Things I Have Learned: Intro. to the New Testament, Week 3

This week has been so amazing! We have been looking at Acts 1:4-8 in our discussion time and what the significance of power, prophecy, and evangelism was. I learned a lot from our discussion board that our class participates in and I leave this week intrigued, encouraged, and challenged! I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit and the power that the Spirit provides for us. God is so amazing! :) Here is my weekly summary:

It was interesting to study about power, prophecy, and evangelism. I learned about how the disciples were to wait on the Spirit before going out to witness. I was challenged by the definition of witnesses and desire to follow Christ in boldness not worrying about suffering for His kingdom. I desire to keep before me the coming of the Lord and to live like it will happen at any hour. I was encouraged in that the Lord has a plan and a purpose for each of us and that He has so many disciples out there proclaiming His Word. As I walk out the plans the Lord has for me here in NM I am going to keep all my brothers and sisters in Christ in my prayers from those who I serve with here at camp to those who are in foreign countries. We serve such a big God and all I can do is stand in awe of Him.

I am loving the college life! I never really liked school growing up and now that I have had some time away I have found I love it. I love the fact that I am able to study things that interest me and I have a real desire to do great and make the most of each class. I sit back and wonder what I could have done in High School if I just would have applied myself and had the same desire. I feel so much joy when I study God's Word. I feel alive!

Things I Have Learned: Intro. to the New Testament, Week 2

Wow this was a week full of information. Our discussion time was interesting as we looked at the kingdom of God/heaven. We were challenged to define it according to the book of Matthew. I learned so much through the discussions that my classmates and I had though it was a challenge to define it.

The assignment for this week was a very loaded assignment that took more time then I had anticipated but it worked out just fine and I was challenged by the things I learned in the assignment.

I wanted to continue to share the summaries with you that we are asked to do at the end of the week. Here is Week 2 Summary:

As I reflect over what I have learned this week I am overwhelmed by what the Lord has shown me. I learned so much by discussing the kingdom of God/heaven with the class. Though defining it isn’t an easy thing to do the Lord showed me that the kingdom is for those willing to humble themselves as children (Matt. 18:4). I have much to learn and I trust the Lord to reveal the mysteries in His Word as He sees fit.
In our assignment I was challenged by the 5th question concerning responsibility for others. I always desire to serve the Lord but I want to continually grow in ministering to those in need. Working in camp ministry there are so many walks of life that come my way and I desire to love like Christ and follow His example.

I pray that everyone has had a wonderful week. I found myself this week more tired then last week but I am really enjoying class. Please pray for me that I would have the wisdom and discernment needed as I continue with this class. I really need to get started soon on my critical thinking paper which is a big part of our grade and is due at the end of Week 7. The topic is very thought provoking. Well I guess it is now time to get started on my Week 3 reading assignment so I will have it done by Tuesday. Have a wonderful week everyone! :)

Things I Have Learned: Intro. to the New Testament, Week 1

This first week of online classes has been wonderful! We looked at the intertestamental period which is the 400 years that took place between the Old and the New Testaments. This is a period of time that I never really understood and had minimally looked at. At the end of each week we have to submit a 75+ word summary about what we have learned and I wanted to share these summaries with you (this is an 8 week course). I hope everyone has had a wonderful week!

Week 1 Summary:

A few of the things I’ve learned from the intertestamental period is how important the translation of the Torah to Greek was, not only for the people of Israel but for all because Greek had become the common language among many. It opened up the Scriptures to a vast variety of people instead of just a select few of one nation. It was interesting to see the changes that took place through the changes of empire leadership. It was a hard time in history for the Jews but it was a time used by God to prepare them for things to come which He does in our own personal lives. I was convicted about the influence that the Jewish leaders had such an impact on how the Messiah was received by the people and how their teachings had misguided the way the Jews imagined the King.
As press forward in my walk with the Lord something that the Lord revealed to me is to be aware and precede forward studying His Word so I will know the signs of the times. To trust the Lord with the joys, hardships, strongholds, etc… that comes my way that it is a stepping stone for what is next to come. While I serve in camp ministry to encourage the campers/guests that cross my path who share their stories with me, that the Lord may be preparing them for the next step in life which could be the return of the Messiah.

Online Class Officially Begins

My Online Class has officially started! All this for one question. The first pile is one of my class books, my Bible, and my binder with the second reading assignment that I had. :)

My pups have their own study spots. LOL!

Wreckless hangs out under the table and Daisy hangs out in the chair next to the table. :)

A New Journey Begins!

My Christmas Card/Picture table has been cleaned off and transitioned to...

A study table! :)

The journey has officially started!

For those of you who don't know I have decided to go to College. Over the last year I have had a yearning to go back to school and get a degree in camping. In September I was on the Internet and decided to google "Camp Ministry Degree" and it pulled up a school located in Pennsylvania, Baptist Bible College & Seminary. I started looking at the website and researching about the undergrad that they had in Camp Ministry. It looked like an interesting program so I emailed the person in charge to find out more about it, what it would take for me to get the degree and if I could remain here in Sacramento because it required a 1 year internship at a camp. I will be honest I have been very hesitant about going to college because of all the basic classes so I wasn't sure if I was going to decide to go back. He emailed me immediately and gave me his phone number and asked if I would call him because he had questions for me before he could give me the best answer possible. I visited with him and after he researched all the hours I had for EMT classes, Fire Fighting classes, and Challenge Course Certs he found that I was short 6 credit hours from qualifying for an accelerated grad program that they had set up for adults who are already settled into a career, want to better themselves in their career, and it isn't the best thing for them to relocate. We also found out that while working towards my grad degree that I would easily be able to get my undergrad at the same time. So in approximately 3-4 years I will be finished with school and have and Undergrad in Camp Ministry and a Grad in Organizational Leadership (both degrees are camp ministry degrees too). I was so excited and from there I started the application process and my first class starts on January 9th. We have been encouraged to start as soon as possible on our reading assignments because our first discussion starts on the 10th and it is based off of our reading assignments (after looking at the reading assignments there is a lot of reading to do). So tonight (January 4th) I have been printing out some online reading that we have and I am praying that the book I am waiting for in the mail will be here tomorrow. I ordered it about a week ago and it was shipped out the next day but with the holidays and post offices being closed it is running a bit behind.

This first semester my advisor said it would be a good idea to take care of the 6 credit hours (2 online classes) so I can get into the accelerated grad program. And to take light courses to get use to the online class system in place and get an idea of how the Experience Base classes will go too. So this semester I am getting my feet wet by taking 2 online classes and 2 experience based classes and then I am going to take off and do as much as I can starting in the fall. :)

Please pray for me as you think of me. This is a real challenge for me and school doesn't come naturally for me. I have to work really hard at things like this. Plus I will also be holding onto a normal work schedule too. Pray that the Lord will provide the wisdom needed and that I would grow in my relationship with Him in this process. Currently the class I am in is Intro to the New Testament and it will last 8 weeks. Starting March 12th I be taking Intro to the Old Testament which will be 8 weeks too I believe. I am also going to be taking 2 Experience Base classes this semester. I am waiting to hear back from my advisor to see if these are the best ones for me to take but I have put in to do 2 Programming classes: Learning Act Games & Events, and Ropes Course Skills and Certification.

Thank you for your prayers and support! We will be doing summaries each week to share what we are learning in my online class so I may post summaries at the end of each week on what I am learning during this entire journey. :)

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."
Jer 29:11-13 (ESV)

PS: I guess a new staple for Christmas'/Birthday's (besides long underwear) is going to be printer paper (I just printed approx. 50 pages of reading material and the class hasn't even started yet). LOL!

Christmas 2011

This Christmas I received my Christmas wish we had a white Christmas on the mountain! We received 24 inches of snow! It was crazy to see a blanket of white everywhere but it was beautiful too.


This Christmas I stayed home with my pups so I made plans to do all the things I always wanted to do but never got to.

I read out loud the birth of Christ from the book of Matthew and spent some time thinking and reflecting on Him and the gift He was for us. I was thinking about how on my birthday family and friends bless me so much with gifts and words of encouragement. On a day we have set aside to celebrate Christ's birth it made me think about how He came to give not to receive. Yes I know the scripture said that the wise men brought gifts but even those gifts were chosen for a purpose. :) I have done this many years but this year I was thinking about what gift could I give Christ on the day we set aside to celebrate His birthday. The gift I desire to give Him is a life consumed by HIM! I want to know Him like I never have before. I want to leap for joy literally when He delivers us from the various things that we face. I want to know Him intimately as a Bride knows her Bridegroom. As much as I desire marriage in this world I desire to prepare myself for the marriage of the Lamb when He returns.

The picture below is where the pups and I slept on Christmas Eve. I have always wanted to sleep under the Christmas tree but when I was a kid my parents never let me for obvious reasons. :) So I made up a bed and put in The Polar Express and the pups joined me on the floor for bedtime. It was great but I don't know how many years I will be able to do this. I have found that my aging body doesn't handle the floor like it did in my younger years. LOL!


On Christmas day we got up pretty early and opened our Christmas presents. I had been saving the gifts from my sister's family and what I had received in the mail so I could open my gifts with the pups. The pups opened up their stockings first. :) They were more interested in the treats then the actual gifts. I put in A Christmas Carol and we opened up our gifts. The pictures below are of the pups opening up their gifts. It was quite entertaining.


I put all my opened gifts under the tree for a picture. Thanks everyone for all the wonderful thoughts.


For my Christmas dinner I had Papa Murphy's Pizza. I had their Cowboy Pizza and Cinnamon Pinwheel Pizza. It was so good and such an easy clean up. :) I have been wanting pizza for Christmas for so long and this year was my first. I love pizza!

I also received a lot of phone calls starting out first thing in the morning when my Dad called me. It was wonderful how the calls were all spread out. I didn't feel like I was home alone for Christmas with my pups. I also had a fun Skype time with a friend of mine on Christmas evening and we saved our gifts to each other and opened them up on Skype. I know technology has done a lot but this really is a wonderful thing to have. You can have a video call with people on the internet and so you can see them while talking. It is like they are in the chair next to you. I am hoping to talk some of my family into this over the year so that I can Skype with my family next Christmas.

The picture below is of all the cards and pictures I received from family and friends for the holidays. I love this time of the year because of all the pictures, cards, and updates. This is the time of the year that my mail box has mail waiting that I really look forward to!

From my home to yours I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and that you have a wonderful 2012 :)

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas! Yay

It started snowing at 4pm and now we have 4 inches of snow! I think it will be a white Christmas for Sacramento. :) I am so happy for the snow though I can't get out of my drive currently but that is alright I still have 2 legs right! :) Here are a few pictures the first two are of the deck to my home and the Christmas lights I put around it. I would have tried to get a picture of my tree in the window but the front of my home is on a huge hill and I didn't want to fall down it.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year"! :)