JACKIE WEEK 2!

NI HAO, PENG YOU!
Wow these weeks seem to be FLYING. But hope y'all are doing super bueno.  
Emotionally/Spiritual Life: 
I've been doing a lot better (compared to last week). There were big assignments due, but by the grace of God I was able to become motivated and get by these last couple of days. I'm learning how to take time out of my day to spend with my main, JC--(Jesus Christ,that is). It's actually quite refreshing to be able to pop by the prayer chapel in between classes (even if it's just for 10 minutes). I desire to get to the point where I can't function in a day without spending time with God. With FOUR WEEKS left until SUMMER I've been  reflecting about this past semester and really what God has shown me. I realized that one of the most important and beneficial things I've down was counting my blessings. This has been especially helpful during the more difficult times. It has helped me notice and become thankful for the things God does in my life--some of which I had taken for granted or never thought existed--instead of relishing it my pit of despair and hopelessness. My roommates and I  created a "Blessings" chain in which we would keep adding on throughout the entire semester (don't hate). So I thought I'd share my portion from this past weeks. I call them my "Winks from God":

• Securing an apartment to live in next year!
• the BEAUTIFUL WEATHER we've been having, getting some of the vitamin D!
• Getting to wear goggles/latex gloves/mix chemicals in lab and feeling like Bill Nye the science guy
• The words of wisdom from my psych of ed professor, even though this class is causing me the most stress
• Dream center/adopt a block: seeing Denise again and getting the absolute privilege to love on her; playing "zombies" with Alex
• "Thursday Roomie Nights"
• God softening my heart slowly but surely 
• Getting the last available Macbook Pro adapter from the library an hour before my presentation
• My brothers and sisters at Southland
• Fever and sore throat are gone!
• Being SO BLESSED by the stories Uncle Lloyd (linguistics professor) tells (he was a missionary translating the bible for 30 years in Indonesia); getting incredible insight about the bible
• Being reminded constantly of why I want to be a teacher 
• The people in my major
• Texts from Joyce
• eating spoonfuls of NUTELLA #jk #notreally #sorryimnotsorry
• Oh my goodness I can honestly go on and on, but POINT BEING: there is so many things to be thankful in our lives, we just have to be discerning to them. When our hearts are filled with praise it's able to transform our outlook and circumstances :)

Scripture:

Something that stuck out to me in Isaiah 60 was how apparent God's light is shown, even in the midst of darkness. "The darkness covers the earth but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you". It is emphasized repeatedly that God's GLORY and LIGHT will rise above all else and that WE get to be receivers of this. I think that the word "light" in this chapter is a reference to the presence of God. It is through his presence that we are able to be DELIVERED from darkness and be immersed in his GLORY. We are only a mere dying flashlight while God's light (as well as his presence) can be radiated throughout the world. I just imagine him doing that Spiderman action except instead of webs shooting out, streaks of bright light stream out of his wrists and spread all over the world (I have a weird mind...). 
While reading these passages, I caught myself feeling extremely unworthy of God's glory and light (kind of what Hao said). It's mind boggling to grasp that WE can even have a sliver of all this good stuff. But as Christians, God desires and invites for us to be a part of his glory. His light is ultimately able to restore the broken, bring hope/peace, and deliverance. 

Physically: 
Workouts every Monday and Wednesday; we focused on circuits and intervals this week so my legs, arms, and gluteus maximus are all sore (but the good kind of sore). I'm hoping to pick up running again soon to build up my lungs. Ju, I might try your 3 mile routine! 

Sorry for the long post! To reward you for reading this far, here is a picture of the cutest baby I have ever seen: 

Have a great rest of the week! 
Be kind, love God, and make good choices :)

<3 jacs