quality time...

...it's definitely one of my top love languages.

and i've gotten a lot of it lately =). it makes me glad. i got to go to a cookout with some friends for our ministries tonight. and i got to have my last bible study with my girls. both good times.

and i've gotten to spend a lot of time outside studying or just resting with friends lately. i like it!

and then we got to go to an end-of-year-partyish thing tonight for our saturday church. it was so good. i love being able to be around families like that and have kids running all over and just see people interacting and loving each other. it made my week i think =). i got to sit and talk with one of the moms there and hear a lot more about the church's background and what God's done in the lives there. it was good. very good. i have been given so much.

and now i need to write a paper. =D gnite all.

this is my group...i like them a lot! elliv was fun, three claps to our boys and the act they did!

it's been a good weekend...most of my stuff is moved out already, but i won't actually leave til next saturday. i got to have a good walk with my old RA today and i'm looking forward to good last memories with friends this week before we head out for the summer. happy monday!

if i had a list of my favorite sophomore memories...

...last night would be somewhere quite close to the top.
a wrong turn or two on the roads made for a beautiful drive, a gorgeous sunset, a much needed reminder of the sovereignty and power of our God, time talking to Him and singing to Him with some of my favorite people, much laughter, and many smiles. a great memory to wrap up the year.

*picture to follow perhaps*

and p.s. i was walking back from class today and i'm pretty sure i smelled lilacs!!! =D it's such a comfort smell for me....i love lilacs! it made me really happy =). yay for spring! hope it's just as beautiful out where you are today!

what makes me smile...

been a kinda tough couple of days. the schoolwork's been light this week though, so that helps. God is gracious to send time for working through pain, friends for loving and encouraging, reminders of His faithfulness, and healing too.

and some things always seem to just make me smile even in the middle of a rough day or two. thought i'd show you one of those. it's a picture of me with two of my favorite girls! and it makes my heart very happy!

"blessed..."

"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him"

i was thinking about blessings tonight and that's what Paul had to say about it. of all the blessings none of them can compare with that one. but i can think of so many tonight.

i think of my family...who love me and love Jesus and will let me go serve Him across the country this summer and will be here waiting and loving me when i get back;

i think of the chance to be here at school, it hit me this week how some people work hard at school because their parents have paid so much money for them to be here or even because they've paid so much to be here themselves but honestly, Jesus is the one who has provided the money for me to be here, this year especially He's given the scholarships. and it kind of makes me think a little more about how much i pay attention in classes. and i think of the fact that i have a few profs specifically who love Jesus and model that to me every day.

i think of the friends He has given me here. i love them and i'm so grateful for them. for the good conversations and the laughter and the hugs through the tears when those come too and the meals and the roadtrips and the picnics and so many good times. i'm grateful for the things that i learn from them and for the conversations with them that make me want to go and spend more time with Jesus and for the encouragement in my schoolwork and in life in general. they mean a lot to me!

i think of midtown, my saturday church. the love that i see there is huge; the love shown to those in the community because of the love for Jesus and the opportunites i get there. i got to work in the nursery this week and it was so much fun! i haven't gotten to do official nursery duty since i was a junior in high school and i loved it! mel and i got to watch a couple adorable little kids and it was great!

i think of creekside, my sunday church, and how much i love the people there and the examples that they set for me also. i love them!

i think of the quizmeet this weekend and the friends there. i even got to see jenna and jillian! i got to play with jillian for the first time! i'm really excited to babysit them this summer! so excited!

so yeah....those are the things that have made me feel loved this week and so very blessed! and i could go on and on(but i already did that for plenty long enough for a blog =P) i'm working on praising Him in the tough times, but when i think about it in the good times i like to tell you the things that i thank Him for then too! He has given me so much!

"My God is so big, so strong and so mighty; there's nothing my God cannot do"

i'm going to California!!!

i will miss Kids Kamp and counseling with Mandy and seeing friends and family there incredibly; i will miss my family at home. but i've prayed about it a lot and i really think this is where God wants me this summer. and I trust He will take care of the rest. thank you so much for all of your prayers!

i just got a phone call offering me a job counseling at a camp in California!

i'm still taking a couple of days to pray about it and other options and then i'll give him my answer. so i'd appreciate prayers over the next couple days still while i make the final decision =) and big thanks to all of you who have been praying already!

"let's think of something to do while we're waiting..."

break is good. so is sleeping all day and wearing sweats all day and getting schoolwork done without being worn out and watching tv and talking to lots of family and seeing old friends and eating good homemade food and thinking and celebrating Easter and all that He's done.

praying about this summer still. i got an email from the CA camp this weekend that said i should hear back about that job this week sometime. and then i went to church today and remembered why i love my Ohio camp so much =). so we'll see what God will do....lots of prayer right now. good options either way.

hope you had a happy easter!

my heart tonight...

my heart wants ludlow falls.
very, very much. especially lately as i keep seeing more and more friends from there.

but i know cali would be good too. and i've wanted to go counsel for a whole summer for a very long time. and when i'm not thinking about my camp i'm really, really excited about California.

i'm torn. so torn.
at least i can have family camp at ludlow falls either way! that's helps!
but i don't know what i'll choose...or even if i'll have to choose.
prayers are appreciated as always.

much love, faithful readers ;)