Abby's Adventures in Oxford

A slight change of plans

2010-07-06T13:03:00.006-04:00

So I have recently discovered something. I epically fail at keeping a blog...at least keeping it updated. It's not like I've been too busy or anything, I just haven't felt all that motivated to write.

As you can imagine, I am no longer in Oxford...so right now the title of the blog would be more accurate as "Abby's lack of Adventures in Loveland". It's been a really strange summer so far. If you had asked me a year ago, heck even at the end of the school year, what I thought summer would be like...I wouldn't have come close.

I somewhat mentioned previously summer started out rather uglily (that's probably not a word but it works). My cat of 16+ years passed away while I was at school (right before finals) and that was pretty rough. My grandma was diagnosed with fairly advanced breast cancer and suffered a heart attack. Another distant cousin was diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer. And last week another one of my kitties was hit by a car (killing her and her unborn kittens instantly). So all in all, it's been rough but that's not the weird part of the summer.

The weird part is how God saw those sorrows and began to mend them (okay maybe it's not weird because that's just who God is, it just blows me away). Not a week after Marky died, two of our former kittens had kittens of their own. We now have seven of the most adorable little baby cats in the world. The pain of loosing Mark is still there but as my little sister said "Nothing mends a broken heart like a new born kitten". Now this next one is really a miracle. My grandma had been complaining of some classic heart attack symptoms and my grandpa (being a former EMT) recognized it immediately, called the ambulance and starting prepping my grandma for the ride to the hospital. My grandpa had her set up in a way that the EMT guys basically only had to put in the ambulance and drive. They rushed her to the hospital and almost right away they took her into surgery and performed an angioplasty. One of the arteries going to her heart was nearly 95% (that may or may not be exaggerated) blocked. The doctor said had they not performed the surgery when they did, she would have died (it truly was a miracle). They also learned that the type of breast cancer my grandma has can be treated with hormones and she might not need the chemo. The other two situations have had no immediate resolutions. Jayme starts chemo and radiation this week (y'all can pray for her and her family) and we still miss Georgy a lot but Mungu Anaweza (Swahili for God is able...I stole that from a friend's status, thanks Nate!). It just blows me away. I was feeling pretty helpless and I dreaded praying about these needs because I didn't want to admit to myself that it was as bad as it really was. That's where God came in too. I was at a loss and kind of rebelling against praying and God met those needs anyway. He is faithful when I am not.

Whew! I feel a bit out of breath after writing all that.

I was really dreading coming home for the summer. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my family and LOVE being around them but I was really going to miss my friends and the freedom I had at Miami. I thought all the friends I had made at the end of the school year would disappear into a cloud of smoke. In my mind summer was the place friendships went to die. Well, I was wrong (thank GOD...literally). Admittedly I haven't gotten to do much with my friends from high school, which is mostly my fault for not taking the initiative and that's a little different than I imagined. But the weird thing is the friends I made at Miami aren't going away, if anything those relationships are stronger than they've ever been (which, again, is not how I saw it). Who knew things like IM and Facebook would actually help me form real meaningful relationships? Strange...

Another thing that didn't go as planned is I didn't get a summer job (not for lack of trying mind you). But I'm not going to dwell on that.

This next bit will be a random praises. I finally got my drivers' license (the entire time I was entire humming "Jesus take the wheel" (which again is weird because I hate that song and country music in general) mumbling "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13) and we got a car, a nice little green Honda (named Carl or Carlotta depending on who you ask). We have a new baby boy in the family, my cousin James Anthony Diss Jr. was born at the end of June...the first Diss boy in 30 years.

Another thing that's been strange for me is how I feel. I feel different than I did a year ago. A good different I think. I don't know why and I really can't explain the how. Maybe it's all about growing up, I don't know...I'm at a loss.

So this summer has really been all about God's plans not being my plans and me learning His plans are the best.

I'll end with this (something that has been whispered to me throughout the summer) today:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. --- Jeremiah 29:11-13

Something Positive!!! HURRAY!!

2010-06-06T20:03:00.004-04:00

I'm beginning to feel like this has become a bit an obituary (believe me that was not the intention) so I'm going to switch things up a bit and add some positive news.

Well to begin with, a week after our beloved Marky passed away the cats that adopted us had kittens. So living on our back porch currently are 7 of the cutest baby cats in the world. We need to find homes for all but two of them.

Another positive: The first Diss baby boy in thirty years was born yesterday. Ironically the last baby boy was his daddy and they share the same name, James Anthony.

I really don't have anything too deep today...probably because I've not been sleeping well for the past two weeks. My goal is to complete the update and add more tomorrow, when I have some alone time (of which I am in desperate need of...the introvert has been around lots of people lately and quite frankly it's exhausting).

When It Rains it Pours

2010-05-12T13:25:00.000-04:00

Well this has not been an easy year so far. We have certainly been through the fire and unfortunately we have yet to see the end of it. Sometimes God allows us to go through difficult times and we don't always understand why. It's been really difficult this year to see God's goodness in hard situations, but I know it's always there (always has been and always will).

Well here we go on our latest tragedies.

Without be too specific, I have found out in the last week that two family members have been diagnoised with cancer in the 3 and 4 stages. Please pray for them and the rest of my family. Pray for healing and for peace in this turmoil. Pray that God will use this to turn their hearts to him.

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

Another lesson in morality

2010-05-02T00:53:00.000-04:00

I can honestly say that this is a lesson I'm sick of learning. Today (May 1) I lost another special friend. My Mark (I wish the picture gave him justice) went to be with Jesus today. I never got to say good-bye and I hope he knows how much I loved him. Marky had been sick off and on for a while, but he always seemed to bounce back. This time, at the ripe old age of 16ish, he decided he was done fighting and wanted to see Jesus. This has been a rough year for us and our pets. Please pray for us...I don't even know what or how at this point, I just know we need it. Thank you God for giving us such a wonderful kitty and take good care of him. I love you Marky and will always miss you!

Merry Monday!!

2010-04-19T10:24:00.000-04:00

Merry Monday everyone! Well that's something I thought I'd never say. It really is amazing the difference a day, writing, and wonderful friends can make. Yesterday, as you may or may not have noticed was a rough day/afternoon for me. There really is no specific reason why it was, it was just one of those days. So we shall move on from those types of days and look forward.

So as a brief update, things have been crazy. My roommate went off to boot camp in February, so I have been roomieless since then. I have my rooming assignment and roommate assignment for next year. I went to Colorado with the Navigators during Spring Break.

Now I will elaborate on the Spring Break. My goal for Spring Break was to draw closer to God and have a fantastic God moment. Well the God moment didn't happen...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. I just felt very stale and tired in my faith; I wanted God to wake me up and make me have this amazing relationship with Him. When that didn't happen, I began to feel discouraged and anxious (the homesickness didn't help the anxiety...neither did the 22 hour van ride, the people were great but 22 hours is just too long). Although I didn't have a huge God moment He did show me some of the amazing people around me...people that I roomed with and spent that fabulous van ride with. I think I came out of Colorado with new friendships, and strengthen old friendships, that I probably wouldn't have discovered had I not gone.

The God moment I was craving came afterward. While there, Glen Eyrie (Colorado Springs, Colorado), I got a book from the Nav HQ's bookstore. Trusting God by Jerry Bridges. I figured maybe I was having trust issues and that's why I was feeling stale. Well I started reading the book and one of the first things Bridges said was (more or less) if you don't trust God, you don't have a good relationship with Him (that was an aha! moment) and if you don't have a good relationship with him, you probably don't know him that well (hmm...) and if you don't know him it's probably because you're not reading his word and allowing two way communication (at this point I mentally gave myself a "coulda had a V8 donk"). Since then I have on average 5 quiet times a week and have never felt closer to God (glory be!). I have felt physically and mentally 10x better than before I left. It really is amazing, isn't it?

Another thing from Colorado that stuck with me is the verse Hebrews 12:2

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

This verse was explained by one of the speakers, Vick Black, at Glen Eyrie. He put the emphasis on "for the joy" and explained that we are that joy. I never thought of myself that way before and I absolutely love it. To think that God takes joy in me and that Christ died because he found joy in me, blows my mind. It's definitely become my favorite verse and whenever I have days like I did yesterday, I meditate on that and God brings me out of that funk.

I think that's all for now but I'll leave you with an old gem that I rediscovered today. "More" by Matthew West.

Take a look at the mountains
Stretching a mile high
Take a look at the ocean
Far as your eye can see
And think of Me

Take a look at the desert
Do you feel like a grain of sand?
I am with you wherever
Where you go is where I am

And I'm always thinking of you
Take a look around you
I'm spelling it out one by one

(Chorus)
I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more

Just a face in the city
Just a tear on a crowded street
But you are one in a million
And you belong to Me

And I want you to know
That I'm not letting go
Even when you come undone

(Chorus)
I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more
I love you more

Shine for Me
Shine for Me
Shine on, shine on
Shine for Me

(Chorus)
I love you more than the sun
And the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you yesterday and today
And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again
I love you more

(Chorus)
Than the sun
and the stars that I taught how to shine
You are mine, and you shine for me too
I love you, yesterday and today
Through the joy and the pain
I'll say it again and again
I love you more
I love you more

And I see you
And I made you
And I love you more than you can imagine
More than you can fathom
I love you more than the sun
And you shine for me

2010-01-18T18:22:00.000-05:00

A Lesson on Mortality

2010-01-18T17:58:00.001-05:00

Today I had to say to good bye to one of my best friends. We had to put our beloved puppy (okay she was 13, so maybe not puppy) Princess to sleep. She was beginning to struggle to breath and had stopped eating a week ago. It's hard but it's comforting to know God's taking care of her until we can get there. She's sitting in Jesus' lap right now, chewing on a t-bone, and enjoying a nice tummy rub from an angel. I can't write anymore right now, crying too much. I'll leave with some song lyrics, a poem, and a Bible verse.

Song Lyrics: Phil Joel, Passing Angel

We won't say goodbye
This is not the end we know
Truly all who live must die
But not all who live Have truly been alive

So, I will celebrate your love
Celebrate your faith
Celebrate your love
And the legacy you leave

We won't say goodbye

Poem (my roomie wrote this out for me and put on my desk, I balled when I saw it after getting back): Jan Cooper, Heaven's Doggy Door

My best friend closed his eyes last night,
As his head was in my hand.
The Doctors said he was in pain,
And it was hard for him to stand.

The thoughts that scurried through my head,
As I cradled him in my arms.
Were of his younger, puppy years,
And OH...his many charms.

Today, there was no gentle nudge
With an intense "I love you gaze",
Only a heart thats filled with tears
Remembering our joy filled days.

But an Angel just appeared to me,
And he said, "You should cry no more,
GOD also loves our canine friends,
HE's installed a 'doggy-door"!

Bible Verse: Matthew 10: 29-31

²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny^d]">[d]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. ³⁰And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Pray for healing of our broken hearts

2010: A Year of New Beginnings...and New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-04T10:21:00.000-05:00

I can honestly say I am very happy to put 2009 behind me...my dad said it best when he said, "I hope 2010 is better than 2009, 2009 sucked!" But the important thing is it's over and it is time to move on.

Yesterday during church, God opened my eyes and, I hope this is what happened, showed me what he wants to teach me this year. What is love? (no not that weird song in Night at the Roxbury). God showed me that I have a really warped idea of what love is. The movies and the TV shows tell us that love is physical. And it's not I looked up 1 Corinthians 13 (the famous love chapter they always read at weddings...I'm going to put it at the bottom) and it says nothing about the physical. But I think God wants to tell me what he says love is. I was sitting in church, in a bad mood because the dog kept me up all night, and just thinking what is wrong with me? The whole bad self image thing reared it's ugly head. Satan was telling me lies and telling me I have no value because I'm single. (this is all difficult to express because I'm still trying to work what was going through my head into words). I think I've realized why I'm still single...it's because I need to strengthen my relationship with God before I can have a relationship with a guy. God is showing me already that I don't need a boyfriend to feel good about myself and he's more than enough for me.

Time for another song :) More than Enough by Chris Tomlin

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

You are my supply
My breath of life
And still more awesome than I know
You are my reward
worth living for
And still more awesome than I know

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

You're my sacrifice
Of greatest price
And still more awesome than I know
You're the coming King
You are everything
And still more awesome than I know

More than all I want
More than all I need
You are more than enough for me
More than all I know
More than all I can say
You are more than enough for me

Now it's time for New Years Resolutions:

Become closer with God (establish a real relationship)
Read the entire Bible in one year (using the study Bible Mom gave me)
Procrastinate less (less procrastination leads to better grades...I hope so at least)
Strive for all A's and A-'s
Become more organized
Be more healthy (eat better, exercise...*wince*)
Start memorizing the TMS for Navs
Be more consistent while writing this Blog
Spend less time on the computer
Make new friends (and keep the old...one is silver and the older gold :))
Fast from TV at least twice a week ( I've been thinking this one over and I think it'll help with all the resolutions...it basically means no TV at all for at least two days during the week, probably Monday and Friday...this way I'll get more reading done and I watch too much TV anyway)

Pray Requests: for Mom and Emily (going on a diet), work for Poppy, Ang (whatever she may need), Rachel (military stuff), me (more outgoing and to keep my resolutions), LM schools (levy pass and wisdom if it doesn't) and a good 2010 for everyone

Praises: Thank you God for opening my eyes...and for the completion of 2009 :)

Updates and Christmas Rant

2010-01-04T09:56:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been since September and today is January 4th. I'm not very good at staying consistent, but I'll provide updates.

Updates:
1) First Semester of college officially over...finished with a 3.60, which is a miracle in itself
2) My roomie Rachel might be enlisting in the military so I may be roomieless next semester
3) Christmas/Winter Break...oh boy, where do I begin?

I'll begin with a paragraph. Well it say that this Christmas was different from past Christmases is an understatement. Because of recent events we had Christmas solely at our house and we (Ang, Dad and I) only went to my grandparents to say hi, drop off and pick up presents. For Christmas dinner we had roast beef, which is another change, we usually have turkey. The people in my house have been extremely moody...not just for Christmas, but in general...one minute we'll be joking and having a good ole time, and the next people will be yelling/crying and stomping off to there given rooms. This has mostly been between my sisters, and being the middle sister I naturally try to resolve the conflict putting me in the middle. This has been quite stressful and I don't particularly enjoy it. I'm beginning to realize that it is not my place to resolve their problems and I need to stop putting myself in the middle, I'm praying that that will become a reality.

It really seemed in all this craziness that we forgot what Christmas is really supposed to be about. Christmas is a celebration about an act of complete unselfishness and we celebrate it by being selfish jerks...how does that make sense? Jesus, the Son of God, humbled himself and became a powerless human baby because he loved us. WOW. It's sad that our culture has turned Christmas into what it has. Our society has warped good things and turned them into sin and sinful behavior. Christmas has turned into a worship of materialism instead of the worship of the Son of God. God gave us the ultimate Christmas present and we return the favor by ignoring him and worshipping an obese man that doesn't even exist. God forgive all of us for what we've made it.

I'm going to end with the lyrics from the song Heart of Worship by Michael W. Smith

When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus

King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus

I'm coming back to the heart of worship,
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus

LE Troisième SEMAINE (and the result of drinking iced coffee)

2009-09-12T16:07:00.000-04:00

You'd think after the week of french hell I've had that I'd be pretty sick of the language (referring to the title). I spent 4 hours on Tuesday finishing the online french homework, I found on Wednesday I only needed to do half of what I did, and yesterday morning I wrote a paper a two page paper completely in french about a french poem. But I actually really do enjoy the course and the professor is very nice.

But enough complaining and whining because I procrastinated...now for the good stuff. I LOVE COLLEGE!! I don't know why, I just do. This week felt so much easier than the last couple, of course I'm sure the fact this week was only 4 days helped. Even when the classes annoy me or when there's a lot of homework, I love it (which is a HUGE blessing). Even in mythology when the subject matter kind of scars me for life. That class, my history class, and the honors seminar, I more or less travel with the same group of kids. We've kind of developed a sense of comradeship (is that even a word?)...is a fun group of people and we all get along really well, even when debating about stuff. Ya know?...come to think of it, I don't think I've had a bad day since I got up here.

This is really my first weekend on my our, for the most part, since getting here. So far, and it's only Saturday, it's been AWESOME!! I got up when I wanted, 10:30ish, I explored a little bit and discovered one of the most awesome places on campus. Market Street at MacCracken, it's like an on campus grocery store and really close to where I live. This place has everything, even french cheese. I literally spent ten minutes walking around with my eyes wide and mouth open. It even had food and drink that Walmart didn't. It was just awesome...I might just have to make it a weekly visit. Then, after eating the lunch I got from MacCracken, I went to Tuffy's and got an iced coffee (which is probably why I've been dancing around the hallways, writing in caps and the reason I'm feeling so enthousiastic right now...SO HYPER RIGHT NOW!!!). I think I need to be cut off...

Okay prayer requests: That my cousin would stop being in pain, Poppy would get more work, that I would start being more productive, for my roomie and her airforce physcial thingy today, for my buddy Emily that she would adjust quickly and well to the college life.

Praises: I ENJOY COLLEGE!!! and EVERYTHING ELSE GOOD THAT HAS HAPPENED!!!

....wow maybe I shouldn't drink coffee before/while blogging...hmm

I never was very good at keeping a diary...

2009-09-07T18:35:00.001-04:00

Well sorry this has taken so long folks, basically week two kicked my butt. Thank God for three day weekends.

Week two was exhausting. Two papers and about fifty billion pages of reading took a lot out of me. Almost made me never want to read again. It was a bit of a rude awakening, week one was just an introduction and the rest of the year will be more like last week. My work ethic is really sucking right now, I keep procrastinating and it's biting me in the butt (having to stay up late and get up early to get stuff done).

I've already had my faith "challenged". In my history class, the professor basically our class that the Bible can't possibility be an accurate source...I beg to differ. Then in my mythology class we discussed the supposed different accounts of the creation of man/woman in Genesis. First of all, I didn't appreciate discussing the Bible in a mythology class, as if it were mythology. Second of all during the discussion when I said I didn't see it as two different accounts, but as one just providing more description than the other. The professor replied, "You're only seeing it that way because you don't want to see it the other way". I was kind of taken back and thought for a minute and said to myself (not out loud) "yeah pretty much". In my journalism class our professor asked us if there was right and wrong and if people should be punished for using other people's research and not siting them. ONLY FIVE OF TWENTY PEOPLE IN THAT CLASS SAID THERE IS RIGHT AND WRONG AND THERE SHOULD BE PUNISHMENT!! I was absolutely shocked...there is right and there is wrong, just as there's black and white. I really couldn't believe it.

Prayer requests: that I have more energy this week, that I keep my faith strong, that my work ethic would improve, for my family, for my poppy to get more work....and I know this is kinda lame, but for Reds' pitcher Micah Owings, that he would be healed of his head injury/ear injury (after getting hit by a pitch) and that he wouldn't lose faith (Micah is one awesome dude, check out his blog if you get the time)

Praises: that school is going well and going fast, that I'm getting along well with my roomie, and my cousin's boyfriend got a job...and for just about every thing :)

Here's to the first week of school

2009-08-27T15:07:00.000-04:00

Well, I couldn't really think of an awesome title to go with the first post so "Here's to the first week" is as good as it's going to get.

The first day of classes went pretty smooth, I only had two so that was nice. I was extremely nervous the first day and the butterflies in my stomach were wrestling with each other, but after that first class, which was a french one, I was fine and my nerves had pretty much settled down. The only slight bump in the road was on the way to my second class I got slightly turned around, but luckily (well not luck but you know what I mean) my roommate showed up just in time to help me out. It injured my pride (because I had to l00k at a map) and I felt like a dork, but I wasn't late and it showed me God was going to bring people in my life to help me out.

The second I only had two classes as well and nothing really eventful happened as far as the classes go. That night I had a meeting with the Navigators, which is a student ministry that my sister got me set up with. At that meeting I saw a bunch of girls who are in my corridor (I think I'm spelling that wrong, oh well) and a guy, Dylan, from my high school...as well as a girl, Megan, I met at orientation. It was really encouraging to see how many other people around me were interested in the campus ministry. I'm going to get involved with that and the Bible study the Navs sponsor at my hall.

Yesterday (aka the third day) was a killer. I had 5 classes, three of them congregated around lunch time...so I didn't eat lunch until 4 but let me tell you that was the tastiest chicken wrap I have ever tasted. I think my body is beginning to rebel against all of this new exercise that it's now getting. My feet and my ankles feel like they are about to fall off and I have never been so hungry in my life. Everyday but Friday during the week I have a 15 minute walk to Benton (which is the opposite side of campus), on this 15 minute walk I get to appreciate the beautiful campus and the nature and pray about my day. After my final classes, which was a ten minuteish walk and climb up 3 floors worth of stairs, I was about to collapse. Ang picked me up and took me back to her apartment for dinner...which was very delicious (chicken with green beans in a very yummily made way).

After the storm of yesterday, I got the calm of today. I only had one class that started at 11:15 (opposed to every other day this week, my first classes start at 9). The class was awesome. It is an architecture class with three professors who make the class a lot of fun teasing each other and , occasionally, a student that comes up with a stupid answer. They're very passionate about their jobs and I think that makes it fun for everyone. It's funny the way God works, the architecture class was the one I was most worried about, but now I think it's going to end up being the most fun.

Well prayer requests: for my french professor and her family her dad just died on Sunday...for me and my tummy aches that they'd go away...and for my body to get used to all this new exercise...for my family as we're about it enter a very tough time...for my poppy to get more work...and for my cousin has she recovers from surgery.

Praises: getting to witness a little bit it my roomie when she lost her room key (and found it again which opened the opportunity)...going into my classes not completely alone (knowing some people going into it)...and having excitement about school instead of dread (that's always a good thing)...and that I found an excellent church (thanks to Ang)...and for a big sister whose willing to help me out

Thanks everybody (or anybody, I don't know if anyone is actually reading this)

o ps here are some pictures of my room finally (of my fantastic bay window and Emerson Hall, where I live)

AND THE ADVENTURE BEGINS!!

2009-08-21T20:41:00.000-04:00

Well it's day 2 in Oxford...sorry new computer and being not so tech savy kept me from writing sooner, that and the Miami folks have been keeping us busy doing stupid freshman activities. I swear this place must be social happy...there has been one both nights I've been here, not so fun for a not so social person.

Okay so move in day started kind of rough...I cried A LOT, more than I care to admit but whatever. It's always been hard for me to say good bye but this was especially rough. I cried over the dog, who comforted me with many kisses, the night before I left. The next morning started with me crying over the cats/kittens. Then crying over my petite elan (Emily for those who don't know). Then I was okay once we got going, got moved in (sorta still have a lot to do), picked up my books, and bought a computer. VERY BUSY!! Then I had to leave Mommy and Poppy...needless to say I started crying again, this time so did mom and dad got a little teary eyed apparently (mom said he was a little emotional on the ride home).

I have to say though, I think now that its finally here I'm doing better than I thought I would be. I'm homesick but not miserable (a little choked up from writing the previous paragraph but other than that). I'm just ready for all this stupid freshman crap to be done and to start my classes.

Today was the Convocation (or however that's spelled), which is like a reverse graduation. The best part, to my surprise, was the guest speaker Taylor Mali. He is the author/poet of the book of poetry "What Learning Leaves", which was our summer reading book. To be honest when I saw it was a book of poetry I more or less blew it off, but after hearing him speak I feel bad and really really want to read it now. Something I found to be kind of interesting about the poems he recited today was he censored them...in his book, there were several poems (that I read beforehand, only about half of them) that had some cuss words in them. I was kind of surprised he censored them and can't help but wonder why...hhhmmm, food for thought I guess.

POSITIVE TIME: well to begin, I HAVE THE AWESOMEST ROOM EVER!! It is HUGE and it has, get this, A BAY WINDOW!! I will post pictures eventually (once I learn how to on this new puter). I met my roomie a couple of weeks before school started, so thats good. Her name is Rachel. We get along really well and she's very nice. She's very social and helping me get involved and meet new people. Another positive, Angela being around has helped A LOT. She's been putting up with me and letting me hang out with her, she's already taken me on a Walmart run and helped me set up my computer (saved me a trip to the IT people).

Well praise God for the grace He's showing me. And for the daily hugs He gives when I feel homesick and for a big sister to help me. O and for technology to keep me connected to my parents and sister. Prayer requests: continued grace and adjusting to new surroundings and for just help dealing with new classes and schedule, o and for a job...heehee lots of requests but y'all can handle it. O and another two requests, not for me so much but for my cousin and her boyfriend...pray that Beth's gall bladder surgery goes well and that she'd be pain and fear free and pray that her boyfriend Dan gets a job so they can pay for the rent. Okay I'm done :)

Well definitely more later...I'm tired and still getting adjusted to my new surrounds so asta la pasta, which is me for see ya later.

Waiting to begin my adventure

2009-07-23T17:38:00.000-04:00

I officially have 28 days before move in day. I'm excited, nervous, scared, eager, etc. I still have so much to do...its not even funny. I still don't know where I'm living or with whom. I haven't bought most of the "essential dorm room needs". I need to buy a new laptop. I need to get my shots (I have an appointment on June 30th..should be fun) in order to be allowed on campus.

I don't know whether or not I feel ready. It doesn't even feel like I graduated high school yet...which of course I did June 5th. I don't feel like an adult even though I'm 18...maybe getting my drivers' license will help with that one. I don't know...it's just all weird to me.

I guess the perfect way to describe how I feel about this college adventure is to say I'm FINE...Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic, Emotional (thank you Italian Job). All I can say is thank GOD I'm not going at this alone.

And thank GOD that HE passed on to Paul this bit of knowledge:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. "

Philippians 4:6,7

This bit will help me survive college...I have no doubt about it