Fearfully and wonderfully made

http://vimeo.com/35372448
There's a movement at my school this week called the beauty movement. Where girls at my school are abstaining from makeup, from jewelry, and from dressing up in order to focus on inner beauty.
Because I'm a pretty natural girl, I really wasn't planning on going out of my way to participate. But I was planning on not wearing makeup.
Well my plans changed this morning when i realized how hard it was for me to not pay a lot of attention to what I was wearing, and not wear mascara. So I threw on old clothes, my glasses and went to class. Not trying to look unkempt, but not putting any effort into it either and decided to fully participate.
I want to support this movement. anyone who knows about this blog should also know my testimony. My testimony of feeling completely alone in high school. I am still learning the effects this had on my self esteem, on my feelings of inadequacy. But God rescued me from these feelings, and changed my life. He showed me the beautiful person that he created me to be. He showed me how special I am, and gave me greater friends then I could ever imagine in college. He gave me freedom
I have also seen the pressures that society puts on women to be beautiful terrorize people close to me. So I desire to pray for the girls who truly need this week that they also find the freedom that they seek. The freedom to know that God made them beautiful just they way they are. To know that beauty doesn't come from from our efforts but from our heart. Friends and family: will you join me?

I just got back from a weekend with friends. Most of these friends I have known for my whole time at CCU. Friends where you don't have to worry about getting to know each other, because your past that stage. Friends where you simply get to be friends, no need to impress. It's something I haven't experienced much with the wandering I do, and it was beyond refreshing. It was also a weekend of goodbyes for one of my first CCU apartmentmates and dear friends Larissa was saying goodbye before moving back home to Indiana.

College Graduation is a weird thing. because your not going to have the same hometown, and see each other for holidays. But college friends, well they are deeper then high school friends. and the friendships that are deep are friends for life, I have seen it with my own parents. So I've decided this is not a semester of goodbyes but of see you laters. Its kind of fun actually. College is a time of dreaming and preparing for the future. It's fun to see friends actually getting there.

When ever someone dies skiing it breaks my heart, this one especially. She truly was an outstanding freestyle skier, glad she passed away doing what she loved

Why my heart aches for Europe

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So I'll admit it
I was dreading going back to school
I'm frankly over it, over CCU (though I still love parts of it), over the drama and cliquishness that fills christian colleges (don't even get me started)
Tired of a lot of stuff tired of a lot of stuff I won't talk about here.
but well God is good
and maybe just maybe this will be one of my favorite semesters.
I know it's off to a pretty good start
time to push through, but also take time to embrace and smell the roses.
Time to be intentional, intentional about following God and helping others in their journey.
being a college graduate is less then 5 months away, time to embrace the present!

god's been working in my heart big time lately thanks to many things
- a trip to see my sister
-finding the path I believe he's directing me towards
-finally going skiing
-finding peace
My life was a mess last semester it seems like
I was far away from things that makes me: me(aka mountains), just trying to do something i frankly keep on feeling pulled away from
It's not God's plan for me to go the uk next year because my friends I have big girl lessons to learn and I need to support myself in this journey
he's been slowly revealing that from day one
but my heart is so excited, so very excited for where I'll be in a year and a half.
And part of the reason it's so exciting is I'm starting to realize for the first time in many years, having to make friends isn't scary.
I feel pulled to this like I felt pulled to CCU and to Uganda, it's the path God's telling me to go on, no looking back. 1 semester and away I go!!!