আগ্রহান্বিত

My Facebook status currently says "Stephanie is আগ্রহান্বিত."

আগ্রহান্বিত --> Bengali for "eager; zealous; intent; intently desirous; inclined (to); wistful."

I honestly can't read every consonant in it, but it's something like ag...in.....yeah. I know some letters. Working on it.

Anyway, finals are next week. I'm done with classes right now. Literally just finished. The work I have to turn in gets turned in on Monday, or emailed over the weekend if I'm ambitious. School is almost done.

It's strange. My last practical criticism class was today. I'm gonna miss that class. I don't think I appreciated it enough while I was still in it. Oh well. I took good notes.

India in five days.
India in five days.
India in five days.

To do:
Open Citibank account.
Get traveler's checks.
Pick up work checks.
Deposit work checks.
Start taking malaria meds so I don't turn into mosquito-woman.
Find out what malaria does so I don't continue to think of it as something that might turn me into a superhero.
Pack (ha).
Learn Bangla.

Sorry, this post isn't very inspirational. It's really just me keeping a record of what I need to do before I leave.

Oh, and pray. I've been doing that, a lot. Not enough, but a lot. I've been told by about five different people in the past week that spiritual warfare is going on like whoa in India, specifically Kolkata, right now. I don't mean literal physical violence - I mean, people are actually doing exorcisms and stuff. There's so much idolatry that demon possession happens all the time. And then exorcisms happen. And demons leave. Lldksfjaljfdslkj!

If you're reading this right now, please pray for India.
Thanks. :-)

Love,
Stephanie

Homework, focus, and motivation.

"Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." - Colossians 3:22-24

Okay, so. I know I'm not technically a slave. But, if you're a college student, you know that sometimes, it feels like we're slaves to school. Especially the week before finals. Like nearly every other student at IWU, I'm having difficulty finding the motivation to study, to revise papers, to prepare for finals. I just don't want to. It's even more difficult to do all this work when all I want is to hang out with my friends before I go to India.

The point of this post is not for me to complain about all the work I have to do - everyone has that. The point is to remind me, and you, that we're not really working to get the A or for our professors. We're working for something much bigger than Ed 255. In Colossians 3:23, slaves are told to work with all their hearts, because it's really the Lord they are serving.

And that's the mindset that I need to have.

Love,
Stephanie