Just a little note ...

We had some lovely rain this week, and I got to stomp around with childish delight in my new rain boots!

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm alive!! I've been working a lot, enjoying post-exam letdown in homework, preparing to play in a concert, and reading and Pinteresting way too much. I got a nice cute short haircut, have been doing a little shopping for fall clothes, and got my smashed computer fixed (YAAY!!!). Right now I'm eating frosted flakes, watching Bringing Up Baby, and ruminating on the online quiz that I should have taken today and didn't.

Here are some of the things that I've been pondering this week and trying to formulate posts about, but haven't been able to get words on page:

• Why is it so hard to trust God and be content?
• What does it really mean to "seek the Lord" - practically, not theologically?
• What is a good balance for a young woman in this day and age, between seeking a career and praying for a husband and family? How can I be careful to maintain a right spirit of patience and and resting in the Lord's timing, at the same time I try to keep up hope and not give up to focus on my career plans?
• How can I make sure that spending so much time at a feminist, godless, liberal university doesn't cause me to lose sight of the beauty of femininity and godly womanhood?

I hope to have some insights in these areas soon, so I can  maybe provide something helpful about them ... but sitting up blogging in the middle of the night certainly won't help that ... what do you all think about some or any of these things? Thoughts are always appreciated.  :-)

Goodnight, my friends and sisters in Christ! I hope you all have a wonderful and refreshing Lord's day tomorrow!

Lots of love,
Vicki

When Love Takes You In

Source: Uploaded by user via Victoria on Pinterest

I know you’ve heard the stories,
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home,
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
 

So one more night you cry yourself to sleep,
And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in, and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home, and says "You belong here"
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in

And somewhere while you’re sleeping,
Someone else is dreaming too,
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say "I love you"
 

And like the rain that falls into the sea,
In a moment, what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in, everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever
cause this love to lose its hold

When love takes you in, everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home, and says "You belong here"
The loneliness ends and a new life begins -
When love takes you in, it takes you in for good
 

When love takes you in

"When Love Takes You In" ~ Steven Curtis Chapman

Thank you!!!

Source: agiftfromthegods.com via A Gift From on Pinterest

Thank you all so much for all of your prayers and encouragement before my test today! You sisters are all the very best of friends, and I can't tell you how much it lifted my spirits to know that your prayers were going with me when I went into the testing room!!

The Lord certainly did answer your prayers and gave me clearness, peace, and methodical thinking to get through the test ... there were some answers that were kind of shaky, but many more that I was able to think through calmly and know I answered correctly. Once in the middle when I hit a hard question, I did start to panic; but the Lord reminded me to stop, take a deep breath, and just go through it bit by bit. I think I did pretty well.  :-)

Thank you again so much for taking the time to pray for me! I love you ladies so much. Please, please let me know anytime if there is anything that you need me to pray for you, because it will be my pleasure!  :-)

Hugs,
Vicki

Panicking!!!

Could you guys please pray for me? I have a neurology exam tomorrow morning, and I'm really feeling scared about it right now ... there is SOOO much to remember, and I need every point I can possibly get because this is the "weed-out" class for grad school.  <8-{

Thank you so much!! Please leave a prayer request in the comment box, if you have a request that you're praying about right now, and I will happily return the favor!  <:-}

Prayerfully and thankfully,
Vicki

P.S. Yes, I know my previous post was about not being afraid ... this is different, though. I'm never to be afraid to face things that are completely in God's control. But it's a completely different thing to be afraid of situations that I have a hand in ... especially situations like this, when I discovered that the test was on Wednesday instead of Friday, shaving two crucial study days off of my preparation time ...

fear not.

My bracelet came today!

I ordered this beautiful bracelet from MudLove.com last week, and I specifically chose the phrase "Fear Not" because fear is something I have always struggled with. It was an ironic discovery when I first made it around the age of thirteen or fourteen - I who had written so many high-spirited novels about fearless teen adventurers, I who dreamed of being a medical missionary pilot in Alaska, I who believed I was ready to face anything, was actually afraid of everything. 

I was very shy. I was afraid to pursue opportunities that looked challenging or that could involve failure. I was afraid of moving away from home. I was afraid of everything that didn't guarantee me a very good chance of succeeding brilliantly and being better than everyone else.

That attitude of fear has not left me. I may not be so shy anymore, but it is still rare for me to attempt something that has a higher than minimal chance of failure, danger, or embarrassment. The most courageous thing I've ever done was competed in a classical piano competition and earned my yellow belt in karate. I've never traveled anywhere without some member of my family nearby; I've never attempted a class that I thought I could fail (until anatomy this semester); and there are still many, many people whom I would love to talk to, but am afraid of being embarrassed or looking stupid.

But do you know what fear is? It's unbelief. It's looking at the feeble impotence of my own strength, without then turning my gaze to the vast, majestic depths of my Father's power. Fear is refusing to believe that God is right at my side, and that He is more than capable of defeating what threatens me and empowering me to take on any challenge.

After reading The Pursuit of God, I have come to desperately long for a deeper relationship with the Lord. I don't want to worship Him as a Being, terrible and vague and distant, no more than a black Word printed on a white page. I want to worship Him as a Person - I want to know Him, to delight in making Him happy, to hear His voice, to be so filled with love for Him that it is a joy to follow Him into the valley of the shadow of death because I know, better than I know my own name, that He is with me.

The first step to that kind of relationship, as for any relationship, is to stop being afraid. Fear is the enemy of faith. My Father loves me too much for me to be afraid - He wants me to trust Him, to release myself and let Him hold me, to enjoy my life because He is watching over me. I believe it hurts Him when I am afraid, because He has everything under control and wants me to just rest and focus on being with Him and loving Him, not to worry and strive and try to control the things I'm not supposed to control. Just as I rest on a long car trip and let my dad worry about where we're going and how we'll get there, so I should feel just as safe and relaxed every day of my life, knowing that the Lord knows where I'm going and how to get me there safely.

Fear not. My MudLove band is to remind me to stop being afraid - it's not a stern warning to buck up and quit being a scaredy-cat, but a gentle encouragement to just rest and look into the loving face of Jesus. His arms are around me, and not one shadow can fall across me without His permission. I want to move forward in bold faith from now on, because my heart is at rest in His care.

***

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 

~ Isaiah 41:10

Announcing

Might I interest any of you lovely ladies to come check me out on my Brand Spanking New Pinterest Page?

:-D  :-D  :-D

http://pinterest.com/sunshineashadow/

Lots of love,
Vicki

P.S. Everything is still very much under construction and it might look a bit messy when you get there ... but I was so excited I couldn't wait to invite you!!  :-D

P.P.S. Thanks to all for your advice on contacting JG about a Disney album ... I'd like to do that someday, and I'll get ya'll involved!

Question ... ??

I am eager to see the number of views that this post gets simply because I have included a picture of Josh Groban ... I have decided that the only thing guaranteed to get more views than a post about Josh Groban is a wedding announcement! (And yes, because this caption is what will pop up on the Blogger dashboard, this post is, in fact, related to Josh Groban and not just a gimmick.)

Source: i.usatoday.net via Brooklyn on Pinterest

Hello. How are you? Is your life going well?

I have to get going and pry myself out of this warm computer lab to go back out into the chilly morning, but I want to ask you one question and get you mulling on it, because I need some help:

• Do any of you think it would be a good idea for Josh Groban to do an album of Disney songs?

I do. I do. I would be in tears throughout the entire thing. Can you imagine him singing "A Dream Is a Wish" or "Out There" or "Colors of the Wind"?

*Sob*

But:

• Do any of you have any ideas on how we could communicate this idea to him?

Mull on it ...

While I go search for something to post about head off to class ...

~ Vicki

P.S. In anticlimactic news of the day, this is my 100th post ... wow ...

I ♥ Thursday {No. 6}

Hooray for Thursday! That means that tomorrow is Friday, and we're on the verge of another hard-earned weekend!! Yippee!!

Thanks to everyone for your sweet comments on my mid-week-encouragement post the other day ... yes, that week did go much better after that rocky first half.  :-P  This week, I'm working on getting my computer fixed, and the callouts have settled down a bit, and I got new tennis shoes to help with all the walking I have to do.

I also read The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer, and I was awed and very inspired and humbled by it ... I want to read it again soon, to understand it better and glean more from it. For now, I'm trying to make it a habit to "look up" to the Lord more often during the day, especially when something is stressing me or I am tempted. He is faithful and ever-present; and it awes me to meditate on the thought that He would want to spend time with me and talk with me, about myself and about Himself. I want so deeply to know Him at this level. I want to be a "friend of God," like Abraham and Moses and Paul. I pray that He would continue to be patient with me and lead me like a little child as I stumble along the path of sanctification!

***

Here's what else I'm loving this week:

Source: trashydiva.com via Alyssa on Pinterest

Retro dresses! I love how this one looks so classy and pulled-together, yet soft and feminine at the same time.

Source: Uploaded by user via Patricia on Pinterest

Yes. Yes. Yes. This is me. This is what I'm feeling when I get so blue that I can't keep it from spilling onto my blog. This is my never-ending struggle.

So is this:

Source: t.co via Patricia on Pinterest

Song for Ireland, sung by Mary Black ... this song makes me dream!

Source: celebs.icanhascheezburger.com via Breanna on Pinterest

Someone at work was having problems with some piece of equipment the other day, and like a true geek, I suggested they turn it off and turn it back on again ... it worked, and I felt like a million bucks!

Source: scifi.icanhascheezburger.com via Breanna on Pinterest

I feel like this a lot ... poor Spock ...



 
Musical Notebooks! I was studying the anatomy of the ear in one of my classes the other day, and I had a homeschooler flashback to this wonderful learning tool. I know all the prime numbers, all the major bones in the body, all of the countries in South America, and all of Robert Frost's "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" - just because of this CD!!!




"Try A Little Kindness" by Glen Campbell. What a happy upbeat song!

Source: zhazhababydoll.tumblr.com via Charlene on Pinterest

Erm ... not exactly loving this, but definitely loving that someone else realizes what a demoralizing problem this is!!

Source: weheartit.com via Lana on Pinterest

Awwwwwwwwwwwww ........

Source: thephobia.com via Patricia on Pinterest

Swoon .....


***

And, here is your Pinspiration for the day:

Source: imgfave.com via Patricia on Pinterest

My God loves the weird random me, as long as it's weird and random in a good and Christ-glorifying way!

Source: woolflaxandbeeswax.blogspot.com via Aliesha on Pinterest

***

Have a simply fabulous weekend, everyone! I'm still working on the movie quiz and it should be ready in a week or two!! :-D

Love, Vicki

Courage

Source: wallwritten.com via Erin on Pinterest

Who knew that a plain little college student in a peaceful Midwestern town could be in need of so much courage?

***

Source: flickr.com via Lindley on Pinterest

Courage to fight and defeat my wicked self, daily, as I strive to draw closer to God and to know Him more ...

***

Source: etsy.com via studio on Pinterest

Courage to stand out and not be like the world, when it's so easy to slip into the crowd and flow along with the current of complacency ...

***

Source: via Zoe Alexis on Pinterest

Courage to work for causes and commit myself to activities and service projects, when I'd rather come home after a long day and crash on the couch in my PJ's ...

***

Source: imgfave.com via Tracy on Pinterest

Courage to say what I really think and want and believe, when I'd much rather mutter an excuse and slip away ...

***

Source: photoxyz.com via Latonia on Pinterest

Thankfully, I belong to the Lion of Judah, and HE'S not wanting in any courage!!

~ Vicki

Start Studying ...

Source: everyday-i-show.livejournal.com via V on Pinterest

I might not be posting much for the next week or so, because in between school and work, I'm very busy putting together the 2012 Great Movie Quote Extravaganza!

Get working on your movie trivia, because this one's going to be the best yet!

~ Vicki