Friday, November 6, 2009

The Soundtrack of my Day

"Lord of Lords" by Hillsong

"California" by Hawk Nelson

"I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas


These three songs are a glimpse of the roller coaster that the last two days have been.

What have I learned? God is Faithful. God speaks clearly. God does not stutter. God is Good.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The Road Not Taken

I feel like I am at a cross roads right now...here is a poem that gives a good picture of it.

---

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Check Marks

There is something satisfying about check marks. Those two simple lines connecting at a 45 degree angle speaks volumes.

Finished
Complete
Finalized
Accomplished
Concluded
Satisfied
Done.

Today I receive the ultimate check mark in my General Education box on my degree audit. This means that I am finished with all of my G.E. classes!



The Achiever in me may sleep tonight :)

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Crock pot Theology

I have recently discovered the joys of the age old cooking device, the Crock Pot. For some reason, growing up, I always associated the crock pot with a meal I did not like (Sorry Mom). For the life of me, I can't remember why I had that feeling toward it. Maybe it was because we were not having pizza or mac'n'cheese for dinner. Who knows...

But now the Crock Pot produces delicious meals that melt in your mouth :)

Since I have been doing my own cooking, I have been sticking to things I know how to make: Sandwiches, Pasta, and Tacos. It's been two months and I am now bored with my current menu. So I decided to venture into the unknown and try new things. A few weeks ago, one of my staffmates made dinner for our staff from a Crock Pot. I liked it so much, that I asked for the recipe, thus embarking on my cooking adventure.

A cool thing about cooking with a Crock Pot is that you just assemble the ingredients, turn it on and wait for 5-6 hours. Then you come back and eat! Since this was my first time using the Crock Pot, I was unsure of this process, so here is the conversation I had with one of my housemates:

Me: "Do I need to pre-cook the chicken?"
Erin: "Nope, just put it in the Crock Pot."
Me: Do I need to mix the ingredients?"
Erin: "Nope, just put them in and turn it on."
Me: "Should I add water?"
Erin: "Nope"

Nervous to do something wrong, I put the ingredients in and let it cook. I came back and had the best Sunday lunch ever!

As I was preparing this meal, I was struck at how similar this process is to other areas in my life. As many of you know, I am currently going through the recruiting process for a full-time job in the accounting field for next fall (Firms hire a year in advance).

Throughout this whole process, I feel the need to keep adding extra ingredients or stir the pot. I hate waiting for that phone call to continue the process. I think, "What if they need more information?", "Should I clarify a certain aspect of my resume?", "What if my email didn't go through?", "What if they tried to call, but my phone dropped the call?"

Not all of these things are likely to happen, but they go through my mind nonetheless.

Throughout this whole process of essentially marketing myself to a firm, the words I have heard repeatedly are "wait, calm down and wait."

I have been faithful to assemble the correct ingredients: my GPA, my leadership experience, my respectful relationships with my supervisors. Now I just need to wait and let God work in this process. The more I try to add, the more I try to push out God's hand.

I have come to realize the I cannot go into as demanding a field as accounting is without God. Therefore, whether it is California or Washington, Big 4 or small firm, I want to be where God wants me to be. I truly believe that God has an intent to bless me in this search process. Therefore, I have to daily relinquished control of application packets, interviews, firm visits and emails.

I have added the ingredients. Now I need to be faithful to wait.


May God continue to give me this attitude as disappointments arise and excitement builds.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Discovery...

Year 4. Finding #327

There is an elevator in Sutherland Hall.

Who knew.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Music Makes Me Lose Control

I should not listen to music in public places. A song comes on and I just start to move. The beat speaks to my soul and I can't control myself...

Currently I am sitting in Commons Grounds, our campus coffee shop, listening to the Black Eyed Peas. Every few minutes I start down that road of inevitability...

    The tapping of the foot
       The nodding of the head
          The moving of the shoulders
             The rocking of the torso along with the beat...

I catch myself before something really embarrassing happens, but there is that sliver of disappointment that I have to contain my kinesthetic appreciation of the music.

Growing up, I never liked dancing. I always joked that I was the only girl in my school that did not take some sort of dance class. I found joy in aggressive sporting activities, not ballet, or tap dance. Now I can't help but feel the music and want to move in way that does not preserve the study environment, that is Common Grounds :)

It's a good thing I'm not compelled to sing...

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Be My Everything, Please!

Tonight was Meet the Firms at Biola. Nine accounting firms came to campus to collect resumes and hand out business cards. As a senior, this is the time that I look to find an opportunity to get noticed by a firm and secure an interview, which results in a job. However, in our current economic climate, interviews are not as readily available as I have been told for the past three years. This news was expected, but still discouraging. All night I walked around with a fatalistic view of the pointlessness of this event.

How can I get a job when other people are losing theirs?
How can I get my foot in the door of a firm when the door is locked shut?

However, as I was sulking, I was reminded of a worship song we sing at Biola. Be My Everything by Tim Hughes is all about submitting all the areas of my life to God and asking him to be my everything. Here are the lyrics:

God in my living
There in my breathing
God in my waking
God in my sleeping
God in my resting
There in my working
God in my thinking
God in my speaking

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

God in my hoping
There in my dreaming
God in my watching
God in my waiting
God in my laughing
There in my weeping
God in my hurting
God in my healing

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
You are everything

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
Be my everything

You are everything
Jesus, Everything

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When I have submitted myself to Christ and he is my everything, I am in the hands of a master. So though I may only see closed doors right now, God has something open for me and he will show that to me in his timing, which is perfect.

2 Samuel 22:31-33