Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Last Words of David by Randall Thompson
This video isn't good quality but it's the best version I can find on youtube that the choir actually sings with dynamics and annunciation.
He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining, after rain. Alleluia, Amen.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Is God Really In Control?
But notice also the twofold objective of God's providence: His own glory and the good of His people. These two objectives never work against each other; they are always in harmony. God never pursues His glory at the expense of the good of His people, nor does He ever seek our good at the expense of His glory. He has designed His external purpose so that His glory and our good are inextricably bound together. What comfort and encouragement this should be to us!"
"The providence of God is not a now-and-then operation, as though God were watching from a distance, constantly surprised by accidents, darting in once in a while to fix things after the fact, regularly frustrated by His unruly and out-of-control creation."
"He never permits [people] to act contrary to His sovereign will, which remains incomprehensible to us"
"No one can straighten what He has made crooked or make crooked what He has made straight."
"Did another driver go through a red light, strike your car and send you to the hospital with multiple fractures? Did a physician fail to detect your cancer in its early stages, when it would have been treatable? Did you end up with an incompetent instructor in a very important course in college, or an inept supervisor that blocked your career in business? All of these circumstances are under the controlling hand of our sovereign God, who is working them out in our lives for our good."
"To believe in the sovereignty of God when we do not see His direct intervention - when God is, so to speak, working entirely behind the scenes through ordinary circumstances and ordinary actions of people - is even more important, because that is the way God usually works."
"The sovereignty of God is often questioned because man does not understand what God is doing. And, because He does not at as we think He should, we conclude He cannot act for our best."
"Even in this invisible war, God is still sovereign."
"But what should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful and all-loving God; our suffering has meaning and purpose in God's eternal plan, and He brings or allows into our lives only what he for His glory and our good."
Jerry Bridges
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
(first grade)
And here we are after going to school together every year (minus that 1 year I was homeschooled - a memory in which I've tried to repress), going to college together and living in an apartment in Baltimore.
(12th grade)
Can't wait to move into our new apartment tomorrow! Along with Charity, Lena and Carmen!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
this is what i did today. dressed up as mike wasowski or however you spell it for our monsters vs aliens color war dance off. my team was monsters, obviously. and we danced to monster mash, and a bunch of other cool songs including thriller. so me and this other girl dressed up as the monsters from monsters inc and danced around on the sides and then the kids all mobbed us at the end. haha
then tonight was the end of color war. picture like 100 girls sobbing. yeah that was it. and now there is trip day, packing day and visiting day left. and then the counselors leave!!
Monday, August 10, 2009
I took the kids sailing the other day. That was not by choice.
It was. The most terrifying experience of camp so far I think. More so than going out on a canoe, more than going out on the row boat, more than climbing up a 20ft pole and then falling backwards into thin air. We're on this tiny sailboat, like the one in the picture. I have 3 girls with me, only one has gone before. I've never gone before, much less manned a boat. I'm scared of water, and as it turns out, 2 of my girls are scared too. It was pretty smooth sailing out our way out to the middle of the lake, then suddenly, the boat began to tip. I had to let go of the steering thing whatever its calling and grab both sides of the boat to steady it so we wouldn't capsize. And that my friends was the last straw for the 3 girls and myself.
Immediately I decide it's time to turn around and go back to shore. So I turn the steery thing and try to get us to turn around. One of the girls is crying and grabbing my legs and another just has her head down on the side of the boat. Meanwhile I'm getting anxious cuz I don't like being so far out more than any of the other girls and I don't want to capsize because I'm not wearing a bathing suit. So I get us halfway turned around and the boat wouldn't go any further it's just stuck being pushed back and forth by the waves while the boom bonks me in the head over and over again. I was losing my patience because I had 3 freaking out kids and I had to try and stay calm myself when I'm freaking out too, try to figure out how to sail a freakin boat when I've never learned, and calm kids who refused to be calmed.
After what felt like forever, but what was probably no more than 10 or 15 minutes, another one of our boats came close by to water ski. The kids were yelling and yelling to the driver but he couldn't hear us. So finally we all decided to yell at once, "JAAACCCK!!!" and he looked over. I asked him if he could call a boat to come get us cuz the kids were freaking out and we couldn't get back to shore. He helped us get turned around a little and how to work the sail (which was still hovering around my head) and we got a little further, but it was just pointless. The girl working the sail was actually doing a great job but we were all just tired and wanted to get back in. Within a few minutes a boat came to come and tow us in. My kids were still freaking out, one saying she was going to scream if we didn't get in right away and I told her she was NOT going to scream because that wouldn't help anything. (This was the same girl grabbing my legs the whole time, while I took her hands and kept putting them back in her lap and telling her to get her hands off of me... seriously. creepy.)
Getting towed in was the best part, we went fast, there were bumps, we didn't flip over, and we were finally back to shore. I told the kids to take off their lifevests and then sit on the sand and play quietly while I walked shakily over to Jordan to tell her about my experience. Definitely the most exhausting thing mentally and physically during camp.
One week left!!
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
our lake
Today at camp we went on a hike to the cascades. When we went last session, we got the river and it was unusually high due to the rain so we had to take off our shoes and socks and cross in a shallow place with help from the xtreme staff. The water was burning cold. That may not make any sense, but if you have ever felt water that cold you know it burns. Some of the staff was in the water for a long period of time and I felt bad for them. I only had to walk across and help the kids.
Today while going down the path we came to the river and it was rapid and really high due to the pouring rain all night. Immediately we turned around and decided to take another route. Good plan - I've already had my fill of rushing rivers for my lifetime. (To make a long story short, day off, tubing down a river, turned to rapids, got stuck, almost couldn't get out. very scary. the end.)
We took another path up to the waterfalls and ate lunch. It was beautiful as before.
The hike was another story. It was so humid we could literally see the liquid in the air. I felt so gross. And on top of just feeling icky, certain children were not making the trip pleasant with constant complaining and not obeying. But we made them chug through to the end.
Tonight one of my co counselors and I were letting off steam while putting the kids to bed. We burst out into the chicken dance - a very intense version at that - and danced all over the room while the kids watched from the bathroom with toothbrushes hanging from their mouths and shocked expressions on their faces. Then, the girls requested a lullaby to help them go to sleep. So I sang them a song from I Cantori, Cadul Gu Lo, even tho I forgot some of the words.. they didn't notice haha. Then it was time to sleep.
My kids I have in my bunk (these kids I've been talking about are in a different bunk I'm just helping out in, but I'm with them all day long so I know them well), are arriving on Sunday and I get to go help pick some of them up on Saturday, I think from nyc. Sweet!
In other news, this is prolly the funniest youtube video I've ever seen. No joke. watch it a few times to get everything out of it. some of the things said are just ridiculous haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nda_OSWeyn8
Sunday, July 26, 2009
camp goodnight song
blue skies above
friends all around us
in a world filled with love
taps sounding softly
hearts beating true
as campers say
goodnight to you
day is done
gone the sun
from the lakes from the hills from the sky
all is well
safely rest
god is nigh
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Reid Lewis Jones
When we were younger, a song we dubbed as Reid’s song went like this, “Peter and John went to pray, they met a young man on the way, he asked for alms and held out his palms and this is what Peter did say, 'Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk!' He went walking and leaping and praising God! Etc…”
Growing up, we used to pray for Reid’s healing almost every night before bed. We prayed for God to heal him and that one day he would just get up and walk. But God had better plans for Reid to impact people. He didn’t need to have a voice to preach or the capability to walk. Instead, God used Reid’s incapabilities to show others the love of God.
In this sad world we live in, kids like Reid aren’t always cared for, but the opposite happened with Reid. His family willingly took on the burden of caring for him. This meant diaper changes, milk pump feedings, rushing to the hospital, shaving his face, moving his heavy stiff body, late nights and early mornings and probably many other things I don’t even know about, the tasks only grew as he got older. I never once heard a complaint. I believe he brought their family closer as they accepted the situation and were grateful for him.
Reid was involved in every aspect of family life. He sat in the same room with us, moved to the dining room when we did, listened as we all yelled during football games, or sang songs or performed skits. I remember as a kid loving to climb up on his wheelchair when he wasn’t in it, thinking it was pretty cool. The younger kids even got to sit on his lap sometimes. We used to lay on his wedge with him sometimes too, he was always included. I remember Vicky opening his presents at every birthday and Christmas and reading him the cards and then letting him feel the present with his hands and putting it in his lap. I remember babysitting him and just sitting and holding his hand or rubbing his chest when he was upset, or turning on silly music with Erin for him to listen to and then running away giggling, leaving him to listen to whatever we had turned on – poor guy! One particular time I remember was at my graduation party, my friends and I were talking and laughing all over the family room and Reid was sitting right there with us included in the fun. I always appreciated how at events or church, people would greet him along with everyone else, he was never ignored.
My recent favorite memory was Reid’s 21st birthday. Many people dropped by as the night went on, unexpected friends old and new filled their home. The girls pulled out the camera and took tons of pictures of each other and we gathered around Reid and took pictures and made goofy faces. I remember laughing about how most guys would love to be surrounded by girls on their 21st birthday and he got just that! Even though we were his sisters and cousins. Us girls are big gigglers and he got a lot of that that night. It’s how he knew us since he couldn’t see us. He probably knew there was trouble when he heard the giggling starting up.
As we all know, Reid was special. God allowed Reid to live a long life. He made it through 22 years of life when he wasn't expected to live a few days, and when kids like him don't usually get through their teen years. God has been so good to Reid.
In Reid, I see a glimpse of heaven. Because by looking at him, and being with him, I get to long for the days when I get to talk with him, walk with him, and run with him around the pearly streets of heaven. In Reid, I see a day where there will be no more suffering, no more handicaps, no more hardship, no more tears. One day, we will be up in heaven, and Reid will be there too, and he will be talking to us, and we will be able to laugh and sing and talk of God's mercy. I cannot wait to spend eternity with him, marveling in the goodness of God. And I cannot wait to go "walking and leaping and praising God" with him!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
camp
And it's raining. I think we just need to go to bed and try to start the day over again.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
camp
Right now I'm in a bunk with a bunch of other staff, but we'll split up once the kids get here next Wednesday. I met my head counselor today, she is from England and totally awesome! She acts very british too... hilarious.
This week we're in orientation and on Friday (i think... I'm still not really sure what day is it) we may go to Boston. One girl I'm friends with is from that area and was like, eh I guess I'll go. I told her I feel the same way about people going to visit DC. Whyyy??
I'm learning to differentiate between British, Australian, New Zealand and South African accents. It's hard but I'm picking up on it and can notice differences. Some of the girls were joking about how they sounded Australian when really they were british and how they should put on a different county's accent every time they talk to someone new. I thought, they all sound the same to me and probably most other americans here. oh well. :-P they're still fun to listen to. Some girl just came up to me and asked my name in an Irish accent and then was like, I'm actually not Irish I'm just talking like that haha
We have flag raisings and someone wakes us up over a loudspeaker in the morning. But its not super loud like when my mom comes in and sings to me in the morning. Not cool.
Right now everyone is playing games in the staff lounge or watching tv or on computers. I'm probably gonna head to bed soon. I still haven't recovered from the lack of sleep before driving 13 hrs. Plus I'm so dehydrated right now so I just feel tired.
Tomorrow we're making a run to Walmart, which will be good. Already I'm realizing stuff I forgot! Sweatpants (how did i do that?!?!), laundry bag and I need a watch. A lot of girls do haha cuz we can't have our phones on us so we never know what time it is. Then the day after that the boys' camp staff from Lake Winnepasaukee is coming over for some social or dance I think.
Right now all I can think is I can't believe I'll be here for 2 months. Seems like forever now, but it'll probably pass quicker than I think it will. Especially once the kids arrive.
Anyway. I'm gonna go to bed and read for awhile or something.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Psalm 18
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
7 The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
9 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
13 The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded. c]">
14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies ,
great bolts of lightning and routed them.
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.
19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
I have not done evil by turning from my God.
22 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
23 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
24 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26 to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
27 You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
29 With your help I can advance against a troop;
with my God I can scale a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the LORD ?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You give me your shield of victory,
and your right hand sustains me;
you stoop down to make me great.
36 You broaden the path beneath me,
so that my ankles do not turn.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
39 You armed me with strength for battle;
you made my adversaries bow at my feet.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the LORD, but he did not answer.
42 I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind;
I poured them out like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations;
people I did not know are subject to me.
44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me;
foreigners cringe before me.
45 They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
47 He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,
48 who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from violent men you rescued me.
49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD;
I will sing praises to your name.
50 He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.
The bolded verse just suddenly popped into my head as I thought about the last month or so. In my distress I called out to the Lord and he answered me and rescued me from the threat of the devil's entanglement.
I leave for camp in 3 days. I'll be there until August 17th. I'm going to try and keep this blog updated with whats going on.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
sleep study
So this picture is dark but I couldn't get out of bed to turn on the light because I was wired to the machine. The other night I did a sleep study to try and figure out why I'm sleeping so long and waking up exhausted. The doctor thought I may have sleep apnea - where one wakes up all throughout the night because they've stopped breathing for a period of time, but they never remember this happening because it only goes through their short term memory and never makes it to long term memory, so by morning its all been forgotten. ::takes a breath::
Anyhow... this visit to the doctor was fascinating because I told him I was a psych major and so he was going a little more in depth about things knowing I knew what he was talking about. Whenever I'd learned about sleep and sleep cycles in the past classes I've had I was always so intrigued. He talked to me about how he thinks I may have this thing called Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, which is caused by disassociating my bed with sleeping - my guess is this is from many late nights of talking online while sitting in my bed and then going to sleep late.
The way to fix this problem is to do behavioral therapy on myself by changing my routine. Picking a time to go to bed each night and a time to wake up each morning and never straying from that routine. So like he suggested going to bed at 12 every night and waking up at 8 every morning - something I haven't done yet what with hanging out with friends late at night. This will probably become an easier pattern once I'm at camp for the summer and will be waking up before 8 every morning to little girls in my cabin. :) Also, whenever I'm lying in bed and can't fall asleep, I need to get up, leave the room and do something else calm like reading, but no computer or tv or texting because the light that comes off of those can be so harsh that it wakes me up by turning off my melatonin - a chemical in the brain that makes you sleepy, usually set off by darkness. Also, getting out of the bed when I'm not tired will help reaassociate my bed with sleeping instead of laying awake. I also have to make sure I'm not sleeping during the day, even when I've missed sleep at night. I have failed at that this week because there were two nights where I got little to no sleep at all and couldn't keep my eyes open in the morning so I slept.
This therapy will take time to get into and I think will come a bit more naturally while at camp, which by the way I am so excited about - I leave a week from Monday!!
Anyway, this sleep study I did, it looks like I don't have sleep apnea after all, which is good. I didn't want to have to wear this mask thing when I sleep, blech. haha. But I don't think the study was a good representation of how I sleep since they stuck wires all over my face and in my hair (yuck) and had tubes around my nose to see when I was breathing and stuff. There's nothing like being rudely awakened at 5am and then having stickers ripped off your face while you're groggily coming to consciousness.
All this stuff fascinates me. Because I am a nerd. Oh wells. :)