la vida es buena

Mexico planning is in full swing. Sometimes I stop and think, "Am I really the student in charge of this trip?" I'm not expecting a second of down time these next couple of weeks, but I can't think of anything else more worthwhile to spend my time on. As of right now, we've got about 140 going! I see the Lord molding this trip into exactly what He wants it to be. Praise Him for His sovereignty! I pray to be soft and moldable clay and not the tough kind that would turn His knuckles white while trying to shape me. Please pray for Mexico!

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after you
To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in the truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you

study break

I have graduated from allowing myself a Facebook study break and moved on to catching up on my favorite blogs. Much more mature, don't you think?

 

Studying with good coffee, a stack of great literature, the best writing utensil on the planet and my favorite boy (who has three engineering tests this week [WHOA] and a positively contagious attitude regardless).

 
She is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. Proverbs 31:25

Fighting for joy and laughing at the days to come. I'm planning on laughing an extra amount tomorrow as I take my English midterm. Praying that the Lord empowers you to do the same!

Happy Midterms!

do you have the time?

Lately, I have noticed that my default answer for the "how's life?" question is..."Busy. But good. Just really busy!" It's true. I'm busy. I'm in college and heavily involved at my campus ministry, but there still has to be time for other aspects of life, right?

RIGHT.

I wish someone could make a bar graph out of the time I spend on various activities. I'm afraid looking at it would cause me to cringe. Some days, I expect my email/facebook time to be greater than what i spent praying or calling a camp friend (miss all of them...so much) or giving my grandparents a ring. I know so well what is most important but still spend some of my time on things that are so fleeting. If anyone knows why this happens, I'd appreciate any insight. Maybe its easier to sit and get lost in facebook world for a longer time than I'm willing to admit than to pick up the phone and call my best friends who live 8, 9 and 13 hours away. Though it may be easier, I'm committing to change in mindset. These new thoughts are to center around the idea of remembering what is important in life, that each day is a precious precious gift and that my life is a vapor (James 4:14). If a light mist is all I get, I want to make the most of it.

This is a friendly reminder that stares at me as I'm on my computer. I suggest it...its been pretty successful so far!


With the time that I am not wasting I have...

(Note: school work is still important, of course. It's assumed.)

Watched Miss America with great friends. Complete with crowns and red white and blue cake.

 Watched the snow fall in Baton Rouge (again).

Made cupcakes.

Celebrated birthdays.

Cooked a Valentine's meal with Dustin. That Sunday was a blessing - going to church together, lunch with friends, and getting to spend the rest of the day talking, laughing and cooking without feeling guilty about not studying.

Spent time with my beautiful niece (and wonderful sister and brother-in-law).

Last but not least - read for my literature class as Dustin worked on his car stereo. I'm thankful for a boyfriend who always wants to spend time together but is willing to get creative when there's lots to do and little time to do it in. He rewired something with lots of different colored wires and I read Invisible Cities aloud. This, by far, was one of my favorite nights of the semester.

Most importantly, I've been learning that every hour of my day is much less effective if I did not start it off with a heavy dose of the Word. I am learning to be desperate for it so that I can fight the daily battle for joy. I want to walk and be led by the Spirit so I don't gratify the flesh (Galatians 5).

Have a spring weather-filled Monday!

i want to be a part of it...

It looked just like it does in the movies, and I don't know if I ever want to go back to this city unless its during that magical time of year. Everywhere you glanced there were Christmas trees covered in lights and garland draped on anything that would stand still. I felt like I walked those streets with my head back and my jaw down. Being able to bundle up in scarves and gloves because it was actually below 60 degrees in December added to the picturesque experience. When I finally lowered my gaze to street-level, the splendor of Christmas in New York City was starkly contrasted with men and women slumped in the corners, hiding from the cold and sideway glances of those passing by. Suddenly, the low temperature and bright lights lost their charm because they stood in the way of a warm and peaceful night's sleep for those who inhabit the streets of the city. I would soon learn that these people are far from their cliche title of a "bum." Those a part of the homeless community who I was priviledge to get to meet loved deeper and spoke wiser than myself and many people a part of our cushioned community.

The Bowery made this encounter possible. The Bowery Mission has been a place of hope for homeless men since 1879. Its currently home to eighty men who have enlisted themselves in a program in order to "get off the streets," and it quickly became our home as well. Yes, its where we slept and ate most of our meals, but I believe that people are what makes a home, and the love these men showed us made the Bowery just that. Site-seeing is great and the city is beautiful, but the times that remain the most vivid in my mind are those spent in the mission.

There is always a job that needs doing at the Bowery. The best part is that you get to work along side of these men and hear their stories.  We led chapel services (which they allowed us to continue even after we bombed "O Holy Night"), organized the never-ending clothing closet and pantry, and proudly sported the red Bowery aprons and hair nets as we served meals. Oh, and several of the guys completely ripped out a walk in freezer and assisted in installing a new one. No big deal.

When you go on a mission trip, you want for leave feeling like your time was well used, right? A stomach bug (which we eventually refered to as "The Plague") soon hindered some of our abilities to effectively use our time at the Bowery. It was one of those moments where I didn't understand why God would allow this. Why during this short time we had to serve? As always, I was reminded why He is God and why I am not. His strength and role as our Rock was highlighted in our weakness and inability to serve (or keep solid food down). It's clear that He doesn't need us to do His work but lovingly allows us the priviledge to be a part of His perfect plan - even if for a shorter time than we planned. Yes, being sick away from home is difficult, but atleast we had places to sleep and medicine to suppress the symptoms. For that I should be more thankful.

Our last night in New York was also the Bowery residents' Christmas party. Even during our craziness of dealing with a spreading sickness, the residents expressed how they felt loved and served. The night was full of unexpected appreciation. Some boldly shared their heart-wrenching life stories with us. One man told us that he turned to another friend early that day as they were discussing our groups departure and said, "can we keep them?" Whatever was said that night made me feel more loved than I had in a long time. These men could be resentful and look at us as privileged kids coming to put some good marks on our slate. But they didn't. They expressed true appreciation. One resident said he couldn't imagine how we could love total strangers enough to want to work along side of them like we did. Funny - I wondered the exact the same thing about them.

For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. 1 Corinthians 3:9



For your viewing pleasure...
The Bowery's chapel

Home sweet home

Friends outside Wollman's ice rink in Central Park

Times Square

Kevin from Top Chef Las Vegas. I am his biggest fan!

The skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge

From the Empire State Building

Macy's on 34th. So charming!

Feeding the firemen of Ladder 20

THE Rockefeller tree

oh the places i went [and what i learned while i was there]

If anyone knows where Fall semester disappeared to, I'd really appreciate you letting me know. It is not uncommon for me to dwell on the fact that time passes so quickly and do not realize that, as I am babbling about my disbelief, time continues to tick away. This year, I'm pledging a new outlook. An outlook where I reflect on the wonderful happenings and what they taught me. Henry David Thoreau said, "wealth is the ability to fully experience life." If that's true, I want all the wealth in the world. And I want you to have it also, because there is no competition for life's experiences like there is for money. The thought of there being an abundant amount of life for everyone is a beautiful thing, don't you think? I'm going to choose to be greedy, because I want all of mine that I can get.

The only way to explain the Fall semester of my junior year is "on the go." Or, being a true lsu tiger, "on the geaux." I was extremely priviledged to get to travel more than I ever have in a months time. Yes, I missed spending quality time in the BR, but I just couldn't miss these opportunities to escape. May I share my experiences with you? They were some amazing ones, with amazing people and unexpected amazing teachers.

Destination:  Montgomery, AL
Purpose:  Pulling off a surprise for the nosiest and most suspicious birthday girl (in the world)

 

Needless to say, we pulled it off!

Hanging out with my niece, Audrey, is always an added bonus

Highlights:

• Brandon (my bro-in-law) faking sick in the restaurant's bathroom in order to stall. Way to take one for the team, Bran.
• The amount of chocolate we consumed that weekend. Molly's party's theme was Chocolate Lovers. Let's just say there were lots of leftovers.
• Spending the weekend with my cool fam. 

Lessons learned:

• Even the one the smartest and most suspicious people I know can be 100% surprised with lots of brilliant planning.
• Birthdays continue to be one of my favorite things in life. A birthday is the day that we make up for all the time that we should have spent celebrating them year round. Thankfully, we have this day to do just that.
• Kind, encouraging words and being with friends greatly out-weighs material gifts.

Destination:  Nashvegas, TN
Purpose:  A fall break get-a-way with all my favorite LSU girls to visit our favorite transfer student (who we miss very much)

C'mon, you have to take atleast one artsy-kid photo when you're in Nashville. Don't worry, we don't take ourselves this seriously.

 These boots...were made for walking (if we could afford them).  

Take any opportunity to get a henna from a beautiful Somoli woman. 

The Hog Slop String Band became our new best friends.

Highlights:

• Being with all these girls for one straight long weekend and laughing the whole time. 
• The Nashville Farmer's Market. I dare you to leave never wanting to step foot in Wal Mart again. I have no doubt that I want to have some semblance of a garden one day.
• Experiencing one of our favorite things to do together - eating out. Over and over and over again (and it was all really good).

Lessons Learned:

• Being separated from my best friend, Hannah, for the first time in 14 years didn't make an ounce of difference. I'm thankful for a friendship that experiences no change, no matter the distance. 
• I have somehow been blessed to be surrounded with the most hysterical friends. All of them are funny. I mean, all of them. Each of them in a very different way, but hilarious nonetheless.
• I have a rekindled love for bluegrass/string band music. Thank you, Andy Griffith Show, for beginning this love affair at a very young age. Thank you, Hog Slop String Band, for reminding me of it. 
  
• Going to Nashville's Celebration of Cultures reignited my passion to know about and experience all the cultures I possibly could. It reminded me that not everyone looks like me or lives life like me. Getting to see so many different cultures represented in one confined area was eye-opening. "Red, yellow, black, and white. They are precious in His sight," right? Right.
  

Destination:  Savannah, GA. College home of my best friend, Abby

Purpose:  The first of four very important 21st birthday celebrations and seeing what life at SCAD is all about.

Riding the Savannah ferry. 

 Abs' wonderful college friends = my wonderful new friends and hosts. (Nice smokers pole.)

 








 Oh, you know, hanging out with Robert Redford. Just a day-in-the-life. 












Highlights:

• Flying. I love it. Getting to read Cold Tangerines on the plane and not a text book.
• Seeing Abs waiting for me at the Savannah airport. And it taking everything in me not to run through security. Reunited and it feels so goooood.
• Midnight dessert at the Melting Pot. Need I say more?
• Getting to experience life in Savannah just like Abs does everyday.
• Robert Redford sighting. Our moms freaked. 

Lessons Learned:

• Even though my three best friends and myself did so many of the same things in high school, had very similar lifestyles and interests, we have all established four radically different lifestyles in college. All great, all unique to who we are becoming on our own. I'm so thankful for this because it makes visiting so exciting.
• Abigail is ridiculously talented. Yea, I knew this, but getting to see so many of her projects first-hand and walking through the classrooms where she creates these masterpieces definitely reiterated that to me. You should hire her, you won't be disappointed. 
• Abs is still the best shopping buddy on the planet. We understand each other on a supernatural, consumer level. Yep...
• I am thankful for people who are true friends to my friends, if that makes sense. Even though I wish I could be in two places at once, I'm so happy that they have others who love them unconditionally. How could they not?

Destination: Home Sweet Home (a.k.a. Ruston)
Purpose: Molly, Audrey, Hannah and Ashley were all home on one weekend. Why wouldn't I go home?

Who needs toys? Give the two-year-old a yard stick. Hours of entertainment. 






Highlights:

•  Mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies coming out of the oven as I walked through the door.
• Hearing Audrey call me "Aunt Meh."
• Shopping with the three generations.
• Late night Apples to Apples game with Ash's fam and Hannah.

Lessons Learned:

• There is a magic about coming home. Even after being away for three years, pulling into 2400 Hillside never gets old.
• As soon as I see my best friend, Ashley, I instantly feel like I'm with my sister, my kindred spirit. In high school, people always asked us if we were twins. I'm beginning to think that, in some way, we undoubtedly are.
• Late night reunions at Ash's house with Steve, Mama J and Zach are some of my favorite times and will probably always be so. Thank you for always being interested in my life like I was your own daughter and sister. 
• Molly and I will never be too old to look through the new American Girl catalog together. 

Thanks to you for reliving Fall 2009 with me. Thanks to the Lord for being our Great Teacher. Help us, Lord, to not waste a breath that you have given us.

Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

James 4:14