Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!! I am so thankful that I got a chance to start another year. No new years resolutions, but there are things that will be accomplished in 2007. PTL for great times and great memories of 2006, but I definitely look forward to this upcoming year.

Semester number 4 starts in about 2 weeks. It should go good. I am pretty excited about it. There are a few classes that I am excited about taking, but then who knows how that will go! I did however quit DQ again. I applied to be a resident assistant, but I haven’t heard anything yet. But I still have a little bit. If I don’t get that job, then I will more than likely just take up some extra hours at the ticket office.

I have an opportunity to go to Italy in May on a UChoir tour. It’s going to be fun, but man I am already nervous about it! But how cool that I get to sing in Italy! Get excited about that!

On a more serious note, on the road trip of life, I found myself with a flat tire, and no spare. sometimes I seem to find myself feeling like that prodigal son. . . the times where he had a great life, but because he wanted more, he took it and found that all it did was bring tiny moments of excitement. But once those moments were over, and he had nothing else, it was then that he decided to go back to the good life. Every once in a while, I find myself feeling like that. Feeling like I could be doing so much better in life if I took it in my hands. All I have found is that I am super wrong, and God will use whatever he can to make me realize that.

This semester went by really fast. I did alright with grades and even did alright in the beginning with my walk. But as the semester progressed, I found that I wasn’t taking that time out to do a devotion or to say a little prayer, and even not saying a blessing before eating. It got rough. I kept finding myself further and further away from my Maker, and even though I knew that, I never did anything about it. But then I started thinking about how I needed this “divine intervention” and how I needed something big to bring me back to where I needed to be. Back to where I had begun when the semester started. Right after Caswell. Honestly, I think I spent more time looking for a big thing that I was missing the still small voice that we should be listening for.

I came to Caswell this weekend for a reunion. I came a little bit early with the boy, and we spent some time together and went to a wedding of some former staff, which was very beautiful, and we did some volunteer time, I guess you could call it that anyway, for a conference that was here. Well, last night, new years eve, I went to the service, and one thing that stuck out in my mind from it all was when the guy was talking about something, but brought up the prodigal son. Yeah, it may have been a 30 second talk about it, but that really stuck out in my mind. Well I thought about it, and a song came to mind about “When God Ran”. Read the lyrics. . . then there’s more.

Almighty God. The Great I AM. Immovable Rock. Omnipotent. Powerful. Awesome. Lord. Victorious Warrior. Commanding King of Kings. Mighty Conqueror. And the only time, the only time I ever saw him run,
Was when he ran to me. He took me in His arms, held my head to His chest, and said “my son’s come home again”, lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes, and with forgiveness in his voice, he said “Son, do you know I still love you”. He caught me by surprise, when God ran.
The day I left home. I knew I’d broken his heart. And I wondered then, if things could ever be the same. Then one night, I remembered his love for me. And down a dusty road, ahead I could see. It was the only time. The only time I ever saw him run.
Was when he ran to me. He took me in his arms, held my head to His chest and said “my son’s come home again, lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes, and with forgiveness in his voice, he said “son do you know I still love you”. He caught me by surprise, and he brought me to my knees, when God ran. I saw Him run to me. And then I ran to him.

He was waiting on me to go to Him. He definitely tried getting my attention, with things from finances, to stress about jobs, even to my car. All I had to do was give it up to him, and things would have been taken care of. But I didn’t, and I knew it. But what the great thing is, is that I know, and I found that talking it out with him, and asking for his help, his “divine intervention” in my life, I know now that things are going to be alright.

One thing that is great about trusting God is that he does things for you that you would have never thought of. He has definitely given me a blessing that I can’t help but thank him for. He brought me a very special person that has been nothing short of amazing. Someone that is great to talk to, and has a great heart, and tries hard to live his life according to his purpose. My prayer is that we can use what our Maker has given us together to bring glory to Him and keep our relationship focused on Him. It does take work. But with the hearts and mind sets he has given both of us, all we have to do is try. Try hard, love Jesus. You got it.

Fabulous!