A Decision Made for Me

In middle school, my parents decided we needed to move to a new house. I was ecstatic when they gave an offer for a house near my best friends, but I had no idea what was to come. While I was on vacation with a friend, my parents found another house they loved and bought it. Sounds great, right? However, the house was in a different school district so I was not for it. I threw a fit and considered moving in with my best friend.

Obviously, my parents didn't like that idea so they bribed me by giving me the second biggest room in the house for my bedroom. I was still a brat and hated the process of moving. I think I spent my first day in the new house crying in my room because I didn't really have a choice in the move.

The other day I drove into the area where I could have spent me high school career. It was weird to be back on that side of town and to wonder "what if." That decision years ago was made for me and while I hated it then, I am thankful for it now. So much has happened because of that decision and it needed to happen.

I met my future roommate.

I met a new best friend.

I entered a different extra-curricular activity.

I found an awesome job.

I got involved in church.

And there is so much more!

Thank God for his plans and blessings in life.

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5 Greatest Accomplishments

1.) Going to college.

I have no idea why, but I always thought I would never make it to college. I just never thought I was smart. It was such an honor to be accepted to each college I applied for and to win scholarships that helped me get there.

2.) Getting a B in Social Psych.

This class was killer! I worked my butt off to get a B and that is all I wanted. When I got and A on the group paper and an A on the final, I just wanted to cry. Hard work does pay off.

3.) Accepting to go to Counseling.

I've always wanted to be a counselor, but counseling sounded so scary. I never wanted to be the person sitting in "the chair." Thank God I went and listened to my friend. It was one of the most worthwhile experiences and best resource I could use.

4.) Sticking up for myself.

I have tended to be a person who speaks their mind and does not let people walk all over them and I think that's an accomplishment. I know I deserve to be treated right and I am not ashamed to admit it.

5.) Being known as the "good Christian girl."

This title used to really big me. I wanted to be crazy, dangerous, adventurous, but now I realized I missed out on a lot of mistakes I could have made. I am not saying I am a great Christian because I am far from that, but God has always had a close place to my heart.

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Jeremiah 29:11-14

"For the I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, "plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you...and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you...I will restore you to the place I deported you from."

I went to Church today and I was just not feeling it. The church we are attending now is the first place my dad has felt called to play for and has been welcomed with open arms; however, the rest of the family is not loving it as much. Actually, I think we are all afraid of connecting with anyone and getting the boot again. It was hard enough to do once and I do not think any of us are ready for that again. Plus, we all will be going in different directions next year: my brother is graduating high school and going to college, I am graduating college and planning to head to Seattle, and mom and dad are considering moving.

With regards to all that, I was just not feeling connected to church at all today. I miss being apart of a place where people know me by name and recognize me as my fathers daughter as well as the service I do for the church. I actually considered getting up and leaving because I did not want to be there, but my father sat down next to me and I had no choice but to listen to the sermon.

I am so glad I did! We talked about Job today and about being in the storm. I scanned the chapter and instantly felt connected to him. He was upset with God and frustrated which is how I have been with God as well. While listening to the sermon, I read Jeremiah 29:11 and felt connected to it in a way that I never have been before. I connected the last part where it says, "I will restore you to the place I deported you from." I have felt deported. God picked our family up and threw us into a life we were not familar with and unsure of how to handle. We have been dealing, but it has been so hard. This promise of restoration is something to look forward to though.

I am not sure when it will happen, but I am excited for the day I can be restored with the Church and to find that place I used to call home.

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Show me

I am on the second book of the Sierra Jensen Series and I read a line in the book today that really caught my eye. Sierra is talking to her mother and wondering why she will not give her the motherly advice she always does. Her mother responds by saying,

"It's your time to show me what you're made of."

This quote really has me thinking a lot. This is my time to show what I am made of. Is what I am doing representing me well? Am I showing people what I am made of? I realize lately that I have lost my self a little bit over the year. I keep waiting to graduate to really begin my life, but life is still going around me. I cannot just choose when to start living; I have to start now.

So here I am declaring: I'm going to show you what I'm made of!



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If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

I have always loved giraffes; therefore, I would be a giraffe!

I am not sure why I love them, but I think it's their height. Seeing as I am short one, I'd love to be able to see their view from up there. They also just seem so classy.

Short post, but now you know if you were wondering about it!



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DIY String Chandeliers

Let me just say these babies are not easy! I should have listened to the website instructions when it said two people helps a lot; I could have used the extra hands. So let me explain the process:

Supplies Needed: Twine, Corn Starch, Water, Balloons, fishing string, and glue.

Step one: Do your pre-setup. Blow up balloons and tie string on them so they can hang while you create them. You will want a tarp or old towels to lay down because you will make a mess. Also mix together 1/4 cup of warm water, 1/2 cup of corn starch, and some glue (you'll have to guess with the glue; there is no right amount).

Step two: This is where two people are helpful! Slide twine through glue mixture and began to wrap horizantally on the balloon. This is a little tough, but you can do it. Slowly move from horizantal wrappining to vertical and switch back and forth to your hearts desire.

Step three: Let it dry. The website I followed said 24 hours, but I did mine outside to reduce the mess and the twine balls dried faster with the wind. So at least let dry for an hour if outside.

Step four: Pop balloons. Be careful, sometimes the balloons pull the shape of the twine if not dried enough. Then you can spray paint the balloons any color your heart desires. I chose gold, silver, and black. My mom chose all gold.

Here are the pictures of the results.

Drying



Spray Painted. This is where I learned you have to pop that balloon first!

Finished project hanging in my room. They are not the way I want them, but they are good until I move into my house when school starts.

As for a little Life Update:

I hit rock bottom yesterday, or at least my version of it. I really am not enjoying my job at Panera. Maybe its just corporate life, but there are a ton of rules and I was not trained enough. They have been extremely flexible with my work schedule and I have loved that, but sometimes a place just does not work out. I'm not saying I am giving up on it yet, but I'm getting close. Maybe this week will change things. I hopefully will have an interview with Home Depot this week and I start training to be a server at Piper's which is exciting and scary. I feel like God has opened a lot of options for me and now I just need to choose one.

Speaking of God, I've been missing Him. I started reading the Sierra Jensen series by Robin Jones Gunn this week and it is the same author of my favorite books: The Christy Miller series. I hated it and loved it at the same time. I hated it because it's so hard for me to believe that people can trust God that so much and just pray because they want to. Maybe I hate it because it reminds me of who I used to be. I used to pray at any second of the day trusting that God would take care of it. Now I am bitter and dis-believing a lot of the time. I loved it because it reminded me of who I once was; the girl who had a strong faith in God and everyone knew it.

Will I ever get that Rachel back? Will I ever have as strong of a relationship with God as I did? I know I can answer that and the answer is it is possible, but I need to put in some work. It has just been easier not too and less dissappointing I guess. I do not like God's plan all the time and sometimes I am upset by it, even if it is what is best for me.

So pray for me, please. I could really use it.



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Absence

I am so sorry for missing the last couple of days.

I started my new job at Panera this week and it has been a difficult transition for me. There is so much to learn and Pipers was also demanding a lot of me during the week. I kind of sunk and have just swam back to the top. Hopefully, I will get a hand on two jobs and trying to be busy/social and be able to blog more.

Thanks for my two new followers! I hope we can inspire each other and be great blogging friends!

This week I made my mother a DIY Photo Canvas. It is not as easy as it looks. It was only a $5 expense but a multi-step process. Feel free to give it a try, but be aware that it requires patience!

Next I am going to try and make String Lanterns. Let's hope it goes better than the photo canvas!

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Internet Predators

I recently read a book called, "Want to go private?" by Sarah Littman. It is a story about Internet Predators and how a young teenage girl meets a man she believes is 25 and decides to meet him in person. He turns out not to be 25 and ends up kidnapping her and sexually abusing her. It is a young adult novel, but it is a great read for anyone curious about how the Internet can be very dangerous.

Internet Predators are a serious issue in our world today. Most parents think their teens know the dangers of chat rooms and the consequences involved, but it does not mean a teen will stay out of a chat room. The Internet is the new hang-out for teenagers today. Instead of hanging out in the community, they are hanging out in virtual chat rooms meeting people all over the world. The biggest mistake is that they may believe only teenagers chat in the teen chat rooms. This is NOT true!  It is easy to lie on the Internet and never find out.

A common phrase that goes along with Internet predators is grooming. This is what predators do to convince teens to trust them. They will do this by pursuing the same interests as them, relating to their parental stresses, and by building up their self-esteem. Girls are a big target for the self-esteem issue. If you remember middle school, you know it is an awkward stage of development and girls want to feel beautiful. Predators use this knowledge and build girls trusts by telling them they are beautiful and sexy.

Yes, the Internet is widely used and is a great resource for students to use for school, but there should be guidelines set up in your house to help prevent your child being groomed  by predators online. Here are steps to help prevent this situation:

1.) Learn the Lingo. 95% of parents do not know the lingo teens use on the internet. Some common phrases are: A/S/L- age/sex/location, b/f or g/f- boyfriend or girlfriend, F2F- face to face, c2c- cam to cam, RP-role play.

2.) While receiving a laptop as a gift makes you look like a really cool parent, it can lead to secrecy. If you give your child a computer set up guidelines. Block sites, allow an amount of time they are allowed to use the computer a day, or allow them to only use the computer in open rooms where they cannot hide behind closed doors.

3.) Make yourself and your child aware of online predators. I just finished watching a movie called Trust by David Schwimmer which shows you what can happen with online predators. It shows how it affects the family, the child groomed, and how an online predator can look like a regular civil-citizen. Your child may seem bored or say they understand, but it never hurts to keep them updated. There are also many resources that can be used to find previous predators in your area.

4.) Know the signs that point to your child possibly being in communication with an online predator.

Are they eating less?

Spending more time on the computer than usual?

Have grades dropped?

Hanging our with friends less?

More negative attitude addressed towards you?

These are just some signs that can help you be aware.

5.) Realize that talking online can easily be transfered to texting or phone calls. If your child is being groomed, they will most likely trust the predator with their personal information. A sense invincibility comes with teenage years and the thought "it can't happen to me" is not true. It can happen to them.

While this list can be helpful, there is so much you can learn about online predators and I encourage you to do your research, Here is a site with great statistics:

http://www.netlingo.com/tips/cyber-safety-statistics.php

Here is not what I am saying: Do not watch your child like a hawk; they need to make mistakes and learn from them. Do not take the Internet/computer away from them; it is a valuable resource and they need to learn how to use it. Don't trust your kids; do trust them. Your trust will hopefully reduce their likely hood of being groomed by online predators and convince them they can trust you and not their online "friend."

Do your research and learn about this danger.

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Passion: Music

When I was a child, my dream was to become a superstar. I loved singing and I just thought I was the best singer in the world. Unfortunately, in middle school I had very low self-esteem (what middle school student doesn't?) and I allowed a close friend to tell me that I could not sing. For a long time, I was too shy to sing in front of others and only sang when I was alone. I used to write songs all the time and pretend they made it to number on on the air. Fortunately, I have slowly been able to crawl out of the cave I put myself in during middle school. I can actually sing in front of my friends and even some strangers. Well here is me singing in front of some more strangers. These video's do not have the best quality and I am not the best guitar player at all. But here is me taking a risk and allowing whoever to watch see a passion of mine.

Yellow by Coldplay. In memory of camp!

Washed by the Water by Needtobreathe. This is my favorite band and this song helped me get through the tough times last year when my dad lost his job.

The First Cut is the Deepest by Sheryl Crow. I love this song.

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Little Adventures

Can I just say how amazing this day has been?
It started off kind of slow with my last final and a very sweaty workout, but it ended up developing into a very fun day.

I thought I would spend most of my day doing this:

But I actually got to hang out with some very dear friends.

Two of our best guy friends are graduating this year and we are trying to hang out with them as much as we can. We stumbled into a friendship when my roommate started dating one of their best friends. Who would have known God would bless us with two wonderful guys? They have been great friends to spend life with and I hope that we all continue to stay in each others lives with this transition of graduation.

Along with hanging out with our two lovely friends, my roommates and I had the opportunity to reconnect with a friend from last year. We went through a very tough fall out last spring and this is the first time all of us have hung out sense. Time heals wounds and while I was skeptical of the whole idea of spending time with her, it actually ended up being a beautiful dinner filled with lots of catching up.

After dinner we made our semester-ly trip up to Upland, Indiana to Taylor University to eat some delicious ice cream at Ivanhoe's. If you ever visit Taylor University, go to Ivanhoe's. It is a unique ice cream restaurant with 100 different sundae's or shakes to choose from. We started the tradition last year and have continued it since.

Here are some pictures from our little adventure.

Did/do you and your friends have traditions you take part in every year?



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Rainy Day

It's raining...again. Day number two, except today it is heavy rain.

 This picture was an accident, but it looked so cool that I had to share it!

I also chose to dress up today, because I wore all my typical college clothes last week. Luckily, it poured hard while I was taking my Social Psychology final so I was able to barely to get wet as I walked back to my apartment. I loved my outfit though which I like to call the Old Navy outfit. The dress, belt, and sweater are all from Old Navy. And I think the whole outfit was probably under $25 which I think is pretty impressive. The dress came with a black belt, but I loved using my sparkly gold belt instead. I wear this belt with most outfits and the best part was the it was only $3!

Good news for me is that I only have one more final tomorrow and I am done with my Junior year of college! My hardest final was this afternoon and I am very confident that I at least got a B, but I'm pretty sure I got an A. Thank God for all his wisdom and power he instilled into me this week.

Some things I am excited about for Summer:

1.) Roommates Baby is Due in June

2.) Sisters Baby is Due in July

3.) Grandmother will be here in July for the birth of the baby

which means lots of laughter and crazy times

4.) First Day at Panera which I was just hired to work

at for the summer as a bakery cashier. I've always wanted

to work for a cooperation and this is my first time to do that.

5.) Lots of weddings to go to this summer- 2 in June, 1 in July and 1 in September.



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