Thanksgiving

The holiday frenzy is upon us. At the present, it is the night of Thanksgiving Day. I'm home alone, after spending the day in Orange County with the McMillans. I am so thankful for their generous hospitality towards me! Wonderful food and company! In the spirit of the season, I'm going to list the top 10 things that I'm thankful for. Of course, I'm thankful for much more than ten, but this isn't the place to write my life story. So here I go...

I'm thankful for...

1. Jesus - my savior and my intercessor

2. my precious family - 60+ of them

3. the ability to obtain an education

4. Grace Community Church - where the truth is taught

5. the ability to come before the Lord in prayer

6. my civil rights as a woman to vote, etc.

7. GOC - my family and support system out here in LA

8. God's Word, the Bible

9. my physical (and mental!) health

10. the knowledge that my future is secure.

God is good to me, far more than I deserve.

I'm constantly and consistently in awe of the

way that He works in my life and heart.

Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe.

Music Monday

Okay. I feel compelled to share with you what I'm currently obsessed with. Sounds fair? Right. Well, I've been "rocking out" to some Appalachian music lately. So I thought I'd give you all a heads up on some of the most beautiful music (in my humble opinion) that I've heard in quite some time. It's soothing, it's deep, it's complicated, it's Americana in it's simplest form. Ugh, absolutely wonderful. I never thought I'd really like this genre, along with bluegrass/folk. But the truth is, I do! So BUY both of these albums and do your ears a favor!

Week 9

OMG. Home stretch. I have weeks 9 and 10,

then finals. Bahhh! It's gone by so fast! It just

seems impossible to get it all done, but by

the grace of God - I will! But seriously,

there's not much to write about. I'm just

plugging along, trying to be a good steward

and trying to get all of my work done.

In other, unrelated news, I'm really being

encouraged by Rick Holland's series about

being a Godly woman. It's awesome stuff and

it's stuff that I need to keep learning day by day.

Biblical femininity is a breath of fresh air.

I love it. Keep it comin!

Riots at UCLA

(sigh) Money. That's what this all comes down to. Money.

If you're an Angeleno, (a resident of LA, for all of you out-of-towners) you have heard of the riots/protests on the UCLA campus. These riots are concerned with the 32% student fee increases for next year's budget. Yup. 32%. That's roughly $2,500 more. Well, as a student at UCLA, I have had firsthand experience with all the rioting and protesting. And let me tell you, it is real and it is crazy. Students have been tazed, arrested. As we speak, students are barricading Campbell Hall. So... needless to say, it's been pretty darn exciting on campus these last few days. Helicopters have been flying non-stop overhead. Yikes. Check out some photos and a cool video clip.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ucla-protests19-pictures,0,1019118.photogallery

Confession

On Sunday, one of the speakers at Crossroads was talking about the subject of confession. I have no idea who he is quoting or what this is from, but I thought it was important and poignant to share. Here is a "way" or an appropriate response for confession, wether it is sin against a person or against God (well - it's all sin against God, respectively)

1. address everyone involved

2. avoid "if" or "maybe"

3. admit specifics

4. acknowledge hurt

5. accept consequences

6. alter behavior

7. ask for forgiveness

Hmm. Food for thought? I should think so.

Braceface

Say hello to my new friends, at least for the next two years.

It's going to be... interesting... I mean, it already is!

Woo?

Meh

Proverbs 13:12

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but desire fulfilled is a tree of life."

(sigh)

Midterms

Yes... that time has come upon all students at UCLA.

It's the time of the quarter that has everybody scrambling for

study sessions, extra tutoring, etc. It's midterms season on

campus. Cringing yet? I know that I was. Actually, I'm all

done with mine. I had one on Thursday of last week and

one today. Phew! They went better than expected. For my

first quarter at UCLA, I knew that I had quite a lot that was

expected of me. Fortunately, I was able to prepare to the

best of my ability. Now, I just have to worry about my

scores... Hah!

I'm longing for the rest and relaxation of Christmas break.

I just want to go home and sleep in, without worrying about

papers or tests! Only 4 -5 more weeks! Ahh!