Theme of the week: BREATHE

January 19 - January 25

I have been so blessed with friends all over the country; thank you REACH!

 

Winter 2012 is weird, but the snow means I get to cuddle up and drink hot cocoa!

Days like these make me hate the fact most of my friends have graduated.  I miss them.

7 1/2 cents may not seem like much, but at every hour 40 hours a week, it adds up.  Moral: Count your blessings and your pennies :)

Sometimes you need someone to tell you to just stop talking and breathe.

Being on a horse that is going fast is such a freeing feeling.

When everything comes together and works out, it's much easier to breathe.

Some days...

January 12 - January 18

I love the opportunities that technology opens for us; we are blessed.

Some days, a nap on the couch is needed

Source: citified.blogspot.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

Some days, a kick in the butt to get moving is needed.

Musical theatre: A place where you can act totally out of character and have an absolute blast!

If you can, pay for everything in full; it removes all temptation to spend the money.

Sometimes, you have to trust that someone will support you and catch you when you fall.

Source: nscd.ac.uk via Tiffani on Pinterest

Life has a way of piling up like laundry; best to take it one load at a time :) 

Happy Wednesday!

30 day challenge

Remember that verse about whatever is noble whatever is pure... that is what you should be thinking about? That verse has been on my mind lately, most specifically in music.

Source: mapofmyheart.tumblr.com via Katy on Pinterest

I never realized how much music affected me until this year.  I remember going to Marmon having to take an iPod with only Christian music on it and wondering what's it matter if I don't just listen to Christian music.  I mean our entire lives at the Farm were about Christ.  Sun up to sun down, eating to swimming, God had a part in it all.  So I really don't think the music meant much to me then.

However, this past summer and fall, I really noticed a difference in my attitude and thoughts when I listened to certain music.

I'm currently a 22 year old girl who really struggles in life when it comes to guys.  I dream about my future life, my future family, my future husband.  Dreaming isn't a bad thing, but when your way of life is interrupted by it, it can be bad. I wonder if I will be alone forever.  I wonder if I will ever have a family. I struggle with the insecurities of if someone will ever love me like Christ loves the Church;  the way that God designed love, the way that God IS love?

Seeing everyone around me get engaged, get married, have kids, all of that stuff, really gets to me.  It puts me in dark places.  This fall had to be the worst it ever got.  I was literally thinking about guys all the time!  It was so bad that I couldn't even see what it was doing to me.   It didn't hit me what I was doing until one day in church, I was literally standing in line to take communion and heard the guy in front of me singing, and I thought to myself, wonder what he'd be like to date?  And then that's when God gave me a wake up call.  I mean, I was in line for communion!  It was definitely the lowest point for me.

Source: ilovehoneylace.tumblr.com via Tiffani on Pinterest

After I realized just how bad I was, I started to confide in the people I trusted.  I know that some of them were praying for me. That's when I started to notice the differences that occurred when I listened to certain music.

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a country girl. I love country music!  It's absolutely amazing and a lot of it I can totally relate to.  But so much of it is about heartache and love and guys.  One song can trigger so many emotions.  One song would literally take me back to all the insecurities, all the thoughts, all the feelings. I never noticed that before.

Luckily, back in BG, there's a Christian radio station called K-Love.  I'm pretty sure it's nation wide, but I'd never heard it until I came to BG.  Back home it's always been the FISH :)  Most recently I discovered Moody Radio.  Any way, it's what I started to listen to in my car, on my iPod, on my computer.  It's truly amazing the power that music has.

  Source: klove.com via Tiffani on Pinterest

K-Love is currently hosting a 30 day challenge to listen to only Christian music to see how it changes your life. [click here for the link] I signed up for the challenge on Saturday, so that means until February 13, I will only be listening to Christian music.  The only exception to this will be the soundtrack of the Pajama Game, because I kinda can't get out of that one :) haha.

I still love country music.  There are some wonderful artists out there and some amazing songs.  But so many of them do not help my way of thinking.  My struggle with the subject of guys is totally not over.  It's a daily battle that I've got to constantly give to Christ.  It's not something I can do alone, and it's definitely one that I don't win all the time.  But I do know that God's got it.  He understands, and His love will always be enough.  So for now, I pray for my husband, for my future family.  I pray that God prepares my heart for my husband. I trust in Him, in His love, in His timing.  Someday.

Source: tayirl.blogspot.com via Tiffani on Pinterest

I'm excited to do this challenge with K-Love and hope that you might consider joining me in the effort.  It's only 30 days.  Rest assured that it will most definitely be worth it.  God does funny things and you'll never know until you try.  If you want to click here to sign up.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8

Yay for a new semester!

Wow, school has begun, and let me tell you, my feet have hit the ground running (not so much by choice, but because I have to run to keep up with this semester). This semester is going to be crazy!  I thought it would be way more laid back, but judging by the first 4 days, that's totally not going to happen.

I feel like I just graduated!

I graduate in 4 months!  But to get there, I have to take 4 more classes - Graphics [fun class], Finance, Statistics [there are only 8 people in the class], and Management.  For my 'lightest' class load yet, it's going to be quite the fair amount of work.   I'm really excited for this management class.  It's going to be the most work out of any class, but I'm going to learn so much.

Already, in 2 classes, it's challenged me to rethink how I think (talk about confusing), how I organize things, why I think the way I do, how effective am I, and what I truly want to do in life.  Now I already have what I will dub a 'dream job' [meaning whats the job you want right after graduation.  Not ten years from now, but the month after you graduate]. So even though a lot of the class is helping students figure out what that is, I'm still gaining a lot of cool info.

Oh, and did I mention I'm taking guitar classes?!?!  Super stoked!  And, in case you didn't know, that means I'm in process of completing something off of my Day Zero Project! (read about it here)  Speaking of which, I completed stuff over the break!!!  Like:

I got to shoot a gun!  Ben and some other friends taught me a little bit and I did get to shoot a few guns.  I still plan on learning more with my dad and grandpa, as well as Bill (I'm really excited for those!).  But I officially shot one.

I started to learn to drive stick.  It was pretty epic, pulling off the side of the road to switch places and then stalling a good 4 times.... haha.  But I'm looking forward to continue learning it.

I got a sewing machine for Christmas (complete with patterns to make pj pants, haha), so learning to sew should happen soon. I really want to make a quilt like this:

That's about it, but I've already got a few more things on my list for this semester :)

So yes, I'm looking forward to the semester.  To the musical that I'll be in, to the fun with friends, to some time down at Marmon, to snow (yes snow; I'm sick of this rain stuff), to the amazing things that God has planned for me.

P.S. Did I mention I'm glad it finally snowed? I'm way over this rain thing!

Lovely Winter Break!

Christmas break literally seemed to fly by.  So much fun happened.  It was a blast to be home.  I'm looking forward to the new year, and hope to be more active with this blog.  But for now, I'd love to give you a recap of my life these past few weeks, in pictures :)

I decided to make a few of my Christmas presents:

Have you seen those crayon art things on Pinterest?  My cousin and I tried to make them and the epically failed.  Be sure you really use the hot glue gun, because super glue does NOT work. Oops.  

So, not one to settle for failure, I tried it again.  This time in the shape of a heart.

 

After a lot of crayons falling off, re-gluing them on, and quite the mess, it turned out kinda cute :-/ Ashley liked it (good thing because I made it for her, haha) 

So then I tried another one:

 

I'm not sure that I like it.  I would definitely recommend using a big canvas, because the small ones don't work as well.  You need plenty of room for the crayons to drip so you can actually see the colors. 

I then went on to make a gift for my friend Brandy out in California.  We met a few summers ago at Marmon and God has been the foundation of our friendship, and I wouldn't want it any other way.  

I made this board for her to hang up in her room. It turned out soo cute!

P.S. This is Brandy :)

It turned out that Brandy flew to New York after her adventurous ending to her time in Peru.  That meant she had to pass through Ohio on the way to California :)

AKA - I got to see her, and the rest of the Wileys!  What a great family.  I am so thankful that God allowed me to cross paths with them. 

Lizzie, Me, and Brandy before their trip

After my quick visit to Marmon, I had to pack up to head home for the break.  Poor Petey was packed like a sardine can (random side note.  Petey's original name was the silver bullet before I was an RA.  It then became the Sardine Can while I was an RA, you'd never believe how much you can fit in my car, and then during camp, Petey found his most recent name.  Haha)

He looks like a spaceship.  Ready for takeoff!

After a long drive, my home was in sight.  Notice the lack of snow?  Yeah, I think Ohio is confused with it's calendar. 

Over break, my old friend the bassoon got to come out.  I miss playing!  We had fun that night.  Here's the 'back' of the bassoon.  See all those keys?  Those are the keys that only my left thumb uses!  I love it!

 

I luckily had some reeds at home to play on.  --We'll keep their ages out of it.  After all, it's never polite to ask someone how old they are :) 

I got to do a whole bunch more over break, such as continue my internship, four wheel in the snow, travel around, Christmas parties with family and friends, my birthday was in the mix, and spend time with my family.  

On the last night home, the moon was out way before it should have been, so I ran outside to take pictures.  I don't have the greatest camera, but it's nice.  The picture doesn't give it justice, but it was gorgeous. 

 

God is good.  I've been blessed with amazing friends and family.  I couldn't ask for more.  

One-liner Wednesday.

So my whole 'confessions' thing has me thinking.  I really like this one line things.  It makes me focus on what really happened that day.  Maybe I'll just write one line for each day.  Just a thought for the day, what I learned for the day, or something funny from the day.  It may not be the most interesting post for you, but I really like it :)  I think I'll dub it 'One liner Wednesdays'

January 5 - January 11

Being a passenger on a tractor on a cold, winter night is not nearly as fun, warm, or pleasant as being a driver.

The last day of an internship is a happy/sad day; happy you're done being an intern, sad you're not working with them again.

Someday, I will find someone who loves God more than me, but I'll be a close second :)

One should not rush in life for it causes all rational thinking to go out the window.

The last first day of anything is a very confusing day filled with too many mixed emotions.

I'm so thankful that God blessed me with friends that I can talk to like it's only been hours since we last spoke, even if it's been months.

 

I need to take a breather everyday or else I will go nuts.

Happy Wednesday!

Ornament Exchange

During December, I participated in an ornament exchange in my attempt to get more frequent in the blog world (which, is slowly happening).  My exchange partner's name is Jamie.  She has a blog here.  She has some really cute outfits for little ones too.  You should totally check it out.

Anyway, once I got home from college, I had this little box to open!  So excited for snail mail!  The ornament she gave me is just gorgeous, and I have no complaints about the hot cocoa :) Check it out:

Snail mail is my favorite thing ever.  It takes time and effort, way more than an email.

Umm, loving the hot cocoa mix

Isn't it gorgeous!! And my favorite color is red!  How cool is that?

Thank you Jamie for the beautiful ornament.  I've super enjoyed reading her blog.  Such a cool family!

Confessions of a 20 something year old

Well, it's 2012.  A year I've been looking forward to for many years and for many reasons.  First - I get to graduate from college!  Second - OLYMPICS!!! Third - I ran out of reasons, so maybe it was only two reasons, ha ha.


I've been MIA for a little bit. I've so enjoyed being home for the holidays and seeing my family.  It was much needed and much appreciated! But because I've been MIA, get ready for a long post :)

I think I'll start with the one thing I wanted to start.  Remember my 'Confessions of a 21 year old?' [if not, check it out here] Well, I'm going to rename it, one because I'm not 21 anymore, and two, because hopefully others will join me sometime in the future.  The concept behind this goes with the one sentence journals. If you haven't heard of them, they are pretty self explanatory.  You limit yourself to one sentence a day. Short and sweet and to the point, you are forced to only write the most important things and how you actually felt over the entire day. Seeing as it's been a while since I last posted, I will start that next Wednesday.  So each one of these fun little posts will have 7 items. One for every day of the week.  Seven is a very complete number.  For now, these are some thoughts from my Christmas break:

Confessions of a 20-something year old

1. I lost my camera for 2 weeks - it was in my coat pocket
2. I'm scared where my faith is going to go post-graduation
3. I bought a new planner the day my old one ran out. It's the same exact planner
4. I drive by farms and imagine what it would be like living there
5. Having a younger brother who has truly turned into a teenage boy is so annoying, yet so hilarious
6. I sing as loud as I can when I'm in my car, often as bad as I can make it.  It causes me to laugh at loud.  I think people driving by think I've lost it. 
7. My car is still not unloaded from school.  I return to school on Sunday. hmm

I thought I was going to post a lot, but I think this is just perfect.  Happy day after Wednesday :)