the word HAPPY does not even begin to cover it...

This weekend has been so great. God has been truly smiling down upon me. My parents came down to visit and I had a blast with them. It is so nice to get out and eat good food and just spend time with the people that you love. I thought I was going to be super stressed about this week. You see I have 4 tests in two days next week, so I need to get all my homework for this week done, and start studying for next week. However the Lord was looking down on me and so far this Monday has been spectacular. I did not want to fall asleep in any of my classes, and I enjoyed what we were talking about in all of them. I believe the icing on the cake for today was a little email that I received after class. It was from PASSPORT. I was offered a position as a videographer in Macon GA at Mercer University with PASSPORTmissions!!!!!! They are pretty sure this will be my position, but it will not be final until the next couple of weeks. I don't care if it is final or not. I am going to be a PASSPORT staffer and I am thrilled :) I cant wait for the summer to come rolling around now. AHHHHHH I just want to scream and shout for joy (which I actually have been doing a lot in the past couple of hours). The Lord is sooooo good. Thank you everybody for all the prayers.

This makes my Bible reading even more special because now I am going to have a place to apply my knowledge. To catch everybody up on my reading plan...

My reading plan only makes you read 28 days out of the month. So the 28th of January was my last day of reading until tomorrow, the first of February. The off days are for you to play catch-up or draw closer to the Lord in your own research. I used my days off to be with my family. I think that was a good use for them. Anyways, on the 28th I read Exodus 12-14 and Psalm 23. The Exodus chapter was kind of boring, but it was still worth reading. The Psalm passage however was my favorite. It is probably the most famous Psalm. Everybody should read it. It is so encouraging and it makes me feel like I am protected, no matter what the circumstance.

Well I have babbled enough for the day. I hope everybody had a fantastic weekend, I hope that this week will be full of fun and stress free days, and I pray that your journey is blessed!!!!

Too Blessed To Be Stressed

That is a phrase I hear often from all different people. And that is what I am thinking today. I have been a little stressed the last couple of days. I don't really know why since I don't have tests for another 2 weeks, and I am ahead on my homework; however something is just making me anxious. So when I get like this I must take a step back and realize that my life is pretty darn blessed and that I need to give my worries to the Lord. I have been constantly reminded of this the past few days in my Bible reading and it has been such an encouragement! I have now begun the book of Exodus and boy is it intense. On Tuesday I read Exodus 1-4 and Psalm 21, on Wed. it was Exodus 5-8 and Psalm 22:1-11, and then today I read Exodus 9-11 and Psalm 22:12-31. All of these chapters are about the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt and how God chose Moses as the person who would deliver them from their oppressors. We are so lucky to live in a place where we are not treated like the Israelites. GO GOD!

Oh I must tell you one more thing! My I get to see my parents this weekend!!!!!! I am so super excited and I cant wait to see them. We are going to have so much fun. I LOVE spending time with my Mom and Dad, they are wonderful people. So I hope this Thursday goes swell for everybody. And just remember that tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!!! I pray that everybody stays safe and I hope that your journey is blessed.

on your MARK, get set, go!

Today I finished the book of Mark, and also read Psalm 20. The gospels are always filled with emotion and today I finished the book by reading about the Crucifixion of Jesus. I have heard that story many times, but every time I hear it again it gets me. What an amazing thing Jesus did for us. I think everybody should read the gospels often. Such a great reminder that our lives could be a whole lot worse. I just wanted to share that with you all.

Oh, and one more thing I wanted to share today. I ordered a hiking backpack. You know the ones that can hold lots of stuff, and has an internal frame and waist straps. I am soooo excited. I have been wanting one for years, and yesterday I decided that I wanted to use my Christmas money for just that. I found a super awesome deal at Sierra Trading Post. I saved like 45 dollars. It should be coming in the mail in about a week. I might carry it around campus with all of my books just because I can!!! I know I am a total good, but I LOVE the outdoors and this backpack (along with my camping hammock I got for my birthday) will just inspire me to get outside a whole lot more when the weather becomes friendly and warm again.

I hope that everybody had a Monday that was swell and I pray that the rest of the week goes smoothly. And of course I pray that your journey is blessed!!!

reading equals LOVE

I love reading. Plain and simple that is the one thing I could do all day long and not get bored with it. I just love the feeling of curling up on a comfy couch with a blanket and a good book and becoming immersed in its pages. I guess I got it from my dad. That and being outside in nature. Everything else comes from my mother (organization, fashion, love of cooking, etc..). Anyways back to reading. This semester I have 3 classes that go towards my bio major, 2 classes that are electives, and a PE. Surprisingly though I have to read a bunch for all of them. Kind of interesting in my mind. But I really don't mind at all. I would taking reading over doing math any day of the year. I am learning so much because of reading too. Things I never thought I would ever learn about. It is so cool. This is what is awesome about being a college student...learning things that are interesting and cool that you could never learn by yourself.

I finished my Nicolas sparks book Safe Haven and I went out and bought another one of his books entitled The Choice. I am hoping to start it tonight after I get done with my homework reading!!! I encourage anybody to pick an author and just start reading. It is SO cool. You wont be able to get enough.

I need to catch everybody up on Bible reading also. I am almost done with Mark. I just have one more day left and will have finished 2 books of the Bible. I am super excited. Friday was reflection day so no reading then. Saturday I read Mark 7-9 and Psalm 18 and today I read Mark 10-12 and Psalm 19. Such good stuff about all the cool stuff Jesus did while he was on Earth. I kind of wish I could have been there myself. It is refreshing to read of all the good things Jesus did. This world can be corrupt sometimes and reading the Bible, like many other books is such an escape!!!!

I hope that everybody has had a wonderful weekend and I pray that Monday will go by without much harm. Please keep praying as I am expected to hear back about a possible summer job in the next couple of weeks. Love you all and I pray that your journey is blessed.

A Mustard Seed

I am feeling encouraged today, and I hope that feeling does not go away any time soon. I am now reading the book of Mark. It is the most concise chapter out of the Gospels that tells of Jesus' works and death. I have to admit that it is a bit fast paced, but it is so encouraging to see all the wonderful things Jesus did for all of his people. To catch you up on my reading, yesterday I read Mark 1-3 and Psalm 17 and today I read Mark 4-6 and Psalm 18:1-24. All the parables are so much fun and I love digging deeper into them to find the true meanings. One of them that stuck out to me today was the parable of how we as Christians should be like a mustard seed. We may be small when we start out, but God will allow us to grow into big and strong "plants" that will provide many to others. Is that not so cool?!?!?!?! I just love it and I hope that it encourages you as well.

I am looking forward to getting another week of school over and done with. Weekends are always so much fun, especially when you have a group of really good friends you can hang out with. I foresee a movie and possibly some ice cream in our future!!!!

Please continue to pray for me as I continue on the journey of finding out what I am going to do this summer, and for my family as we hope to complete our move across town. Stay safe everybody and stay encouraged. Today lets all be the mustard seeds Jesus wants us to be. Happy Thursday, and I pray that your journey is blessed!!!!

Genesis is no more!!!

I finished the book of Genesis!!!!! I am so excited since this is the first book of the Bible I have read all the way through by myself. And the funny part is, it was not hard at all. I have to admit that I had some doubts when I first started this journey, but now I am even more motivated to keep on reading every single day. It has been a few days since I have posted so I will catch you up on the remaining days of Genesis. On Saturday I read Genesis 37-39 and Psalm 13. On Sunday i read Genesis 40-42 and Psalm 14. Yesterday I read Genesis 43-46 and Psalm 15. Finally today I read Genesis 47-50 and Psalm 16. All of the Genesis passages were about the story of Joseph. I remember the Sunday School story of Joseph and his coat of many colors and how he was sold into slavery by his brothers, however I did not realize just how much happened after that part!!! What an amazing story of God's love to his people. I encourage everybody to go read the whole story for themselves. It is not that long and it is pretty entertaining. All of the Psalms were uplifting as well. I have come to find out that many of them have hidden meaning inside of them and you must dig a little deeper than the surface reading to figure them out. That has been my new daily challenge and so far it has been very rewarding!!!

Onto other things...

This weekend was so much fun. Saturday was filled with lots of sports and cheering on our school to victory in both swimming and tennis. Both of them were indoor and that made the experience just that much more enjoyable. Sunday was a day of relaxation. Church was awesome as always, and then I read a little before watching Charlie St. Cloud (one of my Christmas presents!!). Such a good movie and message of hope and steadfastness. Yesterday morning and afternoon was full of homework..BLAH. But it needed to get done since Wednesday is the bball game against Duke, and there will be no room for homework that evening. Yesterday night though was very thrilling. It was my roommate, Michele's birthday and a whole bunch of us here at the dorm celebrated by going to this frozen yogurt shop called FreshBerrys. WOAH it is soooooo good. And good for you might I mention. You should look one up near you if you have never been.

I hope that everybody had an excellent long weekend as well. Today for me is going to be busy but I am grateful for it. My mom always said idle hands cause trouble. Well this week this girl will be in NO trouble since I am going to be one busy bee!!! I pray that your day goes smoothly and that everybody stays safe and warm, and that your journey is blessed.

I am a survivor!!!

I did it!!! I survived the first week back at college after a much needed winter break. I am now starting to get back into the groove of things and I am hoping that this semester will fly by so I can be having fun in the SUMMER months (ya know when you can go outside and not become an icicle). Anyway...I just wanted to catch you up with what has been going on with myself and those around me in the later half of the week.

First off I will catch you up on my Bible Reading Plan (BRP). Wednesday I read Genesis 30-32 and Psalm 11. Thursday I read Genesis I read 33-36 and Psalm 12. I wont go in depth on all what I read because one I want to encourage you to read along with me and experience the joy of the Word, and two there was a LOT of stuff packed into those chapters. The rough overview is that it is about Jacob and his family and their struggles to follow the Lord. Good stuff!!! The Psalms were both from David and gave great encouragement to those who are going through a tough time in their lives right now. Today was my "reflection day" in my BRP, so I have been using it to go back and dig a little deeper into some stuff that I didn't quite understand the first time I read it. For example, can you pronounce all of the names of Jacob? Yeah me neither. So it was kind of fun to go back and try to figure out their names and why they were given those names. I didn't realize how entertaining the Bible could be!!!

A couple of comments on to other areas of life...

-I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my horticulture class. I did not know how I was going to like after meeting my professor I just know deep down that I am going to get so much out of that class. i am so excited to see what this semester brings!!

- No school on Monday since it is a holiday, and I am glad because I have recently found out that I can catch up on my TV shows I miss during the week because of school online. They have FULL episodes on there. Yes I know they have been doing this for ages, but I have never done it before and I love it. So I will be catching up on much needed TV entertainment.

- Please keep praying for my family as we try to move closer into town. We need to sell our house by March to keep the house we have put an offer on. Somebody is actually looking at our current house today so maybe this will be the family!!!

-Also continue to pray along with me as I wait to hear back from PASSPORT about a summer job. I will get more nervous as the deadline approaches so any prayers will be greatly accepted!!!


I guess that is all for now. I much needed run is in my future so I can continue getting my body in shape. I encourage all of you to do the same. Physical activity may be hard at first but once you make it a routine it makes your body feel so healthy and ALIVE. Hope everybody has a fantastic weekend and a good holiday, and I hope and pray that your journey is blessed.

a slow start, lots of biblical thought, and a big goal

Tonight I have lots to tell. To start off school has "started" but it has not REALLY started. Why you ask? ICE!! That's right, over the last two days we have had an ice storm that has made the university one solid slippery ice rink. I only had one class today and my first class tomorrow has already been canceled. It is kind of nice though because I have been able to slowly be integrated back into college life. I am taking 17 hours this semester so I am going to be quite busy. One of my classes that I am most looking forward to is my Old Testament class. I have never really been eager to learn about the Old Testament because it always seemed too overwhelming. The New Testament was always more inviting and simple to understand. Well I took the plunge this semester because I wanted to challenge myself both in my academics and in my faith. So far I am really enjoying it and I look forward to what the semester brings.

Speaking of the Old Testament, I have some reading to catch you guys up on. Yesterday I read Genesis 24-26 and Psalm 9. It was about the birth of Jacob and how he gain his older brother's birthright. The Psalm was about how God never ignores our cries for help. We are never alone when we walk with him. Today I read Genesis 27-29 and Psalm 10. Genesis talked about how Jacob received his father's blessing and then went and married Rachel. The cool part of the story was that Jacob waited 14 years to marry Rachel. He waited patiently and grew his relationship with her before he was given the chance to take her has his wife and have a family of his own. I find this story really inspiring. I want to mirror that in my own personal relationship. I have a wonderful guy at my side and I love growing my relationship with him every day. I learn something new about him every time we talk and he is totally worth the wait. :)

My final thing to tell you is that I have a big goal I am working towards. It is in a month and I am asking for many prayers of strength and encouragement. I have signed up for the Krispy Kreme Challenge as a casual runner. Basically I have to run 4 miles in under an hour and I receive a dozen Krispy Kreme Doughnuts as my reward. At the same time I am raising money for the children's hospital. So it is a great thing, but there is one tin problem. I am NOT a runner at all. I played sports in high school but none of them had to do with running long distances. So today I started running. I only did about a mile of running but it is a start and hopefully come February I will be good to go. I am also taking racquetball as a PE at school so that should get my endurance up a little bit also. Once again all your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

I really hope everybody is enjoying there week. Tomorrow is hump day and then we will be on the down slope toward the weekend!!!!! Stay safe everybody and I hope that your journey is blessed.

ready or not here i come

The count down has finally come to a close. Spring semester starts tomorrow and I have to admit I am nervous, excited, and uncertain all at the same time. A bunch of us walked around campus today in the freezing weather to find our classrooms and become familiar with our daily routes around campus. I must say I am lucky in the fact that I do not have to do that much walking, which is good since we are supposed to get snow/ice for the next two days. I am finally beginning to get back into the swing of things here in the city and I am sure that by this time next week I will be fully immersed in the school spirit.

After church today we went to Ruby Tuesdays. It was probably not the best time to go but since dinning halls are closed until tomorrow we had to grin and bear the crowds somewhere. We decided on Ruby Tuesdays because I had a GREAT coupon. I am a fan of coupons and am always trying to find good sources. My mom told me about this one. All you have to do is go onto RT's website and sign up for their emails and once a month you get a coupon for buy a meal get a meal free. I LOVE it!!!! Yes you have to put up with a daily email from the company but it is well worth the half price meal.

Onto other things...such as the BIBLE
Today I read Genesis 21-23 and Psalm 8. I encountered the story of Abraham almost sacrificing his one and only son Issac because the Lord told him too. And because he was absolutely going to follow through with the Lord's instructions, an angel came down and told him to stop and in turn blessed his family. What a concept to wrap your mind around. Abraham was going to sacrifice his one and only son just because God said so. Now that is what I call devotion to your faith. I wish I had that kind of devotion. I strive for it daily but I am nowhere close at all. The funny thing is though, I could not stop thinking that Abraham was going to sacrifice his one and only son because he loved the Lord, but then the Lord stopped him since he showed great devotion; and then years later God ended up sacrificing his one and only son because he loved US so much. LOVE IT!!!!!!!

Just thought that would be a great thing to send you all off thinking about this evening. I am going to go finish packing up the book bag and then wind down the evening by reading some Mr. Sparks. Please pray that tomorrow goes well and for safe travels since the weather all over the state is supposed to be pretty nasty. Have a GREAT Monday everybody and I pray that your journey is blessed.

you should watch this

I just had to write another post today because this topic deserves its own glory. For months my roommate and I have been talking about how we love movies from the 90's. The children's ones that we both grew up on. What a surprise when we found out that our favorite movie for both of us was It Takes Two. We laughed and joked how we wore out our VHS tapes watching the movie and memorizing all of the lines. We were sad that we could no longer enjoy our VHS tapes and Target nor Walmart had it in store on DVD. Well low and behold we both ended up getting It Takes Two on DVD for Christmas. Yesterday we had a movie party and watched the movie. I have not changed. I still LOVE it and still knew some of the lines. I recommend that everybody needs to do what we did. Yes you should watch the movie (because it's AWESOME!!!), but you should go back and watch your own favorite childhood movie. It brings back so many good memories and just plain makes you happy. Stay warm all you mountain people back home, and I pray that your journey is blessed.

i am so not ready to do this

I start school on Monday. And just to throw it out there, I am not ready for it. Sure I bought my books and I will soon have all my binders ready to go but my mind is not ready for school. I am hoping that in the next two days I will fill up my motivation tanks and be ready to jump into classes with full steam ahead. I am now back in my dorm and even though I miss the comforts of home and family, I still like college life. Watching movies with your friends, going out to eat, and watching games is always so much fun. The weather down here is cold but nothing like at home. I left just in time yesterday to miss all of the snowfall, so thank you so much for the travel prayers. They worked!!!!

To catch you up on reading since I have been MIA for the past few days (its been CRAZY trying to get packed and ready for the new semester)...

On the 6th I read Genesis 15-17 and Psalm 6. It talks about Abram and how the lord promised him and his wife a son of their own even though they were quite old. It is actually a great story that shows us how God keeps his promises to us. I encourage you to read it. The Psalm was from David and it talked about how God delivers us from evil in times of trouble. I need to remember that more often because I seem to get stressed out real easy. But hey don't we all!!!

Yesterday was what my bible reading plan calls a reflection day. It gives you time to relax your mind and recall what you have learned in the past week. This reflection day was PERFECT for me since yesterday was my travel day. My day was filled with packing, loading, traveling, unloading, unpacking, and sleeping.

Today I read Genesis 18-20 and Psalm 7. The readings from Genesis were about God destroying cities because they were filled with evil. The lesson though is that he warned the righteous people in the city so they could leave before he did any harm. This shows us that God will never destroy the people who love him, trust him, and follow is word. The Psalm was about lying and people who try to make us (followers) look bad. It is kind of like another one of David's prayers. he seems to get picked on a lot, but when he cries out he always is helped.

Hope all is well with everybody and that your weekend is filled with joy and that your journey is blessed!!

once more before i leave town

Tonight will be the last time at my home church before going back to school. I am looking forward to fun, food, and fellowship with all of buddies :) The snow is supposed to roll in tonight and keep on coming all through the weekend. This means that I shall be leaving Friday morning to head back to school, so please pray for safe travels. If you don't mind I have a recommendation. I am a huge book worm and constantly looking for a good read. Currently I am reading Nicholas Sparks' new novel entitled Safe Haven. Boy is it great.!!! So if you love books as much as me you should be sure to check this one out. Yes his books are always heart breakers, but they have such powerful lessons within them and I just LOVE that.

On another reading note, I read Genesis 12-14 and Psalm 5 today. It was about Abram saving lot from some powerful kings. The main lesson behind the story was that you should always prepare yourself before you go into a difficult situation. Yes, God is always going to be there for you, but if you are prepared he will be there guiding you to victory, not picking you up and showing you your mistakes once you have fallen. I use this all the time when it comes to tests in school. I study as hard as I can before the test and trust that God is with me during the test helping me relax and remember all of the stuff I learned. God is an excellent study tool if you did not know that already. The Psalm was another prayer from David. This time it was about how God protects us from people who lie against us. Even if people try to tarnish our name, God will be our barrier and make sure we shine in all of his glory!!!!

I'm off to do a little more reading with Mr. Sparks and then going to see my church family later on tonight. If you live nearby I hope you keep warm in this winter weather we have coming up. Be safe, stay warm, and I hope your journey is blessed.

was supposed to be a lazy day...

Hey everybody!! Yesterday was super hectic for some reason. I did a lot of little chores around the house and then went and watched a basketball game at my old high school. While I was there I was blessed to see some old friends and my old high school coach. It is sooo nice when you are reunited with people even just for a little while. I proclaimed last night when I got home that today was going to be a pajama day and that I was going to be lazy all day long. But I guess God had other plans for me. Its funny when He does that sometimes. My family is in the process of selling our house and some people wanted to come check it out. The problem was that they only gave me 20 minutes notice!! Boy was I a crazy girl trying to get the house looking good and moving around all my mess from being home for winter break. But I got it done and ended up hanging out with mom at her work for a while. It ended up being kind of fun. I love getting the chance to have mom and daughter time, even if it is just helping her out in the office.

To catch everybody up on my bible reading....
Yesterday I read Genesis 6-9 and Psalm 3. In case you did not know that is the story of Noah. It has been forever since I read that story and it brought back many childhood memories for me. There was one part of the story though that I had never realized before. It is the part that talks about the rainbow. God gave us rainbows to remind us and him that he will never destroy the earth and mankind in a flood ever again. How cool is that? Now every time I see a rainbow in the sky I will not just be thinking how pretty it is, but I will now be reminded of how much God loves me and that he will never destroy me or this earth that I live on. What a neat little reminder. God works in really neat ways sometimes.

For today, the reading was a little less cool or familiar. I read Genesis 10-11 and Psalm 4. The readings in Genesis were just a bunch of family trees that in all honesty were confusing and a bit boring. But the prayer in Psalm was just plain inspiring. It was a prayer from David crying out to the Lord for protection. Psalm 4 told me that the Lord is always there for the people who walk with him and that there is no need to despair in any time of grief. It is just another reminder that I need to praise God in not only the good times but in the bad times because God is always holding my hand and guiding me through life even when I think I am alone.

I am really enjoying this experience so far. It is a daily reminder that God is in my life and it keeps me aware of how God fits into my life. I ask for prayers for the rest of the week because we are supposed to have some bad weather when I am scheduled to go back to college. Also I would ask that you pray along with me for my summer job. I applied to be a counselor/bible study leader at PASSPORT this summer. I have already had my interview and I hear back the results in late February. If it works out great, and if does not I know I will be OK because God has a plan for me to be somewhere else. Thanks to all of you. I am now back home and I am going to try to relax the rest of the evening like I was originally planning to do.

Hope everybody has a great night and that your journey is blessed.

eye opening to say the least

Today's readings are from Genesis 3-5 and Psalm 2. These readings were in my opinion filled with sin and misfortune. I learned about the fall of man and how evil came to be. Then I went on to read the story of Cain and Able. I felt overwhelmed with sin, when just yesterday everything that I read was so full of joy and wonder. But i realized that the sin that I read about, and the sin that is in the world today is not what God wanted. He wanted us to be like him and he gave us that choice. Adam and Eve made a mistake and had to pay for it. We may have sin surrounding us in this world, but we have the same choice to make. We can either give into sin and live with the consequences or we can trust and obey the Lord in what he is instructing us to do. I believe I will go with the second choice. After reading all of that craziness about sin I was delighted when I read Psalm 2. What an uplifting passage. It told me that by submitting to the Lord and his will I am prepared for his return to earth and he will always be with me. What comfort that is!!!

With that said I am off to bed. Tomorrow is a new day and is my last week at home before I go back to college. I will be working a couple of days this week, but the rest of the time will be spent visiting with family one last time, packing up, and of course relaxing before school invades my life once more. Please pray for me in my return to a new semester and for my family as I leave them for a while. I hope all of you have a wonderful night and that your journey is blessed.

one down and a whole bunch to go..

Yay this is my first post!!!! Yesterday I was on the road back from a family vacation to Disney World so I was not able to write. However, I started my bible reading during the ride and so far I love it. My plan instructed me to read Genesis 1-2 and Psalm 1. Pretty basic stuff but great nonetheless. The story of creation and Adam and Eve is one I know well, but as I dug deeper I realized that God created the world I live in and I need to be more aware of that. He saw that the world was good, and that is my new goal for the week. To realize that the world is good and I am lucky to be where I am. Psalm 1 was also straightforward and to the point. It showed me that walking in the way of the Lord will bring me great things, and that walking in evil will get me nowhere fast. I find it really hard sometimes to be happy and optimistic when i am not getting my way. I guess nobody is perfect. I am looking forward to what the next reading brings. For now though I am going to relax and rest my mind. Disney World was super fun but it took all my energy away from me. Hope everybody had an excellent new year, and that your journey is blessed.