I love nicknames!

My mom hates nicknames, but growing up I always wanted one.  Here at school I am given all sorts of nicknames.  The list is below (in order from most used to least used):

-Livy
-Olive
-Liv
-Loo
-O-lovely
-Blaze

One week

One week until I go back to Colorado for Thanksgiving break.  This is my favorite time of year.  The feeling of getting off the plane and walking through the terminal, knowing that in less than five minutes you will be hugging the people you love most in the world...it's the best feeling I've ever had.  And because Thanksgiving break is the first break of the semester, it's the best time!  Then I come back to school for about two and a half weeks until I go back home.

Highlights of the week:
-Getting to use one lamp (thank you Lord for generators...our power has not been restored yet in my dorm)
-Finishing all three of my tests (although next week may not be so highlighted when I get the grades)
-Getting to skype with my mom, who is in India right now!!
-Seeing friends as we all came back from our week away during the hurricane!

we survived Sandy!

This picture has been circulating around these last few days...it's the subway system in Manhattan.  The city got hit pretty bad by Hurricane Sandy, which thankfully has blasted over and left us...

I spent the night of the hurricane with these two girls, we ended up duct taping their windows because we were scared the wind would shatter them!  We got up the next day to several huge trees blown over and some power lines down.  Honestly, though, the damage could have been worse around our campus, seeing as only one building had trees fall on top of it. 

The real problems for Nyack College started after the hurricane when we all woke up in darkness with no electricity (obviously).  The entire area (like within miles and miles) was without power, and will be for days to weeks.  It was a surreal experience to be living with hundreds of other people, though, all without water, lights, and then seeing the school try their best to provide food for us.  Thankfully our cafeteria has a generator so at night time students could sign up for slots to charge their phones or computers.  Some people gave up on all attempts to keep up with homework, while others (like yours truly) woke up each day trying to make the best of our limited sunlight hours.  

Yesterday a few friends and I got in a car and attempted to find a Panera Bread or Starbucks with power that we could do some homework at.  The next town over had a shopping mall but we and everyone else had the same idea.  It took us an hour to find a parking spot and a table before we could finally get some work done.  I've never been shopping on Black Friday but my friends said that this adventure was almost the equivalent.  

I hate saying that it was a stressful week for me because I know it was a stressful week for everyone, and some people weren't so lucky to have hot water or food or even warm clothing and blankets.  But the week definitely took a toll on my spiritual and emotional state.  Not the hurricane itself, which was kind of exciting, but the days afterwards of a lot of confusion about classes and homework and tests.  Thankfully last night my  good friend Steph asked me to go home with her to Connecticut and on the ride back she allowed me to vent and cry.  Now I am enjoying power and peace in her lovely home...so thankful for a few days of peace and a chance to get a hold on my work load...my goal is to get as much done so I can enjoy Thanksgiving with my family!  

I want to be the type of person that everyone is friends with, not the person that everyone wishes they could be friends with.

What would I have thought of Moses?

One year ago I made a fairly "harmless" judgement towards someone.  It was based on something silly, but each interaction I had with the person afterwards created a snowball affect leading me towards continually thinking judgmental, disrespectful thoughts about them almost all the time.  Just in the past few months has God been convicting me of my sinfulness in this area as He has obviously been using this person very mightily for His Kingdom!  I have gone through a year-long journey of seeing a person I initially looked upon with negative emotions transform into a leader seeking the Lord.

I sometimes wonder, what would I have thought of Moses?  I would have thought, "Man up!  Open the mouth God gave you and stop letting your brother speak for you!" (if this confuses you, study the story of Moses' return to Egypt for clarification).  What would I have thought of David?  "How dare you ruin the life of the young Bathsheba!!" (yet not knowing that Solomon would be a product of their union)  Do you even know what I would have said to Hosea?  "Forget your cheating wife, she isn't worth the effort."  (not realizing his pursuit of his wife is a mirror image of God's pursuit of us).  How badly I might have judged any of God's chosen leaders.  I pray for open eyes!  And an open heart to His use of the weak and transformation of the impossible into the possible!

Atheism, Feminism, and the Bible

The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.

Today I was thinking about all the things that hold me back from my freedom in the Lord.  I want to fly in my relationship with Him.  I don't want to be burdened by money or possessions or worries about tomorrow.  To live a life where I woke up everyday knowing that God will provide, knowing that even if He doesn't provide material things, I have Him, and that is enough...what a wonderful joy that would be.   

“Pain is a pesky part of being human, I've learned it feels like a stab wound to the heart, something I wish we could all do without, in our lives here. Pain is a sudden hurt that can't be escaped. But then I have also learned that because of pain, I can feel the beauty, tenderness, and freedom of healing. Pain feels like a fast stab wound to the heart. But then healing feels like the wind against your face when you are spreading your wings and flying through the air! We may not have wings growing out of our backs, but healing is the closest thing that will give us that wind against our faces.” ― C. JoyBell C.