200 stolen (from Mr. C) questions

200. My Middle Name Is:
Elaine

199. I was born:
December 17, 1983 @ Blodgett Memorial Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan (at 11:09am)

198. I am:
an adopted child of the living God, a student, a teacher, a daughter, a sister, a friend, an auntie to all my friends' babies, and learning something new (or several things!) daily...

197. My cell phone is:
capable of sending random blank text messages to certain people (rather then messages with crucial information that i think i was sending...)

196. My eye color is:
greenish-hazel

195. My shoe size is:
women's: 10.5 or 11 men's: 9ish (because i have wide feet. LAME! )

194. My ringtone is:
Big House by Audio A. I recorded it from the computer... speakers ;)

193. My height is:
5 feet, 4 and three quarters inches. given I am barefoot and not slouching.

192. I am allergic to:
kitties (if they are unclean or hair-shedders - but i still likes them!), tree pollen (as I discovered in Arizona! boo.), ragweed, and men. I think I may also be allergic to romance novels that have nothing to do with Christ... *shudders*

190. I live in:
a house with my family (for now) in my old bedroom since I was about 15...

189. The last book I read:
finished? "Betrayal" by Jeanette Windle. VERY GOOD. :-) Currently reading? Several... ;)

188. My bed is:
blankety. lots of blankets. I sleep like a taterpiller...

187. Are you happy with your life?
yes :)

186. Last person to send you a text message:
amyconklin!

185. Ever smoked a cigarette:
only those pretend candy ones that get dust everywhere. haha.

184. AIM or MSN or Yahoo:
google chat, skype, and aim. depending if someone is on any of those and wants to trade voices or letters...

183. Do you email:
of course, but i PREFER hand-written snail....

182. How is the weather today:
moist. and there are leaves all over the ground everywhere. it is neato-keen.

181. Do you have your wisdom teeth:
in my mouth? no.... in a box? ....yes. haha.

180. Ever been to Disney Land:
no... and i could have gone, too! hmmm... someday maybe when i grow up i will go.

179. My favorite holiday is:
Resurrection Sunday!

178. The perfect date:
I've always been partial to anything in May. that's usually when things start acting all green (at least in mitchigin...) OH ... the other kind of date, I would say - is a leader who has done his research and planned something Spontaneous that is adaptable to change depending on weather and mood. bua haha. possibly involves throwing o shooting things, or playing with Play-Doh.

177. The last three cds I bought:
Shai Linne's Storiez and Atonement, and Philip LaRue, I think.

176. Last song that made you cry:
a lot of LaRue's songs make me cry. not really.

175. Who is your favorite cousin?
Lesley and Melissa are my close-in-age cousings. . . :) and we grew up relatively close. Melissa's really far away up in Ishpeming now. boo...

174. Who is your favorite road trip bud?
Lester!

173. Who are you IMing right now?
Ryan was clarifying his confusion about Skype. . . a few minutes ago.

172. Who's the last myspace page you looked at?
I have not a clue. I only get on THERE about once every three months.

171. If you could have a baby at the same time as someone else, who would it be?
if I coul PICK? Kelli or Christee, or someone that is near to my age in the same city that can tolerate me, but at this rate, it's going to be Quentin's wife... hahaha.

170. What did you do yesterday?
made Christee go mall-walkin' with me, crocheted some christmas presents, watched "The Visitor" and "17 again" and got frustrated with the prophet Isaiah.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
142. Love at first sight?
yes... I love to love on people. hehe.

141. Luck?
y charms? yes. they are tasty. Luck, though, is a "no."

140. Fate?
only in plays.

139. God?
yes, and someday everyone willll...

138. Aliens?
i AM one...

137. Heaven?
yes . . .

136. Hell?
yes. :(

135. Ghosts?
sure

134. Horoscopes?
re: believe = put trust in, A = no.

133. Soul mates?
my shoes and socks usually match. Hopefully if God has a man for me, he plans on sticking around. Therefore he has to be my left foot. . .

WHICH IS BETTER:

129. Hugs or Kisses?
depends on my mood. Hugs are good for comfortation, kisses are good to share love. I love getting kisses at church (even though I'm still getting used to it! hehe)

127. Phone or Online?
in.. person. seriously, why is this not an option. boo.

126. Red Heads or Black Hair?
I um... don't get it. I like everyone that has a head, whether it is hairy or not.

125. Blondes or Brunettes?
i like both. . .

124. Hot or Cold?
i am warm-blooded, i like cold drinks, and i like hot drinks too.

123. Summer or winter?
fall! sweatshirts = amazing!

122. Sun or Rain?
lots of sun with a body of water in the distance. And then a thunderstorm.

121. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate times infinity!!

120. Night or Morning?
morning when i feel productive, night when i am frisky.

119. Oranges or Apples?
apples with a book

118. Curly or straight hair?
mine is teh best - it can be both, depending on humidity and curling irons (as a straightener). i like people that aren't ashamed of their hair (or lack thereof)

LAST TIME I:

101. Saw someone I hadn't seen in a while?
all the time, ha.

100. Cried in front of someone:
a few weeks ago i think. i cry easier these days. meh!

99. Grew:
apparently some time in college. haha.

90. Who is the ditsiest person you know:
i don't know.

89. Who makes you laugh the most:
many people. God has blessed me with many silly friends. hehe.

87. The last movie you saw:
The Visitor *SEE IT.

82. The thing I don't understand:
calculus and women.

80. The most unsatisfactory answer I've ever received:
well i am a selfish human bean so to me, many answers are unsatisfactory, but by far the worst is "I can't..." from a student who obviously CAN. (boo)

79. The things I plan on doing this summer are:
taking classes, finding places to do practicum, hopefully driving to see some new babies slash old people (on road trips!), finding a job (because schools aren't open in the summer for subbing, usually...)

74. The thing I'm looking forward to most:
That Day.

73. The thing I'm not looking forward to doing:
grace and truth types of confrontation. The truth part is harder for me to "get out."

72. Today:
could be it!

71. This summer:
past? was GREAT. future? ihavenoidea!

70. This week:
is almost over! He is risen!

62. The person who knows the most about me:
Jesus. and then maybe my Christee and Kelli. or Tracie...

61. The person who can read me the best is:
Mel is a reader. boo!

60. The most difficult thing to do is:
let guys lead in friendships, especially when they are still learning (as am i). meh!

54. First time you had a crush:
like 5th grade. grrr.

52. Last time someone said what you were thinking:
Connie before Bible study when we were chillaxin. haha.

51. What is your dream job:
teeeechur n mummy

49. First job:
babysitting, delivering the Advance. Then Red Hot inn (meh!)

46. I hope:
on occasion, to be married some day with a dozen wee things

45. The best smell in the world is:
men's cologne when a man walks by (haha). Or turkey.

44. The person that makes me cry the most:
God

35. Florida or Hawaii:
Mexico?

33. My favorite piece of clothing:
jeans!! (boo teachers having to look "professional!" )

32. My favorite sport is:
to watch - basketball. to play - carpetball. haha.

30. My friends are:
also family. :)

29. My computer:
gets dusty.

28. The school I go to:
right now is "Grand canyon university" - back then, was MSU..

22. The all-time best movie is:
Pride and Prejudice (the BBC version that is 6 hours longish)

21. The all-time best thing in the world is:
the incarnation of Christ.

20. Last thing you ate:
maybe some moon toast.

19. The most annoying thing ever is:
the sound of chewing ...

18. The most annoying person you know is:
that one person. haha. i don't know.

17. I lose all respect for people who:
give up too soon.

16. The movies I have cried at are:
Life is Beautiful, Up, The Notebook, The Passion of the Christ, Flicka. haha. I don't usually cry at movies.

15. Last phone call:
me mum

14. TV shows you watch:
on tv? nothing. on my computer because we have no channels on our tv? Teh Office, Parks and Rec, Grey's Anatomy, 30 Rock. . .

13. Last friend you hung out with:
Christee Marlene Vosburg

12. I want to be:
a mom! haha. or... able to understand Isaiah.

11. The worst pain I ever felt:
maybe when my wisdom teeth were out, but that was actually kind of fun.

9. My room is:
kinda grungy looking. the paint color is.. very Joey.

8. My favorite celebrity is:
I like Brian Regan and Adrian Brody and Mr. Bean. haha.

7. My top person on MySpace:
i don't know. i don't go!

6. My favorite color is:
green lately, and Blue (and navy blue more lately).

5. My weakness is:
thinking

3. Who broke your heart:
me; also, a few people that want nothing to do with Jesus.

2. Things that make you feel great are:
me mum and little brothers! music! revelation! crochet! learning languages! socks! hoodies! the smell of fire! caffeine!

1. If I could do one thing to change the world, it would be...
Crochet on trees. and signposts. haha... or be more genuine about who He is.

Isaiah is annoying me at the present. . .

I've spent so much time reading narratives and epistles lately that jumping back into the Prophetic Books (on my way through the Bible again) are being a difficult mental transition. Meh! So and therefore, I shall not "move on" until I get what's "goin' on..." Or something. But really, indepthly reading books like Romans/ Galatians and the chronicles and Paul's letters is good, but as far as staying on top of those books and continuing my progression through the old testament, ... it's going to be tricky to segregate and integrate my thoughts where necessary. *sigh*. . .

I'd love to discuss the objects of my reading with you all sometime... really! in person, on skype, on googlechat, on aim, with a cup of caffeination, with water, on a walk, in a box, with a fox, ... erm, yeah. But seriously. Being a teacher has taught me so much ... more on that later. My heart needs some logos.

eharmony

Today I subbed for a class of fifth-graders. Overall, they were amazing kids, even if a large number of the school was out sick; However, there was one thing that... I have to share. Because it was one of those times that - as a teacher - laughing at the moment is unacceptable. Such as this.

The students are sitting at their desks, working on copying a Hallowe'en Poem onto a piece of paper. Sam finishes early, and starts pestering other students. I walk over to see if I can find something for you to do.

Sam: "Mrs. Johnson, are you married?" (It's either hit or miss with my name (no pun intended)... I only stress "MISS" (not Ms. or Mrs.) on occasion)...

me: nope.

Sam: "are you single?"

me: yup

Sam: "have you ever dated anyone?"

me: yup (if one can count a junior high romance...)

Sam: "You should go on eharmony."

me: hmmm... Are you ready to work on your newspaper project now? [while internally dying of laughter]

...a few minutes later, one of the girls confided in me "Miss Johnson, Sam wasn't being very nice earlier. He said you should go on eharmony..."

[commence internal laughing]

me: Well, it's ok... mumblemumble...

He DELIGHTED in me.

This morning I woke up - an hour early - super refreshed from not-that-much sleep, and the remnants of my dream stayed with me for the majority of the day.

Jud Kratzer - a friend from college: one of the brave older souls who lived in the dorms with mostly freshman, full of wisdom and humor, and knowledge of fishtype things, who married an amazing woman and dashed off to the great northeast...

was in my dream. He gave me some sage advice, although I'm not even sure how he got in my dream...

And somehow we were talking about how people express themselves differently (perhaps this is because I find it extremely hard to put myself / my thoughts into spoken word at times, as most of my close-ies know. . .

And he said something along the lines of "you're more poetical than logical..."

which was weird, but it makes sense to me, in a way. It's so hard to just "out with it" in conversation sometimes, especially as is the American non-patient way of life and needs answers NOW. I like to think before i speak, and when people are impatient, I end up saying stupid things that never needed to be saying. I've been learning again the importance of shutting up - not all the time, like in high school - but when necessary.

And it's good. . .

But then I woke up with a verse dancing through my head:

He delivered me because He delighted in me. (psalm 18.19b)

And even though I've, well, delighted in this tidbit of a verse before, it was amazing to wake up to it. God is so so so amazing. And beyond my understanding. So I am not even going to attempt to expound - but I'd love your comments! (on blogger or on the FB)! :)

walking (on the path of) the gospel

Getting into God’s Stride: from My Utmost (October 12th) for His Highest, Updated Edition

“Enoch walked with God …” (Genesis 5:24).

The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (see John 1:35–37 and 3:30). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him—it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God, there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but once we have done so, the only characteristic that exhibits itself is the very life of God Himself. The individual person is merged into a personal oneness with God, and God’s stride and His power alone are exhibited.

It is difficult to get into stride with God, because as soon as we start walking with Him we find that His pace has surpassed us before we have even taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined in His ways. It was said of Jesus—“He will not fail nor be discouraged …” (Isaiah 42:4) because He never worked from His own individual standpoint, but always worked from the standpoint of His Father. And we must learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning. It is God’s Spirit that changes the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and then things begin to be possible which before were impossible. Getting into God’s stride means nothing less than oneness with Him. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don’t give up because the pain is intense right now—get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new vision and a new purpose."

Of course, as a human, we tend to forget. . .

But God knew this, and gave us some neat verses to remind us: Among which is my favorite (though convicting) passagette in Hebrews:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. ²We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven. ³Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don’t become weary and give up. ⁴After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

⁵And have you entirely forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, his children? He said,

“My child, don’t ignore it when the Lord disciplines you,

and don’t be discouraged when he corrects you.

⁶ For the Lord disciplines those he loves,

and he punishes those he accepts as his children.”

⁷As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined? ⁸If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children after all. ⁹Since we respect our earthly fathers who disciplined us, should we not all the more cheerfully submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father and live forever?

¹⁰For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in his holiness. ¹¹No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

¹²So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. ¹³Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong. - Hebrews 12:1-12 New Living Translation (I know, new wording! But sometimes it's good to see/hear/read the Old Words in a new voice....
In other words, tonight was good. Very good. A smaller group of people gathered at Rob and Connie's for the Therefore Bible Study, and overall it was very encouraging. The topic? Circumcision and confusing people, to start. Wherever His chosen gather, though, there is just ... something. What a gift, this fellowship: true fellowship is only able to happen when two or more people let God "in" on their conversation (in the Olde English "conversation" = way of life; and in the modern-day useage of "conversation" = discussion, talkin, et cetera.)

And the last little bit - though not so Little - of Galatians 2 is a great reminder that it's not Us who has to worry, who has to be good all the time, who has to do the Living.

If one can say, "I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. . . I am crucified with Christ,
Nevertheless I live (apparently a kindergärtner can spell this word because it is a compound word made from (at least) three (3) words!) ... it is Christ who lives in me, then

yet not I, BUT Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh i live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, & gave Himself for me...

And we worry. ...

God forbid that we should so easily cast Him aside from our meditations and ponderings.
Make our hearts clean, Abba, so we can carry Your Word in our souls more effectively.

*Meditate on what Jesus says, everything that Jesus says...

"Meditate on what Jesus says, everything that Jesus says...

Do you really know the words of the Lord?

The words that He spoke to and by His apostles?

Do you really know Jesus by His inspired word?

There is danger that you will begin to worship an imaginary Christ, not the Christ who says the things that are written, but a Christ of your own imagination, a harsh Christ who has not the meekness of Jesus, or a permissive Christ who is not the Holy One of God. It is so easy for us to invent another Christ and fail to be in subjection to the true Lord. But what joy it is to come to Jesus!

It is far from true that we have to choose between a dead book and a living Lord; the very reverse is true. Only in the living Book, alive by the power of the Holy Spirit who inspired it and who illumines it, only by the power of the living Book, read, preached, and shared, only by that living word of the Lord do we now come to the Lord of the Word, the living Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has spoken to the fathers through the prophets, has spoken at last by His son."

from Our Savior God: Studies on Man, Christ, and the Atonement Ed. by J. M. Boice
Selection from page 77, authored by Edmund P. Clowney, in the section entitled "The Unchanging Christ"

my answer

"i will say this: the Gospel may be simple in that it is possible for one to give a slight definition in X number of words, and therefore easy to "remember" but outside of word count, it is (un)fathomably ridiculously mysteriously whoa."

The above won me the "I'm learning to use logic better award" from Mr. Derek Anderson (ha ha ha ha), who unwittingly provoked me to think for myself and was patient enough with me as I grappled with attempting to understand his logic regarding the Gospel.

I am still learning, and don't plan to stop any time soon, and ever so grateful for the brothers and sisters He has given me to spur me onward in the faith. Thank you, Jesus!

How do you memorize very long lists?

Anyone who's ever read any of the letter's written by Paul knows that he uses lists quite often. (This may be partly hyperbolic, and you may have no idea to what I am referring, but Paul the apostle ... well, he employs the use of lists quite often).

So my question to you is,

what is your strategy for memorizing lists? Do you have one?

Here are a few I have tried slash am willing to try (as generously donated to me from Dennis, Joey, Derek, and Emily.

1. ACRONYM
This is basically something you will remember the rest of your life, whether you want to or not: "IP-MAT" (the five phases of mitosis: interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telephase).

Also: Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge ...

2. Song Transitions

"Sing it to a tune that gets stuck in your head"
Example? "This is the song that never ends..."

3. Write it out, over and over and over
Repetition is the key to learning, however, this wouldn't work while driving (for most people). . . ;)

4. Walk really fast and read it out loud.

Or march, and read in sync with your steps

5. Rap it out.
Just go gansta for a few minutes and come up with a slammin' rhythm. It helps to have a younger sibling interested in percussion... *him, her, he, or she...

6. Group according to various parts / factors. Then, memorize the groups.
You can group depending on punctuation, (commas, semi-colons) or possibly on opposites / related words.

Cutting a list into ma.na.gea.ble pieces is what our brains do naturally: look at phone numbers! 1-(234)-567-8910 they "break down" into bits of 3s and 4s.

So, my question is to you, how would you group / list the following List of Grossness, as it shall be referred to from here outward? Would you use one of the above methods, or do you have something that's "tried and true?" I'm anxious excited to hear your suggestions!

²⁸And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; ²⁹Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, ³⁰Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: ³²Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

*from Romans Chapter 1, KJV. . .