Decisions

Life is full of decisions, and I really wish it wasn't. One of my major dilemmas is what to do with my summer. I've already applied for a swim coaching job at the pool I've been swimming at since I was in 5th grade. I initially thought that was the best decision for me, because it's decent pay, and it means I would get to stay at home and only have to work till mid-July. I haven't been hired yet, so there's a possibility I would have to look for some other sort of work if I decide to stay home for the summer. Last week, I heard about a program called SummerShine. It sounded really cool, but it involves working all summer at a family campground and being away from home and all my friends. I love camping, and it seems like it would be a really good opportunity for me to not only make some money in this economic downtime, but to grow closer to God alongside other Christian college students. I don't know what I am going to do yet, but I'm going to continue praying until God leads me to the right decision.

Things I've Done...

This is supposed to be a facebook note thing, but those bug me so I am putting it here...
Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not.

Things i've have done during my lifetime:

() Gone on a blind date
() Donated Blood
(X) Skipped school
() Watched someone die
(X) Been to Canada
() Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
() Been to Hawaii
(X) Been on a plane
() Been on a helicopter
(X) Been lost
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
() Hugged a homeless person
(X) Swam in the ocean
() Swam with Stingrays
() Been sailing in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
() Recently colored with crayons
() Ran a marathon
(X) Sang Karaoke
(X) Volunteered at a soup kitchen
() Paid for a meal with coins only
(X) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
() Seen the Northern Lights
() Been Para sailing
(X) Been on TV
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Made prank phone calls
() Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
() Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
() Fed an elephant
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Fired a gun
(X) Danced in the rain
(X) Been to the Opera
() Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Serenaded someone
() Seen a U.S.President in person
() Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone
() Driven a race car
(X) Been to a National Museum
(X) Been to a Wax Museum
() Eaten caviar
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
() Been deep sea fishing
() Driven across the United States
(X) Been in a hot air balloon
() Lived in more than one country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
() Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(X) Seen the Grand Canyon
(X) Seen the Statue of Liberty
() Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(X) Been on a cruise
() Traveled by train
() Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding
() Ridden on a San Francisco cable car
(X) Been to Disneyland OR Disney World
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
(X) Been in a rain forest
() Seen whales in the ocean
(X) Been to Niagara Falls
() Ridden on an camel
() Swam with dolphins
() Been to the Olympics
() Walked on the Great Wall of China
() Saw and heard a glacier calf
() Been spinnaker flying
(X) Been water-skiing
(X) Been snow-skiing
() Been to Westminster Abbey
() Been to the Louvre
() Swam in the Mediterranean
() Been to a Major League Baseball game
() Been to a National Football League game
() Swam with sharks
(X) Been White Water Rafting
() Written a book or screen play
() Been to Saudi Arabia

Searching

I came to college looking for a place where I could escape all the drama of high school. On my graduation day, all I could think of was how happy I was that I wouldn't have to deal with many of the people that annoyed me most. Well guess what? College has just as much drama, and at some times, more. Maybe it's because I chose to come to a small school, or maybe it's just because I did everything to avoid what little bit I could in high school. It's little things, maybe it's because we are all in close proximity on our hallway. Too many girls sharing a space can get old rather quick. I've realized that drama is always going to be a part of life, but it's the way that we deal with it that defines who we are. I constantly pray that God will help me react in a way that is pleasing to Him and glorifies His name for all to see. I'm in no way perfect, and i've frequently reacted in ways that i regret, but i'm working on it.

I've talked about it before, but I really do love my Bible study! My brother and I have always had little verbal fights back and forth. He knows exactally what to say to really make me mad, and he uses it to his advantage. I have been praying about for quite some time, and something that Beth Moore wrote into the study made me feel a lot better. We have been studying Jesus's upbringing, and Beth wrote that she wonders what kind of sibling rivalries Jesus had with His many siblings. Just reading that made me feel immensely better. While my brother and I are still probably going to fight, those words encouraged me to continue to reach out to my brother and not react when he makes me angry.

On a much lighter note... The bathroom in my dorm is frequently out of something (soap, paper towels, toilet paper) and it's even more common for us to run out on the weekends. One weekend, we ran out of paper towels, another we were out of soap,. I guess it's just something we get used to. Almost every weekend, the first stall runs out of tp, and we just use the other two till Monday mornings when the cleaning lady comes to replace it. This weekend, the first stall was out by Friday night, and by Saturday afternoon the second stall was out. By mid-day Sunday, we were competely out of tp, and we had to have one of the guys from downstairs bring us up some from his bathroom. I'm not saying that we use the bathroom or not, there are 16 of us and the cleaning lady has a bad habit of only putting one half-roll into each of the stalls. I got a slight chuckle out of it, but I knew it was coming and I wasn't one of the poor souls that found out the hard way...

The weather was beautiful this weekend, and I actually did my homework outside at the campus lake. It was peacefull without the ducks that will soon be there again. My friend Brian took this picture of us studying/napping. The beautiful blue sky really made up for the dead grass :)

Blessed a little every day

It's been quite an interesting week. I'll spare you of the details, because they are rather trivial. Basically, it's been filled with a new drama that I can't seem to escape. I am stuck in the middle of it and just want to be freed from all of it. I have never been so ready to get off campus and go home! I hopefully will be able to make it till the 20th when Becka is coming home to help me babysit!!! I'm quite excited about it, because i get to see my baby sister and hang out with Becka outside of school! And just one week after that, spring break starts!!!

Oh, so the weatherman called for about half an inch of snow flurries last night, but we ended up with probably about an inch of accumulation. The 4 inches of snow didn't really affect classes a few weeks ago, because the school was able to put down salt on the sidewalks. They must not have gotten around to it this morning, because I got a wonderful wake up call at 6:30 this morning telling me that I could turn off my alarm clock and sleep through what would normally be my 9am Calculus class. Even though I was woken up a little early, it was worth it to be able to go back to sleep till lunch time.


Here's the quad at 2 in the morning with some of the snow that accumulated over the night. It snowed a little after I took this picture from my window.

Today in Spanish we talked about our trip to Mexico, and I am so excited about it! It should be a fun trip, even if I am completely out of my element! We found out we might get to go to Mexican cooking classes, and/or salsa lessons! Hopefully I'll know a lot of Spanish before I get there, because we won't be able to speak any English.

I absolutely love my new Bible study. It's a Beth Moore study, and I'm enjoying getting to know the girls in the study, and grow closer to God by digging in His word.

I guess that's all for now...