It’s all too easy to put on a face and pretend everything is all right. I do it. I do it a lot, actually… somehow it’s just easier for me to internalize things and give off the impression that life is golden. But life rarely is… life is full of hardships, discouragements, let-downs, struggles, disappointments, and just-plain miserable days.

It’s October 31st – Halloween. Someone jokingly passed me this afternoon and said, “Hey, nice mask…” and then walked away snickering. I wasn’t wearing a mask and wasn’t dressed up in the slightest. I was kind of in a tired, stressed, and bad mood at the time… I let it frustrate me more than I should have. I’ve been thinking about that – and though it wasn’t meant in that way, I see the truth behind that statement all too clearly. I do wear a mask… more often than not.

Having said that, I’m taking the opportunity to be honest. I’m tired… and I’m discouraged. School work is coming at me fast-paced… the days are getting shorter and colder, and it’s increasingly harder to find the motivation to be disciplined and diligent. Pray for me with that, if you would. The last few weeks especially have been particularly discouraging, and I can’t understand exactly why… I’m not used to being in a continual state of feeling discouraged. I would ask for your prayers.

It’s the start of yet another busy week of classes and tests – three tests this week… Intro to Art tomorrow, Doctine and Microeconomics on Friday. Just thought I’d let you know. Prayer is always appreciated. :)

I’ve been reading through the book of Romans and Psalms with a friend during breakfast on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. One verse from Psalms 8: 1-4 that we read recently was an encouragement that I thought I would share… it’s definitely something to remember – God is still sovereign.

O LORD, our Lord,
       how majestic is your name in all the earth!
       You have set your glory
       above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
       you have ordained praise
       because of your enemies,
       to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
       the work of your fingers,
       the moon and the stars,
       which you have set in place,
What is man that you are mindful of him,
       the son of man that you care for him?

A fair amount of people periodically ask me how my mom is doing. I thought I would take a few minutes to give a little update on her condition, as well as thank all of you who so faithfully pray for her and my family.

My mom is doing well. For those of you who don’t know – she was diagnosed with a fairly aggressive and serious breast cancer during September 2003. She went through surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, reconstructive surgery, and a treatment called herceptin (sp?). Three long years of treatments, doctor’s appointments, and blessings – God is good. Click to continue »

Today was one of those days where I just wanted to jump into a car, roll the windows down, turn the music up, and get off of campus and away from this little thing I call college… so I did.

I went to Starbucks and got a carmel frappuchino. It was pretty good, I’m not going to lie.

I guess you might call this my “plead for prayer.” It’s a rainy, cold, and foggy day on Lookout – one of those traditional mountain days. It’s weather like this that makes me think and ponder a lot.

I’ve been thinking a lot specifically about the future. I’ve been asking a lot of the “where am I going to be” and “what does God have planned for me” kinds of questions. I have a tendency to worry and think a lot about that…

I would simply ask for prayer in that I would daily learn to surrender my life to God. I know that He is capable and caring… but there’s a difference between knowing it and believing it to be true for yourself. Does that make sense? I don’t always believe it for myself – and that is often demonstrated in the fact that I worry, stress, and hold the future with uncertainty. I would ask that you pray for me… that I would learn to rest in His capable, caring, and loving arms. Thank you.

Several Covenant students and faculty are taking part in the Liberian Bible Project… a project that desires to send study Bibles to the recently war-torn country of Liberia to re-establish Bible training. Here is what they have to say:

We’re trying to send about 200 study Bibles, hopefully Reformation Study Bibles, to Liberia, West Africa. Liberia suffered from fifteen years of war and the church is trying to re-establish Bible training. In addition, I’d like to send English Bibles (paperback ESV’s) and other materials, as possible. The Bible’s will be going to Buchanan, Liberia, which is the second-largest city in the country. This is an effort partnered with Jesus Evangelism Ministries, which is an national ministry to equip pastors and church leaders. The director, Rev. Benjamin Munford, is a graduate of African Bible College and is currently a distance student with the Covenant College Chalmers Center.
We need about $1200 for the Bibles, $200 for postage, $150 for gas, and $250 for shipping. $1800 total.

All cheques for this project can be made about to “Highlands Church” with “Liberian Bible Project” in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to Highlands or given to Enoch Elwell or Justin Richards.

Highland Presbyterian Church
1211 W North Main St,
La Fayette, GA, 30728

Enoch Elwell – Box# 472 – eelwell@covenant.edu – 609.670.0634

Justin Richard – Box# 227 – jrichards@covenant.edu – 402.320.6094

I don’t have a lot of self-control. Too often I allow the little things in life to make me mad and upset. The other week someone came into my room on a Monday or Wednesday, I think it was — either way, it was one of my busy afternoons with class solidly from 1-5 p.m. I got back to my room, tired after a long day of class. I walked into the bedroom to find my mattress off my bed with my sheets, pillow, and blankets strewn around the room. A little prank… It was nothing that couldn’t be fixed or resolved in a few minutes.

As I picked up the mattress and bedding, I noticed that my main blanket was missing. It was a hand-woven blanket made out of Alpaco wool that I got in Bolivia on a missions trip a few summers ago. It wasn’t in the room. I walked into the bathroom to find it heaped in a corner of the shower… soaking wet. I’m not going to lie – it frustrated me a lot. Actually, that’s an understatement. It made me mad. Click to continue »

I never quite imagined that I would find myself spending fall break in a small town of 2500 people called Honea Path, SC… wrestling four calves that are 2-3 months old and 150 lbs each. Today was definitely a first for me as far as a lot of experiences go. Where do I start?

Mr. May, Bryan Smith, and I drove to a cattle farm about 30 minutes away in the small town of Laurens, SC. Mr. May was wanting to buy four or five Angus calves to raise on the farm and then sell later as beef cows… so we devoted the afternoon to going and picking them up. In my optimistic ideology, I only imagined us being gone an hour or two. We’d drive up to the farm where there would be four calves waiting to just jump into our truck… and we’d be on our way. That was me being optimistic…

We arrived at the ranch to find a pen of some 30 odd cattle – weighing anywhere from 1000 lbs to 45 lbs. Not quite like I expected. We spent a good half hour deciding which of the calves (amidst the other cattle) we were going to buy. We finally decided on three females and one little bull – all 2-3 months old and weighing between 130 and 160 lbs each.

Click to continue »

Sunday, we went to their church in downtown Honea Path – Covenant Presbyterian Church. Excluding me, I counted 28 other people in the congregation. It was yet another new experience… far from the 4500 people I grew up with at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church in Knoxville or the 2000 people at Christ Church Fulwood in Sheffield, England. The pastor talked about “Trusting Jesus in the Face of Opposition” from Mark 2:13-17. It was a good sermon… after church, we had lunch at the church, followed by a second lunch over at Sam Anderson’s house. We tried the pork brisket that had spent a good eight hours smoking over burning mesquite wood the night before. It was delicious. Click to continue »

I arrived in Honea Path this afternoon…
I spent the evening eating a shrimp dinner at church with Mr. May… followed by an evening at Sam Anderson’s house out in the woods of Honea Path. Mr. May and I stopped by the Black Cow Coffeehouse to pick up some fresh coffee and then drove over to Sam Anderson’s log home. Sam is a singer and song-writer who often plays and records in Nashville. We arrived to find him pumping air into one of the tires on his John Deere tractor. He showed us around his freshly-mulched yard and showed us the 60 lbs of Boston Butts (pork) that he was smoking with Mesquite wood. It smelled amazing… we spent the rest of the evening helping him shovel mulch from a trailor onto his yard, sitting around a 55 gallon fire drum, telling stories, listening to them play songs on their guitars, and enjoying an evening of relaxation.