Why I Loved The Master's College (A Shameless Plug)

Recently, my sister told me she spoke with someone who was considering some of the different Christian colleges in California. As a teacher, I too, often have the opportunity to speak with christian teenagers about options for their futures. Usually, I don’t like to come on too strong, and fully pitch my alumni, The Master’s College, because naturally, I understand that young adults don’t like feeling as if they’re being told what to do or that an adult is trying to push some sort of “agenda” on them. But the more I think about it, the more I have to ask myself, “Who am I kidding?” I totally do have an agenda, and here’s why, I LOVED the Master’s College. I’m tired of pretending I didn’t because other people resent John MacArthur (the president of the college) and his unwavering, unapologetic stance on the Bible. I’m tired of sheepishly defending the fact that chapel attendance was required, and that there was a curfew for freshmen. The reality is that going to The Master’s College changed my entire life, and influenced me to love and serve the Lord, and certainly, there can be no shame in that!

So I decided to blog about some of the reasons the college is so awesome, and why you should go there. (No pressure Annie from church)

Here’s a few bullet points:

* Note: This is going to be long, and I don’t expect most of you guys (actually anyone) to read it, but please feel free to add your own TMC testimonial to my comments if you feel inclined to do so (that is if they’re positive).

Friends: First of all, I have to say that the friends I made in college are still my friends today, and here’s why. We had/have a common bond in Christ. Is every one of the 900 students attending there a surefire “born again,” certainly not, but for the most part, the people I met really and truly loved the Lord. I was so inspired to meet other 18 year olds that had claimed Christianity as their own individual faith ( not just the teachings taught them by their parents) and they were so passionate about it. They were young men and women striving to grow in their faith and be challenged in their studies, both academic and theological. Not only that, but, I’ve never had so much (dare I say) FUN, in my life. People assume that christians are boring, humorless stick-in-the muds, but the friends I made at Masters were an absolute blast in every way. I will forever cherish my dorm-room memories there; the all-nighters, the basketball games, the random pranks, and the camaraderie I felt walking through that campus.

Traveling/Ministry Opportunities: During my time at the Master’s college, I was able to spend almost 8 weeks in Africa - traveling from Kenya to Uganda and back. Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime, eye-opening experience! My husband was able to spend 8 weeks in Khazakstan, and an entire semester in Israel. In addition to their world wide outreach opportunities, they have an emphasis on local missions too. While I was there, I slept at a homeless shelter in Venice Beach, visited numerous local churches, and I heard literally hundreds of amazing sermons from speakers all over the country, and actually, from all across the globe.

The S’s - Small/Safe/Secure.... I felt completely accepted, welcomed, loved, secure, and at ease there from day #1. I also felt very safe, granted this was a decade ago, and I’m sure things may be different now, but when I was there, I didn’t have to add worrying about theft, crime, and scary, drunk frat boys to my worries about my upcoming finals. Now that I am a mother of 4 daughters, I definitely think that’s something relevant to consider.

Academics/The Education Department: I will acknowledge that there are certain majors and fields of study that may not be offered at TMC. But if you’re interested in becoming a teacher, TMC has an amazing reputation in their community for training and credentialing both elementary and secondary teachers. My professors were hands on, inspiring, and personally involved in the success and failures of their students. I loved ALL of them, and I felt completely equipped when I entered the work force. Getting my credential through the college was one of the smartest things I could have done.

The Marriage Factor: I understand that there is somewhat of a stigma about the TMC being some sort of “marrying” school, and I know that actually deters some people from wanting to go there. But here are the facts regarding marriage, God has pre-ordained who you will marry and when that marriage will take place, so it doesn’t really matter where you go to school or what age you think sounds like the ideal marrying age. Secondly, I did happen to meet my husband there, but of my 4 best friends from the college, only one other girl also met her hubby there. So that’s 2 out of 5. Not only that, but I know a ton of people that did not get married to someone they met there, or while attending there. In defense of those of us who did get married young, and who did find our spouses there: the key element to a successful marriage is having the same biblical foundation in Christ. To be honest, finding a godly person to marry can be very much a challenge in today’s world. If you don’t find someone at church, where better than a college where you tend to be brushing shoulders with people who are like minded?

The Other Schools: There’s so much I could say about Westmont, Azusa, Point Loma, and Biola that would make me sound elitist, and condescending regarding their standards, their reputations, their professors, their agendas, and their doctrine. I’ll leave it at that.

Okay, so there’s so much more I could say, so many scrapbook pictures I could force you to look at, but I’ll spare you. I totally get that each person needs to find the right school for themselves to attend, but I figured, I had to proclaim the truth, and if not shout from the roof tops, at least post a blog entry on the fact that I really loved my college. It changed my life, and I believe God is continuing to use that school and the people that work there to light fires for His word and for His work.

And if you decide to go to Azusa, I won’t hold it against you, after all that wouldn’t be very “Masters” of me, now would it?

You Know the Economy is Bad When....

Gasp, gasp, sputter, sputter, inhale..... deep breath.... just got back from Albertsons... store having special sale from 1pm to 8pm.... lots of specials..... bags of shredded cheese, just 99 cents.... had to go.... had to have Cocoa Puffs for $1.50...... had to bring 4 kids with me.... gasp, gasp.... so many people, so many cars in the parking lot, so many hands to hold..... so much yelling... "Stay close! Don't you see the cars! STOP crying! I know Morgan has snot on her face, but we must go.... there's a sale..... we must go.... cheap food awaits! NO YOU CAN'T HAVE GUM! STOP TOUCHING EVERYTHING!"

Tonight when I close my eyes to sleep, I'll see the lines, the lines of people glaring down at me with that silent questioning expression, "Why did you have sooo mannny children?" I felt like I was in 1980s Russia, standing in lines, every man for himself. All we were missing were fingerless gloves and charcoal dust smeared on my kids faces. We were practically a scene from a Dickens novel.

But tomorrow morning when I open up my new box of Trix cereal (fully processed and food colored bites of solidified corn syrup), the memories of today's outing to the grocery store will fade, and all will be right in the world again.

TMC Alum Updates

So, one of the things I love about the internet is that it enables you to stay involved in your friends lives without actually living near them or even seeing them for years at a time. Last year, I stayed in touch with my college friend Jennene (who sang at my wedding, was a fellow English major, did student teaching with me, and was basically rilly, rilly cool) and her battle with cancer, and now via internet, I discover that (now that she has fully recovered) she and her husband are adopting, check out her blog (The Margrave family) , and keep them in your prayers.

And speaking of prayers, my former TMC roommate, Heidi, could use some prayer too. She has 2 daughters and is pregnant now with a baby boy. Her 2nd daughter, Judah, was born very premature (at 26 weeks) and I blogged about that, and by God's grace and the miracles He provides through modern day medicine, her baby is healthy and thriving today. Now she is 24 weeks pregnant this time around and having a really tough pregnancy. If you think of her, pray that she is able to stay pregnant and not go into labor anytime soon. As all of you moms know, every extra week in the womb can be vital.

Another Weekend in Sunnyvale

4 girls; 1 bed
Seals and a view in beautiful Santa Cruz


"Gamma Luci" and Maisy posing at church

My father in law is still stationed out in Sunnyvale while a church up there looks for a permanent pastor to fill their pulpit, so we decided to take another 3 day weekend excursion out to see him. This time "Gamma Luci" was there too! Despite the rain and cold, the girls were in hotel heaven with the "luxuries" of continental breakfasts and swimming pools, yep, that's right they went swimming despite the cold temperatures, and you can bet we had the pool to ourselves! We had a great time, eating, and playing, and eating, and eating... did I mention eating? We even happened to go to Marie Calendars on International "Pie" day and we all got free slices of pie! You can't imagine the kind of happiness free pie can bring in my life.

Of course no trip with 4 kids would be complete without a good old-fashioned "kids will be kids moment." And that moment occurred for us when the hotel called our room because the police had just called them. Why had they called? Because apparently that's what police do when a 911 call has been made from where? Oh, from our hotel room of course. Thank you Noelle, for providing me with classic blogging material, but next time I'd prefer to blog about you being the winner of the National Spelling Bee or at least that you no longer write your N's backwards, let's just try and avoid any future brushes with law enforcement, shall we?

Defeating the Purpose

This week I

a) ate my lean cuisine for lunch, but for extra flavor, I added mayonnaise, loads of salt, and parmesan cheese.

b) just washed a load of clothes with a blue ink pen.

c) scrubbed down the tile of my entry way on a rainy day.

Hmm, maybe I should re-think some of my efforts.

Happy Birthday Jen!

In these trying economic times, one must get creative with the birthday presents they buy/make. Basically, today is my BFF's birthday, Jen formerly Mantuano, now Oswald. I thought to myself, hey, I could buy her a bunch of stuff she'd love from Williams Sonoma or one of those ridiculously unique online Etsy stores.... or I could give her the ultimate gift, I could dedicate one of my (um, free) blog entries just to her. It's like those American Express cards say, some things in life are priceless, so here goes:

Birthday Ode to Jen

In 2nd grade, you were mean to me, because you thought you were so smart.

But eventually, I grew on you, and the two of us were rarely apart.

In 6th grade, we were drama stars; in Jr. High, it was ASB.

In High school, we were boy crazy, and you still were smarter than me.

I could count on you to be responsible, and afraid of talking to strange boys.

You were oh so popular among everyone, & you had quite a collection of stuffed toys.

Each year we went to summer camp, to hang out at Hume Lake.

It's embarrassing to look back at how many clothes we would take!

I couldn't believe we were both on Homecoming court, best friends still our senior year.

You and I both lost, but hey that's cool, we didn't shed a tear.

And then off we went to colleges, but our friendship did not fade.

It wasn't long, till you were walking down the aisle as my best bridesmaid.

And then in time you got married too, your flower girl, my daughter.

I was so happy to see her in your wedding, it was so sweet that you had sought her.

Later, then in 2005, both of us had babies due - both to be born in June!

Mine a girl, yours a boy, who knows? maybe they'll unite one day soon.

When all is said and done, I must say this; your friendship's been a gift!

I'm thankful for your humor, your kindness, your phone calls give me a lift.

I used to be jealous that you were 6 months older than me,

but now I can laugh, and call you old, and give you this blog for free!

Happy Birthday Jen!

Here are some pics to capture our journey together!

New Year, New Questions

In case you hadn't noticed, I tend to write things with a lighter tone. When my daily routines can feel monotonous, sometimes for me the best thing to do is to laugh & make fun of the ups & downs of having 4 little girls under the age of 6 and trying to juggle motherhood, being a wife, and the myriad of other roles I find I have somehow acquired. But there are of course sobering moments in life when I should be more thoughtful & reflective. Our friend emailed us this list of questions to think on for the new year. I chose a few them that I thought were especially worth sharing so we can be challenged & reflective together!

1. What's one thing you can do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about this year?

3. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, & how do you

plan to do that?

4. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

5. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years? In eternity?