Insanely Busy

Are you kidding me? Is it already Friday night?

I really don't know how I have gotten through the past 2 weeks. Between my class (which is now officially over meeting) and work, I have been a crazy person.

I have been the worst about calling people back. I have been the worst about returning people's facebook messages and post's. I have been the worst about updating my blog. And I have most certainly been the worst about going to bed at a decent hour so I can get my much needed 8 hours of sleep in.

But, this just had to be on the back burner so I could meet all my deadlines. Class deadlines that is. Even though our class is officially over, we are only being teased. Now, we have our 50 book annotations due. (All along I thought it was 45, I was wrong. Clearly, I can't count!) So, I am racking my reading brain to get 22 annotations done before I leave for Student Life Mission Camp with the Jr. Highers on Monday morning. OH, the joys of being a college student.

Needless to say, I won't be on here much. I need to focus so I can get those done. You see, I HAVE to get them done before I leave, because they are due when I am gone. She accepts NO late work. You get the picture? Yeah, it's a fun class. :0)

Well, I am off to bed. Tomorrow is the first day I get to sleep in, since summer started. I'm just a little excited!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I can't believe tomorrow is already Saturday.

Congratulations Are In Line

Boy, has it been an exhilarating past few weeks. Doors have been opened, and doors have been shut. For me, we all know the one door that is absolutely a dream come true, becoming the female intern at my church. Praise the Sweet Lord, it has been a blast...and I've only been there a week!

But, other doors have been closed. Not necessarily on my behalf, but on behalf of many others.

Y'all, I have attended more graduations, graduation parties, baby showers, wedding showers and many other "parties" in the past month, than I have in the past year. It's quite insane, I might add.

MANY congratulations are in line, though. And this post is dedicated to just that.

So, here it goes:

Congratulations...to my precious college loves. Y'all are amazing and I will miss you dearly when I go back to school in the fall, but the Lord is working on your behalf right now and I can't wait to see where the road leads you next. I absolutely love and adore you Jen, Raven and Andrea.

Congratulations...to my pregnant ex-roommate, Bethany. You were born to be a mother. I know you are filled with joy and cannot wait to hold that baby...neither can I! It's almost here!!

Congratulations...to my precious Joanna, for graduating from college!! I know there's are a whole post about your graduation, but this only felt appropriate!! I love you!

Congratulations...to my favorite and most beautiful tall friend, Claire!! You never cease to make me laugh. I love you in such a special way!! :)

Congratulations...to the Senior Woman, class of 2007! Oh, how my heart leaps when I think about y'all. To watch y'all grow since your freshman year, in more ways than one, has been my absolute pleasure. As y'all leave for college, remember to keep seeking HIS face. Your faith is now your own, not anybody else's. Make it unique and continue to fall head over heals in love with our Jesus. I am sure you will!! I love you all dearly, you hold a special place in my heart!

Some of the Lambs with the Graduates!

Look at those happy smiles :)

Hannah and I at graduation...glad I had a partner with me!

Me and Rae...her last night of being an "undergraduate!"

Yes, Raven had a Moonwalk at her graduation party. We were all so grateful, and tired at the end of the day!!

The Graduation Princess :)

The other graduate...she has a whole post dedicated to her!!

At Greta's graduation party! (above)

My favorite "tall" friend, and the other graduate, Claire! There are plenty to go around!! ;) (below)

My pregnant ex-roommate!! We can't wait to see Dana Joy Hopson!

My favorite High school Girls! There so grown up! (Can you tell Dana and Anna had a crying fit just before this picture...their precious!)

Once again...they are precious and absolutely beautiful Godly Woman!! (Watch out guys, their comin' to a school near YOU!)

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! HUGS TO ALL I LOVE SO DEARLY!!!!!

I Have a Profile Picture!!!

Y'all, I now have a picture back on my profile. Thank you, Abby and Shelly for your wonderful instructions.

I played around with the different http's and jpg links and finally it showed up!! (I sound like a nerdy birdy computer geek!)

I yelled "FINALLY" when it was finally up. My family probably thinks I'm nuts now. But, they all know that I am!

Anyway, just thought I would let y'all in on my joy! :)

I promise I will update more about "my life" in the coming days. But until now this will have to do. I have to read 6 books by Monday. Chapter books that is!

I'll leave you with the fun sign JJ (our youth pastor) made for me on my first day of work as I entered our hallway. I felt so welcomed and loved!!

I love my job already. My heart rejoices at the months to come!

Isn't it just precious?!

I guess they see me as this monster?!?! J/K...I love it!

The Circus

No, I didn't just return from the circus, but it sure feels like I did!

Between my mini-mester and work I am absolutely swamped. Boy, I thought school was hard. ;)

I will be so thankful when summer school is over(next Thursday!). Since I started work yesterday (Tuesday!) I have absolutely loved it. The one thing ,though, that gets in my way, is, of course, school. AHHH. I just don't like it, and I surely don't consider it a friend. It wouldn't be so bad if it were a "normal" class, but taking Library Science in a mini-mester is what I like to call absolutely insane.

Between now and next Thursday, I am going to be living on adrenaline.

Not only am I having to spend a ridiculous amount of money on books, but I have to read so much that I am sure I'll be a "non-reader" by the time the class lets out.

Anyway, if this post sounds scattered and ridiculous, it's because it's a reflection of my life right now. Scattered and Ridiculous.

I'm off to read 103 pages of RULES.

It's Official

I just got off the phone with JJ, the Youth Pastor at my church, and it's official, I start work tomorrow as one of the youth interns!!

My heart is absolutely overjoyed that I get to partake in this experience this summer. It is a long time waiting, many summers that didn't work out, but the Lord is good and his timing is perfect!!

I will be working with Jessica, our full time girls ministry leader, and my heart is so happy. Girls ministry is so dear to my heart! I absolutely love it and nothing brings me greater joy than getting to invest in so many girls lives. Getting to know them. Praying for them. Hugging their necks. Laughing with them. Growing in the Lord with them. Being challenged by them, probably more than I know! I have been so blessed to have MANY older girls invest in my life, and I can't wait to give back and do to these girls what I have had done to me!

The journey begins tomorrow. I hope that y'all will rejoice with me and give the Lord some praise. But, more than anything, if you would join me in prayer on behalf of these amazing girls that I get to serve and myself that the Lord would work through me and in me, I would be most appreciative! He alone is worthy of praise and it's only because of HIM that I get to live out a dream!!

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day!!!

This is to all my "moms" out there that have loved me more than I know! I am not only blessed beyond measure to have the most precious mom in the world (whom I absolutely love and adore!) but the Lord has blessed me immensely with other moms that have loved and cared for me throughout my life.

So, this is for you. The ones who have loved me when I'm unlovable. Guided me. Encouraged me. Birthed me. Cared for me. Taken me into their own home as one of their own. Hugged me. Laughed with me. Cried with me. Prayed for me. Sung with me. Danced with me.

I love you. I hope your day is extra special! Because you are extra special. Where would we be without our moms?!

I love you, Mom!!

Freedom

Whew, folks! It's been awhile. But, I am happy to announce that I am officially done with the 07' spring semester! Praise the Good Lord!! :) Come Monday I have a mini-mester, but it's all good, we only meet 4 times for 2 weeks...not bad at all!!

This semester has probably been one of the FASTEST semesters yet. I am not joking. It seems crazy, I feel like just yesterday I was unpacking my bag from Christmas break and so not ready for school to start again, now here I am reporting that it is done and yet packing once again to go home for the summer!!

It has been a wonderful one, though. Many things to rejoice about, and MANY great memories with my sweet friends that I will forever cherish. It was a good semester, and I am so grateful!

I was talking last night to a few girls (we're trying to hang out as much as possible because half of them are leaving!) and we started talking about boys...of course. Now, it wasn't an ordinary conversation, it was one of encouragement and revelation.

As most of you know, and some of you don't, I am almost 22 and never been kissed, never had a boyfriend, and never been on a date. Now, don't go freaking out and feeling sorry for me, nor don't go thinking I've never liked anyone, OH, there have been PLENTY! Yes, for a girl sometimes this can be discouraging, our first instinct is to think, what is wrong with me? Am I too tall, to fat, to skinny, not pretty enough? But, I choose to think otherwise. I am not perfect by any means, and I have thought these thoughts MANY times, but the Lord has slowly changed my thinking. Praise HIM!

Earlier in the year, as one of my precious friends told me, the Lord has had his absolute shield around me, for whatever reason. As I begun to think about it, I feel blessed. In our world today, this is so uncommon. But, the Lord has chosen me to wait. To wait for the one that I will spend the rest of my life with. I am not gonna play the whole game of "dating around!" At one point, I thought I would. But, what's the point? If I have come this far, I am more than willing to wait for HIS perfect timing. Yes, sometimes I don't understand his timing, especially when I am surrounded by weddings. Sometimes I wish I would meet the man tomorrow and we could get married quickly. Then, other times, I enjoy where I am at. It's just a roller coaster of thoughts and feelings.

I know the Lord is writing my love story as we speak. He is preparing me and my future husband for each other and it is an absolutely thrilling adventure. One day, out of nowhere, HE is going to completely surprise me! (Thank you Joanna!)

So, here I am, waiting patiently, serving the Lord, and loving HIM more and more. For now, in HIS timing, that is perfect.

So Confused...

So, me being computer savvy that I am, decided I wanted to change the picture on my profile.

I deleted the current one, and decided to update. Well, it hasn't gone as planned. I have done everything I can to get a silly picture on my profile and I just can't seem to get it right!

I even tried to put my old one up again, but clearly, no luck in that category!

So then I decided to read the directions, I did everything it told me to do, but as you can see, there is still no picture!!

What is a girl to do?! If anyone could so kindly help me, I would be most appreciative!!!

Thank you!!!

*Update: So, it's still not working. And I am going to stop because it gets more frustrating every time. I have a picture up, but it's not on my profile, so this will have to do for now!!!

Soakin' up the Sun

It is 1:00 a.m. and I am still awake. Am I just that crazy?!?!

Well, yes, I am. But, as I was checking every other blog known to mankind, my funny pool story popped in my head and I just knew I should share it.

Today, as I was laying by my sweet apartment pool basking in the wonderful rays of sunshine, a few other people decided to join me. Now, know that they were not people I knew, but just people from the apartment. I actually love our pool, it's always pretty calm and not to busy, which makes it all the more enjoyable. Anyway, they came and went and I was soon alone with the pool to myself. I hopped in and did a few laps and returned shortly to my chair, it was nice and quiet so I decided to start reading my new Karen Kingsbury book.

Soon after that a car of 3 men pulled up to our pool. My first thought was "Please, don't come in here!" That's always just so awkward. But, sure enough, they did. I had no other option but to sit there and act like all was good in the world, planning in my head a quick exit.

As I was awkwardly sitting there, I heard them talking about getting in and how they should do it. Let me set this up for you, the pool was chilly, I can attest, but you got used to it very quickly. But, these weren't the smallest boys on planet earth, they could have passed as football players. So, as they were talking one of them decided the heck with it and did a full cannon ball into the pool. Do you realize that I was about 2 feet from the side of the pool? Needless to say, I was soaked. He kindly turned to me and asked if I was wet, in which I told him that I was, but it was OK because I was already wet anyway. Before I could blink, the other 2 decided that was a good idea and followed in his footsteps. Once again, I was soaked as they laughed their heads off. I guess the pool felt good?! Boys are funny. I quickly gathered my belongings and was out of there.

Thank you, football size men, for interrupting the peace and quiet of the Brazos pool. It's all yours now!!

Mixed Emotions

I'm a girl, so therefore, I am emotional! I think, though, that I have been extra emotional this weekend.

You see, Joanna graduated on Saturday, I am just oh so proud of her! She deserved that diploma she got and I couldn't be happier. Next, as I said earlier, she gets married July 7th. Since summer is just a week away (for me at least!) I think I am realizing that her wedding is getting closer and closer, which means, her moving to Montana is getting closer and closer. This wouldn't be as hard, but, Jen got married and moved to Louisiana in January. I miss her dearly, and she's only a 6 hour drive away. Sally, my other precious girl, is in Houston at the moment, but come this fall, she and her precious new family will be moving overseas.

Life just gets harder as you get older. This coming Saturday, a handful of my Sam girls will be graduating also and moving on to other city's and schools. Coming back in the fall will be so different without them here, I will miss them dearly! I mean, who's apartment am I going to sleep at when my roommate is gone?!

That's the other one, my precious roommate of 2 years is getting married August 4th. They're staying in Huntsville, but we all know I won't see her as much. On top of that, she's taking Macy (her dog!) with her. Macy is about my favorite thing, I love her to death. Coming home to her has been an absolute hoot, and there's always some entertainment around this place.

I don't know. I think it all just hit this weekend when graduations have been in full swing. Sometimes, I think about all that is changing and I am overwhelmed, to the point of tears. Sometimes, to be completely honest, I feel as though I am being "left behind!" I know that's of the devil, and he wants me to believe that, but I won't for one second believe that. Change is good, I just don't like it all the time! Even though that this time is hard, I know the Lord has wonderful plans for my life, too! For now, it's here at Sam for one last year. It will be different, but good. I will be getting used to the change and missing my girls, but the Lord will sustain me. He alone understands all that is going through my head. I need to remember not to dwell on the change that's about to take place, but to dwell, literally, on HIM and HIM alone. I want to serve Him in the here and now, wherever I am. In doing so, I can't be an emotional wreck!

Like I said, I'm emotional and I think this weekend just started a summer of changes and new beginnings. I am so ready, yet so anxious, happy, scared, sad, joyful and excited all in one!

The Graduate

It's official. My precious Joanna is now officially a college graduate!

We had so much fun in Belton, which in return makes me very tired now. It was so worth it, though! Instead of fighting all the crowds after graduation, Jo's mom and aunt provided us with some splendid BBQ. We planned on tailgating at UMHB and eating there, but instead we ended up in the La Quinta parking lot!! It was just as fun and we all didn't have to get lost going back to campus!! It was our own little celebration...and an exciting celebration it was.

Next up is the wedding July 7th. Oh boy, comin' up quick!! So many changes in so little time, but she is more than excited and so am I.

At dinner Friday night!

With Brittany...the other graduate!!

John and Jo...how precious.

Our little graduate!!

This was awkward because her hat hit me at such a weird place! Oh well, I still love her!

Congratulations, Joanna. I love you!!

*Just an update, please don't mind our hair. All weekend it fought with the weather and clearly the weather won. I love humid days.

Goodbye Madisonville

Today was my last official day of class for the spring semester. I could not be happier!

Not only was it my last day of class, it was my last day of Reading Block. Can I just tell you, though, how much I absolutely enjoyed this block. I could not have asked for a better professor. Dr. Miller was absolutely amazing, and I would recommend her to anyone. I think part of the reason I so loved and connected with her was because she was a christian, and it was evident. She was about the most soft-spoken, caring lady I have ever met. If she gets mad at you, you feel horrible because you disappointed her. She's just that great!

Not only did I love my teacher, but our class was a blast! We mixed together so unbelievably well. I think I laughed harder in that class than I have anywhere else. Jokes were always on, as well as our smiles! My heart is saddened when I know I have to leave them and that we will all disperse for Methods block. I want them again!

My child was also wonderful. Calvin, my gifted and talented 4th grader. At first he was so quiet, and I just thought he plumb hated it. Then towards the end, he became more comfortable and talked a lot more, as well as laughed. I enjoyed him, and hope he enjoyed me too!! :)

Anyway, this is my farewell to Reading Block and Madisonville. I will never forget it and the wonderful things I learned along with the wonderful people I met. I am forever grateful!

Calvin and I at the Author's Celebration!! He wrote his own book and was so proud of it, I was too!!

Frustration

Oh, oh, oh!

SO, I just wrote this super LONG post and provided you all with plenty of pictures of some recent events. But, my computer decided to flip out, and not work from the moment I pressed "publish" to the moment my Internet died. I was hoping it published anyway and that I would have just been lucky. But, no. It did not save, nor did it publish.

Frustrating is what I am feeling right now! That post took forever. Oh well.

But, sorry for no recent pictures, I would write that post all over again, and post some more pictures, but I'm in a time crunch.

I am packing up for the weekend where I will go with my sweet Joanna to watch her graduate from UMHB! I am so proud of her! She has worked so hard to get where she's gotten, and is finally getting her degree!! Dang, where have the past 4 years gone?!

Anyway, if I have time later, I will post some pictures.

Until then...have a Thrilling Thursday afternoon!

My Day in a Nutshell

A few people have been asking about my interview and how it went. I am here to tell you...

It went absolutely wonderful! I was so nervous and anxious, and the minute that phone rang (because it was a phone interview since I'm not in Houston at the moment) I could have wet myself!! (Sorry for the mental image!) No, I'm kidding, but my heart did begin to beat a little faster. I don't know why I was so anxious, I know these people, and they know me and my heart. But, I guess it's just fear of the unknown. Did they like my application? What are they going to ask me? How many people are on the other line? Little things like that that shouldn't even matter!

Anyway, it was so casual and relaxed, which in return, relaxed me! We talked for about 40 minutes (longer than I expected!) laughed, and even talked about a few T.V. shows. I love youth ministry. It is such a comfortable and natural place to be for me!

I'm pretty sure that's all I have to do for now...now I just get to wait! FUN!! No worries here, though, I think it will all work out!!

Onto other exciting news, Jaclyn had her precious baby girl, Grace Parker Underwood, today! After a few complications, both Jaclyn and Grace are doing wonderful (or so I here!!) Praise the Lord for new babies. What would we do without them?!

If you go to Jen's blog here you can see pictures and here more about it!

I hope you all have had a wonderful Wednesday! Mine has been so wonderful and stress free, very unlike the end of a spring semester. I am definitely NOT complaining!

P.S. I get to watch One Tree Hill for the first time tonight since the semester began. I know, it's sad that I like that show of all shows out there, but hey, it's all good! I'm excited, and will probably be annoyingly confused!!

Interview...

At 10:30 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, I have an interview with my church back home in Houston to become one of the youth interns.

If you get this little message on or before then, or think of me during that time, I would greatly appreciate your prayers!

Thank you, in advance, for being such faithful prayer warriors!

Deal or No Deal

This post is what I would like to call totally random.

I just had this random thought to myself, and had to laugh out loud. You know what that thought was?

Well, last Tuesday at TRUTH, we were talking about God's plan for our life. We were talking about how we always play "deal or no deal" with the Lord. Basically, this means that he opens a door for us, gives us a desire, or something to that extent, this is where he is pitching a deal to us. Here, we can either take it or leave it. So many times we leave it!

Then sometimes, it's the other way around. We pitch our deal to the Lord and let him know that if this, or this happens, he would certainly get all the glory and we'd be tight. Get it?! That if he'd basically do what we told him, at the time we want him to do it, life would be peachy!

I started laughing because this is SO me. Oh, how true it is! SO often I tell the Lord my little plan, and let him know that he is more than welcome to be in on it. One of the things I let him know (and quite often I might add!) is that getting married in the summer of 2008 would be absolutely, without a doubt, just perfect! Yep, I sure do. I always tell him that at that point, I will have just graduated and it is just the perfect time! I laugh at myself, a lot!

Whats even funnier is that I am not even dating anyone! Yes, now you may laugh, I sure am! I know he is sitting on his throne saying, "Are you just crazy, Lindsee? My plan is so much better than you could ever imagine, and my time is more than perfect!" He is probably laughing, too!

I just thought this was funny. Simply because I was just thinking to myself that exact thought, that getting married in 2008 is just perfect! Guilty as charged!!

I am gonna strive really hard to stop pitching MY deals to him, and hopefully, I will take more of his. They are so much sweeter!!