This is for you, Mom ;)

Hello, hello, hello!

Just so we're all on the same page; I've been wanting to delete this blog, but have refrained from doing so for one reason which is that my Mother would like me to keep it alive for the time being. So, in light of the marvelous fact that my finals are at last behind me, and I have a lot to say about my first year of college, the first real post (I think) of 2011 will be written.

In looking back on my first year in college, I see so much for which I am grateful...everything from the summer bio class I took last year, to each professor I was blessed to learn under, is a testimony of God's sovereign hand. I have no doubt that I am where He wants me to be because everything involved with my educational career has fallen into place and been seasoned with a grace that only comes from Him.

This past semester would probably be my favorite so far, even though it was the most difficult. Every single professor has been a joy to learn from and made even the three-hour classes a pleasure which is pretty amazing! Let's just say I've heard the horror stories...

My Anatomy and Physiology teacher definitely won first place in my book. There's not much I could say in terms of praise that wouldn't be an understatement. I took her for A&P 1 & 2 and she seriously fanned the flame of my passion for science. I love her personality, her thought process, and her enthusiasm for teaching. It was humorous to watch her answer the ever-abundant senseless questions (which always seemed to come from that same corner of the room); uplifting to to witness her excitment when a student answered a question correctly; and inspiring to experience those moments of revelation as she explained the complex yet harmonious workings of the human body. While I am relieved to have A&P finals behind me, I am disappointed to no longer be under Ms. Mbugua's (she's Kenyan) expert instruction.

Another noteworthy professor would be Mrs. Habib, my English 102 teacher. She's a soft-spoken Indian woman who is passionate about literature. Although my friend Chelsea and I did our share of groaning over the outlandish number of reading response sheets she required, looking back we both agree it was worth it. Each RRS, discussion board post, group work assignment, and formal essay did, in fact, improve our writing and teach us to read between the lines for a deeper meaning. I was both frustrated and inspired as Mrs. Habib identified my potential and pushed me to write to the best of my capabilities. That English class was certainly worth every penny for there were life lessons learned which I had surely not forseen.

There's much to say about my brilliant stats professor (who made math class a comedy) and my equally knowledgeable history teacher (who lectures with her eyes closed), but it is common knowledge that "Brevity is a great charm of eloquence", of which this post is dearly lacking; so instead I leave you with a short list of unexpected lessons learned in my first year of college.

- Don't be surprised if the essay you finish last minute (like 2 hours before it's due) gets the best grade!

- On-the-spot profundity is, indeed, possible!

- The origin of the word "threshold" is enchantingly logical!

- Don't get vaccinated the weekend before finals!

How should we then live?

"Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall sprin forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard,
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'

If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail...

If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the LORD honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
Then mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Isaiah 58:6-14


This is one of my favorite passages in scripture!
It is the life we are called to live.
It is what was fulfilled in Christmas.
And how drastically would this world be changed if the people of God embraced this fast? ...

Thankful

Thoughts and Prayers

Human nature is so frustrating. We walk away from love our hearts find rest in, pursuing fleeting shadows that lead to emptiness rather than fulfillment. We hold the strong hand when we're weak and long for comfort, but once we feel empowered we walk away again, thinking foolishly that we're something on our own.
Mysterious is the Love that keeps on loving, wondrous is the Gift that keeps on giving, painful are the arms that welcome the prodigal home....  Oh, to never leave the safety of His sovereignty!
Open our eyes, oh God, to our desperate need for You! Let our ears be sensitive to Your voice. Though we may never understand the Love that desires our worship, may we offer our everything in response.
"He gives all. He asks all."
Give us the strength, Lord, to lay our treasure at Your feet. Show us the way. Without You we can do nothing. Please, draw us closer to You; teach us to hunger after You, to desire only You...that Your name would be glorified!

"Ours should not be the love that asks 'how little', but 'how much', the love that pours out all and revels in the joy of having anything to pour at the feet of its Beloved." - Amy Carmichael

If I Didn't Know You

If I didn't know You
Would I still adore the brilliant sunshine?
If I didn't know You
Would I still love the ocean waves?
If I couldn't feel Your arms guiding me day by day
If I didn't know You
Would I want to live anyway?

~Chorus~
Cuz I see Your hand- all around me
I hear Your voice- it whispers to me
Your unfailing love- all consuming
It gives me Life- never ending
So now I'm wondering...
If I didn't know You
How would I sing?
How could I smile?
If I didn't know You
What would I do?
If I didn't know You

If I didn't know You
Would the sunset still bring me joy?
If I didn't know You
Would I still sing in the pouring rain?
If Your love hadn't set ablaze the fire of my soul
If I didn't know You
Oh Father, where would I go?

If I didn't know You...tell me what would I do?
Oh what in the world would I do?
If I didn't know.... You .....

So, thank You, Jesus
For Your sovereign revelation
For opening my eyes to see
For proclaiming Your majesty
For becoming my rock, my salvation
Oh, thank You, Lord
For creating in me a clean heart
For making me new
Let my desire always be just to know You!

Ha!!e!ujah! A Silver Lining!!!

Hello out there! I'm sure by now you've all figured out I'm not much of a blogger. :p  I really haven't spent much time on the internet at all this year, life has been interesting enough in the real world! lol SOOOO, what got me so excited I couldn't resist posting about it?! Keep reading and you'll find out! :)

For those of you who don't know, I'm actively pursuing a degree in Nursing, currently at BCC and hopefully transferring to finish at UMass Dartmouth as an RN. My great desire and long-term goal is to do foreign medical missions work...the short-term vision being to get practical work with pediatric nursing. With this in mind, I have begun looking into schooling at my local community college (10 mins away!) and I've been amazed at how everything is falling into place! I'm finishing up a 6 wk summer course in biology (a prerequisite for the RN program) this week, taking my lecture final Thursday and writing a research paper as my lab project. That's where this post comes in......

I was at a loss as to what I should write my report on. My instructor (who has been wonderful!) did not give us any strict guidelines other than 3-4 pages, double-spaced (haha, of course), on anything biology-related. I asked a few people for ideas and a friend's mom suggested maybe something on stem cell research. I thought, 'hey, maybe that will work. It's a controversial issue, I'll learn about something I'm interested in, and there's plenty of material out there to fill an excess of 4 pages!" :)  Suffice it to say, I began my researching today (yeah, I know, could I be any more last minute?!) and ended up spending a ton of time reading material on the NIH (National Institute of Health) website. They have an article on the U.S Policy on Stem Cell Research along with the President's EO issued March '09 stripping down restrictions on government funding of SC research. I read through the NIH guidelines for such research and became increasingly upset and infuriated at the depravity of it all! Harvesting human embryos for research, research that has yet to prove conclusive, research which involves destroying the most sacred of God's creations! Tears streamed down my face. "Lord", I asked, "why have you not yet destroyed this land in its utter perversion?" And then I read President Obama's address given at the time he signed the EO. Here's the link if anyone's interested. http://www.whitehouse.gov/. Indignant doesn't begin to describe my sentiments. That he would have the audacity to end that speech with "God bless America"!... Long story short, here I am grieving the tragic state of affairs, wondering how we could be at the point where people think it's ethical to harvest human life, etc, when I stumbled across something unbelievable...."A federal judge Monday blocked the Obama administration from funding human embryonic stem cell research, ruling that the support violates a federal law barring the use of taxpayer money for experiments that destroy human embryos." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/23/AR2010082303448.html The date on this Washington Post article? August 24, 2010! This court ruling was yesterday! Now tell me miracles don't happen! God is at work, never doubt that! I love His timing. His grace is more than amazing....
So be encouraged. Admire the silver lining as the light of His truth shines through the dark clouds of sinful human reason. Show your support for Judge Lamerth's decision through emails, phone calls, letters, etc. And continue to pray for this nation and the governing authorities!

Thanks for stopping by!
Don't know when I'll be back, but "keep a wary eye on the horizon". lol
Love you all!
<3 Tasha <3