College Care Package

Loni Fox--- a fun, mischievous, sprinkle throwing, cheese loving, Country Table Fries partner of a friend---sent me an enormous box of goodies. It made my day. See pics below.

The box was like half my size. (And even though my stature may not be that great, it still says something!)


She sent me enough noodles to last until I die! (15 packages to be exact, and I still have some left over from the first box she gave me =)


Loni's love for fruit loops has been a known cause in finding her eating them for supper. Pure Sugar!!!!

All of the goodies --- minus the nice letter along with inspiring quotes such as "If you think dogs don't count, try putting three dog treats in your pocket and only give Fido two." ;) The box was actually very practical with important things such as stationary, stamps, envelopes, shampoo, conditioner, Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms and more.




We put the packing peanuts to good use and made a colossal mess while we were at it.


We decided to share the surprise by allowing other students to discover something in their boxes.



Care Packages, Letters, E-mails and Phone Calls are the thin thread that keeps college students from going over the brink. Thanks Loni! (I think I shall be finding packing peanuts in random places for the next month. =)

Three Peas in a Pod

Sibling Quotes

I miss teasing, laughing, and goofing off with them...and of course the occasional serious moments when we'd go for a walk down our lane, just as the sun was setting or when the stars had already come out, to talk about life, God, and what we needed prayer for. Love them!


Mark: "Chrystal, could you send me the pictures from the day you became a stranger?" (Just because I leave home for a few months doesn't mean he has to disown me!)

Jordan: "Huh? What?" (This is typical of how he responds to me on the phone.)

Rachel: "I have no advice to give you."

Jordan and Mark: "Chrystal, what are you thinking about?"

Rachel: "You're not my boss." (This was in our childhood days before the time she knew I actually would be her boss at work for a couple days.)

Jordan: "Football euihi such ioejihw sports huwihdwh food qkok" (What a normal "Jordan sentence" might sound like. =)

Mark: "The last plum just fell"

Rachel: "Why are we even laughing?"

Jordan and Mark: "Time to get up! It's 4:00!" (AM!) (This was preceeded by a 'click' of the light switch....The worst sound ever to wake up to)

Rachel: "Who is going to do your hair when you go to school?" (I def. miss you Chow. ;)

Mark: "Well, that's cause Rachel's asleep already..." (Marks response to me marveling over the fact that he came to me for help with math)

One and the Same

Have you ever thought that you'd liked to have met Jesus when He was here on earth? That you'd love to have been able to sit under His teaching and learn from Him?

I have.

I've also thought that if I could have just met Him in person or listened to Him speak, then I'd be a more faithful Christian. That I'd be more likely to learn. That my life would be changed in a new way.

And no doubt it would.

But recently I think I've begun to see that there should have been more to that thought. When God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth, we were able to see a glimpse of the Father. Yet, Christ had taken on the form of a man and therefore He was limited by time and space. He could only be in one place at once and those that wanted to be taught by Him had to see Him visibly by being in His physical presence. While it was a part of God's Plan for Christ to come to the earth and for all the world to have the opportunity to accept the salvation His death offered, even Christ knew that there was more the people needed to know after salvation if they wanted to really learn, grow and become a more faithful follower. "I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot hear them now." When did He say it to them? Read the rest of the New Testament! ;)

The disciples were rightfully saddened when Jesus talked about leaving them, but He reminded them "It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send Him unto you. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into ALL truth..."

The Holy Spirit is able to be with everyone, everywhere, at all times. Doesn't that make Him a pretty qualified Teacher? I guess I just suddenly realized anew that I have the power right now to live the way I should, just as much as I would if I was sitting directly under Christ in a classroom today. The Holy Sprit enables me to read the scriptures correctly, to make the right choices, to win battles and to have the peace and joy I long for. Do you think He's important? ;) If not, why do you think the disciples were told, after Christ left earth, to wait for the Sprit before going out and witnessing?

Christ and the Holy Spirit are equal, for they are one. You cannot study/get to know one without learning/seeing the other. Christ said of the Holy Spirit, "He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it to you."

So thankful for Christ's life on earth, for the Word which tells me about it and the Holy Spirit who helps me understand it.

(All verses are from John 16)

"Grace Unbounded, Having No End..."

Have you ever been to the ocean? Have you seen the waves crashing in? What do they do? One after the other they just continue to roll in. Wave upon wave, it never stops! That's what my God's grace is like!

"...Of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace."

Our teacher read this verse and then stood before us, letting the impact of it sink in. Some of us were slow at grasping such an incredible truth and so he moved on to his illustration. He pulled out a thick stack of paper with the word "grace" written on each slip. "Rachel? Would you like some grace?" He asked before handing over a couple slips. "Anyone else want some grace?" He handed out a few more slips. "Nobody else needs some grace?" Three or four students hopped up and crowded around him, hands outstretched. He passed out slip after slip, and the stack still wasn't running out. The students returned to their seats and he moved to the center of the room. "I still have a lot of grace left. But you know what? I have lots more where this came from!" He turned around and lifted up a heavy box that rocked the table he set it on. "This box is full of more grace! And you know what? I got this box off a truck full of boxes of more grace. And that truck got it's boxes from a warehouse that's filled with boxes of more grace. And that warehouse is just one of a chain of warehouses found in every single state.

God's grace is even greater!

I once had a guy tell me, 'I've done too many bad things to be able to accept God's grace." Our teacher raised his eyebrows as he shared his memory. "I just looked at him and said, 'Thats what makes it GRACE! It's unmerited favor!"

The teacher moved to the spot in front of me. I hadn't received a single slip yet. "Would you like some grace?" He asked. I nodded my head. "But what if you mess up?" He laid down a slip. "What if you've had a terrible past life of sin?" Another slip was laid down. "What if..." The teacher started laying down slips, one after the other, in front of me, and the pile grew bigger. Every sin, every guilt, every failure was covered by the continued covering of grace. And little by little, slip by slip, I was once again reminded of how incredible my God is.

Such a simple and profound illustration, but one that I desperately needed to be reminded of today. My Bible cover now holds a stack of slips that have the word 'grace' written on them. It won't change my life unless I choose to accept it and put it in to practice, but I can use all the reminders I can get!

Both Worlds

1. Red Dirt In SD
2. Green Grass in PA
3. Overalls are a common thing in stores in SD.
4. A good majority of guys between 20-30 have beards/goatees in SD
5. You stop for Buffalo on the road in SD
6. You stop for red lights on the road in PA
7. Beautiful farmland and cornfields in PA
8. Rolling hills for miles on end in SD
9. Comfy bed and my own room in PA
10. Fun co-workers in PA
11. Great college classes in SD
12. 1/4 mile long lane in PA
13. Old-fashioned sing-a-longs in SD
14. Church choir in PA
15. Family and boyfriend in PA
16. Good friends and fellowship in SD and PA

Undeserved yet Unreserved. Not Achieved but still Received.

Recently in one of the classes here at school we were discussing a time in Israel's history. It was the time when Israel had been complaining to God and thus judgment had been sent upon them. Fiery serpents went among the people, biting them with their deadly poison and causing many Israelites to die. The people came to Moses and asked him to pray unto the Lord to take away the serpents from them. Moses did this, interceding on their behalf, and the Lord told him to make a "fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." (Numbers 21) I've heard this truth many times and have often heard that it was given to the people as a sign of what Christ would do for us and of what our response should be, but somehow it just seemed so incredible to me this time.

The people only needed to look on the Serpent raised on a pole and they would be healed! If they failed to do so, they perished. It was as simple as that.

I thought about this and wondered to myself "Who would be so stupid as to not look at it?" It was just a simple matter of looking. Yes, it would take a little faith to look and they might feel a bit unsure, wondering if they really would be healed and what it would be like, but still! All they had to do was look! It was so easy!

That's when the real application of the illustration hit me.

Salvation.

God offers it so freely and all we have to do is accept it! It's that simple!

We have a serious sin problem that can't be healed on our own. Yet, because Christ is interceding on our behalf, God chose to provide a way to escape the wrath we deserve. Accept it and you'll be healed. Fail to accept it and you perish. It's that simple. It's that easy.

So my next question was…"Why do we as humans fail to see it?" Looking at the serpent on the pole seemed to obviously be the right choice for the Israelites, but why does salvation seem to be so much harder to choose when our own death sentence is so much worse?

And better yet, once we have seen it and accepted it, why do we fail to remember it, to live victoriously and to praise God for the work He has done in our lives? Paul knew this forgetfulness was our natural tendency for he said in 2 Cor. 11:3 "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the SIMPLICITY that is in Christ." Paul knew that we can easily be led astray or accept things that are not true (Vrs. 4), even after salvation, and that's why he was "jealous over you with a godly jealousy." Don't try to "magnify His strictness with a zeal He does not own!"

I've been reading in Psalms for devotions recently and in chapter 116 David too seemed overwhelmed by the simplicity of salvation. "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord; 'O Lord, I beseech Thee, deliver my soul.' Gracious is the Lord, and Righteous; yea our God is merciful. The Lord preserveth the simple; I was brought low, and He helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee! 'For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling….I believed, therefore have I spoken…."

Wow! All David did was call upon the name of the Lord and immediately the Lord stepped in and proved HImself faithful!

(Ok, the next two verses are my favorite parts)
"What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?" ---'Lord! How can I ever hope to possibly pay you back? There must be something You expect me to do in order to receive all these blessings! I certainly don't deserve them, so what do I have to do?'----This question of Davids doesn't get answered audibly but I think the silence says it all, (Nothing!) for in the very next verse David stops his questioning and boldly states "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord!"

So, how can we pay the Lord back for the love He's shown through His death, burial and resurrection?

We can't.

Just accept the free gift.

It's that simple.