First week of college!

As of today, I've been here at NGU for a week. Which is ridiculous! The days have all run together, but I actually made it through the first week, which is quite an accomplishment. I am relieved beyond measure. But it REALLY has been a good week.

Thursday we left to drive up & we spent the night with my Aunt Jane & Uncle Dan about 45 minutes away from the school. My younger cousin Davin was also staying with them, & she was so cute. When we pulled up she was waiting outside for us, & for dinner she had made namecards for where we should sit. She's going into third grade this year & she's just super cute. Then we got up the next day & got all moved in & I got to see a bunch of people I haven't seen in ages (more on that later), & it was a ridiculously exhausting & HOT day, but went smoothly. And there's a picture of my dorm room on the first day down there for you to see! (it's changed since I've been here, but not much)

The next few days were filled with orientation activities. We had to go to tons of sessions about various things they wanted us to know about, & there was tons of walking & sweating & overall hotness (that's a trend, just heads up). And then on sunday we had church in the chapel, & started a crusade Sunday night with Dr. Frank Cox from Atlanta (represent!) & he preached for two nights & it was awesome. & then Wednesday, first day of classes aka chaos, Clayton King did the message both for chapel & for the crusade Wednesday night, & it was awesome. He did two totally wonderful messages & 50 people ended up getting saved on the very first day of classes. How amazing is that? Such a great start to the year. So that was really great.

Classes have been fine, we've just gone over each classes' syllabus, had to tell everyone where we live 34 times, & started a bit of work in each class. So that's all normal. Also yesterday I started working in the bookstore, which was totally crazy with everyone still buying & returning books but it was good too, I really enjoyed it & I'm super excited to be working in there.

Besides all that boring stuff, I LOVE being up here with all of my old friends! I get to see my best friend Emily almost every day which is so amazing. & there are so many other people I've either gotten to run into or gotten to begin reconnecting with too! So it's just awesome. The weather could improve, but the people I've gotten to either meet or start to reconnect with have all been awesome & I'm so excited to continue making new friends. I'm done with classes for today right now, & my roommate's gone home for the weekend so who knows what I'll do. But thankfully the tv works & I have internet hooked up so I should be able to both get things done & be totally lazy & get some rest. Can't WAIT to sleep in tomorrow, by the way! :)

Anyways, things are great, God is good & I love knowing that I'm right where He wants me to be. I truly believe that I am with all my heart. And I'm so excited about what He's already teaching me & what's He's still going to! I miss my dog Asher terribly as I knew I would, but besides that I'm doing alright so far with being homesick. :) Anyways, whoever you are, if anyone, reading this, keep me in your prayers & keep checking back to see what else is going on & what else God is teaching me!

Dorm room:

Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9



Sometimes I feel like a broken record on here. Mostly because my thoughts seem to be like broken records in my head some days, & they tend to recycle themselves & manifest on here in different ways. But today, God revealed some very new things to me, as well as build on some things He had already placed on my heart lately.



My sister in law, her mother, & my nephew came to visit for a few days & we went to the Georgia Aquarium. On the way getting back on the interstate to come home, we passed a sight that's rather typical of downtown Atlanta: a man standing on the side of the road holding a sign on a cut piece of cardboard, reading something along the lines of "Homeless, any help appreciated". As we passed by, I watched him. I saw his face as we, yet another car, passed right on by. I saw his eyes. I saw how discouraged he was, how tired, how exhausted he was in the heat. I know good & well all the things that are said about helping people "like him", those that are asking for money etc on the side of the road, for reasons, or maybe even excuses, that they'll just use it for drugs, alcohol, etc. But I can't help but wonder about his circumstances. I can't help but wonder what brought him to that point; where he woke up this morning, if he's had anything to eat today, where his family is, if they know where he is right now, or if they're somewhere else waiting on him to hopefully get enough money to buy some food to hold them all until tomorrow. I can't help but see the pain in his eyes & want to help. I can't see people like that & not feel so completely overwhelmingly thankful for all that I have & the blessings that the Lord has given me, both large & small. I can't see people like him & not want to tell him about Jesus & try to give him some hope, even when there might not be many other ways I could help.

In preparing for college, I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do for the rest of my life. I remember a time, many years ago, when I told my parents I didn't even want to go to college. I remember wanting to just be a stay at home mom, or a teacher, or something typical like that. Or wanting to own my own business to be able to afford a nice big house in a beautiful neighborhood in a beautiful town where everyone speaks with charming southern accents. But then I realized that if those are my goals, I am doing something very wrong. Not that there's anything wrong with having a nice house. But if that's what my life becomes about, there is definitely something wrong. If the desires of my heart are 5 acres & 4000 square feet, I am dreaming small. Because God wants to take me much further than that. The closer I am to God, the more my desires line up with His desires, & His desires are showing me that there is much more to be done than to have a nice normal job & a nice normal family. I want to go where He wants me to go. He has placed a great desire on my heart to help women. Of course I want to help all sorts of people that He places in my life, but I see & hear so many stories of women who are struggling & feeling constantly unvalued & the truth is, they just don't realize how special & wonderful they are & how much their Creator loves them. And I would love to be involved in a ministry to help women who need just a little encouragement & appreciation that they aren't getting, or maybe even more urgent help to escape a dangerous situation. Anything the Lord opens up for me to do. And even if He takes me in a completely different direction, I am confident that I can trust the verse at the top of this post, that He will be with me wherever I go. What an awesome God we serve.

I don't like change. I'm leaving for college in a week & even though I'm going to a town where I've lived before & I'll be super close to tons of people I know & love & trust, I still find things to worry about. I'm nervous about the unknowns that I can't foresee. But I know that the Lord is going to take me many places in life where I can't see ahead to what He's going to do, & that if I'm scared & I avoid taking risks that might take me out of where I'm comfortable & safe, I'll miss out on seeing Him work in incredible ways. And I pray that He makes me uncomfortable. That He takes me out of where I'm safe, away from people I use as security, to truly experience His presence in my day. The way I'm beginning to see it, if I spend every day comfortable, if I avoid everything different & scary, I will miss out on so many blessings. So here's to stepping out on faith. I want to have an open heart & open mind, ready to experience everything that God is going to throw at me that I have no idea about yet. The thing that blows my mind is that all the things that I think I want are nothing compared to what God wants to give me & show me. I just have to be ready to trade my expectations & wants for what HE wants, & be ready to exchange those for things to further His kingdom.

The Lord gave me a heart that feels for other people. I truly feel someone else's hurt when I see it. I have a very tender heart that can't stand to see other people in pain, but it also gives me a great capacity to truly, genuinely care about others & the challenges they're facing. And I want to use the love that has been given me, undeserved, & share it with those who so desperately need it. I want to be a person who gets to truly see God work around me, every day of my life. To experience His presence, & see His divine direction in my life. Because a comfortable life would be so very boring compared to all the amazing things He can do. After all, He is the creator of the universe, & He has promised to be with me, WHEREVER He leads.

What an awesome God we serve.