Project University

Supplies:
* Application Fee
* Application Form
* Academic Reference Letter
* Admission essay
* High School Transcripts
* S.A.T. Scores

Object: to stress out students trying to get into the right college.

Procedure: Fill out the applications, file for financial aid, make your deadlines and hope for the best!

Result: This Fall Brianna Anderson will be attending:
INSERT NAME OF UNIVERSITY HERE


This New Year has brought on new decisions. Applying to college is overwhelming sometimes but thankfully I narrowed down my options to two. Both have excellent academic programs and will encourage me to glorify God through my vocation. My dilemma: one of the universities is in Virginia…one is in Washington…and if I get accepted to both, I don't know which one to choose; I also don't know how I can afford either or what to do if I don't get accepted at all. I try to push these thoughts away but every time I pray, I grow more anxious. I am excited for this new season of my life but at the same time I stress too much about the future. The result of Project University will end in the Lord’s perfect timing. I can only lift my desires to Him and wait and see what happens!

“They go from strength to strength.” –Psalm 84:7

There are various renderings of these words, but all of them contain the idea of progress. “They go from strength to strength.” That is, they grow stronger and stronger. Usually, if we are walking we go from strength to weakness; we start fresh and in good order for our journey, but by and by the road is rough, and the sun is hot; so we sit down by the wayside and then resume our weary way. But the Christian pilgrim, having obtained fresh supplies of grace is as vigorous after years of weary travel and struggle as when he first set out….But sadly, it must be confessed it is often otherwise…Fearful spirits sit down and trouble themselves about the future. “Unfortunately,” they say, “we go from affliction to affliction.” Very true, O you of little faith; but you go from strength to strength also. You will never find a bundle of affliction that does not have in it somewhere sufficient grace.

Unlike the Christian pilgrim described in Spurgeon’s text, I am weary of the trials my family experienced this past year. I have begun to focus on my afflictions rather then point out God’s graces in my life. How easy it is to forget, even in the happiest season of our Savior’s birth, the wondrous gift we’ve been given. My gaze is continually drawn to the uncertainties tomorrow brings. Doubt sinks in and makes it harder to trust God. But my troubles today will be but a whisper in the days to come. The Lord keeps reminding me that He is good even in hard times. God has blessed me in so many ways. I have a wonderful job and I love my co-workers. I have a loving family, a peaceful home, and dear friends. Rather than trouble myself about the future I pray that this coming New Year I will go from strength to strength. I will only grow weaker if I continue to rely on myself alone. Strength can only be found in supplies of grace provided by our merciful Savior. His grace is sufficient and He is all I’ll ever need. I hope to be refreshed and in good order for this coming New Year.

Quote of the Month

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

And thought how as the day had come
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men
I can hear them

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on Earth” I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead nor does He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men."
~I Heard The Bells

What I’ve been listening to lately

"Music Tuesdays" are my favorite days to go on Youtube. I’m always discovering new music artists with incredible and diverse talents. One of my favorites is Zee Avi.

“Zee Avi is just 23 but she’s an old soul. A huge talent in a petite frame bringing a universal message from the unlikely birthplace of Borneo, an ancient island east of Malaysia which remains an untouched, natural paradise, an apt description of her songs.”

Kantoi (a song Avi sings in “Manglish”) conveys her unique use of self-expression linguistically. Her music is a combination of classic sounds like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee and Doris Day. Instruments such as the ukelele, the trumpet and the guitar add a vintage flair to her songs style. She is great to listen to on a rainy day.

Zee Avi is unique in her pursuit of fame. Most of her original videos recorded on Youtube were angled so that her face remained hidden. “It’s because I would like viewers to focus more on the songs…” she says.

You can read more about her on her website:
http://www.zeeavi.com/

Check out her music on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/kokokaina?blend=1&ob=4

The Dream in the Drawer

The Dream in the Drawer
by Brianna Anderson

"They were allowed to dream once,
For a time reality was bliss.
But hardship came
And everything had gone amiss.

They traveled so far to get there;
Sacrificed much for the dream.
But God had another plan it seemed.

So father put away the dream;
Kept it safe in a drawer.
He opened it at times,
But everyday it grew harder to ignore.

If they never knew what it was like
For their dreams to come true,
Would they never miss them?
Now that they are through?

Even if this pain and regret lasts,
Till they are sorely shaken,
And hard times do not pass.
Perhaps it was worth it after all,
To experience the dream for a short time;
Than not at all.

The drawer is closed,
And now a new dream must begin.
God is still good; He is our hope and has always been.

Although we cannot see it anymore,
He has a better dream in mind,
Then the one we’ve put away in the drawer."

"Your father...has made many sacrifices for his family and put away many dreams...He put them in a drawer. And sometimes, late at night, he takes them out and admires them. But it gets harder and harder to close the drawer..." ~Peter Pan

Quote of the Month

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.
~Emily Dickinson

Are people born wicked?

Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them? Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein goes on to pursue this philosophical question regarding the nature of man. The story recounts the gruesome events in the life of Dr. Victor Frankenstein. After much studying, Dr. Frankenstein attempts to recreate life by combining the severed parts of corpses. He successfully manages to bring his creation to life but flees because of its hideousness.

Throughout the story the creature attempts to prove to himself and his creator, that he is not evil. He chops firewood for a family and saves a young woman from drowning. But despite his heroic attempts, he is rejected because of his ugly face. “No mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch.” The creature is continually persecuted by men. This causes him to hate all of mankind. Frankenstein’s creation started out as a “good” thing, innocent of evil, but because of society’s rejection of his appearance; he became a monster.

Years later after the publication of Frankenstein another novel was published striving to answer the same question of the nature of man. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is the story about a scientist who is able to create a potion that brings out the evil side of his nature. “Hence although I had now two characters as well as two appearances, one was wholly evil and the other was still the old Henry Jekyll.” The story shows the struggle between Dr. Jekyll and his evil self Mr. Hyde. The doctor ends up being unable to escape Hyde and eventually commits suicide.

Unlike the monster describe by Mary Shelley, Mr. Hyde is the alternate side of Dr. Jekyll. The doctor is a highly respected man and Hyde is feared by society. Although these characters are two different men in appearances, they are one in the same; one being altogether good and the other altogether evil. “Man is not truly one, but truly two.”

Is the creature of Frankenstein and Mr. Hyde so very different? They are both ugly in countenance and feared by society. They are murderers and creatures created by scientists. These two characters are both described in physical appearances that correspond with their morality. But the morality defined through these characters goes on to portray two very different concepts about man’s inner nature.

The philosophy presented in Frankenstein allows man to blame others for his evil behavior. But Robert Louis Stevenson defined man’s morality by attributing it to his own nature. Frankenstein’s monster is evil by circumstance, while Dr. Jekyll’s monster is evil by nature. Mary Shelley and Robert Louis Stevenson attempted to describe evil both in physical descriptions and metaphorical examples. But Mary Shelley looked only on the surface of man and failed to see the monster within.

Writers as well as scientists and philosophers have striven to explain the nature of man. But it always comes down to two conclusions. Evil is either an impact from the world or an issue from within. Man is either a monster like that of Frankenstein or Mr. Hyde.