fill me up

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." - Exodus 14:14

Remind me. I pray to find rest in you.
Force me to surrender, take over the battle for me Lord.
I pray that you would fill the holes in the hearts of those who are grieving, those feeling the emptiness and facing the reality of loss. I know its not easy; but I also know that You are bigger.

Home is such a great place to be right now.

Why I love SoDak

So now that I'm back home, I'm remembering the things that make me love being here. Especially in the winter. I love the crunch of snow under my feet. I love sitting in front of our fireplace under a blanket. I love listening to my parents talk, and laugh. I love pulling into our driveway waiting for the garage to open. I love that my stepdad is pretty much Clark Griswold with our Christmas lights. I love that I am less than a mile away from Ann's house again. I love that my mom tries to come up with a system to label our presents so we don't know who's is who's but she just writes K1, K2, K3, K4 and doesn't remember who gets which number and I end up opening things like a bowling ball for Kerry (my stepdad), Kristen opens Kalli's American Girl stuff, and Kalli opens my coffee grinder. I love South Dakota :)

We went to Kalli's basketball tournament in Newell (population 615) yesterday. Good ol' small town South Dakota where everyone knows everyone else. It was the first time in who knows how long that I have been somewhere with literally no cell service ANYWHERE. Not that I really needed it, just funny how often I check it and kept forgetting that it didn't work. Her team lost the first game and then won the next 2 so I think they got 5th place or something like that.

Oh and my flight from Denver to Rapid City was pretty much the best thing ever. A guy pooped his pants (no joke), then proceeded to clog the airplane toilet -- all before we even left the gate. You'd think that after pooping your pants you wouldn't have enough left to clog a toilet, and if you had to go that bad why not go before you board the plane? The flight attendant came through the aisles with air freshener and I know at least 2 people were gagging from the smell (me and the lady sitting next to me) We were a bit delayed because they tried to fix the toilet but couldn't. I'm going to add that to my list of things to do before I die... clog an airplane toilet.

its so close!

Tomorrow brings HOME!

I have my psych final in 2 hours, then I'm literally walking back to my car and heading to Seattle. I can't wait to be DONE. I'm so close. This quarter has flown by. I'm so excited to be finished and home and relax and be with my friends and family! This week has been crazy... I still can't believe that Tiff and Dan got shot. Just so scary that some people have no value for life. Even their own.

I still have some packing to do, and some lunch to eat! So I'm going to get on that. But I'll be home so very very soon and I can't wait to see all your smiles! My friends in Bellingham, know that you will be missed, and I will miss our random adventures and having my own little family dinners. I'll be back soon, and I hope all of you have a great time with your families at home. Be safe, and can't wait to see you all in 2008! Wohoo!

(insert title here)

"I am going to change the world...by loving on people...cuz thats my favorite thing to do...besides spending time with my Jesus" - Tiffany Johnson

You are with your Jesus now Tiff, help us remember that. Thank you for your willingness to love, for your compassion, for inspiring growth and spontaneity, and for following your heart.

To live on in the hearts of those who dearly love you is to never really die. You are added to the list of people who will live on in my heart forever.

drained

so much to do in so little time!
I really wish I had a PDA phone, because I am feeling so unorganized this week. Its not that hard to just write things down, but its just keeping all the written down things in the same place and keeping them organized that causes trouble. Anyways, things are going pretty good. I'm so tired. I feel like my brain is fried, and was done with school last week. I did like 12 physics problems today, which is a great accomplishment considering I usually get too flustered after about 2 to keep going. I'm just working on keeping my composure and trying to work through them instead of getting defeated so early. Monday is right around the corner, and it will all be over soon!

I've realized this week how thankful I am for my relationships here. I'm ready to go home and enjoy all the things that I love about home, but I'm sad to have to leave the people here. I want to continue to let my friends here know that they are loved, even when I'm not here to cook or laugh or just listen. I'm learning so much, Bellingham has so many amazing people. So glad that I have can say I live here. Mom, sorry I can't be there for your birthday tomorrow. (well I guess in SoDak its your birthday right now, maybe I'll call and wake you up and sing! just kidding. But I will call you tomorrow after church) Hope my card made it there, if not, look for it Monday. Cuz I know you guys don't get the mail everyday! I'm watching Christmas Vacation. Hilarious. But I'm going to read and head to sleep. Goodnight all!

PS- I got a 44/50 on my Music Final today. I have 217/225 possible points, and he still has to grade our last paper, but as long as I get 10 points (out of 25) I'll keep my A. I got 25/25 on the last one so I'm not worried about it. An A this quarter! Woohoo! :)

Friends = Family

I'm so thankful for the friends I have here! Seriously, they are my family. They mean so much to me! Ali and Markus drove up from Seattle today and it was great to have them here. They are such amazing friends, I feel like they deserve only the best. I cooked, because well thats what I do... The "Not for Gringos" dip was a success mom. So were the enchiladas. Mmm! Everyone is going up to Mt. Baker to ski/snowboard tomorrow. (By everyone I mean Ali, Markus, Kyle and Seth) I'll be in physics class, and then taking my music final... and then probably working on physics problems to study for the final. And reading psychology. Man school is lame! Oh well. One more week of hard work and then I get a month to relax at home. I can't wait for Wii with my little sister (and parents, don't act like you won't play with us), dinners with friends, picking up shifts at Edge... oh home and all is glory! I'm ready for you!

C is average... so C+ is....?

If a sphere that weighs 4.50387 kg is attached to a pivot point by a thin rod with a RE=780J and has an initial angular velocity of 3600 rpm which starts at rest and accelerates uniformly, a) how long will it take to reach 10 G's?

b) How much energy is lost to friction?


Oh physics... granted this wasn't my exact problem, it was very similar. And I'm probably just as confused as you are, except I still had to take the test. Well I got a 78. Not bad, but not good enough for a B. I am going to study up once Markus and Ali leave this weekend and take the final on Monday. Boo! Hopefully it will pay off and I'll get a B though... wow this class has been tough! I am writing my Music Concert Attendance paper right now, so I'm going to finish that and go to sleep.

hopeful

Physics test is at 7AM tomorrow! I'm going to sleep.

Romans 15:13 - May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the holy spirit


...yeah. God is so good.

dead week...?

Well "dead week" is upon Western... except this week is everything but dead for me. I have a test in Physics on Tuesday and a paper due on Wednesday and my music final on Friday. Plus I'm in psychology research all week wearing a blood pressure cuff and submitting my pressures every 55 minutes. Ali and Markus are coming up from Seattle on Thursday night and going to Mt. Baker on Friday. I probably won't be able to go, which stinks. I'm making enchiladas for Thursday night, and I'm going to attempt to make your "not for gringos" dip mom. I'll be calling for some help, don't you worry.

We got snow this weekend! It was beautiful. Christmas is coming, and I can't wait! Its now ok to listen to Christmas music all the time, and cut out paper snowflakes on study breaks. We watched The Grinch, and I'll probably watch Elf this week, too. Oh Kalli, if you are reading this you should send me a list of movies that you want me to bring home over break.

Everything is going well, not too stressful yet, but the next couple days I will be studying physics, which isn't exactly my favorite thing to do. Thanks for the prayers mom :) I'm already feeling more confident. I'm going to go to sleep, I have to go learn how to use my blood pressure stuff tomorrow morning at 7. So early! Oh here's a few pictures from Seattle on Friday night.

Kyle, Seth and Ali. Fake mustaches are a must.

Ali and Seth in front of the carousel by Nordstrom
Kinda dark, but this is me, Seth, Kyle and Ali in front of a tree at Pike Street Market