New Years

Can you believe it's the last day of 2012? Happy New Years Eve everyone! I don't know about you, but I feel like this year flew right by. When you think of New Years, what do you think about? Well for me, I think about ways to make the New Year better.. To do this, I usually make some resolutions, or goals, to follow throughout the year. With that being said, I figured I would share a few of mine. Keep in mind, some of these might be funny while others are more serious. Nevertheless, I had fun coming up with this list :)
Here we go:

1.  At the top of my list would have to be to build a closer and stronger relationship with the Lord.
2. Stop drinking orange juice right after I brush my teeth. When will I ever learn?
3. Read more books.
4. Spend less than $500 at Starbucks next year. Who knows how much I spent this year- absolutely freaks me out just thinking about it.
5. Be a "yes-girl"... Say yes to life :)
6. I want to make it really important to keep up with this blog. It's something I love doing and hope that you all enjoy it too!
7. I make an oath to squeeze the toothpaste bottle from the end rather than the middle.
8. Put more embarrassing items in random peoples' shopping carts in grocery stores. And learn to do it without laughing. If you have never done this before, well, shame on you. You should try it, it's fun (please do it with friends though so you don't look like a complete idiot by yourself)! And of course, it's completely harmless. :)
9. Lead others to Christ and step up in evangelism.
10. Stop pretending that it isn't time to take the garbage out yet by continuing to smash the trash down. And more importantly, just realize that it would have just been easier to take it out in the first place! I know my roommate will appreciate this one :)
11. Get up after no more than two snoozes of the alarm clock. Yikes, this will for sure be a challenge.
12. Switch up my workouts and find the joy in running..
13. Continue to sing in public places whenever I get the urge, despite the looks I may get. I enjoy embracing the moment, what can I say.
14. Don't eat medicine or vitamins just because they look like candy. I can eat an entire container of vitamin C tablets in one sitting.
15. Find a way to save about $250 and use it to fly out to see a best friend!
16. BEACH REACH!
17. Try a new food each week.
18. Be okay with letting people go that no longer serve me, grow me, or love me. If they walk away it's their choice. After all, God places every person in our life for one reason or another. Accept that and move on.
19. Get involved with LTG and challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone.
20. Find a job that I enjoy.. Or can at least stand.
21. Call a best friend that lives far away at least once a week and have a really good conversation with them.
22. I will try to figure out why I have a bajillion different passwords for internet sites. And maybe one day I will find the patience to fix them.
23. Use sunscreen... Even if it's only SPF 15. Better than nothing, right? I am realllly bad about this.
24. Road trip with friends!
25. Finish reading the Bible from front to back. According to my reading plan, I am 10% through!

Okay, well for right now that just about sums up my 2013 list!! Have a safe and wonderful New Years Eve readers! Be sure to bring in the New Year with the ones you love :)

Hope is essential

Hello again! Over the past few days, this idea of "hope" has been weighing heavily on my heart. Without hope, what do we have?

Sunday at church, our pastor, Rob Warren, spoke of the Christmas story and one of its components happens to be... yep you guessed it- HOPE. As long as we are living, hope is what gets us through. The hope to better humanity, the hope that one day we will have eternal life with God in the kingdom of heaven, the hope that tomorrow will be a better day. This is a universal concept and it goes without saying- it's important.

Then today I was spending time with a friend and we watched a movie. The idea of hope was a very prevalent theme within the movie. So, two days in a row, this concept has been talked about in length. Do you think that maybe God is trying to tell me something? I'd like to think so. He has His ways of showing up in the craziest times and in the craziest forms. 

If you've kept up with my blogs, you know what's been going on these last few weeks and you know it hasn't been the easiest time in my life. However, I am climbing up this mountain and over the obstacles in my life with a smile on my face and blessings pouring down on me. Blessings that I don't deserve, but nevertheless, our God is merciful. It's not always easy to look up. Sure, there have been days when I wake up and have to force myself to put on a smile. Yes, there are days when I am feeling down and out. But God has blessed me with a sense of peace throughout the most difficult times. These blessings have only been a result of struggle and triumph.

I have chosen hope. I have chosen strength. And I choose to give it all to the Lord. His plan will prevail. 

I am happy to say that while God has flipped my world upside down, He has blessed me with some amazing people to rely on, to get closer to, to help, to love. I get this feeling that I am right where I'm meant to be, with the people I'm meant to be with. I have been praying about this one certain relationship with someone in particular, and I am receiving only positive feedback in return. I pray that this relationship will continue to grow and blossom with God being the center. I have faith in it :) I will continue to have hope in the Lord that he knows what he's doing. After all, he did create all of the universe. Isn't that enough to give you hope? 

I am going to leave you with this verse in hope that you take it to heart and think about it. It's beautiful. 

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5: 2-5 

Have a lovely week readers! 

Inspiration for those hard times

Hi Readers! I'm a little taken aback right now (for good reasons), so I figured what better time to blog, right? My life has taken a big turn in events since the last time I blogged. To say the least, I think I've felt every emotion within the last week and at the end of all of it, I am at a state of hopefulness. 

Last week, my gymnastics career was ended here at BGSU. Despite the reasoning behind it, it was heartbreaking. I invested 17 years of my life into the sport I love. After numerous surgeries, broken bones, sweat, tears, celebrations, victories, heartache, and more, it was all taken out from under my feet in just a few short seconds. As you can imagine, I felt lost. I felt like a part of my identity was tied to gymnastics and that it had helped shaped the person that I am today. So now what? 

Looking back a year ago, I would have never imagined my life being where it is today. And last week after hearing the news, I couldn't believe that this was all coming down on my shoulders. Some of the things I loved most- from my family and friends, to Scott, to gymnastics- was all being taken out of my life. Last Wednesday I felt empty handed, I felt alone, I felt ashamed, like I was being punished. 

I haven't shared too much on here about my faith but I think this is a perfect time to do so. I have been a Christian for as long as I can remember. I can't really remember a time when I didn't call myself a follower of Christ. I was involved in a youth group throughout high school and went on a couple retreats and then a mission trip to Monterrey, Mexico. It's safe to say that I was lukewarm in my faith. I knew I believed in God and loved him dearly, but only looked to Him when I needed Him. 

My freshman year of college, I stepped back from my faith and pretty much took myself out of the church scene completely- for reasons that I still don't understand today. I enjoyed my freshman year and the material things of this life along with the people I met seemed to satisfied me. I felt like I was doing just fine and that I could handle life without God's intervention.

Well, this year I came back to school and felt unsatisfied and hungry for something more. There was an empty space in my life that I couldn't explain. Pretty quickly into the semester, my boyfriend of a year and I began having problems and I realized that my identity was formed completely by my family, friends, boyfriend, gymnastics, and social life. I look back now and realize what a shaky foundation I had built my life on. Why hadn't I built my foundation on God and my faith? I get frustrated every time I ask myself that question. 

I began seeking God. As soon as Scott and I began having problems, I sought God because our relationship was something I NEVER wanted to lose. I hoped that He would help me out. Well, here I am today- without a boyfriend and no longer a gymnast. When I say it, I feel like I should be ashamed about losing those things in my life. But I can honestly say, I'm not. The people that love me and care about me have always seen me as more than what I gave myself credit for. They saw the real me when I was putting my identity in a shaky foundation. 

I realize now that God allowed for my life to fall apart because I needed to find my identity in Him. I thought it ironic that the semester I invest in Him the most, the more my life began falling apart. After a lot of praying and reflection, my life is being arranged in His perfect plan. I surrendered my life to Him and He was taking control. God's plan will always prevail. 

So now, I am currently applying for jobs, getting the social life I never had time for, and trying to set up my future to be the most that it can be. Through all of this, I have never felt more myself. I have never known myself so well. Until the moment of desperation, heartbreak, and turmoil, I don't believe you will ever truly understand your strength. I have that to be grateful for. 

A friend (s/o to Micheal haha) suggested a book to me and I finished it today. It's called "Walking Through the Darkness," by Jeff Warner. It was exactly what I needed to read and hear. God truly reminded me that my suffering is not being done in vain, but for the betterment of His kingdom. What a comfort, right? Redemptive suffering. Such a beautiful experience. I highly recommend this book! 

Sorry for yet another really long post, but my hope is that if you too are going through some major life changes or hurt, that you will take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Are you willing to follow God in spite of the hurt that you are experiencing? Join me in the quest for joy and purpose. You're never alone. God is always with you :) 

Until next time!