Don't Just Be Here, LIVE!!!!

Life has been crazy lately. But, I guess I didn't expect any different. It is weird how fast this year is already going by! Before I know it I will be graduated and onto the next stage of life. I don't really love thinking about the future. IT is always a little scary to me. In some ways I am ready to move on from Toccoa. I get so bored and sick of doing the same routine all the time. However, when everything in your life changes it is always a hard adjustment. It took me two years to like Toccoa. I am hoping the next phase will be a little easier and quicker to adjust to. I was thinking back on my life recently and realizing that the first 18 years of my life were pretty consistent. They were spent in mainly one place with the same people. And I realized how much I loved it. But, for some reason I get bored with the same routine quickly these days.

I am struggling through my music classes. Which makes me hate them even more. I have had to get tutoring. I have done all I can (in my opinion) to do well in those classes and I am still crashing and burning. I feel a little like a failure in that area. Last week was a week of being sad, sick and discouraged all in one.

At the beginning of last week I found out a guy I used to go running with freshman year was robbed and murdered in front of his wife. He was my age. Even though we weren't the best of friends or even close it still was sad. It seems life has been teaching me often lately how fragile it is and how at any moment it could be taken from me. But one of the hardest things for me to figure out is how to REALLY live RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW when life seems so mundane and boring. Anytime something truly tragic happens it makes you question God some. Especially when I realize a lot of the people he has taken in my life seem like some of the most amazing people I have ever met! But, something Nick used to say is "Don't just be here, live!" And I believe that is a challenge to all of us. To learn how to not just exist and be here, but to truly live life to the fullest. That is a challenge. Especially when you are living in the monotony of everyday life.

Being sick hasn't been fun. Especially with all of the work I've had to do! I am at the stage in the semester when I feel as if I cannot give 100% to any one thing and that frustrates me so much!

Oh yeah, I also got to go eat a Hmong meal with PJ, Kim and Khou this week! That was a lot of fun! I miss those girls A LOT!


This past weekend was a good break from all of the craziness. And I finally got a chance to rest. It was homecoming and three of the girls in my house were nominated for the court. So, on Friday night I went and watched them. I also went to McDonalds with a group of friends and hung out and then came back and played Catch Phrase and Apples to Apples. On Saturday I slept in until 12:00. And I cooked lunch for me and Jonathan. We spent the afternoon carving pumpkins and then roasting the leftovers seeds! It was a lot of fun! Saturday night was the homecoming concert. It was pretty amusing. I wasn't feeling well at all on Saturday. SO really didn't feel like sitting through a concert. But, it turned out to be pretty funny.

Sunday I went to church at New Hope. I ate lunch in the cafeteria for the first time in a long time. I spent yesterday afternoon working hard to finish my Philippines scrapbook. I am almost there! It is definitely a HUGE scrap book. But, I am glad I am making it to remember everything by. I wish I had more time to devote to it! I would definitely make it cuter. But when you ahve 600 pictures it is hard to spend a lot of time on each page. otherwise, I would be working on that thing for years to come!

I was reading in my Bible this morning and found Psalm 18 to be really encouraging. I feel like I should share it with you all:

Psalm 18:27-36

27 You save the humble
but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.

29 With your help I can advance against a troop [a] ;
with my God I can scale a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God besides the LORD ?
And who is the Rock except our God?

32 It is God who arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.

34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You give me your shield of victory,
and your right hand sustains me;
you stoop down to make me great.

36 You broaden the path beneath me,
so that my ankles do not turn.

Isn't it amazing that God is everything we will ever need and that with Him we can do anything? I think that is just really awesome! It really spoke to me this morning and encouraged me! I hope it does you too!


HEre are some pictures of our pumpkins. I tried to challenge myself and carve an owl! Lol. Jonathan carved the other one.I also included some pictures of our trip to the corn maze. And a picture or two of my trip to Pj's and Kim's house!
















THE END!