Moving Again, I'm Moving Again

Yep, here I am, once again lost in a sea of ugly cardboard boxes. Wait?!?! Did I say they were ugly?!?! Forget that! They are actually quite lovely when you start to think about it. Filling up cardboard boxes means another adventure! And I LOVE a good adventure. This time, I'm spreading my wings to fly farther than I ever have before (for this length of time anyway). In eight days my parent's vehicle and my own little red car will be filled with my worldly possessions and start out on a moving adventure!
This past summer, I knew I needed to make a change in my choice of schools. Through some pretty incredible and God-orchestrated circumstances, next Saturday I will be moving to Ohio to attend Cedarville University, where I will study Early Childhood Education and Spanish. While the packing part is not new (this will the the FIFTH time these boxes have been packed in the last 16 months), the journey that awaits on the other end is entirely new. I'm moving to a new state, a new school, a new church, a LOT of new people, and (hopefully) a new job. I've never gone to a place so big, so far from home, where I have only met three people in person. I'm nervous, scared, and EXCITED to begin this new adventure.
Ohio, here I come!!! :)

Day by Day

Wow! Summer is passing all too quickly. At the beginning I had no idea how I would ever survive, and now I don’t want it to end! Up until now, I’ve been working full time, part time, and taking a college course. I’ve been busy, but (for the most part) content. I am now done with the part time job and college class, so I’ll finally be able to spend some time doing regular summer things, like vacation! I am so excited! J

In addition to keeping busy, God has allowed me to live with an amazing family this summer, and I wouldn’t trade my time with them for anything. They are so special to me, and each one has slowly but surely worked their way into my heart. I will be sad to move out again in just under one month, but I will still have the pleasure of seeing mom, dad, and Carah every Sunday at church. They truly have been a blessing and encouragement. I thank God over and over for their kindness and generosity.

I also praise God that He has a perfect plan for everything. Just a few days ago, I was reading in Matthew about how we shouldn’t worry about tomorrow because God already has it planned out for us. He’s given us enough to keep us busy and focused on for today; we don’t need to go fretting about the future. He’s been working in my life in so many ways these past few weeks. Each day I am learning a little bit more how to trust in Him and lean on His understanding instead of my own. If I were to control my own life, I would be spinning seriously out of control. I don’t know where I’ll be six years from now, or even six months from now, but I do know, if I trust God and walk according to His will, my life will become something beautiful and have purpose. I will be able to be used by Him to further his kingdom if I simply trust in Him and led Him lead me day by day.

But a Vapor

Wow! Where has the time gone?!?! It seems like just yesterday, I was packing up all of my worldly belongings and starting off on my college journey. I was scared out of my whits to move to Ankeny. I didn't need any new friends. I didn't need anyone to tell me where to go to church; I already knew. And I was going to try out my little wings for the first time in this great big world. It's a good thing God can get through to stubborn people! This first year of college has gone by so quickly! I made more friends than I can count (two of which are extra special to me...bonds that will last a lifetime...), and I broke out of my church mold and began attending a church that I recently heard described as "a little unorthodox." Yep, God sure showed me! :) For this, I am GLAD! Sitting here writing this, I can hardly believe it's almost over. The packing boxes have reared their ugly heads once again. However, I wouldn't change these past nine months for anything! God has done so much, in such a short amount of time! They say life moves by more quickly as you get older...I must be getting really old! ;) I've been reminded that our lives on this earth are extremely short in light of eternity. What am I doing to make a difference in other people's lives? Who am I impacting for eternity? Good stuff to think about. So, how about you...are you living in light of eternity?

Life is Rough; God is Good

Oh, where to even begin...let's see...I'm sitting here, looking at my calendar, and wondering where this year has gone. It's April, and it seems like just yesterday I was recounting the adventures of last year. So much has happened in such a short time! Since I started college in the fall, God has blessed me with some AMAZING friends, I've learned a lot, and He's taught me to trust in Him. (I sure can't do this life thing on my own...)
Late last July, people thought I was crazy for changing my college plans last minute, packing my things, and heading for a college I hadn't even been officially accepted to. But, God proved Himself to be loving and wonderful. I've thoroughly enjoyed my (almost) two semesters here at Faith. However, once again, I feel God prompting me in another direction...No, I'm not going to do anything ridiculously drastic...but, I'm pretty sure it's time to change things up again...Here's where life starts getting crazy.
In the next month-ish I need to find a place to live (indefinitely and for relatively cheap), decide on a college (most likely online), and trust God for a smooth transition and that He really does have a perfect plan.
It's a scary time of life. It's kind of like going to kindergarten or middle school. It's like walking across the platform at graduation or that first day of college. It's all new and scary. You're excited for the new adventures that lie ahead, but you're not quite ready to let go of the past, all at the same time. I never dreamed the day would come when I would be looking for a place to live, not with my parents and not in a dorm. It's one of those things that you hear other people talk about, but you never expect to get to that point yourself. They are all so much older than you, right? WRONG?!?! Talk about a wake-up call! It's my turn to do this crazy thing called growing up and living life. :S
But, through it all, I can see God's hand and His faithfulness. A year ago, I didn't even want to leave home. I was going to live at home for four years and then find a job locally. I was going to be with Mom and Dad and Leah for at least four more years....Nope! Didn't happen. God led me to Faith. That first month, I was scared out of my mind! I was a country girl in the city. (They even have stoplights and turning lanes here!!!!!) Long about October, I was settled in pretty well, but I had every intention of going home for the summer and then coming back in the fall. Now, God's saying "no" again. But, that's okay. This country girl knows that God is faithful, good, and that He will provide for me, and lead me where He wants me to go. Now I just get to practice my patience...
GOD IS GOOD EVEN WHEN LIFE IS ROUGH!!!!!!!

Spring!

Wow! Our God is simply amazing! Here we were just a week and a half ago being surrounded by millions of little white flakes falling from the sky, and now, just look out your window! It’s simply GEORGEOUS out there!!!!!! Having just come off spring break, I am super glad for the nice weather that accompanied me back up to Ankeny. It’s was refreshing to wake up for class and not worry about lugging my coat around all day. The robins are splashing in the puddles, classroom windows are open, clouds have that white, ultra-puffy look to them, the sun is shining, and the weather is just right! Yep! Spring is definitely in the air!!!!!!! This afternoon, I was able to share the lovely weather with my dear friend Kirsten over a picnic lunch. J I just love picnics! Last night, it rained. It was such a pleasure to saunter through the drizzle without a care in the world. Sure enough, everything about last night and today screams of spring…right down to the last little earthworm crawling across the sidewalk! I know in a few weeks we’ll all probably start complaining about the rain, or we’ll wish that summer was here already, but it’s nights like last night and days like today that remind me God is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS in control of EVERYTHING! He controls the weather, and He knows exactly the right time to change the seasons! Praise the Lord that He is in control! For now, take a moment to thank Him for this wonderful season called spring. I know I am!!!!!!

Valentine's Day: Moment of Truth

Well, it's official. Valentine's Day has come once again. For me, Valentine's Day doesn't really mean a whole lot. It's my oldest sister's birthday, so most Valentine's were spent celebrating her. Oh, we always got gifts on this day, and Mom usually made us "love toast" :) , but mostly I enjoy Valentine's Day because of the parties we would have at school. However, this year, being at college and all, Valentine's Day has become a whole new affair (no pun intended). ;) So many crazy people running around trying to woo their special someone. Too many people spending way too much money to find a way to creatively express their love for another. OK, maybe I'm a little cynical...I'm working on that.... Moment of truth? OK. Deep in her heart, somewhere, Laura Sue Vance is a hopeless romantic. I mean come on, what female out there with any sort of a brain wouldn't want some nice, strong, handsome, godly, amazing man to hold her close and whisper sweet nothings in her ear? Who doesn't want a big box of chocolates and a dozen bright red roses? But, in all reality...what good would all of that be? They are all fleeting and worthless. I am perfectly content to sit here an wait a very long time before I deem any man worthy of my time and energy. For the time being, I am perfectly content to work on my ultimate, first-and-foremost love story...the one I have with my amazing Saviour! He alone is worthy of my praise, adoration, and love. He is what all of my focus, attention, and energy need to be centered around. He is my first love, and He always should be! So, this Valentine's Day, I'm going to spend some quality time with my God! Of course, He has given me some pretty great blessings so far today (much better than a dozen roses)! I have an amazing friend, Kirsten, that I am going to share dinner with tonight, I got off of work early (granted, it was because I wasn't feeling well, but I got off early nonetheless, and it was a blessing), I found out I got a part in the school play, I opened my Valentine's package from my parents, I got a cute little hamster eraser in my mailbox (his name is Beauregard), and I don't have any homework that I HAVE to do for tomorrow! Yep! God sure chose to bless me on this Valentine's Day! So thankful that He loves me unconditionally and always knows just what I need! Thank you Lord! Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!!

What a Wonderful Weekend! :D

Yep...ALL day long on Friday, I sat there, counting down the hours and minutes until I would be able to hop in my little red car and take off for home. Classes went by slowly and work even more so! I could not wait for the clock to read 6:00 so I could be done with Ankeny for the weekend!!!! Finally, it happened. I found myself signing out of work and getting in my car! The time had come for Kirsten, Ian, and, me to make the two and a half hour trek down to Bonaparte. Kirsten and I loaded our things, and then we went to get Sarah, who also rode with us as far as Fairfield. Then, we went to get Ian...whose phone and mine evidently have a small disconnect somewhere. We waited and waited for him to come. Finally, we asked one of the boys in the parking lot to go and get him...Yeah, he finally got the text that I had sent him about ten minutes down the road...Oh, well, we left, and that's the important thing. We stayed up into the wee hours watching a movie and just spending time together as friends. Saturday was a rather lazy day. I had a chiropractor appointment, we did laundry, I messed over Sunday's dessert, pillow fights were prevalent, Left Behind movies were on the agenda, a lot of Acts project, and again, in general, just having a really great time being friends. (I SOO wish that I could have wrestled with them, but, since the whole reason for the trip was my trip to the chiropractor, I decided against it...:( Oh, well! Once again, we stayed up into the morning talking and doing random things. Sunday we went to church! I love my church. The people there are wonderful. We sang special music "There is a Redeemer". Grandpa came for lunch, as did Lindsey, Bethany, and Alexxa. We had a super fun time. Again, more pillow fights, and food fights, too. :D We finally took off for Ankeny once again at about 6:30 Sunday evening. Oh, how short the weekend was! I wish that it could have gone on forever, but, alas, reality has once again reared its ugly head. Classes started bright and early at 7:00 this morning. Such is life! I'm so thankful that I was able to enjoy the weekend while it lasted! I hope that we can do it again...SOON! :D

February! :D

Oh, how great this February is starting out! Let's see...
1) The weather is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2) This means that we got to go outside at daycare again today!  This makes me super happy!
3) It started on a Wednesday, so I got to do Bible study with Daniel and Megan again. I LOVE watching the three little boys! Super fun!
4) There is just a little over one month until spring break, a little over two months until Easter, and just over three months until school is done for the school year! :D
Oh, my goodness! Another day full of God's amazing blessings! Thank you Heavenly Father!

God Loves to Give us Little Blessings! :)

Yep! That's right! God LOVES to shower us with little blessings...just because He can! :) He doesn't have to have a reason, He jsut does. He does it to remind us that He really does love us and care about EVERY detail of our lives! He does it because He know it will bring a smile to our face! He does it because He enjoys showering His children with blessings! HE IS AWESOME! This morning, I didn't think I would have anything to blog about, but, alas, I have been proven wrong! And I'm so very glad about that! God did some crazy, amazing things today. Not big things...Just little things to remind me of His unfailing love. Let's see how God showered little blessings out on me today:
1) It was a BEAUTIFUL day! For January in Iowa, it was georgeous! Sixty degree weather...Yeah! I was wearing flip flops!
2) Beacuse of the weather, my friend Kirsten Passwaters and  I ate a picnic lunch...OUTSIDE this time!
3) God answered Kirsten's prayer that I would be able to go outside at daycare today...I was getting very tired of staying inside all afternoon with 60 loud, crazy children. It was SO nice to get out and enjoy the lovely day! (And to have a place appropriate for the kids to scream for the first time in over two weeks!)
4) I got back to my dorm this evening, expecting to have hours and hours of homework, only to discover I had about 30 minutes of things I HAD to do for tomorrow. Such a blessing!
5) When my fantastic roommate and I discovered that we didn't have a lot of homework we decided to do something random and crazy...just the two of us...So, we made a quick trip to Hy-Vee and got the ingredients needed to make fudge! :) (Which we will consume as soon as I am done blubbering here...)
6) With nothing else to do tonight, I should be able to get to bed early for once...You know, before midnight! :)
Yeppers, I'm pretty sure that God loved blessing me all day long as much as I enjoyed beign blessed by God all day long!

You've Got Mail

So, there I was, sitting at my desk pondering what on earth I would ever have to tell the world about via blog, when I decided that I should check my mailbox. I tend to check it after chapel each day, but today we had to relocate for chapel, so I didn't check my mailbox, and the story goes on...Anyhow, I went to my mailbox expecting to see one of two things: 1) An empty box starting me square in the face OR 2) A few quizzes or class assignments given back by my professors and maybe some random announcement for everyone. But, NOOOO, not today! Today, my mailbox got smashed in the face with mail from back home! I was excited beyond all belief! I mean, yeah, I'm only two and a half hours from home, but come on, I still want mail just like everyone else! Ya know? So, not only did I have the general assignment and random announcement from school about some summer trip in my box today, I also had not just one,  but TWO letters from podunky southeast Iowa awaiting me this afternoon! :D My mommy sent me a happy little card with a turtle on the front. It's pretty great. Inside were some handy little documents by the name of car insurance cards! Yeah, I'm going to want those! Thanks Mom! Then, I got a letter that made me laugh so hard! It's addressed to me by some friendly, neighborhood cats from down the road. It was pretty hysterical! It gave me such a good laugh! Long story, but trust me, it was good! I love getting mail. I had the biggest, doofiest grin on my face as I made my way back to my room. I just wanted to skip and sing! It was SOOO good to hear from home...via REAL mail! Made my day!Upon completing letter reading, I began to think about God and His letter to me. Think about it: I was excited, like, super excited to get mail from home. It's good to hear from family and friends. There is nothing wrong with getting excited about mail; in fact, it's a good thing! How much more excited should I be to open up God's letter to me? There is always something "in my mailbox". He ALWAYS has something new and wonderful to share with me. Do I open up the "mailbox" of God's Word with proper enthusiasm? Unfortunately, I must admit I don't do that nearly enough. Oh, I open it, and I enjoy it, but how often to I get super excited about it? Hmmmm...kind of changes my perspective a little bit. I hope it changes yours, too. How will you respond to the letter waiting for you in your spiritual "mailbox" today?

Refreshing Brothers-in-Christ

Moment of truth...the one thing that almost made me say, "No," to God's urging for me to come to FBBC was the young Christian men that are prevalent around campus. Not that guys are bad or that I want to join a convent or anything like that...it's just all of the man stalking, MRS degree jokes, Faith Baptist Bridal College, etc. that goes on. I wanted no part of it...and still don't. I must say though, God has brought along some amazing brothers in Christ that are very encouraging. One in particular that I had a chance to talk with tonight on the way home from church. We were just talking about life in general and the conversation morphed into the future...you know marriage, what to do with our lives, that kind of thing. It was actually very refreshing to hear one of my brothers give their opinion on the topic and to hear what he had to say on the subject. It was totally amazing the way that he encouraged me. No, I'm still not here at FBBC to hunt down a man and go in for the kill (I mean, if God really wants that for me, I suppose I'll say yes) ;) However, until then, I am SUPER thankful for the brothers in Christ that God has placed in my life for this season to encourage me and help grow me! :) I cannot wait to see how God is going to work in all of our lives in the coming weeks, month, and years! :)

English...Shmeh!

Oh, the horrors of college English! Here's the thing, I love to write...if I'm not being graded on it. I like to express myself in my own random ways without being critiqued on every little thing. I love to use gargantuon words that are made up and I love to write run on sentences without being told it's not OK. Sentence fragments? Yeah! I like to write the way I talk...not a good thing for college English. I'm not terrible at English, and I get a fair amount of joy putting my thoughts down on a blank computer screen. There is a little bit of a thrill and tingle to begin relaying a message to others that is currently stored only in your heart and mind. But to have others analyze my thoughts and tell me what an awful writer I am? not so much! :( Meh! I'll get through this and I'll do my best. Do all to the glory of God, right? Let's hope I can keep my sanity through this...

Seasons of Change

Yep, it's winter folks, and the ground proves it. We FINALLY have snow! :) However, the weather is not the only thing that has been changing recently. I've begun my second semester at Faith, and things are changing all over the place. I switched dorms (and have an amazing roommate!), I've got wonderful friends (new and old, trying to find a balance is the tough part), and I'm working hard core on my relationship with my Saviour. Growing up is difficult, and this time of life is a little crazy and out of control. Sometimes I feel so lost and hopeless, but it's during these times that I truly have to rest on God's unchanging grace and unfathomable mercies. His mercies ARE new every morning, and for that, I am thankful! I would not, could not, should not make it through this life with out my God...I don't even want to try. I hope that as this second semester picks up steam I continue to seek His face. There are a lot of things going on, life is crazy, I'm surrounded my male-crazed females (awkward and annoying), and some days I feel like I'm about to sink...but, rest assured, God is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS there to love and guide me! Praise  His holy name!

College: Game One-Second Half...

     Second semester, how I despised thee. I didn't REALLY want to come back to school, but at the same time, I kind of did. Weird, right? But, here's the thing, now that I'm up here and getting back into the school routine, I'm down with it.
     OK, actually, as much as I think I'm going to enjoy my classes and professors, most of the good times that I have already stored up thus far have taken place out of the classroom. In fact, most of them took place before classes even started. Let me share a little about my crazy adventures since returning to Ankeny.
     1) OK, this actually took place on the way to Ankeny...My new roommate, Alyssa Katsion, who I love and adore, rode up with me. We had a great time catching up on life. Way fun. In addition, we stopped at Khols on our way back to college to return a pair of boots Alyssa got for Christmas...actually, we stopped at two Khols on our way back...The store had the size that she needed on hold for her, but we went to the wrong Khols...Oops! Oh, well, she got her boots, we had fun, and we made a memory! :D
     2) Saturday night, I was a rebel...Two of my best friends and I went to a movie. We watched the newest Mission Impossible movie. It was pretty good...Really, what made to movie good was the company. I'm sure the people around us didn't think so, though...;) Yes, this semester is going to be great having Kirsten and Ian around to do random, crazy things with...which takes me to point number three...
     3) Movie, in the car, with Ian and Kirsten, in the park...with the cops...funny, funny stuff! :D Made my day...
     4) Lastly, I'm thankful for the way that God has led in my life. I'm at Faith, I'm loving life, I've got awesome, good friends (some old, some new), and my classes are off to a good start.
     Yes, I cannot wait to see what all this new semester has in store for me. Whatever it is, I'm sure that it's crazy, random, God-planned, wonderful, and full of laughter! What is God going to do between now and May? Oh! I can only imagine! :D