Visions of dorm rooms...

A pics of what my dorm room will hold in just 4 short months! :)

I LOVE these colors! :)

So very very blessed.

Mom giving her sweet 'graduation ceremony speech':

The whole group at the restaurant for dinner:

Views of our beautifully decorated dining room by my Mommy :)

Last night's graduation dinner and ceremony was better than I ever thought it could be.

I went to sleep last night feeling oh so very blessed.

I was knocked over by love. So loved by my incredible family, so loved by my Savior.

I was overwhelmed by generosity. I recieved so many beautiful things for my room next year, a backpack, luggage. So many gestures of their love.

I have no explanation for why. WHY me? I just don't know. I don't know why I get a wonderful high school education, an incredible support system of people who have helped me through this far, and a future ahead of me that exceeds all that I thought I would ever recieve. I feel very undeserving of all the Lord has chosen to give me. He is gracious and good!

So long high school...

Tonight is our family celebration of my graduation!! I finished al of my high school assignments/classes and we are just waiting for my diploma to arrive in the mail.

It almost seems surreal. I've waited so long to graduate and move on from high school. I am so ready to go to college in the fall. It is very bittersweet knowing I'll be leaving my precious family, yet at the same time I am so excited to go away to school- the classes, friends, opportunities! It is so exciting.

My theme song for high school has been "While I'm Waiting" and I know that God will continue to use this song as I continue onto college.

And, of course, the verse I have clung to again and again has been Jeremiah 29:11-13.

I'll post pictures of tonight when we're done! But for now, I must go curl my hair for my graduation dinner! Cause homeschoolers get to graduate too! :)

Freedom

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
Proverbs 19:21

This was one of the references in Jesus Calling this morning. It also said, "Christ died to set you free- and this includes freedom from compulsive planning."

Immediately my heart clenched. Ouch.

So many times I have been guilty of this. Even daily.

Compulsively making my to-do lists, planning out my day even before I've fallen asleep the night before.

Thinking myself a failure if I don't complete it just how I thought I should.

I've been trying hard recently to let God in- even to my to-do lists. And He brings other things in to my day and MY plan doesn't work- then it is all for His glory. Because HIS priorities were accomplished.

Christ died that I may be free. Free from my sin, free from my pride, free from my horrible self-righteousness, free from fear, free from my need to please, and free from my need to achieve.

My day is HIS! Praise you Jesus for this gift!

All too familiar...

The ache in my heart to hold these little girls...

To see, smell, taste, hear, and feel Guatemala...

To, for a glorious 7 days, feel that every minute of my time counts for something. Counts for these children, is making an impact. My heart aches to be USED by God for His Kingdom, for these children.
I'm ready to go back.

Quickly Approaching...

It is already April 13. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!

And that means...that summer is almost here! :)

I have mixed feelings though about summer this year.

I'm excited to get into a work/free time routine, spend time with friends, and do a bit of traveling.

But it also makes my time here at home short. Very very short. I leave on August 25 for school.

That is almost 4 months away.

So with summer quickly approaching comes the all-important, annual list of goals.

Each year there are some goals that stay the same, and I always end up adding to the list as I go. My perspective is a little different this year though. Jesus Calling talks frequently about how God has your whole day planned out. I spend so much time planning out my day and what i'm going to do it's ridiculous. My mindset is always completely transformed after being reminded to prioritize what HE wants me to do with my time. It is often the opposite of what I want to do with my time.

So I've started praying about what HE wants me to do with my summer. And He's faithfully started directing my thoughts.

SO I thought...why not start writing it down now while i'm thinking about it? And maybe you, bloggy friends, will have started your goal/priority lists and we can share ideas! :)

Here we go...

1. If I do nothing else this summer I want it to be continuing to delve into the Word daily.
2. Read 10 books! I've asked my parents to give me 5, and then I will choose 5 of my own. I'm skeptical as to whether or not I'll be able to do this....i procrastinate with reading. BUT. I really want to try.
3. Keep excercising everyday!
4. Take a class (preferably online) about photography, how to use the settings on my camara. If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations please tell me!
5. Keep up my Spanish.....praying on how this will take place. Besides going to Guatemala (more on that later!!!! God has been abundant in His provisions!) :)
6. Invest even more intentionally in my brothers, family, and friends.

I could keep going with the list- but then I make too many goals and get discouraged. So these are my top 6!

What goals are on your list for the summer?

My sweet puppy

In 8th grade I was incredibly lonely. I didn't have many friends, my brothers didn't think it was much fun to be with me anymore (thank you Lord that this has changed!), and I was just very lonely.

And so began my quest to convince my parents to get a puppy or a sister. Preferably a sister, but a puppy would take 2nd place. My friend and I made my parents a taco dinner haha and I presented a PowerPoint presentation to them with all the reasons for us to get a dog. Oh, and a very heartfelt letter that made them cry. That was the kicker.

So in May, 2005, Chloe joined our family! I was elated. Absolutely elated. She was a puff of fur and was adorable. I was with her constantly that summer, and she really did help fill the void I felt.

I grew up a little bit, though, and made more friends that weren't dogs. :) And Chloe just wasn't quite at the top of my list anymore.

This spring, however, I've spent alot more time with my puppy girl. We've been going on long walks, and she's been keeping me company when I'm at home alone. I realized yesterday when I was on a walk just how lucky I am to have such a sweet, obedient dog. And just how much I'm going to miss her when I leave in the fall!

Thank you for being my faithful companion, Chloe-girl! You've been a sweet friend all these years, even when I forgot how special you are!

Enough for Everyday

I've had the itch to blog all day. I spent nearly the entire day working outside in our backyard, so I had lots of time to think and pray. But, alas after 5 1/2 hours of working, I still hadn't come up with any great blog topics.

So. I decided to keep it simple here!

As I thought through the past few months of my life, I see so many ways that God is changing and refining me.

I have been stretched in alot of different ways that I wasn't expecting, and at times the challenges seem so huge. There are many days I'm exhausted physically and emotionally by the time I crawl into bed.

But without fail, I find that God gives me enough for everyday. His grace is sufficient- for the small frustrations or the weightier trials.

There was a season of life in Jr. High when my very favorite song was "Your Grace is Enough" by Chris Tomlin. I have found myself falling in love again with this song, and finding that it resonates with my heart anew.

"But he said to me, 'my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthinas 12:7-9

This is so beautiful to me! God is made perfect in our weakness. Why do we as Christians complain so much of our weakness and trials? It is what God uses to grow us, and they cause us to trust Him more and surrender ourselves to Him.

So everyday, whether it's a hard or an easy one, I have learned that Christ- and Christ alone- is sufficient for me. And I am striving to embrace my flaws, my weakness, and see them as an opportunity for God to make Himself present in my life and strengthen me.