Fall Semester = DONE

WOW! That was an incredibly fast 5ish months! I can't not believe that I am relaxing and eating good food like it's Christmas break....IT IS! I feel like I should just now be having my midterms but I'm already finished.

This semester was a great one! I learned tons in my classes and I'm so excited to start a job where I can put all my class material to practice. I don't have my grades back yet, but I think they all finished out pretty good. I'm really excited for next semester. It is my last one!!!!! I will only be taking nine credits. I only need three more credits to graduate. I will also be a TA for one of my favorite professors in a design studio. I'm pretty excited to learn from the student and hopefully be able to help them with what experience I have.

I have applied to a job that I will have an interview for in January. It is a full time designer position at a company in Ankeny. I would love to work for the company, I really like what they do and how they run their business.

After graduation I think I will be going to England for two weeks. I finished my application for it this week and I will be starting a class for preparation in the spring semester.

I cannot believe it is already Christmas break. There is no snow and it is like almost fifty degrees outside today. I am at the Brinkman family's and tomorrow we will be celebrating Nathan's 21st birthday!!!! I'm so excited to celebrate with him. He is so great! I could go on and on about how awesome he is and why I like him so much but I don't want any of you to be disgusted so I will just hold off for now!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATHAN!!!!!!

Psalm 25

Last night at leader's group my mentor, Katie, challenged us to memorize a Psalm. She suggested that we memorize the Psalm of our birthday. Since I was born on May 25th, I will be memorizing Psalm 25 from now until Christmas. I'm so excited to have a Psalm memorized, and stored up in my heart :) :) :)

PSALM 25

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, non who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember no the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarge; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.

Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me. Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Le me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.

Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

PSALM 25

The title of this Psalm is Teach Me Your Paths.......which is pretty much my prayer every morning when I wake up. I'm so excited for what I will learn while memorizing this scripture.

I love verse 14...The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. This morning when I left my apartment I walked outside into beautiful crisp fall air, and a double rainbow!!! What a sweet way to wake up and remember God's promises and his covenant.

SENIOR!!

Wow! I can't believe I'm a senior. When I was in high school and day dreaming of college, I never thought about what graduation would be like....it never entered my mind that if I went to college, I would one day have to leave it.

Being a senior is kind of bitter sweet. College has been so good to me, I've learned so much academically, about myself, about God, and met some amazing people. The lessons I've learned will last forever......wait..it's not over yet!!! I'm trying to live in the moment of it being my last year as an iowa stater.

The first two weeks of classes has been amazing. I love ALL of my classes. I feel so nerdy. I am taking....plant physiology, visual culture and design, horticulture installation and estimating, landscape construction and management and, advanced garden composition (studio). I love my professors, schedule, and everything about it!!!

Also, this semester, I got a new job!!! God has been so faithful in providing meaningful jobs for me. One day this summer I told Nathan that I really wanted to learn more about floriculture (isu doesn't offer classes), he was like then work at a flower shop!!! For some reason that had never crossed my mind.....so I started looking for jobs. Nothing really came of it during the summer but I had a good feeling about one place I stopped, Coe's. Once school started I got called in for an interview and then a day later I was offered the job!!!!! YAY!!! It was hard to quit my other job on campus that I have had for 3 years, but I have an awesome understanding boss that was happy for my new job.

Coe's is a very cute upscale flower and home decor shop. It's wonderful!!! It is located in Somerset (North Ames near the Cafe). I started there yesterday and it was wonderful!!! My tasks yesterday including training, decorating for Christmas, and listening to Frank Sinatra the whole day. I have never had a job that I really have fit in with my coworkers. I love all the ladies and men that work there. Within the first five minutes of being there, the ladies were talking about prayer, and the book of Luke.....I thought to myself, I think I will like this place :) :) :)

Sorry if all these thoughts seem random.....

I also really love my connection group. Bettina and I are leading a group of 4-5 girls. I'm so excited for the girls He has brought to our group and I'm even more excited to see how he will continue to form our relationships with Him and each other....I think we will all become best friends!!! Our time together has been so genuine and awesome.

I went to an allergist doctor yesterday...It was quit the experience. I learned that I'm very allergic to molds and cats, and lots of other stuff (everything). I will be getting allergy shots once a week for immunotherapy in hopes that my allergies will disappear soon.

what else is going on....hmm......

Nathan is still awesome! I like him. We have almost finished reading the bible from start to finish in chronological order together. On September 17th we will have been dating for a whole year. It's hard to believe. I love how much we have learned together and grown closer to God in ways I didn't think that we would. HE is FAITHFUL!

My new apartment is awesome! I love taking turns cooking with my roomie (Andrea) and neighbors (Bryce and Nathan). I have my own room and bathroom and sooo much space!

I'm hoping to get better about blogging since I have many friends that don't live close to me...I want to continue to be close to them and give them easy access to what's going on in my life.

SUMMER......8 days

It's been a rough dead week. Strep throat! YUCK!

But...one awesome thing about this week is that it is really apparent to me that I love what I do! I can't wait to be a designer!

I was really proud of how my partner and I's final design came out. I had a lot of fun in the design process because I tried many new things and stepped out of my comfort zone, because the client allowed for such things. And..we didn't have to pull any all nighters!!!

15 More!

There are only 15 more days til summer!!

The amazing thing of the day is nap time!!!!

ALWAYS

It's funny that my last post was about God's amazing faithfulness. It's true, he is faithful!!!

Yesterday morning I woke up to extreme pain in my right side and very painful urination. I went along getting ready for class tolerating the pain. Once I got to class, the pain was becoming unbearable. So...wonderful Nathan took me to the hospital because there was no way I could have waited for my 1:45 apt later that day. My mom rushed down as well. When she got to the hospital we went to the ER. After some tests we discovered that I have a 2mm kidney stone. It is amazing that something so small can cause that much pain!!! They gave me some painkiller and nausea meds and sent me home to pass it on my own. The doctors say it will take 12-24 hrs. I am home now at my parents and it still hasn't passed. Once it reaches my bladder I will have no more pain (which happened last night before bed) so hopefully drinking lots of water will do it!!!

But...the amazing thing is.....so many kind, praying, caring people were with me! My mom definitely broke the law speeding down to Ames to be with me. Many of her coworkers were concerned and lots of my friends were praying and checking up on me. Not to mention how awesome Nathan is for rushing me to the hospital and holding my hand through the unbearable pain and tears on the way. Also, I am so thankful for insurance and for a great hospital!!! They took great care of me and soothed my fears by explaining all of the tests and how to take care of my kidney stone.

So the point of this post is that God really is faithful even during a pretty trying day!

Day 23

Today the thing I am amazed with is God's faithfulness.

He is ALWAYS good! No matter what!!!!

Isaiah 40:28-29

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

24!!!

The amazing thing of the day is the wonderful Easter Bunny rap!

http://i.flowgo.com/greetings/rapeasterbunny/rapeasterbunny.swf

This is a big thanks to my roomie, Dana!

25 Amazing Things

So...as of yesterday there are only 25 whole days until the end of my junior year at ISU. Hard to believe!!!

My dear friend, Bettina, was telling me yesterday about this fun website with thousands of amazing things, one posted each day. I decided that would be a wonderful idea for everyday until the end of the semester.

So here is yesterday's.

RIDING BIKES TO GET ICE CREAM with Bettina!!!

52 Reasons Why I Love My Dad

Tomorrow is my Dad's 52nd birthday. Here are only 52 reasons why I love him very much!

1. He’s my dad!

2. He likes to go “zoom, zoom”.

3. He’s extremely knowledgeable about many things.

4. He has a license to kill (bugs).

5. He’s entertaining.

6. If he’s not here, he’s gone.

7. He gets excited about things that excite me.

8. He read me stories and played in the sandbox with me growing up.

9. He always explains things perfectly.

10. He has high expectations of me.

11. He sings “Yes we have no bananas”.

12. He is trustworthy.

13. He makes us wrap our own Christmas presents.

14. He is a hard worker.

15. He tolerates us girls.

16. He pours mom’s coffee.

17. He hates shopping and you can’t take him any where.

18. He is honest.

19. He taught me to respect my elders.

20. Nobody will ever be able to buy him the right kind of underwear.

21. He let me drive his truck to prom after months of begging.

22. He is always organized and clean.

23. Mom thinks his tractor is sexy.

24. He watches Inside Edition every night.

25. He takes very good care of everything he owns.

26. He lets me ride in the tractor with him.

27. He protects me.

28.He’s an awesome cook and grill master.

29.He never shows off his new truck.

30.He is a planner and is the only person I trust leading a snowmobile trip.

31.He has a good music taste and dance style.

32.He never wears white shorts because they are gay.

33.He says “you’re such a nice girl” when we do something good.

34.He listens to our cheesy jokes, and laughs at them.

35.He mows the grass perfect and takes good care of the lawn.

36.He cannot watch a movie silent or without complaining.

37.He has a very nice beard.

38.He’s a handsome blonde, and has good friends to take him to the barefoot.

39.He attends our important events.

40.He says “nice and neatie, like a sweetie”.

41. He understands $money$.

42.He tolerates mom and I’s shopping trips.

43.He will always guess the gift (correctly) before he opens it.

44.He is safe and is always a thinker.

45.He is strong.

46.He says “drive safe” every time I leave home.

47.He’s always the last person to get in the car.

48.He drives down the lane slowly.

49.He secretly loves the “stupid dog”.

50.He sits on the deck in the summer, and when I pull in the

drive he waves like a princess.

51.“That’s the one I wanted.”

52.He loves me.

A New Year

Man, 2010 is gone! It's hard for me to believe that it is already 2011.

2010 was a great year and I have so much to be thankful for. Through trials and joys, God was faithful. I trust that 2011 can only be better as I continue to learn about myself, and God.

Memories of 2010:

Ski trip on Martin Luther King day (the day we all bonded and became best friends)

Working at Stony Creek Landscapes (I learned tons and love landscape design)

Garrett's death (He is horribly missed, I learned how to trust and find strength in Christ)

Sonshine!

Lifelight (and other roadtrips to visit friends)

Bike rides to McDonald's

Living in an apartment with fun roommates (I feel so grownup)

Leading connection group (I love all those girls)

Meeting LeCrae!!!!

Beginning a relationship with Nathan :D

Learning tons!

I am looking forward to many things this year too. Most of all I am excited be a part of God's plan. I'm not sure what He has in store for this year, but it is guaranteed that it will be GOOD!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Isaiah 53

Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
² My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
³ He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.

⁴ Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]} that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
⁵ But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
⁶ All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
⁸ Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.^{b]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[b]}
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.^{c]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[c]}
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
⁹ He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave.

¹⁰ But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
¹¹ When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
¹² I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels

This passage has humbled me this week! I want to live my life in light of Jesus' death. I am so thankful that I can have the life Jesus died for. This week I have had a great sense of being lead by Christ and that brings me great joy. So many prayers have been answered. The Lord is faithful!

A new Lecrae album came out yesterday and I had a chance to listen to some of the lyrics at work today. There were many lines that stuck out to me. Here are a few.

"I am an alien about to phone home"

"God is enough"

"Won't you take the lead!"

"You came for the lame, I'm the lamest. I made a mess but you say you'll erase. I'll take it."

"Here is my moment, here is my lifetime, all that I have I will give to you."

Fireflies.

It is really hard for me to believe that it's already July. I haven't blogged since March! It feels like that was just a few weeks ago.

This summer has been one of trust. God lead me to an awesome place this summer....HOME. At first I did not want to follow because I knew Home would be a hard place. God always has the best plans. I've learned so much by being home. I'm learning how to love and serve my family, and to completely and totally rely on the Lord, my refuge.

James 1:2-4 Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

On June 1st I lost my cousin in a tragic car accident. He would have been 16 this month. It has been a struggle for me. It has also been a great lesson in trusting in God's goodness. I have seen good come from this awful situation, and I know that the Lord has reason for all things. I'm learning that every morning I wake up there is reason for my life. God has great plans, and I am devoted to His will. Last semester I was praying for boldness, and I think that translated into prayer of giving my whole self to Christ to use me as he will. This has been a challenge. However, a good challenge.

Fear is often overwhelming when not focused on God. Fear is a lie.

Job 42:2 I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

I have also learned this summer that I am extremely blessed. I am blessed to be a blessing. I have the most amazing friends. I really miss Bettina! She will be home in 7 days!! I have so many friends that encourage me. Thank you to you all.

The movie Toy Story 3 is a great movie!

Well.....this is a very very random post but I guess that happens when you don't blog for several months.

Hope to be blogging more frequently! :)

7 days til Sonshine! Woohoo!

Praise the Lord for this day!

Suffering

"There is nothing- no circumstance, no trouble, no testing- that can ever touch me until, first of all, it has gone past God and past Christ right through to me. If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose which I may not understand at the moment. But as I refuse to become panicky and as I lift up my eyes to Him and accept it as coming from the throne of God for some great purpose of blessing to my own heart, no sorrow will ever disturb me, no trial will ever disarm me, no circumstance will cause me to fret, for I shall rest in the joy of what my Lord is- that is the rest of victory!"

Alan Redpath

Just Stop and Think

It's been a while since I spent some time just thinking and looking at the bigger picture. Today after watching one of Francis Chan's videos about "Crazy Love" I realized how necessary taking moments to think are. He challenged me. These thoughts may seem very random but here it goes anyways.

Laughter is definitely a gift from God. He designed me to laugh. (I do plenty of it with my roomie!)

Nothing that I have is mine. It's all God's. I fail quit often at giving everything I have to God. I pray that he teaches me how to surrender it all to his will to bring glory to himself.

My plans are really stupid....I like God's much better (even though they are really hard) There's nothing better than an adventure!

Corporate worship is pretty amazing. I'm very blessed to have such amazing friends, and a believing community.

My parents are pretty great! They had to raise me after all. This weekend I realized how much I trust my Dad. I'm thankful that I have qualities that come from both of my parents.

Why did God put me here? When I'm going about my busy day in the monotony, should I be doing what I'm even doing? God has a plan for me, and most days I don't even go with the purpose that he has given me. What a shame.

I have the same power in me that raised Christ from the dead. God wants to send his helper unto me to help me and give me power.

The birds I heard chirping the other morning were singing praises to the Lord. They were created by him and they are fulfilling their purpose by bringing him glory.

God makes everything glorious, what does that make me?

How could greater love than this ever possibly exist?

These are just a few. GOD IS SOOOO GOOD!!

What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

String Cheese = Best After School Snack

OOOooo Back to school, back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool.

• Today I went to Monday Morning Prayer, and it was great. It filled me with anticipation for the work of God in this Spring Semester.
• Then I went to work. It went by pretty quickly and it was pretty nice to be back in school/work mode. It actually got me back in school mode I think.
• Then I went to my first class of the day.....Hort 480. I walked into a room of 10 desks circled up in the middle of a classroom. (a little intimidating) So, I sat down and we all kind of stared at each other awkwardly in silence. Anyways, there are no exams in this class (weird). Instead we will read about modern sustainability issues in the greenhouse and in life. We will have a 3 page paper due over our daily reading written from our perspective on the current issue every time we meet for class. The class meets 3 times a week (that means I have a 3 page paper to write every other night (YUCK)! The class is a discussion time and no lecturing! Our professor is into research and this class is his research. He will use our reflective writings from the beginning of the class and the end of class to better understand the discussion learning style used in college classrooms.
• The other class I had today was Hort 283. It is a pesticide certification class (a.k.a I'm learning and being certified to kill bugs :D). I was one of maybe 7 girls in the class out of the 115 in the lecture hall.

There you have it sister, Kasey, my first day of school in the second part of 14th grade.

What's been on my mind...

Psalm 68. My favorite part is verse 10. It says "In your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy." I'm not really sure why I feel so strongly about this verse. I have a feeling that God is going to use this verse in some really big way in my life sometime soon. EXCITING! Anyways, classes start tomorrow and I'm not in the school mode yet. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be. I'm very excited to see what my classes will be like, and meeting new people. I'll update tomorrow on how the first day was! :)

CHECK IT!

Look at Psalms 86! ....you won't be disappointed!

November 19---Everybody Is a Priceless Treasure

We are HEIRS! What a gift we don't deserve. How are we going to use that gift? How are we portraying the family name?

Let this be your prayer: God I'm willing to do what you want me to do, show me how, and I will do it!

Colossians 4:2-6

Love others for they need your love. Loving them shows the love of Christ.