I guess the world didn't end...

Sorry I didn't get to post on my usual day, but this weekend has been full of fun and celebrations!  Not only is today Ben, my dad and Ben's grandpa's birthday, but this weekend has been full of other birthday celebrations as well!! I have officially devoured way too many cakes in a 48 hour period!  (Not that I am complaining at all!)  I would just like to take this time to say a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all you wonderful people who are celebrating being born! You beat the "rapture"! hahaha


Speaking of which, for those of you who heard that ridiculous news that the world was supposed to end on Saturday, I guess we can officially laugh at those who started such garbage!  I'm sorry, but no wonder people think Christians are crazy!  As a Christ Follower, I hope that people will soon realize that in the Bible it clearly states that we will not know when the end of the world will come, (Matthew 24:42-44 to be exact) so stop fretting people!!! Gosh, I feel better now that I've gotten that off my chest...


Okay, now onto the goods.  Have you ever wondered why you are chosen to deal with certain trials in your life?  I think about it all the time, which sometimes turns into a serious pity-party.  But, then, all of a sudden, something happens and that big light bulb finally turns on over your head.  You finally begin to realize that what you are going through is just a part of God's will that is preparing you for something far greater.  Like, helping another person who is dealing with a similar issue or realizing that your trial has led you into people's lives that never would have happened without your difficulty.  The latter has been something that has been brought to my attention lately.


As you all may remember from one of my posts a couple of months ago, I have a running injury/condition called piriformis syndrome that makes my hips come out of alignment easily.  It just so happens that a stranger in a yoga class tells me to visit this chiropractor and all will be fixed!  Well, for someone like myself who does whatever it takes to avoid doctors, it was very difficult for me to trust someone who cracks people.  Little did I know, this was a key part of the plan that God had for me because here I am over a year later working for that very chiropractor and meeting the most wonderful people ever!! Not only that, but God has given me one less thing to worry about because every time I get hurt, I have an on-call fixer! Thanks God!  


Everyone that comes into that office has a story.  As a genetic chatter-box (thanks to Chris Lawrence) I have learned some great lessons and met some great people that I never could have come in contact with if it weren't for my stubborn hips!  I remember being so angry at God for putting this struggle in my life, and now I could not be more thankful!  The older I get, the more I realize that I would rather not know everything about everything!  It totally spoils the fun when I actually begin to understand what God is doing in my life.  It just gives me another reason to put my entire trust in His will for me!  


This is my challenge for you fine readers this week.  When you are analyzing your life (don't deny it, you do it) take a step back for a second and breathe.  You never know if what you are going through is all a part of a greater plan that has been given only for you to accomplish.  God would never give you anything that He didn't know you couldn't handle, and He loves you too much to do that to you either!


"Instead of trying to fight your fears, concentrate on trusting Me.  When you relate to Me in confident trust, there is no limit to how much I can strengthen you." -Jesus Calling


As a way for each of you to celebrate the world not ending, here is something to start off your week and maybe make you forget about your struggle just for a little bit!  Have a wonderful week!! :)

Please pray for those were were devastated by the tornado that hit Missouri.  Every day is a blessing!

An Epiphany

"Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed; No, it is far greater than that. It is a zany, unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction." -Max Lucado


Hello and happy Sunday!!  It is a stunning day here in Chucktown and I could  not be happier to be alive!  I had a lot on my mind today, so I decided I should definitely share it with my blogging community!! As you all probably know by now, I am a little bitter about the fact that I have to wait until December to graduate.  I think this feeling has been heightened ever since I saw all of my friends looking fly in their cap and gowns.  I couldn't seem to wrap my head around why God wanted to make me endure another semester of servitude to college.  I think I finally got my answer this morning.  At Seacoast Church, we are beginning a series on David and God definitely spoke to me, even though David's story has nothing to do with graduating from college.  


You see, we are studying about how God chooses people to fulfill his works here on earth.  A question was asked to the congregation..."Would God choose me?"  I had to really think about it and let it sink in that I am not so sure that I am a capable vessel for God to use for His glory.  That was a hard pill to swallow.  


Let me begin with a few things that stood out to me this morning:

• "Don't be in a hurry when God isn't"-Easier said than done my friends.  This was definitely a quote that made the light bulb over my head FINALLY turn on.  Maybe God just does not want me to graduate right now because He has specific plans for me to accomplish before I do walk across that stage.  He has been doing the most incredible things in my life since I have come to Charleston and I know that none of those cool things could have been concocted by me! God is doing incredible things, and not just in my life...but yours too!  Transferring was never part of my "want to do" agenda, but I am sure now that transferring schools in the middle of my college career was all a part of God shaping me into the woman that He wants me to be.  
• "Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones.  If you cheat even a little, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities" LUKE 16:10-Now, for those of you who know me fairly well you know that every time someone asks me what I want to do with my life, I answer with something like..."I want to help people" or "I just want to make a difference".  Even though that sounds all well and good, it isn't going to happen if I follow my own path and not God's.  Maybe He simply wants to teach me little lessons now to prepare me for what is to come.   Nothing is too small of a task to make a difference.  I do not have to do something HUGE right now, especially if I am not meant to.  
• Everybody is called to serve-"The goal is more important than the role" (Greg Surratt) It is essential to have a humble heart!  Nothing that we do here on this earth should be for our own personal glory!  I am so encouraged when I think that each and every one of us is uniquely designed to do something incredible!  Whether big or small, each of us was wired a certain way for a specific purpose!  

I don't know about y'all, but I think that is pretty awesome!  I am so motivated to really practice listening to the Big Guy and spending daily time with Him so that I cam prepare myself for what He has planned for me.  I desire to be used in a way that will help this world and bring glory to the One who deserves it, not me.  


I hope that each of you are encouraged to use the wonderful gifts that you have been given to make a difference!  It's the little things that make a BIG difference!  I have become accustomed to leaving on a happy note, so I found yet another happy video to keep you smiling throughout your week!  

Summer is finally here!

Happy Mother's Day!

What an absolutely beautiful day in Charleston to celebrate Mother's Day!  Too bad my wonderful mom (Janey Fresh) lives in Spartanburg.  If she were here, today would have been perfect!  I just want to take a moment to thank all those awesome mommas out there!  I am so thankful for my mom and I hope she knows how much she is loved! I don't know what I'd do or who I'd be today without you! :)

So, it has been about a week since my last exam and I could not be more thrilled!  Congratulations to all the graduates out there! I cannot wait to join you all in December!! Even though I've technically only had one day of summer, I will take working over school ANY DAY! Also, there are so many awesome things happening this summer, so my excitement level is intensely high!

• One of my best friends is getting married in less than a month!! WOOT!  Bags, I cannot wait to celebrate you and Zac's big day with all of our friends!! This is going to be the celebration of the year...move over Royal Wedding!  Sorry Lauren, I just had to put one of our Freshman pictures in this one! Hanging out with the most wonderful bridal party ever is going to be a highlight of my year! 

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2:  Where do I even begin?  For more than a decade, I have been been that nerd who goes to every midnight premiere (book and movie) usually in my Ron Weasley shirt.  It is going to be very bitter-sweet sitting through my last premiere...I do not know what I am going to look forward to movie-wise after this. (I guess the Twilight franchise will do for now..).  
• Simply enjoying NO classes and living the dream in Chucktown:  For those of y'all not living in Charleston, you really do not get to enjoy it during the school year.  I am looking forward to spending zero time in Addlestone Library and enjoying the beautiful culture that Charleston has to offer!  I finally went to the beach for the first time this season today.  This is not right for someone who lives here.  I can honestly say that school has humbled me to appreciate the little things in life!  

This morning at Seacoast Church my sister and I heard a sermon about the importance of being a friend to everyone.  There are always those who are harder to love than others, but you never know when you might need that person in a difficult time.  "Let nice be your default" was one of the quotes Greg Surratt said this morning and I thought it was definitely quote-worthy!  This week, challenge yourself to love everyone, even those who take a little bit more effort to love.  

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.  It has no survival value. Rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." -C.S. Lewis 

Done....well, sort of.

Holy exam week(s)!  Sorry I have not had the chance to post anything new...you can blame school for that! What a crazy past two weeks this has been!! Thank the good Lord that exams are now behind me, and only one more semester left of my collegiate career!  In only two weeks, I have learned so many lessons that I just had to talk about here in the good ole blog!

First, umm...hello ridiculous amount of news!! First, tornadoes, a royal wedding, and then the death of Osama bin Ladin. Even though I do not have cable (which is awful, no one should ever do that), every social networking site exploded at the announcement of each of these events.  I'm thankful I at least have the Internet to keep me connected to the world!  

• To the families of victims in those deadly tornadoes, my thoughts and prayers are with each of you!! It is times like these that remind us that we have very little control over this world, even though we like to think we do.  I hope that disasters such as this will only unite us all together in hope so that we can work through this sad time together in order to bring a brighter tomorrow to those who are hurting. 
• On a happier note, the Royal Wedding was a burst of needed "happy" news, which is lacking in our media.  Even though I did not get up at 4am to watch it (I had already pulled too many all-nighters that week for exams), watching the highlights of it warmed my soul!  What a beautiful sight to see!  Even though I heard many females crying over the loss of a single Prince William, I think we can all agree that Kate looked gorgeous and stole the show! 

Don't we look great? 

• Now to the news that seemed to stop time.  In the middle of studying for an exam, all of a sudden, my Facebook news feed blows up along with my Twitter feed with chants of USA! USA! USA! and Team America, etc.  The death of Osama bin Ladin had taken over the Internet, and my studying.  I had so many mixed emotions.  I can remember exactly where I was in the 7th grade when my teacher turned on the news to show planes plowing into the Twin Towers.  My blood began to boil and I was actually glad that he was dead.  After waking up the next morning, I found myself convicted for celebrating the death of someone.  Even though he deserved what he got, that does not mean we should celebrate that specifically.  So I am going to take the time now to celebrate the fact that we are blessed to have such amazing troops giving their lives for our country and to defend us from terrorism. Thank you to all the men and women who keep us safe!  

Now, Ben and I went to another wedding this weekend that was just as beautiful as any royal affair!  Congratulations to James and Natalie Neal!! I hope you all enjoyed your absolutely perfect day!! It was wonderful to be able to see some PC faces again!! That 12 hour trip in 24 hours was totally worth it!! 

For those of you still suffering through exams, here is a happy thought for you!  And for those of you who are  living the dream of summer, this is also for you!  And for those of you who are graduated and realize that you no longer have summer vacations, guess what....this is for you! Hope it brings a smile to your face! :) 

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." -Mother Teresa 

Thank you

Isn't it crazy how things just seem to fall easily into place sometimes? I do not know about you, but I definitely take those things for granted!  Sometimes, I am so focused on what is going wrong or what I wish was different that I miss the wonderful gift that is right in front of my face.  Life in Charleston has changed my perspective in a way that I never imagined possible!  

You see, when I was at Presbyterian College, I thought life was good.  Life was pretty easy (besides the schoolwork).  And I did not realize that the life changes that were happening to me at PC were simply preparing me for what I would face here in the Chuck.  God's good like that, you know?  Let me give some examples:

• I believe Ben and I were brought together at just the right time because God knew that we would need to help each other get through the transition of transferring mid-Junior year of college.  I do not know how I could have gotten through those first months without him! (And some pretty awesome roommates too!)
• Work opportunities popped up out of nowhere that helped me get by in such an expensive city!  I have never had occupations simply fall into my lap before, let alone work that will help me in my future career!  Thank you CofC Communication Department!  
• Just when I thought I was on my own with my spiritual journey in Charleston, God placed just the right amazing people in my path that continued to motivate me and have fellowship with me.  What encouragement God has provided for me!! 
• Just when I thought God was done being so good to me, he brings my sister to town!  I am so blessed to have my sister and best friend living in the same town as me! (Especially since she has cable--Hello HGTV!)

You know, during stressful times like these (I know all you students out there know what I'm talking about) it is always nice to really open your eyes to the awesome that has happened and is still happening today.  As I am typing this, I am reminded to tell the Big Guy Upstairs, "Thank you!".  Even in the midst of any circumstance, there is always something to be thankful for.  Continue to dwell on that thought until happiness consumes you!  This is my challenge for you all!  

"I believe that I shall see the GOODNESS of the LORD in the land of the living!" -Psalm 27:13

Oh my, I can already feel the summer heat, visualize the inside of my eyelids from being able to sleep in every once in a while and am getting so excited about reading every Harry Potter book before the final movie comes out in July (that one is bitter-sweet).  The joys of summer are so close, yet seem so far away!  We can do this guys!!  If this video doesn't brighten your day, I honestly do not know what will! :)

Happiness Begins with a Smile

It's that time of the year...exam time.  For most people my age, this is a time to rejoice because it means that these exams are the last exams that they will ever take! (unless they go to graduate school, of course.)  Since I transferred from a private collage to a public college, I lost about a semester's worth of credits...yeah. But, instead of wallowing in self-pity, I am going to take this time to look at the positives.  Hmm...since the economy is still attempting to come out of the hole, I do not mind waiting a tad bit longer to become an official "adult", and maybe graduating in December will be like a jolly Christmas present. I will just keep telling myself these things while so many cool people walk across the stage this May! 

Now that March Madness is over, the Bridge Run is over and too many tourists are flooding the city of Charleston, I am officially ready for summer to be here!  It is such a tease to be inside from 9-5 and watch people soaking up all that Vitamin D outside.  Now, all you graduates who say that everyone who has a job has to deal with the same thing...let me remind you of one thing you have forgotten. Homework.  It is like having another job once you get out of your first job.  AND students have to pay to work instead of getting paid to work.   Ah, I feel better now that I have vented to all you wonderful people.

"Peace begins with a Smile"-Mother Teresa

Ok, so for those of you who knew me at Presbyterian College, I was that girl who was up and ready for her earliest class smiling at every person I passed.  I'm sorry if that was thoroughly annoying to any of you blue hose!  But, the logic behind that nonsense was that maybe, just maybe, I could brighten someone else's day with a genuine smile.  For the most part, the smile was reciprocated.  It always brought a little more joy into my day when I got a smile back.  Well, as soon as I stepped foot into Charleston, that all changed!  People do NOT want you to smile at them, and they sure as heck do not want to smile back at you.  This was a big change for me to deal with over the past year.  Now, let me be clear, over the past months there have been many people that I have gotten to know and they are wonderful and they smile all the time!  But, it was a very hard transition for me when I first arrived here last January.

Just think about it, you have absolutely no idea of what is going on in people's lives that you pass everyday. Sometimes, all people need is to see a light somewhere during their day.  Maybe it's a smile, maybe it's a nice gesture or maybe it's just acknowledging someone's presence.  There is so much darkness in this world that we live in that we need to try our hardest to shine brightly in order to remind people of the good that is still happening.  One thing I have noticed is that when I stop focusing only on myself so much and make an effort to think of others, my day actually gets better too!  Got to love those God-moment endorphins!

This is my challenge for you (and for me!)...especially during this final crunch time filled with debbi-downing exams/projects/massive papers:  try to find something to be happy about!  When we take the time to remember the good...it always outweighs the not-so-good! 

"When you focus on what you don't have or on situations that displease you, your mind also becomes darkened.  You take for granted life, salvation, sunshine, flowers, and countless other gifts from Me." -Jesus Calling

If each person focuses on something good, and tries to share that good with other people then we would have a lot more happy people with happy things to think about!...just a thought to leave you with! Here's a happy picture to start off your fantastic weekend!

(stole this from Ellen's twitpic album!)

Holy Cow! What a Weekend!

Hello and Happy Sunday everyone!! I am overjoyed at the moment because this weekend has been one of the greatest all semester!! So many wonderful things happened that I just have to share with you.  Let's get to it..

1.  The Thorn:  The BEST birthday present ever!! (Thank you, Ben!) This play was a mixture of "The Passion of the Christ" and cirque du soleil, which equals an incredible performance!  On Friday night, Ben and I went to the opening show of "The Thorn".  I did not know what to expect except that everyone who had already seen it absolutely loved it.  I was told to bring tissues (which I forgot), and definitely needed them throughout the show.  What a wonderful reminder of the greatest story ever told!  I was deeply humbled throughout the show, and was constantly reminded of how much each and every one of us is loved so much by God.  Seeing the pain and punishment that Jesus endured for each of us (including our rotton sins), broke my heart.  But, the great thing about this story is that there is no need for any broken hearts because Jesus defeats death, defeats Satan and defeats sin.  Woot Woot!  We do not need to be sad...we need to be celebrating!!!  (http://www.thethorn.net/)



So...let's just say that "The Thorn" gave me the right perspective before the Cooper River Bridge Run the next morning...

2.  The Cooper River Bridge Run:  Where do I begin!?  Well...it all starts at 4am...with my pack of oatmeal, bananas and water, I head towards Calhoun Street to find the numerous busses waiting to haul over 34,000 people over to Mount Pleasant.  I love meeting new people each year when waiting hours before race time.  It is a great way to simmer the nervous butterflies that always flutter constantly in my stomach before a race.  This year, I got to meet a silver fox of a man that had many marathons under his belt, two awesome women who make their 40's look amazing, and a man from NY who was so happy to be somewhere that did not include snow.  Finally, at 8am the gun sounded and the Kenyans took off! (They only need about 25-30 minutes to beast that 10k). 

The weather was absolutely perfect and my legs were feeling good until I was about 3/4 up the bridge...I thought my calves and quads were going to explode any second.  These are the moments in life where you realize that you cannot rely on your own strength.  I remember begging God to just give my legs a little bit more juice so I could get to the glorious downhill part of the bridge!  Lo and behold, just as I am about to give in, He gets me to the downhill portion!  It's all a mental battle from there...and NOTHING is as bad as going up that bridge so the last 2.5 miles are possible!  The one really lame thing that the creaters of the Bridge Run course did was tease the runners with the last .2 miles.  You think you're finished because there's this huge sign that says you're at mile 6 (and looks like a Finish Line banner), yet you are fooled.  You still have .2 more miles to push before you can fall over!  After 49:32 minutes I crossed that glorious line! But, nothing is better than the feeling of crossing that finish line and seeing the vast array of bagels, muffins, fruit and water before you!  Next year, I'm bringing a grocery bag with me and loading up after the race!

To all you Bridge Run participants out there...I'm beyond proud of you!! Way to "get over it!" 

Now, more than 24 hours later, I still cannot move my legs properly and it hurts to go down stairs, but there is still more to celebrate about...

3.  Two Years:  Even though our anniversary is Tuesday, thanks to school, Ben and I had to celebrate our two year anniversary this weekend.  I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have been blessed with such a wonderful man in my life!  I thank God every day for allowing me to have Ben in my life!  (Sorry if this is embarassing you, Ben.)  I promise this will be short and sweet!  Thank you for the past two years! I love you! :)

So, after a great weekend filled with many celebrations, I am completely bummed that school is right around the corner.  There is so much to be done in only 4 weeks...I find myself questioning how in the world I am ever going to get it all done in time!!! But, then I realized, I've been wondering that all semester, and everything that has needed to be done, got done!  It is a constant battle with me to fight off the worries that parade in my mind.  I've decided that I enjoyed this weekend so much (because I completely forgot about school), that I'm going to continue each day in sort of the same way. (Unfortunately, I have to think about school a little bit for now...).  Why take school so seriously?  It has to be done, but it doesn't last forever! Thank goodness! 

"Don't take yourself so seriously.  Lighten up and laugh with Me.  You have Me on your side, so what are you worried about?  I can equip you to do absolutely anything, as long as it is My will.  The more difficult your day, the more I yearn to help you" -Jesus Calling

Lighten up everyone! (Including myself!)  I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful week filled with things to celebrate and be happy about!! If you open your eyes and look hard enough, you'll find these things!  If not, don't fret...I have a picture just for you!  Enjoy! :)

It's almost race time!

One week from today is the Cooper River Bridge Run!! For those of you who do not know, I have piriformis syndrome, and about this time last year, I realized I had it.  To put it in a nutshell, piriformis syndrome, for me, feels as if I have broken my butt and makes it quite painful to move around.  But, the main issue with this is that it keeps me from one of my absolute favorite things--running!  It just so happens that this obstacle reappears in my life before the Bridge Run.  This time last year, I was extremely bitter because this specific 10k race was my New Years Resolution, and I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.  So you see, the big problem was that I was focusing ONLY on "I", and not the One who gave me the wonderful gift and desire to run in the first place.

Luckily, I was directed to a chiropractor who helped realign my hips so that my gluteus maximus no longer felt broken.  With no practice for the run a month before the big day, I had to learn a hard lesson that should have been easy.  Every time I run, each step is a gift from God.  I cannot rely on myself and my own strength to carry me, but know that I NEED God by my side the whole time and know that His strength is more powerful than any injury or race that I could ever encounter.  This year, it seems as if the same lesson is here for me to learn from again.  The joy that fills my heart every time I am allowed to run is because my heart is full of "THANK YOU" to God!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us RUN with perseverance the race marked out for us. -Hebrews 12:1

Throughout my journey of injuries over the past year, I have learned the valuable lesson to rid myself of pride.  I now refuse to let anything that holds me back affect me and my relationship with the Big Guy!  I have done nothing great in this world on my own and can never take credit for it.  God deserves all the awe and thanksgiving!!  Who else could have carried my broken self across that finish line last year in under an hour? Certainly wasn't me!

My challenge to you wonderful people is to really think about all that the good Lord allows you to do.  Each and every one of us has been given special and unique gifts in order to enhance the kingdom of God here on earth.  Pretty cool, huh?  Honestly, I am still trying to figure mine out, but I can rest assure that as long as I am trying to follow His plan, that everything will work out the way that it is supposed to! 

I could not have made it through that race without Him last year, and I know He'll carry me through again this year! 
The JOY of the Lord is my strength! -Nehemiah 8:10

Happy First Day of Spring! :)

Sorry guys!  I have been trying to get back to this blog all week!! But, some crazy circumstances kept getting in the way!  It was actually a pretty tough week.  Thankfully, I have been surrounded by wonderful people and have been constantly reminded that God is so good!  On an extremely happy note, who is happy that daylight savings time came (even though we lost an hour of sleep) and now it is sunny so much later!! As someone who does not get out of class or work until about 5:30 everyday, I am so stoked that the sunshine is lasting longer these days!! :)

I want to tell you all about something so great that I've experienced this week.  You hear people talking about having an inner peace within them that helps them get through tough times.  Well, I've definitely experienced this sense of calming in my heart this week.  I have been so overwhelmed with the load of schoolwork that appears to be endless, hips coming out of alignment, and family pets passing away, yet God placed this wonderful stillness in my heart and mind that I am very thankful for.  I thought I was going to lose it a few times this week, and then there were moments where I just knew everything was going to be okay, and I had absolutely nothing to fear or be sad about. 

Now, before you completely make fun of me for this next statement, all I have to say is, "Don't knock it til' you try it!"  I follow RevRunWisdom on Twitter, and that guy knows his stuff!  I absolutely LOVE his words of wisdom and his love for Jesus!  Some examples to get my point across are as follows:

• "Best move I've ever made.... Developed a DEEP relationship with JESUS CHRIST #mytruth "
• "Ladies it'll be hard to find true LOVE IF. = (L)egs (O)pen (V)ery (E)asy #LOVE"
• "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships & persecution. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
• "Todays Lesson:: Arithmetic.... Count your blessings not your problems"

As you can see, the man has some good wisdom to share with the Twitter world.  It would be nice if he was teaching this wisdom at CofC.  Anywho, I'm getting off of an tangent.  I've decided that I really have no control over my life, and I'm perfectly okay with that.  This is because every time I've tried to have control over what happens in my life, it completely blows up in my face.  So, instead of making things rather difficult, I've given my life to Christ.  Even though I made this crucial decision about two years ago, just this past month I decided to take it one step further.  I decided to give my earned dollar in a tithe.  Now, for some of you, this doesn't seem so difficult, but for a college student living in downtown Charleston, every dollar counts (especially for parking!) 

So, I've decided to do what the Bible tells me.  I am going to test God by giving him 10% of each paycheck that I receive, and see what blessings begin to flow my way due to the fact that I trust God with the money that He is loaning me in the first place.  I challenge each of you to try to give up something in your life (or more if you'd like) and see if anything changes or any weight is lifted from you shoulders.  I know that the burdens that have fallen in my lap this past week have definitely taken a toll on me and my heart, but God has helped me tremendously in overcoming them, and trusting that His will is perfect in every way! 

It is officially Spring, which means the flowers will be blooming, the sun will be setting later, and the weather is ready for sun-bathing! Woot Woot!

"Some people forget that one of the greatest weapons against despair is prayer" -Rev. Run

In memory of the greatest panther-cat that ever was! I love you, Sam!

Burn Out Overload

Hello again!  I hope all of you that were on Spring Break had a fabulous week!  It definitely goes by waaaay too quickly!  Back to reality I guess...which means numerous papers and a test as soon as school starts back. Wow, that was really a downer..No more of that on this blog!!  That is one of the main reasons for this specific post.  Do you feel completely burnt out with this whole school thing?  Some days, I am definitely ready to throw in the towel.  I mean, we have been in school since we were 5...at age 22, I am a little sick of papers, tests and projects. 

This has been an immense obstacle for me to overcome this past week.  It is always hard to try and be productive with school work over a holiday!  But then I got to thinking...in the long run, these small burdens of tests, papers and projects all pass.  Every semester we take the time to fret about all that we are going to have to accomplish within a few months, but somehow, IT ALL GETS DONE.  And when you look back, you have no idea how you did it! 

I'm pretty sure I had a panic attack yesterday when I realized all I had procrastinated on this past week (but I thoroughly enjoyed every day I procrastinated).  Holy hypocrite!  I was worrying after I had blabbered on my last post about not worrying!  Geez guys, maybe I should have given that up instead of cheese for lent!  I needed a good reminder for myself that God has a plan for me, and fretting about it is not going to do me any good.  I just need to bite the bullet and do my work.  THIS TOO SHALL PASS!  As long as I give my work my best effort, I will end up where I'm supposed to.  There's no arguing with the Big Guy upstairs, He has an awesome plan for you and me, and He's not going to let school work get in the way of it!

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  -Romans 8:28

For those of y'all ending your spring break...don't worry!! It's already March, which means beautiful weather and a big break from school is coming (or graduation for some of you--Woot Woot!) Even with all of this rotton school work surrounding us right now, there are still so many wonderful things to be happy about!  Some people around the world, and even in our own country, would kill to have an education!  So, let's make the best of this so we can focus on the AWESOME plan that God has for us!  It's going to be epic, so get excited! :)

"Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart." -Rumi

Here is the happiest picture I've seen lately!  Hope it puts a smile on your face! :)