My Break So Far...

The break has been so relaxing but at the same time an intense whirlwind. Here's what I have done so far...

• Went sledding in Cedar Falls with about 7 people and my brother.
  
• Picked up Nicole and Chris (sister and brother-in-law) from the Minneapolis airport as they came home from India. (our bodies were damaged as we rammed into each other while hugging)
  
• Went to Culvers and watched Nicole and Chris eat their first bite of beef in months.
• Went to the Farley house for Matt's birthday party. Everyone was home. It was so fun.
• Went to Lianne's baby shower at the Farley's. It was so fun to see Mike and her excitement for the baby and to see how cute she is with her baby belly!
  
• Hung out with a bunch of High School friends at Tyler Olson's house and played a bunch of fun games and caught up on life.
  
• Hung out with Jenscie, Bailey, and Emily from high school and made almond bark covered pretzels while talking.
• Had a family Christmas game day. We had five different games and we did tournaments all day long. I was the champion of the connect four tournament, but I lost everything else.
  
• As a family, we went to visit our old neighbor in the nursing home.
  
• We opened gifts as a family and just loved being together
• Went up to the Stellmaker side for Christmas. It was quite different because it was the first Christmas without Grandma but still really fun. Nicole and I looked through a bunch of her old sewing supplies and had a lot of memories of things that she had made for us throughout her life.
• Went to church at my Grandma's church with my family, grandpa, and cousin.
• Traveled over to my uncle and aunt's house on my mom's side. The traveling during this whole trip was quite exciting. We only have a hatch back car and so one of us had to ride in the trunk with all the luggage packed around them.
• Had a very informal Christmas with my uncle, aunt, cousins and their 2 kids, and my family. It was small but really good. We did a lot of laughing, laying around, singing, playing of the piano, and much more.
• And currently I am sitting at Panera with slow jazz in the background with my sister as we work on our to-do list and have fun sister time.
  

THE BLIZZARD!!!!! Watch out here it comes...

So as I was driving to school the other day, the radio forecast came on describing a huge blizzard that was going to be coming through with thunder snow and turning in to the biggest storm we've had in years. I was pretty pumped but also a bit skeptical because of how often the weather people are wrong, but this time they were right on. It started Tuesday afternoon with lots of flurries and slowly became worse and worse, but I had bible study on Tuesday night so I had to get to campus. So, even though Matt told me that it would be a bad idea and that I would get stuck, I still went. After wards I had to finish up some homework with Sam Kantak and so we were doing that until about 8:30. At that time, her roommate's boyfriend called and said he was stuck right outside the dorm, so we took that as a "calling" to go bundle all up and play in the snow while trying to get him out. Soon I realized that there was no way of getting back to my apartment that night, so I decided just to stay with Sam and Emily in there room. It was so much fun!

Adam's car "stuck" in the parking lot

me in the snow!

Me and Emily

Then this morning, at 5:45 we all got texts saying that school had been cancelled!!! YAHOO!!!! How great, so we went to lunch in our pajamas, read books, watched TV and did some homework all morning. Then at about 2:15, I decided it was time to make the trek home. But unfortunately, I found out that it was impossible to get into my apartment's parking lot due to feet of snow, so I had to be dropped off. After getting Matt's car unstuck from it's own parking spot, I went to pick up Matt from his dorm to bring me back. But once Matt was in the car, we got stuck in the middle of the road... and a snow plow was coming. Goodness gracious!!! It took us about 30 minutes to get out and slowing drove to my apartment. He dropped me off on the road and I trudged through the knee deep snow up to the doors and finally was safe and warm in my apartment. Maybe next time I should just listen to Matt huh?!?

Here's a few pictures of the 'damage'

Snow.. Snow.. Snow.. Snow.. Snow!

Snow...It won't be long before we'll all be there with snow
Snow...I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow

Where it's snowing all winter through
That's where I want to be.
Snowball throwing that's what I'll do
How I'm longing to ski
Through the snow-oh-oh-oh-oh

Those glist'ning houses that seem to be built of snow
Snow...Oh, to see a mountain covered with a quilt of snow

What is Christmas with no snow
No white Christmas with no, no, snow, snow...
SNOW

('Snow' from the best Christmas movie ever... White Christmas)




So as I walk outside I fill with joy as all around me, small white flakes flutter gently to the ground and cover the sidewalks. There are the people who hate it... the ones who are indifferent... and then the ones like me who dance and laugh and twirl around in it! O SNOW HOW I MISSED YOU!!!

Old Clothes and Opera.

During the month of November, I slacked a bit on the 'blog' aspect of my life, so here is an update of two big events that occurred during this month!

1. THRIFT STORE PROM!!!

Every year, Navigators have a thrift store prom. Basically, to get in you have to be wearing one item of clothing from a thrift store and pay a few dollars. There is dancing, eating, socializing, prom pictures, and of course... a prom court. So here's a few pictures from this wonderful night!!!

A group of girls all dressed up for the wonderful night!

An awkward roommate prom picture

The 'good' roommate prom picture.

The Funny Bunny Dance
(Matt was the DJ for the dance and we matched in our sweet jumpsuits!)

A few of us went to Perkins after wards and got some sweet stares!

2. THE OPERA.

The Friday night before Thanksgiving break, I had an Opera Scenes Performance. This is where a bunch of random scenes from different operas are performed back to back. I was only in one of the scenes, the Huguenots Finale, but it was still really fun getting ready and being a part of the performance. It went really well and I was so proud of everyone and their performance. My parents and Matt also came to watch and were so supportive of me! Enjoy!!!

Getting ready...

Sam and I all ready and pumped up

Valeria and I in the dressing room

Sam and I in the 'beautiful' black frocks that we wore!

Oh Break... Where'd you go?

So Thanksgiving break came and is now gone. O why didn't it last longer?!? But there are only a few days left till the semester is over (10 school days to be exact) and so I think that I may be able to last.

But break... It was WONDERFUL!! I got home late Saturday night to a warm and good-smelling house. Mom had decorated it very nicely for Thanksgiving and so it felt just like home. Sunday night I went to New Moon with Jenscie which was pretty sweet. I'm not really into the series and so I don't think that it was as exciting for me but it was still really good to get some time with Jenscie. Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, mom had to work until 1 and so I was home alone. So I decided to be productive and did homework, went to school and visited with some of my old teachers, and did some other things around the house. These nights were filled to the brink with productivity as well though. One of our family friends from Denmark came, Matt and I went to The Christmas Carol 3D, Dad and I played backgammon, and Mom and I made lefse, went Christmas shopping, and decorated for Christmas. We were also blessed with two Thanksgiving meals this year; one in Okoboji and the other in Rochester. It was just really good to sit around and relax while being around people that we love. Overall break was FABULOUS... just way too short! :)

So now, I have two weeks of school left, including finals, so it's time to get serious! And then after finals it's all fun and games because...
-Nicole and Chris come home
-Matthew comes home
-Matt finds out about dentistry school
-No school for three weeks
-and there will probably be snow so that means SLEDDING!!!

Oh Break... Come fast!!!

Narrow mindedness!

Matthew 7:13-14- "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

So have you ever heard that Christianity is nothing but narrow mindedness? I feel like that is one of the biggest issues with non-believers. How can a loving God let good people go to Hell? Why would He be so crude? So this has always been something that I have wondered about and never quite knew exactly how to answer this question, but the last few weeks at Navigator's, there was a seminar on this subject. It was phenomenal and so clear about this issue.

Have you ever thought about how Truth is Narrow in almost every sphere?

Mathematical Truth- 2+2 is ALWAYS 4. 715 x 6839 = 4,889,885 ALWAYS!

Historical Truth- 9/11 happened on September 11th, 2001 in New York City, when two terrorist planes crashed into the World Trade Centers. ALWAYS!

Geographical Truth- In order to go to Antarctica, you must go south. ALWAYS!

Scientific Truth- water boils at sea level at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. ALWAYS!

Spiritual Truth- The only way to get to Heaven is to know Christ! ALWAYS!
(The only difference with this one, is that emotions are involved. This is why this is so much harder to accept as truth.)

Matthew 7:21-23 says "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"

The Lord says that He must know us. This might be narrow, but it is true. It doesn't matter what one does or says but only whether or not one KNOWS Christ! Pretty incredible huh?!?

Wartburg Mime Night!

Last night, my friends, Jenscie, Darren, Kate, and I took a little road trip to Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. We went to a mime which began at Creation and went through the Resurrection. It was very well done and symbolized the gospel incredibly. Then afterwards, the four of us decided to walk around the Wartburg campus (which is actually quite tiny we found out) and take pictures. It was so much fun and really good just to hang out and laugh with these four. So enjoy!!

Darren= Fortress; Amy= TV; Kate= Trumpet

JOY

Where's Waldo??? (Can you find us? There's three of us)

Jenscie and me in the trashcan!

Darren held himself up like this...CRAZY

Breaking through the gates

Darren and Jenscie

Kate and Me

This tree was a little small but still fun to climb

This is the cover picture for our band that we are going to make... ;)

We all decided to mark our turf at the Wartburg campus so what better way than this?!?

And here's a statue thing that was really fun to find new and exciting ways to take pictures on

The whole group! (plus some monk)

Woops... there I go again!

So over the course of this last week, two similar and unfortunate events occurred in my life! Here's a few clues...

Clue #1

Clue #2

Clue #3

And yes, the answer is falling down the stairs. The first time that this happened was when I was late for the bus. I was running down our concrete steps in our apartment building, going two at a time, and all of a sudden was on my back. I then realized that someone had spilled water and so the concrete was very slippery right there. I still made the bus though!!

And the second time, I was going down the stairs in our apartment (late again so going two at a time) and landed on the side of my foot so my leg buckled underneath me. Down I go again.

I didn't really get hurt either time but I just thought that I'd share these funny little stories and tell you to NEVER 1. be late 2. go down steps two at a time and 3. if you are going to fall, do it with style and ALWAYS laugh about it!

Hope you all have a great day!

Who is God?

So as I was preparing for my Bible study the other night, which was on the subject of humility, I came across the quote "Humility in every area of life, in every relationship with other people, begins with a right concept of God as the One who is infinite and eternal in His majesty and holiness. We are to humble ourselves under God's mighty hand, approaching every relationship and every circumstance in reference to Him." (The Practice of Godliness by Jerry Bridges) As I looked at that quote again and again, it seemed as though Jerry Bridges was saying that they steps to humility are: 1. having the right concept of God 2. realize who we are 3. humble ourselves in reference to Him

So I soon found myself asking one big question... Who is God? I mean, I know who God is according to Sunday school and church and the Bible and the world of 'Christians' but who is He truly?? I don't think that this is something that I focus on enough. I find myself trying to figure out how to become a better follower of Him and glorify Him more, but how can I truly do this if I don't know who "Him" is? A few of the passages that I looked at were:
-Psalm 46
-Psalm 54
-Psalm 93
-Psalm 95
-Song of Solomon (yes, even the 'forbidden and forgotten' book) :)
-Romans 3:10-11
-Romans 5:1-11
-Philippians 2:1-11
-Hebrews 13:8
-Hebrews 10:5-7

Then came the question... Who are we? (that is before Christ)
-James 1:14-15
-1 Peter 1:24-25
-Romans 13:1-2

Who are we once we become a true, heart follower of God?
-Colossians 3:1-4
-Philippians 1:21
-Philippians 3:8-11
-Ephesians 2:4-10
-Romans 12:3

I definitly know that this is an on-going process but it was just a great thing to do and my mindset of life was changed so dramatically. I would encourage each of you to do this yourself and to really dig deep into the Word of God and find out who God is because He is the Lover of life, Creator of relationships, Master of nature, and so much more!

Combined Studio Performance

So tonight I performed in a recital made up of around 14 vocal students studying here at UNI. It was so fun to get to actually hear everyone sing and get to share that experience with them. I sang "Ah! Je veux vivre" by Charles Gounod. I put a link on so that if you want to hear what it sounds like you can. It was so fun and all the work definitely paid off. It's definitely a fun song to sing. My parents were able to come up for this performance as well. Once again they blessed me and loved me in a BIG way. They are definitely the best parents anyone could ever ask for. Matt also got someone to cover a bit of his RA shift so he could come watch as well. Am I blessed by great people or what??? My roommate Terrin also took time out of her day to do my hair and it turned out better than I could have asked for! And, Bekah Hanish let me borrow one of her dresses to wear. Can I get any luckier??? So here's a few pictures from tonight which only happened because of everyone else and the Lord's provision! Thank you Lord for your provision of friends, family, teachers, collegues, time, talents, and so much more!

Getting Ready.... THE HAIR!!!

Getting Ready... THE MAKEUP

Getting Ready... THE BACK OF THE DRESS

Getting Ready... THE WHOLE DRESS

Now the only problem with the dress is that this recital required short dresses not long ones, so Creative had to come into play and this dress was shortened using masking tape and bobby pins. How sweet is that?!? (Thanks to Terrin once again and also Sam and Gail Kantak!

Me performing (sorry it's not very good quality)

My mama and daddy... Aren't they adorable??

Me and Matty!!!

More Family Pictures!

So here are the family pictures that my roommates and I took with Photobooth. They are quite funny. Hope you enjoy them!

If you can't tell, this is me.

All 6 of us!

Kinda freaky huh?!?

6 of us plus our RA Katie

Me but just a little distorted