St. Mary's Glacier

Saturday a group of the FFI students went up to St. Mary's Glacier to snowshoe. It was a blast. It was about a mile hike to the base of the glacier and then about another mile up the glacier. I love a good physical challenge and it was indeed that. The scenery was absolutely amazing!!

This week has started off good so far. Busy! Today I met with one of my professors and it was very refreshing. I am so excited about Spring break next week. I can't wait to see my family and Steven. It has been way to long since I have seen them. It is a much needed week.

A plug for the Institute. This week on the broadcast they are talking about the Institute. Everyone should listen. www.focusonthefamily.com

Soli Deo Gloria

Today has been a very stimulating day. Good but just packed full with information. This morning for Dr. Tacketts class we had two guest speakers from Focus. One talked about stem cell research and the other about homosexuality. I'm sure many are aware of the news this week with Obama reversing Bush's restrictions on stem cell research. Stem cell research is not beneficial nor necessary. Mr. Haley talked about the basic perspective of homosexuals today. He made us aware of all the false information we are receiving from the gay community that so many are unaware of. He also showed some very disturbing videos of how people are trying to equalize homosexuality with heterosexuality in the school system to students as young as first grade. I was appalled at what kids are being exposed to and being taught as 'truth' which is so far away from the truth.

I guess I say all of this because as Christians (myself included) and the Church. What are we doing to speak out and reach out to the hurting whether it is a mother who just had a abortion or a homosexual? We are quick to judge but how quick are we to love and love as Christ did? Tolerance is so normal now. This is not something that should be accepted in the Christian community. We should stand up for what is RIGHT in a whimsical way and show love and compassion to those hurting. I feel we need to be more proactive in what we are teaching and saying to children at home. As parents there is a calling to protect your kids. That means standing up to school boards and letting them know you want go for false teaching to be taught to your child. I'm not a parent yet but I feel this is such a high calling that is being replaced with daycares and busyness that we forget to observe and sensor what our children are being taught. I guess I'm just saying we can't look down on our kids or others if we are not willing to stand up and doing something about it. I feel such a need for the Christian community to be aware of the issues of abortion, homosexuality, pornography, stem cell research, as well as many other topics that we don't like to talk about in our churches. Who better than us Christians to help those people and show them there is HOPE. We can't wait for other people to do it. I feel it is my responsibility just as yours to be PROACTIVE.

On a lighter note; us students sat in on a broadcast today with Dr. Juli Slattery, Dr. Bill Myer, and their two guest authors Dr. Conway and Jada Edwards. The topic of the broadcast was dating/courtship. It was very interesting to listen to all the different perspectives. They talked a lot about the season of singleness. I was able to ask a question during the broadcast ( so listen for me on the radio in June) about the issue of a woman prompting vs. leading conversation with the male she is dating or engaged to. Their answers were great. I really enjoyed the broadcast it gave me confirmations, questions, and great information about dating.

After the broadcast I had practicum. Every Wednesday we have a group meeting for about two hours with everyone in the counseling practicum. In Wednesday's meeting we typically learn about different situations that you will come across in the counseling room. We have talked about domestic violence, eating disorders, had trauma debriefing, family of origin, and today reactive attachment disorder. I didn't really know much about RAD. RAD is a very interesting and traumatic disorder for many.

As you can tell I have had an abundance of information thrown at me today. Do you ever feel like on my goodness I just want to know so much more about a particular subject? That is the way I feel about every subject that I learned about today. Just tell me more ;)

Mission statement for Marriage and Family Class

WHO AM I?
• I am nothing apart from Christ.
• I am a child of the King.
• I am struggling to be REAL.
• I am journeyer… Discovering more of who God is.
• I am seeking the will of God.
• I am learning to rely on Christ.
• I am in a personal relationship with Yahweh.
• I am not running away.

Vision
I have dedicated and continue to live my life to the GLORY OF GOD. I am a young woman searching for more of who God is. I am determined to live my life in reflection to my Heavenly Father’s ultimate will. I am aware this road is going to be rough and very difficult at times but I know I serve a God who is alive and working in my life at all times. I pray for continuous vulnerability, brokenness, and exposure. I want to be as transparent as possible living a life blameless and reverent before my one true Savior. I want to find myself constantly gazing on the face of God. A renewing of my mind is essential in my daily walk. The ultimate thing that I always have to remember is….IT’S NOT ABOUT ME…..IT’S ABOUT CHRIST WHO LIVES IN ME!!!!!

Verses to live by
• …..; apart from me you can do NOTHING. John 15:5b
• Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: Psalm 37:5
• The heavens declare the GLORY OF GOD; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1
• Declare the GLORY among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For GREAT is the Lord and most WORTHY of praise; he is to be FEARED above all gods. 1 Chronicles 16: 24
• Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1
• I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20


Many of God's leadings will require you to choose between being comfortable and building a godly character, amassing money and seeking first God's kingdom, being a winner in the world's eyes and being a winner in God's eyes.- Bill Hybels

Baptized a year yesterday

On March 9, 2008 I was baptized at Lakeview. That was one year ago yesterday. As I laid in bed Sunday night thinking about things, it hit me that it had been one year. I can honestly say my baptism means more to be today then it did a year ago. This has been an amazing year in the Lord. Some people might ask why I waited till I was twenty to be baptized. Well as a young child I just never realized the importance or felt like I had to. Last spring I was walking through several different things in my walk with the Lord. One was obedience to go before Lakeview and ask to be baptized. My flesh of course didn't want to do this because I knew people would be looking at me saying now why hasn't she been baptized already since she has been a believer for so long. I can still remember everything about March 9 of last year. I have just come to rejoice in Christ and His work in my life and the lives of people around me. He is truly amazing and I'm so blessed to be a child of His.

Here are some pictures from Pulpit rock here in the Springs a couple of days ago. Ashley and I went there to read and enjoy the beautiful Colorado weather.

Snowboarding on Saturday

This past Saturday all FFI students went to Cooper Mountain for a day of skiing/snowboarding. The weather was awful. It snowed really bad which made it hard to see snowboarding down the mountain. It was very cold to say the least. I have finally mastered snowboarding. Oh my goodness it is toooo much FUN!

Dr. Dobson steps down

James Dobson resigns as Focus on the Family chair
By ERIC GORSKI – 6 days ago

DENVER (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that James Dobson has resigned as chairman of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family.

Jim Daly, president and chief executive officer of the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based ministry, said Friday that Dobson will continue to host the organization's flagship radio program and speak out on moral issues.

The departure of the 72-year-old Dobson as board chairman is part of a succession plan. He founded the group in 1977.

Dobson began relinquishing control of the group six years ago by stepping down as president and CEO.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.


Last Friday at chapel Dr. Dobson stepped down. It was a very momentous moment for the ministry. Dr. Dobson is such a class act. I really admire him and Shirley for recognizing it is time to step down and handing the reigns over. The new President and CEO Jim Daly is an amazing man. I got to meet him a couple of weeks ago and he is just a great great man. The ministry is in excellent hands. I am so excited to see where the ministry is headed. I know the Lord has great things in store for it.

Snowboarding

This past weekend I went snowboarding for the first time. It was so much fun but so tiring. I have never snow skied or snowboarded. So since I have wake boarded I thought I would try snowboarding. I LOVE a challenge!!! I went with Ashley (another student here at the Institute from Auburn) and some of her friends that are here in CO doing an internship. There was eight of us that went up to the mountains. Five of us were snowboarding for the first time. So we were all learning together. It was so much FUN! I fell so much...I'm still sore from the trip last Saturday. We are going snowboarding again this weekend to Copper Mountain with FFI. I'm super excited!

One sad report about our trip. Danny one of the guys that went with us fell on the last run of the day and broke his arm :(

Caving in Canon City, Colorado

I am having an AMAZING opportunity to be part of the Counseling practicum here at Focus. I am learning so much. If this was the only thing that I came to Focus for it would be totally worth it. I'm telling you....this is a great opportunity. I am learning so much about counseling. So two weekends ago the counseling department took us caving. The caving was not for fun but it was to show us and teach us about experimental therapy.

Our guide Tim( our supervisor and counselor at Focus) use to work for a Psychiatric Hospital and would take his patients to the cave for experimental therapy. So we got to go and experience what a therapy session in the cave would look like. We were all kind of skittish upon going in. Once we got in the cave that we entered through a very small whole in the side of a cliff. We got in and met in the front of the cave so our eyes could get adjusted. After that we slid down an area and came to another part where we turned our head lamps off. Turning our head lamps off we talked about how we felt being in the total dark. He was teaching us to retrain our brains to understand that dark is not always associated with bad. To some people being in the dark is a terrible fear. Although we were in the dark we were safe so he says this is a great way to retrain our brains to thinking about being in the dark. After we did that we started going through the cave. I'm not going to lie I was a little uncomfortable. We got to a spot where honestly I have no idea how we got threw it. It looked like I was trying to go through the size of a toilet bowl space. Very small! I made it through but was very scared. All along the way Tim was being very good about walking us through what we were doing and being ok with it. So we get to the other side of this hole and we get to explore the rest of the cave on our own for a little while. Jessy and I paired off and wanted to do the most difficult space first.

This space was very hard for me. You had to lay on your side with one hand forward and slide through a body length hole on your side. You couldn't lay down flat and you couldn't raise up. It was so tight and hard. I really had a hard time with this space b/c it reminded me of a story that I heard about my Pap going through a tunnel in Vietnam and the tunnel only being big enough for him and he knew if anyone was in that tunnel with him then someone was going to die. It was hard to think about that. What a brave man my Pap was. I miss him like crazy!!!

After we made it through that hard spot we went to the next place. This place was physically challenging. We climbed up the side of this rock and then had to lay down on our bellies and slide under a rock overhead with a cliff to my right. Now this was very difficult because I had to make sure my hands and feet were in the right places at all times. So I had to really connect with my body to be safe and to conquer the space. I made it but it was definitely challenging.

This caving trip was awesome. I walked away from it learning actually things that I could also apply to my life. The whole time we were in the cave Tim kept empathizing the importance of keeping our emotions in the present and not letting them drift to the future which causes anxiety. So in the moments where the spaces was very small and I didn't feel like I was going to make it...I just kept telling myself...ok Destinee right now at this point you are ok...you are safe and you are not in danger. Actually telling myself this and focusing on the present I was able to control my emotions and make it through the cave. This was a great experience but I honestly can say I don't think I would do it again :)