I am struggling more with this birthday than I think I ever have before! Anyone else have one that stands out in your mind most? I am certain that in a few years I will wish I were only 23 years old. But today it is very saddening. Being 22 was okay because I was even 'cooler' than a 21-year old adult! (big LOL!!!) Now it is just plain scary being this 'old'! aaahhhh! Well, after a few good cries, I shall go on with life smiling. maybe! :-P I did enjoy the surprise dinner outing my sis and friends planned. Oh, how I love Chipotle!!!


Another sad thing today was saying goodbye to 'my lil girl', Isabella. I have babysat her now for two years and today was my last day! She kept asking me, "After you leave and I get a new babysitter, will you still be my friend??" Talk about a heart-breaker. I will get the chance to see her again occasionally though since they live near the school.

(Here's a goofy pic of us I took a few weeks ago)



Well, getting the teary things out of the way...... This week has been great! It is good to be out of classes! We are in Campmeeting now, and God has really helped in all the services. I am helping out in the Children's services in the morning, and that has been very enjoyable! It is a huge difference working with 'church' kids compared to downtown ministries where the kids are CRAZY and soooo LOUD :D I enjoy working with both groups though! And the staff kids aren't all perfect that is for sure! Many (okay, most) of them are still in need of sanctification hehe

Thanks for listening :D I am going to run off for now. Have a great weekend! Summer is pretty much here!!!!! Yeah!

Blame God?

Can we assume that EVERYTHING happens because God purposely caused it? I recently heard a preacher speaking about things happening for a specific reason. He thought we should take every situation as a chance to witness, or to look and see why God allowed it so we could learn from it. I believe that many things happen for a reason and God does direct the big AND the little things in our life. And often we can use the unexpected 'down-time' as ways to help others. But do we blame our flat tire on God's plan? God could have avoided the flat tire. Perhaps it is because we drove over a nail or because we need new tires? Another example was given of missing a plane or bus. I'm sure that we could take those times as opportunities to witness or minister to others. But did God purposely cause us to miss the plane, or did we not plan properly or perhaps not allow time for traffic or red lights?

I believe God is in control of our lives as we let Him take control. But I also believe He gives us common sense and expects us to use it to make wise choices and 'control' some areas of our life. We are not robots, and our vehicles are not remote-controlled by God or His angels. It seems this area of life could easily become a stumbling block or something that could be over-analyzed!
Any thoughts about this?

more pix

i know i already blogged today, but i want to post a few more of my favorite pix from the last couple days (i finally found a picture-sharing friend lol)


here's an awesome view of cincy 'Manda took



















yep, my roommate sprained her ankle, which of course, necessitated my strong carrying abilities LOL



















we're having fun! too much fun!

Bittersweet

was the emotion I was feeling today as we ended our Vine St. ministries for this school year. I enjoy running Kids Klub especially and will miss the kids this summer. Hopefully they will get involved in the other kids ministry that continues through the summer. Our 'sister chapel' meets a few streets away.

Here is a picture of our group that was present today.
There are a few workers missing but this is most of the core team.

Now I need to start preparing for next fall! This school year we did "King's Kids" with stories about children in the Bible and characteristics of God as our Father. We also did "Hospital" theme that my sister made! It is an awesome and fun series! We just finished up "Growing in the Son" learning the Fruits of the Spirit. Any ideas?!

blessed with friends and fun memories!

What a change from the busy homework and tests! But it is over and it is great being able to just spend time with friends and relax. Today was a special activity day at school. We were able to organize our own group and choose one of three activities to go do and then the school will reimburse us 20 bucks for our fun. It is money we actually paid at one point to student council in fees and what not and it was great getting it back! From Kings Island, Cincy Zoo, and the Park we chose the park and went boating then we went out for dinner! It was so good. It is late so I'm going to leave it at that and tell the rest of the story with pictures :D

here i am.... my feet should be soft and wrinkly
they were in the water for about two hours or more!















here's part of our group















two of my best friends















how cute :D

















well, I need to do some picture sharing and then I will have more of our dinner, etc. (i left my camera in the car) Since it is late and I am happily exhausted, I think I will fall into bed!

until later ;)

Refocused

Although I've always had better than perfect vision, I decided to take up a free offer and get my eyes checked again last week. I hadn't been to the eye doctor for many years, but was happy to find out that my vision is still good. I have 20/15 vision! Wow, better than 20/20, but with a hint of stigmitism (sp?), so the doctor said I will probably need glasses when I'm 40. But since that is a long way off, I'm good for now :D

I've been trying to stay on top of everything at the same time, but everyone gets busy and things get set aside. I am one of these busy humans ;) and have laid something aside that should be on top of my 'list' of things. That is a special time of devotion with God. I tend to talk to Him throughout the day, as I am doing things, but the times of sitting down and setting other things aside have been few! I realize this is a constant struggle for me and have been working to correct that! I am thankful for God's faithfulness and that He is always there though!! His mercy overwhelms and amazes me!

I have been slowly reading through the book Lady in Waiting and tonight read the chapter on devotion. It was another wake-up call for me! I am so thankful for the time of refreshment and refocusing. This song Jesus, Lover of My Soul by Glad is my testimony. Here is my favorite part:

It's all about You, Jesus, and all this is for You, for Your glory and Your fame.
It's not about me, as if You should do things my way.
You alone are God and I surrender to Your way
Jesus, Lover of my soul! I want You to know, I will follow You all my days!
IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU

A Thankful Heart!!!

Yes, the time stamp is correct. It is after 3am. I just had to take a few moments to type a few thoughts. I am so thankful tonight for many things! It seems there is so much going on with school lately, and I have become sooooo overwhelmed! But God is definitely giving me daily strength and mercy to get things accomplished.

He touched my voice and helped me through my recital! He also helped me to relax, I was really able to enjoy performing. It was so nice to see my family and a few friends who drove a LONG way to come! Thanks, guys!!

I am taking an Independent Study this semester because of a schedule conflict. It has been challenging to keep up with it because it takes extra discipline. Because of all the homework due in other classes the last couple weeks, Economics has been shoved to the back. All that was due by this Friday was so overwhelming. I am SO thankful though because my kind teacher has given me an extension to finish this class after the semester is over when I am home.

God helped me finish a project tonight sooner than I expected to have it done. We had to compose our own choral arrangement of "My Jesus, I Love Thee" with many specific requirements, and I was able to finish it by 2:15 this morning instead of 6 or 7am! There were several of us from that class, who got permission to stay over in the piano lab after hours. Fun stuff!

Those are only a few of the things that I am thankful for! God has just used these to give me an encouraging boost to make it through the rest of the semester. Well, I am off to bed!

Sleep, Sunday, Sickness, Singing,

When I last posted on Friday, that night was to be the school lock-in. My volleyball team was going to play their championship game that night. (I play in an intramural team every Tuesday night here at school) I was sorta excited about going but extremely tired and exhausted. I decided to lie down at 8pm and sleep for awhile (and was still debating whether to go, or let my team play w/o me), surprisingly I woke up 14 hours later, Saturday morning!! Wow! I can't remember the last time I've slept that long! It felt really good! (oh and by the way... our team won!! whoohoo!)

Since then many things have taken place including Vine St. Kids Klub on Sunday afternoon. I am the leader for this ministry and have really enjoyed doing it all year. It was exciting this week to have a few new kids who just moved into the apartment building next to us. I was so happy to have about 20 kids this Sunday (about....because there were some that came and went!) We have experienced a growth over the last few weeks and it is so awesome to be able to establish relationships with children and hopefully lead them to God. I was even more thankful for my great team of workers who helped considerably! It is hard to keep that many city kids attention for any length of time!

Tomorrow is something that every Music Major looks forward to as a big part of their musical schooling! There will be four music recitals! It is going to be a busy day for everyone! But one of those is mine. I will be performing the first half hour of the evening recital, singing 11 songs. Two Italian, two German, one French, and five English songs. They are pieces I got to choose myself, and so I've enjoyed preparing them! I think I am ready! aahhh!! I am just a little nervous, I have had a cough/sinus cold for a week and a half. Hopefully my throat will not be hurting tomorrow and I can do my best. Pray for me if you think of it! Thanks!

Wow, I was thinking originally that I didn't have the time to sit down and type anything and now realized what a huge monologue this has become! Hope it is not too boring or overwhelming. I should wrap it up for now! Have a great week! Remember to smile, Summer break is almost here :-P

Here are a few pics Amanda and me at Jr./Sr. Banquet Rachel and me in front of Cincy's skyline

Shaquel and me (girl from Kids Klub)

first step

Here's my first blog :-P I am thinking of too much at the moment, and have no time to record these thoughts....but soon! Here's a promise to try to keep this updated as much as possible!

until then! hold on to your shoe strings but don't fall over! hehe