God is good, all the time.

This is a picture from the house we worked on in Salado. :) and in my last post, I left you stating that I was really learning how to serve, or at least desiring to have the heart of a servant. Since then, I have heard two sermons on service and generosity. One was on Wednesday night at FOCUS (which is my FAVORITE part of the week!) and one was Sunday at TBC :) I just love when God places exactly what you need to hear, right in front of you! He is so good.

Here's the run-down on the rest of my life..

Family weekend was wonderful, I love my family and I miss them SO much! Cowboys won the game vs. the Texans! UMHB is still undefeated. Rangers clinched the AL West, and My daddy is the BEST and got me a ticket to the TEXAS RANGERS PLAYOFF GAME! i'm SO pumped. I skyped with Jennifer, and finally got to see baby Alexis..can't wait to go home and take her to the zoo! I'm continuing to meet new people and make new friends! It's officially fall here.. and I'm not sure I'm okay with the morning/evening temps, but the afternoon is wonderful. There is a dreaded stomach bug going around work right now, prayers that I stay healthy, please! Miss MHB Pageant practices officially kicked off tonight, and I'm so blessed to be involved! Classes...(i guess since i'm in college and all, i should say something about them) they're hard. It's already been a tough semester, but God is good, and I'm surviving.

welp, that's all for now!

love. :)

learning to serve

Hello friends!! :)

it's currently 3:38 AM and I can't sleep. I guess that's what I get for not having class til 3 Monday and getting to sleep in! haha

so anyways, I'm real excited about what God has placed on my heart lately! I am learning how to serve. and by that, I mean really serving, wholeheartedly, without complaint, and serving for the Lord. Matthew 25 talks about this beginning in verse 35.

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you visited me." The righteous then ask Jesus when they saw and did all of this. He answers, "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."

I got an amazing opportunity to serve on Saturday. With all of the recent flooding, there were many houses in the area that were damaged beyond repair. One in particular, was the house of an important man on our campus. I was so thrilled to get the opportunity to serve there for a few hours. We spent our time gutting the house. Ripping up tiles and linoleum, pulling nails out of the wood structure, knocking down sheetrock and showers, etc. It was hard work, but absolutely worth every second. I later found out it was the house of one of the freshman girls that I have become friends with. That in itself made it all the more worth it. As I swept the floors, I thought of this family, and I thought of how quickly life can change. I felt for them. I felt incredibly blessed by where I was raised, and I was completely humbled. I noticed something in their window. It was a fencepost carved into the shape of an angel, with Philippians 4:13 written on it...AMAZING. I saw God working there, through us, and through the flood devastation.

I have been trying to think of practical ways to serve those around me. Such as an encouraging word, or note, or just listening. And I get so much fulfillment out of it all! If I can make one person's day, it's totally worth it.

In other news, I spent my evening at the JV football game, getting drenched in the rain and freezing with some of the new CAB girls, and had a BLAST! I enjoyed seeing the guys play, too!(they won!) I bought a new umbrella at walmart during the 2nd quarter :) I'm real excited about that! I've gotten to hang out with a lot of my girl friends lately and I'm in the process of catching up with one! :) It's super exciting! I miss home more and more everyday, but I FINALLY get to see my parents (and linds) this weekend! :) I couldn't be more excited!!! :D it's going to be wonderful!!!

anyways, I think I should probably go to sleep now. I love yall!

in FULL swing.

Welp, I knew it had to happen eventually.... I officially have more homework than I know how to handle, and my first test this week, which means my semester is finally in full swing. I'm doing my best to not get overwhelmed and to take it project by project, but that is a challenging thing to do. I'm exhausted and busier than ever on top of my homework, but somehow, I feel at peace. Our God is just so great like that, He knows what's going on and gives peace to the restless.

God has really worked in my lafe lately and I'm learning so much. This weekend was CLC (Crusader Leadership Conference). It seemed like everyone and their mom from UMHB was there! Such an amazing group of people and so much fun! I took time to get to know a lot of new people and take my mind off of school for a day, it was great! I'm getting closer with girls that I've wanted to be close with for a year or so now, and it's wonderful. I love the community of this place! I loved meeting all of our new CABbers and getting to know them personally. I'm pumped for this year in CAB! I can feel it being amazing! Friday night, I laid out on the log benches by the campfire and just stared at the stars. SO BEAUTIFUL! I love getting to take time to stop and be in awe of God's creation, I had one of those "stop and tell yourself this is reality" moments. It was a great weekend full of learning how to be servant leaders and be effective leaders!

One thing that's been on my mind lately is a few lines from a song called "More like Falling in Love" by Jason Gray

"It ought to be more like falling in love, than something to believe in.

More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance."

The first time I heard this song, I loved it. I love these lines because they are so true. Our relationship with Christ isn't just believing in Him, its falling in love with Him. It's not just saying we're Christians, it's losing our hearts to Him, living like Him. It's dying to ourselves and living for him. That's what the sermon at TBC this morning was over, too: dying to ourselves, and surrendering. It was so perfect for me to hear because I've been really trying to dig deep and follow that lately.

I know I say it in every post, but life is so sweet right now, but its a bitter sweetness. I miss my parents, lindsey, amanda, and sarah, SO much. && I miss Jen and my girls, SO much, even though I'm having the time of my life. Tonight, I'm going to enjoy some Cowboys football, already got my #9 on :) and the rangers beat, sorry, SWEPT the yankees this weekend! I'm stoked. I could use your prayers this week, it's going to be insane. I know I'll make it though.

life is so sweet!

Since my last post, I've had the best weekend!! :)

I went to TWO crusader soccer games, and we won BOTH! Super exciting! I went to the new local coffee shop, Bodega Bean, for UMHB night and got to watch some of my closest friends perform, they were all so good! We watched the UT football game at the sports bar&grill in Temple. I learned how to overhand serve in volleyball (thanks to my roomie, whitney!) I went to the lake with Whit and Michael and we went cliff jumping! It was me and Whit's first time! Then we went swimming for a while. OH! and Whitney and I got our fishies! Last night, I went to the Casey Donahew Band concert with a bunch of awesome friends(whit, britt, michael, brandon, skarpa, and more!) It was more fun than I could've imagined! Afterwards we went to Whataburger (of course!) and then watched a moviee! We also watched a movie on Friday night, that makes 2! and they were my 2 favorites! I'm a lucky girl!

It's the only long weekend I've ever stayed on campus for, and I loved it! I even got to skype Sarah and Kristen, and Jennifer! :) So glad to see their beautiful faces again! :) I can't wait to have dinner with my brother this week and go dancing again on Thursday! Now I'm going to study with whitneyy and the 2 coolest freshmen at UMHB! (JD and Brandon)

-EDIT-

We went to dinner and to the Weigh Station! If you haven't been there yet, GO! I love frozen yogurt!!! and I got to feed my adventurous side and go exploring at the beautiful creek in downtown, and see the beautiful sunset! :) What a way to end the weekend! :)

I'm not sure life can get much sweeter than this... God is SO good! :)

Feels Like Home

"Be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" -1 Thessalonians 5:16

Love, love, love this verse! I know it's easier said than done, but it's the verse I try to live by. The verse kind of spoke to me as I collected memories of my life. There were times when life was so dark, times when I had nowhere to go, and times when I wasn't thankful. But the love of Christ has set me free. His power is what calmed the last big storm in my life, and His power is what healed me. As I came back to school, I had hoped that I would meet people, and would have so much fun! His plans WAY exceeded my expectations for this semester!


So, here is what I have realized: I feel like a freshman.

Let me explain:


I spent the last two years of college not getting involoved, not meeting as many people as I can, not hanging out when I really want to, and not trying new things. This semester, I've already met more people than I can count, hung out with people I never though I would get to, gone to the lake, went dancing, played at the water park, watched countless movies, saw a soccer game (and Hailey!), played volleyball nearly every night, and have had more fun than I know what to do with!

I'm also getting super involved! I'm one of three executive members of Campus Activities Board, I'm a committee head for part of Miss MHB pageant, I'm going to Bible studies and FOCUS, I'm supporting the sports teams, and I'm loving every second of being super busy!


I finally feel like UMHB is home. I come into my apartment (i'll post pics later) and see my roommates, and I feel like I'm home. I go to my meetings, events, games, etc., and it feels like home. I walk into a building and talk to people I've just become friends with, and I feel at home. We cook and eat meals together, and it feels like home. Life is just so sweet! Sometimes, I have to stop and tell myself that this is reality.


Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been easy. Life has thrown plenty of curveballs lately, but I'm surviving, happily. Even though I miss my family, and Jen and the girls, and Sarah and Amanda, I know they'll be waiting with open arms when I go back to Allen. Life's not the same out here, but I finally feel like I can call UMHB, home. I love this place.


Welp, that's all I got today!

love you :)