Hello. We Meet Again.

Linking up with Snapshot Saturday.

Ah, yes. It's that time of year once again at the 'Ville.

Cool, crisp air. Bright golden and red leaves dancing in shimmering sunlight. Wicked wind attacking a sleepy, confused passerby. Overcast, dreary skies spilling tiny water droplets down upon the canvas of the earth. Welcome back, autumn!

If you wonder what fall and winter are like at Cedarville, wonder no further. Instead, check out this hilarious Sidewinds commercial!

Are you enjoying fall so far?

Don't.Give.Up.

Dear me. College is becoming overwhelming all over again. I don't want this year to be a repeat of last year. No, I must strive to do everything for Christ and refuse to let precious time be wasted!

I can't go on living this way. Jesus, please help me work hard at what I do since it's the work that you've given me in this season of life.

Thank you for all of the blessings you've given me. For all that you've done, I praise you! Amen.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday: September 27th

1. Low Key

2. The Colour Wheel: Monochromatic/Analogous Colour

3. Circle

4. Scarf

5. Phone

{A Photo} That You Are Proud Of

A thousand beady water droplets spread out across a smooth slanted surface, each one unique and perfect in its own way.

 

Unity In Christ.

Thank you all for your kind comments! I've been blown away by how many people have told me how much they like my photography this past week. Thanks again from the bottom of my heart for the great encouragement!

I bet you wonder where I've been. Well, it's been a busy week with several tests, lots of reading, work, and phone calls from family, so I just haven't have had time to post.

The Barn Party was a whole ton of fun! Out in the country, surrounded by fields we sat around the campfire, worshiping God and praying together.

On the hour-long hay ride quite a few pieces of hay got stuck in my hair because a few of the mechanical engineering students decided to build a barricade against the wind using hay bales. The top hay bale started to fall on me. It didn't hurt, but the hay stuck.

Early Sunday morning I had a photo shoot with my friend Natalie, and later that morning we both went to a Korean church together (with other friends, too).

I also got up early on Tuesday morning to work a banquet for some of my fellow sophomore students who ate breakfast with Dr. Brown, Cedarville's president. The beautiful hazy morning sky made me question why I don't get up early more often.

Today my spirit was lifted and challenged as the entire student body prayed and sang together in worship to our God. It's a Day of Prayer at Cedarville and people are praying fervently. You see, prayer is so incredibly powerful. It unites believers and draws us nearer to God.

Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. -Ephesians 4:3

Have you prayed today?

Role Models and Thankfulness.

Yesterday I did something I never thought I would. I served Joni Eareckson Tada dinner in the student center at Cedarville University! She came and spoke in chapel in the morning and stayed all day to attend a Bioethics Banquet. 

Joni is one of my Christian role models so you can imagine how excited I was to hear her speak! Her message was full of hope, a testimony of what God has done in her life and continues to do. She said that she has to ask God for a smile every morning when she wakes up, and he always supplies her with one by 7:30 am in the morning when her nurses come in to wake her up and get her ready for the day.

I pretty much loved chapel today and yesterday because a Children of the World choir sang the entire chapel time! That was bittersweet. The children were so precious and their passion for God was amazing! These kids have suffered more than many of us ever will in our lives and their joy is overflowing! It makes sense that the greater the suffering a person endures, the greater their joy will be when Christ has set them free from the power of sin in their lives. The moral of the story is this: 

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. -Colossians 2:13-14 {NLT}

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. -Colossians 3:16-17 {NLT}

Just like the Children of the World, let's sing praise to our God with thankful hearts!

The Mu Kappa Barn party is tomorrow night so I'll be off in the middle of nowhere surrounded by corn fields at this time tomorrow. A roaring fire, fellowship, games, and a hay ride are some of the things I have to look forward to. I'm just hoping it won't get too chilly, but according to the weather forecast, the low for tomorrow is 47 degrees. Guess we'll just have to dress warmly!

Happy Independence Day, Papua New Guinea! 36 years ago PNG gained its independence from Australia. I'm so blessed to have grown up in such a beautiful, diverse country. :)

Have a blessed Friday as you reflect on everything you have to be thankful for!

On Days Like Today...

I'm exhausted but still pressing on. Last night I wasn't tired so I stayed up much too late, and when morning came, getting out of bed was quite a chore.

I'm looking for beauty in the simplest of places...even the hoods of cars covered in leftover water droplets from a late afternoon rain storm.

I'm doing street photography with my photography class in a little hippie town that I've never been to before...hello Yellow Springs!

I'm noting that even the most common and ordinary of things can be ever so interesting.

I'm seeing bursts of colour everywhere and alluring signs on alley walls.

I'm rejoicing because this is the day that the LORD has made!

This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. -Psalm 118:24

Philippians 3:20-21

I can't wait for the day when Christ returns and takes us to be with him! What a grand reunion there will be!

WARNING!

WARNING!
Cedar Lake is contaminated with various pollutants and bacteria. DO NOT drink the water or go swimming, and more importantly, don't throw any recently engaged guys in!

The lake looks so gross! It was especially noticeable late Friday afternoon as I walked by on my way to meet Natalie at the DMC.

We didn't pause for long before walking into town to Stoney Creek, one of the best coffee shops around.

My brain directed me to get coffee, but when Natalie chose to order the Pina Colada Smoothie, I changed my mind and got the Acai Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie instead. It was so tasty and refreshing!

In the past two days I've frequented Beans N' Cream once and Stoney Creek twice. (The second time I went for a friend, who ended up buying me and another friend hot chocolate.) How sweet is that? :)

Yes, it's been a great weekend so far! How is your weekend going?

When the Rain Comes.

Rain and dull white skies can taunt me all they want, but they can't bring me down. Christ lives in me, the hope of glory!

If the rain's coming down hard around you, look to the King who sets the captives free and heals the brokenhearted. He can give you joy and strength in the midst of the storm. 

I can't stop the rain

But I will hold you 'til it goes away

How It Should Be.

Besides catching a cold on Friday and seeing the temperature drop from being hot and humid to chilly and dry, this weekend has been wonderful.

A sleepover with two Asian friends, watching La Misma Luna, and seeing spectacular fireworks downtown were the wind down to the long weekend.

Clothes in a basket lie on my floor from Friday night when I did the week's laundry and changed my sheets.

Homework. I have more than I would like of this. It's tedious and dull at times, but you gotta stick it out if you want to do well in college. I'm still learning how to manage my time and focus all my attention on the task at hand.

Convictions. Honestly, I haven't been spending much time in the Word lately. It's not that I don't want to, it's just that so many things have distracted me as of late. That must change.

Relationships. Every time I think of the friends God has given me, I always thank Him. He's blessed me with friends of all sorts who have individual gifts, talents, and abilities.







God-fearing. Encouraging. Loyal. Funny. Creative. Outgoing. Energetic. Reserved.

These are words that describe the people whom God has placed in my life. Each and every day it is these friends who challenge and encourage me to live wholly and completely for my Savior.

I'm also thankful for you, my blogging friends. Thank you for contributing to my blog and helping me to become a better photographer and servant of Christ.

Much love,
Jess

Extra Long for Labor Day.

My friends and I know how to make the most of three-day weekends.

After painting our nails and fixing our hair, we went out on the town. It was unrelentingly hot and humid so after visiting the Labor Day flea market and the library, we walked over to the Stevens Student Center (SSC) to get some coffee from Rinnova.

Mia got the Frozen Chocolate Chunk, Anh Thu got the Frozen Mocha Hazelnut, Bethany got the Wildberry Smoothie, and I got my favorite, the Frozen Zebra Mocha.

Our attempt to watch Hitch on Anh Thu's pink laptop failed because there was music playing loudly in another room down the hallway and a number of people were sitting around chatting.

So we stopped the movie and climbed the stairs to go to Chuck's for dinner. Nothing looked very appetizing to me besides granola and yogurt and I wasn't very hungry, so that's what I decided to fill my stomach up with.

A glass of soy milk completed my meal. Not very nutritious, but eh, it's cafeteria food.

Around 12:30 AM I received a text from Bethany asking me to join her, Caleb and Mia to see an amazing display of lightning and thunder. That sounded pretty exciting so I hurriedly grabbed some essentials before running down the hallway out to the main entrance of my dorm.

I was amazed by the awesome display of lightning we watched from the fields surrounding the university. It reminded me how awesome God is!

Praise the LORD from the earth,

you creatures of the ocean depths,

fire and hail, snow and clouds,

wind and weather that obey him,

mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars,

wild animals and all livestock,

small scurrying animals and birds,

kings of the earth and all people,

rulers and judges of the earth,

young men and young women,

old men and children.

-Psalm 148:7-12

The same God who created the tiniest, most intricate parts of our bodies and knit us together in our mothers' wombs also created the powerful lightning and thunder and everything obeys him. How great is our God!

Tomorrow's plans are to go to Korean Grace Church, eat Korean food, go shopping, have a photo session with a couple of friends, and get some homework done and Monday's plans aren't even determined yet. I'm hoping that Sunday will be a productive, exciting day!

What's your ideal way to spend a three-day weekend?

I almost forgot to mention that I've entered two photos in a contest over at Brickfish. If you're willing to view and vote for either of my photos, please go here and here. Thank you for your help!