Last Post, For Now

Although this is my last required blog for this course, I still plan on using this site to spill about my recent escapades and adventures in college. I loved being able to sit down and just free write about whatever came to mind. I am now able to look back on where I have come from as a writer and also as a person. This blog has acted as a sort of time line for me, tracking events in my life and thoughts in my head that would have otherwise been forgotten. That's the magic in writing. It's a record of things that may have been lost forever had you not sat down and written them down. I am thankful for this blogging assignment and I can not wait to write here working under my own deadlines.

Easter Sunday

I love Easter. I love the pastel colors, the big bows, the kids running around all dressed up. I love the Easter church service, the family brunches, the candies and the egg hunts. I even had a good Easter myself this year despite being away from my family. I woke up and went to church with two of my best friends. We then had lunch at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. It was not your typical Easter celebration, but I still had a great morning and focused on the real reason for Easter. Our pastor retold the story of how Jesus rose from the tomb and how, as Christians, we have a responsibility to decide what this means to us. I liked this challenge and have been thinking about this all day. God really did have a reason for me being separated from my family this Easter; He wanted me to draw nearer to Him instead.

Easter Away

This is the first Easter weekend that I have ever been away from my family. I am one of the few kids who stayed at school and the empty parking lot view from my window is a little sad. I wanted to go home so badly, but as summer break is less than two weeks away, I understand why I am not. The good thing is I still have three of my California friends here to keep me company and celebrate Easter morning with. It's funny, growing up and growing away from things like Easter egg hunts that seemed so important at the time. I would look forward to the huge brunch, cards, gifts, and of course my Easter basket that I would find in my room every year. But now, the only thing that seems important about Easter is seeing my family and going to church with them. That is how you know you are getting older - the holidays start to mean more than just the stuff that comes with them. They mean family get-togethers and spending time with the ones you love. I can't wait for summer to be one giant Easter weekend where I can do just that.

Move Out

Today I moved half of my stuff out of my room. I had mounds and mounds of clothes piled on my bed, spilling out of boxes and on the floor of my closet. I made a large pile of stuff I wanted to donate, a stack of things to send home, and another bag full of shirts to give my little sister. Every shirt I went through had a story, a memory linked to it that I instantly recalled as I went through them. How do we accumulate so much stuff? I feel like I get rid of so many things at the end of each year but then I just buy more and more and once again it all piles up. I can't wait until I move in into my new apartment next year and get rid of even more of my clothes. But I am sure that I will have twice the amount of summer purchases to fill the space and the cycle will start once again...

Amazing Antiques

My new antique find. Obsessed!

What an amazing day I have had so far. After an indulgent nights sleep, I awoke at 11am and slipped out of bed to find that I received a job offer in my hometown. After calling the client to respond and accept the offer, I gleefully woke up one of my best friends from across the hall and we decided to do breakfast downtown. We walked into the comforting heat of the late morning and enjoyed the little slips of sun that peeped through the high clouds. The wind was warm, and we found free parking two blocks from the breakfast bakery we were going to. We had the most delicious meal and then walked to Starbucks where I tried a toffee nut latte for the first time. I have a new favorite coffee as of today. Then, we decided to do a little antique shopping for our new apartment that we will be moving into next fall. The place we went to was incredible, filled with timeless pieces from all over the world. We both instantly fell in love with the most amazing vintage dresser that we plan on putting in our living room. My friend and I decided that we absolutely had get it - it just begged us to buy it. So, after driving all the way home, talking about the thing, we turned around and went back to the antique store to get it!! Let's just hope our two other roommates will like it...

Bed Bond

There is something about a bed that is incomparable to any other place. A bed is a persons dream holder. It cradles you when you cry and it comforts you when you need it most. It is warmth and it is always there. You pick your side and that is forever your place. Your sheets swell up to your cheeks and your pillow props your neck perfectly. A bedtime is when kids drift off into the magical stories that their parents read them before the words morph into dreams. As I write this, I am snuggled up in my own cuddly cocoon, warm and surrounded by pillows and fluffy blankets. I have much to do but all I want to do it sleep. That is the mesmerizing power of my bed that I can not escape from.

"What most pleases the Lord"

"For you were once in darkness but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord." (Eph.5:8-9)
What about my life pleases the Lord? Answering this question, I believe, is one of our missions  as Christians. To depict what it is about ourselves that God loves and to keep doing it. Are we listeners, always at the side of our friends, lending an ear when they need it? Are we advisers, lending advice and instruction to those who seek council? I have yet to determine what it is about my life that most pleases the Lord. But I do know the feeling of when He approves of something in me. I get that overwhelming feeling of happiness and accomplishment that has an addictive taste about it. I know that whenever that pure sense of joy is present in my life that it couldn't be coming from anywhere but the Lord. That is what I want to do with my life. I want to take that feeling and invest it into things that bless Him in return. Will it be through my job? Through my family life? Through the way I treat my friends, acquaintances, or even strangers or the poor? I am not yet sure, nor do I know if it will only be one of these things. All I know is that it is my responsibility to find out and keep doing what pleases God most.