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

10 things I miss...

So I was thinking about my sister, Nicole, tonight and what I missed about her since she is in India! So here are just a few and don't even begin to do justice for what I miss but it's a start. So here goes...

1. I miss her fingers that type everything that is being said.
2. I miss playing the 'people matching' game on Wii.
3. I miss singing our hearts out in the car together.
4. I miss going to her and Chris's house on the weekend and just laying around the whole time.
5. I miss calling her up at 12:00 pm when my day was horrible.
6. I miss seeing her and Chris giggle together and tickle each other.
7. I miss having long intense conversations with her about life in the AFTERNOON!! (since we can only talk late at night or at 11:00 in the morning)
8. I miss getting to hang out with her at her school and watch her school concerts!
9. I miss her intensity about life and fervor to be the best at everything!
10. I miss eating whole pack of oreos and gushers in one sitting with her.

So I miss my sister (and brother-in-law just as much!) but I'm also super excited that they get this experience. So I just have to suck it up and love the time that we do get to talk and skype! YEAH FOR TECHNOLOGY!!! Love it!