I feel it all, I feel it all...

Three finals down - one to go!

Well, of those finals, only one was a test, which is nice. But I will be up for a long time and up really early to finish my projects due tomorrow :-P

But while I'm taking a quick break, I figured I'd put up this video from sunday.

Yesterday was one of my best friend's 18th birthday! We had a not-so-surprise party for him, and during the party sang the song we wrote him in order to become his friends (originally performed at MY 18th birthday party in september - that's when we "officially" became friends - long story, haha.) But basically - this is the song that won our friendship with the one and only Stephen White! And here we go....

Happy Birthday, Stevo!

"It won't be long (yeah), yeah (yeah), yeah (yeah)..."

...Till Summer!

In one week to be exact.

I turned in my portfolio for one class today, so that leaves three more finals/projects due.

Please keep me in your prayers, Friday I am going to be interviewed and have my portfolio reviewed for a possible SFCC Art Scholarship that would really help me out!

This past weekend was quite eventful! Involving a concert, two photoshoots, a night on the town (well, downtown alachua =) and a going away party for our dear friend, Jenn =(

All the while - Ariel was here visiting us! What a joyous weekend!

Here are a few pics, and then I'm off to bed! Just a bit exaughsted... (but what else could you expect from final weeks?)

Friday night was an outdoor concert at the Reitz. Our reason for being there - Band Marino! But my friend's band ("Oh Fortuna") and another band ("White Rabbit") played. Very fun night!

Saturday night I took photos for Alli, Celeste and Karyn and their dates :-) They make Prom look good. Here is one of many -

And then on Sunday I did a shoot AGCC's very own Class of 2008. This was so fun! Thanks to Ariel for her mad reflecting skills! It's hard to pic a favorite, but here's a couple -

I'll be getting the rest of these pics up on facebook and/or Flickr soon. I'll post the links when that happens!

Do Not Be Anxious

It's that time of the semester; projects are due, finals are coming fast, all-nighters are typical for most college students (atleast the ones I know). Being worried is something that is easily fallen into. [aka "stress"]

The last couple of weeks in our church we've been looking at "What is Prayer?" and we have further talked about it in our college group. We talked about different ways we are prone to get anxious and worried. Some specifics for me right now are these:

Will I be able to get everything done by next week?
Will I be able to get a a new job soon?
And the biggest one: What if I don't get transferred to UF?!

These things are on my mind frequently right now. Specifically that last one. I have started feeling really anxious about getting accepted into UF, especially after all that I'm doing to prepare (Fall 09 is my hope). I was convicted about how much I analyze the statistics "Only EIGHTTEEN people get accepted in a given term" rather than considering "My God is so much bigger than that". I'm having to challenge myself to see if I'm becoming too dependent on my own strength rather than submit my thoughts in prayer to the Lord. Is this even the path that God has for me?

But I also had become numb to the fact that the Bible clearly tells us NOT to worry about ANYTHING.

Phil. 4 - 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And several times Jesus talks about anxiousness, for instance in Luke 12 -

22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!"

He goes on to say in verse 31 - Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

What a promise we have in the Word of God! He not only loves us and will take care of us, but he has opened up for us the honor of bringing our every thought to Him in prayer!

As Mr. Courson said, we can go from anxious and worried to peace of God through our prayer to Him!

A question to ask ourselves:
- Do I believe that at any moment, God can change my situation?
With one command He calmed a raging storm. Why do we limit God in our minds?
By being anxious about something, we are functionally not trusting in God and his sovereignty over our lives. Wow!

So, my prayer is that I will be able to humble myself before the Lord daily, submitting my worries to Him -the Creator of all - and stop relying on this self-sufficiency to stumble through my day.

And how kind of God!

"And now your hands, your tiny pink hands"

ella grace jessee

I have the cutest niece in the world.

And you could probably say that I'm the happiest auntie in the world...

[cuz I've got the best nephews and niece]

And just for kicks and giggles: I introduce the mask pictures.

see jesseefamily.wordpress.com
or go HERE for more pics

Please don't shake my nest!

(this is a nest some little bird built on our front door wreath!)

It seems like sometimes I think that life's suppose to be comfortable.

But who ever promised that?

Jesus didn't. Paul didn't. Infact they ensure that it won't.

Learning to being used to being uncomfortable (as oxi-moronish as it sounds) is what I'm trying to do. (wow, that's a lot of "being"s!)

For the past month and a half we've been studying apologetics in our college group with the church. It has turned out to be on of the most beneficial tools in helping me be bold in evangelism. We've been looking at the book "Questioning Evangelism" and how using questions really help our sharing. Boy is it true!

A couple weeks ago I was talking to my brother about our calling in the faith. We were talking about how we are to take up our cross everyday. And my brother said something that really challenged me; he said that he regurlarly has to ask himself, "Am I ashamed of the gospel?"

Am I ashamed of the gospel? "No way! Of course not! I would DIE for the gospel!" is my first response. But as I started to evaluate my heart and my actions the question became way more serious. AM I ashamed of the Gospel? Am I afraid to look like a fool to my professor and classmates? What if they laugh at me and write me off, closing any future conversations? God knows my heart, he knows I love Him; but am I being disobedient in His commandment of going and making disciples?

These were/are serious questions I had to ask myself. If I answer "yes" to those questions, than I'm not living as I ought. David was talking about how we HAVE to be ready to DIE for the gospel! For people in other countries, this is quite possible. In the US, probably our biggest threat is being mocked (rejected, humiliated, you get it) which is really NOTHING. Compared to being burned at a stake, or being thrown into jail - just for believing in Christ! We really have nothing to lose.

So these past few weeks I've had to keep this in my mind, as a priority. I want to share the gospel, but I haven't been bold enough to bring it up out of everyday context. So, in our college group, Christian Heddick prepared a list of questions to help us bring up the topic, and a list of likely challenging questions to be prepared for. SO helpful!

By God's grace, I've been able to die to myself and my pride and start finding ways to bring up the gospel while talking to my classmates. It's been pretty amazing, and God has not at all abandoned me through the process! In one instance, I had the opportunity to share the gospel with a few of my classmates, as well as having most of the class listening in. Last week I got into a few conversations with classmates and one of my professors. At times it was really difficult and I was in over my head (with my professor). Even still, as inept as I am - GOD is FAR Greater! And all I'm doing is planing a seed. It seems like the more we step out, the more natural it feels.

I guess when I realize that I was a sheep - headed for a slaughter - and the amazing shepherd came and saved me from this slaughter, I want to go tell the other sheep about this shepherd who can save them, too! I asked my atheist friend "So, if you don't believe in God, do you ever feel any peace?" and his answer was surprisingly honest - "Very, very rarely. I'm practically a nervous wreck!" How sad is that! It changes everything, when we get our eyes off of ourselves, and our image and then focus on our savior and the lost. Wow.

I write these things not to build myself up, or to share how great I am (not that you could really get that impression from this blog), but meerly to share what God is doing in me! It is so exciting to me, and I hope it is encouraging to anyone else who also has had trouble being bold. If anyone wants those lists of questions - just comment and I'll post them.

Oh Jesus! I pray I can live my life in abandoment to you. I pray that I will be able to effectively share your saving news to those around me who are desparate for you, that I won't be too caught up in myself and fail in sharing the greatest news imaginable! I pray that I will not display a shame of your gospel in how I live, but that I can shine for You!
I ask these in Your Holy name. Amen.