time is not found, it is made.

*clack-clack-clack* the continuous noise of keyboards being typed upon, the hushed voices of librarians, the rattle of book carts... all familiar noises to my astute ears.
But how can I be back so soon! it feels like last weekend that i took my last final and was headed off to a fun-filled vacation with the whole family! but alas, here I sit. MAKING time to write, amidst the busyness.

It is a new year. I have no idea what it will hold, but the anticipation excites me. It is sadly peculiar how fast time flies by. When i was younger, a whole week felt like months and it seemed as though time crawled. But now, it seems like a few months ago it was a Klotzle Christmas, we were all hanging out at the Rose Parade Route and once again a new year had begun.

and yet, so much has happened in the last year it doesn't feel as though it was enough time! Changing schools, jobs, meeting people that I can't imagine not having in my life or crossing paths with. It baffles me how each new year, each day really, provides a new facet to our lives that either changes us significantly or just adds a slight new dimension to who we are.

this is why I journal. I feel like i am fully affected by the world around me. I contribute and I soak up things around me, constantly being added to as a person. I enjoy going back over my writings and seeing how things have changed. It could be anything from a lost aquaintence to a new truth I learn about God, from a dramatic overreaction to a broken heart. Something as little as enjoying a clear, windy day to something as big as my grandfather passing away. and yet, all of these have been a part of my life, and I wish never to forget them.

Anyways, on to other things. I am back at school and enrolled in a grueling program referred to as IRIS. (Integrated Reflections on Interdisciplinary Studies). And I must say that it has been all I could want and more. Pros and Cons to follow.

Lets give the bad news first. Cons.
-11 days for two 3-unit classes that were meant to fit into a semsester.
-Mon-Thursday- 12:30 pm-9:30 pm with only a total of 2 hrs in break, spread out.
-A 2-4 page essay and/or quiz due every day by 11 am.
-terrible caf food for interterm. bleh.

Pros. WOOT!
-YAY! 6 units OUT OF THE WAY!
-Good friends to do the class with
-7 phenomenal professors who are extremely brilliant and dedicated.
-Sound education, both academically and spiritually, that will prepare me for the real world
-Awesome times of prayer that knit this body of students and professors closer.
-tears, laughter, hard work, joy, fasting, prayer...

And I would say that at this point the pros heavily out-weigh the cons. I am continually amazed at how God continues to pour his blessing out over me. Yes, there are obstacles, but he has made my paths straight and I can do nothing but lift up my hands in gratitude.

We were talking last night in class about how we know something. And it was asserted that we can say we know about the ressurection of Jesus because we read about it, we read about eye-witness accounts. But there is nothing that compares to experiencing something personally. And I can say that I believe in the resurrection because I experience a risen Lord. Yes its nice to have the literary back-up, but I'm not sure I could fully take someone's word for it without experiencing it myself. how have I experienced the Risen Jesus, you might ask... It is something that I can try to put into words. I have been forgiven for things I didn't even remember to be sorry for. I have felt a peace that passes all my finite understanding. I have been comforted when I was unable to find a way out of despair. I have had a friend when I felt abandoned, betrayed and alone. I have been heard when I cry out in frustration and anger.
But those descriptions won't help YOU know a risen Lord. you have to experience him for yourself.
And maybe I don't even know fully. As it says in 1 Corinthians 13:12 "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. "
I cannot wait for that day, when all uncertainty fades and I can know wholly the God of all knowledge.

xoxo