Lunatics on the Loose at Cowan's Gap!

I'm pretty sure the people who saw us all thought we were drunk or something. We're just high on life! Really! :D

I would update the GBU, but I don't remember enough about this week! :)

I can tell you it was pretty good. Night class was cancelled Tuesday night, so Megs and I took a walk. I took a walk with Dana another night, I had a good pointe class, Dana and I choreographed a dance... Let's see... Friday at dance, I did my first triple pirouette!... Then a few turns later, I actually fell down... lol But Laurel said I fell really gracefully. :) I managed to post two chapters of my lotr fanfiction. I haven't started on the next yet. Friday night I took a really nice walk and ended up dissecting garlic with my fingernails whilst sitting on the cliff over the road. Felt like old times.

This afternoon, Megs, Liz, Dana and I drove up to Cowan's Gap and had a picnic. It was so much fun! And we got soaked. My jeans were WET! We just had dinner a little while ago, and between that and the picnic, I am so full. We decided we have to do this again before the semester ends. But we need to go and buy water shoes first.

Megs and Liz were sunbathing. These were all taken with Meg's camera, as my batteries were dead. We all took some pictures.
Liz took this one.

You know, God just keep working in ways I've never thought of before. I was kind of upset last week, because the pastor gave an altar-call, just for anything at all, and I felt called to go up, so I went up and prayed. And I mean, it was a pretty intense prayer, and settled some things that really needed settled. But I was the only member of the congregation who went up! I'm not used to that--at our old church, people went up to the altar all the time, especially the youth. But anyway. So I was slightly embarrassed. And then the pastor asked as I was leaving if there was anything specific he should pray for, and I said no. And obviously, I know that's his job, and I should be grateful, and all that, but I somehow felt patronized and humiliated, like everybody thought... Oh, I don't know. But I was terribly embarrassed, and pretty angry about it, not at anybody in particular, just angry. So I was complaining about this to Mom on Friday night, and then just a little while later, I realized that this is exactly the kind of experience I've been praying for. I've been praying that God would use me, and would break me to His service, even if it hurts. And I realize, pride is one of my big problems in my relationship with God. And this altar-call, I mean, not only was it a big thing for me, that prayer, but I think it was kind of God's way of saying, "Look, you need to be willing to be completely humiliated for me." I mean, think how much God was humiliated for me! He was completely innocent, and He was hung naked on a cross between two thieves! Talk about a humiliating and painful way to die! Can't I even go up to the altar when people could interpret it any way they want to, for Him and for the sake of improving my relationship with Him? It was pretty awesome when I realized that. And realizing it, the humiliation just sort of went away. I mean, C.S. Lewis, though the medium of the forgiven murderer in The Great Divorce, says that you have to stop "looking at yourself", you have to "give yourself up". Not that you ignore your faults or refuse to work to improve, but that you stop focusing on you. And that's totally what I need to learn to do, to let go of my pride and my self-consciousness--and my confidence, too!--and Fully Rely On God. I tell you what, people, I finally understood that poem.

...Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace.
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes shall ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour.
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain.
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.