ASL, especially using only ASL, might seem intimidating, but if I can do it then you can do it! Learn it, use it, do it! If you don’t know Sign Language, you are missing out on the opportunity to speak with a large number of people in our nation!

I have been blessed with the opportunity to learn so much about the language and culture of the Deaf and you can, too! If you would like learn then take a class, ask a Deaf person to help you, and go on a retreat like the one I just went on!

There is a whole new language and culture just waiting for you to get involved. To quote Nike, “Just do it!”

“The other day I had the opportunity to pray by the abortion clinic by my school with a small group of other students.  A neighboring business has built a small garden area specifically for people to come and pray.  When we arrived, I set myself up in direct sight of the entrance to the clinic where I could see people, mostly women, entering and exiting.  At this particular clinic, the doctor who performs the abortions is only there at certain times and we made it a point to be there at a time that he would be performing abortions.  This seemed to make it even more vital to pray for each person entering or exiting that building.

“While women were entering and exiting we didn’t know for sure whether they were there for an abortion or not, but sometimes their actions certainly suggested it.  At one point, a nurse stepped outside the door of the clinic and spoke in the direction of a car.  “Are you coming in?”  Long pause.  “Yes.”  This answer startled me because I had not even realized there was a woman sitting inside the car.  “Do you have an I.D.,” the nurse asked.  The intensity of my prayers definitely increased at this point.  The woman sat in her car for a while but then slowly got out.  She stood by her car for a moment while looking toward the building’s entrance then finally walked over to the nurse and handed over her I.D.  The nurse ushered the woman into the building and, as the doors closed, my heart sank for her and the life that she carried.

“When the doors close does that mean that we should stop praying?  An opportunity lost on our part still has purpose in God’s larger perspective and plan.  No matter what happened in that building that day, there is hope for its redemption.  No matter what happened in that woman’s life that day, there is hope for redemption.  No matter what happened in the nurse’s life that day, there is hope for redemption.  No matter what happened in the life of the doctor that performed that abortion, there is hope for redemption.  No matter what happened the day that abortion became legal in our nation, there is hope for redemption.

“Never forget, there is hope for redemption.”

Looking out the window, the death of many by form of Ambush water guns is evidenced by chalk body outlines across campus. It’s a gruesome game, and because of it someone will come out victor while the others will hope to rise from their “death” and win next year.

As I look out across the pond, I see prospective students and their parents walking from one place to the next trying to determine the next step in the grand scheme of the rest of their lives.

The world moves, the dust settles and I come to a point of perspective. I am realizing that my life has been altered so much by coming to Bethel. I would not be the same person if I had gone to school anywhere else. I guess I’m sentimental, but it’s true. When I think back through all of the things that I looked for in a school, I wonder if I ever could have imagined how life would be at this point.

I’m thankful for:

• My teachers
• My classmates/friends
• My boyfriend
• My church here
• My mentor
• My RD
• My bosses
• The opportunities
• The ponds
• The daffodils across campus
• Chapel
• The smell of spring
• (free laundry )
• People to look up to and people who look up to me
• Trust
• Respect
• My weaknesses so God can show His strength

I could continue, but I figure I had better stop before I start thanking Him for toilet paper.  (By the way, going to Ghana, West Africa made me very thankful for toilet paper. )

In closing, the choices you make have consequences. These consequences can be good or bad. The consequences of me choosing to come to Bethel have, I believe, impacted the rest of my life for good.

Well, as long as I’m here, something that has been going on with some of those who aren’t filling out applications for graduation is Shupe Week. We’ve fasted from different things, such as Facebook, texting, movies, TV, internet (besides for school), etc. We’ve also had different events each day, such as tie-dying, a clothes swap, gutter sundaes, and a dance party. Yes, that’s what I said, a dance party! It was so fun. A bunch of Shupe girls (freshmen, the upperclass RAs and their roommates, and the RD) in a room in the AC dancing with glow-sticks in the dark (Yes, it was “Bethical.” ). I’m so glad that they instituted Shupe Week for the freshman girls dorm because it’s such a great week! I only wish we had it my freshman year.

As I come to the close of this week, I look back from my freshman year to now and see how I’ve grown. Then when I look ahead to graduation and beyond I can only imagine the direction that God will take me. Well, here we go! Application for graduation? Let’s do this!

Yes, that’s a very difficult thing to attain. Most college students don’t even have this word in their vocabulary, but recently I have been blessed with such a wonderful peace. The kind of peace that only God can give.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ~Philippians 4:7

There are a lot of other people on campus that aren’t experiencing too much peace right now, though. The reason for that is Ambush. This is an annual game put on by Social Life where everyone who wants to be involved is given the name of their “target” whom they have to “kill” with the water gun that they each been given. Because of this, everyone is a bit on edge trying to get their target as well as stay away from the person who has them. I’m not playing, but it sure is fun to help those who are!

I must say that I’ve had some pretty great opportunities for my Spring Breaks while I’ve been in college. I have had the opportunity to go on a cruise with a group of my friends and I’ve had the opportunity to go home and relax. This year I will be going home, getting in doctor and dentist appointments, taking my friends’ engagement photos, hanging out with friends, etc. Before all of this, however, I’m going to the wedding of two wonderful students here at Bethel. I’m really excited for them and for their future together.

God is good and I’m excited for the blessing of Spring Break!

P.S. A winter wonderland just formed outside my window. So, I guess Spring Break might not exactly look like spring around here. Oh well.

It’s weird to think that I only have one more year left at Bethel after this.  And I technically only have one more full semester on campus because I leave on practicum in the spring of 2013. It seems like just the other day that I first arrived on campus and first met who I’m sure will be some of my lifelong friends. But the past three years have been full of change. And everything continues to change before my very eyes. There’s a change in me, as well. Although, I don’t think that I can see it quite as clearly as I can see the renovation of the dinning commons here on campus. But there is a change–a maturity. I have grown.

The interpreting program in and of itself doesn’t allow a student to enter it and not be changed. It’s tough, but it teaches you so much about yourself. Because of this program, I have learned how to step back from what I have presented in order to analyze it and do even better the next time. Because of this program, I’ve learned to take constructive critisism as an aid. Because of this program, I have learned that life is not easy, but also that easy is not life.

Change–it’s all around me, and it always will be. But remember, the spring always follows the winter.

Anyway, my busy day is upon me.

• Chapel held it’s challenges having an African dj share. (Being an interpreting major I’ll let you guess my challenges there. )
• I had a test in Law Enforcement. (Yup, I’m majoring in Sign Language Interpreting and minoring in Criminal Justice.)
• I get to have lunch with prospective Trustee Scholars. (Yay! Eating delicious food and talking with prospective students really isn’t a challenge, though.)
• I work the ticket office this afternoon and then again tonight for the actual performance. (We have performances of our Spring musical, Little Women, this weekend! And my family is coming up to see tomorrow’s performance!!!!!  )
• I am not only working the play tonight, but I get to see it, too! It’s interpreted tonight. (By some very lovely interpreters whom I dearly love, might I add.)

So, it’s a busy day, but the hardest parts should be behind me. Thank the Lord for my roommate and the girls on my floor who reminded me to find my strength in God through it all.

While I don’t have these particular struggles, I do struggle with comparison. I often find myself covetous of what other people own, what they look like, their talents, their friendships, etc. My roommate has a great quote about comparison that she learned at a summer camp she was a counselor at, Gull Lake Ministries. “Comparison is the thief of joy,” by Dwight Edwards. This is so true.

I was recently reading Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper (Great book, you should read it!). He made a good point; before you go comparing yourself or wanting something, ask yourself, “How will this help me treasure Christ more? How will it help me show that I do treasure Christ? How will it help me know Christ or display Christ?” (p.119) When I really stop to think about it, what do I want other people to look at me and admire me for? How much I treasure Christ. I don’t want to be someone who distracts the world from God, but when they see me I want them to be pointed to seeing God’s glory.

It doesn’t matter how amazing the talents are that everyone around me has. I don’t need them. All I need is the talent of giving God the glory. I want to be the best God glorifier ever! haha 

If you’re on the mailing list for Bethel, you probably received the 2012 Bethel calendar. If you open it up and turn to January, yes, that is a picture of me along with two of my beautiful friends. I’m the one with the hair blowing in my face.haha  Just so you know, I’ve never had my picture in a calendar or a promotion before so it was pretty exciting the first time I saw that. But it is rather odd when you look through the window of someone’s office and see your picture on their wall. Good thing it only takes me a second to realize that it’s the Bethel calendar each time.haha

If you don’t have the Bethel calendar, but you have recently visited the homepage of the Bethel website then you probably have seen this same picture there. This is where it gets interesting. Along with the picture there is the verse Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” That has actually been a big deal for me recently because, as I said before, there was an “oh, duh!” moment that came with it.

When I went to Passion 2012, I had the opportunity to meet with a group of about 1,000 girls and Beth Moore. She briefly shared several things with us, but one was the verse Psalm 119:105. Along with that, she reminded us that God is holding the lamp right up next to your feet so you can see the next step in front of you on the path that He wants you to tread. He’s not showing you the mile ahead of you, but rather only that small area where you can take your next step. “Oh, duh!” says my inner, planning, perfectionist self. It’s like driving a car. You only see what your headlights are showing you directly in front of your car. However, if you drive forward then your headlights show you more.

Follow that one step that God is showing you and trust Him to show you the rest as you make your way further along the path that He has designed especially for you.