Another Excerpt from my Journal

"When I saw the oddly-acting homeless lady in the Starbucks bathroom, my first thought was Oh my! What a strange, crazy lady. But within a minute or two that thought was followed by "But Jesus loves her". I'm ashamed that this wasn't my first thought. When I came out [of the bathroom] I saw her wandering around outside [of Starbucks] and peering in the door, pressing her face to the glass. I almost wished she'd come back in, so I could have another interaction with her, buy her a drink or something, be able to tell her what I know to be so true, that Jesus does indeed love her. Thank you Lord, for letting me see her through your eyes."

Busy times

Let's see...I've been studying practically every spare minute these last couple weeks...we have our first set of exams in another week and I'm starting to get really stressed about them. I'd really appreciate your prayers for my studying this next week and for the exams to go well!
Yesterday I was in the nursery at church, and this mom brought in her little tiny 2-month-old baby for the first time. As she handed her to me, she started telling me how there was a bottle of water in the diaper bag and to just add two scoops of formula powder if she got hungry. Then on second thought the mom said something like, oh you can just give her her yoghurt if she gets hungry, it'll be easier than mixing up a bottle. I was speechless! After mom left, I turned to Carrie, my fellow nursery-worker, "Did mom just say to feed her YOGHURT if she gets hungry?!?!" It was Gerber baby yoghurt, but babies aren't supposed to start solids until AT LEAST 4 MONTHS OLD! Their digestive systems just aren't ready for anything besides mommy's milk or formula! And this precious teeny tiny little baby was so skinny...her little arms and legs were so thin! I felt bad because I knew she probably wasn't get enough nutrition from eating yoghurt all the time, but I also knew it wasn't my place to say anything to mom...even if I am almost ;) a doctor...I can only hope baby's pediatrician says something...okay, enough about that...now that I've gotten that off my chest.
The message at church yesterday was just awesome...it was entitled "What's worth your passion?" and was about how it's worth it to love God more than the world. I was really convicted about how there really are some areas of my life that I haven't completely given to God...God really does want all of us. God enjoys my affection more than I can ever imagine! And God has invested so much in His relationship with me!
SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST:
This precious little girl, Christal, who's story I've been following for a couple of years now, went to be with Jesus yesterday morning. She had been fighting a brain tumor for 4-5 years now. Please be praying for her family. You can visit her site and leave an encouraging message for them. I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to lose your precious child.

A tangled web of love

What do you do when you sense the dynamics of a friendship shifting into slightly more than that? What do you do when someone loves you but you just aren't attracted to them like that? What do you do when someone wants to start going out with you and all you want is to remain friends just like you've always been?
My friend Brian likes me...I like him too, but only as a friend. I don't want to hurt him...but I know already that we are not morally, religiously, or even recreationally compatible (we don't even like doing the same things), not to mention the fact that I'm just not attracted to him. But how do I let him know that without hurting him?
Furthermore, how do I set and stick to boundaries when we aren't actually/officially going out?

Please pray for my little sis

My little sister, Anna, just moved down here and is starting school at the University of Redlands. She's having a lot of trouble adjusting to being away from home for the first time and fitting in at her new school. Could you all please pray for her?