SAI Charity Ball

I Couldn't Resist... :-)

Song of the Redeemed

We who were called to be Your people
Struggling sinners and thieves
We’re lifted up from the ashes
And out came the song of the redeemed
The song of the redeemed
The song of the redeemed

Can you hear the sound of melodies
Oh, the sound of melodies
Rising up to You
Rising up to You, God
The sound of melodies
Oh, the sound of melodies
Rising up to You
Rising up to You, God

We have caught a revelation
That nothing can separate us from
The love we received through salvation
It fills your daughters and your sons
Your daughters and your sons

The sound of Your love
The sound of Your love
Is what You’re hearing
The sound of Your sons
The sound of Your sons
You’ve won Your children
The sound of Your love
The sound of Your love
Is what You’re hearing
Your daughters in love
Your daughters in love
You’ve won your children

The sound of melodies
Oh, the sound of melodies
Rising up to You
Rising up to You, God

~Leeland

Homecoming

Homecoming weekend- Natalie and I at the game; Natalie and I before the game; Natalie, Amy and I before the game; and Geoff, Paul, Me, Amy, and Natalie.

Garden Party

Brothers In Christ

This weekend, two of Paul's best friends, Jason and Elliot, came to visit. They came Friday night and stayed until today after church, and I was allowed to spend alot of time with them. ;) Paul brought them by Olds on Friday when they got to his house, since I was on duty for a little while before the Garden Party (informal first dance of the year), and then they left to get dinner.
They are good boys; I really enjoyed the weekend with them. Elliot was asleep when I went over on Friday night after the dance, but I was able to talk with Paul and Jason. Then Saturday evening I went over while they were making dinner (yummy chicken alfredo) and spent the evening with them. We ate dinner, played jungle pong (like ping pong), and talked for a few hours.
It may sound funny, but after living in a dorm full of girls, it was refreshing to be around boys with their weird humor that cracks me up and their funny brotherly way of beating each other up :P. But best of all was that all three of them desire most of all to put off the things of the world and be like Jesus; it was so refreshing to my spirit to be around them and hear them talk about growing spiritually and what they've learned since last time they saw each other. They truly give meaning to "brothers in Christ", and I felt like thier sister in Christ (well, Jason and Elliot's ;) ). I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with my favorite boy and his close friends, and I hope to see alot of them in the future. Jason may come live with Paul for the last month of our semester, since Kettering gets out a month before Hillsdale; I would like that. Jason encourages, challenges, and loves Paul in a way that is sweet to see and be around.
So far, it has been a good weekend. Paul's mother and grandma are coming for the day today, and I may meet them. We'll see ;)
Now I have to go read Exodus and part of Leviticus... never get behind in Old Testament class! But I'm content to get to work now. God is so good. :)

Yesterday Paul and I were up in the student center at school, talking and waiting for someone he was supposed to meet with. Well, his friend never showed up, but I did hear one end of a conversation he had with his best friend Jason on the phone. Jason and I ended up having a conversation through Paul which ended in Jason telling me it's on between us- haha. Boys.
When the person Paul was supposed to meet never showed up, we walked back to Olds so I could get my homework and then to his house to work, since Olds had no visitation. Once we were there, I opened Pages on my computer to type up notes, and Paul wrote, "Hi, Michal." and this is how our conversation went:

M- Hello, Paul.
P- I think I might have this tiny little crush on you.
M- Yeah? Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but I have a crush on you too.
P- Shut up!! (he likes to impersonat our Armenian friend Ben, who says that)
M- Ok... I guess I will. I knew you didn't really like me.
P- No! I do! Will it help if I tell you I do like you? What else will help?
M- Hm... nothing else. Just you.
P- That made no syntactical or grammatical sense.
M- I'm a girl. I give myself license to write how I want to.
P- Will it help if I come back for you after I graduate?
M- And do what?

He said out loud, "what do you want me to do?" I told him he could do whatever he wanted to, and he said, "I want to let you get a white dress, and put a ring on your finger... I'd like that. I want to marry you." He hugged me and told me he meant it, and I told him I liked it. :D So there it is, we've talked about marriage, and we like the idea... now we just have to wait two years after this school year; that gives us alot of time to just be in a solid, focused relationship. Now that we know where we're headed, it hasn't changed much, but it removes uncertainty; we can just be us. I'm happy with it ;)

As Requested ;)

I have been requested to write a "boyfriend blog" to update you all... ;)
So, let's see. Where to begin? I have been over at his house studying plenty this semester so far, a few times a week, and he comes to sit desk with me when I'm on duty in Olds. So I've seen him alot, and he's always asking me questions (teaching me, indirectly) about things, usually related to the Bible. Recently, we talked about love, marriage, and Christ and the church as a model for husband and wife- but we didn't really talk about us.
But then on Friday night, he took me to dinner in Jackson, which was very sweet, and then we watched a funny movie at his house, called The Burbs. So we didn't actually talk about us then, but obviously, he took me out. ;) Then Saturday he held my hand.... wonderful feeling... :)
Sunday night Natalie, Dane, Amy, and Paul threw a surprise party for me at his house. :) We played Apples to Apples (a card game where you match nouns to adjectives... very funny) and he put his arm around me while we played. Now, I never thought of him as a "cuddly" person, but the past couple days have convinced me that he is, because he loves to study with his arm around me. It makes Ben Johnson go by faster for me too. ;) He also likes to kiss my forehead, sweetly. I can tell he likes me just a little ;)
Of course, the best part isn't being "cuddly". The best part is that he says I'm the most amazing woman he's ever met, and he has a feeling he'll be paying off my school bills when I'm done in three years... and that his plans for the future are to be a pastor and, as he said yesterday, "I think I wouldn't mind getting married somewhere in there." funny boy. ;) Once he's sure about something, he's serious about it, and he seems to be sure about me. Which is wonderful with me, because I really have no problem with the idea of marrying him :D. Now to take it slowly. This does not mean that we've even talked outright about us getting married, just that it seems we are pretty sure we'd like to be married once I'm done with school and he knows where he's going to be. :D
I would so appreciate prayer for us- for guidance, for patience to take it slowly, and just for us in our daily lives. It's so nice to be able to have his arm around me and put my head on his shoulder, but we need to have accountability, something that's hard when his only housemate isn't there most of the time. I have no worries about us, only a desire that everyone around us can clearly see that we're obeying God in our relationship; but sitting in a freshman girls' dorm all the time doesn't seem like the most pleasant solution to having accountability. So please pray for us to be wise in our decisions and how cozy we allow ourselves to be, when we need to demonstrate to others that we are keeping a pure relationship with and without others around. And for wisdom as far as our relationship goes, of course. :) I still have three years of school left, and he's deciding whether to go to seminary, grad school for Ancient Semitic Philology (it has a longer name but that's all I can remember ;) ), or get a job and work for a while before going to school or becoming a pastor. So even if we knew now absolutely that we want to be married, we couldn't be yet.
I wish you could all meet him now. He's such a wonderful guy. He said yesterday that what he wants most is to teach the Word and have God be pleased with him, to be glorified by his life. Even when we're close and quiet, he'll start talking about Jesus or prayer or worship. God is what matters most in his life- in both of ours. :)
I love you all, and I hope you had a wonderful time together on Sunday, all of my aunts and cousins and Mom! :) I'm sure you did. I happened to have a good weekend too. ;)