On Tolerance, Eccentricity, and Cookies

"I am very, very tolerant of eccentricity. In fact I probably overvalue it."
-Professor Ulreich (of my Milton class)

"I'm serious about cookies."
-Professor Zwinger (of my Late 19th/Early 20th Century American Fiction class)



This semester's English classes sound promising. :)

Some Verses...

are instantaneously devoured by my heart.

"Thus says the LORD, 'Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not a mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me.'"

-Jeremiah 9:23-24a


"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

-Philippians 3:7-11



The knowledge of God is immeasurably precious.

God has been gracious and faithful to me in proving this truth to my heart. In Japan I was stripped of many comforts...including feeling at home with my own personality. There were times when I had to choose whether I would live life abundantly in an uncomfortable situation or freeze or run from it. Often, this would dictate the extent to which I would sow seeds for His ministry. Each day that I chose to live an abundant life amid discomfort, I was not disappointed by His power, but encouraged by the fellowship I had with Him in His sufferings. More than this, I knew Him better through these days.

I pray that God would graciously give me the opportunity and the courage to continue this in a country with so many luxurious (and perishable) comforts. I must fiercely protect my fellowship with Him.