I Was Going to Go to Bed Early, But Then I Discovered the Bible

The Bible is really, really, really awesome.

More awesome than I can comprehend.

All the doubt I periodically struggle with disappears when I realized that Jesus really does fulfill the Old Testament. It is way too complex to be a hoax or anything of the like.

I have grown up going to Christian schools. Ever since I can remember I have had the Sunday school answer in my mind that Jesus fulfills all the prophecies. Kudos to Jesus. But I never really comprehended the amazingness of it until now. It's not just the prophecies that are fulfilled. It's the entire Law! Everything is laid out so clearly in the Bible! God gives the Law, and Jesus comes and fulfills everything the Law hints that we need: Passover Lamb, shepherd, scapegoat on the Day of Atonement, Bread of Presence, lamp, and temple/tabernacle. Jesus does it all.

Why have I never seen this before?!

Actually, I have. I remember reading about this during the Old and New Testament History class my sophomore year in high school. I just didn't really get it until I had to read the Bible for myself.

Oh, man.

News Flash!

-I don't follow current events anymore. Which means these are just random clips of info from my life that I would feel narcissistic posting as Facebook statuses. So...

-I don't know what I want to major in anymore.

-Apparently I'm a sophomore by credits. When this semester is over, I will technically have 32 units, but I didn't know that until today, which means I missed the earlier registration block. But it also means I caught on soon enough so that I could still grab classes before the rest of the freshmen have at it tomorrow morning. But it also means some of the classes I wanted were closed, so I'm at 16 units for next semester with a hope that I can crash a volleyball class when classes begin in the spring.

-I used an example involving a dead cow in session today.

-I'm done with all of the Torrey reading for the semester. That long list of books I saw at the beginning of the semester and started to get really really worried about? Now complete!

-I have read: the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid, Beowulf, Dante's Divine Comedy, Book I of Faerie Queene, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Hebrews. For one class. In one semester.

The end.

You Know You're Irish When...

...Your father puts Guiness in his chili verde recipe.

...Your favorite song when you were eight was "What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor?"

...All your mood swings and stubborness are attributed to your "Irish sass."

...You know that there is a distinct and important difference between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

...You know more Irish freedom songs than Christmas carols.

...Making fun of the British is an acceptable past-time.

...There is an Irish drinking song with your name as the title.

...Everything is made better with bagpipes and fiddles.

...You know practically every legend out there about St. Patrick.

...You eat potatoes at almost every meal.

...The first book you received (the day you were born) is entitled Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato.

...You entertained your economics teacher with stories of how you had a leprechaun named Liam in your pocket.

...When you needed to hit a pinata with extra force, your friends would yell, "Pretend it's Oliver Cromwell!"

...You have smiling Irish eyes that will steal a heart away.

What Goes Down at Home When I'm Gone

Apparently very little. I walked into the house and literally cringed at the sight of the kitchen floor. With a mother usually wheelchair-bound and one man and one teenage boy in charge of the chores traditionally done by women throughout the centuries, everything is handled in a very time-efficient manner.

They just don't do chores.

Granted, my brother is a three-sport athlete at his high school and also a straight-A student. And in Boy Scouts. And my dad works his heart out to provide for my family and tries to spend quality time with my brother doing whatever Boy Scouts do at those weekly meetings. I know they're busy.

But in four months, couldn't they find one day to wash the floor?

So I got to spend my first day of Thanksgiving break running errands and washing the kitchen floor. I'm not complaining. Cleaning is very therapeutic for me, provided I don't have to do it too often. But sometimes it amazes me how they can stand to live in a house with a filthy kitchen floor.

Then I remember. They're boys.

What's Been Up

I have been so stressed for the last few weeks. Don't ask why. It's a long story. But, when you're stressed, you appreciate a sense of non-stress much more.

-Like how I got a good laugh out of watching Dr. Campbell. She was walking down the stairs in Sutherland Hall muttering to herself. "Okay," she said, "try not to fall down the stairs."

Always a good first step.

No pun intended.

-And when I managed to get all but one of my pull questions done before leaving for Thanksgiving break. I had just finished stapling the sheets together when my phone rang. It was Jessica Carter calling to say she was ready to leave. Perfect timing or perfect timing?

-And when I realize I have great friends who grab me and command me to read Mara: Daughter of the Nile over break.

-And when I discover a copy of Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis sitting under a pile of books in my bedroom at home.

-Or when I realize how incredibly funny old TV shows are.

-Or even as I see mountains for the first time in four weeks. Not just the dinky little mountains visible if I look out my dorm room window at just the right angle between the tree and the Facilities Services building. Big, majestic, green mountains with beautiful clouds as a backdrop.

-Or getting a good laugh out of turning the radio on and realizing that we must be close to Bakerfield since every other station is playing country music.

-Driving past miles and miles of farmland. Such a beautiful thing.

-The only thing left to make me any happier is to see real, true, bright stars again. And to get that paper turned in and my major decided on.

But we're not going to think about that right now.

What Cheers Me Up

In no particular order...

-Matthew 6:33
-Libertas girls (the girls who live on my hall in my dorm)
-Bakersfield (believe it or not)
-Johnny Cash
-Old hymns
-Anything Celtic or Irish
-Erma Bombeck
-Mix CDs with indie music on them
-HUGS
-Homemade bread
-Hot tea
-Nerdy Torrey jokes
-Peanut M&Ms
-Knowing that I'll see mi tio Danny on Thursday at the ungodly hour of 5 am.
-Knowing that I will see my dear friend Cassie Barritt next week for the first time since August 14th.
-Walk to Remember
-Quadratus
-The framed picture on my desk of me and Maddie taken last September.
-Anything by C.S. Lewis or Elisabeth Elliot
-The soundtrack from Prince of Egypt
-Having my name said in the special Quadratus way
-Singing Disney movies at Biola (No one gives you weird looks for singing songs from Mulan in the middle of the caf or for dancing down the road singing "A Spoonful of Sugar.")
-Sweaters and scarves

In the Last Two Days I Have...

-Completed four pull questions (that actually occurred within the last 24 hours)

-Drawn a timeline for one of my pull questions, complete with color-coded motif tracking. My Biblical Lit and Old and New Testament History classes from high school came in very handy.

-Gotten my first Torrey paper back for revisions. It is a mess of red pen, black pen, and probably a few of my tears.

-Almost scheduled a ride back home for Thanksgiving.

-Laughed, cried, smiled, thought, prayed, stressed, and stared at my bookshelf.

-Been reminded that I am not the only one freaking out about her major.

-Received more hugs than I probably have a right to.

-Realized how blessed I am.

-Gotten a whole new outlook on the book I previously viewed as the most boring book of the Bible (Numbers).

-Realized that the majority of the book of Numbers really can be sung to the tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas" (courtesy of Mary Kate Reynolds).

-Gotten cast as an extra in a film shoot.

-Proclaimed my Torrey nerd-ness by wearing a T-shirt that says "Aslan is on the Move" all over campus.

-Had chills go up my spine when I heard Matthew 6:33 read to me in the middle of a crazy mass of people in the caf.

-Promised myself that I will finish my Brit Lit essay by Saturday.

-Watched "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed." At Biola. (For those who have forgotten, Biola is one of the places Ben Stein visited on his travels to understand Intelligent Design and its implications).

-Eaten lasagna from the Knotts Berry Farm restaurant and realized that it looks and tastes remarkably like the Stoffers lasagna I used cook for my family.

-Been thoroughly encouraged by the presence and attitude of my dear friend, Juliet San Nicolas.

-Realized that one week from today I will be eating bar-be-qued turkey and stuffing, pumpkin pie, crock-pot green beans and bacon, and, of course, potatoes.

-Tried very hard not to be jealous of Austin Smith and his copy of the complete letters of C.S. Lewis.

-Realized that almost exactly one year ago I was visiting APU and wanting to go there...and now I thank God for putting me at Biola.