as of late

God likes to remind me how bad I am at being patient. He's teaching me a lot.

School is becoming less and less appealing as the work gets harder.

Joel continues to be wonderful. I just wish weekends lasted longer.

Volleyball is draining my body physically, yet I still love it so much.

Family is ok. Things going on make me want to be home but leaving them in the Lord's hands is the best place for them to be.

Today is Sunday and I learned to be thankful in every circumstance.

summary-life is good, but God is great.

the.end.

thoughts of monday

Keeping this thing up to date is way harder than I thought it would be. Today completes the start of the second week of classes. The first week went tremendously well and surprisingly, I am pretty excited about my classes. (I just hope this mindset stays true throughout the semester) Our first volleyball game is in 2 days and I am pumped to say the least. The only downer is that my back has been hurting and practicing is only making it worse. I am going to the chiropractor tomorrow in hopes of it being fixed by our game on Wednesday. Volleyball continues to bring me so much joy and I can never seem to play it enough. Joel was here this past weekend and it was the first time we had spent more than a few hours together since I have been back in Georgia. Our time together was wonderful and I am so thankful for how our relationship is growing and maturing in the Lord. Joel continues to bless my life and I just feel so blessed to have him as my best friend. He has become someone who I hate to be away from and I am thankful for every minute we have together. God has completely changed my life through that man.
I am very excited about all that God is doing in my life individually as well. I feel so excited about life and even though I have to be up at 7 every morning, it all seems ok when I know that I can read my Bible and begin my day with Jesus. (I might actually be a morning person by December) I have also learned to become so thankful for the opportunity to attend chapel each day. I realize what a great thing that is and how many people do not have the privilege to worship the Lord as a student body. I have just recently learned what a great thing this is...so it took 2 years of attending chapel to enjoy. My mindset used to be going to chapel because I had to. Starting my day with the Lord makes the day seem so much easier. Speaking of easy, I have been trying to take advantage of all the free time I have. So far I have been able to stay ahead of all my school work which leaves me with good time on my hands, although I know this will not last long and before I know it, I will be living in the library.

One thing that has really been on my heart lately is the dynamics of being a Christian on a secular campus as opposed to a Christian campus. For some reason this has been convicting me and as I think about it I feel that it can be difficult to be a Christian at a Christian college. I know that sounds weird but if you think about it, the students of a Christian college are immersed in the Bible. Basically we eat, drink and study God and the Bible. I have come to learn that being in Bible classes and having the opportunity to bring God into any classroom discussion, makes me sometimes tired of it and almost like I don't want to do anymore than I have to. I know that a lot of students just get tired of it and in a sense get pushed away from God and just study Him and His Word when they have a test on it, or when chapter summaries are due. They get so bogged down with having to do it, that they lose the sense to want to do it. Whereas on a secular campus, as a Christian you have so many chances to be a light for Jesus because you are surrounded by the world and all that comes with it. Christians that have a passion and love for God and His people can stand out pretty easily on a worldly campus. I am not saying that one of these options are easier, I am just saying this because I think a lot of people assume that if you go to a Christian school then that automatically makes you a Christian...WRONG! Just today I was sitting with a few people at lunch and I heard more cuss words than I care to admit. Yes, that happened in the cafeteria of a Christian campus. It didn't surprise me because I have heard such things before, but it did make me sad. Christian College does not mean perfect. There are flaws every where you look. But that is why it is our jobs as christian servant leaders to show the love of Christ to our fellow students. I hear students talk all the time about wanting to go serve in the community or in other countries but why don't we start on our own campus of Toccoa Falls College...I mean, just sayin'.

"You are the SALT of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the LIGHT of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden" Matthew 5:13-14

For the Love of the Game

Last night was the first volleyball practice/try-out of the year. I felt pretty confident when it was over and thought it was a really good practice. All of those thoughts were despite the fact that I hadn't really done a lot of training or exercise over the summer. Needless to say I have been pretty sore since. At 6am this morning we had to be in the gym again for agility/conditioning. I am the last thing from a morning person so this morning's workout didn't go well. I can't even remember some of the stuff we did because it seems so long ago but after a while I started to feel sick and weak. I pressed on as long as I could but then I was running to the bathroom and puking up my guts. I went back in the gym and tried to do as much as I could but thankfully practice was over. I laid down on the middle of the gym floor and found out that I couldn't move. I was so sore and sick. Wonderful Mary got me a powerade and sat with me until I thought that I would be ok to get up...well I got up but went running to the bathroom and proceeded to throw up all of the powerade I had consumed. Not a pretty sight. I finally made it all the way up the stairs to my terrace and crashed in my bed til' around noon. I thought the rest would help me but I continued to feel bad throughout today and did my best to take it easy. I was ready for practice but soon realized that moving and running and jumping did not make my stomach feel good at all. Sadly I had to sit out most of practice only doing certain things that I thought would be ok. All of this has made me realize that a) I am definitely not a morning person and my body isn't either and b) I am not nearly as strong as I once was. I just pray that my body gets adjusted to being a volleyball player soon. That would make things a lot easier. Our first match is 2 weeks from today against Piedmont. We are looking good after only 2 days of practice and our goal is to beat Clearwater this year. I need to continue to keep Jesus as my strength and persevere through all my aches and pains. It's only 9:14pm but I'm going to bed. 5:45am is coming sooner that I'd like it to.

another year

4 years ago I was awed at the thought of college and I never thought it would be my turn. Here I am, starting my Junior year and I'm realizing my college days are flying by faster than I ever expected. I need to be making the most of each day because once tomorrow comes, there's no going back. My first 2 years of college were eventful to say the least and I am so thankful for the memories, friends and even the hard times. They have shaped me into who I am today and I've never been so content. Not working this summer gave me a lot of time to think and spend time with my creator and through that I have learned that I want others to look at my life and see Christ, not me. It's not my life. I am alive only because of Him and He deserves all the praise. It's going to be a busy year full of change and challenge, but I know that I can handle it all as long as Christ is my source of strength. (my knees and shoulders are gonna need a lot of strength this volleyball season.) I writing this blog, not really for others but as journal so I can keep track of my busy mind this semester.


"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." 2 Corinthians 7:1