Praising God

Well I made it through another week!! It was a rough one, but with strength from God and a little help from friends, I made it!! =) I love waking up every morning and realizing that I am where God wants me to be. I love the fact that I am on my way to helping people. It is so rewarding. I am also very blessed by the friends that surround me. I don't even make it out the door without at least 5 people making my day =) It's absolutely wonderful. I realized above all that in times of stress no matter how much or how little, that I have to turn it all over to God and just trust him. Sometimes it is easier said than done, but its so important. I yet again have been blessed this week. I have a friend who asked to come to church this week, and another one who called asking about God. It has been so incredibly wonderful to minister his love to them. I am very excited that on Thursday night, Skillet is coming to Winona. I pray that lives will be touched through this experience.
I am very excited to go home the weekend of the 11th. I will get to spend precious time with my sweet Nathan, my family, and my friends. I get to spend Friday with my precious Kendall bug, and I can not wait!! She is growing up so fast, and will be 15 months on November 2nd!! Where does the time go?! I am very blessed to have her in my life, and I couldn't imagine life without her.
This week will be another very busy busy week. I  have a lot of tests, and project deadlines. It will be okay though =)
I hope everyone has a wonderfully blessed week, and I pray that God touches your life in some way =)
much love to all of you!! <3

Intentionally Untitled

I dont really know what to talk about but I felt the need to blog, hence the title. Well it has been a busy, crazy, stressful, (insert any acronym that describes crazy to a high degree here) kind of week. These are the kind of weeks that I definitely feel the presence of God. I dread these weeks, but at the same time I feel closer to God so they balance out. I have had a LOT of my friends come to me with problems this week. I love nothing more than being there for them and helping them in any way I can, even if it is just listening to them. I pray a ton for all of my friends, especially the ones who are struggling. My stress level has been astronomical as midterms are coming to a close and registration is imminent. I just need to keep asking God for faith and strength to keep going. I have had wonderful support as always from my friends and family this week =). My RA's at school have been absolutely amazing!! The support I receive on a daily basis continues to blow me away. I adore them. Last night I was having a hard time so my RA came to see if I was doing okay and to give me a hug =) I love her. Today I was asked by a first grader I teach if I was a princess, and after responding no, he responded with, "well you should be." Made my entire day!! I just loved being blessed over and over again with amazing people in my life. I love my life, and there is not a single thing I would change about it. Not even the people I have lost, because they are in a better place in Heaven. Yes I miss them terribly, but I will see them when my job is done here on earth. I look at it as, we all started life together at the "starting line" and they just finished the race before I did and now they are just waiting at the "finish line" and waiting for me to finish my race. I love all of you so much and I pray that you are healthy and well. May God bless you this weekend. <3

Not a whole lot of words

This week has been extremely challenging as far as life goes. I have had a lot of things happen this week and I have had a few friends have a few horrible things happen to them as well such as death of a sister and a suicide in the family. It is so extremely hard to go through that. We don't always understand why God does the things he does, but we may never know. I just need to trust that he has a plan and that he loves me, and I know that. I love nothing more than being here for my friends and supporting them. I love when they come to me and ask for help. I feel like God works through me. I have again this week met a few more wonderful people. I just continue to be blessed. I loved all of the cards I have received in the mail this week, thank you everyone. A special thank you to my grandma Jan for the lovely phone call today, and yes I do think of you often =). I have an extremely busy week ahead of me, but I know that God is in control, and I am ready to face whatever comes along with it, because I know I am not alone. I hope you all have an amazing week and remember, God loves you and so do I!!!! <3

New Haircut

This picture is for my Grandma's =) I know that you guys don't go on Facebook as often. I got 5 inches chopped off of my hair and new layers. Mom did it of course. She always does such a great job. Never thought I would cut my hair this short, but I really like it.

Long Weekend Almost Over

Well I think that it is safe to say that this weekend was definitely a roller coaster ride. There were not many ups, as I spent a lot of time being a "pin cushion," but it was a very productive weekend. Hopefully I will be done with medical things for awhile. This weekend resulted in electric shocks, needles up and down my arms and legs, Needles in both arms for a total of 14 tubes of blood, 2 needles in my back, 1 to take out 5.5 viles of spinal fluid and one to inject my own blood back into my spine to form a clot to cover the hole that didn't close on its own, and an IV. I think its safe to say that I was a form of a pin cushion =). Yes it was a tough weekend, I would be lying if I said it wasn't, and yes I am EXTREMELY glad that its over. It was an amazing experience as well. I know some of you are asking yourselves, "how in the WOLRD could it be amazing?!" well it was in the sense that I had loved ones by my side the entire time. The doctors and nurses were so amazing, and of course Nathan never left my side. He was there for me through every second. He has been wonderful. So from that aspect of it, it was pretty amazing. I got to spend very valuable time with my family. Also during these times are when my faith is the strongest. I felt very close to God throughout this whole ordeal. God is faithful and he helped me get through it all. He gave me my amazing family to be there with me, and he gave wisdom to the doctors. Now as I continue to slowly heal, my faith remains strong and my family remains by my side. What more could I ask for?

Doing Well

Yesterday was an extremely long day, but after all of the electric shocks, needles in my arms and legs, needles, and a rod in my spine to collect 5.5 viles of fluid, and 5 tubes of blood from my arm, I am home and doing well!!! It was a long night, as I am extremely sore, but everything went very well. Now we just wait. The prayers and support I have received have been amazing. Nathan was so sweet, he was there through the entire thing, and he brought me flowers! What a sweetie pie. I will be going home to Winona tomorrow, and Ill be taking it slow as I did just have my spine exposed. It will be okay, I am looking forward to seeing everyone, even though it has only been two days. My sister is sitting next to me and she says hi to everyone. Much love to all of you, and thank you again for all of the prayers and support!!

Flowers from Nathan =)

Right after just getting home =) resting and doing well!!

I am Blessed

Everyday I am reminded of just how wonderful life is. God is amazing, and I love being in his beautiful creation. This morning as it is the morning of my appointments, I am nervous, but at the same time not really because God is with me and he will see me through. I just am putting all of my faith and trust in him. I am amazed and so truly blessed by all of the support I have. My friends and family have been so wonderful. Everyday, I have people that go above and beyond to let me know just how much I am loved. They are such blessings to my life. I am very much looking forward to going home this weekend, as I missed my family and my sweet Nathan!! I want to thank all of you who have sent me such encouraging words to help me through this. I really appreciate all of your prayers. A special thank you to Megan, Danielle,  and Briana. You guys are so insanely special to me. Thank you for always praying for me and being here for me. Also thank you to everyone at the EDGE. I love all of you!! I hope everyone has an amazing day! I am going now to spend some time in prayer <3

Long But Blessed Week

Well I am halfway through another long week. On Friday I will have my Spinal Tap. I am nervous, but I have faith in God that everything will be fine. I just need to trust in him, and surrender all of the things that are holding on to me, all of the worries that are consuming my thoughts. I have continued to be blessed. I feel like every single day I have an amazing Godly conversation with at least one person. I love it!! I continue to meet people all the time and they are all so special to me.
I have a really big test tomorrow so I need to get back to studying, but I like to keep updating because I know my grandmas and aunts and of course my mother like to know what I am doing. God is so good and he just keeps providing for me. I have been pretty weak this week, but I always find strength in the lord!!
I am soooo looking forward to going home this weekend!! I miss my family and my amazing Nathan!! =) <3. I am also getting a haircut on Saturday. I will be sure to post pictures!! I am planning on getting a lot chopped off. I know that you like my long hair grandma Jan, but it will grow back!! (I know you like when I put little comments in here so this ones for you!!)
Have a blessed rest of the week everyone!! Love you all so much, and thank you for taking time to read my blog!!! <3

God is Amazing!!!

Wow, what an amazing last few days it has been. The colors are changing and it has been beautiful outside. It makes me happy to be able to see these changes. God is amazing and he created a beautiful world. It's so sad how sin ruins that, but if you take a moment to reflect on that natural beauty of his creation, it is simply breathtaking. Tomorrow morning at 8am I get to have prayer time at church, since I joined the prayer team, and I am so exicted. I am on fire for God this week more than ever! It has been amazing. I have been truly blessed this week with such wonderful things. I continue to meet and become closer to more and more people who are such blessings to me and my life. I cherish all of the friendships I have already made since being here in Winona, and I keep them close to my heart. As I continue to meet more friends, I become that much more blessed. God has shown me amazing things. I met a friend this week who wants to become closer to God, and she asked to go to church with me. It was amazing. God is wonderful in so many ways. Everyday is such a gift, and I just LOVE living!! I get to experience little gifts each day just from seeing my friends, worshiping God, and simply being alive!! =) I hope and pray that you all are having a fantastic week. Also have a wonderful weekend as we are approaching Friday!!! Much love to all <3

Self-Defining Week

Wow, it's already October 1st!! Where has the time gone!! I have been in college a month and a half now, October 16th will be 2 months!! It has been crazy, but very fun. God has definitely shown me a lot of new things since I have been here. He has blessed me with so many new friends along the way. I look at each one of them as a gift. This week has been exceptionally hard, since I lost my step-uncle Darin. I have looked to my friends and God for strength. They have been amazing. I would not have made it through this week without them. I love my friends in my Teach21 cohort, and my friends in my dorm and from church. Each of them gives me something so special, and they help me look at life in a completely different perspective. I thank God for them over and over. This week I have met a few new friends that have already had a huge impact on me and my walk in faith. They are earthly angels to me. It has helped a lot to talk to people when I am stressed or having a hard day. God keeps giving me the strength to move on. Somedays I don's always have a lot, but somehow I make it. I thank those of you who have had late night talks with me this week. It means the world to me and I love you guys. I also thank my family for being so supportive in this new chapter in life. I love you guys. Thank you for all the calls, and notes of encouragement. It makes my day when I get notes in the mail from the ones I love so much. Also thank you to Nathan who has stood by me through thick and thin. It has not always been easy, but we always make it. You are amazing to me and I love you. This next week will be a very busy week, as I have a lot of deadlines to meet in terms of assignments. I know I can do it! =)
today I tore my closet apart and reorganized. It feels wonderful to have that all done. It was a process but I did it. Grandma Jan you would be proud of me because I have been keeping my room clean!!! I am not sure how I manage as  busy as I am, but I do =) Well it is a beautiful Fall day, and I have the windows open with a nice breeze, homework is all done so I think that means it's time for a little nap!! Love all of you guys, may God bless you this week and keep you well <3