So much to catch up on...

Talk about learning a lesson about grace! I had my one and only final exam yesterday, and it's one that I will never forget. (It was for my Intro to Youth Ministry class). We're sitting in class waiting for Al to start the exam, and he was taking a while too. He asked me to read a passage of Scripture (the parable of the landowner who throughout the day brought people out to work in his vineyard). After I finished reading he asked us what the parable meant or represented, and we came around to it being about grace. He asked us what grace would look like to a teenager, and we spent some time writing these on the board. He then passed out the exams, face down, and told us not to look at them till everyone had one. Then we flipped them over to find that they were all completed already. I was incredibly confused... until he told us to look at the last page. This is what it said:

"This is the end of the final exam. All the answers on the test are correct. You will receive an 'A' on the final exam. The reason you passed the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test did not help you get the A. You have just experienced...grAce."

Isn't that incredible?! I was absolutely blown away. It's a lesson in grace that I won't ever forget. And in looking at the exam afterwards, there's no way I would have aced it. I would have done all right, but definitely not gotten an 'A'. (*cough* especially considering the fact that I studied for a grand total of like 10 minutes *cough*).

As for other things that have been going on, Prairie is going through a heck of a lot of changes right now. Because of where they are financially, and because of a lack of interest, they're cutting the Performing Arts and Worship program (music/drama). Also, they're bringing in a catering service to take over the food services department. There goes the good food we've been eating! All but one of the department heads in food services has resigned and will be leaving at the end of this semester. I don't know what we're going to do next semester. They're losing a lot of super great people, people that have made serving students in the dining hall they're ministry. A catering service just won't be the same...

School... I have two papers left to write and then I'll be done for the semester. I can't wait. I'm growing to strongly dislike school and writing papers, though I absolutely love the people, the atmosphere, and the community. In five days I will be on my way to northern Saskatchewan. Pray for me. ;) jk, it's going to be a lot of fun.

The boys took Lisa and I to West Ed today. It was SO fun! Got lots of Christmas shopping done, and I definitely got my exercise in with all that walking. That mall is ridiculously huge! The company wasn't half bad either. ;) I was on call today though so we had to cut it a bit short in order for me to get back in time. And now I'm absolutely exhausted... Time to sleep, except that one of my girls is on her way back from a basketball tournament and won't get in till about 1am, which means that I'm going to have to get up to let her in. Ah well, such is the life of an RA. Good night!

Me and my man at Christmas banquet =D

Where has time gone?

It's December 2. Wow. That's all I can say. I have a grand total of 4 classes left. Oh, and 4 papers. =P They'll get done, I know I can do it. Especially now that choir is done. The productions went SO well. Much better than I was expecting, except for the second one. We royally screwed up, but made up for it after the intermission. =) And ohmygosh, our third performance on Saturday night was absolutely PHENOMENAL! I was so proud of everyone. =D

I'm sitting in my room listening to Christmas music, with my Christmas lights and tree all lit up. And I realized that I'm leaving in 11 days. I'm so nervous/excited at the same time. Meeting the boyfriends family is a big deal. Right? We've been dating a month tomorrow. I can't believe it's been that long already. But I've enjoyed it, and am looking forward to sharing many more months with him. God has truly blessed me. I have several incredibly close and wonderful friends here. I don't know what I would do without them. God knew my needs before I came back to school, and has met them completely. He is amazing.