Giving

So, God has been working on my heart about going on a foreign mission trip for awhile now.  I've loved mission trips ever since my first one in 7th grade, but I've never had the opportunity to go out of the country, to another culture.  It always seems like the money just doesn't work out.
I feel really blessed, because I've been taught from an early age that my money belongs to God.  When I got my first babysitting job in 7th grade, 10% went to the church.  My parents told me that's just what you do with your money, and surprisingly, I never had a problem with it.  They told me that God blesses faithfulness in giving, and I believed them.  Ten percent wasn't much anyway...
Then, when I was about 16, I got my first job.  Minimum wage was $5.15 then, and I worked maybe 8 hours a week.  I was going to play basketball at CHA, but since I was a homeschooler, it was going to cost me around $300.  Plus, I was going to get my license soon, which meant paying for insurance as well.  My parents wanted me to save about half of everything I earned (for college, a car, etc.), so I didn't have a lot of "extra" money.  Then, my junior year, I took economics with Coach Kufahl at CHA.  At the very beginning of the semester, we read a little book called The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn.  The book talked a lot about investing long-term--as in, eternally.  God will always provide enough for our needs today; we just need to trust Him  with our finances, and focus on the Kingdom of God rather than getting a pile of "stuff" for ourselves.
As I read, I felt God speaking to me.  I had really been stressing about how much basketball and my insurance was going to cost, and I had no idea where that was going to come from.  I knew God was telling me to trust Him with my hard-earned money.  I also knew that this trust couldn't just be words--I had to back it up with actions.  I felt like I needed to start giving an extra 5% along with my regular tithe.  Now, I know that doesn't sound like much, but to me it was a huge deal.  I prayed about it and asked God to confirm this if it was what He wanted.  (Funny how I have no problem rushing into something I want, but if it's something I think God wants--I'd better take my time and make sure!)  The next morning, my quiet time was about the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-30).  So, that was settled.
I gave 15% of my next paycheck.  That week, I found out that someone (I still don't know who) had completely paid for my basketball.  I also found out that my car insurance was going to be half of the original estimate.  I relearned an old lesson--If we are faithful, God meets our needs.
At the beginning of this year I read Crazy Love (Francis Chan) and Radical (David Platt) within two weeks of each other.  Now, both of these books are pretty challenging on their own, but together... whew!  My budget, and my life, got rearranged again.  Reading these, I decided that when I die, I want to be remembered for how I gave.  Not as far as big numbers go--God doesn't need my "millions" or my "thousands" or even my "dollars."  He wants my heart, my time, and my love.  Sure, that includes my money.  But it also includes my car, my phone, my computer, my education, my clothes--all my stuff.  He has given me each of these things in order that I may bring Him glory with them.  I want to be someone who gives out of everything I have been given.  And part of that means giving of myself and going out to love His people.  So, I'm probably going to be rearranging my budget again very soon, so that I can start saving for a mission trip.  God will provide--He always has and always will.  Could y'all pray that I will be completely obedient to everything He wants me to do?  Thanks :)

"No one can settle how much we ought to give.  I'm afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare."--C.S. Lewis

Stuff in My Purse

I stole this idea from meandmysoldierman, but I happen to know that she got it from someone else so I'm sure she won't care!  Basically, what you do is take EVERYTHING out of your purse and take a picture of it--you can't leave anything out and you can't add anything.  I'm one of those girls that carries everything in my purse--or if it won't fit, I carry it in my backpack (like, say, deoderant).  So...

This is my purse.  My wonderful brother got it for me for Christmas.  I told him I wanted it to be a color that went with a lot, and that it shouldn't, under ANY circumstances, be brown.  He did good :)

These are my "absolutely necessary no matter what" items.  Keys, cell phone, Burt's Bees, and sunglasses.  And, it HAS to be Burt's Bees--it's the best!

Glasses--I hate them but I need them. Cheap hand lotion--NOT scented--not sure why, but I've never liked the scented kind. Orbit--normally I like the sweet mint or the peach, but WalMart was out of both, so I got the whitening kind.  Wallet--crammed full of ids, my debit card, random business cards, and gift cards with like 37 cents left on them.  Notepad--I'm a list-maker.

Drugs--Advil and Tylenol, I keep them in 1 bottle because it saves space.  More Burt's Bees--I'm telling you, I'm an addict.  Checkbook--I'm like the only person I know that's under 30 and writes checks.  Calendar--I don't use it much, but you never know.  Camera case--usually the camera's in it, but obviously I had to take the picture with it.  Pens--Between my purse and my backpack, I could probably supply a good-sized classroom with these.

Nail file/case, mascara/eyeliner, a compact mirror, my flash drive, and yet another notepad.

Lip cream (it's like a cross between lipstick and lip gloss), makeup compact, case with random lip glosses and eyeliners that I never really use, a couple of emergency tampons, glasses cleaner, cuticle gel, and nail strengthener.  (I basically only use the last 2 things when I'm bored in class! haha)

Well there you go... everything in my purse!  Girls, what do you carry in yours that I don't? 

Catching Up...

Hey guys! School has been crazy busy, so of course blogging is the first thing to go when it's time to prioritize.  This isn't going to be a long post (and possibly a not very coherent one either.  I've gotten about 5.5 hours of sleep the past couple of nights).  My Daniel diet went pretty well--most of the recipes I made were really good.  My favorite was a stir-fry, which I made again with chicken after the diet officially ended.  I took pics so I might put it up here sometime in the future.  (I'm thinking that between now and the 2nd week of May I probably won't be blogging more than 1 or 2 times a week, if that.  Stupid school!)
Speaking of school... I enrolled at MidAmerica last week, and surprisingly, I'm excited about it!  I found out that pretty much all I have left is psych classes... 55 hours of them.  So, about 2 more years, which is what I expected.  I'm REALLY excited to be going back to a Christian school.  My experience with public college hasn't been horrible, but it was NOT academic at all.  I don't want my education to be boring and easy.  I like a challenge.  Maybe that's weird, but that's who I am.  (And, I know a big part of the problem was the fact that I went to a 2-year college instead of a 4-year college.  The expectations are a lot lower.) That said, MidAmerica is quite expensive, and I'm not sure where the money is going to come from!  Your prayers for God's provision would be greatly appreciated!
To be honest I wasn't looking forward to enrolling in another school.  I was seriously considering just taking my associate's degree and running with it.  But I'm not sure that's what God wants for me, and when I went to enroll at MidAmerica, I felt a peace, and even enthusiasm, about going there.  At this point I'm leaving it up to God--if He wants me to go, He's got to provide the money.  (And if it would be necessary to take out a loan for school... I'm taking that as His "No."  I know most people would disagree with me on this but I have several strong reasons for thinking this way... future post possibly??)
All right, well that's what's been up with my life lately.  Hopefully I will post again soon!

Daniel Diet--Making Chapattis

So for the next 2 weeks, starting tomorrow morning, I'm going on the Daniel Diet. If you haven't heard of it, it's the diet that Daniel and his friends went on in Daniel 1:8-16. It's basically fruit, vegetables, and water. You can't have anything refined, anything with yeast, or anything with added preservatives. No meat or animal products are allowed, and no sweeteners of any kind--not even honey. So, yesterday I went to Wal-Mart and basically bought the entire produce section. (I'm really busy with work and school and church, so I'm trying to pre-make as many meals as possible.) Last night I made chapattis, aka Indian flat bread (to be honest, I'm not sure if that's American Indian or actual Indian flatbread! haha). The recipe is really simple,and they're actually pretty good!

First, you start out with 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and a pinch of salt. At first I tried to sift mine but that doesn't work so well with the whole wheat and I'm pretty sure it's not necessary anyway.

Next, add water to the flour and mix with your hands until a soft dough forms. The recipe calls for 2 cups of water but I used around half that much. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, cover with a wet cloth, and refrigerate for an hour.

Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high heat until very hot. (My mom's cast iron skillet was in the attic and I didn't feel like getting it, so I used a regular nonstick skillet. It worked very well.)

Pinch off a little over 1/2 of a handful of dough, round it and roll it out. I rolled mine out pretty thin but I think you can make it thicker; you'll just need to cook it longer.

Place a chapatti in the skillet; cook for 1 minute. Flip and cook the other side for 1 minute, pressing with a towel until the chapatti turns brown. (I skipped the towel because I forgot about it--I'm not sure what it's supposed to do anyway??) Since mine were pretty thin, I wound up cooking them about 45 seconds each side. I had it down to an art--I'd throw a chapatti in the skillet and have another rolled out by the time it was time to flip it.

My first attempt; I cooked it about 30 seconds too long, so it's a chapatti cracker...

This is more the right... consistency? Is that the word I'm looking for? Haha.

My plateful of chapattis! The recipe says it makes about 10; mine made 15. (I think that was because I rolled mine out pretty thin.)

Favorite Places in NY, part 3: Central Park

Of all the places I went when I lived in New York, the one I photographed most is Central Park. Whenever I had an afternoon of free time, I loved to walk from 34th St. up 5th Ave to Central Park and "play photographer." Here are some of my pictures--hopefully they'll give you some idea of what it's like, because it's gorgeous!

My favorite bridge.

Sheep's Meadow. (No sheep, just lots of people.)

The Carousel. It's over 100 years old. Yes, I've ridden it--I'm 6 at heart.

Bench.

Favorite Places in NY, part 2

Ok, so VBS is making me miss the city, big time... I've got to head up there sometime soon!! Here are some more of my favorite spots:

St. Paul's Cathedral: This is right across from Ground Zero. The graveyard is really cool--most of the graves are at least a hundred years old. It's a very pretty spot.

The Majestic Theater! Phantom of the Opera plays here; it's the longest-running show currently on Broadway. (And, in my opinion, the best!)

Most of the stores on 5th Ave. decorate their windows for Christmas. This is a snapshot of one of the windows at Lord & Taylor's. They were all breathtaking.

Union Square. Almost every Saturday there's a farmer's market. You can buy all kinds of things--produce, of course, but also art and clothes and such. There are also street musicians all over the place.

Brooklyn Bridge! My favorite bridge, and one of my most favorite places in the city. It's especially gorgeous at night--when you walk out on the bridge and look back, the whole skyline is before you, all lit up and reflected in the water.

The Empire State Building. I went there every day for school, and lived less than a block away. This building epitomizes NY for me. This picture was taken from the roof of the guys' apartment building.

Favorite Places in NY, part 1

It's almost Spring Break!!! I'm sooo ready... even though all I'll be doing is helping with Vacation Bible School and working. But, on the bright side, I'll have no homework and no classes, so that's exciting. The theme for VBS this year is the "Big Apple Adventure", so I'm sure it will really make me miss New York :( I'm ready for a trip back there! Here are some pics of my favorite places--This is going to be a 3-part post (with 1 section reserved for Central Park, my absolute favorite place in the world).

Times Square--it's crazy, but that's why I love it.

This was taken from the trolley/lift from Roosevelt Island to Manhattan.

Powder puff football on Roosevelt Island--great memories :)

Herald Square. My apartment building is just to the left of this pic.

Columbus Circle

Madison Square Park/the Flatiron Building. There are random little tree houses all through this park--just for decoration.

The East River. I came here when I really needed to see the sky.

Bryant Park. Every winter they pull up all the grass (not shown in this pic) and make it into an ice skating rink, and every spring they re-sod it.