Whew! It's been a long couple of weeks. It's been busy and hard to find some time to write, but it's really been on my mind that I needed to update this so here I am! :)

First off, after the last post that I put up here, God constantly has been bombarding me with this idea of rest and a reminder that while my job is to appropriate and that is not a passive position, it is His job to grow and my job to "labour unto rest". And so I am attempting to remind myself of these truths and rest in Him, although I'm still working toward that and haven't arrived...naturally.

Second, I should update you on a few things in my personal life. Some of you know that I have been having some issues with my stomach lately. I went to the doctor about a week ago and was tested for celiac's disease, which came back negative (Praise the Lord!), but I am intolerant of gluten. If you don't know what gluten is...well, neither do I. :) I know that it's a protein found in wheat and a few other grains and I can no longer ingest it unless I am okay with not feeling very well for a while. So I am in the process of having a gluten-free diet and figuring out what I can and cannot eat. It's a challenge, but I'm always up for those.

A bit more interesting side of my personal life has to do with a certain young man. :) The story is actually pretty neat...but long. I don't really have the time at this moment to write it all out for you, but his name is Alex and he is in school right now in Texas of all places to finish up a degree in missions aviation (it's actually more technical sounding than that, but since I don't yet know much about aviation, that's the best I can do :) ) and then would like to go into New Tribes Mission, which is the organization that I am currently in training with. He will graduate this December just like I will. Perfect timing. ;) He was able to come up last weekend (Valentine's Day) and meet my family and most of our family friends, and everyone loved him and was so glad to get to meet him. He was able to explain his heart to many of them sitting around the dinner table and I just sat there and smiled because his heart for missions is so neat for me to hear about and to see. Anyways, I know that's not too much information, so feel free to email me if you want the whole story. I'm always happy to share it. :)

I'm not sure if I wrote about this on here, but I have been doing language helping with a Korean woman here at school. It has been going well, although I keep telling her how silly I feel when she asks me to explain things that we do or phrases that we use and I have absolutely no idea how to explain things to her! Sometimes the things we say are just silly and don't actually make much sense....we just don't realize it until we are forced to explain our idioms. :) But it's been really neat to be able to interact with someone trying to learn our language and see a glimpse of what it will be like when the roles are reversed and I am the one trying to learn a different language!! It's a really neat opportunity and I am so thankful for it. :)

One of the things that I have been seeing in the Scriptures, mainly Psalms and Revelation, is how off my view of God is. I have this idea of God as being this God of justice to non-believers and a God of love toward believers. When I picture Him, I picture Him as my Daddy and my friend, and while these are true statements, that does not fully encompass the God that I serve. It's been convicting to me to be reading through the Psalms and seeing all the attributes of God and realizing that my view of God does not always cause me to fall on my knees before His throne. And it should...EVERY TIME. So I've been trying to immerse myself in His word and highlight all times I see a description of who God is. It's been pretty challenging and while I know that I cannot produce change in my life, God wants me to be actively engaging my mind in His truth and seeing the light of it and walking in that light. It's been a neat study and I'm excited to see what else I see of Him and how my view of Him changes over time. I hope that it continues to be more complete in the revelation that He has given us.

I am so thankful that I have the Word of God to study. And I am burdened for those who don't. They can see Him in creation, but Romans 1 tells us that they reject Him. God has called us to confront them with the truth of His word, to share with them His Word. But they can't hear it unless they have His word, and they can't have it unless we go. I am so excited to be a part of what GOD is doing to bring His word to people who have never had an opportunity to hear. Thank you for your prayers as I am on this journey of preparation (although I know I will always be) and as God continues to teach me and mold me.