.75 February

Wow! This month has flown by! Whew. I can't believe how much knowledge I've crammed into the finite recesses of my brain in such a small amount of time, but it's been a good month.

The first weekend in February was SCF women's retreat and I had a blast getting to hang out with a great group of undergrad gals. I spoke the opening night, and while I felt rushed and didn't get to cover everything, I hope at least some of them got the message that God makes no mistakes in His design of us and our lives. The whole event took place at a secluded farmhouse in a town forty minutes from East Lansing. The dynamics have changed since I was an undergrad (a lot of the girls were dating or engaged), but the fellowship was just as wonderful and rejuvenated me and challenged me. I just wish I had more time to hang out with all of them.

The next weekend my grandparents celebrated their 65th anniversary and the whole Urish subclan flew in for the event. It was great to see them and extended (far extended family even) over the weekend. My grandfather suffers from Parkinson's disease and has for a long time, and it never ceases to amaze me at his patience and forbearance - and my grandmother Nonny's tireless love. They both love each other in such a wonderful way, it's always a blessing to be around them as their love pours out on everyone around. Another treat from the weekend was getting to visit with the Jim Ryun clan. He is such a fantastic man of integrity - both he and his wife and I am praying they win in the next election in Kansas. People like them give me hope for the political process.

Gosh, there's so much more to talk about! I don't even know where to begin. I'll just mention that with Lent going on, I am trying to give up tv shows and radio in the car. I value the quiet time in the car so much more now that it's like a whirlwind of life in classes and all. It's given me extra time to pray and think. TV is such a vacuum for me too, I get immediately sucked in and I'm trying to be more conscious of how I spend my time.

The last two Sundays were full of excellent messages for me. In Kansas, a question that the pastor asked us to be asking ourselves about the people around us was, "Will I meet you on the resurrection day?" It was challenging, and I realized I don't take enough of my relationships seriously to be considering how another person would answer that question. And if they didn't know about heaven... who would be held accountable for failing to tell them?!

Along those lines, this Sunday my pastor here in Michigan preached in Corinthians. Actually it was another phrase not a bible verse that stuck out to me, but he said, "If you believe in the Holy Spirit, then you HAVE to believe that people can change." Sometimes I get so frustrated, even with myself and my sin that I feel like I'll just never get better, I'm not changing and becoming more like Christ. Yet the hope of my faith IS that people change. And really, not just them, but God in them at work changes us. I can't despair in the face of sin, but must continue to hope (and my hope is well justified) that I can change as Christ lives in me now.