As of late…

My blog. I love you.

Tomorrow it will be a whole month since I last posted something. I think I kind of have this unwritten rule in my mind that I can’t let it be more than a month between posts. Because…how will remember if I don’t write it down??? I don’t want to forget all the in-between moments.

So let’s go with a list. A compilation of all the goings-on as of late.

In no particular order:

1. I’ve learned that you can [generally] determine whether or not someone will go to college by the size of their garage. Or whether they even have one. Think about that.

2. I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’m a feeler. This means my logical side doesn’t kick in until I freak out about a situation. Ha! I can see that in so many areas of my life. It’s good to know. Also, I am an external processor. Hence the blog! I don’t fully realize what I’m thinking until I say it or write it out. Pretty cool. Lastly, I am an outgoing introvert. Meaning: I love being around people, but they wear me out. I really do need my alone time! SO much insight into myself lately.

3. I almost always solve the Jumble puzzle in the newspaper by figuring out the answer first, then unscrambling the letters from that.

4. I’ve scored some really great sales lately. $50 jeans for $28? Heck yeah! A book (one that will help me prioritize my life…more on that later) for only $1.98 [including shipping!] on eBay? You betcha!

5. I feel so defeated by school already, and it’s only the 4th week of school. No matter how hard I try, no matter how much time I invest in my homework, I am still behind. It may be a matter of prioritizing my time, but I’m not sure. I thought I was good at that…maybe I’m not. At least in this season of life. All I know is that something’s gotta change, or my whole semester will be so out of balance.

6. Because of poor time management, or kick-butt homework, or whatever…time alone with God has been rarely happening. If I don’t do my homework, there are obvious consequences. But not spending time with God? There are consequences, too. I’m starting to see that.

7. Do I really need that much sleep?

8. I realized tonight that I had a presentation due online in an hour, speed-skimmed the chapter, threw a bunch of words together, and pulled it off. Pretty impressive, I must say. But see what I mean about homework waging war and winning?

9. My goal this week is to look cute for 8 o’clock class at least once. 3 more chances. We’ll see.

10. My laptop battery is dying, and I’m too lazy to get up and plug it in. So this will be it for the night. But hey! I think it was helpful just to write what’s up. Like I said…external processor. Hopefully it will somehow help me solve my problems.

Later.

Spice up yo’ life.

This school year ain’t gonna be a boring one. Nuh-uh!

To add some spice to your life, to make your classes a little less dull…fancy up your notebooks a little. Like this.

Grab some old notebooks.

Everyone has those classes that require you to take notes for, like, the first 2 weeks of school. From then on you are smart enough to know the professor puts the notes online, or doesn’t really test over them…something along those lines. Anywho, I have tons of notebooks each with less than 20 pages filled in. If you aren’t the same way, you can use new notebooks, too. There are no rules in this game.

Find some cute paper.

I have so much scrapbook paper; not for scrapbooking (too much effort- I much prefer this blog to record my life!), but for whatever creativity requires.

Next: Mod Podge. Essential.

And really, the next step can’t be explained. Just let your creative juices flow. If you’re lucky, you’ll end up with some super cute designs…to be enjoyed throughout the whole year. :)

Now I’m excited to take notes!

Late-summer sweetness

I just realized today it’s been almost a month since I last updated this blog. My life since then has been…crazy? Busy? Boring? I really don’t know how to describe it. It’s still been busy, but a different kind of busy than when I was in Florida. I’ve been catching up with people and now I’m catching up with life in general…part of that includes updating this little blog! Since I’m good at it, I’ll throw some more pictures your way.

I’m pretty excited to get back in the school routine again, and to start blogging about less moments and more thoughts. I learned lots of things this summer, and right now they’re still sort of floating around in my mind…once I’m back in school with more free time (crazy how that works), I’ll be able to post some substantial things (I hope!). For now, though, I will enjoy the sweetness of late-summer and be looking forward to fall. :)

Faves

It’s been crazy busy up here in J-ville. Or down here, since it’s rather south.

Anywho.

It’s hard for me to write anything, since I don’t have much time and usually my brain is just drained from processing so much! (I also think the sun drains my thinking power, as well as my energy). :)

I am going to leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the last couple of weeks. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and since I don’t have those thousand words for you, these pictures will have to suffice!

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Here’s my team leader Andrea and me at our Thrift Store Prom:

Fellow Razzle-Dazzlers Amy and Ashley with me. This was at the beach on the 4th of July- waiting for it to get dark so fireworks will start!

Our team on the beach. :)

Last week’s Bible study included making a fort…we actually had Bible study inside of it…so cool!

Outside the entrance of Universal Studios: Islands of Adventure. It was such a fun day with all the JAX people!

Please feel free to comment! I love comments.

Also, don’t hesitate to check out the previous posts from this summer. Even though I haven’t been updating as much as I had hoped, you can still get a picture of what I’ve been up to! As always, enjoy.

St. Augustine

Last Saturday a bunch of us went to St. Augustine! Only about 30 minutes away, St. Augustine is a very old city with some pretty impressive architecture. We got to see Flagler College- I cannot even imagine attending school there! It was so fancy. Definitely different from UNK. :)

 

Such pretty streets.

Lovely Gone with the Wind-inspired places.

 

The downtown scene is very quaint. We were told to go to this rockin’ popsicle place, and it certainly lived up to my expectations. First of all…gourmet popsicles. Second of all…all natural. Right up my alley! I got a Honey Honeydew popsicle and it was soooo good. I am inspired, people. Let the homemade popsicle-making commence!

 

I am currently trying to update this blog with pictures of all the fun activities we’ve been doing lately. There are lots!

Stay tuned!

Miles to go.

Let me tell you.

This summer training program is INTENSE.

I’ve often heard it compared to running a marathon, and I would definitely echo that comparison. It’s certainly not a sprint; no, it takes quite a bit of endurance to get through these 8 weeks! So far we are a little more than half way through, and I am so completely filled up and overflowing with information. I am thankful for the times I do have to sit and process all that I am learning, because without those times of reflection, I would go crazy with information overload! Work is keeping me really busy, as well, and social time in addition to that. Last summer I definitely learned time management, and it’s a good thing because I am really needing it now!

It’s interesting that this summer I’ve been running a lot. I’m not really a runner. I would much rather exercise by doing random things (like dance parties, see here), but there’s always a group going running every night so I usually join. It’s easier to run down here in Florida because we are at sea level, but also more difficult because of the humidity. Some nights it feels like a swim-run. But it’s been good. I am able to talk and run at the same time, and so can many others, so there are some good conversations. (We also usually see some cool animals, like armadillos!)

Running helps keep me in shape, but it also provides me with personal experience to this analogy.

1 Corinthians 9:25- Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

I’ve never really experienced “strict training” before, in regards to physical exercise, but this running business sure has given me a taste of it. I’m exhausted, yet it’s refreshing!

Wheels…

The wheels in my mind are a-turnin’.

I am learning SO much here at JAX! Every week, 4+ memory verses. How to share The Bridge illustration (ask me if you want it explained). How to treat guys as brothers in Christ (difficult, since I don’t have any brothers of my own). One thing that’s been really helpful for me is learning the definitions of big words in simple terms. For example, last week Jerry Bridges shared with us the definition of justification. Honestly, before I would avoid verses with this word in them, simply because I didn’t really grasp what it meant. It didn’t really mean anything to me. BUT, here’s what I learned, and it completely blew my mind.

Justification: “Just as if I’d never sinned.” And furthermore, “Just as if I’d always obeyed.”

Wow.

That is how God views us, because of Jesus! Now I want to read all the verses with justification in them. :)

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Another type of wheel is the Navigator Wheel. Ever heard of it? It looks like this ---->

A Christ-centered life has four distinct aspects.

Prayer, fellowship, the Word, and Witnessing.

Our summer training program theme this year is Go Deep. Basically we are focusing on going deep with each of these 4 areas.

With this in mind, there are specific ways you can pray regarding growth in each of these.

Prayer: That I will prioritize my time here, and realize the importance of spending time in prayer; that I will become more earnest in praying

Fellowship: Further team unity; that I would be an encouragement to others here at JAX

The Word: Adequate time with my work/social schedule

Witnessing: Interaction with co-workers, beach evangelism opportunities

In all of these, you can pray that God will reveal Himself to me and everyone else here! That would be so great.

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With that being said, here is a picture of my team while getting ice cream last week! :)