"Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." ~Proverbs 25:25

i've been tired this week, battling some sort of ailment or illness. i am going to the doctor today to figure out what's going on with my body.

tonight is all-campus worship. i'm excited! it's always great to see a big auditorium packed with people singing praises, worshipping, and just lifting their eyes up to the Lord.

oh yeah! lory is done with her bar! YAY! nat's done with his quals. YAY! hip hip hooray!

alright, i gotta get back to work. ciao!

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn". ~Romans 12:15

this summarizes what's been going on with me the past few days, sort of. i've rejoiced many times with fellow brothers and sisters in their celebrations, and mourned with those who mourned too. but the past few days has been different, and it has given me a glimpse of what Jesus said in Mark 10:8a-9, "So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." in addition to "mourning with those who are mourning" (or in this case stressed with those that are stressed).

let me clarify a little bit. nat is taking his big scary qualifying exam next monday (2/21), and he's been feeling stressed because of it (and also his homework, conference paper he needs to write, and a exam this week). and the past couple of days, it really hit that i am feeling stressed to, and kinda experiencing that with him right now. i don't think i've really empathized in the same manner as it says in Romans 12:15 than now, and i think in some ways it's a preview of being one in marriage in all aspects including emotional and spiritual. it has made it hard for me to sleep the past couple of nights. but Praise the Lord that i was able to actually sleep through most of the night last night as opposed to waking up every couple of hours the two nights ago (it's probably partly due to the fact that i took some allergy medicine right before i went to bed. allergy medicines and ramona don't mix well b/c i get restless/wired and also getting tired, weird i know. )

because of this, the Lord has led me into fasting and prayer for nat (and lory) in their time of need as i empathize with him (and her). and it's been good b/c before i fall asleep (cuz right now i have a hard time falling asleep) it's led me to pray more for others which helps my mind not to feel as stressed, so i fall asleep easier.

on a different, less stressful note, nat and i celebrated our first anniversary (of courting) yesterday. yes, it's on valentine's day, and no, it wasn't planned. since nat has Bible study on monday, we decided to celebrate on saturday. nat took me out to timpone's (which is a nice italian restaurant in town), then we went to mariko's flute recital, and then we went to matt and kim's party. it was a fun day. this past year with nat has been amazing. as i was praying for us before lunch, all these thoughts of what the year has been like popped into my head, the good and the bad, and it's amazing to see how God has led us together. so that was great. i can't believe it's been only a year, it seems much longer than that.

oh, kinda tangent, wedding planning has been going great! i haven't been stressed about it the past few weeks, so praise the Lord again!

anyways, i'm going to finish up lunch now, and then go to class. tired, but i'm going to wait to go to bed tonight! must resist napping!

proverbs 16

so i was inspired by God and dennis with regards to proverbs. so i've been going through the OT in order for awhile, and it was/has been a challenge to go through psalms, and now proverbs. i guess i like it when there is more of a theme in large chunks.

but today, as i've semi-done my quiet time, there were some verses that i really liked out of proverbs 16 that really apply to my life and nat's life. here are the verses: (proverbs 16, all in NLT)

1 We can gather our thoughts, but the Lord gives the right answer.
3 Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed.
9 We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

from these verses interdispersed in the chapter, i just pondered and chewed on it a little bit. it has great application right now as i'm feeling a little bit stressed with all the school work that i have to do right now. and for nat b/c he woke up feeling stressed about his qualifying exam (big scary exam you need to pass to be a PhD student). so in our stresses, worry, and anxiety, i've been learning that it's really great to pray to the Lord, and it's nice to have the Word back up this thought!

but then, the beautiful thing about reading these verses is that i've seen the promises fulfilled from these verses while planning for the wedding so far. eventually, i had to let go of the planning, and the Lord has shown me how He's "determined our steps" and the fact that our "plans will succeed". ah, willing obedience and blessing, how they go hand in hand.

praises!

two big praises. (the Lord is so amazing.):

1) one of my professors i found out is Christian! dr. rantanen is a professor at UIUC, and he's teaching my human error class. we started talking about it b/c on my signature to my e-mails, i generally have verses that are meaningful to me, and he asked me if i knew about the Christian fellowship on campus for faculty, and invited me. so that was really really cool!

2) the church approved our date for our wedding on august 12, 2005. so, i'm really excited about that! it's such a huge praise, and makes the wedding day more solidified and real. so i'm really excited.

but, i definitely have a third praise that's tied with number 2:

3) my mom and dad. they've been so loving and supportive. my mom and dad have taken the time out of their busy schedule and go look at reception halls. it's been really amazing to see their love for me. and, they've been so supportive financially, which is amazing as well. so BIG PRAISES ALL AROUND! PRAISE THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD!