David Brainerd Quotes

This coming week, I'll be writing a short paper and an 8-minute presentation on the Life and Diary of David Brainerd. The book is a biography of David Brainerd interspersed with what parts of his diary that he allowed the author of the biography to include.

Brainerd was a missionary to the Native Americans, and he lived between April 20th, 1718 – October 9th, 1747. I'm not even half-way through the book yet, but already I know that he is a man who experienced the same emotions and fears that I've felt, which has me sympathizing with him and feeling what I need to feel and think for my coming assignment.

Here are some quotes I've come across that I quite like.

"All I want is to be more holy, more like my dear Lord. O for sanctification! My very soul pants for the complete restoration of the blessed image of my Saviour; that I may be fit for the blessed enjoyments and employments of the heavenly world."

– David Brainerd

"Farewell, vain world; my soul can bid adieu;

My Saviour's taught me to abandon you.

Your charm's may gratify a sensual mind;

Not please a soul wholly for God design'd.

Forbear to entice, cease then my soul to call;

'Tis fix'd through grace; my God shall be my all.

While He thus lets me heavenly glories view,

Your beauties fade, my heart's no room from you."

– a poem by David Brainerd

"Lord, I'm a stranger here alone;

Earth no true comforts can afford;

Yet absent from my dearest one,

My soul delights to cry, my Lord.

Jesus, my Lord, my only love,

Possess my soul, nor thense depart;

Grant me kind visits, heavenly Dove,

My God shall then have all my heart."

– a poem by David Brainerd

I find it fascinating that he wrote a couple poems in his diary...

Day One of College Life

So, I’m finally at college, and today is day two of Orientation (today is day two, even though this is my first day living on my own at college). Despite the fact that I want to ball my eyes out every other minute due to the fact that I am now no longer with my family, and because they’re now driving back home, which is at least 500 kilometers from the college is, everything is okay-ish. My feet don’t hurt (yet), all the sessions are getting kind of boring and somewhat repetitive, the little coffee shop in the atrium is cute and serves great drinks (I tried one this morning before I went to Library Orientation - it was an Iced Chai Latte with a shot of white chocolate syrup (it was so good!). I can’t wait to try their “London Fog” beverage (I think it’s tea) when it gets a little cooler), and everyone’s really friendly and happy, and some are downright hilarious.

But the climate is a lot different from where my home is. It’s dryer because it’s the prairies - and while it’s only getting cooler and more fall-like up at home, it’s still hot here. And the heat here is oppressive. It saps my energy while I walk from my dorm room to different buildings between sessions.

It’s kind of lonely here, because the college is in a small town. The town is so small that the only chain-store here is an IGA, and there’s only half the banks here compared to what we have at home (so they don’t have my bank). I can look out my dorm window and see nothing but a couple of houses and endless prairies. If I look sharp enough to the right out my window, I can see a lone wind-turbine - which is part of a larger wind-farm but it’s out of view. The land is so flat here that I can see that lone turbine, even though it’s over 20 kilometers away (I know because I drove past it).

I was so excited to come here, and I’m excited about the prospect of learning something that can further me in life, but I really miss my family. I really wish they hadn’t had to leave. :’(

Come Over, Let's Lecture Economically & Get Educated

If you're confused about the title of this post - let me let you in on a little secret.

*crooks finger* A little closer... I have to whisper... well, not really.

The title of the post spells "college", because that's what I'm going to be talking about in this post.

Yes, this time of my life has finally arrived - well, will arrive, since I'll be arriving at the college I'm going to be attending in 3 weeks, give or take a few days. I'm going to be a college student, and I've stuck with my desire to study in Digital Media.

The reason why I'm writing about college is because it occured to me that I won't have as much time on my blog when my days will be filled with classes and studying. And when I have free time, I'll probably spend it either reading, writing, or even, *gasp*, hanging out with any friends I might have managed to gain.

But I'm so excited for the days in which I'll be able to fill my mind with interesting information again. I'm not looking forward to the tests, though. But if I want to learn about something new, I have to endure tests.

The lineup for the courses of the fall semester seem extremely interesting. I'll be studying the Torah and film and premiere stuff. I can't wait!

Everything's Okay at 20k

Once again I found myself lowering my total NaNoWriMo word-count. It has come to rest for the rest of the month at 20 000 words, because my month has been too busy for my original word counts of 25k and 30k.

Honestly, I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't going to make it to 30k. But I understand also that my family needs me and my brain can't stay focused enough to go the whole way. I'm a slow writer, and sometimes pressure doesn't work.

I'm going to skip Camp NaNo in July so that I can focus on other things. I need to get ready for college, and that means saving any money I can. I also need to focus on losing weight so that I can enter in to college without having to worry about how I look all that hard - and by then I should have THM down pat.

Writing may slow so that I can find time to read (I need to finish The Reluctant Duchess before May 1st so that I may review it and send the review off to Bethany House Publishers). I have so many novels in my To Be Read pile that it's ridiculous! And I didn't a request a novel for review in May because none of the novels they presented to me were of any interest to me. So May is open for whatever novel I choose to read.

I need to finish reading the last book in The Dragons of Starlight novel series by Brian Davis so I can move on. I have several ebooks I would like to crack open, such as The Secret of Pembrooke Park or The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen, or A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan, or Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

I should also crack open The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Hobbit, or Murder on the Orient Express so I can review another classic for the Back to the Classics 2016 Reading Challenge I'm in.

There's so much I want to do, but so little time, lol!

Well, I better get back to writing. I've got laundry to fold and change over as well.

P.S. Maybe I should devote time to learning German and French on top of all this...

College Contemplations

The day before yesterday, I finally entered in to that moment in life where you realize you're on the cusp of freedom and the only thing standing between you and that freedom is the fact that you need to get a job to save for the move and life you'll enter into once you leave home.

Yes, I've finally gotten excited about college.

I began to research how the college I've chosen is run, and found out that, until I'm 22, I'd be forced to live on residence and share a room with a total stranger (at least, until I got to know them, then they wouldn't be a total stranger, lol).

I was okay with it, a little excited about it, and I had found the most awesome little mini-fridge that I could have in the dorm. I'd need the fridge, since the way I eat is really different from how most people around me and my family eat, and in the residence "guide book" it said I could have a fridge in case I "didn't want to get up for breakfast in the cafeteria". It sounded so interesting, and fun, even though I knew that I wouldn't be happy in the long run because I wouldn't be able to have as much as privacy as I want.

But then, last night, I realized one thing: the only pets the dorms would allow us to have is a fish in a tiny aquarium. That means that I wouldn't be able to bring Pebbles, even if I netted a private dorm for medical reasons.

I can't do that! Pebbles is my baby! She'd probably be ruined forever if I left her for the majority of two years! Two years is 14 years in the way a cat's body ages. If I left her behind with my parents, it'd be like I came back to vist relatives for short bursts every few years. To Pebbles it would be years between visits instead of weeks.

When I left to go visit family in BC back in 2012, I was gone for only just over a week, but Pebbles sat at my door and cried for most of the time I was gone. It broke my heart.

But since I can live off-campus with my grandmother as my "legal guardian", I bring Pebbles. I'm pretty sure Grandma is going to do just fine there, she'll probably make plenty of friends and my aunt, uncle, and cousin only live a few hours north.

I'm so excited!