Serving the King

How Long is Summer?!!

2009-07-17T11:52:00.002-06:00

Can't wait for school. Thats all I am going to say.

Exerpts From a Book

2009-06-05T13:04:00.003-06:00

"If all our dreams lie shattered before us- nevertheless, God can sustain us and even build new dreams."

"Someone didn't place his desires under God's authority- nevertheless, God's power over my life is stronger than that event."

There was a time I wouldn't have agreed with these statements. Now, not only can I say I agree with it, but that I KNOW it with all my heart to be true.

Whatever you are going through, no matter how hard and painful- God has a plan.

Have a nice day!

Home Goods

2009-04-22T12:13:00.002-06:00

I got a job at Home Goods about three weeks ago. So it makes up for the lack of hours at Subway. Praise the Lord. I forgot to mention that in my last post. Thats all. :)

Happy Birthday to ME!

2009-04-22T12:11:00.002-06:00

Today is my spiritual birthday! (My sister's too) It has been five years. I am thankful that God would save me and change me life completely. I would never go back.

Subway- eat Fresh!

2009-02-24T14:42:00.003-06:00

I had an interview at Subway today. I got the job! It is only 20 hours but I will get more if I am productive. It is a job so I don't mind. A lot of places I went were on a hiring freeze and business is slow. As time goes by I know more oppurtunities will arise. Praise the Lord!

2009-02-21T16:06:00.002-06:00

Tommorrow will be two weeks that I have been without a job. Both Ryan's in town closed. We were told that there wasn't enough sales and that the restaurants didn't have any future outlook. Not even our managers knew it was going to happen. Corporate decided months ago and it is a lengthy process that can't be stopped. Corporate came on that Sunday and told our managers. The next day there was a mandatory meeting where they told all the employees. During the meeting they were already taking the sign down.

All that to say pray for me to find new job quickly.

Ryans had a relaxed atmosphere and we all got along well. It was kind of like a family. The six girls (including myself) that worked there got pretty attached to the two managers Jamie and Dwight. Dwight was like a giant watchdog/teddy bear. :) Jamie used to call us the skirts. She would always say "the skirts are here," or "I love my skirts!" She told us that people in the restaurant asked about us, the other team members liked working with us, we were hard workers and had a good spirit. When I was hired last year I was hired entirely on someone else's testimony. I didn't fill out an application or have an interview. Mandy told them about me and they told me to come to work. Mandy had such a good reputation that they simply hired me because of her. This year there were five of us, when there were only two last year. Another girl from the college came to fill out an application a little while ago. Jamie came in the back and asked us about her and then hired her on the spot.

Now, I didn't say all that to glorify us or the college but to say that it is an example of how imporatant your testimony is. I have been told that your testimony is a very valuable thing. As time goes by I can see that it is true more and more. It would do all of us christians well to guard it closely. People are watching us and we do not represent ourselves but rather God. I never really realized how much we as christians can make a difference at work until Ryan's. I am so glad for the experience of working there. I learned so much, even more than I have already mentioned.

School is going good. I am loving it. :)

This past weekend Naomi and Mrs. Renee came and suprised me! I was COMPLETELY SURPRISED! It was so awesome to get to see them. I missed both of them tremendously.

I am here!

2009-01-08T13:21:00.002-06:00

So I am at school and it's awesome. I got here the first and stayed with the Harty's until the dorms opened up on Monday the 5th. Monday I moved into the dorms and started at Ryan's. Tuesday was orientation and registration. Yesterday was the first day of classes.

Classes:
General Math
Sophomore English
Child Character Training
Computer Basics
Children's Literature
Personal Finance
Christian Womanhood

At work I get one more hour a plus a fifteen cent raise from last year. :) I work a restaurant called Ryan's. They took me back again this year.

I only have two roomates so that is pretty sweet, considering some rooms have five. Generally there are four to a room. I was told that last semester they had to turn people away because there was not enough dorms. Some rooms had five and six!

Anyways thats it for now.

Four Days!

2008-12-28T23:08:00.002-06:00

Four days until the good ship lollipop leaves for Kentucky. I can't wait! The dorms open up January 5th. I will be leaving Thursday the 1st. I am riding with a teacher at the college who is from Decatur. I will have my job at Ryan's back. So YAY.

Seriously I love college and I have missed everyone.

The wedding I was in was beautiful. It was sad afterwards though. It's hard to explain. Friendships change when one gets a boyfriend and even more so when one gets married!

My flight was okay. It wasn't as cool as I expected. It was so pretty looking out the window. Everything looked so small. The houses looked like cardboard and fragile, as if they could be knocked over if someone touched them. It was so amazing to think about. If the houses look that small, how much smaller are we to God in Heaven? Yet God still cares, listens, and pays attentions to us. Anyways, so that was the only cool thing. I get motion sickness really easy these days. Plus it made my head hurt so bad. I felt awful. My head felt like a mixture of having a bad cold and the way it feels when my sugar bottoms out. My stomach felt the way it feels after riding a roller coaster. So yeah.

Plus my flights were delayed. One flight was canceled delayed and then on time. It was crazy.

Maybe I will post pictures later.

Not to drag this on...

2008-11-17T10:09:00.002-06:00

I forgot a couple of things. They seem a kind of important.

Other firsts:

-Leading someone to the Lord
- Leading fanily members to the Lord!! (Shalyn and Niki)
- Teaching my own sunday school class (Usually I just sub) I taught for eight weeks at church for a sunday school program we had.

By the way my brother Joe has been coming to church. I didn't ask him. He just showed up and surprised me. He came last sunday morning, evening and Wednesday. Then he came yesterday morning and evening. It's super cool!!

Firsts

2008-11-04T09:57:00.002-06:00

A lot of things have happened in this past year or so that have been firsts for me.

Firsts:
- Off to college

- Everything about college was it's own first.

- Job/paycheck, Filling out tax forms (Funny story about that... I called Naomi to help me)

- Bill, and first time setting up payment plans to pay said bill

- Cell phone that I actually pay for

- Paying to go the doctor, and first time to go by myself. (My mom always went with me.)

- Final notice (Don't worry it was a misunderstanding and it's all fixed :))

- Paying for my own prescriptions.

- Checking/Savings account

- Buying checks and writing them

- Debit card

- Ordering off the internet

- Riding a greyhound bus, and by myself out of state

- Getting taxes done

- Getting an I.D

- AND today I VOTED for the first time!! :)

In December I will be a bridesmaid in my friend Tawsha'a wedding. That will be a first. Plus I am flying there, a first as well! ! !

Last, I don't know about my mom. She is the same I guess, hasn't seen the doctor I don't think. Still waiting. Plus I will know more when she answers my pone calls.

Following Suit

2008-11-04T09:55:00.004-06:00

Now that Morgan, Naomi and Angela have done it I am curious. So it would be awesome if you could post a comment to let me know who reads my blog. Please.

Pray For My Mom

2008-10-07T09:23:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday my mom was taken to the hospital because she was having a heart attack. It would have been worse if she had not gotten there sooner. She was in the hospital for six days. She just got out on Saturday. Her being there opened a can of worms. They found tons of stuff wrong with her or that she needs to get checked out. Some we already knew about, but have gotten worse because she hasn't been taking medicine for. She already has heart problems, but she also has COPD, asthma and emphysema which only put more stress on the heart. Imagine too not taking meds for any of it. So they couldn't get her breathing under control or her enzyme levels down. Plus her blood pressure was too high so they wouldn't let her go home. Friday they were going to let her go home but when they took her off the IV she got worse.

So now she is home on a heart monitor, oxygen, breathing treatments and tons of different medications. She has coronary artery disease and some other heart stuff I can't name. Plus they say her diabetes has progressed to type 2. Now she has to take insulin shots. She is on a machine at night now because she has obstructive sleep apnea. Plus to top it all off she has to see three specialists about the possibility of cancer. They found three lumps on each breast. Mom said she thought they didn't really think it was cancer because she has had two fatty tumors before. They want her to get checked for lung cancer for the obvious reasons. Also, at the hospital they said she is losing blood somewhere and has lost too much weight too fast, thus they think its possible she may have colon cancer. Since leaving for college and coming back my mom has dropped atleast 100 pounds. I am not sure the exact figure. She has lost the majority of it in the last seven months. She hasn't really been trying plus it's always been hard for her to lose wieght, so thats the concern.

So please pray for her.

Finally

2008-09-25T08:55:00.004-06:00

This is where my trip started. The bus station. It was my first time buying bus tickets, riding a bus on my own and riding out of state. I was excited. I felt like an adult. :) Preacher was laughing at me in amusement. He took this picture of me and Mrs. Rowell with my bag and tickets.

So the first day of the Iowa State Fair (ISF) they had this. You had to come early and eat a corn dog to get free admission to the fair. They wanted to get the most people to eat a corn dog at the same time for the Guiness World Book of Records. Well, they could only make like eight thousand corn dogs. 11,000 people showed up. Then after 11,000 they couldn't fit anymore in the stadium. If you made it by the deadline they still let you in so 31,000 people were wandering around the fair grounds in addition to that. 5,000 people were in line to get in at the deadline. Crazy huh? This was my number.

My corn dog!

Molly's mom and Molly.

Me and Molly.

Molly's dog, Cookie. I fell in love with her! I was outside playing with her. They told me she would growl and bark at me when I first got there. She didn't, she walked right up to me tail wagging and happy. She liked me too :)

Butter Cow. Cool huh?!

I know their are tons of cows around, but I had never seen one up close. So I had to take a picture.

This was taken merely because it was amusing. Elvis is so ancient. Talking about back in the day. Who new T.V guides were around back then? :) The building this was in was called pioneer hall. It was my favorite. They had old books and record players and dolls and stuff. They even had old pictures of John Wayne. :( I don't really like westerns. I found a canning guide for Mrs. Rowell from 1965. They also had someone dressed up as a blacksmith making things. They had old printing stuff too. It was just cool.

This is what me and Molly got to ride for free. Someone gave us their tickets. We had been walking around all day and needed to get to the other end of the fairgrounds so it was greatly appreciated.

It's the ISF, what do you expect? I took pictures of some animals just because it was all a new experience for me.

Who knew a llama could be in Iowa?

This was the winner of the big boar contest, weighing 1259 pounds. Or maybe it was 1258?

2008-09-23T10:27:00.002-06:00

It's hard to see people you love go through hard things. It is especially hard to see your young nieces and nephews go through things. I wish that they didn't have to grow up the way that I did. Or experience some of the same things I did. I hate to see them suffer because of choices their parents make. I don't have favorites but two of my nieces have very special places in my heart. You love them all the same but in different ways. Shalyn has a special place in my heart because I see so much of myself in her. Because she was the first niece. Because she had me wrapped around her finger the first time I saw her. She made me want a little girl just like her someday. I hate seeing the way she has to live, a lot like the way I grew up. The other niece that has a special place in my heart is Lydia. She is sweet, naive, cheerful and perky. She is also a first. She was the second niece, but first child of a different brother. Lydia has a much happier safe life, not without problems though. Her daddy never ever payed attention to her and now has left. Doesn't care enough to be a part of her life. Her dad is not a bad person but something just went very wrong in his heart. She acts up now because her "daddy" is gone. She thrives on attention, and I have heard her say she misses her dad many times. I think that her behavior has a lot to do with the absence of her dad when he was around and the complete absence of him now. I just hurt for her because in a way I understand. I hate that her seven year old innocence has to be ruined by the D word. She's seven, she doesn't understand.

I pray for my family and things always seem to go from bad to worse. Sometimes it's hard to have faith when you feel like your prayers aren't being answered. It's hard to have faith when you look at your nieces and nephews all under the age of seven, who suffer because of their parents. It never helps either when I get lectures about having faith and never stop praying and etc. It doesn't make me want to have faith anymore than before. It just makes me want to scream. I do still pray and I am not giving up, I am just saying.

I know how God has worked in my life and I am sure He can do the same with my family. In HIS time. It makes me want to raise my kids the right way. I never want my children to experience the things I or my family members did.

Pictures Coming Soon

2008-08-21T10:28:00.002-06:00

Two weeks ago I traveled by bus to Ottumwa Iowa to meet my friend Molly and her Mom. She lives in Coatsville, Missouri. It is right on the border of Iowa and Missouri. In fact, the state line is right next to her driveway. Anyways, I went to her house to spend a few days with her and go to the Iowa state fair. I had a lot of fun.

I can't right now, but I will post pictures soon and tell about the trip.

Also, I am not going back to college until second semester. I need to save more money. So please be praying for me about this.

AND my sister and her baby Kaiden are coming back on Saturday. :)

Explanation :P

2008-07-31T15:14:00.003-06:00

So the thing on my last post is called wordle. You put your blog into in it and it makes this thing. It organizes all the words from biggest to littlest by how often they appear on your blog. It's on Mr. Mike's blog. I thought it was pretty cool so I decided to do it too.

K. Well.

2008-07-28T09:40:00.000-06:00

2008-07-16T16:40:00.003-06:00

So I am now in search of another job. I thought that I would be getting full time hours, but that isn't happening. I get less hours at Camilles than I do at Steak n Shake. They will be getting another owner next week and who knows how that will go. Camilles doesn't get too busy so only 4 people can work during the rush, and two during the non-busy times. Since there are several other people who have been there longer they get the hours they want, and I get the bottom of the barrel it seems. Pray I get a good full time day job. That is what I REALLY need.

I Don't EVEN Want to Hear It!!

2008-06-29T20:14:00.004-06:00

I know I know I know!! I haven't posted in awhile. I have been busy so I don't want to hear it.

So God provided me with another job. I got a full time job at Camilles Sidewalk Cafe. I have beeb working there for about 3 weeks. I work there during the day and Steak n Shake in the evenings.

Dustin likes to say that I now have no life, but I want to go back to college. Besides I enjoy my jobs for the most part. I can not even believe how much I miss college.

Anyways, not a whole lot going on except working and church. This weekend Miss Naomi and I went to Kentucky to a friend of ours wedding. Then we went and kind of surprised Stephanie. Bro Dave accidently told her we were coming. oops. Oh well. It was fun and now I am super tired. Miss Naomi is really super tired because she did all the driving. There was a lot of driving involved. The wedding was down in the hills of Kentucky, or the sticks, like Miss Naomi likes to say. :P It was like two and half hours past the camp. I used to think the camp was out there but Evarts, KY makes getting to the camp a piece of cake. Then we drove back up to camp after a fifteen minute wedding.... Then Sunday morning we drove to Lexington to go to church, which is another hour from the camp. Plus we had a six hour drive back home.

My best friend just had a birthday not to long ago. She is awesome. She is a strong christian and I admire her. She has always been there for me. She knows me better than anyone on this earth. She is confident and assertive. She brings joy into the lives of those all around her. And I love her for all these reasons and more. She's amazing. And I want everyone to know. :) Happy birthday to her.

Happy late birthday to you Mrs. Kristy. Hope it was awesome. :) She too is awesome.

One Down, One More to go!

2008-05-21T07:34:00.002-06:00

I had orientation at Steak N Shake yesterday. I start on Thursday part time. I will be working there in the evenings.

So one more to go!!

I'm HOME

2008-05-16T09:51:00.002-06:00

Ok so the last day of school was May 7th. Graduation was May 9th which we were all required to be at. Then I headed home Saturday morning with a girl from Dwight. She dropped me off in Bloomington where I met Mrs. Sego and now I am home.
I missed everyone and it is so good to be home.

Yesterday evening Miss Naomi didn't have to work and we got to spend time together. That was awesome. I missed her. :) I missed my Lydia and Lillers and I got to see them along with April last week.

Please pray for me that I find a job. 2 in fact.

By the way I got my haircut. It was all the way to my waist and it is a little past my shoulders now. I'll post a picture later.

Pictures :)

2008-04-06T15:21:00.007-06:00

BEFORE

AFTER

I'm holdinh him!!! This picture is a tad blurry though.

This is my favorite picture of him. :)

4 Weeks and 5 Days!

2008-04-06T15:21:00.002-06:00

Wow. Spring break is over and there is 4 weeks and 5 days of school left. It has gone by sooo fast.

Spring break was awesome. I got to relax a little. I was sick from Thursday to Monday of spring break but I didn't let it stop me. People to see and places to go. :) I got to be there when Tess had her baby. It was amazing. Kaiden is sooo cute. I held him as much as I could. He looks like Tess.

Things here at school are great. I love it but I am so ready to come home. It is really weird to think it is almost time to come home. Next year when I come back it won't be the same people. Plus it is weird to think about leaving my roomates. I have the best roomates. Since our room was reduced to just the three of us it has been wonderful. We just get along so well. Nonetheless I am sooo READY to come home.

My midterms grades were really good. I had 2 A's, a B+ and 4 B's. :) I am so glad that my grades are better than last semester... They weren't so pretty last semester. Yikes.

Anyhow, thats all peoples. Have a fantabulous day!!!!

4 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-03-14T12:27:00.003-06:00

Okay so there isn't a whole lot going on here. I just had midterms last week. School is great. My job is great.

Next week is spring break!!! I can hardly stand it! I CAN'T WAIT! I have a week off. I am leaving for home right after classes on Tuesday the 18th with a girl named Jessica Marsh from Dwight. Then I will be heading back the 25th.

Maybe hopefully my sister will have her baby while I am home so I can meet him. :) I hope.

It's sad though that I won't get to see Mrs. Rowell. :( But nonetheless I cannot wait to go home.

So that's really it.

New Pictures

2008-02-16T19:41:00.003-06:00

So some of these are not really new. I just finally posted them. Some are from last semester and Christmas but some are new.

Lydia! I love that girl. Over christmas break she and I played candyland like three times. She LOVES that game. She also likes to pose for pictures. She is so cute.

Lily. She is so cute. She wouldn't hold still so this is the best I could get.

My bestest friend in the whole wide world. :) Miss Naomi.

Preacher and Mrs. Rowell at Fiesta Ranchera. This was during Thanksgiving break.

This is Catelyn and Carlyn. They are twins. These two girls are on my bus. Sweet girls.

This is Talia Baker. Her sister is two pictures down. They also have a brother named Paul. It's really awesome because these kids have been coming since the route that I am on started 2 years ago. Well, their mom started coming three months ago and has been coming faithfully since. A few weeks ago there dad finally came. He isn't really interested in coming but came. Mrs. Baker doesn't push him because she doesn't want him to tell them they can't go to church anymore.

Damien, Niki, Shalyn and Destiny. This is from when I went home for Christmas break.

This is Mya Baker. She is the oldest. She is seven. Talia is six and Paul is four or five.

This is Destiny sleeping. So sweet.

This picture is from last semester. This is my good friend Tawsha and Rachel. Tawshy is awesome and so is Rachel.

Last semester a few weeks before Christmas break Mrs. Harty had a cookie baking day at her house. Stephanie, a girl named Hilary and I all went and made a TON of cookies. In this picture we were trying to make snowballs which are really messy and sticky.

This is Tawsha and Kyra. Tawsha is putting on the attitude in this picture. :) You'd have to know her to understand.

My good friend Stephanie is letting Laramie help her drive. Laramie is Bro. Jeremy Smith's youngest son. This was taken at the camp. We helped clean one weekend last semester.

Tawsha and her boyfriend Eric at the Christmas Banquet.

Tawsha being goofy. She's awesome.

Me and Tawsha. This is definately last semester because I still had my tan from camp.

My roomates!!! I have the best roomates ever. Sarah and Cheri at the Christmas Banquet.

This is at Stephanie's house. Miss Naomi and I went to her house for the weekend before christmas. It was so much fun. Miss Naomi took this while she was curling her hair.

Chapel

2008-02-15T13:18:00.003-06:00

Today in chapel was awesome. It was just what I needed. Bro. P.J preached and he read this as the introduction to the message. I don't know who wrote it, but it's good. I had to share.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I am a soldier in the army of my God. The Lord Jesus is my commanding officer. The Holy Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, prayer and the Word of God are my weapons of warfare. I’ve been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire.

I am a volunteer in this army. I am enlisted for eternity. I will either retire in this army at the rapture or die in this army, but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out or be pushed out.

When my God needs me, I am there. If He needs me in Sunday School to teach children, or to work with youth, or to help adults or to just sit and learn He can use me because I am there. If he needs me in church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, revival or special service, I am there. I am there to preach, to sing, to play, to pray, to work or to worship. God can use me because I am there.

I am a soldier. I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, picked up or pepped up. I am a soldier. I am not a wimp. I am in place saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name and building His kingdom. No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy or give me handouts. I do not need to be coddled, cradled, cared for or catered to.

I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit. For when Jesus called me into his army I had nothing. If I end up with nothing I will still break even.

I will win for God will supply all my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will also be triumphant. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot dissolution me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me. Governments cannot silence me.

I am a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my Commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to a Captain and bring me back to rule this world with Him. I am a soldier in the army of God and I am marching, claiming victory.

I will not give up. I will not turn around. I am a soldier marching heaven bound.

Here I stand, will you stand with me?

It's a New Semester

2008-01-19T19:36:00.000-06:00

School started back up again and I am getting back into the swing of things. School so far is great. I am so happy to be back in class. The classes I have this semester are as follows:
Baptist History 1
General Science
Proverbs 2
English 102
Old Testament Survey 2
Biblical Separation
Philosophy of Music

I pretty much like all of my classes except Biblical Separation, General Science and English.

Since starting school, I have started at a new job. I now work at Ryan's. I keep up the salad bar basically. That consists of many trips back and fourth refilling things, cutting vegetables and making different kinds of salads, some that are really strange I might add. I love it. I really do.
I work at Ryan's now because I got laid off at ACS. I was going to have to get a different job anyways because of transportation problems and lack of hours. Well, I asked for more hours and got them for two weeks. Then they started cancelling second shift. That happened for a week, so I knew something was up. Finally, they just called and told me to pick up my stuff because they were terminating second shift. It's a really long story, but that's the basic parts. Anyways, God provided a job for me. I got like 42 hours this week. So it's nice.

Rewind. So let's rewind to Christmas break. I got to go home for a week. I rode with my good friend Stephanie back to her house on Friday the 21st. Miss Naomi met us at Stephanie's on Saturday morning. Stephanie, Naomi and I spent the weekend there in Ottawa and there round about. I got to meet Stephanie's family and her church family. We did some shopping and watched cheesy hallmark movies. It was great!

Miss Naomi and I headed down to Pekin on Monday. It was nice to be home. I got to spend christmas eve with my mom and my sister. That was so nice. I missed them so much, more than they will ever know. I especially enjoyed spending time with my sister. We sat and talked and she showed me her baby clothes. I mostly just missed being able to see and talk to her face to face. I also got to go to April and Joe's house and spend a day. I saw Chris, Melissa and the kids. I took lots of pictures on my phone. I can't believe how big Destiny is. Plus I got the privelege of spending time with Preacher, Mrs. Rowell and Miss Naomi.

Going home was just what I needed to help me make it until spring break. It was a relaxing and enjoyable time. Oh I forgot to mention, seeing everyone at church was a big blessing too. I miss my church family. Ya know being away at a different, LARGE church makes you appreciate your own church much more.

The following Saturday Miss Naomi took me to Dwight to meet up with the Harty's. Bro. Mike has family there so we met them there and I rode back to the college with them. The Harty's are a couple I met a camp. They are full time at the camp. They also work at the college and the church. Bro. Mike is the cook at the college and the camp. He works on a bus at the church and does various things at the church. Mrs. Harty is the secretary at the camp and at the college. She also teaches a class at the college. Anyways, so I've known the Harty's now for two years. They are and amazing couple. They are always a huge blessing to me. I am really close to Mrs. Harty. She is awesome. So spending time with them on the way back was so much fun.

That pretty much sums it all up. Not much besides going on except going to class, work and sleeping.

Christmas Break!

2007-12-14T14:05:00.000-06:00

The fall semester is over!!! Today was the last day and we are on break until January 7th. I made it through finals and school until next semester!

YES!

Anyways I am so excited that it's almost christmas. I am going home for a week!! I CANT WAIT!! I will be heading to Chicago Friday the 21st with Stephanie and Miss Naomi. Stephanie is from Chicago and we are going to meet her family. Then I'll be heading home that Monday morning. I will be traveling back to the college Saturday afternoon with the Hartys.

So now that the semester is over I have been reflecting over things.

College is a lot harder than I thought it would be but not in a bad way so don't think this is going to be a whining session. I have faced different challenges that I haven't faced before. Classes are a lot different than I am used to. The pressure here is different than what I have experienced in the past. It's a good pressure that keeps me driving on and that makes me want to do right and better. Sometimes though I feel like it's a losing battle. Trying to balance school, work and God can be difficult. I struggle with the social aspect of college. Not everyone that goes to bible college is good. College has a way of testing you to see if you are going to stand for right. Somehow it seems harder to stand up for right with friends who are christians than with ones who aren't. Choosing friends is so much harder than it EVER has been. I came from a public school where you could basically tell what kind of a person someone was, to a bible college where people are masters of hypocrisy. They are masters at acting like they got it all together. They read their bible everyday and they win someone to the Lord every saturday. They act like spiritual christians. There are people I have met who are like this in reality but a lot of others just act like it. I had to learn the hard way that not everyone wants to do right.

All the pressure and the challenges are driving me on though. Many times I lose the battle but I am not going to give up now. Especially now. My theme song for this year is I want that Mountain.

So now to the highlights of the semester:

* I got to lead five people to the Lord. The first time was when I got to lead a little girl to Christ.

* I am learning how to go soulwinning.

* I have the most amazing roomates ever!!! Sarah and Cheri!

* I made good friends and am learning to avoid the bad ones.

* The hardest class of all my classes was also my favorite- Old Testament

* I have experienced some big answers to prayer. I saw God provide for me.

* I got more hours at my job so now I will be getting 35 hours a week instead of 20!

* Miss Naomi came to see me.

* God is amazing!

2007-12-09T21:04:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!
It's been awhile I know. Not a whole lot going on. I did get to go home for thanksgiving and surprise a few people. That was so much fun. I needed to go home so much! I got to spend a little bit of time with everyone I could. I rode home with a friend of mine named Stephanie. I met her at camp this summer. When I came to college she moved down here to Lexington about the same time. So I get to see her at church and stuff. Miss Naomi came down to see me in October and when she did, she stayed with Stephanie. They hit it off real well and are friends now. Miss Naomi invited her to her house for thanksgiving and I hitched a ride. It was great!

This is myself, Stephanie and Miss Naomi
This picture is of my roomate Cheri n I. I have another roomate named Sarah who is awesome, but I don't have a picture of her yet.
This is my mom and I and Tess in the background being a dork. :)

My friend Stephanie(and Miss Naomi's) and I

Tess and I were goofing off! :)

2007-11-15T14:00:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!

I'm still here.

Things are good. I love college so much. It's awesome! It is so nice to be around so many other people my age who want to do right and serve the Lord. I love chapel here at college. It's great. I like my classes too.

I do have to tell you all that we now have internet here at the college!!!! YES! So I don't have to go the library to check my email. Thats a blessing.

I gotta run. See ya.

Hey!

2007-10-23T12:01:00.000-06:00

Ok. Yeah I'm here. I know it took me forever to post but I'm really busy.

So I'm at college now. I love it. Things are going good. I am seeing God work and take care of me and it's amazing. I have seven classes. I have Speech, English, Philosphy of Education, Old Testament Survey, Fundamentals of Music, Personal Evangelism and Christian Womanhood. My favorite class is Old Testament Survey. It's very interesting and I really enjoy it. My least favorite class is speech.

I have a job at a place called ACS. It stands for Affiliated Computer Services. I am a claims processor fro Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Now, I would try to explain what ACS is but I am really not quite sure except that it is a business outsourcing company. So if you are really curious then look for yourself at ACS .
I like it. It's a good job and better than I could have ever expected without any having any prior job or experience.

I am currently looking for a second job because I only get 20 hours at ACS. Please be praying for that.

Just this weekend Miss Naomi came down for my birthday. It was so much fun. I started counting down the days until she would come at two weeks. Then it came and it all went by so fast. We had a lot of fun and she got to experience how hard it is to go anywhere at CBC!! :) It was a blessing to me that she came because well she's awesome and I don't know what I'd do without her. Thanks for coming Miss Naomi!

Hi to the rest of ya'll!!!!!!

I'm Yet Alive

2007-09-29T13:28:00.001-06:00

Hey I'm still here people. I'm in college now. Things are good. I promise I will post asap about college.

Just In Time To Leave

2007-06-03T22:57:00.000-06:00

I actually have a lot to post about but I couldn't get my pictures off of my camera onto this blog. So I waited, and waited, and now ya'll don't get pictures, because I don't have time to figure it out.

First off I graduated from high school. Yes I graduated. It was pretty sweet. Lots of people from church came to it and that was a huge blessing!! During the procession to our seats I kept looking out at the crowd to find people I knew. It was awesome when I looked out and I saw Preacher, Mrs. Rowell, Mrs. Renee waving with a bunch of people from church around them. It was super encouraging. Also, Mr. Mike and Mrs. Kristy came to the graduation. That was awesome too. It was so nice to see them and I am thankful that they came. My brother Joe and his wife April and their kids came. I was so happy that they came. Tess, Melissa and the kids came as well.

Then the next day I had an open house at the Dickeys. Not just any open house though. The Dickeys and Mrs. Renee and Mr. Opey hosted it. Several other ladies helped put it all together. I was so excited about and it was really nice of everyone. I can't even say how much I appreciated it.

Last weekend the teen girls and Miss Naomi headed to Indy to see Mr. Mike and Mrs. Kristy. That was cool. We went shopping and we went to the soldiers and sailors memorial. I went all the way to the top of the memorial and I am still alive! I didn't chicken out! I was shaking the whole time but I did it anyway. We ate supper at the Cheesecake Factory. Then we got to go to their church on Sunday (which was neat and encouraging), and afterwards headed home. It was a lot of fun. Oh and I rode the escalators a lot! Yay me!

Now today was my last Sunday for awhile. I am leaving to go work at camp tomorrow. I don't want to leave at all honestly, but I am kind of excited at the same time. The hardest part is the goodbyes. Once I am down there I will be fine.

Grades

2007-05-02T14:39:00.000-06:00

So I can't find my grades and I said I was going to post them. I remember the letter grades and some of the percents, so I am just posting what I can remember.

American Gov't- B
Graphic Communications- 91 A
Sociology- 100 A
Consumer Business- 89
British Literature- 88
German- B

Hey All

2007-04-28T21:18:00.000-06:00

I know I need to post but there really isn't a whole lot to post about. I am going to post my grades as soon as I find them.... I lost them and I don't remember what they are.

As a side note, there are only 11 more days of school for seniors!! Then I graduate on May 20th! Yay!

2007-03-07T22:24:00.000-06:00

Some of ya'll already know, but just in case you don't, I plan on going to college. I have been praying and talking to Preacher and I feel that the Lord would have me to attend Commonwealth Baptist College. It is in Lexington Kentucky. Also I am planning on working at camp this summer. Since I will be gone for the summer I am starting to prepare for college now. Well, there are lots of things I need to take care of. They mostly seem like small things, but to me they aren't as they require money. Now I had been looking for a job but gave up because it wasn't working out. I am going to start looking again. Anyways I am not sure how I am going to pay for college. Even if I got a job now I will not have enough to pay for registration. I only have to pay the registration and then I can pay payments for the rest of the year. So why am I not going to work a job this summer, you may ask. Well, all I know is that I feel that the Lord would have me to work out at camp this summer. I am trying to trust the Lord is going to provide a way for me to go to college somehow. It is hard and often I get frustrated. Sometimes I get the feeling that people think I am being naive. That is frustrating to me as well. I searched for a job from August to February. The Lord did not provide one for me. Going to camp this summer, as previously mentioned is something I feel the Lord would have me to do. I know God wants me to go to college so He will provide a way. I know in my head there isn't anything to big for God but it sure can be hard to really believe that as graduation draws ever closer.

Grades

2007-03-07T22:08:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to post my grades. I realize that some of ya'll don't really care but I post them here mostly for Mr. Mike and Mrs. Kristy.

Anywho.. here they are

American Government- 81 B
Graphic Communications- 77 C
Sociology- 91 A
Consumer Business- 89 B
British Literature- 87 B
German- 83 B

Psalms 124

2007-01-25T18:57:00.000-06:00

1- If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Isreal say;
2- If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us:
3- Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:
4- Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
5- Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
6- Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
7- Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
8- Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Sick

2007-01-23T22:21:00.000-06:00

Yesterday and today I was sick so I wasn't at school. I thought I had the flu at first but I then I wasn't sure. I felt sick to my stomach but I never got sick. I had a headache, was dizzy, shaky, hot and then cold, and achy all over. So I spent Monday in bed or on the couch. Then today I slept until 1 in the afternoon. When got up I didn't feel so bad. I still have a huge headache and doing the hot and cold thing but a lot better. When Lydia wanted to go outside and play nothing sounded more wonderful after laying around the house for a day and a half. So her and I sledded, then walked through the woods by the house, and built a small snowman. After going outside I felt even better. It wasn't that cold and the fresh air was nice.

Anyways it is back to school for me tomorrow and I am actually excited about it. :)

From the Bottom of My Heart

2007-01-12T17:24:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday Andrea gave me a c.d with songs the quartet, Miss Naomi, Mr. Mike and Mrs. Kristy sang at the church. I appreciated it so much, more than she'll ever know. (Thanks Andrea!) It means A LOT to me to have songs Mr. Mike and Mrs. Kristy sang on c.d because I miss them lots. Well, when I listened to it, there was a song on there called He's Been Faithul to me, that Mr. Mike sang. That song got me thinking about how God has been faithful to me every step of the way, especially through all the changes that have occured since they left. Sometimes I just wish things could have just stayed the same, but I know that is not what God would have wanted. I realized when I listened to that song, that I would not be where I am if Mr. Mike and Mrs. Kristy had not followed the will of God. Yes I miss them, and it has been tough, but God got me through and has brought me to where I am right now through all this. I never doubted God, but now I can see that. I would not have been able to say any of this and still mean it when they first moved, but I can really say it and mean it now.

I also want to say something else, but it might not sound the way I intend, because I am not good explaining what's in my head. Mr. Mike and Mrs. Kristy's moving to Indiana helped me to see that I CAN follow the Lord, and I CAN stand without them holding my hand the whole way. See, let me explain this. I depended on Mr. Mike and Mrs. Kristy a lot before. I went to them about every thing. They helped me so much. They taught me a lot of things that are helping me to do right and follow the Lord now, even while they aren't here. Yes I realize we all need to get help sometimes and that there are still people at church now to help me if I need it, but that isn't what I am talking about. Their leaving helped me to prove something to myself. I am thankful for that. Everything they have taught me, I will be able to use now and in the future to help me as I grow in the Lord and go where He wants me to go. They helped establish the foundation so I can stand now. The foundation is Jesus, and they helped establish it because I saw Jesus in their lives and because they showed me how to have my own relationship with Him. I just hope that I will never allow myself to stray from my savior so I don't let my heavenly father or them down. Thank you Lord, I don't even want to think about where I would be without you.

Andrea: Thank you so much! Love ya lots!

Mr. Mike and Mrs. Kristy: I will never forget you guys. Thanks so much. Love ya lots.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He's Been Faithful

In My Lonliness And Fear
Through Every Pain Every Tear
There's A God Who's Been Faithful To Me
When My Strength Was All Gone
When My Heart Had No Song
Still In Love He's Proved Faithful To Me
Every Word He's Promised Is True
What I Thought Was Impossible
I've Seen My God Do

He's Been Faithful
Faithful To Me
Looking Back His Love And Mercy I See
Though In My Heart I Have Questioned
And Failed To Believe
He's Been Faithful, Faithful To Me

When My Heart Looked Away
The Many Times I Could Not Pray
Still My God Was Faithful To Me
The Days Are Spent So Selfishly
Reaching Out For What Pleased Me
Even Then God Was Faithful To Me
Every Time I Come Back To Him
He Is Waiting With Open Arms
And I See Once Again

He's Been Faithful
Faithful To Me
Looking Back His Love And Mercy I See
Though In My Heart I Have Questioned
Even Failed To Believe
Yet He's Been Faithful, Faithful To Me

Just an Update

2006-12-19T20:30:00.000-06:00

"Where are you Christmas" from How the Grinch stole Christmas, has been my theme song these past few weeks. I am trying to not let myself get down and to have a good attitude but, it just isn't working so well. I am not giving up, but it is sure hard. Just feels like Christmas is losing it's magic, if I can say that I guess.

On the positive side, I passed all my finals I think. I was worried I would not do so well because I came in mid-semester. That's an answer to prayer. I know for sure I passed my classes and finals in all but one. In Graphic Communications I got a 68 on the final, but still passed the class with an 87. What helped me to pass that, is that I got a 98 on my 9 weeks test. Then in Keyboarding I didn't finish my final in time. I had two more paragraphs to type too!! So I didn't get to find out what I got on the final, but I had a high 90 in that class so I know I will pass. In Contemporary Literature I got a 94 on the final and 94 for the semester. In Psychology I got a 94 for the semester but she didn't tell me what I got on the final. Lastly, in Practical English I got a 97 on the final and a 90 for the semester. That's my easiest class so how I got a 90, I am not sure. I should have had at least a 95. Oh well.

Anyways, so I am extremely happy and thankful I got caught up and passed all my classes and finals. One more semester! This time though I will be all caught up! Plus I think I will get to be in German class with Andrea and the Geeseman!!

How Not to Get Hurt- Mrs. Loretta Walker

2006-12-02T14:41:00.000-06:00

While I was at camp I met a lady named Mrs. Walker. She is the wife of evangelist Kevin Walker. Their family sang one of the weeks of camp. A few things happened and I got to sit and talk to her about some things. She gave me a c.d set called Overcoming Hurts, Past, Present, and Future. It has 5 c.ds of 5 different talks she gave to the ladies at a church. I have listened to the first two so far. The second one is called How Not to Get Hurt. God really showed me some and I wanted to share. These are the main points of her c.d.

How Not to Get Hurt

~Many times we get our feelings hurt because we let our feelings get hurt.

~Don't expect too much. We set ourselves up for hurt by our expectations.

~Sometimes we expect people to change and then we get upset when they don't. If we just don't do that we won't get hurt.

~Don't expect people to understand how we feel.

~When someone doesn't see things the way we do, don't try to convince them to see it our way, just let them see it the way they do.

~Don't compare ourselves with others.

~Don't try to change people, just accept them the way they are and we won't get hurt.
- If we accept them just as they are then we do not expect anything different from
them. By trying to change people we set ourselves up to get hurt.

God really spoke to my heart about this. I get upset at people easily. God showed me that I set myself up for that by my own expectations. God showed me that I can have pretty high expectations of people sometimes. Sometimes I also expect people to change and get upset when they don't. I realized that was irrational because if they never do anything different than what they always do then I am setting myself up to get hurt. God also showed me that I really have to work on not comparing myself with others. I do this a lot.

As much as I don't like it sometimes, I am thankful when God shows me something about myself I need to change. Thank you so much God.

Good Ole' Pekin High School

2006-11-28T18:28:00.000-06:00

Today was my first day back at Pekin! It was wonderful! It felt so good to be back. I shocked the Kaylas and Christen. Kayla Lemon almost knocked me over. It was great.

Since I have take the classes that match up to what I took in Eureka to get credit for the whole semester I didn't get to pick my classes or be in German :( Next semester though.

Here is my schedule:

1st hour- Graphic Communications (Mr. Huey)
2nd hour- Keyboarding (Mr. Taylor)
3rd hour- Contemporary English (Mrs. Gross)
4th hour- P.E (Mrs. Bodily)
5th hour - Psychology (Mrs. Kahl)
6th hour- Practical English (Mrs. Vogt)

I have keyboarding with Charles! How cool is that?! I have P.E with Shay. How weird is it that I have two classes with freshmen? ;) I also have psychology with Kayla Lemons and Calvin! And, I have lunch with Christen!! Yay! The sad thing is that I don't have anything with Andrea or Kayla Geeseman. But next semester I will because I am going to take German.

I loved how everyone except those who I hang out with just thought I have been here all year. It was great because I hate being pointed out when you are new.

I started in the middle of the semester so I have lots of homework. I have to take finals on material I don't know too. I don't care though. I am just glad to be back at Pekin. Besides I like a challenge. I am going to pull it off and with good grades too.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree how lovely are thy branches!!

2006-11-20T08:20:00.000-06:00

First off I got to say, we are officially moved into Joe and April's basement! I will start school at Pekin this week and I can't wait!!

I got my own little Christmas tree for my room!! I decorated it last night. I am so excited because I have always wanted one in my room. When I was a kid I would sneak downstairs in the middle of the night to look at the christmas tree. Now I don't have to! Since we are at Joe and April's now I need a light for my room at night. The basment is pitch black at night time so it will be perfect!

There is another wonderful thing about having a Christmas tree in my room. I love christmas, but because of the past few years I am beginning to get mixed feelings about Christmas. So, by having one in my room I feel that I am taking charge of how I want Christmas to be. Like, I am taking charge of my mixed feelings and not letting them ruin my Christmas! It's exciting and I love it! It's beautiful!

Check this Out!!

2006-11-16T08:48:00.000-06:00

This is a really cool story I read!

Click Here!!

2006-11-15T14:25:00.000-06:00

Last week I was packing and I ran across my old bibles. I felt the need to look through them for some reason. God showed me something really cool and I am really thankful, so I just wanted to share.

I have five bibles. The first bible is the first bible I ever remember owning. I got it for 6 weeks of perfect attendence at Faith Baptist Church from the Lathrops. That was before I started going to Bethel. I hardly ever went to church, and I used it only when I went. I didn't take very good care of it. I used it when I did start going to church at Bethel. When I started going all the time I bought my second bible. I knew that I should read my bible but I used the excuse that the font was so small. So I bought a large print bible. I used it in the beginning years of being in the teen group. I started marking the passages from the preaching at church. I started memorizing verses and highlighting them. This bible is in worst condition than my first, but not because of use, but because I didn't take very good care of it. Then I got my third bible for christmas from my mom and step dad for christmas in 2003, my 8th grade year. This is the bible I had when I got saved in April of 2004. I underlined a lot more verses in this bible. This bible has a two poems written in it that my brother sent me. One is about heaven and the other about answered prayer. I don't remeber a whole lot about what happened during this time because I had it for a short time. I used this bible for less than a year up until my 16th birthday in 2004. Miss Naomi got me a new one and it says Miss Blair on the bottom of the front cover. I always wanted one like that. I began writing things in this bible. I have quotes from preaching. I wrote the song Mrs. Kristy taught the girls in Sunday School in the back. This bible carried me through all the different changes that happened at church and at home. I used this bible until the end of this summer, when Pastor Fugate and his wife gave all the camp staff new scofield bibles. I had always wanted one and it was a huge blessing. Now I am using this bible. It has Pastor Fugate's and his wife's signature. It has the beginning of quotes from preachers, in the back. In the front I have the ABC's, an idea Mrs. Kristy gave me. Under each letter you can put a topic and verses for that topic. I already have one topic filled out and am working on two others. It helps me to find things to study . I also got a Strong's Concordance this summer which has also helped me to study the bible. I have a binder that I am using to write down what I am studying. I have been writing different things in the margins. I started doing this over the summer. I know I am going to grow in the lord more and it will carry me through many things just like my old bibles did.

I said all that because when I was looking through my old bibles, God showed me the journey I have taken. All the things I wrote in my bibles represent my spiritual journey. They represent things God spoke to my heart about or verses that God used to help me through whatever was happening in my life. The bibles represent different time periods of my life and what was happening during them. God showed me where I have been and how far he has brought me. I am so thankful he showed me that because it made me grateful for what God has done for me. It made me trust God even more. It assured me God would be with me during the next step of my life, which is scary for me to even think about. It made me excited about the places God will take me in the future. It assured me that if I continue to follow him my life will be safe in his hands. It also just made me appreciate the bible on a personal level.

I'm Back

2006-11-07T19:58:00.000-06:00

So as you all know I deleted my blog. I deleted it because I was tired of some of the things on them. Anyone in the entire world can read them. I just didn't want to be a part of careless, venting posts on the blogs. Different things happened and I was so sick of it all.

Anyways after thinking a lot about this I decided to get a blog again. I am going to make it my goal to never misuse my blog and to always be careful about what I post. I am setting out to make sure that whatever I post would be glorifying to God. Please if I ever step out of line, feel free to remind me of this. Also, blogging is a way to keep up with Mr. Mike, Mrs. Kristy and Mrs. Emily as well as my other friends. I can't control what othes do but I can decide and control what I am going to do.

I plan on updating about different things going on in my life as well as the blessings God gives me. I plan on putting different things I am learning in my bible reading and different things I am studying.

For my first post I want to let you all know (if you didn't already know) that my family is moving back to Pekin in a couple weeks. I am so excited and I can not wait!