construction and instruction...

On Friday, I spent the morning getting a taste of what my summer will be like. My dad had to be at church for a mission conference, so he left me in charge of two teams working on a house. I had to manage several projects including: grouting the master bathroom and painting it, putting up the bead board on the ceiling of the front porch, installing the fold-out stairs to the attic, cutting the backer board for all of the counter tops,  putting up trim around the living room...there was more but it got adjusted for time and abilities.

This is what I love. I always feel weird saying that, but it's true. You can know everything there is to know about scripture, but it means nothing if you don't do something about it. This ministry is that action to me. This is showing love and grace to people who see very little of it in their community.

As much as I love the construction aspect of it, my favorite part of it is talking to the people involved. The volunteers are there for a reason, the families we are working for are the heart and souls of this ministry, and the neighbors who walk past the homes we work on see us and ask what it's all about.

I'm going to seminary for something God is already allowing me to do.
Is that ridiculous? Sometimes it seems like it is. I'm taking three years off of doing ministry to learn how to do ministry?!

Memories...

So, I'm half way through my last semester of my undergraduate life. I went for a walk around campus the other night and started thinking about all of the amazing memories I've made at Huntingdon. Just about everywhere I went, I had a story for. So, I thought I might share a few of them.

My freshman year, I spent the first couple weeks crying because I was alone, I didn't know anyone, and I didn't know what to do about it. Then, in English 101 with Dr. Truman, I made my first friend, Jackie. We quickly discovered that we have a lot in common, so we were instantly friends. We registered for classes together, since we had the same major, we went through greek rush together, and now we live together!  

One of my favorite memories from my freshman year: the band I was in, Kelly Lane, was having a show and we wanted to creatively promote interest in the band and the show so we walked around campus, mostly Blount, and played music to whoever wanted to listen. It was a lot of fun for me to have the guys from the band on campus with my friends. Then, the show was pretty awesome, too. Someone put a one hundred dollar bill in the tip jar...that was pretty encouraging!

Sophomore year was consumed by Chi Omega! I absolutely loved it because it gave me an amazing group of friends. From recruitment and Big/Little week to new member classes and initiation, I had so much fun. This picture was taken at revelation night when we found out who our big sisters were. We had to dress up however our big wanted us to...as you can see, I was jelly. Sara, my big sister, had a jar of peanut butter.

Campus Ministries went on a retreat to the beach one year. I drove a part of the group in my mom's crown vic and we listened to Disney songs almost all the way there. We had corporate worship with other schools, we played basketball and uno, we got an SUV stuck in the sand...it was a blast. I really enjoyed that time of fellowship with everyone. I would love to do it again.

I was a part of the mission team to Panama in January of my sophomore year. Our team had VBS for local kids where we made crafts, heard stories from the Bible, and played games. We also did some work building cabins at the camp we stayed at. It was an incredible experience to share the love of Christ with the children in the community there. (there's a picture of Katie and I on the walkway next to the art gallery now :)

Last year, I was an RA along with Tim and Catie (and a bunch of others). This picture was taken on our way to Auburn for a fun filled day of training and classes for being an RA. I wish I had a picture from one of our building meetings with KY, Catie, Tiffany and me. They were always pretty fun...I don't even have many picture from my hall events, but I did have pretty bulletin boards!

This was a sign that I made for the bathroom in Ligon. My theme for first semester was Woodstock, so everything was about music and nature. I really liked it, i hope my girls did too! They all had door decs with their names on them in either the dove or the guitar from the Woodstock posters. I thought it was pretty cool. 

I think that's enough of my memories for now, I'll share more later. :)

Lavaliers, engagement rings, and wedding bells

It's February, so naturally, it seems like everyone around me has paired off into happy little love bubbles. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely happy for everyone of my friends who have found their soul mates or are happily dating.
My roommate, one of my best friends, just got engaged. I am so incredibly happy for her and her fiance. They have been together for over a year and they work so well together.
I recently discovered that an ex-boyfriend of mine just got married in November. He and his wife have two precious little girls and seem really happy together. The band that I used to be a part of is still going strong with his wife supporting them from the crowd. I'm glad he's happy and in a good relationship. Another one of my ex-boyfriends, actually my first boyfriend,  recently got engaged. He just started seminary in Charlotte. I haven't seen him in several years, and I hate that I've lost contact with him, but I really hope he's happy. 
Other girls in the sorority that I used to be a part of have gotten engaged recently. I have this close group of girl friends and most of them are in relationships now.
As much as I want to be in a relationship and have someone to share things with and talk to about anything, I am happy to be alone at this point in my life, I think. I've spent the majority of my life since 8th grade going from relationship to relationship and I'm tired of it. I'm about to spend the summer living in west Montgomery as a missionary, then I'm leaving for Kentucky.
I am well aware that the happiness I long for won't come from a relationship from any guy. So often, I just have to stop myself, take a step back, and remember that everything happens in God's time. I have no idea what He has in store for me. The only thing I can do is wait and pray.

This is my mean time; between three and a half amazing years of undergraduate school and my future in seminary. God is still doing great things in my life and I know that I couldn't live another day without Him, sometimes I just wish He would give me a hint at what the future holds.

And now for something completely different....

I feel like all I've been talking about has been Hebrew lately, so I would like to shift focus for a moment, if only to distract myself from the pain...

So, I'm in a digital photography class. It's been quite fun to have an excuse to always carry a camera with me to document the lives of the people around me. I find myself thinking a bit more poetically with a camera in my hand; I must get it from my brother.

I went to the park on Friday to study. I enjoy people watching. This man was one of my favorites for the day. He came to the lake alone, and no one came around him while he was there. The whole time he sat in his green chair on the side of the water, he made balloon animals. I didn't watch him long enough to see any final products and I couldn't figure out what he was doing with them when he was done. Next time I see him, I will talk to him about his hobby of making balloon creatures alone by the lake. 

I was trying to keep this little girl's parents from thinking that I was a serious creeper taking pictures of their little girl, but she was precious. The geese were pretty interested in her, but she didn't seem too fond of them. She wanted to feed them from a bag of what looked like onion rings or croutons, but she didn't want to get too close. I enjoyed watching her and the birds that were just her size. 

Some friends of mine enjoyed the beautiful day we were having by climbing one of our trees on campus. I love that it looks like I go to school in a jungle. It reminded me of my trip to Asbury when we encountered the talking tree that yelled, "I'm a talking treeeee!" at us. I love trees. I think they are beautiful.

Two of my favorite things straight from God: trees and colorful sunsets. Spanish moss takes one of the top ten, so this scene pretty much makes me feel so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by gifts from God. I took a walk with my parents the other day as a break from studying (Hebrew, of course) and found a peace of mind that I've been lacking for a while. Nature always puts things in good perspective for me.

This is Larry. Larry and I bonded over a bag of old bread that he ate right out of my hand, but he was also one of the coolest birds out there because he would catch the break in his break when I threw it (the other ones would try and fail). Larry is posing here because he knew I was more interested in the turtles on the other side of the lake. If you find yourself at ASF in the future, find Larry; he's a beautiful old bird with iridescent green feathers.

This is one of my favorite things about the institution I currently call my home. This is Dr. Jeffcoat and his class. It was a beautiful day. I was on the swing waiting for my next class to begin noticing the incredible things about Huntingdon that I often take for granted.

This is Huntingdon's very own troubadour. Colby carries his guitar and plays as he walks all around campus; it makes me so happy to hear music as I walk to and from class. He's a great musician. This place, the Hut, is one of the most welcoming and joyful places, covered with people, on a beautiful day.

Solutions

Sometimes I know how to solve my problems, but I don't do anything about it. I have gone two months knowing exactly how to solve my time issues and my lack of sleep, but I didn't want to do anything about it because it meant that I could potentially be hurting other people, especially people really important to me.

It wasn't until my mother told me to do it that I actually did it. She sent me a text message at 4:11am Friday. She told me to quit my job because I needed to study. She even said she would help me financially so that i wouldn't have to worry about about money.

So, I obeyed my mother and quit my job that day. Now, I have midterms this week and a few extra hours to study for them each day.

I didn't go to work Saturday, and it was strange to have so much time. For the first time in four years, I am unemployed.

And so, my father and I sat at the dinning room table and went through 130 Hebrew flash cards all Saturday afternoon.

I am so thankful for my family and for the blessing I have to rely on them as I finish my last, and most difficult, semester of my college life.

Fighting to Stay Alive

It's the hardest thing I've done in all of my college experience. I've spoken with the under ground church in China, I've built homes with my own hands, I've been on the dean's list multiple times, I've held at least two jobs at all times while taking 15-18 hours of classes...the hardest thing I've attempted to do is learn Hebrew, and I have no solid idea as to why I'm finding it so difficult.

My best friend in high school, Ally, is Jewish and would go to Hebrew school every Wednesday. I had no idea that what she was learning over the course of her life, I was going to attempt to learn in one short semester.

You know when your professor send you the syllabus before the previous semester's exams are over that something hard is coming your way. The material itself is actually not that bad. I think if I could spend a week on each lesson I would be a pro by now. We are just moving so fast that I cant get one lesson down before the next one is being thrown at me.

It seems I always study the exact wrong things too. I learned each of the vowels by name but I couldn't tell an "ah" from an "ee." I know ALL of the vocabulary. I dont know how to make words plural, or possessive...

My classmates are all juniors. I'm the oldest person in the class and I'm the one floundering the most. That doesn't help me at all. One of my classmates admitted that he has neglected all of his other classes to focus on this one. I can't exactly do that, being a senior.

I've been so busy working everyday, in my responsibilities with campus ministries, and the rest of my classes. I can't find time to study, much less do my homework.

What sucks the most right now is that it's only going to get worse and we aren't even at midterm yet. Sitting in that classroom makes me ill. I hate that I'm putting myself through this and its not even necessary. It's officially a day too late to drop the class. I'm stuck and I'm drowning in Hebrew somewhere around lesson 5.

Pastor Dan, the previous owner of the Hebrew note cards I bought online, gives me hope. It is painful, but I believe that I can do it, in time...

I've already used the things I'm learning in discussions with others. A friend of mine has a roommate who is not a believer. He asked questions about things like being the son of Adam and Eve. I told him the Hebrew word we translate into son can actually mean descendant too. Having discussions like that one are the reason I'm taking this course.

I pray that God will give me the strength to sit through class every day. I pray He will give me wisdom, not only knowledge of the language of His story, but the ways in which I can use the knowledge He is giving me. I am thankful for people like Pastor Dan, whoever he is, for having gone before me to prove that it can be done.

I'm going to Seminary!

My application to Asbury Theological Seminary was officially completed on February 2nd. On February 4th, I received an email from my admissions adviser congratulating me on my acceptance! So this fall, after a summer doing resident missions with Common Ground, I will be headed to Wilmore, KY! I am so incredibly excited and I really cannot wait to see what God has planned for me.

The Meantime...

At worship last night, a friend of mine brought a pretty awesome message from God. He talked about getting to the "other side" and what we are supposed to do in the meantime. The other side, for the desciples of Jesus in Mark, was the far side of the sea in which they were fishing. There are occasionally storms, but we have to trust that we are always going somewhere with a mission. When we get to the other side, God has a plan for us and a great way that He will be working through us, but until we get there (in the meantime) He is going to work in us. All we have to do to get to the other side is not jump ship before we get there.