Life

OK, I remember a time (when I lived in Africa) when I would get so incredibly frustrated when my friends who lived in North America wouldn't write to me, and how I thought it was such a lame excuse for them to tell me that they were busy and simply forgot about communicating with people. I don't think it's so lame anymore, cause I use it all the time.

I'll try and sum up what the past month and a half have been like in a nutshell. Being an RA has been the best experience of my life. I absolutely LOVE my girls and they've totally taken me into their lives. This type of ministry is something that I can see myself doing for the rest of my life. We haven't had any major problems or mishaps yet, so I guess you could say that we're still in the "honeymoon" stage. But I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.

Last weekend there was a conference here at Prairie for youth leaders, a sort of training/refreshing for those in leadership. I was required to go for one of my classes, but ohmygosh was it ever good! God used that conference and the speakers to remind me of a lot of things that I hadn't really thought about in a while. He impressed on my heart that I need to slow down more often and take time to be with Him. It's so easy for me to neglect my spiritual life and "take care" of others. I was reminded, however, that if I'm not taking care of myself first I'm not going to have anything to give to others, which made a huge impact on me. The example that one of the speakers used was that we're like sponges. If we're not taking care of ourselves we'll become completely dry and have no "water" to give to others. At the same time, if we're taking in but not giving to others we'll become "stagnant water" and anything new and good will just run off of us. The healthiest place for us to be is for us to be taking in God's Word every day and also giving to others, because then God will help us to grow through spending time with Him as well as through our interactions with others.

So I guess that's where I'm at right now. I was absolutely swamped with homework last week, but it's slowed down a bit this week. A nice chance to take a break, relax, and reconnect with my girls. Thanks to everyone who's been praying for me! It's all very much appreciated. Love you all!

Lost your e-mail address

Hey all,

One of my friends wiped my hard drive clean yesterday because of an astronomical amount of viruses on my computer, and since I hadn't backed up my addresses anywhere else, they're all gone. If you could just fire me off an e-mail so that I have your address again that would be great! Otherwise, you may never hear from me again... Not that you hear from me much now... Or maybe you don't want to. Anyways, just to let you all know. =)