Following HIS Lead

theres comes a fine line with expectations.

• To expect too much is to have a sentimental view of life and this is a softness that ends in bitterness. Flannery O'Connor

• Uncertainty and expectation are the joys of life. William Congreve

• What you have made me see," answered the Lady, "is as plain as the sky, but I never saw it before. Yet it has happened every day. One goes into the forest to pick food and already the thought of one fruit rather than another has grown up in one's mind. Then, it may be, one finds a different fruit and not the fruit one thought of. One joy was expected and another is given. But this I had never noticed before - that the very moment of the finding there is in the mind a kind of thrusting back, or setting aside. The picture of the fruit you have not found is still, for a moment, before you. And if you wished, if it were possible to wish - you could keep it there. You could send your soul after the good you had expected, instead of turning it to the good you had got. You could refuse the real good; you could make the real fruit taste insipid by thinking of the other." C.S. Lewis

• Rarely do the followers exceed the expectations of the leaders. Unkown

EXPECTATIONS:
are they good or bad? should we set high expectations? so quality and excellence is maximized or should we have low expectations so they are easily met and attained? or should we have no expectations at all so we're not disappointed or left wanting?

i don't have the answers to any of those questions, but too many times i feel like i've set too high of expectations and im left feeling failed and disappointed, then comes the thinking that if my expectations were lowered, i would be much happier; but would i???
thinking about my expectations in school, with work, in friendships & relationships and church, leads me to the other side of expectations, thinking about what the Lord expects out of me and in searching Scripture, the Lord expects/wants excellence, my best, complete and utter dependence [Prvb 31, Eph 4, Gal 5, 1 Peter 4, James 3, Hebrews 11 and many others]. He expects me to live a holy life, seeking His face, proclaiming His name to the ends of the earth, loving others with His eyes and compassion, pouring out grace and truth, surrendering, losing my life.

are my expectations for others a personality flaw/weakness? am i setting myself up for constant disappointment? how do i remedy this without feeling like im selling out to mediocrity or settling? my constant desire is to please the Lord and magnify Him "living a life worthy of the calling".
my prayer is that my expectations are founded in biblical truth and not selfish desire so at the end of the day its not about me.


grace & peace,
lish

so in light of the previous post, i probably shouldnt have just watched the new TAMU promo video..and nor should i be telling all the masses that read this blog, but yeah i'll admit it, it brought a tear to my eye..but i think thats cause my homesickness has been really bad lately...

so there ya go..and A&M video almost made me cry.

grace & peace,
lish

well..it shouldnt surprise me the day i write about not having anything exciting happening...something happens.

so i dont know if ive mentioned this but since the middle of August ive been donating plasma twice a week and have saved up a nice little travel fund. well, my money earning scheme has now been put on hold for 8 weeks due to "infiltration". my arm swelled & looked like there was a golf ball under the skin.
for the not so faint of heart, i'll hopefully be posting pictures of the quite large bruise that im going to have due to the "injury".

needless to say, no more plasma donating until my red blood count is back up in two months.

so its been a couple days since a post. nothing too exciting has been going on. ive been working on a post about culture, but every week theres more stuff to think about and so its not quite ready for posting...but soon! i had my first quizzes in mgmt and did as well as i thought i would, which wasn't great. theres just something about "business" and my brain that just dont connect...its like learning a foreign language, or harder! needless to say, more time will be devoted to studying those chapters.

work has been picking up; we have World Community Day coming up next week on Tuesday and the Int'l House has a huge part to play in that...basically is a world awareness day educating campus on countries and cultures-there are a ton of people coming out from Peace Corps volunteers to the Passport Agency and International awareness non-profits. I'll be helping out with the Study Abroad table and helping escort our "visitors" around-it should be crazy, but fun!

church is going well. i'm getting involved with the worship team. most likely im going to be doing female vocals. the way its set up is we have 2 bands that alternate weeks. and then i'm also going to be put on the nursery rotation-yea for babies! the "series" we've been on in big church has been about being overwhelmed. its been encouraging to hear and apply practical truths to the stresses that come up in my life, because i forget so easily that im not in control and totally have the strength to endure. in small group we've been expanding on the sermons as the kickoff isnt until the 24th. claude, our leader usually asks a question and facilates the discussion.

thats all i got. still alive & kickin' in greenville-the fall weather has been glorious, a little rainy, but the temperature divine!

grace & peace,
lish

a huge thanks to all who made my first birthday far from home special!
i loved all the phone calls, emails & ecards, cards and facebook msgs



the pigtails are for you william!
my birthday celebration was fun, me & some people from class went to chili's, very enjoyable and glad i didnt spend the whole night at home!

im so blessed by all of yalls friendships!
grace & peace,
lish

People keep asking me what grad school is like..and all i can tell them is its a lot of reading, so i thought i'd give you a glimpse of my everyday life:
this is an exerpt from

Since capital, the direct or indirect control of the means of subsistence and production, is the weapon with which this social warfare is carried on, it is clear that all the disadvantages of such a state must fall upon the poor. For him no man has the slightest concern. Cast into the whirlpool, he must struggle through as well as he can. If he is so happy as to find work, i.e., if the bourgeoisie does him the favour to enrich itself by means of him, wages await him which scarcely suffice to keep body and soul together; if he can get no work he may steal, if he is not afraid of the police, or starve, in which case the police will take care that he does so in a quiet and inoffensive manner. During my residence in England, at least twenty or thirty persons have died of simple starvation under the most revolting circumstances, and a jury has rarely been found possessed of the courage to speak the plain truth in the matter. Let the testimony of
the witnesses be never so clear and unequivocal, the bourgeoisie, from which the jury is selected, always finds some backdoor through which to escape the frightful verdict, death from starvation. The bourgeoisie dare not speak the truth in these cases, for it would speak its own condemnation. But indirectly, far more than directly, many have died of starvation, where long-continued want of proper nourishment has called forth fatal illness, when it has produced such debility that causes which might otherwise have remained inoperative brought on severe illness and death. The English working-men call this "social murder", and accuse our whole society of perpetrating this crime perpetually. Are they wrong?
[…]
Every great city has one or more slums, where the working-class is crowded together. True, poverty often dwells in hidden alleys close to the palaces of the rich; but, in general, a separate territory has been assigned to it, where, removed from the sight of the happier classes, it may struggle along as it can. These slums are pretty equally arranged in all the great towns of England, the worst houses in the worst quarters of the towns; usually one- or two-storied cottages in long rows, perhaps with cellars used as dwellings, almost always irregularly built. These houses of three or four rooms and a kitchens form, throughout England, some parts of London excepted, the general dwellings of the working-class. The streets are generally unpaved, rough, dirty, filled with vegetable and animal refuse, without sewers or gutters, but supplied with foul, stagnant pools instead. Moreover, ventilation is impeded by the bad, confused method
of building of the whole quarter, and since many human beings here live crowded into a small space, the atmosphere that prevails in these working-men's quarters may readily be imagined. Further, the streets serve as drying grounds in fine weather; lines are stretched across from house to house, and hung with wet clothing.

just one slelction of the 300 pages (and thats no exaggeration) of reading i had for this week-it by far has been the easiest to read through,
anyways...ive gotta get back to writing.

grace & peace,
lish

Praise the Lord.

I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord, they are pondered by all who delight in them
Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.
He has shown his people the power of his works; giving them the lands of other nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.
They are steadfast for ever and ever, done in faithfulness and uprightness.
He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever-holy and awesome is his name.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning gof wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

I confess lately ive forgotten. ive been caught up in other things and the Lord is patiently waiting for me to get a clue. 3 separate times today i read "be still and know the Lord..", think He's trying to tell me something?
In my initial mental preparations for moving, what i thought it was going to be like, what the transition was going to look like, etc. i imagined this huge "shift", a profound, clear, obvious change into something better, and perhaps cooler. The summer was this constant readiness for something else, excited that there was a physical time it was going to start and take place. And tonight the Lord has taken hold of me and put me face to face with His consistency, steadfastness and faithfulness. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Gently and lovingly, He's taken me in His arms and said remember. No matter what house im sitting in, or what campus im attending school, its still a daily surrender of myself to glorify Him in my body.

While North Carolina is exciting and different, most everything in my life is still the same. I still constantly battle waking up in the morning, being a single gal in North Carolina stinks as much as it did in Texas, the Holy Spirit is still convicting and teaching me more intimately everyday, i have school/work responsibilities, the list goes on and on. As I sit back and think about all those expectations I had, I find myself feeling silly, wondering why I thought it was going to be so different.
The words of the psalmist speak such truth and reflect the current state of my heart.
Following Him, fearing Him will lead to understanding and wisdom in the places Im confused; seeking Him daily,reverently will answer the whys and hows i have about my future and relationships.

thats all i got for now.
God is good, all the time, His love endures forever.

grace & peace,
lish

so apparently theres a tropical storm hitting...and im in the middle of it.

so work at the honors program office is a bit more "formal" than the international house, but i think im going to enjoy it; John, my immediate supervisor is quite the professional. i have my own desk (well, i share it with the other GAs, but i'm the only one that works on Wednesdays) and the work is fairly simple, I just do whatever John or Dr. Bassman, or the other advisors tell me to do. I'll be working 9-2 every Wednesday so that will give me plenty of time to start readings for my classes and catch up on news. Today I answered the phones and arranged some activities for when our elementary school kids come to campus.

the plasma donations have been going well, except the fact that my veins are weak..so it kinda looks like im a drug addict, because i've been poked so much!

i guess life in greenville is almost routine. im slowly getting to know the people in my classes and building relationships at church. but as a whole, the loneliness has crept up on me, seeping into the little things-that, at the end of the day make it feel like its been a bad day. i havent "lost it" yet, you know the just-need-to cry-&-start-&-then-cant-stop? so i guess thats a good sign, but there have been a couple nites where probably given 5 more minutes i couldve. Its a weird feeling i carry around..cause ultimately i think its loneliness, but im surrounded by people all the time, and am interacting with them. and its not a not wanting to be here, because i really am enjoying the work and the classes, while i complain about all the reading, i am excited about it all. so, needless to say, i think its just typical moving to a new place, but for some reason it feels different than all the other times i've been away from home and friends.
anyways, keep me in your prayers..ive gotta get back to working....

grace & peace,
lish

my first week of grad school is over and i already have quite a work load, and i've only been to 1 class!
Friday night was spent with some chinese and mgmt. i read til my brain was mush..you know the point where youre reading but the minds isnt processing anything that your eyes are reading? i got about 75% done, which i was happy with.
Saturday was spent at the beach, Atlantic Beach, close to Morehead City; we took a group of 30 exchange students & got some surf boards and i had my first surfing lesson! the surf was pretty flat, which means no good. unfortunately, the East Coast so far is not my favorite. While, beautiful and cool, I had a horrible allergic reaction to something during my time there and finally today, the rash for the most part has gone away.
After church, I set up camp to finish up mgmt for my first class tomorra night and then started in on global issues..the class that will consume most of my time looking at the syllabus.
Work at the international house is slowly picking up. Until the middle of october, I will be manning a table 2 days a week from 11-1 at ECU's rudder fountain/msc breezeway equivalent recruiting students to study abroad. and then there will be other various projects that i'll be working on.

In other news, I've started a Bring Alisha Home Fund. and its not what you think....:)

This fund is my savings for airplane tickets for my visits back to the great state of TX. So if after prayerful consideration, the Lord leads you to give, or for some reason you have a tree that money starts growing on, or youre at a loss as to what to do with the extra income youve ended up with..please make checks payable to Alisha Lombardi and include BHAF in the memo line :) cash and all major credit cards are accepted as well :)

thats all for now, this study break is coming to an end.
its back to globalization...and hey..i'll include an interactive/educational part for all my faithful readers.

Please give me your own definition of what globalization is.

grace & peace,
lish

i completed my first day as a grad student; it was definitely weird walking around on-campus, not knowing anyone, not being familiar with campus, etc. i miss my aggies. the howdys, the long treks to class. and the only thing people have to respond with when they hear im from Texas is "yeah, UT was named the #1 party school.."

tomorra the fbi comes to our office, im volunteering at the winterville watermelon festival, and im going to donate plasma for the second time this week.

thats all from greenville.

grace & peace,
lish

i am so blessed by our great God. His unfailing kindness and provision never cease to make me stand in awe of Him and praise Him for His faithfulness to me, when I, at so many times feel like im failing Him.

Being in Greenville, He has provided housing, a church home and work, and slowly friends. Not only did I get a GAship in the International Affairs office working with the international exchange students, on top of that I have been given another part-time GAship working with the MAIS Honors program.

As for my church home, I went to small group this week and loved it. I felt like I was amongst friends and at home. There was good discussion and deep fellowship with one another. Tomorra Im going serving with them helping students move in. Discovery (thats the name of the church) is a small church plant here in Greenville that really focuses on community and service, being the Body to the people of Greenville. Ive already met a girl that wants to meet and practice Spanish with me, and another girl who is eager to be workout buddies...its such an encouragement to me not to have to hop around for a couple weeks, but really begin to invest.

Brandi, my roommate will move in this weekend and i have orientation, that i get to go to with the a minister's fiance, who is a grad student like me.

Thanks for all the prayers friends, i've felt them and the Lord has steadily been answering them.

grace & peace,
lish

well, ive got my ECUOnecard..thats what they call the id cards.

I started work today and helped all the new internationaal students get moved into their dorm rooms. it was a lot of walking, tomorra shouldnt be as tiring, but it will definitely be a long one since its orientation stuff all day; but it will be very informative for me, seeing as i kinda feel like an international myself.

anyways, classes start in a week. i think the international affairs office will be pretty fun, the staff is real laid back-already we've been joking around with one another, so im looking forward to being there.


thats about it,

grace & peace,
lish

so back in july while i was in jackson, there was a day when val was at her film workshop and her mom had turned the tv on to HGTV. so when i got up, i grabbed a book and made myself comfortable on the couch. i didnt bother turning the tv off, it wasnt too loud, and i was content to read...well, after like 3 hours i was hooked. there are so many interesting shows and cool things to do/try...anyways....that being said...

i wish i had a before picture so you can really envision the hard labor put into the new dresser...the stripping, and scrapping and sanding and more scrapping...so i started this project Tuesday afternoon and viola! Wednesday night its complete...i could totally be on Trading Spaces :)

i know it looks like something out of some kid's room or a nursery but i like it..a lot actually...im very tempted to redo my other one so it will match, but i havent decided...anyways,
thats all ive got.

grace & peace,
lish

first, let me say that im officially in Greenville, NC

my new address is
1014A Brownlea Dr.
Greenville, NC 27858

for those of you who like sending mail...

the drive was long, Dad and i stayed in Nashville (thanks again Jeffs!) on Thursday night and then hit the road again Friday morning, arriving at my new pad around 7:30. unfortunately, Tyron did not make the trip safely..he had to be taken to the mechanic Monday morning, once we got him to stop smoking and running in a quasi-drivable way. thankfully, it was not as bad as we thought (it was looking like an overhaul on the transmission) but PTL, he just needed flushed and some more transmission fluid, I was a very lucky girl!
Monday was quite a long day for me as i had to ride my trusty bike everywhere, boy did i get a workout in the heat! I went to the grocery store that night once i got Tyron back and Tuesday was spent running errands and then i spent the afternoon and evening refinishing my dresser. its not quite done, still needs a coat of seal on it and then i'll have its picture posted for yall to see. im quite impressed with myself seeing as its my first attempt to re-do something..stripping and sanding it was a little harder process than i thought it would be.

Today i took care of some more errands like utilities and a new bank account. I started doing some inquiries about school stuff and have some more leads to look into tomorra. Grad orientation is Saturday I found out, so i'll be checking that out in the morning and then the plan is to check out the Outerbanks..aka the beach! and theres a possibility that Ms. Kayla Glasgow might come out for a visit..we'll see (shes been working in Winston-Salem, which is about 3 hrs west of me...but still on my side of the country!); that would be all sorts of fun and exciting...you know? someone that i'm actually real-life friends with :) as opposed to the only daily people interaction i get is when I got the the store and run errands...i'll make friends soon..no worries. I've actually found some churches i'm going to check out in the next couple of weeks..sadly none of them have Wednesday night serivces, but one does small groups so i'm really looking forward to visiting there...

so onto the second topic of my post.
i just wanted to take the opportunity and thank all my wonderful friends for making my last days in College Station memorable. Marla, Faith, Emory, Charlotte, Mik, Tracy and Didi & Lisa May, thanks for coming out to dinner and girls i had a wonderful time on the "scanvenger hunt"!

summer is such a different kind of time. its a break from everything and you meet people you most likely never see during the year because for the most part everybody in your "normal" core group of friends has spread out doing different things...so heres to my summer friends and softball buddies! i pray the Lord's blessings over yall as you head into the new school year!

my phone and email are staying the same...please keep me updated with whats going on in your life as i will with you!

grace & peace,
lish

okay..so i love how the Lord works because as i was writing the previous post I felt like i was focusing on all this negative stuff, but really couldnt express the positive of what my heart truly feels. and tonight for tim skaggs going away, his daughter miranda performed this song that the worship leader from the village in dallas wrote and it really expresses the desires of my heart to a T: so i'll share it

Here I Am

Take me far away from here
Save me from this world of fear
Break me from the things I hold so near
they’re so far from You

Verse 2
Reveal to me what You want me to do
Place me where Your will draws me to
Lord be pleased with the worship I bring to You
I sing to You, I shout to You!

Chorus

Here I am, send me out let me shine for Your glory
I will read, I’ll live out and proclaim Your Word
Take me now, show me how I need to live not for me
But for You and Your glory.


there ya go.

i feel that the following picture, somewhat encompasses the Christian bubble of College Station, (and while I know this is a "brand" of cereal, sold in many other grocery stores in America, its highly appropriate that i found it at our HEB)



yes, thats right folks, breakfast good for the body AND soul: Ezekiel 4.9. and i'm not saying that this is yet another Christian-culture consumer good, like action figure Jesus or a "Jesus is my homeboy" shirt, because after reading the box, it is a good cereal for a healthy diet and is supported biblically; but in my farewell to College Station, seeing this cereal in the store Friday night really pin-pointed for me why me leaving is a God-thing.

im looking forward to moving out of the Bible belt, because Im tired of the "good Christians go overseas after college and wear chacos" mentality. and i admit that I thought like that for awhile and its harmful thinking. Having lived away briefly and met the Lord more intimately, to being back in it, ive learned the Lord calls us to more. a "that" which is possible in Bryan-College Station, New York City or Seattle, and Greenville North Carolina, anywhere. its a daily surrendering and loving that is beyond yourself wherever you are, be it a stay ay home mom, a consultant, a minister, an engineer, or a student.

so its only appropriate that my last Sunday at Central left me wanting more after listening to the sermon. no, nothing was said that was wrong or that i adamantly disagreed with, but it just left me thinking theres so much more, the picture is much bigger than Chris expressed to our congregation and i feel that our upper-middle class church is going to miss the boat, because our Lord is greater than we can even begin to imagine.


and dont get the wrong impression from this post...im not angry/upset about or think that people shouldnt do missions or go overseas or wear chacos (i have them), im wholeheartedly for all those things, and i love Central and think wonderful things are happening there and i do think the Lord is doing amazing things in this community. but for me, its time for a change and new challenges, the Lord has called others to stay in Aggieland and proclaim truth.

anyways,
more to come this week as i leave in 4 days.

peace out,
lish

okay so i just had to share this because it was so completely hilarious....well, to me it was anyways...

so i'm driving home from the mechanic, i'm on FM 159 by the church and this state trooper passes me going the other directions and u-turns rather quickly. so i think "oh no, was i speeding? is something really wrong with my truck?". so he comes mr. state trooper speeding up towards me and i think he's about to pass me when...he proceeds to "un-pull me over". thats right folks. he pulls up next to me while we're driving, to the point its that awkward parallel driving so i finally look over at him and he's motioning to me about my seatbelt...

see, im short and have to pull my seat up so close that my seatbelt chokes me, so most of the time when im driving i put it under my left arm, so that its still on and protecting, but not decapitating me...anyways, apparently it wasnt good enough, but wasnt bad enough to warrant and actual warning.

anyways...got out of yet another ticket..good thing i was clicked.

grace & peace,
lish

Next on my farewell list are the top ten things i WONT be missing about Aggieland...

10. Cox Communications
9. traffic
8. Fit for Kids
7. allergies
6. flooding
5. construction
4. restaurant waits
3. city ordinances
2. University PD & TS
1. the humidity..so long Brazos Valley