creative titles aren't my thing

So it's been awhile since my last post and several things have happened..well, not really. Lydia and I have made it 17 days without eating food that contains gluten! Not bad right! We are over halfway to our goal..spring break can't come soon enough! Strangely enough, the only thing that I have actually craved and really wanted to cheat on the diet with is pizza. It hasn't been that bad doing this little diet. I have come up with some interesting salad combinations which are actually quite good.

Also, I have sprained my thumb. Yes, that is correct. My thumb along with my wristish and handish area..at least, that's what Nurse Tom told me. My roommate and I had a fun and eventful trip to the Emergency room until 5 in the morning where they confirmed that it was not broken. "Papa" put on this hard cast thing and wrapped it all up for me. I finally took that off for good about 8 days after and what do I do? I slip and fall on the ice..right on my left hand. I don't know when I developed this fascination with falling on my left hand, but I am not a fan.

I am ready for spring break! The roadtrip down with some of my friends is going to be awesome. Then I get to spend some time at my sister's which is always fun, and then head on home for a while and then back on up to New York.

Well I suppose I have procrastinated enough. I should get some homework done so I don't have to worry about it later. Have a lovely day!

gluten free life

well it has officially been OVER 4 days since my friend Lydia and I started our little "gluten free diet." So far so good....no cheating at all :) It actually hasn't been that bad other than the occasional funny guy who thinks it's great to shove the bread and certain desserts that we can't have in our faces. Our goal is to make it to spring break...that's March 18th. After spring break we are going to attempt a caffeine fast and a lactose intolerant thing..that one will be hard. No Dr. Pepper, no dairy products...ughh I need to enjoy them now while I can't have any carbs.

Childhood memories

As I was sitting in class the other day just daydreaming about saving the world, I thought about my childhood and how much I miss being a kid. I mean, think about it..there are so many things that as a kid its cute and funny, but you try and do the same thing as an adult and it because rude, inconsiderate, or you just look dumb. For example, as a kid, it's cute when you go to do a somersault and just stand there with your head on the ground, butt in the air, thinking that you are awesome and then just kind of rolling to the side. Go into the middle of a mall play area now that you are older and try that..I believe that you would get a different reaction than "aww, look how cute that is." I also miss the innocence of a child. A kid will believe anything you tell them with all of their heart. That's one of the fun parts of being a teacher...I think some of my class I did my student teaching in still think that I have walked on the moon :)

I remember having an awesome childhood. My imagination was out of this world. I absolutely loved being outside. Climbing trees, catching crawdads, exploring the unknown, never before seen land behind my house, making trails in the woods, catching crickets and other insects and keeping them in jars as pets until Mom would find them in my room and make me let them go (killjoy), seeing how fast I could roll down the hill, riding my bike around the block, rollerblading in the basement, playing in our super cool tree house, playing in the mud, laying in the hammock, and laying on the grass looking at the clouds trying to think of what they looked like. Ha, I even buried treasure out in the backyard. Some of my favorite things are in that treasure box, including the map that told me how to get to the treasure. I guess you could say I wasn't the smartest child on the block.

Growing up, I never had a sibling that was close enough in age to want to play with me, nor were any of my sisters cool enough to want to catch bugs and get dirty..they all preferred barbies (lame) however, I thought my sisters were the coolest people in the world. I wanted to be just like them..I don't think they ever knew that. I remember that on our way home from church, we would always sing in the car. They usually just told me to be quiet and let them sing, but my favorite was when they would let me sing the "doo-a-diddy-diddy-dum-diddy-doo" part in that song..I wasn't allowed to sing any other part of the song with them, but that was ok. They were letting me sing with them! I felt so cool. When the "Carr girls" would sing in church, they would let me sing with them only because my parents made them but little did I know they would turn my microphone off. I still remember the day I found out what they had been doing. And to think, MY PARENTS WERE IN ON IT!! I am still trying to get over the whole thing. Another thing that I really enjoyed was when Joanna went off to college because I knew that in the summer when she would come home, she was going to take me out on a sister date. I had $20 that I could spend doing whatever I wanted with her. One summer, we went putt-putting and got lunch, another we would get sno-biz and go see a movie. To be honest, I didn't care what we did, I just liked that she wanted to take time out of her life to spend time with me.

Then there were my parents who made my life perfect. Dad and I always had such a good time. I doubt he even remembers all the things we used to do or how much it meant to me. I lived for the moments when a summer storm would come rolling in and he and I would sit out on the porch swing and watch the lighting. I loved it when we would go on walks around the block. I realize now that he was just using me to get a free back rub, but he would read to me as I would give him the best back rub that I could because I wanted to show him how much I loved him, even if it was just through a back rub. In the cold winter months when my mom wouldn't turn on the heat in the house because you can always just add more layers to keep yourself warm, my dad would rub the bed really fast and get it all warm for me. My mom was the best cook in the world. Grilled cheese and tomato soup was my favorite lunch and she made it the best. That warm cup of hot chocolate ready for me when I came inside after hours out in the snow, or standing on the inside of a locked door in the backyard while I was standing outside begging to be let in, but her telling me to walk around to the garage because that was the door I went out of. I still love going to movies with my mom.

What about you. Do you ever stop and think about your life as a child? What was it like? What do you miss?


Wasn't I a cutie!!!

It's time to face the inevitable

Well everyone, the time has just about come. This Monday, January 31, at 7:00 AM will be the starting time of the last day of my life. Now, there is a slight chance that I am exaggerating just a tad bit, however, I have never done this, nor am I in the least bit “in shape” to be able to complete such an exhaustive and exigent (I like that word) task. It will not be easy, that is for sure. I am going in good company though. Dying with friends is much better than dying alone. We have all agreed that every thirty minutes (1/2 hour) we will take turns when saying we need a break. If all goes according to plan, our plan should work out flawlessly. If by some chance we become separated, or worse, split up into different teams, that is when we could experience some difficulties. There are many things that we will have to overcome on this outdoor excursion. One, which I have already mentioned, (that was the “in shape” bit) two, the cold, bitter winter weather of the Adirondack Mountains, and three, our adventure will be at least 8 hours. Some have questioned my motives for attempting such a task. My response is always the same, it is required. If I would have known where the signups were, if I would have gotten to them sooner, if I would have known people doing other things, I would have chosen a better physical education class, but alas, this is how it had to happen. Oh, by the way, I am going snowshoeing up a mountain for 8 hours.

This is what I should look like while snowshoeing.

This is probably a little bit more realistic about what I will look like on my excursion...minus the being a man part.

floodgates

Why hello blogger world..it's been awhile. You see, I really don't enjoy these things. I just don't think that anything I have to say is worth writing about. My days aren't very interesting or filled with excitement. We are "supposed" to get another 22 inches of snow though. It's times like when I walk to class or to the dining hall that I really start missing Florida. We had some good times down there , but it was time to move on. Life doesn't stop. Sometimes, it's easy to forget that. I remember going back home on a college break and thinking how things would still be the same as they were when I left. I quickly realized just how much can change and how much people could change. My coming to New York was definitely the right choice. I love it up here. Yes, it is cold, almost unbearable cold, but what makes it bearable are the close friends I have made, the classes I have taken, and the incredible ways that I have seen God work in not only my life, but also in the lives of my friends as well. There is this verse in the Bible..Malachi 3:10. It says Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. This verse is talking about giving to the Lord, but I also like to think of it for other things. God is asking us to test Him, to trust Him. According to wikipedia, which we all know is COMPLETELY accurate and NEVER wrong about anything, Floodgates are adjustable gates used to control water flow in flood barriers, reservoir, river, stream, or levee systems. I just love this because God is saying Do it, I dare you! See what happens. He can open those floodgates and there will be a ridiculous amount of blessing! Reflect on that for a moment. Imagine sitting there and all around you, blessings are happening.

On another note, I just got back from Miami/Tampa Bay area and let me just say that I had an awesome time. It was so nice to have a little break from the cold and hang out with friends and also be a bridesmaid for my BRE..BEST ROOMMIE EVER! It was a lovely wedding and the bride looked beautiful.

Congrats Erika and Justin!

The Hike

Today was such a beautiful fall day (even though in the morning when I woke up it was 28 degrees) that I decided it would be a good idea to go on a prayer walk. My prayer walk was just a time that I was able to spend with God praying and praising Him for the things that He has done in my life lately. I have so much to be thankful for. I went to this little mountain called Mt. Severance. It is only about a mile to the top, but it it really steep. As I was hiking up the trail, I saw so many similarities between my actual hike, and the “hike” we are doing in our Christian walk. There are times along the path where it was easy. The path was straight, there weren’t any roots or rocks sticking up anywhere, it was just a nice walk. Then there were other times, that the path was so steep and had rocks that I had to climb over. Another thing was that anytime I would turn my head to look off to the side or to look behind me, even if it was just for a quick second to look at the trees, I stumbled and sometimes even fell (that could just be because I am clumsy though J). In our walk with the Lord, there are times when things are easy. God has clearly shown us where He wants us to be, what He wants us to do, and who He wants us to do it with. There aren’t any problems hindering our smooth walk. Then we come to a part in our walk where things aren’t so easy. Things become more difficult. There are “rocks” or situations that we have to overcome in order to get to the top. Going back to what I said about turning my head and falling…in our walk with the Lord, how easy is it to just turn our head to glance at what is going on around us. As soon as we do, we stumble..we fall. We loose focus on the prize that we are striving for which is Jesus. Philippines 3:14 says just what we are to do. “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” That is our goal. That is what we should be striving for! If you have ever run a race you can recall how at the finish line, parents, friends, teammates, and coaches were there cheering for you. Just imagine coming to the finish line and seeing Jesus Christ waiting there to meet you! Hebrews 12:1-2 says “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Verse two really gets me going because… think of all that He has done for us? He endured the cross! We need to be running this race with endurance, with perseverance and get rid of whatever it is that is weighing us down and holding us back.

Something else I noticed on my walk was when I tried to look too far ahead, I lost track of where I was. I would stumble over my feet. God is showing us where to go one step at a time. In Psalms it talks about how the Word is a lamp. A lamp gives off just enough light to show us about one step in front of us. If we try and look too far, all we see is darkness. God hasn’t made clear what He wants us to do. As long as we are continuing to follow the Lord, that light keeps on going with us and keeps showing us what is next on our journey.

Once I finally made it to the top of the mountain, it was just a breathtaking view. I think I was literally speechless just looking at all that God had made. I forgot to take my camera which means I need to go back soon so I can get some pictures of all the leaves before they all fall down. As I began my trip down the mountain, I just kept on praising God for all that He has done in my life and everything I have to be thankful for. I made it all the way down to my car and went to unlock it and came to the great realization that I left my keys at the top of the mountain. I guess I wasn’t finished praying yet J. I turned around and began to walk the long steep walk up the mountain. God showed me through that that even though we may be doing well in our race towards Him, we can still have setbacks that will slow us down.

Even though I wasn’t excited about having to hike another 2 miles at the time, God taught me a lot and I was able to spend more time with Him. I thoroughly enjoyed my prayer walk and I encourage each of you to go out and have a prayer walk or just spend a little bit of extra time with God and thank Him for what He has given to you.

Endurance through the Trials

If you would have told me a year ago, make that 4 WEEKS ago, that I would be sitting in Pottersville, NY at Word of Life Bible Institute typing this I would have told you that you were crazy. I never imagined that I would end up here. Especially AFTER I had already graduated from college. This was not the way I had my life planned out at all. I was supposed to be happily married by now. Funny how my plans aren’t the same as God’s. This past week that I have been up here has been amazing. I have learned so much and it’s only been a week. We have just studied the book of James and it is just neat to see how God gives us trials to make us stronger. He promises that none of those trials will be too much for us to handle. That is just amazing to me. At the time of the trial, it may seem like it is the end of the world or that you just want to quit everything right then, but God gave us those trials to increase our faith in Him. We have to learn to trust Him and listen to Him and He will help us endure them.

On another note…it is sooo pretty up here. The leaves are changing, the air is crisp (and super cold), and fall is just great. All 5 of my roommates are great. Even though it is a small room, we are all getting a long..so far. So for my PE class, I signed up to do snowshoeing…you know, when you walk in the snow with tennis rackets on your feet. Yeah, that should be fun. It is an all day hike which will be super tiring, but fun (and sooooooooo cold) We are going sometime at the end of January. Another thing we do is Open Air Evangelism which will be done in New York City. My ministry team has been selected to go on October 31 – November 1. Halloween. Needless to say, this should be interesting.