Whoa...

ok, is this background too much/too springy? its spring time and i felt the need to change it up! plus i do like the aqua color. let me know if it is completely hideous...

I don't have too much going on at the internship today, so i thought i would do a quick blog. i am hungry for lunch already and it is 10:49 am. fun stuff. anyways, this week has been a bit of a beat down school wise for me. but praise the Lord yesterday is over! i turned a fatty research paper and had to present it yesterday and then i had a big research exam, which i feel like i did pretty decent on. now i just have 3 more papers, two more presentations, and about 115 more hours at my internship 'til i am finished on May 15th! i will have a good two 1/2 week break until summer school starts, so i know i will enjoy that time!

in fire fighting news....jason passed the civil service exam for DFD and will be taking another test (the accuplacer) on Saturday at 3:30 pm! please pray for him! this is step number 2 in the process...so it is exciting to move on and hopefully he will continue on through the process! On my way to work today I saw the firefighters out on the streets with their boots doing their annual "put money in my boot" deal (i dont actually know what it is called)and i was imagining Jas doing that. he looked cute out there...in my head. ok well thats all folks. i should probably go do something productive now...love!

The Office Musical

In honor of the wonderful show "The Office"...I found this video quite funny, but maybe its only funny to fans of the show. Oh well, enjoy!

Hand of God?

Check this out...cnn had this article online of this image NASA took from a telescope. It resembles a hand reaching across space. I saw it and I was like, "Dude, God's creation is ridiculous!" So I just wanted to share...

The article stated..."The finger-like structures are apparently caused by 'energizing knots of material in a neighboring gas cloud,' "NASA says. I mean...I just say God is pretty creative and awesome, and knows that He is doing...

Neutered...ouch!

Our little pup got neutered yesterday...poor thing. he is 7 months old now, so it was time. He is wearing one of those cone things and he looks hilarious. he keeps running into the wall or various objects because he just doesn't quite get that this cone is attached to his body. he even tries to sleep on our chest and his big ol cone is all up in our face and the poor little guy just doesn't get why he can't stay there. anyways, he is the cutest and i hope you enjoy the pics...

thank you...

Just want to say thanks to everyone for the support and prayers this past week with Jason's Dad emergency surgery that took place this past Tuesday. It has been a bit of a whirlwind, to say the least, but overall I have to say that GOD IS GOOD! I am so thankful to God for his provision, even when it is confusing and difficult. Who knew that Artie Sudan- healthy runner and athlete- would need to undergo bypass surgery...and not only that, but need 6 of them! People keep asking "Golly! How many are there??" I'm still wondering about that...All I know is that God sustained him and allowed him to get the help that he needed just in time. And I know that the Sudan family will be forever grateful to God for this.

People are also asking about why he had clogged arteries and what not. Like i really can understand all that...I am in graduate school for social work not med school. But from what people are saying it is mainly due to the type of cholesterol one has(which i think is genetic). There are different types(fluffy, medium, & tiny--i am not making this up), and some tend to be more susceptible to clogging in the arteries. I'm sure Dr. Sudan will read this and correct me(which i fully welcome). And while there are risk factors, such as smoking and poor diet, for heart disease...it's mainly genetic.

Anyways, I just wanted to send out a thank you to everyone who prayed...the Body of Christ is amazing! We had people praying from all over the world- from Bolivia to South Africa. But mainly, I just want to give God all the glory for what He has done...for his healing power and divine providence!! Thank you, Lord!!

Almost April...

I can't believe March is soon coming to a close. it kind of freaks me out when I think about how fast this semester/2009 has flown by so far. I counted today...only 6 more weeks of one class and 7 more weeks of my other two. actually, when i type that out it seems a little longer, but thats ok. but im technically only done with 56% of my internship hours...yes, i calculated my hours into a percentage! i need get moving. only 200 or so more hours to go...that sounds depressing when i think of it like that. ok, well this section is boring...moving on.

this is just kind of a rambling blog today, but i mainly wanted to let everyone know that Jas is taking the civil service exam on Thursday morning! this is just the first major step in the Dallas fire department application process that is almost a year long ordeal. but please pray that he would do well! if he passes he moves on the next thingy...and we just want to move on through each process til he gets to be a fire fighter! thanks for praying! we will keep you posted!!

Lukewarmness

So I have been studying Revelation as I lead our girls time at small group. Here are some things God is teaching me...

Revelation starts off with letters to the angels of the 7 churches. The 7 letters to the churches are really neat & scary, but also beneficial to study as an individual and as a member of Christ's body. I know a lot of people are familiar with the letter to Laodicea and the idea of lukewarm water)and Jesus spitting you out)....but I thought John Piper's words on lukewarmness were penetrating and powerful.

"The essence of lukewarmness is the statement, "I need nothing." The lukewarm are spiritually self-satisfied. To find out whether you are among that number, don't look into your head to see if you think that you are needy; rather, look at your prayer life. It doesn't matter what we think in our head, the test of whether we are in bondage to spiritual self-satisfaction is how earnest and frequent and extended our prayers for change are. Do you seek the Lord earnestly and often in secret for deeper knowledge of Christ, for greater earnestness in prayer, for more boldness in witness, for sweeter joy in the Holy Spirit, for deeper sorrow for sin, for warmer compassion for the lost, for more divine power to love? Or is the coolness and perfunctoriness of your prayer life exhibit that you are spiritually self-satisfied and lukewarm? " (to see the whole article go to this link- http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ScriptureIndex/17/373_How_to_Buy_Gold_When_Youre_Broke/ )

That statement really got me thinking. I hope it stirs your heart as well.

One thing that I think really shows Gods character in all of these letters is that he gave warnings to the churches. He could have easily, with one flick of the wrist, blown them all to smithereens. But instead he gave his churches the chance to repent...to turn away from their sin and iniquity. He did not have to do this, but by his great mercy, he did. I love that character of the Lord....his great mercy. It really is great when we think about our sin and depravity. Anyways, hope this encourages you today. Have a happy monday!