I am a little church (no great cathedral)

i am a little church (no great cathedral)
far from the splendor and squalor of hurrying cities
-i do not worry if briefer days grow briefest,
i am not sorry when sun and rain make April

my life is the life of the reaper and the sower;
my prayers are prayers of earth's own clumsily striving
(finding and losing and laughing and crying) children
whose any sadness or joy is my grief or my gladness

around me surges a miracle of unceasing
birth and glory and death and resurrection:
over my sleeping self float flaming symbols
of hope, and i wake to a perfect patience of mountains

i am a little church (far from the frantic
world with its rapture and anguish) at peace with nature
-i do not worry if longer nights grow longest;
i am not sorry when silence becomes singing

winter by spring, i lift my diminutive spire to
merciful Him whose only now is forever:
standing erect in the deathless truth of His presence
(welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness)

poem by e.e. cummings

e.e. cummings is probably my favorite (well, only) poet. On the wall next to my bed in the dorm I have this poem posted. Occasionally, when I'm having some technical difficulties I find myself looking over and reading this poem. Lately, this poem has been on my mind. There are so many things that I believe the poet is trying to say but the things that stick out the most to me are:

• You don't have to be big or fancy for your prayers or worship to count.
• It doesn't matter where you are or how you worship as long as He is the one you are worshipping.
• Not only should we rejoice in our happiness but also in our sufferings.
• You should not measure your amount of worth or how Christian you are by your actions alone nor by the number of people you share God with.
• We should rejoice even if it is just one person's life we change.
• Just like in my ASL class God only cares if you try.
• God knows your struggles.
• We need only plant the seed and the Holy Spirit will take care of the rest.
• Overall, always be rejoicing because we have so much to be thankful for. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

To me, Valentine's Day is the stupidest holiday ever invented. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a lonely single young woman (okay maybe I am a little). Once again the pagans have ruined a perfectly good and moral holiday turning it all into love and gifts and lust and greed and an excuse to have some fun at school. Well, I decided that let's look back at the history of Valentine's Day and see what it's really about.

First of all, the origins of Valentine's Day are kind of a mystery, but here are three legends we have of St. Valentine.

We do know St. Valentine was a person. :) One legend says that he was a priest in Rome. The Emperor of the time, Emperor Claudius II decided that single men were better soldiers. So, he banded marriage. But St. Valentine continued to perform marriages in secret. When his actions were discovered he was put to death.

Another legend states that St. Valentine was killed because he tried to help Christians escape the Roman prison and their harsh conditions.

The last legend (a very paganish legend) is that St. Valentine was the first person to actually send a "valentine." While he was in prison he was supposed to have fallen in love with the jailer's daughter. Before he died the letter he sent to her was signed "from your Valentine." Very Romeo and Juliet like.

There is debate over whether or not Valentine's Day is celebrated on the day Valentine was buried or on the pagan holiday of Lupercalia festival. This was the celebration of the beginning of spring and a time for purification. Houses were cleaned. (Ha, now we know where spring cleaning comes from too). It was celebrated on the 15th, a day of fertility dedicated to the Roman god of agriculture. At the festival a priest would sacrifice a goat for fertility and a dog for purification (no, it's not the Chinese that kill and eat dogs). The hide was cut into strips and women and crops were slapped with them. Later all the single women would place their name in an urn and the single men would pick one and the woman they got would be theirs for the year. Usually, they would end up getting married.

Throughout history the Christians and pagans have fought for the true meaning of Valentine's Day and their traditions. So, which to you sounds right?

Personally, I don't think we should pick one day out of the year to show your love and affection for someone. It should be shown all days of the year. And no matter which legend is true about St. Valentine's all legends show that he was a man of love, courage, and generousity. :)

A little video to make you smile. :)
I love the Skit Guys. They're so funny. :)





All information is curtisy of the History channel website. :)
I did leave some information out so if you would like to know more...than google it yourself. :)

Some TidBits

So...while I was on facebook yesterday facebook stalking :) I noticed that a friend of mine was doing like this 30 day photo thing and I thought it was really cool. So I thought I'd blog about it, but since I don't feel like putting up a new picture every day for 30 days I thought I'd just do it now and give you guys a little LizBits...maha...totally just came up with that. :)

Photo 1:  A picture of yourself with ten facts

1. I'm a pastor's kid which I don't really enjoy being.

2. I'm a very random and interesting person. My mind or mouth don't really have a filter

3. The fact that I'll be turning 20 soon kind of scares me. I don't want to be a grown up yet. :(

4. I'm a mommy's girl and not really ashamed of it either. More girls should have closer relationships to their mothers, but a lot of girls have close relationships with their fathers that I'm pretty jealous of.

5. Never been outside of the country. Well, I've been to Canada but I was an infant so that doesn't count.

6. Sometimes I am so lazy that I have to force myself to shower and brush my teeth before I go to bed.

7. If my work space is messy and can't work.

8. I LOVE reading. Most of my money I spend on books...or movies because the movie is better than the book. :)

9. The youngest of three.

10. I hate being alone but I hate being around people.

Photo 2:  A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

This is my besty Brittany. Known her since 4th grade. Love her so much!

Photo 3: A picture of the cast from your favorite show

 Love this show. THE NANNY. So funny and good memories from my freshman year with my roommate. We would fall asleep watching The Nanny.

Photo 4: A picture of your favorite night

 I always have a fun night at Tequilas. :) Cuz of the amazing food and people. I miss you Juan! :)

Photo 5: A picture of your favorite memory

Meeting my darling niece of course!

Photo 6: A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

 This is a tough one but I would love to see what life was really like for Miss Jane Austen.

Photo 7:  A picture of your most treasured item

My family of course! But this was still a hard one. :)

Photo 8:  A picture that makes you laugh

Haha...This was an easy pick. Fun times! And I am not ashamed to admit that when my sister and I are bored we dress like men. We like to freak our mother out. :)

Photo 9: A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

Wouldn't be here without my mommy! :)

Photo 10:  A picture of the person you do the most craziest things with

Ha...refer to photo #8. My sister is probably the person I do the weirdest things with...and my friend Brittany..refer to photo #2.

Photo 11: A picture of something you hate

 OMG!!! HATE SNAKES!!! I still have nightmares about them and I was gagging trying to search for a picture of them. *Shiver down spine*

Photo 12: A picture of something you love

Refer to photo #7

Photo 13: A picture of your favorite band or artist

 This was a hard one. There are so many good bands and artists out there, but definitely Chris Tomlin. First real Christian band/singer I fell in love with.

Photo 14: A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

Again refer to photo #7. If I were to lose anybody close to me it would hurt. Thank God I haven't lost anybody yet.

Photo 15: A picture of something you want to do before you die

 Marry the man of my dreams. :)

Photo 16:  A picture of someone who inspires you

Definitely my big bwava! :)

Photo 17: A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

refer to photo #5. My niece and being an aunt.

Photo 18: A picture of your biggest insecurity

The way I treat myself when I don't do that well at something.

Photo 19:  A picture and a letter

huh?

Photo 20: A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

PARIS!!!

Photo 21:  A picture of something you wish you could forget

My sensitivity towards the things my family does.

Photo 22:  A picture of something you wish you were better at

 Socializing and being a good friend.

Photo 23: A picture of your favorite book

 EASY choice. JANE EYRE!!!

Photo 24: A picture of something you wish you could change

 My weight and intelligence...I didn't have a picture for that.

Photo 25: A picture of your favorite day

My brother's wedding.

Photo 26: A picture of something that means a lot to you

photo #7 MY FAMILY....and Jesus! :)

Photo 27:  A picture of yourself and a family member

Me and my pup Petey Frampton. :)

Photo 28: A picture of something you're afraid of

 photo #11. Don't make me repost that. :(

Photo 29: A picture that can always make you smile

My Petey! :)

Photo 30:  A picture of someone you miss

Miss Gracie!

Well...there you have it...30 random tidbits and photos. Hope you enjoyed. Hopefully I'll have some other things posted up soon.

When I grow up I want to be...

So I had a nice conversation with my mom this evening. She's really good at consoling me or being brutally honesty and telling me how it is. Today the reason I needed consoling and brutality was because since the beginning of the semester I've once again been experiencing doubts about my current major and career goals. Should I stick with Psychology and Deaf Studies? Should I just do Interpreting? Should I switch to Sociology because maybe if I did that I could double major and get done in less than 5 years and maybe the classes won't be as scary as my psych classes are turning out to be.

 Of course this has happened because I've just recently started the semester and the classes are a little harder, a little more boring, and I have new teachers. So these feeling are definitely normal, but it's not the first time I've experienced these feelings and I'm just really tired of experiencing them. I'm tired of doubting and not being content with my life. After I got off the phone with my mom I started to think about dreams and careers and I came to the conclusion that it's okay to have a lot of interests and to dream. So I compiled a list of everything I want to be when I grow up.

1. A loving wife

2. A caring mother, who's not afraid to make mistakes

3. A devote Christian who's not so doubtful of everything (I guess that probably should have been #1)

4. A helpful daughter

5. A fun & goofy aunt

6. A gracious sister and sister-in-law

7. A thoughtful and considerate friend

8. A wise & effective counselor working with children & families teaching them to value themselves, be good communicators, and help them in times of crisis.

9. A wise & effective counselor helping teens with self-mutilation, addiction, and eating disorders.

10. A helpful and knowledgeable interpreter for the Deaf.

11. A trainer training dogs to help other people.

12. A graceful and carefree dancer

13. A creative and excited writer who touches the soul of others with the written word.

14. A song writer but not a singer

15. An inspiration to others

16. A motivated hardworking student and educator

So those are just my dreams in a nutshell.

And it begins...

So tomorrow concludes my Christmas break and I will have to leave my wonderful comfy home and make my way back to Bethel College. I am very saddened by this.

"I never wanted to go away, and the hard part now is the leaving you all. I'm not afraid, but it seems as if I should be homesick for you even in heaven."- Beth March, Little Women

You see...I enjoy school. I enjoy learning and being with my friends and classmates, but the things I dread after being at home for so long is not having money and not having a car. I want to be independent but if you don't have the resources it makes that kinda hard. My friends are also way more excited to see me when I come home then my friends are at school so I almost always have something to do when I'm home. I also like having my own room and my own bed. Dorm rooms are just not my scene.

Adding to my homesickness will also be my puppy Petey and my new niece Grace who was born right before Christmas break.

Petey

Me and Grace

I love being home and being with my family, but I want to be independent and I love not being with them 24/7. But I'll always miss them. Especially since I won't be seeing them til the end of February. But with love, you don't have to be in the same place to feel and give it.

Tim and Kristen had their baby and me and Christina had ours. :)

Dear Eugene,

Dear Eugene,

I saw my dad cry for the first time today. Today my dad was informed that his father had died. You...you're gone, but you were never here. You abandoned your wife and children. As far as we know you never repented of that. You abandoned God. My father says he has forgiven you. I have forgiven you. I'm confident my grandmother has forgiven you too. Out of my nineteen years of life I've never heard my grandmother say one negative thing towards you and all the pictures I've seen are of happy times. So I know there were times where you were happy. I believe at one time you were a good husband and a good father. I wish I knew what had happened to make that change in you. I would have very much loved to have met you one day. I wrote you once a long time ago when I was a little girl. You never replied. My father had written you. My aunt had written you. I desperately hope that my father is right and that maybe you never received the letters. Dad says you were a huge coward, but since I'm human and struggle with this myself I understand how hard it would have been for you to apologize for what you did. Despite your past and what you did I want you to know that I have forgiven you and God has forgiven you and neither of us have stopped loving you. You dying without coming to faith is Dad's greatest fear. He's afraid that when his time comes he won't have the joy of seeing you again in Heaven. Even though I don't really know you. I don't know where you were when it came to faith and despite my family's belief that you repenting was very unlikely I do believe that God works miracles and the Holy Spirit wonderous. So I like to believe that when my grandmother's time comes. When my father's time comes. And when my time comes I will see you at Heaven's gates.

Love,
Your Granddaughter,
Elizabeth

My New Year's ResolutionS

I always hated making New Year's Resolutions because no matter how hard I try I can never stay committed to them. However, around New Year's I always take the time to examine my year, what I did wrong, what I could have done better, and my hopes for the next year. I believe there is always room for improvement and there is always room for hope, however, that hope should always be put to action. That is the hardest part. So for 2011 here are the things that I would like to accomplish

1. be a better daughter (grand), sister/sister-in-law, aunt, niece, friend, roommate, and pupil
2. be healthier, this means that my goal is not to exercise and diet to lose weight it means nourishing my body and being smart about what I eat and using meals as they should be and exercising to feel renewed and energized.
3. doing my absolute best in classes which means asking for help when needed and talking to my professors and forgiving myself when I don't live up to my expectations.
4. being a better communicator with my family.
5. forgiving others and apologizing to others
6. get a job and be smart about money
7. gain experience in my career field of interest.
8. gain driving experience and get a car
9. have better control of my temper and not allow myself to get upset so easily
10. be more courageous
11. be myself and not who somebody else wants me to be
12.  not to be so judgemental
13. fall in love with dance again
14. daily die to myself and spend my days doing what my Good Lord wishes. Living by His will.
15. praying more and going to God for guidance
16. being friendlier smiling and saying hi to people more often

Well, this is definitely a good list to start with. :)