Back to School (and other ramblings...)

So can you find the grammatical error in my last post? :) I must have been very tired when I wrote that one!

Well, lets see.... I have not felt like blogging in a long time! It's not like me at all, but it's true. :( I will try to catch you up, just in case you'd like to know!

I'm still working at the retirement/nursing home, and it has been going well. While I've grown to really enjoy the old folks, I'm ready to go back to school. Sometimes being a waitress can be really tough work, and I don't know if I could do it for a consistent amount of time. Luckily, I go back to UMHB on Wednesday!

I'm very excited about it because this year holds so many opportunities. I'm looking forward to moving into the house and the many get togethers that will take place there. I'm also looking forward to pageant. I'm still nervous about it... but I know God has it all under control. I've never ever performed anything in front of a large group (much less the whole school!) so this will be a stretch for me. I'm feeling very comfortable with my talent, and while it needs a lot more practice, it's something that I know has a message and is still very cute and funny. If you haven't heard, I will be miming for my talent, and no, I'm not kidding! :) I think it will be a ton of fun to get to know all the other girls participating, and to be a part of UMHB's history. Not every girl gets the chance to do this, so it will be a ton of fun (and hard work)!

I'm also taking quite a few classes that will demand much of my attention! In no particular order, they are: Shakespeare, Advanced Composition, World Literature, British Literature, and Creative Writing. I am looking forward to all of these, but I also know that if I don't have a strict study schedule, this could be very, very bad! But it'll be fun, I know it. I'm really interested in Creative Writing (it may produce many blog posts!) and World Literature.

I'm currently applying for a tutoring job at a high school near UMHB, so that will be fun to get to know what it feels like to "teach" at the high school level. It will probably be very different from my other job on campus as a tutor for college students, but I'm up for it. It may sound crazy that I'll be working 2 jobs (3 if you count babysitting on Saturdays!), participating in pageant, and taking a full load of upper level English courses, but I know it will be great. I know that I thrive off of this type of schedule, but I also need to find times to rest. Maybe you can pray for me as I start this semester.. please? :)

On another note, my dad comes home by the end of the month! We are very excited to finally have him home and safe. I can't wait to give him a huge hug and tell him to never ever leave again! ;)

My last day of work is on Monday, and then I go back to Belton on Wednesday! I'm very excited about getting back into the groove of things! I can't believe it's my SENIOR YEAR. Seize the day! :)

Well, I've started my 2nd class for the summer! It's State and Federal Government, and so far, it's pretty good. I enjoyed the class in high school, too. :) We've already had 2 tests- we have 2 each week! Surprisingly enough, I kind of like it that way. Even though tests are back to back, that means they're is less information to cover each time.

I just looked at my phone countdown. There are 26 days until I go back to UMHB, 34 until my dad comes home, and 101 until my 21st birthday! I'm pretty excited about all 3 of those. :)

I got another haircut today... I've finally gotten over the fear of cutting my hair short, and did what I've always wanted to do. I cut my hair short in the back and long in the front. I guess it's an "angled layer" look, and I LOVE it! I wish I had pictures, but I don't... :(

So yes... there's not a whole lot going on right now. I'm excited for school to start back up so I can see all of my friends, and then my dad comes home!!!

My Pugs :)

So I love my dogs sooo much and they definitely make our life interesting! They have been getting the spa life lately, as they have been going to the vet to get their baths. (We are trying to be extra careful about fleas during the summer now...) Here are some pictures to show you their complete joy!

Edith sleeping the day away after a stay at the vet's office. Isn't she cute?


This is Khaki's famous stretch... he always does this when he wants you to pet him and tell him how good of a dog he is. :)


I caught Edith for a pic! Can you see her smile? She's actually pretty photgenic... ;)


My two lovely pugs. They're so great!

Hopeless romantic?

Well here it comes... me writing about the one thing I'd rather not. But a big part of me has to, because I have to get it out. That's right.... the life of being single. I really do hate the phrase, "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride." because you kind of begin to believe it. Now I know I am young and I have "my whole life" ahead of me, but sometimes a girl just has to wonder.

This summer has been particularly hard when it comes to this because all of my relatives call to check on me, and it's inevitable that they all ask "So are you dating yet?" I can only come up with so many different answers: "No, I'm just waiting for the right guy." "No, I'm too busy for a boyfriend." Someone even told me "Good." when I answered. Excuse me for being cynical about this, but if it's good to be single, why did you ask me if I was dating?

I may sound kind of upset right now, but it'd because I am. Even my co-workers, whom I've known for a little over a month, ask me. When I reply, I hear, "You're not dating?! Why not?!?!"

To be completely honest, the answer "I'm waiting for the right guy" is the truth. I really am. And no, I don't know how I will know if he's the right one, but I will. I have so many friends that are getting engaged, and while I am only 20 years old, it's hard not to think why I haven't even been on a date.

I want to feel like I'm special, and I want to be "swept off my feet". I desire to know what that feels like, you know? I want to laugh about things that don't matter, and go on walks with someone because we can. I want to take goofy pictures together. I want to go climb a mountain with him. I want to do my hair for a special occasion. I even want to buy a pretty dress so we can go dancing together, even if we both have two left feet. I want to write mushy letters, too. Yes, I'm your typical girl. But maybe not, because I have never done these things. But I want to. Hopeless romantic it is..

I know it's all in God's timing, but it's hard to not wonder...

Days With Mom

So this week has been pretty great :)

To be quite honest with you, I wasn't really ready to come home this summer. I may have alluded to that in past posts, but I'm just saying the plain truth :) I'm sure it exists with every mother-daughter relationship, but I wasn't ready to come home to less independence, more chores, and being told whether or not my hair looks good that day. :{ So, I prayed before the summer that I would somehow find the strength and wisdom that comes in being a good daughter, and resisting my fleshly wants.

We've had our moments. But this week has been great. We've had wonderful conversations, funny moments, talks about our soldier (dad) whom we miss and can't wait to have back, and just an all around good time. God is definitely giving me strength, and a deeper love for my mom. (Don't get me wrong, I've always loved her, but we are becoming much closer.) I'm excited about this. God is amazing. He is such a faithful Father, and I am so thankful.

Tomorrow, my mom and I will be spending the day out as we look for dresses. I'm very excited about this!! We are also going to look for videos or books that I need to help me out. It will be a lot of fun!! :)

Question and Answer :)

What's new with me? Well, hmmmm...

I have enjoyed my day off, and am excited about another one tomorrow! I had a test in my History class today, but it wasn't bad at all. Then I tried to go to different bookstores to find a book of skits, with no success :( This is going to be really hard.

Stephanie- to answer your question about pageant. I can't believe I haven't told you!! Well, MHB has a pageant each year, and I will be representing the Student Foundations group on campus. Student Foundations is an organization that helps out with different events for the alumni. It's very fun to talk with them and hear their stories about their time at UMHB, too. :) Anyways, the pageant will be held in November, and I think there are about 25 girls that participate each year. We have a platform, talent, evening gown walk, and a private interview with judges. Before coming to UMHB, I remember seeing pictures of it, and thinking, "Wow that looks really neat, but I would never do it." When I was given the chance to participate, I hesitated, but decided to do it. It's going to be a long journey, but I am very excited about meeting all the other girls and seeing what God has in store. I know there will be a lot of growth, and I look forward to it. Oh, and guess what I've chosen for my talent? Mime! I even have a "mime coach"! Finding skits is the hard part though... :)

Hawaii, Pageant, House, and High School! :)

Well I'm awake at 11:28 at night and I'm writing on my blog. For some reason, I haven't had any desire to blog lately, so this post may be a little random.

Tonight we had Hawaii night at work, and I got to dress in something besides my uniform :) I wore a purple Orchid in my hair, and it was very fun! We even had Hawaiian dancers perform for all the old people. Some of the old people even got up with them and learned a little dance. It was very cute and fun to see them in a different setting! However, the Hawaiian theme really made me want to get away and have a vacation. I'm not even that busy! I have a feeling that adjusting to college life will be a little hard for me when I go back...

I'm still excited about going to MHB. Lauren and I got into our house that we wanted, and we are very excited! My mom gave me a couch that is quite comfy if I do say so myself. We have everything we need for the house except for a dining table, which is especially important because we have a nook, and every nook needs a dining table. Well, I need a dining table, too, but a nook is all the more reason to have a dining table. :) Here are some sneak peeks of our house that is just waiting for us to move in:



Now how cool is that? We have a loft and a fireplace. I'm just so excited!

About next year, I have a wonderful feeling about it. I know this is probably natural since I have so many things to look forward to (like my dad being back!), but I really do have a good feeling. I know God has big plans and that a lot of growth is in store. I'm very excited!

Lets see.. what else? Pageant planning is making me a little nervous. My mom and I are supposed to go look for dresses soon.. I have one in mind, but I want to look at all of them. I'm also still trying to find the perfect skit for my talent. Who knew that I'd ever be a part of this? I'm excited, but very, very NERVOUS! :)

This probably should have been one post in itself, but I am definitely teaching high school English now! How exciting! Everything fit perfectly on my schedule, which is very important since I'm trying to fit in my last year. I always hear that it's hard to do. In a year from now I will be preparing to student teach, which is just a tad bit crazy! This upcoming semester I will be taking:
-World Literature
-Shakespeare
-Advanced Composition
-American Literature to 1890
-Students and Learning

It is going to be quite the busy semester, but after that, I only have to take 12 hours in the Spring! I'm excited about that break! I will have to be diligent with my schedule this fall. I will have to say no to things when I need to, and stay on top of my studies. I mean, look at those classes! As intriguing as they sound, they will require a lot of time and studying. I think I am most excited about World Literature. :) We shall see!

Not much else is on my mind :) I've just been doing summer school and work lately! :) I hope you're all doing well. If you read through all of this, you are awesome!!

Decisions, decisions...

So, I haven't told any of you, but I'm thinking of certifying for English 8-12, instead of 4th-8th. I know I sound crazy, but lately I have been thinking of how much I'd rather teach more in depth literature, rather than the difference between a noun and an adjective. I have e-mailed my English Advisor, and we are talking about possibilities right now. I'm also still in the process of praying about this big decision, especially since I was so set on teaching middle school. I haven't fully made up my mind, but here is my reasoning so far:
- High School students are like mini-adults. A friend pointed out to me that many of them are taking their first big steps into the "real world". What a wonderful time to help guide them and encourage them!

-The type of Literature I would be teaching is more the the kind that I love. Stories full of symbolism, biblical references, and different interpretations. Wouldn't it be awesome to have a class where you discuss each other's perspectives on a character in a novel? These were the classes I enjoyed most in my schooling, how great it would be to teach them.

-The kids are more mature! This would especially be the case if I taught Advance Placement.

Please pray for me as I make this decision! Also, if you have any advice, just let me know. Yes, I know that most of the students would think I'm in high school, but I'm not going to look this young forever! :)

Summer days, driftin' away...

"to, oh, oh, those summer nights!"

Sorry, had to drop in a Grease quote. I had my first summer school test today in U.S. History 2 today. I think I may have aced it! I finished the 50 question test in about 20 minutes, which is always nice. I kind of like this summer school idea... our teacher gave us a study guide and everything. 'Twas nice!

Today was my mom's birthday. I "built" her a cake and wrapped up the present my dad sent for her. I also took her our to eat at the Cracker Barrel, which just so happens to be the best country restaurant around.

My mom bought me this really neat water bottle that supposedly holds 8 glasses of water inside! She has been trying to get me to drink 8 glasses of water a day for the past 21 years, and I think she may have found a way to get me to do that. I really like it! :)

These are the classes I am taking next semester:
- Classroom Management
- Contenet Area Reading
- Reading & Language
- Advanced Composition

I'm going to be the best 5th grade English teacher ever! :)

Life lately...

So, I have completed my first week of summer school and I have my first test on Monday! I hope that I do well on it... I'm beginning to realize how much quicker summer school is than a normal class!

Other than that I've been working lately and staying with mom. We got to talk to my dad last night on his web cam and on yahoo messenger phone calling. It was the neatest thing ever and his friends in theb ackground couldn't believe we were talking on a computer! I'm very thankful for technology right now!!

Today I will be studying and cleaning. This is a very uneventful post, but that's okay ;)

Wisdom...

Tonight I met the cutest old couple ever. Mr. and Mrs. Haney were so cute. They came in 10 minutes before we closed, and tonight was our buffet night, where everyone serves themselves. But the Haneys have some health issues. One is legally blind, and the other cannot walk too well. I introduced myself and took their orders so I could go get their food. They were so happy and so cheerful, even though one could hardly see and the other could hardly walk. I love that they have chosen to not let certain limitations control the way they view life. They were 96 years old. They made me smile the moment they started talking. :) They immediately asked what I was studying, where I went to school, etc. We had a nice conversation, and I was so thankful that they came in late so I didn't have to leave them.

Don't you love those people you meet that have so much to offer, and they don't even have to say all that much? It's just about the way they carry themselves, and the way the overcome obstacles. I hope I get to serve them again! :)

Wanting to Learn!

So I start my class in a week! I'm actually excited about it even though it's a history class. I'm very hopeful that it will be extremely interesting to me... I'm even expecting it to be! :)

I left all my books in Belton :( So does anyone have a good book they'd recommend that I buy? I get paid this week and I want to spend 20 on a good book. Any suggestions???

:)

All Good Things

With my dad being gone in Kuwait/Iraq, life is always different when I come back to SA. These past couple weeks have been weeks of transition. I moved out of my apartment in Belton and came back to San Antonio. I've been back for breaks, but I haven't lived here in 3 years. So it's definitely a change for me.

I started my job at the retirement home. The average age of the people dining is 82. It's very fun to see them every day and get to know them some more. They are extremely nice and understanding, and even tell me that I am beautiful. I love that, because who gets to go to work to be told they're beautiful? My biggest task to overcome was lifting and balancing trays of food on my shoulder. It's definitely an art I am still trying to master, but I have become more confident that I won't drop anyone's meal... that's actually my biggest fear. ;) This job has proven to me that I can do anything I set my mind to, because I was not expecting to be waitressing this summer! God provided a wonderful working environment and I am so thankful.

Life at home has been interesting. My pugs have been a little high maintenance lately. We still give Edith daily eye-drops, and both her and Khaki have recently been attacked by fleas. I bathed them twice, but we eneded up taking them to the vet. My pugs are seriously like my children, because I worry about them when they stay at the vet all day, and I get so excited to pick them up. I have always been very protective of them, so it should be interesting to see how I am when I have kids one day!

Summer school starts in about a week 1/2. I'm a little nervous. Nothing is like UMHB, but it should be fun to meet some fellow San Antonio students. Although I must say that I really hope I have a good teacher... I'm taking a History class, and I NEED a good teacher to stay awake!

My dad comes back to the states in 91 days, as of right now. He is definitely retiring once he gets back, and I am so excited that my family can be "civilian normal" for the first time in my life!

Guatemala plans are happening! My adopted mom, Shanon, and I are looking at different venues and talking to our missions team at our church. I am so excited about this. We have a chance of leaving in December, but we are leaning towards next summer. Yay!

Oh, and if you read all of this, good job! ;)

Day 1 - The Life of a Waitress in a Formal Dining Room

I must say that I absolutely loved every bit of tonight. I was honestly overwhelmed by everyone's kindness. Not only were my fellow employees nice, but the wonderful people I served tonight as well! They completely blew me away with their consistent curiosity as to whom their new waitress was. They truly care, ever for their waiters! Now I know that not every single person I serve will be as nice as they all were tonight, but I think I can handle it when the time arises. This is (aside from my jobs with children) byfar the best part time job I've ever had. God knows what He's doing!

The co-workers are a blast so far :) Luckily, I was not the only new girl tonight, as a girl named Morgan was starting tonight as well. Her brother, Cameron, who is another waiter, got her in. We shadowed him for part of the night, which was quite hilarious when we went to take the single men's order. One of the guys told Cameron, "You have these 2 girls following you, aren't you just lucky?" to which Cameron replied, "I know, they won't stop following me." It made me laugh. Senior adults always manage to say a joke that makes me laugh. :)

I'm looking forward to the summer. While I am still a little bit scared, and "a lot a bit" rusty in my skills still, God has provided graceful management who want to give us a week long training. Hopefully by then, I will have it down ;)

Blessings and Anxiety

:)

I got the job at the retirement/nursing home! Now I will finally be doing something productive and making a little bit of money! Woo! :)

Although, I must say that reality kind of hit today when I registered for my summer classes. All of the online classes ended up being full, which is mainly my fault for registering so late, and so I'm now enrolled in one class for each session. It should be an interesting summer as I have no idea what to expect with the pace of the classes and a new environment. I'm sure it will be fine, but sometimes I just wonder what I'm doing!

Speaking of which, I've been feeling a little overwhelmed by the future. While I am so thankful for the blessings God has given me- a job in less than a week, the opportunity to take classes for much less than UMHB, a loving mother at home- I'm still anxious about it. I feel like I have never been as scared by the future as I do now. I guess I just never realized how uncomfortable I am with unfamiliarity. I'm worried about the classes, the job, and especially next semester. I really need to completely trust that God has it under control. Isn't it odd to know that but not trust? Isn't even more odd to be thankful for what you are worried about? Have you ever felt like this?

Yay!!!

I have an interview at the nursing home tomorrow!! I'm very excited about it because it seems like such a great environment and an opportunity to make some friends. Not only will I get to listen to the wisdom that so often pours out of senior adults, but the staff they hire is all college age. Wouldn't that just be neat? It sounds like a fun job opportunity and I hope it all works out! My interview is tomorrow, so please pray for me around 2:30!

Other than that, everything has been going good. Except I accidentally tore a page in my Bible. I don't know why I feel like sharing that but it really upset me when it happened. *sigh* But it's okay.

I was looking around our local Family Christian Store yesterday, and it brought back my memory of when I was in the store with my mom because she was about to buy me my first Bible. Aside from my children's bible growing up, I had never owned one before then. I was about 14, and I can still remember how excited I was, and how I was so particular when choosing it. I ended up getting a black, thinline NIV Bible. I used it all throughout High School and my Freshman year of college. I love those memories. :)

I hope you're having a fantabulous day! :)

It has been a crazy last few days! I've applid for a lot of jobs and am waiting for a reply. I got one offer but I knew I wouldn't be happy there... I know I can't be too picky, but it was quite obvious. I applied at two restaurants today, one at I-Hop and one at a local nursing home. So, we shall see!

Other than that I've been unpacking and organizing things. I'm trying to get things thrown out that I don't need anymore, too.

Not much else going on. My church college group is in England right now for about 2 weeks. Pray for them if you can! :)

I'm tired.

Crazy Weeks

Wow! It's so hard to believe that it's already Mar, and that tomorrow I take my last final of the semester. I'm excited about this because I'm able to take a break! :)

So much ahs happened since I last wrote... Many areas of life changed that I didn't think would. I was going to work an after school program next year, but now I will be babysitting for the people that live next door to the people I babysit for now. They have one little boy, and I'll be doing that on the weekends. This is because I'm going to be in the MHB Pageant....

I know. IT'S CRAZY. It's a long story on how this happened. I'm sure it will be something that will hold a very special place in my college experience. I'm excited about meeting the other girls and getting to know them more. I'm excited about God stretching me, especially since I've never performed solo on a stage before! I'm looking forward to it. You can ask me more about it in person or on the phone if you want to. :) So this summer I will be working, taking online classes, and preparing for that. It should definitely prove to be an eventful summer! :)

Classes have been okay this semester... I'm pretty sure I've made all B's, but I am totally okay with that because the classes were tough. Especially my upper level English courses... ask me a question to do with Linguistics, and I should be able to answer! :)

I go home on Saturday. I'm excited about the vacation. I never thought I'd say it... but I'm looking forward to getting away from school life for a while. I need a change of pace, and I'm excited to see what it brings.

Oh, and about that weather... it's crazy!

Oh, and I also cut my hair! I gave in to my hair temptations and cut it shorter than usual- right above the shoulders. I like it! :)

Reflections on Psalm 34

Life feels as if it has been flying by for about the past week or so.God has been teaching me a lot lately, and I'm striving more and more each day to be completely satisfied in Him. He really laid Psalm 34 on my heart in a new way this week. I started thinking about all of these different parts of my future that I absolutely have no control over, and knew that I needed His guidance. His gift to me that night was Psalm 34. To give you an idea of the thoughts of the future that have been running through my head, here's a short list:
-This summer in San Antonio
-Graduating
-Friendships
-Every day decisions
-Guatemala trip
-Life after graduation- Singleness, etc.

So often I feel as if my thoughts are consumed by questions on the future. I worry so much about it to the point that it's ridiculous. Suddenly I realized that those thoughts were taking away from my present time, and that it wasn't my life to worry about anyways. My life is His, and good thing, because He has it all under control.

There's one verse in Psalm 34 that really struck me:

"The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." - Psalm 34:10

How many times have I wanted and hungered for something in my life to just happen? Like the answers to all of y questions to just appear. I hunger for the knowledge of little things, like "What will this summer bring me?" etc.

But it's not about me. "Those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." It's about seeking Him, and not for any benefit, but because He's the only way!

"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." -Psalm 34:18

He guides, He comforts, He knows so much more than I do. This is why I cannot worry. This is why I cannot be consumed by the maybes of the future. Because my King has redeemed my life.

I have to constantly remember this as my hopes are let down. When friendships don't always meet the expectations I had for them, when certain things turn out to be not for me. I can take comfort and relief in the fact that God does have a plan that is so beyond me. It's not about me.

Energy!

I woke up this morning after I spent the night at my friend Allie's and while it took me a couple minutes to get going, I was all ready for the day afterwards! I went to work, I'm about to go to class, and then I'm going to find a job for next year in the Career Services building. I won't include everything I'm doing today, but it's a lot! So it's probably a good thing that this kick of motivation came today. :)

eeek.

So, for the past couple days I have been trying to figure out something that I could blog about. Nothing has seemed to come to mind...

Lately I have not been myself in that I haven't had any motivation whatsoever. Usually, I clean up my room when it becomes even the tiniest bit messy. I do this because it frustrates me to not have space. Usually, I am on top of my schoolwork and I do it on time. I haven't been doing these things. I have no idea what is going on but I need to quit it. I don't know why I have been putting everything that needs to get done.

I'm also trying to figure some things out for next year. Everything in my head is telling me do to something, but everything I am feeling is not.

I need to stop being so indecisive. I need to start acting like myself. Please pray.

Running (A nice, but pointless post)

So, yesterday morning I woke up with the urge to work out at some point during that day. As I was getting ready for work, I was planning what time would be good for this. Normally, I just say I want to work out, think about how good it would be for me to actually keep my body active (other than the physical task that comes with studying and facebook-ing), but I never actually go to work out.

Well, I ended up going running twice yesterday. My friend Allie and I went right after Children's Ministry, and ran at Heritage Park. 'Twas much fun. I even ran into my adopted mom, Shanon, there, because her boys were playing baseball. It was an okay run, but it didn't go as well as I wanted, so we went again around 10. That time we ran on campus.

Today I am really sore, but I really want to start running as a routine. I did for a *little* while during the summer, but I became lazy and took sleep instead. Now, I even made an 8 Week Plan for myself, with some help from the Internet. I'm excited about this, so hopefully I stick with it!

Now should I do this in the early morning or late night? I hope I can make myself get up early!

Great week!

Lauren and I got accepted to live in a house that we have been calling "our house" ever since we applied for it! :)It includes a loft and a breakfast nook!! I can't tell you how excited I am to be sharing a cute, cottage-like house with one of my best friends!! :) This is by far one of the greatest things that happened this week! I am so excited about having dinners and movie nights, and inviting all of our friends over all the time. A part of me is very sad that I won't be living in Huckins because my dear friend Allie was going to be in there as our RA, but I promised her she will be at our house as often as possible. I'm so excited!! So, if you have any furniture (maybe an old kitchen table?) that you want to get rid of, please let me know!! :)

Another great thing was the time I've gotten to spend with all my kids out at Children's Ministry. A few of them got to participate in the Easter Pageant again this year (which was amazing!), and I enjoyed every moment. For some reason, when I'm around them, I feel like everything's great. They bring something out in me, and I'm sure many of our volunteers that come out each week, that just makes you feel closer to God. I love that. I don't know if it makes sense, but I love it. Plus, what's cooler than being in a play about the life of Jesus with kids that you love?

God has brought me to a place that I've been praying for. That place where I don't worry about the future and what will happen in any area of my life because I'm in His hands. Now if only my stupid human flesh would stop wondering about it all... I promise it's just as bad as worrying!!

I'm leaving tomorrow for home. My mom has some awesome plans for us. We are going to try to get free trees at this huge plant/tree celebration. I don't know too much about it, but I'm all for getting free trees! I'd get to plant it in our yard, which is always way fun! :)

The Sin of Idolatry

I want to blog a little about something that really hit me at Revival. The very first night, Matt asked, "What is your hell?" He then gave examples of what many people struggle with. His first example was the single Christian girls he sees at his church that just graduate from college. The girl is thinking, "AH! I'm still single, and I'm *gasp* 22 years old." Then these girls proceed to date many guys, constantly giving their hearts away, because of their perception of hell: ending up alone.

Let me tell you, this hit me hard. That is definitely a struggle for me. I don't want to end up "alone".I want to be in love one day with a godly man. I want to have a family. I want, I want, I want, I want. Right??

While he continued to give other examples, his ultimate conclusion was that our hell should be separation from God. He went on to say that God created us with a desire to worship HIM(!!) but all too often we pin that desire on something that He created.

"...because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." -Romans 1:25

I may not see it now, but I don't want to end up like this, 5, 10, 20 years down the road. I don't want to worship God's creation, rather than God himself.

Another thing Matt said that moved me was when he was talking about his daughter. He said that he so desperately wants for his daughter to grow up and marry a godly man, not just a cool Christian guy. How true is this!! Not only for the husband I want to marry one day, but I too don't want to be just a "cool Christian girl". I want to be a godly woman, I want to reflect His light, I want His words to constantly flow off of my lips! How beautiful will it be when I finally do meet that man of God. How beautiful will it be when I know that God blessed me because I did not give in to my desires to "not be alone", and instead of having that be my hell, my hell was being separated from Him! How beautiful will it be when I can share that love for the Father wish a wonderful, godly man! How beautiful will it be when that relationship glorifies the Lord because we are completely satisfied in Him.

And how beautiful it is that God hits me with these realizations so hard that I can find joy in Him because He is my Father, because He is good... when I delight in His love because it is so much better, powerful, and stronger than anything else I can ever find. How beautiful it is that I can be satisfied in Him and never be alone with or without an earthly relationship.

Revival Update, and Other Things...

Well, these past couple days were a blast. I got to skip a few classes and participate in something I love. :) I will never know how many hearts were changed through this year's revival, but I know that the true word of God was preached and hopefully at least one person thought about where they are with Jesus. I hope that change begins to occur in people's hearts, as well as my own.

While a part of me is sad that revival is already over, another part of me is also very relieved. I'm relieved that all the logistics were handled successfully and I'm glad that people came. Now, I cannot stress out every now and then. :)

Due to revival's late night yesterday, I had my first "semi-all nighter". I went home at about midnight, studied for a couple hours, went to bed for a couple hours, woke up at about 4ish, woke up at 6, took a shower, and studied some more. I know that sounds like academic suicide, but I think it worked! My Linguistics test seemed far easier than I thought it would be... or maybe those are my sleepy brain cells not comprehending it correctly. Who knows?! But I did count up my points and came up with a low A/high B. :) We shall see...

Now I'm at work. Enjoying the fact that I have nothing to do!

***Please pray for my dad! He's flying back today. THANKS!

Revival Week

So, Revival is finally here at UMHB and last night was a great start. Matt Chandler is our speaker, and I must say he's on my top 5 list of preachers. ;) If you have i-Tunes, you should definitely podcast him- it's free! He preached on Romans 1 last night and definitely gave me some food for thought. I'm excited about tonight and tomorrow! This has been a crazy year being involved on the committee- it takes a lot of work that I didn't realize. I am very thankful for the experience and opportunities that God has given me.

Anyways, I have to get going! ;)

5 months

In 5 months my dad will be home for good. This makes me so happy :) I just finished saying goodbye to him and my mom, and it was hard :( We hugged and just kept saying "The sooner you leave, the sooner you'll be back." I love my parents so much. They are wonderful to me.

Conversations About Religious Intolerance

My friend Lauren and I always seem to have some really good conversations. I'm sure most, if not all of you have heard of the new "youtube.com" craze. Well, Lauren mentioned to me the "vlogs" (video blogs) that some people post. So, I figured, hey, lets look for some! We were somehow on the topic of Buddhism, and so I typed in "Buddhism Vlog", and watched a couple. One of the people post a "vlog" about how she thought that we, as people, need to stop "acting" like whatever religion we claimed was true, while offending others. Well, Lauren and I looked at eachother, and we were stunned. We immediately said to eachother that we did not agree with anything this girl said.

This got me thinking about the calling that God has given us as His disciples. Are we truly claiming Christ? God calls us not to be ashamed of Him. I'm not merely talking about the times where we just can't get over our fear of mentioning God to someone (which is a whole different blog post), I'm talking about intentionally not including Him in conversation because we fear that we will offend someone. Paul says,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." -Romans 1:16

To not be ashamed means that we shouldn't be scared of offending others. Honestly, so what if we do! How could you believe the gospel, and not have a deep desire to tell others?? This deep desire must overcome that fear! There have been certain people in my life who know this truth, that the gospel is the power of God! How can any one of us shrink back and be scared? What about passion for our Creator?

I will be the first to say that I am not perfect. I mess up. I don't always do what I know God is calling me to do. But that's just it... He has called us to live for Him. Right now. Life is too short to say that you'll talk to that person when the time is right, when you know that they can trust you. How can we be a true light if we're not shining for Him at all moments?

These are just the thoughts that have been flying around in my head while I do Spanish homework...

Ooooh, isn't it so loverly???

So, do you like it? I'm so pleased with the design that Susie put together for me :) It makes my blog a lot more cozy and I'm even more excited about blogging than I was before. ;) So, I hope you like it!!

I chose this verse because it is true for every Christian. He put a new song in our mouth, and so we have every reason to sing praises to Him. How amazing it is that He is our amazing Father, and through Him, we have complete joy. :)

I'm back at school now, and some of you have been asking how my presentation went last night. Well, I am your typical procrastinator, but that doesn't stop me from doing my best! Dr. Stafford was very pleased with my work, and I got many compliments from my peers after class. I was very surprised, because while I thought I did decent work, it turned out to be great. So, yay for presentations (that are over)!

Right now I'm at work. The volunteers at Children's Ministry, Luke (co-leader), and I have all been thinking of ways to raise money for the playground out at the apartments where our ministry is held. This playground is in horrible shape, and if nothing is done soon, one of the kids is going to get hurt. So, I had an appointment with a guy on campus that is in charge of all of the fundraisers, and it went very well! I'm excited to see where our fundraising takes us, and what our end result will be for our playground project. So, if you have any ideas on building playgrounds, please let me know! :)

I guess I also failed to mention that I got a new car. I didn't know if I wanted to blog about it or not, but here I am. I ended up getting a 2007 Nissan Sentra. Long story short, the old car pretty much died over Spring Break, and so my mom and dad figured it was time for me to invest in a new car. I was very pleased when we went test driving. What's even more awesome is that I am now investing in something that is worth it in the long run that will also help my credit. So, yay for new cars! (I knew Spring Break was unpredictable! ;)

I hope you all have a wonderful day!!

Spring Break and Homework...

..don't mix well. :)

I have a huge presentation on Flannery O'Connor on Monday night. That's her.

Is it safe to say that I thought her stories were extremely morbid? In both stories that I have read, someone dies, and it's usually a tragic death. I chose this author for my presentation because my teacher e-mailed me saying that she really wanted someone to present on Flannery O'Connor. I did not expect it to be so.. morbid.

The good news is that I have been doing some research, and have found that she was also very interesting. This lady loved Peacocks. She owned Peacocks. I mean, they were in her yard. She also had a pet chicken as a little girl that knew how to walk backwards. She was the celebrity of her town! You don't hear about chickens that much, especially those that can walk backwards.

I guess I'm trying to share this information with someone other than myself because I want to get motivated. Go American Literature!! :)

Fun Quiz

You Are Likely an Only Child

At your darkest moments, you feel frustrated. At work and school, you do best when you're organizing. When you love someone, you tend to worry about them. In friendship, you are emotional and sympathetic. Your ideal careers are: radio announcer, finance, teaching, ministry, and management. You will leave your mark on the world with organizational leadership, maybe as the author of self-help books.

The Birth Order Predictor

I thought this was very interesting. I didn't think an online quiz could guess my "birth order", but it did! :)

Spring Break is SO Unpredictable..

I almost bought a car today! That's so crazy and spontaneous of me. I guess it would've been even more spontatneous if I did buy it...

My parents have been very worried about my car because of the trouble it has been giving me lately.. It has about 133,000 miles on it.. it's getting up there. So, we went to the dealership and found this awesome Ford Fusion. Yeah- me, a Ford Fusion? Who knew I would like it so much? But, we ended up not going with it. I figured $328 a month was quite a lot on my college job pay. We ended up deciding that I should save until the end of the year, when I am only a year away from graduation to purchase a car. Oh, and if you are interested in a nice, affordable car.. I'd say look at the Fusion. They drive wonderfully!! :)

Other than that randomness, my parents and I have just been enjoying the time together. My dad got home last night, and so we have a little bit of time before he goes back. Tomorrow, my dad and I are going to all the missions around SA and flying kites. I'm excited!! :) Pictures for sure.

I haven't done any school work. Maybe I should do that so I don't make a fool of myself on Monday night... I give my presentation over Flannery O'Connor that night!! Crazy. This semester is flying by...

Airports

Oh man, today was quite the eventful day.
To spare you the lengthliness of my story, I'll give you the summarized version:
- Wake up
-Doctor's office w/ Aunt and Cousins
-Drive to Airport
-Dad calls, flight delayed for an hour due to storms all over TX.
-Go home
-Go to Airport
-Stand in long lines to receive our military pass
-Mean people work at the airport
-Dad calls- flight cancelled
-WHAT??!
-Dad calls again, rents a car with another soldier
-After waiting for about 5 hours, I was finally able to pick up my dad!!

Today seemed like it would never end. I think it was definitely a lesson on patience. But he's here, and he's asleep! Our family feels complete with him.

Tomorrow will bring many joyful moments and I am so excited!!! :)

"I'll do it later...."

I have a really bad habit of procrastinating. I blame it on college, but I think I've had it since before college. I've been given a list of chores to do (and it's not even that big of a list- vacuuming is not that hard), and yet I still haven't done it since I woke up at 7. (I know, 7 am is quite early for a Spring Break- I think my mom is trying to convince herself that her daughter is a morning person) Hopefully, after I finish posting this, I will vacuum, because we all know that the sole purpose of this post is procrastination. :)

My dad called today and told me that he should be getting in around noon tomorrow. I'm excited! It seems as if the day keeps dragging on!

I haven't done much else today. I really should clean. :( Hopefully once this summer arrives, I won't have too much cleaning to do... it's going to be my last summer living at home. That's kind of strange to think about! I'm excited about it, too, though. :)

"Bluebird Blogs"... Simply Amazing.

Well, I can definitely say a huge thanks to Susie, designer at Bluebird Blogs! She is so nice and wonderful at what she does! :) My blog design won't be up for a couple of days, but I can assure you that I love it a whole lot! :) If you ever want to have your blog designed, go straight to Bluebird Blogs!

:) Spring Break

Sometimes I forget why I have this blog at all- to keep in touch with friends, to remember random events in my life, and of course, for fun.

I always associate my Spring Break with my first steps of becoming a Christian. This week, 6 years ago, I was seeking anything I could find that would tell me more about God. It's pretty cool. :) I finally became a Christian a few weeks after that. It's always fun to think about.

Aside from that Spring Break, I think that this Spring Break is probably going to be one of the best for me. My dad is coming home for his 2 week leave, and I plan on enjoying every second of my time with home. We only have 1 more day!

He says he already has a list of meals he wants us to make, and that includes some that I have learned after having my own oven! :) I'm pretty excited about that.

Other than that, my mom and I have just been busy preparing the little things for him. We're making sure that his plants look good, and of course, his truck.

I'm also trying to get some homework done. I have a presentation to give on Flannery O'Connor the Monday night I get back. I'm not excited about that at all! :( It's okay though, I'm pretty good at working under pressure.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Spring Break!!

Nonsensical randomness...

I apologize if my posts have made no sense at all lately... including this one.

I am pretty much finished with school work right now. I only have one thing left, and it's a multicultural breakfast on Friday. Our country is Germany, which is pretty fun!

Jenn (roommate) and I have been going to the Daily Grind the past couple nights because or our new love for Tazo Chai Frozen Milk Tea (is that what it's called?). I am not a huge fan of buying tea, but oh man... I recommend this one! Plus, the coffee shop is just a ton of fun. I have known this guy that works there since my freshman year. His name is Leonard, although he sometimes calls himself "Dr. Love" for his matchmaking skills. Well, he served in Vietnam and is just a cool guy. Anyways, he pretty much gave us the best compliment I've ever heard the other night. We were on the topic of singleness (come on now, he is Dr. Love), and he told us, "There's no way you girls will be single for the rest of your lives- you're too pretty." For some reason, I just needed to hear that. Sometimes it's pretty believable that I became a nun in my sleep or something!

Oh and I have a small prayer request for myself. Lately I have been tossing things back and forth in my head that I'd really rather not toss back and forth in my head (sorry for that redundancy). It's nothing bad, I just really don't want to be thinking about these things. I feel like they're annoying, and they serve no use to me.

2 days- Spring Break! Dad's Leave-5 days!

I am so excited about this break. I don't think it has really hit me yet that I'm going to see my dad soon! :) I think it's just been different because I'm not living in SA, and so I feel like I'm the one gone sometimes. I'm just excited about seeing him though. I can't wait until the day he finally returns and we can all be a family together (well, in Texas atleast) amd life will go back to somewhat normal. That will be nice.

So, yeah. School has been going good. I'm regularly busy, that sometimes when I find myself actually sitting down and doing something that wasn't planned, I freak out a little. I am learning to cherish my sleep.

I took a test this morning that was pretty easy, and now I'm going to transcribe a poem into the phonetic alphabet. Plus babysitting, plus reading for Linguistics...

Overwhelmed? I hope not. Maybe I'm becoming numb to it all.

Oh Spring Break :)

Give Me a Break!

No, I don't mean that in a negative way ;) Latel, I haven't been spending my Saturday's in any other way but studying, but I gave myself a huge break yesterday and joined our college group for our "mystery road trip". I'm horrible at figuring out surprises... I knew that we would go to a ropes course- and that's just what we did! We all drove up to Georgetown and really bonded as a group, which is good because I can feel our comunity getting closer. Everyone in our group is really gettng to know eachother, and it's nice to have. It seems like it's so much harder to find in college when everyone is kind of "on their own road". I hope that I continue to have a good community once I graduate :)

Well, a couple years ago when I worked at Camp Buckner, I got certified for ropes course. I hope you can imagine me climbing up 30-40 ft. poles and setting up ropes course sets, tying knots, attaching harness', all of that. Well, whenever I worked at CB, I was absolutely terrified of the "Pamper Pole". I did it once, and that was it. I didn't want anymore of it. It was fun to brag about, but it was my least favorite. You had to climb to the tope of a pole, stand up on it and jump off. That's one of the hardest things to do because you are pretty much focusing on jumping/falling. On every other one, you are trying to avoid that.

Well, guess which set we did yesterday with our group? Yep. The Pamper Pole. My biggest fear. But I did it. I stayed on top of that pole deciding what I wanted to do for a good, long while. Everyone was saying encouraging words, and finally, I jumped off. The best part is when you're coming down- it's just something about the adrenaline, but I still can't believe that I was that scared. Golly :) Oh, and all of the girls did it, too. 2 of our guys didn't. Just goes to show.... haha just kidding!

Guatemala!

So some of the best news ever happened today! :) If you didn't know, my parents have kind of been against the idea of me going on missions out of the country. This has been a big deal to me ever since I entered college because there are so many opportunities available to me. I never felt called to any specific country, but the idea was always in the back of my mind. Well, this year, at UMHB's annual Missions Emphasis Week, two missionaries came that had done 10 years on the mission field in Guatemala, and they still go back. It was a cute little couple, probably in their fifties, and I loved them. Well, they spoke in Spanish the whole time because they were presenting in my Spanish class. Before they came, I was expecting to be bored out of my mind because despite my 7 years of some form of Spanish class, I still don't know that much. I understood everything they said. I even talked back. This made me so happy. My heart broke for the Guatemalan community because they live a very poor lifestyle, and their water system is full of bacteria. They are in constant need of donations for things that we so often take for granted- clothes, purified water systems, food, education, even a church to fellowship and worship in.

Ever since that class, Guatemala had been on my mind, and slowly began growing on my heart. I had mentioned it to my mom in small talk, just trying to gain her insight on it sometime last semester. She had said that I could go if my dad approved. Well, it took me forever to work up the courage to ask my dad, and I finally did today. I was going to wait until he came home to ask him, but I felt the time was today on his phone call. I had mentioned a shirt that I had bought in support of the Omega Kids mission team from Baylor that is going to Guatemala this Spring Break. I told him what it was raising money for and what there trip was about. He said he thought it was a great idea and then I mentioned that I wanted to go next year. He said "You should! It sounds neat, and it's your last Spring Break."

I was speechless.

I couldn't believe that he had just said what I never thought he would say. Ever since we hung up the phone, I can't stop thinking about it. I don't know if I will be going through Omega Kids, but I'm pretty sure I will. If not, I am thinking of going through Buckner, who also owns the camp I worked at 2 summers ago. This is SUCH exciting news! :) I will continue to update you with news on a future trip that I am so excited about!

Isaiah 61
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, [a]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.

5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

6 And you will be called priests of the LORD,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of their shame
my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.

8 "For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery and iniquity.
In my faithfulness I will reward them
and make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the LORD has blessed."

10 I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations.

Some thoughts just running through my head...

At my small group tonight that I meet with each week, I couldn't sort my thoughts. I haven't been able to sort my thoughts. I'm one of those people that wants answers to questions- clear, distinct answers. I am not getting those answers right now. For some reason tonight, after reading a portion of the sermon on the mount with our group, I felt the need to just be still. I realized that I go throughout my day as a pretty cheerful person (lately). I have been making it a point to try to encourage those around me. I have been going out of my way to meet with people and enjoy time with friends. I have been doing all of these things, and while they may be good, they are not when I haven't found the time to just be still. As I walked back to my apartment tonight, I looked up at the stars and the moon, and everything in me wanted to be somewhere else. My life is not bad at all- I am very blessed. But when I forget about being still, and meeting with Him like I do with my friends, with study groups, with text books... it dawns on me all at once that I am not investing enough of my time in Him. I go throughout my day trying to please Him, talking about Him, thinking of Him... these are all good things. But what about spending just as much time meeting with Him?

Tonight Shawn passed out a list of questions that she found online, and I think they are very important to ask:
1. Am I investing in myself?
2. Am I genuinely interested in others?
3. Am I doing what I love doing and loving what I do?
4. Am I staying in my strength zone?
5. Am I investing my time with the right people?
6. Am I taking others to a higher level? (mission)
7. Am I taking care of today?
8. Am I taking time to think?
9. Am I developing leaders?
10. Am I pleasing God?

None of these things are possible if I'm not on the same page as my awesome Father in Heaven. If I try to accomplish these things... I fail. I feel miserable. Because during the midst of me not spending as much time with Him as I should, I begin to try to do the other things without Him. I begin to live in a way that suggests I don't need Him.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:2 (the first beatitude)

So I want to seek His face. I want Him to be my fuel. If He's not, then what I am doing is all in vain.

I never really write a whole lot about this, and I'm sorry to be so transparent, but I want to begin writing things on here that could be of encouragement to you. I want to call them "devotionals", but I don't know if this post would be considered that or not. I hope that this was encouraging to you- maybe you could recognize some of the same characteristics and need for change in your life. I pray that in any way, my words will spur you to chase after our King.

Car... again?!

Okay, so without going into too much detail (simply because I don't really want to dwell on this as much as I can), my car is having problems again. I'm taking it to the mechanic today, and I'm beginning to wonder if these series of problems is actually a hint that my car is about to die. I don't know, and I can't think like that- right? If you read this, please pray about this. I don't know how much money I can spend on this, especially since I have to take summer school.

Adventures in Townsend Memorial Library (and other UMHB spots)

So today Lauren and I did our usual weekend activity and went to the library to work on school work. No, I'm not joking, this has actually become a routine for us. Luckily, to keep our sanity, we shook it up a little and decided to document our adventures by photograph. So, while we don't normally do our homework while roaming all around the library, we figured it'd make for a good blog post! :)Today I kissed Orlando Bloom because he likes to read... :)

Lauren is trapped!

I've got school spirit, yes I do, I've got school spirit, how about you?!

There are so many things to do in a library... Lauren takes lessons in fencing :)


I "remember the Alamo" with a smile :)

Lauren learns survivor skills... just in case.

She is sooo excited about reading!

It's quicksand! Wait... quickbook?!


Way cool picture- good photography skills, Lauren!

I'm sure this girl is just as excited about reading, too...

I am excited!

This has been a wonderful week :)

God has just been reminding me exactly why I'm even in the education field. Let me share with you... About a week or so ago I was having huge doubts about my major. Nothing seemed to be going right, and of course there were some battles in my head. You know, the "You'll never be good at it" kind of thoughts. I even considered changing my major... to communications! My basis for this decision was only because I would save money and graduate a semester early. (I know, but I was on the extreme of 'I hate school right now!') I don't know if it's wrong to have these thoughts sometimes, like when you're up really ate and you just want to be in bed... but I'm pretty positive it's wrong when it's all you think for about 2 days straight. School had gotten that hard. I was mainly doubting because I was not even enjoying my Literature class- the one class any English major should enjoy. I wasn't thinking of the fact that I wasn't putting nearly as much effort into this class as I could have. So that was last week. It was not fun at all. Well... this week, it's as if God was like, "Krista, what have I called you to do?!" Well, let me tell you what I know. I know that God has called me to work with children, big or small. I know that God has called me to do this in different settings. I also know that I have a huge imagination and I often get far too much ahead of myself.. with thoughts of, "I can go to seminary and be a children's minister, I can go work as a camp director, I can teach, I can teach and go to seminary...." My brain seems to think at a speed that is not healthy, because with these thoughts come a desire for it to happen right now. So I forget the present and it's dire effect on the future. Well, this week... God has been confirming to me that I am in the right major. On a test that I was hoping to make a B in, I earned a 91. In a class where I wasn't understanding anything, everything began making sense. In classes that used to bore me, God has used to ignite a fire of passion for what I am learning. God has reminded me that teaching in itself is it's own mission field, and has endless possibilities. I have even compared public schools to communist countries... and something about not being allowed to tell children about Jesus makes it even more exciting to me that I will (and I will) find ways to. I am going to purposely choose books that will remind children of Jesus and get my foot in the door. I am so excited about the future, but for the first time in a long time, I am excited also about the present. I am learning valuable techniques and life lessons. I am learning the importance of a career that I often forget. I am excited!

91!

If you've talked to me recently, you know that one of my hardest, yet most enjoyable class has been Linguistics. Last week we took our first test and I was having so much anxiety about the test. Well, I went in and I was conifident that I passed it with atleast a C, hopefully a B. Well ,if you've guessed from the title of the post, I was totally surprised that I made the second highest grade in the class- a 91! I was so excited that I knew I had to blog about it. It's so easy to forget that studying pays off when it seems as if you do it all the time. :) So, moral of the story: study!! :)

Attention!

Attention all non-blogger friends!!

+ 10 Points to Rachel for finally jumping onto the Blogger Bandwagon! I highly recommend you follow her lead, and get on! :) If you don't have one... you're missing out. Plus, I'd put you on my link list! :)

Oh, and by the way.. what are we going to do in a year when we are almost all graduated?? I know, crazy thought to think about... I know we will still call each other, but trust me- blogger is a great way to keep up with the little things.

Oh, and Lauren B., I'm gonna have to see pictures of kids somehow!! :) (You know I'm kidding!)

A love for music and reading...

+ = WONDERFUL! :)


Can you guess which music I am listening to as I read?

Well, if you didn't guess Pride and Prejudice Soundtrack by Dario Marianelli, then you have not been keeping up. ;)

I have a pretty big test tomorrow night, and so I'm re-reading some of our short stories in American Literature. I think I have come to the conclusion that Theodore Dreiser writes very eloquently. It's as if the words are jumping off the page and taking the shape that they would be if it were all real. It's like dreaming while awake. :)

Or maybe the P&P Soundtrack just has the effect on me.... Either way, I am very much enjoying myself right now! :)

Weekends are one of my favorite things..

After a long, somewhat tough, week... I am enjoying the weekend. While I do have to study, I'm also finding time for myself to have some fun. I have a pretty big test on Monday in American Literature, but it's okay :)

Yesterday, Lauren B. and I went to a bunch of little shops and tried on cute little clothes.

I'm also very excited about an upcoming blog design by Susie at Bluebird Blogs. :) It should be done soon!! :)I've yet to decide on a color scheme from the many I am thinking of...

Okay, well it's time to enjoy lunch with a good friend and hen get some serious studying done! :)

Weekends are amazing!

This week was like finals week, only it felt a little worse than that. I had 3 tests in a row! :) I don't even think my finals are like that this semester. Anyways, I made it out, and now I plan on enjoying my weekend! :) MLC has a retreat tonight, which I'm excited about! We'll play games, act out osme skits, read the Word, worship, and eat some breakfast that all the boys are making. That should be interesting! haha ;)

So, I hope everyone else has a wonderful weekend! :)

Prayer of St. Francis

I pretty much love this:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Miss Quinn! :)

So I have started going to my "adopted mom's" 5th grade English classroom every Friday. It has been very insightful. :) Last week when I went, most of the kids just kind of stared at me and didn't really want to talk, with the exception of those sweet girls that smile and say, "You're pretty!" (now THAT makes my day). Well, today, when I walked in, all I head was "Miss Quinn" from a number of students. It sounded so great :) I never knew how affirming it would sound to me, but it was just like music to my ears. I had to stop and actually think, "I am going to be 'Miss Quinn' to SO many students in a couple years. That's crazy!

I'm really enjoying my classes. They have already proven to be challenging, but I'm enjoying the informaton that I am learning from them. It's just kind of neat to read for my homework, and then discuss it in class. Many students here always say, "Better you than me", but I really am enjoying it. Granted, I do have my days where I just feel overwhelmed, but those experiences are teaching me how to manage my time better. My hardest class yet has been General Linguistics. There are a lot of technical terms that I have to remember, but I can't say that it's not interesting. :)

Anyways, I'm going to read, drink tea, and listen to my Pride and Prejudice soundtrack. I am such a girl :)

The writings of a single girl: The plain, don't feel sorry for me, truth.

The past few weeks have been another one of those weeks. For me, one of those weeks is the kind where you are just longing for some real companionship. Being single, I automatically pin this on the fact that I'm without a boyfriend. I have friends here that are true treasures in my life, but sometimes it just doesn't fill that hole.

Thinking about this (as I write), I think of a good section of Blue Like Jazz that I read last year. Despite the controversy or the popularity of that book, I read something in there that brought a smile to my heart. Donald Miller was talking to his newlywed friend, when he asked him how new married life was. His friend responded with quite the surprising answer, and replied with something along these lines: "It's wonderful, but it's not complete fulfillment. I love my wife, but I will never truly know her like she desires to be known, and she will never truly know me the way I desire to be known.... The only one that can truly know us is God." I don't know about you, but that is amazing to me.

I know people in my life care about me. I can't say that I don't sometimes wonder how different life would be if I had a boyfriend, a fiancee, or a husband. I can take joy in the fact that I have my Lord and that He is always accessible for me to talk to, to pour my heart out to, to cry with, to laugh with, to love.

It is when I am in these moments of longing for a(nother) companion that I realize I need to spend more time with my Lord. It is in these times when I say "I miss him," and I realize that that him is Him, my Father in Heaven. It is times like these that draw me back to Him.

smells good.

My perfume, that is.

That's really not what this post is about though ;)

I went out to eat with my good friend, Paige, this morning. I know her from church and she's pretty stinkin' cool (and by stinkin' I mean awesome)! We wanted to go to this small place called "Oldies Diner", but they are closed until April! That stinks, especially since their breakfast is only $2.99. We got over it real fast though and decided to go to I-HOP instead. I had the "Passport". 'Twas good. We talked about our lives and what's going on, and also about what God has been showing us lately. Then, Paige surprised me with a gift card to Goody's and LifeWay. She's too sweet. So, I endedup getting a sweater and some socks from Goody's. I'm waiting until the 31st to go to LifeWay because the book I want won't be here until then.

I'm going to babysit tonight, and tomorrow I will probably be in the library all afternoon catching up on my class work! :)

Back in the Routine

I am definitely one of those people that thrive off of a routine.... well, a spontaneous routine. A routine within a routine? I don't know... but I love having classes, and everything that works around them.

This morning I took my written screening test, well.. half of it at least. It wasn't as hard as my mind usually works that type of thing to be. Then, in Diverse Populations, we made groups of 4 for our multicultural breakfast. Our group ended up choosing Germany for our country. This should be exciting since I lived there for part of my childhood, and I worked at a German restaurant for a few months. I'm pretty sure I like most German food... even the Reuben sandwich.

After class, I was so hungry because I had been thinking about food, so I stopped by Burger King to pick up a Croissant, and left to go babysit. I hadn't seen the kids in 6 weeks, which is FOREVER to me. It's amazing what changes can occur in that time span. Anna is talking even more than before, and has mastered the art of jumping. It's quite amusing. Nathan is taller, still growing like a weed. I love those kids so much. The thought of them moving makes me want to cry. :( I still have a few more months with them.

Afterwards, I rushed back to the apartment to get whatever I needed to do done for room check. I have an amazing roommate. She cooked dinner and everything. :) Then I rushed off to my Linguistics class, which is proving to be even more interesting than I thought. I have a lot of vocabulary to learn though... my study skills are going to be tested even more this semester.

So, anyways- today was a much better day than the previous ones. God has been hinting to me that He has it under control, and I really need to trust Him, even in the practical things, like a car. He clearly revealed to me that He has me in His hands.

Oh, and on a totally different note:
Please pray for me as I work up the courage to tell my dad that I want to go to Guatemala next Spring Break. There's a great opportunity for me next year, and I really want to go. I'd be working in the orphanages with the Guatemalan children, sharing the love of Christ to kids that don't feel like they matter to anyone.

$800.00

I think I'm beginning to learn the reality of becoming an adult. I'm only paying half... but wow, I guess I underestimated the price of car repairs. The good news is-I'm okay.

Tomorrow morning I have a written screening test. I'm not too worried about it, but it is one of the requirements to be accepted into the school of education.

I'm really trying to not let the beginning of this week take over my mood. I think a nice warm shower is in store, as well as some good sleep.

An Eventful Day

Well, yesterday morning I drove home to get my braces off. Anyone who has had braces knows the importance of this day. My day was extremely important, and turned out to be more eventful than I expected.

In my previous posts about my car, I ended on a good note. I thought my car was fine, but the possibility of still having a problem with it was in the back of my head. As I was driving home, my speedometer stopped working and my air bag light started flashing. Every time I tried to signal, the lights would barely dim. This is all in addition to a flickering brake and battery light that then seemed to dim away as well. Then I noticed that my speedometer began to work again at a speed of 40 and below. I called my 'adopted dad', Jason, explained the problem, and was advised to keep driving because the car sounded fine. Once I hit SA, I called my mom, who told my to go straight to the dealer. I arrived safely, went inside, and explained the problems to the first mechanic I saw. He said it sounded electrical, and since I had school, he asked if I felt comfortable coming back on the weekend to have it fixed. I accepted, and went out to start my car. Only, here lies the problem.... it didn't start. So now, my car is at the shop, and will hopefully be fixed by lunch, because I have important meetings to go to tonight. If I don't go... that will be bad. One of the meetings is for a class, and it's the only meeting of this week. If you can't tell.... I'm a little panicky.

Incase you're wondering about the diagnosis... it's what I thought it was all along, plus some.

-Alternator gone bad
-Alternator belt gone bad
-Top right boot leaking (???)

I don't know the exact amount, but I know it's expensive. This is so sad :(

The good thing is, God got me to SA safely, and of all places to have a car not start- the dealership. So praise God. And hopefully this solves this series of car problems.

Oh, and I'm extremely excited about my new smile. Pctures to come up soon, hopefully! ;)

Congratulations Green Family!

I would just like to say congratulations to the lovely Green family. They have been such wonderful people in my life, and they have been blessed by the birth of their third child, Elizabeth Noelle, today. Their link is on the right of my page, listed as 'The Greenhouse'. I love that family. :)

I also think this is way cool because she was born on the same day as one of my best friends, Lauren Grace.

I would just love to say Happy Birthday to both of these girls!!

Wow!

I have only been to class ONCE this week!! They cancelled school all day today, which is so exciting because I was supposed to have my night class tonight.

It has been NICE! :)

I can say that I am excited for warmer weather today... While I've enjoyed the no class part, I've missed the option of getting in my car to go somewhere with friends! :)

I'll be staying warm. Are you?

Life Back at UMHB

In case any of you are wondering how my first week of school has been, you should probably read on. :) Besides all of the car business, things have been going wonderful. I moved into my new apartment on Monday, and my roommate Jenn and I have been getting things organized and decorated since. I made a cute little vanity area after buying a cute little mirror and hung it up above my dresser. It's perfect since Jenn and I get ready at about the same time every morning and our bathroom isn't really big enough to share the mirror. We've been doing a lot of bargain shopping at places like Ross, Marshalls, and of course- the Dollar Tree. It has been wonderful since I'm trying to save money, and I like bargains. While I know that I will only be living here for a semester, I believe that I do better academically when I have a cozy little home. It's so important because then I feel like I have some where to relax!

Classes have been going good, also. I'm taking 2 of my Education classes, which have been very enlightening so far. I am learning a lot about how a teacher makes a difference in students' lives and how to be a good teacher. I have to take a written screening test in a few weeks, and I'm just a little worried about it. I'm sure it will be fine, though. I'm also taking two of my upper level English classes- American Literature (which I won't go to until Monday the 29th!) and General Linguistics. Linguistics was pretty interesting. I'm just a little worried about being the only person in there that is younger than 40. I'm only a little intimidated. (Okay, a LOT ntimidated!) Overall, I think classes will be a treat.

Oh, and "the weathero utside is frightful"! Rumor has it that the churches all around Belton and Temple will be closed tomorrow because roads are supposed to start icing over soon! I hope everyone is not too chilly!

Oh, and I thought I would treat everyone with a picture that the school put up on our "MyCampus" web site of me and my family group from my Freshman Year! I feel like we all look so much younger!

Updates on the Car :)

So yesterday I tok my car to the place where I get my oil changes done, and he recommended a different mechanic that he said I could trust, so I took my car there this morning. I will find out later what is the problem, and I will be sure to post about it. :) Hopefully it is something minor, because yesterday, they when they did a free alternator test, they said it didn't seem problematic. I really hope this is true (and that it is nothing major)!! Thank you for your prayers, and I will continue to update it throughout the day! :)

*edit*

I called the mechanic and they think it is the Cluster. I asked how much it would cost to replace, and he said $600 or so... yeah, I don't have that kind of money to throw away.

Is a cluster even important? He said it's what tracks your speed....

I don't know.... I'll know more in an hour or so.

*edit 2*
I went to the mechanic and he told me that the car will be fine if I don't replace the cluster. He said that it only controlls your speedomoeter, and that my speedometer is working fine. Praise God! I don't think I will ever want to replace a $600 part that isn't all that important! This mechanic didn't even charge me for checking it out. That part totally shocked me in a pleasant way, and so I will be writing them a Thank-You card and giving them a tip- I can't not pay them anything! Thank you all for your concerns, help, and prayers. I truly believe that God had this in His hands, because all signs pointed to the alternator, and it was almost nothing! I love Him!!

Car TROUBLE!

I drove here to Belton on Monday. Right when I hit the Schertz area I almost panicked because I saw warning lights on in my car- warning lights never come on in my car. There was something weird though, because they were only flickering. These lights were my emergency brake light as well as my battery light. I stopped at a gas station and called some friends, but I still had no idea what was going on. All of them told me to get back on the highway since the car sounded fine and they were only flickering. Well, I noticed that the lights only began to flicker when I got to the speed of 70.

Luckily, I arrived to Belton safely. Praise God for that!

I've googled it, and found out that these are the symptoms of a bad alternator. :( I told my mom and she says we've already replaced the alternator.... I called a mechanic yesterday, and he said it sounded liek the alternator but he couldn't know ofr sure until he looked at it. Well, as soon as my dad calls and talks with me about it, I'll take it in to the mechanic. If it is the alternator, I pay 200-300 dollars :(. Let's hope it's just a fuse!!!

Please pray for me because I don't exactly have a ton of money. I am still saving up for summer school as well as a new car. So, please pray!! Thanks.

Hair-cuts, Dolls from Peru, Greek Food, Family, Lazy Pugs........

I could try to describe my days in the title of my post, but I figured I'd stick to the normal and write it out in the actual post... :)

Yesterday I got a hair cut, and don't worry my friends, I only got a trim. :) I always think I can be courageous and get that cute little short hair-cut I see in a picture, but *sigh* I am not. That is probably a good thing, too.

Yesterday I hung out with my way awesome friend, Cricket! She gave me this cute little doll that she got from Peru, and I'm really excited about putting it on my desk whenever I get around to unpacking things in my new apartment. I dread the thought of putting so much time into setting things up, but I know once I start doing it that it will be fun. Silly me! :) We also ate some Greek food in one of those restaurants that you can say no one knows about. I like those type of places because you feel like you've discovered something that is yet to be a huge hit! :) I'm supposed to be taking my mom there soon- she looked impressed as she looked at the menu! :)

Now, I am here this morning, typing on my blog. I always consider it fun to do. I woke up my pugs this morning, and my crazy pug Khaki just could not get up from bed. He has this really comfy pillow, and so he didn't want to budge. I actually had to carry him, and he's no small dog! :) I love him though. He is defintely not a morning doggie! :)

Oh, and I also want to share a few verses with you:
"Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being." -Psalm 146:1-2, emphasis mine :)

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, but wine and milk without any money and without price." -Isaiah 55:1

"Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him." -Ephesians 3:12

I just thought these verses kind of flowed together- we are children of God! He provides to us access to Him with confidence, we don't have to pay any price! Praise His name.

Oh, 2007!

So every time I get to the end and beginning of a year, I tend to think about things. Things like what changes will occur, who I am/want to become, things I KNOW will happen (or at least am 98% sure of) and things I want to happen.

Here's what's made the list:

Changes that will occur/things I KNOW will happen...
1. New roommate and new apartment- I am excited about this because it's always fun to get to know another person and share those special times that only roomies usually share, such as cooking, laughing late in the night after late night talks, a drive off campus just cause you need it, etc. The new apartment will be fun because it's always fun to decorate somethings in a unique way! :)

2. Upper level English Classes- I'm going to read... a LOT! I'm excited. I know this won't always be the case when I'm up until 3 studying, but hey- it's the experience that is always fun to look back on. I get to learn, and what a privilege that is!

3. Taking summer school in SA- Wow.... I'm not too sure about this one but it has to happen. I'm nervous and excited all at the same time!

4. Finding a summer job in SA- I'm looking at things from retail all the way to working at a church again. We shall see what happens!

5. My dad coming home!! - He'll be on his 2 week leave in March, and home for good near the beginning of September. I am absolutely excited about this!!!

6. I'm sure there are other things I can't think of at the moment....

Who I am/Want to become...
Right now I am at a point in my life where I am realizing a lot of things about myself. I am a Christian that desires a deeper relationship with the Lord. I want to become so strong in my walk with Him, I want to memorize scripture more, I want to love Him and others more. I want to be a woman of God that, God willing, a godly man will be glad to call his wife one day. I want to shine more for my King. I want to be confident in the woman that He has created me to be.


This I want to happen...
I want to make better grades. I've been falling into the "more B's than A's" category lately... I want Children's Ministry to really be a place where the kids can learn about the Lord and have fun. I want the playground project for Children's Ministry to be successful. I want to develop deeper friendships.

I want a lot, right? I pray that the Lord's hand will be over all of these areas in my life. I pray that I will turn to Him during the good and hard times of this year. I pray that I will be a brighter light for Him. I pray that 2007 presents a time of growth for you as well!

Oh, and good for you for reading through all of this. Love y'all!