Faithful or Fickle.

Is it not terrifying?
Professors at the Christian university that I attend /always/ teach something and ask if it rattles my(our) faith. They ask how it challenges what we have always believed or never known.

The terrifying part is that after four years of learning  and interpreting the Bible in many ways that include inside and outside sources, I might think the Bible is wrong. My faith might be so rattled that I have a biblical degree that backs up my newly pronounced lack of religion. What if, in the end, I don't believe in God, His creation, and His spiritual realm. I mean I do understand that the point of these questions are to strengthen and affirm my beliefs. After all, the people that ask me if it sits with me the wrong way still have faith. BUT what if it does the opposite of its goals, what if I die and there is absolutely nothing? What if I die and go somewhere I never imagined possible? What if I could have done life in a completely different way? What if I could have happily married the man that did not believe in God? There's just so many questions.

This is a struggle that i have never dealt with before college, but for now and hopefully for the rest of my life on Earth and in eternity I believe in God, that He is love, He loves everyone, and He does not want to harm His people. He is eternal.

Year Two at The 'Zu!

My roommates and I have finished our first week of our second year of school at APU. Classes weren't all that crazy, because they were mainly just introductions to the courses. I have been in Azusa for a little over two weeks now and I plan to stay until Thanksgiving weekend. Yikes! It's going to be tough!

I haven't seen anyone from church for three weeks, because I left on a Friday. It has been a fun adventure so far; living in an apartment that I can call my own (and my roommate's). It has forced me to step into the kitchen! I have always wanted to learn to cook like my mom and my sister, but I haven't ever tried because they always have it handled!;) I have cooked a few things and it's been nice, because it has encouraged me to stop eating out and to start working out. My goal is to feel more comfortable in my own skin and learn how to cook like my mom!

Oatmeal on the first morning!

Spaghetti for the roommates

Grilled cheese is so easy, but so good!

Chicken and (my first pot of) rice!

Meat for sopes with family

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow!

I must admit, my title is making me laugh, because I'm listening to Annie sing as I filled in the name for this post.

My school, APU, had a school-wide "day off" this past Wednesday. Most students took the day to sleep in or to study, but a few friends and I slept for about four hours and woke up at 4:30am to hike Garcia Trail.

It was fun. One of us were a bit grumpy that we were awake so early, but that changed quickly. We had to make the most of waking up before the sun is shining down on the city. I didn't make it all the way to the top of the trail, but it was still an awesome experience. It was an amazing chance to view God's creation through nature.

I did end up getting breakfast, then taking a nap after the hike was over!:) Here are some pictures of the view from the trail.

Beginning of hike

Once the sun started to shine light on the city

Real Quick.

I really enjoy catching up with people and making plans with them if they're near. I started hanging out with some friends that I haven't seen for a couple of months. It's nice being able to go back and still have the same friendship.

Last night, I got a call from a friend that moved about a year ago. It was nice to catch up and know that he's alive. Tonight, I got to talk to a friend that moved when I was in sixth grade. We still kept in touch after she left, but I haven't seem her in a while. Usually, her plans to come down to So-Cal get canceled, but we've created new plans. Hopefully these plans pull through.

Once again, I really love my friends that are still there when we haven't spoken for a period of time. It's nice to even catch up with friends that I see all the time, because sometimes I don't take the time to sit and actually do life with them.

We Have Ice Cream!

Yes, I'm going to write about another chapel speaker. I'm sorry, they're just such Godly people and they always astonish me. Today, Shane Claiborne was the guest speaker for APU's chapel.

The first topic that he brought up was the fact that the amount of people that are dying of over-consumption is almost as high as the amount of people dying of under-consumption. Gandhi said it best, "The world is big enough to satisfy everyone's needs, but will always be too small to satisfy everyone's greed." Deuteronomy 15:11 says "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." This is one of the many verses that is saying that those who are able to give to those who are needy, should give to the needy. We have no room to be greedy and keep what equally belongs to everyone.

Mother Teresa was truly a saint. Shane wondered about her deformed feet, but he didn't want to ask her about them. One day, a nun asked him if he has noticed her feet and he replied that he has. She said that they would get enough shoes for everyone in their town to get one pair each. Every time, Mother Teresa would dig through the shoes to find the worst pair and she'd wear them so nobody else had to. This caused her feet to be deformed.

Shane said that they would throw parties once a week in their town. One week, a little boy told Shane that it was his birthday and he knew he wasn't going to get anything. Shane wasn't supposed to give anyone more than anyone else got, but Shane gave the little bot an ice cream cone. The little boy yelled "We have ice cream!" The boy had his little friends line up and let everyone take a lick. The kid was able to share his ice cream with all of his friends, because that is how Mother Teresa treated them. She taught them to treat each other equally.

Turning Dreams Into Material.

Chapel was lead by Erwin McManus, it was an amazing message. I have never heard of him before today, but he is an awesome speaker. He is a pastor and author. He unknowingly attended a Christian college and that's where he started his journey with Christ at the age of twenty. He's come so far from knowing nothing about God.

Something cannot come from nothing, nothing comes from nothing. God is eternal and He is proof that we didn't come from nothing. The world did not come from nothing. God has ideas, He imagines, then He brings to existence. He materializes His ideas and it is our job to do the same with our ideas. We have dreams and goals, because God gave us the ability to have them. He didn't give anything else on the face of the planet the ability to think up ideas. We don't see cats or dogs building anything. It is our job to turn our imagination into reality. We are co-creators to God. Not to say that God needs our help for anything, but He willingly gave us the ability to think and imagine. It's the reason we have dreams for our future. We are beings that look to the future with hope. We don't look to the past with hope, we hope for the future, for an outcome of some sort, even. Lets glorify God by bringing to existence our goals and dreams.

God's creation is so dang cool.