didn't see it coming.

if, by chance, you read my last post and are now reading this, you will probably think i am a lunatic.

i will be attending the University of Arkansas in the fall.

surprised? confused? no? well, i am. basically it all comes down to the fact that i was being really close-minded because i WANTED Belmont so badly. but, in reality, it would be dumb for me to not accept all of the opportunity that comes with an Honors Fellowship at U of A. and it's really not a question of whether God will use me or not, He will use me at Fayetteville.

in fact, i'm a little nervous (but mostly excited) about everything He has in store for the next four years. yes, i will probably alwasy wonder what it would have been like to go to Belmont and live in Nashville. but, if, in four years, i still feel called there, what's keeping me from going? i can go to grad school. or even work there.

whenever i would think about attending Belmont, i couldn't be excited because i knew there was still so much to be done in order for me to actually get there and not be thousands of dollars in debt when i graduate. but, in looking forward to Fayetteville, i CAN get excited. i can start thinking about who i will live with, what classes i'll take, what cocurricular activies i'll be a part of. it's all worked out. all i have to do is go (and keep good grades, but hey, if that's what it takes...).

so, i guess all that's left to say is:
WOO PIG!
and praise the LORD for opening my eyes!

i'm back.

there has been so much happening that there is no way on earth i could possibly bring you up to speed in every area of my life. but i can fill you in on the two things i am most excited about right now. 1. camp. i was hired as an AC, which most of you probably know. but i am so excited. i know that i will be stretched more than imaginable, and i know at times it will probably suck. but there is no other way can imagine spending my summer. the opportunity to grow relationships with campers and fellow staff is something i've been looking forward to and i cannot wait until this summer! 1. college. now, here's the thing. if i could make my decision right this second, i would go to Belmont. no doubt about it. but everytime i tell my parents that's where i want to go, they tell me to keep thinking and praying about it. so i do. and i still know that's where i am supposed to be. so i tell them again. it's a huge cycle. i have to make a decision before May 1. after visiting Fayetteville a couple weeks ago and sitting down to chat with Chris Tuttle and Niki Mangan, i was reassured that Belmont was the place God wanted me. i felt pressured to go to U of A because of financial reasons but Niki pointed out that not following God's plan would cost a whole lot more than the loans i will have to take out. it was a good reality check. i also pretty much found a roommate at Belmont. this may sound like not a big deal, but for me it is. that is one of the things i was praying hardest for, and as soon as this girl messaged me, i knew that God had us in mind and there was a plan for us. so, i don't know. i guess through all this i'm learning patience and perseverence in prayer. i know that the decision is ulitmately mine, but there does need to be unity in my house. hopefully in a couple days i will have time to get back on and share what God has been teaching me lately. i simply don't have the time and room to do it right now. this post is long enough as is. so, for now, i hope you all have beautiful days and are reminded constantly of the love and joy and deliverance that our beautiful Savior gives us every day.

say what?

it has been almost a month since i have written to you. so, i guess i need to say that a lot has happened since then. but, not much that has happened is really worth writing about here. here's a brief synopsis:

yearbook. jterm. snow. homecoming. formal. more yearbook. more snow. homework. college mess. work. basketball games. hot springs. you know, the works.

i have been sitting at my computer pretty much all day today working on the yearbook and listening to Regina Spektor/OneRepublic radio. i leave tomorrow for Nashville. i have a pretty important interview on Monday. okay, it's REALLY important. this interview could be worth $68,000. yeah. i'm not too worried about it... i'm just super excited to go to Nashville again and get to hang out and explore more of the city!

i think this snow day was good for me (even though i am incredibly sick of them). i was able to sit at home and not have to worry about what i'm going to miss on Monday or answer everyone's questions asking "are you nervous?" "what are you going to wear?" "what time is your interview?"--enough! i'm not. i'm wearing a purple/yellow/gray shirt and purple sweater. i don't know when my interview is--sometime between 8:30 and 11:45.

anyway. you can see how crazy the weather makes me. i really need to go sit in my room and settle down for a while. and pack. ugh. for like the first time in my life, i am NOT looking forward to packing. it's usually one of my favorite things. i just want to be lazy right now.


hmm.

love.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35, 37-39

my parents' rules can't keep my from God's love. my "busy schedule" can't keep me from God's love. my decisions can't keep my from God's love.

my schoolwork.
my job.
my friends.
my struggles.
my hardships.
my confusion.
my temptations.
my fatigue.
my every day circumstances.

NOTHING WILL KEEP ME FROM GOD'S LOVE. i will overcome.

"'O death where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, an the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

i could post lyrics from dozens of songs that better put my thoughts into words. but it would be unnecessary. hopefully you get what i'm saying.

stop it!

idk if this ever happened to you. but there comes a point in the year (around now, i guess) that majority of the dreams i remember are about camp. anyone else experience this in the past? i can't control it (although Freud would say i could, whatever). yah, well last night the dream itself was weird. i knew it was a dream and started controlling it (kind of). awesome.

okay, also it's like 70 degrees outside so it basically feels like summer.
poop.

i'm off to enjoy a nice chat with Chris Tuttle at Starbucks. then work. then hey, guess what... it's NEW YEAR'S EVE! party. yes.

quelf.

is the best game ever invented. it perfectly suits my attention span and need for randomness.

the card was: write a 5 sentence story and read it aloud before your next turn. the story must begin with, "Once upon a time, a circus clown riding a camel watched the sky turn black..." and end with "...Just pop it in your mouth and chew."

this is what happened:

"Once upon a time, a circus clown riding a camel watched the sky turn black before the clock struck 12. The clown wore a silver coat and tie, an lived inside of a pomegranate. Every once in a while, his neighbor, the talking purple-pink tazmanian devil, came over to borrow some mustard. One time the T-D (that's the tazmanian devil) stepped in a hole and fell to China, where he met a lovely little lizard. The lizard was on Hanukah vacation, and he made money by telling people why eating a rock is so easy, claiming, "Just pop it in your mouth and chew."

you can see why this game is great, right? if not, PLEASE go play it. right this second.

secondly, there are several things i wanted to tweet today, but didn't for fear of losing followers because of overactive tweeting. (some of these i did actually post, but they need more explanation).

1. "two stressful camp dreams in one night? this is getting ridiculous. #goingcrazy" - they were both about missing activities. on the same day. one was a horseback (ha, yah right), and the other was 4th activity science (we were scheduled to talk about relationships).
2. "#inothernews @shelbynoel2 SIX MORE DAYS!!!! #notachristmascountdown." - the louisiana gang that is going to onething is staying in LR on the way, and the girls are with me. PARTAY!
3."i just love getting odd looks because of what i'm wearing. it's not my fault it's not too cold for shorts and chacos. #donthate." - my friend called me at 10:53 asking if i could take her to school. she had to be there at 11. i already had on shorts and a sweatshirt, so i just threw on chacos. it actually wasn't too cold.
4. "being compared to Alex Russo was possibly the best thing that's happened to me all week."
5. the $3.23 i just spent on a single cupcake was SOOOOO worth it." cupcakes on the ridge = heaven. i got a Black Tie Affair: Ghiradelli cupcake with buttercream icing. delicious.

and it's only 3:00. the day is young.

more than an assignment.

bear with me. i've got a lot to say.

so, this weekend (at turkey day) i got some much needed answers. i knew what God had done in my life, but i was stuck. well, i'm still not really un-stuck, but i'm getting there. i realized that my drought was caused my ineffectivness. what was i doing with my faith? absolutely nothing. sure, i have chosen a certain lifestyle that reflects Christ--i hardly ever listen to secular music, i don't swear, drink, smoke, etc.--but how was i using those choices beyond giving myself a good repuation. the question often comes up, "well, what kind of music do you like?" instead of using that to explain that i listen to worship music almost constantly because it keeps righteous thoughts in my head, i would just blow it off and say, "oh, whatever." like usual, i'm not sure where i'm going next with this part of the post, but... well, yeah. i don't know. goal: i need to be more effective

part two: yesterday in my oral comm class, we were assigned the topics for our final speeches next week. my topic: Christian Missions. there are so many places i can go with that. but honestly, i am more excited about doing research for this 8 minute speech than i have been about any other school project. ever. it's giving me a reason to finish Radical by David Platt, and it's also reminding me of many things that were said at onething last year. i'm really being pushed to look into the Biblical call to global missions, and the progress of the Great Commission. the Joshua Project has a website that sort of tracks the unreached people groups around the world. there are just several interest facts that show just where we are on the completion of reaching the whole world. there are several people groups that are unreached or barely reached, but they only account for a small percent of the population. there is only 3% of the world that does not have some sort of gospel recording in their language. THREE PERCENT. the makers and distributors of the Jesus Film have predicted that, at the rate of progress today, the whole world will be reached by 2020. in case you didn't know. that's basically nine years from now. NINE YEARS. i will be 26. will i have done anything to help the progress? i sure hope so. i hope i can look back on this speech and say it gave me insight into the call for global missions, and i hope i can sucessfully inform my class on the Biblical commands and the excuses Christians today use to disobey those commands.

this whole thing is a big slap in the face, really. but that's okay. i need it.

in other news, i was accepted to Belmont! let's party! now all i need is a chance to interview in February, to ROCK that interview, and to be awarded one of five full-rides. i'll keep you updated. there is a decision to be made in March.