Error on my diploma??? July 23, 2008

So upon returning from the trip in Mexico, I was very exciting to see that my long awaited diploma had arrived in the mail. I carefully opened it up to check it out, and immediately noticed that something was wrong. Very wrong. This is what it looked like:

Mary Elizabeth Noble

is hereby granted the degree of

Bachelor of Science

Health Science

Cum Laude

Cum Laude??????? Are you crazy!! There is no way I graduated with Latin honors…no way. I was pretty frustrated with this mistake because it was such a tease! It was like someone was playing a mean joke or something to make me go through the process of calling up Towson and having them reissue me a diploma minus the Latin honors.

So that’s just what I did, this morning I called Towson right up and told them they made a mistake and they needed to fix it. The man on the phone was really helpful and looked into the situation for me. After being on hold for who knows how long, he gets back on the phone and informs me by congratulating me that I did, in fact, graduate with Latin honors. Apparently they only look at your last 60 credits in calculating determining whether or not you earn any type of Latin honors – I had no idea!!! Anyway, that’s the end of the story. I thought there was a mistake, and there wasn’t, so I am happy

Home Sweet Home July 23, 2008

I wrote this on the plane ride back from a week long mission trip in Mexico. I am just now taking the time to type this in. So the date of this post is actually 7/21/08.

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Right now I am on the plane on my way back from Cancun. My journey home is finally coming close to an end as I just completed a five hour layover in Fort Lauderdale. Though I was slightly disappointed to have experienced this travel process alone, I think it was a good thing because I was really able to process and think through what happened over this past week.

For those who know me pretty well, the following statement will come as no surprise. I don’t like change. I know many people would say the same about themselves, but I initially tend to react very negatively toward any type of change in my life. For example, the day before I left for this mission trip, I pretty much had a nervous breakdown. Though I knew that this was something the Lord wanted me to do, I was having a hard time putting that into perspective and I was dreading getting on that plane to Cancun. Though I was having a hard time leaving for this trip, the second I got on that plane all my worries washed away and I was reminded of why I was going to Mexico in the first place. This is how it always seems to go…I get really anxious and worried about something, and then all of those feelings go away once I actually begin what I was dreading to begin.

Just as I fear the onset of any type of change in my life, I also highly dislike when certain things come to a close. The end of a semester, or even the end of a mission trip would be good examples of this. The transition home and back to ‘normal’ life is what really gets to me. With respect to mission trips, in the past I would tend to come off of a trip with some type of spiritual high and then enter some sort of depression when I realized that life was not going to continue on the same way as it was the week prior. The teaching, the worship, the prayer, devotions, the fellowship, serving, and ministry – these are all the aspects of the Christian life compacted into one crazy-busy week of marveling at God’s saving grace and power.

But I have to say, though this is how I have reacted in the past towards ending these types of trips, this transition home was not the same. I realized (and I really wish it wouldn’t have had to take me this long to realize this) that the ministry, prayer, devotions, worship, fellowship, serving, etc., do not have to end with a mission trip. This is the life that God has called us to live as followers of Christ. This is what we do to grow closer to God and become more like Christ. These are the things that don’t come naturally – and on a mission trip it is something that is natural in that context. At home, work, school, etc., these are things that we have to be very intentional with. As members of the body of Christ we need to actively be seeking to worship and pray both individually and corporately. We need to seek fellowship, opportunities to serve, and opportunities to minister and share the gospel with others. It was so exciting for me to realize that these things don’t have to end now that I am home.

Now it’s not that I don’t do these things at home, it’s just that there hasn’t been the same sense of urgency for these things at home as there should be. I have been freshly reminded of this through this trip, and that has allowed for this transition home to be very smooth as I am now patiently anticipating what the Lord is going to do in and through my life next!!

This is getting too long, so I will stop here. More to come…sorry for those of you who have been waiting since December!!

Finally! December 26, 2007

So in addition to the excitement of receiving my very first sewing machine, I am thrilled to have been given my very own copy of Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening devotional. I have been wanting it for months, and now I finally have it in my hands!

The Salvation Message… December 22, 2007

This video is a recording of a drama performed at a Lifehouse concert to one of my favorite songs by them called Everything. It brought me to tears.

Snowed In. December 19, 2007

12/16/07

I have been in the state of Vermont for the past few days celebrating my grandma’s birthday. Despite the fact that I am missing the Christmas production that my church is having as we speak, this has been the best possible way I could end the semester. I have been able to relax and enjoy the company my mom and my other relatives. Unfortunately, my dad and my brothers and at home and not able to join in the fun up here.

Right now, there is a huge winter storm, which prevented us from going to church this morning. So instead of church, many of us are taking time this morning to fellowship with each other and/or read various types of books. I have chosen this weekend to read a book that my cousin, Mark, suggested I read. This book, titled The New Man, was written by Thomas Merton. I have never heard of this author, and I wasn’t really sure whether or not the beliefs conveyed throughout this book were ones that I was in full agreement with. But, regardless, I decided to pick it up and give it a try.

Almost immediately upon picking up this book, many truths of the nature of God were greatly impressed upon me and I was convinced that this book was worth reading. Though I am still unsure whether or not I agree with everything in this book, I am still going to read the whole thing in hopes that God allows me to recognize things that may not be truth and hold fast to the things that are.

Some quotes from this book that I found to be worth considering:

“The Christian hope that is “not seen” is a communion in the agony of Christ. It is the identification of our own agonia with the agonia of the God who has emptied Himself and become obedient unto death. It is the acceptance of life in the midst of death, not because we have courage, or light, or wisdom to accept, but because by some miracle the God of Life Himself accepts to live, in us, at the very moment we descend into death.”

“To the full meaning of our existence we must find not the meaning that we expect, but the meaning that is revealed to us by God. The meaning that comes to us out of the transcendent darkness of His mystery and our own.”

“True life, in other words, is not vegetative subsistence in one’s own self, nor animal self-assertion and self-gratification. It is freedom transcending the self and subsisting in “the other” by love. It is entirely received from God. It is a freedom which “loses its life in order to find it,” instead of saving its own life and thereby losing it.”

December 8, 2007

I don’t know if I have ever had such a crazy mix of emotions before. I am overjoyed, sad, frustrated, tired, mad, happy, confused, and angry at the same time. I hate it when people dissapoint me. Or really do things that are uncalled for and just plain messed up. I have had a couple sitations in my life recently where I just cannot understand how people do and/or say things to me (or in some cases other people.) This is especially messed up when it occurs within your very own church body…your brothers and sisters in Christ.

 I am so blessed to be a part of a church family that encourages people within the church to live lives according to the Word of God. However, I feel like recently certain aspects of what we have been taught have been taken to such an extreme that they are hurting other people. I am really hurt right now in a lot of ways…and I cannot believe that people continue to do these things when  have already expressed how hurt that I am. I am so frustrated….and I have had it.

 I don’t know what God is going to have me do right now…but something has got to change. I need to express what is going on with other people…..but I really feel that often times people don’t take me seriously. I just don’t know what to do….

I have much to be Thankful for. November 19, 2007

I am so blessed with a wonderful family and a great group of friends. I have been so encouraged lately by people in my life, and I think without them I would be a mess. I believe strongly that God ordains people to be in your life for a reason at any given time, and recently God has placed the exact people into my life to be a support for me.

I have been going through a really tough time recently. I am in a transition state from being a college student to being a professional who gets dressed up every day to go to work. I have been incredibly over committed and utterly drained almost every day. So much so that I have recently forgotten some very important things (ie. giving a presentation in class or a meeting with a professor.)

But through this tough time, I have been overwhelmed with the grace of God in my life.  Through my daily chaos I have been able to see so clearly where God has had his hand in my life. But I have not been able to see this on my own. God has provided me with friends who desire greatly to serve me by pointing me to scripture and encouraging me to pray. This is what I need, and by God’s grace this is what I have been given.

I am so thankful for where I am right now. I may be tired and over committed, but somehow I am able to keep in better contact with my friends than I ever have as well as more time with the Lord than I have had in a long time.

Journey Through the Psalms… November 16, 2007

As you can probably tell, God has been speaking to me through the Psalms recently. In response to this, I thought I would be more intentional and go through the book of Psalms in order. The plan is to read each one, meditate on them, and pray that God would reveal their meaning to me. In addition, I have purchased a commentary on the Psalms that I can use as an aid in case I am in need for some clarification or another perspective on something. Anyway, I am pretty excited, so excited in fact that I am going to begin my journey tonight….even though it is 12:30 in the morning…

Dreams… November 15, 2007

What in the world are dreams all about? I just have to say that they are not helpful at all.

Thats all I have to say for now.

I just wish I could have stayed asleep a little longer last night…

More in the Psalms November 5, 2007

Before I talk about what I read earlier today that I believe God used to speak to me, I just want to say how blown away I am at the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. Though I am going through times in my life that seem uncertain, and things are not going in the ways in which I thought they would, I am satisfied. When I think I should be on my knees crying out to God because I do not have those things my flesh desires so bad, I am rather praising God for what he is doing in my life. And if you knew these situations I am referring to, it is only by the grace of God that I am able to sit here and say these words. The Lord is challenging me and growing me in so many ways, and all I can do is praise him.

 Earlier today I was reading Psalm 63. Every single phrase in this Psalm is one that I identify with.
“Oh God, you are my God: earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and your glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.” Psalm 63

I desire nothing more than to bring God the glory in my life. It is only through his grace and his help that I can acheive that. He is my portion. He is the only one who stands by his word. He is worthy to be praised.