Apartment life > dorm life

Joy is not dependent on circumstances. This I know. However, let's be honest--there are times in our lives that are just better or worse than others. Some seasons are low and some are high. My Joy--and more importantly, my Jesus--is present through each season. But when I come through a season in the valley into a season on a mountian top, I am without a doubt going to rejoice in thankfulness and LIVE IT UP.

I am so blessed. SO BLESSED. Sometimes, honestly, I get annoyed by that phrase. It's a favorite phrase of the Christian community. If a Christian won they lottery, they wouldn't say, "Boy, did I get lucky,"; rather, they would say, "I am so blessed!" I am not making fun of Christians. I think we should give God the credit for the good things in our life. I often forget that my life is full of these blessings, which may be why God has smacked me in the face with an inaviodable blessing more commonly referred to as my (our) apartment.

First of all, God has blessed me with the opportunity to live in a place for which I am paying wayy to much per month. I am a tightwad, and my family calls me "cheap" on a regular basis. Even still, this is worth the moolah. My own room. A kitchen. A bathroom shared with one person. A getaway. A home. But what's a home, anyway, if not the people that live in it?

My roommates are beautiful in every way. I am so thankful for their friendship. They have transformed weekly Walmart trips from a dreaded experience into no big deal. We hold each other accountable--for exercising, for eating healthy, for growing in the Lord, for growing as people. We connect and relate in ways that I never would have thought we would. Together we study, laugh, and pray, kill roaches, question relationships, and write pointless inside jokes on one aonther's facebook pages.

We also lead a Bible study together each week. Tonight, we had a full house, and it was awesome. I can already tell where the Lord is wanting to move in each girl's heart. It's going to be a good semester, but we can already tell that the devil is trying to worm his way in. After everyone left, we sat at the kitchen table and talked. About friends, about boys, about the Lord, and about brokenness and healing. I never thought I'd find myself drinking wine out of coffee cups and laughing about last year.

Last semester, I remember sitting alone in my parked car at night because my dorm was not a fit environment for crying my eyes out. I remember asking God when I would be happy again. I knew it was a selfish and immature question. Basically, I was asking God if He would relieve me of my circumstances. I remember pleading, I just want to feel okay again. I just want things to go back to the way they were before.

Things didn't go back to the way they were before, and they never will. That season was long gone. But thankfully, the season of crying in the parking lot is over now, too. I know that I will face heartache again. I know that this high season will end at some point, too. But I know that with each season (high or low) comes experience, wisdom, and growth. And each time, it will be worth it.

You have turned my mourning into dancing. Psalm 30:11

the light is green, our break is through

I have been itching to write. Something is coming soon.

--Whoa. I interupt this post to point out something very cool: I am currently listening to the song for which this blog is named..."Sun" from Mae's album Destination: Beautiful. The acoustic version is angelic.--

In an hour, 12 young ladies are coming over to my apartment for our first Bible Study of the semester. I am PUMPED! And I am confident that this year is going to be the best of my 22 years thus far. Don't worry, I will keep you informed on the Senior Year Extravaganza that is my life.

But now, I've got to go take the cookies out of the oven and get the living room in order...I have mouths and souls to feed.

"Classic" Design

So much for writing, huh? So I probably won't be "catching you up" on my summer...it will probably be more like a summer recap in photos. Later.

I've been home about a week, but I think I've been on the road and on the go more than I have been at my house. Which explains the utter chaos that is my room. I figure there's no point in unpacking just to repack a week later, so there are various suitcases and pieces of furniture and piles of new bedding growing from my floor. Have you seen/read the last Harry Potter book where the trio break into the LeStrange Gingotts vault, and everything they touch multiplies? That's kind of what my bedroom has been like. In the time that I HAVE been at home, I normally would have spent a little more effort organizing this clutter; however, last weekend, creativity struck, and pure genius can't be wasted on cleaning.

It started with a bookshelf...

And then a lamp. And I planned to stop there, but...


I eventually covered my old journal from Sophomore year and my planner, too. What can I say? Mod Podge is addictive. And yellowed pages from classic books makes ordinary stuff look AWESOME. The shelf and small lamp are going in my apartment. The big lamp and clipboard went to my BFF Katie for her birthday. Everything else will be sold in my Mom's booth at the local flea market/antique store.

I only have a few days left before I move back to Russ, and they are already booked with various appointments and get-togethers. This being said, I suppose it's time to put the craft box away and continue my quest for what is, if I remember correctly, a hardwood floor.

Rain is a Good Thing

This morning, I woke up the sound, smell, and feel of rain through my open window.

Dixie took my car to work, thus confining me to the Shelton Shelter (home to 4+ people and 6+ animals at any given time) all day. I was going to get my oil changed and run a few errands today, but I am actually quite relieved that I have the excuse to go nowhere today.

Rainy days are beautiful, and even more beautiful in the summer when they cool the temperature. They are most beautiful when they happen on days that I do not have to answer a telephone at Garmin International. This is 2nd weekday I've had off work all summer, and the animals and I are enjoying it thoroughly.

Barbara Walters and I are making muffins and drinking coffee (yes, the cat is actually sharing my coffee). Thaddeus Stevens and Gertrude Stein are wrestling on the kitchen floor. Steadman Graham and Jeff Buckley are curled up in the ficus tree, and Neil Patrick Harris is sleeping on the stairs. They will be sad when I leave the zoo, and I will miss them as well.

I need to clean the house. I need to pack for this weekend. I need to pack in general--I am going home in 4 days!

I think it's a good atmosphere for some Peter Bradley Adams this morning...enjoy.

Coming Soon

It's been over four months since my last post.

I have no excuse for my lack of blog dedication; I have had plenty of time to write this summer, so naturally, I haven't written a thing.

But fear not, four people who read this blog! I plan to update several times in the next few weeks. I have a lot to write about, and I will have nothing else better to on Thursay and Friday when I have PAID TIME OFF, as well as this weekend when I visit Hannibal, MO with my sister (yes, the boyhood home of Mark Twain and inspiration for the fictional town of St. Petersburg).

Also, tonight I took a big step. I made this blog visible to a select but significantly larger-than-before group of people on my facebook. I doubt that many of them will read it, but lately I've felt the desire and need to write for more than myself. Maybe someone else will come across and be encouraged or get a good laugh for the day.

I better get some sleep: tomorrow is my last "normal" day at Garmin, and my customers depend on me to listen to them yell and help them learn to use their computers.

Hello, Employment!

It's ironic that I, the directionally-challenged, will be spending my summer working for Garmin. I was recently hired for a summer/seasonal Product Support position at the headquarters in Olathe, Kansas, and I am stoked! This job was totally a God thing, as if He brought it right to me. Praise the Lord for open doors!

I start training a week from tomorrow. Eeek! This will be my first ever "big girl" job. I'm kind of nervous about that. But even more so, I'm excited about it.

(Just don't tell them I'll be making my way to work via TomTom. Shhhhh.)

Spring

Winter is over, and Spring is here...
both in the natural world, and in my heart.

Praise be to God,
who makes all things new.