Last night was Alex's 21 and I got to wear my sari for the first time ever. :D Hooray! It was so pretty. They are surprisingly difficult to wear because of the pleats at the front, and the many different wraps around. Also, I'm super short, so it was hard to tuck in enough to make it the right length, and then even harder to get consistency with that all the way around. Oh well.
As it was Alex's birthday, I spoke to Alex last night. :) We were talking about what God is teaching us and I told him I was in a valley. I'm struggling with my quiet times, even when I do them I'm not focused. He then asked me "What are you doing to get out of the valley?" How refreshing is it to have someone ask. I feel like we, and even I, too often just console the valley walkers, we mummer that we understand and how hard it is, but we don't ask how are we planning on getting out.
God is so good to have given Alex the wisdom to speak in this way. I was so encouraged by it. I feel in some ways, I've lost that challenge question. I've grown too cautious with people and I don't ask the hard stuff. It was an awesome reminder that I need to, especially of myself. Yes, I can be in a valley. Yes, my times with God can be dry. But I need to remember that though I can't get myself out, I need to be making myself available to God for him to do that.
On Monday night, Steve and I will be going to the StarCraft 2 launch party. Hooray! It's really late at night, so I'm considering taking the next morning off work. All I'd miss would be maths, is that really so bad? I'll have to talk to Amy, the relife co-ordinator, but we'll see. In any case, I've been making a costume to wear (mine took all week, Steve's took about a half hour :P)
Here is a photo, just in case we forget on the might :P Hopefully we won't (btw, uploading these photos - I know we need a better digital camera :O). I'm an awesome looking Drone. I'm not super happy about how the arms turned out - my top spines seem to dissapear, but I could adjust that, if I have time. Steve is going as a Dark Templar and we just have to figure out how to put the glow sticks together to be his psiblade and it will all be wonderful. :D
Last week I made a humming bird cake - it's got pineapple and banana in it. So yummy!
Also last week, at SNL the sermon was on being the Salt and Light of the world. Matthew 5:13-16. It was a fantastic sermon. Something I've never noticed before jumped out at me (which is probably why it was fantastic). Jesus says "No one lights a lamp, and then puts it under a basket.Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house."
It really struck me that if I am the light, and the reason I'm a light is because Jesus has made me that way, then my purpose is to be that light for everyone else. Yes, God saves us because he loves us, but there is another purpose. It's so that we can then share the light with others.
It's really easy to forget that Jesus has saved us with a purpose, and that is to be the light. Sometimes I think I'm doing a terrible job, but then there are days like last Friday (I was on worship for staff devotions and I've no idea what I prayed, but one of the teachers came up and thanked me for it. God's words to her I guess.) where I remember God uses me despite me.
Ahh, I'm so unworthy of the amazing grace that God has given us, and yet I press on to reach the prize that is in Christ Jesus!
