I see you,

and I love you. Every ounce of stress and frustration. Every tear. Every struggle. Every regret. Every joyful reminiscence. You are strong. You are brave. You find God in your weakness. Your concern for others exceeds that for yourself, and you are an anchor for so many. I see the things you do not express, and I see the work that God is performing in you. You are one of my closest friends, and I love you so much. You are someone I look up to. On more than one occasion you have provided me with much needed perspective, and you a wonderful voice of reason. More importantly, I am so blessed to be your sister in Christ, and I count you as nothing less than the blessing you are. I love you, Kathryn! Always. I am so thankful for our friendship, and I will do anything and everything for you. It's what I'm here for :)

Beautiful things.

Beautiful things come of everything, if in fact God's working for our benefit is beautiful (which I believe it is). The problem I face, though, is taking that head knowledge and letting it resonate and be accepted in my heart; this creates a sort of hollowing effect, one that I can find myself getting lost in should I choose to let it overwhelm me. Knowing something is easy, a matter of simply learning and remembering. Accepting it and believing it as truth is a separate matter--one that requires work and maintanence. And though I struggle and am flawed, God is ready to make me new; He always is. God's patience is an astounding concept to think about... I don't want to keep Him waiting, though. So the question I'm left with is this: Where exactly do I begin?

There is always something in this life. It may be one thing after another, or a single event that shakes your foundation. But I will find comfort in knowing that my Rock, my foundation, is indeed constant--never faltering or wavering. Nothing is going to go my way, but it is going to go His way. His way is in fact better, regardless of when I am able to completely accept that. May my stubborn walls be disintegrated, and may my heart be broken by the Truth.

Goodnight loves. 

Dear rain,

please relocate yourself. The forecast of liquid precipitation for the next ten days really took some pep out of my step. For some reason rain does that to me--unless for some reason I'm outside jumping in puddles with someone. But hey, at least this picture brightens my mood a little bit, due to its clever nature and truthfulness :)

I woke up the earliest I have in a while today, 6:35 AM. I was in the car by 7 to drive back to JMU. I made it to my 9:30 class on time, which I was glad about. We had a woman from the Social Work department come in and talk to us about what lies ahead of us. I am going to be so busy it's not even funny. I wondering where my time for a job is going to go. I'm seriously considering donating plasma, not even joking. Desperate? A little. Anyways, I crashed in between classes, went to SOWK 288, had lunch with Hannah and Taylor, and took another nap before oceanography. I really hate complaining, so I'll just say this: That class is long, and the software is complicated. So enough about that.

For some reason, maybe because of the downing effects of the rain, I kept thinking about movie clips that make me laugh. So I thought I'd share a few with you :)



Goodnight loves!

Sex + Money

I saw this documentary tonight at Liberty University, and it re-sparked the righteous anger I have towards human trafficking, more specifically sex trafficking in women and children. Ana the whole time I was watching it I couldn't help but think... I am so blessed to be living in the situation and lifestyle I live in. The statistic is that 1 in 4 girls with be sexually abused by the age of 18. I have never once been a victim of that. I have not been molested, kidnapped.... No one is abusing or exploiting me. I don't have a home environment that I feel the need to run away from, I do not need to turn to "love" from a stranger out of desperation. I am blessed. And more than anything, I want to help my sisters in Christ be saved from this lifestyle they're trapped in; I want to give them freedom. They are not criminals. They are victims. Trafficking and prostituting need to be abolished, starting with our own country. So often we we view human trafficking as an exclusively international issue, but it's happening on our very own street corners. That thought is scary, bearing in mind how many young girls and children there are in the world who are at the age of gaining independence, yet still so vulnerable to pimps and predators. Each of these victims could have been me; it still could be me. Yet God has protected me from it. I wish I had another way to say it, but I am just so humbled and thankful to my Father. And my prayers will ever increase for my brothers and sisters in Christ who are chained by trafficking. God is with them, and I know He is working for their benefit, always.

I am so glad I made the trip to Lynchburg to see this film. It was so worth seeing, and I am so amazed by the hearts of the people who created it. They are promoting awareness of this issue, and they are helping renew the lives of trafficking victims. I hope that one day I can be a social worker that gets to impact the lives of trafficked women and children, whether nationally or globally. God willing, I will be working with the aftercare, rehabilitation, and reintegration of my brothers and sisters back into society. One day, I hope!

I'm also very happy I got to spend time with Kathryn and Elizabeth this evening. Kathryn and I got to talk for a little while in her room, I met some of her friends here, and we picked up Elizabeth for dinner. And, after seeing and hanging out in in Elizabeth's room for a little bit, Kathryn and I made our way to the screening. We got to see Melisa and Lorraine while we were there also, so that was cool. But yes, this trip was definitely a success. Like I said, I am very glad I decided to embark on this endeavor. Definitely worth it. Sorry that this was a lot of rambling; my mind is a little scattered. Goodnight loves!

A realization.

Okay, so I mentioned a week ago that my transition back to JMU went a lot smoother than I had anticipated. And it was really piquing my interest why that was. I mean, after creating so many amazing relationships with youth this summer and having grown closer to the most amazing friends God could have blessed me with, I was expecting and emotional breakdown that would have put Irene to shame [in regards to the waterworks]. But I came back here, and everything was just very ordinary, day-to-day living. I got back into things very naturally without sobs. So I just kept wondering exactly how that happened, and I came to this conclusion: I am supposed to be here right now. As terribly as I miss everyone at home, it's true. And in a way, realizing that was such an amazing comfort for me. Last year, I'll never forget it, I was crying my eyes out at church the Sunday I had to go back to school after winter break. Elsbeth was talking to me and asked me, "Have you ever considered that maybe JMU isn't where you're supposed to be?" That question honestly terrified me, because it had the potential of being so true. Up to that point, I had cried every time I had to leave home and come back, and I was starting to have my doubts. But now, I don't have that worry so much. I have a roommate who is a wonderful friend, and we share a mutual caring and supportive relationship. I have the most amazing sorority sisters ever who build me up in my faith and showing me unfailing love. I have a small group who has invested their time and energy into supporting me in my spiritual walk. I have my Justice Team members who share my passion for global justice, and I have my other Eagle and IV friends that have maintained relationships with me despite communication gaps and various distances. I am okay. I can be here and be alright. And as for my darling friends and beloved youth back home, I still have them too! I have talked to so many people even already since I've been gone, and it has made me so happy! I still have that open communication and I can still know what's going on in their lives! It's not exactly the same, of course, but nothing has been cast by the wayside. I am so blessed to have the people I have in my life--both here at JMU and at home. God really has been looking out for me. And I'm just so thankful to have this peace of mind that I am good where I am! Lugging that fear around was so worrisome I can't even tell you, especially this summer. Thanks be to Him for alleviating that burden! Thank You, thank You, thank You!

Curious about the rundown?

• Church service at Aletheia.
• Brunch with Brittany, Brianna, and Andrea.
• Nap.
• Homework.
• Dinner with Steph :)
• Homework/hall meeting.
• Skype date with Heather!
• Shower/here I am.

Goodnight loves!

New addition to the room.

Courtesy of the store 10,000 Villages, Brianna and I have some new window decore:

(Sorry for the terrible lighting in this pic. I'm working with a digital...)

I love them :) They are so cute, and I love that they are free trade!

Also(!), I found these there!

They're little dove charms! I thought they were super cute. And since the dove is my sorority symbol, I thought it would be a cool little something to give to my future little :) And she could give oner to her future little :) Eeeep!

But aside from Andrea, Brittany, and I taking a trip to the farmers market and some downtown shops, today was pretty much filled with down-time in the dorm room. I got some reading and whatnot done, and Brianna and I watched Tangled tonight, which was wonderful :) I also got to skype Kathryn, as well as this little love:

I really love and miss my Juliana :) We were dancing and singing together through video chat. It was wonderful :) Oh! And I also got to IM Austin for a bit! This just about sums it up:

We're only slightly ridicuous. Hahaha. Well loves, I'm going to church in the AM, so I need to hit the hay. Goodnight!

One fine Friday :)

I have been getting the worst sleep ever since I came back to school, so I've been waking up freakishly early in the morning and having to make myself go back to sleep several times. But at least I'm not over-sleeping, right? Anyways.... After doing my morning devo and going to class, I had lunch with Hannah, which was lovely :) What made it even better was when Taylor, Kirsten, and Stephanie all came a joined us later on. And then I got to see Brittany and Ezara! Party in Duke's say whaaaat?! Haha. I loved that :)

I skyped this darling chica for an hour and a half:

For those who do not know, that is my little sister. Haha :) I have never actually skyped her before, and it was really neat :) I love my Jennifer! She always keeps me laughing :)

After Brianna and I had nap time for a bit, it was time for small group dinners! My freshman friend, Allison, came with me tonight, which was great :) I kind of had to dash out of dinner for a bit though to meet up with my mom. She gave me my hamper, sheets, pillows, towels, etc., and I gave her my TV that doesn't pick up the digital cable here (dumb). My mom even bought me Starbucks! I was so appreciative :) The little things in life just make my day. But I couldn't stay long, because I had to hurry back for large group! It was amazing tonight. CJ's talk was so good, and the closing worship was so moving. I just loved it. This song literally had my eyes leaking:

And, my friend Allison signed up for her own small group! That made me very happy indeed :) After large group, I went with Hannah and Brandi to Walmart, where we got supplies to make these:

These are cupcakes. Why did we make them? Well, it's our SAO sister, Jenn's, 21st birthday (as of midnight tonight)!!!!

I love this girl so very much; we all do! So we made her cupcakes and delivered them to her at the IV dance party she was at :) She was too precious. She just was so thankful for something even as small as cupcakes. I just love her so much! I'm glad I got to help do that for her :)

As for the rest of my night, I hung out at Hannah and Brandi's with them, Courtney, and Katie until 1:45. It was a fun time :) No, I did not plan on being out that late. But I guess it's good preparation for the Carrier nights that undoubtedly lie ahead, right? Ehh. Haha. Goodnight all! I hope you had a lovely Friday experience as well :)