Not Bad For A Monday.

Today was pretty good...I didn't sleep well at all last night, so it was hard to drag myself out of bed this morning...but overall it was a good day. Worship time was great, & Kal reminded us that we are all chosen...chosen for salvation, but also chosen for the school this year. So many people weren't accepted for the year, or were denied visas, but God had other plans for us 17. It was a good reminder, after a nice relaxing week, of WHY we're coming back & working so hard.

Scott started his teaching on eschatology today...whew. This has been something I've been looking forward to & dreading all at the same time. We only got through dispensationalism today, & next monday we'll talk about covenant theology. I have a feeling that this will be one of few areas that I disagree with their beliefs in, but I'm keeping an open mind & even if I DO disagree with what they believe, it's a pretty minor issue to dispute, since no one REALLY knows until the end actually comes. But I'll be interested to hear all the theories laid out & how each came to be & where they stand scripturally.

Music Theory & Ear Training were HARD today. I got my ear test back, & I got a 75% overall...which actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We started chapter 2, & it is scary. I'm not looking forward to it at all. Theory wasn't as bad...but by that time of day it's harder to focus because I'm tired & full from lunch. Haha. Luckily Kal the Freak teaches that class so it keeps me somewhat engaged.

Worship Teams went REALLY well today, I was pretty pleased...especially considering some of us didn't get to practice at all over the break. We played a song that Teresa wrote & it sounded really great, & it was just really good worship time.

Ugh, CBC rehearsal tonight...the performance is next weekend though, & then I'm DONE & never have to do it again. So pray that I can keep a good attitude for two more weeks. And also pray that we will get a day off school sometime next week, because we'll have CBC practice on monday, dress rehearsal on wednesday, & then performances friday, saturday, & sunday. Ugh. I'm ready for it to be over.

I can't believe Christmas break is in 3 weeks. That's insanely soon.

Back In Keno.

Break was amazing. I ate alot & got to spend some really great time with family & friends.

God definitely used me, I think, in conversations with a couple of my friends. I felt like I actually accomplished something this week, even though I wasn't in school. One thing that EVERYONE told me is how happy I look. I love it that people can see what God is doing in my life before I even tell them. It's such an encouragement to know that I HAVE changed, & God is already using me, possibly in ways I don't even know, & may never know.

Today will be spent catching up on Bible reading & relaxing before school tomorrow. Only 3 weeks till Christmas break, & I know it's going to be BUSY. But I'm ready.

Break!

Today was awesome. We met at a coffee shop instead of the building for Exploring Worship class. We talked today about our attitude in approaching worship, & how easy it is to allow pride to keep us from worshipping properly. The book described it as "reverse hedonism"...if it feels uncomfortable or we don't want people to think of us badly, we don't do it. But worship in no way feeds your own ego. It has nothing to do with you. Praise is contingent on who God is & what He's done. So don't think you're "too cool" to lift your hands or be "too afraid" of what people think to shout out to God. Both are examples of pride, & neither one pleases God.

Instead of class, we went back to the building & Teresa led us in prayer. Basically we just prayed for like 5 minutes on our own, & then went around the room telling what God had showed us while we were praying. We did it twice, & both times all of the words & pictures we had all lined up for a specific person. The first time was Stef, & the second time was for John. I had a really interesting picture for John...though I didn't realize it was for him until after. Anyway, I saw a circus elephant (random, right?!) performing all sorts of stunts & tricks for peanuts. And I thought, "Why would such a massive animal do all these ridiculous things for something as insignificant as peanuts?!" At first I had no clue what it meant, but then once God showed me it was for John, He gave me the answer: God promises to reward us for our faithfulness. So the peanuts, as insignificant as they seem from the outside, are the reward. And the elephants LOVE the peanuts, & the peanuts motivate them to do the tricks. It was definitely the weirdest picture I've ever had, but I liked it.

Songwriting was good, but it draaaaagged on after lunch. Haha. We didn't have worship teams so we got out an hour early. Josh is coming to pick me up at 4:30 & then I get to go home!! Another thing God was speaking to me during our prayer time is Change. He told me that change will already be evident in my life to those I haven't seen in a few months, & that the change in me will affect them. I don't know if this will come by example or by a word for someone or what, but if you think of me at all this week, pray that I will hear God's voice clearly if it's the latter. I'm not entirely sure how this is going to come about because God didn't tell me, & I personally don't feel like I've changed THAT much...I mean, I KNOW I have, but I don't feel that different I guess. Anyway. Pray for me if it crosses your mind.

And with that I'm off to finish packing!

Waiting On God.

Ugh. Monday. As far as mondays go it wasn't terrible, but I'm definitely ready for a break.

Worship this morning was a little frustrating for me to be honest. We keep getting words about trusting God fully, & JL says that if you continue to receive the same word over & over, it's because you haven't followed it through yet. And I know it's a process, but I know of a few people for certain that just aren't listening...so I spoke up about it, & pointed out what JL has told us, & just said that we need to stop talking about how great it will be when we trust God fully & actually do it already. I'm probably included in this. I don't think there's anything I'm withholding from Him anymore, but if there is I hope He will reveal it to me so I can deal with it. Like I said, I understand that it's a process, but we're just not moving right now it feels like.

Exploring Worship with Kim was good, I really like that she's teaching one day a week now. We had Q&A with JL again today, & Tom asked about learning to wait on God. I liked his answer...he talked about how waiting on God is actively pursuing Him, & having faith that He will answer you. After all, why would you wait on God if you don't believe in Him to follow through? So many people miss out on what God has for them because they put a time limit on how long they're going to wait. Waiting is patience, & without it you'll never get there. The key is being close enough to God during the time of waiting that you can cope with the actual wait. But how do you actively wait without living in the future & wasting the present? If we are waiting on something that has already been promised & already begun to take form, we can find the balance between longing for the future & being satisfied with where we are in our relationship with God right now. GOD IS IN THE WAIT! He shows us glimpses of what's to come because there is joy in anticipation. Enjoy the time you have right now because there is so much to be learned in the process of waiting on Him. So there's the condensed version of my notes...haha I usually don't post this much of what I write down but I'm pretty sure someone needed to read them. So...there you have it.

Ear Training was fun today. Kim took us to Daily Dose for the hour & we had a free day. We're still working on rhythms in Music Theory, & that's my language so I'm feeling alright about it at the mo.

Worship Teams were a bit frustrating, but I think everyone is just tired & ready for a break. I recorded part of it, but I haven't looked at it...I'm sure it sounds terrible because we did a song we haven't done in months. We'll see. Like I said...it will be great to have a break.

Josh is taking me to the airport after school, & hopefully there will be wifi there so I can write a blog. Haha. If not, maybe I'll try & write one before I crash tomorrow night. We'll see how THAT goes...

Yesterday...& Today.

I forgot to blog yesterday. Whoops. SO, I'll blog today.

Yesterday...umm...pretty uneventful, Gloria continued where Karen left off last week in Stewardship In Life, so more about personal relationships. It was a good class. In Bible Review with Tim we went through Joshua & the beginning of Judges, where I realized that when my Dad put tabs on my Bible about 10 years ago, he got 2 pages stuck together in Judges, so I guess I'm not allowed to read the first two chapters of that book. Haha. And just as I was realizing this, Tim goes, "Cara, how about you read chapter one for us?" I was like, "I can't!" Hahaha. I borrowed Kate's Bible & it was fine, but I laughed.

There was a young adults meeting at church last night, & Scott did a teaching on the dangers of the emerging church. It was a good teaching, but I found myself kind of bored because it was actually alot of stuff I already heard before, which was surprising. It isn't news to me that the church is conforming to the world in relying on "experience" & "feelings" rather than doctrine & Scripture. It was still good to have a refresher on those things though.

I took Kate to see New Moon yesterday for her Birthday (which is actually tomorrow), & it was AMAZING! I like Twilight, & I don't care what anyone says. I'm totally Team Edward, but after this movie I ALMOST got swayed to Team Jacob. Haha. We met Bethany, her roommate Kenzie, & Kate's aunt Shelly there, & good times were had by all.

Today has been pretty chill. Relaxed at home, then went to Racine with Becky, where we were unsuccessful in finding Chick-fil-A. So I was sad, because I miss it. But then I remembered I will be home tuesday, & I can have a lunch date with my Mom there! I'm pretty excited. Anyway, we ended up eating at Qdoba instead, & then meeting Stef & Kelly at the mall. I didn't even buy anything, I'm so proud of myself. But then we went to Target, & I don't think it's possible not to spend money there. And besides, I needed shampoo. Not like anyone cares. Haha.

I get to go home in 3 days! I need to finish packing!

Hearing God's Voice.

Today was great. Prophetic Worship all morning...we talked about the different ways we hear God's voice. It's amazing that all of the random thoughts that I took for granted is actually God speaking to me. Nothing is ever random though, I suppose. I feel like God has been speaking to me alot lately...the funny thing is, it's not even usually for me. I've been hearing from God alot about different people...people on the school, people I haven't seen in awhile, people I barely know...it's been really interesting weighing all these words & deciding which ones to actually bring forward. I never really realized how OFTEN God speaks to me, but now that I do, I hear Him more & more. It's amazing. Out of nowhere I thought of the snake I saw in my backyard when I was a kid...I remember it distinctly, it was black & red & yellow, & no one else saw it! And no one else believed I saw it either. I have no idea why it came to mind, but maybe God wants to speak to me through it...even today during class I got a word for someone. It blows my mind how much God has been speaking to me, & about some of the weirdest stuff too. One of the points Teresa made today is that God cares about the little stuff too! She told a story about her first car, & how God asked her what kind of car she would want. She thought about it & decided a cute black manual car would be nice. The next day there was a cute black manual car for sale up the street. He really cares about our petty earthly things too! He loves to provide for us, because it glorifies Him when we recognize that He is the one that provided! So good. It was a great teaching. I may expound on it later, just because it was SO great, but it's hard to cram 4 hours into one blog. No one would read it. Haha.

I had the second part of my Ear Training test today...sight singing. UGH! I hate the F scale. And the G scale. And all the scales. And Solfeg. We had to sight sing a piece of music in C, G, & F. I did C just fine. G was a little tougher, but okay. I butchered F. Oh well. Kim said I was doing great, so I think that means I passed. Now I just have to wait & see how I did on the written exam...oy.

Kimmy & I went to Daily Dose after school to chat, which is always fun. I actually had several really good conversations today. It was really uplifting, because the day started out kind of crap, but it got better. Worship Teams were great too, Kal worked with us on learning Lead Me To The Cross. For a slow song I get a few pretty awesome chances to just rock out. I think I'll enjoy playing it.

I'm so glad tomorrow is friday...I get to go home in 5 days! I can't wait to see everyone!

Fine.

I didn't really feel like posting a blog, but people kept pestering me to, so I am. Now stop complaining. Haha.

My team led worship this morning. If it's possible I'd say it was even better than last time. We played Happy Day & How Great Is Our God. Happy Day nearly gives me a heart attack when I play it, but man I love it. It's FAST. If you're curious, you can hear it here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo8rcwe0Zm4.

School was good, Exploring Worship blew my mind as usual. It was about self-condemnation, & Kal made the point that when we sin, guilt only comes if we don't repent right away. The enemy's best strategy of attack is getting us into that place of guilt, because it only takes a moment to sin, but the guilt can hang on for years. We discussed the difference between conviction & condemnation, & how conviction leads to repentance & draws us closer to God, but condemnation leads to shame & we retreat from Him at the very time we need to run to Him the MOST. So, essentially, in allowing ourselves to have guilt, we're working for the enemy. Ever think of THAT? I didn't. I will now! Haha.

Bible Review with Gary was good, we are in 2 Corinthians now. It's been interesting to hear the historical background of Paul's letters, what was going on in the world at that time, & such. Aside from the fact that Paul is the king of run-on sentences, I'm really enjoying his writings.

Songwriting class was good, still discussing theory a bit. We didn't really have Worship Teams today, just discussed how the morning went. Everyone agreed that I'm really improving & sounding good on drums, so that made me really happy to hear. I feel like I've been improving but if others are recognizing it then I must be. :o)

Chicken enchiladas for dinner tonight! Yessss.