December 6, 2009 by simkel
Well, it has been a WHILE! Sorry, it’s been super crazy. Can’t give an update right now, but here is a part from a book that I’m reading right now that I thought you all would find encouraging. I guess this is more to the women.
“Do you realize? You don’t need a man by your side to validate you as a woman. You already are loved and valued. You’re good enough exactly as you are. Do you believe this? Because it’s true. You have limitless worth and value. If you embrace this truth, it will affect every area of life, especially your relationship with men.
You are worth dying for.
Your worth does not come from your body, your mind, your work, what you produce, what you put out, how much money you make. Your worth does not come from whether or not you have a man. Your worth does not come from whether or not men notice you. You have inestimable worth that comes from your Creator.
You will continue to be tempted in a thousand different ways not to believe this. The temptation will be to go searching for your worth and validity from places other than your creator.
Especially from men.
But you don’t have to give yourself away to earn a man’s love. You’re better than that. You’re already loved.
Your strength is a beautiful thing. And when you live in it, when you carry yourself with the honor and dignity that are yours, it forces the men around you to relate to you on more than just a flesh level.
You are worth dying for.
When you live in your true identity, when you find your worth and value in your creator, when you live “in Christ,” in who you really are, you force him to rethink what it means to be a man.”
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November 10, 2009 by simkel
1.) My first day of clinical is tomorrow. FREAK OUT! Downside: I have to leave at 6am for this sucker; which means I will be waking up at 5:15am. yuck.
2.) I am becoming a member at Bethlehem Baptist Church. I’m excited to make a commitment to this body of believers.
3.) We are having an ANTI-Gadkin party in our room this Saturday and watching The Proposal! Go HERE to find out details about what Gadkin is. We are supposedly celebrating our singleness…I think we’re just sulking in it. ha!
4.) I get to take ANOTHER Pharmacology exam. Lucky me!
5.) We are having our 2nd Campus Outreach Wednesday (COW) meeting for Bethel tomorrow at 9pm. Colby is talking on “The Difficult Sayings of Jesus.”
Posted in Me, Nursing, Random, campus outreach, school | Leave a Comment »
November 3, 2009 by simkel
I feel like the majority of blogs that I read are centered around…well, us and our inconsistencies. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are a few books in the Bible specifically devoted to this topic (Lamentations, Most of Psalms, etc.). However, by spending so much time on our “inconsistency,” our “emptiness,” “our lack of feeling God,” etc..are we neglecting to talk about how great God is?
I know that it’s good to focus on our sin because this should increase our picture of Jesus. However, by turning inward so much, are we missing out on the opportunity to glorify God in everything we do?
Are we making war or just thinking about our need to make war against our sin?
Are we bringing glory to God or just thinking about bringing Him glory?
It’s not time to be immobilized.
Psalm 106:8, “Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name, That He might make His power known.”
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October 19, 2009 by simkel
1.) I just saw a featured blog on my WordPress homepage that was titled, “I’m not blogging about politics, I’m blogging about boobs.” All I’m gonna say is….maybe she should think about blogging about politics.
2.) Jesus raising people from the dead is symbolic to him making our hearts alive when we were dead in our sins -Luke 8:50-55 I was the girl that he took by the hand and said, “Child, arise.” awesome.
3.) Apparently, it’s been claimed that Bethel girls are hotter than Northwestern girls. I’m not sayin’…but I’m just sayin’.
4.) I found out that if I tell my parents that I was going to be flying in from MN and visit them for a hour-hour then fly back…I would bring them more joy than I have over the past 21 years of my life.
5.) No matter how much time I put into nursing, I still have a ton more to do.
6.) Most of my high school friends put their hope in unsatisfying things. Makes me sad.
7.) I’ve learned a ton about integrating my Christian faith into nursing. Very thankful for this.
8.) I look completely different than my first year here at Bethel. Apparantely, it’s a pretty big deal.
9.) Kids still think it’s funny to spray a whole can of Axe on their friends while in public places. Unfortunately, the rest of us innocent bystanders have to suffer from hyperventilation or just getting high…
10.) College students get fatter because they don’t sleep.
Posted in Humor, Me, Random | 7 Comments »
October 16, 2009 by simkel
Posted in Humor, YouTube | 3 Comments »
October 12, 2009 by simkel
Today marks the day of your 23rd birthday, Whitney.
You are a wife.
A mother.
A daughter.
A sister.
My sister.
Words on a blog cannot express my gratitude and love for you. I have loved watching you care for your husband and lovingly raise your children. If only I could be half the wife and mother that you are, I would be blessed.
You’re one of a kind, Whit. Accepting and wise, truthful and helpful, confiding, forgiving…
I wish I could share a thousand memories that I have of you…but I’ll just give you my favorite. We were around the age of 9 and 11, laying in our beds late one night and could not fall asleep for the life of us. I remember asking you to sing me to sleep. Your voice has always been my favorite. So there you went, you sang…and sang…and sang. Before I knew it, I woke up to the morning…to a new day with the words to your song still in my heart. I’ve thought of this a lot over the years.
Praying through Colossians 1:9-14 for you on your birthday.
I love you, Whit. I hope your day was enjoyable and encouraging.
Posted in Family | 2 Comments »
October 12, 2009 by simkel
I get so angry at people who downplay the role of God in their life.
So many people wish to not “Christianize” things and they end up neglecting Christ altogether.
Where has the mystery of grace gone?
We prefer to rationalize, theorize, and philosophize everything in our life apart from Christ, that we forget the root of our story.
For believers, the core of our stories…the motivation for our life should be the grace of Christ woven into our lives.
As I have reflected on my past over the last few days, wrestled over my sin…I have come to see a greater picture of God’s grace in my life. I see that my story is more beautiful because of God’s grace, not despite it.
When I remove the beautiful mystery of God’s grace in my life, I lose the core of my story. The story of God’s redemption in my life IS my life story…without it, I would be dead. How can I try to rationalize my story outside of Christ?
We are making our stories pointless when we remove Christ.
Posted in Jesus, Me | 1 Comment »
October 8, 2009 by simkel
Since Minneapolis has seemingly skipped fall and gone straight to winter, I have been nostalgic as I reminisce about my favorite things of fall:
5.) Forgetting that sunny days still have a bite to them.
4.) Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate (with espresso, of course!) and a good book
3.) Maddy warming my heart with her artsy fall sayings
2.) Having my affections stirred for Jesus by the colorful leaves outside
1.) sunny days.
Posted in Me, Random | 1 Comment »
