Beloved and Broken.

Perhaps a broken heart can serve your spirit well.
If it weren't for our periods of brokeness,
our faith would never be tested.
And if we never hit troughs
in our relationship with God,
then would we ever realize our dependence?
I find it hard to abandon my struggles;
to leave them in the hands of God.
Why do I think myself to be indestructible?
When will I realize that I cannot do this alone?
My emotions, thoughts, and obstacles;
nothing is within my control.
I need to trust in that,
instead of merely understanding the concept.
This life is hard.
We will experience emotional breakdowns,
traumatic loss, relationship issues,
and personal, heart-shattering dilemas.
But how we cope can say a lot.
Do you tell someone?
Curl in a ball and cry in isolation?
That is when we need Him the most.
And, in time, we will break down, and
the trust barricade will permanently dissenigrate.
We will live in peace; serenity; utopia.
Well, the closest we can get on this Earth, anyway.....


Fact: Josh Huizenga just started a fight with me, and I am shaking with anger... Someone might need to hold me back the next time I see him. Seriously, that blow was low; even for him. If anyone wants to hear about it later just ask. I don't want to splurge about it on the internet.

JMU Proceeds Car Troubles.

Today was quite lovely (with some minor exceptions). At 8:30 this morning, Lorraine and I set off to meet up with Jonathan Blair, Jeremy Woltz, and Kristina Elliot to explore James Madison University :) It was beautiful! And I'm excited to say that I am no longer an unspecified college-bound student. Yes, I'm going to be a Duke! Ahhhhh! I am quite excited; in case you couldn't already tell. After some dorm browsing, campus viewing, festival hall dining, tee-shirt shopping, and petting some wildlife, it was time to hit the road again. Yeah, about that... I know you all probably already know this, but I got pulled over for speeding. Now I have  court date and more than likely will have to driving school. FAIL! Then, my check-engine light came on shortly after being pulled; that was a bummer. Then, I had a lovely dace review session and dinner at casa de Tobey with Heather, Ellory, and Lorraine. Now that was fun! And the dinner was so quaint and delicious; I loved it :) However, not long after we left Heather's to head to youth group, smoke starts coming out of my car. Long story short, my car had to get towed (which, again, you all already know). Sounds hectic, but it's all good! I had a marvelous day, and I loved ending it with some cheerful chatter with Annemarie, Heather, and Julie. Do you remember "As Told by Ginger?" We do! Haha, and now I'm spending the night at the Woon residents. Yes, my friends, life is good; good indeed :)

Fact: I own every episode and movie of Sailor Moon on DVD. Sad, but true. (I was going to write that I need a new car, but I think that's pretty much understood.)

Beach Bums and Lemon Cake.

A majority of my day today was spent at the beach. It was nice to just bask in this lovely weather with friends. The smell of sunscreen, freezing cold water, sporadic wind, sunburn.... what more could you ask for out of a day trip?! Haha :) And even though Julie's GPS was acting quite ridiculous on the way there, and we had a mild case of car sickness, it was an essentially care-free mini-vacation. Oh! And 1822 was quite fun tonight! We grilled out (oh my goodness I ate A TON! Two hotdogs and a cheeseburger....) and we worshiped outside; just our voices and Anthony's acoustic. It was lovely; as was Scoob's sermon on seeing Jesus's resurrection every day and in every part of our lives. Then, after a brief period of socializing, a group of us went over to the Kelly's; where the girls talked to Mrs. Kelly and she fed us lemon cake (which was superb). I do love my friends. You all make my life complete and keep a smile on my face :) What can I say, you light up my life!

Fact: When I go to Subway, I always get a foot-long sub; and eat the whole thing in one sitting. Hey, it's only five dollars, and six inches just doesn't cut it for me. Haha, I may regret these dietary decisions when I'm older...

Lunch, Life, and Love.

Oh today, how wonderful you are; waking up after 11 in itself was amazing. Aside from this small satisfaction, however, I spent a wonderful afternoon with the lovely Heather :) Although Sushi-O was a minor fail, we managed to find other delectable Asian food. And what is lunch without ice cream? Yay Coldstone! Haha, the desert pouch always has room for more ;) But the food, though fantastic, wasn't what made the day wonderful, it was the conversation. I love having the opportunity to sit down with the people I care about and just talk about life; anything and everything. Childhood memories with slightly-cruel older siblings, stress, school, parents, bursting, calendars with limited free time, future plans, past/current drama, personality analysis..... it feels so good to talk about! Let it all go; put it out in the open. Whether or not someone has been through the same things that you have, they can understand your emotions and get you through it. Nobody in this world is alone in their feelings or struggles. That's a marvelous concept: even though we are all so different, we share many similar emotions. It's like traveling. Maybe I've traveled somewhere you haven't, but that doesn't mean that you won't later on in life; or maybe you just haven't traveled as far down that road as someone else has. Just think about it. We are given these relationships, these friendships, this love for a reason. Let's take full advantage of it!

Fact: Watching the end of Step Up always makes me happy. I want my own personal "Tyler" (Channing Tatum). I just love happy endings :)

Four Score and Eleven Years Ago :)

Today has been simply wonderful :)
Sunrise, sanctuary, and gym services.
I do love my life!
To be honest, I never really understood
the true significance of Easter sunday.
My understanding was so limited;
some might say I had none.
But I loved hearing the message today.
Even though the scripture was the same
in all three services, I found it interesting
that each person who spoke (though
having the same underlying theme) had something different to contribute to their sermon;  to each man his own message. "Why are are you looking for the living amongst the dead?" Jesus lives so that we may truly live! What love; what sacrifice; what grace.




Fact: Whenever I'm getting out of my car, I check my purse at least two or three times to make sure my keys are in there. Again, slightly OCD, but I have a reason... I may or may not have locked in my keys one day when I was at Friendly's with some friends. Fail, haha :)

Baby Sea Turtles

are the most adorable things! I saw The Last Song today with my sisters, and it was amazing! I may or may not have cried. Haha, and before that, we completely stuffed ourselves at Cheeburger Cheeburgur; so good. Today was the first day in a long time that I spent the whole day hanging out with my sisters. I didn't realize how much I've missed it. What a lovely break this is becoming! Oh, and I know the whole baby turtle thing may have seemed random. But look at it! Ahhh, I want to see a group of them travel from their nest to the ocean. It would make me so happy :)

Fact: I am constantly paranoid that I am getting on someone's nerves. May seem silly, but it's the truth.

I Can Breathe!!!

And it feels so good :) Oh my goodness, I cannot even begin to express the relief and joy inside of me. It may or may not burst through my pores. That's right, SPRING BREAK! Maybe now I can get more than seven hours of sleep each night; currently seven hours is a luxury night... Anywho, I am so excited for the week ahead of me! JMU, Maymont, Sushi-O, Five Guys, Starbucks; bring it on! Eeeep! I want to reach through the computer and hug every single one of you! I just love you! Ahhhhhh! Haha, maybe you couldn't tell, but I am mildly happy right now :)

Oh! And I've decided that I want to post a random fact about myself every day. Just a little fun excerpt because I can.

Fact: When I drink Starbucks, I have to line up the crease of the cup up with the crease of the cardboard holder thing; which is also in line with the hole that you drink out of. And, my thumb always has to be on the crease whenever I take a sip. OCD!