La Musica

Tonight we had roots and I have to document what happened before I forget! 

Roots is always a great opportunity to trust the Lord and rely on his grace to not be nervous and also to play excellently. Well tonight was extra special because I was sick, Josh's voice wasn't cooperating either, we had lots of sound issues and we had only been practicing for two days. We have had some pretty interesting practices the last few days, especially since Josh, Kaden and I have no formal education in singing or playing our instruments. That makes for some great bonding! So as we were running through the songs and running into problems, I got really excited. We were in the position as a band that we had no choice but to rely totally on God's grace. I knew that if we were good it OBVIOUSLY wasn't because of our own abilities. Well, to say the least, it was great! We played the songs better than we had ever played them and our voices didn't even break! 

God came through yet again! 

Schreiner talked about God's love and I was reminded of very specific aspects of God's love that I tend to forget about. For instance, God's thoughts about me are more numerous than the sand. That is a lot. He used the example of if you have a crush on someone... you begin to think about them a lot. In the same way, if you know someone else has a crush on you, you start to think of them and begin to draw near to them. As a girl, it is pretty easy for me to relate to this analogy. I want to be completely enamored by God and his love for me. And there will never be a time when I love him and he doesn't love me back. He loves me perfectly despite if I can love him. Anyway, it was awesome. 

Monday and Tuesday

 Yesterday was Monday, today is Tuesday. Mondays are great because I get to hang out with Jenny and have some girl talk, and I also get to see the most handsome little man, Owie. He is almost one so I took some pics for his first birthday! Jenny made some unbelievably yummy nachos as well...I am noticing a trend in my posts, most of them include food! Oh well. Here is a picture of Owen in his pajamas and his funny little smile! And speaking of Jenny, here are some pictures of Jenny giving Jon a (fake) bloody nose. I drew them for my Life Drawing class.

So for the last few days, I have been praying a lot for opportunities for the gospel. Usually spring break gets me thinking about what I am actually spending my time on and also when I hear all the stories from the mission trip it reminds me of why I am here, on this earth, in Iowa, at Grand View, on my floor and in my classes. 

Well, in short, God is faithful. I have to admit that I love my comfort zone a lot more than I desire for people to hear the same message that changed my life forever. I would rather not speak up in class and have people like me than tell them about how my relationship with Jesus has saved me from Hell. So I have been asking God to give me grace and motivation to care more about these people than about my own comfort. Well, the last two days he came through. Yesterday a girl from my floor came to bible study and immediately I thanked God. I knew that this was one of those opportunities. After we got done and we were all hanging around after elections we got into a great conversation. It turns out that she had already made a decision to put her faith in Jesus Christ and she had been wanting to come for awhile. I had no idea! So she is going to come to the college retreat this weekend and I am excited to see what God does!

The second time he answered was today. Kristin, Jocelyn and I all have this tradition called coffee shop tuesdays and I love it. We kind of take a tour of different coffee shops around Des Moines...but now we pretty much just go to the ones we like the most. Today we made a stop at Mars Cafe. I ordered a Yerba Mate Lemonade and sat down. Before I could even start my homework, a middle aged man named Roger, who was sitting next to me, asked me where I got my bookbag. So I told him I went to  Target and he said he wasn't from around here so I told him how to get there. I went back to my computer and in my head thought, "I wonder if I should keep talking to him." Well before I could open my mouth he asked me if I knew of any bike shops. I said I don't but I knew that God was doing something. I asked him what he was doing in Des Moines and he said that he was an inventor. He had been staying at Bethel Mission for free rent until he got his feet on the ground. I told him I went to Grand View and he said that they had come and sung some songs at Bethel Mission. So I asked him what his beliefs were. He talked about how he believed that Jesus was a good guy who never sinned and how he came to keep the peace. We got into a good discussion about how Jesus was God and I asked him how he thought he could go to heaven. He had no idea. He told me to go to a Bible Study and ask someone haha He did mention that he thought you had to be a good person to be saved, you couldn't talk the talk without walking the walk. It was so perfect. So I got to talk to him for a few minutes about my own life and how I always thought you could earn your spot in heaven if you did good stuff but after reading verses like Ephesians 2:8-9 I had to change my thinking. He listened but basically said he would agree to disagree and told me that it was good I had my head on straight. It was sad that he didn't  want to accept the free gift that God offers us, but it reminded me of that fact. 

Praise the Lord for answered prayers! It was definitely a divine appointment! In fact I was napping and almost decided to keep sleeping so I am thankful that God had other plans.

Here is a picture of Jenny's flowers that Jon got her! So pretty!

Sustenance

I love Sundays. The day that I get to spend the most time with the Lord during the week. The day that I get to hang out with my beloved friend Carol. The day I get to go to a coffee shop. And sometimes even the day I get to sleep in!

So today we went to Mission Sunday and it was AMAZING. I am so blessed to be able to see God work through my brothers and sisters as they step out in faith. It was unbelievably encouraging. I have to give a shout out to Allie Reed for getting up on stage and sharing...I had a lot of empathy anxiety for her but she did great!

So after that we had some Hy-Vee lunch...yumm meatloaf. Then Carol and I went to Starbucks to read. I ordered a decaf iced Americano with a shot of Hazelnut in it. I don't drink caffeine a lot because I want to make sure that if my body is telling me a really need to rest and take a nap I won't have caffeine in my veins trying to stop me. Today, however I made the wrong choice. I began reading and after about half an hour I was almost asleep with my eyes open. Carol told me to take a nap on the table (which I have done before) but I declined. Before we went back to take a what thought was going to be quick nap, I read this awesome verse in Isaiah.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. -Isaiah 46:4

What an awesome promise. Sometimes I can get so caught up in the little stuff. I have a paper due tomorrow. I need to find a job. I really want to go take a nap but have other things I need to do. I am nervous to sing in front of people. In these circumstances I pray for grace knowing that God will come through. But I was struck by this verse that he will sustain us even to our old age and gray hairs. That is what I call long term commitment! I think it is so important to surrender the small things to Jesus knowing that he will carry us, but when I think about this big God who cares me enough to listen to me now and forever I am in awe. I don't deserve it, but I am extremely thankful for it. 

Speaking of sustenance...the other night we went to the Rice Bowl, a Chinese restaurant in Beaverdale. Julia Rude came up with the idea of going to Jenna's family's restaurant since they recently reopened after a fire. Well, it was a GREAT idea. I left thinking that I wouldn't be able to fit the seat belt over my full tummy. Here are a couple pics (not good quality) of the food we ate. 

 Shrimp Fried Rice

Chicken Subgum Soup

Her parents were the most gracious people. They gave us free fried wontons and egg rolls. And they put up with a group of 20 loud and hungry college students. I will definitely be going back there and I would advise others to check it out!

RIght now I am listening to Justin Bieber and Usher sing I Need Somebody to Love. I have had it stuck in my head because it is sooo catchy and I have given up on feeling guilty when I listen to his music. No, I do not have Bieber Fever. 

To end, these are a couple of fun pictures I took today. One is of my friend Anna: my model for my photography class project. The others are of some flowers Carol got for her birthday from Jenny and I. 

What is this Weather?

It is almost spring in Iowa...what does that mean? Weird Weather!! On Tuesday we had a huge storm that included hail, rain and tornadoes. Then what happens two days later? It snows! One thing I am enjoying however is that the grass is only half brown now, I love it when the green emerges.  This is a picture of the sky on Tuesday morning when I went to class:

I thought the sky was going to eat me.

Introduction

My name is Liz and I have narcolepsy. That explains the title. It is often a struggle for me to stay awake on a day to day basis, it's kind of funny but has resulted in not having the best memory ever. There is another meaning to this title however. I don't want to coast by in life and miss what Jesus is doing.


I don't know if anyone will ever read this, but that's okay with me. My purpose in creating this is two things:


1. I have a HORRIBLE memory. So I thought I would keep a journal that I don't have to go buy when I run out of pages. I figure it will be nice in 10 years (Lord willing) to look back on what happened in my college years and laugh and cry and all that good stuff.


2. I want to take the command seriously that says we should remember what the Lord has done. I must admit that I am fickle and I forget very very quickly how God is good and loving and how he has provided perfectly in all my circumstances. 


Sooo with that being said, let's get to work! I feel like I am twelve years old and writing in my diary...


Here is my bio. Right now I am a senior at Grand View University in visual arts and photography. I am an RA on the third floor of Knudsen and I live with my wonderful roommate Marissa who I look forward to living with again next year! I love Jesus Christ and am so thankful for how he loved me first by dying a horrible death in order to my pay for my filthy sins. I have one more year left until I graduate and I am both excited and scared. I LOVE the people that God has blessed me with, I get to serve next to, live my life with and screw up in front of. I am a proud aunt of two nieces. I really really really really like food. Really. Mostly trying new ones...not the kinds you find on a college campus. I would like to be able to make these foods, but I fail miserably when I attempt. 


If I am honest I am trying really hard to make this interesting and I am not doing so hot. So we will just leave it at this for now!