News!

About 2 weekends ago Ben and Shawna came home from college. It was very nice to see them and spend some time with them. On Saturday we went out to eat as a family. It was very nice to be back once again all together=)

My friend, Sammi Jo, turned 21!! She had a black and white birthday party Saturday night. It was soo much fun. I also got to see some old high school friends which is always nice. It reminded me of college, because every year we had a black and white party with all of our friends. Good times!

On last Monday night my family was on the news!! I am posting the video link, http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?cid=8 as, well as the story link, http://cbs2chicago.com/investigations/road.cracks.idot.2.1258328.html. (Let me know if you have any problems.)My family saved tax payers over $100,000 just by one phone call. It is such a cool story. Please be sure to check it out and if you see any suspious activities going on by your house, check it out because you never know what might come out of it. As in our situation, it turned out to be a great thing saving taxpayers a good amount of money.

Quick Update...

Here is a quick update of everything...

I am going to be in Minneapolis on the 23rd until the 26th. I am very excited to see everyone. I have not been up there since Keegan's graduation in May, so it is well overdue!

Keegan came to visit 3 weeks ago and it was a blast as always. He was only here from Thursday night until Saturday around noon. When Keegan arrived on Thursday, we came to my house and my mom had prepared an excellent dinner and had everything set. We had dinner as a family and it was a great way to begin the short weekend! Later that evening my mom, Keegan & I played blokus. It was fun. Sadly but surely Keegan lost both games. The sad part is I had to work Friday 9 hours. I got off of work at 4pm, so after that we went on a date=) He took me to this upscale sushi restaurant and it was amazing! We both got the same thing and it was delicious! Afterwards we went to get ice-cream and sat and talked. It is such a good feeling talking face to face and spending quality time together in person, instead of the phone or over webcam. Then we came home and watched a movie. On Saturday morning we went out to breakfast at Panera. Keegan then treated me to Starbucks and I had a Pumpkin Spice Latte... YUMMY! Then we spent some time with my family mostly JJ & Mandi and then had to say goodbye and drive all the way up to Milwaukee. I was on my way back and his plane got delayed. I was bummed because I could of spent 1 more hour with him. By this time I was 45 minutes away from him=( But I have good news... He is coming back to visit the first week of November.

Last weekend I went to Goebberts Pumpkin Patch & Farm with Sara, Nathan & some friends. It was so much fun to take pictures, pick out pumpkins, drink hot apple cider, see some animals all with great company. Saturday was such a fun, fall, relaxing day. I am glad that I went because it seems that fall is fading and winter is approaching. On Sunday we celebrated my cousins birthday. It was so much fun; we made our own individual pizzas. I made a heart shaped one.

This coming weekend should be fun because Shawna & Ben come home from college. I have not seen them since August and I did not even get to say good bye to them. I came home from work one day and they were already gone. I am looking forward to catching up and just having a fun weekend with the entire family.

Footprints

Here is something that I hope will encourage you as it encourages me greatly. Remember that God is always with us. With man our circumstances might be impossible, but with God all things are possible. He is bigger than our obstacles.

Footprints In the Sand by: Mary Stevenson

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord, "You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied, "The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand, is when I carried you."

Happy Fall!!

Fall is finally here!! Fall is a season of fun. It reminds me of pumpkins, apple cider, hot chocalate, bonfires, smores, corn mazes, orchards, football, friends & family and soooo much more! I love the color changing of leaves, and the briskness that comes with it. God sure did know what He has doing when He created seasons. When you are coming into a season change it is exciting because that means new shoes!! They may not all be brand new, but its time to dig out those shoes that have been put away since April. You always find those shoes that you forgot about.

Last week Keegan and I celebrated our year and a half anniversary. Time just flies by. Surprisingly I am the one who always remembers these things right at midnight, but this time Keegan was on top of the game. I bought him a card to send and I didn't even send it on time... I know shame on me... Well, I didn't think Keegan remembered that well, I just thought the night before he remembered. Boy was I wrong. I received a card in the mail before I even sent mine out. It was soo special to come home from work with my mom opening the door with a card from Keegan in her hand. I felt sooo special=D

Keegan is actually flying out to see me for a very small trip. He is going Thursday evening and leaving Saturday afternoon. It will definitely be bittersweet. I am just sooo excited to see him again. It has already been 3 weeks, but feels a lot longer. He is so sweet, he told me he has a surprise for me Friday night. I am anxiously awaiting to see what he has planned. I will let you know when I find out.

Labor Day Weeked in Georgia!

So after everything that went on last week I was able to go see Keegan!! God was very faithful. I did not book my ticket until Thursday evening, but I got a decent price on it. I flew out of Milwaukee which is a little drive but not too bad. I had to work Friday morning at 7 and then I left around 11 to catch my plane! I landed in Atlanta at 5:15 pm. I was very excited yet a little nervous. I was not sure why, I love seeing Keegan. I think it was the fact that I was going to Atlanta rather than seeing Keegan.

When I saw Keegan he came out gave me a big hug and handed me pink roses! He is soo sweet. And that is not all... I put my luggage into the trunk and I opened the passenger front door to see peanuts, and Veggie Tale fruit snacks with a bottled water sitting there for me. It made me SMILE! He knew I was wanting a light snack as I have had nothing all day due to traveling. Fruit snacks were one of my favorite treats as a little girl and having younger siblings I have grown to like them again.

Later that evening we went out to dinner with one of Keegan's old jhigh friendsand his wife. We ate at an Italian restaurant as Italian is one of my favorites! I stayed with this couple all weekend. It was very nice of them to open up their home to me for the weekend. I was nervous and did not know what to expect. I only met them for like 1 second before... It ended up to be a great time, and I enjoyed hanging out with them. We watched movies together, and got dinner again together Saturday night. The couple has a 6 month old baby boy who is just soo cute. It was fun to play with him and see Keegan interact with a baby! I just enjoyed every second I got to spend with Keegan.

On Saturday Keegan and I spend part of the morning at a Nature Preserve park. It was nice to sit and talk and spend time with each other. Saturday evening we had to go to church and Keegan left early as I stayed back to hang out with Elysia. We just sat down and talking & watching some TV. It was nice to get to know her better. She is very sweet. I was very nervous to go to church again. Meeting so many people is very overwhelming, especially in the position I am in. I felt pressure again, but I decided not to let it get to me, and that is what I did. It was a really good service, but I could not wait until after church so I could spend time with my baby!

On Sunday I only went to the 10:45 service. There was no reason to get up at 6am to go to church, lol... I once again rode with Elysia. It was funny because in the course of going to church 2x that weekend, 3 people asked if we were related. It reminds me of being at NCU and people asking if Gina and I are twins. Just for the record, we are not related. Church was very good. Pastor Jeremiah did an awesome job bringing the message. I really do like CCH. After church, Keegan and I went to get Mexican food. Later that afternoon Keegan took me to a mall about 30 minutes away. I must say, there is nothing like Woodfield. I was not impressed with the Georgia malls so far. It was a nice mall don't get me wrong but the stores have a small supply of merchandise. I guess nothing compares to Chicago shopping! I did however find a shirt at Macy's for $4.99! That evening Keegan took me on a date! We had sushi! I love sushi! I had the Tiger Roll and Keegan had the Volcanoe. It was so filling and yummy all at once! After that Keegan took me back to his apartment where I was locked in his room. I could hear something, but I was not allowed to peak at all. Keegan came and got me and he had hooked up his speakers to his computer and had 2 very special songs playing. He told me, "Let's Dance!" I was soo stoked! We danced to "Amazed" and "What a Wonderful World ", the first song we have ever danced to! It was very special and romantic. We then went over to some friends of Keegan's house to hang out for a little bit. ( Iguess my friends now too, ha!) Later that night we watched another movie.

I was dreading Monday coming as I had to leave that day. It was nice though because my plane did not leave until 9:40 pm. I had the entire day to spend with my love! We went to the Georgia Aquarium, the world's largest. It was soo cool. We got to touch sharks, sting rays and some fish. We saw sharks, starfish, whales, neon colored fish, squid, and many more awesome creatures. It definitely was worth going and I recommend all to go if you have a chance. We then were invited to a cook out at the head pastors house with his family. I was very nervous because it was the first time I have ever met the pastor. But it turned out to be very nice and good food. It was a great way to spend Labor Day. After that we were invited to hang out with some friends again. Then... it was time... I had to head to the airport. As we left the couples house, I started to cry. It hit me, I am leaving once again... Each time it gets harder and harder. I know in the end it is making us stronger, but it is sooo hard! I did not want to leave. I was so happy with Keegan. I had such a good weekend and it was not fine for me to say goodbye. Well, I did not have a choice and I ended up sitting on a plane for over an hour waiting for the food service to deliver snacks and drinks, thinking about how much I love and miss Keegan already. I am so blessed to be in a relationship with him. He blessed my heart every day. I did not land in Milwaukee until 11:05 pm and I did not get home until 12:40 am. I was up on Tuesday by 5:15 am and at work by 6:50 am. I was very tired to say the least but it was all worth it because I got to spend more time with my baby!!

I know this was long, but I don't get to see Keegan that much, so it was a recap of my weekend that I have been planning since June! It was a great memorable weekend with Keegan and new friends! I loved spending every moment with Keegan. It was so refreshing to be able to talk in person and have that face to face interaction. He made me smile so many times and it felt so good inside. Okay, I will stop with this... I am in love with Keegan Walsh!

Learning to Trust

God is really stretching me to really trust Him with everything in my life. There are times where I hide from God and think He does not know what He is doing, especially in the middle of chaos. When uncertainty surrounds me and I have absolutely no control, I get scared. Lately, God has been telling me to surrender everything to Him, no matter how hard it is, and no matter what it is. When things do not make sense, I rest in the fact that God knows best. However, it is a lot easier saying it than living it out. This is something that I am constantly working on. I know that God will bless my obedience and faith in Him. I find it crucial to daily commit all of my ways to Him and put my entire life in His hands.

This is something on the smaller scale of me trusting God... I was suppose to go visit Keegan this weekend, as it has been 5 weeks since we have seen each other. Well... due to circumstances beyond my control I cannot go this weekend. It is soo heart-breaking to me, and hard. It was the PERFECT weekend. I got off of work on Friday, had Monday off, had good airfare and everything looked good... Then... all of the sudden I cannot go anymore. I have been planning this trip since June, so it is disappointing. I am trusting that God has His reasoning even though I do not see it. I do not know when I will be seeing Keegan again, but I can only pray it will be soon. It has just been really hard lately being in a long distance relationship. I am trusting God to work everything out, because I know in the end it will be all worth it!

I am in a place in my life where I am ready for what God has for me next. I do not want to say I am discontent, because I am very blessed. However, I am anxious for the next step. Now, that I have graduated from college, I am 'waiting' to see what is next. I feel like I am living in a 'waiting stage' and it is very frustrating at times. I know there is a lot of change right around the corner, but I am open to it and I am excited for it. As I am in the 'waiting stage' of life, I know that God is preparing me for what He has for me next. It just gets hard because most of my friends do not live in the Chicago area, but rather Minneapolis & Springfield (where I went to school). I miss being able to hang out with my friends. Enough rambling... I know through all of this God has His hand in it... It is hard to see at times and I am learning to trust God with those areas in my life where I have no control, even though I obviously have no choice.

This past summer

Life after graduation has been fun but challenging all at once. A lot has happened but I am very happy to be done with school. Especially after taking 40 credits this past 9 months.

I am working at a property management company doing administrative work. I enjoy my job and the people I work with. It has been very fun having my first full time job. I started working 10AM to 7PM but I am now working 8:30AM to 5:30PM. I am enjoying working these hours a lot better=) I have been working here for 1 month now. After graduation I applied for jobs and I was surprised to find myself with 3 job offers. God truly blessed me and I chose the one that I thought suited me well.

Being home this summer with my family has been such a blessing. After going out of state to school for the past 4 years, it is finally nice to be able to stay in one place and have my family with me. JJ & Amanda have loved having me home, as well as Ben & Shawna. They are so cute. As soon as I come home from work I get kisses & hugs. Amanda always wants to cuddle up and sleep with me. They are just getting so big it blows my mind. When I started college Amanda was only 3 weeks old!

Keegan is officially a youth Pastor!! I am so proud of him. He is living in Douglasville, Georgia pastoring at a church called Church of Chapel Hill. The youth group size is around 140, which is a decent size for someone just starting out. The church itself is about 1500. It is an incredible church. Keegan has been using his gifts making new changes for the better of the ministry such as: small groups, creating a hang out atmosphere, putting together a created team, & launching REACH (iamreach.com). He has a lot on his plate as he does everything.

During the 4th of July weekend, I had the opportunity to fly out there and see everything for myself, and to celebrate Keegan’s 24th birthday. We went to the cheesecake factory! I enjoyed myself very much. I stayed with one of the pastors on staff and his family. They were so welcoming and very hospitable! I did have a lot of emotions running through me. I felt like everyone was looking at me and I had to perform. Perform what? Good question, ha. Keegan, told me to just be who I am, it does not matter and I do not have to perform. He loves me the way I am and that is all the matters. It was a very short but enjoyable weekend.

My birthday was 3 weeks ago and Keegan flew out for it. It was a great time to see him again. The highlight of the weekend was definitely a sunset cruise off of Lake Michigan. I had an ice-cream cake for my birthday and it was delicious!

I was going to go to graduate school this fall but God had other plans. It was too late to apply. I am just trusting God that His timing is perfect. God has been so faithful though everything. I am so blessed to have God’s favor on my life! It is going to be different as this fall I will not be attending school, as I have for the past 17 years of my life, lol… I am enjoying being in the ‘real world’, ha! It is hard to be away from Keegan as it has been over a year, but through all of it, we remain strong. Keegan has been such an incredible boyfriend by keeping the romantic element in the mix even though we are away! I have not posted all summer long, I will be better at it now that I am a little more established=D

Graduation!!

I graduated from Evangel University last Friday with a BBA in Management. It was a great ceremony. We had the largest graduating class, 500 students. My family came down as well as my grandparents and Keegan. It was a great time. I graduated with honors and with cords in SIFE. It is an awesome feeling to be done, yet I am still trying to get used to it. I am sure it will hit more come fall and everyone else is going back to school and I am not. I am excited to get a job, and enjoy life! Keegan graduated from NCU on Friday. I went up to Minneapolis for the weekend and spent time with his family. It was a great weekend.

At the end of this month Keegan is moving. He got a youth pastor position at an awesome church that I cannot say the name of until April 24th when it is announced to the congregation. I am very excited for what God is going to do through Keegan. It is a great opportunity for him. I am very proud of him. He is also working on REACH, check it out iamreach.com. It will hopefully be launching this week. Spread the word to any youth pastors you know.

As for me, I am in the middle of a transition. I am going to start looking for jobs this week and I hope to have a job by August. I wanted to take a small break after graduation to recuperate. I am excited but nervous all at once. I know that God is going to direct my steps and guide me. I am just in a spot right now where I am confused at what where God wants me right now. I thought I had everything planned out for the summer, and it seems to me that every time I have a plan, it gets changed. I am learning to be patient and just waiting upon the Lord. I have been praying constantly for God to show me where He wants me and to give me some direction as I embark on this new adventure. I am excited to see where God brings me in the next few months or even weeks!

As I left Minneapolis on Saturday, I was sooo emotional. I think it was because I was leaving MN for good. Since Keegan will not be up there any more, I will not be making any trips anytime soon. I do not know the next time I will see my friends up there. Also, I will not be going back to NCU anytime soon and NCU holds a special place in my heart. That is where I met God, where God changed my life, where God intervened for me, where I wrestled with God, where God showed me what I should do with my life, where I met Keegan, where I met all of my wonderful friends, where I served in leadership for 3 years. I never expected to get emotional, but it hit me as I left. Also, it was very hard leaving Keegan this time. I cried three times before I left. I just want to be with him and not a part any more. I hate having to say goodbye. But I know that God is making me a stronger person through this. I know that soon I will be with him. I think I am more sad because he will be moving and I will not be moving with him. I am just putting my trust in God and that is the best thing to do!!

17 days!!!

It has been way too long since I have blogged. Life has been so crazy. I have had so many school projects, presentations, papers and exams to take on top of school and church activities. My family came to visit us kids down here 3 weekends ago for College Days and the Mussetters were down here as well. Stephanie stayed two nights with me. It was great to see them. One of those night my little sister Amanda stayed with Steph and I. It was her first dorm experience. It was so much fun, except for the fact that she hogs the bed. I was out of town two weekends ago to Dallas for the SIFE Regional Competition. It was a lot of fun. I was gone this past weekend for Easter. I went home and Keegan met me there. It was great to see him again. Every year I go to a Youth Convention during that weekend and it was cool because Keegan and I got to lead it together this year. My poor sister was sick all weekend with a kidney infection, but Praise the Lord she is getting better.

Well, graduation is only 17 days away... and I will be a college graduate... How time flies. I remember being a freshman in college having to go to my OL group with Christina as my leader. I am very excited for what God has for me after I graduate. I officially know what I am going to be doing this summer. I declined the job that was offered to me here in Springfield. I just felt that it wasn't where God wanted me, and I have a peace in my Spirit about my decision. I am going to be going home for the summer and then look for a job by the fall and move out after that hopefully by August. I want to be able to enjoy my summer with my family while at the same time workon the side. I am excited for a fun summer. I will also be closer to Keegan, so he will be coming up to visit as often as he can. Keegan is not sure what he is doing yet but he does have some opportunities that he is awaiting on. I am excited to see where God takes him because I know He is going to be a great youth pastor and that God will use Him in a powerful way.

Back to School

Spring Break came and went. It was a blast!!! I spent 10 days with Keegan and it was AMAZING! It was 3 months since the last time I saw him, so it was well needed time. I spent 3 days in Kansas City meeting Keegan's family. I was so nervous meeting his family. His dad is really nice and I enjoyed meeting him. His nephew turned one that weekend, so I met everyone at Buster's birthday party. Also, at church I met everyone. It was a lot of people to met in one weekend. Keegan has talked about how he wanted to take me on a date in Kansas City for a year and a half. We finally got to go on a date. He took me to an Italian restaurant called Brio, and it was the best Italian food I have ever had! It was a really special night for the both of us. We then traveled up to Minneapolis for the remained of the week. But on the way up, we stopped to see my friend Elizabeth in Iowa. It was soo good to see her!! It was so awesome to see my besties. I spent a lot of time with them as well as Keegan during the week. I felt like I was in heaven. It was 6 months since I saw my besties. I also got to see people from church. My last night there, Keegan cooked me dinner. It was very romantic of him. I was definitely spoiled for the week and coming back to Springfield was hard. I miss him soo much, but in 52 days I will get to see him again. He is so good to me and treats me so good. I am one blessed girl to have a man like him.

My sister moved next door to me. We are now officially suit mates and I love it!! She has a king size bed in her room so there will be many parties in her room for the remainder of the semester. Tonight we are having a girl's sleepover in her room.I am soaking it up since this will be the last time we go to school together. I am sad though because a good friend of mine Jaclyn is leaving in a week to go to beauty school. It will be different when she is gone.

I am overwhelmed with work until school is out. I am preserving until the end. My mom ordered my graduation announcements tonight. Graduating does not seem real and I am not sure that it will until I am walking down with my gap and gown on. I am trying to enjoy my last 7 weeks of school while at the same time get all of my work done. It can be a hard task at times. I am still seeking God in regards to my summer plans. I know that He will direct my plans and my steps. I am excited to see where God is taking me.

Choices

Sometimes there are things in life that you do not want to do but you have to. Today was one of those days. Sometimes making that decision can be one of the toughest things you have to do. However, in the end it will serve you well. Sometimes you have to make those decisions when you least except them. Sometimes you have to make those decisions knowing it will hurt someone. Sometimes you have to make those decisions that no one else is willing to do. That is part of the mystery of life. Through all of this, I know that God still reigns. No matter how hard things get, I know that God will never let me go. He knows exactly how I feel and He knows exactly what I need. The hardest part is often stepping out in faith and following the right path. Sometimes God will want us to give up things, other times He'll lead us to do things we don't think we want to do. Count on this, though His will is a lot better for us than our own.

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path” (Psalms 119:105)

Minneapolis Here I Come...

It is official! I am coming to Minneapolis for Spring Break=) I am so excited! Spring Break starts next week Thursday. I will be going to Kansas City to meet Keegan and also meet hi family for the very first time. I am very excited but nervous all at once. His nephew is turning one that weekend, so there will be a party where I will be meeting everyone! We will then leave Sunday night and I will be in Minneapolis until the following Sunday. I want to see you all! So let me know when you are free. I have not been to Minneapolis since August so I am excited to finally make a trip and see all of my favorite people. It will be soo nice to spend some with my best friends and with my man, Keegan=)

This week has been very stressful. I have two midterms tomorrow and a project due. Today I also had to do a presentation in a Marketing class at a local high school. The presentation was on Ethics. We developed a jeopardy game to incorporate ethics. Then I went to a job career expo. It was a fun filled day. I am ready for this week to be over and for next Thursday to get here.

I have been very emotional this week as a lot has been going on in my life personally and with my family. I know that God is in control no matter what. I have been praying specifically for something in particular for two years, and I am still waiting. It is hard to wait, but God knows best. I just want to encourage you all to hold on and trust in Him. I know that there are times when I need encouragement, so I just want to send that to you all. I am constantly praying for all of my friends, that God will intervene in your life. I love how God gave us special people in our lives to go through life together. What a mighty God we serve!!!

Opportunities

A lot has happened this past week. It was a busy week with school in general. I spent every spare second doing homework, working on projects, exercising, working, and going to church. Work has been challenging as we are adapting to a new system. I went into work on Wednesday and the lady I work with said that the boss wanted to see me, but I was not in trouble. They offered me a position. It would be a huge responsibility and very challenging. I am not sure if I want to remain in Springfield for the summer, so I am praying about it and weighting my options. It was a good feeling though to have an offer. Some relief=)

So I called Keegan on Thursday and all day every time I would talk to him, he always had to go and he would never tell me what he was doing. I immediately knew he was doing something for Valentine's Day and that he was not going to tell me. Well, later that night after he got off of work he told me I would be expecting a package by 10:30 in the morning and I need to be sure to get it. I got the package but I was not allowed to open it until Valentines Day. Well, with my curiosity and anxiousness I could not wait. So I planned to open it at midnight and I made it known. At midnight we both got on the phone and he opened his card and I opened my box. Let's just say I am the luckiest girl ever! I open the box to find red roses sprinkled inside with red and heart paper decorated soo cute=) On the top was sitting a white rose, which he also got me last year, a tradition now I guess. I absolutely love Dove dark smooth chocolate so he got me a bar of that and a chocolate dove rose. Another tradition, third year in a row, is a heart shaped box filled with Reeses. Keegan and I have this thing where when he sings me a song it always is, "You Are My Sunshine." He was in Target getting my chocolate and he heard that song playing. He thought to himself, "I have to find where that is. I do not care how ugly or cute it is, I have to get it for Christa." So, he finds a Valentine's snow globe. When you wind it up at the bottom and it plays that song. It was soooo cute. Finally, there was a DVD. Keegan was on the webcam and we watched it together. It was sooo AMAZING! It started with a short slideshow of some of Keegan's favorite pictures of us. Keegan made a DVD of seven of 'our spots' that are special in our relationship. He took a video camera and went to each place recording it and him saying some very special things. Keegan made heart shaped stickers with a KC on them, symbolizing us. At every spot he placed a sticker marking our spot. It was sooo cute! I am sooo impressed and I would of never of guessed this in my entire life! Some of you may know and some may not, but Keegan and I had broken up for a little while as things got hard being apart. Well, Keegan and I were not 'official' again even though we basically were. He wanted to wait until we were in person again to ask me out, but he could not wait. It was soo precious, the same exact spot where he asked me out 11 months ago, March 14th 2008, he asked me out again. He had that same white rose in his hand that I now have on my desk, and asked me to officially be his girlfriend again! He got me...I cried. It was sooo special to me. He even overnighted this package to me, so I could have it on Valentine's Day. I am sooo blessed to be in a relationship with Keegan. I love him=)

Well on Valentine's Day I baby sat for a 11 month old girl. She is soo adorable and the family is a great family. They go to the same church as me. They are new to the whole church thing though. I am hoping that God uses me to witness to them and that I can be a testimoney to them. Before I left their house, we started talking a little bit about God and China, where I used to live. I am wanting to be a witness of my faith at all times. I have been seeking God to place opportunities in my way and I am excited to see how God is going to use me.

Trusting God

This week has been a hard week for me personally. I am really missing all of my great friends back in Minneapolis. Weekends are especially hard for me because I feel so lonely. I know many of you might be thinking how stupid this sounds, but I feel as if I am alone a lot here and I do not like it. I just miss the way life used to be in Minneapolis and I find myself asking if I made the right move by coming to Springfield. I correct myself often and remind myself that God directed me here and He has my best interest in mind. Graduation is less than 3 months away and I am looking forward to that.

I have been away from Keegan for almost 8 months and I am so ready to be with him. It has been so hard being away from him. I have learned to appreciate all of the little things in him. Our relationship has went through things, but in the end we are closer because of it. Hopefully for Spring Break (less than 3 weeks away) I will be going up to Minneapolis to see him and my friends.

One thing that God is teaching me here is being content with the circumstances in which I live. I am learning that when I feel alone it is okay. I am learning that when I do not understand, God does. I am learning that things always do not go according to the way I want them, and that is okay. Through all of this my trust level with God has been taken to a new 'level.' However, God always finds ways to remind me that He loves me and cares for me. Coming to Evangel has been a challenge but a good one. I am coming out a better person. Being around Ben and Shawna has been such a blessing. Also, I am receiving a great education down here. I am still blessed and I cannot complain, but rather count my blessings. All in all, God remains faithful. I coming up to a new chapter in my life and I am excited to see where God brings me. Who would of thought I would of tranfered my senior year in college? Never in a thousand years, so who knows what's next on God's agenda. All I know is that I am okay with whatever!

Life Groups

Tonight we started up our Life Group for the 2009 year! I am sooo excited. I am a leader in Senior High at an amazing church called James River. It is a church of 10,00 and the Youth Group is the largest in the A/G I believe. We are number one in Speed the Light this year. God is using Real Life to help raise over 1 million dollars this year for Speed the Light. Scotty Gibbons, our Youth Pastor, even wrote a book about how Real Life raised over 90,000 in just 11 weeks. God is doing some awesome things. The students are so passionate there and real. They have a yearning for God that is so deep. The youth group is really big about 800 students but it doesn't seem that big. They do a really good job with getting to know students on a personal level. So my Life Group is called Antidote. Tonight we had around 14 people. I am very excited to see what God is going to do in our group this year. These kids are going through so much that it breaks my heart. I have such a heart for each and every one and its only the first night. We just had a game and food night tonight.

Last night at Real Life David Grant spoke. Every time I hear that man tears come to my eyes. He is the most incredible man of God I have ever met in my entire life! His testimony is so powerful. He spoke about this little three year old whose mother died from being HIV positive. Her mom was sold when she was twelve into the sex trade in India. This little girl has HIV positive also, but God miraculously healed her from everything! She is now a beautiful healthy young girl. With God all things are possible. The next time I go on a missions trip will be to Bombay, India.

I am so excited for what God has in store for me in the near future. I want to be involved in youth ministry upon graduation and will be for the rest of my life. Keegan has so many awesome opportunities out there. God is going to use him in a mighty way. I am excited to see what God is going to do in the next 3 months. It is soo exciting just sit back and watch God move. We serve an amazing God! I am ready to be used by God and serve Him in ministry for the rest of my life.

This Past Week

Sooo much has happened this past week! It has been an exciting but busy week! Well I started by watching the Bachelor Monday night. I love watching the show. I remember being at Rachel's apartment with some girls from church having a Bachelor party!! It was so much fun! After, that I went sledding at this closed down water park. It was a blast!!! Anyways... Tuesday and Wednesday I did not have school due to an ice/snow storm. Missouri is funny because the weather has not bad at all, however they do not have many snow plows. It is weird they hardly put salt out either. They definitely do not know how to handle snow/ice. Church was even canceled Wednesday evening, and Life Groups on Thursday were as well. It was hard getting back into the groove of things especially having only two days til the weekend. I spent Tuesday the entire day working on school. I had a very unexpected but pleasant surprise Thursday night. My family came down to visit and they left early this morning. It was so good to have them down here. Sara and Nathan slept over in the dorms with us. Friday, I worked all day and then hung out with my family. It was funny because they were on campus for a little bit and people would come up to me and say I saw your family. They say we all look alike and how we have a big family. My dad took us along with some friends out to a very nice Chinese restaurant. It was authentic Chinese. I am pretty picky about my Chinese since I used to live in China. Then all seven of us kids and our friends went to a hockey game. After the game, John David got to keep a hockey stick from one of the players. He was sooo happy. We spent the rest of the night hanging out. I have been working out consistently and it has been such a good feeling. I woke up really sore this morning.

I do not know if many of you know this but I have a roommate and I absolutely love her. She is a God send=) We met at North Central as we lived next door in our suites. Her name is Brooke and she just transferred here. It was been awesome to get to know her. I say it was a God send because it was at such a needed time. It has been hard transferring and finding a really good friend who I can trust. It has been nice to have a roommate again to talk to, hang out and even share clothes. I am blessed and God is so good!

I am so blessed to have a family like that one I belong to. I just love how there is so many of us, yet we get along so well. I hang out with Ben and Shawna all the time, and I never get sick of it. It has been awesome going to school with them. I know that when I graduate I will miss them a lot! Also, having two little babies is a blast! They add so much life to our family. It feels as if they have been there my entire life. I also have amazing parents. I could not ask for a better family. I am so blessed! God has also blessed me with great friends. I do not know what I would do with them. It is hard being away from my besties but its okay. Friendship does not fade just because you live apart.
"Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend's countenance." Proverbs 27:17

Importance of Relationships

I love Sundays! It is a day to reflect on the past week and the week to come. It is a day to praise and worship God. It is a day to enjoy the fellowship of others. It is a day to relax. Today has been an awesome day. This evening they showed "Fireproof" at church. It was a pretty good movie. It had a great message. It was primarily about marriage and how marriage is very sacred and you must do everything to keep your marriage together but in order to do so you need God. Marriage is very important and when you become one with someone it is for better or worse, richer or poorer, for sickness and for health. It is forever! It is very crucial who you marry because that person becomes you and represents you. Marriage also is a commitment for life before God, the community, those you love. Marriage is not what we choose to make of it but rather what God has made it to be. It is the relationship between a man and woman in this world and the relationship between us and God into eternity. Christ is the groom and we are His bride. We who are married to Christ live in a unique relationship that brings fullfillment in heaven and on earth. Marriage is not to be taken lightly. It is one of the biggest decisions I/we will make in life.

So I have been thinking a lot lately about what is means to be a Christian. Lately I have seen the opposite of what it means. It makes me sick to my stomach to see people who call themselves a Christian not live as one. They know what is right and what they should be doing, but they neglect to do so. They compromise to the world, and it is not right, it is wrong. And then when you confront them, they just make excuses and tell you how judgmental you are. I believe that it is time where we face the brutal facts in front of us and charge at them. It is time to stand up for what we believe in and stop falling into the sinful nature of this world. God has called us to be someone great to do something greater for Him. We are called to die to our flesh and confess that Jesus is Lord. We are not being great examples to those nonbelievers around us, but compromising. We are only hurting ourselves. I do not know about you but I know that God has called me to be a woman after His own heart. And that is what I am going to do. Everything I do, I do for God. I want His blessing in my life. And I will only get this by being obedient to what I know is true, the Bible. Being a Christian has its challenges, but lets link arms with one another and go through life together. Let's hold each other accountable, let's share of the triumphant victories, let's celebrate together how wonderful and faithful the God we serve is.

A New Idea. A New Year. A New Thought.

Welcome to my new blog!!! I have been wanting to blog for a long time now and I never have. However, I am now starting as it is a New Year, and a new season in my life. I am excited for what God has in store for me during 2009. A lot of change is going to be happening this year and I am sooo excited for what God is going to show me. I am in my last semester at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. I will be updating my blog every couple of days.

Thanks for visiting my blog!! I am soo excited to share what is going on in my life with all my friends.