Catching Up

Hey guys! It's really been a while hasn't it? Funny thing is, I have tried twice to write posts and have not been able to for whatever reason. Well, first off, summer really presented no reasonable content and can be summed up in pretty much three words: Work, sleep, eat, repeat... Okay so four, whatever.

Either way, once summer ended (which for me was early August for recruitment and such) I was hurdled into a world of business and responsibilities and to-do lists, so then I had quite a few things to blog about, especially once school started and I met some of my professors. There were a few days where I distinctly thought I was on a reality TV show, just because of the characters I had this semester. One was my anthropology professor and, to use a phrase, bless his heart, but he just was not the best educator I have had in my career as a student. I say that like it is a career, but I mean, let's be real here, it's a survival skill. The first day of class, he spoke so quietly that every move that any person made in the class would muffle his voice and for those of us in the back of the class daydreaming, on our smart phones, or laptops would be straining in our seats to hear what he had to say. Basically it was hopeless. Another educator of mine, this time a doctor is a very distinguished man, and while i started out the semester passive-aggressively hating him for the workload he was giving us in order to Ace his class, I can safely say that as this last week was finals, I have never had so much respect for one of my teachers at the University of Idaho. I may not have killed the material on his tests, but I can safely say i now know the necessary steps to take to effectively study, not only in his class, but others as well. My Physics in Every day Life teacher probably had the best character out of them all (well, it's a small tie between this one and my JAMM 100 class). He was probably the most american man I know, but would use the phrase 'bloody' like it was going out of style, haha. He was just a really crazy, passionate man who had the MOST difficult time with names. I honestly can't really write more than that because I didn't attend class this whole last month. Before you judge me and my academic excellence, there was not attendence as most of the points were based on participation in an online forum and about 12 different in-class assignments. I got an "A" actually.

My final an absolute favorite professor this semester was hands-down my JAMM 100 professor. Literally straight out of the 40s and 50s, without fail he would bring a coffee to class with a fedora and THE classiest dress coat i have seen. He was always hilarious and made material that was always otherwise boring, strangely interesting. A former Newspaper editor, he reminded me of a former time where things were simpler and there was not a new interface for computers every year. I know you must be thinking: Wow Alyse, you're a Graphic Design major, shouldn't you love technology? The answer to that question is a whole-hearted and resounding - NO. I think technology would have been fine if it stopped at the typewriter and lipstick. Just kidding, I do appreciate efforts made my smart people with a knack for gadgets, I just wish they were a little more user-friendly. I mostly say that for technology I don't understand, which can be a lot.

On a more serious note, this semester has been perhaps THE mostly challenging in every area of my life. my classes were not particularly difficult, but at the beginning of the year I had a couple, if not several instances where God worked on my heart to break down strongholds that had been in place in my heart since practically grammar school days on the playground. Confrontation was the name of the game, and boy did God do a number on me. Mostly what I learned was that prayer before any serious conversation for God to occupy my thoughts and my mouth so that the words I said would be accurate, honest, to the point, and that God would help me formulate my thoughts. God also taught me how to defend myself, which is huge. I've never really been able to do that. And even still, after all of this training, sometimes I have trouble forming basic sentences at normal parts of the day where there is not a bit of stress. That's just how I am, I guess.

As this semester closes, I am awestruck that even though I felt I went through this last semester looking at life with one eye closed through a clear glass filled with vegetable oil, God has proven to wake me up in a time where my prayer, and hopefully yours is needed. A few of some of the most amazing people I know are journeying to East Asia for some really great opportunities. If you could keep them and their teams in your prayers, that would be extremely appreciative. For whatever reason, this is the wake up I needed, and I have a burning desire and passion to be a prayer warrior for them as they are on the other side of the world doing work. Every day I am lifting them up in prayer and petition, and if you would join me, at no particular time, just really whenever you find yourself thinking about them.

I am sitting in my living room, practically falling asleep in my sweats. My eyelids feel as though there are lead weights attached to them. Last night there was a fire in the fireplace next to me, and I was incredibly content. One of the primary lessons I have learned this semester is just how many people God has strategically placed in my life who genuinely care about me. That my parents love me unconditionally, and I have friends who are also very caring. I just am particularly aware of the amount of love I have in my life, and especially the fact that I have a Creator who every day makes deliberate efforts to give me my smallest, and greatest joys.

Just today I was wiping the snow off of my dad's windshield and I was struck by the silence. It's amazing when you live with so many girls how valuable silence can be. I was the only one mobile and active in the general vicinity. No cars were passing and I was just sitting there in utter silence. If I strained my ears I could faintly hear the small amount of cars that were driving on the freeway. But I just love how snow muffles all of the busy sounds of the world, and when you are a kid, laying in the snow bank behind your house with the snow flakes melting on your face, you get that singularity feeling. Sometimes I would just sit there for what felt like hours and just think. Now I can't really remember what, but boy did I think.

It was immediately after this nice appreciation for the weather that I journeyed around the back of the truck to get to the drivers side that I promptly fell on my rear. My foot just slipped right out from under me, and there I was just laughing like a maniac in the silent snow with the faint sound of cars passing miles away.

         God definitely has a sense of humor.

After this humorous, silent fall on my rear, I went to start the truck and found that it would not go forward because the road was so slick and I was parked on a hill. Try as I might, the darn thing would not move forward. It was then that I had the brilliant idea of putting it in reverse. This was probably the best idea i have ever had, because once I used my brain like a normal person, I was able to turn around and get out of there like it was no small thing. Any of you distinguished young men friends of mine are probably just having a great time laughing at me. You're all a bunch of misogynists. Just Kidding, but kind of not really. It's not because i'm a woman, it's because I haven't had a lot of experience. Also, it was really funny and i'm genuinely proud that I was able to get myself out of that predicament without the assistance of any other person.

--

Over the summer, and since I have been home I have been touched by those of you who have reached out to me, and told me that you look forward to my blog postings, it's really touching and I hope this one was up to par with what the last one was. I may or may not be posting another one soon as I have instances that come up that are particularly amusing. They usually come to me in fleeting moments randomly in the day. Like just yesterday I had a day dream that I became the Lucille Ball of my generation. A desire of mine that is not so secret anymore. I had my very own TV show with a studio audience who really thought I was funny and didn't have to be told by a teleprompter. It was fleeting, and i'm pretty sure it was during one of my finals, but it was a nice day dream, right? Haha

Well, here's some music I am loving, as per usual:
Christmas music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7gzJFwB0JzE
Indie music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL37o_nylH8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHBsO3jHLfo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4bTi8mpWpI

Also I have created a photography page out of an expression of my hobby, check it out if you want to see some cool stuff!
https://www.facebook.com/two.photog?fref=ts

In conclusion i'll leave you with some scripture, but I encourage you to also check out the context and the surrounding verses as well as he one I suggest to you, because there is so much more than what people put on Facebook, and if you have questions, write them down to ask someone in your life you trust, because God is not scared of questions. Ask him any you want. Also, my blogs are not law. They are in no means to be taken as spiritual direction, I encourage you to talk to someone in your life who has a full understanding of scripture if you're wanting to receive direction of any kind.

Psalm 39:6
Matthew 5:1-11, in lew of the recent tragedy in Newton.
Matthew 19:14
Psalm 7:17

God Bless, and thanks for reading!
-Alyse :)