I love snow days

I have successfully completed my first week of classes! During the week I would normally have to go to class 12 times, but this week I only had to go 7 times! We didn't have classes on Monday due to MLK day and yesterday there was a SNOW DAY!

I love snow. Seriously. I really hate being cold, but somehow snow seems to make up for the cold. I got to go sledding yesterday afternoon with a ton of my favorite people and it was awesome. For those of you out there who don't have good sleds you can always use a laundry basket. True story, it works well. After sledding I spent the rest of the day inside a dorm getting warm and enjoying spending time with friends.

This semester should be an interesting one. While I don't think any of my classes will be particularly challenging (knock on wood) I don't think they'll be stimulating either. I just have to remember that I need these classes in order to take ones that are for my major. Motivation will be essential to my academic success this semester.

Lately I've been learning about what it means to take rest in the Lord. So often I just read my Bible and pray without ever really spending the quality time that I need with God. This week though I got a huge wake-up call and God got my attention. On Wednesday afternoon I got off campus for a little while which was extremely refreshing. I drove up to this area that overlooks Fayetteville, and it's gorgeous. On the hill there is this giant cross and I knew that the Lord was definitely around. I sat on top of my car, read my Bible, prayed, watched the sunset, and spent some much needed time while the Lord. The only thing I really prayed was Acts 1:8 over and over which says "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

This particular verse has been on my heart over the past few weeks and it was nice to take time and reflect on it's meaning in God's presence.

My prayer for this semester is Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." I love that I serve a God that wants to take my pain and burdens from me so I don't have to dwell on them. He wants me to find rest in Him. How cool is that?

Happy Friday everyone!

:)

New year, new goal?

So, lately I have really been into reading other people's blogs so I figured I should probably update mine. My goal much like my good friend Sarah's is going to be to at least update my blog once a week. I think that's doable, I like to think I have plenty to report even if it's just school and such.

I wanted to reflect back on 2010 and see what were the highlights!

Wonderful things that happened in 2010:

-Successfully finished my freshman year of college!

-Made some amazing friends at the University of Arkansas

-Went on vacation with the fam to South Carolina

-Worked at K-Kauai and met some truly amazing people

-Rangers went to the World Series!

-My Arkansas Razorbacks made it to their first BCS bowl, they lost but that's okay.

-I got to serve as activities head for my sorority

-Learned some pretty cool new things about Jesus, which I always love

-My aunt got married in March! So happy for her, and I love my new uncle.

-Went on a cruise to the Caribbean with my Dad's side of the family

-Got my scuba diving certification

Challenges of 2010:

-My first semester of freshman year......2.69 GPA, not my best work.

-My heart was wounded a few times due to the wonderful male gender. It's okay though! Getting you heart broken makes you learn a lot of new stuff about yourself.

-Finally becoming content with going to school in Fayetteville

Things I'm looking forward to in 2011:

-Growing stronger in my faith and walk with the Lord

-Completing my sophomore year of college

-Hopefully moving out of the dorms for good

-Working at K-Kauai for another summer

-COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON TO BEGIN!

All in all my 2010 has been amazing. I've gotten some bumps and bruises, but the good has definitely outweighed the bad. I am so blessed and the Lord continues to show me how much each and every day.

Happy 2011!

:)

Sophomore year

I can honestly say that I'm a terrible blogger and I really had no intention of posting maybe ever again. However, I've been reading other people's blogs and it inspired me to maybe start this thing back up again.

Freshman year and summer came and went crazy quick. Now I'm back in Arkansas about a month into my sophomore year of college! This year is already proving to be pretty insane. Along with taking 15 hours of classes I'm also the activities committee head in my sorority. Between school, Phi Lamb (my sorority), friends, and occasionally babysitting I stay very busy. I like being busy though, it's a definite change from last year and I think that's why I'm already enjoying school so much.

This semester I'm finally getting to take a few more education classes. Some of them aren't the most interesting classes, but I love them. I love getting to learn about things that I can actually apply in my future classroom one day. This spring I have to apply to the Childhood Education program and then the real work begins. Right now I'm still taking all of my core classes so it's not all education classes, but that's okay. At least I'm done with science.....well the hard stuff. I still have two science classes left, but they're both education based.

I'm so excited to see what God has in store for me this year. He has already been faithful and revealed Himself in so many exciting ways.

I know this isn't the best first blog after my super long hiatus, but you have to start somewhere right?

New year, New decade :)

Happy 2010 everyone!

I don't know about anyone else, but I love January. I could do without the cold it always seems to bring with it, but other than that I'm a fan. My love of January comes from the fact that it brings us a whole new year. I know we don't need a new year to start over, but somehow it feels like I'm given a clean slate. 2009 was an okay year in retrospect, but I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be that much better.

I usually don't make resolutions, but this year I figured why not? This year I would really like to journal more and make better grades. But also I would like to live more like Christ. So often I get caught up in the ways of the world which is so easy to do. But, as Christians we're called to live a life of being set apart and it's something I want to strive for. I'm not really sure what shape or form that will take but we'll see.

This is short, but I figured maybe this year I can also start blogging more :)

I'm back!

Wow, I can't believe it's almost been 4 and a half months since I wrote anything! I've really been missing blogging lately, so I thought I would try my best to get back into it!

Well, I'm not in England anymore.....I'm currently attending the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I love it! I'm finally getting to pursue my degree in Early Childhood Education which makes me so happy! :)

The days are starting to get colder, which I have to say doesn't make me too excited. Seeing as I'm a Texan through and through I was not made for cold weather. My father informed me the other day that he thinks it gets colder in Fayetteville than it does in Northeast England.....not cool. Although right now the leaves are changing here in Fayetteville and it's so pretty :) pictures don't do it justice.

Let's see....what can I tell you about my life. In less than 2 weeks my family finally gets to move into our beautiful new house in Blue Ridge, Texas! I am beyond excited! It will be good to have some room again, I think Peyton and Claire would have killed each other if we had to stay in the duplex much longer. I think the number one reason I'm most excited to move into the new house is so my wonderful sheltie, Finn can finally come home once and for all! My Grandma and Grandaddy have been saints while looking after him since March but I'm ready for him to come back to North Texas where he belongs.

So, I didn't do the whole rushing thing here at school. However, I did join a Christian sorority called Sigma Phi Lambda. There are about 70 girls in it altogether, and I just really love it. It's exactly the kind of thing that's right for me. :)

Other than that my life mostly just consists of school, which isn't so bad. I'm actually loving learning for the first time because I know it's leading me to the job that I was made to do.

:)

Reflecting......

So, this morning at our monthly Youth for Christ team meeting Fiona asked Nicole and I to reflect back on the past year in England and what we've done, learned, enjoyed, and what we're doing next year.

I look back at the past year quite frequently, but I never really reflect and I certainly don't get the chance to share about it a lot. I thought I would share with you guys what this year has meant to me.

Let me start of by saying that this has without question been the hardest year of my life so far. I've had so many ups and downs. The Lord has constantly challenged me in so many ways. If I've learned anything at all this year it's been that I need to fully rely on God. He is where I get my strength from. I really struggle with relinquishing control and giving everything to God, but this year I've had to do it. A lot of the time I think that I know best, but God has a perfect plan for my life and why would I want to mess that up by trying to be a control freak? 

The Lord has also taught me that it's okay to be totally transparent with other people and that it's okay to let people in. I have a habit of keeping everything inside and not fully letting people in, which is so stupid on my end. Nicole has been my rock this year. She is such a encouragement to me day in and day out. She challenges me and she calls me out on stuff, which is what I need. I've never really had an accountability partner until this year. It's kind of cool though because our friendship is one of accountability in itself. So, it's not as if we have to work hard to be accountability partners, it just kind of comes naturally. 

I also look back on the person I was when I arrived in England last August. Man oh man, if old Kelsey met the Kelsey I am now I think both would be appalled. I never expected to grow up as much as I have, but I'm so thankful that I have it's what I needed to do. I know I'm not even close to being done with growing up though. I'm so lucky to have parents and a family who are patient with me and love me even when I'm not the best Kelsey I can be. I know they weren't super fond of the person I was last August, but I hope I'm turning into someone that they're proud of and happy to claim as their own. 

When I take time to reflect back on the past year I look at it and I'm happy. Sure it was hard, but it's been such a rewarding year. I know that being here in England is exactly what I was supposed to do. I think England has prepared me for the next chapter of my life. I only have about two and a half weeks left, and it's so odd. I am sad to leave the place that has impacted my life in so many ways, but on the other hand I am so ready to be home and just invest time in my family and friends. June 26 is going to probably going to be one of the most bittersweet days to date in my life. 

I just want to thank all of you for your constant love, support, and prayers. Your prayers have gotten me through this year. I'm so lucky to have so many good people in my life who encourage me all of the time. So, for that I thank all of you. 

:)

Love,

Kelsey

Hosea

Lately the book of Hosea has really been on my heart. 

My friend Jillian Edwards' CD came out a few weeks ago and one of the songs she wrote is called "Hosea". I copied down the lyrics so I thought I would share them with you guys!

"Hosea"

By: Jillian Edwards

There’s an open road ahead of me

An empty sea beside me

Waiting on the sunshine to make me happy

Or the rain to let me break down and cry out to you

 

And I wonder

Why do I ever leave you and turn the other way?

You call me out to the desert come home it’s not too late, it’s not too late

 

Wondering why I ever leave you

Chasing other lovers that don’t compare to you

And by the time I say I’m sorry so

You’ve forgotten my mistakes

 

And I wonder

Why do I ever leave you and the turn the other way?

You call me out to the desert come home it’s not too late, it’s not too late

 

Lately I’ve been wondering where I'm going 

Lately I’ve been listening to your voice within

Take me out to the desert speak to me tenderly

Take me out to the desert speak to me tenderly

 

Why do I ever leave you?

You call me out from the desert come home, it’s not too late

It’s not too late 

These lyrics have just pulled at my heart in so many ways. At surface level when you read the book of Hosea you see that God tells one of his faithful servants to go and marry a prostitute named Gomer. Time and time again Gomer leaves Hosea to go back to her old lifestyle. Hosea goes after his wife and gets her back and reminds her of his love. 

However, God is actually symbolizing the relationship between himself and Israel. Israel had been unfaithful to God time and time again through following other God's and breaking the commandments. So, in this book Israel is depicted by a harlot who violates the promises she made to her husband.

This is absolutely one of my favorite books of The Bible. We as humans turn our attention away from God time and time again and he's always there to pick us back up when we fall. Like Jillian's song said by the time we're actually ready to apologize the Lord has already forgiven us and forgotten our mistakes. How amazing is that? To serve a God who is never changing and always loves us right where we are. 

I encourage all of you to read the book "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers. It's a fiction novel based on the book of Hosea. It's wonderful, I'm actually about to start rereading it. 

But yeah I just thought I would share what's been on my heart for the past day or two!

Happy Friday!

Love, 

Kelsey