Lost and found.

Wake up in the mornin' feeling like "Oh my gosh alarm, shut upppppp!" Haha, yeah.... somewhat cheesy but that's okay :) I tried to get some homework done before meeting up with Nicole for lunch at 12. I was so excited to sport some fall clothing today! I wore a scarf, my peacoat, and boots. Love! Anyways, lunch with Nicole was fun. We interviewed each other and talked about our relationships with our families and whatnot; it really does intrigue me how different everyone's home life is. Then, after I went to both of my classes, I met up with Courtney for a dinner/interview date at Market One. I do love Courtney. She's just so incredibly sweet and happy :) While we were discussing her missions trip to Ghana, a boy came over to our table and asked us if we were in any student ministries. We weren't really sure why he was asking, but we told him that we were in SAO, that I was in IV, and that Courtney was in CRU. He wanted to know the meeting times and stuff for IV and CRU, and he told us he might come and check them out! We were kind of wondering how long he had been listening to our conversations to figure out that we were Christians, but we both thought it was so cool that he came up to us like that! I do hope he comes to one of the meetings! He seemed awfully nice :) If I see him there, I shall most certainly say hello! Before exiting the building, we got to see/talk to Abbey and Kirsten, not to mention that we also ran into Christa and Katie. SAO girls everywhere! Haha. Anyways, I walked the long way back to my dorm so that Courtney didn't have to walk by herself to the bus stop, and since then I've been in the dorm. I finished my SOCI homework, called my mom to tell her about my GCOM exam {got over a 100%!}, and tried to write a synthesis essay. When my lack of motivation became too much, I went and visited with Brianna and Brittany for a bit. I do love those girls! They always make me laugh, smile, and just feel good inside :) Plus, they still talk to me even though I'm awkward and can't always formulate my words right, haha. Never fret though, I did finished my synthesis essay and I actually just got out of the shower and am now ready for bed. Before I go though, I want to kind of elaborate on a thought I had this past Sunday on the way to my SAO class. I was about to get to the bridge when I saw a bracelet lying a the ground, one much like one of the string bracelets I got in Brazil. I picked it up, looked at it, and considered keeping it, when all of a sudden I just stopped and placed it back on the ground where I found it in hopes that the owner would come back and find it. In my head I heard, "You should not take what doesn't belong to you." It's a pretty basic concept, but then I started thinking about how an idea that simple can relate to our spiritual lives. When God performs miracles in our lives or blesses our work so that others may grow and prosper, it is not by our own efforts. We should not take credit for such things. It is not our works that bless others, but rather the work of the Spirit in us. We should not take credit for the things we do to help and serve others. You should not take what doesn't belong to you. The credit is all to God, our Father. And, should you lose something in your walk with Christ {whether it be strength, confidence, understanding, etc.} it is important to know that you can always come back to that point and reacquire what was lost. God is always waiting for us to come back to Him, His loving arms outstretched and beckoning. What a Savior; what a Father :)

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness!
Come before Him with joyful songs!
Know that the Lord is God!
It is He who made us, and we are His!
We are His people, the sheep of His pasture!
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise!
Give thanks to Him and praise His name!
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever!
His faithfulness continues through all generations!
-"Sing," Ascend the Hill

^"3 Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."
{Luke 15:3-7}


“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
{Matthew 7:7}

Goodnight, my loves :)