Paper due...paper done!

YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!
8 sources, several hours and 5.2 pages later (plus a bibliography and a title page) my Joshua and Judges paper is over! i know what you are thinking..."whoop da dee do da - it's only a 5 pager". well, i understand that this is a short paper, but i still have a huge load lifted!
i am getting ready to go put it in his office right now! what a relief!

Jen's List ~ 2006

The following isnt really a "goals" list...and it isnt really a "wish" list. If it were a goals list - it would definitly have some spiritual relevance...and if it were a wish list - it wouldnt have any random goals on it...soooo...it is just a list:)

Jen's List~ 2006

1. See Wicked. If you dont know what that is, or would like to purchase tickets for me, go to:
http://www.wickedtickets.com/ .

2. Go on a road trip that has no apparent purpose. (so going home for spring break or the summer would not count).

3. Have my school bill paid off - in it's entirety.

4. Get straight A's...okay or even just pass General Chemistry 2.

5. Attain a head coaching position for high school girl's basketball at my alma mater.

6. Learn how to do a web-site.

7. Climb Mt. Monadnock...again.

8. Figure out why vitamins smell so raunchy.

9. Go camping. I have never been camping. I want to stay in a tent, have a camp-fire, wear bugspray, etc:)

10. Spend an entire day in Boston and New York City - doing touristy stuff.

Yeah, so i pretty much don't know why i am posting right now. i should be quickly scarfing up the remaining library books on Joshua and Rahab...but instead i am sitting here in the library blogging about it. i guess i am just hoping they will jump off the shelves, read themselves, and footnote themselves right into my paper. sounds good to me!
no really, i dont mind papers too much. however, this weekend i desperately need to review chemistry. we have a quiz on monday and i believe dr. liu thinks i am going to fail! i dont want to fail this class. i feel like i sorta understand what is going on. but more than that, i WANT to understand what is going on (and proving dr liu wrong would just be an added bonus!) My book is allegedly not even going to arrive until the end of next week. that means i hafta bum a book off of somebody at least 5 more times:)
anyway, other than a paper due, and chemistry to pass, all is well here in watertown. the weather has been absolutely georgeous the past couple of days...aaahhh spring!!!

Dr. Saxon

Well, i never said why i like Dr. Saxon so much. I love Dr. Saxon because he has such a passion for God's work and it is seeping from his very being. he just oozes with Scripture and i sit in fascination every class as he quotes and quotes and quotes and quotes. Oh that i would have that zeal! he knows passage upon passage off of the top of his head. we will be sitting in class and someone will ask a question totally unrelated to the topic of discussion and Dr. Saxon will pause for a moment (marker in mid-air) and then say..."well i believe that is mentioned here, here, and here in the this context and here, here and here in this context...". Every day that i have class with him i just leave the room with a desire to know God's Word even more and THAT is why i love Dr. Saxon!

Rahab 2

Well, i am glad you all took the time (JOEL) to post what you thought...or what others thought and you agreed with;)

First, i will tell you what we talked about in class. then, i will tell you what I think.
Rahab's actions:
1. Welcomed spies
2. Hid them on her roof.
3. Lied to protect them.
4. Helped them escape from the city with advice on where to go.
5. Asked for protection.

In class, Dr. Saxon did not say whether it was right or wrong, but he DID say that "although repentence and faith may not be evident in the text, repentence and faith were the driving force behind her actions" and that she shouldnt have lied - even in war. (please note, that quote may not be word for word because i couldnt write as fast as he was talking...) So basically, she knew that their God was the true God (the timing of her conversion is unknown) and eventually put her trust in him.

Rahab, because of her culture and her profession, may have instinctively lied. She may not have known better. Whatever her reason, she obviously lied to protect the spies. The question lies in her MOTIVE. Did she lie so that they would do her the favor in return? No. She expressed faith in God (Joshua 2:11). She knew that her city was going to be overtaken and that the LORD (YAHWEH) was the true God.

My opinion:
God did not NEED Rahab...just like he doesnt need us. rather, he chooses to use us (sinful creatures that we are) for his glory. i believe that the Bible teaches that lying is sin. although lying is sin, i cannot honestly fault Rahab for lying. I wouldve been so scared that i probably would have lied too. knowing that my country is going to be demolished and that it was God that was going to do it...i would want to be on God's side.
jimmy, i dont agree with the quote that said: "We always tell the truth to those to whom the truth is due. But we do not always owe the truth to a corrupt and unjust state..." I dont care what anyone or anything has done to you - there is never a reason to sin.
If (and that is a big IF) rahab had told the truth, i believe God wouldve made a way of escape for the spies - therefore i dont think that rahab's lying was neccessary.
God blessed her - regardless of her sin. much like he blessed david - even after his sin with bathsheba, and like you and me even after we sin. i believe she mustve repented after the lie - hence the reason for her being in Jesus' lineage and her name mentioned in Hebrews 11. (that last sentence should be in saxon's paragraph as well). Gaeblin said that Rahab is a dramatic example of the grace of God...and i agree.

Rahab

So this semester i am taking Joshua and Judges with Dr. Saxon. Did i ever tell you how much i love Dr. Saxon? He is the best Bible teacher I have ever had! This is the second class i have taken with him. we have only had 4 classes so far this semester, but i have already learned SOOO much! on tuesday we talked about Rahab and whether it was okay for her to lie about the spies. we tossed around several ideas in class and my brain was going haywire trying to figure it out Biblically. you see, she lied about the spies being in her house, yet God blessed her and her house. you shoulda heard everyone's ideas: "It was okay to lie because she didnt know better", "it was okay to lie because it was a war strategy", "she had to choose the lesser of two evils...", and on and on it went. well, i was loving this class because my paper for this class (which is due on the 30th) is on rahab so i was feeding on all these different directions i could take my paper. anyways, we concluded at the end of class that...well, before i tell you what we concluded...what do you think? was it right or wrong for rahab to hide the spies and lie about it? why or why not?

Dirty mittens

Okay so lately i have been thinking about how gross mittens and gloves are. I wear my mittens daily, and when i have my mittens on, i feel like i am immune or something. like i touch every railing, i open doors, rub my hand on the counter...all these things i would normally do, BUT at some point during the day i would wash (and of course - sanitize) my hands.
HOWEVER, with my mittens i also wipe my hair out of my face, itch my nose, etc. BUT i never sanitize my mittens. think of all that dirt, etc that i may be smearing all over my face! ew! I dunno, it is just a thought. anyway, i hope this post finds everyone doing well. i am freeeeezing, so i am gonna put my mittens on:) have a great day!

my morning voice

One thing that i have been meaning to blog about but havent really gotten around to it is something scary...it's a person's morning voice.
yes, everyone has it - dont even try to pretend that you dont because i know you do.
well, recently i have had a cold, so my morning voice has been an "all-day" voice. however, the other night i took nyquil, so i didnt cough all night. this made my voice sound especially congested and manly when i woke up the next morning. my poor brother had to deal with my growlings - he probably wonders if every girl's voice sounds that bad. now, dont get me wrong...my morning voice isnt any different than the rest of yours. i would call it average. but when im sick? Whoa! you had better watch out!
lisa (my best friend since second grade) and i used to wonder about morning voices and fear that when we got married it would be a huge shock to our husbands that our voice is so low when we wake up. well, it is not really a concern of ours right now - considering that we have realized that everyone else has morning voices too! if i had the know-how to insert sound clips into this thing, i would...i think you all would get a good laugh! it would be even cooler if everyone could leave a comment with their morning voice too. ha!
one more thing about morning voices. when someone calls and wakes you up, why is it that we try to make our voice sound like we've been awake for hours? i mean, as my phone is ringing i am going "hhhmmmm huuummm." clearing my throat. well, if someone calls me at 7am on my day off he or she deserves to hear my morning voice!
i guess the point i am trying to get accross here is to not be ashamed of your morning voice. everyone has one:)

What are YOU thinking about???

It seems like just when i think i am way too overwhelmed, God sends relief. You see, i didnt really want to come back to school this semester. i am usually excited and thrilled to be back, but this semester it just wasnt happening.
so, for days before coming back to campus i was trying to mentally prepare myself for the next five months..."things will be okay" i would say, and "you're gonna love it once you get back there..." i would tell myself. well, here i am. back at school. i can honestly say that i am enjoying myself. i am getting back into the swing of things and God has just shown me that he will provide.
First things first, i changed my major over Christmas break. My former major was nursing. Now it is Humanities with an applied science emphasis. "whoop-da-dee-do-da" you may say. or as others have asked "what in the world are you gonna do with that degree?" well, actually, i have no idea what i am going to do with my life. but, i am sure God will show me in due time:)

ANYWAY you are probably waiting for me to tell you of the relief God has sent my way...here it is:
1. God allowed me to get into my classes (even registering late and not having the proper pre-requisites...basically a miracle).

2. God provided me with no classes until 12:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. so that means that i get to sleep in on those days, or work at latte':)

3. God provided just enough money for me to get the two most urgent books that are available for my classes.

4. God has been teaching me the importance of an earnest prayer life and a consistent walk with Him.

5. God has been teaching me to rely on Him for everything...from groceries to books to getting through daily tasks.

6. Today the weather was absolutely beautiful. I know this may seem small, but in Wisconsin a beautiful day in January is miraculous. i mean it was so nice that i didnt even need a coat!

7. The verses that i have been meditating on this week is
Psalm 40:16-17
Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.
But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

Do you grasp that? The Lord thinks about us. I mean, i have always known that he loves us, but i guess i never thought about the fact that he thinks about us. WOW!

Cold feet. i hate cold feet. as a matter of fact, when my feet are cold i have a hard time thinking of anything else...i even think that i end my sentences with..."my feet are soooo cold!"
so today my feet were freezing. i was trying to take a nap this afternoon, and nothing i did kept my feet warm. i followed all the proper "cold-feet" precautions: socks? check. extra blanket on my feet? check. dog laying on the blankets on my feet? check. i dont know what i was missing! eventually my feet were warmed by the wonderful vents in the car, but up until then i thought they were gonna fall off - praise the Lord for heaters!:)
speaking of cold feet, why do they call it "cold feet" when a person has second-thoughts or is nervous about a wedding? anybody know?

for the love of the game

So today i had the wonderful opportunity to play basketball with my former high school team. three other girls were there to help too...i loved every single minute of it. we kept joking around about the fact that we didnt have to run...why?? because we are alumni! ha! isnt that great? anyway, it was rejuvinating to play around with the girls, beat some people up (all within the realm of Bball of course;)) and just have fun - all for the love of the game!

2006

Happy New Year!
why does everyone make a big deal about the new year? maybe just because it is a clean break - a chance to start over? i dunno, but why would everyone want to go out and get drunk? i dont know about you, but puking up a storm just isnt how i would want to ring in the new year!
so, for new year's eve i really had no plans. i went over my dad's house during the afternoon and hung out. watched several episodes of The Twilight Zone, watched the new Willie Wonka (by the way, in that movie Johnny Depp sorta has a "chester-likeness" to him and it's really creepy), ate, and just sat around. it was nice just relaxing with the fam. then, i borrowed my dad's car to go to see Chronicles of Narnia with the fam (and Aaron and his mom). i can honestly say that i really didnt want to go see it. i mean, i would have much rather watched a chick-flick or something. however, the movie grabs your attention right at the beginning and pulls you into this imaginary land. i am usually a realist, but i actually enjoyed that movie a lot. anyways, by the time we came out of the theater it was midnight:) No, i didnt kiss anyone when the clock struck twelve - give me a couple of years - i gotta find a guy first! but i did realize that i had a life more than i thought i did. i spent the holidays this year with the people closest to me - my family:)
no new year's resolutions for me this year, just the same ol' same ol' reminders of years past that i am still working on. but a safe and happy new year to you all!