day 40.

You may have noticed, at some time or another, that the number 40, particularly when referring to the passage of time, is significant throughout the Bible.

While I am not claiming this to be anywhere near as significant, I thought it was worthy of noting. Today is Day 40 in my "Bible Reading Plan." At the beginning of the year, I made a plan to read through the Bible in 2010. I'm happy to report that I am right on track. Each day I read between 2-4 chapters, usually from both the Old and New Testaments. I've made it as far as Leviticus in the Old Testament. Probably not the most stimulating reading, but I am committed to staying the course and following through.

I should mention that this achievement of mine is particularly important because I have tried to do something like this many times before. I usually lasted a week, maybe two, before falling so far behind I eventually just quit. Not so this time.

My advice to anyone that is doing something similar: don't give up! You may fall one, two, or even five days behind. Keep reading. Commit to reading an extra chapter or two each day until you get caught up. I've seen recommendations of continuing on the current day and going back to what you've missed. But to me, that doesn't really make sense. I don't usually pick up a novel and start on Chapter 10, then decide to go back a read the beginning. No, I start at the beginning in order to really understand the story.

My hope is, 40 days from now, that I'll be able to give you the same report. 40 days and going strong :)

eight months.

So, it's been a little over 8 months since I last wrote a blog. I'm sorry to report that not much has changed in that amount of time! A few things have happened, of course. The fall semester marked my final semester at school where I completed my student teaching. I taught in 1st grade for two months and then moved to 4th grade for the last two months. I learned a lot during that semester, but it was a lot of work and I am so thankful to be finished.

The day I finished student teaching (the Friday before Christmas) I began packing to move back home. That was a very tiring weekend of packing, cleaning, and hauling boxes and furniture! By the time I was driving home Sunday night, I felt ready to collapse. The next week was Christmas, which brought with it a different type of busyness. It was good to visit with all of the family, though.

January flew by quickly! Looking back, I didn't accomplish much, but my days were always full. I worked part-time for my mom, and spent the rest of my time taking a mini-vacation and doing nothing much.

The last weekend in January was a weekend I had been looking forward to for a couple of months. My dad took the family to San Francisco for the weekend to celebrate my mom's birthday. The main reason for visiting San Fran, though, was to go see Wicked again. It was great, even on the 3rd time around! The rest of the weekend was filled with some fun shopping and eating out, of course. Somehow I have become the elected driver in my family whenever we go somewhere, even just out to dinner here in town. Not sure how this happened, but it meant I drove most of the way to San Fran and back. I did insist on my dad driving in the city because I have never driven there before. And, of course, driving in a big city is nothing like driving in LA...

Oh, I should mention the cab ride (read as: death ride) we took from the Italian restaurant we ate at Saturday night down about 6 blocks or so to the Orpheum theater for Wicked. I'm honestly not sure how this guy's cab still had working brakes the way he abused them. Green lights to him meant speeding as fast as possible toward the next red light. Car in front of him? He'll just whip around them, no big deal. I was sitting in the back seat without my seatbelt on because I was changing my shoes from my walking flats to my standing heels. (We had walked to dinner and there was no way on earth I was walking uphill in those heels). Anyhow, we were all glad to make it to the theater still intact. The plus side to the fast drive was the lower cab fare we had to pay for a quick ride! haha

Finally, this last week I made the trip back down to Biola to apply for my credential. I went down Monday night and had dinner with my sister and then I stayed the night with her. Tuesday morning I drove over near school and visited my fourth grade class in the morning, had some lunch, then visited my first grade class in the afternoon. I left about 2:30 and drove over to school for my appointment. I had to pick up my official transcript from the Registrar's office and, since it was the second day of classes of the semester, I didn't know how long that might take. Of course, it ended up taking only a couple of minutes, leaving me with about 45 minutes to kill before my appointment. I ended up going into the Ed Dept and checking to see if they could take me early since I was already there. Ends up she could, so I was glad I asked! The appointment took all of 8 minutes and I should have my credential this week! :)

My project this week is to apply for substitute teaching. This requires me to go downtown and have my fingerprints taken (again) and to also have a TB test and physical. Oh, the joys...

first week of summer.

Ah, summer. It's been just over a week since graduation...here are just a few of the high and low points from this first week of summer:

* I spent Memorial Day packing up my room down by school and moved home for the summer.
* My system went through a minor shock when I got out of the car in Bakersfield and it was HOT.
* We've already hit the triple digits...in May...that doesn't bode well for July. Although, it is supposed to cool down (we're talking 80s) some this week, so maybe it will all just even out...
* I got a new car! My wonderful parents bought me a silver 2008 Ford Escape Limited. I love it!
* My dad celebrated another birthday this last Friday. I won't tell you the number for the sake of all involved parties ;)
* I learned my grandparents watch American Idol.
* I've gone swimming three times so far this summer, which also happens to be exactly three times more than I went last summer.
* I'm on my fourth book since arriving home last Tuesday...
* Today was my first day of work...overall, not a bad day...
* I got my student teaching placement for the fall. My first placement is in a first grade classroom not too far away from my apartment. Sweet.

Hope you are having a fabulous summer!

unmistakable.

I’ll be honest. I have a hard time trusting God.

I used to think about Exodus, about how God led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, and how easy it would have been to follow God in those circumstances. I mean, there He was visibly leading them in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. It was unmistakable.

The Israelites watched as God parted the Red Sea for them to walk through on dry land, with walls of water on both sides of them. Even more than that, once the Israelites had all passed through, God let the water flow back to cover the Egyptians pursuing them. What a powerful image of God’s provision. It was unmistakable.

As the Israelites entered the wilderness, they began to complain about their lack of food. One month had passed since the time they had left Egypt. Already they seemed to forget about God’s immense provision for them. In response to them, God sent manna and quail to them every day, fulfilling their needs. He instructed them to gather only what they needed for the day. Those that did not trust His provision gathered extra, just in case. However, they woke the next day only to realize that it was rotting and full of maggots. And the ground was still covered with an abundance of food. So, on it went. It was unmistakable.

The Israelites again complained, this time for water. They told essentially told Moses it would have been better to stay in Egypt than to die of thirst in the desert. So, the Lord instructs Moses to strike a rock with his staff. When he did so, water flowed out of it for the people to drink. It was unmistakable.

Here’s the part that gets me: ‘And [Moses] called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”’ (Ex. 17:7)
Is the Lord among you? Are you kidding? Look what he has done! His provision for you is unmistakable!

But, the more I think about it, I do exactly the same thing. For a time, God’s leading is practically visible. All the things I do seem to fall right into place. That I am following God’s will is unmistakable. As soon as I enter the edge of the wilderness, however, I immediately begin to doubt. I quickly forget all of God’s provisions and leading and wonder why He could have possibly led me to this place. I complain to God, asking why he could have abandoned me here. I ask “Is the Lord among us or not?” Despite all He has already done, I continue to forget.

I wonder when I’ll remember how God has led me, how his provision is unmistakable.

a shoe story.

The past couple of days have been quite a challenge. My mission: find shoes for graduation. I apparently underestimated the unwritten law that says it is impossible to find the one thing you actually need when shopping. All I wanted were white shoes, heels, preferably wedges so I don't eat it in the grass, non-ugly, and actually fit my feet. After going to every shoe store imaginable, I had yet to find the shoes I needed. I ended up scrapping the whole outfit, buying a new skirt, and then being more flexible in my shoe color choice. Let's just say it took my a few minutes after that to find about 5 pairs of shoes that met my aforementioned criteria (only not in white). All of this to say, here's my funny story of the day:
I was in Nordstrom Rack looking at the shoes and I see a woman standing there with two different shoes on. Not an unusual sight in the shoe aisles, where people are often trying on shoes. I see her try on a few more pairs, then continue walking down the aisle. She still has the two different shoes on. I continue to shop, finding a few pairs that I like. As I am trying them on, I hear the woman say something to herself, fairly quietly, but I hear something along the lines of: "Now where did my shoe go?" Apparently this woman had been walking up and down the aisle, trying on shoes. Somewhere along the way, she put her own shoe back on the shelf and walked off with the one she was trying on. It probably took her 20 minutes or so to realize she had on the two different shoes. And another 5 minutes of searching the shelves, as nonchalantly as possible, for her own shoe. Entertainment, to say the least.

unexpected.

I am learning to enjoy the unexpected things that happen. I think life would be terribly boring if everything happened exactly like we planned it would. I also think we would miss out on so many experiences if those unexpected things did not happen. More and more I realize how much I am not in control of my life. And that's exactly how it needs to be...

even still.

"I do not doubt that God hears me, but I do not understand why He waits so long to act. I do not doubt He cares, but I worry that His way of caring is much different from that which I so desperately need."

Even still, I trust Him.