Elephants...

I have figured out why it’s such a bad thing to go too long between posts. Things happen. Lots of things. Then I don’t have time to write about them all! Oh well, I’ll just pick one thing at a time.

Say, that reminds me, I’ve figured out one of the reasons I get overwhelmed with things. The problem is this: I look at the whole elephant. Need explanation? I thought so. You know that saying that goes “how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Well my dear friend/RA Cally was trying to stop me from freaking out the other night, and she started to ask me that, and I said “but I have to look at the whole elephant! It’s what I do!” (she laughed. Talking to her helped though. :) Anyway that’s my problem. I’m trying to focus on one little piece of the elephant at a time.  Even though the elephant might not even taste very good while I’m eating it, I know it will be very filling in the end! And I think that’s about all the applicability I can milk out of that analogy.

Next subject: something I need to work on… a gentle and quiet spirit. I read these verses today and was very convicted but also challenged/encouraged…..

“And let not your adornment be merely external- braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” 1 Peter 3:3-4

I don’t necessarily think of myself as a super materialistic person, but I definitely put more stock in pointless things than I mean to or should. I’m very blessed to be in a place where people really don’t care about external adornment- they truly care about where your heart is and who you are not in relation to the world, but in relation to Christ. This is not only encouraging, but also challenges me to constantly examine myself, maintaining a high standard of living for God and not for my own pleasure.  I love living with people who really hold me accountable, whether they do it consciously or not, to living in light of God’s desire for me. My prayer is that I would truly have “the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” My thoughts are so flighty and frivolous sometimes, sometimes I just wish God’s word would just sweep through me like a big gust of wind, carrying away all thoughts and desires that have no real merit, and leaving behind those that are firmly rooted in the truth of God’s will for me. In fact sometimes it does. The thing is though, that because these things are so light and fluffy, it doesn’t take much for them to float along and find a resting place in my heart. This is why I must stay in the word, constantly evaluating all I do. “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” -Hebrews 4:12-13. The Bible surely does judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and I’m so very grateful to have something that says so clearly what it and is not right according to God’s standards. Praise God, for He is never changing. So that’s my prayer right now. I want the hidden person of my heart to have a gentle and quiet spirit. One that is patient, yet eager to learn, loving, slow to anger, and quick to forgive. I know that I cannot bestow this upon myself, but as it says in Jude 24-25, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, to the only God our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Amen! And I think that just about says it all. Good night.

Snow and such

I'm now expanding my horizons, and actually putting some pictures up! I'll start with just a few... how about some snow and scenery? That's always pretty. I can't get over all the beauty here. Quite... beautiful. These are some random shots from different times and seasons. The dates kind of jump all over the place. Hope you like 'em!

...This is how you make a snow angel without getting wet or cold. :)

Is this stuff amazing or what??? So beautiful.

Hm. Guess someone was walking on their hands through the snow... odd.

This was back in January when we were flying into Jackson. This was as we were nearing Wyoming...

I've discovered that I'm quite fascinated by Icicles! :)

A couple of Bull Moose that showed up to hang out around the campus. They're cool like that. :)

Ok, that's good for now I think. Just a taste of Wyoming life. I'll try and put up some more soon!

God Moves in a Mysterious Way

I have really appreciated recently the gift of hymns and the blessing they have been to so many people through the years. I read a Christian History magazine about the history of hymn, and I was reminded of how much I enjoy them and the good solid Biblical truths that many of them contain. I thought of this one earlier for some reason, and I thought I'd post it. Here it is. :)


God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.


I especially like the like that says "Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head." I often find things daunting when I forget Who has sovereignly planned them, but when I remember Him, I am grateful for His working even through the things we find so frightening.


I also find the history behind this hymn pretty neat. The Author, William Cowper, had a life filled with struggles. he had times of mental illness and depression, as well as other trials. He was converted later in life though, and God used even this broken man to write words of comfort and truth to the glory of God. I just think it's neat how God uses people, even the times they find most difficult, to bring teh most glory to Himself. So may we use all things we go through- good and bad- to further his name and bring Him glory. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Counting My Blessings...

So much to say. A little overwhelmed. Before you read further, don’t freak out. Nothing major happened or anything, it just seems that little things pile up till I kind of step back and go…. Wow. I am so extremely blessed. Why? I don’t know. I’m quite sure now that I will never know why… probably because there is no reason other than that of God’s completely unmerited Grace. He is so very good.

Some of my numerous blessings:

1.    I have Christ as my Lord and savior, a loving a Father in heaven who supplies my every need- and then some. I can never praise Him enough. Even if I took all the time I currently spend thinking of myself, and devoted it wholly to Him, and his glory and praise… I still wouldn’t give Him all the glory He deserved. I want to live my life solely for His glory, yet more often than not I miserably fail, but still His grace abounds.

2.    A fantastic family. Wow, wow, a thousand times wow. I love them. Each and every member. I love the diversity we have, yet the unity he has blessed us with. I hear of other families who are struggling to stay unified with each other and with God, and I praise God for the values and convictions He has given my parents that contribute so hugely to the closeness that we have.

3.    Godly parents, who have striven to “bring their children up in the way they should go…” and I pray that with the strength which comes from God alone I will not depart from it. I know it’s easy to say that “I wouldn’t trade my parents for any others in the whole world”… but I can honestly say that I wholeheartedly mean it, 100%.

4.    A whole year of attending an awesome Bible college, sitting under the teaching of wise and learned professors, who have dedicated a huge amount of their time to rightly dividing the word of God, and are kind enough to share it with these 30 young men and women who are hungry for the truth. I love this place. Not to mention the fact that we are plunked right at the base of the breath-taking black and white Tetons, which rise so confidently from the comparatively flat landscape surrounding them. What beautiful country!

5.    Amazing friends here. What a richness of godly young men and women who are genuinely seeking what the Lord would have to teach them; truly dedicated to God and to the teachings of His Word. Not to mention TONS of fun and quite hilarious. There are some really funny people here. I am so refreshed though, by the spiritual maturity and purpose that is displayed by my fellow students. I love them so much, and am trying to put the thought of leaving them all in a few short months as far as possible from my mind, though I do find consolation in the fact that as that time draws closer I also near the time when I shall see my dear friends and family at home again. :)

6.    The Bible. The inspired, infallible, inerrant, and entirely true Word of God… (There’s a few Bible College words for you. :) What a gift. As I’m learning more about the way we have received the Bible, the process the translations have gone through, the different men who strove to translate it into the language of the people, I appreciate so greatly the fact that God cares so much about us knowing about Him that He did not allow it to be lost. He has preserved His truth because of how important it is to our Christian walk, and living a life that is truly pleasing to Him. It makes so much sense though. Would God do something as miraculous and incomprehendable as becoming a man, enduring ridicule, dying on a cross and rising again, and then allow the record of it to be lost? Of course not. God’s might, His mercy and grace are unfathomable. Wow. God has contained all we need to know about Him in His Word, and I am so grateful for that. The more I learn about it, the more I realize that I don’t know, and the more I want to know and not take for granted the gift He has given.

Well I think I should stop now. I get in the habit of rambling and saying the same thing over again, and saying the same thing over again, and rambling, and saying the same thing over again…. You know what I mean. I need to be more concise, I think. Ah well. Maybe God will use my ramblings to make you think about something you never thought about before, or something like that. Who knows? God does, I know that much. And what a comfort that is! May God richly bless you the rest of this week, and reveal Himself to you in a mighty and awesome way- though in what other way could He reveal Himself? For He truly is a mighty and Awesome God! To Him be the glory!

Haircicles and other fascinations

Haircicles= What your freshly showered hair turns in to when you walk through -17 degree air.

I am quite fascinated by this chilling weather I am now becoming strangely accustomed to. This morning I experienced a record breaking (in MY life anyway) -29 degrees. Plus a wind chill factor which made it feel like it was in the -40’s. yikes! QUITE nippy….. I watched as one student threw a cup of hot water into the air and it turned to steam/snow. I’m actually enjoying the cold quite a bit, it’s very refreshing. It’s strange though, gulping in the sharp, cold air, coughing it back out as it chills my lungs, running out of air, gulping it in again, and starting the cycle all over again… Also, I have become acquainted with a feeling in my nose which I was previously not accustomed to. When you breathe through your nose, (which you must do if you wish to avoid the breathe-cough-breath-cough-breathe cycle,) the warm moisture inside your nose freezes, creating a strangely stiff/tingly sensation in your nostrils, which is removed when you exhale. The first time I experienced this I found it quite fascinating, and I must say it has yet to lose its initial interest.

My dear friend Cally is sitting next to me, and we were discussing how to write accents and such. We came up with the following statement (though it is not actually true of today): ‘ello gov’nah! Dash it all! It’s been a rotter of a day!

Yeah, that’s it. I think there was more but I forget it and it would probably be hard to write with the accent. Cally also taught me how to pronounce abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz. Although I think I already forget. She says big bird taught her though, so maybe I’ll ask him.

This is getting a little off track, so I think I’ll stop now. When shall the next post appear? We shall see.   

A new blog.....

Hm. Well here I am, safely (I think) arrived in the wonderful world of blogging! What now? I suppose I should write something, to make it official and all.


One thing you might be wondering is.... Why "Green raindrops?" Well that's simple enough. I love the color green. I love raindrops (because I love rain). Put it all together, you get green raindrops. There you have it. I'm a simple kind of person. I like things like that, that make sense.


It's late on a Saturday night, and I'm enjoying the beautiful life that God Has so graciously given me. I'm sort of overwhelmed trying to think of something significant to say, other than that I am so very blessed. I decided to make a blog to jot down my random thoughts and things. I hope that those of you who read this are blessed, entertained, or at least mildly amused by this blog. I'm not going to set expectations too extremely high as far as how often my posts will be, or how interesting, so don't set yours too high! But maybe visit once in a while to see what's going on, if you so desire. :)


Well, I really must be going to bed. It's just so pleasant to sit here doing nothing, but not in the least bit productive. So I shall bid you as they say in "The Sound of Music".... "Auf wiedersehen, adieu."