"the mind is a terrible thing to waste"

I should definitely be catching up on some much needed sleep right now, but due to the fact that I do not have to go to school tomorrow (YAY for Labor Day!) means that I have some extra time to catch up on here while I wait on some new songs to download and laundry to finish drying.

I want to share with you something God has been stirring in my life since I moved to Virginia and it is truly a revelation that has yet again, changed my life. Life with God just keeps getting BETTER and BETTER for me. I spent way too many years of my life without this intimate relationship with Him, unfortunately, so I am definitely making up for lost time these days!! Let me just say first and foremost that being a Christian is SO much more than a religion. I am amazed everyday when I talk to (and about) God at the DEPTH of the relationship that there is to be had with Him, and how much of that I completely MISSED- even growing up in church and with amazing spiritual influences all around me my entire life. It wasn't until I had an indescribable ENCOUNTER with God a year ago in California (visiting Jack at Bethel) that I truly begin to realize the depth of God's LOVE and purpose for my life and what He wanted to be to me...which was everything. After that realization, I have never been the same. My desires have changed, my relationships have changed, my plans for my life even changed...and what amazing plans those are turning out to be!!! All that being said...I will move on to the point of what I want all of my wonderful friends/readers to realize, something that is transforming me lately.

WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT IS EVERYTHING.

I have realized that 90% of my problems lie not in situations themselves, but what I am THINKING about those situations. Our thoughts have the power of life or death, and Solomon says it best when he sums up thinking: "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he..." (proverbs 27:3) I have found that when I am thinking positive thoughts about myself, situations, other people, etc...my attitude improves drastically. Thinking positively, to me, means focusing on things that God says about me. It is important to remember...The voice of God ALWAYS encourages. (and the voice of the devil ALWAYS discourages) I have been reading Joyce Meyer's book, Battlefield of the Mind, and she talks a great deal about this principle in her book, as well as her ministry in general. As if God wasn't speaking to me enough through the book, a visiting pastor spoke on this very subject tonight at church! I KNOW God is revealing all of this to me because he knows that my mind is where my struggle has been the majority of my life. I am being set free of so much spiritual bondage in this area of my life, and I just want everyone to feel as liberated as I do about this subject!! One important thing that the pastor I heard tonight say is that God gives each of us a "thought-monitor" within us...and that is our feelings and emotions. HOW TRUE! It is impossible to be thinking good and positive thoughts, and be feeling bad. Likewise, it is impossible to be thinking depressing and negative thoughts..about yourself, situations, whatever..and be feeling GOOD! I have seen direct results in my life the past couple of weeks... in my outlook on law school and this new chapter of life away from everything I have ever known and loved...by changing my attitude about it all- beginning with how I think about this new chapter. It IS God's plan for me, and it WILL be a good and fruitful season. Has it been easy? of course not. Anything good takes work. But OH FRIENDS, it is so worth it!! This is the first time in my life that I truly feel CONTENT...something I have ALWAYS longed for...and it has come largely just by changing what I choose to think about on a DAILY basis.
As Paul encouraged the Corinthian church to do, so I encourage you to do when negative thoughts start to manifest themselves in your life..

"we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up AGAINST the knowledge of God. We take EVERY thought captive to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Cor. 10:5)

God created us with PURE thoughts about ourselves and who we are in Him. My desire is to get back to that mindset that I was originally created with, so that I can be emotionally healthy and productive for the kingdom of God. God is calling me to a higher standard...one that I believe we are ALL being called to...and the only way I can get there is to BELIEVE that I belong there, as a daughter of the King, and to take captive every thought along the way that would try to tell me otherwise. I hope you will join me in this EXCITING journey, as we renew our minds everyday to align them with the word of God. I will leave you with a verse-mix from J.M.'s book that will begin to get our minds on the right track of what we should be thinking/believing:

I believe God.
I believe He is working in me, no matter how I feel or how the situation may look.
The Lord has begun a good work in my and He will bring it to full completion!
(philippeans 1:6, 2:13)

procrastinating.

i should SO be studying right now. but golly, i have been in class/studying since 7:30 this morning...I need a little break! I am waiting on dinner to be ready (yes. that is right...i am learning how to COOK! spaghetti tonight...not too exciting, but definitely one of my FAVORITES) so while I patiently await my noodles to be ready, I will copy one of LT's latest blog posts and try this little one word game. As you well know, lists are my favorite. so i am pretty pumped about this. (I will also note that as I write this, I am listening to the new Hillsong United CD..."This is Our God"...which is freaking amazing. I don't know if it has come out in the United States yet- seeing as I have the hookup b/c I go to a Hillsong church- but if it is, i HIGHLY recommend buying it!!)

ok. the point is to answer all the following with ONLY one word. this could be interesting....

1. Where is your cell phone? desk.

2. Where is your significant other? stop.
3. Your hair? curly.
4. Your mother? role-model.
5. Your father? manly.
6. Your favorite thing? laughter.
7. Your dream last night? ryan.
8. Your dream/goal? nation-changer.
9. The room you're in? kitchen.
10. Your hobby? wakeboarding.
11. Your fear? loneliness.
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? texas.
13. Where were you last night? church.
14. What you're not? shy.
15. One of your wish list items? mac.
16. Where you grew up? Starkville.
17. The last thing you did? class.
18. What are you wearing? tshirt.
19. Your TV? off.
20.Your pet? allergic.
21. Your computer? necessity.
22. Your mood? fulfilled.
23. Missing someone? everyone.
24. Your car? awesome.
25. Something you're not wearing? pants.
26. Favorite store? forever21.
27. Love someone? friends.
28. Your favorite color/shade? brown.
29. Last thing you ate? trailmix.
30. When is the last time you laughed? today!
31. Last time you cried? saturday.

one day down.

well, after my first REAL day of law school, I am still alive and kicking...and surprisingly really enjoying myself! I came into the week very prepared for classes, so I feel ready for anything. i LOVE that Regent has prepared me so well to begin my classes! I have decided that the KEY to my success this year is going to be keeping a positive attitude and outlook of my study-load and circumstances. In celebration of getting preparation for class tomorrow done early, I have decided to write one of those bandwagon posts about things I can't live without...and since I have been doing alot of "figuring out" who I am lately, I think I could be pretty exact with this list. Here goes!

1. my phone. i just got a new blackberry. i am obsessed. that may be an understatement. i do not go anywhere without it. (i do NOT however, believe in using it at restaurants or in the car with other people...because that is just rude. but that will be for another post, another day) i can't say enough about the goodness of blackberry messenger, getting emails instantly, and of course the good ole' text messaging and phone capabilities. the only downside: i have NO reception in my apartment. therefore, i HATE at&t (at least in virginia). but when it DOES work..it is a glorious thing.

2. diet carbonation. pretty much any kind. here are my favorites, in order. 1. diet sunkist (in a 20 oz. bottle preferably) 2. diet coke (fountain drink. duh) 3. diet dr. pepper (the can version wins here) 4. diet mountain dew (bottle) 5. diet sprite (last resort...but still a good one)
i am trying to limit myself to one of these a day (one total..not one of each. i wish.) and today was actually successful. we'll see how long that one lasts. (haven't i said this MULTIPLE times before??)

3. splenda. what a jewel. if there is no splenda in the sugar packet container in a restaurant, i get very irritated. i cannot drink coffee without it (or "sweet" tea) and those just happen to be my two favorite drinks (besides above mentioned drinks, of course). Lucky for me, my parents get the little packets by the box (its a BIG box too) for Bops, so I have at least a years supply at my apartment right now..for all things sweet.

4. my journal. it's my release. i write in it every night before i go to bed...its more of a prayer journal, but i LOVE going back and reading past entries and being able to plainly see how God has blessed and been there for me through so many ups and downs since I began journaling. it helps alot that i love love love to write.

5. pandora. how did i EVER live without it? if you don't know about this...well I am about to introduce you to the best thing that will ever happen to you! (ok maybe not that far, but it IS good). it is an online radio station (completely FREE with no downloads attached) that lets you CHOOSE exactly the kind of music you listen to...you can sort the songs by certain artists, types of songs, genres, etc. For instance, I have a "Hillsong United" station for worship music (while getting ready for the day and at night), a "Jason Mraz/Amos Lee" station for after class when I just need to wind down for a little while, and a sweet "Rhianna/Chris Brown/Lil Wayne" station for getting ready to go out! See for yourself. It has completely changed my life. (Harris, you know what I'm talking about)

6. my camera. Have you seen my facebook profile lately? I think I have somewhere around 50 albums these days. And thats not even all the pictures I have taken, its just the ones that will fit on facebook. Thank goodness I just bought an external hard drive to back up all those precious memories. Unlike last summer when I lost ALL of pictures from freshman to mid-junior year. STUPID LAPTOP. i LOVE having my memories captured, and I have come to be known for always having a camera handy. I can't help it...all of my pictures are what have gotten me through some pretty rough nights up here by myself the past few weeks.

7. notepads. Anyone who knows me well knows how much I like to make lists. I used to get caught by my friends for making lists of boys I liked, why I liked them, pros and cons, etc. etc. (it was like high school, come ON.) Although I have pretty much grown out of that category, I still make lists about pretty much everything else. To do lists are EVERYWHERE in my apartment. Not that I will ever get to 86.4% of the items, but there is something about crossing stuff off a little at a time that just makes me feel SO PRODUCTIVE. so for that feeling, I have LOTS of note pads and notebooks (and my magnadoodle, which currently contains my "to-do" list for this week) dedicated JUST to lists.

----this list will have to be put on hold due to the fact that i was A.D.D. in making it and now its past my bedtime. will return....sometime.------

faithful.

We serve a MIGHTY God. I know most of my readers know this, but my personal experience of so much of God's faithfulness and favor has overwhelmed me this week. I will share a few (of MANY) examples just from this week.

First...my car suddenly QUIT working last Sunday night on my way home from church. Although it was a terrifying experience for me-being 15+ hours away from home-God's goodness was immediately apparent. I just HAPPENED to take a back road home from the church- one that was not very crowded-instead of taking the interstate, which I have done EVERY other time I've ever come home. Had my car just stopped like it did on the interstate...well, I would probably have gotten plowed over b/c cars go extremely fast out there. So, my being on a less crowded street was not only a blessing, but I also just HAPPENED to be on the phone with my parents so they could be there with me and help me not to totally panic. Then, two cop cars pulled up right behind me (b/c I think I may have stopped in the ghetto??) and immediately started to help me figure out what was wrong with my car. The two cops (who I swear were my age...or younger) got in my car, looked at it for a while, and got it started back up so I could get back home. The next day, my car started back up just fine and my wonderful daddy called the Volvo dealership in town and got me into their service dept to fix it right away. The service was great, and my car was fixed and ready within a few days...and in the meantime, my WONDERFUL new friends offered to give me rides anywhere I needed to go. What a blessing!

Another possible frustration that God helped me with involved my student loans and the amount of money I would be getting back. I found out at the beginning of the week that I would not be getting hardly ANY money (to eat, live on, etc.) back for this semester because I had not asked for enough. How was I supposed to know...we have never done this loan thing before!? Not only that, but my books for the semester were $1300!! WHAT!? I guess we didn't really plan on that one either. Fortunately, the financial aid lady was SO helpful and it all got worked out...just in time, because living here is WAY more expensive than good ole' Starkville, MS!

I have also been having anxiety about beginning the semester and being deligent about studying, etc. but I have been prepared through the ASP program and I know what I need to be doing to succeed..now it is just a matter of DISCIPLINE, which I have been praying for for quite a while now. And I KNOW God will help me with that if I take the step of actually sitting down and committing to studying everyday. Please keep me in your prayers as I begin on Monday! Pray that I remain DISCIPLINED in my schedule and study habits.
This verse has meant alot to me lately (thanks Will Haynie, for sharing your favorite verse with me!) and I hope it will encourage others as well.

The Lord says, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you". So I say with confidence, THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. -Hebrews 13:5-6

I have been so blessed with some extra time this week to hang out with my law school friends alot and get more plugged into church. Thursday night, I went with a few people down to North Carolina to our church's youth camp and attended one of the services and stayed for baptisms at the beach-front of the camp. (It actually looked alot like the beach at Camp Ozark...made me feel kinda weird at first) It was AWESOME to see SOO many kids so passionate about God and what he is doing in this area. (the youth is HUGE at Wave...I cant wait to get involved next semester when I get the hang of school, time management, etc.) I also went BACK to the beach yesterday, and I am planning on going to a friend's house tonight right on the beach to hang out once I get all my studying done. So I guess that means I should begin practicing diligence NOW and hit the books! I will try to update on the weekends, or whenever I get some time. Until then, pray for me and don't stop being my friend just because I haven't called. I will get to everyone as soon as I get some time to talk!!

Becoming "Local"

i had my first true "beach experience" with the east coast beaches this weekend. It was predicted to rain all weekend, but me and a few other of my new friends decided to just pray that it wouldn't rain so that we could enjoy our last weekend of "freedom" before classes and studying take over our lives...and what do you know...God was faithful! (duh.) One of my friends decided he should maybe be a weatherman instead of a lawyer since we prayed for no rain both Friday (so we could go to the pool after our test) AND Saturday and it was beautiful weather,despite strong forecasts saying otherwise, on both days!I assured him that maybe it was simply God revealing his power more than us being really good at proving the current weatherman wrong.

But back to the beach. All of our group met up at dinner Friday night and then went back to my friend James' house- he has a really cool house on the river with a sweet back porch and patio that looks right out onto the water. you KNOW i spent the whole night outside...He even has a floating dock that I spent big chunk of the night sitting on and having some solid heart to hearts with some people...I have decided that there is NOTHING BETTER in life than a good conversation-especially one about God and His nature- accompanied by a good glass of wine while sitting on a dock all around the water. Perfection. But again, BACK TO THE BEACH. The next morning, we all woke up and threw on our bathing suits and after spending way more getting stuff ready than probably necessary for just a day trip, we finally headed (like 6 MILES) to the beach. One of my friends has lived in Va Beach for about 2 years now, so thankfully he knew where the less crowded beaches were in the area so that we could get some good spots on the beach. We stayed all day-I got a NICE little sunburn on my stomach because unlike the rest of my body, my stomach has been hidden from the sun ALL summer (b/c of the one-pieces I got to wear everyday for 3 months) but other than that...a VERY successful day. I can't wait to go back...I have one more weekend of semi-freedom before the study load gets rough, and I am planning on making one more trip-since i am so close now! I definitely got giddy on the walk to the water just thinking about the fact that i LIVE AT THE FREAKING BEACH! As most know, I have always had a passion for the water, but this is the first time I have lived so close to some...and I plan on taking as much advantage as possible of it. Visitors of course are welcome anytime!

lifeguard stands- new to me at the beach!?
(this was from another area of Va. Beach, but same beach)

how many hours are in a day??

I just got done filling out my schedule for this semester...no, not the one that says what classes you have when so you can tell how late you can sleep everyday and when to schedule lunch dates and naps around those semi-important classes that you will actually make it to on a regular basis. No, no no friends, this is a BIG GIRL schedule that we are required to fill out that will regulate and utilize my EVERY waking moment for the next semester. To say that it is an intense schedule is an understatement. I am overwhelmed just writing (and thinking) about it. My day begins every day, Monday through Friday, at 6am, which I have allotted one solid hour to working out (ok, and showering). That may prove to be the ONLY flexible part of my schedule, in the event that I don't "feel" like working out one (or more) days. Hopefully, once I get into a routine, the whole work out thing will just kinda follow behind. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...and my running shoes somewhere in sight just in case. The next 12 or so hours are devoted solely to the study of law. The studying varies from reading/briefing cases for class, to actually attending lectures, and then post-class reviews of the material. sheesh. It is suggested (pretty much required) that a 1L study 3 hours for each credit hour a day...making a total of around 64 hours a week of study time...plus outlining time, which then bumps that number up significantly. whew. I knew that law school was time-consuming, but I am slowly realizing that it is more LIFE-consuming. I did manage to work my daily schedule out where I would have one day a week, Sunday (my favorite day!) completely free to do whatever I want or need to do. Pretty pumped about that. I am trying to get all of my errands, housekeeping business, etc. out of the way this week before "the real thing" begins next week...I am planning on making a beach trip this weekend while I still have a Saturday somewhat free. I am excited about getting started, but I am feeling a little overwhelmed with all of it after making that schedule. Maybe I should just lay down for a little while to take it all in...while I still have time to lay down.

New Town, New "Life"...and a New Look!

Where did the summer go?? I apologize for the long delay in blogging, but today is the first time I have had a few minutes to even sit down at the computer and collect my thoughts as to what all to blog about! SO much in my life has changed over this summer..even the past week...that I don't even know where to begin.

Beginning with how the rest of the summer went....well, it was definitely the most challenging and amazing summer of my life thus far. I learned so many things about being an effective leader, what servant-leadership should look like from watching my amazing "co-workers", and most importantly, i learned a TON about myself. I have so many people to thank for that, and they definitely know exactly who they are. ;). Not only did I learn alot, but I had a TON of fun!! From late night boat rides w/ solid heart-to hearts, cook outs, early morning wakeboarding, laughing so hard that I cried at the extent we could wear out a good joke, painting kids with paint-rocks at the beach, playing football, solid conversations with top staff girls about life, boys, and camp...the good times were a constant. Sure, I had my moments...days when I was worn out by the sun and frustrated with something that happened at the lake and just wanted to give up, but those were the exact moments that God was so powerful in reminding me the purpose of my job at camp and gave me the strength and encouragement to continue. What a wonderful Father we have.

Camp came to an end for me about a week and a half ago. Wow, I cant believe it's only been that long since I left..it feels like forever ago!! I left camp on July 30th and drove back home to get ready for the big move to Virginia. I had a day and a half to unpack everything from camp (which still hasn't really happened...most of it is laying in the floor of my room at my parents house-sorry mom!) and RE-pack my car and my parents Tahoe with everything I would need for the next 3 years of my life. I spent all day the day before we left running around town with my mom...changing phone services and getting a new number (and a new phone...a blackberry curve, my new obsession), going to the dentist, getting my hair cut, going to walmart, etc. Talk about a CRAZY day. We left Starkville bright and early the next morning headed 16 hours to VA. We finally rolled into Va. Beach around 3:00am (we made quite a few stops along the way...wouldn't be a Holland road trip without 'em) and unpacked just enough to have something decent to sleep on that night. We spent the next two days getting everything settled and set up in my new apartment (which looks so cute thanks to my mom's great decorating ability...i posted a picture of the living room area to give you an idea of what it looks like) and began to navigate the booming metropolis that is Virginia Beach. Seriously, the area is HUGE. I get lost at LEAST once a day around here, even with my new GPS on my phone! We went down to the beach, ate at some good restaurants, and even went to The Hillsong church that me and my parents had found when we visited at Easter.

My new "Life" began officially on Monday, when I started Law School at Regent Law. I am in an intensive 2-week program called the "Academic Success Program", which Regent offers to certain students to provide them with tools and help for succeeding in law school by taking the participants through what actual classes, exams, and the general law school schedule will be like. In the past week, we have had to brief cases, take notes and begin to outline those notes as a study tool (apparently the only way you will make it through law school is if you do an outline for all of your notes and briefs), and apply all of that on a final exam. The class I have been in is Civil Procedure, which basically deals with everything you can and cannot do as an attorney under the Federal Rules. It has been fascinating, but an OVERLOAD of information already. I guess I will just have to get used to that. The classes have been hard, but fun at the same time. My civ. pro. professor was hilarious, so of course I loved him. Both of the professors I have had so far in this program went to Harvard Law School, so they are brilliant and have a TON of experience with the law. I have heard that is the case with most professors at Regent...what a blessing! My favorite part of this school is the fact that we have a devotion everyday at the beginning of the class, which the professors lead and discuss with us, and then they always pray for us at the beginning and end of class. It's SO encouraging to know that they have our best interests at heart and TRULY desire for us all to succeed in school here.

Aside from school, I am having a GREAT time so far in my new town. I have met a bunch of cool people in our ASP class, and we have been hanging out a lot this past week. I went to Wave Church Wednesday night and ran into several of my classmates there and I have really enjoyed spending time with so many people that have similar beliefs and goals. It is also very nice to be able to talk to each other about the nervousness and anticipation we are all feeling at this point! We all went out last night to celebrate making it through our first exam in law school...what a fun night! (some of the group is pictured here) So, so far...so good. I will definitely keep you posted as the next few weeks unfold!

By the way, how do you like the new look of the blog? I thought it was about time to change it up alittle and be more "bloggish." I think I like it!