Grandeur in DC

A few weeks ago, almost three weeks now, I went to DC. I went with my two roommates, Emma and Mary Sue, and one other friend, Rebecca Hobbs. Over fall break, we got up early in the morning and took the bus straight from our college right into the heart of DC. We had so much fun. We went to the top of the Washington monument, visited the WWII memorial and Lincoln memorial, ate lunch in the Reagan building, walked down the National Mall, saw the library of Congress and went to the National Museum of Art. It was a busy, tiring day, but thoroughly enjoyable. It is a great privilege to live so close to so many opportunities.

My favorite part of the day was seeing the Capitol building. I have been in the Capitol twice, but always through entering another building and taking the tunnel. I never had actually seen the exterior in person. Now of course, all of DC is grandiose. The Lincoln and Jefferson memorials resemble roman temples; the White House is wonderfully manicured; and the Washington monument sits in the middle as a very visual reminder of the grandeur. But the Capitol building was especially awe-inspiring. It was huge. It was intricate. It was beautiful. It inspired respect and awe. I'm pretty sure the pictures can't do it justice.

While I was in awe of the building, I thought about what the point of all this grandeur. Where was the glory pointing? Obviously, the point was to glorify this nation, and our system of government. I enjoy this nation. I am loyal to it, and I am extremely grateful for the privilege of living here. I have no problem with celebrating this country. But I couldn't help thinking that we have a better country awaiting. And while the beautiful grandeur of the Capitol points to the glory of this country, there will be glorious, wonderful grandeur in our true country, and that grandeur will point to the glory of God. I was reminded of Isaiah chapter 6:

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;

the whole earth is full of his glory.'

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke."

Just imagine that! Don't we serve a God that is amazing, glorious, awesome and wonderful beyond our comprehension? How much glory is He due? All that we have to offer! "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" (Revelations 7:12)

~Carissa

To God be the Glory

Maybe you guys can help me with this quandry: what should I do when I get good grades? If I tell people about it, I fear that I'm boasting and claiming the glory for myself. But if I keep silent, no one gets the glory. So I've come to a decision. I will tell of my triumphs, but please don't attribute any of the glory to me. I have shared a few of my struggles, now I will tell you of some successes. May God get the glory for all of my accomplishments, in every area of my life.

I have all of my grades back from my midterms. I was shocked by my grades (and in an entirely good way!). In my Research and Writing class, I received an A on my final exam and an A+ on my final paper. I scored a 86 in Western Civilization, 86 in Theology, and an A+ in Logic. But I am most glad of my 96 I earned in US History, becuase the US History test is definitely the hardest test of all the Freshmen classes.

Why am I telling you this? I want you all to know what God is doing in my life. How is God glorified if I share only my struggles and not the successes God has given me? I know these grades are the work of God. Yes, I studied hard. Yes, I tried my hardest. But Who has given me the capacity to study, or the ability to focus, or the brain to retain? One overarching theme of what I am learning here is that I am not sufficient to handle everything on my own. Which is why I am so wonderfully grateful for God's wonderful grace. He has and will continue to give me the strength to accomplish all that He sets before me. That is why He, and He alone, deserves the glory. :)

~Carissa

Happy November 1st!

I'm beginning to see a pattern here at college: I start to see a weakness of mine, I see the "weakness" with greater and greater clarity until I realize that it is a huge hole, I am overwhelmed with my inability to fill the hole, and finally I run to God and in Him I find all the strength I need. This past week was no exception. It was a rough week. Not for any reason in particular. I was very lonely. When I looked around, it seems like the people here are starting to form really close friendships, and I haven't. Sure, I have friends. But not like my friends back home. Of course, these friends will never be just like my friends back home, and I realize that. I felt pressure to act certain ways in certain groups and I didn't feel comfortable enough to be myself. Most all of this was my fault; my pride and insecurity gets in the way of relationships. But God is merciful, and He forgives my sins. This past weekend He has provided some amazing opportunities. On Friday, a friend from California was out here to check out the school. It was so exciting to see someone from home. He brought me two packages from home containing popcorn and cookies and banana bread. Mmmmm. Yay for care packages from Mom. :) I got to show my friend around a little bit, and on Friday night his dad took me, Makishi and Brett Harris out to dinner. For those of you who don't know, Brett Harris along with his brother Alex have written a book to teen called Do Hard Things. They put together confrences around the world and are impacting the culture. They are doing some awesome things for God. It was such a neat opportunity to visit with my friend and learn what Brett and Alex are doing next. Since then more and more cool things have been happening. The father of another student from Southern Cali came out to visit and he brought In-In-Out for a bunch of us, and his mother sent me some pumpkin bread. :) I've watched good movies with good friends (and some not-so-good movies), worked as a porter at a funeral, and visited a corn maze (but being college students, most of us lacked sufficient funds so we just took lots of pictures). Tomorrow my roommates and I are going into DC to see the sights. And we don't have school until Wednesday! God is good. He has put some amazing people at this school and has given me some incredible opportunities. I can't wait to see what kind of lessons, friends and situations are in store for four years.

Until next week,

~Carissa