Hey y'all! These last few weeks have been straight up craziness. We're doing a ton of different things because there are some big events coming up soon and we have to be completely ready for all of them before we leave for camp tomorrow. Oh yeah, we've been prepping for the camp that we run during the summer. It's only a week long but things are different and get crazy when you're the ones planning every detail. Anyways, I just wanted to post a quick update. I will have other posts ready and being posted throughout the week while I am away from internet.

To start with, is anyone else still amazed that it is already over halfway through July!? Where has the summer gone? I'm pretty sure it just started a month ago. Seriously though, it's been a great summer and I am so excited about what the next month has in store. I just got my new frames last week. Finally! I had been waiting for them to come in because about three weeks ago they got broken when I picked up one of the kids from church. So I had been walking around for about three weeks with duct tape holding them together. Real classy, right? But it worked. Now I have new frames and the best part is that they were free because they were still under warranty.

So nice not having duct tape on my glasses

I also recently made one big 'frivolous' purchase before making some big adult purchases. I've been wanting to learn acoustic guitar for a while but always ran into the issue of not having a guitar readily available to practice on. Well, I fixed that situation a couple weeks ago during a sale at a local music store. The sale at King Music was great and the guys took care of me. I bought myself a Fender CD 60 Acoustic with a hard case for just over $200. A great deal all around in my book. I've been working on some chords but will really hit some good practicing after getting back from camp and things slow down.

My new baby

 I love spur of the moment decisions on one hand but on another I still wonder if I made the right decision. I guess I will find out after doing some more practicing and seeing if I am really any good! Anyways, that's about all I have for now. While I have some down time I am going to get things ready for next week. I hope you all have a great week!

God Bless!

Somebody's Chesea

Throughout this past school year I watched many, many friends and classmates get their "Ring by Spring", a.k.a. get engaged. Some of them were close friends and some were just acquaintances from classes. Either way there hit a point where I wondered if our whole class was going to be engaged before the school year was over. It was an exciting time for them and I was just as excited for them as they embarked on this new stage of their lives. Many of our conversations have revolved around dresses, shoes, flowers, locations, decorations, number of bridesmaids and so on. I've seen and skimmed more wedding magazines in the last year or so than I have in my life. Wedding talk was a norm throughout this school year and for the most part it was fun. I really enjoyed being able to help them bounce ideas around and flesh some things out. There were some days though where it was hard to sit there and listen to all this talk of weddings when you're sitting there single.

The group of us girls and the group of guys we interact with have made the joke that all but a couple of us are single. There were two engagements in my fairly immediate groups of friends. There are one or two dating couples. The majority of us though are still single with no likely prospects on the horizon. Now that is not saying that we all don't have our eye on someone because we definitely do (at least most of us). It's just that the likelihood of any of us actually coming to be in a relationship with the person we have our eye on is either pretty slim or we're friends with the person and there would be a lot riding on that decision if we moved forward. 

We all are enjoying being a part of our friends' weddings and getting to share and celebrate them as they make this transition into married life. It is so exciting to see them taking these steps together! Yet I know that sometimes it is hard to be surrounded with so many people getting married when you have yet to end up finding someone to even date. It can be a bit of a downer, especially for those of us who are going into our senior year of college and are all going to be 22 or 23 within the next year and a half or so. I know that some of our sentiments regarding marriage comes from how we grew up and the college that we attend, but it can still be discouraging. Throw in parents, extended family and church family asking every time they see you if you're dating anyone yet, if you're interested in anyone and if there is anyone you would like to eventually marry. Or a myriad of other questions dealing with the subjects of dating and marriage.

Personally I get my mom and grandma asking me when me and a close friend of mine are going to start dating and eventually get engaged. In recent months church family here has started asking if anything is going to happen between the two of us. I don't know if anything will happen. Although we have been throwing out the idea of getting married for almost two years. We've talked about it pretty seriously multiple times, but haven't acted on it. One of the main benefits being reduced tuition at school. We've legitimately talked about it multiple times and pretty much everyone I know has said that they think it would be great. My family thinks that it would be absolutely wonderful in every way, even the family who hasn't met him. Yet here we sit both single and while being pretty serious about it we aren't making any serious moves that direction.

It just gets a little hard watching multiple weddings this summer (i'm in the double digits so far...) along with other engagements. But I am trusting God with it even when it's hard. He has a plan and I know it is good. I just need to remember that things will fall together in alignment with His plan when they are supposed to.

This song came to my mind yesterday and it pretty well describes most of my thoughts lately. Enjoy!

This Weekend

This was our first weekend with everyone here and it ended up kind of being a chill weekend at the beginning and a little but of a busy weekend by the end. We didn't have any real plans on Friday night or Saturday morning so we just hung out at the house. Saturday afternoon we found out we were leading kids small groups and worship tonight and then we had a softball game. 

Our first softball game of the season was a bit rough since no one had played in almost a year, but this time we held our own. We were up one at the bottom of the seventh and they scored two runs. I think that after a rough first game only losing by one run was pretty good. It was a fun game and a good time with some awesome people!

We then grabbed a bite for dinner and headed to our pastor's house to go over songs and motions for Journey Kids worship tonight with his wife and daughter. We had actions for two songs and came up with motions for the third right then. It made for a fairly late night with our normal 6am Sunday, but it was fun and we were able to get it done.

 

Today we had church in the morning, then all four of us interns spent the afternoon at the office prepping for Journey Kids tonight. We're doing a temporary new thing with our kids program for the month of June. Instead of doing their lesson and small groups in the morning, we are having them go into the service in the morning and then having their normal Sunday morning activities in the evening. If we keep getting a turn out like tonight (and hopefully larger next week!) then it might be beneficial to keep it going on Sunday nights. We had twelve kids with about half of them being new or kids who hadn't been there in a long time. It was a really active night and the kids really seemed to enjoy it! Most, if not all, are planning to come back next week and are planning on bringing more friends. It would be so awesome if God is able to use this time on Sunday evenings for us to impact kids in a better and more effective way! I'm excited to see what happens!

Now we're all just sitting around the house in our own areas doing our own things in hopes of a little recoup before some heavy work tomorrow. It was a good first week of the summer with all of us interns here and I look forward to a great week leading up to our first summer activity!

So there's a little recap of the weekend!

Have a great night and a great start to your week tomorrow!

God Bless!

Currently I Am:

Making: Cute little wrapped gifts for volunteers at church and new blog posts!
Cooking: just finished making Raspberry Fudge Zebra Brownies. Yummy!

Making the Zebra Brownies with Caitlyn!

Drinking: a nice big, caffeinated cup of Pepsi
Reading: Our Last Great Hope: Awakening The Great Commission by Ronnie Floyd
Wanting: to see one of my most favorite people ever, my bestfriend Mike whom I haven't seen in a year and a half :(
Looking: like a tired hot mess. But for real though.
Wasting: precious time I could be using to sleep or do something productive to make work tomorrow easier...
Wishing: that I had a car, Nebraska wasn't so far away and that I was already done with college.
Enjoying: getting to finish the first season of Arrow!!
Waiting: for some things to happen and for them to fall in place in the best way possible
Liking: having some other college students finally around for more than just Sunday mornings.
Wondering: Why my body seems to want to go to bed but every time I try to get ready i'm suddenly wide awake again? Why, oh why must this happen night after night?!
Loving: friends and church family who have opened their arms and welcomed me into their homes and their lives.
Hoping: that I will be able to "catch up" on sleep...although it is likely impossible
Smelling: like a man. Good ol' Old Spice deodorant.
Wearing: my absolutely favorite Steve & Barry's hoodie that says Unathletic Dept. across the front and has holes in the sleeves. Most comfortable thing I own!
Noticing: that even at 21, these late nights sure do start to take a toll...I'm getting old lol.
Knowing: that God has a plan for me and for the summer that will far exceed anything that I try to plan out
Thinking: that i'm gonna hit the hay soon. And it's only 11:05pm...What?!
Giggling: about memories from this past school year :)
 Feeling: like a mix of different, random emotions. Also, like a zombie.

So, What are you up to?

Softball Tourney

Hey y'all!!

Things have been a bit up in the air here lately as things are kinds busy, but also my head just has been focused elsewhere.

I feel like i've neglected this blog and i'm sorry about that.

That should change as this week goes by and school kicks off in less then two weeks.

I'll be moving into my apartment the end of next week and classes start the following Wednesday.

It's absolutely crazy to think that summer is over at the end of next week. I'm pretty sure it just started...

The time has flown but it's been one heck of a summer.

I'll be sharing with you some of the craziness in the next couple of days, then let some other types of posts begin to start back up again!!

Well we're off to the state Softball Tourney in just a short while.

Looking forward to cheering on the team and connecting with ladies from church!

I'll be back later today with another post with one of the summer highlights!

Still Doing Office Work At 1am

Hey everyone!!
I know that I said I was back and would be posting more just a couple weeks ago, but then things got kind of crazy around here and all of us interns have been going non-stop for about three weeks.

I am definitely serious now about being back and posting about the summer.

This coming week will definitely be much slower paced and therefore allow me some time to work on writing.

I have a lot to share with you all and can't wait to do so!!

God has been doing some incredible things!

So as I am sitting in the office attempting to finish up the Worship Folder for today's church service, I will leave you with this lovely picture of the awesome intern team I have been working with!!!

I will be sharing more about them soon as well :)

Malik, Kristin, Bri, Kenan, Me, & Andy at Co-ed Missions Camp

Also, props to anyone who can figure out what Bri is holding in this picture!

I will share exactly what it is in an upcoming post!!

I highly doubt that anyone will guess, but you are welcome to take a shot :)

Anyways, it's back to work for me!

Goodnight everyone!

Throwback Thursday & Summer Mission Team 2013

Hey there!!

So today is my first Throwback Thursday post and I am really excited to share with you!

I think this is the perfect time to start this because of what I am looking back on and the upcoming summer plans.

Today I want to take a look back to last summer. I know it isn't too far back in the past, but it seems like so long ago and I find it fitting considering that it is all going to be starting back up a week from today.

Last summer was full of long work days, crazy schedules, good days and bad days, as well as a ton of wonderful memories!!

I posted about the summer a couple of times and you can see one of them here!

For those who don't know, I stayed on my college's campus last summer and worked full time in the custodial department.

That was often days a lot of work, a lot of stress, and a lot of frustration.

Little did I know when I started working for the summer that I would end up also being an unofficial part of the Summer Mission Team that Journey was hosting through NAMB.

I got up and dealt with the long days of work because I knew that I would get to work and hangout with all of the summer missionaries.

From left: Andy, McKenzie, Patrick, Malik, Haley, Kenan, & Joel

This was the official team that started out the summer, but only the six guys ended up staying on with Journey.

I was beyond blessed to get to work with them and spend time getting to know them!

These guys are seriously some of the most awesome people I know!!

The connections have been lasting and we have been able to make many memories beyond the summer and throughout this past school year.

It has been such an amazing blessing to have these guys be a part of my life and I thank God for the friendship and all of the different aspects that it consists of on a daily basis.

While only three of the guys will be coming back, Andy, Malik, and Kenan, to be a part of the Summer Mission Team for this summer, it is looking like it is going to be an awesome team!!

There will be seven people on team this summer, five of which already have worked, are working and are attending Journey and all know each other fairly well.

As previously mentioned, Andy, Malik, and Kenan will be back for the summer.

Kristin Marshall, a fellow ONU student and good friend, will be on team this summer as well, along with myself.

That makes up the five of us who have already worked with Journey or have been working with and attending Journey.

In addition to the five, we will also have two others from Arkansas joining us, Andrew & Anna Bell.

They are (or will be getting) married and are coming to join us just ten days after their wedding.

I do not know much more about them, but I look forward to getting to know them and work with them this summer.

(Little do they know there is already going to be a blog post about them before they get here (:  )

Things are going to be set up a bit differently this summer but it is looking like it will be an amazing summer none the less!

From the sounds of things the team is going to be a really great fit for the church and as a team in general.

So many awesome things are already planned and in the works for the summer and it is going to be awesome to be able to work with this team to make everything happen!!

We are a mere 7 days away from everyone arriving (officially) and I am getting excited!

I pray that God will just work in the lives of everyone both before they arrive next week and while they are here for the summer.

I pray that He will work through us to accomplish His will through all that we do.

I pray that we will daily seek Him in all that we say, do, and think.

May we be so focused on Him that everything we do directly reflects Him.

May His hands be on us and guide us.

May we be a blessing to the church and the community through this opportunity that we have been given.

I pray that we will draw closer to Him both individually and as a team through everything that we experience this summer.

It's all in His hands!!!

~~~

On a side note, I found out some totally awesome news!!!

Olivet sent out a survey to the students asking about where they go to church, how often they attend, and so on.

Turns out that Journey Church is the 6th most attended church by ONU students!!!

How awesome is that?!?

While this does not give necessarily the most accurate count, it is still awesome knowing that we are one of the churches that ONU students go to most frequently!

I know a lot of the students who come to Journey and I see new faces quite often.

I just pray that we are truly showing them God's love in all that we do and that we are providing them the opportunity to grow closer to God through the worship and message on Sundays.

I pray that we are being the guiding light that they need to stay focused on God.

I pray that we are being His hands and feet to all those that are coming.

We serve such an awesome God!

He is doing amazing things even when we cannot see it.

Sometimes it is just little things like the results of a survey to be reminded that we are making a difference.

It may not be to a huge number of people, but we are reaching a lot of people.

We are making an impact and it is all because of Him.

By keeping our eyes on Him and continuing to do His work we will be able to see results reaped tenfold.

Sometimes it may be tough, but He never fails to show us that our perseverance is producing results.

He never lets us down or fails us.

We just need patience and a little more faith in His plan.

It always works out for the best for the those who love Him!!

It's All Coming To An End So Soon

Can you believe it's August next week??

I can't.

The fact that it's August next week means a few things.

1. School starts in a month.

2. Summer is almost over.

 (and most importantly...)

3. The Summer Mission Team leaves.

The third thing hit me this week as the guys have been gone at a camp while Patrick and I have been working with the Arkansas mission group to do Block Parties in the community.

It feels like they just got here and we've all just started getting to know each other.

And now they are going to be leaving.

I just can't seem to wrap my mind around that fact.

I guess i'm just having a hard time accepting it.

(This is going to sound so girly and like i'm super attached to them all, but I don't care.)

I'm not ready for them to leave quite yet.

I think the part that is really getting to me is that I have this feeling that i'll lose contact with them all as soon as they leave, just like what always happens with people.

They leave and that's it.

It really just makes it hard to say goodbye when that's the likely outcome.

Watch me be a girl and get all emotional when they leave.

(Highly unlikely, but there is always that slight possibility.)

 

Even though they'll be leaving I have to thank God for everything He has taught me through the guys this summer.

He has showed me show much through them and I wouldn't have been able to see any of it or learn anything had it not been for this group of guys that God put in my life.

Although I would much rather they didn't leave, I know that God has things in store for them as they all head back home and/or back to school.

God has some great plans for these guys I have no doubt and I hope that I get the chance to see what He does through them and for them in the future.

God has blessed many people through them this summer and they have made such an impact.

They may be leaving but what they did and the impact they made will not be forgotten.

God knew what He was doing when He brought those guys here.

It's been exciting to watch.

Now I am hoping that I will get to watch what He has planned in the near future.

I just pray that through whatever happens we will all be glorifying the Father in everything that we say and do.

May it all be for Him and His glory!

We Got A Lot Of "Stars" Here

There are just days when I wonder why I didn't decided to be an Early Education major or some other such thing.

(Although it usually doesn't last long...)

I absolutely love kids!! And my cousins are no exception!!

They say some of the craziest things and can make you laugh even when you don't want to.

It was the perfect way to end a long hectic day that was only a hint of what today was like.

We were riding in the car on the way back from seeing Aladdin at The Muny and my cousin Hadley was riding in the car along with my cousins Alex & Vanessa, and myself.

Vanessa recently went on a trip to Rwanda and she came up with some code words.

I won't share a lot of details as to what they refer to, but basically there are three levels.

Gold Star= Good

Silver Star= Okay

Bronze Star= Bad

 

Hadley caught onto it quite quickly.

(She didn't hesitate at all to refer to Justin Beiber as a Bronze Star.)

She then proceeded to use these terms through out our conversation in the car.

I also got her saying sad cheese.

I must say that this was quite funny to hear.

I am also quite surprised by the words that Hadley knows at her age.

(She was regularly using discombobulated in conversation. As well as words such as irrational.)

Hadley is crazy smart and has an incredible for someone her age.

After a late night (got back around 12:30am), we had an early morning.

(It wouldn't have been so bad had I not woke up every 20mins all night.)

We left my grandparents house with the little kids at 7:30-7:45 this morning to head to the St. Louis Zoo in Forest Park.

The reason we went so early was so that we could get in to pet the Sharks and Sting Rays.

It was free to pet them for the first hour.

We probably spent around 45mins or so petting and feeding the Sting Rays.

I think I may have enjoyed it more than the kids.

We then walked around the Zoo until 11:30ish.

Grabbed a bite at Pappy's Smokehouse.

(Amazing BBQ!!!!)

Some people proceeded to go see the Cathedral Basilica.

I however am completely worn out and am in need off a break from all of the people and noise so I came back to my grandparents house for the afternoon early evening.

I don't know that it is going to be of much good to me seeing as everyone is going to be coming back here soon, but it sounded like a good idea at the time.

I may go all recluse and hide in the basement for a couple hours.

There may be a trip to the City Museum after dinner.

My energy level may be a little to low to handle the trip to the "Glorified Playground" later.

All in all it has been a crazy couple of days so far and a crazy couple to go yet.

"What The Junk??"

Hey y'all!!

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I have posted. 

I've been a little busy with work and church stuff.

Hmm, so I guess i'll do a quick recap of what I have been up to as of late.

Work is pretty much the same. Long days of cleaning.

I have climbed into far too many lockers, stoves, refrigerators, and other tight spaces for my liking.

(I'm not quite small enough for some of this...contrary to what many may say.)

I have to say that if it weren't for the people I work with I would absolutely positively hate my job.

Last Monday my mom (and her boyfriend) stopped into town and brought my futon and a tv for me. It is great to finally have furniture. (Not being able to get the remote to work the cable and having to settle for watching David Letterman's show for Gay Pride Week...not so much :/ )

After they left I made sure my bike was locked up and went inside to chill.

I came out the next morning (Tuesday) and my bike was gone.

Chain cut and thrown under the bush.

Not what I wanted to find at 6:30am when I had to be to work in 10mins.

However, yesterday (a week after it happened), Public Safety called and said they had my bike.

The police had found some guy riding it around town.

He picked it up off someone else for $15 for crying out loud.

It's good to have it back though.

Other than that things were not all that eventful until about last Thursday.

 But before getting into that I am going to share a little about the missions team at my church this summer.

North American Mission Board (NAMB) sends out Summer Mission Teams to churches throughout the country every summer. This summer my church, Journey Church, got sent one of these teams. There are 7 summer missionaries here, all college age. 

Two of them go to my school here in Illinois and the rest are from various other colleges and universities.

The 7 summer missionaries that we have here this summer are Andy, Malik, McKenzie, Kenan, Joel, Patrick, and Haley.

Andy and Malik are the two that go to school with me.

Most of the missionaries are from some part of Illinois with the exception of three.

Malik is from Maryland, Patrick is from Mississippi, and Haley is from Tennessee. 

The 7 of them are here at Journey to help out for the summer with various things.

As of late they have been going out into the community and going door to door giving out flyers promoting Journey and sharing what we are all about.

Friendship Festival 2012 (Bourbonnais, IL) Left to right: Andy, McKenzie, Patrick, Malik, Haley, Kenan, and Joel

The above picture is a group picture of the mission team.

This was right before we started walking in the Friendship Festival Parade.

Five of the guys, all except Patrick, had been practicing a bucket drum routine that they performed that morning in church and then while we were walking in the Parade.

They did a great job that morning at church as well as during the Parade!!

While the guys were doing their routine (part of the time walking the other part while riding on the float), we had several members of our church walking and passing out beads to kids and cards with our information to adults.

It was a great afternoon and one to be remembered for sure!!

Friendship Festival 2012- Getting ready to walk! (Me, Justine, and Haley)

 Here is another picture from the Parade. It is a bad one of me but the other two look good!

Ok, so now that I have shared a little bit about the mission team I will share a little bit of the last several days.

For anyone who has read my previous posts (which is probably no one...) then y'all know how bored I have been this summer. 

That has changed in large part because of the group pictured above, as well as other members of Journey Church.

This past week was the Friendship Festival (Wed. June 20th-Sun. June 24th).

I went a few times with this group.

Thursday night I went to the Festival with Andy and Malik.

A lady from church works at Great Clips and she had a booth so we stopped and talked to her for a while. Basically we just chilled there until the guys had band practice for Sunday morning.

We then went to band practice and I got to spend time with the most adorable little girl.

Her name is Cali and she is the daughter of our worship leader Nate and his wife Jill.

She is absolutely adorable and thanks to the guys makes a wide variety of animal noises by request. :)

We then went and spent the evening at Chad and Rachel's.

The next evening (Friday) we had a College Student...get together (??)...

We all met up at the church office and then went to the Festival.

Friendship Festival 2012- Back Row: Joel, Andy, Kenan, Emily (?), TJ, and me. Front Row: Derek, Haley, Malik, and McKenzie.

It was a great night!!

We had a couple of additions to the group before we left the Festival and headed to Steak N' Shake.

Steak N' Shake- Left: Haley, Jessica, Kenan, Andy, Justine, and me. Right: Erin (?), TJ, Joel, Malik, and McKenzie.

As you can see we are a decent sized group of college students (except for Emily...?).

(We have some lovely faces going on in this picture...lol)

Then Saturday I worked overtime. We had to turn over dorms for a camp that was coming for a day or two.

After work I went to the softball game. (Journey has a team and we play against other teams from the area. It is a fun outreach ministry and a great way to get to know each other!)

There was another missions group that came from another church to help out.

(I forgot where they came from.)

So we met them at the offices and helped finish bagging up the flyers for the guys to give out while going door to door.

Then dinner at Aurelio's.

Then the guys had to practice their bucket drumline routine and since I had nothing else to do I went with them and was their audience for the evening.

Sunday was a crazy busy day for all of us!

I had to be at church an hour earlier than usual in order to do nursery.

The guys had all been there for a while before I go there and were practicing their routine again.

After church we all went to Burger King to grab lunch and then headed out to BBCHS to get ready for the Parade!

We walked in the Parade for about an hour or so.

It was such a great way for us to reach out and be a part of the community!!!

(We also found out later on that we won the Director's Choice Award for out float and the church got a plaque and everything!!!)

After a crazy time of destroying the float and taking all the staples out of the trailer (which was graciously loaned to us for the afternoon from Jessica!!), we all headed back to Chad and Rachel's.

Little did we all know there was someone moving in next door.

We offered to help them finish moving their things in and they accepted.

So for the next hour or so the guys and I helped them unload their large moving truck.

We all pushed ourselves and I definitely went above and beyond my usual.

As we were helping them we got to talking to them and sharing about Journey and the missions team and everything.

When we got done we got a chance to introduce Mark and his family to Chad (Journey's pastor) and Rachel. We got a chance to share more about Journey and invite them to church.

It was such a great witnessing opportunity!! 

Who knew?!

We were all crazy tired and crashed in Chad and Rachel's living room for the rest of the evening.

Chad grilled up some hot dogs and sausage for dinner.

We all ended up watching The Ringer that evening.

(Joel can do a crazy good impression of one of the characters!!)

Overall the last several days have been crazy busy but I loved it!!

I also have to say that I think that God definitely used this past week to show me some things.

After all of it I feel like I am most definitely right at the place where God wants me to be for the summer, even if it is different to be here instead of at home.

God is doing big things in my life through Journey and through the mission team.

I could not have asked for a better summer.

God is showing me that sometimes the simplest of gestures can be the strongest witnessing opportunities that we can get.

Case in point when talking about helping Mark and his family move in.

How could we know that we would have that opportunity Sunday afternoon??

Yeah, we may have all been pushed beyond our limits both physically and in terms of our comfort zone, but look at how God used it!!!

His plan is far greater than ours and who knows what would have happened if we hadn't stepped out and offered to help them move all of their things into their house!

And I have to say personally that God has provided me an incredible group of friends for the summer, and hopefully longer, even when I didn't think I would meet anyone this summer.

I was not planning on all of this, but He is providing in more ways than I could have ever imagined!

These guys have been going out of their way to be chivalrous and to show that there are still guys out there who take it seriously and act on it.

I am not used to it at all and therefore it is weird for me, but at the same time it is incredible to be exposed to guys who want to go that extra step and open the car door, let me sit in the front seat, serve my food for me, or carry something for me (even when i'm obstinate about it...lol).

I was not expecting God to provide that kind of an example for me this summer, but I appreciate it.

(However, these guys are gonna have me all kinds of spoiled by the end of the summer!!)

(And if you guys read this...Thank you for being an example of what true gentlemen should act like! It is greatly appreciated even if I nag you about it!! I have never seen guys treat girls/women with the respect that you all do. You're all pretty amazing guys and i'm lucky to know you all!!)

Well, there ya have it!

A quick (sorta....) recap of my life as of late!

There is much more I could share but I will leave it at that.

God keeps surprising me daily and I am excited to see what is going to happen in the coming weeks and months of the summer!!! :)


***All pictures in this post are courtesy of the lovely Haley Richards, member of the NAMB Summer Mission Team***

God works in amazing ways!!

Hm, life seems like a crazy whirlwind right now.

The summer has gone by so fast already, yet at the same time it seems to be going so slow.

I still have a hard time believing that it is already June.

Absolute craziness if you ask me.

Work is just work.

I can't say that cleaning for eight hours Monday through Friday is exciting.

But the people I work with definitely make those eight hours quite entertaining for me.

I would not like going to work if it were not for those on my team.

I have two amazing ladies for team leaders, Susie and Dawn :)

And regularly the students on the team are Ethan, Robensky, Karen, and I.

However, we have had a few additions the last week or two, such as Emily, Adrian, and Geoff.

Getting to work with various people has definitely been a learning experience.

I have also enjoyed getting to know everyone.

It amazes me how varied all of our personalities are.

I am just curious to see what God may have planned this summer because I have not doubt that those of us who are working this summer are not here by coincidence. 

We are all here for a reason and God knows what those reasons are.

I also feel like God has definitely brought me into a church that is more than willing to welcome me into their groups and surround me this summer.

I am highly grateful for all of the wonderful people at church that God has put in my life.

I am truly excited to see what He has planned this summer with my involvement in my church.

I have no doubt it will be amazing!!

His plans tend to be just that :)

Blown Away

Well...life has been like a whirlwind the last month or so. 

It seems like there is always something new going on and it keeps me busy.

Here's a quick recap...

I finished up all of my classes and took my finals the last week of April/first week of May.

I decided to stay in Bourbonnais for the summer.

I'm working with the Physical Plant here at Olivet as a Custodian.

I got an interview to work the Bears Training Camp but had to decline since I accepted the other position first.

My roommate for Block 1 is 22yrs old and doesn't clean up after herself (not a highlight...).

I will be rooming by myself for Block 2 and for Block 3 I will be rooming with the lovely Sarah High.

Celebrate Life!

I found out I get to go to Hastings and then St. Louis for family reunion for a whole week in July. (40 family members and two houses...this is gonna be fun!!)

I also found out i'm working for Cody Overocker's mom. (Surprise!!)

So that is a quick recap of the major parts of the last month.

I finished my second week of work on Friday by working overtime that night for 4 1/2 hours. I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of working that night, but it's time and a half so i'm not complaining

about the money I will be getting because of it!!

Oh, I also am officially down to a size 7 pant. Who said you only gain weight your freshman year of college?? The "Freshman 15" is not as prominent as you may think. It did make my day that I lost weight this year  and some of my friends did as well. However, there were a lot that gained weight, some more than the dreaded 15. 

I also must admit that Illinois weather during the summer is weird. It's going to take some getting used to. I miss the summer storms that we got back home on a regular basis.

I'm going to take a minute here to share a little about the current roommate situation.

I ended up agreeing to room with Sarah for the summer, however, unbeknownst to me there was someone who had been living in this apartment for the school year and opted to stay here for the short time she was staying for the summer. I didn't find this out until two days before I was set to move some of my things in. She told the RD that the apartment was move in ready. Little needs 

to be said other than it wasn't. I have found out over the last two weeks that she doesn't pick up after herself, yet she continuously reminds me about how mature she is for someone who is 22.

I have to disagree. Strongly.

I work custodial 8hrs every day and then I come back and the apartment is a complete mess. Why? Because this girl gets things out or makes food and then doesn't put things away or clean up the cooking mess. It is a half hour to an hour cleaning process just to clean the kitchen to the point of being able to make anything for myself to eat for a meal. It's ridiculous.

I have decided that this is a great chance for me to strengthen my ability to be patient in all situations. My friend Chris gave me a passage of scripture to encourage me about the fact that this is short term and that God has things under control. There is a good chance that a lesson will come out of all of this. I may not be sure what it is, but He knows and that is all that matters.

Well, now that I have spilled my thoughts real quick i'm going to work on some other things for a little while this afternoon. 

OH!! Also, I cannot wait for church next week!! We're having church at Perry Farms and then having a cookout afterwards! I'm just a little excited for this chance to get to know more 

of the people that I am currently going to church with!! It's a great opportunity

and I cannot wait to fully take advantage of it!!

GOD IS GOOD!!! 

Ya Just Gotta Have A Little Faith

So I have been looking at the possibility of staying in Illinois for the summer and working.

I have applied for three jobs, a summer RA position, a job painting, and a job working security for the Bears Training Camp. I also applied for summer housing. I had to turn in the summer housing application and the summer RA application at the same time, but I turned them in more than a week early. So I am not sure what to expect with that, but I am hoping that I can get the RA position.

I did get a call about the painting job this afternoon while I was in my Finite Mathematics class. I have to call the lady back tomorrow and do an interview of sorts. I am excited but nervous all at the same time. I really hope that I can get this job so that I can stay here for the summer.

It just proves that trusting God to provide can work for your advantage. If it fits into His plan and His will for your life then there is a good chance that it will happen. I hope that this fits into His will for my life and that I will be able to walk in His light through whatever He brings me to this summer, whether that be a job here in Illinois or going home and working and sponsoring district events.

I believe that it will all work out for His good and to His glory.

My life is His.