Doubting Thomas

I love the girls in my major! They are all unique and there are different clusters of girls that have more in common, but overall they are amazing! It has been my prayer over the past semester to really develop a love for these girls since I am with them in every class and at practicum and working on projects between all that. God has definitely been at work over the past semester. Although it has been a slow, long, and gruelling process, it is worth it to have such good relationships with the people I spend almost all of my waking moments with.

One of the things that I love most about these girls is that they are all broken like me. They all need to be reminded that God's grace is sufficient enough to fill the void left by never being appreciated or relationships that have left them feeling empty and bitter. I never thought that I would say or even think this but....I am so thankful for the trials that God has allowed me to endure because it has allowed me to connect with these girls in incredible ways. I have been there--experienced loss and heartbreak and abandonment--and God has opened my eyes to say that his plan is so much greater than anything I ever had/have planned for myself and his love for me is greater than all the love any man could give to me.

Thank you God for loving me despite my unbelief. I believe in my head most of the time but not always in my heart. Even when I don't believe, let your grace and love flow through me to those who need to be reminded of your majesty and authority.

I really love the song Doubting Thomas by Nickel Creek (listen to it on my playlist) because it describes these feeling of unbelief more eloquently than I ever could. Here are some of the lyrics:
....As I show the blind and tell the deaf about his power,
I'm a doubting thomas,I can't keep my promises,
'Cause i don't know what's safe,oh me of little faith
Can I be used to help others find truth....I'm a doubting thomas,
I'll take your promise,Though I know nothin's safe,Oh me of little faith

Free Stuff

So I just wanted to show everyone the free stuff that I got in the mail today. Over the break, between semesters, I signed up for a lot of stuff online and it has been slowly coming in. Today I got some greenie treats for my roommates cat, Tide detergent (great for traveling), always samples, notepad, and perfume samples. Some of the other things I have recieved have been seattle coffee, natural sweetener, and educational comics about the federal reserve and about money for one of my learning centers. Jawan, you should be so proud of me! Yay for being frugal!

The Ultimate price

I was talking to a friend earlier this week and she said something about how sad it is that all these people with intellectual disabilities have more children with intellectual disabilities and continue the vicious cycle that taxpayers have to pay to support. My first thought was yeah, I guess you're right. We are paying for these people who cannot support themselves to have children who cannot support themselves either. Then I thought, wait... isn't that what God did for me??? He paid the ultimate price that I could never pay. He sent his son to die on the cross...for me! And even more...to die for all people who accept God as their savior, even those with intellectual disabilities. Thank you God for loving me enough to send your only son to pay for my sins. Please let your love shine through me to those who may not know the love of Christ.

I'm a friggin freegan!

Urban Dictionary defines the term Freegan as "Somebody who abstains from contributing to the economy and salvages society's wasted food and resources rather than purchase more themselves". What makes a freegan different than your typical dumpster diver is they get food from dupsters.

So my roomies and I went dumpster diving again this week and got some pretty good stuff: some curtains, a bookshelf, bed risers, decorative baskets, school supplies...and then we found food. It was the first time any of us had taken food from a dumpster, but all this food was unopened and in at least one or two closed packages. We got things like girl scout cookies, oreos, animal crackers, canned peaches, diet dr pepper's, and more. Everything was recently thrown out because the dumpsters had been emptied earlier that morning and we sanitized everything when we got home, so it wasn't too sketchy. Ah the life a desperate and frugal college student lives.

Welcome to the Madness!

This past Saturday was Auburn's Best Buddies fundraiser called Midnight Madness. We signed up to form/join teams that went around all day saturday on a scavenger hunt. Above is a picture of my team minus 4 buddies that had to go home early. The theme of the hunt was pirates. We had a treasure box to collect some things in and took pictures of ourselves doing other things. The day ended with awards and an after party at a local bar. The fundraiser was such a success; we raised over $12,000 dollars! This money will go toward getting a Best Buddies state office in Alabama. My team didn't win a prize but the best prize of all was to hear the buddies say that even if we don't win it will be ok because they had fun.

Sally walking across the street on her hands and me trying to hold onto her feet and 2 bags.

Our whole team in the boys bathroom. This was one of our first assignments. It was funny beacuse one of our younger buddies covered her eyes as we walked in and kept saying "gross" and "mommy said no".

Blessings

So, this semester has been long and strenuous with all of my projects and my first practicum. Most of the things that have come out of my mouth have been words of complaining, discontent, and frustration. I'm in over my head with all of my projects and Best Buddies events and planning. Some of the extracurricular things I am involved with are Reformed University Fellowship, my church's special needs nursery, Best Buddies, Friends for Life, and the Autism support group.



These past few weeks I have been trying to focus on the blessings that God has placed in my life. Just recently God has blessed me with a new friend. She lost her brother and 3 of his friends in a car accident over spring break. Not only did God provide the time in my busy schedule to meet with her, but he also provided me encouragement through her. The week that I met with her I had 8 projects due and by God's grace I had 7 of them finished the night before we were supposed to meet. When she was sharing about her experience it was neat to hear where she is after her brother's death and see the similarities and differences from what I experienced after losing my sister. She has taken this tragedy and used it to make her life more meaningful. What can she do to ease the pain of the driver that hit the car or her parents or the parents of the other 3 kids? How can she be a better witness to God's goodness? She amazes me by her joyful spirit. Please pray for her family and the other 2 families as they continue to grieve.



Another blessing happened today while I was walking at Town Creek park. I had to escape our apartment because our air conditioner has been broken for a month and it was currently 81 degrees in our apartment. I thought that going for a walk would get me nice and hot so I could come home to a cold shower. Going on a walk would also let me avoid writing lesson plans. Ugh! So I am walking at the park for about 20 minutes and am beginning to get bored because no one was with me and I forgot my ipod. Then, I look up and I see a friend from Moody that goes to Auburn but I haven't seen or talked to in a long time, Elizabeth McFarling. We were able to talk and encourage each other as we walked for over an hour. We didn't talk about anything special but throughout our conversation we were able to remind each other of things that we can be thankful for.

I am WEAK! BUT He is STRONG!

My "nephew"

waiting on a bottle

The rare occasion, Landon awake and alert.

I'm bringing in the new year with one of my best friends, christi hamblin, her husband and the newest edition to their family, Baby Landon. Landon is 2 weeks old and the closest thing I have to a nephew. I'm so glad to be able to catch up with an old friend and enjoy her brand new baby.
Please pray for the Hamblin family and for my cousin as both adjust to life with a baby.
Happy 2008!