And now: A sigh of relief.

Again, I am so thankful for God's strength.

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19

This week was one of the busiest I've had in a while. A little procrastination plus some unfortunate timing, and I found myself having a paper, a take-home final, and a Japanese speaking final due on the same day. With 3 days to tackle these assignments, I am sitting here in relief that it actually got done.

It's simple. I could not have done it if the Lord did not give me His strength, His perspective, His joy, His knowledge. I found myself enjoying the work. I quickly understood material I had struggled with for weeks, memorization came easily, the essay flowed. Thank you, Lord!

If all these things had failed, it really wouldn't have mattered much in the scope of things. But the grace God clearly showed me this week will be remembered. I am so so so thankful the assignments are finished. I am even more thankful of knowing my God in times like this. =)

Yay!

it's a promise.

Trust that Jesus satisfies! For real. =)

"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." -John 4: 13

"Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." - John 6:37

"I have told you this so that my joy may be n your and that your joy may be complete." -John 15:11

Thank you, Lord!

in the nick of time.

I just had a truly fantastic weekend visiting my wonderful boyfriend Steven! Early (oh, so early) Tuesday morning, it was time to head back to Irvine. At the airport, I stepped in the security line, unable to see its impressive length ahead of me. As the line rounded the corner, it's size was unveiled.

oh no. this line is long. really long. like... 80% chance I'm not going to make my flight long.

I prayed the line would go fast... really fast. I prayed that something wonderful would happen, allowing me to make my flight.

At 7 minutes till my plane left the ground, I still had a ways to go. I'm generally bad at estimating, but I'm going to claim there were about 50 people still ahead of me. A man checked my ticket and asked " how are ya doin' this morning?"

"I'm doing well, but I'm cutting it real close."
"How close?"
"My plane leaves in 7 minutes."
Pause.
"(A name I can't remember)! Can you take this young lady to the front of the line? Her plane leaves in 7 minutes."

And to my delight, that kind lady smiled and motioned me to come with her "Excuse me, pardon me, coming through..." I was at the front of the line. And within 3 minutes, I was sitting on my plane.

Thank the Lord. Seriously, thank the Lord. =)

Time and weakness.

Time and weakness always make me think.

Today was Spring Fling, the last of four "large scale" programs we hold for the residents in the dorms. I clearly remember planning for this event during training before the school year began. It seemed so very far away. As if it would never really arrive. Now it is a memory. Insane.

Again, I reminisce: Half way through my sophomore year of high school, Ms. Ferd, my (incredible) English teacher encouraged us to write about being half way through high school. At the time I thought, "Half way through high school... where has the time gone!" And that was 4 years ago.

I'm sure you can think of your own similar examples. They are everywhere. Time doesn't stop speeding by.

Not to scare us though. God works outside of time. He is not constrained by time. He can finish projects, answer prayers, or save lives in any duration of time. He can act quickly if we call on Him.

No, time doesn't make me worry. In fact, it's a kind reminder to reassess what matters. Time flies by and so do people and materials and successes. Christ doesn't fly by. He will always be and always be working.

Alright, back to Spring Fling.

I was walking around the dorm complex cleaning up some decorations. I had a while to walk and I wanted to just teleport to my destination. As you might have guessed, I couldn't. I'm so glad I couldn't. If I could, I might have a false sense of strength. I'm truly thankful for God's reminders of my weakness. It allows me to contrast it with God's strength. Then it allows me to call on that strength. Then I am able to rejoice when I receive that strength!

I'm also able to remember what is important. Getting to the other side of campus to pick up the balloons is not important. Sure, it is something I need to do. And I'll get there. But the walk with God to get the balloons is the important part.

In high school, I was able to visit an orphanage in Mexico for a few weeks. They built everything there by hand. It was a long process requiring many hands to build anything there. We spent several hours each morning digging trenches, mixing cement, transferring wheelbarrows, and laying bricks. There were many alternatives to make the process go much faster. But they decided the hard work builds character and allows for great conversation. It did, indeed! Those hours spent working were some of the richest.

I think I'm always trying to find the shortest route to do something, but forget the best things might happen in the process. I'm thankful for weaknesses that allow us to move slowly. Maybe we will see more opportunities that way.

Brought to you by Sarah Welles.

Sarah has randomly suggested the word "bottle" for today's post.

I have two things to say about this topic.

1) Question. How do they get those incredibly intricate and minuscule ship replicas inside of those bottles?

2) "Genie in a Bottle." Why did I ever like that song? Oh, young, impressionable minds...

That's all for today!

It's been a while.

We're trying things new 'round here at Emily Fenton's blog spot. She is trusting Steven's topic recommendations to inspire her blog writings. He says the word, and it's done.

Today's thoughtful topic tip: Cheesecake.

Unfortunately, Emily really doesn't have much to say about cheesecake.

Hopefully tomorrow's topic proves more stimulating.

Thanks for joining us!

Hi blog! How ya been? I can't chat now, but I promise to visit very soon.

Finals week. Good times. =)