Leaps of Faith

Sometimes life has a way of just slipping by day by day but lately for me it has been weeks and months that have flown by. I spent summer serving others in Paris, different states and even in a different country, loving on my babysitting kids, and trying to spend as much time as possible with my favorite people. Eventually I found myself packing up most of my belongings and heading three hours Northeast to move in at Indiana Wesleyan University this weekend. I feel like I've experienced all of the emotions over the past week of being mournful telling most of my friends and family goodbye, giving a lot of people the classic eye roll after they tell me "you know what they say.." after I explain to them that I chose to room with my high school best friend, but ultimately being extremely thrilled to move away and get to establish myself and who God has called me to be somewhere other than Paris. Throughout the busyness of New Student Orientation and telling my family goodbye,...

belong: be the property of, be a member or part of Lately I've been caught up in the busyness of life. Between moving three hours away in less than two months, babysitting a few days a week, switching bedrooms at my house, spending as much time with friends and family as I can, housesitting, being away from home for a week, preparing for another upcoming week away from home and just the constant grind of daily life, I feel like I haven't had much time for myself and especially to keep up with this blog. I know it's a terrible excuse because really I could make the time if I truly desired to but honestly lately I haven't felt like expressing anything that's going on in my life. However, recently this word has consistently started appearing in my daily thoughts. As some of you may know, I went to see my favorite band, Iron Bell Music (if you haven't heard of them, which you probably haven't, you should definitely check them out!!) in concert about a month ag...

There are so many people in my life who I feel are worthy of thanks and gratitude, however some of the most worthy are my teachers, especially my high school teachers. Although I've enjoyed almost all of my teachers, I got four years to grow closer to my high school teachers and many of them have truly helped shape the person I am today, here's some of the ones I would like to thank.. Mrs. Propst, you are seriously the sweetest person I have ever met in my entire life. You are an angel walking on this Earth and I am so very grateful I got the opportunity to learn from you at the old and new school. PHS is truly losing an irreplaceable teacher this year and I pray that someone steps up and teaches students the priceless life lessons you taught, however no one could ever replace you. Your love and lessons are worth more than I could ever put a price value on. Everyone needs a Mrs. Propst in their life, I'm blessed that I had THE Mrs. Propst. Mrs. Howard, you seriously got...

Momma, first of all, I'm not sure why there is only one day of the year that celebrates moms, because I think you are worth celebrating every day. There are so many things that I admire about you. Your sacrifices, dedication, and undying support to your three children are simply astounding. There are an endless amount of thank you's that I owe to you. Thank you for feeding us, but not only feeding us but letting us have the last of the fried potatoes, even if they are your favorite. Thank you for sharing your love for kids with us and teaching us so many life lessons through your passion and dedication for your job and the things you do. Thank you for not leaving us, even when you do get a little tired of us. Thank you for answering our ridiculous amount of questions. Thank you for knowing your weaknesses and letting us know when you can't help us. Thank you for expanding our knowledge, and I'm not talking about English and math. Thank you for understanding when we want...

To Allie, Eli, Bella and Norah, Let me start off with the fact that you four have changed my life and I love you more than you will ever know. God loves you the most, your parents may love you the second most, but I love you the third most. Throughout the past three years of babysitting you four, I've learned so much about each one of you, but also so much about myself. Allie, I love hearing your stories. Eli, I love watching all of the adventures you want to go on and hearing all of your witty comments. Bella, I love your sweet voice and your innocent soul that sometimes wants nothing more than to just sit on my lap and Norah, I love your little scooting moves and watching all of your firsts. Babysitting for you four has easily been one of the highlights of my high school career and you have only cemented my dream of working with kids for the rest of my life. Although I babysit for several families, there is something special about yours. ...

As some of you know, this fall I plan to attend Indiana Wesleyan University which a Christian, private college. I've gotten a lot of questions and comments from a variety of people on this decision of mine, so I thought I would share a little bit about them and my thoughts.. 1. "Do boys even go there?" or "Is it an all girls school?" Actually yes, boys do go there and actually no, it is not an all girls school. I don't know why the concept of a Christian co-ed school is a weird concept to people, but I've gotten these questions more times than I ever thought I would. 2. "That's too churchy for me." First of all, I really despise this term. There are so many more words to describe the church or my college than churchy, such as amazing, beautiful, Christ centered.. Next, the term churchy is defined as "adhering strictly to the prescribed form in ecclesiastical matters." I don't like this term because of it's definition...

To my future self, There are a multitude of hopes and prayers I have for you, however here's a few. 1. I hope you have chased your wildest hopes and dreams. Although you plan on pursuing psychology and youth ministries right now, I hope that wherever God has led you that you are content and have chased after that calling. Hebrews 13:5 2. I hope you aren't such a worrier; I hope you're more of a warrior. I hope that you have learned to give your cares to God and to fully rely on Him to take care of you. 1 Peter 5:7 3. I hope you are still blogging or even writing on a higher level. Don't ever give up your hobbies. 4. I hope you have new friends who maybe share your same love for coffee, kids, and Jesus, but I hope you've held your old friends closely, too. 5. I hope you aren't materialistic and are more interested in the more important aspects of life. Rather than what car you have and how much money you make, I hope you are more focused on serving Him...