"The Earth is Yours" by Gungor has been one of my favorite worship songs for quite a while now. I'm not even really sure how I discovered it, but I absolutely love it! I have this really fond memory of trying to jam out to this song with my dear friend super CZ, but we couldn't quite get it right and ended up laughing for a while instead. Then she put it on a mix tape for me that I randomly decided to pop into the CD player today. As I blasted the song and sang along as loud as possibly I realized what an awesome song this really is; not just because the instruments mesh nicely together and Michael Gungor has a great voice, but because of its message. The earth is yours, the mountains tremble, all of nature stands in awestruck fear of our God. Is that amazing or what?! Sometimes I forget how awesome and powerful God is, I forget that even the smallest things like a blade of grass were perfectly created by Him, and are His still today. Every piece of nature that we stand in awe of this time of year also stands in awe of the one true God that created it. Totally amazing in my eyes.
I have successfully discovered the most difficult part of getting ready for college: finding a roommate. In my mind I guess I had this idealized vision that someone would randomly message me on room surf, we'd hit it off, and in no time we'd be roomies! Unfortunately it's a little bit more difficult than that, and that fact that I have my sights set on rooming with a Christian girl adds yet another level of difficulty. I know that I am EXTREMELY impatient, seeing as I was just accepted less than a week ago, but it seems to have this affect of adding another stresser to life knowing that it takes a considerable amount of time to find just the right person. In a time like this though I can resort back to my favorite verse, you guessed it! Jeremiah 29:11. I know that God has picked out the exact right roommate for me and it's only a matter of time and patience on my part until He reveals her to me.
It's been a long, stressful, nerve wracking, and nail biting journey to get to this point (although nail biting isn't necessarily reserved to stressful situations...one of my bad habits) but it's finally here: I'm officially going to college.
My family spent the past two days up in Blacksburg exploring some different aspects of the college that we know oh so well. I sat in on my first college class, got thoroughly confused by my departments adviser, and fell in love with the school all over again thanks so an awesome senior. Coming home and immediately stroking the deposit check to the school was one of the most satisfying things I've done all week. Knowing that the element of jealousy I had toward all my friends who've known since January where they were going is now totally erased is an incredibly breath of fresh air. As I strive to obtain a degree that we help me change the world in the long run I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me in the short term up at Virginia Tech!
As I'm sure many of you are aware, just over a month ago I was denied from my first choice college - University of Florida. Since that dreadful day I've been seriously looking into two schools that I thought I would have no desire to attend when I applied to them - University of South Florida and Virginia Tech. I grew up a hokie and swore for many many years that I would never ever under any circumstances carry on the family legacy of becoming one myself. Isn't it amazing how things can change though?! Last night I was accepted to Virginia Tech and I pretty much haven't stopped smiling since. If you haven't ever been accepted to a college you want to attend very badly you may not understand (although I hope you will one day!) but it's basically the best feeling in the world (or at least in my world so far...).
I love when things go right. Getting into Tech, babysitting some of the most awesome kids last night, getting to hang out with awesome kiddos during my churches parenting conference, celebrating acceptances with great friends, my churches 5th birthday and a two day visit to Tech are all happening in the same weekend. And for that I couldn't be more grateful. My friends and I all got some of the best news of our life's last night and having the ability to all experience that together is more than any of us could have ever asked for. I love seeing how the Lord is working in pointing us to the colleges where he wants us to be at.
I don't know what your idea of a perfect day is, but here at the beach it's a cloudless day in the upper 70s with the sun shining and the jets flying over head. In other words, today was the perfect day. I have to say that I can't complain at all about the weather we've had this year. The temperature only dipped below 40 for about a week total and I've barely worn a jacket once or twice all winter (partly because I'm lazy and don't want to carry it around, and partly because its been so warm).
It's hard to be down on days like today when you're driving around in shorts with all the windows of your car open and the wind whipping through your hair. And with the kind of day and night I had yesterday today's heaping dose of vitamin D was exactly what I needed. Days like this are total God things. Its really easy to run to God when times are tough, but when everything is going right its easy to feel like we don't need Him. This would be a day where it be easy to forget. But instead of forgetting why don't we rejoice?! He created the sun that's shining, the wind that was blowing, and even me with the ability to enjoy a gorgeous day. Can't wait for more days like today (:
Whether we like it or not, we've all got them. Sometimes they're hidden from sight; sometimes they're on display for all to see. No matter the size, placement, or cause scars are a part of human life we just can't escape. They illustrate of story; our struggles, our triumphs, our lives. My knees tell the story of a klutzy childhood; one where I was unstable of my feet and spent most of my time bleeding on the concrete. The six inch white line down my thigh and raised skin on my elbow reveal that I often get in fights with my cats, and loose. What I've come to realize lately is that not all scars are deformities that we can physically see with our eyes. Events in our lives emotionally break our souls, causing scars and breaks that no one can actually see. Inside we feel so broken, imperfect, and unwanted; who would ever care about us in a state of such disparity and brokenness. The answer is Jesus. He wants you no matter what shape your in. No matter how scarred your body or your soul is, He loves you all the same - immensely. 1 Corinthians 5:17 is a huge example of this : "In Christ you are a new creation, the old has gone the new has come." Jesus is like the plastic surgeon that erases our scars, He sees us a new creations in Him and loves us so so much for who that is. He doesn't care how much He has to erase, He loves us so much that He'd do - and did - whatever it took to make us clean and whole.
My sophomore year they came, showed a video, made 75% of the auditorium cry, and sparked something inside of me; last year they did it again, and this year their Kony 2012 campaign video has gone viral with 38 million views and counting in the past three days. It seems as though every social media sight has been inundated with thousands of people jumping on the Invisible Children and Kony 2012 bandwagon in what some are calling "blind" support. The sad part is that the people saying that are probably true. I have to admit, right after I watched the video I reposted it on Facebook and followed @KONY2012 on Twitter. I was overcome with sheer adrenaline and emotion that I didn't care how valid their points were I just wanted to support their change.
Today I got the chance to do a little bit of research and discuss the whole campaign with some of my peers and here's what I came up with: Invisible Children's BIGGEST goal with the creation of this video and "cover the night" is to raise awareness about Joseph Kony and his crimes. You've got to admit, they've done a pretty good job of it because people are talking about this all over the place. Whether it's arguement or support, the word is being spread about what Kony is doing in central Africa, and that was the point.
I love what Invisible Children stands for and the fact that they care so much about this issue that they won't stop at anything to acheive it. But IC spends a lot of their time and money making things that will aide in the raising of awareness for the child soldiers in Uganda. That's not the only place child soldiers are though, Kony has spread all over central Africa and the well being of children all over that region is at stake.
There are ways to get involved with solving this crisis that do more good than buying things to support IC. I encourage you to watch the video, and get convicted for this cause. I also encourage you to do some research before jumping on IC's wagon whole hog. Look into it, and if after reviewing all sides you still agree with it, go ahead and support all you want! In the process you may also find an organization that does just as much, if not more, good than IC that you want to become a part of. Either way, educate yourself some before you jump in with both feet.
That's just my spin on this whole situation. You may not agree with me and that's totally alright, I respect whatever opinion happens to be. There is the potential to do a lot of good in this situation and it's my hope that we will be able to see through all the critique and controversy and grab on to the little bit of good we are able to do because it could make a huge difference.
If you want to read more into all sides of this story here are some great things to look at:
People really get to me sometimes. And when I say sometimes I mean basically all the time. I seem to be really really good at letting people annoy me. I try really hard to not let things get to me but that in and of itself is pretty darn difficult. It seems like every time I turn around someone else is finding a way to jokingly insult me or tear me down in some way, shape, or form and I'm not a huge fan of that. There's not doubt the high school girls are by far the worst. We seem to fine immense joy in finding and making known everyone else's faults and making them feel terrible about it. Sounds awesome, right? I really hope you said no....
So here's my stance: what's the point? Does tearing other people down really make you feel like a better person? Does is make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? If it does then you might want to go see some one about that....There's no point in carrying on the typical high school girl bitchy attitude. It may make you feel good for a second, but that's just about the only satisfaction that will come from it.
What's the solution? Think before you speak. Is what you're about to say really necessary? How would you feel if someone said something like that to you? I bet not. Don't tear those around you down to the ground and ruin their days, weeks, or even lives. We weren't put on this earth to make enemies, we were put here to love one another and build each other up. We're not doing a very good job of that (me included) and need to work on it, a lot.
Chew on that, and watch what you've got to say to those around you.
For just over a year now I've had the awesome privilege of leading Wyldlife at one of the local middle schools. Coming into it initially I was nervous, middle school girls can be viciously mean and I didn't want to rub any of them the wrong way. For most of that first semester I stood in the shadows of the other leaders and didn't really make any connections with the girls.
Then there was camp, its advertised as the best week of the campers life, but it also ends up being the best week of the leader's life too (at least it was for me). I got to spend an entire week just hanging out with these awesome 7th graders (now rad 8th graders!) and share with them about how awesome Jesus is. These girls are amazing and I don't know what I'd do with out them. During and since that week they have challenged me, pushed me out of my comfort zone, kept me grounded, and given me a reason to live out what a teach because they catch my ever mistake.
So to all my Wyldlife girls: you are awesome, I love you, and you will never ever know how much you have done for me. I will be eternally grateful (:
There are days that I dearly miss Guam. It's not that I hate being here at the beach, I just really miss the life I had on that island. People here take me saying that I miss Guam as an insult, they feel that because I miss Guam I don't like being here with them. Well folks, that's a myth. You can love where you are while missing where you're from. Happens all the time.
I've lived my entire life with out a true "home town." Since my dad's in the navy we've practically lived as nomads for as long as I can remember; moving here and there every couple of years. By the time we settled down it was time to pack up and go somewhere new once again. Moving has been the least favorite part of pretty much my whole life; making friends and leaving them is harder than basically anything else around.
When we moved to the beach I was so happy to be a part of a military community, one that I hoped was similar to the one I lived in on Guam. That's another myth folks. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my friends here, absolutely love them, but they will never understand certain aspects of my life. If you've lived in the same place for your entire life you won't either. There's nothing wrong with that, we're just different.
If you move around all the time like I did you learn to love certain things about the place you are currently in. It may not be your favorite place in the world, but you find something to love about it. And once you've learned to love those few things you dearly miss them when you're forced to leave.
I'm not implying that I hate the beach, or trying to make my friends feel bad my saying that. Rather, I'm saying things like Chamorro Village on Wednesday nights, going on boonie stomps, making jambalaya at 5 am, going to a school of 400, and living in such a small close knit community. The beach isn't bad, it's just different. There are things that I miss about it occasionally and when I move from here there will be things I miss too. That's just how a navy brat's brain works.
Not gonna lie, today was rough. My mom and I not only drove all the way to Florida (a 12 hour drive), but we also got stuck in traffic and were forced to crawl through the University of Florida campus. That wasn't fun. At all. The entire half an hour we were snaking through the campus I was on the verge of tears. Being force to stare at the campus the I will never live on or go to school on just rubbed in my face the rejection this university had handed me. I began to rethink and regret my decision to make a pit stop at Patticakes (my youth pastor's parents cupcake and coffee shop) on our way to my grandparents as we sat in the middle of the campus.
The 12 hours and torturous ride through UF were so worth it for that cupcake though. Getting to chat with the awesome girls at Patticakes about life, college, and cupcakes was such an awesome relief from what happened before. Hearing that other people didn't get into UF and were still able to achieve their dreams (which are pretty similar to mine) is really awesome and encouraging. Being in that little cupcake shop reaffirmed my assertion that UF didn't have what was right for me, and even though its a hard realization to come through it's a good one. Thanks Patticakes (:
Tomorrow I get to tour the University of South Florida. From the beginning I didn't want to consider this school, but now I'm super excited to see what God has in store for me and is going to reveal at this school (:
