Aubrianna Marie

Baby Bree is here!! I had just gotten out of a class Friday at around 11am & I checked my cell phone to find I had about 4 missed calls, & a text that told me that Amber's water had just broke. Chaos ensued. Lol! So I ran on over to the registrar's office to get a weekend pass, & thankfully they were really willing to tweak the rules for my situation. So I had to finish out the rest of my classes, & then I started the long drive from Northland down to Madison. I got another call (one of many throughout the day) from my other sister, Rebecca. Amber had gone into labor & was at the birthing center already. I finally arrived at about 11pm, & little miss Aubrey was already here =) She is beautiful, & my sister & her hubby are thrilled. What a miracle babies are!! Thank God for a safe pregnancy & delivery =) Here are some pics of my beautiful niece:

Zambia, Guam, & the same awesome God!

So I just got back from a bonfire a group of us had down by Reflection Lake here at Northland. It was actually for society rush...great fun =) Anyways, the Mary Slessor society, & their brother society, the Brainerds, got together & had s'mores around a campfire down by the lake. We also sang some songs, & gave testimonies. Two of the testimonies really stuck out to me. There was a guy here from the island of Guam, & his story told about how he had really not been walking with the Lord up until this year. But God was working in his life, & He was leading him to Northland. He provided a significant amount of money for his college tuition, a laptop, & winter wear (he's coming from a tropical island, so he wasn't exactly prepared for winter here in Wisconsin. Lol!) I'm doing NO justice to this story, but believe me, God is doing some awesome stuff!! =)

The other guy was from Zambia. Well, technically he's from Zambia & Minnesota. Figure that one out, haha! But anyways, his dad was in politics of some sort, so they would move around to the different countries whenever there was like an uprising or anything like that.
He obviously grew up in a Muslim society, & he went to a Muslim school. He speaks Arabic & English, but the other boys at his school didn't know that he spoke Arabic. So there were talking about how Christianity was 'foolish' & Jesus was an impostor. So Mana (the guy whose testimony I'm trying to retell, & not doing very well. Lol) Mana told them in Arabic that Jesus was the only way to get to heaven. So the other guys told the teacher, & the headmaster of the school came in & told him that he needed to put on the 'holy dress' & read the qu'ran. He refused repeatedly, so they called the police. The police came to his home (they were in Pakistan at the time) & they began to beat his mother. This was when he told us that when all of this took place, he was only 9 years old. They beat his mother, & threatened the rest of his family. Then his father came home & asked what was going on. They shot & killed his father that day, & for the next two years they could not go to church. They would hold prayer meetings in their home. Through all of this, Mana was just praising God for how good He is. His faithfulness, His grace, & mercy! What a challenge, huh?

We as Americans take our religious freedom for granted so much! It's so amazing to see Christ shining through guys like Mana, & challenging us all to be bold in our faith. On Sunday, the Pastor was talking about how when the church in Acts was persecuted, they never prayed for the hardship to cease. Instead, they prayed for boldness to share their faith, no matter what! I know this is really convicting to me.

I wish you all could have heard him tell his testimony, I know I really can't convey the story nearly as well as he did, but I hope that if nothing else, if makes us all think about the things we take for granted, & that we remember the faithful & steadfast love of God, not matter what our situation.

Who loves Tim Hawkins?

I love Tim Hawkins!!! Haha =) This guy is hilarious, so I had to share two of my favorite videos. Enjoy!

College Daze

Oh my goodness, it has been a crazy couple of days, I don't quite know how to sum it all up, but I'll do my best.



Well, Wednesday when I got here, I just unpacked & tried to get settled in. Since I'm the last kid at home, I'm now used to having my own room, & its about as big as the dorm I now share with 3 other people, so thats been an adjustment. But my roommates are all really great, so that makes it easier =)



Thursday, I actually don't really remember all of what we did, I know that's bad since it was only like 2 days ago, but whatever. Lol. I do remember that Thursday night I had piano auditions, & that went really well! It is probably the first time I've played in front of people without having my hands start shaking. Haha! So praise the Lord for that =)



Friday, bright & early, I had Aural Skills testing. Which, let me tell you, is great fun! *note sarcasm* Ok, ok, it's not that bad, but it is very difficult for me. We had to listen to the Professor play different intervals, or patterns on the piano, & then we had to write down whether it was a major 5th, or perfect 4th, or G7, or whatever the case may be. So not my forte! Lol. Next, we had music theory....nuff' said. Haha! I really haven't been taught theory at all, except for this spring, I had to cram because I was involved in about 4 competitions that required some theory. But, I am not on the college level. So please be praying for me with that. =)



Saturday was pretty full of freshmen orientation meetings, but in the evening, the student body put on some really fun activities. We all got together in the gym & they had like goofy videos, & some games. It was a blast. Afterwards, we went down to the lake & sang worship songs & gave some testimonies. Afterwards, there was a fireworks display to usher in the fall semster. It was really cool =)

Today I went to Grace Baptist Church, & I really liked it. It reminds me of my home church, so thats nice. Then A group of us went on a walk around one of the lakes on campus, & that was SO much fun. A good way to get to know some new friends. There are some awesome people here, & I'm excited to meet everyone.

Classes start tomorrow, & I'm still having a few issues with my schedule, so please be praying for me about that. Thanks everyone, & please let me know if there is anything I can be praying for you about. =) Have a lovely week.

*dun dun DUN!!!!*

Well, that was my impression of scary music...not very good, I know. Lol!

Anyways, THE BIG DAY IS HERE!!! I'm finally going off to college today! I'm super excited, but a little bit nervous too. I knew this day was coming, it just didn't seem like it would ever actually get here.

I spent a wonderful weekend with my family in the Wisconsin Dells. My sister & her husband live there, & she is now 8 months pregnant, & pretty much the cutest pregnant lady you will ever see! Haha =)

So when I got back, I just had to finish packing, it now seems like I have packed everything I have ever owned into those handy-dandy rubbermaid totes. I never really realized how much stuff I had until I had to figure out what I actually NEEDED to bring to college. Lol.

God has definitely provided abundantly for me!

Thank you all for your prayers & encouragement to me, you guys are the best =) Please be praying for me as I adjust to sharing a room with not just one, but 3 other people. Lol. I'm sure I'll be with some great girls, but other than camp, I've only ever shared a room with my sisters, so it will be an adjustment. Also be praying that I will be diligent in cutting out time to spend with the Lord each day. I know I will have a busy schedule, but devotions are SO important. Last but not least, I will be auditioning to get into the music program at Northland, so PLEASE pray that I don't get too nervous! When I get really nervous, my hands start shaking, & its just a mess. =p Haha!

Anyways, thanks again everybody! I hope you all have a fantastic week =D