Clearing My Mind

I wish I could harmonize. It's so pretty but I can't do it!
I could listen to people sing in harmony all day long.
I sing all day long but I doubt anyone would want to listen to me sing all day long.
This summer I'm not working much by choice and I'm okay with that!
My parents are okay with that too, thankfully! They realize this is my last summer before the real world.
Graduation can't come soon enough, I'm over school.
I'm kinda scared of the real world and having to support myself.
All this unknown that will be my life in the next year, I'm not a fan.
I'm a fan of plans. The End!
My brother is growing up way too fast.
He is taking drivers ed this summer, how can it be!
My parents will celebrate their 25th anniversary this October!
Thats a long time and a whole lotta years!
My momma's ring is the prettiest ring I've ever seen.
One day I hope I love my engagement ring just as much as she does after 25 years.
Change of subject, I love dogs, but especially my Lady.
Our other dog got sprayed by a skunk and she REEKS even after being washed, etc.
Our cat loves hunting.
It's gross.
She kills all types of animals :(
So does Mandy, our other dog.
Don't they know that we feed them and they don't have to hunt for their food. :)
I don't want a cat when I grow up.
I'd rather a dog any day.
This summer I have lots of plans but I doubt I'll do any of it.
I really want to paint the walls of the entire house but that is a lot of work for one person.
But it would be pretty.
We are going to the beach two times this summer.
I can't wait to be tan.
Marah and Josh got engaged, whoa!
Where is time going.
I can't be old enough for all my friends to be getting engaged!!
So many people are engaged now, not just my close friends.
Its so exciting! I'm happy for each and every one of them!
I can't wait to go to two weddings in the near future!
Wedding dress shopping is stressful. But I love it!
I just have to be careful not to express my opinions all the time.
I only give my good opinions, at least I think.
When people ask me stuff more than twice, I get frustrated.
It irks me because I feel like they weren't listening the first two times.
But I try and be sweet and tell them again.
This whole Amendment One stuff is over, can we please let it go now!
Amen and amen!
That was a lot of random and I'm glad I did that, my mind is now a little less congested.

Last but not least, It's summertime and I love it!!!!

Sarah Is Graduating

It's hard to believe that Sarah is graduating on Friday. I don't know where the time went, these past three years have flown by. What a great friend I have gained, a life long friendship that I will always cherish. 

We meet our freshman year of school here at ECU. We lived in the same dorm and since the first day we met we have been friends. We ate lunch and dinner together most days our freshman year and we have lived to together the past two years. She has always been my roomie, even in the dorms, she was always with me and Lauren or vice versa. Basically, freshman year we just slept in our own rooms the rest of the time we were hanging out!

These past three years hold so many great memories that will hopefully never be forgotten. There is no way to even begin to describe the 'adventures' we have been on. 

This girl has been such a great friend to me and I don't want her to move back to Charlotte. It's going to be so different when she doesn't live with us next year. I guess we will just have to FaceTime each other on a regular basis. 

Sarah, I know that you will do great things, I mean you are a pirate, duh! (arghh!!) Always keep your head high and spirit strong. Trust in the Lord, keep faith, and keep on keeping on!! Thank you for always being an inspiration to me and encouraging me in my walk with Christ! 

As Lynette Lewis would say, "We will run this race together, until the end!" 

Love you, friend!! Thanks for being so great!!

PS: Face Time dates weekly!! :)

 Our first plane ride, for the both of us!

 Bridal shower hostesses for Christie.

 At the beach in FL!

 We went on a mission trip to Miami Florida.

 We went to 3 Campus Harvest's together!

 Our very first picture together, at none other than IHOp after VCM!

 Football game!

 Bible study group!

 Baseball games, she actually likes baseball now, at least I think so! :)

 VCM Scavenger hunts!

 Random road trips!

 Just having fun!!

 Tail gating with friends!

 Shopping, what we do best!!

 Worshipping the Lord!!

 Football games!

 Corn hole, if it wasn't for Sarah I wouldn't know how to play!

 Baseball!

Rainy football games, I would sit out there with her!! 

(these are in no particular order)

Daddy's Girl

I was talking to my Daddy on FaceTime tonight and we weren't talking about anything in particular just chatting. After we 'hung up' I got to thinking just how much my Daddy loves me. He stops what he is doing when I call him to talk to me, if he hasn't heard from me in a day to two he sends me a quick text, he always wants to talk to me no matter what!! When I come home on the weekends he alters his schedule for me.

It the little things that he does that mean so much to me. Just the little things. He could buy me the world's nicest, prettiest and most expensive things but they wouldn't compare to what he has given me while growing up.

I'm so grateful to have a Dad that loves me unconditionally. I couldn't ask for a better Daddy. I love you, Daddy!!

My husband is going to have a lot to live up to, he has some huge shoes to fill!!

Shout out to Momma too, she has been equally as important in my life, they have done a good job if I do say so myself!

Desiring God or Empty Promises

I'm reading Empty Promises by Pete Wilson which has really got my wheels turning. Can you see the smoke blowing yet?

No seriously though, this book is making me think and examine my life and my desires for my life like never before! It's good, but man, I've got some adjustments to make. Quick, fast and in a hurry!

I've only read the first two chapters and so far it has been about idols we have/make in our own lives that maybe we have never seen as idols before and it's about truly examining our 'desires' in our hearts.

First can I be real honest with y'all for a second... this morning before I started reading this book I would have told you that I didn't have any idols in my life (haha, I laugh in my own face now!) and I would have told you the desires of my heart were pure and things that God placed there (they are desires that God placed in my heart, and for a reason, but I have made them into something bigger and not Christ-centered).

He, Pete, asks you some questions in the second chapter about your life, just to help you peel back a layer of the onion and dig a little bit deeper..

"What occupies my mind? What do I spend my time day dreaming about?" Umm, hello getting married, who am I going to marry?, when?, or how great my life is going to be when that time comes, I wonder what my kids will be like, brown hair? brown eyes? blue eyes?, how many kids will I have?, will I be a RN, NP, PA, or MD?, yadda yadda yadda. ONE THING, IDOLS!!! My future is a big idol in my life.

"Who or what do I tend to be jealous of?" Lauren. Plain and simple. The girl seems to have it all together. She is my best friend, but I'm jealous of her. Yeah, you heard right! But it's not really the jealousy that first comes to mind when you hear that a girl is jealous of another girl. It's more of we have a lot of the same hopes and dreams for our lives and she is a little closer to 'that' life being fulfilled than me. I almost live my life through her. Does that make sense?

"What do I spend most of my time doing?" School, plain and simple. From the time I wake up until the time I go to bed. Of course I do plenty of other things while procrastinating but I always have a running to-do list of what must be done today or this week.

"Where does the majority of my money go?" Food and things I buy for myself. Sad but true.

Just as Pete Wilson encourages his readers, I encourage you to answer these four questions for yourself. Be completely honest. And then if your like me, you will need to do some serious reevaluating and praying to the Lord.

A lot of my answers pointed me to the desires of my heart. In those questions you basically know the main desires of my heart right now, you wanna know what is missing? The desire to seek and know the Lord on a more intimate level!! This has to be my first want for anything else to even fall behind it. Without Jesus, no desire is met. We are left hungry and wanting more and more. Empty promises! Empty promises lie within everything that our heart desires except for Jesus. Jesus is the only person that will EVER fill that void that want for more. HE himself is enough for me and you.

Reprioritize your life and your desires!!

"Idolatry isn't simply a sin, it's what is fundamentally wrong with the human heart."

"The truth is, all the money, talent, attractiveness, and popularity in the world will not protect anyone from the stupidity of sin. And none of these things will fulfill the burning desire for more that drives people to fall for false promises."

"I believe our desires are inside of us for a reason. True, if left unmonitored, they can lead us right into empty promises. But they are ultimately there to lead us to Christ, the only person who can actually fulfill them."

Book Worm

If anyone knows me, they know that i am not one to read any book by free will! It's just not something that I have ever enjoyed doing.. EVER.. until recently.

I'm not sure what has gotten into me but I kinda like reading, it's very relaxing and allows my brain to 'wind down' at night before bed.

I have now read a total of three books without being forced to read them and I must say I'm surprised but loving it. Two recently and one really recently.

I read Lynette Lewis' Remember the Roses in about 2 or 3 days. It was so good to me. She wrote about her journey to finding her husband and how to grow yourself in the Lord during that long, hard wait for the man for you. She got married at 42 and her husband is the pastor at KPIC in Durham. Her words were very inspirational and the one thing that really stuck out to me, she said, you need to live out your dreams now because you never may get the chance to once you are married because life gets busy. I guess I make my dreams around my future husband and want to wait to travel with him but why am I waiting? I can do it now and then if time, money, etc. allow.

Never hold back of something that you could do now waiting for the later when so and so happens..

Another thing that caught my attention was be joyful with your friends when they are experiencing joy. Don't let the thoughts fill your mind of well I just want this for myself and I'm not going to be happy until I get to do all this stuff. Help the bride when she is planning, help her pick out flowers if she wants you too, help her pick songs, etc. if anything it will give you a leg up when it's your turn to do all that stuff! Be joyful with others, the Lord will blessing you a thousand times. He will go above and beyond your dreams for yourself, He has every detail worked out for YOUR/MY good!! Amen and amen!!

~~~~~~~~~

Changing gears, I have three books on the way to me..

The King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus by Tim Keller

Sun Stand Still: What Happens When You Dare to Ask God for the Impossible by Steven Furtick

Empty Promises: The Truth About You, Your Desires, and the Lies Your Believing by Pete Wilson

I'm ready to read these and dig in deep, maybe I'll get one in before the school year ends..

Campus Harvest - Arise!

An amazing weekend was had this weekend! It was Campus Harvest 2012 - Arise!

Many ECU students went to Durham for Campus Harvest on Friday and Saturday. Students came from New York, Florida and everywhere in between. This was my 3rd year going and it gets better each and every year.

This year was no different than any of the other years, I came back on fire, with my heart full and a lack of sleep. Late nights and early mornings only means it Campus Harvest, right?

I was really pushed to arise in my faith, one of my favorite things that was said this weekend was that "If you want to arise, you first better get low." Man, if that wasn't a punch in the stomach. I don't like getting low but I HAVE to get low in order to rise up in my faith. It's not a option that I get to skip over. One thing that really struck me was that I can't serve the Lord without humbling myself before He and others. I can't be the student that everyone thinks of as someone who doesn't step on toes and step out of her comfort zone. I have to tell people about Jesus and who He is to me and who He can be to them.

Why haven't I done this on my nursing/allied health campus? Because I haven't wanted to be the girl who everybody points fingers at and thinks, that girl is so different because she loves Jesus. You know what this is not going to be me anymore, I'm going to not be afraid to talk about Jesus with others. I will tell others what He has done in my life! I pray that I get the chance to do this during conversation with others!

We can change lives as students on our campus by just being the person that we are called to be!! We are all in different majors and schools for a reason. I was thinking during worship, that if every student at Campus Harvest in Durham went back home to there campus and spoke to 2 people about there experience at CH, do you know how many students would be reached? It blows my mind! BLOWS MY MIND!! Why haven't I been spreading His word? Thank the Lord I still have another year left because I haven't done my job!!

I just encourage each and every person to get low, humble yourself, share the Gospel, love the Lord, let Him work in your heart in order to work in others hearts!! There will be no regrets! Share the Love to the people around you!! We don't have to go out of our way to love on others and tell them about Jesus, just share your testimony or just ask someone how their day is and START the conversation.

It isn't going to be easy, but it will be worth it!

End Of Spring Break

This spring break was the best spring break I have ever had!!

Day 6 of the mission trip was spent getting back to all of our cities/towns/schools. It was a sad day saying bye to everyone, but thankfully I'll see everyone (hopefully!) again in 2 weeks at Campus Harvest!

After getting home on Friday afternoon I slept like it was my job. I seriously slept 17 out of 24 hours. I was E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D!! I didn't sleep 17 hours straight but I did sleep for 14 straight. Then I was ready to get back in the swing of things and that I did.

I had such a relaxing ending to break, I did lots of random but fun things that I wanted to do!!

I was able to watch my brother play ball with his school team which I get to see maybe once a season, I was glad I was home and could go!

I love this picture because he is looking at me like "seriously, you're taking my picture while I'm playing."

Momma bought me some new nail polish while at home!

For dinner, my last night at home, we had chicken wrapped in bacon, asparagus, wild rice, and corn. Yum!!

I got my hair done, praise the Lord, it was desperately needed!

(weird angle for a picture with the sun but i kinda felt weird taking a picture of myself in the hair place)

This is what I woke up to this morning after just washing my car yesterday! Pollen, spring is here! :)