A Bunch of Small Hard Things

I find it helpful to list down the current "Hard Things" that I am going through. That way, I get to see the broader picture of it. I can process (school chaplain's favorite word) - find out why is it hard for me and easy for other people - and strategize (computer teacher's favorite word) - find out how I am going to meet the challenge. Not all of these are "big" Hard Things. Some (in fact, most) are "small" Hard Things that need 100% faithfulness - faithfulness and diligence that I don't always give (but what I'd like to give).

1. Guitar - Perhaps the one thing I fight here often is discouragement And doubt. Leading a team of guitarists is no easy task. There are times when I wonder why in the world I allowed myself to take the challenge to lead. I realize, though, that it is a God-given task, and one that I must carry out faithfully.
2. Summer Volunteer Job - It hasn't started yet...but I do wonder if I am really up to such a task. I'm not even sure what I will be doing precisely. Will I be able to accomplish all the responsibilites given to me?
3. The Art of Orderliness - I'm a person who can find what she is looking for in the heart of all her junk. For once, I'd like to be a person who can find what she is looking for in the heart of a neat and organized drawer or closet.
4. Getting Things Done - "We are known by what we finish, not by what we start." I have several things that I've begun, but never yet finished. I wish to take upon myself the attitude of perseverance and diligence and finish a good many of those things this summer.
5. Singing in choir - it's never easy! Especially if you want to sing in the "proper" way.

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Sowing in Tears

Psalm 126:5
"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."

We're approaching the end of our Freshman year in college. There have been many months of struggles, many months of piles and piles of paperwork. Many months of quizzes and exam. We even had to put together a class play. For our class, that was perhaps the hardest of all. But "they that sow in tears shall reap in joy." That was the message of our president during our last chapel hour.

We may not see the rewards or the results of our hard works now. In fact, some of us may think that everything we are doing is for nothing at all. We go through classes (totally new and different from homeschool!) and wonder why teachers have to give us homework at the end of the day (none of that in homeschool either!).

So where are the rewards? Where are the fruits of our hard labot?

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."
We saw the fruit when we performed our school play. It wasn't perfect, but it was worth all the hardships we went to.
We saw the fruit of writing journals for our LEAD 1 class - we learned to journey with out hearts.

Someone once said that "All the miles of a hard road are worth a moment of true happiness."
True happiness was what we experienced after the hours of practice for our play. True happiness was what we experienced after the months of looking within ourselves and resolving our heart issues.

We're not yet done with our first year (just a few more exams!), and we're certainly not yet done with college (three more years of staying in the "last-training-ground"), but we have begun to see the simple joys of each seed that we sow in tears. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it, and if we work really hard, we know that our harvest will truly be bountiful.

Prayer Request: Finals Week

Hi folks! It's my finals week for this semester in college. There's a lot of paperwork that needs to be done, as well as a lot of reviewing for the major exams. Please pray that God will help me (and the rest of my classmates) and that we will remember that we're not doing this for ourselves but for God.

Thanks so much!

In Christ,
Alyssa C.

Five-Cow Woman

Last Wednesday, the speaker during chapel time told us a very interesting story:

There was a man who had four daughters. Each of them was beautiful and talented, but the youngest of them felt shadowed by her elder sisters. She thought herself to be the ugliest and least talented amongst them. A few kind-hearted people tried telling her that she was only ugly because she saw herself as that, but the girl refused to listen.
In the village where they lived, tradition had it that when a young man was seeking for the hand of the girl he wished to marry, he had to present a cow to her father as a bridal price.
By and by, one after the other, the three older girls found themselves being won over by suitors who each presented one cow to their father. The youngest of them all, however, was left behind. No young man stepped forward to claim her as his bride. The girl knew that no one ever would so she gave up wishing and dreaming.
One day, a young man approached her father and asked for the hand in marriage of the youngest girl. The father was skeptical. He knew how everyone saw his youngest daughter. To make sure that the young man was true to his words, the father demanded a cow for his daughter, after the tradition.
Without hesitation, the young man presented to the girl's father, not just one cow, but five cows. The best, the plumpest cows on earth. Apparently, this young man saw past the girl's physical features, and into the beauty of her heart.

Pretty sweet, hmm?
I think that's how God wants us to view ourselves. Most of the time, we tend to look at our outward appearance. We look at other girls, other people, and focus on what we don't have instead of what we have.
God, however, is more concerned with the beauty that comes from within.
It's a reminder for us that no matter how other people see us, and not matter how we see ourselves, God thinks a lot about us and He loves us for who He made us to be. In His eyes, we're 5-cow women. Perhaps even more than that.

"...for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
~ 1 Samuel 16:7

Inspirational Quote ~ Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?"
Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
~ Marianne Williamson

From Caterpillars to Butterflies

Caterpillars. We've chanced upon and adopted two caterpillars in the past three weeks. It's fascinating watching them as they are little worms, and it's hard to imagine that one day, they will be beautiful butterflies.

It's interesting to watch those little hair creatures as they feed on fresh leaves to store up for the time when they'll be wrapped up in their little cocoons.

Kind of like us too, I was thinking. We're still caterpillars, feeding on God's Word every day of our lives, making sure that we hide His Word in our hearts. We won't always be caterpillars, though. At a certain time in our life, like the caterpillar, we will all turn into butterflies. Pretty wonderful, really. [I hope I'm a purple one. =)]

2 Peter 3:18
"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

Your Heart Today

This is an amazing song about a person after God's own heart. May this be the prayer of each one of us!

Where there is fear I can allay
Where there is pain I can heal
Where there are wounds I can bind
And hunger I can fill,

Lord, grant me courage
Lord, grant me strength
Grant me compassion
That I may be
Your heart today.

Where there is hate I can confront
Where there are yokes I can release
Where there are captives I can free
And anger I can appease

Lord, grant me courage
Lord, grant me strength
Grant me compassion
That I may be
Your heart today.

When comes the day I dread
To see a broken world
Compel me from my cell grow cold
That your people I may behold.

Where there is fear I can allay
Where there is pain I can heal
Where there are wounds I can bind
And hunger I can fill,

Lord, grant me courage
Lord, grant me strength
Grant me compassion
That I may be
Your heart today.

And when I’ve done all that I could
But there are hearts I cannot move
Lord, give me hope
That I may be
Your heart today.

Lyrics by Manoling V. Francisco

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The Rose Years: Being a Lady-in-Training

What is a Lady-in-Training?
I had a "jolt" last Tuesday when the computer teacher suddenly asked me that question. Everything Christin and I had discussed for our blog suddenly took flight and disappeared over the Great Beor Mountains (please don't ask me what book that is from, I don't remember :P).
In the short span of time that I had to answer that question, I found myself wondering What is a Lady-in-Training? When does one start (and stop) being one? Or is it something that goes on?

A Tiny Bud
For those of you who have already read Beautiful Girlhood, you know that a young lady can be compared to a rose whose petals have not yet fully blossomed.
A rose does not grow overnight. It doesn't suddenly blossom into a beautiful pink or red or white rose at the blink of an eye. It takes time. From the moment that it is planted, up to the days when it unfolds its petals bit by bit, until it finally grows into a lovely flower, it takes time. Day after day, it slowly stretches its stem, its petals, and its leaves until one day, you find it, blossomed and beautiful.
A young lady is like that. She does not grow overnight, she does not blossom immediately into a woman upon reaching her teenage years. Like the rose, it takes time. Time for her to grow, time for her to mature into the woman God wants her to become.

The Brink of Childhood and Womanhood
In our teenage years and well into the early twenties, we are not yet fully-grown women, and no longer are we children. We stand somewhere in-between, somewhere in the middle. This is where we are "watered" and "sunned." This is called our "in-training" years. It is during this time that our training to be women after God's heart takes place. We learn what it means to truly serve the Lord in everything. It is during this time that we learn to develop the gifts that God has given us. It is also during this time that we experience sorrow and God's comfort and love. We learn to be sensitive to His leading, we learn to become more mature emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
Slowly, we are beginning to spread out our petals.

A Rose in Full Bloom
A rose does not stay a bud forever. Somewhere along the way, when you least expect it, the rose suddenly blossoms into something breathtakingly beautiful.
A girl does not stay a child forever, either. One day, she will be come a blossomed woman. She will stretch her petals until she blooms into a full rose.
We still have a lot of years before us. Many years of training, many years of learning and growing. It won't always be easy, but it will be worth it on the days we spread out our petals to their fullest.
That is my prayer that, one day, all of us will become fully-blossomed roses, created and wonderfully fashioned by the Great Designer. And it is my prayer that we will continue to grow as we go through our years, that we will continue to blossom and bloom, and that our "in-training" years will be so deeply instilled in our lives that, in spite of everything, we will continue to be the roses God made us to be

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ..."
~ 2 Peter 3:18