Life.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7….and….8.

vandermolen — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:02:45 +0000

Time. Life. Joy.

I probally wouldn’t be spending my only free evening of my month updating my blog, except, I still have an ongoing bet with Melissa that I can update my blog twice a week. If I win, she buys me coffee. So, for the sake of yummy Beaners Coffee and becuase I hate to lose bets….Here it is.

So since I think in lists and sections….here is what is flowing through my brain as of late…..

1. I officially work not one, not two, not three….but…eak…four jobs and got to school full time. Im not complaining though and I feel really blessed. I have sweet jobs. I work 20 hours at the hospital as a receptionsit, I got my jobs back at the YMCA and MSU Extension offices from before I left for Teen Mania and now I get to meet with an international student and tutor him each week. He just wants someone to practice his English with. So basically, its sweet. The Lord knows I needed these jobs and I am thankful, thankful, thankful….yay life.

2. A girl who went to Panama with Teen Mania this summer showed up at my bible study yesterday I’m taking her to coffee tomorow and I am pretty excited about that!

3. I am planning a trip to Texas soon.

4. I went to Alpena and it was probably the first time I really felt at home in the last….um….year? So- hooray for Alpena and praise the Lord for best friends, refreshing people, and Jim and Janine who continuly bless me and make me feel like one of their kids.

5. ….and…..on my mind recently? I just dont like transition. ick.

6. I have decided to keep my cell phone inbox full with saved messages so that people can not leave me messages. This way, it forces people to text me so I can just read the message instead of listening to my voicemails…or to just call me… I just hate checking my voicemail. Most of the time it just says, “Hey! Call me!” and really I could have just called the person back in the time it took me to punch in all the little numbers and junk….. I dont think my new plan makes people happy but I find it to be much easier

7. Again, my living room as turned into an Economics study hall. Marie and Becca are talking about if its true that markets allocate goods efficiently based on the decisions that people make and something about how neuroscience plays into this….yatta yatta…something about rationality? Um. Dear Becca and Marie, when you read this….you lost me like 10 min ago just to let you know

8. I am reading a book by Piper and I really like this quote…..

Its from the book, “When I Don’t Desire God”….

“Oh, that we might learn to be patient in the hour of darkness. I don’t mean that we make peace with darkness. We fight for joy. But we fight as those who are saved by grace and held by Christ.”

When life just hurts.

vandermolen — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:18:10 +0000

So, my mom was trying to call me all night and I kept missing her phone calls- she never calls me like a zillion times in a row unless there is something really really wrong. I called her back and she told me my cousin Kristine, who lives in Dallas (I spend some quality time with her this year…) is in the ICU because she fell off a horse and broke her back in 2 places. She is a few years older than me and I am just thinking about the type of woman she is- fun, creative, energetic, hard working….and to imagine she might not walk…because of one moment like this…I just don’t understand the Lord. My heart is broken and I just want to be there with her!

I have some frequent flyer miles and so I might end up going to Dallas one of these weekends coming up to go see her, love her, support her, watch lame movies with her in the hospital. Please be praying for her and my family!

B10 loves to laugh.

vandermolen — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:10:14 +0000

Things that the people in my living room have laughed at in the last 10 min.

The market of Christian guys being described as an oligopoly, the man coming out of my computer, the amount of rice the people in my apartment consume, snorting noises, Becca’s blank stares, the amount of beef and chocolate in our freezer, misspelled words in previous posts, and the amount of time I waste peftecting blog updates (and facebook posts) when I have 4 hours of homework to do.

oh- and laughing at the fact we are making a list…because, that is acutally all we have done for the last 10 min.

Shoot. I have ADD and online course could be a problem.

:)

vandermolen — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:24:43 +0000

I recored today

YAY!

My neighbors.

vandermolen — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 03:34:16 +0000

So my part of the building is divied into 3 floors of apartments. There are about 12 apartments in our little area and its like living in a giant house some days. I know the girls on the first floor- they are SCF girls who I have known the last few years and they are the reason that Becca and I decided to move to Abbott Pointe. I feel sort of like I live half there and half on the third floor where my apartment is. Then, there is the second floor. Now, the second floor has 4 apartments and all of them house guys that all know each other and love love love to party. Which, is fine- except when they are singing the backstreet boys at 4am from their patio and trash the halls….other than that. Its great. Today I actually fell a wee bit in love with them all and hope that I can become their friends. On my way up the stairs tonight they told me that if they are ever to noisy just to let them know before we call the cops. They were even so nice as to ask me if I have to work in the mornings (particuarly Monday morning, as they will be having a wild party Sunday night). I thought it was thoughtful of them to prewarn me, introduce themselves, and then invite me to their parties whenever I would like ( which, I don’t see happening. Again, thougtful though) Anyway- our apartment wants to befriend these 8 dudes. I think that a lot of times Christians can fall into the trap of never hanging out with non Christians. Our campus is the best mission field and more than our campus our own living area is the best place to build relationships. I want it to be natural. I want them to see that there is something different. I want to bake them cookies and be a good neighbor. I want to be quick to love them when it is 4 am and my roomates and I have not fallen asleep yet because they love their music (..last night?). I just- want to embrace living here.

thats all.

Classes. BUSN 251.

vandermolen — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:49:18 +0000

So today was the first day of classes and I had my 3 hour class tonight called, “Stock Market Essentials.” Its such a diverse class. There are a handful of savoy business men who want to brush up on some stock market principles, there are a handful of BUSN majors, and then there are like 10 kids who just took the class because it was the only open course. Our professor knows his stuff though…He has like millions in the bank (or so he says…)

Anyway, here is what I leanred so far….

1. I need to start investing now for retirement.

2. If I would have invested when Microsoft came out (during their IPO, goolge that ) and invested about $2,000 I would have made about 2 million by now.

3. No matter how much you learn and can predict trends for the market, a monkey can do just as well as a person who has studied for years and years….

So overall, I have learned a lot but turns out I am learning some not so promising things as far as my own investing future is concerned (which, I am terribly concerned about…or maybe not so much…)

Anyway, I left my class and I don’t know what came over me. I am not really a ‘crying person’ but I walked out of the room and got really teary eyed. I was overwhelmed with how much I miss Teen Mania and the people who have influenced me and have become my friends over the past year. I just realized how different my life is right now. Im not taking Worldview or Character Development and I don’t end my classes in prayer. I don’t work in the call center anymore. Jamin doesn’t start the day off with a nugget anymore. I don’t sit with my core at class. I don’t live in Carrey Hall….Its hard adjusting to going to sleep every night with my drunk neighbors yelling all night, taking classes on non biblical things (although, I do love them), sitting next to ‘mr. I smell like pot and still have a hangover’, working in a new place, yatta yatta yatta….I do love Lansing and my community here. I love my church. I love going to school. I just deeply miss the people in Texas. I love people deeply and when someone means a lot to me…they mean a lot to me. La sigh, my dang heart. I should plan a trip there soon with my frequent flyer miles

Lansing….

vandermolen — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:14:56 +0000

So I am recalculating my life.

I’ll be honest…I came to Michigan State 3 years ago because my friends came here, my brother was here, it would be an easy transition, I already had friends, I knew what church I was going to go to, MSU is a pretty good school, it was close to home…basically I just took the easy way. I picked my major, International Studies, because I like maps, at one point could tell you the capitol of most of the countries in the world, and I dreamed of having a job that would pay me to travel. I was pretty apathetic to my college life. I skipped class…a lot. The Brody girls even made a chart in their room and checked of the days I went to all my classes as an accountability card! I took some sweet P.E classes like figure skating and ice hockey where I learned how to play ice hockey with boys, and showed up to my ISS class when there were quizzes and just made sure I read the book….or rather skimmed the book. I think the only class I never missed a day of was PHL 211. That was the hardest class of my life and I think I never skipped it because I wanted to prove to David Koch that I could understand Spinoza, Descartes, Lock, and all the other modern philosophers and argue why their ideas were all wrong…. I always hated final week….I never slept and I found myself teaching myself all of the things I should have learned all year. Yes, it is truly by the grace of God that I somehow passed all my classes and learned what I needed to learn. Few. I do look back though and wish I would have went to my classes every day….I probably could have learned more. Even if it didnt up my GPA I still could have retained more….

Anyway, It is truly a different season of my life and I am really excited about my classes. I finally have figured out what I want to do, or rather, I have gained the confidence to finally step out in what I have always wanted to do. I love music and I really love business. So, I am going to marry them together and pursue music business :) 2 years ago I added a business emphasis to my degree and discovered I loved those classes more than the international studies classes I was taking. This year I was incredibly blessed to network and meet people in the Christian Music industry by being in school of worship. Plus, the biggest help to me was Soozies Dad, who knows basically everyone in the business and gave me amazing insight and tools on how to pursue this. It just…feels right? and for once I am excited about my classes, my major, and what I am doing. I have vision for my future which I think is what was lacking my first few years of school- thus the hockey classes

Today…V and I ran in the rain and we liked it.

vandermolen — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:16:58 +0000

Being in Lansing is just weird. I keep feeling like I am going to leave again or that I shouldn’t really be here. I think part of it has to do with me just not being settled into my apartment. Katyln and Beeca are not moving in a for a few more days and my apartment is just a wee bit lonely. Praise the Lord for friends that live downstairs and the familiar and cozy feel of their apartment….or I just might go crazy.

So everyone once and a while I feel like my worlds collide. For example, when my friends from Lansing came to the ATF in Detroit it was like my HA life and Michigan life smacked together, or whenever someone from Alpena that I went to High School with shows up in one of my college classes in Lansing, or when people from the HA dropped me off in Lansing at Christmas time and the Brody Girls mixed with my Teen Mania life…its just is weird. Tonight, that will happen again:) I love it though. Emil and Amanda are driving up from Detroit to visit and hang out for the evening. Its going to be so weird though. Just a few days ago the three of us were living in Texas together….now I am hosting them in my apartment in Lansing. I do believe the term for this is called, role strain.

And…today I had a moment where I realized what my schedule is going to look like….I am going to be working full time, leading a mentor group for the girls leading in Brody, going to school full time, doing Spartan Christian Fellowship, and still having a life. Eak. Is this possible?!? I can do it….I can do it…I can…I just might need some roadtrips to Alpena and Texas to keep me sane!

and can I just say? Melissa, I do believe this is almost 2 weeks of updates. I can smell the coffee you will buy me when I win our bet!!

Thats all.

Things I want to get good at this semester.

vandermolen — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:41:06 +0000

Things I need to get wiser on this semester.

1. The stock market- seems like a pretty important thing to get smart on. I am taking a class called, “Stock Market Essentials”. I hope its not lame.

2. The book of Genesis- the girls that I am sheepherding in Brody are leading a bible study on Genesis. I feel like knowing the book they are leading on would be a good thing. I need to get some good resources on that book….

3. Money- This year I learned there are so many things about finances that I just don’t know. Somethings you learn by mistakes or being put in situations. Other times, you learn my reading sweet books, listening to podcasts, and hanging out with smart people. I hope my learning comes from the later….I have already learned by the other way…

4. Social Injustices- Thailand rocked my world. I had no idea about some of the issues that are going on in that area…..makes me wonder what other issues are going on around the world, even in America and what my role in all of it is.

One more reason I hate Ohio.

vandermolen — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:07:32 +0000

Some of the brody girls have a list of why we hate the state of Ohio and I just added one more reason to our list yesterday.

6am- Wake Up
7:03am- Leave my parents house and set out on my 8 hour and 52 min drive.
8:00- Hazard, KY- Stop to get my oil changed. The man who changed my oil noticed a small leak in my radiator and suggested I drive across the street to the Good Year and have it checked out before I drive all the way to Michigan.
8:24am- Go to Good Year and ask to have my car checked out.
9:15am- Kentucky car man comes back to tell me there is a leak in the radiator. I told him I had to get out of Kentucky ASAP and get to Michigan and he suggested I just drive and stop every few hours and put coolant in the car. He sends me on my way with 2 gallons of coolant.
9:33am- I notice the gage on my car start to move towards the “h” not the “c”. Car begings to show signs of overheating. I turned the heat on. I heard that helps…
9:40 am- My speedometer stops working!….I followed the flow of traffic?!
9:45am- I start to sweet. Having the heat on full blast in the summer….stinks.
10:00am- I start to wonder what the signs of heat stroke are and if I am currently experiencing them.
10:03am- I begin to laugh at my circumstance. I offically deam this the worst drive ever
11:15am- Arrive in Ohio. Stop in Cinncinati. Eat lunch at Subway and have a phone date with Leah. Change into shorts!!
12:00pm- Car wont start.
12:01- Pray.
12:02- Car starts. I drive across the street to a car place to ask them for help with putting my coolant in. Apparently mine had to be diluted and I didn’t know how to do that. Plus, the fear of third degree burns scared me because the place you put the stuff in is rather hot hot hot….
12:12pm- Nice man puts coolant from his own store (for free) in my car and sends me on my way!
12:15pm- Get gas and majorly creeped out by 2 shady dudes at the gas station.
12:16pm- Continue on
2Pm- Pray for wisdom if I need to pull off somewhere
2:11PM feel like I need to stop
2:13- pull off at some random exit, make like 4 random turns, and end up in the parking lot of a car place that happens to be open. Sit in the car for a while and let it cool….
2:40- Ask the car man for help with coolant
2:45- Told that my radiator is falling apart and I need a new one.
3:00 pm- Call my dad. Pray. He just went fishing. In a good mood. Pays for a new radiator for my car.
3:05pm- Rick, the car man tells me he just built a house for Extreme Makeover Home Edition and his whole life perspective has changed. Rick then proceeds to call for 20 min to find a radiator that will work for my car, which by the way, has a mexican engine?
3:25pm-Last place he calls, one hour away, has a radiator for my car. Part has to be delivered.
5:30pm- Radiator fixed.
5:35pm- Continue on.
6pm-Praised God that I stoped when I did because there was nothing but fields for a long time….
10:30pm- arrive in Lansing …..