3 down. 2 to go.

Finals week. I've already finished 3. 2 left for tomorrow... I've spent way too much time in the library. But... this time tomorrow will be CHRISTMAS BREAK. Thank goodness. Right now I'm sitting in a cubicle on the 5th floor of the library studying (...or taking a study break from) Geology... not really one of my favorite subjects.

This picture is a little late. It's from Halloween. But it makes me smile after studying glaciers, faults, and tectonostratagraphic terrains all morning. Da Unit. 

This also makes me smile. The Thankful Poster currently hanging in our apartment.

Christmas Break... hurry up!!

October.

Well...it's been about a month and a half. I'm making no more promises.

BUT. The past month and half have been SO wonderful. I love October. It is my favorite month for a few reasons: it finally feels like fall, the leaves are changing and BEAUTIFUL, pumpkin spice lattes (along with pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING- pancakes... yum.), Halloween,
pumpkins, candy corn, and a million other wonderful things.

Here are some of my favorite things from this particular October:

Windy Gap was more than I could have hoped for as I took four girls from Central to camp. I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with these girls. Jesus was so present throughout the weekend, and it was apparent in the way he worked in the hearts of these girls. And I loved getting to watch other leaders love their friends all weekend and spend time with them. Camp was wonderful and so refreshing. God is good.


RACHEL GOT MARRIED!!! Rachel was my small group leader last year. I'm very thankful for this girl and am so happy I got to be there for her big day. The wedding was BEAUTIFUL and Rachel was gorgeous. I loved every bit of this wedding- it was outside in a meadow, the weather was PERFECT, and the reception was so much fun. We also got a little surprise... our Young Life leader from high school, Christine, was there with the wedding photographer. Best surprise ever.

For fall break I went with my mom and some family to New York for a little pre-birthday present. Woah. That is one big city. I get lost on a regular basis in Knoxville (I've lived here my whole life), there's no way I would make it anywhere in New York. But it was a lot of fun! Saw all the sites, did some shopping, lots of eating, and some family bonding.

Capernaum Club may have been the highlight of October. Knoxville Young Life had it's first ever Capernaum Young Life Club. Kids with special needs from schools all over Knoxville came to sing, dance, play games, and hear about Jesus. This afternoon was AMAZING. I am so thankful I got to be a part of it. It was a huge surprise to see how many kids from Central came, considering almost all of them had never been to Young Life before. I got to spend most of my time with a boy named Kevin. He's not real big on large crowds of people, so we hung outside most of the time and listened to what was going on from there. By the end of club he was up dancing and laughing. It was so wonderful. Jesus was so alive and present. The kids LOVED it and had so much fun, they were all asking when they could come back. Some have even started coming on Thursday nights to club! This was easily my favorite day of October.


I got to do Race for the Cure with Delaney's small group in honor of her mom. I was so glad to be apart of it. I loved getting to spend some time with those girls and watch them support Delaney so much. I'm really thankful for Delaney, she is so strong and is such a wonderful picture of Jesus. She speaks a lot of truth into my life, as well as makes me laugh A LOT. We're kind of the same person. I don't really know what I'd do without her. Thanks for being in my life.



My little sister turned 16 this month. She's driving. It's really weird. But she's great.


These things make October so wonderful. Along with football games, walks down the boulevard, intermural soccer, dance parties, YL, getting ready for Ashley's wedding, and of course Halloween. I love October.






I have really high expectations for November.

I kind of want to be this girl.

No... I really want to be this girl.

All of my life, in every season.

This song has oddly been coming up a lot lately... but I'm okay with that, it's a good reminder. It reminds me that no matter what the situation, no matter what the battle, even in the day to day running through the motions kind of season, God is SO good. He gives me a reason to praise him daily, and for that I am so thankful.

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."
-Lamentations 3:22-24

Oh hey there blog. Long time no see.

Okay... it's been well over a month. I promise I'll get better at this whole blogging thing. Well... promise is a bold word. I'll go with attempt to get better.

That being said... in our time apart life has been VERY full. Full of school, full of friends, full of family, full of love, full of young life, full of laughter, full of Jesus, full of joy, full of just...life.

It's been kind of weird jumping back into things this semester, and really awesome at the same time. This year is just different in a lot of ways, I guess. You could probably even say that I'm different this year. I've kind of had completely different outlooks on everyyyything. (Oh, except classes...I should work on that one.) One thing that's been really cool to watch is the relationships with some of my closest friends. Don't get me wrong, we've always been good friends, but there's just something different. God's just really been showing up in a lot of ways in our relationships, just in the way we love each other, the way we dig into each other, and the intentionality behind conversations. It's just been really awesome to watch Him come alive in those friendships the past few months and to see love grow. (Oh, and if you're watching the UT game today... look for my friends. In case you didn't know, they're sitting on row 1. )


School is craaaazy busy. But it's fun at the same time. I'm finally getting into some education classes (after two years and three major changes later...I'm excited to be on the path to being a special ed teacher.) One thing I'm most excited about for this semester is that for one of my classes I've been placed to go to Central for a couple hours a week... which means not only do I get to jump into the special ed classes at the school, but I also get to see the faces of some awesome kids I get to hang out with Thursday nights at young life. I'm pumped. It's gonna be a good semester.

Speaking of Young Life... we got to kick it off last week with a big bonfire. It was SO good to see so many kids show up after a long summer, excited to jump back into Young Life, and so cool to see so many new faces. The past few weeks have been filled mostly with going to lunches, football games, catching up on summers with YL girls, and some great team time. This coming Thursday is the first club of the year...AHH. SO excited. God's got some big plans this year, and I can't wait to watch Him work.

You have my heart, and I am Yours forever.

I am thankful for a God that created me. A God that pursues me relentlessly. A God that doesn’t give up. A God that allows me to fight with Him, and that fights even harder for me. A God that knows everything about me, and loves me anyway. A God that created me perfectly. A God full of grace. A God that I’m always good enough for. A God that knows my weaknesses, and uses them to show me how much bigger, greater, and stronger He is. A God that brings struggle that turns into joy. A God that turns the bad into good. A God that is faithful. A God that promises abundant life and unexplainable joy. A God who loves me with a passionate, fearless, unfailing, boundless, unstoppable, stubborn kind of love.

Thanks God :)

I might officially stink at blogging...

Okay... I've had this thing for over a week and have yet to make an actual post. Oh well, better late than never?

Well, I got this idea from one of my friends. This was going around on facebook for a while probably over a year ago, but I never did it. So, I decided why not do it now? So here you go...

25 Things you may or may not know about me...

1. I’m madly and hopelessly in love with Jesus.
2. I’ve learned recently how great my family is, and I couldn’t ask for any better love than the way they love me.
3. I have the best friends in the world. I’m so thankful for them, they love me so well and I pray daily that I can be at least half the friend as they are to me.
4. I currently miss Monday nights... roommate dinners are the best way to start off the week.
5. Boy Meets World will forever and always be my favorite show. Still waiting for season 4 to come out on DVD. Been waiting for the last 4 years...
6. I brush my teeth entirely too much. I didn’t think it was possible. Apparently it is. I average about 5 times a day...and never had a cavity.
7. I’m a Young Life leader at Central High School where my heart has been captured by several of the coolest girls I know.
8. I cannot wait until the day that I’m a special education teacher.
9. I have the coolest nephew ever.
10. My dad is hilarious. I’ve learned to appreciate him more and more the past few years. I’m so thankful he loves me the way he does.
11. I wish I could sing. I pretend that I can. More than likely if you ever see me driving, I’m singing at the top of my lungs.
12. Sometimes my birthday is on Thanksgiving.
13. One of my ears is smaller than the other.
14. I laugh all the time. Particularly at really inappropriate times. It’s a problem. I’m working on it. However, I do believe laughter is the best cure for anything.
15. I talk to myself way too much.
16. One day I want to run in a marathon. (That day is far, far away).
17. I’ve learned recently to become thankful for struggles and to rejoice over brokenness.
18. I try to embrace my mistakes and be thankful for the growth that comes from them.
19. Fall is my favorite, I’m overly obsessed with sunsets, and I’d rather be in the mountains any day.
20. I hate sleeping late... but it happens way too much.
21. I wish I were more organized... I lose things a lot. My desk is usually a mess. I live out of my car. I can be kind of forgetful.
22. I have a problem with running late. I try to set my clocks/watches anywhere from 4 to 15 minutes ahead of time. Still no luck.
23. I’ve lived in Knoxville my whole life and still get lost at least once a week.
24. I pray to be in a place that if God asked me to leave everything behind and move to Ethiopia that I’d do it in a heartbeat without any hesitation.
25. I choose talking on the phone over texting any day and I really don’t like email.

well...here goes.

Sooo... why am I blogging? GREAT question... and for that I do not really have an answer. Really- I never thought I’d ever have a blog, but why not give it a try, right? Right. But I guess you could credit this to my new found obsession with blogs, thanks Delaney :). So why not! I’m not promising this is even going to be interesting, funny, deep, or any other adjective... but I hope it will be real. Besides, I love love love talking about the people that mean the most to me and I loooove talking about the crazy and wonderful things Jesus does in my life and around me, so I’m gonna try to share these experiences here...so, here goes :)