Getting Excited!

Got a new roomie whom I think I will love (:

Only 2 weeks left till Character Camp

I see my Sister and my Niece's in a week!

I have another day off tomorrow (:

Emily and I Snapchatted today!

I went to lunch at some friends from church's house (:

^ They sent me home with chocolate chip zucchini bread!

Going to the lake tomorrow

Love my Jesus!

Love my Family!

Love my friends!

Time for bed (:

The Day After

Yesterday was my "Lazy Day". It was rainy and dark and I just wanted to sleep all the livelong day. I laid in bed from 9am when I woke up until 1:20pm when I had to leave for work. What was I doing awake in bed you ask? Well I HAD to finish Pretty Little Liars: Season 2. It was a must, and like I said, it was a lazy day.

But the hardest part about having a lazy day was not getting up to go to work at 1:20 (although that was not easy), but it was waking up the next morning and forcing myself to complete some much needed tasks. I wanted to lay in bed and have another lazy day. I wanted to watch four hours worth of Pretty Little Liars again. I didn't want to shower, eat, even breathe. I wanted to lay in bed again and not enter the outside world. It is a scary place out there, and when you are living as a college student on your own, It is difficult to go anywhere by yourself. You have no one telling you when to do anything or be responsible. The only person you have to respond to is yourself. So truthfully, I could have just laid in bed all day and watched Pretty Little Liars: Season 3. I could have not entered the outside world. I could have entered the state of hibernation again. No one would have cared.

But what good would that do me?

If I had stayed in my room I never would have gone to Starbucks and read another chapter in my book. I never would have gone to some of Branson's thrift shops. I never would have gone to Walgreens and gotten some needed items. Beyond all of that, I never would have experienced new things in the world. I would have laid in bed and the only thing I would have learned some of the new dramas in Pretty Little Liars.

It Is Not Worth It.

I don't want to be the person who hides away from everything new and exciting. I want to enjoy the things that God has placed in my life.

So give people a chance. Go out and meet someone totally new. Get out of your comfort zone and do something great. Go Outside!

Don't make your whole life a "Lazy Life".

One Little Comment

"Wow! The Grill Queen is doing a really great job tonight keeping up with all these orders". -Chef James Braddock

It's amazing how powerful words can be. They can make your entire day great, or do the opposite. Those silly words above were actually some of the most impacting words I have heard all day. My boss, Chef James, didn't mean it as more than a couple of small words that were meant as a small compliment. To me, they meant that he NOTICED my hard work, dedication, and it also lifted my spirits up. I have never been so happy to hear just a few little words.

This isn't going to be a long blog, I just wanted to share with you how just a few small words of encouragement can be so powerful to someone who needs those words.

Challenge: Everyday for the next 7 days, I am going to encourage someone. It may be with those small words that just make someone's day, or by helping out when needed. I just feel like I should share the joy I feel when I am complimented.


Have a GREAT week :)

Things You Should Know Before Going To College #1

Food is good... I came to college knowing about the "Freshman 15" but never put into reality... I haven't gained it, but I know I am gaining... It is awful! And working at a 4 star restaurant doesn't help! I need to start exercising and eating healthy.. I plan on keeping you updated in my weight loss journey. Starting tonight I will go on a run... I'm pretty excited! I'm ready to start this Adventure. Any Tips? Leave a comment below!

Every Hour

This song has been on my heart lately. I have really been trying to focus on God and his glory. I have not been doing so well in reading the Bible.. I know that I should. I could come up with a hundred reasons not to read it, but none of them are good enough. I fail consistently. But amazingly Christ is ALWAYS there to pick me back up. I Need Him. I Need God. Without Him, I hold no love, grace, forgiveness, etc. God is everything to me. I NEED him!!!

That's What I Love About Sunday's

Sunday was such a wonderful day! I felt so blessed to not only be apart of College of the Ozarks, but also apart of Skyline Baptist Branson. God is truly offering me much more than I deserve. 

I woke up 30 minutes later then I had originally planned to go to church. But I was still able to get ready and be at church on time for the young adults class. I have really been enjoying this class. We are going through Romans verse by verse, in an intense study. I love it! Later, in "Big Church" I was asked to go to lunch at a friends house. I had such a great time! Their family was great! It felt like home! And they sent me back to the dorms with food. It doesn't get much better then that right??? Especially for a college kid. 

After I left their house, I came back to the dorm and realized that I had locked my keys in my room! Story of my life! So instead of taking a nap, I went with a friend to the beach. We laid out, relaxed, and enjoyed the good ol' Vitamin D. After we left the lake, we went to get ice cream at the college creamery. Delish! (I strongly recommend the Raspberry Mango sorbet). My roommate came and unlocked the door for me, and I went to dinner . I called my mom on the way back from lunch and we talked for a good hour. I love talking to my mom! Shes the greatest! After that, another friend and I hung out in the dorms until 9pm when we had a fantastic bible study with some of the international students on campus. It is so great to see all different nations and tribes and languages come together to worship the same God. Unbelievable! 

After the bible study, the same friend and I talked in her dorm room until after midnight when I was half asleep so I left and went to bed. 

It was a great day full of Amazing blessings. Just reflecting on the things that happened yesterday make me more humbled before my God. He is the one who gave me all these things. Things that aren't necessarily important, but he offered anyway.

And beyond all the "things" that I am thankful for, I am even more thankful to have a God who would leave his throne, put on some flesh, and enter this earth as a humble child born in a manger. And that this child would grow up sinless and still, even after seeing the stupid decisions humans make, He would STILL carry the burden of not only just my sins, but the sins of all the people, everywhere, no matter who they are or what they have done. It is such a humbling reality. He was the ultimate example of Love because he IS Love. It is so much to comprehend, but when I realize how blessed I am in just having a great day, I realize how blessed I am that everyday is a great day because I have a savior who was beat when I should have been, carried the cross when I should have, and became the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of this earth. 

Just some thoughts of the morning. :) I plan on having another great day today! Last day off for the rest of the week! I'm going to enjoy every moment of it!

Plans for the day

Well my morning started out great! I went out to coffee with one of the leaders of my churches Young Adults class. It was wonderful! We had a great discussion about churches, Jesus, and people. I love to hear other peoples thoughts, so I can definitely tell you that I enjoyed it a lot!

In about 2 hours I have to work, so I plan on showering, cleaning my room, and getting my stuff in order for Sunday morning. I am always feeling like I'm in such a hurry Sunday mornings getting ready for church. I don't want to have to deal with that tomorrow. I will do it today!

But, right now I am procrastinating all of these things because I am writing a post for my blog about basically nothing important. So I guess I can tell you why I'm starting this blog and my goals for it.

Why?
I LOVE reading blogs! Seriously! It is like one of my secret obsessions. I love reading about other peoples lives, thoughts, ideas, and deciding why I am the way I am. I also want to become better at organizing my thoughts. I am terrible at that. I just keep it all locked up in my brain or spill my life story out to random people and have no organization to it. I feel like a blog could help me with that issue. It is important to me that I keep goals for myself, and this is a way to do that. I would love to see myself progress in life and I will be able to keep myself accountable this way. I could turn back to the beginning of the blog and see the way I was compared to who I am. It seems like a good plan now!

Goals!!!
I like to set goals for myself, because without them I don't have a plan of whats to come next. My goals for the blog are basically to write at least once a weeks (or more) about pretty much any topic. I feel like it would help me become more organized and be able to sift through all the thoughts in my head! Cool right??

I'm pretty excited to get this thing going! I love blogs, so hopefully you can relate to mine. :)

End of Week 7

It's finally hit the home stretch of the summer work program at CofO (The college I attend). I feel as though I have learned more about myself in the seven weeks I have been moved out then I have ever known. Its amazing how much you learn when you have to actually make decisions and Mommy and Daddy aren't there to fix everything. I am surprised to learn some of these things too. I guess mostly because I never thought that I was actually this type of person. I'm a list-maker, so I guess I should list some of these things out.

1. I am a list-maker. I knew I loved making lists, but I didn't realize how much I truly RELY on lists. Grocery lists, lists of things I plan to get done today, lists of the word hello in different languages of people I have met here at college and want to impress with my knowledge, lists of things I should pray about, lists of the things I have learned, and the list could go on forever.

2. I am a small town girl at heart. I grew up in big city, but spent the last three years in a very small town. This being said, I never felt like big city was home. My little town is full of people who love and care about me and my family. I wouldn't trade that for malls, movie theaters, or even a wal-mart. I love my little town and the people in it. I see myself living in small town after college. I just see it. Not like Haley Joel Osment saw dead people, but more like Martin Luther King Jr. saw his dream. Got me??

3. I'm pretty outspoken. Like, I know what I believe and that's that. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing other peoples opinions. Even when they differ from mine. I just love learning why people believe what they believe. It just interests me.

4. Apparently I look like a Science teacher... Well, jokes on you because I plan on becoming a science teacher! Ha!

5. I miss sharing a room with my siblings! Sharing a room with another random girl is so not easy!

6. I can grill a mean steak. Just saying.


There are so many more things I could list, but it is almost 1:00 and I am exhausted from a long day at work. So here's to a great week, and to a great start to a blog!