100 things I'm thankful for...

I decided that I should open my eyes to the blessings that God has given me so I'm going to try to do post 100 things I'm thankful for...one at a time or a few at a time.

Books
It wasn't until Memorial Day weekend when I had forgotten the joys of reading a good ol' book that wasn't a textbook, required reading, or the Bible (don't get me wrong. I love the Bible!). I forgot how exciting it is to read a good fiction novel. It's a movie in your head. You can imagine what the characters, setting, and circumstances looked like. Only within those pages can you put yourself in someone else's shoes anywhere and anytime in the world. Movies are nice but can only go so far. Books still win over movies in the fact that the authors can help you understand the thought process of each character. Every word, every eye glance, every movement, every location, every time of the day has meaning to it. In movies...it's really hard to catch those things if you're not paying careful attention.

Photography Final

Well..this was my photography final. The professor told us to take pictures and do anything we want to them as long as we used the theme "out of the shadows." She said it was open to intrepretation. So I took a bunch of pictures, photoshopped it, and this is the final product. I tried to the photo reflect the inner struggle we all have as human beings. We have our shortcomings...we deal with so much trials that sends us on a roller coaster ride with emotions: happy, sad, fear, disgusted, despair, angry, confused, and the list goes on. So in this picture...I wanted the background to represent her past or her inner turmoil. She's dealing with it all like it's a heavy burden. But...there's hope. She's looking out the window and up to the heavens. Her freedom from her past and burdens is not yet attainable but it's in sight. When the window finally open, she can fully enjoy her sweet freedom from things that were dragging her down. But until then, she'll rise out of the shadows with her eyes fixated on the Hope that shines before her. :)  

Last week of classes

Well...I'm halfway through the last week of classes of my junior year. It's hard to believe that time flies that fast... a year from now, I'll be taking my last undergraduate exams ever. Then I'll graduate.

Yikes.

Where has time gone?

Thoughts?

"Before I go: Letters to Our Children about What Really Matters" by Peter Kreeft. Kreeft wrote this book for his children. It's basically a little journal entry that gives advice, wisdom, etc.. that his kids will read when they are old enough. 


Dave had this book. I kinda scan through the book to see what it was about. There was this one entry that kinda struck me. I was just wondering what your thoughts were on this topic: 


"One-Word Advice for Marriage"


"The most frequent complaint troubled couple bring to marriage counselors is: 'We don't love each other anymore.' The answer to it is a single word: 'Do.' 
Love doesn't happen, like rain. You do it. 
But isn't love a feeling? No. That's like saying a flower is a smell."


I guess I kinda agree with this statement. A lot of people say that they know that they are in love by the fluttering feeling they get when they see their significant other. But if love is based on the feeling then does that mean when you're angry at the person, that you don't love them?


So I decided to look at the big-daddy verse of the bible about love...


" ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." -1 Cor 13: 4-7


It doesn't say anything about feelings. Love is an action. It's a commitment. A lot of people love this verse. I love it too, but it's also a hard verse for me to read. I mean...there is NO exception on who we love. We are called to love everyone even those that get on our nerves, those that are unkind to us, those that hurt us, those that seems impossible to love. This calling is just so out of the ordinary. I mean, the world tells us if someone has wronged us...hurt them back! Make them pay! But God calls us to be the opposite. Show grace. God has shown us grace even when we don't deserve it. 


So...loving your significant is a commitment. Being patent and kind even when you both don't feel like it. Being selfless and humbled even when your human nature wants to do the opposite. Love is build on the foundation of trust. Love is hard work. 


I think having the "Lovey-Dopey" feeling can occur. It can be a blessing but be careful! Sometimes it's a curse. Sometimes being in this stage can make you 'photoshop' the person (as in clean out the blemishes and make it look better than what she/he really is) or blind to the 'red-flags' in the relationship and cause you heartache later on. Be careful not to make your feelings take control of the relationship. 


Hmm I'm curious to hear what you guys think... Do you think Love is a feeling or a commitment?

I heard this poem in the "Sense and Sensibility" movie.

Sonnet VII - Hartley Coleridge

Is love a fancy, or a feeling? No.
It is immortal as immaculate Truth,
'Tis not a blossom shed as soon as youth,
Drops from the stem of life--for it will grow,
In barren regions, where no waters flow,
Nor rays of promise cheats the pensive gloom.
A darkling fire, faint hovering o'er a tomb,
That but itself and darkness nought doth show,
It is my love's being yet it cannot die,
Nor will it change, though all be changed beside;
Though fairest beauty be no longer fair,
Though vows be false, and faith itself deny,
Though sharp enjoyment be a suicide,
And hope a spectre in a ruin bare.

I thought it was well written but I'm not sure how I feel about the poem. Hmm.. Whadda think?

Searching for true joy..

Hmm I was looking at blogs and I came across this blog....I think it's a good blog. So I thought I should share it...because the world's definition of joy is so different than what the bible says it is. Happiness is good but it's temporary. Joy is satisfying long term. Only true joy comes from God. According to this blogger she said that "JOY" stands for Jesus first, Others second, and You third. I find this to be biblical and a struggle. There are so many distractions in my life...that I need to remember that the best way of showing love to everyone that is in my life is by putting God first. If God lives in me and His love overflows in me than it's a good thing for everyone because I cannot give what I do not have. I will always struggle with this issue...but I hope that God will continue to work in me both to will and to do His good pleasure even when it's hard.

JOY= Jesus, Others, You

"Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23) and therefore it should be something that Christians pray for. We pray for patience and peace all the time (at least I do, as a mother of a toddler) but I rarely find myself praying for joy. Actually, almost never.

But, joy is something that God promises to give us as we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our life. As we submit to Christ and allow Him to live through us through the Holy Spirit, joy will be evident. Sometimes, this is not easy to do because of our circumstances but we can always pray for it and allow God to work in us what we can’t do on our own.

I’m not sure why joy has sprung up recently – I guess because I see too many Christians (myself included) not joyful even though the God of the World, the Creator of all things, has come to dwell in them through His Spirit. We have forgiveness, we have unconditional love, we have acceptance from God because of what Christ has done for us. Because of this, we will have eternal life. So, why aren’t we joyful?

I believe the acronym for JOY that I ran across several years ago while reading a commentary on Philippians can help. I had forgotten it until I read an article about former model Kathy Ireland (I had no idea she was a Christian!) and she mentioned that this acronym for JOY immediately helps her put her priorities in place. JOY = JESUS first, OTHERS second and YOU last.

As any born-again believer knows, this acronym is Biblical. God in Deuteronomy tells us to put Him first, Christ tells us in Matthew to seek first His Kingdom. Paul in his letters to the Philippians and Galatians tells believers to consider others before ourselves. And what does this lead to? TRUE JOY.

Does this mean we allow people to take advantage of us and run all over us? No, we still set up healthy boundaries that allow us to put God first (for example, if we say yes to every volunteer and service activity, there will hardly be time to put God first and we can stressed and strained. Not to mention grouchy and unjoyful.)

Try it for yourself – see how things change on a daily basis by just focusing on this simple thought. Jesus, Others, You. I promise you’ll see that God will meet all of your needs in the time that He’s given you if you simply trust His plan."

Internships, internships, internships

So I've been spending the last few weeks looking for a graphic design internship in the Pittsburgh and Washington, PA area. It's been frustrating. Very frustrating. Many of the graphic design internships requires you to know some HTML, CSS coding and website stuff. I was suppose to learn that kind of stuff this past year, but the department couldn't find a new design professor to replace the one that left last year.
As a result, I have learned nothing web-design related this year.

I applied to about eight different places that offer graphic design internships that's strictly print media related (which is something I DO know how to do)...some didn't offer internships but was offering a job. I e-mail them my resume anyway...and wrote a cover letter proposing that they can hire me in the summer as a temp worker until they find a full-time person for the graphic design position.

So...I said a few prayers. And fingers crossed.

I really really really hope I can get a good internship somewhere...I really would love to have more experience.

And...that's my thoughts for now.