Just Give It Time

I have a few random thoughts running through my head and they need to get out!

First of all, I got another job and really like it! I've been reminded of a few things from the family i'm working with... Life is too short and precious to worry so much about the boring, little, mundane things. Live life to the fullest, make the most of everything and have as much fun as you possibly can! Pay attention to the little things, the little accomplishments, the little smiles, they get overlooked way too much. You can choose to be bummed out about the cards you've been dealt or you can choose to embrace your cards and see them as a blessing.

Second of all, i'm pretty sure i have the best and goofiest friends ever! Due to lots of wishful thinking, several of them have expressed to me that I should marry one of their family members so I can be apart of their family. Yes, I think this is a grand idea.. I love all of my friends dearly, and how fun would family gatherings be?! However, I have no idea what God wants to do with me in that area! I'm content with being single but marriage is definitely a desire of mine. My eye has been caught by a guy, however, due to distance and crazy schedules it doesn't seem to be going anywhere (at least from my point of view). I've expressed my thoughts to God and placed the situation in His hands, if He wants something to happen, it will happen and if not.. well then there's other people out their for us. I just wish I had some kind of direction, i'm not a fan of standing at the crossroad. Ya know? I think i'll just stick with all my real family and adopted moms for a while.

Third of all, I just need to vent a whine for a second. I'm in a situation and I know what i've got to do, however, it's not what I want to do, and it hasn't panned out the way i would have liked it to.. i just need to lay down my pride and sacrifice things for others. God has and will continue to provide for all my needs. but it's so hard for me to be a part of this situation with a genuine, joyful heart. i'm pretty sure i've whined and complained about it a few times a week for a while now and I have to stop! NOW! I'm not going to let satan use this as a stronghold in my life anymore. I will be going by the golden rule and avoiding a few topics of conversation for a while. *I'm so happy for my friends and the life God has for them! :) Really, they're awesome people!

~This afternoon on the way home from work, I was listening to "Just Give it Time" by Jon McLaughlin, it was like God was right next to me with his arm around me singing the chorus to me :) so sweet and comforting! TRULY AMAZING!
*Check out Jon, he has some good tunes!

This Week in Review

I'de say overall it's been a pretty good week, here's a quick recap :)

Pulled a half all nighter then an all nighter the next night. Lovely physics... of course everything on the review and she mentioned in class for us to study was not on the test and the concepts she casually mentioned were.. Fortunatly, by the grace of God with a curve and extra credit i managed an A and got an A in the class! It's a Christmas miracle!

*My eyelids definitely needed a kickstand most of the week*

Last week I found out my dad has "Atrial Tachycardia" ... it's a heart condition where your heart beats abnormally fast for no reason; it makes him really dizzy and tired. The doctor gave him some meds to help regulate it for now and found out this week that they're going to do surgery around the first of the year...

*of course I now have 2 jobs and am in a wedding in Dallas that weekend, hopefully it'll work out to where i can stay with him and help out as well as work enough to pay bills :/ I know God will provide!*

One of my best friends, Landon, came and stayed with me this week :) hadn't seen him in a while so it was nice to catch up and hang out like old times. And yes, we cooked some AMAZING food! Me, Landon and my roomate, Stephanie went dancing in San Antonio, I thought it was a great idea cause we got in free for college night... after we got in we soon realized it wasn't the best idea. There were SO many people you could hardly move! We pushed our way onto the dance floor and manovered around people but it wasn't ideal.

*At least we got in free, ran into one of our good friends, and ate at Taco Cabana after!*

Went to a surprise birthday dinner for my friend, Leah, who turned 21. It was her first surprise party!

*If you have never had a surprise party, please let me know. Everyone needs to have a surprise party once in their life!*

My roomate, Sami, got engaged last night! I'm so excited for her. I'm thinking of going into the wedding planning business with another friend.. we have so much experience and everyone says I should do it.

*Oh the story of my life*

A Crash

Well, I did it! I actually finished a book! The Barbarian Way by Erwin Raphael McManus. If you're looking for a challenge to live outside the box of civilized Christianity, this is the book for you!

Towards the end of the book he talks about his visit to the wildlife animal park near San Diego, while he's there he realizes the uniqueness of the different animal groups and how they dwell together. For instance.... a group of buzzards waiting around to feast on leftover carnage is called a committee, a group of flamingos are called flamboyants, a group of owls is a parliment, and a group of rhinos is called a crash... You can pick out the parallels yourself..

McManus goes on to talk a little more in depth about the rhinos/the crash. They can run up to 30 mph. Although rhinos can only see 30 feet in front of them they still run at 30mph. If you could only see 30 feet in front of you, would you run that fast? McManus challenges the reader to run forward as a barbarian tribe and become a human version of a rhino crash. Like the rhinos, the future is uncertain, we can't see or fathom what's in the distance. However, we must move forward with confidence, stop wasting time being afraid of what we can't/don't know BUT move forward because of what we do know. Just because we can't see what's 30 feet ahead of us doesn't mean we can't see what's right in front of us... will you hear and see the cries of the lost that God has placed in your path?

"Stay off the paved road"

Relationship Conversations

A few nights ago I went to dinner with my dad which was really nice because it was just the two of us, and I got to eat steak! Well, we're sitting in Outback Steakhouse and he proceeds to tell me about how him and his girlfriend broke up. I tried to be a good listener and keep the conversation going by asking questions. I can't decide if that conversation was more awkward or the conversations where he tries to give me dating and marriage advice are more awkward. Either way, give me about a week and i'll be able to laugh about it, until then i'm really weirded out!

On a similar more successful note, I made it through an entire holiday without anyone asking why i'm not dating anyone or why i'm not married yet! I'm still not sure how I managed to dodge that subject... Usually at least 2 out of the 30 or 40 family members has to bug me about it, but not this time! Hopefully they are able to finally see and realize that it's ok that i'm not with someone, I can make it on my own! Yes, I do desire to get married one day but I am totally ok with waiting for the right guy :)

Attempting to Clear the Obstacles....

So, my parents will have been divorced for 9 years this winter. It seems like yesterday they sat us down in the living room and told us they were getting divorced because they had "fallen out of love". Fortunatly, my brother and I took it pretty well and just moved on with life with the mindset that life must go on, it'll just be a little different now. There were a few hurdles and obstacles to climb over, but I cleared them and have have been running full force since. My mom has been with the same guy for about 6 or 7 years, until a few months ago my dad hadn't really had a girlfriend. The past few months have been a whole new experience for me! It's so weird seeing my dad with a lady-friend. And even weirder when he talks to me about their relationship! At first he tells me he has the "love bug". Then a few weeks later he tells me he thinks he's going to break up with her, I think he was asking for advice, but I was shocked and weirded out that I wasn't much help. After that night, the subject wasn't brought up anymore so I assumed they had broken up. Well, a few weeks later, I went to go meet him for lunch and she's there! I'm pretty sure I hadn't been in such an akward situation in a very very long time! They were like 2 teenagers in love... they were all cuddly, giggle, and lovey-dovey. NOT something i'm used to, especially when it's your Dad!!! I really want to know what happened, why they're still together, but i've been too weirded out the past week to bring it up. Hopefully one day soon i'll be able to clear this obstacle...

Few and Far Between

Yes, I do realize my posts are few and far between. It's not that I haven't encountered any adventures, it's the fact that I forget that I should write about them or say i'll do it later and later never comes...

About a week ago the Chi Alpha director calls me and asks me to write a little paragraph thing about what it's like having Christ in my life and being a college student and what XA has meant to me. This is what I came up with...

Living as a committed Christ follower on a college campus is not the easiest thing I’ve ever done, however, it’s not the hardest thing I’ve done either. I can say with confidence that God has been with me every step of my college career. He has been my comfort, my provider, my strength, and has equipped me with everything I need. God has given me a sense of belonging, I am His child. He has guided and directed me down His paths and covered me with His peace, even when it was the exact opposite of what I thought needed to be done.

I transferred to Texas State a year ago and knew only 2 people in the town. Through Chi Alpha, I got involved in a small group and met some amazing people who are now some of my very close friends. The weekly large group meetings have been so encouraging to me. Being around other believers, participating in intimate worship, and hearing practical teaching has helped me fall more and more in love with my Savior and deepen my walk with the Lord.

Interesting People

First of all, I owe my friend, Brittany, an apology for my absence in blogging! Now, onto my stories...

As usual, I have a long list of things I should be doing, however, right now I think laying on my bed with Ben (my roomate's dog) who is currently growling at my closet or a shadow I can't figure out which it is, and sharing stories is more fun than cleaning or studying or grocery shopping or any of the other 34 things on my list. It's a great evening, I can finally open my window and not die of a heat stroke! Oh how I love fall!

Yesterday I rode the bus home from school, as usual. However, I saw something that was definatly very unusual... After the first stop, people shuffled around and I ended up getting a seat. Standing in front of me is a girl standing wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt. Her arm is raised because she's holding onto the top bar. Out of her armpit I see hair, lots and lots of hair it had to seriously be 3 or 4 inches long. No Joke! I look down and notice her leg hair is basically the same way; long and in massive amounts. I was not prepared to see this...

Also, this week was national "coming out of the closet week". Of course there were lots of people on campus celebrating this event. Thankfully, I didn't have any encounters with girls! You bet I sure did do a lot of prayer walking. Last night I went to Chi Alpha, it was so refreshing! The guy preached about almost the exact same thing I heard from God that afternoon on one of my prayer walks! :)

San Marcos Memories

I just got back into town after spending the weekend in Brenham/College Station and instead of working on my physics homework, I thought i'de share some of my favorite memories in San Marcos from the past year...Pumpkin Carving Party!

Throwing the Christmas tree of the 3rd floor balcony because it broke and we couldn't put it together and we didn't want to carry it down 3 flights of stairs to the dumpster.
Football games with one of my best friends, Rene.
My friend Allison! Coffee, Gilmore Girls, Knitting!

Brittany got married!
The River!

Those are just a few adventures from last year. I can't wait to see what's going to happen this next year!

Looking Back

You're the God of this city,

You're the King of these people,
You're the Lord of this nation, You are.
You're the light in the darkness,
You're the hope to the hopeless,
You're the peace to the restless, You are.

There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come,
greater things are still to be done in this city

About 1 1/2 years ago, I clearly remember singing this song at Breakaway (a worship service in College Station) At that time in my life, I loved living in college station,I loved my job, planned to transfer to A&M that fall, pretty much all my close friends were living there, I loved my church; I couldn't imagine it anything else. Well, about a week or so before that service I felt God was going to move me away from College Station. Doors began to slowly close for me to stay there and i was getting scared. However, doors were opening for me to move to San Marcos, a place I specifically had no desire to move to. As we were singing that song I was begging God to let me stay in College Station... "greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city (College Station)" .. I couldn't move, or at least that's what I thought at the time. Slowly but surely, every door began to close for me to stay in College Station and every door was opening for me to move to San Marcos. Eventually I let go and agreed to move to San Marcos. I trusted God and was willing to obey Him and had complete peace about moving, but at the time I wasn't too keen on the whole idea of abandoning my plan for something totally unknown.

I layed down my pride and my desires and made the move. I knew only 2 people in the town, 1 of which I lived with. I ended up living off ramen noodles and mac & cheese for a majority of the first semester and still refused to be fully content with where God was bringing me; although I knew I was where I was supposed to be. Over the past few months God has really been changing my heart for the city of San Marcos. Yesterday we sang that song in church and I was finally able to say I am fully content with being here and where I am in life! I'm very excited to see how God is going to use me here. Looking back, this past year has really been an incredible journey! I've learned so much, and developed some incredible friendships. I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Stories From The Bus

You can pretty much count on having some kind of bus adventure, whether good or bad, at least once a month. Since school started a week ago, i've had 2 experiences that i'll share with you...

The first one was last week. The bus was packed and i was running late for class so i didn't have time to wait for another, hopefully not so crowded bus. I squeeze in and hold on. Well, I decided to hold onto the wrong bar with the wrong girl. about halfway to campus i learned she was obviously a fan of girls in a very different way than i was. i'm pretty sure that was the longest 6 minute bus ride of my life!

Today, the bus was crowded so i had to stand, as usual. There was a guy sitting to my left. All of a sudden, he sneezes... on MY arm! He just played it off like nothing happened. Gross!

I think i'm about due for a good bus adventure... we'll see what happens with the rest of the week.

... aint life and love one big roller coaster ride...

A few days ago I met my best friend and her family at Sea World in San Antonio! So much fun! I'm a big fan of roller coasters (as long as they're not wooden), so of course we we ride the only 2 coasters in the park multiple times. I had always thought that the very front row was more adventurous; boy was i wrong! It is actually the very back row that's more adventurous! Try it out, let me know what ya think! It would not have been a Sea World visit without watching the Shamu show! Those animals are amazing! I decided I need to become friends with a whale or dolphin trainer. That way i would get to swim and have fun with them, but not have to worry about learning to train them because I don't have the slightest idea of where to start. I think i'll stick with kids instead of animals.

Well, it's my last day of freedom before school starts and I plan on soaking every bit of it up!

Praising God

About a week ago I had a sweet evening encounter with Jesus. He reminded me of the power he has and the power that's in me because he's in me. And how beautiful it is to be weak because that's when his perfect power and strength is revealed. He then reminded me how easy things can be if I trust him. And how he is the Jehovah Jireh, the provider. So, i'm praying and reading all these verses and thinking in the back of my head... He's reminding me of all this because i'm about to have money issues again because due to being on my own and being in college i always have money issues.

Little did I know all the events that would come up in the next few days, and how his word would be proven time after time...

- I un-excitedly went back to work at my old pre-school to help them get ready for the school year. If you know me well, you know how I felt about that. First of all, I was out of money and had to pay bills, well, after working there for a few weeks, I can now pay my bills! Praise God! And my boss is gave me $.25 more/hour! Praise God! And tomorrow is my last day there! Praise God!

- I was trying to register for classes, but it wouldn't let me because the gpa requirements were changed without anyone notifying me. The next morning I talked to an advisor about it and he was able to get me into the classes I needed! Praise God!

- After moving and unpacking I learned that my coat was missing. I went by my old apartment and called all my roomates and nobody had it. I assumed the worst since the last time I touched it was when I put it in the coat closet after the last cold spell, months ago. It's not like it was super sentimental or super expensive, I just got a really good deal on it and liked it a lot. My friend (and former roomate) Brittany calls a few days later and informs me it got mixed up with her coats when she was moving out! Praise God!

- Speaking of Brittany, we met up in Austin for a day of fun filled adventures. Me, being from a small town and never having my car towed, decides to leave my car at Chick-Fil-A and just drive 1 car around Austin. I look and see no "towing enforced signs" and assume it's a safe bet that my car will be there when I return later that evening. Brittany was a LITTLE more apprehensive than me, but I assured her it would be ok, and that I was trusting Jesus. Yeah, my car was definatly there when we returned later that day! Praise God!

Those are just a few things, and of course there are a few more things in the works as we speak. Praise God, for he is strong in me when i'm weak. Praise God, for he is faithful. Praise God, for he is love.

First Things First

After spending the day with my good friend Brittany, she successfully convinced me to start a blog. We'll see how long this lasts, no promises. I've decided to share my adventures ... my adventures with Jesus, with friends, with family, and my adventures in life. Happy reading!