I just realized that this is going to be my busiest semester yet. I am involved in so many things around campus and off campus and I am searching for a job in my free time. What free time, you ask? Sometimes I wonder the same. I am also trying to improve my listening to God’s voice and growing in my walk with Him. And of course, on top of all that I am going to class and trying to graduate this semester. But through it all I’ve realized that God has given me the ability to be super busy and not super stressed. I have so much going on and yet I am so content and peaceful. Maybe it’s because I’m a guy, and guys tend to compartmentalize their lives. Maybe it’s my easygoing personality. Maybe it’s an odd imbalance in my brain that also gives me a strange affinity for raisins. Anyways, I feel so blessed and I wish I could give everyone I know this peace and this rest that I have. This brings me to another point. Basically, if something good happens to me, I desire to share it with my friends and everyone I know. As I mentioned, my relaxed attitude about everything is something I want to share. But God has put something way bigger on my heart recently, and it’s something I need to be ready to apply after college. I really feel that God is calling me to be busy for a reason. After college, my life is going to change. There’s going to be new friends, new groups of people to spend time with, and new activities to do. But I’m convinced that I want to be involved in a lot of things after college. Not just because I love being involved in a lot of things (and I do!) but because I want the chance to show God to as many as possible. I want to be able to love on people, and let them see some of God through me. I believe forming relationships with people and loving them for who they are is a very effective way to spread the gospel. I don’t plan to judge them on what they’ve done. I really want to share the gift God has given me with others, and it can be challenging at a Christian university because everyone here has heard about God many times. But I want to be ready. I want this semester to be a jumping off point into the real world educationally, spiritually, and mentally. Life is an adventure, and I want to ride the ski gondola of life.
Havoc surrounds the campus as professors have already begun to launch into the heart of the semester. Leadership applications and meetings have already been announced and spring graduates are eagerly awaiting their entry into the new stage of their lives. Where do I fall in the streamline of chaos? I am somewhere in between busy classes, and frantically trying to fill out applications. Ever since I missed applications last year, I have desired to become a part of one of the sections of leadership here at CBU. But as I was attending some of the meetings yesterday a thought entered my head, "It's very possible I may not get this position." Now, I know this sounds like a really negative thought, but let me tell you what happened next. Instead of the dread or the sadness that I definitely expected, I was suddenly filled with peace. Instead of depression, I received joy as I felt God say to me, "So what? I have a plan for you." Is there any greater promise? Many of you are probably familiar with the verse Jeremiah 29:11, but it never ceases to amaze me; God promises in that verse that He is in absolute control. Is there any greater comfort? So yes, I will try my hardest to get this position, but my efforts are not in vain if I do not get it. God will show me a different way to minister, and I commit to following his plan. I have been hearing a lot about the importance of making plans, plan B's and all the way down to plan G's, but I want to encourage you, my fellow lancers as well as future lancers, do not be discouraged when even plan G goes awry. It just means God has a very specific path he wants you to be on. Follow it! I assure you the joy comes AS you follow his plan, not just as you finish it.
In a message I heard at church, the pastor explained God's response to our prayers as being yes, no, or wait. Honestly if I had written this blog earlier in the week then the topic would have been about something boring that I would have then attempted to make cool. Then, of course, my mom would read it and falsely boost my self esteem, yet again. But in all seriousness, God's timing blows my mind. I completely forgot about this blog until the day it was due, which is the same night my choir returned from our weekend mini tour in Arizona. I wasn't expecting a lot from a weekend hanging out with my choir. It was such a long week and I packed super last minute. At one point marking off things on my to do list seemed more appealing than waking up at four something in the morning to meet at the music building. But as usual I was entirely wrong and God was and is always immensely right. This weekend was unbelievably, wonderfully, blissfully, incandescently, splendidly, and utterly awesome. It was such a blessing, privilege, and straight up joy to spend time with the friends I’ve made in choir. Also, the biggest blessing bomb God dropped this weekend was time with Him through our concerts, a message at First Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, and through His word. I'll be real with you guys, I really struggle with reading my bible every day and spending time with God through His word. However, this weekend reminded me how easy it is to bond with Jesus and to draw near to Him. It says in James, "If you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you," whether it is through reading on the bus, before bed, or when we are curling our hair. Let it be known that in choir it is mandatory to curl our hair. I call it "Choir Curl". So here is an encouragement missile I shall shoot at you. "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12. God's word is alive. His love for you has no end. The least we can do is tell Him about our days and thank Him for everything, even the little things He has given us like curling irons and choir sisters.
My pastor called me last week with a fantastic opportunity. He said he just had a meeting with my dad, who is the executive pastor of our church, and they’ve been noticing my heart for missions so they have decided to ask me to take the lead in the missions team we have at the church. Roughly, this means I will have control over fundraising, teaching and encouraging, and setting up plans to spread the Gospel in different areas of the Inland Empire. This is so incredibly exciting and humbling. God is good, and I’m reminded of what I've been thinking recently: God has worked everything out and I need not worry. So I’m leaning on faith here. I told Pastor Brian that I am up for the opportunity, and now it’s time for God to pull through—otherwise I’m going to fail miserably. But I know He is in this. He is good! God is continuously blowing me away with His amazing plans. He really does honor a heart that seeks His glory and Name above all else. Not to put myself in that position, but I have been working toward glorifying His name more and more, and He has blessed me in assurance that this is right. Saturday night, I went to the leadership meeting for my church since I am now officially the missions ministry leader. The more Pastor Brian talked, the more I wanted to shout out how amazing God is for His perfect plans. Man, He has been preparing me without me even being aware of what He had in mind. I have to pray, though. Prayer has to be the biggest part of my life, always, but especially now because I’ve been given huge responsibilities, and I’m not capable of upholding any of them unless God is in this. I know He is, but I am determined to seek His kingdom and continue following His lead. When He said all things were possible through Him, He really, really meant it. And when He said He honors those who seek Him, He meant it more than we could even imagine. His grace is sufficient and His love is enough. He’s the best, and I am humbled to praise such an amazing and powerful God. How great He is! One of the great blessings correlated with this, though, is the fact that some of my classes are really in line with this new opportunity to serve God. Taking Global Studies with Professor Jeff Lewis is directly related to outreach and seeking God's kingdom, so I plan on putting what I learn in the class to use at the church. I'm not sure how God is so clever, but He has often used CBU as a Ministry College for me personally, placing certain friends and professors in my path to encourage me to pursue Christ further.
I don't know about the rest of you but my Christmas break was restful, radical, and a few other adjectives that begin with the letter "R." It felt weird coming back to school and going to my new classes, maybe because this is the first time in my thirteen years of academic life that I started a new semester after Christmas. Usually, like in high school, we would resume our first semester, prepare for finals and the new semester would start in February. Most of the time, I don't really feel like a freshman, I just feel like a general college student. But, coming back to school with no one holding my hand, and having to find all my classes without my Focus leaders’ help, or a student leader directing me where to go was rather, well, weird. Something about this Spring semester makes me feel like a real adult. Well, an adult in my Christian university realm. Any who, like some of my friends have conveyed to me, I'm rather nervous about this semester. Being a full time student, a choir student, part of the Chicago USP team, a photographer, and praise the Lord, an assistant editor on the yearbook staff, seems tiresome just saying it. If you are feeling overwhelmed at all, or anxious about this new semester then we are in the same boat. Actually I think there are a lot more of us, so we are in the same ship. Get it? A ship is bigger than a boat.
Our first day back to Women's choir was amazing. I had missed my choir time with my fellow singers and sisters. But as our rehearsal time was drawing to an end, I began getting stressed about all the things I had to do after we got out. Luckily, we got out a little early and my friends and I ventured down the music building hall to listen to Male Choral. And of course, as God knew I was starting to freak out about all the reading I had to do, and the photos I had to take, and the articles I have to work on, and this blog, we walked in and the boys’ choir was singing my favorite song of theirs.
"Lord You are Good and Your Mercies Endure Forever." Don't stress just rest. Keep it Calm, Read a Psalm.
After almost a month of waiting on the Lord, I'm still listening for His direction on the next step. I've been doing quite well not moving ahead of Him, which has only been accomplished through His astounding strength allowing me to stay where I am. And after these few weeks of being still before the Lord, He's opened my eyes to the place I am in--a place of learning. Waiting on the Lord has given me the opportunity to examine myself--my actions, my intentions, my thoughts, and my heart. He's definitely doing a work in me, even now, and sometimes it's exhausting. But it is always rewarding.
Right now, God is trying to teach me patience, but even more so, He's showing me that He is in control. My faith is given the chance to grow in choosing to trust God before I even see Him move. It's difficult. But again, it's so rewarding once I've learned it. God is never late.
"But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day." 2 Peter 3:8
"And those who have knowledge of Your Name will put their faith in You; because you, Lord, have ever given Your help to those who were waiting for you." Psalms 9:10
Welcome back everyone! Week one is finally over, and hopefully by now you have a pretty firm idea on what your schedule will be like for the semester. If you’re like me and a few friends of mine, you have probably already added, dropped, or switched classes about fourteen times before you finally got the schedule you’re going to stick with.
If any of you read my blogs last semester you would know that I got to fly home to Thailand for Christmas break. It was a blast! Getting to see my family again, and once again being reminded of the great God we serve was such a blessing. Honestly, I think the greatest thing about this Christmas was that it landed on a Sunday. We opened presents a day early just so we could truly be ready and focus on the Lord on His special day, and it was truly amazing. What better way to celebrate Christmas than to be in my Father’s house on His son’s birthday? My family and I went to a new church that had been planted about a year ago now and it has been amazing to see how much God has grown our brothers and sisters there. My dad described it best when he explained that one of the head ladies there had asked, "Dr. Doug (my father’s name), we want to have a Christmas party after church. We've never had a Christmas party before and we really want to celebrate what God has done for us. So for the party... will you preach for us and tell us more about God?" Think about that... this brand new church wanted to celebrate God in the best way they knew how... by learning more about Him. Wow, I felt so humbled by her request. How many times have I moaned and groaned in the past because I was "too tired" to go to church or I found it just plain boring. But here was this woman, on Christmas day when most of us just prefer to stay at home and open presents all day, craving God's word and deeply desiring to worship Him on His day of days. It was a humbling and inspiring experience, one that I hope to truly learn from in the future. Christmas is without a doubt, a day to celebrate Christ's birth. Often we get sidetracked with things that don't even seem bad at first, but when put next to Christ they should be counted as insignificant. It is my hope, or "wish" if you will, that next year I will recognize that the celebration does not lay with just my family, or my friends, but it IS indeed Christ's, the savior of our world.
I greatly enjoyed my time of growing and learning over Christmas break and I truly do pray that God has grown each of you, my fellow lancers, and trained you up to become His warriors for the faith. May He bless you with His knowledge and His peace this semester.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are back at school! Remember when the words “back to school” brought shivers of fear to everyone’s heart? When the end of summer vacation was a dreaded time almost as terrible as a visit to the dentist? And now, here I am, twenty-one years old and extremely mature for my age (cough, cough, *sarcasm*). And I find that I really looked forward to a return to school. Not so much to the homework and studying, but to the friendships, to the late-night adventures, to the great times that are to be had while in college. As this is my last semester, I plan to squeeze every drop of enjoyment out of it, and then take those drops and make lemonade, since it will be summer by that time. It’s hard to believe I am 87.5% of the way through college, and 97% of the way through my lifetime amount of schooling. Once I get done with that I will be in the adult world, and from what I’ve heard it’s a tough place. They work all week, sleep all night, and on the weekends they complete various exciting activities such as cleaning the house, balancing budgets, doing taxes, or going fishing. (Seriously, how do you find fishing exciting? It’s like a spectator sport!)
Instead, I plan to lead a fun adult life. I will implement strategies to make all those activities fun. How about cleaning the house while hopping on one foot? Or balancing the budget while trying to keep my own balance on a roller coaster? Or I could do my taxes while competing in an equally taxing triathlon. And sorry, there’s no way to improve fishing.
You may ask, what’s the point of all this? I plan to live this semester to the fullest. And after that I plan to live life to the fullest, and I want to do all this for the glory of God. People sometimes ask me what the best year of my life has been and I always answer the same, “This year, and I’ll say the same thing next year!” Every year is a step forward in my knowledge, in my friendships, and especially in my faith. Have I reached my prime yet? My prime is now!
So there is this band called Keane and they have this song called Crystal Ball. It's a cool song, you should check it out. Anywho, the lyrics say, "Oh crystal ball hear my song, I'm fading out, everything I know is wrong, so put me where I belong" I pinky promise it is not a teen angsty song. The tune is quite upbeat and the lyrics are not as melodramatic as they seem. But that is besides the point. The reason I brought up this song is because I would be a very happy camper if God sat me down in front of a magical ball made of crystal or rubberbands for that matter. It could even be made of plastic with the number 8 painted on it, I don't really care. Either way, I just want to know how my story ends. It seems like many of my friends are feeling this way too. One of my friends wants to know if she'll be able to come back for the Spring semester. My best friend Kena, wants to know what university's nursing program she'll be accepted to (prayerfully CBU). And I just want to know if I aced my fifteen page research paper, it's rather trivial compared to my friend's desires but I am becoming obessed with knowing my grade. I've checked BlackBoard at least five times today.
After my last final on Wednesday I ventured to my high school, Woodcrest Christian. I thought it might be awkward. It seemed like it could be weird, but it wasn't at all. It was great seeing my teachers and thanking them for drilling literary devices into my head or for thoroughly going over the New Testament, which gave me an upper hand in my New Testament Survey class. I left Woodcrest and God reminded me of how a year ago California Baptist was no where in my plan, in my story. Now, I couldn't imagine going to any other university.
Many people want to skip the body of their stories and read the conclusion. We all want to know how our story ends. I want to know if I am choosing the right major. Seniors in high school want to know if they are choosing the right school. Seniors in college want to know what will happen after they graduate. As my friend Kelsey told me a couple weeks ago "You have to give the pen to God so He can write your story."
"Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD Himself, is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation." Isaiah 12:2
With that, trust in God. And if you just finished your first semester in college like me, cue happy dance.
I have never considered it a joy to wait on the Lord. But now, knowing full well that this is exactly what He has commanded me to do, I am overwhelmed with peace. I feel a pressure has been removed from my mind and I no longer am worried about the future.
If I’m honest, I’ve never really considered that waiting on God was plausible. “What am I supposed to do in the mean time? I can’t just do nothing.” But having done exactly that has proven to me that God knew exactly what He was talking about when He commanded that we be still before Him, waiting on Him.
God is the Great Provider. Yesterday morning during a conversation with my pastor, God provided me with some insight. I’ve been waiting on Him all this week, standing still until He told me to move, and I think He honored that. In fact, I’m quite sure of it. He’s delivered an answer and now it is up to me to follow it, and trust Him with it.
I need prayer, friends, so I may stay faithful to the Father who reigns over all that is seen and unseen. I want to be wise in my actions and thoughts, and I want to continuously chase after Christ. I need to be intentional, though, and sometimes it’s easier to be apathetic towards God’s commands. I do not desire apathy, I desire perseverance. So please be praying for me in that regard.
God is good.
And yesterday I found that the word “wait” in the Bible means “expect: the fulfillment of promises”. God did not simply command us to stand still and do nothing. Wait is an action here! It means have eager expectation that God will fulfill His promises! This is a decision we must make, not something we can sit back and do! Of course, it should be noted that God doesn’t fulfill promises we’ve thrown on Him. He fulfills His promises. And He commands that we wait on Him. So I think we should be very wise to make sure that the hope we cling to truly is the hope of God. We can be clinging to something and slap the name of God on it, but if it is not God, then we are no longer waiting on Him, but rather, something else.
Anyway, I’m excited for God’s hand being over my life.
And of course, I'm looking forward to Christmas break! It's the best time of the year and I hope you will be blessed this season, remembering the reason behind it all is due to Jesus' birth. Happy Christmas!
Dear Readers, It is more than likely that as you read this I am sitting with my family in Thailand. But as for me, my exams have finally ended and I am now writing this blog to you in the airport of Taipei, Taiwan. My flight to Thailand has been cancelled and I am sitting outside the ticket counter for the staff to fix it. It's a very quiet, but very exciting journey when you travel alone. You meet so many interesting people. I met a couple of guys headed to Thailand for a medical internship. I also met a Lebanese family who, like me, are a little on the edge about our cancelled flight, but we've been assured that we can get on the next flight out which instead of only being 1 hour has turned out to be three. I also met another family who is taking their 13 month old son to his native country for the first time. The diversity of the world has always been amazing to me. There are so many people headed to so many different places, each for so many different reasons. I hope that someday I might have the opportunity to travel to the places all these planes are headed off to... China, Indonesia, Korea, India, Pakistan... It'd be great to see them all. I look forward to seeing my family in a few hours, and I hope that you will enjoy yours this Christmas. Whether you are about to go play sports in the park or snuggle up to a warm fire, have a very Merry Christmas everyone. I'll return to right to you more about my amazing college experiences at California Baptist University in the spring! Shalom! Becky Derbyshire
I am writing this to you on the evening of December 7th. I'm wrapped up in a jacket, covered with a blanket and have just finished a great cup of hot chocolate. It is the middle of the week, and in seven days I begin my journey home to Thailand for Christmas break. It goes without saying that I'm excited about returning home, but as I sit on this comfy sofa in my great apartment at California Baptist University, I am filled with awe at the majesty of God. This is the season of Christ's birth. This is the time two thousand years ago when God fulfilled his long awaited promise to the people of the world. This is the season of our Savior's birth. Oh how I wish I could express the joy I am filled with when I am reminded of the greatness of God's salvation. Today there was an international Christmas celebration and we had the privilege of hearing our fellow classmates, whom God has beautifully gifted with music, sing. Song after song, I was reminded again and again of the special, beautiful circumstances of Christ's birth. The King of kings born in a stable, soon to die a criminals death. And who did God choose to witness such a time? The great kings of Israel? The honored warriors of the world? No, God chose the least in the minds of man, the shepherds, and brought them to meet his son.
When I was younger, we came to the states to spend Christmas with my extended family. Lights were everywhere and it seemed like there wasn't a street or an alley you could walk through without feeling the joy and thanksgiving of the season. That was years ago, and now it seems that that spirit has waned a little. I think I've heard the phrase "Merry Christmas" once in the past week, whereas a few years ago it came up at least twice a day during the month of December. Commercials are filled with this ridiculous concept of "beating Santa" at giving the best gifts. As cheesy as it may sound, I truly hope my dear readers, that as you head home for this joyous season you might find it in your hearts to let another person know of the true meaning of Christmas. Christ our Savior was born. And if you need a little help remembering I hope the video I posted above might guide your hearts to focus on Him.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
May God in His great wisdom grant each of you His grace and peace.
Finals week is coming up. I've got a couple papers to write and a few tests to take. Stress has been building up and I'm barely holding out for that small light at the end of tunnel.
But I am reminded of God's strength. I am only physically tired, and maybe a bit mentally exhausted, but I know that God provides energy and strength to go on in what I must do. I'm also thinking about how He's sustained me spiritually in the past three years here at CBU.
As a freshman, I came here with my eyes wide open like a deer in headlights. There are so many things to experience, so many options in the cafeteria to choose from, and so many people to meet--not to mention so many papers and outlines to write. At first I became overwhelmed with it all and lost track of my time with God. My devotionals fell to the wayside as I began getting involved in my friendships and schoolwork. After several weeks, though, I realized I was drained. I needed restoration and coffee wasn't cutting it. I realized I needed the Father to sustain me and keep me going. He drew me in and I began reading my Bible every day with such a desire that I would not allow for my time with God to be put on the back burner.
Then, as a sophomore, I became focused on pleasing people and doing whatever I could to make them happy, even if it meant my school work and, once again, my time with God, fell to the wayside. This time, I lasted longer, perhaps by "practicing" the previous year, but after a couple months, I again felt exhausted. After realizing I needed to set my focus entirely on Christ, I began reading through almost the entire New Testament. There is hardly any page in the New Testament of my Bible that does not have at least one verse highlighted now. I realized after turning back to God and making Him my number one priority that I could not go on without his strength.
And here I am, three years into college, still figuring out how to keep my schedule balanced with friends, school, family, and most importantly, Christ. I've been choosing to be intentional by reading my Bible during breakfast each morning. Recently, I started memorizing verses and have been reviewing them every day, as well as applying them to my life when possible--which happens to be every day. And I've been extremely consistent with getting involved in my church and the college Life Group it holds every Tuesday. Because of my strong desire and diligence in pursuing Christ, I have seen Him working in wondrous ways. I am excited for what else He has planned, but more than that, I am relieved to have finally found some balance.
Well, the end of the semester is approaching. I’m about a week out from the end, and things are going crazy! Enough homework to fill a cow’s stomach (they have a lot of stomachs!) and more projects than you can shake a stick at. I’ve never understood what the stick shaking would do, but I digress. Because of these things, many of my friends are counting down until the end of the semester. I used to do the same, but now I know better. If I constantly focus on the future, how will I enjoy the present? (Speaking of which, I should start buying presents!) How will I learn to be content with what I have? College is only four years of my life, and if I try to just get through it, I’m going to miss out on so many opportunities! If you’re looking down all the time, just trying to get through, you’re going to miss the elephant flying by right in front of you! And then what would happen to Dumbo? Seriously though, even in these stressful times, there are so many opportunities to have a great time with friends.
So how do I get through this? With balance, this is one of the most important bits of collegiate knowledge I have gained. I’ll go have fun and watch TV with some friends, and then I’ll go blast some Christmas music at high volume while knocking out homework. College is a balancing act where you are given a gift of 24 hours a day and you have to determine how to spend it. In high school It’s pretty well established how your time will be spent, and school and sleep comprise most of it. In college, no one makes you go to class, and no one makes you go to sleep. There are definitely consequences for skipping either one too much, but that’s a mistake all college students have to make at least once.
Balance is important, but I saved the most important part for last. When you balance your life, how much does God get? Is it as much as you claim He does? I’m guilty of this too. Sometimes my time with God is nonexistent or all too brief, and then I still choose to turn around and watch TV for an hour. I want that burning passion for God that will cause me to be with him all the time. That doesn’t mean I’ll have my nose stuffed in a Bible all day long, but that I want to be continuously in prayer. If I can live in a prayerful state I will be that much closer to God and that much more able to hear His voice and follow His will. How can I make God infiltrate my life so that every portion is touched by a bit of God flavor, and so that no one who meets me can walk away without at least a little of Him going with them? Balance. What’s really important to you this Christmas season?
Well, you know what time of year it is! According to everyone around me, it is the holiday season! The most important of which is Christmas, in my opinion, but I do love other holidays, such as New Year’s day. As the New Year approaches I begin to ready my list of resolutions to prepare for the year. Here is my start on a list of resolutions:
1. Grow a beard for the first time in my life. After growing it, I plan to immediately hate it and shave it off. I have already started this goal, and I hope to have the self control not to shave until the new year.
2. Listen more to God’s voice. I really want to be able to hear God and listen to what He tells me. I want to be available to do whatever He wants me to do and go wherever He wants me to go. This is even more relevant since I am graduating in the Spring and as of yet have no idea where I am going after I receive my degree.
3. Give more. I want to have a steady budget that includes a category for giving. I want this to go above and beyond my offering. I want to be able to buy my friends things, take people places, and share with people in need. This is hard to do on a college student budget that varies from month to month, but once I hold a steady job I plan to do this.
4. Visit Disney California Adventure after they open Carsland and Buena Vista Street. If you know the Disneyland Resort, these additions look fantastic and I’m excited to see them!
5. Find a job/jobs. This goes without saying. I hope to be able to support myself, as opposed to living on a couch in my parent’s basement. (Which would be very difficult considering they do not have a basement!)
6. Graduate! I want to pass all my classes with flying colors and walk majestically off that stage with a diploma in my hand. OK, fine, it probably won’t be so majestic. I’ll likely be waving my arms and fist pumping like a madman, but hey, you only graduate twice!
So that’s it for now! Keep me accountable everyone! Also, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you next year!
The following is a conversation that happens about three times a week:
"Hey I'm (insert random name)"
"Hi I'm Jessica. What year are you?"
"I'm a (insert random year). How about you?"
"Cool cool, I'm a freshman."
"Oh awesome, how do you like the dorms? Or are you living in the cottages?"
"Ha I live at home"
"You're a commuter?"
"Yeah (visualize big smile)"
"Oh. (Visualize awkwardness)"
I don't know if the blog reader's demographic is residential or my family members or what. But, whoever you are I have something to say ... epic right?
I love being a commuter at times and some people might be thinking, ewe why? Well, there are quite a few reasons why. One, I like driving. I like the Jesus and Jessica road trips I take every morning and the personal concert Adele gives me on the ride home. Two, I hear the apartments' heaters aren't working while my blue bug has the best butt heaters known to man. Three, if my friends are bothering me, or are slightly annoying, I don't have to plug in headphones and ignore them, I can go home. Four, I can go into my mom's closet and steal her sweaters while she is at work. Five, I'm saving about 9,000 dollars. I think it's that much. Either way it's thousands of dollars. Six, I have a stipend for blogging, and photographing so CBU is basically paying for my gas. Thank you. Seven, if I'm having a rough day I can go home, my dad will make me laugh, my mom will be waiting to watch Glee with me, and my cat will be sitting on my bed. Eight, having quiet time with Jesus is so much easier without 20 gazillion girls living on the same floor with you. Nine, I have my own bathroom. And finally, ten, I have been blessed with amazing friends here, friends who will let me sleep on their couches if need be (thanks Sarah!) or if I'm in the library till 1 am (hehe Kira). Honestly, I could keep going, if you challenged me to come up with 50 reasons, I probably could but it's 2 am and I have a paper to work on. So all I'll say is, California Baptist University is the best school whether you are a resident, commuter, or whatever.
I am so overwhelmed with joy! Team Reveal for ISP was last night, and I am so, so excited to be going to SOUTH ASIA! My leaders are amazing people that I recently met while on the Next Step Retreat a little over a month ago. I am so incredibly excited to be led by them, because I know God has worked greatly in their lives and they strive to follow Him.
God is so good for blessing me abundantly in this. South Asia was my first choice when filling out my application almost two months ago, and I could not be any happier that I've been placed on this team. I am so excited (as I have mentioned a few times already) to be able to serve my team and the people of South Asia. I am ready to truly focus on being intentional in staying close and growing closer to Christ.
So please be praying alongside me, friends, as we begin to prepare for training. In just a few short months, will be sent overseas. God is good, and prayer is incredibly powerful. Pray that my team may stay humble, that we will be diligent in our pursuit of Christ, and may encourage each other in the Lord as we learn and grow together. And please be praying for the people we will be meeting, that Christ will already begin working in their hearts.
“There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6 (This is the ISP Theme Verse I'm going to memorize!)
What Happens on Thanksgiving Break, Stays Online for All to See
Thanksgiving break is an awkward time; a time where you can choose to spend it on homework or to spend it blowing off steam and having a great time! This is my story, presented in bullet point fashion, because everyone knows bullet point lists are awesome!
Yellowcard Concert: Yellowcard is the only band I’ve ever known to mix a violin with rock and boy, when they rock, they ROCK! This was the kickoff to my Thanksgiving break, and it was an awesome one at that!
Shopping and Car Repair: You wouldn’t think they’d go together, but I treated Gilly (my car) to new tires, and I went shopping for some things I needed. Cars are more expensive than girlfriends, just FYI. While she was getting that work done, I picked up a skinny tie, visited my roommate at Hollister, his place of work, and checked out the new Forever 21. (Yes, they do have guys clothes, and nice ones!)
Movie Night: We watched Muppet Treasure Island. Ever heard of it? Me neither, until now. It was a fun night of hanging out with old friends at their off-campus apartment and having a good time. A pazookie (giant chocolate chip cookie with ice cream) may have been involved...
Male Chorale Concerts: Yes, we had two huge concerts in one day in San Jacinto. These concerts consumed most of my day on Sunday, except for a late night movie with some friends.
Tonight Show with Jay Leno: That’s right, I was in the audience with some friends. Yeah, I know, I wasn’t even on stage. Give it some time... :)
Pizza and Cake: We hit up a delicious pizza place in Burbank (Pesto pizza!) and a cake place in Hollywood which proved to be amazing for our stomachs!
Griffith Park Observatory: It was my first time up to the observatory. I loved getting to see the view of the surrounding area.
Disneyland: I went to Disneyland for an entire day. I went on tons of rides and had a great day. It’s the happiest place on earth, need I say more? (Well, besides a certain Christian Bible College that I know of.)
Errand Run with Daniel: I went off with my friend to run some errands. This involved an unexpected car part breaking and an expensive trip to the shop. But we had fun at a bookstore while we waited.
Action Scrabble: This is a game I invented where you have to play Scrabble using only verbs, and you must act out every verb you lay down, from ‘sleep’ to ‘sing.’ It turned out to be quite fun.
Thanksgiving Dinner: Good food, good company, the usual. I am blessed with so much and have so much to be thankful for!
Black Friday Campout at H&M: I stood in line at H&M to get a free gift card and free clothes. When you’re a college student, free stuff is always a good thing!
Now, that’s certainly not an exhaustive list of my Thanksgiving break. I left out some fun stuff and all the boring things. (Did I mention I did tons of homework?) The amazing thing is that I only stayed off-campus for one night. I managed to have so much Thanksgiving fun while staying so close to my home at Cal Baptist. It’s been a good break, how was yours?
Anyone else notice that Thanksgiving break was like the worst thing in the whole wide universe? Why? Because I reverted back to the bum I was this past summer, waking up at noon, watching lots of movies, hanging out with friends everyday, and not doing any homework. Man oh man I am telling you, do not be like me. I did not do a speck of class work over break and I am paying for it now. I seriously typed out a "To Do" List and it was about one page and a half long in Times New Roman size 12 font. RIDICULOUS. Everything is insane right now. Thus, I am declaring Turkey Break to be nothing more than a tease. Because you get one glorious week with no responsibilities then you come back to school and it's three more weeks of stress till Winter Break. When you get back in the stress boat you start thinking:
Why wasn't I more responsible?
Why do we even get a break for Thanksgiving? I was a good student before the turkey.
Why not push through November and end a week earlier in December?
Where did the word pilgrim even come from?
Either way there is no solution to this problem, because really we are the problem and the only solution is not letting stress win. We have to work our bottoms off.
Anywho my new favorite destresser is prayer. Today I felt the stress boat about to sink and so I went to the prayer chapel (which I totally forgot we had) and I prayed that God would bless me with amazing rest and peace in Him.
Then I went to class and the stress boat officially sank. But still, I just want to encourage you, "Be Still", give your stress to God!
And go Royal Rumbles (my intramural volleyball team that is in the Elite Eight)
The day before Thanksgiving break, every person who applied for ISP (international service project) or USP (united states project) received a letter stating whether or not they would be going on a mission trip. So, my friend Kody and I ventured to the MOB office to get my letter.
**Sidenote: I really wanted to go on ISP. I wanted to go to some random African country I can’t even pronounce the name of and hug every kid in a random village. That is what my plan was, but God had a different plan and so did my protective father, so I checked USP. ** Back to the story:
We walked in the office, told them my name (Jessica Bills in case you don’t know), and as they handed me the letter I held in my hands my mission trip fate. I opened the letter and it said “Congratulations.” Honestly, I didn’t read the rest of the letter. For all I know it could have said “Congratulations we received your application, but you fail at life and you would be a horrible missionary.” But I doubt that. I am so excited to know for certain that I am going to be flying somewhere and serving God’s people, whether those people know Him or not.
Hmmm I feel like this post should be longer, but I don’t have more to say.
Sooo … RANDOM THINGS I LOVE ABOUT CBU:
-It’s clean
-I have awesome, funny, godly friends.
-There is always something going on. (ie. Food fights, Midnight Madness, Basketball games, Choir concerts, Pajama Balls)
-The library doesn’t smell weird anymore.
-I have teachers that will pray for me.
-for girls it stands for Cute Boy University.
-for you guys out there it can also stand for Christian Babe University.
-It’s really easy to get involved.
-The food is amazing.
-Chapel doesn’t feel mandatory because it's amazing.
Happy Turkey Week/Month/Year (Depending on when you read this.)
The following is a conversation that happens about three times a week:
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