Halfway

So, as previously stated, I will be terrible at regularly updating this thing. At the beginning of summer, I made a list of fun and exciting things to do while I'd be living in Greenville over the summer. Thinking I would have more time on my hands, I thought I might make a good dent in that list. Now halfway through the summer, about three of those things have been completed. Oh well, maybe the rest will come in the weeks left of summertime. :)

SUMMER TO-DO LIST:

*Get fresh produce at the Farmer’s Market [CHECK!]
*Check out antique stores downtown
*Go yard sale shopping
*Bike around town
*Kayak down the Tar River
*Rock climb in the rec
*Eat dinner on the rooftop of Captain Ratty’s
*Walk down by the water in Little Washington
*Eat oysters at Wimpy’s
*Go camping on the beach
*Go strawberry picking
*Take pictures of the gardens at Tryon Palace
*Jump off the tower at Green Springs [CHECK!]
*Run around at Goose Creek Park
*Visit Cape Hatteras
*Watch New Moon and Dear John [CHECK!]
*Get a professional back massage

Reminisce

I just spent the last 20 minutes re-reading over all of my previous posts. Where there are not many, it was invigorating to read about my life encounters since creating this blog. I've always been something of a journaler/list-maker/writer. One of my favorite things to do is to read back on the things I've written in my old journals and blogs to see where I've come since those times.

Just as a new stage in life is approaching with a whirlwind of excitement and newfound possibilities, I think it might be appropriate to start with my online journaling again so that in a years time I can look back and laugh to remember these times.

This is no promise, because many times before this I have said that I need to write more often. We'll see what happens from here. Hopefully there will be more life updates in the next post. For now it is 1:40am (yikes!) and I am heading to the beach tomorrow! Time for much-needed sleep.

Good Friday

Isaiah 53:2-6 (The Message)

The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
on him, on him.

2010

So beings February. It's been forever since I posted here. For a start, I'll post my resolutions list. And add one to say: #101. Journal my thoughts more.

1. Enjoy the power and beauty of my youth.
2. Reduce my caffeine addiction.
3. Drink more tea.
4. Take a multivitamin daily.
5. Buy more fresh and organic produce.
6. Floss.
7. Save money; spend wisely.
8. Enjoy my last semester as an undergraduate student.
9. Figure out my future plans (DPT school? A year off?).
10. Trust God with my future plans.
11. Discover how to live on my own.
12. Try to do my devotions daily.
13. Grow and challenge my faith everyday.
14. Love Christ more everyday.
15. Find a solid church in Greenville and stick with it.
16. Join a bible study.
17. Memorize one new verse each week.
18. Realize life is too short to stress over the little things.
19. Live more simply.
20. Get enough sleep most nights of the week.
21. Spend my free time wisely.
22. Save up for a new laptop.
23. Buy new sunglasses.
24. Get a professional massage.
25. Give freely.
26. Clean out my closet and donate to Goodwill.
27. Don’t take things for granted.
28. Read through my book list.
29. Read a book on a topic completely foreign to me.
30. Grow up a little more, but never forget my inner kid.
31. Go on a fun spontaneous adventure.
32. Be creative.
33. Stargaze.
34. Reminisce.
35. Go out for sushi often.
36. Guard my heart.
37. Enjoy being single.
38. Carefully welcome what might lie ahead.
39. Catch up with old friends.
40. Flourish my inner beauty.
41. Look into taking a martial arts or self defense class.
42. Lose 10 pounds by March 1st (family pact!).
43. Do more pilates and yoga.
44. Get rid of my low back pain.
45. Lift weights twice a week.
46. Stretch.
47. Run another half marathon in the spring.
48. Train for a marathon in the fall.
49. Travel somewhere exciting.
50. Spend quality time with the people I care about.
51. Tighten my tummy.
52. Get an “A” in Anatomy.
53. Learn at lot about PT as an intern at Peak Performance Physical Therapy.
54. Keep in touch with my friends who live far away.
55. Send a letter to Emily in the Czech Republic!
56. Email my best friend about my life more often.
57. Keep my room more organized.
58. Expand my vocabulary.
59. Learn to enunciate words more clearly and speak more slowly.
60. Laugh a lot.
61. Serve others willingly.
62. Go skiing (any takers?).
63. Go hunting for the first time.
64. Go rock climbing at the rec.
65. Go ice skating.
66. Go to the shooting range with Dad again.
67. Join ECU’s Figure Skating Club?
68. Cook more often.
69. Buy and try out a Neti Pot for when I get sick.
70. Stop wasting.
71. Don’t text and drive.
72. Buy McD’s coupons to give to homeless people that I drive by.
73. Learn how to do a cartwheel!
74. Eat lots of pomegranates.
75. Go out to an old field and take pictures.
76. Stop looking in the mirror so much.
77. Meet new kids at Conley every week.
78. Encourage and pour into the lives of my high school friends.
79. Contact work least 3 times each week.
80. Challenge and go deeper with my campaigners group.
81. Take my girls to the beach (maybe it won’t flood this time).
82. Update music on my iPod.
83. Journal my thoughts more often.
84. Buy a new sketchbook and fill it.
85. Remind myself often of the eternity that is coming my way one day.
86. Take advice from people more experienced than me.
87. Learn Ukrainian from my grandmother.
88. Learn about my grandmother’s life adventures.
89. Brush up on the Spanish I learned in high school.
90. Stop wasting so much time on my computer.
91. Attempt to keep up with current news.
92. Learn to throw a football well.
93. Watch more ESPN.
94. Be bold.
95. Love the people around me well.
96. Be joyful always.
97. Pray continually.
98. Give thanks in all circumstances.
99. Learn what it means to be “selfless.”
100. Live love.

His Timing

"In order for God to grow you, He must break you down… and it hurts sometimes. He places you in circumstances and trials not because He likes to see you suffer, but simply because He profoundly loves you enough to grow you. And when you feel like your happiness has been trumped by your sadness…hope wins in the end. God has proven Himself true to me again and again—all it takes is a little faith and a lot of patience. Every time you surmount a struggle, you have learned something… it may have been something simple or something completely unexpected and confounding, but you have finally grasped how to hit a homerun with the curveballs life throws at you. And the next time you face a similar situation, there is no hesitancy in your mind but rather complete confidence in God’s ability to bring hope to the rescue—maybe not in your timing, but in His, which, in the end, is the best timing."

As we get to know God,
we will learn to trust him more;
as we learn to trust him,
we will learn to love him more.
And as we learn to love him,
we won't love the world so much.

Summertime

It has been quite some time since I’ve posted last. There is no promise of more frequent posts; however, I thought an update was due.

Summer has quickly approached and with a whirlwind it’s quickly passing faster than I can keep up. I walked into a cloud of uncertainty this summer, not knowing whether I’d stay in Greenville or be at home in Raleigh. Turns out I’m in Raleigh for now, with the slim chance I’ll end up going back to Greenville. I think regardless I would have been happy, but I have to admit I’m content where I am. There’s just something special about being home. I’m still working at Starbucks and hanging out with friends about every chance I get. It’s nice to get a break from school and just chill. I need that solitude and fun in my life.

It’s a scary time in my life, too. As I’m approaching my senior year (….did you read that?! My SENIOR year!), my future is so undetermined and confusing. I know what I want but I have no certainty that what I want will actually happen. We can plan our lives out to the most intricate detail, but chances are that they will not go the way we expect them to. I guess that’s part of life—which is a really hard thing for such a planned, organized person as myself to deal with. But it’s been such a release for me to have to let go what I have planned for my life and trust that what God has for me is better, whatever that might be. With nothing to cling to, God has forced me to fully rely on his plan for my future. At this point I can plan no further, I’ve done all I can do.

All I can do is surrender. I suppose for now I will enjoy my summer and welcome whatever my future may hold for me when the time comes. Oh, sweet summertime.

21

Happy Birthday to me...