Priorities

Graduation came and went, and already my first wedding of the summer has passed us by! (Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Brown!!!) I enjoyed a wonderful visit with my sister and parents, and now I just have to settle into the summer swing of things. The kids have one week left of school, and I have one week left of quiet at home. I'm actually really looking forward to spending more time with these great kids, since we only have 2 more months of time together. We've been reading The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis together, but we have to keep moving if we're going to finish the series before I go.
Life is still pretty crazy, but I'm enjoying it. At a certain point you just have to realize what your priorities are. For me, it's the people in my life, and the ministries I'm a part of. But even ministry can get in the way of what's really important: my own walk with God. I'm spending time tonight in prayer and the Word, but I realized that it's been a while. Why does my quiet time go on the back burner? Do I really have my priorities straight?
So, before I write any more, I'm off to spend more time with God. He's my priority tonight.

Run with Perserverance

I've never been an athlete. I still wouldn't call myself one, but I am proud to say that I ran my first 5k on Saturday, and I did far better than I had anticipated. My friend, Abbie, ran with me, and we snapped this picture afterwards:

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When I signed up for the race (maybe 6 weeks ago?), I also downloaded an app on my phone that gave me a training plan. That plan had me running most days, anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. The idea was to build up endurance and prepare for the race. However, I got sick 3 weeks before the race, and couldn't run for an entire week. I had to re-work my entire training schedule! In my training, my pace was just over 10 min/mile. However, on race day, my pace was just under 9 min/mile. I suppose with adrenaline racing, and rain falling, I was super duper speedy.

Isn't that how life is, though? We make plans, and prepare, and then a curveball hits us right in the stomach. Oh, you thought you would raise enough money to go to Germany in 4 months? Nope. Try again. But then we pick ourselves back up, and with strength that can only come from our Creator, we press on and rework the training plan.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

This Sunday is graduation! Yes, I know what you're thinking: Didn't you graduate last August. Yes. Yes, I did. But, I also wanted to participate in the graduation ceremony with my friends. So, almost a year after graduating, I'll walk across the stage in a dorky cap and gown to finally feel like I graduated. I have the diploma, I have a job, I haven't taken a class (for credit) since last July, but I never felt graduated. So here we go. Come at me, world!

The results of prayer

I have an apartment! For those of you who don't know, this has been a prayer request for the past few months. Most of the apartments in Kandern cost about 100-150 € per month more than I had originally anticipated. However, I was just made aware of an affordable, convienient, and spacious (for this price range) basement apartment only a 15 minute bike ride from the school. This is an exciting answer to prayer. Thank you for your prayers, even if you didn't know about this specific request. Please continue to pray that I will reach 100% support before August.

The past month has probably been the busiest since my last semester at Wheaton, over a year ago. I have a commitment almost every night, and work all day, plus the other nights in the week. Here's a typical week: Ethics of Education class, which I am auditing at Wheaton, on Monday, Tuesday I will either babysit or cook dinner for the family, Wednesday, maybe cook dinner and help out with youth group at my church, Thursday I have small group. Friday and weekend nights can have a variety of activities, including but not limited to, Senior banquet, babysitting, improv shows, movies with friends, getting sick and going to bed early. It's been pretty crazy here lately. I also just started tutoring a woman from Iraq in her English, so that she can get a job soon!

Senior Banquet

Basically, through all this busyness, I've been learning what's really important to me. When I realized how many activities I had signed myself up for, I really thought I should drop something. Who has enough time in their week for all of this? I do. If I wasn't doing all of these things, you know what I would be doing? Watching netflix in my room. That's not a good use of my time when I could be preparing myself for ministry. So that's exactly what I'm going to do! I found I couldn't choose something to drop, because I felt that each one was preparatory in a different, yet very important way. So, I kept everything, and my weeks have been crazy, but fulfilling. Exhausting, and yet productive.

For me, busyness means staying involved in what God is doing. I can stop being busy later. For now, I choose to work hard for the Lord!

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24

Support Update: 70% Praise the Lord! Thank you all for your prayers. Still in need of about $700 per month to get me to BFA. Please contact me if you want to be a part of what God is doing at BFA.

Spring Cleaning

Now, I know it's not Spring yet. But don't we all have junk in our rooms/homes/lives that we just need to get rid of? I sure do. I've been reading Romans lately, which is awfully dangerous if you are harboring sin in your heart. Paul just cuts to the heart of the matter. No matter your situation in life, you have no excuse for sin. So cut it out!

"So they are without excuse . . . their foolish hearts were darkened . . . therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity . . . because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie . . ." Romans 1:20-25

"But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant hear, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath . . ." Romans 2:5

What are you holding back? What lies has the world convinced you of, instead of the truth of God's world?

I actually made a list in my journal of lies from the world that I have spent a good deal of time believing. Then I found scripture to disprove them. Here's a sample:

• Lie #1: Your body is your own. What you do with it is your choice.
• "You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body." 1 Cor. 6:19-20. And this goes for finances, time, and other resources that God has blessed us with. God has given us gifts, but they are on loan, and we must honor him in how we choose to use them.
• Lie #2: It can't be wrong if it makes you happy.
• "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Phil. 2:3-4. We should not seek our own pleasure. We are called to serve our Creator and his creation. As Christians, we are servants. We must live sacrificially, not selfishly.

I challenge you to think about sin/lies in your own life. What is God calling you to give up, to confess to him? Lay it at his feet; seek his forgiveness, and his help in removing it from your life. I'll be the first to admit: I'm weak and I can't root out the sin in my life alone. I need divine strength to resist the temptation. And it's even harder when the sin lies in your thoughts. Actions are so much easier to control than thoughts. When I was in high school, I used to pray this verse as I fell asleep, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things," (Phil. 4:8) because I felt that my thoughts were so hard to control.

Think and pray about the sin in your life. Don't hold back, because God already knows what you've done. He's already forgiven you and covered you sin in his blood, he just wants you to admit your guilt, humble yourself before him, and ask for his forgiveness.

Belated Christmas Greeting

I know it's already February. (February, where did the time go???) But, here is a quick update about my Christmas break.

Here's a funny story: I spent Christmas in the hospital. Christmas Eve we had a lovely evening with my family, including my Uncle Pat, and a friend, Lindsay, from church. We always make three kinds of soup (this year's menu included Seven Onion Soup, Broccoli Cheddar, and Minestrone) and eat a late meal following the Christmas Eve service. I went to bed that night with a full tummy, but was unable to sleep. Sometime in the night, an intense pain shot through my abdomen. I'll spare you the details, but the short of it was, I thought I had appendicitis.
Throughout the night in the hospital (accompanied by my wonderful and long-suffering Mother), while being poked, prodded, and scanned, the pain began to lessen. Around seven am, the doctors determined that I did not have appendicitis, because they couldn't see my appendix in any of the scans or tests. I went home and was back in bed before the rest of the household even noticed our absence. After a brief nap, we resumed our Christmas morning festivities. Imagine the surprise of our well-rested relatives when Mom and I came to breakfast with our tale. However, it was not over. The hospital called, requesting that I come back in for one last consultation with the surgeon, who had seen something else on the CT scan. I spent two more hours in the hospital (with my Dad), which added nothing to our knowledge of the cause of the phantom pains, but took time away from our Christmas brunch at my Aunt and Uncle's. I hope this story brings you a smile, because I can only laugh about it now. Did I simply overreact to a stomach ache? I suppose I'll never know.

Stay tuned for more (recent) updates!

Becoming Mary Poppins

Since my last post, I have become a full-time nanny for three wonderful kids. Naomi, 7, Sebastian, 6, and Gisselle, 2, are a joy and honor to get to know and love. Naomi is a bright and avid reader. She does gymnastics and ice skating, and loves to draw, play monopoly, and stay inside to read. She likes to assert her position as the oldest sibling by answering questions meant for Sebastian, since, after all, she was in first grade last year. Sebastian loves soccer, bike riding, and hockey. He may be small, but he has a fiery spirit and packs quite the punch. He currently sports a bruise under his eye due to a fall on the playground, but seems generally unfazed by it. He loves playing with his younger sister, and is hard to wake up in the morning. Gisselle is my buddy. We hang out all day while Naomi and Sebastian are at school. She loves her baby doll and her pink bear, and has a blossoming vocabulary and a sweet, shy nature. She just started gymnastics class this week.


Sometime I feel like Mary Poppins. I love to sing with Gisselle and Naomi, and I actually dressed up as Mary Poppins for Halloween! (Sorry, didn't take any pictures in the costume.) But the kids ressed up for their school Halloween Parade. Sebastian was an air force pilot, and Naomi was a mermaid. Gisselle was a ladybug, but she wasn't in the parade. Probably because she's 2. Enjoy the pictures!

Sebastian (1st grade) in the school parade.

Gisselle on a fall day in the park, holding the pumpkin she picked out.

Naomi (2nd grade) on the left, posing as a mermaid at her school parade.

Gisselle and I on Halloween, with her baby doll and teddy bear.

Out for dinner with Auntie Risa!

Gisselle refusing to smile for the camera.

Leaving the Nest

This past month at home has definitely been a blessing. The weekend I got back, we had a family reunion for my Grandma’s side of the family, and we saw many of my Dad’s cousins that I didn’t even remember. I also enjoyed spending time my younger sister, and helping her pack for college. We left on August 14th. A trip to college, for our family, equals family vacation. Anna's school, Anderson University, is about two hours from my Aunt and Uncle and cousins in the Charlotte, NC, area. So we spent several days with them before the big move.

These few days involved a whirlwind of activity. We spent a day at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte. This involved not only rafting, but zip lines, ropes courses, and biking. We were exhausted at the end of the day. The next day (poor planning?) we went to the amusement park where my cousin Caylie works, Carowinds. Another full day of adventure and excitement.

Now that I'm home, the last birdie in my parents' nest, what am I going to do? Move out, of course! My job search led me to a full time live-in Nanny position for a family near Wheaton, which I was offered last Thursday. They were hoping to find a Christian to commit to at least one year, possibly two, with their family. I have told them that one is all I can do, because I plan to be in Kandern, Germany next August. I’m so very excited to get to know this family and their three kids, and to spend "senior" year near my Wheaton friends.

While I was praying about all of this, I started to read Elisabeth Elliot’s biography of Amy Carmichael, a missionary to India. She too had setbacks and periods of waiting before she “shipped out” overseas. In August 1892, Amy was all packed to sail for China, but the mission doctor did not clear her to leave. Amy returned to where she was staying to wait on the Lord, “but one thought never left her, ‘This is not your rest.’” After praying and waiting for months, Amy did go. This next will be a period of waiting on the Lord, praying for His guidance, and continuing to raise funds to serve. But I have this reminder that it is not a year of rest. I cannot rest when I long to follow the calling I have received.

If you would like to be added to my email update list, please send me a quick email at amanda.carini@my.wheaton.edu. Thanks!