[insert your life here]

Last night I went to my very first hockey game. It was cool (in more ways than one). The Titans (our team) lost in sudden death over time. In the back of a red chevrolet hatchback, which on a good day could comfortably seat two people, Mish, Jess, Addilyn and I played our own version of musical chairs while our ride and his friend bought slurpees with dimes from their friend Rabbi at Mac's. There were only minor injuries and Rabbi didn't seem to mind the dimes so much...

I have been thinking about Lent and all the commitments people have made around school. My neighbors aren't listening to secular music, another isn't eating after 800, and many have eliminated sweets. What happens when Easter comes and we have fulfilled our promises to God? Last year I stopped watching TV for a month and haven't enjoyed it since. God changes our desires when we give addictions and pleasures up to Him. I gave up the pleasure of msn and an addiction. All week I have been struggling with more addictions and pleasures in my life and find I could do much better without them. I am restricting myself more. How Long? At least till Easter, but I don't expect to enjoy them the same ever again.

This morning I finished reading the book of Acts. What zest those apostles had! Zest, I tell you! Here's a passage that has convicted me:

Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brough their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas*. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

Acts19:18-20

*A drachma was a silver coin worth about a day's wages.

The second hymn I posted, Nothing But the Blood of Jesus, has been my comforter for the past few weeks. For so long I have been trying to fill different voids in my life with the wrong thing. In finally being away, breaking all the crutches I once relied on, God has helped me realize and understand that only He is what I need. Nothing but Him; nothing but His blood -- His love. In the moments I feel empty and lonely He sings this song to my heart and lifts me up to His side.

To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:19

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Refrain

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Refrain

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Refrain

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Now by this I’ll overcome—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
Now by this I’ll reach my home—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Glory! Glory! This I sing—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.

Refrain

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before Thee
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where we our Savior meet,
Near to the heart of God.

Refrain

There is a place of full release,
Near to the heart of God.
A place where all is joy and peace,
Near to the heart of God.

Refrain

Hey,

Each year Trinity puts out a publication called "Liberia" which is a compilation of students' poetry. I want to put one or two in and was curious if you all had any favorites to suggest?

please reply...

my stomach is eating itself so I must go eat catherine now.

How's your life?

I came at this day in such a melancholy way. This could very well be the last day we have without war for weeks, months, even years. In fiction, I wanted to enjoy this day and make it the best it could be. In reality, I lived it in preparation for the next when war will possibly be upon us. I sat in the portable for COMM 212 and looked at a row of trees, tall shrubery, and imagined a young man doused in mud breaking through the fallen dead trees escaping. I saw my campus as a waste land... I thought of Iraq and the devastation that will crush their country. This is an attack on the leadership but the people will inevitably suffer. Isn't there another way? And we trust that God knows. We know that God sees. We need to see that He is working in this. And He will work it for His glory.

It's true that these times make you think of the ones you love. I'm praying for you.

Love, Leah

"Live not in the past, the past is gone; nor in the future, it may never come."

The Handbook of Reason.

I hate depression. I hate it so much. It has taken too many of my friends. I hate it because it makes them sad. I hate it because it tells them they are worthless. I hate it because it's a disease. I hate it because it lingers. I hate it because all I can do for my friends is remind them that I love and cherish them. I can't do anything more! I can't make it go away. I can't fill that hole dug deep in their hearts. All I can do is love. And that is enough.

My friend went home last night....

(her physical home, that is. please pray for her)