Lord, You're Already There

Well, I'm home for Christmas break and there has been a lot happening with me since I've been home.  I've been staying extremely busy!!! (but I'm ok with that ;)  I have had a lot of time to do some deep thinking as well, and I don't really know where to begin...
I've finished my first semester of college and passed all of my classes!!!!!!! I give all the glory to God for giving me the strength to make it through!  I could not have done it with out Him.  Although this semester went smoothly (for the most part) I'm struggling with which way to turn.  I've been thinking and praying and seeking counsel from others about my next step in life.  I'm just not having a totally, 100% feeling about where I'm at right now.  I have been struggling with finding that feeling inside of me where I can know for sure that I'm where God wants me to be.  I'm not having that feeling where I can feel God behind me in each step. I do realize tho that if this was not where God wants me to be then He would make it clear to me.  So that gives me a little bit of peace on that :)
I've also been struggling a lot with having full contentment with my life.  I'm finding myself being extremely jealous lately in many different areas.  I see the live's that my friends are living and I just wish that I could have a portion of what they have, but then God always reminds me that I have a loving family who truly cares for me and is doing what they can to support me.

As this New Year roles around many people make a New Year's Resolution... I have never been someone who ever really made a resolution, but this has been a year of many changes for me and Experiencing new things so I figured I'd give it a shot :)  This may sound corny to some people, but I've never been someone who has EVER been faithful in being involved in one-on-one daily devotion/quiet time with God.  I always have told myself that once I got to college and was on my own that it would be easier.... but it's NOT!!! I have a new "devotional study book" that I'm hoping that it will help me out, but I also am going to try to get an accountability partner to help me this.... I tried this a few years ago and it lasted for a while only because I hated to have to admit that I didn't do it.  But even then I was only doing it because I "had" to.  Please pray with me that I will find a TOTAL satisfaction in God and have a longing desire to spend time with Him each and every day and searching and finding things to help me learn and grow from

This post seems like just a random mix of things but it's just what I've been thinking this week :)

From where You're standing
Lord, You see a grand design
That You imagined
When You breathed me into life
And all the chaos
Comes together in Your hands
Like a masterpiece
Of Your picture perfect plan
When I'm lost in the mystery
To You my future is a memory
Cause You're already there
You're already there
Standing at the end of my life
Waiting on the other side
And You're already there
You're already there

One day I'll stand before You
And look back on the life I've lived
I can't wait to enjoy the view
And see how all the pieces fit

~Casting Crown's "Already There"

My Hobby!! =)

Took this one at the soccer game on Saturday evening :)

So, if you know me at all you know I LOVE to take pictures!!!! This past summer I've really taken an interest in "photography". I hate to call it that because I am no where near being the kind of photography I wish I could be.  I'm not extrememly serious about it either.  I just have a basic digital camera, and if I happen to get a good shot of something I'll do some touch ups on it and be done with it.  I really wish I had the time/money to really get in to it and make it a part of my life. :) Just thought I'd share some of my favorites that I've capured in these past few months! :) I'd love to hear what you think! ;)

 

These next few are of my two favorite little men!!!!!! I love capturing pictures of them! They are so precious and so fun to be around and they have the sweetest spirits and I just love capturing the memories!

Feet in the sandbox!!!!

Fun with water!!!!

 I have never been a huge fan of "landscape" pictures, but lately I've been finding a great interest in them!!! =)

Camp Calvary Hill

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little Taste of Me! :)

FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I never realized how much I appriciated Fridays until today!
This past week has basically been CrAzY! 3 tests, 2 quizzes, 1 paper, other homework and also trying to still keep a social life :)  Lately I've been really discouraged about a lot of different things with stuff going on here at school and also some other different circumastances going on at home.  It's really been making want to go home even more.  So between the discouragement and stress going on this week has been rough.  And to make it worse, I've had a sore throat and a bad cough all week :/ No time for resting tho!

I did some thinking alst night about this week and realized all I've done has been complaining.  God really humbled em last night that I am blessed WAAAAAAYYYYYYYY more than so many other people on this world and even within this campus.  I had over looked the blessings that God gave me during my "terrible" week. Monday, I got a letter in the the mail from a friend. Tuesday I got a package from my parents and a candy bar and note of encouragement from my RA, Wednesday, I was blessed by many different testimonies and praises of God's awesomness in Prayer meeting, Thursday I got another package in the mail and a note on my bed from a friend just letting me know she is praying for me!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!! God was giving me an awesome week and i totally over looked it!!! :(

God is doing great things in my life right now and I can't wait to see where the enxt few years have in store for me!! Yes, It's hard and stressed and discouraging at times, but God always has our best interest at heart!!! I love Him so much for that!!!!!

I'm now looking forward to a weekend jammed packed full of fun with friends!!! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!

Me and Ashley after a crazy week of classes!!!

God could not have put me on a better hall to live on!!!! I have the greatest friends ever!!!!

Indescribable!

< Me and Ashley freezing at the soccer games Saturday

So it's been a while since my last post, but I guess that's a good thing since I've been busy!  This past weekend were so full of fun and crazy experiences for me! Thursday we had a Vespers here at school.  It was AMAZING!  It was a short play about a Romanian man who escaped his home to get to America.  He later on in life got saved adn now lives here with his family in Greenville!!!  The man was actually here at school that night and it was really neat.

Vespers!!!!

Jenn, Emily, Ashley and Sarah

On Friday, BJU hosted the Washington Center Field Day.  It's basically a thing for children with special needs and they come and do little games and activities and such.  Since I am an Education Major I was required to help with it.  I walked around with a girl named Christina.  She was 12 years old, in 7th grade and couldn't do much of anything.  It broke my heart because she was just so pleasent the whole day!!! Her favorite thing to do was go listen to the music.  She likes anything with music/noise playing!

Me and Tricia at Washington Center Field Day

Christina and the flute she was playing with

The busses full of kids arriving Friday morning

The rest of the weekend was jammed full of studying, shopping with friends, and just trying to enjoy myself :)  My sister's fiance offered to take me and some of my friends out shopping on Saturday and we really enjoyed that!

Me, Tricia, and Ashley at Plato's Closet

Me and Alyse at Wal Mart

Then came Monday and I was beginning to REALLY stress out!!!! I had two big tests on Tuesday and was just extremely nervous about them :/ I studied for HOURS on Monday... every free second I had, I was down in the study lounge.  I came up to my room at about 9:30 and within 10 minutes I recieved an encouraging message from my mom just letting me know she was praying for me and I also got a phone call from my brother!!  If you don't know my brother at all, then this probably is wierd that I was so excited. haha He's not one for just picking up the ohone and calling his sister... but that night he did! we talked for about a half hour and it was great!!! i love and miss him so much!!!!

Throughout all of this craziness, I've been doing a lot of "random" thinking about how great my God really is!! I hear things all the time about Him and His wonderful deeds, but sometimes I don't take into thought on how AMAZING it really is!!!! I hear testimonies of people's lives every week and it's just so awesome to see that God is still at work in His people every day!!!! MY GOD truely is INDESCRIBABLE!!!!!! As I was thinking about this I was just in awe of how true it is... yes, God is awesome, and mighty, and extrordinary and the list could go on, but nothing really describes Him perfectly!!!! He's so great and powerful and amazing that it really is just Indescribable!! I feel like I'm just babbling now, but I just feel so overwhelmed by this :)

Cozy Coffee College Day :)

It's been a while since I've posted but I've been busy this week!  I'm okay with beening busy tho :)  I've had a wonderful relaxing weekend since I got all my work done on Friday so I was able to hang out with friends all day yesterday!!!  I was able to enjoy Volleyball and Soccer games Friday and Saturday nights and today I enjoyed church service and Sunday luch with friends and also meeting some new people!

Before I came to college I was extremely worried about meeting new people and now I can't evening begin to count the new friends I've made while I have been here.  As I sat in Sunday School this morning listening to my fellow Sister "Bandits" (our society) in Christ sharing how God has been working in their lives through some minor and serious struggles that they have had to go through it just makes me evaluate my life and realize that my life really isn't that bad at all!!! I complain about soooooo much but there are people everywhere who would do anything to have some of the blessing that God has given me!!
This past week tho I've been placed in some situations that have been a real struggle to me and I have found myself just struggling with understanding WHY all of this is happening to me!?!?! But then I think back and try to figure out WHAT I am suppossed to be learning from this.  I'm learning a lot of things while here at school.... and not just through my text books and teachers ;)
This afternoon I've been able to do a lot of reflecting back on my own life and see how WONDERFUL God has been to me!  He's given me parents that would do ANYTHING for me, I have a great sister, even tho we have our rough spots, we still love each other and I'm so looking forward to how much closer God is going to bring us together in these next few years of "growing" in each of our lives!  I have the most amazing brother who can make just about anyone smile and I have the dearest grandmother who has done a lot throughout my life to help me in many defferent areas of life!!!!  God has given me some AWESOME mentors (which are more like family to me :-) who are always willing to help me grow and are always so interested in hearing about what I'm learning about God!!!
God has blessed me in so many more ways that I just can't begin to list it all!!!! <3  I don't thank God enough for the blessings I have :(
I'm really looking forward to the next years that God has planned out for me and I know that whatever struggles I'm going throught is all part of His glorious plan for me!!!

Me and some friends at an Ice Cream Social Friday Night!

It was 50's themed and these were our "soda guys" :)

Soccer games with my new friend Tricia!!!!!!! I'm soooooooo glad I met this dear girl! She's been a blessing to me already and it's only been 2 weeks!

Me and Ashley at Volleyball games Saturday Night!

Homemade Ice Cream - What Freshmen Do When They Are Hungry

So this evening as me and my fellow freshman roommate and one of my bestest friends ever, Ashley were finishing up our homework and we decided that we both were REALLY hungry for some ice cream.  Well here at school it's a little tough for Freshmen to get off campus. For starters, neither one of us has a car, so we would need someone to take us. Plus, it was 9 p.m. so kinda hard to find someone at that time of night that would take us. So we got to thinking and Ashley had this brilliant idea to make our own ice cream!!!! So we got all of the ingredients, thanks to our Sr. roommate's stash of food, ingredients, spices and anything else we would ever need!!!!! we had the ice, cream, and milk so we got the salt from her :) anyways........ i've never done this before so I was super excited! :) It was alot of fun and a great way to get rid of stress!!! hahaha well it only took a total of like 10 minutes to make it and it tasted really good!!! It reminded me of a Wendy's Vanilla Frosty! :-) so this has become my new favorite snack now ;)

I had this water pitcher and it became the perfect this to put everything in to mix it up!

Me misxing up the Ice Cream.... lots of exercise in the arms ;)

Ashley Mixing

All done and sooooo YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Busy Tuesday..... Least Favorite Day of the Week

So today was the first Tuesday that I had to experience my Tuesday schedule.  Didn't realize 'till last night how crazy of a day it would be... and that it was.  I woke up at 6:30 a.m. got a shower and got ready for my day, had Old Testament Messages at 8 a.m. (so hard to stay awake!) then right after that I had a Fundamentals of Art Class in the SAME room like 2 rows back from my first seat.  So, that kinda makes it seem like FOREVER.  That class ended at 9:50 and I arrived at work at 10:15.  I am working at the campus daycare and today was my first day of working! I was there until 2 p.m. and I really loved working there with the babies!!!!! Kinda a nice get - away from classes :) I then left from work and had a Physics class from 2:30-4 and directly leave that class and go to Physics lab until 6 p.m.  So yeah, kinda a busy/stressful day for me! I normally only have 3 maybe four classes a day and that's it!  That was a big adjustment for me today, but by God's grace, I made it out alive ;)
I was dreading having to go to Lab today cuz I was just soooooo tired!!!! But it turned out to be a GREAT experience for me!!!! Such a God-Thing kinda ;) So, I go into class sit at a random table and a girl sat next to me.  We exchanged first names and then just quietly sat waiting for class to start.  When the teacher was taking attendence, he asked for Tricia Koeching... then a few people later, Emily Wagner.  We both looked at each other and was soooooo surprised to actually have met each other!!!! ...taking a couple steps back here.... This summer a facebook page was created for all the freshmen that would be attending BJU this year and it was a nice way to kinda meet new people who were all going thru the same freshmen worries and concerns and such.  Me and Tricia became "friends" and stuff on FB.  We have the same pajor, both live in PA and it was just sooooo cool that today we got to actually meet each other in person!!! We got to be lab partners and then went for dinner after class!!!!!!

I just love how on the rough days, God provides ways to cheer us up and keep us joyful for him!!!!!!!!!! <3

A Trip To Barge...

So this morning I woke up and went to my "wonderful" (note the sarcasm) 8a.m. math class and after class was over I had to go to Barge, the University hospital thingy.  While I'm here at school I will be working inthe campus daycare, but before I start working I had to have a TB test.  For those of you who don't know me, I absolutely HATE going to the doctors and I REALLY HATE getting shots.  I'm worse than a little kid!! Plus, I am away from home and had to do this... ALL ON MY OWN! Yes, I'm still getting used to living with out mommy and daddy ;) But believe it or not, it was not bad at all!!! I had a sweet lady dr. who talked and talked and talked! But I loved it hahaha the shot wasn't bad except for the fact that I ahve this nice little red "bubble" on my arm for the next two days. Then I will probably be able to start working!!
That will definately be a big adjustment to me here at school. I've been here a week without working and I'm thouroughly enjoying the free time I have.  It will be tough trying to disipline myself once I really get in the swing of things, but I know with God's help ANYTHING is possible!!!!!!

Isaiah 40:29 "He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength"

5 S E N S E S: OUTLINE OF GOALS

5 S E N S E S: OUTLINE OF GOALS: GOAL 1 with GOD- getting the word out about the organization ,selling shirts and doing advertisement with professional photographers SHIRT...

The First Week!

Well, as of today, I have officially been on my own as a new college student! I'm studying Elementary Education at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC.  This has been a wonderful experience so far and I am so excited to see what will come next. I have already made a ton of new friends and have experienced some things I never thought that I would every do!  Classes started on Wednesday and it was a huge eye opener to me at how dependent I was at home with my parents. I had to learn how to get from place to place, keep track of all my things, make sure I get where I need to be on time and still keeping myself healthy by eating right, getting enough sleep and such.  I have also dealt with some difficulties in this first week as well. Whether it was totally not understanding a word the proffessor was telling me, or confussed about the rules or just knowing where I needed to be.  I must say I have been blessed beyond words that I have my future brother - in - law here to help me out and also some of my sister's friends that are still here from when she was here at school the past four years.  I look at some of these freshmen who are here and don't know a soul, have never stepped a foot on this campus until the first day here, and I think to myself, "how can I be such a complainer, and a worryer (idk if that is even a word lol) when there are others out there worse off than me??" And then...... that sends my mind in a whole other direction on an outlook on the world.  Tonight at curch i had the priviledge of hearing three single ladies each tell thereir own personal story of either a short term, long term, or full time mission work on the whole other side of the world. It just breaks my heart to think and hear of these people in the world who have never heard of God, never seen anyone pray, don't know what a church is... and here I am complaining while I am being so blessed at all that God has given to me!
So, as i was writing this blog I did not expect to write all of that, but God just laid tha ton my heart so much tonight and I couldn't keep it all bottled up inside.
So I ask you to please pray with me that I can find a more thankful attitude in my heart thru these next years of college and for my heart to be tender towards the Lord's leading in my life. Today has been a rough day and my emotions have just been scattered to all different dementions and I'm just calling out to Him tonight!