Past the point of no return!

Unless you decide to go back and get your Bachlors or masters or PHD after you graduate initially you leave your little college bubble where you can study at anytime and depending on the type of student you are your choices may not have a direct effect on your final degree. But we all agree that it took steps to get to the podium to shake the deans hand and receive our diploma case only to find a letter saying we can pick up our actual diploma later in june. Whether you were on track to finish ahead of schedule or took the long road we all made it to the same podium. There were some key people in my education that encouraged me, made me a better chef, shared their wisdom, and made classes fun. Chef B will always be known as one who does demos and mystery boxes I had my favorite class “international cuisine” with him it taught me to think outside my normal realm and be creative He was a favorite among students and faculty alike and He was greatly missed this year and at graduation. Chef Schopp is the program’s pastry instructor but he’s so much more than that. With his catering expertise and business experience he is a wealth of knowledge to our program. I love how he views all his students as his buddies! Bryan (Pok Chop) I’ve had him in so many of my classes for the past 2-3years. I don’t know what I would have done without his help, and hugs throughout the years. Mack we’ve only had two classes together but we’ve both been in the program for the same time just missed each other until our last semesters.

Other significant people who helped me throughout my education. My mom for driving me everywhere and for being my sounding board, Megan for being my sounding board when I wanted to go into this major in the first place and for being there for me ever since. Becky for being my “twin” and knowing everything about me sometimes before I do and still loving me for it. Amanda for knowing what it’s like to go through college bumming rides off of people but today I came out on top! Katelyn for listening when I wanted to rant, crying with me when I wanted to cry, and encouraging me, Betsy my prayer buddy thank you for always making me feel encouraged, Mrs. Francis you are such an amazing model of great mother, wife, and teacher thank you for your wisdom and for your encouragement. Jared thank you for always making me put things in perspective and for speaking words of wisdom into my life. Thomas and Heather thank you for your Godly example of your marriage and family and for speaking wisdom into my life. Jennifer for being hospitable and allowing me to experiment cooking with the life group Ashley for always being encouraging and keeping me focused on God’s plan and his promises we need more ashleys in the world

I can’t explain the excitement you feel after you graduate even though the possibility of returning looms in the air it’s not enough to dim my excitement! I don’t know what I’m doing next all I know if that I need a job to make money so I can move to a bigger city that has better public transportation and a better market for the food industry. But I’m trusting God has a plan b/c if I had followed my plan I would have graduated from JMU with my BS. in Psychology and although mmy heart will forever bleed purple and gold it also has a passion for food and I can now be classified as a Food Snob Congratulations Class of 2012!

How long and why me?

I realized that there are people in the Bible who had every reason to ask God why me? or How long am I going to be in this situation? Some of them did ask and others just accepted their season of life but God is faithful and has a greater plan that we can’t see.

Abraham- Prayed for a son, God gave him a son when he was 109 years old!

The nation of Israel- they were enslaved in Egypt for 400yrs before God delivered them with the promise to make them a great nation.

Moses- After the israelites disobeyed God they wandered in the dessert for 40 years before going to the promised land.

Naomi- Had her husband and all her sons die but her daughter in law was faithful in taking care of her.

Ruth- her husband died but God provided a husband who would love and take care of her.

Esther- she was taken away from her homeland and family but God used her courage to save her people.

Job- His children all died and his wealth and health was taken from him. But God was faithful and restored his wealth making him twice as rich as he was before and he had several more children

Jesus- Ridiculed, misunderstood by everyone and was crucified. But that was all part of God’s design to reconcile the world to himself.

The Apostles- Killed for their faith. But it brought God the glory he deserves.

Isaac- Worked for 7 years to marry Rachel but his father in law tricked him into marrying her sister Leah. After another 7yrs of work he finally is the husband of both rachel and leah. God uses Laban’s deception to bring about the 12 tribes of Israel.

Joseph- he was beaten by his brothers and sold as a slave, wrongly accused and thrown in prison. This was all part of God’s plan to save Egypt from a coming famine.

The end is near!!

for those of you wondering I did finish my 100 miles in 100 days (2 miles short but walked them a couple days later so it counts )  I’m halfway done with exams I’m taking a super important exam tonight to get my sanitation certification, I have one practical where I have to make 24 chocolate truffles and then I have another exam friday morning. Derby day is may 4th and 5th then graduation is the 11th!!! I got my cap and gown today super excited. I’m ready to just start a new season. “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” Isaiah 43:19 I’ve been putting out alot of job applications and it’s discouraging when I don’t hear anything back but at the same time I know that there is a bigger picture. I take heart in knowing that Christ has overcome the world and nothing gets overlooked by him.

Dare you to move

Back in January I saw this sign when I was rollerblading on the greenway that challenged people to walk 100 miles in 100 days I am now 11 weeks in and done over 80 miles! It feels crazy auesome to have set the bar high and know that I am going to achieve this! But my running walking shouldn’t stop once i’ve reached my goal with a 5k to benefit my brother’s school and a 5k to benefit scrooge I will be prepared for those races. Not only physically but mentally as well.

Cheese Head

Anyone know what the number one destination for spring break is?…   as spring break is approaching fast I’m thinking I want to do something this year better than just sit in my house. So I booked a flight to   Milwaukee!! and probably when I say Milwaukee you think that’s the last place i’d want to go for spring break and until my best friend moved there and until I went and visited their wonderful city I would have said the exact same thing.

Milwaukee is known for it’s beer and cheese, they are very festive during holidays. The city has beautiful murals painted on the side of random buildings. They have lots of city parks but one of their parks was designed by the same man(Frederick Law Olmsted) who designed central park in NYcity.

I loved how traffic moved so smoothly even during rush hour. The lights were so short it never felt like you were sitting at one very long. They even had “Pause” lights when you entered the highway so that too many cars didn’t enter the merging ramp at the same time. Ingenious in my opinion and they need to help roanoke!

Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cities in the US. Where my friend lives it’s the inner city of milwaukee and everyone is black so if you see a white person the police might stop and ask why you’re in the neighborhood and you’ll get some stares. All the people on her street are renters, and they change houses frequently but all the kids are playing in the sidewalk in my friend’s backyard playing bball. people are grilling it’s just one big community .  One street over are the people who are still inner city but are home owners for decades. Kids are rollerblading on the sidewalk and biking while their parents read on the porch. Third block over nicer homes home owners but it’s completely silent b/c not a single person is enjoying this 60 degree weather. What’s weird is if my friend moved to the third block no one would visit from her old neighborhood b/c they wouldn’t know anyone from their class there.

My favorite part of my trip was how the city had so many unique local food shops. They have this cool coffee shop  location we went to was Built in 1888, the historic Milwaukee River Flushing Station is now home to ALTERRA at the Lake. It was rustic and you can still see the operating pumps it’s two stories overlooking lake Michigan. What I’ve also found is that people who work in local shops are more friendly than those who work in chain stores. I only saw a handful of chain stores and I didn’t once see a walmart or kroger

my friend’s church meets in a remodeled archery practicing building. It was cool for me b/c I got to be there throughout their week to see how they did their wed. night service and their sun. morning service. Wed bible study consisted of small groups and they were studying a book called  “how to study the Bible for all it’s worth”  the pastor basically talked about reading for context and not just bits and pieces “you wouldn’t get a letter from a friend and read just one page, consequently we can’t just read one chapter and expect to get the whole picture.” The bible isn’t written for  us it’s written to a different people before our time but we can learn from them.

Sunday I noticed their church was young and full of energy and diversity their pastor spoke on grace. “grace says we have a future together, anger and sin says you’re a failure and we’ll never have a chance together” he talked about people living in such a individualistic society but God created us for community. Community with people and community with Him.

Floating amongst the clouds

For those that know me you know I struggle alot with my feeling of a lack of independence and just constantly having to rely on others for things.  I had gotten so fed up with being told when I could go places b/c thats when it fit into someone  elses schedule. So when spring break came around and people started talking about road trips or trips to the beach I thought I’m going  to go somewhere for spring break. i don’t care what anyone says so I booked my plane tickets and boarded a plane to Milwaukee WA to visit my best friend and her husband and new baby.

It was the first time traveling by-myself without a group.  I love the big airports they’re like mini-malls with trains in them.  I love Milwaukee’s little local shops, creamy custards, delicious cheese, the friendly people in megan’s church, I love the aesthetics of the gym megan is a trainer at. I love how kids from the neighborhood come and play basketball everyday in her backyard.

I can’t wait to see what will transpire in the next 3 days I’m here, just loving on her family.

5 words of love

Ok so idk where to begin but I guess I’ll give you a pet peeve of mine and what have been on my mind as of late. I’ve been thinking about the word Love as of late and words are thrown around so carelessly in our culture that even the words that are meant to encourage and bring happiness have lost their place and vulgar words have become so commonplace that they aren’t noticed except by the older generation and maybe some christians who make a fuss and are seen as different. But I think that it’s weird to say I love my car and then in the next sentence I love my husband I wish we could go back to the greek language who had specific words for different kinds of love. Then there would be no trying to decipher what exactly did they mean by what they said.

The first Greek word is: Mania – Manic love is almost not a love at all.  The word “lust” is probably not strong enough – “obsession” is closer to the word.  This is the love of possession.  I “mania” that which I obsessively desire to own.  It is generally seen as taking over the “lover” like insanity – thus the connection to modern concepts of madness (kleptomania, pyromania).  It is like the opposite of a phobia  – an obsessive need to avoid something. “Mania” is translated as “madness” and “beside yourself” in Acts 26

Second is : Eros – Eros is obviously the root word for “erotic,” but it does not describe sexual love only, it actually describes all emotional love; the feeling of love.  Eros love is that insatiable desire to be near the target of this love.  The exciting, passionate, nervous feelings that sweep over people in the appropriate circumstances.  This is the love that says “I love how you make me feel.”  As an emotion, Eros changes, sometimes suddenly.  Remember that it is entirely based on circumstances and on the target of its emotion.  As an emotion, alone it is morally neutral, however, it can just as easily lead to lust (sinful desire) as it can passion. It is also a good picture to think of Eros as the fruit and flowers of a new relationship.  Eros is not a bad thing, but it is also not a “good” thing. The word Eros does not appear in the Bible.

Third is : Philos – Philos love, or brotherly/friendship love, is the next kind we will look at.  Philos describes the love between two people who have common interests and experiences, or a fondness for.  Hemophiliacs apparently seemed to ancient doctors to have a “fondness” to bleeding, for example.  Unlike Eros, which pulses up and down like waves on the ocean, Philos steadily grows, like a building being constructed stone by stone.  For this reason, when close friends are separated for a while and reunited, they will often say “it is like we picked up exactly where we left off.”  Philos is half about the circumstances, and half about the commitment of two people to one another; it says “I love who we are together,” or in case of a non person:  “I am fond of this food.”  Philos love generally grows over time except in the case of some kind of betrayal.

Fourth : Storgy – We will not spend much time here; storgy is the love one has for a dependent.  It is commonly called “motherly love.”  It is entirely based on the relationship between the “lover” and the “lovee.”  When the dependent is no longer dependent, this love remains only in its emotional remnants.  It is one of the stronger loves, because it involves a commitment that relies on only one trait of the receiver – that he or she is dependent.   This type of love is toxic to a marriage under normal circumstances.  Marriages that look more like a mother/son or father/daughter relationship is moving quickly downhill.

Fifth is : Agapeo – Agape love is the final of the five loves we look at here.  Agape love is entirely about the lover, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the one loved.  Agape love, in its purest form, requires no payment or favor in response.  The most common word for God’s love for us is Agape (I John, John 3:16) and the love we are commanded to have for one another (Matt. 5:44, I Cor. 13).  This lack of input from the recipient makes it possible for us to love our enemies even though we may not like them or the situation they have put us in – because Agape love is not in any way dependent on circumstances; it says “I love you because I choose/commit to.”  Unlike eros or philos, Agape creates a straight line that neither fades or grows (!) in its perfect form (which of course only exists from God outward)  Oddly enough, even though many people marry out of eros love alone, they make vows that speak of commitment despite any circumstance:  richer/poorer, better/worse, sickness/health.  This kind of love is about a commitment to the very best for another, no matter what emotions or feelings exist!  You can see why in the King James Version of the Bible, Agape was usually translated as “charity.”  It is a love freely given, and freely committed to.  For a more in depth look at its aspects, look at I Corinthians chapter 13.

http://chrismlegg.com/2009/10/01/5-greek-words-for-love-agape/

B/c we do feel all these different love emotions it would be nice if we didn’t have to guess and had some way to express it accurately.

 

 

A nun’s valentine

So random valentine’s House tangent Ready? Go!! I go on these spurts where I watch house religiously then not at all then sporadically then I remember how great it is and continue watching it again. So I’m just now getting back into it and the last episode was about this patient who was going to become a Nun and she came to the hospital and was really struggling with the fact of was she really being called? Or was it something she just wanted to do for herself? She was challenged by the dr. to really ask herself was she ready to take a vow of silence to never talk to a human being again to never touch a human again and devote the rest of her days to prayer. I’ve thought about that and I love people I would go crazy if I couldn’t be around them. To never touch someone again would be very suppressing. This valentine’s day was the first time in over 6yrs I have had a date for valentine’s day and being free to hold someone’s hand brings joy to my soul. I don’t feel guilty for saying that b/c that’s the way I was designed God is still first and thats the way it will stay.

Forward motion

So after years of wondering if this was never going to happen again it is. I’m excited b/c it means I’m moving forward and i’m proves that i’m not stuck in a rut like I’ve felt for the past six years. Why do I feel the need for people to reassure me of what I know to be true? No matter what happens after tonight God is God and he is sovereign and that will always be enough.

showers of blessings

We talked about the sermon on the mount Matt 5:3-11 or “the attitudes to Be”  last night in Bstud and I remember thinking at one point in my life it was my absolute favorite passage I had dissected it annalized every word for the true meaning to glean more truth to my life. But during my biblestudy I couldn’t remember any of my insights b/c it had been over a year since I had written them so here they are and as I was reading them last night I was overwhelmed by how much scripture I had used to back up my insights.

3. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

1st. there are alot of references to the word “Blessed” and the dictionary says Blessed- one loved by God

If you are poor in spirit you will get the kingdom of heaven. To be poor in Spirit, James 4:7-10 list 5 ways to become just that

1. submit to God’s ways and his authority

2.Resist the devil

3. Lead a pure life

4. Grieve your sins/repent

5. Humble yourself before the Lord

4. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted

the world believes happiness should come no matter what the cost.

5.Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth

Matt 11:28-30 – Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

6. Blessed are those who hunger and search for righteousness for they will be filled (satisfied)

God’s desire is that we should desire his righteousness and in return he will satisfy us.

Phil 3:7-11 Paul talks about all the things he has lost for Jesus and he considers them rubbish,a small price for knowing an amazing God

7.Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.

Eph. 5:1,2 Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children and live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

8.Blessed are the Pure in heart for they will see God

The world tries to tell you that deception is the only way you’ll get to the top of the latter no one gets there by being completly honest. but if deception keeps me from seeing the face of God then why would I want that?!? even a glimpse of his face is worth far greater than success in this world.

1st john 3:1-3 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God and that is what we are! the reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is Everyone who has this hope purifies himself just as He is pure.

9. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called Sons of God

Rom 12:10 be devoted to eachother in brotherly love and honor one another above yourselves

we honor people because they were ade in God’s image

10. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of Righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

I’m living a Godly life persecution is sure to follow