Beat the Mondays

Life has been zooming by! Here's a quick post on why I'm thankful this Monday:

Spring Break is a Thing

I'm not sure if anything else needs to be said about this. Rompin around in shorts in a beautiful, 75 degree, sunny state for a week could not have been better. Especially when it was with my fiancé. And after I found my wedding dress.

Pals

Planning this wedding has made me so aware of the support and friendships that have seasoned my life with such joy. I could not have asked for a more wonderful bunch of girls to have spent my days with. Here's to many more years of friendship, phone calls, Skype dates, and vacations that include each other!

Target

Ahhh. Always thankful for this place. My craftiness that has been repressed over the last few months due to the busyness of life came out full force during spring break, and I couldn't have done it without this one stop shop! More details of my creations are coming... :)

What are you thankful for today?

A New Season

Well it seems I've gotten a bit behind...

A few things have happened since the last time I posted on this lovely site.

I flew to Tacoma, Washington to spend Christmas with my boyfriend and his wonderful family.

That boyfriend became my fiancé.

I've since attended two engagement parties, my candlelight ceremony, a weekend retreat for middle and high schoolers, countless sorority meetings, and a new semester full of classes.

I've rejoiced over planning about my future with my husband-to-be, the joining of our two families, reunions and phone calls with my sweet friends, both from Furman and Tampa, more time spent with the wonderful girls of PCPC, an amazing apartment, now complete, snow days, the greatest birthday present of all, and the constant love that the Lord covers me with.

I've struggled with being far from my fiancé for weeks at a time, staying motivated for the remaining year of school, and semi-stressful decisions for the coming year.

All-in-all, it's been a beautiful winter, full of excitement and growth, with its fair share of challenges, but I am thankful for the strength I've been given and the relationships that hold me up when I am in need. 

Being engaged has ushered me into a new season of life that I cherish very much. I now can express more fully my excitement over this wonderful boy I'll soon call my husband. I am thrilled to be able to spend the remainder of my days alongside this man I adore. However, in no way do I expect marriage to be easy. I expect there will be struggles, disagreements, misunderstandings, let downs, hardships and confusion along the way. In the same way, I expect to overcome these things together with my husband as we are renewed and constantly brought back to the foot of the cross. I expect to never feel so aware of my sin as I will in marriage. I also expect to grow more and more into the woman I was created to be, with my husband and I each desiring to make one another more beautiful for the purposes of the Lord. I could use each of your prayers (if I have any readers...) for our hearts to be continually prepared for the adventure that we will begin in less than eleven months!

However, another new season of life is beginning: SPRING. As a Floridian, I never took much notice of spring. When skies are blue and clear year-round, florals are never out of style, and my toes regularly see sunlight. However, this mystical time of year called "winter" (of which Frozen can make me appreciative only to a certain extent...) has made springtime the most beautiful and highly anticipated season of the year. I cannot wait to access the hanging clothes in my closet again, to perhaps even break out the sunglasses, and to not be the red-nosed girl jogging in her backpack to escape the wind. 

Spring is coming. And for the first and only time, I'm going to reference Song of Solomon on this blog in order to properly express my excitement:

"Look around you: Winter is over;

the winter rains are over, gone!

Spring flowers are in blossom all over.

The whole world’s a choir—and singing!

Spring warblers are filling the forest

with sweet arpeggios.

Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed,

and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms."

...and we'll stop there.

Song of Solomon 2:11-13 MSG

Let's also make "arpeggios" a regular part of our vocabulary.

Happy new seasons to you all!

Holly Jolly Exams

All that separate me now from a beautiful month-long holly jolly break are four looming exams. In the past few years, exam week has not always been full of my shining moments. Many a nutter-butter has been consumed, washed down with a chilly diet coke before 8 am. My apologies, body. You put up with so much. 

However this year, I am determined for things to change. The plan is to keep vending machines out of site, if at all possible, and plan now for the things I will need in the upcoming days. And obviously, you'd love for me to share this list with you. 

So when you feel like this will describe your week:

Surround yourself with these:

striped sweatshirt

burgundy scarf
clipboard notebooks

Happy test taking! May the curve be ever in your favor.

Shout Out To: French Press Mornings

I'm a self-proclaimed Pinterest addict. One of the positive things that has come from my addiction is the lovely French Press Mornings.

This sweet blog provides weekly encouragement in the form of a free downloadable print for you to hang around your home and keep on your heart for the coming week. And they are beautiful!

Here are a few of my favorites:

They also have an etsy shop where you can purchase a larger version of her prints. These would make excellent gifts framed! Happy Shopping!

Monday Thanksgiving

It's time again for a Monday full of thanks!

1. Football

I'm thankful not only for a weekend full of incredibly entertaining games (War Eagle!), but also for the fact that its a sport that brings the people I love together. I cherished the hours spent this weekend all together cheering on our teams or rooting for fantasy league players. 

2. Reunions

Not only did Thanksgiving allow me to see the family members I've missed, this is the week that so many of my dear friends are returning to campus from studying abroad. 

I CANNOT WAIT TO HUG IT OUT. 

3. Thanksgiving

Particularly since I shipped off to college, thanksgiving has been one of my favorite holidays. Returning home to welcoming arms and second helpings of pumpkin pie always hits the spot. My favorite thing about this holiday, however, is the reminder it gives us in the busyness and stress of life: 

Stop. Think. Praise. 

I have been so incredibly blessed by the people in my life and the constant support of the ones I love, and I praise the Lord for His hand in every bit of my joy. It all stems from Him. I'm thankful for the lessons He has taught me since the last Thanksgiving which have broken me, reshaped me, and built me back up again. And I am thankful for a holiday which reminds us all just how life-giving it can be to truly be thankful.

What are you thankful for?

Fall Fest

This fall semester has without a doubt been my favorite semester at Furman so far. It certainly has its challenges, particularly that so many of my dear friends have been studying abroad. However, I have found that apartment life suits me very well, that being an upperclassman means that I can take an entire schedule of courses I actually love, and that the Lord has blessed me immensely with the friends who stuck around in the good ol' US of A. 

Here are a few highlights from my junior year so far:

This was how I was greeted back to school in August. I'll take it.

Boorito bowls at Chipotle for Halloween with these fabulous friends

Our pride and joy: Rocky Homecoming float.

Just a regular walk home from class.

My snazzy date at Semiformal!

My beautiful travel companion

And there are plenty more memories to be made! So thankful.

What does the world think of college students?

Several times each year, the student activities board brings in a comedian, entertainer, or celebrity for a unique and fun event on campus. Recently, we were visited by a comedian who, rather than make me laugh, opened my eyes to what the world thinks of college students.

Every one of his jokes referenced casual sex, drunkenness, the objectification of women or homosexuality. He literally seemed to just rotate between the four categories each time he opened his mouth. But I know he isn't alone in feeling that we, as college students, are his subject audience for such humor.

It seems that all throughout media, be it movies, tv shows, or music, college seems to be a time of self-discovery, pursuing pleasure, and being pretty careless before you are shoved out in the real world. I think that following this path would deprive us of four years of true joy and life-giving experiences.

Now, I know that sin is inevitable, both in our college years and the years that follow. No one is going to graduate with a record of perfect behavior. Temptation and insecurity are so strong during this time of life, especially being surrounded by thousands of peers. There is grace for the decisions we make, and sometimes it is through our mistakes that we learn life lessons that we wouldn't have fully grasped any other way.

However, what if we strove for the accomplishments of our four years in college to be shown not only in the form of a diploma, but also in advancing the Kingdom of God?

This was the perspective that I had when entering my college experience. There have been times when this has been easier said than done. There have been times when my stress, exhaustion, and longings have completely clouded my vision of this goal. But, in those moments of calm, of peace and typically of solitude, He reveals to me that my life is not meant to be lived for my own glory, but for His.

It truly hurts my heart that the world thinks we are the target audience for these crude jokes because we are between the ages of 18 and 22. The expectation is that we engage in promiscuity and unhealthy habits. That's likely a huge reason why is truly is so common among young adults: society says its what we do.

But I want to challenge the people who use such strong stereotypes when communicating with us. And challenge the students who feel that they must live out a "typical college experience" in order to enjoy those four years.

 There is true joy to be grasped in life that gives glimpses of the eternal love and peace of God. And college doesn't have to be a time where we put that pursuit on hold to explore the other options and lifestyles.

My prayer is that students, myself included, who enter college with a relationship with the Lord will be strengthened to continue to seek Him, and His plan for our lives. That the temptations and stress surrounding us will not steer us towards anything but His loving arms: the source of true comfort and peace. I pray that young adults will reject society's label on us, and will live in a way which proves the stereotypes to be incorrect. I pray that we will experience life-giving relationships, inspiration, hope and unconditional love, and the blessings of people who will share in these gifts with us.