Snapshots

My mom, with the help of my sister, recently purchased a new camera for me! This is such a huge blessing! With big travels coming up and my desire to have a more advanced camera, it came at a great time. Here are some of the latest things that have been happening in my life:

Easter with the family!

Graduation!!!
Party with Nate, Molly, Jean and I.

Big Stuff

When I thought about graduating the thought of what else would be going on in my life never really occurred to me. I knew I'd be moving out on my own, looking for jobs, and that kind of thing. I never thought this much would be going on! It seems like the reality of what is about to happen just started really sinking in last weekend. Now, however, it feels a little surreal. Here is what is happening in my life right now:
Graduation-10 days
Wedding-38 days
Thailand Trip-8.5 weeks

A bit of exciting news! Nate and I have found jobs teaching overseas in Asia! Living overseas is never something we thought we'd be able to do for awhile, let alone right out of college. However, God is so amazingly good and has opened up a wonderful opportunity for us! Things are still not completely official, but it looks like we will go unless something crazy happens. If you would like to know more, please contact me personally. It's not top-secret or anything, I'm just trying to be careful with something that feels a delicate right now. And to think I worried so much!

Engagement pictures: Mushy stuff and silliness

Hey Everybody, look at my engagement photos! Nate and I had our super great friend (and member of the Bridal party) shoot our photos. She's super. We had a lot of fun just being silly (as usual) and putting all of our creative juices to work. These were all taken around campus. The sunset ones were taken about 1 mile out of town. And yes, its a real sunset.

Summer Plans

Hey guys,
My posts have been so exciting lately! Well, the posts may not be exciting, but the events that lead to the writing of the post are exciting.

First bit of news: Nate and I have set the date for our wedding: May 24th @ 5:00pm. We should send out some save-the-dates soon. We are getting married at Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard (just southwest of Wichita). It is a really great place and we are excited to celebrate with family and friends there. Plus, we will have a lemur at the wedding! We are also planning on having a California Reception at some point for those that won't be able to make it out to Kansas for the wedding.

Second bit of news: Nate and I are going to Thailand!!! We are going with our school and are assistant team leaders for one of our friends and staff members at Sterling. We are going early/mid-July. We are not sure what exactly we will be doing over there. We have a couple of options: teaching English, doing teaching/evangelism in the northern rural areas, or working with girls in aftercare homes (sex-trafficking victims). We are both really exciting about this trip. As most of you who read my blog (family members) know, my cousins have been missionaries in Thailand for almost 9 years now. It has been a place that I have heard about as long as they have been there and I had always hoped to visit. The only sad thing is that they will probably be home on furlough while we are in Thailand! There will be more information about this coming out as well.

Other than those plans, Nate and I are just waiting on God for open doors and opportunities. That includes jobs and housing and the like. Pray for us!

SGA- A look into where I work

Hey everybody,
I wanted to post this video that we made for orientation this year. Our goal was to show new students what SGA is and what we do. I hope you enjoy. Nate helped us tremendously as our head writer and director. Dustin our treasurer (the guy with the long hair) also helped edit our film.

Cast:
Melissa- President
David (lead actor)- VP of Student senate
Adam- Office Consultant (one of the drink-sharers)
Sarah- Director of Campus Activities (another drink sharer)
Megan- Executive secretary (answers the phone)
Dustin- Executive treasurer (long hair)
Sam- Student Chaplain

New

Classes have resumed. Schedules have picked up. Responsibilities gladly welcome themselves back into my life.
This year is going to be good. I remember before I went back to school last year I had this feeling that it was going to be vastly different than the two previous years. It was. It was by far the hardest, most stressful year I've had ever (dramatic, i know). This year feels much, much better. For the most part it is because of my very intentional scaling back of responsibilities and activities. Goodbye, choir, highland singers, and Greek class. I am only taking 13 hours this semester. That is the smallest amount I've ever taken. At the same time add on 6 office hours a week for SGA, not including meetings, and leading the Student Chaplain group. Now things are a little more balanced.
With all this time on my hands I have had time to do things I love; I have built and strengthened relationships and had a lot of time to be enriched spiritually. I also have time to do my homework excellently. I did not have that time last year. You may recall several posts about staying up all night to finish papers. I have also had time to do something new, which inspired the title of this post.
I joined a gym. I not only joined a gym, I have been going to the gym. I have never belonged to a gym. I did some athletics in high school, but that is it. I decided that I missed being in shape and wanted to be healthier. So I started going. So far it has been good (granted I am only 3 days in), but my abs are burning!
The first day I went to the gym I was pretty anxious. There were guys there who were using free weights that totalled more than my body mass. Everyone there seemed to know what to do. I felt really aimless. I didn't know how I should work out or how to use certain machines. Luckily I had Nate, his roommate, Matt, and Allie, a wonderful girl that I have many classes with. They all showed me the ropes. Now I am just trying to set up a routine and some goals for myself.
Exciting times.
In conclusion, yay for setting priorities, sticking to them, and having time for wonderful things and people.

Personal Record

It's 5:23 in the morning. I just finished a paper for my doctrine class. I started it today.
I've never put off a paper this far in my life (record #1).
I've never stayed up this late doing homework (record #2).
I've never been this awake at 5:25 and I haven't even had caffeine (record #3).

Never has record breaking been so exhausting.

Praise the Lord for Spring Break in a few days!!!

Is it Thanksgiving break yet?

I could really use a break.
Last weekend our small singing group, Highland Singers, went on a 4 day tour around eastern KS, mostly the Kansas City area. It was a great time and the best music tour experience I've had thus far. We became close as friends and became tight musically. It was a good tour, but we did miss two days of class and didn't have time to do homework. So I've been playing catch up this week. It's really a scramble sometimes.

This weekend I'm heading up to Kansas City again for our semi-annual trip to the International House of Prayer. I'm excited because a big group is going (25) and many have never been before. Also, I'm not in charge! That is a good feeling, especially when there is some sort of snag with the trip planning. I'm not being held responsible. It is also a hard feeling sometimes because I wish I could just take control and straighten it all out, or go back in time and help my friends (including my roommate and my boyfriend and another good friend) plan for all these snags about a month ago. It is times like this when I realize how much of a greedy power-monger I am. God is teaching me a lot about that. I'm excited for a slight break at one of my favorite places! I'm anticipating the work that God is going to do in these students lives. Some amazing things came out of our past trips.

That is all the updates you get for now.

St. Bernard of Clarivaux

Was an interesting cat. Right now (literally. I am 'taking a break' from my paper) I am writing a paper about his theological contributions. Here are a few quotes from him that I found particularly beautiful or interesting:

"I ask no further pledge of righteousness if he is one my side whom alone I have offended. If he decrees that a sin is not to be imputed to me, it is as if it never existed."

"You will not pray aright, if in your prayrs you seek anything but the Word, or seek him for the sake of anything but the Word; for in him are all things. In him is healing for your wounds, help in your need, resotration for your faults, resources for your further growth; in him is all that men should ask or desire, all they need, all that will profit them. There is no reason therefore to ask anything else of the Word, for he is all."

"Although the creature loves less, being a lesser being, yet if it loves with its whole heart nothing is lacking, for it has given all."

Much needed rest

I'm headed home this weekend with several goals in mind:

• Get lots and lots and lots of homework done.- I have a feeling that next week, homecoming at Sterling, will be crazy. School doesn't stop during this week, but craziness grows exponentially as time to do things becomes more and more limited. And one of my professors chose to have a paper due that Thursday. Hopefully I will be able to work way, way ahead this weekend.
• Me time- I don't get a lot of that right now. Hopefully I will have more time to sleep, read for fun, take baths, play piano for fun, have more time to be with God, and other wonderful self-care type stuff.
• Be away from everyone and everything- That's how I handle stress. I remove myself from the situation or environment. I'm also introverted in a lot of ways so having time to not be around others and enjoy living in my head should be beneficial.
• I'm also reevaluating my current schedule-it turns out I don't have a lot of time for the things and people I love. My challenge is working around fixed times like classes, office hours, meetings, practices, and Bible studies.

So it's been a little crazy: School

It has been a really long time since I've posted anything. I'll try and give some recaps of what has been going on--it won't be too in depth because there is so much. I think I'll do this in sections for easy reading

School- School is great, though incredibly busy. For example here is the schedule of my busiest day:
Monday
wake up 7:00am
Class- 8:00-1:00
Office Hours: 1:15-2:15
Free time: 2:15-3:45
SGA Meeting 4:00-5:30ish
Dinner 5:30-6:00
Get ready for meeting 6:00-6:30
Senate Meeting 6:45-8:30
Homework: 8:45-11:00
Time for people: 11:00-12:00ish
Bed: sometime between 12:00 and 1:00

My classes are going well. I'm taking Greek and am really enjoying it. It is challenging and I feel like this will be really useful in my personal devotions and future educational endeavors (seminary maybe. I don't know). I'm also taking Church History I. It's really amazing to see how different theology emerged in the midst of controversy and heresy. So far the homework isn't too bad, but I need to work ahead on things.

Because I'm so busy it is hard to find time to spend with people. I am slowly building relationships with new students. That is hard because I love being connected with the Sterling community and feel like that the greatest way to impact people is not from my desk in the SGA office (not to downplay the importance of having this position at all!) , but by being in the everydayness of life with people.

My responsibilities as SGA student chaplain are going well. Sometimes there are little tasks like running the projector and powerpoint things during chapel. Right now I'm focusing on forming our 3rd praise band from scratch. It's brand new with brand new people. Also, I am seeking God's guidance on how to best minister to the rest of the SGA Executive Cabinet team. There are very few people on campus who truly understand the sacrifice of time, energy, and personal interests that SGA makes for this campus. I'm mostly focusing on encouraging them, praying for them, and giving them the resources they need to thrive in their personal relationship with God. I am learning a lot! And God is humbling me more than I had anticipated. I'm also preparing to lead a Bible study in my dorm, which will start next week.

So there it is. Life has been a little crazy at School.

Back to School

In 9 days I will return to school for leadership training and orientation planning. It's amazing that the summer is already coming to a close. My summer was not at all what I had expected. The only thing I knew for sure was that I was going to The Call. I thought I would have more time up at the IHOP. I thought I would have more free time. I didn't plan on going to California. I didn't think I would ever be a camp counselor (more to come on that).

Though it wasn't necessarily what was expected it was a really wonderful summer. God taught me a lot about leadership, service, relationships, perseverance, and youth ministry. I know that even the smallest experiences I've had this summer God will use to teach me or help me during the school year.

Next year is going to be so different. I can feel it. I'm going to be an upper class men. The campus will be different (due to the natural ebb and flow of new students and friends who have graduated). I'm in more prominent positions of leadership. I am leading one praise band this year (there are two) and am President over our Praise Band organization. I'm head student chaplain. Part of my job as student chaplain is being a member of the Student Government's executive cabinet which means meetings, helping christian organizations on campus, helping with Wednesday and Sunday chapel services, assessing the spiritual needs of the campus and finding ways to provide for those needs. The other part includes providing leadership, underneath our two campus pastors, for the student chaplain team, leading Bible studies, and whatever else might come up. I'm really excited for this opportunity and desire to honor and follow God's leadership, knowing His heart for this campus.



Aside from titled roles this year will be different as I have two years left and myself and my peers are starting to think about the future. Suddenly the idea of independence and adulthood take on new meanings as they become much more than just moving away from home and going to school. We've got a lot to learn. Also, my best friend of two years, a wonderful and godly man, is now my boyfriend. It will be a fun challenge learning to balance our relationship with all of our responsibilities (he is also a chaplain this year among other things) and honor God with our relationship.

Above all, all these unknowns and unexpected have helped me learn to trust God's perfect leadership. I'm excited to see how and where He will bring me to the "what's" this year.

The Keyboard is back!

The keyboard is back and this time returns with a brand new hard case. The hard case looks really cool and professional. Unfortunately it weighs a bit more than usual (sarcasm=a lot!).

Spring "Break"

Break is in quotes because Choir Tour is not only not a break, but a frenzy of long bus rides, concerts, little sleep, and people around you 24/7. I will give you a few highlights



The Bus:
This was the thorn in our flesh for the whole trip. In New Mexico/Arizona (the desert) the air conditioning stopped working. We tripped to fix it multiple times but we did not have it until we headed back through Colorado where it wasn't needed.
A semi side swiped us on the L.A. Freeway and almost completely knocked off one of our rear view mirrors.
On the pass in Colorado the fuel filter stopped working. When our driver pushed the gas the bus only went 20 miles per hour so he put it in neutral and we coasted down the mountain for 15 miles at speeds of 60-70mph.

The beach:
That was the best. This is where a majority of my pictures were taken. Prepare to be montaged!




Me playing in the water.

Kansas kids on the beach

Jeanwise and Mollywise find some kelp.

Kelp: Weeds of the Sea!

David and Nate recreate some scenes from Baywatch.

Ben and I waltz on the beach!

Me, Molly, and Jean are enjoying the beach!

My buddy Curtis and I trying to pull some stunts.

Did I forget anything?

Right now I am packing for our Choir trip to California. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I think I started too early because I'm just chilling out in the room wandering what to do with myself.
I did laundry last night.
I have all of my outfits ready to go.
I know what needs to go in my backpack.
I have my Ipod all charged.
I switched my music into a bigger choir folder to fit it all.
I laid out my outfit for tomorrow.

Hmmm. I guess I'll just enjoy some free time. Weird.

God, time management, and college: Part 2

No one posted anything as a suggestion on the last post of a similar title, so I'm just going to go ahead with something I've been thinking about and trying to implement in my own life lately. These posts are mainly for my peers who have lately expressed frustration at trying to strike a balance in their college life and spiritual life.

Vision
The vision you have for your life, from what I hear, can really make or break your time-management attempts. Having a vision will help you evaluate in the hours, days, weeks, and months of your life what is really important. It will be the plumb line that evaluates if the walls of your life are being built straight and level. So how do we start? What principles do we need to know? What does it look like?

How do we start?
Pray- Ask God what His plan is for you. Ask this question often. Ask this question regarding the near and far future. What does God have for you this month? What does God have planned for you throughout college? What career/field are you called to? And, perhaps the most important question, "Where do I fit in eternity? What is my eternal purpose?" (note:some of these answers in their more general form can be found in the Bible. Thanks God!)
Evaluate- What are your likes/dislikes? What are you passionate about? What things are you drawn to? Survey your friends- What skills/talents/abilities do they notice in you? Where do you tend to spend your time?

What principles do we need to know?
There are various types of goals- It can often be easier to set goals for yourself in sections. It could be broken down into things like education, talents, time, career, relationships, financial, health, relationship with God. Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer said, "Our commitments define us. Without something to die for there is nothing to live for. Getting a clear picture of who we can be can impact our lives. Do you have a vision, not for where your career, family, or schooling is going, but for your heart?" (paraphrase).
Perspective is important- Often times we can use goals as an evaluation of how we compare with others. That will lead to envy and that is never a fun place to be. When it comes to spiritual goals (especially) it is good to set goals that don't deal with things we can necessarily see. For example, some of my goals this year were as follows:

• I want to weep over the word because my heart is tender before the Lord
• I want to be known in the courts of heaven, not the courts of men.
• I want to be found faithful coming before God like Mary of Bethany; sitting before Jesus' feet to hear His word and voice.

What does it look like?
It probably looks more normal than you think. We don't go around noticing the people that really do manage their time well because they seem so normal. A balanced schedule( and therefore priorities) is just that: balanced. You don't have to spend your whole college career in Chapel, in prayer, and Bible Study 24/7. You don't have to move your dorm room into the library either. If you find yourself neglecting your school work and classes because you are spending so much time secluded in your prayer closet either try to adjust your schedule so you have time for school or move to a monastery/convent/24-7 prayer ministry (vice versa for spending too much time studying). After all, if you are in school it's probably because you felt called by God to be there and be a student.
Being faithful in the small things like homework, showing up, and being responsible can mean a lot to God. Believe it or not, being a student can be a ministry. Keep trying. Keep trying. Keep trying! God is faithful and wants you to succeed in this area of your life (note to self: heed your words)

Maybe there will be more to come later. Still accepting comments, personal stories/experience, and or any type of feedback at all. Don't be shy.

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away

So I did get my keyboard back. It was in tip top shape for a few days. Sunday I brought it to Sunday Chapel because our praise band was playing. I tried to plug it in to 5 different outlets and nothing happened. So my friend Tiffiney brought her piano and saved the day.

So the keyboard is going back to shop this week. Super.

So close I can almost taste it....oh wait...it's mostly my apathy

Spring Break commences far too early this Friday!!! The whole choir is taking off for southern California for 10 days of concerts, sun, and bus rides!!! (The exclamation points don't apply to the bus rides.) We load up at 4:30am Friday.
I think we will have a good trip. We have way more concerts than we did last year, which is good. The most exciting thing for me is that most of our Praise Band (the ones in choir) were chosen to lead worship one night on the beach!!!! How do I get to do such cool stuff!!!
I'm also staying at The Nate Prior's house with my choir buddies Jean and Molly. All sorts of craziness should result.
Please pray for us as we travel and perform (sickness tends to run rampant when we spend all day, every day together), and especially when we're on the beach. We don't want anyone to burn :)

Prepare, Sow, Persevere, Reap

Galatians 6:7-9 and Hosea 10:12 are verses that God has really highlighted to me in the past few weeks and I also feel are important to Sterling College :

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Galatians 6:7-9

Sow with a view to righteousness,

Reap in accordance with kindness;

Break up your fallow ground,

For it is time to seek the LORD

Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.

Hosea 10:12

(fallow ground: land that has not been used for a period of time. So....expose and prepare those areas in your life that you have allowed to lie dormant to be used. This referred to Israel's idolatry so today's application could be to bring some hidden on ignored sin before God to seek forgiveness and restoration.)

Let us seek the Lord and sow in faith for things in our future, first exposing those areas that need some attention to God, expecting Him to rain upon them in righteousness.

This is the prayer of my heart: That God would prepare my heart by breaking up the hard ground, exposing and uprooting the weeds, and preparing it to receive His word, Spirit, and love, as well as help me to persevere in my side of tending to my garden.

Tragedy Strikes (and it sounds a lot like a B flat)

God has been giving me a lot of different opportunities to worship lead lately and that is really exciting. It is so humbling to know that when I open my mouth to sing and move my fingers to play that anything that happens to those listening, whether they are convicted, comforted, receive guidance or revelation, or feel God's love it's not because anything I'm doing except trying to be obedient to what God has called me to do and trying to depend on Him to find out what that is.

So, I was worship leading for Evan's Worship Wednesday Night (it went really well and was a blast). My Mennokid (someone who's the product by denomination or family history of Mennonites) friend Erin leads Evan's Worship and she gave me this awesome opportunity. At the end of worship one of my fellow Chaplains and all around cool guy, John H, volunteered to help me take my keyboard out to Erin's car to bring it back to my dorm. I can't carry my keyboard on my own, so I was perfectly cool with him taking it for me.

We were 3 steps outside the door when I heard this noise, "Snap! Thud!". If there was ever such a heart sinking noise. I turned around and John looked up at me with these huge eyes and said, "I'm SOOOO sorry!!!!! Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! The thing broke!". Sure enough, with absolutely nothing to do with John, the strap that went from end to end of the case broke and one half of my keyboard was resting on the cement. I assured John, Erin, and Joel (innocent bystander) that it should be fine and we can just roll it to the car.

We brought it back to the dorm and Erin helped me set it up. I noticed right away that the B-flat key, 2 below middle C, was smushed down a little. That's God's mercy right there. So many more keys could have been injured and to a much more severe degree. I really wasn't all that worried. God really provided for this keyboard so that I could worship lead. I believed that God would continue to provide.

So the next day we called the place where we bought it and told them the whole story. Since it was the case that broke the agreed to pay for all the repairs as well as putting $125 towards a new case (the cost of the first case). So in a few weeks I will have a repaired keyboard, free of charge, and a new hard case that was basically 50% off. God is good and He truly loves to bless His children with good gifts.

Come back quickly, Kawai!