When it rains it pours

Yesterday was an interesting day for my family... Something went wrong for every member. My sister got in a car accident on the way to school. My brother went to the doctor because he is really really sick. My mom's phone broke and she is phone-less. My dad started a small fire in the kitchen after work. So basically I better watch out- I'm next!

Answered Prayers

Disclaimer: This is going to start out kind of like a pity party, but hang in there for the end if you can.

If you know me well, then you know that I have been praying for quite some time for one particular thing- that thing being community. After transferring to the College of Charleston during my freshman year, I had a pretty good first semester and met a lot of really awesome people. Unfortunately, despite a very small few people who have remained constant in my life from that semester, I didn't have a strong sense of belonging with any of the people I had met. I wondered what was wrong with my personality and why people didn't want to hang out with me. I tried making friends, hanging out with people occasionally, trying to keep in touch, with no success. Realizing that there wasn't anything wrong with me, I turned to God for some assistance (which of course should have been my first thought). I have been praying for almost two and a half years for a community of people who love the Lord and will love me too. I asked some people to intercede for me in prayer as well.  As I mentioned in my last post, I recently started going to a new (to me) campus ministry at CofC in hopes that I would finally connect with someone! This past weekend we had a retreat in Garden City and I was a little nervous going into it without knowing many people AT ALL. One of the talks this weekend mentioned the part in John 15, where it is written that God is the vine and we are the branches and apart from God we can do nothing. After two and a half years of praying and abiding, my prayers are finally bearing fruit. AMEN to that! This past weekend was an emotional one, as I connected with and grew close to so many people who share with me the common goal of living like Jesus did and being bold in faith and love. I made so many friends and I can't wait to continue to share my life with them. Thank the Lord He came through, because I got tired of telling people that I have no friends... ha.

I am so so encouraged today, and I know that the Lord hears and answers. Even though I doubted often and was beyond discouraged at times, the Lord didn't fail me when I didn't give up. He knows all of the desires of my heart, and I desire daily to love Him more and love others with the love He has for me.

Keep on praying y'all!

Things been happenin, y'all

So recently, some exciting things have been happening in my life. Since I like lists, I will make one for you to tell you all of them (there aren't many, so don't get too excited yet).

1. I have recently started going to a new campus ministry (new to me) and have been meeting some awesome new people. Yay God for answering my 'community' prayers!

2. We won our intramural volleyball game two nights ago after a serious comeback, so that was exciting... kinda.

3. I get to go on a retreat this coming weekend and I can say it has been a LONG time since I have been on a spiritual retreat. I AM PUMPED.

4. Last night one of the girls I love dearly at the children's home I worked at this summer in Honduras chatted me on facebook! I was just about to sign off when her "hola, como esta" popped up at the bottom of the page. I'll admit to you that I immediately started crying. Crying has been a recent reaction to anything I see or hear related to Honduras.

5. Today I starting working on my plans to return to Honduras in December! I am so beyond ready to be back there I can barely stand it.

6. I am taking two health classes this semester, one of them being global health. I am loving this class, as it gives me an excuse to look up facts and statistics about foreign countries all the time. I bet you can guess which country I choose every time.... I'm sure my teacher is beginning to see some bias, although I like to think of it as a centralized passion for a particular geographic area, people, and culture. :)

Side note: Yes, I did just use a smiley face in a blog post and I am not ashamed.

Side side note: I also do not apologize for the last three numbers all being about Honduras. It's a great place, y'all.

7. I AM EXERCISING AGAIN. This deserves all-caps because this is a huge deal. After leaving my previous college where I played collegiate volleyball, I went on a "no-exercising" streak that lasted about...uh... 2 years? Due to my college aerobic class (yes, I take aerobics for college credit...) and playing volleyball for the CofC Club team, I am slowly getting back to normal. And by normal I mean not having an asthma attack walking up three flights of stairs.

8. I got to get dinner and reconnect with a friend of mine two nights ago after a long time of disconnection. So thankful for that rekindling!

9. The girls I nanny got a puppy a few weeks ago and I love her. Her name is Chloe and she entertains me when I am babysitting until 12:30 AM. She is such a little white fluff ball!

That's about all I have for the moment. With that being said, I've been feeling good about Romans 8:28 lately. Sometimes I really doubt that verse and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Be encouraged and know that the Lord really does work all things for good for those who love Him.

A month of celebration

I don't think any family has more birthdays in one month than mine. My dad, grandma, uncle, two of my cousins, and I celebrated our birthdays this past month. When you are in a family that likes to celebrate every occasion, this leads to a lot of family parties. It has been a fun and busy month, and I actually feel popular for once in my life thanks to all these get-togethers. Here are some memories I captured this month: