My Weekend

I feel like I had such an eventful weekend, and I want to share about it! I really can't believe how much I've been off campus lately, compared to last semester. Friday night I went to Portland with a couple of people from my cross country team and we had amazing dessert at a cute little restaurant in downtown Portland. We walked along downtown Portland, wandered in Powell books for a little while, then headed home. I haven't gotten to do much with them, so it was really fun! Saturday, I slept in, did some homework, went on a run with my friend Jeanette (it was a beautiful day!), then that evening Megan, Dana and I went to Washington Square. We wandered around in Target, and tried on dresses (notice the yellow one pictured below that I bought!) Then we got cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory to go. When I got back, I watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith with some other girls on my floor. Then today, after a wonderful church service at the Foursquare church, I got to go visit Lauren! Her mom and sister, Heidi, were visiting and it was so good to see them! We got some homework done at a coffee shop, played a little basketball, and went to dinner at the Newport Seafood Grill. I had a delicious salmon BLT. It's been a good weekend!

On our trip to Washington Square on Saturday night

When we were driving back to George Fox, we saw this house and had to stop. It was decked out with Valentine's Day decorations! We looked at it for probably about five minutes, just in awe. There wasn't a section of the house that didn't have something!

And this is the fun yellow dress I bought, basically just for fun (which I never do!)

An evening in Portland

I haven't been able to go to Portland very much since I have been here, but last night, I went to Portland with two girls from my floor, Elise and Katie. Elise was borrowing her mom's convertible for the weekend, so we rode in that to Portland and back.
First, we had dinner at a fantastic Thai restaurant called "Mee Sen"! (Kylie, Beth and Lissa: you would be SO jealous!) I had a wonderful soup with rice noodles, chicken, and other wonderful ingredients (that I can't remember) in the broth.
We then went to a cute little coffee shop and did some homework. After that, we had to get some cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory, especially since I had never gone. It was sooo delicious!


On the way back to Newberg, we drove with the top of the convertible down: cold, yet fun! (Luckily I was in the front) It was a fun night!

Stanley

My parents got a new puppy today! He's a 14 week old laberdoodle, named Stanley. Of course, no one can replace Piccalo, but he is pretty cute! (I knew my mom was probably going to take a while to post, so i just used the pictures my dad sent me on my phone :) I just wish I could be there to meet him.

XANADU

Today I went to a Broadway musical with Dana called "Xanadu". It was probably one of the most weird and odd performances I have ever seen! It's set in 1980 and there is an artist named Sonny, who wears short cut of shorts and a red tank top, and is depressed when a painting he makes doesn't turn out. 9 "sisters" or "muses" from ancient Greece are given the task to bring him inspiration in his art. One of them, named Kira, is given the task, and the other sisters are there to help. She meets him on a beach, and she is riding on roller skates. He feels inspired to turn an old theater into a roller disco where there will be all kinds of art and an athletic center. Two of the other sisters get jealous, because if Kira completes her task, she will be rewarded by Zeus with the gift of Xanadu, a magical gift that is suppose to be amazing, so they put a curse on her to fall in love with him. It is against the rules for a muse to fall in love with a mortal, and the penalty is eternal damnation into the underworld. She does fall in love with him, and he falls in love with her, but since the love is real, the goddess of the sea convinces Zeus not to penalize her and to allow her to live with Sonny as a mortal. In the end, they all got to live in "Xanadu", the name of the new roller disco that the Sonny created.

It was a weird plot, and they tried to make it funny, but although there were some funny parts, I thought it was kinda lame. They rode around on roller skates and the sisters all talked in unison...just WEIRD! Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience, and it was fun to spend the day with Dana!

Mid-Week...First Week

My second semester of college started on Monday after a nice long Christmas break, and it is going really well so far! I am really looking forward to all of my classes. Here's the list: Math 150 (practical math for life), Anatomy and Physiology (new teacher:), Care and Prevention of Injuries, Responding to Emergencies, and Bible Survey. I still love my roommate, and have gotten back into running. I think this will be a good semester as long as I trust in God and am diligent in my work! Now I'm off to a floor meeting...fun stuff!

One in Six Billion

I know not many people read my blog, and I like it that way, but for those who do, you may notice that I have changed the title. In 2008, the World Bank approximated the world population at 6,692,030,277. That's a lot of people! "It is estimated that approximately 250,000 to 300,000 people die each day(see http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_die_a_day). When given that estimate, and the estimated 217,000 additional (population expansion) babies are born, an estimated 467,000 to 517,000 total births per day." On March 5, 1991, I was one of those babies to be born. Each one of those humans born will one day be in the count of the number of people who have died. It's amazing to me that each day so many lives begin, and so many lives end, but the majority of the population will continue to live, whether or not we are affected by this change. Those of us who are fortunate enough to live through the day will make at least 5,000 decisions in a day...some that will determine the path of our lives, others that determine what we will eat or when we will get out of bed, small yet important.

When I was five or six, I made the most important decision I would ever make: to accept Jesus as my Savior. Since then, that one decision has been the basis for every decision I have made, although I can't say I have always made the right decisions. I am imperfect like all of the other 6.5 billion people out there, but because of one man, Jesus Christ, I am free from those imperfections and the eternal consequence of them. ONE MAN.

I decided after graduating from eighth grade at Valley Christian to continue my High School education there, a decision I will never regret. I decided to play basketball and soccer and run cross country. I decided to run for Student Leadership and was voted president. After graduating from high school, I decided to move to Oregon to attend George Fox University, another decision I will never regret. Although, with all of these decisions I have made, I feel as if I am still just at the beginning of my life. I can't yet tell story after story of my many life experiences or write on a job application that I have a Masters in Sports Medicine or even that I've had a consistent job. My life is still an unfinished book, just like each person who will go to sleep tonight, wake up tomorrow, make 5,000 decisions, go to sleep, and do it all over again the next day. I am just one person. I am completely confident that if I can be totally surrendered to Jesus, and willing to go wherever he wants me to and do whatever it is He asks...if I actively work on living my life like Jesus lived His, if I pursue a relationship with Him each day that He allows me to be alive on this earth, if I deny myself to follow Christ, if it is not me living but Christ living in me, it will be impossible for me to make a wrong decision, and it will be impossible for no one to notice a difference.

The most recent decision I have made is that in July, I will be moving to Colorado Springs for a six month internship and school afterward. I am confident that this is the Lord's will, because I will be challenged in every way possible to step out of my bubble, figure out what I believe, and to be bold about it. I am so thankful that God chose to put me where He did so that I can share what I have received from Him with everyone around me. I can share His love. I am one in six billion, and if I can lead someone, who is also one in six billion, towards the love of Christ, I know my life was worth all the effort that went into it.

So, after a wonderful Christmas vacation, I continue my life here at George Fox, waiting patiently for the Lord's timing in my life, and growing in my knowledge of God's Word, my desire to pursue Him, and doing everything to glorify His name.