Two more!

#94 -- Keep a food log for two weeks!

I'll add a picture later, but I did it! :) It was kind of hard some days to remember to do it, but other days when I'd be writing it down... I realized how much I had eaten, and at the time it didn't seem much but later it did! I eat healthy, so some days I felt ridiculous writing "grilled chicken" down twice a day, but other days I'd realize I had "just grabbed something" (i.e. - roll, bagel) more than once.

#2 -- Wear a dress to class five times.

I had a job interview this morning (find out tomorrow!), so I wore a dress - all day. It is more comfortable, like friends have said, but I also felt like people were staring at me more.... awkward. Please STOP.

That's all for now :)

Be Greater.

So, it's been a rough week.

But, today was my meeting with the other girls who are leading Bible studies in their halls. This meeting was exactly the encouragement I needed.

I only had one girl (with the exception of the friends that came) show up to my Bible study last night, and even though I knew it was the first week... I became a little discouraged. But, it's not about the numbers. God is going to bring the right people to Bible study, to whoever I need to pour His word into. Lindsey asked me, would I feel more comfortable in front of 5 girls or 25 girls? I said, definitely 5! She replied, maybe God is only going to bring you a few girls so you build confidence and reassurance that you can do this, and have more confidence next time to lead more girls.

Philippians 3:17 says, "Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ." ... Which I feel like God has really been laying this on my heart, and I've been reading it in my devotional and preparing for my Bible study. Being a leader means I'm setting an example, and I've made choices on what I'm doing and not doing.

But the hardest part is watching my peers not make the same choice. Today I realized instead of having a heavy heart for those people and feeling like I'm not doing something right.... is wrong. I can only be the hands and feet of Christ; I do what I can do and let Christ do what he can do. Which includes, loving others despite their faults. I fully admit that I am not perfect, and that last year I wasn't fully living out my faith, and I've realized that although this change is amazing and I love it... it's hard at the same time.

My devotional today was about listening to God, and following what He says to do. And today at our meeting, Lindsey was talking about how she always wanted to be coordinator, and then when the chance came... she got nervous. But, she felt God telling her to step up and do it, do more, be greater. I definitely related to that, with joining the Leadership Team and starting a Bible study. And I think a lot of people could do this... to be greater.

Right now, I just need prayers... to remain strong, keep trusting in Him and to become more courageous in speaking His word. :)

College: Round Two.

I start my second year of college tomorrow. I have so many emotions running through me right now, I think I'm about to lose my mind.

I'm kind of nervous/excited for my classes. I'm nervous about my two gen-ed. classes, because one is literature... and I love reading/writing, but it's been over a year since I've done it. Which is not that long, but then I remembered how long it takes to write things out, and I know I'm busy as it is. Then, I'm taking a political science class - which I will probably end up hating. BUT, I am beyond excited about my art classes. I can't wait to start doing art on the computer, I've been wanting to start on that since I graduated. Haha!

I can't put to words how excited I am what God is going to do this year. I am leading a girls Bible study for my dorm, which I'm also kind of nervous about since I haven't led one before. I'm on the Leadership Team at the BSM now too, which I'm glad for also because I will have a bigger Christian support system this year. And, I think I've developed a little "church crew" to go with to Hillside now. I absolutely love this church, I can honestly say it's the one church I've ever been excited about going to... And hopefully, I will have joined the church by the end of the semester :)

I know this is going to be such a fun/amazing semester; football games, BSM stuff, hanging out with friends. When I look back at last year, I know how much fun I had and how many people I met... but I didn't stay strong in my faith, I let it slip. I could've grown so much stronger in my relationship with God, and I didn't. And, I think being more involved in the BSM, church, and having a stronger support system will help strengthen my relationship with God.

I know this year is going to be so different from last year (besides the obvious fact that every year is different) because as I've been preparing for my Bible study, I've read some scripture and I feel like God has really been laying some things on my heart. I read a verse the other night that talked about how spiritual leadership should not be taken lightly. Which spoke volumes to me... people are going to start recognizing me through the BSM and Bible study, and what kind of leader or Christian would I be if I was seen at parties every weekend? I've been kind of stressed lately because even though I'm so excited and ready for school to start, I'm not sure what's in store for me and my friends, or future friends. I don't want to lose friends over the fact of not going out to parties or whatever, but I believe it's important to stand up for what I believe in.

I met so many people this last week, and it was crazy hectic. Which is probably just foreshadowing for this semester :) But, it's okay... God has a plan in store for me, my friends and all of WT.

P.S. - Can I just say how much of a nerd I am, and I really want to go to class tomorrow?!

"But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God."

Craziness.

Craziness is about to begin, actually... I take that back, it already has begun. 

In one week, school starts. Luckily, I did not sign up for the suicidal 19-hour class schedule... went with an easier 15. I learned my lesson last year. I am pretty excited about my art classes, I'll actually be on the computer this year! WOO HOO! Though, I'm not entirely sure what to think about my life drawing class..... 

I'd say I'm nervous about work the next few weeks, with students actually coming into the office and me not knowing what to say... but that has changed. Today, I was ...fired/forced to quit. I had told my secretary that I would be working Monday and Wednesday afternoons, and most of Fridays. Well, apparently my boss didn't think that would work. He needed someone in the mornings, and to work 20 hours a week. With  my class schedule (that I would just like to add, he knew of when he hired me back in June), that doesn't work. Either change my class schedule (NOT happening) or... leave. So, I left. After crying and talking it out, I turned in two job applications later this afternoon :)

Last year, I was somewhat/not too involved. That will be different this year... Monday nights, I'm leading a Bible study in Buff. Tuesday nights, Overflow in Hill Chapel. Wednesday nights there might be a Bible study at the BSM. Thursday nights there is a worship/late night at the BSM. Don't forget attending football games on Saturdays, and volleyball and basketball games. And last but not least, working out. I look at all this and think, oh my gosh.. I'm going to die. But, I know in reality, once it starts it'll just become second nature and it'll be okay. Sure, I'll probably miss some stuff, but I know I'm just stressing myself out right now for nothing. Or... at least I hope. 

One of my best friends/soon-to-be roommate, Casey, will be here in a few short days. I'm excited to be living with her, just hope we don't end up hating each other in a few months :) but I don't think that will happen..... And, my good friend, Natalie, said she wanted to be my work-out partner, which I'm super excited about! :)

I have BSM training tomorrow night, and then helping move freshmen in and do some publicity for the BSM on Wednesday. BSM stuff Thursday and Friday... and all next week at night. With classes starting, too. And right now, I have this feeling of "what do I do?" even though I wouldn't be working at this time anyways. I know in a week, I will be wondering if I'll have time to sleep at night. I'm trying my hardest to enjoy this last bit of relaxation...........

My Favorite Book.

I filled a notebook with my favorite quotes from:

- movies

- TV shows (mostly Grey's anatomy)

- books

- ....facebook bumper stickers

as well as:

- lyrics 

- Bible scriptures 

But, I think this book will never be actually finished... but for now I have all the quotes/lyrics I remembered/found.

Here's to filling another 100 pages... 

Snappin' Away.

#36 -- Buy a GOOD digital camera.

I've had some decent camera's the last few years... 

- Olympus -- very nice, didn't take good motion or night pictures.

- Nikon -- I didn't like it from the beginning, because it wasn't the camera I had wanted... and it was kind of big and clunky. 

But now, I have:

a nice Canon Powershot SX110 IS. 

I sold one camera, and am trying to sell my Nikon... so if you know anyone who wants a nice digital camera, let me know! I need to pay myself back for buying this one! Haha!

#25.

 -- See a major band/artist in concert.

DONE! 

Last night, I went to a concert, and saw:

- A Road Less Traveled

- Rob Attaway

- Marcus Dawes

- Teel Merrick

- The Afters

and most importantly... 

SWITCHFOOT!

They were amazing, to say the least. We weren't too far from the stage. Close enough to see well, but not in the mosh pit :) TOTALLY worth the $20!

Changes.

My sister posted one of the greatest Facebook statuses ever tonight: "God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know its me." 

I love this because of the following: 

You are the only one that can change you. If you don't like something about yourself, ultimately.. it's up to you. Others can help or influence, but you have to have the strength and discipline to do it. Even though it hasn't been in a huge way, when I look back to the beginning of the summer, I've realized I've changed. I didn't think I would, that it would just be a normal fun summer. I feel like I've kind of "grown up" just in general, nothing specific. Just comes with the territory of paying bills, buying groceries, living alone and I guess I should throw in traveling. I don't like how envious I become sometimes, but I've been working on it. God has blessed me with so many things, I don't need to be envious of others. 

The biggest part of how I've changed is that my walk with God is stronger. I grew up in the church my entire life... but if I'm being honest with myself, I haven't been living out my faith until this year. I started using that "courage" this quote talks about the last few months. It started with inviting friends to church and bible studies, even though sometimes they didn't end up going. But, one of my new favorite quotes is, "Somewhere, somebody is needing you to be the hands and feet of Christ to them." Sometimes, all you can do is let God shine through your words and actions towards other people. One of my best friends is re-connecting with God for the first time in a long time, and I love watching it. :) And, even more courageous... I'm going to be leading a girl's bible study this semester! Praise Him! 

I've realized a few things about me and guys (the person I usually wish I could change most); I don't need to lower my standards or morals for a guy, and when I come across a few bad apples...  God is just showing me what I don't want. I don't know if I so much as want a boyfriend, but I want my guy-best friend... sometimes I don't want to hang out or vent to my girls, I want a guy, and having one of those before makes it harder to not have one. Something I've been nervous about, and praying about for the last few weeks, is this upcoming year. I can't change people, I can't change their actions. But, I'm in college... where we party and go out. I don't want to be considered two-faced. I want to hang out with my friends, but sometimes that involves going out or partying. Even though I don't drink, I don't like being in that situation sometimes. I don't want to break friendships because of this... but just like I don't want to lower my standards for a guy, I don't want to do it with my friends either. 

I am so excited about this upcoming year... for what God has in store for my friends, family and I. :)

Too many updates, sheesh.

#41 - Check blood sugar at least three times a day for one month.

I finished earlier last week, but never got around to blogging it. 

So good to get back in this habit..  since it's pretty important to my existence and all. 

#35 - Have an art weekend. 

Taylor and I art'ed it up this weekend! 

I did the following: 

- came very close to finishing my dad's car drawing

- splatter painted a canvas 

- made room signs 

- painted my two TV dinner tray/stands 

- completed more of my lyric/quote book 

- made picture frames for two of my friends 

#84 - Unplug for a weekend. 

No TV or movies.

No cell phone. 

No laptop (except we allowed it to play music, since we were having an art weekend also.)

Refreshing to kind of "get away" but at the same time, it was so hard to not text! 

#58 - Make room signs for me and four friends. 

These wooden planks were super cheap at hobby lobby, and I only had to buy a few things of paint - since I already had some from art classes. And, I found those ...jagged-edge hanger things to put on the back. Haha. Super fun and easy project! 

#64 - See three movies before Christmas 2009. 

#1: My Sister's Keeper (in Dallas!) - 7/16

#2: The Ugly Truth - 7/26

#3: The Proposal - 8/7 

Currently in progress:

#80 - Visit the artwalk five times. 

- Jesse, Taylor and I went and walked around the entire place. And picked up some snacks, oops. 

#85 - Make a notebook of my favorite quotes and lyrics. 

- Almost done! 

#94 - Food log for two weeks.

- Today is day one. Hopefully, I keep with it. 

#96 - No sugar, unless low, for two months.

- Also day one. This should be fairly easy :)

Hands and Feet.

I spent this last week in Glorieta, New Mexico.

The trip is sponsored through the BSM every year, at the beginning of August. I went last year as a freshman and had a good enough time to go again this year. But, last year we didn’t do anything of the recreational activities (paddle boating, mini golf, etc.) or go to worship. It’s “Collegiate Week” down there, so hundreds of college students are around for this conference. In order to attend the conference, we would have to pay an extra $65, instead of just relaxing and entertaining ourselves.

This year, we went paddle-boating and hiked (in a car) to “Lookout Point,” where you can see out over all of Glorieta. And, we snuck into worship each night and a few breakout sessions. The band is originally from Lubbock, and they were amazing. The church I go to, Hillside Christian, has a very contemporary worship, and this band almost belongs in Hillside! The speaker, Tony Merida, was also really good. He really knew how to reach out to college students.

By far, my favorite part of the trip was just sitting down and reading my bible with Taylor. I’ve never actually just sat down and read my Bible; I’ve only read it during church or bible study. But, this week I did. Every verse I’ve heard or seen from Proverbs, I’ve loved. So one morning, I read/skimmed through Proverbs… the entire book. And, Taylor and I started our own little Bible study/devotional – we each bought a book and we’re just going to go through each one together.

Speaking of Bible study…  for the few of you that don’t know, I am going to lead a girl’s Bible study this fall. A few times this summer, I just had a thought… that leading a Bible study would be kind of fun, but I thought I didn’t know enough and just basically made up excuses. Well, Tiffany (the intern at the BSM) also mentioned it a few times but I just shrugged it off. But, this last week we were talking about it and I decided to do it. I think sometimes as Christians, we get too comfortable in our faith and don’t try to deepen our walk with God. One thing we talked about was stepping out in faith, trusting God with a trial or something that we need to “let go” of. After thinking about it, I decided leading Bible study is how I was stepping out. I don’t like speaking in front of people, I’m not fully educated in the Bible… but it’s not about what I’m saying, it’s about God.

I read/heard so many good things this week, I can’t even think of them all right now. I’m sure I’ll be posting more in the next few weeks. But here’s two of my favorite verses:

“Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed.” – Proverbs 16:3

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” – Proverbs 16:9

And a few lyrics I can’t get out of my head:

“Heal my heart and make it clean, 

Open up my eyes to the things unseen,

Show me how to love like you have loved me,


Break my heart from what breaks yours,

Everything I am for your kingdoms cause,

As I go from nothing to eternity”

I’ve been praying for certain friends and family these past few weeks, and just hoping their hearts would change, along with me. A speaker at Glorieta said something that really stuck, “Somewhere, someone is needing you to be hands and feet of Christ for them.” That really stood out to me because recently one of my best friends started going to church with me, and I kind of feel that part of the reason God brought us together was to help her know Christ. And, I feel like that’s what I’m going to do and/or need to do for some of my other friends.

And, this week my grandma (on my mom’s side) was admitted to the hospital, first for low oxygen, and now she has a blood clot in both lungs and possible pneumonia. I have a daily bible verse sent to my phone every morning, and when I read today’s… I knew it was exactly what I needed to hear: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." – Philippians 4:6 

I am not all-knowing. I am not the perfect Christian. I am not only turning to God in times of trial, but to rejoice as well. I am working on my walk with God. 

Lots of Checkmarks.

So, today is August 1st, which equals check-off day! :)

#22 -- No hamburger for a month!

This wasn't very difficult, seeing as I cook all meals for myself. My month consisted of a lot of tilapia, turkey burgers, chicken and stir-fry. The few times I did go out to eat, it wasn't too hard to chose something with no meat (except, yesterday I really wanted a quesadilla at the Soda Shoppe... I was strong though!)

#24 -- Take a photo everyday for a month!

Some days were easier than others... and I know I didn't post all of them, but some days I just ran out of time to load and post them. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the pictures yet, if I should scrapbook them... or do anything with them? Haha. 

#48 -- Go back to drinking 3 bottles of water every day, for a month!

I drank a lot of water this last semester, and made it a point to drink 2-3 bottles a day. But, that habit soon died off to one bottle. But, I'm back in the habit! :)

#70 -- Go a month without pop!

WOO HOO! So, in junior high, one year I made my New Year's Resolution to give up pop. Somehow, I managed to go the entire year without pop. First resolution I ever stuck to! Well, I still didn't drink pop that much after that year... up until I got to college. I probably only drank pop 3 or 4 times a week, but that was still more than I wanted or needed to do. It wasn't too difficult to go without pop, except on Friday mornings at work when I was in desperate need of caffeine. I'm currently sipping on my first pop in over a month, courtesy of Sonic Happy Hour! I love Diet Dr. Pepper!! 

As I was reading through my list, I realized I forgot to check off one a few weeks ago: 

#34 -- Go to an amusement park! 

Courtesy of my Dallas trip.

I finally found a notebook to put all my quotes and lyrics in, so soonnnnnnn... I can check that off! And, in a 3 days I can check off another :)