hill. Its finally feeling a bit more like the season that it is. Of course, it won't fully feel like Christmas until I'm home, curled up on my couch in the glow of the tree, drinking tea and reading a book, but we're getting there.

Maybe its that I'm getting older, maybe its college, but I'm finally really starting to appreciate this season. College in itself is a funny time. Its a lot of growth in a few short years; its living in two separate worlds that only occasionally collide; its putting relationships on hold until "next time." Whatever the reason, I've been coming to understand Christmas as a time for rest. I think I especially appreciate coming home because I get to just be me with people who know me. I don't have to explain myself or guard myself. I can be candid and frank and everyone knows where I'm coming from and understands me. I love being at Gordon, I love the community and the life that I have here, but sometimes its nice to not always be pulled together and engaged, but to just be home.

Thanksgiving

He is jealous for me,

Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,

Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden,

I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory.

And I realize just how beautiful You are,

And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,

Oh how He loves us,

How He loves us all.

Yeah, He loves us,

Oh! How He loves us,

Oh! How He loves us,

Oh! How He loves us.

We are His portion and He is our prize,

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes.

If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.

And Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss,

And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,

I don't have time to maintain these regrets,

When I think about the way....

You know how sometimes things just keep popping up over and over again until you have no choice but to throw your hands up and say "ok God, I get it!"? Well this song has been one of those things. Last week when my roommate mentioned it, I didn't think much of it, but then it came up in conversation, was played at church, and I stumbled across a blog with the lyrics as the last post. A lot just happened in a short amount of time and I'm now back at school with all of these questions floating around in my head and no one has answers. And to be perfectly honest, I feel very insecure. But God has just used these lyrics to remind me that no matter what, He is jealous for me and my attention. So in return, I've decided to work on my patience. To turn my thoughts to the Lord and to trust Him with every aspect of my life. No matter how badly I want things to work out in a way that I think is best or that would please me, I'm going to try to sit back and watch it unfold and see what He thinks is best.

In the words of Tara Leigh Cobble, "its less about getting the thing than having a relationship with Him where I can trust Him enough to say, 'God, I think this is a good idea. If You do too, then will You make it happen?'"