attributes of God - mercy

Yesterday I was feeling really homesick and lonely.  Rachel goes to training at 9, but I don't go till 1 so I'm alone for quite awhile.  I was really missing my family and doubting my reasons for being here at Glorieta.  But then I decided to read the chapter assigned for the ladies' Bible study of "The Attributes of God" back home.

The topic for this month is mercy, and it honestly couldn't have come at a better time for me.  I was really wondering what my purpose for being here was, but throughout the chapter I was reminded of God's goodness and how His mercy is extravagant and never ending.  I liked this one section of Tozer's:

One fact about the mercy of God is that it never began to be.  I've heard of men who were hardhearted or careless, but they began to get stirred up and mercy blossomed forth.  It never was so of God.  God never lay in lethargy without His compassion. God's mercy is simply what God is--uncreated and eternal.  It never began to be; it always was.  Heaven and earth were yet unmade and the stars were yet unformed and all that space men are talking about now was only a thought in the mind of God.  God was as merciful as He is now.  And not only did it never begin to be, but the mercy of God also has never been any more than it is now.

After I took the time to read this chapter yesterday, my day was just so much better.  I was reminded that I need to trust God in this time, and He will reveal His purpose to me.

Glorieta!

Hi everyone!

Well, I think it's pretty obvious that weekdates might not be happening "weekly" while I'm here.  I can't get internet in my room, and it's kind of a hassle to bring my laptop and plug and everything to a wifi spot, at least on a set day every week.  So my weekdates might be all over the place for a few months.

I am really enjoying my time here so far.  I'm rooming with Rachel, which is awesome, and we both feel very comfortable in our room.  I haven't taken any pictures of the room as a whole so far, but I'll try to sometime this week.

Here's my bed.

The dresser on the left is mine, where I'm keeping most of my stuff.  I brought my guitar too, and I'm really glad I did; I was able to play a bunch of songs yesterday during some free time.

We have two closets, but we didn't bring enough clothes to fill even one, so the other one is mostly for storage.

Next to my bed I taped up my pictures of Djamsel and Majoie, a drawing Chloe made for me, and a card from my mom.

I love this picture of Chloe, so I attached it to my mirror, where I can see it every day.

And here's just some of the stuff on my dresser.

On our first day here, Sunday, we first had a worship service before playing a bunch of games all morning and afternoon.  They were team building games that helped us all get to know each other, and also helped us learn everyone's names.  It was a lot of fun.

Yesterday, Monday, we mostly just went over camp rules, guidelines, stuff about our job positions, etc.  It was more of a boring day, but we were able to get outside and play some games in the afternoon, so that was fun.

Today I have my first job training at 1.  I'm going to be working in the dining hall, which is apparently one of the harder positions, but still good.

There are people from all over the world here: Poland, Portugal, China, Tanzania, Mexico, and Czechoslovakia, as well as all over the United States.  I've really enjoyed getting to know the people from China--Bart, Yia, and Alvin.  They're so passionate about their faith, and they're not afraid to show it.  I've had some great, encouraging conversations with them.

I'll probably try and post here once a week, but I might have some opportunity to do it more often; we'll just have to see.  Have a great day!

today's the day!

Today Rachel and I are moving to Glorieta!  It is so weird to actually be leaving for a few months, even if we will be able to visit.  It's amazing how much stuff I have to bring. :)

I wanted to kind of document this summer, so I bought myself a camera!  I only got it yesterday, and I got the memory card today, so I wanted to share some of the first pictures I've taken.

My lovely mother, who is sick today! :(, made Rachel and I each two quilts.  This first one of mine has a bunch of different squares with quotes about hope and rejoicing and singing.

This one is my graduation quilt.  My mom sent out squares of fabric to all my friends and family and they each wrote something encouraging on their square.  It's so awesome to be able to read all of them!

This one is from Elizabeth.

And this one is from Rachel, the lovely fiancee (!!!) of Jeremy!

I don't know about weekdates; this is, I'm going to try to do one every week, but I don't know if they'll be on Mondays anymore.  I definitely think this Monday isn't going to work, but we'll see!  I'll talk to you all as soon as I can!

weekdate #007

1. Monday I went to visit my grandparents with my mom and sisters.  We had such a great time!  It was absolutely beautiful up there.

2. This week I bought a camera!  I've never had my own camera before, and I'm really excited for it to get hear.

3. On Thursday Rachel and I, along with some friends, went to try out a new Bible study in town.  It wasn't really what I'm used to, but we had a good time, and are going to go again this week.

4. On Friday Rachel, Ellie, and I went into town to do some shopping and get hair cuts and stuff like that.

5. Then on Friday night was the ladies' Bible study, which was on justice this time.  I'm not sure if I'm going to do an attributes of God post on that; I can't seem to come up with much for it, but we'll see.

6. On Saturday we went to Chloe's soccer game, and then to a plant nursery nearby to get my mom her mother's day present (finally).  It was beautiful there!

7. Saturday night was my last memorization meeting at the church before I go to Glorieta.  It was such a sweet time.

8. Sunday was my last time at church for who knows how long!  It's really sad to think about that, but I'll be back at the end of the summer.

9. Today we got together with some friends to have a sort of going away thing for Rachel and I.  It was so much fun, even if I did get sunburned. :)

10. Today's my first day for my online class--I'm taking my first education course.  It looks like it won't be too terrible.  We'll see. :)

Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him

I love this poem by Thomas Kelly, but I couldn't find the actual tune for it, so I just made up my own and put music to it. I hope you enjoy it! Leave a comment! 

the past few days' adventures...

...have been quite unique.  It's not everyday you get to romp around in a river!

Monday through Wednesday my mom, sisters, and I went to visit my grandparents in Ruidoso.  It was so much fun!  My grandparents own a cattle ranch, so when we go see them we spend most of our time visiting the cows and walking by the river.  Enjoy the pics! (Beware--there's a lot of them)

 Obviously, if you find a river, it's necessary to find yourself in it. :)

We walked along the river to the end of my grandparents' property, and then we saw a sign stuck in the water.

And I said, "Hark!  I will go and free this sign, which is surely old and valuable and in pristine condition."

And I crossed over the river in a very graceful and proper manner.

When I finally reached the sign and stepped into the water, I was overcome with the knowledge that I had no clue what I was stepping into in the moss that covered the bottom of the river.

I wrung my hands in despair.

And my family feared greatly for my safety.

Hahahaha.

Finally I found a long branch and was able to hook it on the edge of the sign to pull it towards me.

But I think the entire growth of moss along the riverbed was attached to that sign, because it was heavy.  It took me ages to pull it out.

And after all that, we couldn't even see what the bottom half said.

So I bid farewell to the wretched piece of junk and started down the river, hoping to find an easier crossing than the one by which I had previously come over.

Ellie came to my side to help me find an easier crossing.

And then she said, "You know what?  I think I'll try and scale the sheer dropoff just to see if I can do it."

And I said, "You go on ahead.  I'll wait for you to fall while I try to find a stable rock to stand on."

Ahem.  Obviously, that didn't happen.

Ellie continued on, intent on scaling the side of the dirt wall.  She succeeded...

And then she came back down to help me.

She said, "Come on!  I'll just haul you up onto the dropoff with me, even if there aren't any footholds to be found!"

We met with failure again.

And I lost my shoe.

We proceeded onward, and I carried my lone shoe.

Soon we were upon our next challenge.  The ground just dropped off into the water, so we had to swing around a tree to get to the other side.

Ellie said, "Come on!  It's easier than it looks."

Ahem.

We continued on, having come too far to turn back.

Eventually we made it to a safe crossing, after several other hazards. :)

The next day it was Chloe who found herself trapped on the other side of the river.  Ellie came to help her.