"Look now for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing....oh, rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing"

Home-made Christmas cards!

And here we are again....it's "Dead Week". *cue ominous music here* Thankfully, I seem to still be very much alive! ;) My first final isn't until Wednesday night, which means I'm tricking myself into believing that I have more study time than I probably do. Oh well, what's college without a few all-night cram sessions, right? Jk. I have yet to pull an all-nighter in college, and frankly, have no plans to do so in the near future. I have 5 finals, but 2 of them are take homes, so basically I only have 3 to worry about. Good stuff.

So much has happened in the last month, it's a little hard to know where to begin and what to write about!
I'll start by saying that the Chi Alpha Christmas service last night was awesome! :D I'm not even sure what it was - the acappella guys version of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", Steve's reading of the Dr. Seuss story, Danica's gorgeous painting, or all of my brothers and sisters circled around Kimbrough 101 singing Christmas carols. Some combination of those just moved me. I honestly just couldn't stop smiling the entire night...almost got to the point of tears. Weird how a room filled with God's presence just makes you want to shout with excitement and fall to the ground at the same time. Last night was one of those moments. I suppose it's partially because I've been processing the concept of God's blessing for awhile now. Why on earth do I have so much? I look at all of these fantastic people that I am surrounded by, who at the same time have gone through so many struggles, and wonder why I have been lucky enough to avoid them. What's God's reason for putting me in this "bubble"? I know it's not like I am waiting for the shoe of judgment to drop, but sometimes I feel like I should be. At some point, shouldn't I have trial? And there we were last night, with all of our different walks of life, just singing about the miracle of Christmas and the reason that Christ was born in the first place, and the room was full of such joy I wanted to explode! *shakes head* I know I'll be working through those questions for a while.

Goin to camp...8th grade, maybe?

In other news, I hit 20, and I'm officially all grown up now, I guess. I've been asked to be in a wedding in January! I can't believe I'm old enough to have "married friends"...but I suppose I am. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited! She's probably one of my oldest friends, and I was so honored when she asked me to be involved.  :)  And yes, I got to meet him over Thanksgiving Break. I don't know him super well, but I like what I've seen, I like what other people have said, and I know that it would take a special guy to catch her attention. So yes, even though my approval is not required, I approve.  ;)  Hopefully I'll have more details and pictures for a future blog entry. Right now, I'm still working to finish the semester, and then I'll have more time to think about and process the whole thing. But it's new news, so, hey! Gotta blog it, right? Okay, weird tangent -- right now I'm listening to Pandora radio, and that song "King of Majesty" by Hillsong is on. It always reminds me of summer camp...with aforementioned friend. Heehee. There's a life-comes-full-circle moment right there.

Last blog entry I mentioned some exciting news that I couldn't talk about at the time. Well, details have all fallen into place, and so now I can! *drumroll* I'm going to HAITI!  :D  It'll be my first mission trip, and I'll be going with a team of other XA members for 2 weeks this May. Haiti is also one of the few not-France French-speaking countries, and I'm thrilled that 4 years of foreign language study will get a chance to be used. My next French class is called 'Speaking and Listening', and so hopefully that will prepare me to have some sort of usefulness while we're there. Aside from the fact that they speak French,  our family has also sponsored a girl in Haiti for several years now. She's my age, and so it's almost like we have "family" down there. The odds are still slim, but I could possibly arrange to meet her! All those "selfish" details aside, I am so thrilled to be going. It's a major step of faith -- we have to fundraise our trip costs, and I know that unless God brings the money in, it won't happen. So I'm trusting good things to happen, and expecting that I'll have a testimony once that process itself is over. Anyone who feels led to support me financially... let me know and I will gladly get the information to you! And of course, I would appreciate all the prayers that you can send. Both for myself, the team, and the people that we will be working with in Haiti.

Almost Christmas... :)

So yeah. That'll be the first part of my summer, followed shortly after by my little brother's high school graduation. Crazy stuff, man! Only ten more days until I'm home for Christmas! I just have to finish strong....four exams, a presentation, and a smattering of homework assignments to go. *sigh* "I think I can, I think I can..." Looking forward to getting home and taking some down time. I'm not taking any classes over break this year, which should be nice. Breathers are good.  :)

Okay....time to stop the procrastination and go do work now. Peace out, blog-o-sphere!

*It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, traditional

"I don't wanna mess this thing up.... I don't wanna push too far...."

Hey there world! :)

Well, it's been a month, so I think we're due for a new post. I'm sitting downstairs in Cleveland, drinking my white chocolate mocha, enjoying the fact that I have an extra hour in my morning today. It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving break starts in less than 3 days! I'm pretty excited. It's going to be busy, but a good kind of busy. November has really flown by. Dad's weekend was last weekend, so the family came up for a few days. Good times hanging out with them - though I must confess, I feel a little sorry for my poor brother, who's probably sick and tired of coming over to Pullman ever couple months. He's a trooper, that one. ;)  I'll return the favor, though....once he's at school somewhere exotic. What a burden it will be to visit him in Hawaii, right?

What else is going on? School wise, this week turned out busier than I was expecting, but I guess that's fair. It wouldn't be nice for everyone else to be stressing about tests when I just got to coast through. I only have one exam this week, and the rest is just a lot of homework and paper-writing stuff. But I made my official pre-break to-do list, which means that my motivation now is to keep crossing things off! Tonight I need to finish a history paper, a math lesson, and meet up with my T&L presentation group. Oh, and trying to eat everything in the fridge that might go bad between now and December. Wow -- December! It's so insanely close! We're lucky - there hasn't been any signs of serious snow in Pullman yet, and I'm good with that. It's not invited until after Thanksgiving, and even then, Snow and me have a love-hate relationship.

All the Northside core girls 

Our core finished the Operation Christmas Child outreach project - the girls did an amazing job! It was XA wide, but we "sponsored" it. The goal was 12 boxes -- we did 13. Awesome. :) I'm taking them to the drop off today.

Random tangent: I'm old! Gah! My birthday is tomorrow, though frankly, I haven't given it a whole lot of thought. I've already been blessed to get a card and a package in the mail (no, I haven't opened them yet!) and I'm going to be spending the day doing various things with my friends/family (not birthday things, just social things). So it'll be a good day, I think. :) I'm at that point where I feel like I enjoy keeping my birthday kind of secretive. Not because I don't want people to know the date, but just because I don't want them to feel like they need to say or do anything. In the grand scheme of life, it's not that important. Though I am turning 20, I don't feel nearly old enough or mature enough to carry that age. Maybe someday I'll feel ready to be 20....my guess is about the time I turn 30. haha.

Workin' my new WSU sweatshirt!

I've registered for next semester, and it's going to be insane. I'm taking a full load (18 credits), as well as a lot of other outside-of-class things. Realistically, I also need to find a job, or some source of income, just because I can't keep spending money without saving more. Especially since there are some exciting things on the horizon for the summer. I'll write more about that when I have more liberty to speak about it, but when I found out last night, I nearly started crying with excitement. That's a story for another blog entry.

Alright, well, not much other news as of right now. I have class in 10 minutes, so I'd better start packing up my stuff. Hopefully by the next blog entry, I can title it with some Christmas music!!! :D

*Just A Kiss, Lady Antebellum

"With what we have... I promise you that... we're marching on ..."

For those doubts that swirl all around us,For those lives that tear at the seams,We know,We're not what we've seen,
For this dance we'll move with each other.There ain't no other step than one foot,Right in front of the other----------------------------

Hey blogosphere! Long time no see!
:)
And yeah, it really has been awhile since I've written. The life of a college "sophomore" I guess...just going nonstop. The last month has just flown by -- I still can hardly believe it's already mid October. I loved college last year, but it definitely improves once you get past the freshman awkwardness. College when you know what you're doing is waaay better. Haha.

Definitely settled into a good rhythm, balancing school, fun, and Core leading. Classes are all awesome this semester, I actually want to know what we're learning about, which makes studying and homework so much more fun! It's encouraging, feeling like I am still on the right path. Even my honors class about evolutionary biology has been a great experience. I was blessed with an amazing professor who knows how to keep from stepping on the toes of Christians too much. Granted, there have been challenges I've had to rectify in my spirit, but I went in expecting that. And our exams are in a group format, so I don't feel the pressure to write about what I don't agree with. Apparently the post-exam evaluations from my group were really good though - I talked to my prof after class today and she told me that I got really great reviews from my group members, which was encouraging. :)

On the social front, it's been good. I've seen a pretty specific shift in friend circles from last year, both people who are at home and people here. But I'm also okay with it. I've learned a lot about relationships and I've started to become more comfortable with making new friends and being the initiator in those situations. Crazy, huh? But I like this new side of me. I'm less "clingy", I feel like. Not only do I know how to make new friends, and how to maintain a purposeful relationship, I've become more comfortable leaving people in God's hands. If they don't want to be my friend, it's less of a personal offense. Idk, stuff like this is hard to explain in writing. *shrug* Doing great with my roomie. It takes a month or so to get things figured out, but we've hit a really great stride and I like the environment it's become.

I feel that the older I get, the more aware I am of how far I have to go in maturity. That's something that God has really been teaching me over the last few months. I think of myself too highly, and I think that I know what God's timing is. As we learned at XA Fall Camp, sometimes we have a microwave mentality when it comes to God's timing and our prayers/desires. In reality, we need to have a farming mentality; it's a process that requires patience and every step is important. There are things that I really want, and I've been learning that I won't get them until they're no longer priorities in my thought life. I have to be oriented towards the Father's heart first, and then eventually, He'll bring me what I need without my even realizing it. But I've got a-ways to go before Jesus is the only thing on my mind. I'm trying, I am. But my humanity can be such a roadblock sometimes!

Baby pumpkins! :)

I'm pretty tired tonight, so I guess that's all the updating that will come for right now. Keepin' it short and sweet. Haha. :) Fall's starting to come to Pullman, all the leaves are turning. It's gorgeous, though I don't really relish the idea of 30 degree temperatures and snow being right around the corner.

I don't know why the song for tonight's post is stuck in my head, but it is. And for some reason, the sentiments just resonate with me. Keep marching on... through everything that happens... through good and bad... using everything we're given ... and just keep marching on.

*Marching On, One Republic

"Am I really something beautiful? Yeah, I wanna believe...wanna believe that..."

One month down! Well, four weeks...but for all intents and purposes, that's the same thing. Haha.

So far, classes have been good. I mean, it's a lot of information every week that I need to be covering. And we haven't gone through our first round of midterms yet, so I'm still in the "coasting" phase. I've got basically only classes that relate to my majors/minor, which makes it so much better. I actually enjoy reading my textbooks this semester! :)

My roomie and I are doing really well. It's a different dynamic than it was last year, and I'm still learning how to read her, but I know we're going to have fun living together this year. I've seen my last-year's roommate several times since the year has started, which is great. Honestly, she became one of the best friends I ever have had, not really because we are so similar (although in many ways we are), but because we grew so comfortable being totally honest. After the somewhat overwhelming experience of moving away from home for the first time, we both needed a way to feel "home" at school. So, at least on my end, I never tried to hide anything. Yeah. I was really blessed.

Our small group this year is going to be an...interesting...experience. Haha. It's been really inconsistent so far, who's been coming. And last week, all but one person had an "excuse" to not show up. It's just funny, since I'm just doing this for the very first time, I don't know how to approach the awkward situations like that yet. This is going to be a big year of growth for me, leadership-wise. I'm very grateful for the Chi Alpha family, and I'm grateful that I have a place this year where I feel "needed". That was so weird, last year, never feeling like I had a role to play, in anything really. I notice, even in my friendships, that I'm more committed now that I know someone wants me to be there. The girls in the leadership team are amazing, and I hope that we will get to know each other much better over the next few months. Plus, the freshmen who have been getting involved are super fun. I like hanging around with them when I get the chance.

On Sundays, we started a series at Resonate called "Uncommon Sense: For Love, Sex, and Dating". Let me begin by saying, if you are a human over the age of 15, you should go to the church website and watch the videos of the messages. So far, sooo good. Last week was a message directed towards men, but there was still a lot that the women could get out of it. The older I get, the more respect and admiration I have for the guys who are living life the right way. I'm super proud of my brothers. It's easier this year to feel like I have at least the beginnings of guy friends, which I have missed so much. Nothing more than that (which is another entry in and of itself), but that is alright. Girls just get boring after awhile. Haha. I think this sermon series is going to be awesome, though. It's ministering to me a lot where I'm at, and has been helping put things back in perspective. Anyone who's been single for any period of time knows how the wistful thinking comes in waves. The first few weeks of school, I definitely was riding one of those waves. It's calming down, and I'm happy about that. Emotionally, I don't like having to go through the day that high-strung.

I've got laundry ready to be moved to the dryer, so I'd better finish up this entry so I can go to bed before it gets "too" late. We had some hilarious (slightly tipsy) people stop by tonight at like 11:45 - I got to teach a guy how to take his earrings out. He and this girl who were with him had apparently been asking several different people to try and help get his earring out. It was the same kind of post that I wear, so I could do it without any problem. They were astonished. ;) Pretty funny.

Not much else to say....Lion King is being released in 3D in theaters on Friday!! I'm excited. :D And me and Brianna are probably going to drive to Spokane or Lewiston in order to watch it. College road trips, bay-beee!

*Someone Worth Dying For, Mikeschair

"They say that miracles are never ceasing....and every single soul needs a little releasing..."

And here I go again! Been in Pullman for 5 days now, and there's a bunch of stuff to update about. Moved in on Monday night slash Tuesday into Scott Hall #308. I love my room! It's working out really well for me so far, granted my roommate gets here tomorrow so we might have to re-organize depending on what kind of stuff she has. I've been doing what I can to meet the neighbors, however, there are a lot of them who have been busy with rush all week long. Our first floor meeting is tomorrow night, so I guess that will be a good place to at least put names with faces of the rest. I'm also really lucky, because not only do Brianna and I share a corner room (about a foot wider than a normal room) but we are one of about 4 double rooms that did not get turned into a triple. I came into the year trying to be mentally prepared for a third roommate, and I would have rolled with whatever, but I'm so happy we don't have a third. My mental sanity really needs to have space, and a place to go and recharge with all that's on my plate this semester, and I think a third person would have diminished the possibility of that.

I spent Monday and Tuesday with the Chi Alpha leadership team for this coming year. Week of Welcome and freshman outreach stuff, vision casting for the semester, setting goals...all that fun stuff. Not gonna lie, I was so tired by last night! I'm learning more and more how to come across as an extroverted person, and my INFJ personality type does naturally love and value interaction with people. But the other side of that is the guarded side...the part of me that needs to be alone once in awhile to recharge. And it was a stretch to really initiate conversations and activities with people. Our first small group is going to be one of those nights too, I think. I'm really bad at being the "party person". I like other people to plan, then I just show up. That's not gonna happen this year -- something that I will really try and be okay with. Thankfully, I have two amazing partners to lead with me, and they are both more outgoing than I am.

Gettin some vitamin D and working my free U-Rec sunglasses 

I keep hearing awesome things from various people about the call to revival that is on our campus this year. And I believe it -- there is definitely a peaking of spiritual interest and openness. I don't want to waste the opportunities that I know are coming. I know I need to start searching for a place outside the "spiritual ghetto" to get involved. That is my next task for the first few weeks of school.

Not a ton else to say....but I felt like I owed the blog world an update. ;)
For now...

*Sound of Sunshine, Michael Franti & Spearhead

"And here we go...there's nothing left to lose..."

"So I packed my car and I headed east
Where I felt your fire and a sweet release
There's a fire in these hills that's coming down
And I don't know much but I found you here
And I can not wait another year
Don't know where you're coming from but you're coming soon"

"Cause if she wanna rock, she rocks...if she wanna roll, she rolls..."

It’s June! Crazyness! Or…craziness. My bad. I’ve almost been home for a month (One month will be Sunday.) and it feels like a year and a week both at once. I guess I have some backtracking to do…

My car on the drive home

I moved out of Regents Hall on May 6^th, 2011. It was so hard, watching this little room that had really become my home suddenly demoted to a stoic, personality-less place. It was harder saying goodbye to the person who helped make it that way. Not gonna lie, I had to sit in the parking lot in my car (which was full to the brim of my stuff) and just cry for a few minutes. And I know that Alma and I are still friends – it’s not like you’re never going to see the person again – but it’ll just be a different dynamic. I miss having her around to talk to and hang out with. We did catch up one day last week in Vancouver, which was really nice.  Looking forward to her coming to Longview soon.

The reason I left Pullman so quickly is because I had a job interview at Macy’s on May 7^th. Spoiler alert – I GOT IT!  :D Yay! I felt like the interview went really well, seeing as this is the first job that I’ve had to “apply” for. My high school job just kind of got dropped in my lap – awesome for the resumé, but provided little apply/interview experience. I’m so blessed to have gotten this job, I know. Though to my credit, I’d been sending out applications and cover letters for probably six weeks prior to summer. I’m working as a “flex team” associate, which basically means that I fill in any shifts that haven’t been picked up by the regular full-time associates. It’s rather unpredictable as to when and what department I’ll be working in, but I don’t mind that really. And I’m having a ton of fun! It’s challenging for me, because I prefer not to be as extroverted and sometimes pushy as this requires, but I know it will have a great impact on my people/professional skills for the future. And there is also the possibility that once summer is over, I can transfer my position to the Macy’s in Moscow, which would mean I could have a job during the school year. Plus, flex-team associates are only guaranteed 40 hours in a quarter, which basically translates to the minimum I work is one shift a week. Not bad. 

I’ve been trying to jump in feet-first to some ministry stuff around Longview/Kelso. There’s a college-age church called The Vine, which I have been starting to go to on Tuesday nights. That was one of my spiritual summer goals – to find a college age group and do my best to get involved in encouraging them. I like it quite a bit, though I don’t know a whole lot of people there quite yet.

In regards to other social stuff, not gonna lie, the whole friend situation can be a little weird sometimes. People who I want to see more often are either not home yet or gone most of the summer, so I’ve spent a lot of time just hanging out by myself. I don’t mind hanging out with myself, but I just miss the constant interaction with people. And some of the people who are in town haven’t seemed very interested in catching up with me…not to make it sound like I think I’m the coolest thing in the world, but just to say I am a little hurt that they’ve gotten so comfortable “not” being as good of friends. I’m starting to move on now, but the first two weeks? I was so ready to go back to Pullman and see all the people there. All my friends there. And yes, I do consider them my friends now. I’m trying really hard to move past my shyness in regards to developing relationships. I’ve recognized that a lot of the time it holds me back because I’m so scared. I need to not be.

I did agree to be a Core Facilitator for ChiAlpha next year. I’m excited to finally have a ministry role at WSU. After growing up in the church and constantly being in positions of service and leadership, I felt very lost last year just being a “follower”. One more way God was affirming my gifts, I guess. So yeah, I’ll be co-leading a small women’s group as well as doing a bunch of other random things to help the Body there. It’s going to be new for me, because as much as I feel called to leadership, I’ve never lead anyone in a spiritual sense before. I need to focus on getting as good with God as possible this summer so I will be in a place to help my sisters next year. Part of how I’m going to be doing that is going to SICM – which is the Student Institute for Campus Ministry in Bellingham, WA. Basically, it’s a one week conference for college students who want to learn how to be leaders on their campuses (campusi?). I’ve heard amazing things about it, and it’s apparently attracting people from all over the country. I know how much that is going to stretch me, but I’m also really excited. There can’t be anything better than spending a week learning how to do what God wants, surrounded by other Christians who are doing the same thing. Just sayin’.  

So overall, I’d say that summer is currently running about a B/B+. But hey, I’m queen of the optimists! I have faith in an “A” summer. It can happen!

Finding some wifi! :)

Until next time, ya’ll.  :D 

*Rock and Roll, Eric Hutchinson