February is coming to a close at last and I can feel the beginnings of spring on its way! This year is passing quickly and I am astounded at all the new situations that I am encountering. Today, Joshua and I have a meeting with the landlord of the Creekside Apartments near Campbell University. When did I reach the age that I am touring apartments with my future husband? We also spent this past weekend registering at Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It was so exciting to pick out the kitchen appliances, bedroom decor, and pretty much everything that a new couple will need to start their lives together. I was overwhelmed with choices, like whether to add the regular toaster oven to our registry or the adorable Hello Kitty toaster.
The most important decision I have made recently, my agreement to marry Josh, has been freaking me out recently. Please do not misunderstand me...I am so excited to be the wife of Joshua Michael Cox and I do not doubt any part of our relationship. My big issue is with being a wife in Christian ministry. Satan has been fighting hard to bring me down with all of the worries of the engaged Christians in ministry like where we live once we are married, how we will pay all of our bills, where we are going to get everything that we need to survive. In my human mind, I have always pictured the couple in ministry with holes in their clothes and popcorn for dinner five nights in a row.
What I was forgetting is that these worries are nothing to the Lord that we will be serving!
Matthew 6:30-31 and 33 says:
"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
I think the Lord knows how much of a doubter I really am though, because he presented me with this verse in my personal devotions. Two days later, the pastor at Theater Campus spoke about the Rich Young Ruler. And one and half weeks later, Alta Whitt spoke about the same Rich Young Ruler and spoke about being a "trader." This video explains what she meant:
Obviously the Lord knows my worries and was not-so-subtly reminding me that He is in control. He will take care of the important life situations for Josh and I as long as we choose to trade our lives for His! So all of my decisions, worries, anxieties, troubles, and fears I am laying at the Lord's feet and trading my life to follow Him...even into the role of minister's wife in our first tiny apartment (possibly a Creekside Apartment) in December. I am now ready.
With Love, Tiffani Elizabeth "Rudy" Thomas
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Home is Where the Books Are
Finally, I have returned home to Campbell University. After traveling from North Carolina to Kentucky to Maryland and back to North Carolina (and also three different NC cities in that time) and also losing my phone at a random gas station along the way, I have never been happier to return to school. With all the traveling, I actually had to time to miss Joshua over the break. It was oddly satisfying to know that I am still that in love with him after almost two years. I consider all of the family time that I had with my immediate family, my extended family, and my future in-law family, and I realize that it may have been one of my best holiday breaks of my life. In the end, though, I am so happy to be back in my apartment with my best friends a skip away and my fiance living three stories above me.
Tomorrow is my last class-free day, but I am extremely excited for the classes that I am registered for this semester. With courses such as Walking Fitness, Sign Language, and Intro to Persuasion, who would not be ready to start? I do have one rant to leave with this blog though...and that is the price that textbook companies charge college students. Do they realize that we are paying upwards of $35,000 a year to attend college in the first place (and we are not even one of the overcharged schools!). Not to mention, we are providing for ourselves for the first time in our lives. What type of company then charges these students $500 for five books? It is absolutely ridiculous.
Enough with the heavy though, I am happy to say that Joshua and I have set a date for out wedding. I will be marrying the love of my life on December 18, 2011. That is exactly 341 days from today (as in this Tuesday). I was also blessed over the break with finding both ceremony and reception venues, the baker (my cousin's adorable wife, Carrie), and possibly the caterer! I have decided to try and slow down to take in every moment of this year because it is the only one I will experience as a fiance. I want to remember every magical memory that I can.
My life, although busy and stressful at times, is blessed by my Savior every day. I cannot wait to see what this semester holds. I pray for the peace that I read about in His Scripture, knowing it is His holy word and that I need to trust in him for every single situation in my life.
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." ~Romans 5:1
With Love, Tiffani Elizabeth "Rudy" Thomas
Tomorrow is my last class-free day, but I am extremely excited for the classes that I am registered for this semester. With courses such as Walking Fitness, Sign Language, and Intro to Persuasion, who would not be ready to start? I do have one rant to leave with this blog though...and that is the price that textbook companies charge college students. Do they realize that we are paying upwards of $35,000 a year to attend college in the first place (and we are not even one of the overcharged schools!). Not to mention, we are providing for ourselves for the first time in our lives. What type of company then charges these students $500 for five books? It is absolutely ridiculous.
Enough with the heavy though, I am happy to say that Joshua and I have set a date for out wedding. I will be marrying the love of my life on December 18, 2011. That is exactly 341 days from today (as in this Tuesday). I was also blessed over the break with finding both ceremony and reception venues, the baker (my cousin's adorable wife, Carrie), and possibly the caterer! I have decided to try and slow down to take in every moment of this year because it is the only one I will experience as a fiance. I want to remember every magical memory that I can.
My life, although busy and stressful at times, is blessed by my Savior every day. I cannot wait to see what this semester holds. I pray for the peace that I read about in His Scripture, knowing it is His holy word and that I need to trust in him for every single situation in my life.
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." ~Romans 5:1
With Love, Tiffani Elizabeth "Rudy" Thomas
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
The Art of Being Still
It is almost frightening what a university's campus looks like at the end of a fall semester. Take for example Campbell University, the most adorable college in North Carolina. Although nothing seems to be around us for at least thirty miles or more, we are a decently sized university. We prefer to call our location the center of nowhere as opposed to the middle of nowhere, just in case you were wondering. But it transforms from the bustling academic home to which I am accustomed into a complete cemetery by the end of the finals week. I feel like I am one of five students left on campus tonight.
My fiancee, Joshua Cox, has one more exam tomorrow. Therefore, I am stuck here until the very end. Today, as my roommates (who are also my best friends) packed up and headed home for the holidays, I was left with nothing to do and no one to do it with. As I took a walk to the Groc, to see if there was anything edible left for dinner in the south campus' grocery store, I noticed exactly how dreary Campbell is without its Camels. I was reminded of Psalm 46:10. That is the verse where God commands us to "be still and know that I am God." Our campus seemed to be pretty talented at the being still part. So I thought that I would give it a go when I got back the abandoned apartment.
This eventually just led to tears. I have realized that I cannot be alone with myself for more than hour without being driven insane by the silence and loneliness. I blame my mother, Stephanie. She is the perfect mix of nurture and wisdom, but she embraced me too much growing up. I miss her presence constantly in my life now that I live 10 hours away from her, and I think I miss anyone's presence when I am forced to be alone. After trying to sit and be still for about thirty minutes, I just had to move.
I knew that I needed an excellent distraction. So I put on Gilmore Girls, the best television series that has ever been, and attempted to straighten my hair. I made macaroni and cheese because it was all I had in my pantry and my trek to the Groc had been fruitless. And then I cried because Josh was at work, Amber and Kelly were home with their families, and my family was hours and hours away.
As I sat in my self pity, I noticed a Christmas gift that my good friend, Rachel, had given me and suddenly realized that out there, in that cemetery of a university, there was another forgotten Camel soul alone. So I texted her, begging for company. And, as Rachel always seems to do, she saved me. Loneliness and mac'n'cheese abandoned, Rachel and I headed for McDonald's, where I had a fantastically happy Happy Meal that included a Keroppi watch. (You know, the frog friend of Hello Kitty!?) I also bought one for Rachel because tonight she was my saving grace. We came back to my not-so-empty apartment and watched The Magical Legend of Leprechauns. Or at least, she and I watched half before she had to head back to study for her last final.
But once she was gone, I actually found myself capable of sitting, being still, and simply thinking of what an amazing God created me and blessed me. He even blessed me with an amazing Christian sister that would abandon her studies to spend a few hours with me in my time of helplessness.
I lead a truly enchanted life with magical people all around (though not all the time!) Today just happened to be God's lesson for me that it's going to take a little patience and time to learn the art of being still.
With Love, Tiffani Elizabeth Thomas
My fiancee, Joshua Cox, has one more exam tomorrow. Therefore, I am stuck here until the very end. Today, as my roommates (who are also my best friends) packed up and headed home for the holidays, I was left with nothing to do and no one to do it with. As I took a walk to the Groc, to see if there was anything edible left for dinner in the south campus' grocery store, I noticed exactly how dreary Campbell is without its Camels. I was reminded of Psalm 46:10. That is the verse where God commands us to "be still and know that I am God." Our campus seemed to be pretty talented at the being still part. So I thought that I would give it a go when I got back the abandoned apartment.
This eventually just led to tears. I have realized that I cannot be alone with myself for more than hour without being driven insane by the silence and loneliness. I blame my mother, Stephanie. She is the perfect mix of nurture and wisdom, but she embraced me too much growing up. I miss her presence constantly in my life now that I live 10 hours away from her, and I think I miss anyone's presence when I am forced to be alone. After trying to sit and be still for about thirty minutes, I just had to move.
I knew that I needed an excellent distraction. So I put on Gilmore Girls, the best television series that has ever been, and attempted to straighten my hair. I made macaroni and cheese because it was all I had in my pantry and my trek to the Groc had been fruitless. And then I cried because Josh was at work, Amber and Kelly were home with their families, and my family was hours and hours away.
As I sat in my self pity, I noticed a Christmas gift that my good friend, Rachel, had given me and suddenly realized that out there, in that cemetery of a university, there was another forgotten Camel soul alone. So I texted her, begging for company. And, as Rachel always seems to do, she saved me. Loneliness and mac'n'cheese abandoned, Rachel and I headed for McDonald's, where I had a fantastically happy Happy Meal that included a Keroppi watch. (You know, the frog friend of Hello Kitty!?) I also bought one for Rachel because tonight she was my saving grace. We came back to my not-so-empty apartment and watched The Magical Legend of Leprechauns. Or at least, she and I watched half before she had to head back to study for her last final.
But once she was gone, I actually found myself capable of sitting, being still, and simply thinking of what an amazing God created me and blessed me. He even blessed me with an amazing Christian sister that would abandon her studies to spend a few hours with me in my time of helplessness.
I lead a truly enchanted life with magical people all around (though not all the time!) Today just happened to be God's lesson for me that it's going to take a little patience and time to learn the art of being still.
With Love, Tiffani Elizabeth Thomas
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