I Work Hard For the Money...

I started my first OFFICIAL job not this past Friday but the Friday before that. I say OFFICIAL because before I worked at Michelle's but I loved working for Michelle at her in home daycare and it wasn't really work it was more fun and I loved playing with the kids!!! However, I am now working at a daycare center let me tell you a lot different from an in home daycare. First there are so many rules and paperwork because its run by the state. It makes me very nervous because I'm afraid I will mess up. Also, I have to memorize all the kids names what their allergic to, their parents names and the two other people who are allowed to pick them up. However, I already love a lot of the kids!!! Even the trouble makers are hard not to love. When they go outside all I hear the whole time is Miss Jenna push me on the swing!! Its so much fun but SO tiring by the time I get home I'm whipped!! The boss is really nice but a little intimidating and all the ladies that work there are super nice I just hope I don't mess something up!! But I am super glad that I found a job for the summer when everyone who is out of work is having a hard time finding one!

In other news I LOVE being home and seeing and spending time with all my family and friends but I do miss my friends at school but it wont be long and I will see them again and they are only a text message, phone call, and face book message away so I talk to them a lot!! :)
God has really been teaching me to trust in Him in many ways! I cant do this without Him!! Sometimes I wish I could talk to Him face to face for just a little bit because I need some advice right now but I know He will help me on His timetable not on mine!
Sometimes I feel like such a chicken I wish I could be braver but with God's help and in time I know I can become braver.

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" Phil. 4:13

Trusting 101

I wish there was a class with that title!!!
My life is so unsettle right now its crazy! Who would of thought that after my first year of college I would feel this way! I think its just the transition from being away to being back home!! But there is a lot of stuff going on in my life and would appreciate the prayers right now!! I'm in the process of getting a job and Ive had some problems so I need to learn to trust my Lord and Savior that he has a plan for me!! Ive just felt super down lately but I know God will be by me every step of the way and I have amazing family and friends to help me out too!!
So in a way I'm in my own class called Trusting 101!!!

First Year Of College

Heres a few pictures of my First Year of college!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

First Year of College....

... is done and over with!! WOW

Did that go by fast or what! I can't believe I am now a sophomore in college. This year was so hard but so amazing at the same time!! I am so excited for summer and being home with my family and friends but I left some amazing people!! I am going to miss them so much!! Some of them I will get to see over the summer so that makes me happy but others I wont!! :(

I am just excited to see what God has in store for me over this summer!! I am going to work at a daycare and these next couple days is for finalizing the process of that aka A LOT of paper work!! I came out of college a different person but I don't mean that I changed who I was and am but I am now a stronger person and have been put out of my comfort zone which has only made me stronger in my faith and who I am.

I have had so many good memories my first year!!!

I have seen so many different people with different backgrounds that have made me SO thankful for my family and the way I was raised!!

My first year wasn't all good though I had some hard days here and there and even some hard weeks but I knew my Heavenly Father was there every step of the way!!

I may have found something during my first year of college that will change my life forever but I will have to see how that works out all I know is that God knows...

In the end I would not trade my first year of college for anything!

Oh Harnish!

Okay so I have this professor named Harnish and He is the sweetest man ever!
I just wish he didnt teach math lol!
But he is honestly a good professor and gives plenty of help!!
I was so thankful for him this semester and he is just so funny lol!
Me and my friend Megan have many inside jokes about him but just in fun!
Im glad I dont have him anymore because that means no more math but Im also sad to not have him because he def. made me laugh a lot in math class ha ha.
:)

Why do you look at the speck of sawdusk in your brothers eye...

So Saturday I woke up around 830 and got ready to go and spent sometime studying and then left for Lima with some friends to go to a pancake breakfast to support my other friend who is involved in young life. We ended up getting lost on the way there but with a little arguing, change of drivers, and directions from someone who lives in Lima we finally made it! The pancakes were good then we headed back without getting lost this time ha ha!! After that I went to go spend time with my friend Abby and one of her best friends from high school Kevin. Well on the way to her dorm something flew into my eye some kind of dusk SPECK and my eye starting gushing with water and Kevin was like are you crying and i explained to him what happened so the whole time i was with them my eye was watering and i was trying to get whatever was in my eye to come out but i couldn't find anything. So when i left and came back to my room to do some more studying it was still in there but it wasn't bothering me to bad well a little before 5 some of my friends wanted to go outside and toss the Frisbee around before dinner when I went outside the sunlight made my eye go crazy so I came back inside to try to wash it out. That did not seem to help so I just ignored it and went to dinner well at dinner it would not stop watering and my eye was all puffy. I think people thought i was crying. One person thought something "tragic" happened so i had to explain that something was in my eye and I couldn't get it out and that i wasn't crying. After dinner i walk to the store with some friends and bought some eye drops hoping that would fix my eye. Well that did not work either and all night my eye was gushing yes gushing with water and people kept looking at me weird because I was at the rec center with friends but I couldn't play basketball or volleyball because I could not focus my one eye. After the rec center we went to the park and my eye was still in a lot of pain so my friends told me I should go to the ER but I have a fear of going to the ER so I called my dad who knows of this fear and he said i should put more eye drops in and go to bed and hopefully it will be better in the morning. So that's what I did. Then Sunday I woke up and my eye was really really sore!! And I could not focus it and because I could not focus that eye I couldn't focus the other eye which made it extremely difficult to get ready for church. On top of that I was starting to get a headache but I did not want to miss church because it was probably the last time I got to go before Summer so I went and it felt alright during the service but it still hurt so I called my parents and they were going to come take me to the ER but then it started to feel better so they did not come and as of now its doing Good just extremely sore from watering all day and me wiping it!!
So watch out for those specks!!

Last Week Of Classes

Yes you read that right I am in the home stretch of finishing my first year!!!
I cant believe how fast it went!!
Looking back even though i had some rough times it was a good school year.
I have so many good memories of friends!!
I'm going to miss them a lot over the summer!!
And because Bluffton is a small school and you basically know of everyone its going to be so weird without some of the seniors!!
I'm so glad to be done with the school part however and cant wait to be home for the summer!!
I have learned a lot over this past year however and its made me a stronger person!!
But i would be NO WHERE without my Heavenly Father being there every step of the way!
So these last couple weeks are for studying for finals and spending time with my amazing friends!!

Easter weekend!!

So I had a fabulous Easter break!!!
I left school on Thursday and spent time with my family that night!
Friday I went shopping with my sissy and mom and dad for Easter clothes and found a cute skirt and top! Then that night I went over to Beths house and got to see a lot of my friends that I hadnt seen in awhile!! We watched Marley and Me :)
Sat. I spent the day with my family!! Played kickball and the wiii most of the day with a little time for homework okay just kidding i ended up goofing around with my sister!!
Sunday I went to the Sunrise service and church and spent the day at both sides of the familys it was busy but fun!!!!!
It was one of the best weekends in awhile!!
Im so blessed to have such amazing friends and family!! :)

Busy weeks and more busy weeks to come!...

So I haven't posted in awhile because I have been really busy with school and other things and its only getting busier being at the end of the school year!! I have 8 days of official class days and one week of exams and I'm done! Can you believe it!! My first year of college over in a flash!!
I would like to fill you in whats been going on since the last time I posted which was a not very fun week!! I am pleased to say after that the weeks got much much better!!! That weekend I brought my really good friend Abby home with me and we went and saw my cousin Nate's musical the seusical!! It was amazing!! My cousin did awesome!! I was so proud of him!! Even Abby my friend was and that was the first time she met him!! So that was a really good weekend!!! Then another week of school which wasn't too bad then after that I came home again for just a night because it was my little brothers birthday!!! I had tons of fun with all my family!! Then I drove back to school because it was our spring formal which was pretty fun when I was home over spring break I found a dress for 5 bucks at deb and it was real cute so that made it even better!! Then during the week we had room draw and me and my roommate Rachel picked where we are living next year!! Then my sister and cousins who were on spring break came and visited me at school which was a blast!! And now I'm home for Easter break and so far its been amazing!! Ive spent time with family and friends!!! and now I'm trying to do homework as you can see its not going so well but I need to focus!! These next couple of weeks are going to be a blur of last minute papers and projects and the last time I get to hang out with a lot of my friends at school even thought I plan on seeing some of them over the summer!!
Well that's whats been going on since my last post!

So I was asked to put some pictures of my spring formal on here and my 5 dollar dress...

What A Week!!

Wow so this week has not been very good and its not even over yet!! I'm so ready for the weekend!! I get to go home because its my cousins musical!! I cannot wait!! Also, I am bringing one of my friends!! So I'm pumped!! Anyways this week has been full of failures, and disappointments. This is really the first time here at Bluffton that Ive had one of these weeks. I mean Ive had my days but never weeks! This is one of those times when I ask myself how do people live without Jesus like honestly I'm not sure I could make it through without Him. I mean my friends are amazing and always make me feel better when I'm having a bad day! But in the end all I like to do is crawl in bed and pour it all out because He is the only one that truly knows what I'm going through!!
Today as I was studying my roommate was listening to music and the song History by Matthew West came on and it gave me lots of encouragement and hope! Then when she left I turned my music on and the same song came on again and all I could do was thank God for reminding me that yesterday is History and today is a new day!!!!
So here are the lyrics I hope they encourage you as much as they did me!!

History
Its been a bad day, you've been looking back
And all you can see is everything you wish you could take back
All your mistakes, a world of regrets
All of those moments you would rather forget
I know it's hard to believe
Let me refresh your memory
Chorus:Yesterday is history
And history is miles away
So leave it all behind you
Let it always remind you of the day
The day that love made history
You know you can't stay right where you fell
The hardest part is forgiving yourself
But let's take a walk into today
And don't let your past get in the way
Repeat chorus
Yeah Yeah
Would you believe that you are history
In the making, in the making
Every choice that you are making
Every step that you are taking
Every chain that you are breaking
History is in the making
Every word that you are saying
Every prayer that you are praying
Every chain that you are breaking
History is in the making
Repeat chorus
Yeah yeah
Oh history is in the making
Every word that you are saying
Every prayer that you are praying
Every chain that you are breaking
History is in the making

I dont know where the time goes?

So basically I have a month and my first year of collge is over with!! Are you as shocked as I am!?!? I've learned a lot this year about who I am and who I am coming to be. However, I still have a lot to learn!!! And I give all my thanks to God because without Him I am nothing.


These past couple days have been so nice!! All the people from Bluffton finally reappeared!! Yesterday so many people were out!! I found the people :)

Latly I think God has been teaching me how to be humble but confidant in myself which is a hard balance. But Im going to try.

Another day is coming to a close bring on the new one I need a clean slate :)
Thank You God!

While I'm Waiting...

One of my favorite movies right now is Fireproof!! I have seen it three times and counting...
One of the songs that they play in the movie is called While I'm Waiting by John Waller and I absolutly love it!

I did not realize how uncertain my life still is about what i want to do and who I want to be.
I thought once i chose my major and the college I would go to, that everything would be fine after that but I am still so unsure and on top of that a lot people in my class are transferring for many different reasons and Bluffton is so VERY expensive and it makes me worry about the future if I will get a good enough job to pay off all my debt with our economy in the shape it is in. I would not trade this year at Bluffton for anything it has taught me so much and I have made so many AMAZING friends!! And I would love to come back but the money issue really worries me and part of me wonders if i should live at home and go to a college that is not so expensive because i do not want to be in debt all my life! However I know that God will provide if I am suppose to come back and I am not going to worry instead I will wait upon the Lord!!

Here are the lyrics:
I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead, bold and confident
Takeing every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait
I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

<3>

Beth and Lyz come to visit!!

This past weekend my friend Beth from home came to visit me!!
We had a really good time!!!
Also, my friend Lyz who used to go to Bluffton came to visit.
She had to drop out after finding out she was pregnant!!
It was a really good weekend!
Here are some pictures....

Remedy Drive and the Afters come to Bluffton!

Last weekend after the baking and after it rained in ropp we went to a concert on Sunday!! It was held at our school and it was two Christian bands: Remedy Drive and the Afters! They were both AMAZING!!! After the concert they came out and we got autographs and talked to them they were both real nice!!


THE AFTER'S!!!!!!

REMEDY DRIVE!!!

It's Raining in Ropp

So last weekend after staying up real late from baking cookies and watching a movie I had to get up around 9 because my phone was ringing and I saw Rachel Harris which is my roommate who was working last weekend but I was not awake enough to realize what was going on so I did not answer it. Well when I was really awake I saw that it was Rachels mom that called me and I also had a text and a note from Rachel saying that the ceiling of our room was leaking. So i see that we have a small leak and that Rachel put her trash can under it but when I opened the door I saw a big leak and the floor was soaking wet and on top of that all the R.A.s and Hall directors were gone on a leadership retreat so I didnt know who to contact. Rachel told her mom who tried to call buildings and grounds and then I found the substitute R.A. who got me another bucket and contacted different people. Then she came back and told me it was because of all the snow melting(it was real warm that day) and said that they wouldnt be able to fix it till Monday. I was thinking are you kidding me but it they shoveled off the roof and the leak stopped so it was not that bad.

Yes I have an umbrella inside!! ha ha

Baking in Bren Dell

Last Friday a bunch of us decided to make a wal-mart trip. While we were there some of the guys thought it would be a good idea to buy a bunch of cookie dough and milk and go back and make cookies and watch a movie!! So thats what we did. Here are some pictures of our fun night!!!

I am just as confused as Peter at what is going on in this picture ha ha

The Weekends Here!! :D .... There it goes :(.....

I never realized how much I would look forward to the weekends at college!!
I mean the weeks are good but I love to just hang out and relax on the weekends and not have to worry about going to class!!!

This is how I spent my last weekend...
Friday-
After classes Peter, Rachel and I hung out then around 7ish we went to a concert at the University of Findley. The concert was a band that is made up of some of Rachel's friends called the Lawnomes! They were really good!!! But they opened up for a band called More Than Me from New York who I think are just getting started but they were good too!! And what was cool about this concert was it was in the ice rink so you could skate if you wanted to or you could just stand on the ice and listen!! It was cool well literally cool it got a little cold!!!
After the concert we drove to Rachel's and spent the night there!!

Sat.
We woke up, had breakfast consisting of bacon for Peter! He LOVES bacon lol and then we left for Findley to go to the bank and the store with Rachel's parents then Peter Rachel and I went to Adrienne's to see Cory and Adrienne then we went back to school to do this dumb thing called homework!! ha ha

Sun.
Adrienne,Peter,Rachel and I went to St. Johns Mennonite Church to see one of Bluffton's Choirs sing!! The sermon was really good and so was the choir!! Afterwards the church provided lunch for college students. It was real yummy!! Then later that night we went to Adrienne's house for the Super Bowl!!! Which was real fun!! I half watch the game and half played with Grace Adrienne's four year old sister who made me miss working at the daycare and playing with Josie!!

It was a really good weekend!!!
However back to classes and I am writing this post instead of doing homework so I should most likely stop and get back to it!! :)

It's Time To Lay It All Down!

It's time for me to trust I mean really trust God. Yes, I tell myself I am going to trust God and I do for a while but as soon as something else goes wrong in my life or something turns out to be harder than I thought I stop trusting and start worrying. Well its time to stop that. It's times to give God my worries and stress over schoolwork, making and keeping friendships,my family, finding a job over the summer, and finding scholarships. Just to name a few of my worries lately. I have always been a bad worrier. And I need to stop. For real what do I have to worry about I have the Creator of the Universe on my side. He promised to never leave me nor forsake me and God always keeps his promises!! I also need to focus on the many many blessing that God has and is giving me instead of focusing on what I do not have. Its time to let the Lord my God control my life and not just part of it, all of it!! Also, its time that I give Him all my troubles for good!! I need to quit trying to take my life over when trouble comes. God knows the big picture and He is and always will be there. Honestly, when I found out that my brother had a tumor I was scared to death. I love my brother so much and he is pretty much my best friend!! But instead of knowing and trusting that God was in control and that His will is perfect I let fear control me. However, I am done being scared and I am done worrying about the little things in life and I am putting all my faith, hope, and trust in my Lord and Savior. Without Him I am nothing!!!! Also, lately I have worried about whether I am doing the will of God. I keep asking Him where He wants me but all I can do is wait patiently and trust in Him. I read in my devotions that the little voice in your head aka your conscience is really the Holy Spirit guiding you. So, if you really feel that you should be doing something and your not or vice versa I feel that is God showing us His will.

I will leave you with some verses, and lyrics to one of Chris Tomlin's songs that gives me hope and peace and helps me know that God is in control!

Proverbs 3:5 and 6

Psalm 139:8-16

Jeremiah 29:11

Isaiah 26:3

You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You Are
Bridge:For there is no one like our God
There is no one like our God
Chorus 1:Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here
Verse 2:You're the Lord of Creation
The Creator of all things
You're the King above all Kings
You Are
You're the strength in our weakness
You're the love to the broken
You're the joy in the sadness
You Are
Chorus 2:Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for you and love for you
In this city
Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here!!

Asking for Prayer

Last weekend I went home because it was MLK weekend and even though i was suppose to go

to my roommates house for the break i went home because I had to go to the doctors because I

had an infection which is cleared up now. However, when I went home my brother was sick and

he had a bad migraine well he had this migraine for the entire weekend and finally my mom took

him to the emergency room last Sunday and they just told him he had a bad migraine and gave

him some medicine. Well he continued to have headaches every day and then my mom took him to

our family doctors and he told him he thought something was wrong and he needed tests. So, he

went and got tests done and they found a tumor behind his right eye which is causing the

migraines and also his lazy eye. They said they thought maybe he had this tumor since he was 8

years old so hes had it for 13 years maybe but because of this they do not think its cancerous. I

am trying to trust God with all this but its really hard!! I just hope he will be all right! He has an

appointment with a neurologist in March. So I would appreciate prayers for him!!

New Semester

Okay here I am in my new semester and let me tell you its going to take me awhile to get back into school again!!

These few days have felt like weeks!!!!!

I am taking five classes: Fundamental Math, Tesol(Teaching English to speakers of other languages):Theories and Issues, Understanding Numerical Data, The Biological World, and Personal and Community Health Concerns. Which I am not sure about this load yet because I am not the best at math or science but o well and I have 8 o clock classes everyday :(



Besides the fact that I get to see all my friends again I wish I was still on break but Im sure I get back into it!



I had such a wonderful break spending time with friends and family!!!! :)







I will leave you with something I read in my devotions today that really encouraged me to just keep moving foward!!!



Face forward. Real life happens in the present, and God's blessings happen now and in the future.

Accept your circumstances. God uses the difficulties of life to help you mature and grow in Him.

If you're following God, you will find Him in all your circumstances.

Trust in the Lord. God will keep you in perfect peace when your mind is focused on Him.

Hope for the future. God is a bright star who will light your path in the present darkness.

I have complete faith in God!