Noelle the Nerd

Marriage and God

2006-09-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

My best friend Carly got married this weekend to a handsome young Ukrainian man named Yada.

It’s so funny because I remember when she first met him at Green River Community College and she thought of him as her “Hot-Russian” friend with a nice car. Little did she know 4 years later he would be her husband. One of my favorite things about Carly and Yada’s story is that it is a testament of how God sees beyond what we can understand and that His plans are much better than ours. God knew all along that Carly would marry Yada. He knew that she would meet him in her statistics class, and He knew that as their friendship progressed over the years, she would fall in love with Him.

I love seeing God’s faithfulness in marriages. It is so evident to me that He really cares about who his children marry and He coordinates all of the details that bring them together. A word of encouragement to all of my single friends….

The Lord sees your life and your situations. He sees your age and the desires of your heart. He also sees beyond all of those things. He sees what is going to happen in your life over the next 5 years, where you will be and what you will be doing. He sees the plans that you have and which ones will change as He expands your vision. Don’t ever think for a moment that you are not in God’s hand or that He is not covering every part of your life. He knows exactly when and how to bring you and your future spouse together and He will orchestrate it at the right time. So be encouraged; God knows what He is doing! Isn’t it comforting to know that our God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours? He sees beyond what we can even image or comprehend.

Song Lyrics

2006-09-12T17:58:00.000-07:00

My best friend Carly is getting married in 5 days. I am the maid of honor in her wedding and I will be singing a song that I wrote about marriage. I will blog more after the wedding when I am an emotional basket case and full of overflowing joy because of her marriage. Until then, here are the lyrics of the song I wrote and will be singing at the wedding.

PREFACE : I wanted to write a love song but not one that was mushy or specifically glorifying a person. Instead, this song is about God’s hand in the relationship and how it is by His faithfulness and direction that the two ended up together. The major theme in the song is that He knew they would fall in love.

He Knew

You have captured me
and I wont let you go.
Your impressions stays with me
and with all I am I know;
My faithful Father who sees all of me
brought us together for His glory.
He knew that I would fall in love with you.
He knew that I would fall in love with you.
More and more I see
the Fathers faithfulness.
He watched over me
and keeps all His promises.
All the words that I have prayed for you
He has heard and will carry through.
He knew that I would fall in love with you.
He knew that I would fall in love with you.
Here we stand ready to live
life together
Let us be as one to glorify
our faithful and Holy Father.
He knew that I would fall in love with you.
He knew that I would fall in love with you.

A New Semester...

2006-08-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of the fall semester and my first day as a theology major. I have to admit, I am so excited about this semester. The new degree program that I am in is going to be so cool and I am going to learn so much. I love that I was able to tweak my schedule to allow me to take the counseling and theology classes but also squeeze in a few music/worship classes. It’s a really good mix.

All of my classes are going to be really cool but I am especially excited for two of them. I can tell already that these are going to be two of my favorite classes and I just can’t wait to get learning! These two classes are…

#1 Intro to Counseling – I will be learning counseling from a Biblical standpoint and how to use the Bible for each and every life situation and personal issue. I will also learn how to approach counseling as a pastor. This class is the prerequisite for Counseling Techniques, which I will take next semester, and that is taught by the one and only Glenda Malmin, who is absolutely amazing.

#2 Worship Ministry – This class is going to be so awesome!!! It’s taught by Doug Lasit and we will be learning about worship and how it applies to the local church. We will go through Biblical worship and worship as a lifestyle and also practical things that can be applied to leading a worship team at your church. It is really designed for people who intend on being a worship pastor or administrator because not only will we learn the spiritual side of things but we will also learn the practical things that go on behind the scenes. Things like; mentoring/raising up musicians, team building, scheduling, selecting songs, time frame, ect. One of the best things about the class is that there are only 13 people in it so we will have lots of one-on-one time and we are going to have Darlene Zschech guest teach a class.

I know that this is going to be a very good semester with a lot of growth both spiritually, scholastically and personally. I love that God never stops teaching me new things and that He is always growing me into the person He wants me to be. It’s really cool to think about the fact that God sees you fully developed even when in earthly eyes you are not. I got this revelation this last summer when I was thinking about how I have so much growing to do as a person and there is so much more for me to learn. But it’s awesome to think about how God sees the areas in my life that need to change and He sees exactly how that change is going to happen. He sees the lessons I will learn from, the people who will mentor me, and the decisions that will change my life. He sees it all. I am reminded of Psalm 139 when it talks about how God both precedes and follows you and schedules every day of your life. I love knowing that I am on the right path, the path that the Lord has lead me to be on, and that I am doing His will. Amen! J

Summer Update

2006-08-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

I should be exiled from the world of BLOG because it has been nearly three months since I posted anything on this page. The only excuse I can think of is that I have had a very busy and eventful summer which has kept me from blogging.
That said, I have some juicy updates that have developed over the last 3 months. It would take me a lot of writing and you the reader a lot of reading if I went into full detail about each event, so I will list them in no particular order with an exceptionally brief description.

1. To-A-Ler – That is the “couple name” given to Taylor and me at PBC because we are an official couple. That’s right; I am dating the one and only Taylor Murray. This all happened at the beginning of June (June 5th to be exact) and has been running strong ever since. He is awesome and our relationship is a total God thing

2. Vision – God has expended my vision and given me little glimpses of what He has in store for me. I’ll elaborate more on that later, but it’s pretty cool.

3. Major Change – I have switched majors from Music with an emphasis in songwriting to Theology and Pastoral Counseling. This was a pretty tough decision because I love music so much but this last year God has been stirring a desire in me to pastor so it made perfect sense to take classes that will equip me to do that. I will still be taking some music classes though, but my degree will be in Pastoral Counseling.

That’s all for now. Each of these three updates has brought many new things to my life which I will blog about a lot over the next year. I am so excited for this year and I promise I will be faithful to this blog even if no one reads it.

Until next time.

Friends

2006-06-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

I love old friends. There is something really special about relationships that have history and are still strong. I went home this last weekend and was able to spend some time with friends that I have known and been close to for several years. Our relationships are so low maintenance now but that is only after years of working on them. They have reached a point where they are not based on how many hours a week we talk on the phone or how many times we hang out; but instead it’s based on a genuine care for one another that is not dependent on anything. It was so interesting because although we had all changed a great deal since we first met each other, our friendship remained the same. It was as if there was never an absence in our time together.

Relationships are so special; I realize this more and more everyday. I cherish the friendships that I have and look forward to the years ahead and the memories that will come with them. It is so great to be able to share life with the people that you love.

Nerds

2006-06-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

One thing that most people may not know about me is that I am a closet nerd. I grew up watching Star Trek, Star Wars, X-Men, Ninja Turtles, and every other nerdy show known to man. So naturally when a movie comes out that is made after one of my favorite childhood shows I can’t help but be overly excited.

For example: When King Kong came out back in December, I went to the midnight showing and got there 3 hours early just in case it was sold out. I also wore a costume, (I was a Jedi). However, I was not alone in this… I was accompanied by my brothers who were dressed as a gorilla and a dinosaur, my friend Travis who was a ding-dong (get it? King Kong/Ding-Dong…hilarious!) and my Dad who tried to pretend that he didn’t know us.
It seems that I do pretty well with convincing people that I am normal until a new sci-fi movie comes out. Then, without even realizing it, I pop back into nerd-mode and organize trips to the opening night in costume…which just reveals to the world that I am a big nerd. This recently happened with the arrival of X-Men…I’ve seen it twice already.

Just to set the record straight, I am not ashamed of this. The purpose of this blog is for me to express the fact that I accept my nerdy self. I will continue to do weird things like wearing a banana costume in downtown Portland (I did this a month ago) or having a matrix extravaganza (I did this 2 weeks ago). I am a nerd, and I am proud.

Seasons

2006-06-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

School has been out for exactly 2 weeks and the reality of summer has finally set in. During the last week of school I was totally ready for school to be out, anticipating a summer filled with carefree bliss and relaxation. However, after the thrill of no school wore off, I find myself more aware of just how much I miss my home. Portland is not home to me, and although I love being here every time I visit home I am reminded of just how temporary my stay in Portland will be. I love my home in Maple Valley. Something in me relaxes every time I drive home and race down the familiar Maple Valley highway which leads to my house. Maple Valley is my home and part of that is because it is where my church is. I absolutely love my church and a new passion has been growing in me this last year to see my church thrive. I can’t describe it, but it grows everyday. Although my desire to back has been continually growing, I know that it is not time yet. There are still things for me to learn and absorb here at PBC. I accept that and I am completely content being here.
I love how God makes transition easy. I am in such a wonderful season of life right now and am enjoying every second of it. But I know that in a few years this season will be over and it will be time for me to move on. Although I don’t know where I will be 5 years from now, I know that it will be great and even better than where I am now. It is so comforting to know that God’s hand is on my life and that I just need to trust His guidance.
God is so good and so faithful. Praise God.

Mac Makeup

2006-05-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

About two months ago I had my first Mac makeover. Ever since then, I have been hooked.

There is just something so undeniably appealing about it, I feel drawn towards it vibrant yet shimmery colors. Being an avid shopper is nothing new to me, I have always loved shopping but usually focused on clothing or shoes, never makeup. But now I find myself extremely excited to go to the Mac counter and play with eye shadow. Every morning I look forward to doing my makeup, it doesn’t take me long, but I enjoy every second of it. I have always been high maintenance, but this new discovery of Mac has just added more to my repertoire.

Tonight, my roommate Emily and I went to Nordstrom and each bought several products...we're already planning our next trip.

SPRING!!!

2006-04-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

It is spring time at PBC and it is absolutely beautiful. I love the atmosphere on campus right now, I can always count on there being guys from dorm 3 tossing a football on the lawn while all the girls pretend to study. It's so fun and it makes me reflect on my year.
In four weeks, spring semester will be over and it will be summer, and I will be a sophmore. I have lived here for almost 10 months now and I am amazed by all of the awesome things that have happened in my life over the last year.
Things I have learned, things I have experienced, friendships that have been built, and trails I have learned from. What an amazing time this has been. God has stretched me so much and I can feel myself changing into the person He wants me to be. I cant help but get excited about what is to come. God has done so much in my life in just 1 year at PBC and I have 3 more year to go.
Man, I am so excited.
I cant express how amazing it is to know that I am in God's will. I know that I am exactly where He wants me for this season of my life, and I know that His hand is covering me. God is so good and so faithful.

Confession...

2006-04-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

I did it.
I'm sorry, I couldn’t resist. I was seduced by it's charms and found myself up until midnight perfecting my page. With the help of my little brother, I successfully created my very own MySpace account.
I don’t regret it. I am actually kind of excited. This will be a new adventure and I am curious to see how it turns out.
Keep me accountable though...I don’t want to become a crazy MySpacer who has no life outside of the computer…that would be sad.

MySpace

2006-04-16T20:40:00.000-07:00

I'm finding it more and more difficult to resist the smooth temptations of MySpace. It has been a slow seduction, but I am getting weaker. I fear that one of these days I wont be able to resist. I will betray the pact I made with Travis to never give in and create a MySpace page for myself.

Be strong, Noelle. Be strong.

10 Random Facts About ME...

2006-03-18T22:40:00.000-08:00

#1 I love tea...It's not just the drink, it is the whole act of sitting down and having tea in beautiful fine china with the people I love.

#2 My car's name is Magic Fluff... The name comes from a story my dad told me when I was a child about a unicorn named Magic Fluff. We used to go hiking all of the time and these stories would keep me entertained as we braved mountain trails for hours and hours. I often told people that I wanted to be a unicorn when I grew up...that dream has not yet died.

#3 I love cats and hate dogs...I guess I don’t absolutely hate dogs; I've just never owned a dog and therefore am very uncomfortable around them. They make me nervous and they smell. I like to look at dogs and appreciate other peoples love for them; I just don’t like to come into contact with them.

#4 I am not an extrovert...I have determined that I am 1/2 extravert and 1/2 introvert. When I am around extraverted people, I feed off of their outgoing and social nature, when I am by myself I am perfectly content and will stay that way for several hours. Interesting, I know.

#5 I am very analytical...I think about absolutely everything and analyze almost every situation and conversation I have in a day. I don’t know why I do this, my brothers do this too. We often discuss the strange characteristics that we have inherited from our parents in an effort to understand why we are so weird.

#6 I am very sentimental...I keep anything that has any emotional or memorable attachment. I have stashes in my room of things collected over the years and every now and then, I go through them and reflect on memories past.

#7 I love spending time with my family...It doesn’t matter what we are doing, I will do anything with my family. An example of this is...watching Star Trek with my dad, studying with my mom, having tea with Thaddaeus, and jamming with Marcus.

#8 I am a germ-a-phobe...The severity of this disorder varies over the years, I will have seasons where I am a crazy germ-a-phobe, and seasons where I am just extra sanitary. I have recently slipped into a crazy-germ-a-phone season since moving into a germ infested dorm building, but my loving friends are getting me out of this habit. For my therapy, I have to take a drink out of someone else’s drink everyday at lunch…disgusting.

#9 I love cereal...I would eat it for every meal if I could.

#10 I am a total morning person...I love waking up early, having a hot cup of coffee and reading the newspaper while enjoying the freshness of morning. My dad is like this too and when I lived at home, he and I got up early and had breakfast together almost every morning.

Moving On

2006-02-18T23:05:00.000-08:00

Life at PBC is so much fun. Last week, the quad and I decided to make 6 of our favorite people giant heart-shaped cookies in celebration of Valentines Day. As we were baking in the kitchen, singing and dancing to Aretha Franklin, giddy with excitement for our special surprise and covered in frosting and cookie dough, I had a moment that I will never forget. I've had a lot of those in the last 7 months. I don’t know if I will remember specifically what I was doing; I will, however, remember the joy and happiness that I felt. I love those moments. It is such a beautiful feeling, when you realize that you are doing something or feeling something that you will always remember.

The last time I felt this way was the night before my older brother, Thaddaeus, moved to New York. It was the week after Christmas and we decided to play one last game of monopoly before the big move. I'll never forget that moment. We were in the bonus room of my house, sitting around a little poker table, wearing top hats and sipping hot cocoa. It was such a strange moment because I think that my brothers and I all got the same revelation at the same time. It was then that we realized that our lives were changing. Thaddaues was officially crossing the line between young adult and man. He was moving across the country, following a dream and leaving the nest for good. We all realized it was our last night together. Our last night as kids. Our last night going to bed in the rooms we had grown up in and hearing the familiar sounds of our childhood home. I know that I can always go back, I am always welcome and will always be. But I also know that my life will never be the same again. My childhood is over. I have moved out and am taking the first steps toward adulthood.

What an interesting concept, growing up. Whenever I think about this, my mind is boggled with the harsh reality that I can never return to my life as a kid in my parents’ house. I have accepted that truth, but have just not fully swallowed the concept. I don’t like thinking about it. I’m not holding onto the past, nor am I sad about growing up. In fact, I feel the opposite. I am very much looking forward to the future and am extremely excited to see where God takes me next. I am just still in the process of letting go of my life as a child in my parents’ home, and fully accepting my new role as a young adult being released into the world. Right now, I think I am almost all the way there. I am still under my parents’ covering, but I am on a smooth trail that leads away from them. What an interesting time. I know that the next few years are going to be very interesting and will be successful in leading me down a new path with new memories and people to share them with.

Starbucks

2006-02-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the start of something very significant in my life...
I had my first day at Starbucks.

I have to admit, I have always wanted to work at Starbucks. I don’t know what it was that initially attracted me, maybe it was the scandalously clad mermaid or the vibrant green aprons, I guess it doesn’t really matter. All I know is that I have been sucked into the starbucks world and I like it.

I don’t care that I spend most of the little money that I have on drip coffee every day, nor does it bother me that I spend way too much time there pretending to do homework. Starbucks has become a regular part of my life. I have had a lot of fun memories at Starbucks, more than the average person, I might add. Just to prove my point, I have compiled a list of some of the many bazaar things I have done at Starbucks, enjoy...

Things I have done at Starbucks:
1. Ordered drinks in a banana costume
2. Played a 3 hour game of monopoly
3. Made valentines
4. Typed on an old-fashioned type-writer
5. Ordered a "double shot, half-calf, whip lash mocha-chocka with a twist"
6. Tried to purchase 6 caramel macciatoes with monopoly money
7. Asked for an extra shot of love
8. Brushed my teeth in the bathroom
9. Spoke with an English accent only to discover that one of the workers was from England.
10. Ordered drinks in a prom dress with my date who was in a tux.

I love Starbucks and I am very excited to start working there.

"You must be girls!" --Strongbad

2006-01-29T17:17:00.000-08:00

I have never been so surrounded by girls until coming to PBC and living in the dorms. In my family, I am the only girl, wedged in-between two very masculine brothers; so being in a dorm with 50 other girls is very new to me. I love it. Girls are great, and because of my extremely analytical mindset I have made the following observation:

Girls think about everything.

I always thought there was something special about me because I overanalyze everything and spend hours reflecting on occurrences in my day. To my delight, I have discovered that most girls share that same quality.

It is a very complex way of thinking. It takes effort but looks effortless. What takes effort is the art of looking happy and careless on the outside when tormented by thought and confusion on the inside. Girls have mastered this ability. They only show what they want to show and strategically drop hints with the hope that someone will pick the pieces and inquire as to what is going on. Then, and only then, will the girl express what she has been holding on to and be liberated from her tormenting thoughts.

Why do girls do this? They put themselves through such an exhausting thought process and put so much effort into appearing one way just to avoid the truth about what they are feeling. When really, they want to talk about it but only to someone who really wants to listen. It is a viscous cycle and usually ends with a dramatic climax of emotion and frustration focused on whoever was not clever enough to pick up the hints.

I have decided that I will no longer do this. To be perfectly honest, I am a master at hiding emotion. I think I do this more than most other girls. I have always wondered why and have narrowed it down to being the result of my internal nature or my fear of vulnerability. Whatever the cause, I am tired of putting forth the effort it takes to hide emotion and have realized that me doing so is a form of deception. I deceive people into thinking that I am a certain way in an effort to maintain a level of secrecy.

From now on, I will be honest with myself and with the people around me. This should be interesting and I am rather anxious to see how my new found transparency will turn out.

Quad Life

2006-01-23T21:24:00.000-08:00

There is nothing deep or personal about this post, I am simply expressing my excitement for my new room...THE QUAD!!

It all started on Thursday afternoon, my friends and I were having a Mariah Carey dance party (yes, really) in my dorm room when we were struck with the idea of moving into the downstairs quad. (For those of you who do not attend PBC, a normal dorm room is designed for two people whereas the quad is two big dorm rooms combined, with the ability to house 4 students. Quads are the envy of all the dorm-people.) My friends and me moving into the quad would be the combining of two amazing rooms...Emily and Ashley, and Tiffany and Me. Brilliant. Everything from there on is a blur, it all happened so quickly that I can't seem to remember the details. All I know is that today we finished moving all of our things into our quad and it is now decorated to perfection and looks incredibly cute.

Tonight will be our first night together in the quad... I have a feeling that this could be the start of something big.

Winco

2006-01-09T15:54:00.000-08:00

I have become one of the many crazies who wander the busy aisles of Winco. I realized this yesterday as I was shopping for groceries. I came specifically to purchase dried fruit, but was faced with a problem when I reached the dried fruit aisle. To my disappointment, the dried apples were discolored and the container with dried mangos was missing a lid, exposing all of the fruit within. Being the extreme germ-a- phobe that I am, this caused me to rethink my decision to purchase dried fruit. However, I did not want to be a picky shopper, after all I was at Winco to accommodate to my small budget. So I decided to analyze the situation to determine if the fruit was in fact tampered with and therefore inedible or if I was just being paranoid. I rotated between the apples and mangos for a good 5 minutes trying to reach my conclusion, it was then that I realized the delusional state I had entered. You see, all of my analyzing was not done vocally because my voice was occupied by my constant singing of the chorus I had stuck in my head. So there I was, wandering between the dried apples and mangos (which is a 4 foot distance), singing the same chorus over and over again, with a confused and worried expression on my face. I was no longer one of the few at Winco who consider themselves above all of the weirdo’s, and yes I admit that I once thought that way, I was now one with the weirdo's. No longer determined to stick out because of my pride, I will now fade into the crazy crowd at Winco and continue shopping because I cannot afford to shop at Safeway.

Siblings

2006-01-06T15:47:00.000-08:00

"When I realize that I'm doing something dumb, I usually enhance it to make it dumber." - Marcus Buser

My little brother said this earlier today and I thought it was hilarious. Being an older sibling is a very unique and important role. I was thinking about this the other day; how as an older sister I have the opportunity to influence my younger brother and in exchange, watch him grow into the young man of God that he was destined to be. What an amazing opportunity. When I was home recently for break I visited my youth group and got to watch my 13 year old brother unintentionally influence the entire youth group. I was so impressed by his maturity and leadership and couldn’t help but feel proud to be one of the people who have helped influence him and shape him into who he is and who he is becoming. He plays guitar on worship team but most importantly, he worships on worship team. He listens during the messages and encourages the people around him to pay attention as well. He stands up for what he believes in, and, he gives his friends wise council and advice. Marcus has realized at very young age, that as a Christian he influences all of the people around him. I see so many good qualities in him and know in the depths of my heart that he has an amazing future ahead of him. Marcus, if you're reading this, keep up the good work. You are an awesome young man of God and a leader everywhere that you go. The purpose of this blog is to encourage older siblings to be the best you can be. You play a very important role in your siblings lives and should realize that and act upon it. Sibling relationships are very special. You have been given not only a family, but also a close friend for the rest of your life. I encourage you to speak into your siblings lives and instead of only focusing on your future, focus some of your attention on their future. Use your influence to help them in their relationship with God and to discover the plans that God has for their lives.

I have a blog.

2006-01-05T22:23:00.000-08:00

The day has finally come for me to enter the mysterious world or cyber-space. I have avoided MySpace like the plague, only using its powers to secretly message my little brothers friends on his account. Blogging, however, is a much more merited activity. I find that people use blogs as a means to express their thoughts and explore their own depth. I like that. In a way, it is an outlet for future pastors and teachers to organize their thoughts and present them to a friendly audience. I admit that I have been dancing with the idea of a blog for quite sometime, but it wasn’t until this evening when I was moved by a fellow PBC student’s blog that I felt inspired enough to create my own. So here I am. I will try my best to use this blog wisely and not shame my fellow bible college students who are much more experienced in the world of blogging than I.