Waiting for Sunset

Is this real life?

2010-08-25T21:54:00.002-05:00

By that I mean: am I seriously starting nursing school in the morning?! Where did the time go? Don't get me wrong, I am so glad that these past two years are over and done with. But let's face it, they went by fast! I am hoping that these next two years will go by fast as well. I am excited to get into my major and start learning very practical things, but I am also really intimidated. I have heard such awful horror stories of this year. My goal is to not get to into my head about it before class even starts. I want to be able to just focus and do what I need to do.

I am encouraged that through all the chaos and stress my Lord is my stronghold. He will lift me out of the miry clay and place my feet on solid ground. My prayer is that my focus remain on the Lord, regardless of what my emotions are doing. And let's be honest, lately my emotions are doing whatever the heck they want. But I do not want my emotions to lead me going into this semester. I am so grateful that the Lord is steadfast in His love and never changing. This semester will test me greatly, but my hope is that through it I will grow ten fold.

I have so many thoughts I would love to be able to write out, but I can't quite put it all into words. So, I will probably wait and just post after I get going with school. I will let you all know how it goes. If you would like, pray for me through this semester! It is going to be an interesting one. I am excited to see what the Lord does in me this year. Love you and miss you all. Texas is not far from my heart.

ps: 14 days. 20 hours. 47 minutes.

Baby Fever Time Ten

2010-08-22T21:02:00.003-05:00

So I finally finished Coming Back Stronger today. It. Was. Wonderful. Seriously, I totally love reading stories like this. I just really enjoying hearing (or reading) peoples stories. Everyone has really had such different experiences, so it is really neat to me to see where people come from and how they get to where they are. Plus, I am just a huge Drew Brees fan, so naturally I am a little biased. Anyway, to get to the point, I was finishing up the book today and came to a part of the book in which Drew tells the story of when he found out about his wife's second pregnancy. Maybe it is just because I totally have baby fever, but I just started crying as I read this. So, naturally, I figured I would share with the rest of you! Enjoy ;)

"By the time I got home that night it was really late, but I wasn't about to sleep. My mind was whirling, trying to take in everything that had happened. Not long after nodding off, I woke to the sound of Brittany and Baylen enjoying a loud, music-filled breakfast. They like to play the sound track from Glee, with Brittany singing at the top of her lungs while Baylen throws food all over the floor and claps. Life is good. I came downstairs and held Brittany in my arms for a long time.
"We did it," I said.
" I know, baby. I am so proud of you. You are so blessed- do you know that?" Then after a
pause, she said, "How did you manage to win the Super Bowl and get your wife pregnant?"
I stared at her.
"That's right. I just took a pregnancy test. Baby Brees number two was there with us at the game."
I had no words. I held her as the tears gathered in my eyes. She was right-I am truly blessed."

Just retyping that made me tear up all over again. I just loved that. I mean, I loved all of the book... but specifically that part just warmed my heart. Simply beautiful.

and ps: 17 days. 21 hours. 34 minutes. It is almost here. ;)

Waiting in anticipation

2010-08-18T11:45:00.005-05:00

Thanks to the New Orleans Saints website, I now have the official countdown for the kickoff of the 2010 season. 21 days. 8 hours. 48 minutes.

Football season is so close I can almost taste it. That is why (even though everyone judges me) I do love preseason. It is a small dose of the thing I am so eagerly awaiting. It helps to build the excitement. What is not to love? Plus, in preseason you get to see the guys who are truly fighting for their jobs. You see the nobody's who have been counted out work hard to reach their dream. It is awesome! Plus, that mentality that is seen in these players during the preseason can really lend itself to some pretty fantastic plays. And that, my friends, is inspiring.

To add to my football season anticipation, I have been reading Drew Brees's book, Coming Back Stronger. It has been an awesome read so far. You probably don't care, but I have loved it. And let's be honest, that's what matters. ;)

And now, I want to leave you with the last image I recall from the 2009 season. What a wonderful day. And let me tell you... it never gets old! :)

Good things come to those who wait

2010-08-03T20:47:00.007-05:00

It is finally here! The ridiculously long overdue blog post I keep mentioning. Patience is a virtue, and I sure have tested yours. But don't fret, the wait is over my friend!

The Plunge 2010:

Camp was beyond wonderful. I am so blessed that I was able to take the week and be there for both junior high and high school. The Lord really did a lot that week and I am so grateful that I was able to witness all that I did. Let me begin with Junior High camp, and per usual, I will stick with the list format.

1. I was the camp nurse. It wasn't my favorite, but I was glad I could serve in a different way.

2. As the camp nurse, I got my own room. And my own bathroom. Victory (in Jesus). But, being the humble and kind hearted person that I am, I was more than willing to share my private bathroom with my two best friends that also happened to be there. You are welcome, LG and DG ;)

3. I discovered that junior high kids are really terrible about remembering to take there meds. Each night was a late night tracking these kids down.

4. I had one boy who had an asthma attack while at camp. He had to wait it out for an hour and half for his mom to drive up to bring him what he needed. The good thing about the whole experience is that I was able to talk with him a lot and get to know him pretty well.

5. There were a lot of junior highers that came to know the Lord at camp, and ultimately, that's what its all about! Praise Him! :)

Now for high school camp:

1. Being a team leader for high schoolers was absolutely wonderful! It was such a blessing to have this opportunity!

2. My team was Amazon River. We ended up getting 3rd in rec, which wasn't half bad if I do say so myself. Especially considering the fact that we didn't really win a lot of games. I was really proud of my team for their attitudes all week. They all had so much spirit. We even had a few boys take over and lead on team in cheers and excitement. It warmed my heart. We really were able to have a lot of fun.

3. My co-leader was also pretty tight. He came with Bay Area church. He was older (his daughter was actually a student at camp), but he was a really good balance for me. We were basically total opposites, which I think worked well for our team. It just seemed to work. I was a little hesitant being paired with someone I had never met or heard of, but it really was a good experience!

4. I was able to get to know one girl on my team really well. I had known her before camp, but the Lord really worked it out so that I could get to know her much better. It is funny how being able to talk with someone else, encourage them and pray with them always seems to bless us just as much. I was so grateful for that.

5. There were also 3 boys on my team who I got to kind of "call out" the last night. These 3 guys were great to be around all week. They were natural leaders within our group as well as outside of our team. I also was really encouraged by how insightful they were on spiritual things. All in all, I was really encouraged to be around them. I was able to talk to them specifically about what had been on my heart for them that week. They have such potential to be strong spiritual leaders and my heart just ached for them to step into that leadership role and recognize the call on their lives. They were all really receptive to what I had to say to them, which I was grateful for.

6. Luke Johnson was the speaker. If you have ever heard him, you know that it was wonderful. He is an absolutely fantastic preacher. I think we could all tell that though he was able to communicate so effectively, the Spirit had total control over everything he was saying. I know I certainly got a lot out of everything that he said. He was such a blessing to have at camp. I wish I could put into words all that I learned while I was there, but just take my word on it.

7. Lauren, Luke's wife, was able to come with him this year. Also such a blessing. She is so sweet! I got to talk with her a bit during the volleyball tournament. She is just so easy to talk to and be around. She just has a warm and welcoming spirit about her.

8. Camp was totally exhausting, but the Lord was faithful to provide us with the energy we needed for each day. There is part of me that loves being that gross and hot and tired. It makes you feel like you've accomplished something. With that being said, I loved getting home and taking a shower and a nap.

9. The best part of camp were all the salvations. I don't know the total number or anything... but we had 2 students on my team get saved! It was truly wonderful! :)

The Wedding:

1. Let me just say that after being IN a wedding, my wedding fever has probably quadrupled.

2. Being in a wedding is way more stressful than attending a wedding. For what thats worth.

3. The wedding planner was absolutely crazy. In fact, we referred to her drill sergeant Pam. That's pretty much the only way to describe her. She was so intense. But I will give her some credit. She was ver well prepared and organized.

4. The wedding went well. Only one minor thing went wrong in the ceremony, but even that was solved quickly. Things rand smoothly and I think Kelly and Ryan enjoyed the day.

5. After we left the wedding, me and DG were suddenly way more clear on what we want for our respective weddings. That is always fun.

6. We headed home right after the reception. That was a little rough because we were so exhausted and it was dark out, but thanks to caffeine and blaring music we were able to make it home safe and sound.

That is all for the update for now. I will try and blog a little more as the summer comes to an end. But, clearly I haven't been very reliable in that respect, so try not to hold your breathe. ;)

Sorry for the delay

2010-08-02T21:44:00.002-05:00

I know I promised a blog update, and it will happen eventually, but not just yet.

I don't have excuses other than the fact that I have been lazy/tired/distracted.

I plan to update on the following:

1. Camp.

2. The wedding.

3. The many, many things I have been learning this summer.

4. My thoughts/feelings/attitudes/expectations of the coming year.

So for now, just enjoy the new background and wait in eager anticipation for the long overdue update.

Just a tease

2010-07-24T17:07:00.002-05:00

It has been an incredibly long time since I have blogged. I guess I have just felt like I haven't had anything too significant to say. But, I just got back from j.high and high school camp, so I all of the sudden have tons to say! Unfortunately for now I am just too tired to process all that has happened at put it in to words. I promise I will post a legitimate blog about all things camp soon! I will leave you with this, though:

The Lord did some mighty things this past week. There were numerous salvations (hallelujah!). There was only one serious injury between both camps and even that ended up fine. Lives were radically changed by the power of the Gospel. This goes for both the people who came to camp already saved and those who received Christ while at camp. I am so blown away by all that the Lord did over these 8 days and my hearts cry is that all of these students continue to grow, even when they get home. I am praying against the "camp high." So many students were changed, but I have a feeling that many leaders were as well. Beautiful week. I am overflowing with joy.

More to come...

In Jesus I Will Find My Home

2010-06-08T21:19:00.002-05:00

It has been a while, so let me just briefly recap the past few weeks with things I have experienced/learned:

1. This summer has not been what I expected at all. Things are different everywhere I look. HNW is different. I am living in a different house. The people I see regularly are different. I am different. It has been easy for me to get a little overwhelmed by all the change going on around me... BUT I am comforted that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

2. I went to Arlington yesterday (Monday) with the Junior High kids. Basically, I got to hang out with the student interns all day. Very fun indeed. I have been surprised by how easily I have hit it off with all three of them. It normally takes me quite a while to relax around people I don't know, but so far so good. That has certainly been a blessing so far this summer.

3. Things have been a little tough for me (and a few others I know) early on this summer. Through it all I am reminded that His grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). The peace that provides has been astounding.

4. My uncle Sam and beautiful cousin Izzy come in tomorrow. I am SO excited. I saw Sam a few weeks ago, but I haven't seen my precious cousin since Thanksgiving. Ah! I can't wait. She is going to be 9 in a just a few short months... man, time flies! Love them. So pumped to see them.

5. Speaking of wonderful people coming in town, my bffae gets here Friday. There is no possible way I could put my excitement into words, so I won't even try. All I can say is that I am so ready for Friday!

6. I have been really slacking on my reading and my yoga. I feel like I have fairly legit excuses, but nonetheless I need to get back act together! ha.

7. Pen Pals are wonderful. I need to get some stationary so I can put it to good use with my dear roommate, Casie, and Amanda while she is at camp. Writing letters is great. I just need to be a little more disciplined about it.

8. I got to talk (I mean text) with both Casie and Lauren for a good amount of time today. Gosh, I miss them a lot. But, Casie is having a wonderful time in New Orleans and the Lord is really doing a great work in her and through her. Lauren has also been blessed with a pretty great job and some sweet time with her family. I couldn't be happier for them both.

9. I just want everyone to know how much I truly love Freeze Pops. Seriously. Possibly the greatest invention of all time. They have provided me with ridiculous amounts of joy lately. Simply wonderful.

10. I think the biggest thing I have been learning this summer is that Jesus, not hnw or my house or my friends, is my "safe place", my "home." I have spent much of summer thus far discouraged. I have felt out of place and lonely. It really caught me off guard because I always considered my church, my home and my friends to be my safe place... the one thing I could count on. And while none of those things are bad, the Lord has been breaking me down and showing me that HE is my constant. He is the one thing I can count on and turn to. It has been a tough lesson for me to learn (and I am still learning), but I have needed this. He has just been telling me over and over the past week or so that He is my safe place. In Jesus I will find my home.

Let's Get Real

2010-05-24T21:27:00.003-05:00

As most of you already know, I am a huge fan of Jimmy Needham. My excitement has only increased since I went to the concert last week and as I have been listening to the new CD. Anyway, I was reading through his website the other day and noticed a cool section called “behind the music.” Here he talks about the story behind the songs he has written. In the description of the song “Before and After” he referred to a big part of his testimony, and in another part of the website he provided a more in depth look into his past. I will let you go read it for yourself later, but it really got me thinking and so I decided to share what the Lord has laid on my heart through this.

Reading Jimmy’s testimony filled me with joy, even though his past experiences were not exactly joyful. My joy is not in his struggle, but rather in these two things: The way the Lord rescued him from his past and redeemed his soul, and his openness and honesty about where he came from. This post isn’t going to focus on Jimmy directly, but considering that reading about his life started this entire thought process for me, I decided to give a little of the background. I was so excited reading through his account of his past sins and his freedom in Christ. Here is a man who I am a big fan of, who I admire greatly and who is a solid spiritual leader in our world today being completely transparent and real. Wow. It blows my mind and refreshes my soul to see such honesty; especially coming from someone in a position where honesty could be shocking to many. His story and his openness got me thinking about the Church as a whole. I am sure all of what I am about to say has been said many times before, and much more eloquently, but I am going to go for it anyway.

A problem I see among believers today is our utter refusal to be transparent before our Lord and one another. We as a Church (myself most of all) are completely consumed by a need to have it all together all the time. We have become masters at hiding our sin and struggles from everyone around us for fear that we will no longer fit into our image of the put together believer. Our focus and our pursuits are aimed at maintaining an image rather than being bare before our Father. What is wrong with that picture? Is maintaining an ideal really more important to us than maintaining an open and honest relationship with both our Lord and our fellow believers? I fear that this has become the case far too often these days. It breaks my heart that we are a people afraid of transparency. We like to be clean and covered up at all times. The only problem is that this is stunting our growth, spiritually speaking.

I don’t think that we like to get too personal with the topic of sin. We have become really good at acknowledging it as something powerful in our world today and as something that only God can free us from, but we don’t like to relate the topic too much to our individual lives. Or, if we do, we certainly don’t like to share it with anyone else. Somewhere along the way we related a struggle with sin to weakness. Well, what is wrong with that? Where we are weak HE is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9) A struggle with sin has become something that we need to deal with on our own, something we need to keep under control so no one notices, something that shouldn’t be discussed because it might reflect poorly on us. We need to change our attitude! We, the Church, need to stop trying to neaten up the mess in our lives and we need to expose it for what it is. The more we try and cover it up, the darker our sin becomes. We need light. We need freedom. We need Jesus. We can’t conquer sin. We are only human- imperfect and fallen. BUT, sin has been defeated and death has been conquered through our Lord and Savior. We need to rejoice in that, which means acknowledging our sin- naming it and claiming victory in it. Victory is ours and if we would stop trying to put on an act for the rest of the world, we could finally hold fast to that Truth and be transformed forever. So what are we waiting for?

First and foremost, our sin needs to be acknowledged before the Father. This means praying it and naming it. To me, and I imagine to many others, naming our sin can sometimes be terrifying, but I feel as though it is so crucial. It needs to be exposed for exactly what it is. Confession is our first step to freedom from whatever it is that seems to be entangling us. Next, through the Lord’s endless grace, we must repent- turn away- be changed from the inside out. Freedom.

We were not created to be alone in this world. God created Eve so that Adam would not be alone, so that he would have a helper (Genesis 2:18). We know this, so why do we still try and do life on our own? Why do we try and battle our sin on our own? Let’s talk about it. Let’s lean on one another as the body of Christ and do life together. That means all of life, not just the fun stuff. If we are battling sin in our life, we need to talk about it. I am not saying that we need to get on stage and announce to everyone our deep dark secrets, but we need to be real, be transparent, be honest. We as the Church are one. One body and one purpose. Let’s stop going to church on Sunday morning focused on acting like we have it all together if we know we are fighting between our flesh and the Spirit in us. I would rather see a body of broken and contrite people bowing before the Lord, confessing and repenting, than a body of people with a bunch of smiles on our faces. And if through God’s Grace we find that we are not wrestling with a particular sin or temptation in our life, then I pray we have compassion for those that are. If we are in a season where we are not struggling with something particular, we need to be ready to serve our fellow believers as they battle. We need to be accountable and we need to be that accountability for others. We need to pour Truth into them and be prayer warriors for them. We need to walk beside them as the Lord leads them through their struggle. We need to get rid of our judgmental hearts and share their burden. Through God’s grace and mercy we need to fight this together.

This may not mean anything to anyone reading this, but this has just been heavy on my heart. I want to stop acting. I want it to be ok for the body of Christ to admit where we are falling short in our own lives and strive together to claim victory over our sin. What people say or think about us based on our struggle shouldn’t matter. We, as believers, shouldn’t look down on our brothers and sisters based on their sin, because let’s face it, we all have plenty we have tried to hide (Matthew 7:1-3). I respect Jimmy Needham for being so real about sin in his life and I rejoice with him in the freedom and victory he has experienced. I need to work on this in my own life, I will be the first to admit, but let’s start being transparent before our God and before one another.

Preparing for the Unexpected

2010-05-22T14:35:00.002-05:00

Summer 2010 has begun and I have this feeling that I am going to have a rather interesting summer ahead of me. I really can't put it into words, all I can say is that I feel like this summer is going to be like nothing I would have expected. There is this part of me that just feels like the Lord is stirring in my heart to prepare me for something. I have no idea what, and I could be way off base, but it is just a feeling I have. I also feel like this summer is going to (hopefully) teach me a lot. Again, I can't really explain the reasoning behind this, all I know is that I feel like there is a lot I need to learn and a lot that He wants to show me through these next few months. I pray that my heart is ready and receptive to whatever He has for me. I just feel like this is going to be the summer of the unexpected. With that I am finding myself spending much time in prayer, working to surrender myself, my plans, my hopes, my fears and my expectations to the Lord. Relinquishing all of this is proving to be a bit of a challenge, but the more time I spend wrestling in prayer, the more I feel the Lord pulling at my heart. Pray with me in this time if you feel led. :)

I have been home for a little over a week now. I started work last Monday and I move into my new house this coming Monday. Needless to say, things have been a tad chaotic, but it's good to home nonetheless. I have really been blessed in my job this summer, but I am learning with each day how important it is going to be for me to continually draw my strength from the Lord and not myself. I can't pour out of myself if I am not being fed by His Word and His Spirit. Anyway, I am excited to serve where I am this summer. There are a lot of changes coming, but it certainly adds a level of excitement I suppose.

I got to see Jimmy Needham in concert on Tuesday. I am sure everyone has heard me talk about this at length already, but it was truly wonderful. If I had to pick a favorite musician, it would be him. So, to have the opportunity to be at his concert and then meet him afterwards was an incredible blessing to me. One thing I loved (other than his music, of course) is how it was all set up. There were a few times he basically started preaching to us. It was pretty legit. It was just obvious that the Lord had placed a lot on his heart for him to share and I don't really know how to explain it, but it just really warmed my heart to hear all the Lord was saying through him. It also completely warmed my heart to hear how he talked about his wife and their marriage. It was encouraging and touching. He also did a little Q&A time, which was basically just fun. He was incredibly nice when we met him, even if he did make fun of me a bit for breaking his cd case ;). All in all it was one of the best nights I have had. Also, if you haven't checked out the new cd, you need to. It is SO good.

College pancake breakfast last night. It was pretty chill and low key, but it got me pumped for this summer. I am excited to be a part of the Thursday night college group. I think it is going to be a really good time of fellowship and study and I can't wait to share it with some of my friends.

Speaking of friends, my best friend comes home next weekend. Thank you, Lord! :) I am so ready to see DG.

The Decision Has Been Made

2010-05-02T21:34:00.002-05:00

If you have talked to me at all this past year, you have known that I have really struggled in regards to where I would be going to church. I know what you are thinking, "it's the end of your sophmore year, how have you not found a church home yet?" Well, before you judge me too quickly, hear me out. Almost everyone I know here has struggled to find a church home. There are not a lot of solid options in Shawnee, and driving to the city is not always the most practical option. Anyway, I have gone to church just about every Sunday this year (rare exceptions where I just couldn't get a ride), but every time I would go to Frontline, I just had this uneasiness and uncertainty about the whole. I couldn't really articulate it for the whole year, all I knew was that something wasn't quite right. I tried to talk myself out of my concerns and justify any anxiety I had because I couldn't entirely figure out what was wrong with Frontline. Basically I has just been in a constant state of questioning whether or not this was the church for me. I had also been spending my year in prayer about where in the world I need to be for church. Well, I think I have finally arrived at an answer. Today, my friend Amanda and I went to Heritage Church (here in Shawnee). After we left, we both decided that it was time to leave Frontline and make the move to Heritage!

A bit of background: Heritage was the first church I went to semi consistently while at college. I went most of the first semester my freshman year, and a little bit into my second semester. I think it was around April when we first started going to Frontline. At first I was all on board. It seemed cool and I thought it could be a good move. I came back in August and we kept going and with each week I felt more and more uncomfortable. Amanda and I would talk about it a bit here and there and we recently came to the conclusion that we had similar views on Frontline and both had a desire to go somewhere else. We both really liked Heritage (and weren't exactly sure why we left in the first place), so we decided to branch out and go on our own today. Good decision? absolutely.

So, here is my attempt to break down my reasons for leaving Frontline and choosing Heritage:

Community: This is definitely one of the biggest parts to my decision. You see, Frontline never provided me with a sense of community. It just wasn't really their focus. I guess you could say they were more focused on evangelism rather than discipleship. This isn't to say Frontline is bad for having that focus, but they just weren't as concerned with building us up as a body. There were not a lot of opportunities to get plugged in anywhere and building relationships seemed nearly impossible. Frontline was not a very relational church. Again, I am in no way dissing them as a church... I am just saying, for me, I placed a much more significance in community than I felt I was getting there. Now, Heritage on the other hand, has a huge emphasis on community, and let me tell you, you could feel it the moment you walked in. They place great stock in unity as a body of Christ, with one heart and one purpose. They also have a lot more community opportunities. For example, they have Sunday school. Ha, it is such a simple thing, but still! I would really like that. They have homegroups on Sunday nights. They have a women's bible study on Wednesday night. Basically there are many opportunities for me to plug in and build relationships with other believers. Plus, it is a pretty small church, so that only increases my opportunities. A lot of OBU students also go to Heritage. Pretty cool, eh?

Doctrine: Heritage is a place where I actually feel like I can stand behind their doctrine. This is huge for me, because I was never entirely sure about this when it came to Frontline. When Pastor Josh (the lead pastor) would speak, I felt pretty secure that he was speaking Truth, but he didn't speak every Sunday. The days he didn't speak, I never knew for sure what we were going to get. We had a couple of instances there where we (Amanda and I specifically) left completely freaked out but some things that had been said during the service. I don't have that constant concern at Frontline. It was wonderful to be there today and be at total ease with the message, knowing it was something I could stand behind.

The Pastor: The pastor at Frontline was Josh. I like him a lot and I liked his sermons. He is definitely more of a charismatic speaker than the pastor of Heritage (Jay), but that alone wasn't enough to convince me to stay. I can always listen to Josh's podcasts if I really want to. Jay is an extremely personable guy. He gives very good sermons, even if sometimes he gets off on slight tangents. Ha. I still have no problems following him and I get a lot out of his messages. I feel like Jay is a pastor who I could have a conversation with. That is definitely appealing to me! I don't know, I just really like him. haha.

The LACK of charisma: Frontline is a very, very charismatic church. I am not going to lie, I am not a huge fan of that style. I feel like there is such a fine line that they sometimes would cross. I just never felt particularly comfortable with all of that. Heritage is not a charismatic church. I like it. I don't really know how to articulate this point all that well, so if you want you can just ask me about it and I can try and talk you through my thoughts with this.

Location and Size: Heritage is in Shawnee. Now that is a big deal! Even if Frontline offered a ton of opportunities for community, I couldn't participate because it is simply too far away. Heritage is about 10 minutes from campus. Perfect. I can get plugged in easier with a church in the same city my school is in. Also, I don't have to wake up ridiculously early to get to church. Sweet. As I have pointed out before, Heritage is also pretty small. It is definitely different from Northwest, but I kind of like it. Again, I feel like it only increases the opportunities to build relationships. It also gives me the feeling that this place is much more 'real.' Now, I am NOT saying a big church can't be "real." HNW is a big church, but it is a real church. But, I think the size of Heritage contributes to that overall feeling of the church.

The Shutt Family: Sarah, my dear friend here (it's her kids in the previous blog) and her husband go to Heritage. In fact, her husband has now become the Associate Pastor of the church. I adore them and I trust them so much. To me, it is just further confirmation that I am making the right choice.

I left church this morning with a huge sense of peace. I had been wanting that ALL year, and the fact that I finally got it at Heritage was so exciting. Again, I don't dislike Frontline; it's just not the church for me and I am glad that I can finally say that and finally have a place to plug in to... even if it is a little late in the game. ;)

Again, my thoughts in this blog were so jumbled... so how about we just talk about it in person and I can try and explain myself a little better!

Beautiful Day!

2010-04-22T18:45:00.006-05:00

Today was so wonderful! The sun was shining and my classes were cancelled. It was basically a recipe for joy. Anyway, I was relatively productive during the morning, then unintentionally napped during the afternoon. Around 3, Sarah called me and asked if I wanted to come over and see her and her new baby, Henry! I was SO excited because I had really been wanting to see him. He will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. It is so crazy! I went over and saw him. He was asleep when I got there, so I just held him for about an hour while Sarah and I got to catch up. It was so wonderful. He is such a good baby! He hardly cries at all. He kind of whines when he needs something, but he doesn't cry much. Sarah also told me that he sleeps a lot and has even slept through the night already, which is pretty impressive. So, I just held him as he slept. He is unbelievably precious. I fell in love with him the moment I saw him. After a while, Sarah and I walked back over to my dorm with Henry and her daughter, Cora. Some of the RA's of my dorm wanted to see him, so we headed over. While I was there, all Cora wanted to do was play with me. So I chased her around my dorm for about an hour. She spun me around in a chair, she wanted to see my room, she wore my purse (which was bigger than her), she took all the magnets off of our fridge and she played on every one of our beds. I had so much fun with her! She takes a while to warm up to people (she is only 3), but she actually likes to see me now. Let me just say, there is nothing like getting the approval of a child! They have this amazing ability to drastically increase your confidence. They can also make you feel so loved and so special. Spending time with Sarah and her kids warmed my heart so much today! Here are some pictures to highlight my beautiful day! Enjoy!

Yahweh Jireh

2010-04-12T20:53:00.002-05:00

As you know, this past weekend was Breaking Free:Charade. I am pretty much at a loss for words, but I am going to attempt to post about the weekend. Forgive me in advance if this is really jumbled.

Before this weekend, the Lord had really been working in my own heart. Teaching me and showing me how to trust Him fully, regardless of my circumstances. He had been teaching me what it means to "pray continually." He had been quietly assuring me that He is faithful. So, I went into this weekend with a peace that surpasses all understanding, ready to serve these kids. I really had no idea what was waiting for us all this weekend.

When DG and I made it to the church Friday morning (after having a wonderful trip down from dallas together) we did some work and had some lunch and met the other leaders. It was all pretty chill. Later in the afternoon, James had the leaders participate in the Prayer Labyrinth that the students would be participating in the next day. Most of us didn't finish because we ran out of time, but I enjoyed the parts I got to! One of the first stations involved us writing a name for God in which we have experienced or in which we need to experience. I wrote: Yahweh Jireh- The Lord will Provide. It ended up being really awesome to see it up on stage on Saturday after the high schoolers had written on it. Riley has some pictures if you haven't already checked it out. It overwhelmed me reading through it and just feeling such reverence for the Lord.

I had the 8th grade girls this weekend. A lot of the time I felt like I was talking to a brick wall, which was rather discouraging at times. It was like pulling teeth trying to get these girls to talk to me. All of these girls also come from Christian homes and go to the Christian school that is at the church. So, I found that to be challenging in its own way. The most I could get out of them was "sunday school answers." Getting them to go any deeper was pretty much impossible. However, when I met to James and Ashley Sunday before we left, I felt a bit better about it. They know these girls and know exactly where I was coming from in my discouragement. One thing I can trust in is the fact the regardless of how much they opened up this weekend, the Lord definitely planted seeds in each one of them. I will just continue to pray that it would just "click" for them and God would turn their hearts to focus fully on Him.

One thing that stood out the most to me this weekend was worship on Saturday. Kevin, our speaker, had delivered a really good message. I got a lot out of it and I could tell that the students were as well. After Kevin spoke, some students needed to talk/pray so I went outside with one girl. We got to talk and pray for a while and then we came back in. When I walked into that room, I just had to stop for a minute. I was so completely overwhelmed by the presence of the Lord in that room. I looked around and I saw broken hearts and students crying out to the Lord. It brought tears to my eyes. I walked to the back of the room and all I could do was fall on my knees before the Lord. I found that each song the band played was exactly what I wanted/needed to pray. It was wonderful. I was just in such awe and completely overwhelmed with the the presence of the Lord in that room. God was moving mightily in there. Praise Him!

Sunday morning, some of the high school students led worship. After witnessing that, I was reminded how grateful I was for our band that came this weekend! They lead with such humility. I forgot how important that was, until I saw what it could be like without it. ha. But seriously, Molly, Katie, Nathan, Trey, Zach and Riley were SUCH a blessing this weekend. Forget the fact that they sounded wonderful (as they always do), but they truly came to serve, and it warmed by heart to see. Anyway, I loved having them there. On a selfish note, I was also really glad to hang out with them a little bit and have fun.

Sunday, a bunch of students also came up and shared a little bit of their testimonies from this weekend. It touched me SO much. I got to here from a couple of kids who had been saved! Praise God! It was beautiful! Goodness. I also got to here from kids who finally realized all that God has in store for them and their hearts were changed. We also got to here from a mini John Piper! This kid was legit. Anyway, it was incredible to here all that the Lord had done in those 2 days.

Anyway, there is so much more I could say, but my thoughts are way to jumbled. Basically, God is GOOD and so Faithful! This weekend also provided some great affirmation in my life. This year has been an incredible year of growth and learning for me! I am also learning so much about the power of prayer! It is wonderful. I feel like I am a totally different person and I couldn't be more grateful for the Lord relentlessly pursuing me and breaking my heart. Gosh. I am just speechless for all He has and continues to do!

Breaking Free!

2010-04-07T23:43:00.002-05:00

First off, I had a great birthday! It was definitely different, and it didn't feel like a birthday by any means, but it was good. God really provided some really wonderful people in my life to help make this day special. I am so blessed in that. Special thanks to:

1. Danielle Weghorst, my best friend. There are no words.

2. Casie Trotter, my precious roommate. She gave me a wonderful gift and she's been so encouraging to me.

3. Lauren Loughridge, my other dear roommate. I loved getting to share our birthdays in the same week. She is such a blessing!

4. Amanda Layman and Kacie Jo for sharing a birthday meal with me.

5. Zachary, Trey and DG for their prayers over me.

6. Molly Roberts for finding the time to call me and tell me happy birthday.

I have completely avoided studying all day. I need to get on that so I don't bomb my test tomorrow! yikes!

I am SO excited for this weekend! I am ready to see God move in the lives of these students and really change hearts, including my own. I can't wait to meet these girls and really pour into them and share the wonder of God's love with them. It will be awesome!

In preparation for this weekend, I will be taking part in a media fast all day Thursday. Only Christian music. No TV. No movies. No FB. No Twitter. No blogging. Only using my phone for important communication (ie, when I am traveling and need to keep my family updated). Let's all be praying for this weekend! God is mighty to save! :)

Can you believe it?!

2010-04-06T17:29:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I say goodbye to my teenage years. It is a little surreal, especially because it doesn't feel like my birthday at all! It's been quite the journey so far, I must say. I have no real complaints about my life up until this point, but I am so ready to be a "young adult." I am over being a teenager. I feel so much older than 19, so it will be nice to actually BE older than 19.

Adulthood brings a lot of responsibility with it! Kind of terrifying. Haha. But bring it on I suppose.

Mostly I am excited about flying to Dallas on Thursday and heading to Houston. This weekend will be good! I am excited to see the Lord at work in the lives of these students, as well as the leaders and band. Plus, it is just an added bonus that I get to be with DG on her 20th birthday. Such a blessing.

If you think about it, keep praying for my dad and stepmom. It turns out the moving van will be in Boston on Saturday and they will be Texas bound. Things just seem to keep getting worse and problem after problem keeps appearing. It is just an incredibly stressful and overwhelming experience for all involved right now. Pray for job opportunities and pray for peace. God is faithful. He is good.

I think I have a problem.

2010-04-01T12:53:00.003-05:00

I am pretty much only attracted to guys that look like total tools. seriously. It is totally ridiculous. I don't know what it is. This is a concerning issue.

But hey, admitting you have a problem is the first step, right? ;)

Overwhelmed.

2010-03-31T23:57:00.003-05:00

This weekend will be interesting.

For the first time, OBU is giving us Good Friday off. :)

My roommates are leaving. I will be alone.

I am not going to church on Easter Sunday for the first time since probably 3rd grade. I somehow agreed to do child care at this church with this girl Amanda. I am not thrilled about this, but it's ok. I will have to be really conscious of making time for the Lord on my own on Sunday. It will be different. I pray God will use this time to teach me more about Himself... even though I won't be in a church setting. I pray that I am able to reflect on the meaning and the power or Easter on my own.

I did lent for the first time this year. I gave up all carbonated beverages. The first 3 weeks felt kind of like torture to me. I totally missed the whole point of the practice of lent. In fact, the only reason I stuck it out was because I was too prideful to back out of my commitment. However, the past 2 weeks have been much more fruitful. The horrors of not being able to drink Dr. Pepper has faded and I have had time to think about the meaning behind this all. I am glad I stuck it out, even if the beginning was a little shaky.

I have a ton to do in regards to school. Hopefully I use my time wisely over this 3 day weekend. I really need to stay on top of things before BF. Luckily, I love to plan, so I am ahead on my homework and paper writing thus far, but I need to make sure I do not loose steam between now and this weekend.

As much as I want to be productive over break, I really need to make time to be in the Word and be in prayer. I have been trying to ignore it, I have been getting attacked from all sides lately. Details really aren't important (and if you have talked to me at all you know bits and pieces), but I desperately need some peace.

So, if you don't mind, pray with me this weekend. Pray for me. Pray for my family. Pray as I begin to prepare for breaking free. Pray as I spend this Easter Sunday differently than I have before.

Bring on the sunshine

2010-03-23T14:03:00.003-05:00

It has been a while. So I suppose I am do for a boring update, so bear with me.

Spring break was wonderful. It was so relaxing. I didn't really do much once I got to Houston other than hanging out with DG during the weekend and Danica once during the week, but I am definitely not complaining. I got to see my cousin and uncle. And I got to sleep. Words cannot describe how wonderful it was.
I came back to Oklahoma in the middle of blizzard. It was basically awful. Definitely not the welcome back that I was looking for. Luckily, my roommate Lauren was the one to pick me up from the airport and I stayed with her Saturday night and we came back to school Sunday. Coming back to a friendly face made it easier to be back.
Sunday night, Lauren, Casie and I got to actually hang out. We ordered pizza and watched He's Just No That Into You. It was a nice was to kick off this last half of the semester.
Getting back into the swing of things is a little difficult. I am not totally in school mode yet. We will see how this works out...
In nursing lab today, we fed each other pudding and brushed each others teeth. It was truly ridiculous. No one could get through it without laughing hysterically. It was awesome. I wish we had a camera in there today!
In April, OBU is holding this event called Up Till Dawn. It is a massive fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Hospital. Well, today, my friend Jenna (one of the co-chairs for the event) asked me if I would be a team leader for the event. Basically, I get a team together of 5 people including myself. In April, we go to the wellness center here with all the other teams and address a bunch of envelopes to people we know and send out letters asking for donations to this wonderful hospital! Of course I was more than thrilled to be a part of this! I am so excited. It is such a great cause. This hospital does so much for children with cancer. I would love to work at this hospital one day, actually. So anyway, be warned, YOU may be getting a letter towards the end of April. ;) oh, and if you want to know more about the hospital, check it our here: http://www.stjude.org/about
Over springbreak, I started the Peasant Princess series that Mark Driscoll did. As of last night, I am half way done. I was pretty adequately warned about the shocking things in this series, so nothing has really caught me off guard. Due to that, I have really been able to enjoy the series without being distracted by the bluntness used. It has been really encouraging and challenging, even as a single person. I am excited to keep going with this. I feel like I have been learning a lot and looking at things I have already known in different ways. It was been really cool.
Last but not least, my birthday is coming up. 2 weeks from tomorrow, to be exact. I am ready to no longer be a teenager! :)

Oh Springbreak

2010-03-16T20:18:00.002-05:00

This will probably be the most chill break I will have had in a long time. This weekend was semi-eventful in getting to Houston, but other than that I am not planning on doing anything. Danielle and I had a wonderful time, and I am so grateful for that. I even got to hang out with Danica and Jeremy Sunday night. Then my cousin and uncle came Monday and left this morning, which was a blessing. My cousin is so fun these days. Other than that, I don't plan on doing anything at all while I am home. It turns out though that I have A LOT I need to get done while I am in town, and very little time to get it all done. It is kind of overwhelming. My flight Saturday is at 4, so I have to leave my house around 1, so I pretty much only have Wednesday-Friday to get everything I need to done! Yikes. and I haven't even thought about homework yet. Ha. Man, I really hope I can find enough hours in the day to get it all done. I have also noticed that I am pretty much sleeping constantly. It is insane. I will get like 10 hours or more at night... then nap for at least 6 hours throughout the day, then still sleep at night. I guess I didn't realize how desperate my body was for rest! It has been nice.

I have decided that staying at home is a good decision for me this break. I need to use my time here wisely, and I really want to spend time with my grandparents. This is a little bit of a different springbreak than I had initially envisioned, but I am totally ok with it. I think it is the break I need. :)

I just can't wait until summer (assuming I can find a way to get out of Oklahoma...)!

What a blessing

2010-03-11T16:40:00.002-06:00

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.

2 Corinthians 3: 4-5

This semester has gotten off to a really good start academically speaking! It has been such a wonderful blessing. I have been doing really well in all of my classes, and it is purely by God's grace. I have such a wonderful opportunity to boast in Him this semester. Last semester, I found myself in such a slump with my grades for so long. I had to work so hard to bring my grades up and I often felt discouraged. But this semester has been completely different. God is so faithful. To me, the most exciting thing about doing well in my classes is that I feel as though I definitely put in the work that is required, and by God's grace, I am able to produce the grades to back it up. I just feel like God has been sustaining me so much in my studies, and it is so exciting to see the fruit of my labor. I am so excited to be getting deeper and deeper into the nursing program. My application is due the week after springbreak and I should find out mid May whether or not I will officially enter the OBU nursing school. I feel as though I should mention, they have room for 64 students, and we only have 31 nursing majors in our class, so my chances are good, but it will be nice when it is all official.

I leave for Dallas tomorrow. Basically, I am pumped. Seriously. Springbreak will be wonderful. Here are some of the things I am extra pumped about:

sunshine. chacos. tan lines. snow cones. family. be2010. grandpa date. movies. sleep. frozen yogurt. GH with my gma. relaxation. joy. best friends. hnw. road trip. goodness I love springbreak! :)

Long Time No Blog

2010-02-27T12:33:00.003-06:00

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't had anything interesting to say. Well, I still don't, but I figured I was due for a simple update.

1. Life all the sudden got really crazy. The first 4 weeks of school were relatively calm. Homework, sure, but nothing major. Week 5 hits and now I have something to do/study for every day and I suddenly have no free time whatsoever. Interesting how that worked out this semester.

2. Last week my roommates and I went out on a Thursday night and had dinner at chili's (thank goodness I have a gift card!) and then went and saw Valentine's Day. I had already seen the movie once, but I really really liked it and so I wanted them to be able to see it so I went along! It was just as good the second time around. This was the first time in my entire life that I had gone out on a school night (other than when I went to abs, that is). I felt like such a rebel. ;) It was really fun though and I am so glad we did that.

3. Last weekend I was supposed to be in Houston, but that didn't work out. I was already way ahead on most of my homework since I thought I would be out of town, so I got to just sleep and chill during the weekend. It was tight. I watched and finished season 3 of Greys Anatomy. My addiction is getting a little out of hand. Luckily, my roommate doesn't have season 4 yet so I don't have to worry about that becoming a distraction. It has been fun watching the show entirely in order!

4. I was luckily enough to enjoy 2 phone calls this week from some dear friends. It is so wonderful how such a small gesture can boost your spirit. I enjoyed catching up and laughing and telling stories. I can't wait until I am actually home for springbreak and can see everyone!

5. On Thursday I had my first "clinical" as a nursing student. There were 4 of us in this round and we went to the Shawnee Free Clinic. It was a very interesting experience. Two doctors volunteer every Thursday night, but they can only see 20 patients. The nurse I was with was in charge of going through everyones charts and lab work and deciding who needed to see the doctor and who should come back next week. It was sad turning people away. We also screened a number of the patients, meaning that we interviewed them and did an initial assessment, including vital signs. I got to do the vital signs. It was pretty legit because we had to do manual BP, not just hook them up to a machine. I also got to go out in the waiting room and call patients back. It was pretty fast pace and the 2.5 hours we were there flew by! I was so nervous going into it but so excited when we left. I can't believe I will be doing this the rest of my life! :)

6. Last night my roommate and I watched The Time Travelers Wife. It was so sad! I really enjoyed it though. I was in the mood for a kind of serious movie. It was a little hard to follow, and I was confused at parts, but overall I really liked it. I kind of want to watch it again now that I get all that happened. I must say, I am so grateful I do not have a time traveling husband.

7. Housing sign ups are coming up soon! I am a little nervous because I desperately want (and kind of need) and apartment for next year. My roommates and I should be in the second group to sign up so hopefully all will work out. I need a kitchen. I need to not eat in our cafeteria every meal. And I bake when I am stressed. I need to be able to bake. It's going to be wonderful living with my roommates again next year... especially if we are in an apartment!

8. The library opens in about 10 minutes and that is where I will be headed for the rest of the day. You see, I have 5 tests in the span of Monday-Wednesday next week. It is kind of absurd. And I am pretty much overwhelmed. But it is only three days, so surely I will survive. ;) With that being said, I really need to get to work this weekend and do all I can to make the week a little more bearable.

9. Springbreak is almost hear. I can't wait. I am so ready to see DG. and then to see my wonderful grandparents. I miss them so much. I love home!

10. I almost forgot to mention this. OBU offers yoga on Mondays (and Tuesdays, but I have class when its offered Tuesdays). They can't call it yoga here, so it is called "dynamic stretch," but it is yoga. It is absolutely wonderful! I look forward to it every Monday! Gah it is so great. Talk about relaxing. I seriously love it. It is hard for sure, but I already feel like I am getting better at it. I recommend it to everyone!

Sorry for such a dull post. My life hasn't been too exciting lately. I probably won't post again this week due to lack of time, so be warned.

I am feeling legit.

2010-02-12T22:14:00.010-06:00

I have entered the beginning stages of the OBU nursing school. This semester I have my first real "nursing" class. It is Intro to Nursing and the class portion is 3 hours long on Wednesdays and a 2 hour lab on Tuesdays. This class will allow me to get my CNA (certified nurses assistant) license at the end of the semester, and hopefully work in the hospital this summer (I hope!). This class is what the title implies, an introduction to all things nursing. I have my first shift as a nursing student on February 25 in the Shawnee Free Clinic and an 8 hour shift at the nursing home in April. It is all still a little surreal. Of course, I had to have a uniform, which includes scrubs, white shoes, and a stethoscope. Putting all of this on was SO exciting for me, and so I decided to share some pictures with you all! Enjoy! (ps: sorry if the pictures are small, I got tired of trying to fix it).

This is me in my official OBU, hunter green scrubs, along with the OBU patch on the sleeve that I sewed on all by myself! Notice the matching stethoscope, compliments of my wonderful aunt. This was ridiculously expensive, but it is so so so exciting!

This is me in my scrubs and in my PPE (personal protective equipment). These booties, hair net, mask, gown and gloves will need to be worn anytime I see a patient in isolation. I must say, wearing this makes me feel the most legit of all!

Putting all of this stuff on reminded me how excited I am to be a nurse. The process may be rather frustrating, but I am so looking forward to what is in store for me in the future. :)

Coincidence? I think not.

2010-02-10T21:12:00.002-06:00

I got my first flu shot ever on Friday. This was not my choosing. OBU nursing school told me I had to. So I did.

Now I am sick. With many flu like symptoms.

Oh... and I think it is important to point out that I have never had the flu before.

To recap:

1. I have never had the flu before. Nor have I ever had a flu shot.

2. OBU made me get a flu shot. I did.

3. I am now sick, with what is looking like the flu.

Greatest. Day. Ever.

2010-02-07T22:42:00.003-06:00

This was the superbowl that my family has been waiting for for the past 43 years. My pop and uncle Sam where at the first ever Saints game, and went to just about every home game over the next 20 or so years. My grandpa said that he never thought he would see this moment during his lifetime. I can't even begin to describe to you the joy felt by the entire Evans clan. My father was even giddy with excitement. I talked to him, my gma and my gpa on the phone tonight. Not a lot of words were exchanged... just a lot of screams and squeals and "oh my gosh"! It was so excited to see a city that (although I never had the opportunity to live in) I love win this game. I really like the Colts and Peyton Manning, don't get me wrong, but this means so much to the City of New Orleans and to my family as a whole. It was a beautiful sight. I have never been so emotionally invested in a game before. I don't care if that sounds dumb.

One of my favorite things was seeing Drew Brees on the podium after the win, tears in his eyes, holding his son, pure joy on his face. It was truly beautiful. Take some time and check out these pictures. They really choked me up. :)

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/5479/gallery/im:urn:newsml:sports.yahoo,getty:20050301:nfl,photo,27c24af700fee1176e1c2849657b6b05-getty-spo-fbn-super_bowl-xliv:1

I am also so glad that Drew won MVP. I felt that he deserved to win it for the league, but alas, his time finally came. I hope that now he can finally be considered an "elite" quarterback alongside Peyton and Tom.

Gosh I am so happy. Seriously. I don't want to hear from any of you Saints haters, please. I just want to enjoy this moment. WHO DAT!

I might regret this...

2010-02-05T15:40:00.002-06:00

...but I am going out and being social today and tonight instead of studying for micro. yikes! I am a little uneasy about it, because I am going with a HUGE group to see Dear John, but I only really know a couple of them. It should be interesting. I am def not a big group kind of person... unless I know everyone! It should be interesting.

In other news, I got my flu shot today. Dumb. I don't really believe in the whole flu shot thing. Seriously. But nursing school requires that we have it, so I didn't have much of a choice. At least it was free.

I do my first student nursing shift on February 25 at the Free Clinic in Shawnee. It is kind of intimidating, but certainly exciting. I will post more about all things nursing school later.

Jonas Brother Embarrassment

2010-02-01T23:00:00.002-06:00

Today I experienced one of the most embarrassing moments of my life since being in college. However, it was slightly awesome, and definitely a good story. This would be much better if I was able to verbally tell you this story (or if you had actually been there), but seeing as how I don't have the time to call each and every one of you (nor would you want me to), I will do my best to paint the picture of my embarrassing moment.

For my microbiology class, I purchased a Jo Bros folder for storing papers and such. I never thought too much of it, and I often kept it covered by my textbook or lab book. Well, today my friend Julie convinced me to just own it and be proud of my folder. Taking her advice I kind of left it out in the open, but again, I didn't think too much of it. As lab progressed, I went across the table to share the microscope with my friend Amanda as we studied her bacteria (which was pretty cool, btw). Dr. Jett started walking around from table to table making sure we found a good, clear image of our bacteria and such. He got to our table and was answering the question of some other people and stopped mid-sentence, reached over, picked up my Jo Bros folder, help it up to the ENTIRE lab and YELLED: "What is this crap?! The Jonas Brothers?? Seriously?? What are you thinking? You have got to be kidding me! Of all things to bring into my lab, a Jonas Brothers folder!!" Keep in mind, at this point the entire lab, which is 25 students not including me, are staring over at our table as Dr. Jett holds up my folder for all to see. I am BRIGHT red, laughing and crying at this point. I couldn't even speak, much less begin to defend myself. To say that I was mortified was a huge understatement. A few people were laughing right along with me, but I felt like a lot of the crazy smart pre-med students looked down their noses at me. Not even a minute later I got Dr. Jett's attention to ask him a question about our slide. His response?: "I am starting to question YOU based on your music taste! You can bring anthrax into this lab... BUT NOT THE JONAS BROTHERS!" (this, too, was loud enough for all to hear).

Dr. Jett has two younger daughters (probably middle school to early high school age), so I am guessing this is where his Jo Bro hatred stems from. But man, I was SO embarrassed. To top it off, we had a quiz that morning over stuff from chemistry (which is dumb since this isn't a chem class) and I am pretty sure I bombed it (along with everyone else), so my guess is that he is going to have a really high opinion of me now ;).

Funny side note: earlier in lab, I was explaining to my lab group how many of the lines the Jo Bros use in their songs would probably work on me in real life because they are so ridiculously awesome. Examples: "You've got moves, I've got shoes, let's go dancin'." or "Turn right, into my arms; turn right, you won't be alone." etc. etc. They probably wouldn't work on me now, considering I know they are song lyrics, but had I never heard this stuff before, it might actually work. Ha.

At least I will always have a good story from micro...

Encouragement

2010-01-27T18:37:00.002-06:00

My first few days have not gone as planned. I have been surprised with some unexpected things I need to take care of. Things have been a little shaky so far, but God is constant. He is Sovereign. He will provide. This song was sung in chapel today, and the words just resonated with me. Hope you enjoy it! :)

Peacemaker, Fear Taker, Soul Soother, Storm Smoother
Light Shiner, Lost Finder, Cloud Lifter, Deliverer,
Hear Toucher, Truth Lover,
Who other could be Fear taker, Peacemaker to me,

Mind Clearer, Sigh Healer, Hand Holder, Consolor,
Wound Binder, Tear Dryer, Strength Giver, Provider,
Heart Healer, Kind Father,
Who other could be, May Savior, Peacemaker to me,

Let Your Peace Rule in my heart,
Let Your kindness fill my thoughts,
Let Your strength secure my soul,
Let Your peace take hold in me,
Let Your Wisdom guide my will,
Your compassion fill this place,
Let my anxious thoughts be still,
Let Your peace rule in my Heart,

[Chorus]
I need You,
Let Your Peace Rule in my heart,
I need You,
Let Your kindness fill my thoughts,
I need You,
Let Your strength secure my soul,
In My Life Lord,
Let Your peace take hold in me,
I Trust You,
Let Your Wisdom guide my will,
Believe You,
Your compassion fill this place,
I need You.
Let my anxious thoughts be still,
Lord, in my Life I Know
Let Your peace rule in my Heart,

(repeat Chorus)

Heart Toucher, Truth Lover
Who other could be, Fear Taker, Peacemaker to me

Peacemaker by Greg Ferguson

Semester Number 4

2010-01-25T10:24:00.004-06:00

Today I began my 4th semester of college (I suppose 5th is you count the 7 hours I took this summer). It is kind of weird. I still feel like a freshman a lot of the time. I had 3 classes today, and a lab. Here is the 411 on what is going down so far.

1. Microbiology: I am pretty intimidated by this class, but I am actually looking forward to it. I absolutely LOVE my professor. He is awesome. He used to teach med school classes (and he himself is a doctor, of course), so he knows what's up. He did not try and shy away from the fact that this class is going to be incredibly difficult... but I am ok with it I think. He truly loves what he is teaching and his enthusiasm rubs off on us all I think. We had a time for Q&A today, but I sat quietly, as usual. I would have considered talking if I could have thought of a question. Oh well. He assured us that we will get sick many times this semester, seeing as how we will be working with bacterias and viruses in lab. He also pointed out that a lot of the organisms we will be working with could kill us... so we need to make sure to follow safety procedure. Ha. Tight. I know this class will be very difficult, but I am looking forward to it. He is also putting an emphasis on making this a "medical microbiology" class, considering 99% of the students are going into the medical field. That helps make this more exciting, because it will be very practical. I think I will learn a lot from this class!

2. Wellness Lifestyles: This is probably the single most pointless class I will take in my time at obu. It is basically a cross between highschool health and P.E., but it is required, so here I am. It is only 1 credit hour, and definitely won't be difficult, just unnecessary. Luckily, it only meets Mondays and Wednesdays, which is nice. There isn't to much to say about this class. Although, there is a guy in my class from New Orleans. I really wanted to talk to him about the Saints... but he was on the other side of the room and I am such an introvert these days. Maybe I will work up to it one day? haha

3. Lit of the Western World: This is the lit portion of Civ. I already had a history credit, so I got out of Civ for this semester. This seems like a basic lit course. A ton of reading, of course, and daily quizzes, but it isn't horrid. This will be work, sure, but I am not too worried about the class overall.

4. Microbiology Lab: We actually had lab today, which I was not expecting. We went over some safety procedures, seeing as how half of the stuff we will be playing with in lab could infect us and kill us ;). Then we took samples of various things (I swabbed the inside of my mouth, for example) and put it in a petri dish and put it in the incubator. We will examine it next week in lab. We also looked at various specimens under the microscope. Nothing challenging today, but it will get harder. We have two projects during lab. The first, we create our own experiment. The second lab (which is way cooler) will be towards the end of the semester. We are given an unknown pathogen and a patient history. We will have to use the microscope to examine the specimen, look for clues in the patients symptoms and history and use our knowledge about various bacterias and viruses to make a diagnosis. That should be really cool, actually!

All in all the first day went well. I am exhausted, but such is life. Plenty of homework to keep me busy tonight. ;)

Tomorrow I have Arts and Ideas, my skills lab for intro to nursing and jazz and hip-hop. I will post about those tomorrow sometimes. On Wednesday I have my intro to nursing class, which I am sure I will mention at a later date as well. Here we go with the semester... full speed ahead!

Oh yes, and the most important thing of all...

THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!!!

Who Dat! :)

The Saints game was very possibly the single most, emotionally taxing, 4 hour period of my life. I didn't handle it well at all. Ha. I paced around my room the whole time, never once sitting down. I talked (very calmly) to each Saints player and shared my hopes and dreams with them. When the fourth quarter came, my whole body was shaking so bad I could hardly support my own weight. I couldn't pick anything up, because my trembling hands would just drop it. My heart was racing faster then it ever had. I almost couldn't bear to watch the field goal. It was ridiculous. But then, they won! I wish I could have video taped my reaction, because I will never be able to reenact it again. The happiness I felt was overwhelming. It was beautiful.

Aha!

2010-01-20T00:14:00.003-06:00

At one point on Sunday, Mark Howell mentioned those times when one is reading scripture and suddenly has an "aha" type of moment. I have experienced that before, but not in a while... until tonight. I was reading through John as part of my journey through the gospels and I got to the passage in chapter 11 in which Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. I have heard this story, and read it myself, a hundred different times; but tonight something stood out to me that I probably would have just skipped over most other times. Here is the passage:

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." 40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me." 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." John 11:38-44 (ESV)

For me, the aha moment lies in verse 40. I have been praying, for a rather long time, for God to just show up big in my life. Praying that His Holy Spirit would be evident in my life. That I would be sensitive to the Spirit in my life and that God would reveal himself to me. Lately, I have been frustrated, because things haven't been happening on my time table. I read this passage, and this verse, and I felt like I was punched in the stomach (in a good way), "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God." I don't know if it gets much clearer than that. So, as I pray and as I wait, I will continue to believe, and in His timing (not mine), I will be able to witness the glory of God. Praise God.

NFL Playoffs and the Issue of Hugging

2010-01-17T17:20:00.006-06:00

Ok, so I am going to tackle two totally unrelated subjects within this one post. I apologize now if this becomes too long, or too boring.

I will start of with a few of my thoughts from the playoff games that have taken place this weekend. All my stats will be courtesy of nfl.com... because let's face it, I won't be able to remember this all off the top of my head. I am not that good.

Arizona Cardinals 14 @ New Orleans Saints 45:

This was obviously the game I was most interested in. The two hours leading up to this game were some of the most stressful I have ever experienced (in regards to football, of course). Watching the Cardinals and Packers game the week before made me realize that Arizona was going to be a worthy competitor. Logically, I knew the Saints were finally healthy and they are the highest scoring team in the league, but my emotions were everywhere. My family has been watching the Saints for about 43 years, and they have this amazing ability to loose. So, I knew I would not relax until the game was completely over. The first play of the game was a rushing touchdown by Hightower. My stomach turned. However, the Saints came back with furry. Drew Brees threw for 247 yards, had 23/32 completions- a completion rating of 79.1%, had 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 0 sacks and 0 fumbles. I couldn't have asked for more. Reggie Bush had, what I would classify as a breakout game. He has finally learned how to run 'north and south' and not 'east to west.' The result was awesome. He had one rushing TD, one punt return for a TD and 84 other yards. This is the Reggie Bush the Saints need. What I was the most pleased with is the fact that the Saints got back to their trademark of using ALL of their resources. They had five separate players (Hamilton, Bush, Shockey, Colston and Henderson) score touchdowns. The ability to do this is something other teams in the NFL lack. The Saints also had 27 first downs compared to the Cardinals 15. I do not say any of this to bash the Cardinals by any means. I respect them as a team, especially Kurt Warner. However, I can't help but brag on my team! :) This is a big deal to the city. I am so pumped for them.

Baltimore Ravens 3 @ Indianapolis Colts 20:

Again, I was clearly going for the Colts in this one. They maintained a solid lead throughout the game, but I did found this game to be rather boring. Maybe this is because I just come off the emotional rollercoaster that was the New Orleans game, but I couldn't stay engaged in this game. Peyton Manning completed 30/44 passes, threw for 246 yards, had 2 TD's and 1 interception. A good game, but not "great"... especially for Peyton Manning. Maybe I found this game to be somewhat boring because Baltimore did not do anything worth mentioning. It didn't feel like a playoff game by any means. Joseph Adai, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark all had solid games. The defense was able to come up with a fumble, and even cause a fumble on a ball that would have been a Manning interception. The Colts had 22 first downs whereas the Ravens only had 12. To me, this is an important stat in any game. Glad Peyton Manning and the Colts won!

Dallas Cowboys 3 @ Minnesota Vikings 34:

Out of respect to those of you who read this and cheer for the Cowboys, and out of a desire to maintain some class, I will keep my insults and my jokes between my family and I. It is no secret that I am very glad the Cowboys lost today, but I must say, I was disappointed that this wasn't much of a game. Dallas was not able to make it into the inzone during the entire game, which is somewhat unheard of for them. Romo was sacked 6 times, threw 1 interception and lost 2 of his 3 fumbles. With stats like that, the defense would have really needed to step up to give their team a chance, but alas, Brett Favre played the way he has for so many years and pulled off a big win. Brett had 4 touchdown passes of the game (although, I don't think the last one was at all necessary*), completed 15/24 of his passes and threw for 234 yards. That is a good game. Adrian Peterson wasn't able to get much down on the ground, but I suppose it wasn't really needed this game. My only hope is that the New Orleans offensive line will be able to hold up against this Minnesota defensive line next week!

* I found the last touchdown to be unnecessary because the Vikings had clearly one the game. Also, the pass was made on 4th down. I just feel like it was adding insult to injury. With that said, I don't play football, so I don't know what goes through players heads. I would assume that most players wouldn't turn down a touchdown possibility, no matter the score. I would assume its almost second nature to just go for the score. I really don't know.

New York Jets 17 @ San Diego Chargers 14:

This game has been the game I have been the least interested in. However, I am still watching it (as we speak the game is on, so forgive me if my verb tenses change half through this). I have never been a San Diego fan, so I decided to go for the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets. Haha. Anyway, I don't really know what it is about the Chargers, and I don't hate them, but I have never liked them. Plus, I am kind of pulling for Mark Sanchez, seeing as how is a rookie and leading the 5th seed through, and frankly he is pretty decent looking ;). The jets were the only road team this week to win! I think that is pretty cool. This too was somewhat of a slow game. It took a while for Sanchez to get into the game, and even then he wasn't outstanding. But, he played a solid game and did what he needed to so that his team won, and I suppose that is all that counts. The stats aren't great for either team, so I will skip over all of that. I am happy for the Jets and looking forward to seeing them play the Colts. I am hoping they can put up a fight next week... simply for something entertaining to watch.

Now, for a change of pace, onto the issue of hugging. As most of you know, I think it is fair to say that my love language is touch. It is just how I roll. I like to show affection and love through acts of touching. Whether this be a hug or a simple pat on the shoulder, I often use touch to express myself. I also respond well to physical touch. Some of you know this based on my insistence that you hug me. If I am happy, I want to hug you. If I am crying, I want to you to hug me (although I might try and initially act tough and push you away... don't buy it, it's just a defense mechanism). I am stressed out and talking a mile a minute trying to figure everything out, I want a hug. To me, hugs say "I am here for you" or "don't worry, everything will be ok" or "I have missed you/I am really happy to see you/I am sad to see you go" or simply "I love you." For me, hugs are appropriate in most situations. One of the loneliest things about being at obu, is the lack of hugs I receive. There are days when I think to myself "if only I could have a hug." I look forward to getting home for this reason (and many others). There are days I wind up in Sarah's office just so I can get a hug. It does wonders for my spirit. Some would say that because I hug so often, I don't value them. On the contrary, my friend. I value hugging more than most I would dare to say. Just because I give/receive them a lot does not devalue them for me. Hugs often say more to me than words. I find that when I can't find the words for someone else, a hug seems to do the job. I am not trying to convince all of you non-huggers to change your ways (because that would mean changing everyone I know), but I want you to understand where I am coming from. However, with all of this being said, I too have my limits. There are some people I do NOT want hugging me. Just from church today, I have a few names that come to mind. ;). The number one rule with hugging (one in which I try my hardest to always respect) is that you are only allowed to hug another person if they are willing to accept the hug. A hug is something that should be desired by BOTH parties involved, not just one. Forcing a hug onto someone is not cool. I am generally too polite to simply say no, or go in for a handshake instead, so I often end up in a rather unpleasant situation. I guess I should learn to be a little more standoff-ish with certain people. If you are reading this blog, chances are I look forward to hugs from you, so don't worry. Plus, I am somewhat ok with initiating them when I feel I need to. I like hugs. That won't change. But I do not like being backed into a corner, so to speak, and being forced to hug someone I don't really want to ;).

Never Say Never.

2010-01-14T00:31:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I realized tonight, at about 11:45, that I lost the key to my grandmas house! I don't think anyone understands how devastating this is. I NEVER loose things... especially important things like house keys! Seriously. I have never lost a key before. I actually never loose anything. There are times I forget something when I head out of the house... but I always know exactly where it is. I am an organized person. I am neat. I do NOT loose things. Except now. Bah. I had to call my gma and wake her up so she could let me in. Now I also feel like a horrible person. :( She was very forgiving, but I feel so bad.

The most frustrating part is that I truly have NO idea how this happened. I have been retracing my steps since this weekend and at no point is it plausible that I would loose this key. It is attached to a key ring, that is attached to my wallet. Plus, the other two keys attached to said wallet are still there. What in the world?! Plus, I haven't even touched my wallet since Sunday... and I know I couldn't have lost it then because I used it to let myself in that night! But at no point on Monday or Tuesday did I come anywhere near my wallet. I haven't had a need. And wouldn't it be logical to assume that all 3 keys would be missing? Or that there would be some evidence of this occurring? But no, I have got nothing! Seriously... how does this happen?? And where are detectives Benson and Stabler when you need them ;). But seriously, this is no laughing matter. What if I lost it in public? Then some creep can have a key to my home. Absolutely terrifying. I realize that said person probably would have no idea what the key was to, but that is not the point.

I seriously doubt much sleep is in my future. I tend to be the kind of person that needs things resolved the moment after the go awry.

The weirdest part is that before I went out tonight I thought to myself "I should probably double check to make sure my key is on my wallet." Then I immediately thought to myself "Oh, there is no need for that. I NEVER loose things. Plus, there have been zero opportunities for my key to have been lost... stop being paranoid."

Never say never.

Good Stuff

2010-01-13T00:25:00.002-06:00

"The distinguishing mark of saving faith is not perfection. The mark of faith is not that I never sin... The mark of faith is that I fight. I fight anything that dims my sight of Jesus as my glorious Savior. I fight anything that diminishes the fullness of the lordship of Jesus in my life. I fight anything that threatens to replace Jesus as the supreme Treasure of my life. Anything that stands between me and receiving Jesus faith fights—not with fists or knives or guns or bombs, but with the truth of Christ."- John Piper

Hello Houston

2010-01-09T13:15:00.002-06:00

A few quick updates on the happenings since I have been home (to Houston):

1. Got in around 1:30 Wednesday. No flight complications. Perf.

2. On the way home from the airport, my gpa took me by chick-fil-a. It was so yummy.

3. I hung out with my gma for a while after I got home. We talked a bunch and just spent some quality time catching up.

4. Wednesday night was the CYS party. We played crack the case, which ended up being really fun. I got to hang out with LG and Danica, which of course was awesome, and see some others. Good night indeed.

5. Thursday, I went on a "date" with my gpa to see Avatar. It was an impressive movie, of course. I enjoyed it. I mean, it wasn't really my type of movie, but I could appreciate it. It was fun to hang out with my poppa.

6. Watched the UT game with my grandparents. My pop was pleased with the outcome, but I was not. However, there has been so much talk of this game already, so I won't make a discussion out of it. Although, I do love Colt!

7. Friday night I got to spend the night with Molly. Of course that was wonderful! It was so fun to just stay up late and catch up on everything. We certainly had plenty to talk about.

8. While at the Robert's home, I got to play Settlers of Catan (for the first time) with Molly, Andrew and Mr. Bill. I am chalking it up to beginners luck... but I won! :) Not going to lie... it felt good. I usually don't ever win at games. It was fun and I finally feel like I am in the loop having played now.

9. I got breakfast with my gramps this morning.

10. SVU marathon. Perf.

11. Celebrating Danica's bday tomorrow night (I think?). It should be fun to just laze around with her and LG.

12. HNW tomorrow for this first time since break! Victory.

13. I am not liking this cold weather. I am pretty used to it because it was significantly colder the whole time I was in Boston, but I am so ready for summer weather!

It is good to be back. :)

Tomorrow!

2010-01-05T17:04:00.002-06:00

I leave Boston tomorrow morning.

I always have such mixed emotions.

I will probably get all chocked up at the airport (as usual), then land in Houston and see my gpa waiting for me and be filled with joy instantly. A rollercoaster day indeed.

I am looking forward to being back in the Lonestar state, but my dad will be missed! Living in two states is quite the adventure. ;)

Top Tens

2009-12-30T23:23:00.025-06:00

With the end of the year, and the decade, right around the corner, I decided to make a list of my Top Ten Favorites over the past ten years. Now, I ask that no one would judge me on any of my choices, and keep in mind that I was only 10 years old when the decade began, so I may not remember a lot of things spanning over this entire time span. So, sit back and enjoy... and feel free to give some input (as long as it isn't criticism ;)

Football players:

10. Brett Favre (before he retired and unretired a million times; as in, Greenbay Packer Brett Favre)

9. Eli Manning (I got to keep it in the family with this one)

8. Teddy Bruschi

7. Darren Sharper

6. Tiki Barber

5. Reggie Bush

4. Deuce McAllister (he will always have a special place in my heart)

3. Peyton Manning

2. Drew Brees (I must say, it was definitely hard putting him at number 2)

1. David Carr (he will always be my first love. Loyalty is important… and I am sticking with my man!)

Books: (keep in mind, I only recently have become a reader… so try not to judge me too harshly)

10. Great Gatsby

9. The Glass Castle

8. The Once and Future King

7. The Scarlet Letter

6. The Giver

5. Quiet Strength- I just adore Tony Dungy

4. The Magicians Nephew

3. Don’t Waste Your Life- though I am not done, I can just already tell this will be at the top!

2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

1. Redeeming Love

Songs: (most of these songs may not be “good” songs, but they all bring back some memory or have some kind of meaning to me, so spare me any criticism)

10. Home- Michael Buble (ps: this song no longer makes me ridiculously sad, just sentimental, so I thought it deserved a place)

9. Don’t Trust Me- 3OH!3 (I had to do it… DG and LG will understand)

8. Unfailing Love- Jimmy Needham

7. Lead Me to the Cross

6. The Solid Rock

5. See You Again- Miley Cyrus

4. Last Christmas- Taylor Swift

3. Daylight- Brave Saint Saturn

2. The Climb- Miley Cyrus (classic)

1. The Call- Regina Spektor (this is Black Deaths song… always has a special place in my heart!)

Movies: (these movies may not meet your definition of “good,” but they are movies that I have thoroughly enjoyed over the decade, no matter how dumb they are)

10. Ocean’s Eleven

9. Juno

8. She’s the Man (I love to quote this movie!)

7. That Thing You Do! (technically not in this decade, but I didn’t see it until this decade… so it counts)

6. UP

5. Stick It

4. He’s Just Not That Into You (sorry Andrew, I had to do it)

3. Highschool Musical (specifically the 3^rd one. I simply love it! Best stress-reliever)

2. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

1. Pride and Prejudice

Actors/Actresses:

10. Steve Burton (from GH)

9. Katherine Heigl

8. Rachel McAdams

7. Ginnifer Goodwin

6. Matthew Macfadyen (Mr. Darcy…of course)

5. Mariska Hargitay

4. Christopher Meloni

3. Kate Winslet

2. Matthew Morrison

1. Hugh Laurie

TV Shows:

10. Friends (this is number 10 because it started before the decade… but I still LOVE this show, and I have watched it throughout the decade. This is probably in my top 4 honestly)

9. Make It or Break It

8. Grey’s Anatomy

7. What Not To Wear

6. Bones

5. House

4. Scrubs

3. Law and Order: SVU

2. General Hospital

1. Glee

Pictures: (this was by far the hardest category and there is no way I could limit it to only 10. deal with it. I also realized there were a lot of people I have hardly any pictures with)

Greetings from Boston.

2009-12-29T00:23:00.002-06:00

I haven't blogged in a while because I haven't had too much to say. But, just to assure you that I am still alive, I will give a little update.

1. Got to Boston a week and a half ago-ish. I made it without any flight complications. Ah. What a nice change.

2. Christmas in NYC. We took the train in and spent a few days. We came back the day after Christmas. It was a neat trip. Beautiful city this time of year. I did miss my family, but all is good. Christmas is a great time of year.

3. Completed readings: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and (as of about 30 minutes ago) The Magicians Nephew. Yes, I read them in that order. Very good books. I enjoyed them. I will give more detail in the future.

4. I plan on starting Don't Waste Your Life tomorrow.

5. I haven't made a large dent in my reading list yet. I have been doing more sleeping than I originally anticipated... but I am definitely not complaining.

6. I am terribly out of shape.

7. I have been watching so much football lately. It rocks. Saints are officially the number one seed in the NFC and have clinched homefield advantage throughout along with a first round bye. It. Is. Awesome. However, I am ridiculously superstitious when it comes to football. I have come to the conclusion that I can not wear any saints paraphernalia during any of the play-off games. That has been the common denominator in their two losses.

8. I still have a bunch of stuff to get done before school starts... like order books! yikes.

9. I found out my semester grades today. I was pleasantly surprised. I ended up with a B in physiology, but I consider that a success. That class was horrid this year. But the big surprise was that I ended up with an A in nutrition (making physio my only B). You see, I would have needed a 95 on that final to make and A, and considering I only had the night before to study thanks to my other finals, and at 1 in the morning before that final (which was at 8am) I had two people sit me down to tell me how awful of a person I am, I didn't have high expectations. I also hadn't made and A on a single test all semester, and the final was comprehensive and worth 25% of our grade. I had mentally prepared for a B... but God is good and by His grace I pulled off an A. I salvaged my GPA and get to keep my scholarships. :) Man oh man. It was a close one.

10. I watched the E! special for the Jonas Brothers, and I have been converted into a fan. Judge me if you must.

11. It is so cold here. I really dislike winter. I also like it in theory... but experiencing it is a whole other thing. Summer is definitely my cup of tea. But... I do like scarves, and I have been getting a lot of use out of them while here.

12. I have been staying up into the wee hours of the morning and then sleeping in until well after noon. It is kind of ridiculous... but I think I am finally catching up on all the sleep I didn't get this semester. I better enjoy it while I can.

13. I was asked to be a bridesmaid for Courtney's (my roomie from last year) wedding. Unfortunately, I might not be able to. The wedding is June 5... but if I am working at the hospital I may not be able to get any time off... or have a way to get to oklahoma. :/ hmmm... we will see though. I would love to be a part of it.

14. In regards to number 13, everyone is getting engaged and married. Seriously. It is insane. When is my turn?! ;)

I am DONE!

2009-12-15T23:25:00.002-06:00

As of today, I have completed my third semester of college. Weird. Only 5 more to go. Ha. I am so relieved to be finished with school. It has been exhausting, to say the least. But, God totally sustained me throughout this semester in a way I was not expecting, and especially this past week. It's cool to look back on this week, and think about how much was going on, and how I would normally freak out so easily about everything, but instead I was able to find peace and push through. It is one of those things where you realize, "that was all God." It is pretty wonderful.

Today's finals were kind of hard to focus on, because last night I was told some things about myself that were pretty hurtful, and from what I and everyone I have talked to thus far can tell, not true. Ya know, it's stuff like this that Satan would absolutely love to use to try and bring me down. It is hard not to be discouraged by what other people say about you, and it is hard to not be hurt, but I think the best thing (and the only thing) I can do is be in prayer about it. If there is something in my life that needs to be addressed and changed, God will reveal that to me. I must remind myself that my confidence is in Christ, not in what people say about me. It is hard for me to put into practice at times, but it is truth and I need to seek that out. I cried, a lot, about this, and spent the morning sick to my stomach, but the wonderful thing is that through the day God has just given me a strange peace about everything. I am still going over every word that was said to me and still trying to process it all and see if I can find any truth in those words, but ultimately, God has really sustained me. I know its only been a day, but this kind of stuff used to have the potential to destroy me. It is totally another thing where all I can say is that "It is ALL God." My strength is not keeping me going... only His. Let me say, I am so grateful for that!

In other news, my roommate from last year, Courtney, will be here in the morning! I am so excited! I have missed her and it will be nice to just catch up on each others lives. Oh yeah, and she is engaged now. As of Sunday to be exact. I wasn't surprised one bit by it, but it is still exciting nonetheless. We have been talking about her marrying this guy since the beginning of spring semester last year... its about time the made it official ;). They haven't picked a date or anything yet, but hopefully it will be a time of the year that I can make it. Ha. I have a feeling I will be talking about weddings A LOT tomorrow... I am pretty pumped. I can't wait to see her ring! :)

I fly out Thursday morning and officially start my break. My connection is in Houston (interestingly enough), but I will be flying to Boston first. I am praying that everything goes smoothly with my flights. I have a tendency to have bad luck with airplanes. ;). But, there is not snow in the forecast this week in Boston... so that significantly improves my odds of a peaceful and non complicated flight. I am excited to get to Boston... and to go to NYC for Christmas. Ah. It is going to be so cool. Once in a life time experience, I'd say. I get back in to Houston on January 6th and will be there for about 2 and a half weeks. I love these long Christmas breaks!

Oh, just a little update.

2009-12-11T00:28:00.003-06:00

I haven't blogged in a while simply because nothing too interesting has been going on. I must say, I am completely exhausted. I desperately wish OBU believed in this whole "dead week" concept rather than "cram-everything-you-possibly-can (including tests and papers)-into-the-last-week-before-finals-starts-and-time-runs-out" week. But, I suppose I should just be grateful that it is Friday and at 2pm my 3rd semester of college classes will be complete. Victory. Here is my final schedule, in case you are curious:

Monday: 8:00am- Civ (comprehensive. blah)

3:15pm- Physiology final #1 (Lecture portion; comprehensive)

4:15pm- Physiology final #2 (Lab portion; comprehensive)

Tuesday: 8:00am- Development and Nutrition final (this is the one I am most worried about; comprehensive)

3:15pm- Sociology final (not comprehensive)

THEN I AM DONE! I can't wait. Just the word "finals" is making me cringe these days. Sheesh. I am just so ready for this semester to be over. It has been truly exhausting. Christmas break will be a sweet relief. I plan on finally relaxing. Ah, it sounds wonderful.

In other new, my roommate from last year is going to come up on Wednesday to visit me (seeing as how I don't fly out until Thursday)! I am excited. I have really missed living with her and I think it will be super fun to just catch up and hang out. It takes me a long time to get comfortable around people, but she made it pretty easy last year. We got along so well, and we both got to be ourselves. Super fun. I am looking forward to seeing her.

I have been making some serious cash off of my books thus far! It is awesome. The sad part is that I have made $185 so far... and it ALMOST pays for my ONE nursing book next year. Oh college, why are you so obscenely expensive?! sheesh. The good news is that at least I am making money back to put towards the book fund, so it wont be quite as overwhelming of a cost.

I have been studying a good part of the afternoon/evening for my physiology finals. I started to get REALLY stressed out in realizing how much there was to learn. So, once I finished for the night I decided my best bet to calm my anxieties was to put in HSM3. I must say, it was a great decision! That movie makes me SO happy. I wish more than anything that my life was a musical.

Lately (more specifically, today), I have been craving spontaneity! I am an organized person, generally speaking. I do really well with routine and I am comfortable with very little change. I like to be able to plan my days and know what I will be doing, when and where. Surprises are so appealing to me in theory, but typically they stress me out more than anything. I like structure... it works for me. I am cautious. I like safety and security. However, I would really like to, for just a moment, be spontaneous. Not crazy or stupid, just spontaneous. Something that just makes you feel alive. I don't know what it is, and I don't have anything in mind, I have just been restless lately. I feel like a small adventure could do me some good. Sigh, at least I can dream!

I just have to laugh.

2009-12-04T13:54:00.002-06:00

So, the past few days have been rather odd, but slightly humorous. I thought I would share a few stories with you all.

Story 1:

Setting: Lobby of my dorm room, talking to my old RA. In walks this guy (his name starts with a J, past that, I don't remember). He sits down on the couch between Kaitlyn and I and starts talking with her (they are friends, don't worry). Eventually I become part of the conversation. Ten minutes later the realization hits that guy and I have not ever met. We exchange pleasantries. Here is what unfolds:

Guy: Where are you from? oh wait, don't tell me, let me guess.

Me: Oh, ok. Go for it.

Guy: Give me the state

Me: Texas

Guy: (looks at me intently for a few minutes... sufficiently awkward) When people as you where you are from, you answer Houston, right?

Me: (thoroughly surprised) Well yeah!

Guy: But you aren't technically from Houston, right? You are from a suburb of Houston, right?

Me: (kind of freaked out, yet impressed) Yeah, you are right.

Guy: Is it an area similar to Katy?

Me: Yeah, it is similar, but no it's not Katy.

Guy: Ok, past that I don't know any other areas other than Magnolia, and that's not it.

I told him where I was from and both my RA and I were in shock as to how he guessed. Apparently, DFW girls have a certain "look," which I was lacking. I am not sure whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. He said he was between either Houston or Tyler. Very weird, but pretty funny. Today, I saw this guy again as I was walking to the ARA (our cafeteria) and he waved enthusiastically and said "Hey new friend!" Ha. So apparently, I got a new friend out of the deal. Cool.

In other news:

1. Our Civ professor brought her dog again today.

2. We got out of Civ an hour early.

3. I found out today, our physiology professor will be placing a curve at the end of the semester that could very possibly bring my B to and A! It is not set in stone, of course, but for the first time all semester and A is a realistic possibility. I am trying not to get my hopes up and just keep working hard, but this is rather encouraging news.

4. I am ready for break! That also means lots and lots of fun reading! :) I have a list going and I am pumped to get started.

5. It is snowing in Texas. Remind me why I left the state?! ;)

6. I have a super creepy stalker. He sits next to me in Civ. Awesome. He is a 5th year senior, ex baseball player and loves to get wasted on the weekends. A real winner.

Thanksgiving Reflections

2009-11-30T00:43:00.002-06:00

So, a few of you know the horrors I suffered today at the airport in my journey back to Oklahoma. To be honest, it took all I had to not break down and cry in the airport. This was an emotional week for in general, but today seemed even more so. I was not ready to say goodbye to my dear friends or my precious grandparents... then all the stress of my day at the airport and my utter exhaustion made it all the worse. While on one of my 3 flights today, I just started praying and asking God for peace. I was so upset and so negative about my situation, which frankly, I had a right to be... it was a pretty lame one. BUT I didn't want to let it get me down, and I knew I didn't have it in me to find any good in this situation, so, while on my final flight I pulled out my bible and journal. I read through various things, then I started journaling. I decided to make a list (of course) of the things that stood out to this break (spiritually speaking). I wanted to put my focus on all the amazing work God has done in my life this past week, rather than the not so good stuff that happened today, so I made a list. This may not make any sense to anyone else other than me, but I just wanted to share where my thoughts are and what God has been doing in my heart. This week truly was incredible. Much of this list stems from Tuesday night, but God totally took it from there. So, I wanted to share, even though there is no flow to this. I literally wrote things as they came to my mind in terms of what God has been doing in my heart and revealing to me over the past week! And I must say, turning my attention to the Work of the Lord really did brighten my day and change my mood. :) Here we go (this is how it is written out in my journal- the raw goods! ;)

[Psalm 119: 36-37]

"Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways."

1. Your word gives me hope.

2. I delight in Your law.

3. Steadfast love.

4. Teach me Your statutes, that I may abide in Your word.

5. The world is temporary- it does NOT satisfy.

6. Turn my heart toward Holy things.

7. Protect my eyes that I may guard my heart.

8. Take captive my thoughts.

9. Your word is ALIVE!

10. The power of the Holy Spirit is real- and very powerful.

11. Prayer, prayer, prayer.

12. Include other believers in my spiritual journey.

13. Allow Christ to love through me.

14. No more white washed tomb.

15. Never stop repenting.

16. Forgiven and loved.

17. Pray through scripture- meditate on the word- hide it in my heart.

18. Do not love the world.

19. Conviction --> brokenness --> godly sorrow and repentance --> FREEDOM!

20. Christ conquered the grave- HALLELUJAH!

21. Bended knee.

22. Discuss, seek truth, strive to know more- never stop learning.

23. Faith in God, not circumstances.

24. What is my main pursuit?

25. Righteousness, peace, faith not marriage, education, career.

26. Be vulnerable, be real.

27. Sin has lost its power, death has lost its sting!

28. Provider and Sustainer.

29. Joy, not happiness (Christ, not circumstance).

30. I can face tomorrow!

So there ya have it. No organization or method, just thoughts and things God has put on my heart, either about who He is or who I need to be/what I need to change.

God is good.... all the time.

Thankful.

2009-11-26T19:05:00.004-06:00

I feel like it is only right to make a list of what I am thankful for on such a holiday as this.

1. Christ died for me.

2. Conviction and the subsequent brokenness.

3. Joy.

4. My health. (for the most part ;))

5. My grandmother for teaching me how to make thanksgiving dinner.

6. My aunt for being so loud and full of life.

7. My grandpa for always telling me I am his favorite.

8. My uncle for his sarcasm.

9. My cousin for being so young and joyful.

10. Skype so I could see my dad today.

11. Campfires on the back porch.

12. Smores.

13. Learning to cook a thanksgiving feast.

14. Pictures.

15. Football.

16. Napping in my grandma's bed.

17. Yahtzee.

18. Hot chocolate.

19. Bottled rootbeer, dr pepper and ginger ale.

20. Cypress, Texas.

21. Wonderful friends.

22. Great conversation.

23. Life lessons.

24. Incredible encouragement.

25. Mexican food.

26. Hope.

27. BFFAE.

28. Gift giving.

29. Desserts. Lots of desserts.

30. Beautiful friendship.

31. Houston Northwest.

32. A comfortable and peaceful home.

33. Peace.

34. Faith.

35. Excitement.

There is so much more I am thankful for... but these just came to my mind in thinking about the events of the day. God is good... so very good!

Call me a nerd

2009-11-21T11:55:00.003-06:00

I LOVE making to-do lists. Seriously. I made one the other night when I should have been studying for civ and physiology ;). This list entailed all the homework and other various tasks I wanted to complete before I left for thanksgiving break, so that I could have the maximum time possible to have fun/relax while at home. Initially, I was completely overwhelmed by all the stuff I had to do and seriously considered crying right then and there. But, I decided to just focus on one thing at a time until I got it all done. I think one of my favorite feelings in the world is being able to cross things off of a list. I feel so completely accomplished, and with each slash I feel a weight being lifted. Man... what a great feeling! :)

As soon as I finished my civ test Friday, I went to the library and checked out 9 different books about Martin Luther and his life for my research paper. I came back to my room and got to work looking through them all. It took about 4 hours... but I made my way through them and typed up all the possible quotes I could use in my paper and such. I don't plan on looking at the paper again until after break, but it is nice to know that I got most of the hard part done. Then I did my civ homework for Mondays class. Victory. Another item crossed off the list. After my workout (yep... that means yet another slash!) I did some laundry. Oh what a great feeling that was. I woke up this morning and did my civ homework that is due the Monday we get back from break (yeah... I am that much ahead... be proud). All that is left on my list today is: meeting with my group about our nutrition presentation, writing a fake sociology paper*, Thanksgiving dinner with the same group as last year, physiology reading and a workout. I am making some serious progress...and man am I glad I made a list to keep track of it all! :)

*In regards to this "fake" sociology paper: you see, we write 3 papers during the semester. If we complete all 3 we qualify to do the extra credit paper at the end of the semester... which entails watching a movie from a list she gave us and relating it to sociology. Our professor drops our lowest paper grade of the 3. Whether we make a 100 (which no one does) on all three... only 2 get counted. So, she suggested to us (since paper number 3, the fake one I will write today, is due the Monday we get back from thanksgiving) that we simply turn a piece of paper in with our names on it and a few sentences and let that be the dropped grade. Considering I made A's on my other 2 papers... I am totally doing this. Basically, I am just going to pick one of the prompts and write an opinion paper... no research or anything... just so I can have something to turn in and qualify for extra credit. This is kind of stressing me out, because I can't imagine not trying on something... but then again, our professor did encourage that! Ha.

Strange Days.

2009-11-14T11:03:00.004-06:00

This week has been pretty chill... for once. I only had one test, so it felt like I had nothing but free time. Ha. I got to catch up/store up on some sleep... which is always wonderful. Friday, however, was a rather strange day, but in a good way. Here is what took place:

1. My evil physiology professor baked us cookies and brought them to class! This really threw us all off because, well, this guy is a total jerk. Come to find out though, we had a lady sitting in our class observing/evaluating him and the next class had to fill out evaluations for him. Apparently he is up for a promotion. I feel like the cookies were a total manipulation... but good nonetheless! ha.

2. No chapel! So I went back to my room to hang out a bit before my next class. While walking past the GC (our student union thing) I realized that there was a limo parked in front of it. I have never seen a limo at OBU before... it really threw me off, but was kind of cool!

3. In sociology I drew my friend Amy this awesome hand turkey. She loved it.

4. In Civ, my history professor brought her long haired doxin (sp?) to class. She said that we could all use the stress reliever. So, when we all got into class, she took her leash off and let her wander around the room and we played with her if she came near our desk. It was so random... but pretty awesome!

5. It's our homecoming weekend... meaning OBU is infested with old people.

I guess that really isn't a lot of strange things... but it felt like a lot more while I was experiencing the day. Ha.

Sorry my life is so boring these days. I am so ready for thanksgiving break.

Spring 2010

2009-11-09T18:42:00.003-06:00

I registered for classes today. Here is what next semester holds for me:

Monday: 9:00-9:50 Microbiology

10:00-10:50 Chapel

11:00-11:50 Wellness lifestyles

1:00-1:50 Lit of the Western World

2:00-5:00 Microbiology Lab

Tuesday: 8:00-9:15 Arts and Ideas

1:00-2:50 Intro to Nursing Lab

6:30-8:00 Jazz and Hip-Hop

Wednesday: 9:00-9:50 Microbiology

10:00-10:50 Chapel

11:00-11:50 Wellness lifestyles

1:00-1:50 Lit of the Western World

2:00-4:50 Intro to Nursing (this is a 4 hour class... its not as easy as the title makes it sound. just saying)

Thursday: 8:00-9:15 Arts and Ideas

Friday: 9:00-9:50 Microbiology

10:00-10:50 Chapel

1:00-1:50 Lit of the Western World

I don't know what I got myself into... but it should be an interesting semester!

Weekend Wrap-up

2009-10-25T21:53:00.002-05:00

This has been a rather uneventful weekend, but I can't complain. Ha.

Friday I was so mentally drained from completely my civ test (I wrote 9 pages this time... I think I am actually learning how to write faster now). I cam back to my room, watched some general hospital and just chilled. It was needed. Then I went to the girls house... and that's when my weekend went downhill. We built this incredibly insane fort in their living room. In fact, we turned their entire living room into a fort. It was pretty epic. However, I really hurt my back. It has been bothering me for a couple of weeks now, but Friday night it got to the point where I just couldn't take it anymore. I called my dad bawling like a baby because I just didn't know how to make it stop. I was sick to my stomach from the pain and just couldn't find any relief. When Saturday came, I couldn't even move. It was horrid. So, I have been laying down, or sitting propped up by pillows, all weekend. I had to miss out on a lot, but I really needed the chance to rest my back while I could. Plus, I definitely value my alone time more than most people here... so I am actually rather grateful for that! I was able to lay in bed all day. I skipped church... which ended up being a good call, but more on that later. I woke up and listened to a Matt Chandler podcast. It was very good... I certainly got a lot out of it. Then I just laid in bed, with my heating pad, and did homework/watched tv all day. It was so nice. I finally watched Glee online, and it was wonderful, as usual. I even got to see the last 10 minutes of the Saints game. They definitely came back with a big win today! I was thoroughly impressed. They always win when they wear their black jerseys. I got a lot of civ reading done, and some physio. Boring, sure, but it needed to happen.

The reason skipping church was a good idea is because I was in too much pain to handle it. Also, the medicine I took last night made me so tired I wouldn't have been able stay awake anyway. I ditched my diet tonight and went and got food with my roommate, and after being in the car and sitting up for 5 minutes my back starting killing me. There is no way I would have been able to last the 40 minute car ride to church, the hour long service, and the 40 minute ride back. I hate missing church, but I think I made the right call for the day.

I am about to head to bed (yes... this early) because I think my medicine is kicking in. Looooooong day tomorrow.

ps: did I mention that the Saints won?! mhmm. 6-0! and they play next Monday night. I love football so much.

Hugh Laurie and strange dreams

2009-10-22T11:36:00.002-05:00

This week has been crazy! I am SO ready for Friday. Nutrition/development test today and Civ test tomorrow. Yikes! But... my roommate showed me this video today... and suddenly my stress was replaced by laughter... so enjoy!

In other news, some of you recall last semester when I experienced a few recurring dreams involving a particular subject matter/people involved. Those dreams lasted a while and each one was kind of a continuation of the last. Well... they are back! Sheesh. I must say, the most recent is the funniest of all. We will see how long they last this time ;). Dreams are a very strange thing.

Day 4

2009-10-17T22:44:00.002-05:00

Well, this is it. Tomorrow is the last day of fall break, and I must say I am actually relieved. Don't get me wrong, I was super appreciative to have two days off of class... but I have not particularly enjoyed being alone for the past 4 days. I think it was necessary for me to be alone in order to get all the work done that I did, but at the same time... I am so ready to actually have a conversation with another human being! I will be giddy when everyone comes home tomorrow. :) This is what my day consisted of:

1. Woke up and finished my civ paper! :) Victory! I will probably need to do some more work on it later and make some changes... but I have over a week. The point is that I got it done!

2. I was able to watch all but the first quarter of the red river shoot out... and Texas won! It was awesome. It is even more fun to actually be in Oklahoma and have them win! Haha.

3. Speaking of UT... I watched the "I am second" of Colt McCoy, and I must say... I totally fell in love! No joke. Sigh.

4. During the game I decided to get to work on some more physiology reading... but I only lasted a little over an hour before my brain couldn't take it much longer. Blah... oh well. At least I got something done.

5. I watched Center Stage Turn It Up! I stinkin' love this movie... and I think today was my 4th time to see it. It is absolutely ridiculous... but I don't care! I can't get enough. Once you accept that the acting is truly horrid, the movie is rather enjoyable. :)

6. I did some more civ homework for a while. It is pretty much never ending. I have a test Friday... and I am SO unprepared. Yikes.

7. I made some dinner and watched Say Yes to the Dress. It has been a marathon like all day... so that was awesome! I am hooked on this show. The Duggars where even on an episode... go figure! Ha.

8. Next up, Moulin Rouge. This movie was so weird... but I think I totally loved it. I even got a tad choked up, I am not going to lie. I am glad I finally got around to it!

Since I can't go to church tomorrow, I am going to wake up around 10 and listen to a podcast. I am actually looking forward to it. I rarely find time to listen to any these days... so it will be fun! Then, I am not doing ANY homework! I have been doing homework nonstop since I got out of class on Wednesday... I figure I am allowed to have at least one day of fall break... right? :/ anyway... the Saints and Giants play tomorrow... and I actually get to watch it! Words cannot express my joy. I finally have a Sunday off and there is a game on that I am deeply invested in! (Go Saints ;)!

Well, I am going to reapply this heating pad and pray that my pain subsides enough so that I will actually be able to move tomorrow.

Day 3

2009-10-16T23:23:00.003-05:00

I must say, today was not nearly as productive as I would have liked, but such is life.

1. I woke up to a phone call from my dad. Not my favorite wake up call in the world, but hey, it happens.

2. After a long talk, and A LOT of money, my dad booked my tickets for thanksgiving! I am flying in to Houston on Monday November 23 at 8:30pm and flying out Sunday November 29 at 3:30pm! I get so much time off and I couldn't be happier! I need to be home.

3. Once I got off of the phone I decided to go ahead and finish my nutrition paper. Success.

4. Next, I got started on my Civ paper. Sheesh. I didn't get particularly far, but oh well... at least I started. I keep justifying it considering the fact that it is not due until a week from Monday. I will hopefully get a lot done tomorrow.

5. I did a good amount of physiology reading as well. I am not sure I retained much... but I did it! :) This class is KILLING me this semester... I need to do all that I can to survive. I am so nervous

6. I ended up going to my great uncles house to have dinner with him and his "wife." They are not technically married, but they have been living together for like 20+ years... so I tend to just use the term wife. Anyway, they are that awkward family that none of us really like to see... but at the same time it is my grandmas brother, and he does take me to the airport, so I need to be polite. It really isn't horrible... just weird, ya know?

7. Once I got back to the house I decided to order some jewelry... and I am super excited. nothing too special, just a necklace and some earrings.*

8. As per the usual of this break, I picked a movie to watch for the night. I chose... He's Just Not That Into You!! :) I absolutely LOVE this movie. Seriously though. Can we say story of my life?! Yes. haha. If you have seen it, think about the character Gigi... now picture me. Pretty much one in the same. This is somewhat sad, but very true! Gosh. I can't wait to watch this again over Thanksgiving break with DG. Perf.

9. Tomorrow holds another day of paper writing and physiology reading. What joys await. Sigh. But, I have decided to not do any homework on Sunday... so I have something to look forward to. I am so burnt out on school.

10. Have I mentioned how ready I am for Thanksgiving break?! Seriously! I need a break from school, and need the taste of home! Fall break has been a good opportunity for me to get some work done, which has been needed for sure, but it has made me extra homesick. I have had a lot of time alone, which definitely has its benefits, but I am ready to be around people again! Ha. I miss BD like crazy!! I am ready to be home!

*Ok, so buying this little bit of jewelry is part of my attempt to become more of a girl. It might be a loooong process, since I hardly have a feminine bone in my body (at least when it comes to my appearance), but I have some moral support and 'guidance' from a certain bffae of mine. Haha. Oh my, don't judge me.

Day 2

2009-10-16T00:19:00.002-05:00

Alright, I know everyone has been waiting in anticipation for my day 2 post. Now, I can barely stay awake at the moment, so I don't know how exciting this will be (sorry DG...I hope you can forgive me).

1. Woke up around 11. Beautiful.

2. Immediately got to work on my civ homework. success.

3. Took a lunch break and ate one of my WW meals. I think the chicken alfredo ones are not particularly good... but don't worry, I persevered.

4. I continued working on my nutrition paper. It is quite the project, I must say. I definitely underestimated it. I gave up around 6 because I simply got tired of doing it. Don't judge me... it is fall break after all. Looks like I will have some more homework waiting for me when I wake up in the morning.

5. Next was my daily wife training aka cooking dinner. Tonight I made some baked pasta and texas toast. It kind of turned out to be a mini lasgna type of meal, because I made a meat sauce to go with it. It was really yummy I must say... and I have lots of leftovers! Ha.

6. I watched a ton of tv. Bones, Greys Anatomy and Private Practice! :)

7. I APPLIED TO SKY RANCH! I had been meaning to do this for a long time, but the application was rather extensive and I just hadn't had the time yet. I am so excited and I am praying that I get this! I just think that it would be a great opportunity for me this summer.

8. I watched 27 Dresses. Can we say wedding fever?! Sheesh. I forgot how much I actually liked that movie. Haha.

9. I still have SO much homework to get done it is ridiculous! I am trying to get everything done before Sunday though because I want to just have one true day off. Plus, I think the Saints play on national tv... and I have yet to see an nfl game this year. I would love finally see a game!

10. This house is pretty creepy at night. No lies. :/

Day 1

2009-10-15T00:01:00.002-05:00

I decided to give a day by day update of my fall break. Trust me, it won't be very interesting, but it gives me something to do. Today marked the beginning of fall break. It couldn't come soon enough.

1. We got out of civ 35 minutes early!

2. I bought 5 bottles of cranberry juice on my way back to my room. I might be getting a kidney infection. not good.

3. I made an 80 on my physiology test. you have no idea how big a deal this is. PTL

4. I came to the house and settled in. Amanda left. Then Kacie. Then Julian.

5. I did dishes for an hour and rocked out to music.

6. Worked on my nutrition project for a little over an hour. I still have a ways to go.

7. I cooked some homemade chicken strips and made some salad. It was rather tasty, if I do say so myself. practice, practice, practice!

8. I watched Glee. It was wonderful.

9. Did the dishes I acquired during cooking dinner.

10. I watched Hairspray for the first time. It was tight.

11. Talked to my bffae for a while.

12. Looked up some aprons online. I love being a girl.

13. Now I am watching scrubs and getting ready for bed.

It is definitely weird being here alone... and definitely lonely... but I am looking forward to just relaxing and getting a lot done (hopefully)! well, be on the lookout for more riveting posts in these next few days ;).

Fall Break

2009-10-13T13:38:00.002-05:00

So, fall break begins on Thursday. Actually, I mean it pretty much starts tomorrow at 1:50 when I get out of civ... but the official days are Thursday and Friday. I am not looking forward to it because I am the only person I know staying in Shawnee, so it is going to be ridiculously boring and lonely. However, I am staying in the girls house... so at least I get to cook for myself! Here is my to-do list for break. I don't think anyone cares.... but it will help me organize/plan for this 4 day weekend.

1. Do my nutrition self assessment project and paper

2. Start studying for my development and nutrition test

3. Read Canterbury Tales for civ and do copy book questions

4. Start studying for my Civ test aka outline my 20+ pages (front and back) of notes

5. Write my Civ Lit paper (intense!)

6. Keep up with my reading for physiology

7. Beginning learning my definitions for the next test (we have 100 this time... :/)

8. Potentially look at the assignment for my next sociology paper (do some research?)

9. Work on my proposal for my Civ history paper (topic: BLACK DEATH!)

10. Write some letters

11. Finally watch Moulin Rouge

12. Skype!

13. Do some serious cooking

14. Clean the house a bit... especially the kitchen

15. Wake up Sunday and listen to a podcast since I won't be able to get to church

16. ...and most importantly, SLEEP!

I am sure I am forgetting plenty of stuff that I need to do... but these are the main things. Sheesh... this isn't going to be much of a "break."

Plans for us

2009-10-12T16:23:00.004-05:00

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Jeremiah 29:11-14

House of God Forever

2009-10-06T22:27:00.002-05:00

So, after reading Molly's blog in which she listed out some blessings in her life, I was greatly inspired to make a list of my own. So, enjoy!

1. Best friends

2. Cooking dinner for my friends

3. Doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen for a very stressed Amanda, sick Kristen and working Kacie

4. Surprise parties (Happy birthday, James!)

5. Cookie cake

6. Juba (Johnny's puppy)

7. Cancelled football games ;)

8. Days without class

9. Life lessons... lots and lots of them

10. Random, and epic, handshakes in the hall

11. Making civ jokes with Johnny

12. Hope beyond all reason

13. Getting an excellent education (even when I complain so much about it)

14. Pen pals

15. Encouraging emails

16. Hugs

17. Phone calls with people I love

18. A God that has been sustaining me

19. Opportunities to practice/work on my "woman skills"

20. Chances to serve others/show them my love

21. Unanswered questions

22. Care packages (coming soon, so I am told)

23. Awesome grandparents that I am so close to

24. Skype

25. Forgiveness

26. New/growing friendships

27. Being able to look at a breathtaking skyline

28. Pictures

29. Optimism

30. Going home for Thanksgiving

God is so good. I am so blessed. I pray that when my own pessimism wants to take over, I can stop and look at all the things God has given me. He is so faithful, I am so undeserving. What a beautiful thing Grace is.

I think I am in love...

2009-10-04T23:42:00.003-05:00

With Matthew Morrison... aka Will Schuester on Glee. Seriously. This weekend I watched all 5 episodes of this wonderful show, and with each one I fell more and more in love with this man. He is precious! Seriously. Plus, his voice in incredible. It makes me melt every single time he opens his mouth. Bah. If you don't watch Glee, I highly recommend it! It never ceases to put a huge smile on my face. :)

Girls Night!

2009-10-02T23:30:00.002-05:00

Tonight, we had a massive girls night. About 85% of the time, I complain about being a girl. Let's face it, being a girl can be tough! But, the other 15% of the time I absolutely love being a girl. Like tonight, it was great!

You see, girls will declare and official "girls night" for a variety of reasons. Here are a few:

1. Someone has just gone through a breakup (luckily, that was not the case tonight)

2. The girls involved haven't seen each other in a while, and want to reunite

3. The girls have just completed an incredibly stressful week (the stress could be from many sources)

4. Someone needs some serious cheering up

5. Everyone involved needs an excuse to eat a lot of junk food and not feel bad about it

Of course, there are many other reasons for holding a girls night, like frustration with boys (yep, it happens), a sudden desire to watch chick-flicks, dance, talk, laugh a lot etc. All of these reasons are valid for those of the female persuasion. Tonights girls night was held for a few reasons: stress relief/relaxation, junk food, not wanting to go out or look nice for anyone. I think it was needed by all. Our night consisted of:

1. Chocolate covered strawberries

2. Milk shots

3. Dance Party! (which also included the hoedown throwdown)

4. What Happened in Vegas

5. Pictures

6. Girl talk

7. Sweaters and leggings

All in all, it was very enjoyable! I like nights like these. It makes me miss BD all the more, but it was definitely fun. Being a girl definitely has its perks at times.

The moon and the stars declare who You are

2009-10-01T22:59:00.004-05:00

This has been an exceptionally good week. Seriously. I don't know what happened, but I am so grateful to get to experience times like these. It has definitely been a chance to shake off the past week and be renewed, ready to take on whatever is next. God is so good. He is so faithful. I hate how easily I loose faith in that sometimes.

I have been blessed to have a week that is test free! Gosh, that is so rare this year. Unfortunately, I have been lacking some motivation to do my day to day homework this week, but at the same time I am just trying to soak up these moments while I can. :)!

Yesterday we had a Civ reading. We started Dante's Inferno in Civ, and as tradition, the professors take turns reading (and sometimes acting) out the poem for us on random nights during the week. I went last night with Johnny and Julian. I found it to be rather enjoyable and helpful... plus it forced me to actually read the poem, not just sparknote it ;). I enjoy it, which is really rare for me with Lit. Then, I got back to my room and got to skype with Molly. I must say, one of the most fun skype experiences to date! Haha. Love you Molly!

Today was nice because, as is the norm this week, the weather was perfect. I got out of nutrition early (PTL!) and got to sit on a bench outside with my friend Julie and chat for a bit. I also called Zach for his birthday, and we had a sufficiently awkward, yet humorous, phone call! Zach, you are welcome ;). Then I went to Old Navy with Amanda and Kristen and I actually bought a dress!!! I never buy clothes, so it was a big moment for me. I like it! It is black, and fairly simple, but a good investment I think. On the way to Old Navy, Andrew called me. It was lovely. Certainly put a huge smile on my face! After I got back and did some more Civ homework, I went out to our football game. We won 27-0. We have played 4 games since preseason ended, and a team has yet to score on us! Woop. Then I came back to my room and got a wonderful phone call from Eric! Very enjoyable. I am glad we got to catch up a bit. I also talked to my dad today like twice on the phone discussing some summer stuff (more on that in a bit) and I also called my gma today so we could catch up. It has been a day of phone calls for me. I like it! Haha.

Now, for my big news: This afternoon, I interviewed to work as a counselor at Sky Ranch this summer! It is so crazy how this has all been happening. I had really been thinking about working at a camp this summer for a long time. I initially thought about it last semester and continued to think about it through this summer, but thats as far as it went. Well, lately (like the past week or two), I have been thinking about it A LOT! I started researching various camps on Sunday. I looked at a few, then came across Sky Ranch. It is in the Tyler area, so immediately it had some extra appeal. I looked at the website and read about the camp and all that. It quickly moved to the top of my list, but I was still going to look at some more. Well, I walked into the GC today to check my mail and grab some lunch and what do I see... a table set up with people from Sky Ranch recruiting!! Seriously?! I got so excited and decided to go over and talk to them. They were very nice, of course, and we talked a bit about how I heard of this camp and what got me thinking about working at one. Then they asked me what my schedule was like for the day because they were going to be doing interviews. I explained that I had class from 2-5 so I wouldn't be able to interview in person. But then, the guy sitting there looked at the schedule and was like, "Actually, we have ONE spot open for an interview right now. Would you be interested?" So I said YES! Ha. So out of my comfort zone, but soooo cool. So this girl Tamara walked over with me to these couches and we had an interview. It lasted a little over an hour. It was so cool. I felt like we related really well, so although it was an interview, there were a number of times when it just felt like conversation. So cool. I think it went really well! She took my picture (unfortunately I looked GROSS today) and then I went on my way. I still need to actually apply to this camp, but I felt really good about the interview today. Gosh, I am definitely praying for this. It is such a good opportunity for me. She even told me today, "we are not a sports camp... we are much more focused on relationships." Umm... PERF! haha. I am just SO excited about it all. Plus, I only work for 6 weeks. So, I still get to go see my dad and go to Houston. It is most certainly a win win win for me. :) I will keep you updated.

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZACHARY! (now I have covered all my bases. mhmm)

You are so much more

2009-09-29T17:14:00.002-05:00

Have you ever had those days when you are just so overwhelmed by the beauty of Gods creation that you can hardly speak? Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like everything is just going to, somehow, workout? Have you ever had those days when you wish you could just freeze time? Have you ever had one of those days when joy is the only thing you can feel? Have you ever had one of those days when, no matter how much work you may need to get done, all you can bare to do is sit in the warmth of the sun? Have you ever had one of those days when God has reminded you that in Him all things are held together? Have you ever had one of those days when you want to cry, not because you are sad or stressed or angry or scared, but because you simply don't know how else to express what you are feeling?

Today has been one of those days for me. It has been beautiful. Praise God.

I woke up a lot later than planned today, but I am ok with it. My body needed to sleep. I mailed a letter to my dear friend and a present to Zach (be pumped, btw) and then I went to lunch. It ended up being just a few of us there, but enjoyable. After lunch I started walking with James and we got to talk for a while. I don't have class on Tuesdays (thank you, Lord) so I decided to just keep talking to him for a while. We went to his car, got his hammock and set it up outside of the library. We sat in his hammock for nearly 3 hours. He worked on Greek, I just relaxed and took in the beauty of the day. It was 70 degrees, clear skies, sunny, no humidity and a cool breeze. Aka PERFECT. The hammock drew a ton of attention, as was to be expected. Johnny walked by and ended up hanging out for close to an hour. He rocked the hammock, and I almost fell asleep. It was wonderful. People came and went, we chatted for a while and they went on their way. I just stayed in the hammock, realizing I had a ton of civ homework and physiology reading, but I couldn't bring myself to leave. I loved hanging out with James... it had been way to long. I came back to my room and started some homework, then Lauren called me. I thought about keeping the convo short so I could be productive, but I decided talking to my friend was way more fun. We talked, we laughed. It was nice.

God is good. He is so faithful. In the midst of the struggles of this year, He alone is sustaining me. I am constantly amazed.

My word, what a beautiful day.

Party in the U.S.A.

2009-09-26T11:38:00.003-05:00

I am not going to post about any of the junk that has been going on this week, because chances are, if you are reading my blog, you have already had to put up with my incessant complaining. Sorry again about that. ha.

I am going to stick with a list for this post. I am just too tired to think of anything else.

1. I am currently updating my phone. It is taking forever.

2. I stayed up until 3:30 last night doing homework. I am actually proud of myself considering I only got 3 hours of sleep Thursday night and no nap at all yesterday.

3. I did all that work last night for this purpose: I am about to leave to go to a stained glass store with Amanda!

4. The drive is a little over an hour... so that means plenty of time to jam out to Miley. Perf.

5. TWIRP date today. I am hoping it will be fun. It is going to be a bit weird for sure, but we will see. It is the same group of guys we TWIRP every year, but Amanda, Kacie, Kristen (who is out of town anyway) and I haven't talked to or hung out with them all year. Also, we have no plan in place yet. Haha. Oh well, I am sure a good time will be had by all.

6. We plan on going to see Fame on Sunday. I am pumped.

7. I am legit allergic to Oklahoma. I am not just saying that because I don't like it here. I am totally serious. My skin will attest to this fact. It is rather unsightly.

8. It is a BEAUTIFUL day. 75 and sunny with a slight breeze. Talk about perfect! Gah. I am so happy. "It's a Jon Foreman day."

9. Since we will be in the city, I am kind of hoping for chick-fil-a. I feel like its a long shot today though. We will just have to wait and see.

10. My allergies are kicking my butt this week. But... fall is coming!

11. Izzy (my cousin) turned 8 yesterday! I sent her a video and called her. It is interesting trying to talk to kids on the phone. Ha. I can't believe she is so old. I feel like all my memories pretty much begin at 8 years old.

12. I think our room is actually getting colder. I didn't know that was possible. It is actually really painful to take a shower now because our skin is SO cold, the warm water feels like flaming bullets. Not exaggerating.

13. Iphone update almost complete!

14. I have the absolute BEST bffae in the world. Seriously.

If I had time

2009-09-24T11:28:00.002-05:00

I finished my journey through Matthew this moring. It has taken me a little over a month, but I stayed committed and finished it. Today I read through the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. I pray that this never looses its ability to amaze me. When I initially started reading through Matthew, I found myself thinking at times "oh, I know this story" and I would just quickly read through this. But, I don't ever want the Word to become something I can take so lightly. Reading today reminded me of the price Christ paid, for us! He knows I don't deserve it. He knows I screw up constantly. He knew that humans would continue to be imperfect and sinful, yet He died anyway. Gosh, I am so thankful! I don't have any words that could do this justice, so I think I am just going to stick with "wow" for now.

Reading through this today really made me want to take another class at OBU called Life of Christ! Of course, I don't have anytime in my schedule, but as I prepare to continue to go through the gospels, I can't help but wish that I had time to take this class! James took it last year, and Kacie and Johnny are in it this year. As you can imagine, all I hear is how wonderful it is and how much they learn! I know I am in the right major, but sometimes I wish they gave us a chance to have at least one elective... because I would definitely take Lif of Christ.

Epiphany

2009-09-18T18:56:00.003-05:00

School has been getting me down lately, that is no surprise to anyone who has been keeping up with my blog, but today I realized something that helps this all suck a little less. Ha.

First off, I have been learning SO many lessons lately. Sheesh. Sometimes it is hard to take it all in, and sometimes I would rather not have to be learning these things. But, nonetheless, God is teaching me. Let me share something I have been thinking about tonight.

This year I have come to realize/accept that school is not the single most important thing in the world. School is not what defines me and school is not something that should take all my time, energy and focus (because then it becomes an idol). I came to this realization and used it as an excuse to have fun this semester. That is all well and good, but I have come to realize that there is more to it than that. School is not everything, but, school is where God has me right now. I do not have a family and I do not have a job. School is my "job," so to speak. Although I need to be cautious about making school an idol in my life, I must realize that this is where God has me for the next 3 years, and I need to look at it as my service to Him. School needs to become about glorifying God. For me, that means facing it with a positive attitude. It means not allowing myself to get so discouraged when I am not perfect. It means balancing work and play so that I can keep some of my sanity. It means giving my worries and anxities over to God with each and every day. It also means sacrifice. It means saying no to hanging out with my friends so that I can get what I need to done. It means giving up a Friday night to prepare for a civ test on Monday. It means getting everything done that I need to. It means doing things to the best of my ability (as if to the Lord), and not just doing things to get them done. God has called me to OBU. God has called me to be a student. God has called me to be a nursing major. I need to start treating it as such. I need to treat school as my calling for this time in my life, not just a season I have to suffer through.

With that, it is time that I get to work on my civ studying and physiology reading. I plan on being in bed by 11 tonight so that I can be well rested for tomorrow. Man, God is so good.

I'm so over it.

2009-09-16T22:02:00.003-05:00

School, that is. Seriously... it is so lame. I have come to the conclusion that I strongly dislike sophmore year. It is just a constant flow of work. Like, I don't catch a break... ever. I am constantly doing homework (which often consists of tons of reading) or studying. Bah. I have a test tomorrow in development and nutrition. The material is not difficult, but from what I hear the tests are surprisingly difficult/confusing. I am nervous... but we will see. For the first time, I am actually dreading the weekend... because my first civ test is Monday! Yikes. I cannot put into words how terrified I am! Ha. There is just so much information to know. So far I have 20 pages of notes (front and back), plus all the questions I answered related to my outside readings. I plan on starting my studying on Friday afternoon. Then, I plan on sleeping in until about 9:30 or 10 on Saturday, then moving into the library for the day. I will take a break for Biggie around 7 (it's this show at obu), then study a bit more before bed. Sunday will be church, followed by a nap (hopefully), more studying, civ cram jam, family dinner with Kacie, Amanda and Kristen (maybe), brief bible study, more studying and then hopefully sleep. Gosh. No fun at all. Luckily I get the test over on Monday... then I can start studying for my physiology and sociology tests next friday! Then, somehow, working on two different papers. I am not exactly sure how I am going to get it all done... but somehow I will. I am just praying for God to sustain me... He is my only chance! :)

Now that I vented about school, I will mention some positives lately (those are always more fun):

1. I have been learning a lot lately. Sometimes I don't like it, but all in all it is a good thing.

2. I think I am starting to grow up. Again, sometimes I hate it, but I am choosing to look at it as a positive.

3. My dad ordered my TOMS today.

4. Family dinners and bible study are starting up again. I am excited. It will be Kristen, Kacie, Amanda and I. I am looking forward to it!

5. Amanda and I had a great conversation yesterday. She is starting to incorporate BFND into her vocabulary. victory.

6. I studied in the art building last night. I felt cool.

7. We sang how He loves in chapel today.

8. I currently have a 113 in civ. Ha. (that won't last too long, though)

9. I skipped an extra credit movie for civ today and napped. Good decision.

10. I get to sleep in a tad tomorrow.

11. God is so faithful.

12. I am still a hopeless romantic, so it has been a lot of fun to watch Amanda and Evan's relationship.

13. I am currently watching GH... I never get to watch tv anymore!

So Encouraged

2009-09-15T14:05:00.003-05:00

Sorry I have been posting so much lately, but I just wanted to share this.

Today I ate lunch with Sarah Shutt. She is the RD of my dorm, as well as the dorm I lived in last year. Anyway, it was wonderful!! Gosh, we talked about pretty much every major subject. We discussed school, relationships, family, marriage (of course), the future and Gods plans for us. Ha. I love Sarah so much. She is like a big sister to me, which is a total blessing. Who knew I would simply have to go to lunch to find some much needed encouragement?! It was so good. She also told me that it is kind of strange for her to talk to me, because I seem to be a pretty much completely different person that last year. That made me feel so good... God has really been changing me.

At lunch, Sarah also told me that she was expecting! :) I am SO EXCITED! I love babies and pregnancy. Plus, she is due April 4, so I will be able to witness the whole process. I can't wait. She wants to go shopping soon so she can get some bigger cardigans for her growing belly! :) yayy!

God is so good. It's funny how He always provides me with exactly what I need. Lately, that has been people to just love me and encourage me... and He has provided more than I could have imagined.

Ring by November

2009-09-14T21:03:00.002-05:00

I knew that title would get your attention. Danielle gave me that suggestion earlier today. That shouldn't surprise anyone. But seriously, I am so sick of school! I want to just drop out and get married. I even had a dream the other night that I changed my major from nursing to marriage. No joke. I don't know how this was possible in my dream, but it happened. It did involved me transferring to lonestar... ha.

School is wearing me out! I am exhausted all the time! I seriously can't remember the last time I was so tired. I just want to sleep. This is party due to the fact that I only got 2 and a half hours of sleep on Saturday, but mostly because school has completely drained me. For example, today I ended up being in class from 9-7:30... my only breaks were chapel from 10-10:50 and a 30 minute dinner break. Ugh. It was awful. Then I came back and wrote a paper for extra credit for civ. I can't bring myself to think anymore tonight... good thing I don't have class tomorrow. Sophmore year is no fun at all.

These past couple of days have been exceptionally discouraging. However, there is definitely a bright side to it all. I have been experiencing these discouragements from a variety of sources, and I haven't seemed to be able to catch much of break. If this were last year, the combination of all the junk would have destroyed me, but God is so good! There is no explanation other than that He is taking care of me. Gosh, God has just been working on my heart. He truly is sustaining me, and I am so grateful.

One thing He has been teaching me is how to be fully satisfied in Him. It is a real struggle for me, because there are so many things of this world I seem to want. Even if I desire "good" things, they will never satisfy me like the love of Christ will. That needs to be enough for me. I am learning that, and it sometimes hurts, but after all the things of this world are gone, He is still more than enough for me. :)

In other news, Julian texted us all today asking if we would pitch in to buy Jared a new longboard. These things are NOT cheap at all, but everyone was really generous and it got ordered tonight! He has no idea, and I am so excited! I don't have a lot of money, and I am pretty much always stressed about it, but I was just filled with joy at the opportunity to pitch in. He is going to be so happy! Gosh, I can't wait for him to get it.

My dad is ordering me new TOMS! I can't wait. Gah! I had just been thinking in the past week or so how I really wanted a new pair... and then today my dad just asked if I wanted new ones! Yay!

I downloaded some new Miley and Regina. It does wonders for my mood. Mhmm. I also got to talk to Kyle a bit today! It was so exciting. And tomorrow I get to have lunch with Sarah, my RD from last year. I love her so much. :)

How He Loves Us

2009-09-13T15:26:00.002-05:00

Gosh, I just love this song so much. We sang it today at church, and I was overwhelmed with emotion. What a beautiful reminder.

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.

Long Time No Post

2009-09-11T18:01:00.003-05:00

It has been a while. Needless to say, things have been a bit hectic. So here is an update. I am sure it will be boring, but it's cool. ;)

Labor Day Weekend:

This was a very fun weekend! I decided to pretend like I wasn't a student (bad idea) and just have fun! Sometime on Friday I went to the girls house to hang out and ending up not even getting back to my room until Monday evening. It was awesome. I had brought laundry to do over there, and I already had a toothbrush, so there was really no need for me to go back to my room. It was nice. I had a lot of fun hanging out with them all weekend. Kristin was out of town visiting her bf, so I got her bed for the weekend! Bonus. Amanda's new boyfriend, Evan, came to visit as well. He is a good guy! I definitely approve. He got here on Friday and he and Amanda went to the city and Kacie was at work, so I had the house to myself (except for the few times Julian popped in). It was kind of nice to just chill. On Saturday we all slept in, which was awesome. Julian, Kacie, Amanda, Evan and I went to lunch and then just hung around. That evening we went to the city to go to Hobby Lobby. Always fun, although I am like a 5 year old and feel the need to touch every single thing I walk by. After that we went to, you guessed it, Chick-Fil-A. Words could not describe my joy. I was so happy. We headed back to Shawnee and hung out. I got to skype with Zach and just hang out with everyone. Sunday morning was church. It was about marriage... of course I loved it. Ha. Then Panera. Yumm. Sunday night we decided to go to the bridge and hang our heads off! Luke's brother, Nick, and I had never been before, so it was especially exciting! It is terrifying and awesome. The semi's get so close to your head! Ha. While on the bridge Luke and I were doing cartwheels. I had done a couple successful ones and impressed everyone, but I couldn't leave good enough alone. I went for another, and as my entire body went into the air, my hand slipped in the sand. I landed rather hard on my side. Of course it was witnessed by all. Ha. It was hilarious... but my hip is still bruised. As we left the bridge we went to pick up the boys who were longboarding in Lowes parking lot, which is apparently one of the best places around here to board. So, they all got in Nick's car and came back to the house. We ended up fitting 9 people in his 5 seater. It was really awesome! Monday was a chill/try and start homework day. Nothing too special.

This past week has been insane. Very difficult, very stressful etc. Yesterday was the first day I really got emotional about anything. I just wanted to be home so bad, and I was so overwhelmed with school. I cried 2 different times... all before noon! It was a long day. As I was studying, Amanda called and asked if I wanted a starbucks break, and of course I said yes. I needed it. Today I had 2 tests and then 2 hours of Civ. It was long! Ha. Thank goodness for naps.

Last night we had our first flag football game... and we won! We are the Lagomorphs. We picked our team name by opening the dictionary and pointing to a random word. I know you are dying to know, so here is the definition

Lagomorph: an order of mammals that comprises the hares, rabbits, and pikas. They are distinguished by the possession of double incisor teeth.

Yep, that is our team! Ha. I play on the offensive line. I would rather stand there and get hit the entire game than have to run and catch. Ha. Plus, I can take a hit... I can't exactly run well. I took a few really hard hits last night... but it is all part of the game! After we won, James gathered us all together and gave us a speech about how horribly we played and how much we work we have left to do. So encouraging ;)! Ha. We play tomorrow at 10:00am, and if we win that game we play again at 11:00am, and if we win that game we play again at 12:00pm. I am praying we loose at least at 11! Haha.

I am going to leave you with this note that Julian wrote on my phone last year:

Hey dude, don't get down about all the studying you have been doing cause you're going to save a life someday!

This Isn't a Dream

2009-09-03T19:13:00.002-05:00

I feel like I had a lot more to blog about last night, but oh well.

I have had a good week, although, it has been exhausting. I am looking forward to a 4 day weekend. :) Yep, I get 4 days. Be jealous. Here is a list of things that stood out to me between yesterday and today.

1. Kacie turned 21!

2. Giant Dr. Peppers

3. Free starbucks (which, I get anytime I want now... it is awesome having friends that work there)

4. Jon Foreman

5. Windows down

6. Driving through the country

7. Sunny with a high of 75

8. Friends

9. Laughter... lots of laughter

10. Realization that school is not the ONLY important thing in the world

11. Permanent marker "tattoo"

12. MCC

13. Good conversation: in person, through text, on the phone

14. "Marie, I like those shorts! What size are they?"-Kacie "I wear a 4!"-Me "Why do we not share clothes?!"- Kacie "I don't know, but we can always start now."-Me "I am so pumped."-Kacie

15. Epic wall posts

16. My bffae is wonderful

17. My OBU friends think my friends from home are too cool. Awesome.

18. Doing laundry in the comfort of a home.

19. First Canterbury tonight!

20. iTunes card=lots of new music

God is really blessing me this semester. But, my heart does ache a little when I think of home. I miss it a lot. I miss you all a lot.

Love Isn't Made

2009-09-01T22:07:00.004-05:00

I have been on a bigger than normal Jon Foreman kick lately. As in, if I get the chance to listen to music (which is rare these days) I always want to listen to Jon Foreman. I can't get enough.

So, yesterday was "Death Day." That will be all Mondays from now on, actually. By death day, I mean that I am in class from 9-5 (since I have lab) without a break. It is exhausting. Seriously. I was so mentally drained by the time I got out of lab that I couldn't bring myself to do ANY work last night. However, Praise the Lord, I do not ever have class on Tuesdays... so I was able to put off my reading and get it done today. School is certainly overwhelming me, but I am just doing my best to take it one day at a time and not get overwhelmed by it all! So far, so good... I think.

Today was my "day off." It was certainly good! I slept in until 10, which was beautiful, woke up and continued my journey through Matthew, got dressed, had lunch with my friends and then started my work. I read for development for a while, which was actually interesting. I also got to watch GH today. Perf. Then I decided to tackle my Civ reading. This is where my day got a tad frustrating. Civ makes me feel completely stupid. More than anything else, I think. At least, the literature portion of Civ makes me feel dumb. We are reading The Aeneid right now. The problem is... I don't understand it at all! Even when I read, I still have to follow it up with sparknotes just to know what the heck is going on. I am NOT good at interpreting literature. I never have been, but for some reason I notice it even more this year. It is very frustrating. My mind simply doesn't work that way. I don't mind the history portion because it is fact based. There isn't room for interpretation, for the most part. I think this is why I like having a science based major. I like to learn facts. I like to be told how to do things. I am not good at "thinking outside of the box." Science, although it is still challenging to me, is something that I feel like I have the potential to learn. Bah... we will see how this works out.

Speaking of Civ, I had my first experience with our Lit. professor for Civ on Monday. Her name is Dr. Cole... and I think I am going to like her! She had us take a class picture, which I thought was hilarious, and awkward. She got up in class on Monday and spent about 20-30 minutes talking about how "art saves lives." She was very passionate about it. She was also wearing Eiffel Tower earrings... which was tight. In the midst of her art speech, she stopped to say this:

"Now, art doesn't save your life like Jesus saves your life..."

Sometimes it is really tight going to a Christian school. Ha. I also hear that on occasion she dresses in character for class. I am looking forward to it.

I went to visit Amanda today while she was working in the library. She is a math tutor... but it is still early in the semester and so she doesn't have anyone come to see her for help quite yet. We talked for like an hour and a half. She filled me in on some drama that had unfolded the night before, and I filled her in on some non drama of my life. Then... we began discussing, what else, boys and marriage! It was tight. I haven't talked with her to much like this before. It was fun. Very good conversation. :)

Tonight I also went to Community Group! It ended up just being Johnny and I because James and Parker had to work, but I really enjoyed it. Johnny brought along his new puppy! He is a 10 week old pitbull named Juba. He is SO precious, and became my new bff. I fell in love with that puppy... and he loved me. He wanted to be near me the whole night! He even slept on my lap during the bible study. The community group was very cool. A lot of people weren't there today, though. It was a variety of ages too, which was kind of cool. There was an older married couple (they had highschool/college aged kids) and 2 recent OBU grads. When James and Parker come, and hopefully a few others, there will be a good amount of college kids. Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot. I even spoke up a few times and shared some of my thoughts. I was proud for not being too shy. The lesson was a continuation of Sundays sermon, so it was tight. I am excited to see what God does through this!

Class Overview

2009-08-27T13:36:00.003-05:00

I have no experienced all of my classes (except for physio lab), so I decided to give an overview on my impressions on them so far.

Physiology (MWF 9:00): Same professor as last year, so I know how he teaches. I also know that reading the chapters before class are going to be rather helpful. Probably moreso this year, because this class requires a lot more understanding and a lot less memorization. I am somewhat looking forward to it, because it should be much more interesting in general. However, it is still going to be ridiculously hard... but I will be praying for God to sustain me through this.

Sociology (MWF 11:00): I have a feeling this will be the class that sneaks up on me! As I said in my last post, this class will probably be interesting (simply because people are interesting) and a bit controversial at times. I don't think I will have a problem liking this class... but it is going to be very time consuming, which is hard because all my other classes are so difficult. We will see though, I think if I just do the work and not put this class on the back burner I will be fine.

CIV (MWF 12:00-1:50): Yep... the infamous Civ! This class is SO intimidating. Seriously, I internally freak out at the thought of this class. It is more work than I have ever had in my life, and I am convinced that the professors genuinely believe this is the only class we are taking! For tomorrow's class I had close to a hundred pages of reading to do... and that is a regular to light day. Bah. This class scares the poop out of me. Plus, I find it hard to get all my reading done because there is just so much and it makes me want to sleep. Ha.

Development and Nutrition (Thursday 2:00-5:00): So, today was my first experience with this class. I have mixed emotions. It is two classes combined into one (we even have 2 different professors). It is also three hours long... with only one 10 minute break. And we were informed today that under no circumstances will we be getting out of class early. Bah. I think the subject matter (at least the nutrition part) is very interesting, though. The problem is, neither one of the professors are very clear on their expectations or instructions... and we have quite a few projects in there, and of course tests. It just makes me really nervous because I am not entirely sure how to prepare for that class. I still haven't made up my mind entirely about this class.

Tonight a group of us went out to dinner for this girl Danielle's 21st birthday. It was fun because I was at the end of the table with the people I know and get along with the best. We went for mexican food... which is always a bad idea in Oklahoma. It is gross. Danielle ordered a margarita with her meal in celebration. It was so strange to be there. Ha, most my friends here are a year older... so they are all turning, or just turned, 21! Ha. I am not used to it.

After dinner, we headed to Ford music hall to pick up our friend Luke. He was in there practicing piano. He started playing and singing Phil Wickham and I was just in awe! He is so incredibly talented. We also got fake married. I was the bride, he was the groom, Kacie was the preacher, Amanda was my MOH and Kristin played the wedding march on the piano. It was sufficiently awkward, but very funny.

After that we headed to Spotlight on Shawnee. It is this thing in downtown Shawnee where all the local businesses and such come out and set up booths and give away free stuff. It is always nice to get free things! It was super hot though, and we were very impatient, so we didn't stay too long. It was good though. I got a bunch of free spirals and plastic cups and pens. Ha. I also got some cookies and a dr. pepper. It was a worthwhile trip, I must say!

Tomorrow is another long day of class.... but then it is Friday! Yay! I am so ready for the weekend... and I have so much work to get done.

Sophmore Year: And So It Begins

2009-08-25T19:59:00.005-05:00

So, I meant to post this last night, but did not get a chance. ha. So, the first part will be about day 1 and 2 back, and the second part will be about my first day of class.

So, it is my second day back at OBU, and I must say, it is all still very surreal to me. I think I am going to just stick with a bulleted list format for my next few posts so that I can organize my thoughts a little better.

We made it to OBU in about 7 and a half hours, which was really good time considering that we made a few stops along the way. When we crossed the border and I saw the big Oklahoma sign, my stomach turned a bit. I still don't feel like I am ready to be back here. About and hour and a half or so after we crossed the border we were on campus. It is really strange because you can see the chapel from about 10-15 miles out. Anyway, we pulled up and unloaded. My RA from last year, Kaitlyn, was waiting to greet me with a big hug! That was so needed. She even helped move some of my stuff up to my room. Getting everything unloaded proved to be the easy part.
I spent a while yesterday just sitting on the top bunk, staring at all my junk wondering how on earth I was going to unpack it all. Slowly I started unpacking all my clothes and making some progress. My roommate, Casie, and I rearranged all of our furniture and I think I got a nice set up going. I like it. We can always change it later if we need, but so far I am totally satisfied. (I will put pictures up later, rather than trying to describe how it looks).
Last night, I decided to be social! I went to my friends Amanda, Kristin and Kacie's house for a little get together. It was pretty chill, but fun. Their house is adorable! It is so exciting. I got to see most everyone from last year, so that was nice. I talked a bit, but I still found myself just observing everyone for a good part of the night. I will work on it, though. It was nice to have some familiarity though. I even caught my friend Parker cuddling with my vera bradely bag. It was unintentional, of course, but still rather funny. I finally got back to my room, but didn't get to bed until 2!
When I attempted to sleep last night, I realized that my room was like -50 degrees. Seriously. It is SO cold in here. Plus, our window doesn't close all the way, and my bed is right under it. This means, I can't sleep with my face facing the window, or I will freeze out. Ha.
Today, my grandparents took me to Walmart to load up. I bought a tv (yay) and a bunch of other much needed items. I am pretty set, at least for a little while. I then had to go pick up my remaining books from the bookstore and get those put away. Then we went to lunch, and back to Walmart to get the missing screws I needed for my tv stand. It was a pretty busy morning. I then came back to my room and decided to get some more unpacking done! I hung Zach's painting, first and foremost! It was so exciting. I hung up a painting Jessie made me, and my bulletin board with pictures. It is coming together nicely. Ha, but I still have quite a bit to do!
I finally got a nap in yesterday! It was so perfect. I love naps.
My grandparents took me out for dinner, since they were going to leave in the morning. It was good. I couldn't eat much due to my whole stomach junk, but it was nice. I am so grateful to have my grandparents, especially considering my dad is not someone I have easy access to.
After dinner, Kristin, Amanda and I went to Walmart so they could do some grocery shopping for their cute little house! After that, Julian, Lucas and Justin longboarded over and we watched "I Love You Man." I do NOT recommend this movie. It was so crude I could hardly stand it. I need to stop agreeing to watch movies before I know what the movie is. It was fun, but I got back to my room much later than I would have liked. I quickly took a shower (ps: having our own bathroom is so nice) and went to bed.

Now for the first day of classes:

I woke up at 7:20 this morning! I got dressed, brushed my teeth and went downstairs to say goodbye to my grandparents. I almost cried, but I didn't it! Ha. I am just going to miss them. They were so good to me this summer. I then came back up to my room and did my quiet time (I really like doing it in the mornings I have decided), fixed my hair, ate some cereal then headed to class.
I have physiology with one of my suitmates, so we walked over there together today. My professor (who was also our anatomy professor) grew a beard over summer... it was very strange. All we did in class was go over what the class will entail and such. Our first test is September 11... over 6 chapters! Yikes! Luckily, I don't have lab today :)!
I then went to chapel! I saw JG on the way (finally) and got to talk to him a bit. We shared an awkward hug thanks to our backpacks, but it's cool. It was good to see him. He told me a bit about kamp and then we headed to chapel. I started to freak out when I got there because I didn't see anyone I know... then I hear Amanda, Kristin, Kacie, Julian and Lucas shout my name in unison and I was so relieved. Chapel was alright... the best part was that they sang Sing Sing Sing! :) wooo!
Next was sociology. That class will be interesting (and controversial), but it is so time consuming. And, all of our sociology tests are the same day as my physiology tests! Ugh.
Then it was time for CIV!!! This class lived up to all the horror stories I heard. It is SO much work. I am not ready! Ha. Seriously, I got so overwhelmed. This will be a really long semester. I am really, really nervous about it!
The good news of the day: I met this girl named Amy on Monday night when we all got together. She is a sophmore nursing major and just transferred in. We didn't really talk Monday or anything. Well, today I realized WE HAVE ALL THE SAME CLASSES on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (except, she has lab Monday and I have lab Wednesday). We realized this while in Civ and agreed to sit by each other in our classes. We were both really overwhelmed by everything, so she told me "Hey, we can study together... and cry together!" Perf. I am glad to have someone with me. She seems really nice and even talked to me about medical missions today. I am hoping we can become friends!

I am terrified for this year in terms of school. If you would, just pray that God would sustain me and renew my strength. This is going to be a draining semester, mentally, physically and emotionally. I am hope to remain disciplined in my quiet times this semester... which will be much needed!

ps: I REALLY miss home and all of you guys. Just sayin' ;)

I am not ready

2009-08-18T11:46:00.002-05:00

I still don't feel like I am going back to school soon. It is seriously so surreal. I am just not connecting with the fact that I am headed out of state on Monday. I don't really want that reality to set in, though. I am not looking forward to it at all. I realize some people can't wait to get back, and that is great for them, but I am not one of those people. This is my home, and I love it so much! Plus, the coming years are going to be so very different. I am just not ready for all the change. But, I can't think about that just yet. I am trying so hard to live these last few days in the moment, just enjoying every ounce of time I get to spend with the people I love.

This year is strange because I honestly feel like I am going to be a freshman all over again. I am going into a situation where I don't know my roommates, and I don't really have any friends. I think I blocked last year out. Not in the sense that I don't remember anything from last year, but in the sense that looking back, it all just felt like a dream! It is so weird.

Although the reality of school has yet to hit me, the fact that I have to say goodbye to people has suddenly become all too real. Zach's party was very fun last night, but it was also the setting of my first official "goodbye" of the summer. I stayed strong through the party, and had a blast, but when I got home I just had to cry a little. I was surprisingly ok with it. I am going to miss so many people. This summer has been great, and I have really gotten a lot closer to a few people I didn't expect to! As hard as it may be to leave them, I wouldn't trade it for anything! I feel like I might be a tad emotional on Sunday... but oh well.

I am going to enjoy these last few days with everyone! I will try and remain positive about it all, but I will also cry when I need to. I think it will be a good balance.

Now I am off to La Ha with the besties. :)

Quick Update

2009-08-13T00:49:00.002-05:00

I am BEYOND exhausted and in desperate need of some sleep before I head to Austin in the morning, so I am going to just give a quick, bulleted update of this week. Enjoy.

* Monday I had lunch with DG, which was wonderful of course. We hit up the last appetight and then did a little shopping with Molly.

* Monday night was the last bdbt. Gosh, I can't believe it is coming to an end. I hate this time of year. I ended up spending the night at Sterle's after everyone else went home. It was great! Lots of good conversation.

* Tuesday Andrew and I went to lunch at Panera. It was yummy and we had a good time catching up. We then went shopping at Goodwill... definitely a new experience for me. Ha.

* Tuesday night I went to Molly's grandmas house and had a wonderful dinner with Bethany, Callie, Molly and Kate. It was so fun! We ended up spending the night (well, not Kate since she had to work). Molly's blog goes into a little more detail about the fun we had... so I won't get into it here. But, I will say I loved staying up and talking with Molly! :)

* Wednesday I went to lunch with Lauren, Jeremy, DG and Riley. It was very enjoyable. We then got back to the church and started setting everything up for summer in the zone. It was a BLAST! We had so much fun getting everything ready! It rocked.

* Wednesday evening Zach and I went to Del Pueblo! Yummm. We also went to starbucks, but were a little disappointed with out smoothie choices... but, mine was free and his was 50% off so it was no real loss.

* Roadside was wonderful! Gah. Molly and Andrew did a wonderful job with worship, and Bill brought a great lesson! I seriously got a lot out of it all. Afterwards was bitb, which was fine. My lack of volleyball playing makes for a boring experience, but I did have a wonderful phone conversation with Jessie that kept me occupied!! :)

* I leave for Austin tomorrow and I am back on Saturday! I am definitely looking forward to the family time... and I love Austin.

* Zach painted me this thing for my dorm room... and it is WONDERFUL! I secretly wanted to cry when I got it because I loved it so much. haha. I can't wait to hang it up! Thanks Zach!

"Hope is coming for me"

2009-08-09T19:49:00.003-05:00

My goodness, summer has flown by! I can't believe it. Where did the time go? I am so not ready to head back to school...

I found out my rooming situation Thursday! I will be living in Howard (which is the dorm I wanted). It is suites, so definitely a step up from where I lived last year! They are older, so they are the same price as where I used to live... so that is definitely a bonus. However, I am really nervous about the whole situation! The three other girls (who are bffs) have decided to put all the beds in one room and make the other room a living room kind of area. This is nerve-wracking for a few reasons. 1) I don't know these girls at all 2) I now have 3 roommates, not just one 3) Privacy is something I will have to kiss goodbye 4) Sleeping schedules will probably be rather different 5) We will probably need to buy a lot for our "living room" and I have no money! Yikes. I am praying this turns out well... or at the very least bearable. I am definitely nervous though.

Danielle, Lauren, Danica and I (we missed you Jessie) had a girls night in the Woodlands. It was fun getting dressed up and going out. I think that is nice for girls to do every so often. Ha. We had some interesting encounters with some waiters while at dinner. It was terribly awkward, yet very funny.

I haven't really started packing yet. I am just so deep in my denial I can't imagine packing. Plus, I need to UNpack all my stuff from when I moved home in order to REpack in a more organized manner. It is pretty overwhelming actually. Ha. I can't bring myself to throw anything away... so I have so much more stuff than I will ever need. So far all I have managed to really pack is my bedding and my coats and sweaters. Not much of an accomplishment, but it is something.

This week is going to be a good one! :)

Monday: Lunch with Danielle (and hopefully LG)

LAST bdbt! Gah. This is actually really sad... but I am just going to enjoy it while I can!

Tuesday: Lunch with Andrew!

Dinner with Molly and her Mama (as well as Bethany and Kate). Ha this sounds fun!

Wednesday: Dinner with Zachary! :)

Roadside/BITB

Thursday-Saturday afternoon: AUSTIN! I love going to see my family in Austin.

Goodness, there is a lot of food in my future! I hope my poor stomach can handle it. I also plan on taking a lot of pictures this coming week... and the one to follow. Let's hope I hold to that. I want to leave with as many documented memories as possible. Haha.

Coming off of a very rough week, I am reminded of one of my go to passages, so I will leave you all with that:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So we do not loose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

A Quote

2009-08-04T22:19:00.003-05:00

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." C.S. Lewis

Hmm. I have had this quote playing over and over in my head the past 2 days. Just thought I would share. :)

Freak Out!

2009-08-01T16:50:00.003-05:00

Summer is ending. OH NO!!!! Say it ain't so!! I am dreading going back to OBU. I mean, I am in prayer about it, and will approach this year with a positive attitude, etc, but I still have no desire to go back. I want summer to last forever.

I started organizing my boxes and trying to neatly repack all my belongings today. However, I quickly got really sad and had to take a break! Plus, I started realizing how many things I still need to do before I go back! I have been in total denial about school... and now my to do list is a mile long. Oops. I am sure I will get it all done though, but I definitely have to stop avoiding reality.

I ordered my last 10 books today. Whew. What a relief. I love amazon... it has saved me SO much money it is ridiculous. I have a total of 20 books for this coming semester. A handful of them are novels... but still! It is absurd. Sheesh.

As much as I don't want to get back to school, I love school supplies. I have had a fun time organizing my pens, pencils, spirals, notecards (plain white as well as multicolored), and my lovely hilighters! Yay! Being nerdy is so much fun sometimes.

There are some fun things I need to do in preparation:

-Pick out new pictures for my dorm

-Organize all the cards//letters I received last year

-Get together things that remind me of home

-(I am still looking for something special for my dorm room. I realize this is vague... but I want to be able to have something with meaning to me)

Speaking of dorm rooms... I STILL DON'T HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE! or a roommate!!! Bah. This little fact is starting to really stress me... but hopefully OBU steps up their game soon and fixes this little problem.

I realize this post is really scatterbrained... but that is how my mind is right now, so I can't really help it. Going back should be easier the second time around... but it is definitely not. I want to say it might even be harder. I have gotten a lot closer to some people this summer that I was not expecting. I am definitely glad, because I love genuinely getting to know people and having close friendships, but it is not making leaving any easier. I also know what I am going back to at OBU, at least initially, so I am pretty sad. I am just going to miss summer, and miss home, so much. I am becoming an emotional wreck... but it's ok! I have accepted this is how I will be for the next 3 weeks or so... then my routine will take over and I will adjust fine.

To make this year a little more bearable, I want to keep writing letters!!! It seriously helped me so much last year. So, if I don't have your address, or if it changed since last year, give it to me please! :) Mine is:

Marie Evans

500 West University

OBU Box 60415

Shawnee, OK 74804

John 10:10

2009-07-31T00:34:00.003-05:00

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

This verse has been on repeat in my head this past week. Only tonight have a sat down to let Holy Spirit speak to me through that verse. I won't settle for anything less than the abundant life Christ has promised.

Favorites

2009-07-25T00:11:00.006-05:00

My life has consisted of a lot of late nights these days (Oh the joys of summer). Tonight I have decided to just list out some of my favorite things in an attempt to put myself into a positive mindset. There is no order or organization to my list.

prayer bracelets. best friends. dancing. late night cereal. weightwatchers ice cream. tan lines. white v-necks. what not to wear. wedding dresses. rootbeer from the bottle. house. p&p. law and order: svu. daydreaming. chacos. nike shorts. chick-fil-a. pictures. hugs. good conversation. singing. surprises. dark chocolate. plastic spoons. selfless gestures. tanning. snowcones. tie dying. gymnastics. pedicures. macbook. journal. one on one time. sunsets. sleeping in. stargazing. camping. sunny days. hammocks. naps. mashed potatoes. chick flicks. boys that cry. smoothies. planning. cake. pianos. acoustic guitars. e-mails. letters. stationary. down comforters. toms. lyrics. bread baking. bonding. the human body. hiking. porch swings. family. compliments. hot chocolate. blankets. watches. hymns. medical terminology. marriage. taking care of people. being nerdy. orange. haircuts. baking. hoping. being loved. loving.

Laminin

2009-07-21T01:31:00.002-05:00

I may be a little late on discovering this video... but good ole DG introduced me just moments ago. I am simply blown away. All I can say is WOW! Our God is an awesome God. I love science the more and more I study it, because I get to see God so present in it. That may sound strange, but this video will probably help support my case. Enjoy!

In what other areas do you see God present? What are some God stops you've experienced? Please share!!

I love Travis Wall

2009-07-16T22:43:00.002-05:00

A few forewarnings:

1. This dance is probably not the "cleanest" of routines to ever be performed on sytycd, but it is for sure in my top 5 of all time.

2. This video is ridiculously long, so just go ahead and skip the first 2 and a half minutes.

3. I am so in love with Travis Wall, who choreographed this dance.

4. Enjoy!

Hopeless Romantic.

2009-06-28T19:38:00.003-05:00

I watched Pride and Prejudice for the very first time on Saturday. Actually, I watched it twice on Saturday because it was just that good. This is probably my new favorite movie. This also has to be one of the best love stories I have ever seen. I can't get enough. If I wasn't already a hopeless romantic, this movie certainly pushed me over the edge.

In the movie, Mr. Darcy, played by Matthew Macfadyen, is the epitome of the word handsome. He defines tall, dark and handsome. He is so manly and strong, yet he has a soft side to him. He is such an ideal man. I completely fell in love with him during the movie. If only such a man existed in real life... ;).

This movie was set in the late 1700s//early 1800s. To be honest, I wish we still lived in this time period. I love so many aspects of this era. I love the clothes!! I wish we still wore dresses like that all the time. I wish girls still wore corsets, which may sound strange considering how awful the actually are to wear... but hey, beauty is pain ;)! Back in that day women were always so feminine. I wish it were still that way, even though I am among the guiltiest of not dressing much like a lady. I really love the language of that time period. If only we still talked like that! It was so beautiful. I love that men were such gentlemen. They stood when a woman walked into the room. They were so respectful of women. In that time there was no dating, just marriage. How cool! I just love it. Man, I so wish I lived in that time period. How wonderful that would be.

As wonderful as this movie is, I feel as though I am ruined. Between watching Pride and Prejudice and reading Redeeming Love, I now have standards that are going to be very hard to meet. My expectations for love and my future husband are so high. I am definitely an idealist when it comes to love. Sometimes I act really cynical towards the whole idea, but don't be fooled! it is definitely a cover. I want so badly to fall in love. I want a beautiful love story. I realize that I am going to have to change my thinking slightly though. High expectations are good and will help prevent me from settling, but at the same time I can't be totally idealistic... I must throw in a little realism. However, none of this changes the fact that I will always be a hopeless romantic. :)

Exhaustion.

2009-06-21T19:26:00.002-05:00

Man, what a weekend! It certainly was not "restful," but it sure was great. On Friday I saw Year One... which I found to be awful. I don't recommend it. Then DG and I had a lot of errands to run. I finally got home and got a very small amount of sleep before waking up and heading to the church for the volunteer day for VBS. We were there from 10-3. It was great to help out on a variety of different projects and be Danielle's right hand man. Ha. However, we were both completely worn out by the time we got back to her house. We decided to just take it easy for the rest of the night, which was a great decision. We rented He's Just Not That Into You. I really really liked it! It was really cute and entertaining. Plus, picking characters always adds to the experience. ;)! We went to bed pretty early, but woke up at 5:45 to start the day. We went about the usual Sunday routine, and I was feeling rather sick, which probably made me really lame to be around. Sorry. Then we went to Danielle's grandparents for Father's Day lunch. We weren't there long before we headed back to the church to get to work on all things VBS. It was so tiring. My feet are throbbing. But, it was so worth it! I am bummed I won't get to actually help out at VBS because of lame summer school, so it was really nice to get to help out on all the behind the scenes stuff. Plus, it was really neat to see all that goes into planning these things. I think VBS is going to be great! I will be praying for it and supporting it from afar ;).

Speaking of school, I only have 2 and a half more weeks! Praise the Lord. That is only 10 more days of class! I am so happy. I strongly dislike school, and I am ready to have a summer now!! Plus, I get to see my dad really soon. I am definitely looking forward to it. This trip is going to be so fun! There are a lot of things planned and I am so excited that Danielle gets to do all these fun things with me. So cool.

Lately I have really been focusing on the mission statement of my church in Oklahoma, so I will leave you with that. Love God. Love People. Push Back Darkness.

Don't worry...

2009-06-17T16:40:00.002-05:00

... I am still here! I haven't posted much lately, simply due to the fact that I have nothing of significance to say these days. My life has been rather uneventful, but I am totally ok with it. So, I am just going to update you all on a few random things, and sadly, I will be making yet another list. Just accept it.

1. Summer school is so lame. But, after tomorrow I am half way done! :) That is awesome! This week has been extra awful. I had two tests today, and I have one more tomorrow. I should get to leave though at 1:30 tomorrow! Woop! School has definitely been consuming my life, but I guess that shouldn't surprise me.

2. I got some huge blisters on the bottoms of my feet. Ouch. And, me being stubborn as usual, decided to take matters into my own hands. I popped the big one and now I am paying the price. Had I simply popped it, things would be just fine, but I kept messing with it. I won't go into too much detail... but let's just say I made matters worse. Go figure. Ha, oh well... it will heal. You live you learn.

3. SYTYCD is on tonight! I couldn't be more excited. I love this show. Woop.

4. I am currently downloading the new OS 3.0 for my Iphone! :) yayy! Now I just need to get a new cover for it. Too bad I don't have $30. Dang.

5. I am getting really excited for Boston and New York. We even got tickets to a Red Sox game. I am really glad my first baseball game ever will be a Sox game. Plus, my dad is being super generous to me and DG. It rocks!

6. I get to hang out with Julie on Friday. I am really looking forward to it. She is going to OCU which is in Oklahoma City. My church is also in OKC... so, she will be coming to church with me during the school year. SO AWESOME.

7. My stomach has been pretty bad lately. I am going to try to get to the doctor while I am here... but I am dreading starting that process yet again. Hopefully I can get some answers this go around.

8. And now, for the best update of all. Tomorrow is our second BDBT and our first full one now that Jessie is back in town. I am SO SO SO EXCITED. There are no words. It is the best thing we have done this summer. BDBT stands for Black Death Bible Time. It is me, DG, Jessie, LG, Danica, Sterle and Jeanna. It rocks. Seriously. I can't wait until tomorrow. And to make it all even better... I FINALLY get to hang out with Jessie beforehand. Mhmm.

Week 2

2009-06-08T18:56:00.004-05:00

Today was the start of the second week of summer school. I still strongly dislike being in class during summer, but with each passing day I am closer to being done! :) This will be another list blog, but I just have a few random thoughts.

1. Studying is very difficult. I am so used to the library at OBU. That was my study place and I could spend hours at a time there. Studying in my bedroom at my grandparents house has proven to be quite the challenge...

2. I had my first stats test today. It was alright I think. I gave up predicting my grades a while ago though, so we will just have to wait and see. At least now I have a feel for the set up of future tests.

3. I have my first chem test tomorrow. All we did in class today (which was about 3 and a half hours) was review, then I studied for 2 hours when I got home. I feel fairly prepared I guess, but who knows with chemistry. It is certainly not my strong suit. Ha. I will do some more studying before I go to sleep, and then some in the morning.

4. Due to having a test tomorrow, my professor is letting us leave after we finish the test... NO LAB! That means I will be getting done about 1:30 instead of 4:50!!! Basically this news is AWESOME! :)

5. I get to have dinner with Molly tomorrow. I am very excited!! :)

6. I have been going through Romans during my quiet times. As I read through each chapter I am going through and circling all the attributes of God/characteristics of God that are listed. When I finish all of Romans I am going to go back through and list them all out in my journal. This has been an awesome thing for me to do! I have learned a lot and am just in awe of this great God we serve! It has been very rewarding for me. I would recommend it to anyone!

7. I have learned that I have a really good memory. Of course, not with things like school or anything useful like that, but when it comes to remembering a situation or an event I tend to remember a lot of details. Most people think I am a total creeper because of it, but oh well.

8. Our bible study starts on Thursday. I am so excited for Sterle, food and best friends! It is good to be home.

That is all for now. I feel as though my life is rather boring these days... but I have no complaints! :)

It happens every year.

2009-06-05T23:05:00.002-05:00

So, I am not one to lay out and get tan. If I lay out, or spend any significant time in the sun, I burn! This is pretty much without fail. I envy people who can actually tan. My body simply does not allow that. It is always one extreme or the other; pale white or lobster red. Well, today I entered the lobster red phase. :/ I do it to myself every times, so I have no one to blame. There have been times, like after prom last year, when I refused to wear sunscreen because I was so desperate for a tan, and I paid the price. Then there are times, like today, when it genuinely doesn't occur to me to put on sunscreen. Well, here I am, paying the price. I realize this can't be good for my skin, but it happens every year! Dang. Tomorrow we are headed to Lake Conroe for some good time at Lauren's boat. Needless to say, I am going to bring plenty of sunscreen, and pray that I remember to apply it more than once!!

In other news I got a cute dress from Old Navy. Now, this might sound absurd because I am unbelievably broke right now, but I ended up only paying $4.02 out of my own pocket! :) You see, my grandparents had gotten me an Old Navy gift card for my birthday and I had bought some shorts and a shirt with it, but I still had $12 on it. I decided to save it because I was bound to want something later, and if I saved the card and didn't waste the money on something silly then whatever my next purchase was would be $12 cheaper! I am rather satisfied with my purchase (consider I never actually buy something when I go shopping) and my cautious spending. :)

Summer School

2009-06-03T18:59:00.003-05:00

To be honest, I absolutely hate summer school. It is just awful. Most of this stems from the fact that I am in class from 10-5 without a break! That is a lot o time to spend in a desk! My stats class really isn't that bad, but it is something I haven't really grasped yet. Hopefully I can figure it out though! Chemistry is where things get awful. My professor is crazy, and mean... a really bad combination. She also is not a very good teacher, so that makes it tough. There is a lot about chemistry I simply don't remember. Good thing I have a friend who rocks at chem. ;) ha. I really dislike the fact that I don't even get home until about 5:30 and then I have to start my homework and studying right away! Blah. BUT, looking on the brightside, I don't have class on Fridays and I only have to put up with this for 6 weeks! Chemistry for 6 weeks has got to be better than chemistry for a whole semester! I find that I usually only make it until about 9:30 or 10 every night because I am just so dang tired from the day!! I do certainly sleep better at night though.

I can't wait to be done with school and then really enjoy summer! :) now that will be nice. In the meantime I will enjoy one of the major perks of summer... SYTYCD!

On another note, my pastor at my church in OKC has started teaching this dating seminar. I knew I wouldn't be able to attend or anything but it sounded really interesting. Well, today I found out that his dating seminar series is posted online with all his other podcasts. :) I am so pumped. I can't wait to listen to them and learn/be reminded of some biblical truths for preparing for marriage. So cool. If you want to listen, let me know and I will send you the link!

Austin!

2009-05-29T17:07:00.001-05:00

I am going to Austin tomorrow and I am SO excited! :) and don't fret, I will be back for the grad party too! It is a total win-win situation! I love when that happens.

It will be a day filled with family, swimming and homeslice pizza. perfection.

Encouragement

2009-05-24T20:21:00.002-05:00

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

And so it ends...

2009-05-20T11:59:00.002-05:00

Well, I never thought this day would come. Seriously. This has been such a long year! You have no idea. But today is my last day at OBU... at least for the summer and my last day as a college freshman. I couldn't be happier. It is no secret how much I want to be home and away from this place!

This year has certainly been an interesting one. It was full of experiences I never though I would have to go through. It has challenged me and changed me in so many ways, and I think I am only beginning to realize a small amount of it.

This year has been full of a lot of negatives, but I don't want to take the time to dwell on it. Everyone knows about my endless battles with illness and disease, so I feel no need to go into that. Ha. Instead I will focus on some positives of this year. (Such a change for me, ha).

1. My roommate: Courtney has been great. We have gotten along so well. She has been one of my very best (and only) friends at OBU. She is the one person here I feel like I can completely be myself around. I am going to really miss her when she transfers :(!

2. Frontline: This is the church I go to while I am here. It is in Oklahoma City. I absolutely love my church here. It has been a challenge finding a way to get there... and lately I have had to go with all the boys (which really isn't so bad)! This church is just great. There are so many different kinds of people there and I just love worshipping with all of them. Pastor Josh is great. He looks like Chris Daughtry and sounds like Chris Mayfield... it is an interesting combination. I am going to miss this church a lot over summer... but I can't wait to get back to my home church at Northwest! Plus, I can always catch the podcasts.

3. Kaitlyn: She is my RA. I don't know what I would have done without her. I have spent many a nights staying up talking to her and crying or just messing around with her on our hall. It is always so great. We have such a good balance and have become really good friends. She always tries to push me to be optimistic. I hated it the first semester... and parts of this semester, but she has taught me a lot.

4. James: I am so grateful I knew him coming in to this. He has been a great help to me. He introduced me to his friends, he let me be part of his world, he helped me move in and out and he has been taking me to church the past few weeks... letting me be one of the guys. We still argue pretty much every time we see each other... but I am so blessed to know him!

5. Independence: This is definitely a lesson I had to learn while I was here. I used to be (and can still be) a very dependent person, but being in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma, knowing I rarely get to go home, I had to learn to be on my own and be ok with it. I have learned to handle being alone (since I usually am) and how to do things for myself. It hasn't always been a fun one... but it has been a good lesson to learn!

OBU is teaching me a lot. I may never like it here, but I have learned to appreciate the things I have learned while being here. But I can't wait to be home!!

One more final and lots and lots of packing then I get to check out. I will leave tomorrow morning and be home in the evening. I can't wait to get HOME!

Today is the day

2009-05-19T09:10:00.001-05:00

I have 3 finals today

one of which is spanish... and considering I have a 99.5 in there, I have found it very difficult to care about this final. oops.

then, at 3:15 I start my first anatomy final. Is it comprehensive? why yes, yes it is. Then, at 4:15 I begin my anatomy lab final. This is not comprehensive, but rather difficult I must say. Blah.

I have decided that these anatomy finals will not defeat me. :)

Today is the day I conquer anatomy!!

...pray for me!

Dreams

2009-05-16T22:01:00.002-05:00

So, lately I have been having this reoccurring dream. So far I have had it 4 times. It is not a bad dream by any means, and it is not the exact same dream every time, but instead it is a progressive dream. I don't want to go into the details, ha, but it has been very weird! It is the same premises, but each dream has added a new part/extension to the one before it.

It is so weird! Ha. I rarely remember my dreams in the first place, but less have them continue. I wonder how long this particular one will go on!

Anyone else had a reoccurring dream before? or am I the only one?!

My Dream Guy

2009-05-12T22:33:00.003-05:00

If this man walked into my dorm room right now and asked me to marry him, I would agree in a heartbeat. I love Bob Harper. :) Bah. He is such a wonderful trainer on the biggest loser... and he is certainly easy on the eyes! I watch the biggest loser every week and tonight was the finale. As it took the time to back through the season and recap all the highs and lows, I was reminded of how great he is! He is always so encouraging and inspirational, but he doesn't go easy on the contestants. He pushes them to their limits to help them change and improve their lives. I wish he would come be my trainer! He is great! Bob Harper, you are my dream guy! :)

Copy Cat

2009-05-11T22:05:00.005-05:00

I am taking a page from the books (or in this case blogs) of Molly and DG. Here are a list of my top 5 currents:

Things on my mind:

1. Anatomy! (including the final... only 3 more tests!!!)

2. Summer, summer, summer

3. Nausea

4. Camp (will it work out or not?)

5. HOME!

Recently Played:

1. Let it Rock- Kevin Rudolf

2. White as Snow- Jon Foreman

3. That Time- Regina Spektor

4. The Solid Rock- Avion

5. Us-Regina Spektor

Prayers:

1. My pastor's son, Elijah.

2. Strength and Endurance

3. Peace

4. My friends and family

5. Patience

Worries/Anxieties:

1. Anatomy, of course

2. Moving out

3. MONEY! bah

4. Health

5. GPA

Foods:

1. Pickles

2. Activia pudding :)

3. Fiber One Bars

4. Salad

5. French Fries :/

Drinks:

1. Root Beer!

2. Water

3. Ginger Ale

4. Gatorade

5. Apple Juice

Blessings:

1. Grace

2. Church with the boys

3. Best Friends

4. Funny cards from my dad

5. My RA

TV Shows:

1. General Hospital

2. House! (I need to watch the season finale online)

3. Biggest Loser (Finale tomorrow!!!)

4. Scrubs

5. Grey's Anatomy

Goals (short term):

1. Finish strong

2. Take one day at a time

3. Manage my stress level

4. Start the bible study Ian gave me (tonight!)

5. Go to James's spin class one last time this semester

Goals (long term):

1. Graduate (duh)

2. Get married (duh again)

3. Grow in my walk more and more with each day

4. Be more laid back/ learn to relax

5. Love others with all I have (even if it doesn't always work out ideally)

Things to do:

1. STUDY! :(

2. Focus for 9 more days... easier said than done

3. Get my loft bed taken down, without making James mad at me. ha... also easier said than done

4. Pack

5. Write some letters before I leave for the summer

Movies:

1. HSM3 (this is for you Molly!)

2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

3. Center Stage 2

4. Bride Wars

5. Now and Then (I am having withdraws!)

People that have really blessed me lately (in no particular order... there will be more than 5, deal with it!):

1. Danielle

2. Jessie

3. James

4. Molly

5. Kaitlyn (my RA)

6. Danica

7. Lauren

8. Courtney (my roomie! I will miss her)

9. Parker

10. Eric

11. Zach

12. Riley

13. Andrew

14. The Cokers

15. The Thomas's

Final Thoughts:

1. 9 more days...

2. 3 more anatomy tests...

3. I am almost done with freshman year... Praise the Lord

4. Man... what a year it has been.

5. I can't wait to be home. I miss my home!

Just a little side note

2009-05-07T10:35:00.002-05:00

So, as some of you may know, I only drink skim milk. I know that I am in the minority here, but I don't really care. I do not think it tastes like watered down milk. I grew up drinking skim milk and that is what I like. Simple as that so don't argue with me that it sucks, I don't care if you like it or not. Plus, considering how much I love milk, I would much rather be drinking milk that if fat free and has significantly fewer calories. It just makes sense.

Well, Walmart was sold out of skim milk yesterday (at least in the size cartons that would fit in my fridge) so I have to settle for 2%. I understand that this is the universal favorite milk, but I do not like it. Plus, since I only drink skim milk I feel like I can taste every bit of fat in 2% milk. I hate it. Bah. It is so gross!!

I will forever love skim milk.

Here it is

2009-04-20T14:21:00.003-05:00

This will be my schedule for Fall 2009! It is a stressful one, but it is what it is I suppose. Nothing much I can do about it. Not sure if anyone will care, but I will post it anyway!

Monday: 9:00 am- Physiology

11:00 am- Sociology

12:00 pm- 2:00 pm- SUICIDE CIV! (I did not title this class... some student long ago did, and even the professors refer to it as this. Ha. This is a risky choice, but it was that or 8 am. civ is one of the hardest classes offered at OBU, but it is a requirement for everyone. It is ridiculous and everyone knows how awful this. Normally, CIV is a 6 hour class, 5 days a week. Suicide is three days a week for a two hour block. There is twice the reading, but more time to do it. We will see how it all works out)

Tuesday: NO CLASSES!! :) :)

Wednesday: 9:00 am- Physiology

11:00 am- Sociology

12:00 pm- 2:00 pm- CIV!

2:00 pm- 5:00 pm- Physiology Lab

Thursday: 2:00 pm- 5:00 pm- Nutrition and Development

Friday: 9:00 am- Physiology

11:00 am- Sociology

12:00 pm- 2:00 pm- CIV!

It is going to be quite the semester. :/ but I will wait to stress out about it. haha. I also realized that I have absolutely no time for lunch monday wednesday or friday. Ha I guess I will have to figure something out! Granola bar? sounds good. I am in the same situation during summer school, so maybe I can get a system down. Ha.

So far on spring break 2009...

2009-03-16T18:42:00.002-05:00

My spring break thus far:

Friday: got in from Oklahoma and went to LGs house. Didn't do much. Hung out, had a shaving party, at a lot of ice cream and had an epic argument with Danielle(it turns out we were both right, ha go figure ;)!)

Saturday: woke up really early and got all dolled up with lauren and danielle. Then we went to Rochelle's wedding. It was absolutely beautiful! It was actually pretty simple and 'laid back' which really fits Rochelle. She looked wonderful, of course, and there was burnt orange everywhere. The ceremony had to be moved inside due to the cold and the rain, but it was great nonetheless. It was a great wedding. I am so glad I got to share in that with them. Afterward, me lauren and danielle decided to get pedicures. My feet were in a lot of pain and I certainly could use some relaxation. We thought it would be brilliant to get ridiculously bright colors... let's just say we have had better ideas in the past. We went back to lauren's and cooked some chicken alfredo and watched fireproof! So wonderful. We also watched fight club later that night with Jeremy and Ian. It was an interesting movie...

Sunday: BAPTISM! Finally. I have been waiting so long for this so it was pretty special to me. I am so grateful it didn't rain! Ha. It was awesome. I also got a new baptism bible from danielle. Its ESV which makes me very happy. I got some good bffae time in later that day! Much needed. I also got to play with danielle's niece! so awesome.

Monday: I went to the gym with my gma! woop! :). Then I saw danielle briefly before she left for Dallas. Watched General Hospital. Anatomy reading. History Paper later tonight.

To come on my break...

Tuesday: Lots and lots of errands to run! Sams club, anatomy, walmart(purchase things and eye exam), Lonestar college. I'll come back and do some more anatomy, of course, and hopefully get a nice little nap! Then... off to Molly's to watch HSM3! I am pretty pumped. I have been meaning to see this movie! I am really excited. Plus, Molly is pretty cool so I am looking forward to hanging out!

Wednesday: I would love to sleep in for the first time in almost 2 months... but I have to wake up early and go to the gym :/! I will work on some more anatomy homework. Then I will hang out with Marvin and have a day of watching scrubs and drinking smoothies.

Thursday: Again, I would LOVE to sleep in but I must work out. I will do more homework and then just rest the whole day. No plans and that is just the way I like it. I really need some alone time, and some chill time!

Friday and Saturday: I will be Austin bound! yay! I am really, really looking forward to seeing my family! I get to see both my uncles and my aunt and my little cousin! It is going to be great. We even get to go to my cousin's soccer game saturday morning! woop!

Sunday: CHURCH! yesss! It is rare that I am in town on a Sunday so I am real excited about this one. Some last minute chill time with my family, then flying back to OBU and facing the rest of my long semester(I don't get out until May 23).

Cadavers!

2009-03-11T22:51:00.002-05:00

Anatomy lab was a little different than normal for me today.

First off, I don't think I bombed the quiz. This is a nice change... especially considering I did not prepare very well this time. Second, today was the first time lab kinda got to me a little bit. We only worked on the male cadaver today. Our task was to dissect the entire posterior region of the body. This was quite the challenge considering it was a fairly tall man. I am talking from the neck to the bottom of the foot. This was the first time I actually did the dissecting. I think the main thing that was so weird was the fact that nothing had been done on the posterior side of the male cadaver. I had to start the incision and cut through all the skin and adipose tissue, without cutting too deep and getting any of the muscle. All in all it was a very weird experience... and very, very tedious. We spent 2 and a half hours and didn't even get everything done. We got to the spine, which was pretty tight to see, and the gluteal region(very weird). The muscles of the back are rather larger compared to the anterior surface, so we found it much easier to identify them. That was tight. However, this job was messier than most. I got bits of adipose tissue(fat) flung up on me a few times. I also leaned into the body a few times only to find my arm dripping with who knows what. It was rather disgusting and I feel I may never get clean! Ha.

It was not a bad experience, just different than what I personally had to do up until that point. My hands and back were hurting insanely bad when I left. My back was sore from having to bend over the body for 2 and a half hours, and my hands were incredibly sore from extensive use of my scalpel and probe. It was tiring work. I have a new found respect for surgeons! ;)

Blessings

2009-03-09T00:22:00.002-05:00

God has blessed me in some unexpected ways today. He used things I was not expecting to really touch my heart, and remind me that I have value in Him.

I might elaborate on this later, or I might just talk to a certain couple people about the specifics, I have yet to decide. For now I am off to bed. I have an early workout awaiting me... and a very long week.

Please pray for me as I go about this week, trying to stay focused and find motivation.

Anatomy Tests and Windy Days

2009-03-05T17:11:00.003-06:00

Today was my second anatomy test. I found it much harder than the first, but I feel like I made a lower B. I don't know. I am not satisfied with it because I want an A more than anything in that class, but considering this was harder I wouldn't be completely devastated with a B I suppose. My frustration lies in the fact that I put so much into studying for that class that I should be getting an A. We will see. What I do know is that after I finish an anatomy test, I am completely and totally drained. I usually begin studying close to a week before the actual test, and I study at least 5 hours a night the three days prior. Plus I usually bring my notecards with me when I work out in the morning. By the time the test is over I am mentally exhausted. We have a test every other week in that class though, so I don't get much time to recuperate. Ha. I have another crazy week ahead of me... but then its SB! Woop! I am so excited. :) So much is awaiting me.

In other news, I officially HATE the wind. It's always windy in Oklahoma. This is not the 'cool breeze on a nice day' type of wind. This is the 'keep you from being able to walk in a straight line' kind of wind. It is getting old. I seriously don't know why I bother fixing my hair anymore. The wind does some serious damage to it during my walk to class. Ha. Plus, I wore a skirt today! oops! I couldn't resist... it was such a beautiful day and I felt that my calfs deserved to experience the day as much as my arms and face. However, the wind made my skirt rather difficult to control. Don't worry though... no wardrobe malfunctions!

PS: Canterbury tonight! I am pumped! :)

A wonderful day!

2009-02-26T15:27:00.004-06:00

First off, the weather today is so nice. It has been in the low 80's all day! :) and very windy of course. It is Oklahoma after all. It has just been so nice today! It feels so much like summer. It was nice not having to wear a sweater today and getting to wear my chacos without my feet freezing. I also am really excited about sitting outside and doing my homework today! It is going to be grand.

Now, for the best thing of the day...

My mystery package has arrived...

I got A NEW DIGITAL CAMERA! :) :)

This is seriously a huge surprise. Me and my dad talked about it over Christmas break, but he said that he couldn't really afford to buy me a new camera and such since our house was still in the process of selling, and the moving expenses were much more than anticipated. Well, our house did sell and my dad decided to put some of the money to a new camera for me! I am so ridiculously excited. Seriously. I thought I would have to wait at least until my birthday and have my grandparents buy me one, but my dad had other plans apparently! :) My old camera was not cutting it. It was ridiculously slow and had awful color. It was getting on my nerves, but nothing I couldn't live with. I was not expecting to get a new camera at all. It took me off guard and I am so excited! And, as my dad pointed out, I will have the camera just in time for Rochelle's wedding! Even better! Man, this was such a wonderful surprise. I still can't believe it! And I really can't wait to put it to use! Woop!! :) :)

PS: If you care to know, it's a Fujifilm FINEPIX 12 Mega pixells! I really like it. It has a lot more pictures and awesome color! It is so cool.

The Pink Slip

2009-02-24T17:51:00.003-06:00

My mailbox had a pink slip in it today. Oh how glorious! Care Packages have to be the greatest thing ever! I got one today in the mail from dad. I was so excited. It made me feel really good. Other than a Valentine's card from my grandmother :) this was the first mail I have received all semester. I LOVE mail... and I love packages! This package contained a random assortment of items. There were two freaking tight water bottles from REI! My dad couldn't decide on one, so he sent me both! There was a card that said "Happy Easter my SON!" Initially I was offended, then I laughed a lot. My dad would do something like that. Ha. It was great. There was some money (which is always appreciated) and some stamps so I can continue sending things to my dear friends! It was so cool. However, there were some down sides. This particular care package was filled with candy! Mike and Ike's (my absolute favorite), dark chocolate (also a favorite), some M&Ms and a snickers. If I had received this last week I would have been over joyed, however, I started my diet this week! :( It is completely awful staring at these temptations. My dad feels kinda bad considering he sent this before I decided on my diet. It is ok though... I will allow myself small tastes everyday just to get my fix, and not put all this candy to waste :)! I can only have very small amounts, so this candy should last a long time! Ha.

My dad also sent me another package. I will be getting it on Thursday. Apparently it is pretty awesome, but I have no idea what to expect. My dad is really excited for me to get it... and is loving how much this is driving me crazy! Ha. I'll post about the mystery package on Thursday.

Coffee and Soap Operas

2009-02-19T22:13:00.002-06:00

First off, I went to Starbucks today to put my gift card to good use. Oh, and it was good! I just love everything that is Starbucks. I don't like anything coffee... but I absolutely love the smell. My nostrils rejoice as I walk in to this lovely establishment. I love the feel of being in Starbucks. I know it is cliche, and it is one of the biggest chains out there, but I can't help it. I feel so 'cool' when I am there. There is something sophisticated about being in any coffee house. Plus, it lends itself to some rather relaxing studying (even though that is not what I did today). I could spend so much money in there. It is ridiculous. I just love Starbucks! :)

Second, I decided my future today. I am dropping out of school and moving to L.A. to become a soap opera actress. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier!! Today was watching GH online (ya know, catching up from the past week) and it hit me... I love soap operas, and I am known for being a tad dramatic... PERFECT! So, I texted my bffae to inform her of my new dream. She supported me all the way and wondered why I haven't already done this. In discussing our future she decided to drop out and join me to be my manager/agent. I don't think it gets better than that! Plus, she really does have my best interests at heart. We have a rather elaborate plan for this... and many of the details cannot be told to the world, but trust me... this whole thing is brilliant! If I am going to do this I need a good stage name. My trusted agent helped with this one... and we decided on Autumn Jefferies. It has a nice ring to it. I am going to have to get some hair extensions and pick up some new behaviors and mannerisms to go along with this new persona, but I can handle it! Ha! We have decided to catch a red eye to L.A. tonight and leave all this school madness behind us! What a brilliant plan. I know what you are thinking... "but Danielle is supposed to be going into ministry." Don't worry, we have that covered. She will witness to my cast and we will hold bible studies in the morning before we start shooting for the day. Ya know, of all our crazy plans for our future, this has got to be the best one by far!

Oh, and two of my favorites got something in the mail from me today... and it made me very, very happy! :) Yay. I love you two very much!

Fireproof

2009-02-15T22:20:00.005-06:00

I watched the movie Fireproof for the first time Saturday night. My roommate had bought it when she was home last weekend and since she actually spent Saturday night in Shawnee, we watched it. Now, I hadn't really heard of this movie before, and apparently I am the only one. Oh well, I went with it anyway and was all for watching it. And boy am I glad I did!

Basically, the movie is about a married couple on the brink of divorce and all the struggles they go through during this tough time in their marriage as well as the process to finding their way back to each other. I don't want to say anymore more than that, just in case there is still someone out there who doesn't know how the movie plays out.

Now, I know A LOT of hardcore movie critics (which is actually rather frustrating, but that's another subject entirely). If you are one of these who only watches great movies and scoff at anything not oscar worthy (or whatever standard you use) then I wouldn't really recommend this movie. The acting is certainly on the cheesy side at times, and there are a few 'catchphrases' that might bring about the slight chuckle in what would otherwise be a serious moment. However, to everyone else who is capable of enjoying movies despite these factors, please go watch it!

In my opinion, this was an awesome movie. I seriously loved it. I love Kirk Cameron (and I have loved him since Growing Pains!) and I really liked the premiss of the movie. I loved the concept of the "love dare" even though I am not married, and won't be for a very long time. I am not going to lie, I even got a little chocked up during the movie. This is not to say I cried, because I hardly ever do that anymore, but it genuinely touched me, and I don't care who knows it! Side note: my roommate cried like a baby! haha. It kinda amused me :). Anyway, I got a lot out of this movie. I felt like it was just bursting with lessons and things that everyone should apply to their lives, or at least try to remember and work at harder. To quote danielle this is "the most redemptive movie ever." Oh how true that is. I spent much of this movie enraged at these characters, but by the end I was filled with joy. It was so cool, and so worth sticking out. I can't wait to watch this movie again soon! Man. It was just so good!

This movie also left me with a challenge: I need to learn to love better.

I have been afraid of loving lately. I have been very hesitant toward showing my love for others and investing into others anymore because I have been so afraid of getting hurt. But, it really shouldn't matter. Christ called us to love because He first loved us. And when we don't know how to love, or we don't want to love, Christ is our example. He instills in us an ability to love one another in a way that we could never do on our own. I am so grateful for that. I need to look at Christ's life and learn how to love better. He got hurt. Peter denied Him three times. He understand the pain that can result from loving people and not having them return it, or having them turn around and throw it in your face, but He loved anyway. So, that is my challenge, to learn to love better!