Food

I was thinking recently what my food diet consists of now that I am in graduate school and having to "cook" for myself:

Soup
Vegetable soup
T.V. dinners (occasionally)
Chicken...
more chicken....

Yikes, I need to learn out to cook. Eh, the life of a grad student. That's all for now.

Losses

We will all experience a loss at some point in our lives or another. Whether it be a parent, grandparent, or close friend it will happen at one time or another. I recently lost a friend this past summer I had known from high school. Her name was Raegan and we met when I was in the 11th grade. She had transferred from a different school. We quickly became close friends and continue to do things together throughout high school. We did things ranging from movies, eating out, going to the mall, or just hanging out at each others houses. She left the high school I attended after a year, and transferred to her previous high school the following year. We continued to stay in touch despite her leaving, and continued to hang out as well. The high school was only about 20 minutes away or so from where I lived. After awhile, we lost touch for about a year. I moved away to Chicago to attend Bible college and she did her own thing. This past summer, I recently found out that she died. I will not mention specifically what happened, but this was a huge blow to me. Not only was she my good friend, but this was the first significant loss I had experienced. I was unsure of what emotions or how I would process this would come about. Well, I am still dealing with it. Not that I thought I would be over it, but I just wasn't exactly sure of what it looked like. Despite this, I know God is faithful and He will bring me through this difficult and coping season of life. I just wanted to share that no matter what struggle we go through or valley we face, God is with us through it all.

Random update

I am currently sitting in the library of my school reading, reading, reading...and more reading. I guess I was unaware that graduate school would contain so much of it? H mm, oh well. Luckily, my undergraduate degree at Moody Bible Institute prepared me quite a bit for this. I was always either finishing a book, or starting another one. The work seemed to be endless, but it looks like it is going to pay off in the long run. :) In other news...
Tonight, it looks like I'll be hanging with a group of friends from the school at their apartment. We will be playing various board games with a group of friends. Doesn't get better than that? I'm so thankful to be adjusting to Colorado and overall graduate school.
Some random prayer requests:
-Please pray that the Lord continues to direct other people my way for lasting friendships. He is already answering that prayer, and is continuing to do so. He is always faithful.
-Pray that God gives me wisdom and endurance in my classes.
P.S. if anyone knows how to search for other users or groups let me know. Thanks! Much appreciated.
- Josh

Becoming a mature adult

Here are a few things I learned in my human development and counseling class. The following are some guidelines on becoming a healthy, mature adult. This is brief, but enjoy!

Becoming a Mature Adult

-Re-evaluate beliefs

-Disagree with authority figures

-Seeing parents and authority figures realistically

-Giving yourself permission to be equal with your parents

-Recognize and pursue talents

-Making your own decisions

-Practicing disagreeing

-Dealing with your sexuality

-Practice (practice, practice) – purposefully

-Recognize the privileges and perks of adulthood

-Disciplining yourself

-Gaining authority over evil

-Submitting to others out of freedom

-Doing good works

-Becoming a “Pharisee Buster”

-Appreciate mystery and the unknown

-Love and appreciate people who are different

Graduate School

So, I am officially in graduate school here in Colorado. I am attending Denver Seminary where I am currently studying counseling. But, if you have read my profile than you should already know that. I am loving Colorado so far, and the weather is pretty much amazing. I am used to having 100% humidity in Arkansas, while here there is none of that.
I am living with two other roomies who are both older, but they are really great guys. One of them actually graduated with the degree I am obtaining so that is neat.
The Lord is slowly and already teaching me new things while I am here. He is teaching me to trust Him completely for all things, even in my school work. I don't think that is an easy thing, specifically when it comes to the mundane things of life such as school work or friends or what not. Does that make sense? Trusting God is difficult. I think one of the reasons it is hard is because we can't particularly see Him or feel Him. It is a total faith thing. I guess if it was an easy thing to trust God it wouldn't be faith right? I think God wants our whole hearts and to trust Him for everything in our lives.
I am asked why I want to go into counseling and help others. I have thought about it frequently. One, is because I love people and I want to hear their stories. Most importantly, I desire to others brought into complete wholeness and the redemption that only Christ can bring. Christ afterall is the ultimate counselor. He showed compassion on people, He binds the broken-hearted and it close to those who are crushed in spirit. If I want to be an effective counselor, I must look to Him for my source. Anyways, now I'm preaching. I'm going to stop now.

This is my new blog. Welcome.