S E C O N D S E M E S T E R

WELL.


It sure has been a long time since I last posted, hasn't it?
I could go back and tell you everything that's happened since the last time, but it's been so long that I don't want to take the time to do that! Oh well :) Just know that I've been growing, learning more than I ever thought possible, and that I am enjoying this semester a million times more than the last!

Why? Here is a list of reasons:

1. My perspective has changed. Last semester I got VERY good at feeling sorry for myself, and wanting pity from other people because of how busy I was. How wrong of me! I've started keeping a journal and writing down everything good that happens in my day that I can be thankful for, starting from when I get up and ending when I'm laying in bed making the list. It has CHANGED me. It's amazing what choosing to focus on the good instead of dwelling on the bad does.

2. I'm taking one less credit, switching from 18 to 17.

3. I'm not in ANY gen. eds. Yippee!

4. I'm in Methods I, which means that I'm now accepted into the TEP (Teaching) program here at Cedarville, and I'm only taking 4 classes. 2 of those classes are with my favorite profs in the whole wide world, Dr. Sweigard and Mrs. Clark.

5. I'm with the same 25 other people in those classes, and I LOVE our group! We've become like one big family. They are wonderful people that love Jesus and love teaching.

6. Mine and Hannah's friendship just keeps growing. We've been through a lot together this semester, good and tough. We've held each other up, cried and laughed together, and have leaned on Jesus together when it seemed like no one else understood or felt the same way we did. We pushed each other toward Scripture and Jesus. Even though it was NOT fun, I am so thankful for that week because it changed us in a way.

7. I have NO boy drama. None. Zilch. Nada. I'm as free as a bird, and I am LOVING it! My eyes have been opened to how obsessed people at Cedarville are with relationships. It drives me bonkers. What happened to letting God work things out in His timing? What happened to being content with where He has us in our singleness? Now, that doesn't mean that I think guys should just wait until God drops some girl in their laps to pursue someone, and that girls shouldn't show some interest in a guy. I just mean that it's not something that COMPLETES people or fills up their voids. Being single doesn't take away any value from Who the Lord has made us to be. Single people can do so many things! People in relationships can do other things. Both are so different, and both are so wonderful. I just think people so easily forget that being single can be wonderful, too. I am currently experiencing how wonderful it is :) I'm not worried about finding a husband. I'll be ready when he comes, but I know that's not know. I'm completely content being single, but there's part of my heart that is so overjoyed to find this guy, to know what he's like, to be his loyal helper, and someday his wife. But until then, I'm riding S-O-L-O.

8. This semester is FLYYYYYYING by! It's crazy. How quickly is going makes me so excited for it to be done, but sad for it to be done at the same time. What a strange feeling!

9. I LOVE MY GIRLS. This semester is so much better in that I am used to being an RA. Living with each other is completely natural, and I have been getting closer to some of my girls. I went shopping with a couple of them last weekend and had a BLAST. They are such encouragement to my heart! They are great :)

10. I think what I like the most about this semester is the renewed and rekindled love for Scriptures I have in my heart. I went through a similar phase in high school about my junior year. It's not that I haven't loved Scripture in between that time and this one, it's just different. I LOVE reading it. I get excited to read it. I think that it's partially because of things I'm going through that just make it so alive. I think that it's also due to the fact that I got my first study Bible I've ever had. IT'S SO COOL. I simply love it. It's Dr. David Jeremiah's study Bible (that I found on Amazon for $34.00, by the way.) It has made such a difference!


Well, I need to get reading on some homework. I'll try to write more often from  now on!


Stand firm and take heart!

Homesick

home·sick

ˈhōmˌsik/

adjective

1. 1.

   experiencing a longing for one's home during a period of absence from it (google)

   
   

   
   

Do juniors in college still get homesick? Well...this girl does! I think I just feel the weight of my responsibilities as an RA, of all my 18 credits of class, of commitments to different groups, of maintaining my friendships, and of my personal struggles as well. While my heart is constantly blessed and encouraged by the people around me, being in the Word, and great chapels, the weight just never fully goes away. It probably won't fully be gone until Christmas break! But that's okay. This is only for a season, and God has me in this one for a reason.

Feeling this way, though, doesn't really help with the whole homesick thing. Sometimes I feel homesick more for the people in my life, like my family, Emily, Lexi, Jed and Jen, people at church, etc. And other times I just flat out miss Elkhart! I miss my bed, my room, the way my house smells, waking up in the fall with my windows open and what morning smells like. I miss eating dinner with my mom and dad and making Honey's runs with Em and Lex. I miss talking to my church family in the commons and worshiping with them and listening to Pastor Blodgett. I miss sitting on the couch in our family room.

BUT, Fall Break is just 2 weeks away from today. At this time next week, I'll be driving into Indianapolis to see Brett, Nick, Brinnie and MILLIE JANE!!!


As for now, I need to keep studying and reading. I'm so thankful for all my girls. I'm thankful for what they are teaching me and the ways they bless me without realizing it. I'm thankful for Hannah and what a great best friend she is to me! I love that we pray together every night and how wise and loving she is with me. I'm thanking for my friends here, girls and guys, who make me laugh and feel loved. I'm thankful for the adults in my life here, like Angie, Dr. Sweigard, Mrs. Clark, and others who can calm and refresh my heart.

You know, thinking about all the things I'm thankful for really calms me and eases the homesickness. When I fix my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of my faith, I'm at peace. I love Him for that.


Take heart! He has overcome the world!!

Junior Year

Well, it has definitely been a ridiculously long time since I last wrote! My life seems to be the busiest it's ever been. My life has been all about finding balance--with my relationship with the Lord, my units in Printy, my schoolwork, my friends, my alone time, my friends from home, H.Y.P.E. committee, KZP, intramural volleyball and my involvement in Apex. YEAH. It's a lot. 

However, juggling all of this is teaching me to depend on the Lord in a whole new way. A way that I never knew I needed. A way that constantly humbles me and reminds me how unworthy and inadequate I am without Him. It still blows my mind that God uses someone like me. 

Another thing that blows my mind is the friends that God has blessed me with. The second weekend here Emily and Lexi came and surprised me. 

Plus, I've been getting to spend a lot of time with Hannah, Karlee, and Laura, plus all my other girlfriends. That has been one of my favorite things about this year. I am so grateful to have women of God who encourage me spiritually, but that I also have a stinkin' fun time with. 

PLUS, I've gotten to hang out with my group of guy friends, too! Love these guys and my group of friends to pieces. I also love going to Bill's with them :)

Oh, and didI mention that I have loved getting to know my GIRLS?! While I'm still learning what it means to be a good RA, I've enjoyed what God has been teaching me through these lovely ladies. So excited to continue getting to know them better and to see what God has in store! 

Alrighty. I need to go to sleep. I am SO excited because Mom and Dad get here on Thursday! Ugh. I have missed my family a lot. I miss Millie Jane and my siblings. Having a close knit family is one of the best things in the whole world, but it makes being away from them really hard. But I'd rather have it this way than not being close with them :) 

Be strong and courageous in the Lord. Take heart, for He has OVERCOME the world. 

F I N A L L Y

That's right, folks! Brett and Brinnan welcomed their little girl into the world at 1:01 p.m. yesterday, July 29, 2013. She weighed 7 lbs. even and she was 20 inches long. She is BEAUTIFUL. So proud of Brinnie and Brett. They're going to be great parents! Now here are some pictures :D

Today

Well...nothing really exciting is going on, but I realized I haven't posted in a while! Since I last wrote, I experienced a week of camp with a bunch of middle schoolers. It was SO fun. Lexi was up there as a counselor, too, which made it really fun for me. Here's my cabin

Those girls were great! We were able to talk a lot about the lies that Satan throws at us, why we believe them, and who to combat them. Great conversation happened and I pray that God was able to use Linds, Niobe and I in their lives in way that will LAST and not just be there for a short while. 

Lex and I have been bus buddies ever since we first started traveling for camps, school events, and basketball games...so that's been about 8 years or so. Camp nerds forever :)

My family got to go up to Spring Lake, Michigan for the Fourth of July. We've been going there ever since I was born, and my mom has been going up there ever since she was a little girl. Her uncle owns the house, and before that it was her grandmother's. My Grandma and Grandpa Great (what we called them) passed away when I was in 5th grade. Whenever we go up, we get to see our family, spend some time on the water (even though the boat is older than dirt and has trouble starting...but I'm still thankful!), and eat some good food. It's one of my favorite things about summertime. 

Watching fireworks from the boat.

We were able to go shopping in downtown Holland. I love it there!

The whole crew! 

Then I was able to go to Cedarville last Thursday-Saturday to see my lovely roommate, Hannah! Sheesh, it was about time. I missed her so much! It was great to see the volleyball team again. They were all there because it was their week of team camp. The first half of the week, high school players were able to come get individual attention to help improve their skills from Coach and the girls. Then while I was there, whole teams from around the area came and played a LOT of volleyball. I was able to watch and keep score (like I did during practice this past season...I'm a pro ;)). Then on Friday, it was Cow Appreciation Day, so we dressed up like cows and got some free food. So fun! 

On Sunday night, the youth group at First Baptist had a water night. The absolute best part was the slip 'n' slide. This was no ordinary one, though. Jed (my youth pastor) hooked up a wooden beam to a four wheeler, tied on the rope and handle that you hold onto while water skiing, and then dragged us down the very long plastic tarp. IT WAS INCREDIBLY FUN. Lexi and I have been helping out with the youth some this summer, so we got to do it a couple times. We got pretty muddy, but it was worth it!

Millie's Last Baby Shower

Amelia Jane and Brinnie had their last shower before the due date in Elkhart yesterday. It was so much fun! It was a LOT of work, but it was definitely worth it. Here are some shots from the shower. 

This is a quote from the infamous book I'll Love You Forever. My mom read this book to Brett, Nick and I when we were little. She sang us the little song, barely making it through without crying. If you haven't read it, you have to. It is so sweet. 

While I was gone being a counselor at JH Camp last week, Mom and Dad hit the JACKPOT with this little jacket from Baby Gap. If you don't know me very well, you probably don't know that I have an obsession with striped shirts and nautical things. Brinnan loves stripes and navy, too. Millie will follow right in her mommy and auntie's footsteps in this little number!

Yowza, those flowers took forever to make! Thank you to Kathleen Patterson for teaching me how to make them! Kathleen is very artsy and has her own shop on Etsy with the CUTEST stuff. Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/KathleenRoseAmor

All of the women who came to the shower wrote down their motherly advice for Brin to glean from. What a great idea, Mom!

The pink candy we had there, and Sour Patch Kids/Watermelons. Those are Brinnan's favorite! Mmm mm. 

I am lovin' those adorable paper straws. My mom and I found those for super cheap on Etsy. They were a nice touch!

Our lovely banner. 

Millie's family tree had pictures of Brett, Brinnan, Mom, Dad, and Brinnan's mom, Tammie. 

Mom found these old fashioned blocks at an antique mall on Beardsley. It's one of my favorite antique malls! 

Brin and Tammie 

The Grandmas! 

I was Brinnie's trusty sidekick.

Growing up, Brett loved Peter Rabbit. Bam (my grandma) got Millie some nice Peter Rabbit dishes. So sweet!

Only about 3 more weeks until I'm holding my sweet niece in my arms! She is already so loved.