Visitors from Iowa

This week, I had TWO visitors from Iowa! How neat!
My mom came on Wednesday to see my choir concert. It was really hard to focus during Wednesday lab when I knew she could get here any second! We went out for supper at At The Office, then we got ready to go to my choir concert. Rehobath Christian HS choir, Roseland choir, and the Elim choir all joined us for this concert, and it was a fun night of worshipping the Lord. I tell ya, those Roseland kids could sing! They blew us away with how loud they were! Even Mom was here for less than 24 hours, I was so glad to see her!

Matching for Zumba class!

My seconds visitor arrived Friday night while I was at TCC's Formal. I had to sit through all of the pictures and dinner knowing that he could come at any minute! Danielle had no idea how I could manage to sit still. But right as the dance started, Anna asked me if Ben was here yet. Right as she asked that question, he came strolling in through the doors! So we were able to dance the night away with our friends. It was a grand time! Today has been pretty relaxing. Allison and Danielle joined us for breakfast at Lume's, we went for a walk to Lake Katherine, and are just hanging out at the BBC now. Tonight, TCC is doing a music video awards night, with videos made by a few of our trolls. Should be a good time!

Everybody come see how good we look!

Living in the World is Difficult

Have you ever really thought about how difficult it is to live in this world, but not of the world? It is so hard! I was reminded of this when my friend Jordyn shared this video with me. If you have 5 minutes to spare, please watch it!

Sexual Healing

Think about our world. Clothing stores display options that will show off women's curves. Others have wall-sized posters of muscular men without shirts on (Ironic that they are trying to sell clothes?) Check-out lines are filled with magazines that will tell us how to eat and exercise in order to look sexy, and how to act sexy to go with our look. About every TV show and movie shows us that just a kiss isn't enough; that going a bit further and a bit further yet will really give you the pleasure that you want and the thrill that you need.
And then when you get into a relationship, things get more difficult. Examples of impure relationships saturate our media and our minds. Even if one or both people claim to be Christians, one may start to pressure the other, asking to take just one more step. Because that isn't sex, so it's still OK. But one thing easily leads to another, so it's a dangerous path to journey on.
So this is for all the young adults out there, dedicated to staying pure, or those choosing to remain pure after a mistake they have made. You got this, with the help of God!

He Will Bring Me Through

Lately, I have been struggling with my future. There are so many unknowns for me right now. Where am I going to live this summer, and where will I work? Where do I want to go to medical school after I graduate? Can I even get into a medical school? What do I do if I don't? What classes do I need to take this summer? Will I be able to do Chicago Semester? Should I apply for another job for next year? If I get into medical school and find the right man, do I get married in medical school, or wait til I get out? There are just so many unknowns. A lot are far off in the future, but they are things I need to be working on now if they are going to work on in the future.
Thankfully, I have two wonderful people in my life who have reminded me that God holds my future!
First, Benjamin reminded me that God knows my inmost being. He will provide for what I will need in order to complete His will for my life. What a comfort!
And today in chapel, Pastor Bill talked briefly about the future as well. After chapel, I spoke with my friend Lisa about my worries. She blessed me by keeping me in her prayers all day long, and then sending me her devotional book with a few pages marked. My soul was nourished as I read these pages, along with the note she wrote. She reminded me to look into my past, and remember all the ways that God has already provided answers. Will He not continue to do so? Of course He will!
Here is a poem in the devotional that I would like to share.
Is there some problem in your life to solve,
Some passage seeming full of mystery?
God knows, who brings the hidden things to light.
He keeps the key.

Is there some door closed by the Father's hand
Which widely opened you had hoped to see?
Trust God and wait-for when he shuts the door
He keeps the key.

Is there some earnest prayer unanswered yet,
Or answered NOT as you had thought 'twould be?
God will make clear His purpose by and by.
He keeps the key.

Have patience with your God, your patient God,
All wise, all knowing, no long lingerer He,
And of the door of all your future life
He keeps the key.

Unfailing comfort, sweet and blessed rest,
To know of EVERY door He keeps the key.
That He at last when just HE sees is best,
Will give it THEE.

Anonymous

You are Loved

So I was doing my PreCalc homework, and noticed a Post-It note stuck in the back. I didn't remember marking any pages, especially not that far back in the book. So I went to check it out. And this is what I found.



The note simply says "You are Loved." What a pleasant surprise! I asked Abby right away if she wrote it, since we share books. But she didn't. Small surprises like this make even a great day just a little bit better! So thanks to the random person who put this in my book! And, just a reminder to always tell those who are close to you how much they mean to you. So shout out to my parents, Patrick, Erin, my roomies, the girls upstairs, and my Dordt girls and guys. You are all loved!

The Perfect Break

Apologies for not posting over SB at all. I was much to busy enjoying my time off school!
The first half of my break was spent in Arizona with my grandparents. Allison came along with me. The airport was an experience, as Allison had a few struggles, forgetting what we were all supposed to do through security. Thankfully, we made it through!
Most of our days in AZ were spent laying by the poolside, eating great food, and watching How I Met Your Mother before bed. Some special activities included listening to the Dordt choir, flying with Grandpa, meeting Grandpa's cousin at church, playing Mexican Train with my grandparent's friends, and eating at Tia Rosa's. All wonderful activities! It was just really nice being able to spend time with my grandpa and gramma since they had been gone since before Thanksgiving.

And so was my break in AZ. Then I spend a day with Allison at her home. I had my first Dilly Bar from DQ. How neat! We walked around the farm with her dad, and played card with her mom and brother. We really had some good bonding time! Although I was looking forward to not having to share a bed for a few nights, because she is a real blanket hog! I feel as though I should warn Tim Tebow about this.

On Wednesday, I finally got to see Ben! Allison and I drove to Lansing, where we met Ben, Kyle, and Kevin for lunch. Then we all headed to the Lincoln Park Zoo. The weather was beautiful, the company was great, and it was so neat seeing all the animals! We especially enjoyed seeing the camels, gorillas, some type of giant goat, and polar bear!

It was so good seeing you!



The second half of break was spent in Michigan with Benjamin and his family. I was super nervous on the way there, but I had nothing to be worried about. I enjoyed every minute I was there! Although we didn't have many plans going into the weekend, our days were filled with activities! I met Benjamin's mom and sister Rebekah the first night, and each day I met another Sytsma! Including his brothers, his dad, and a couple aunts and uncle! Highlights from Michigan: Running bright and early in the wonderful weather, going to the museum and record store in Grand Rapids (along with a quick stop in a coffee shop called the Dirty Hippie... interesting), beach days, watching basketball, meeting friends, eating wonderful homecooked meals, walking along with Benjamin and Matthew while they golfed, went out for breakfast where the waitress asked if I belonged to Ben... oo awk, learned a lot of new games, shopped with Rebekah.... I think that's about it. My favorite was probably the museum just because they had such a variety of interesting things. I loved the zoology part, and Benjamin could hardly wait to see the Civil War display. Go figure!

There you are folks.The perfect spring break. :)  



 

It's Here!

Spring break is finally here! I have only two more things on my To Do list: Take anatomy exam and recycle To Do list. I might do these out of order, so that I can just grab my bags and go when I finish my exam!
I am so excited to just relax in the sun in Arizona. I haven't see my grandparents for a long time, so a few days with them will be wonderul. I am sure they will take Allison and I out to eat and play dominos with us. After Arizona, I am going to spend a day with Allison's family. Then Ben is picking me up and I am going with him to Michigan to meet his family! So many fun activities! I will try to keep you posted with my events. But for now, I am celebrating how much I have accomplished this week!

Champion!

Midterm Mania

Remember how I had that super long To Do list in my last post? Well, thankfully, some of those items are crossed off. Unfortunately, most of them are my extra-curriculars. The unchecked items are all homework and to pack for SB. So I still have a lot of work to accomplish tonight and tomorrow! Positive: I do not have my Honors Sem or my pre-calc class tomorrow! Just micro lab, and a short meeting with Dr. Colosimo. So hopefully I will be able to accomplish a lot tomorrow afternoon!
Through my busy times, I was given a quote by Dr. Colosimo that I really enjoyed.
"You are no longer running in circles, but this newfound sense of direction makes new demands on you. To see a litle more clearly what life is all about makes it more exciting, more worthwhile, but by no means easier. That may be the reason why there is someting within us that would rather settle for drudgery than to rise to the challenge of responsibility and to go beyond ourselves."
This quote has been an encouragment to my restless spirit this week. Because I am at this point in my life, I am realizing what God's will is. And this brings new demands in my life. And I must rely on His strength to get through these tasks. He has given me the ability to do them, so I must complete them to the best of my ability.
Plus, once I finish, Allison and I are hopping onto a plane to go to Arizona! Holla! Today also marks one more week until I get to see Ben again. All good things. Although prayers for TCC students (including myself) as we finish this week are encouraged.

Fun Saturday Lead to ToDo List Sunday

Last time I blogged, I wrote about a positives list. Today, I made a very different kind of list, but Ifirst I want to tell you about my fun Saturday night!
After a great afternoon of doing homework in the BBC with the girls, I went to Coach Schepel's house with most of the TCC students that went to Haiti for interim! Being united with these friends was so refreshing! Coach made supper for us; he is an excellent cook and baker! Then we played some crazy games. My favorite was Tango-Talkin, in which you work with a partner to make a sentence to describe a word, so that the rest of the group can guess. Lisa didn't realize that we got points for guessing the right word, so she was just watching everyone else guess, loving how much fun we were having! What a gal. There were a few funny ones, like..."Sometimes... kids...are..." Then Ben B. shouted "Stolen!" as I said the correct answer, "shy." So funny! We also played Catch-Phrase. Lots of "Oh Awk" moments there. We do always have a lot of fun together, but being with this group is also spiritually refreshing. Although we may not have reflected that attitude all throughout the night through those oh awk moments, it's the truth. While in Haiti, we spent every waking moment together. We prayed together, read our Bibles together, shared our testimonies, sang together, worshipped together. Because of that, we know each other's lives, struggles, joys. And in that group, I feel so complete because they know me so well. I always return to Tib 22 with a warm smile and a filled heart after being with this group.

Beautiful people in the beautiful country of Haiti

Now, for today. I made a really really long ToDo list of everything that I need to do before spring break. I left out the obvious, like going to lunch and sleeping and such. However, this list still filled up the page. Micro and Honors Sem are going to keep me up late a few nights, I am sure. I also have a lot of meetings and activities going on this week, plus packing for the two destiations for spring break- Arizona and Michigan! I'm getting really, really excited for both, and Friday can't come soon enough!

That frown will turn into a smile each time something is crossed off the list! Wish me luck!