Friday, February 24, 2012

If I Could Be Anything

If I could be anything . . .

Woman theologian. I like the sound of that.
I like having a microphone in my hands and something to say.
I like engaging audiences with words.

I love the Word of God.

I love people.

I might be a nurse. I wish I had the stomach for it.
Let me hold you, baby, hold you when the fever burns,
And your heart can't contain its own ache.

I would like to be a mama. Gentle. Loving. Creative.

Maybe a teacher. Reminding little people that they are treasures.
That they are smarter than people say they are,
That they have a lot more potential than they dream,
That Jesus loves you, Little Man. Little Girl.

I'd like to be the wife of a gentle warrior,
Who runs into light and calls me to come with.
We could be warriors together and at the end of the day,
So tired from a day of just loving and letting God use us
'Til we're worn,
And falling on our bed, exhausted and filled with Jesus.
Laughing because we're tired, and crying because we're broken
By their pain,
And praying because we know there is a Healer.

I dream some days.

Oh Jesus? Just please use me somehow! I know You don't have to. I know You could do it a lot better on Your own, but prepare me for anything, Jesus. Anything. For singleness. For marriage. For Brazil. For United States. For living a life of physical Danger. For living a life of Spiritual danger. For going. For staying. I will be weak right now, Jesus. Here I am. Sometimes resistant. Often stubborn. But I'm Your clay. Form me, Lord.

Amen.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Twenty

Daddy?

Hello. It's me again. Yeah, I know. You've seen me a whole lot lately. Well, or I should say, You've listened to me a whole lot lately. Thank You.

Thank You for being patient, a kind Listener. Thank You for being TRUTH. in my confusion. in my questions.

I remember where we were a year ago tonight, Daddy. Upper lounge, girls dorms. Last few hours were slipping by of year 18.

And now, it's about time for the nineteenth year to die.

It's kind of scary to me. Twenty?

Dad! It sounds old! It's not though, is it? You're smiling at me, aren't You?

Thank You that You're already in my twenty. You know the corners of it so well. You see. You love.

My one cry: "Oh, oh, oh bring [me] back to You." Every moment. I am in love with You, Jesus. Please deepen that love. Make it pure, marked with endurance. You are my choice. Give me strength to live it. To make that decision. Thank You, Love.

Thank You for smiling on me. Please, Lord, walk me through these waters of new year. It belongs to You. :)

I love You,
Your danae girl,
Simply Yours

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Last Photo Stream for Last Month

Month done. Completed. Craziness.

Here's the last line of pictures for January! :)


Day 22: Good moments in the cafeteria --- one of my favorite places on campus. It's so fun to eat meals with good friends and siblings in Jesus. This is a picture of Crazy Curtis, my friend Kayla, and me. :)


Day 23: Roommate Bethany starting to feel the heat after day one of classes. Oh beautiful syllabus shock. :) But WE WILL MAKE IT! Conquerors.


Day 24: Friend Tiffany and me in the library. Reading. Again. :)


Day 25: Surprise birthday for my friend Jenae!!! Her roommate organized it, and we had a fun time. :)


Day 26: This is Roger. He's one of Multnomah students' favorite people. He's volunteered for the school for such a long time and has this unique, wonderful way of cheering us up when we need it. :)


Day 27: Again, in the cafeteria. These two are fantastic sisters. And they like their apples. :)


Day 28: My good friend, Kayla's birthday. Her roommate and I took her out to Indian food, and in India, you eat food with your fingers!!! So, we went in for the cultural experience. :)


Day 29: I got this sweet message from Kayla at the PERFECT TIME. Seriously, it was such a God-thing. Kayla didn't know that I'd need specific prayer at a specific moment, but Jesus did. Wow.


Day 30: Earlier that past week, I had tried out for a reading team for my C.S. Lewis class. I enjoyed trying out SO MUCH! Made me remember how much I love acting! :) Well, I was asked to be on the team! Highlight of my week. I'm excited. :)


Day 31: Every Tuesday, my dorm section has dorm section dinners. Here is a picture of a lot of the girls in my dorm section. :)

Well, I don't know if I've taken any pictures now that it's February, but I'm sure grateful for all the photos I got in January, and hopefully, I will be inspired to carry my camera with me more often. Maybe? :)

As for this month, I want to try to write an encouraging note each day. It's simple, but it gives me a good excuse to get something done that I enjoy doing but don't always take the time to do. :)

Ah, I have so much to update you on, like my new years desire to be trustworthy and my journey through making decisions and what my roommate helped me see about that through the Sunday school lesson at her church. I could tell you about how welcoming the people of Clackamas Bible Church have been as I visited them again this Sunday. Ah, I guess for another time. For now, I will leave you with a Corrie Ten Boom quote. She inspires me. May you be inspired in this new week!

"And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself."

- Corrie Ten Boom