"I'm a Liberal Arts Major..."

"...do you want fries with that?"

So much truth in these words... but seriously, what am I doing with my life?

Hahahahaha!

"Where I Belong" by Building 429

Today I Became a Football Fan

Disclaimer: I decided it was really important for me to watch the Tech vs. UVa game today when I woke up before it started, and I wasn't disappointed when I did!

The Hokies played an awesome game and I was thoroughly impressed with them!

Okay I'm done bragging about the Hokies. I just wanted the world to be informed of my allegiance to Virginia Tech. :D

Answer to the question approximately %50 of people are asking:

because I'm young


because I can 


because when I get old and can no longer function on minimal amounts of sleep I won't have the capacity to wake up early when it's still dark outside and go hardcore shopping while running on 3.5 hours of sleep and a (few) cup(s) of coffee--just live a little! 


And now I ask you: 

W H Y   N O T ?

"Yay Black Friday shopping!"

11:00 = hour 5 and a half

"Something to remember me by." -Jasmine

And I promise we don't always look this rough on a daily basis...
Today was a lot of fun. (:

i am

thankful for the greatest of friends who keep me going

thankful for God and the Living Word

thankful for an education

thankful for having an option for what to wear everyday

thankful for the internet

thankful for food, good and bad

thankful for good teachers

thankful for music as a means for worship and pleasure

thankful for life, in the best of times and worst of times

thankful for colors

thankful to be alive

humbled by God's grace and provision for me

going to enjoy all the wonderful holiday food in our kitchen

Matt Maher-- Turn Around

Words

I was thinking about how I wanted to write about what I read tonight, and come up with something deeply profound to enhance the beautiful words of a friend of mine. However, I realize that nothing I say will matter or come close to being able to surpass her pure simple words of truth.
I hope that she won't mind that I've quoted her, because I agree with everything her message said, and I want everyone to hear it:

"1.) People are imperfect: Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This is a truth in the Bible. It should never surprise anyone when we fail. When I mess up, it should not surprise you. We are not good by nature, but through the Holy Spirit we are given the power to overcome sin. This is more true than I ever really realized. I am so imperfect it hurts me sometimes, and I have been realizing more about myself and about my struggles that helps me understand my sins.
2.) We are called to love. Let them know God’s love by the way we love our neighbor. There is something so beautiful and true and real about loving someone in the name of Jesus. People can see the difference between love rooted in Christ versus love not rooted in Christ.
3.) God is at work in everyone’s life around you. I realized the gravity and realness of this statement. I realized how perfect everything is, and how God places you in certain places for a reason. I think I have also realized that God has given me a sort of gift to bring Him up in conversation without too much hesitation or awkwardness… and that is why I am probably not going to be traveling in third world countries. God has gifted me in communication.
4.) Friendship is beautiful - Friends are intricate and God has put people in my life for a reason. Right now I have some amazing girlfriendships that I will never take for granted. They are deep. They are beautiful. They are real. They’re each different and each reveal something different about myself to me. They show me a little bit of who I am in a deeper way and bring out the good and the bad and show me how to defeat the bad and enhance the good. They teach me about how I relate to Christ.
5.) Spiritual warfare is so real - There are two parts of you that are constantly warring. There is the natural self, and there is the spiritual self. We are made new, so we are the spiritual self, but there is a battle between the natural self trying to get back out sometimes. When we feed the natural self, it wins the small battles, but when we feed the spiritual self we can stand up under anything that comes our way.
This weekend I made mistakes. This weekend I loved fully. This weekend I witnessed to someone about what Christ has done in my life. This weekend I cried. This weekend my heart broke. This weekend God picked up my heart, myself, and carried me to an alter to pray. This weekend, I remembered that I am beloved. This weekend I delighted in singleness. This weekend I poured my heart out. This weekend I debated apologetics. This weekend, I came home, and this weekend I haven’t regretted it."

7 x 70

You know what I'm going to say, don't you?

Don't you?

Forgiveness.

He and I have been wrestling for several years.

To say that I'm winning is to say that I am being stubborn, and prideful, and ignorant, and hard-hearted, and it's all true. I should be losing to forgiveness. Humbling myself to its power. Executing the concept that I so often preach and associate with my faith in Jesus Christ.

Alas, here I am. Defeating forgiveness.

I'm so torn between how to teach others to forgive when I can't do it myself. Though I'm ready to forgive almost anything. Except that one thing...

It's holding me back, and I don't know how to handle it. I am trying, I promise. It's just so hard for me to do. I want to be faithful to God, and obey Him. I feel as though I'm part of the way there, and that forgiveness is the last step; the wall between us; the only thing left for me to do before I can totally surrender my life to Him so that He is in control.

I'm working on it, and God's working on me.

I'm ready for Thanksgiving Break.

Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart

Strong Enough - Matthew West

"You must, You must think I’m strong
To give me what I’m going through
Well forgive me, forgive me if I’m wrong
But this looks like more than I can do
On my own

I know I’m not strong enough to be
Everything that I’m supposed to be
I give up, I’m not strong enough
Hands of mercy won’t You cover me?
Lord, right now I’m asking You to be
Strong enough, strong enough
For the both of us

Well maybe, maybe that’s the point
To reach the point of giving up
‘Cause when I’m finally, finally at rock bottom
That’s when I start looking up
And reaching out

I know I’m not strong enough to be
Everything that I’m supposed to be
Courtesy of lyricshall.com
I give up, I’m not strong enough
Hands of mercy won’t You cover me?
Lord, right now I’m asking You to be
Strong enough, strong enough

‘Cause I’m broken
Down to nothing
But I’m still holding on to the one thing
You are God
And You are strong when I am weak
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength
And I don’t have to be strong enough
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength
And I don’t have to be
Strong enough, strong enough
Oh yeah

I know I’m not strong enough to be
Everything that I’m supposed to be
I give up, I’m not strong enough
Hands of mercy won’t You cover me?
Lord, right now I’m asking You to be
Strong enough, strong enough, strong enough"
Amen.

I Think That We Take Bathrooms For Granted.

Just a thought I had yesterday.

And again today when my bladder almost exploded.

God has blessed us with a lot. I'm really grateful for that forceful reminder sometimes.

Song; I just thought it was really cute. (: "I Believe In You" by Steven Curtis Chapman

Walking With Christ

"I believe that Christ was necessary to bridge the gap from the Creator to the creation that we might know the only worthy Thing in the Universe."


Now this is cool. I never thought of it that way before, but it's really accurate (at least as far as what I believe). However it's not entirely relevant to my post (though at some point I may try to make it be. Hehe).


Well yesterday I had a really cool experience when I was walking back to campus from the Math Empo. i tend to do that often, especially when it's nice outside and I have my iPod (which I always do).


Yesterday was beautiful in terms of all the colors and serenity of the scenery and the weather and the skies and mountains and trees and everything, and I just couldn't help but stand in awe of God's creation. It was seriously breath-taking. 


I was listening to my normal album designated for going to and from the empo (Forget and Not Slow Down by Relient K, of course), but I just got so excited about how awesome God was that I had to put on something else. Something that focused my mind on Him and not just songs I liked a lot. I put on Sing, Sing, Sing by Chris Tomlin and did something I never would have ever expected myself to do (as an introverted, shy, publicly  reserved person): I started singing, OUT LOUD, as I'm walking down the street by myself in the middle of God's beautiful world. Then I started dancing. Like, what the heck? I don't do things like that. But I was passing people and they were kind of looking at me funny, one guy on a bike actually started laughing and then had to stop when he passed me. I got a kick out of that.


But it was as if I had finally grasped the concept that I can be undignified for Christ! Such an awesome feeling, seriously. 


I don't know, at this point I'm just speechless. God's too awesome to put in words, and I guess that's why I had the sudden urge just to sing and dance to praise Him for His goodness and power. 


I believe that He made everything, and He can do everything, and He makes all things work together for good to those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)


Well, life's good, because God's good. And I love the fact that God is good, because it means that I get to serve a Creator, Father, Master, who is fair and just and loving and caring, and who would do so much as to let His Son die for me. For me! And for you, and you ,and you, to save the whole world. I'm so thankful and humbled. Glory to God!


Song: Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) by Chris Tomlin

Liberation!

Let go, and let God.

I learned this very important lesson this weekend. As much as I try to hold on to everything I have in this world, to be self-sufficient, to strive for worldly perfection, none of it matters when you realize that everything belongs to God, and this world is temporary.

I got an eternal perspective.

When I graduate from college in 4 (or 5) years, it's not going to matter that I got a 60 on my calculus test last week. I'm not going to remember how bad it felt when I didn't practice enough and Dr. Cowden was disappointed in me for a day. I won't have kept track of how many chocolate muffins I ate, how many cups of coffee I drank, how many times I used the word tired, the number of nights I only got 4 hours of sleep, or the times I skipped out on homework to get at least 6 hours of sleep.

Our life on earth is a vapor. Cliche, I know, but it's true. I like cliche things. I've probably said that before. That isn't the point.

If I live to be 90 years old, people will say I lived a great long life. Whoop-dee-doo. I'd rather my soul live in heaven for a day than spend a thousand years on this earth! The things I do are to be glorifying to God, not self-seeking. I only want that good grade for me, not for God. If it's more important that I stay awake with my upset friend than go to sleep, then I will neglect my needs for hers. For the glory of God.

If buying someone lunch means I skip a meal, then I will. For the glory of God. (That's nothing on 30 Hour Famine anyway).

If giving up my seat on the bus means I have to stand and hold the bars the whole way, then I'll do it. For the glory of God.

After experiencing God's presence this weekend, in my life and just in everywhere I looked, He grabbed me and told me that He loved me. He's going to take care of me. College is hard; life is hard. He's got it under control, even though I never will.

I feel completely liberated that I can give Him all my struggles, my worries, my fears, and my doubts, but also praise Him for hope and joy and peace, and glorify Him for everything (good and bad) in my life, because I know He's working it all out for His plan and His purpose.

Sometimes I feel like having faith in God, or the concept of God in general, is like running yourself into a circle. There are split-seconds of days when I become overwhelmed by it and get discouraged. All it takes is a step back, a little perspective, and realizing that we live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), which is a hard concept, especially for someone like me who likes to have things logically laid out in front of her.

But it's true. It's real. It's infinite. It's God.

I felt a heavy burden taken off of my in this last couple of days, and it is the greatest I've felt in a long time. I still have just as much work, get just as little sleep, am just as tired as before, but I rest in God's peace that He has everything under control, and that as long as I stay faithful to Him, sleep-deprived and all, He will always provide for me and I don't have to worry about a thing.

Side note: while I praise God for the seasons of life, of the year, I'm really spiteful of cold weather. And the crazy weather in Blacksburg. So, here's to bundling up from now until March--Happy November!

I don't have a song for right now. I'm tired. And it's 2:42 a.m. If I come up with one, I'll make the revision, so until then my friends!