Two weeks into life at Liberty I distinctly remember thinking that everything was going to end like at camp where you have a lot of fun with a bunch of friends and then you go home. Two weeks til school ends and I guess I could say "camp" is ending. However, the person I was when I said those words is a very different person from the one I am today. The difference is as much as it may have had the camp feel, it definitely was not camp...and that's not a bad thing at all!!
This past year has probably been one of the most exciting, fun, whirlwind, full of ups and downs, spiritual growth and desert, and trying year I have had. I have loved every moment, despite the times I may have not exactly liked what was going on at that time. I have met so many different people from all over the country, backgrounds, and experiences. I have lived on a hall with 70 girls who have a variety of personality. I have had the opportunity to be involved in ministry and have learned the ups and downs, hard work, and successes and failures that it entails. I have been so blessed to have amazing roommates who are caring, loving, and considerate. I have gone to many concerts, including the fray, skillet, tobymac, the joys of coffeehouse, and open mic night. I have experienced a Christian education where teachers pray to start class. I acted in a short play as a psychotic girl who yelled and got in a cat fight. I have lived in real snow for the first time and skied on fake snow. I have had the opportunity to live on my own (to an extent...Liberty is a very family oriented environment). I have time to grow up and make decisions for myself. I have had the opportunity to work at another Chick-Fil-A and interact with Lynchburgians and embraced the awkwardness. I have had some of the best nights of my life totally unplanned. I have had jam sessions on guitar. I have listened to amazing speakers in convo. I had the opportunity to speak with Dave Edwards, the pastor who spoke Student Life Camp 08 (Seeeeeekkkkasss!!) and was used by God to continue help transform my life. I have dealt with difficult situations with various people....and have learned so much about myself and others in the process. I listened to a survivor of the Holocaust. I went on some pretty awesome late nights....there are so many things I could list. I could literally spend forever and a day recounting memories and even more so write how much of an impact people have made on me this year.
Overall, this year has been epic. I couldn't have asked for better. I am so stoked for next year, yet saddened that things won't be the same ever again in a few weeks. Yet, I have to constantly remind myself that if I never came to Liberty (or done most of the things in my life for that matter), things would have been the same back at home...Change is bittersweet. Yet, the best part of the word is that it ends with the sweet.... God knows exactly what He is doing and won't leave me or forsake me. I have that promise and I am secure in that. I am forever grateful for such a great first year at college. I am beyond blessed to have such an amazing God, go to an wonderful university, make lifelong friends, and experience everything I have. I will miss this year, but I have multiple memories to remember and thousands more to make. Bring it on summer. I am almost ready for you!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Advice
Communication.
Advice.
Accountability.
Friendships.
Ever notice it's harder to take your own advice? Sometimes I wonder when I give advice to others if I would take it myself. Most people generally do listen and value my opinion...I guess it's harder when I'm in that position because sometimes I know what's right, but would rather not listen to it...even if it's what I tell the other person. This is one reason I absolutely love accountability in friendships. It takes humility to be honest enough with the other person about my struggles and I have to consistently chip away at my pride, but once I allow myself to do that I can sit down and listen to the insight of others. Half the time I know what the other person may say but I can't say it to myself or listen to it. When someone else verbalizes what I know is right it confirms all along that I should do it. Generally speaking, it's the things that are in God's Word that I need to be reminded of....such a cool thing.
Advice.
Accountability.
Friendships.
Ever notice it's harder to take your own advice? Sometimes I wonder when I give advice to others if I would take it myself. Most people generally do listen and value my opinion...I guess it's harder when I'm in that position because sometimes I know what's right, but would rather not listen to it...even if it's what I tell the other person. This is one reason I absolutely love accountability in friendships. It takes humility to be honest enough with the other person about my struggles and I have to consistently chip away at my pride, but once I allow myself to do that I can sit down and listen to the insight of others. Half the time I know what the other person may say but I can't say it to myself or listen to it. When someone else verbalizes what I know is right it confirms all along that I should do it. Generally speaking, it's the things that are in God's Word that I need to be reminded of....such a cool thing.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
To Thine Own Self Be True
William Shakespeare's brilliance in this soliloquy found in Hamelet. I think often of these words and try my best to use wisdom from the life experience he shares.
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stay'd for.
There ... my blessing with thee!
And these few precepts in thy memory
Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportion'd thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg’d comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel but, being in,
Bear't that th' opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man;
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Neither a borrower, nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell; my blessing season this in thee!
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stay'd for.
There ... my blessing with thee!
And these few precepts in thy memory
Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportion'd thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledg’d comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel but, being in,
Bear't that th' opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man;
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Neither a borrower, nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell; my blessing season this in thee!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Little pieces of heaven
I am working from 11-3 today. I have an 8:50 government class, then convo (from 10-1030 when i'll leave to walk to work). then i have an exam, quiz, and paper due in the next two days. Since it's wed, i have prayer leader class, so i decided to go to the 740 pl class. What makes it all worth it? Besides the wonderful weather this morning, 830-850= the break b/w classes. This is ample time to enjoy a fresh hot waffle and a cup of coffee at the Rot. Pure joy and bliss! :) :) :)
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Ready Yourselves
Since I'm a geek...studying analogies speak volumes. Well, I'm pretty sure any student can relate. For instance, if you study really hard, long hours, with others, apply yourself etc preparing for an exam when you get the exam you'll most likely do much better and will be able to attack it from the inside out. Maybe it's a multiple choice exam and you wind up going through 50 questions in less than 10 minutes because your mind can think quickly and you just know the right answer. Or maybe it's an essay test and you take up every single minute to plan carefully and then right as many details possible to answer and earn the most points in an attempt to demonstrate your knowledge to the professor. Either way, most of the work takes place BEFORE the actual test as you ready yourself.
In the same way that's exactly what our prayer life is like. We are promised to face many trials, challenges, opportunities, temptations etc at every and any moment of our lives aka as "exams." Some of them we are aware will happen, while others are unforeseen. Either way we must constantly be in preparation. Every battle is won on our knees before our creator. When we offer prayer and praise to our heavenly Father, surrendering our lives, we experience freedom and joy that will prepare us to knock down whatever will happen. Such as sweet victory...we win in our praise. Just like the battle of Jericho, just like Paul and Barnabas in prison, just like you when you are on your knees. We will win and are guaranteed victory through praise. I've been reminded of this through the Casting Crown song "The Whole World Hears" in these lines:
"Ready yourselves. May the powers of darkness tremble as our praises rise"
In the same way that's exactly what our prayer life is like. We are promised to face many trials, challenges, opportunities, temptations etc at every and any moment of our lives aka as "exams." Some of them we are aware will happen, while others are unforeseen. Either way we must constantly be in preparation. Every battle is won on our knees before our creator. When we offer prayer and praise to our heavenly Father, surrendering our lives, we experience freedom and joy that will prepare us to knock down whatever will happen. Such as sweet victory...we win in our praise. Just like the battle of Jericho, just like Paul and Barnabas in prison, just like you when you are on your knees. We will win and are guaranteed victory through praise. I've been reminded of this through the Casting Crown song "The Whole World Hears" in these lines:
"Ready yourselves. May the powers of darkness tremble as our praises rise"
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Dreams
At first I thought that I was having crazy dreams (such as seeing New Moon the Musical at the Dollar Theatre, where it's on the tv screen, then live where people come into the crowds) because I was taking cold medicine. Then I thought that maybe it was just coincidence that I had a few crazy vivid dreams the nights following...but it's happened way too much. I'm not quite sure why, but I've had some pretty strange/awesome/crazy/extremely real dreams lately. The funny thing is that most of them have nothing to do with my current life now at Liberty. The past two nights I was traveling to new places. Let me explain.
So the first night I dreamt that I randomly got on a plane to Paris with my sister. We were just walking around casually by the Eiffel tower as if I've seen it many times, yet was still very excited because I wanted to see everything I could because it was my first visit to Paris. Then of course, due to hunger, we went to the McDonald's Wendy's combo that served expensive Italian food...we didn't quite come prepared so we used our VISA, but I woke up too soon to see if we actually had any type of Euro's that worked. However, the food was delicious. Who knew McDonald's was so good overseas! (well actually, that is true...I love love love McDonald's any where but here. It's so FRESH and TASTY!)
Second dream- It was a year after I had graduated high school...so time line was accurate. However, I was doing a book report for high school. Something about drawing a picture that symbolized a novel we read. I chose the "Kite Runner" since i had already read it so the project was simple. I do think Jillian was helping me with a folder for it...but then I was in the classroom and my teacher graded it before I finished drawing ig. I'm not really sure exactly. Then suddenly I'm at a meeting planning for the beach trip that wasn't supposed to happen this year. The meeting was supposed to be saying that it wasn't occurring. However, all these girls that I didn't talk to/wasn't really in my group of friends were at the meeting...but we all planned it as if we knew that, but wanted to get to know each other. Fast forward, we're at the beach. I got a beastly tan and was on a boat. I think CW was our boat driver....even weirder...haha. Then we set up sleeping arrangements to make "families" not "friends" simply intermix groups of friends to get to know each other. We were in Charleston, SC for four days. But I wasn't supposed to be there that weekend because I was at my cousin's wedding. But I think we pushed it a week later.
Basically, I don't know why I just went into detail about my dreams...probably because I don't generally remember anything about them except for maybe once a month. I know dreams mean something and there a way to process things. I enjoy dreaming...mostly because that means I'm actually sleeping. haha. O the joys of Spring Break.
Friday, March 5, 2010
A little bit of everything
Random thought # 1: Bouncy Balls
Yes, the simple pleasure they bring. It's funny how we used to play with them so often when we were younger, but now we simply disregard the fun we could have thinking we're too mature to play with a little kids toy.....NOT. I still, and always will, love playing with these fun little plastic toys, and proof of this is the amount of time I (and others on dorm 3) spent playing with this little treasure. Add a frisbee, and it's gold.
Random though # 2: Chick-Fil-A
I have a feeling I will somehow always be working at CFA one way or the other. I enjoy the job, but am torn because I don't really want to be there half the time I'm there. I'm so thankful for the fact that I have a job and am priveleged to work, but at the same time starting to incorporate this job into my Liberty life is a little more of a challenge, mainly being, I'm pretty physically exhausted after work (which is pretty pathetic because I haven't worked that long). But nevertheless, I am excited to work and love that I can meet a new crowd and observe the Lyncburgians from a different perspective, see cute families, little puppies, smell chicken and fries, see my friends pictures on the training booklets (weird),say my pleasure, and save a few cow's lives, (a very noble cause) :)
Random thought # 3: The Weather
Now I have to admit, I love the snow, but I am EXTREMELY enjoying this nice beautiful weather we've been having. A LOT. Most people don't realize, the beach and summer is my first love, and the reason I've had a snow obsession is because I am not accustomed to it. However, I miss my first love and am happy it's coming back! Paradise.
Random thought # 4: Laughing
I laugh a lot. I have a healthy laughing dose each day. However, yesterday, I laughed literally on the floor crying for about 20 minutes. I was trying to relay a story to a friend, that was very funny, but the more and more I told it, the more and more it became a "you-had-to-be-there" story because I couldn't even verbalize my words due to the tears rolling down my face in an uncontrollable laughter. Calories burned for the day. Check. hahaha
Random thought # 5:
I could get serious, but I really don't want to because I feel like everything that's been on my mind lately is deeper, serious stuff. I kind of wish I could leave that behind and just enjoy. So that's what I'm going to try to do :)
Random thought # 6: I LOVE YOU! AND HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!!
Yes, the simple pleasure they bring. It's funny how we used to play with them so often when we were younger, but now we simply disregard the fun we could have thinking we're too mature to play with a little kids toy.....NOT. I still, and always will, love playing with these fun little plastic toys, and proof of this is the amount of time I (and others on dorm 3) spent playing with this little treasure. Add a frisbee, and it's gold.
Random though # 2: Chick-Fil-A
I have a feeling I will somehow always be working at CFA one way or the other. I enjoy the job, but am torn because I don't really want to be there half the time I'm there. I'm so thankful for the fact that I have a job and am priveleged to work, but at the same time starting to incorporate this job into my Liberty life is a little more of a challenge, mainly being, I'm pretty physically exhausted after work (which is pretty pathetic because I haven't worked that long). But nevertheless, I am excited to work and love that I can meet a new crowd and observe the Lyncburgians from a different perspective, see cute families, little puppies, smell chicken and fries, see my friends pictures on the training booklets (weird),say my pleasure, and save a few cow's lives, (a very noble cause) :)
Random thought # 3: The Weather
Now I have to admit, I love the snow, but I am EXTREMELY enjoying this nice beautiful weather we've been having. A LOT. Most people don't realize, the beach and summer is my first love, and the reason I've had a snow obsession is because I am not accustomed to it. However, I miss my first love and am happy it's coming back! Paradise.
Random thought # 4: Laughing
I laugh a lot. I have a healthy laughing dose each day. However, yesterday, I laughed literally on the floor crying for about 20 minutes. I was trying to relay a story to a friend, that was very funny, but the more and more I told it, the more and more it became a "you-had-to-be-there" story because I couldn't even verbalize my words due to the tears rolling down my face in an uncontrollable laughter. Calories burned for the day. Check. hahaha
Random thought # 5:
I could get serious, but I really don't want to because I feel like everything that's been on my mind lately is deeper, serious stuff. I kind of wish I could leave that behind and just enjoy. So that's what I'm going to try to do :)
Random thought # 6: I LOVE YOU! AND HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)