Long Time, No See

First let me say sorry that I haven't written in so long. Busy is not an excuse, but if it were I would win the award for being busy. Btw, a little congrats to myself... I just got inducted into Mortar Board which is a very prestigious honor society that is extremely selective. I'm giving myself a pat on the back right now!
So, I'm not sure who I've told but I have changed my major to teaching... which I LOVE, but now I will graduating a semester late :( I am not happy about that, but what's one semester compared to a whole life of not having a job you love, right?

A little recap on the last month... ADPi conference in Knoxville, Spring Break in Daytona (Woot Woot), Valentine's Day (more commonly referred to as Single Awareness Day), lots of community service stuff and tons of schoolwork! See pictures if you want to catch up on my latest endeavors.

I don't really have much to write about today, but I just wanted to catch everyone up on what's going on so that I can get back in the swing of frequent writings.

I did start going to Campus Outreach here on Tuesdays at 9pm and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!! It seriously is awesome... I wish I would have found it when I was a measly little freshman, because I've definitely missed out!

Have a great day!!

For the Kids

Well, for the past year I have been on the executive board for EKU's Up Till Dawn, an organization that exists to raise money and awareness for St. Jude's research Hospital in Memphis, TN. Over the past 5 years, UTD at EKU has raised over $130,000. Wow, that's a lot of money... but the reality is St. Jude's takes 1.5 million dollars to operate each day. It is a place where no child is turned away, money is never an issue. Families are flown in from around the world and are not charged for anything. They don't have to worry about transportation, housing, food, medical bills, school, or anything. It truly is an amazing place and I will forever be an advocate of its great work. St. Jude's houses many Pulitzer prize winners and the best doctora and researchers in the world. Visiting this hospital really showed me what all of our work is going to and made me realize that we have a lot of work left to do. This coming Monday is our Letter Writing event, where all students on campus are asked to bring 25 addresses (not phonebooks, but family and friends) and come to enjoy free food, speakers, and doorprizes. We send out letters to thousands of people asking for support with St. Jude's. This is the event where we usually raise most of our money and I am pumped for Monday. Please be in prayer for that day.
While at the hospital, I heard a mother speak and her journey with her son's cancer. He found out he had cancer in his eyes when he was only an infant. They gave him weeks to live, but then someone recommended St. Jude's... he is now 16 years old. He is blind from having one of his eyes removed and the other had so much cancer taken out that it doesn't work properly. But he is just a normal 16 year old, he even has a "smokin hot" girlfriend (as he would say).
I am so grateful to have been able to visit the hospital... if you ever get the chance, please go! I am also honored to have the privileged to raise money for the kids... Please be in prayer for this ministry!

MAKE IT STOP

Have you ever had one of those days when you seriously just want to throw in the towel and give up on everything you've worked so hard for. I'm trying so hard to be a good Christian, but the closer I get to God the farther I feel from the rest of the world. I know he is all I need, but I need support too. Of course I have my parents, family, church, and little but sometimes it's just not enough. It's not really that I need anyone else, I just need people to understand who I am. Yes, when I was a freshman and sophomore I drank and wasn't a very good person. That's part of my testimony and I'm not ashamed of it, because it led me to where I am now. But I am a newly dedicated, on fire for Christ, daughter of the King. I understand that I will lose some friends and that's ok, but I wish my real friends would please step through and the others would leave me alone.
I've involved myself in entirely too much in college and I'm burnt out. I need out of it. I need out of all these activities that bring me down. I have made commitments and I will see them through, because I am not a quitter. But, they are literally draining every ounce of me. I don't know if I have anything else left to offer my King. I'm spending all this time and energy on things that used to mean everything to me, but now he means everything to me and I'm losing precious time with him. I know I sound like a little spoiled, complaining baby, but I know only Christians would understand how I feel. I can't leave my obligations and don't want to be at EKU and do nothing, but at some point I have to slow down or I will never make it 1.5 more semesters. Please keep me in your prayers.

Family

They can't say it enough... Family IS the most important thing in the world. Over Christmas, while I was in China, my big bub was home from California where he is in the air-force. Sadly, I only got to see him for a few hours between my flight arriving and his departing. I find myself constantly on his facebook page hoping for some kind of glimpse into his daily life, as I only get to talk with him on the phone about once every other week. You would think that living less than an hour away from my parents and little bub would feel like some sort of consolation since Matthew is so far away, but being at college stinks! (to be blunt) Everyone I know says, "I never go home, I would never want to move back home, My parents drive me crazy," but I can honestly say that's not me! Spread my wings, be independent, blah-blah-blah... ok, I got it, but I'm allowed to want to be with my family. Is that such a crime? I pray daily that I will get into a law school in Kentucky so that I can move back home. There is just something about waking up with the smell of coffee that your Daddy has brewed, some security in knowing that at night you can curl in bed with your Mom, and the fun of being able to still fight with your little brother. I know these things may drive some people crazy, but once again, not me. Of course I love the convenience of being at home...free housing, free meals, free entertainment, etc... But what's better after a bad day than sitting around the tv watching Wheel of Fortune eating your brother's homemade chips. I'll tell you, life doesn't get much better than that! Going to school all day, but knowing that night you're going to see the new movie out at the theaters with your mom? Nothing else can make you classes go by quicker than that. I've had some pretty stupid ideas... changing majors 4,000 times, the million boyfriends, moving into an apartment, and just random daily stuff. But, even if I'm wrong (and they tell me I'm wrong) my family is always there to support me.
I guess what I'm trying to say here, is don't let everything slip by... don't want to grow up too fast. I was so crazy about going to college and being on my own (all very good life lessons and am glad I did that), but now I want to take a step back and not be such a grown-up. I always feel like I have to conquer the world. I don't want to adopt one kid, I want to adopt them all. I don't want to feed one homeless man, I want to feed them all. etc, etc... That's when I need my Mommy there to tell me that's it's ok not to save the whole world. You have to live your life day by day, helping as many people as you can. At the end of the day, if you didn't solve world hunger, that's ok... God loves you and sees your heart!
That's what life is all about... doing the best you can do and realizing that sometimes you will fall short. That's what family is for: to be there when you're on top of the world and when you feel like falling under it. I'm just truly thankful that I have parents who follows the guidelines given to them by God to raise children, loves others more than themselves, and more than anything loves their children unconditionally and truly believes we can achieve our dream.

This quote that I gave to my Mom last Mother's Day pretty much sums it up...
"My mother is a song in my heart of love, happiness, and being. I may not always remember the words, but I always know the tune."

Thank you Daddy and Mom for being who you are and never wavering. Thank you for being obedient to God and teaching me to do the same. You will never know the impact you have made on my life!

Do Your Part

I finally did it. I've been talking about it for weeks and for some reason (stupid satan... btw, I hate when it tried to auto-correct satan and capitalize it. HELLO! He does not deserve the same recognition as our GOD. Stupid computer!) I haven't gotten around to sponsoring a child through compassion. I'm always trying to find another trip to go overseas to orphanages, while I could be helping the children there financially in the meantime. Please don't give me an applause of things like that, I prefer for all my rewards to be in Heaven; I debated whether or not to write about this, but I want there to be as much awareness as possible. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE go online to www.compassion.com and sponsor a child. It's only $38 per month and they even do an auto-withdraw if you like. (Once they are chosen, they will never get put back through the system, so only do this if you are serious about the commitment. There's almost 2,000 children on the roster currently and there's more added everyday. We can all sacrifice one meal out or one pair of jeans each month to help those who don't even have the option of those luxuries that we take for granted. If this is something you truly can't do, then please pray for the children to get sponsorred for other. We all have an obligation, Do Your Part!!

Full Swing

Life has come back around in full swing. China was a nice escape from reality for a few weeks, and now it's back to busy, busy, busy. Not to complain about my busyness because I'm the one who chooses it, but sometimes people just need a break: Alpha Delta Pi president, Up Till Dawn PR chair, Sigma Tau Delta PR chair, Phi Kappa Tau Trophy Girl, Honors program, 18 credit hours a semester, and a full time job just sometimes works out to be WAY TOO MUCH for anyone to handle sanely. Fortunately, I am living alone now so for a few minutes each day I just sit in silence and do absolutely nothing and let me tell you, those precious minutes are my favorite part of the day. I'm one of those girls who likes to feel needed, so I know that's why I involve myself with so much, but at some point I'm going to have to learn how to say no. The bright side is, when I get bogged down and my to-do-list is 4 pages long (no exaggeration), I just remember that it's all for a purpose. I don't do these things because I have to but because I want to. God has blessed me with being a multitakser and to not utilize that would be frankly disrespectful. So, next time you're wondering why you're baking your fourth casserole of the week for friends or attending meeting after meeting remember to do it with a smile. When the 5-year-old you've nannied for 2 years looks up at you and says, "LaLa, why are you always so happy?" that's when it's all worth it.

The Move

Well, it's actually happening. Over Christmas break, ironically while I was in China, my apartment was broken into. Multiple crow-bar marks on our door and the locks broken. Being the chicken I am, I am way too freaked out to continue living there and Mom and Dad were right once again when they told me not to live there in the first place. In that same week, one of my roommates boyfriends was walking out of our door when he was shot with a BB gun. Yet another reason why I have to move. I know God tells us not to live in fear, but I also don't think he would want us intentionally living in an unsafe neighborhood. So, today hopefully I will be moving back into the dorms. One of my sisters is going to move into my room and I will have a private in the dorms. I am feeling bittersweet about this. I'm excited to live on the floor as president and be on campus again which is really convenient, but I truly love my roommates and I know we'll still be friends but there's something more intimate about actually living with someone.
Thank you Lord for keeping us safe thus far and for none of us being there when the break-in happened. Please help me to not be too sad about the move and to make the best of it. Please let my roommates miss me and not forget about me ha ha :) Amen.
I'm sure Mom and Daddy are thrilled about having to move me yet again, but they say as long as I'm safe it's OK. I think they will sleep better at night with me living in a monitored dorm rather than in the Richmond ghetto ha ha.
Thanks for your prayers!