Paper

College is so much more than that little piece of paper you get in May...

Quotes

Women's Chapel, Dr. Joann Adams

"God is not going to let me unknowingly make a decision that will ruin my life."

Milton, Prof. Horner

"Here's my plug for IBEX - You see things,
'Aaa-aa-aaahhhh, this is OLD!'"

Some peculiar evening...

Katrin made pizza dough on the floor...extra protein...

Sara did not appreciate the paparazzi...

Lester, my fellow photographer...

Shaner was shocked by the plummeting pizza...Lindy was confused by the photographer...

Pablo did NOT need help in the kitchen...he had already done the job...

define: friend

"a person you know well and regard with affection and trust"
"this Anglo-Saxon word was originally derived from a verb form meaning, literally, beloved, or, one who is loving"

Back to the Future

Hmmmmm, that is interesting. Back to the future, back to preparing for my future. Well, I am always preparing for my future, but back to preparing academically for my future; there we go. Interesting thought... I cannot believe that the break has gone by so fast! But I know why...
First, because I worked 14 out of the approximately 31 days of the break. Also, I stayed semi-caught up with 2 friends from school, so I felt connected with school, not so isolated as I usually do. I also stayed up-to-date with my job as ibex secretary, so that too kept me connected with school. Fourth, I finished my Directed Studies class over break; the grades were just recorded on-line yesterday, even though I was finished with the class on the 23rd of December. I'm happy that that is done; I was wondering if I would be prevented from starting classes on Monday because of an outstanding class. : )

I am excited for what this semester will bring. I know it will bring some sadness - graduating seniors :_( - but it will also bring fun things, like Frisbee, friends, work, choir, Milton, Biblical counseling class, friends back from ibex, Bible study, etc. I am excited....

(These pics are all from Nevada City...My best friend from home, Irene, and I spent the morning looking around, taking pics, etc. It was very fun! It is my new favorite place to hang out...Well, except for Israel... ; ) )

Signs

Todd Johnson, the pastor of my home church, has been going through Matthew 24. He is taking a little time off from the life of Christ to focus on the signs of Jesus' return. One thing (out of many things) that stuck out to me today was his statement that
"We are not to be more concerned with the signs [of Jesus' return] than with the Savior." He then quoted Philippians 3:20, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Pastor Todd was saying that in the end, it all comes down to what we believe about Jesus. There are so many different theories about the end times, but what do we believe about Jesus? The signs of the end times are not so important as the One to which they point. The sign is not the thing itself, it is the thing that points one to the Savior. A question that Pastor Todd asked was this:
With the end in sight, what am I to do for Christ today?
And I ask, What can God change in me in order to be a more effective sign for Him?
More about signs, I recently thanked a friend for telling me something I needed to hear. He replied that it wasn't he who was to be thanked, it was God. He (the friend) was merely a signpost, pointing to the One who was truly important. This conversation came to mind while Pastor Todd was talking about signs this morning. Christians are to be signs, pointing toward the Savior. It is not to be, "Oh, look at me, look how I just helped you! You're welcome, so happy to be of service to you!" It is to be, "I'm glad that God used me to point you to Him. He is the One who gave me the words to say, and all credit goes to Him."

So how are you doing as a sign? Are you using your conversations to turn others to Christ or to yourself? or to silly things? or to crude things? Or what about your life/attitudes/actions? Is your life pointing to Christ or to something else? I do not say these things lightly, and I do not believe we as Christians are to be stoic, boring, pessimistic people. We can still have fun, and if we aren't having fun, then something must be wrong (not to diminish trials)! : ) But let's not be distractions in life. I say this to challenge myself more than anyone else. Where are we pointing today and every day?

Ahhh...friends

Yea for friends! I have had these friends for over 10 years, half my life! I got to see them this break, and here are some of the things we did. Pictures! I would put better pictures up, but Lydia's camera has so many pixels that it takes too long to upload! Lydia is an awesome photographer...and she has an awesome camera!
Julia is my age. She made us grilled cheese, tomato soup, mandarin oranges, and chai tea (well, she didn't make the oranges : ) ). It was really good! Lydia likes chai tea, too...
Our feet in the leaves...Unfortunately, I didn't happen to get any pictures of Elizabeth, the youngest sister...but I did get a picture of all our feet!

"Shhhhh, Lyds!!"
(what we do in NorCal, hehe... : ) )

Work Incident #4

So I know that I have an unusual name; I guess it fits my personality. But since I grew up with it and have lived with it for 20 years (obviously), I never thought my name was unusual. Apparently my customers think it is. I have gotten so many comments, everything from
"Hmmm, 'Jennica,' that is interesting" to
"What a cute name!" to
"Could your parents not decide what to call you? Couldn't choose between 'Jennifer' and 'Jessica'??"
Well today was a new one:

A guy comes to the counter to buy his items, and he looks at my name tag (a natural thing to do).
"Is your name spelled right??" [confused look from him]
"Yes, this is my name." [highly amused smile from me]
"Really? It isn't supposed to be 'Jessica'??" [still confused]
"Uhhh, no, this is my name!" [bigger smile from me, "this is a new one!!"]
"Oh, hmmmm."
Later I was thinking about it (still smiling), and I thought, "You know, I should have told him that I only go by 'Jennica' on certain days of the week, and all the other days I go by something else....."

Year in Review

Happy New Year!
This comes from a friend who loves all ya'all very much and wants you to know that you have had a tremendous impact on her life! Thanks for spending time with me and listening to my strange ramblings. Thanks for sharing rooms, meals, laughter, tears, conversations, opinions, pictures, clothes, food, class notes, shekels/dollars/pounds/dinars, Frisbees, etc. with me! Most of all, thanks for pointing me to Christ and His awesome love for me and for others! You know who you are, and I cannot thank you enough...

Favorite Classes:

Jerusalem Archaeology, Land and Bible, English Literature I

ibex spring 2006 at the pool of siloam
me, lex, b, and em at megiddo

Favorite Meals:
Kabbalat Shabbat dinners (salmon!), dinners at Katharyn's, sack lunches of pita, parmesan cheese, and chocolate pudding, extra long dinners in the caf with friends elizabeth helping clean katharyn's hands

Favorite Trips:
ISRAEL, Egypt, Jordan, Lake Tahoe, Mammoth, Morgan Hill
friends at the ellsworths' house

New Experiences:
Climbing into graves that are thousands of years old, biking around the Sea of Galilee, learning how to swim, producing over 200 pages of typed material for class, housesitting for 2+ weeks, spending Thanksgiving with people other than my family, being ibex secretary, eating a pigeon, getting a new puppy, sleeping on roofs, working in a library (sheket!), eating pea soup, shooting a gun, learning how to be a good friend

mish, meg, and me at the green bridge
katharyn and i at the hoedown

Favorite Authors:
Richard Halliburton, Mark Twain, the sons of Korah, David

lester and ashley at a picnic for friends
irene and i on my birthday

Things To Do in 2007:
Learn to drive a stick shift, learn to be kind, learn to turn a cartwheel, be a good employee, travel back to Israel, be a college senior, turn 21, visit Washington State (hopefully), be a good sister, read a ton of books, learn to love sacrificially
my boy and i on christmas day

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
- Ephesians 3:14-21, NKJV