Tape to the Forehead

I think I need to tape this one to my forehead. :)

"

Paul instructed us on how we can always rejoice, and his first word of counsel was to be "full of care" for nothing. Jesus, of course, gave the same advice when He said, "Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on" (Matthew 6:25). In both instances the same word is used, which we translate "anxious" or "careful." Christians are called to be free of care, but we find such a way foreign to us. We have been trained since we were two years old to be full of care. We shout to our children, as they run to the school bus, "Be careful," i.e., be full of care.

The spirit of celebration will not be in us until we have learned to be "careful for nothing." And we will never have a carefree indifference to things until we totally trust God. This is why the Jubilee was such a crucial celebration in the Old Testament. No one would dare celebrate the Jubilee unless they had a deep trust in God's ability to provide for their needs.

When we trust God we are free to rely entirely upon Him to get what we need: "By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Prayer is the means by which we move the arm of God. Hence we can live in a spirit of carefree celebration.

Paul, however, did not end the matter there. He proceeded to tell us to set our minds on all the things in life that are true, honorable just, pure, lovely and gracious. God has established a created order full of excellent and good things, and it follows naturally that if we think on those things we will be happy. That is God's appointed way to joy. If we think we will have joy only by praying and singing psalms we will be disillusioned. But if we fill our lives with simple good things and constantly thank God for them, we will know joy. And what about our problems? When we determine to dwell on the good and excellent things in life, our lives will be so full of those things that they will tend to swallow our problems.

The decision to set the mind on the higher things of life is an act of the will. That is why celebration is a discipline. It is not something that falls on our head. It is the result of a consciously chosen way of thinking and living. As we choose that way, the healing and redemption in Christ will break into the inner recesses of our lives and relationships, and the inevitable result will be joy."

"The Art of Celebration", Richard Foster. http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001398.cfm

Life on a Tuesday

Christmas shopping done. It didn't take long, because I am pretty broke. :) Since my Dad never reads this, I can tell what I got him. It is this sweet thing for backpacking-a fork, knife, and spoon all in one. I can't wait for backpacking season to come around again. It will be awesome!

Anyway, on to the present. Life is going. Um, not much is in my head right now. It is honestly mostly blocked out by thinking about school and waiting for a phone call that I really want to get. A call from CofO, saying that I am accepted for next semester. *sigh* In one sense, I just want to not be on the waiting list, so I konw it is a no instead of constantly wondering. Plus, it just keeps getting harder with other friends going off to college. The girls I go to school with now are also on a waiting list for the school. I want to be happy when they get in, but I am also a sinful person, and I know it will be hard. Ah! I don't want to be like that....Continued prayer would be appreciated.

I ran at a park in Pueblo today. It's where the half marathon is on Saturday. I am excited! I think I may take a break on running after this marathon and wait for next season. I am getting a little burnt out on running. It isn't as fun as it was. :) So, I am considering swimming. As a CSU-P student, I have a free membership with a health club here in Pueblo. I believe they have a pool. That would be a fun winter activity.

Random

Back to school. It's not bad. I have my last chem lab today. That would have to be my least favorite class, so I am happy about that.

I am getting close to having no life. So, I plan to do my Christmas shopping Thursday and get my hair cut this week. That way I can get everything I need to done before I have no time to do anything. Finals seems as if it will do that to me. :)

New idea that I have been throwing around. If you read my blog, you know that I have been wondering about literature/writing versus biology type things. I have discovered an interesting master's program: science writing. With such a degree, one could write for science journals and magazines. Many people in this vocation are freelance writers which would be great with my desire to travel and have time to dedicate to a family someday.

Gotta go to lab!

R.I.P. Thanksgiving Break

R.I.P. Thanksgiving break. I am currently in denial about the fact that I am supposed to return to school tommorrow. I am choosing to make my own reality-one in which school doesn't start until, oh, I don't know, three weeks down the road. :)

It was an excellent break. I got less homework done than I should, but I am honestly happy about it. I am glad I didn't bury myself in the books and have no break. Rather, I had fun with friends and had a few firsts. I had and lost dreadlocks in a matter of a week. Yes, I took my dreads out yesterday. I decided it was too time consuming with finals coming up, and I also like to run. A runner must wash their hair daily. A person with dreads must not wash their hair daily. One had to go. I choose the matted hair. It took about half an hour and half a bottle of conditioner. By the time I got out of the bathroom, my fingers were raisin-like from all the water. My second first: my first cup of coffee. Man, was I proud! Carly and I went to get coffee and talk about missions trip plans. I got a candy cane latte. Yup, that was a good first. And hanging out with Carissa, Josh, Sarah, Daisy, Ashley, and Sam was fun.

I also came to a conclusion of something that will be helping me free up time. Don't need the distraction right now. Oh, great, then I turn around, and I have another....Darn me! :)

Please pray!!! God has been showing me lately how powerful prayer is. It is an amazing weapon we have. I was just wondering if you guys would pray that College of the Ozarks would work out. I cannot tell you how much I want to be over there in this coming up spring semester. I have several people telling me they think it is God's will, and I am struggling with being simultaneously trusting and content in the situation I am currently in. Please pray! I would appreciate it so much!

....

"The little things. There's nothing bigger, is there?"

Trust. Trust. Trust. Trust. Trust. Trust. Trust. Trust. Trust. Trust. Trust. Trust. Trust. Trust!

"Crazy isn't being broken or swallowing a secret. It't you. Or me. Amplified."

"Out in the real world"

"Put it down. Put it away. Put it in your notebook."

"I just want you to know who I am."

To talk! Every thought in my head. It just never comes out right. Whatever I was.

"You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be."

"I just don't want to miss you tonight."

I don't think they'd understand...

"For I, the Lord, your God will hold your right hand, saying to you, "Fear not, I will help you".

Such beauty in the world. Why is it so often masked over with sin?

Help me to trust in You.

"A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time".

8 Miles

Hey, there is a pic of my 7 mile run online. Here it is. I am the 324th pic. If you are curious, here is what the crazy weather was like at the beginning of the race. It looks awful, but I love cold, wet conditions for running. It keeps me going longer. Check out the first few pics.

Got Em!

Okay, so I came home today, because I was bored out of my mind at that VERY quiet house. Anyway, I took some pics since I promised I would make an attempt. The top one hopefully shows what they really look like in the back. The bottom shows one dread. I named him Simon. Okay, so I just made that up, but I might as well keep it. I have found that I mostly keep them in a ponytail, because they are just a pain. As my hair was when it wasn't dreaded. I'm so predictable....I figure I'll keep them for a few weeks for the experience and then maybe go get it cut. I want some green streaks. I have wanted to do it, but I didn't since I was growing my hair out for this particular adventure.
~Danika AKA Polka Dotted Pickle

*Edit* I am fascinated. I looked up my name on BabyNames.com. I already knew that it meant "morning star", but my new info is that it is Slavic in origin and comes from the Hebrew name Danielle. Hmm, sweet! Slavic....

Too Much Fun

He he he! I had the urge to do something out of the ordinary on my school break. No, writing a twelve page paper on the integumentary system of reptiles or watching my Dad do some double backflips in the Turkey Bowl wasn't quite enough....

Thanks to my lovely friend, Sarah, and sister, Emily, I am officially a part of the Rastifarian clan. Okay, so I am not, but I do have some sweet dreads. :) I can hardly believe it myself as I have only had them since Friday night. I stayed up until two-thirty and we still didn't finish. It took two more hours Saturday to finish. So, it was about a grand total of six hours. My head was kinda sore after that. I'll post some better pics, but I am housesitting now, and don't have a camera, so we'll see how soon that happens. I've worn mostly bandannas since it was waxy at first, but this morning I tied it back with two of the dreads. Sweet! Good-bye need for hairties all the time. Anyway, like I said, I'll post some better pics when I get a chance.  

Feats of Our Forefathers

Check out: "Becoming Men: Feats of Our Forefathers". Although "men" is in the title, I think it can also apply to young women. The final statement was my favorite:

Like our forefathers, this generation faces a crisis and an opportunity. A crisis, in the sense that we can no longer afford to avoid responsibility, and an opportunity, in the sense that we can choose today to buckle down and "do hard things" for the glory of God. The future of our nation and our world depends on it.

No Interesting Title

So, I have two days until the Thanksgiving break has arrived. As little as half a week ago, I had grand plans for my break. They included such things as very little homework, lots of reading, and vegging out. Well, it doesn't seem like that is a desire that will come to any sort of reality. I have physics homework, a ton of studying for finals to do, and a twelve page paper to finish. And most likely this list will get longer as I go to classes tommorrow and Friday. At first I was basically extremely frustrated and felt like just sitting and crying. Which I never do, so this was serious. I still feel a little bummed. Anyway, I came to the conclusion, that I had to buckle up and get over it. I would only be wasting time. I need to keep working hard for four more weeks, and I will be finished. Rather than being bummed about my hopes for a vacation being dashed :) I am going to be thankful for the time off that I have to get caught up on some things. I hope to still fit in some of the things I wanted to do, but I have concluded that they will not be as numerous as I thought they would be. I do not think I will be finishing a book, so maybe I will read some of Shakespeare's poems. I will not watching movies with Emily every night, so I will be content with a few movies. And I may not have time to work as much as I thought, but I will be happy for what opportunities I do have.

My story of the day: Today in zoology lecture, we were talking about the amphibians being ancestors of modern mammals. My teacher gave us a challenge, and I have the answer and should be receiving large sums of money very soon. He said he had no idea why amphibians (as our ancestors) show as many as 12 phalanges (fingers) while moderns mammals generally only show five. He said if we could figure this out, the lucky student should tell him, and we could go off to Stockholm and win a Nobel Prize. After much thought and racking of my brain, I came to the following conclusion. Sure, it took a while, but I finally got there. Here is it. The mind boggling answer. Um, we aren't descended from amphibians. A salamander is not my long lost great^10 aunt, and a caecilian is not my a million times removed cousin. So, there. Now I can resign from school and be rich for the rest of my life.

Spontaneous

Sorry about not writing who wrote "Stained Glass Masquerade". I got ahead of myself. The song is by "Casting Crowns".

"There's nowhere else I could be but here".

Life is such an odd concept. If there is one thing I have been learning this year, that would be it. We have no clue from day to day where we may be at. I mean, next year this time is so vague. I could be in Missouri, I could be living at home, I could be living with friends in Pueblo... For all I know, I could be in Thailand. :) It was kind of hard at first to get used to having no clue what life might bring. The unknown can be scary. But after a while, I realize I love the spontanaity of it. I am at a point in life where I really don't have many ties or responsibilities to hold me down. This gives me many opportunities to live life. For example, Africa. It is a huge blessing to just all of a sudden find out it is a possibility and start to plan on going. Or if CofO calls suddenly, I may just pack up and go. If I find a cheap apartment here in Pueblo, I could just pack my whole room likely in several tiny boxes and move in. Improvise on furniture of course....

Now after all of that, I may seem like some weirdo who claims to have no family ties. That is so not true. After talking to a friend who hasn't seen his family in a few months, I realize how blessed I am to have them around. Which gives me an idea for my daily thankful stuff.
Dad: We have been running some races together and training at the Riverwalk when we can. It is really great. The life lessons you can pull out of running have been cool things to talk about. All the Bible verses about running and enduring take on a new meaning.
Mom: She takes care of me no matter how old I am. Buys me socks when I'm poor. She even made me these cookies to take to school, because she was worried that I was running too much and not eating enough.
Emily: The fashion queen. I love it about her! She gives me lots of great advice. :)
Micah: He's a great guy. We get along good, and I love it when we have conversations about random things. And I appreciate you opening all those doors for me. :)
Josiah: You always make me laugh. I think you make everyone laugh. Keep on being your silly self.
Aubry: My little princess. I love how you come into my room when I am doing homework and ask to "hang out". Don't stop doing it. Oh, and I love all the pictures you draw for me that wait on my bed after school. :)

Also, I have my official course list for next semester. I am taking 17 credits, but I only look at it as 16, because one of the credits is work study-something I already do, it will just be on my transcript now.
-Calculus-4 credits
-General Chemistry II/Lab-5 credits
-Evolutionary Biology and Ecology-3 credits
-Molecular Biology and Genetics-2 credits
-Genetics-2 credits
-Work Experience-1 credit

It seems weird to take two genetics classes at once, but I guess we will see how it goes....
Also, I will only be at school four days a week, so I will actually have time to work a little bit. That is a big blessing! And my first junior/300 courses will be this semester. I am very excited about that.

"Stained Glass Masquerade"

Here are some words to a song that a fellow blogger mentioned. Good words!


"Stained Glass Masquerade"

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin' so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they'll soon discover
That I don't belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything's okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I'll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation's open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who's been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who's traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be

Would your arms be open
Or would you walk away
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay

Music!

Here is a bunch of new music I discovered. Just fun stuff... I don't like any of the music videos, so I would suggest just listening to them. I couldn't find the normal music videos for some of them. Oh, yeah, and if you don't like country, don't listen to two or three. :)

Thinking A Lot

Do we, as humans, live in two seperate worlds? One in our heads, and the one we show to everyone else? I could write something in my notebook one night, very honestly stating how I am feeling. Yet, I can leave my room two seconds later and mask all of that over. So, what does that mean? We aren't honest? I doubt it. I think it would be a bad idea to display every feeling I ever had. Definantly a bad idea....

I was talking to a friend, and I came to the conclusion that I love to write. However, I think there is a certain amount of repulsion among readers to honesty in today's culture. People look at me and observe for a short time and make a conclusion. They look at my real, honest writing and probably wouldn't believe we were the same person. So, is there some sort of difference between real life and life in my head? Does that make one of them a lie? Either I exaggerate greatly when I write, or I live a lie by not living what is in my head. Or I just choose to conquer the sinful thoughts of my mind and not live them out. In that case, I wonder if that makes most of my writing ugly. It is the baseness of my humanity with no editing involved. Maybe that is why there is repulsion to honesty in writing.

So, anyway, that is probably all over the place and crazy, but it is something I have been thinking a lot about-the promises and honesty of "the real world" and a sort of spiritual world.

I took these quotes from Sparky who had them posted on her blog. Very good ones!

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." ~Lewis

Another question I have been asking: Is this desire ever fulfilled in this world? Will we only be truly satisfied in heaven or is that fulness of hope and joy something that can be attained here in this world?

"Shall I tell you the secret of the whole world? It is that we have only known the back of the world. We see everything from behind, and it looks brutal. That is not a tree, but the back of a tree. That is not a cloud, but the back of a cloud. Cannot you see that everything is stooping and hiding a face? If we could only get round in front–"

Maybe this quote can answer the first? We can have that fullness of hope and joy, but we must learn to see things through the eyes of God-not human eyes.

Thankful: For the weekend! I am very ready for a break. I can hardly believe it. I do not have to get up early tommorrow. That is the first time probably since the semester started. How great it will be to sleep in with the curtains closed in my cozy bed. Which will have clean sheets by the way since I just put them in the washer. Hmm, except I don't get home until late tonight which means they will still be wet. Therefore, I may not have those sheets. Okay, that was a sidetrack...

Tuesday Not Terrible

Hola, all! I have really lost track of days. I called A**** about running and I made a complete fool of myself talking about tommorrow and Tuesday, not tommorrow and Wednesday. I think I have lost my head.

*Sigh of relief* All tests before Thanksgiving break are officially done. I can hardly believe it! Surprisingly, the chem test I had today was not bad. The easiest one we have had so far. Which could be good or bad depending on how the curve goes... At this point, I don't care. I can't stress about grades anymore. I have taken a bit of a sabbatical on studying. I couldn't handle it anymore. This was evidenced on a 77 on a physics test. It doesn't matter though, because the lowest one is dropped.

Must vote today. I ran this morning at 6:00, so I could go to the courthouse after school. Next time, must do absentee. Note to self!

So, new developments for next semester. It looks like I will be taking 17 credits. Yeah, a lot, but it is possible that I could graduate at the end of not this summer (2007), but the end of summer 2008. I can't remember if I posted about that. I am super excited. This means that I may begin my vet school applications as early as this Christmas break. Crazy!

Thankful Things for Today:
Tumbleweeds. Seriously, driving to school, they were all over the place. They make me smile. I came to the conclustion that tumbleweeds can actually be cute. :)

Monday Madness

Happy first of 12 days before it is Thanksgiving break! Happy day with first of two chemistry labs before break! Happy day with first of two physics labs before break! No, I really am not counting down. I love school, but I am really looking forward to the opportunity to read some books, watch some movies, eat some ice cream, work and make some money, have some turkey and mashed potatoes, and also do a little bit of studying. The weeks will just fly by after this.

Things Thankful for Today:
1. Funny phyics problems. Today we did one that determined the shear modulus of JELLO. No, I am definantly not kidding! :)
2. Friends I meet in the commons area. I met a guy the first week of school. He just comes to campus and talks to people about God. I see him a few times a week and we always talk along with some other students that drift along. It is really great to get some encouragement at school. We read verses and pray and just talk about life.

I am at a point where I must have more. This is the place of all or nothing. Really. It has to be either give it up or give Him my all. I have no other choice. I have decided to give it my all, and give up whatever He wants me to give up. I yearn for that place of being filled by Him. I can have it no other way.

I Will Carry You

My first ever field research was today. It went well. I am officially a part of Water Sentinels-a group of people who test a local creek for such things as e. Coli, pH, conductivity, phosophorus nitrate and nitrite levels, and temperature. From these things, it is possible to chart the activity of the creek. I am also looking into working in the lab where I can perform more of the tests which I think would be fascinating! Met a new person-Seroj who is from Nepal. We talked about how he missed his family and wasn't sure if he would stay next semester. My brilliant idea is to see if maybe he would like to come to Thanksgiving dinner. I think he just stays in his apartment all weekend and do something. I will try and talk to him when I see him in lab next week. That must be a really hard thing-to be a foreign exchange student. Not only are you in a new place with no one you know, there is a major language barrier to be overcome.

Do you ever feel like you are surrounded by people but are still very alone? I am tired of being ridiculed for values I have. Ah! Just because I have never been on a date and refuse to talk about certain subjects...between married people doesn't make me a prude. It doesn't make me boring. It doesn't make me a freak. If you say my standards are off the wall crazy, well, at least my heart won't be broken over and over again. Maybe I really am waiting for some unattainable dream. At least give me some support...

"It was a beautiful letdown the day I found out I don't belong here" ~Switchfoot

Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
Who have been upheld by Me from birth,
Who have been carried from the womb:
Even to your old age, I am He,
And even to your gray hairs, I will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear;
Even I will carry, and will deliver you.

Forget what we're told Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life
~Snow Patrol

Prayer Requests
-A friend who was just diagnosed with a disease she really can't do much about
-A friend of a friend who is in a very lonely situation. Why do things like this happen in life? It is so hard to understand sometimes. How can the world hold so much hurt?
-Plans to go forward on my missions trip to Africa
-Getting through classes with good grades

Life

So, the weekend is upon me once again. And once again I have a test to study for. This last batch of tests, I haven't studied too crazy for. I just had a bit of a funk on studying energy I believe...:) I will have to pick it up though for this next chemistry test I have on Tuesday. Once again, my weekend seems as if it will be a little...slow. So much for that college life I thought students had! Oh well, I went a chemistry study session and everyone else was saying the same thing, so maybe I am not the only one.

I applied for my passport yesterday. I had to raise my right hand and say I wasn't lying. Ha ha! Then I had to take a stupid passport pick twice in front of a gazillion people. I have decided my form of hell would be taking pictures in front of people for the rest of my life. Ick!

Well, have a good weekend. I will probably be on a few more times before then...:)

*Edit*

Well, my weekend is shaping up a bit. I am doing more than studying. Whoopee! Anyway, right now I should technically be studying. Either that or sleeping since I am getting up at 6:30 tommorrow for water testing in Pueblo. Audra tried to get me to go running with her before that-as in 5:00, but I didn't think we could run 11 miles in that amount of time we had. Therefore, we are set for Sunday.

Once again, I have been informed that I look like an elf. I used to have people tell me that in like 9th grade, but I guess my elven characteristics have resurfaced. Hmm, this whole elven business could be a positive thing. Graceful, mysterious, regal. *Starts laughing* I don't think any of those describe me. Except maybe mysterious. As in my mind is a crazy, wacko place. :)

Two weeks! I can hardly believe it. Only 10 days of class until I have a break for Thanksgiving. Just enough time to study for finals. Hooray!

Two down, two to go! Hooray, two of my tests are done, and I only have two to go. Physics on Friday, and chemistry on Monday. After that, I am on the downhill slope for tests. Only two left and then finals. Whoopee!

Talked to a friend today about prayer. We talked about how important a thing it is. It seems like I forget so often how powerful it really is. When it comes down to it, we have a weapon we rarely use. What a waste! If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven. I have been putting pictures and magazine cutouts (pictures of orphans from World Vision magazines or pictures of my friends and siblings) on my closet door to try and remember to pray for them. Ever morning and night when I get in my closet for clothes, it is a good reminder. The prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Does anyone want to go to Alaska? I want to. The thing that made me initially want to go was the fact that it is the only state where you can carry a gun while you are fishing. That place is so amazing and untamed, you never know what you will come across! :) I want to catch a huge giant salmon. Which reminds me of ocean fishing which I also want to do.

Some friends never cease to amaze me. Man, I hope I was never the cause of any problems or sadness. I never meant to hurt. Thanks for being a friend despite the things that life brought up. I appreciate the advice. :)

So, yeah, I'm kinda bored right now. I'm in the math lab while A**** works on an extra credit assignment. I love how teachers give out all the extra credit assignments here at the end. I cross my fingers that they see I NEED SOME EXTRA POINTS!!! HELP!!! I had some extra credit in physics which was shocking. My teacher just isn't the type. Four points. That should help out one of those quizzes that I completely bummed. Now for the other one I totally bombed who knows. This is definantly me rambling. It's like I am actually writing the conversation that is going on in my head. Prepare to be scared.