here, there, and everywhere

This past weekend we went camping with some friends from Josh's work. We went to Pine Mountain, Georgia. It was so beautiful up there. Fire hot, but still very fun. We went swimming, had some delicious food, made smores, and even had a midnight rave with some glow sticks. I had a really good time. Next time we will know to bring a fan :)

A couple of weeks ago I posted that I had a little to do list of projects that I wanted to get done. Well I got most of it done but when I painted the tv stand it didnt quite turn out the way I wanted it to and now I am a little worried to paint my armoire. I really love the piece of furniture and I just can't imagine ruining it. I am eventually going to paint it but I am so nervous now after the disaster that is the tv stand. good thing i only paid 5 bucks for the thing or i would be so mad. So sometime soon I WILL paint the thing.

My birthday is in 2 1/2 weeks! On July 16th I will be the big double duece. I always get excited about my birthday and it is always a pretty big deal. Last year Josh woke me up with flowers and made me breakfast and then I spent the day with mel and stacie. I bought a tiny little bottle of alcohol just because I could and then poured it down the drain because I don't drink. What a waste of money. haha. That night Josh took me to Sips n Strokes. They made fun of us because it was my 21st birthday and I had a gatorade and josh had a water. we painted this cool picture and we had so much fun.

This year my family is going to Orlando on the week of my birthday so after I get out of class me and Josh will be driving to orlando to stay a few days. We're going to Magic Kingdom,Islands of Adventure, and Busch Gardens. I cannot wait. My dad practically begged Josh to go because they are new BFFs. It is really funny how alike they are. They get along so well and that is one of the things I love about Josh. My family loves him. All of them think he is so great and that super important to me. It will be so much fun to have roller coaster fun with Josh and the fam for my birthday.

A few weeks after my birthday, I GRADUATE! I am a little later than most but only one semester behind isn't bad. I actually graduate on Josh's birthday so it will be a very fun celebratory day. I just have to get through A&P II and Comparative first.

Then the day after I graduate, we start pharmacy school. Not even a day break but I cannot wait. I have worked so hard to get here and it is finally time. Hallelujah!

The next month and half will probably be the busiest of my life but i cannot wait for all of it. I am just enjoying this time in my life.

listen

Dave Barnes
God Gave Me You
10,000 Children
Since You Said I Do
Until You
More Than a Man
Nothing Fancy
I Have And I Always Will

Matt Wertz
Sing My Lonesome Away
With You Tonight
I Will Not Take My Love Away
Over You

Marc Broussard
The Wanderer
The Beauty of Who You Are
Why Should She Wait
Gavin's Song


Three amazing musicians and of course 3 of my favorites. I listed a few of my favorite songs so check them out. If theres no link you just need to download it and listen to it :)

On a heavier note, I got a message from Lauren Huff this morning. She has been having alot of abdominal troubles and they are going to do some more tests. Please send up a few extra prayers for Huffy. Pray for God's healing first of all but also pray for peace for Lauren. I am sure this is a very stressful, worrying time and she needs to feel the arms of Christ around her. Our God is so big.
Here are the Lyrics of a song by Jeremy Camp called The Healing Hand of God:

I have seen the many faces
I fear in the pain
I have watched the tears fall plenty
From heart ache and strain
So if life's journey
Has you weary and afraid
There's rest in the shadow of His wings
I have walked through the valleys
The mountains and plains
I have held the hand of freedom
It washes all my stains
If you feel the weight of many trials
And burdens from this world
There's freedom in the shelter of the Lord.

I have seen the healing hand of God
Reaching out and mending broken hearts
Taste and see the fullness of his peace
And hold on to what's being held out
The healing hand of God

I have touched the scars upon his hands to see if they were real
He has walked the road before me he knows just how i feel
When you feel there is not anyone who understands your pain
Just remember all of Jesus' suffering

Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you
He's near to the broken and confused
By His stripes our spirit is renewed
So enter in the joy prepared for you.

uganda and worry

About a month ago I ordered a Uganda necklace. I ordered one for Stacie for her birthday and one for myself because I liked it. When I went home the next time my mom showed me the picture of our family's compassion child. Her name is Helen Buwala. She is from Uganda. What a God thing. Even though she might not ever know about the uganda necklaces I still thought it was very cool that I now have a reminder to pray for Helen and her family. Just one more way God is preparing my heart to go to Africa (eventually).

There is a lady who taught the women how to make the necklaces, her name is Katie. She has a blog and it is really powerful. Keep her in your prayers for sure. Check it out here

For info about ordering the necklaces go here

I had a pretty discouraged day the other day. The end result of Mammalian really knocked me down. Because I couldn't pull 3 more points, I finished the semester with a 69.5 and no opportunity to round up (i tried). This meant that I have to take mammalian all over again in pharmacy school. I was already worried about how I would do and then this happened. most days I tell myself that God got me in and He will not fail me once I get there. But then there are the days that the enemy gets into my head and tells me that I cannot do it. I feel discouraged, scared, worried, angry, upset, stressed, and the list goes on. It is on these days that I have to run from the devil and back into the refuge of Christ. Like I said...GOD got me in. I didn't get me in. If you know my GPA you would know for sure that I can't take the credit and I think that is how it should be. I can't help but to give Him all the glory for that. I didn't do it alone and I won't be doing it alone for the next 4 years either. Deuteronomy 31:8 says "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." He will do what he promises and I have to trust that always. I cannot be afraid or discouraged. Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose". He called me and He will help me through it. It will not be easy and the enemy will try to bring me down. But Christ is in control and there is so much peace in that knowledge.

change

2 days ago i went to my best friend's wedding. it was so beautiful. it was so much fun and sweet as could be. congratulations ashley and jared mills! after they get back from their honeymoon they're moving super far away to kansas city, missouri. although i am sad that i won't get to see her for quite a while, God has huge plans for them there. it got me thinking about change. everyone hates change. i like change most times but only when i want to change. God has other plans. he wants us to change when it is good for him and most often bad for us. we will try to resist but we have to have faith and know that God is who he says he is and that he will not fail us. 2 corinthians 3:18 says "so all of us that have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. and the Lord--who is the spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." we must change to be more and more like Christ. we live in a sinful world and what the world tells us we should do are not what the Lord tells us. so we must change. change our hearts, change our minds, change our actions. change. we can't be just living in the world. we must always be changing to be more like him and show him to the world that so desperately needs him and his love. embrace the change.

things to come

so as most of you probably already know, i love missions of any sort. when i graduate from pharmacy school i want to go on medical missions trips. i went on alternative spring break last year and also went to brazil for 10 days and they were both so incredible. i was going to go back this year but the dates got changed so i will already be in summer classes. once i found out that i would be going yet another summer without a mission trip i started looking towards summer of 2011. pharmacy school does not have summer classes. there are a few along the way that you can take but i won't be doing that :) church of the highlands normally has a mission trip to africa every summer and i really just felt God lay that on my heart. its always pretty expensive but God showed that money was no option when it came to paying for brazil so that is not even one of my worries. i am and will be doing things in the meantime to prepare both my heart and my bank account. i will share one of those things shortly (after i give stacie her birthday present.) i just know that somehow some way i will be in africa next summer if thats where the Lord continues to lead me. please keep me in your prayers as i continue on this journey.
i finished up my finals on friday. thank goodness. but then i had to wor 20 hours this weekend. now i have a one week break in between today and going to the beach with josh's family which i cannot wait for. during that one week i have a list of things to get done. i bought a fabulous armoire at the thrift store (the best) but right now it is a gross yellow-ish color so i need it to be black and awesome and to have new curtains on the doors of it. i also picked up a wrought iron stool off my neighbors curb and i need to paint it. i have already recovered and repadded it but it still needs some work. the last thing is my tv stand. it brown and needs to be black.
so here is my list:
*paint armoire
*sew curtains
*paint stool
*paint tv stand
i will post before and afters when everything is done. pray the rain doesnt ruin my plans.
i also think that my lola cat is going to be a mommy. i am not 100% sure but im like 90%. shes been acting strange in both good and bad ways. shes been very very snuggly but then shes peed in the bathtub like 3 times. shes very weird but hopefully she is with child :) having little kittens for a few weeks would be so much fun. so if you know anyone who wants one i will keep you posted.
p.s. congrats to annilee! i cannot wait to meet baby number 2!

x marks the spot

exes. almost everyone has them. most of them are terrible. some people are actually friends with their exes. if they are exes from middle school or if you only dated for like 2 weeks then thats a possibility. however, if you dated recently or for a long period of time i will never understand how you can be "just friends". you come to know that person as more than a friend and that is the type of relationship that cannot go backwards. so you have to end it completely. some people do not understand this fact. in the past year or so i have encountered quite a few people who just don't get it. you are the ex and it is going to stay that way. it is even worse when your ex looks like old gregg or ursula from the little mermaid. you dont want to tell them "listen i dont want to be friends because i am embarassed that we even went out" but they just do not get it. so i am going to help everyone out for the future. here it goes.

attention exes: it is not ok to call/text/facebook/email once your no longer significant other tells you it is over. if they talk to you first, fine. you also should not call and hang up because they automatically assume it is you once it comes up private number or as "dont answer" because they have you saved that way. it is also not ok to continue to call/text/facebook/email once they tell you "do not call me anymore...you are driving me crazy". the most not ok thing to do is to contact their new significant other especially if he/she is a person that you have never met in your life. this includes talking about books, music, school, plans after graduation, or even about life in general. just because you went out with someone does not put you in the middle of their new relationship. if i start dating someone, i do not care what his ex has to say. most people understand that you were "in love" with this person so you are having to get over them but they are completely over you. they probably deleted your pictures, burned your scrapbook, notes, that dumb stuffed animal and haven't thought about you again. if you still have pictures of your ex, delete them. still having pictures on facebook or even on your computer is completely weird. you need to finally face the fact that both the relationship and your friendship is over and move on. just know if you don't want your feelings hurt or if you dont want people to say you are a crazy...dont be one. its that simple.

home sweet home

I am FINALLY back in Clay, Alabama. I have missed this. Not so much the place but most definitely the people. I know I only live 2 hours away but life is so busy right now that I have not been home since January. Tomorrow is Ash's shower and I can't wait to spend hours with my friends. Speaking of Ash, I finally found my shoes for her wedding. They are grey and so cute. Only problem is that they are 4 inch heels. If I kept them that way that would make me 6'3'' aka a GIANT so I am having them shortened an inch. Who even knew they did that? Thanks Opelika shoe repair. You are my hero for right now. I also am so incredibly bummed that I cannot go back to Brazil this year. I had money and everything and the dates of the trip changed just enough that I cannot go now. Next year when I have a real summer break, mission trips will be a top priority. I have been missing quite a bit.
I have learned so much this week about myself. No matter how much I say that I am over things or that I do not care about them, I do. Even if I try to tell myself I don't care, that does not make it true. Some people are put here to see if you mean what you say. Some people no matter what you do will always find a way to bring themselves back into your life even if they have no idea. I know I am supposed to forgive everyone all the time but sometimes it is easier said than done. Where is the line drawn between forgiveness and protecting yourself from that again? Yes things happened in the past. Yes you were told about them. But that does not make you exempt from their impact. I am an emotional person. I take things personally. Some things are incredibly important to me that some people don't find important at all. Some things hurt me and I never really get over them. I just have to live around them. I shove them to the side and shrug it off. I rest in the fact that God knows that about me because he made me. For that reason He knows how to help me deal with that imperfection in myself. It is so cool how God uses things to teach us. Things that hurt my feelings every time they are brought up only shove me deeper into the comfort of Christ. People will always let you down. Always. But Christ never never will. That in itself completely blows my mind. We are human and we will feel pain and hurt and disappointment and we won't always feel great about everything but God promises good things.
Romans 5 3-5 "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." (NLT)
No matter how many times certain people hurt my feelings, no matter how many times I make big deals out of small ones, now matter how many times certain hurtful things keep getting brought up, ALL of these things will bring me closer to God and his love that is constantly surrounding me. So bring it on world.

I Will Not Take My Love Away
by: Matt Wertz
I will not take my love away
When praises cease and seasons change
While the whole world turns the other way
I will not take my love away
I will not leave you all alone
When striving leads you far from home
And there's no yield for what you've sown
I will not leave you all alone
I will give you what you need
In plenty or in poverty
Forever, always look to me
And I will give you what you need.