God's Hand

It began as a normal day in a normal week,

Till the TV turned on to something bleak.

Back then I was just a child, and did not understand,

Though they kept telling me it's all in God's hand.

At first, with that unfamiliar sight, it was hard to care,

But you notice your parents faces filled with terror.

Back then I was just a child, and did not understand,

Though they kept telling me it's all in God's hand.

The towers, the smoke, the screams of the people,

The dusty sky where once stood its tall steeple.

Back then I was just a child, and I did not understand,

Though they kept telling me it's all in God's hand.

They said the specks were people falling,

The TV announcers' voices began stalling.

Back then I was just a child, and did not understand,

Though they kept telling me it's all in God's hand.

Those strangers were running, wild with fear,

There was no face without at least one tear.

Back then I was just a child, and did not understand,

Though they kept telling me it's all in God's hand.

Perhaps it is true, that I have no great emotional story,

But it is also true, I was there to see God's glory.

No matter how much of a child I was then,

I can remember it, even at ten.

I might never understand exactly why,

Some people live while some had to die,

But they were true when they said it was all in God's hand,

And He will make the tragedy into something grand.

We will cry for the lost, and rejoice with those who still live,

And through this, we will learn to forgive,

I am no longer a child, but still do not understand,

Except that God is good, and it is still all in His hand.

When the Work Really Begins....

I am no longer a "Southern Gal," but rather a Northern girl again. School is out, and I no longer have all the homework, but rather I spend my summer vacation with real work. For the summer months, I am spending my time in Pennsylvania, working on a college campus on the cleaning crew. The picture above is our fun group of summer cleaners, here to make this campus sparkle!!! It is a fun job, even when we are on hands and knees on bathroom floors, we still manage to find the humor in the situation. It has also been a learning experience, such as air freshener doesn't automatically solve every bad smelling problem, it can make it worse. And that even though we may have closed signs outside the bathroom while we clean, people will still walk in past the sign and use the facilities. Life is grand when you've got a broom in your hand :D I think I'll be needing school to start soon again so I can recover from the summer!


We only work from seven in the morning till four in the afternoon, which gives us some free time. Some times we like to use it to work out, or sleep. But we also like to get out and about. The mall is a great escape (try on all the creams and perfumes of bath and body, and get free food samples from the food court). We've also attempted mini golf, gone to friend's houses, and made late night runs to the amazing Sheetz to get a coffee so we can stay up watching a movie so we are walking zombies the next morning at work! Oh the life of a college student on a summer job!!!

All in all, this little room we call home for the summer is great! My three roommates are the best anyone could ask for. Except for one, her name is Heather Shirey and she sometimes can be creepy *wink* but we all get along superb! If I am to be away from both my home, and my college friends and college home, I am glad it is here!!!

Then Came the Exams!

Every student watches in great anticipation as the end of the week approaches. Yet this time it is with mixed feelings that this Saturday arrived. It is a joyous occasion, because this Saturday officially tells every student that the school year of 2010-2011 is over! I will never again be called a freshman in college, I have sat through my last class, taken my last notes, drew my last doodles on my papers, colored in the last d,a, and o's on my quizzes. But this does not mean that all is over...not by far! There is yet to be one last sprint before the classes can be fully drawn to a close and that is called FINALS! Starting today and continuing through Wednesday will be a half week of no classes, no extra activities, but filled with long tests, and late nights! For me, over half my tests will be over by Monday evening, with only two more left for both Tuesday and Wednesday. Though others have a longer trek to the end.

On a brighter side of this week filled with studying, and commencement ceremonies, there will be busy students packing up everything they own into tiny barrels and squishy suitcases to leave the room they called home for a year. I will then say goodbye to this dorm, and campus, and leave with my sister for a summer spent in Pennsylvania with extended family working on the cleaning crew at Lancaster Bible College.

But all this planning is saying that I will survive my exams...by Wednesday we'll know if I lived through them or not. And by Saturday you will be welcoming the new sophmore class of BJU :D

The Lord and his Ring

Once upon a time there was a great Lord in the far off land of Villa de Green. He met a beautiful princess and they fell in love. After months of his courting her, the Lord asked the beautiful princess to accompany him on a pleasant afternoon amongst the trees of the forest. And so the Lord and the princess along with the Lord's Knight and the Princesses younger sister went out into the deep dark enchanted forest. All but the princess knew what magical happening was about to take place in those woods. The afternoon began as any pleasant royal outing would. They had a feast, and entertained themselves with ancient sports such as the art of Frisbee throwing. After a while, when the happy train of people began to weary of such trifles, the Lord suggested they explore amongst the trees of the forest and over the rivers of the valley, to see the lovely sights. The Knight and the younger princess knew that this was the moment the Lord had been planning for months, and hurriedly dashed on ahead of the Lord and princess. As they waited eagerly for the two to catch up again, they kept realizing, the magical transformation hadn't occurred, so they would dash off again. When they finally reached the end of the long and tedious trail, they waited breathlessly, knowing now was the last moment it could happen. The minutes ticked by into two minutes, then three. The Lord and Princess did not appear. The longer the two waited, the more they smiled for they knew it must be happening. Finally, they saw them. Emerging from out of the trees came the Lord, and the lovely princess by his side. But they were not looking at their faces, instead they were watching a bright light shinning from the Princesses finger!!! She smiled her sweet smile and held up the diamond ring, signifying the magical promise of marriage to the charming Lord!

And so it was...the great Lord Jonathan and Princess Heather will live happily ever after!!!

The End!!!

Forever and Always Valentine

Roses, chocolate, Valentines Day!
Pink and red replace February's gray,
Blushing cheeks, smiling faces,
Candlelight dinners in romantic places.
Don't feel like you're the only one-
That doesn't have a special someone,
Many others don't have a date-
But your Valentines can still be great!
Get with your friends to have some fun,
Buy tons of chocolate for everyone,
Get a piñata, or play a game,
Make none of your Valentines day's be the same!
Enjoy the day, eat lots of ice cream,
Watch the couples, let yourself dream.
Keep smiling as you pray,
That God will bring you someone someday.
Be patient as you wait,
For God's perfect mate.
Not just a one day "Be Mine"
But a forever and always Valentine!

Don't sneeze, touch, or breathe!

This morning I was off at football (soccer) practice, and in just a few minutes I will need to change out of my shorts and t-shirt for a skirt and suit, then off to work. Policies didn't change, so my suit isn't for cleaning the science building, instead, it is for my new job! While I spend the evenings singing and dancing with mops and dust rags around the top floor of the science building, I spend my Saturday and Sundays in the Museum and Gallery guarding paintings.

The job is quite simple, I have my rooms to guard...and I guard them! I make sure people don't touch the ancient, expensive paintings and objects, or take pictures, or steal them. So far I had to tackle five robbers who were running off with paintings, one was a really big guy and it took quite a bit of effort before I managed to hit him over the head with an ancient Grecian Urn and recover the Rembrandt. Actually, the job isn't that exciting. The most exciting happenings is telling people to take a step back from the painting or to leave their deadly large bags in the closet at the entrance.

Don't misunderstand me, the job is very fun! You get the exciting challenge of stalking people's every move without them feeling like they are being stalked. Then you casually stand around, eaves dropping on peoples conversations. When there aren't people around, you can either study or chat with the neighboring guards.

Just to give a glimpse into some of the interesting things, here is one conversation I overheard of a little boy and his dad as they were going around the museum. The dad was telling about the paintings and the little boy would ask questions. They came to a picture of a Colosseum scene. The little boy points and exclaims, "Look! It's the gladiator place!" The dad looks and responds, "Yes, but as you can see in the picture, it is also where they put Christians in with wild animals." The little boy examines the picture and notices some gazelles in the picture being eaten by a lion. He then says, "But there are nice animals in there too." "They are probably in their to give the lions something else to eat as well." The little boy contemplates that thought before very seriously responding, "Maybe they are christian animals." The other guards told me similar conversations the boy and father had all through the museum. It is things like that which makes the job like none other!

Speaking of the Museum, I need to be off! Paintings await to be guarded!!!

We've Actually Come Back!!!

School is up and running again, no permanent damage caused by the snow. Classes have started up, and the professors are gladly piling up the homework to their reluctant students. But at least it wont be to bad, the students actually keep coming back semester after semester, so i'm sure we'll all survive.

(Me and my amazing roomies!!)

This semester has nothing greatly different from last semester, except for a few little details. I have sixteen credits, beginning with classes every morning at nine, then lunch break from twelve till mid afternoon. Classes then begin again, and three days a week I'm stuck in class till five. Perhaps I should reword that, I get the opportunity to learn new things all the way till five in the evening (ugh!)!!!! But in general, I like the class, either that or I have others in the class that help make it interesting, so this semester will be lots of fun!

(Studying in the library: "Hmmm, what does this mean?")

When I'm not sitting through classes, I have plenty of other things to occupy myself. For one afternoon, I attend an extension, which will soon in the coming up weeks receive a post to explain what this incredible opportunity is all about. Also, I will be playing soccer for my society! So, practices and matches will take up quite a bit of time, but will be well worth it in the end. This semester, I have been elected as the "spirit leader" in my society. That is an officer position, so I attend officer meetings where we plan what we want to do in society to keep it exciting and fun. And my specific job as spirit leader is simply to keep up society spirit! I am the one that leads us in cheers during games, I write new cheers, I just keep us all pumped up and excited about everything! It is a great officer position to have :D Then other then that, I have my custodial "dust buster" job, and a new job as a guard at the Museum and Gallery on campus (also to be explained in the coming up weeks).

(Hanging out at the mall)

So as you can see, I am keeping very busy this semester, which is how I like it :) There will be plenty to write about on my blog, so I have no excuse for not keeping it up. I am making no promises, but I will try harder then last semester to be more often in updating. See, I already did almost weekly updates recently! If you have any suggestions of something you want explained more fully, just say so in the comments, and you will have a post dedicated to you about what you suggest :) As long as it does not fall under one of the following categories: boys, Heather's personal life, or how to get around rules at BJU.

(Trying on dresses we wish we could have for artist series)

A Container of Quarters

It was five o'clock Monday morning that it all began...

My sister and I woke up and got ready to leave our beloved home in Switzerland. We arrived in Zürich and began all the security checks. As my carry-on went through the x-ray machine, it got stopped and they put it through again. Sure I packed up random things like slippers, scarves, three kings bread, and a container of quarters, but none of that was suspicious. They asked if I had any coins in there. So, I had to unpack my entire carry-on to get the quarters out while the security guard and me were trying to not laugh too much at the amusing situation. "Never again will I bring quarters in my carry-on." I exclaimed to Heather afterwards.

The ten hour flight to Atlanta went pretty smoothly, though there was a long delay in taking off. And we were quite disappointed in not having our own individual TV screens. as we neared America, the pilot announced, "Due to weather conditions we may be landing in New York, or Michigan instead." Well, as long as I get to Greenville, South Carolina by Tuesday night when I have to check in for school, that's fine.

We did land in Atlanta, one of the very few planes which were able too. Then we went through security again to get to the baggage claim. I just automatically took my quarters out of my bag, but they still stopped and looked at me strange as they picked up the container, "What's this?" "Quarters, I thought I would take them out a while since I would have to anyway." "Hmmm." We then got our luggage, but our flight to Greenville was cancelled. Thankfully our school changed the check in day to Friday because of the weather. We got our rebooked flight for Greenville, which left five in the evening the next day. Which means we spent the night sleeping in the Atlanta airport.

While failing to sleep at three in the morning, a Fox News reporter approached us and asked to interview us. This was really exciting, I hope I can put this on my resume if I ever get my dream job with Fox News! After them, NBC eleven o'clock news interviewed us. And lastly we got our picture taken, though I'm not sure if that was for a news paper or not. CNN was walking around too, but they didn't interview us (I always knew I liked Fox News better!).

After the long night and even longer day of watching movies and trying to sleep, as well as eating airport food, we finally were able to begin the check in process again. We checked in our bags and went through security again. I was so tired and couldn't find my quarters in my carry-on, having been buried under my scarves I had unpacked for blankets during the night So I decided to just keep them in the bag. But Atlanta is a lot more strict then Zürich, and they took my bag aside to be unpacked by a security guard. I stood nearby as she pulled out scarf, after scarf, after scarf. Then she pulled out very squished three kings bread, and gave me a strange look. Finally she pulled out the quarters and dumped them mostly out. Again I exclaimed to my sister, "Never pack up quarters in a carry-on!"

We waited for our flight, it was on time for a very long while. But then we had a gate change. We moved to the new location and waited longer, it was delayed. "Our co-pilot has not arrived, we will board as soon as we get another co-pilot." The announcer kept saying. This went on for a while till it was a little after eight. We were finally boarded and ready to take off, when the stewardess made the most horrible announcement, "It is too icy for the pilots to make the return flight after going to Greenville so this flight has now been cancelled." We were deboarded, and with the prospect of spending another night in the airport, Heather and I decided to go to the baggage claim, get our luggage and our friend would pick us up in the car.

At baggage claim, we realized our bags were checked through to Greenville and would not be returned to us. So we decided to avoid losing baggage we would travel with it, and stood in the long line to rebook our flight. The next flight left in a little less then an hour. In panic, we hurried through security...again. I dug hastily for my quarters, but just couldn't find them anywhere, "NEVER PACK QUARTERS IN A CARRY-ON!!" I kept saying to myself as the clock ticked down the time. I did finally find them at the bottom of the bag, we got through security, and made it to our gate in plenty of time. That flight was on time, we got on, we left the gate, we flew to Greenville, and arrived at eleven o'cock at night on Tuesday!

We made our way down to baggage claim and as we waited for our bags to arrive, our friends came with hugs and well wishes! ...but our bags did not. Apparently our bags did not come on that flight and will be shipped to our friend's house as soon as they arrive, hopefully today. But at least I would be sleeping in a warm bed that night, at least I have the few things in my carry-on, and at least I have my container of quarters (which I will never pack in a carry-on again!).

Delta, AirTran to Cancel More Flights: MyFoxATLANTA.com

The Author Returns to her Blog

Two months is definitely not a weekly update, I'm very sorry my faithful blog readers! So what has been happening the past two months to keep me from writing? Only Thanksgiving break, final exams at the end of the semester, and flying half way around the world to go home for Christmas, other then that...not much!

I wont need to spend any time expounding on the details of the strain and worry involved in final exams. But I will just quickly say that I did pass all my classes, though a few were not without constant worry till the very last test was finished and the last paper handed in. But, no matter, it is done now. This means that when I go back to school next semester I will have all new classes, all new teachers, and all new classmates.

As I mentioned earlier, I am home for Christmas! Home is referring to Switzerland, of course :) I arrived the 18th of December, and brought along my older sister (or did she bring me along?). We have been enjoying our Christmas break, which will last till we fly back on the 10th January. We've gotten lots done, from Christmas shopping, Christmas baking, to Christmas itself! We've also covered New Years celebrations, visiting friends all over Switzerland, a doctor appointment, skiing, and hair cuts!

I think I will let the pictures tell the story of my Christmas vacation instead of me :) and I will now leave, but hopefully return sooner next time for another update! There have been enough remarks about my neglected blog to encourage me to update more often :D