I feel foolish, and so I don't want to share, but I will anyways, because...I should. In my last post I talked about having no money and how work-study jobs were sucky. If you haven't read that post, go read it first, then come back.

Before I came up here, I had been praying and praying that God would provide the funding I needed to go to school here. I knew that it was Him who told me to come here in the first place, so I knew that He would help me pay for it. For awhile before school was going to start, I was still about a thousand dollars short, and although it seemed like my parents were really concerned, I wasn't all that much. I had given this issue to God and I was trusting that He would come through (because really, when does He not?), even though I had NO IDEA where the money would come from. Two weeks before I was to head here, I got word that I had been taken off the waiting list and awarded the work-study. I was given a limit of $1500 for the semester, and was free to do whatever I wanted with the paychecks, including putting it all towards school. This was literally the answer to my prayers, and I knew it as soon as I found out. I was so excited, and I prayed then and there, thanking God for providing. Next thing you know, I'm here at school complaining because I would have only gotten 6.5 hours a week, which wouldn't have gotten me anywhere close to that $1500. After not finding a different job fast enough, I decided to take the work-study one just so I could have SOME money coming in. I seemed to have forgotten that I was "trusting God"...I tried to take control of my situation again, and I didn't even realize it. It never even hit me until I was sitting in chapel the other morning, and randomly I realized that I was working a full 13 hours a week. All that time I spent filling out endless applications and stressing and talking to people and complaining I was praying that God would give me a good job. Funny thing is, He already had. When my silly little head couldn't see how things could possibly work out, God was still there, and it wasn't until I fell back into place with His plan that I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

I was absolutely in awe when this hit me. It was so clear, as if I were watching it happen in a movie, and it made me feel so tiny.

The end.

Thoughts For The Day :)

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

         On one of the days during the youth trip to Guatemala this past summer, David read us this verse and had us journal about it for a little while. I don't have that entry with me here at school, so I don't quite remember what his prompt was or what I wrote, but I do know that it wasn't really THAT big of an impact for me. After a week of taking care of malnourished babies and scrubbing and cleaning and painting and scraping, it made sense why he chose that verse, but it didn't mean all that much. Thursday morning in chapel either Pastor Chris or one of the other speakers mentioned it while talking about "being the answer", and it sort of took on a new meaning. No, maybe that's not right. It meant the same thing, it just meant MORE.
         I am going to school for social work, with the hopes of one day working with children in adoptions and foster care, and maybe even full-time missions someday down the road. The more I think about what I am doing and where I am headed, the more I feel like this verse should be MINE, like this is what drives me. I love people, and I have a heart for helping them. It feels fulfilling when I accomplish something for someone else's benefit, for someone who REALLY needed it. I dream so big, but only because it's all stuff I cannot do alone. You know, I dream of those huge God-moments found in life's little ones, and making an incredible difference one person at a time simply by letting God work through me. I want so badly to trust God and experience his power during those times when I have nothing else to lean on.
         The funny thing is, that's kind of right now...I didn't know anybody here at Southeastern when I came, and so as I meet people and attempt to find a niche, I am relying so much more on God as my friend, not just my god. I have been talking to him constantly throughout the day, even about silly little things. I am broke. I mean, I have money, but I need every penny of it for school, especially since I don't have a job yet. I can't find a good enough work-study job, and I have been filling out endless numbers of applications elsewhere, all the while praying praying praying that God would work things out and continue to provide. If there is anything I understand about God, it's that he will. I can't say that I have the same big miraculous stories that some other people have, but my own are just as great a testimony to God's faithfulness, at least to myself.
         I am so excited to see what all God will allow me to do this semester. I feel a little guilty because it has been so easy for me to up and move away from everyone, and although I do miss my family, I am happy here. I LIKE being on my own, and I like being independent (as independent as I can be without a car--lol). I do wish Val were here with me, though. Being here and experiencing all this new stuff isn't the same without him by my side. Lord, please let this semester go by quickly...!
         I'm going to go, I think. I'll be sure to post something more later on. I'd like to get into the habit of posting school updates consistently, for the sake of those back home, but once classes really get going, I don't know how often that will be. Goodnight!

Evening with Anna!

Tonight I met up at Gulf Coast to hang out with my friend Anna. She was home for the weekend from USF, and we finally got to spend some time together and chat. We went to eat at Red Robin, then grabbed some italian ice and just walked around and went in some stores and window-shopped. In Charlotte Russe we each tried on a dress and took pictures...I'll come back and post one here when she sends them to me. We had a lot of fun, and I'm glad we got together. Next time we do this, we have to make sure that Meli, Krystle, and Amanda can come too!

Goodnight!

It's nice to laugh with God

I have been procrastinating so much lately! What is wrong with me?! Whatever happened to my daily schedule and motivation to get things done? Haha

Yesterday I got my hair cut differently than just being straight and one length. I have some side-bang stuff going on and lots of layers...I love it! I was actually kind of forced to get it cut because I took a pair of scissors to it myself, and apparently I'm no good at that! It was easily fixable though. The left picture shows it before, the right picture shows it after. Neither of them are that great, but it's all I had.

Indeed, Val's car is in need of something, yet again. A new battery. I told Shay-Shay (the car's nickname) to behave, but apparently she doesn't answer to me :)

You know, every now and then I find a verse or a passage in the bible that makes me laugh. I've shared some of these with other people, but they didn't really find them funny. I mainly got strange looks and awkward laughs, like they were trying to agree. Take a look at these and tell me if you see the same humor I do:

Romans 16:9: "Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys."
It sounds like a foot disease!

Romans 16:22: "I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord."
I wonder if Paul knew he stuck that in there.

Galatians 2:4: "This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves."
Infiltrated our ranks?! Haha

Titus 2:12: "It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age"
It reminds me of D.A.R.E. JUST SAY NO!

Judges 15:4-5 (of Samson): "So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs, lit the torches, and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines"
HAHAHA...Try and imagine, if you will, 150 fox-pairs running crazily through a field. In my head, it's a really funny sight.

1 Samuel 18:25: "The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins..."
Gross.

And then of course, there's 1 Samuel 24:3-4, when Saul goes in the cave to "relieve himself", and David sneaks up on him and cuts off the corner of his robe.
That's just weird...

Anyways, I get a kick out of those, and just thought I'd share. Also, this just popped into my head. To anyone who enjoys reading, I would HIGHLY recommend The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. It's a somewhat difficult read--I had to read some parts over a couple times to fully grasp the concepts, but basically the book is an opposite perspective on spiritual warfare. It is written from the viewpoint of a devil giving advice to another devil on how to tempt Christians. It was extremely eye-opening for me, and I expect it would be for anyone else too. It's a great read--check it out!

That's all for now.

"Let's pack up and move to California" --HN

I am stubborn and impatient and independant...like my dad. That is why we clash.
I can be insensitive, sarcastic, and I take my mom for granted sometimes. My mom is the complete opposite, and that is why WE clash.

When my mom is being overly sensitive and thinks that everything we say is an insult to her, my dad and I get along, because we're thrown on the same team. When my dad is being a jerk towards my mom, she and I get along.

When dad is being a jerk to me, it is what it is.

Southeastern is only 2 months and 18 days away.
It'll flyyyy.