A Book Recommendation

In the August 2010 I started to read the Bible. Before then I had read bits and pieces, but never really the whole thing. I think I started at Matthew. From the day I started I committed to reading a bit of the Bible every day. At first, the amount wasn't much. Some nights (I've nearly always read at night) I would read only a paragraph. But eventually I started to read more and more each night.

I finished Matthew, then read half of Genesis. Then Acts. Then a few Psalms. I was all over the place.

Then about a year and a half ago, possibly two years, I decided to read the entire Bible. I set a rough goal to finish before I graduated (at the rate I was reading then, I wasn't sure if I could).

I started at Genesis and read all the way through 2 Kings. After that I skipped to the New Testament and read until Revelation, then went back to the rest of the Old Testament.

In January I didn't really set any New Years Resolutions. I rarely do. But I did make a commitment. I told God that I would finish the Bible before I graduated. I would for certain. This meant I really had to pick up the pace. It was a discipline, not in the sense of punishment, but in the sense of making myself do something.

I finished the Old Testament a few weeks ago. Now, four weeks before graduation, I have less than half of Revelation to finish. I am happy to say that I will finish before I graduate.

It hasn't always been easy to make myself read. Sometimes it took everything in me to crack open my Bible for just a few minutes before falling asleep. Guys, I'm not special because I made myself do it. I just knew it was important. And wow, reading the Bible is so illuminating. All the disjointed Bible stories - Jonah, Daniel, Joseph, John the Baptist - come together into one, cohesive whole with all the in between bits filled in.

And most importantly, I've learned a lot about who God is. I have learned about His love and mercy, His faithfulness to those who trust in Him. I've learned that He is the most important thing in life, and that my life here on earth is nothing at all in comparison to what He has for me. Of course, there is so much I don't understand. A lot I never will get because - let's face it - I'm certainly not God, and there's no way a silly human like me can truly understand the Creator of the entire universe.

Still, actually reading the Bible has illuminated so, so much. And I accomplished a goal that I didn't know if I could really hold myself to. But I did and I am so glad that I did.

I encourage you to pick up a Bible, as well. Maybe you have read the whole thing already, or maybe it never seemed important, or maybe you just really don't get or care about this God thing. Regardless, reading the Bible will open up your eyes to the world in a whole new way. If it's your first time, start small. Just read a tiny bit each night or morning or during lunch.

No matter how much, it's worth it.

A Sign. A Great, Big Sign.

A few weeks ago I posted about college, and where that part of my life is taking me. Some exciting things, to be sure. At the time, several things were still up in the air. Today, I can talk about them for certain, and exactly how God led me to go where I will be going. I will recap this post briefly, or else some of this might not make too much sense.

This season in life - being a senior in high school, applying to colleges, finishing up school, writing seemingly endless essays over every topic under the sun - is exhausting. I had my plan and applied to 4 universities, and a few scholarship programs. One was my dream, two my "safe" schools, and one my back up. Then last minute I decided to apply to another school, another school that was really good, a great research university, and had a lot of exciting options. A few acceptance letters trickled in, I looked into the schools, visited one, but I couldn't really envision myself at any of them.

My family and I assessed costs of the schools and realized that most likely my "dream" school wouldn't be a possibility without some hefty scholarships. I hadn't heard from this school, or the other really good school, yet, so I held out hope.

Then came an envelope. It was a big, full paper sized envelope, and from a school that I hadn't even applied to or really considered. But printed on the front were the words "scholarship information." Curious, I opened it, and read it over. The school was pretty much offering me a full ride.

I didn't think too much of it at that moment - after all, I hadn't applied there and I had my plans all set. I'm a planner, down to the smallest detail, and this was a very unexpected variable. (Sounds silly, doesn't it?) But slowly it started to grow on me, and I kept coming back to this school. I did research, my dad looked into it, I scoured the website.

That was about where I was when I wrote the previous post.

I was getting more and more excited about it. I sent in my application, and got an acceptance a few weeks later. I really liked this school. I could see myself living and studying there. It just felt right. But again, my plans. This wasn't part of them. So I prayed. Almost jokingly, I asked God if He would give me a sign. A literal sign would be great, God. Like a great, big billboard. If I see a billboard, I'll know it's the one. I had never seen any sort of billboard for a university before, and the thought passed from the forefront of my mind.

This past week I went to visit the campus. I loved it. Everything just seemed to be falling into place. I could afford it, easily. The campus itself was amazing. By the end of the tour, my decision was pretty much, if not entirely, made up.

The next day we drove home. From the backseat, I glanced out the window...and saw a sign. A big, orange billboard advertising my school. A billboard. A big, huge billboard on a highway.

I knew. That was God. I could imagine Him grinning, reminding me that He is faithful. I've got your back, girly! He does. He has got my back, and right now, I am just looking forward, right at some sparkly awesome things that I am sure He has in store for me.


This post is part of Memorial Box Monday, hosted over at A Place Called Simplicity. Seemed like the perfect time to share. :)

Fix all the things!!!

Some days, that's all I want to do. Fix everything. If there is a problem, it is up to Super Savannah to save the day!

Except. I'm not Super. And most of the time, I sure can't save the day. I know this in my head. All the logic stuffed into my cranium tells me this all the time. But my heart? It could care less about any logic. It just keeps telling me to FIXALLTHETHINGS.

If a friend has a problem, I feel like I have to find the perfect solution. If there is a typo somewhere, I need to make sure it's changed. If someone is confused about something, then I better help them figure out the solution. I mean, those all sound like great things to do, right? I'm helping people, right?

Except sometimes help isn't help at all. Sometimes it can just be annoying. I know I don't like it when people keep reminding me or advising me or "helping" me with things that I don't need help on. Managers that remind me how to do something that I've done -- correctly -- dozens of times. Teachers that remind you about an upcoming deadline every single day...for six weeks. That person who corrects every grammatical mistake? Yeah, I can be that person. It gets old quickly.

In the past, this has been a huge problem for me. Honestly, friendships have been torn apart because of my urge to help too much. Luckily, I can see the issue for what it is now. Self-realization is a wonderful thing, even if it really isn't that pleasant.

I once heard someone say something along the lines of, "Help is only help if it's asked for; otherwise, it's just an intrusion." That's definitely paraphrasing, but I can't recall where or when I heard it, if it was a person, on the radio, or online, so the approximation is what I've got. Regardless, it is so true.

So that is something I am working on. Help only when help is asked for.

Now I'm not referring to charity or volunteering or the like. That's an entirely different topic. I mean the little things. The ones that make me think, "I can make this all better!" And you know what? Maybe it isn't such a different topic at all. Maybe it's that I see all the things wrong in the world -- the big things, like the millions of neglected orphans, or massive political turmoil, or corrupt business practices -- and I get overwhelmed. So instead of trying to think of how I could fix those problems, I subconsciously find relatively tiny things that I can conceivably fix and try to do so even when it really is a bit silly.

In essence, I see that I'm no super hero, and I can't save the world, but part of me still wants to anyway. The good news is: that's what God is there for. We don't have to fix all the things wrong. We aren't meant to fix them all. Sure we should help as best we can. We're supposed to do that. But be perfect? Bring about world peace? We can't do that. Only God can do that, in His perfect timing that we can never, ever possibly understand.

God's plans are bigger than this planet and our few decades on it. They are bigger than our understanding of the past, present, and future and bigger than all of human knowledge combines. They are bigger than everything and every happening and every way things work in the entirety of existence.

A scary thought. But, to me, also pretty comforting. Because I know, that no matter how many things, big or small, that I fail to fix, in the end, it will be okay. And don't we all need to know that?

Incredible

Reading through the Bible, specifically the Old Testament prophets, I am amazed at God's power. How can I even try to describe it? What words can I use to describe this incredible sense of how large God is, and knowing that my understanding is nothing compared to God's true might.

Everything we read in the Bible - the loss and gain of Israel's independence over and over, John the Baptist, Christ - all of that has been orchestrated precisely by God. And foretold. That's the part that amazes me. Not only does God make amazing things happen, but He tells us what will happen, and in some cases, exactly how.

Jesus's entire life fulfilled so many prophecies and his death mirrored the sacrificial procedures to an incredible extent. If you read the Old Testament descriptions of sacrifices, and then read about Christ's life and death, there is no denying that He truly was the ultimate sacrifice in the very literal sense.

The way God wove all of that together into a beautiful, redeeming gift leaves me breathless. Our God is a remarkable God.

Thinking About College

Since I'll be going to college in a few months, and making my decision within weeks, I've been thinking about college a lot. Many times a day, every day. I haven't heard from all the colleges I applied to yet, so there is still that unknown, but for the most part, my options have been pretty straightforward. I had a mental list of the colleges, in the order that I most wanted to go to them, considering they were affordable. Everything was in order.

However, little things kept going wrong. Annoying, silly things that shouldn't have happened - one after another. My school wouldn't send my transcripts. The letter of recommendation wouldn't submit. The school form wouldn't process, over a month after it should have.

At the time, I dismissed all of these troubles as little, ordinary inconveniences. Now, I am starting to think that there may have been a larger purpose. Why? An out-of-the-blue surprise.

I received a letter from a college that I hadn't even considered or given any thought to. Usually I just throw away all the spam mail from random colleges, but I opened this letter. Maybe it was something about the big, orange starburst on the envelope front that said, "SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION."

I pulled out the single, 8.5" x 11" piece of paper and skimmed over it. Then I read it again. They were offering me a full ride, plus a stipend each semester. Nearly all expenses covered.

At first, I didn't think too much of it. After all, I hadn't applied there and it wasn't one of my choices. But as days went on, it started growing in my mind. My parents started looking into it, I browsed their website. Everything about this college felt right, and still right now, feels right.

Some reasons why:

1. I had been saying for a while that I would end up going wherever is cheapest; this school has proved to definitely be cheapest.
2. - I want to go somewhere that has a lot of good research opportunities in the realm of Nueroscience (my intended major); this university has an entire school devoted to brain studies.
3. I've had to share a room with one, and sometimes both, siblings for the past four years, and I am a fairly picky/light sleeper - so the prospect of sleeping in a dorm with someone I didn't know wasn't all too exciting; this university has suite style dorms, so I will pretty much have my own room. I will have more space than I have had in years. Holla! (Yes. I did just say that.)
4. This is the first university that I can really see myself at. None of the others that I visited or applied to felt, well, right. The atmosphere and ideals never quite fit me and my interests and goals. Until this school. Even - no especially - for a totally off the radar school, it feels perfect.

I still have a few weeks to make my decision for certain.I'll be going to visit in a few weeks, around the time that I'll here the "for certain" from the two other colleges I haven't yet heard from. I have options to weigh and things to consider. Mostly, though, I'm trying to listen to God's prompting. Right now, I feel very led towards this school.

I must say, I am pretty excited!

Hello, There

I feel called to write.

However...I don't know what exactly I should write. Scratch that - I have no idea. I simply feel that God is calling me to write. I have for quite some years, but the little voice in my head keeps giving me reason after reason why I shouldn't.

Well, I'm tired of listening to that little voice. If God is calling me to write then you know what? I'm going to write. Too often I let tiny, silly, and often illogical worries keep me from doing what God wants me to be doing with me life. I can't stand to let myself keep listening to those worries! I know, as gosh darn annoying as it is, that I will succumb to them again. But right now, right now in this very moment, I am not. I'm going to write! I'm going to share what I write! Even if people don't like it, or think it's silly, or no one reads what I have to say.

This isn't about me, God. This is about You. It has always been about You, and always will be. I just don't like to hear that sometimes...or a lot of the time.

So, now that I've figured out that bit (the "I'm going to write" part, in case that wasn't clear enough)....

Actually, I have no idea what to do next.

Hi, God. Yeah. So, what should I start writing about? Any ideas? Thoughts? Inspiration...? I'm certainly open to suggestions, God?

....

Alrighty, then.

Flying by the seat of my pants (which, if you think about it, sounds really uncomfortable) is what I shall do.

I might post regularly. I might post totally sporadically. Perhaps once a week, or once in a blue moon. I'm not too sure what I'll be saying either. Each post will be like...like a box of chocolates! You never know what you will get.

Ah, I just love obscure (ha) movie references, don't you?

Anyway, that is that.

Talk to you later, my friend.

- Savannah