Kenya Gives Me Hope.

God's children. They are beautiful and wonderfully made. They give me hope.

God's Creation gives me hope.

The simplistic nature of people, and that we are really all the same, gives me hope.

Singing gives me hope.

A Friend gives me hope.

Food and Happiness give me hope.

Kenya gives me Hope.

Captivated.

I got this book called "Captivating" for Christmas from my dear friend, Lauren. She said it would change the way I view love and romance.

She was right.

The very first chapter was like looking into my soul. It spoke to my heart.

My very deepest desire is to be loved and accepted by all. To be romanced, swept off my feet, and protected. The first 20 or so pages was all about this. It said that God has designed my entire being to desire this. It's not like I'm weird, or really really sappy. This desire was created by God, and will someday be fulfilled by Him. Isn't that just so comforting?

Here are some great quotes from it:

" I want to be beautiful, and make you stand in awe. Look inside my heart, and be amazed. I want to hear you say, who I am is quite enough. I just want to be worthy of love and beautiful."

" The King is enthralled by your beauty."- Psalm 45:11

Imagine a life where nobody is judged by their acne, hair, body type, or whether they're in a sorority or not. It would be the most easy life possible. There would be no need to trust, to hope, or to long for. Women have too much pressure on us, and thank goodness the Lord believes in us. He made us to trust, to hope, and to long for something bigger.

My first hockey game

I went to my first ever hockey game this past Friday night. Auburn vs. Alabama. As many people know, I didn't grow up an Auburn fan. I converted when I joined the school back in 2009 :) I grew up, and deep down still am, a Georgia Tech fan. My dad graduated from there, and I have a respect for those men and women in the field of engineering. The rivalry between Georgia and Georgia Tech is big. But my first Iron Bowl showed me an even more passionate and intense kind. Alabama fans are one of a kind. I've never met a more classless and loud group of people like them. All this to say, I showed up to this hockey game where the Alabama fans treated it like the Iron Bowl of hockey. Booing us, telling us how much we suck, screaming nonsense, and not singing to their own fight song. Typical behavior seen at football games. I was almost discouraged while watching us. Auburn once had a team, like in the 80's I think, and then somehow, the team broke apart. 20 years later, we have a team, but like all new things, we're not the greatest at it. And that's ok by me. Great things have to be built up. auburn managed to score 2 goals against the "Frozen Tide". And I sang my song to them. While all this was going on, there was an older couple sitting in front of me. They had the Alabama hats, jackets and blankets on and were sitting calmly. They we're being obnoxious, and actually knew their fight song. But what kept my attention, and my respect, is simply how they treated each other. He made sure she was nice and warm and comfortable. She knew that he wasn't going to pay attention to what she was saying because there was a game going on. He would gracefully rub her back. She would lean against him, and just watch the game in the quietness they had created. It was said, without saying anything, that both of them were there for each other. Recently, I've been thinking about how faithless marriage has become. People age, and suddenly, they're not attractive anymore. And for someone who, on all sides of her family has good, solid marriages to look to, this scares me. But, while watching this couple, full of grace and tenderness, I realized that it is still possible to believe in someone. It is possible for a man and a woman to grow old together and still believe in each other.

2011 Goals

Happy 2011 everyone! I have several goals for the year that I hope to be able stick to. First of all, I want to be a more active person. I want to have more energy and take less naps in the afternoon. Mostly because of Kenya, but also I want to feel better about myself and who God has created me to be. The activity center on campus offers free classes, which gives me no excuse to say no to shaking my butt like a black woman in Zumba. My second goal is to keep this blog up more often. As most people know, I'll be traveling to Kenya in the summer for 2 and a half months. This will be a daunting journey as I travel to a culture that is opposite of the one I know. It is full of trials, and hardships, and I know that the weekly encouragement of the bloggers back at home will be a huge part of my week. So, I begin now, and will blog once a week or so, until I no longer feel awkward doing it. My third goal is simply just trying to be a better friend to those around me. No body wants to feel alone, and it is my goal to let those around me know that I love them and care about them. I feel like school can drain that out of my system, and it is not going to happen this year. My last goal is the hope that I can saturate myself in God's word so much that I'm overflowing. I want to want to, to desire it more than I desire a husband or a friend. With how busy life is starting to get, and the realization that "real life" starts in 2 1/2 years, I want to drive into his word more than I've ever done before. Happy New Years, and War Eagle!! Let's beat those silly ducks!