Communication

is KEY.

"Bruises" by Chairlift.
First Verse: I tried to do handstands for you
I tried to do headstands for you
Everytime I fell on you, yeah everytime I fell
I tried to do handstands for you
But everytime I fell for you
I'm permanently black and blue, permanently blue for you
I tried to do handstands for you
I tried to do headstands for you
Everytime I fell on you, yeah everytime I fell
I tried to do handstands but everytime I fell for you
I'm permanently black and blue, permanently blue for

Chorus: You-ooo etc...
For you-ooo etc...
So black and blue-oooo etc...
For you-ooo etc...

Man verse: I grabbed some frozen strawberries so
I could ice your bruising knees
But frozen things they all unfreeze and now I taste like
All those frozen strawberries I used to chill your bruising knees,
Hot July ain't good to me
I'm pink and black and blue

2nd Verse: I got bruises on my knees for you
And grass stains on my knees for you
Got holes in my new jeans for you
Got pink and black and blue
Got bruises on my knees for you
And grass stains on my knees for you
Got holes in my new jeans for you
Got pink and black and blue for

Chorus: You-ooo etc...
For you-ooo etc....
So black and blue-ooo etc...
For you-oooo etc....

Rather like that song.
And rather hate PMS. I know its kindof a teenage-girl-excuse...but it is real. The least little thing opened the floodgate of tears this morning. And it was my own doing. I think, for me personally, crying is away of releaving stress...of getting it out of my system physically. Even though I still have the same amout of homework/stuff to do before I get to go home on Friday [yes, I am going home on Friday for the weekend. I also think the mere knowledge of this fact has made me extra homesick this week...well plus the PMS junk].
Well anyway, I just felt like sorting it out on paper/print/whatever. So that's all.

So, 3 posts ago, back in November [I just re-read my 7 previous posts...], I wrote about how I absolutely love autumn. Every word in that post is entirely true. However, autumn has competition [& this I have known from the start..I just did not write about it..haha].

& it's competition is [drumroll, please!]: WINTER!

How I love the winter! I nearly cannot explain it!

Its cold weather always seems to invigorate & wake me up every time I adventure out my door.

Its sunsets&rises that shine through its bare trees romance my eyes.

Its clouds, ohhh the way they change colors & size & shape & float across the sky, some with the teasing look about them of snow...

Its SNOW! The bestest type of precipitation! It blankets everything in the purest of colors, & with this frosty blanket the landscape takes on a new, positively magical appearance; it's even bright outside when the sun has long been set. It sparkles in the sunlight. It brings a smile & a joyous memory to the face & heart of most everyone; I can remember when I was a kid & snow was in the weather forecast, I would pray & pray the night before for it, for enough to get me out of school & enough to completely swallow the grass [because who likes to see tips of green grass peeping out of snow? ]. I would wake up early & peek out my window, holding my breath. I could watch it fall forever, back then, & now as well. It has such a unique sound when it falls, too; it deafens & drowns out other sounds. & the trees -- oh the trees, they especially are like candy to my eyes. :)

Anyway, one of the reasons I have written about this today is [besides loving it] because there is about 15 inches of snow on the ground outside my window here at Liberty. It is sooo beautiful [even though sometimes I do get a little annoyed having to walk through it, & everything being closed so early]. It snowed all day yesterday [Friday] & a good bit of today. Everything is covered. The trees also have ice on them, because it sleeted & freezing-rained some last night too, so it's even more wintry & magical. The evergreen trees look like a Christmas card. & my heart continues to bubble over with joy. We even had classes canceled yesterday. There's more snow in the forecast for next week [aaannddd yesterday&todays was the 2nd weekend in a row the white powder was dumped on Lynchburg :) ].

I've never seen so much snow in my life [since I'm a Southern girl ;)], & all this positively thrills me!

I have a quote to sum up just how I feel about the snow & winter:

"Snow in the South is wonderful. It has a kind of magic and mystery that it has nowhere else. And the reason for this is that it comes to people in the South not as the grim, unyielding tenant of Winter's keep, but as a strange and wild visitor from the secret North." ~Thomas Wolfe

GGGoals...

So, hello dear [probably non-existent] readers [well if there are any, thanks. I think you're awesome for spending some of the precious minutes of your day on my silly thoughts]. It's 2010 now, and months since I last wrote anything. [The reason I really don't write that much is because I have this philosophy that people & relationships are the most important things in life. Because people are the only living beings with souls [that's my belief] therefore I spend as much time with other people as possible. And next to people I spend my time doing school work [it's costing a fortune so it must be done]. Soooo anyway I spend my time with people & doing schoolwork so I have no/little time for writing. Thanks for being patient & trying to understand my reasonings].
Anyway, it is now 2010 & a few things have changed in my life & I have some goals for this year that I'd like to write about. First off for the changes, I have a boyfriend now. His name is Justin & we've been friends for almost 3 years, & then bAm! things got a bit more serious between us over Christmas break:). He's pretty awesome.
Also, I'm a prayer leader/small group Bible study leader on my hall this semester. Several girls that were in this position had to step down for various reasons, so my RA's prayed about asking some others of us to step up & take the positions. & so I prayed about it, & felt God telling me to do it, so I did. I'm really enjoying it, & the 5 lovely ladies in my group are amazing.
As for my goals, first & foremost, I would like to grow closer to God [I'm a Christian for those who don't know]. I have an incredibly busy schedule this semester, & I won't lie, it is a struggle sometimes to pull out my Bible at the end of the day when I'm super tired & its 2am [because I stayed up watching Gilmore Girls with the ladies in my quad]. But I know that I would suffocate without my time with Him -- SUFFOCATE. His words are LIFE to my SOUL. It would be like I didn't drink coffee in the morning when I'm forced out of my beautiful slumber by a harrowing alarm clock [is harrowing the correct word there?]. It is also paramount that I stay close to Him so that I can lead my prayer group ladies in their walks with Him -- for if I cannot teach something I do not live. Stemming from this, I plan to at least ONCE this year travel to a different place & serve my God. I would really love to go to Europe but I don't think that will happen in the year 2010...my church back home, however, is going to Ecuador in the summer, & Honduras in December, I would love love LOVE to go on both trips but I do not know if that will be possible. I also intend to better my relationships with all the people close to me, & there are also various books I would like to read this year & get good grades in my classes to bring up my GPA & things like that....
but anyway, those are the major goals for myself this year. I should probably make myself re-read this post every week, to keep these things in perspective...because it is so easy sometimes to loose perspective [especially when one is in college..]. Any thoughts? What are your goals for this year? Truly, I would like to know [if you are there...ha].

Something I have learned, over the past 2 or 3 years, is that people are the most important.
More than homework, more than sleep, more than tv or anything else to take up my time, my relationships with other people are the most important. Sure it's sometimes frustrating when you have planned to take a nap or study or "me time", but overall, you'll realize, and you'll most likely be glad, that you spent that extra minute or hour talking with someone. And you'll look back and realize that losing that hour or so of sleep really wasn't that big of a deal. Jesus loves people, and He calls us to do the same. We are to love them to Him. And He gives us the grace to do it with His love.
I am so grateful for His love and grace that gets me through each day. :)

I have officially decided that autumn is my most favorite season.
The trees, I just love the trees. So beautiful.
I'm at Panera now, and I'm trying to study for a test I have to take online in half an hour. ButI made the mistake of sitting by the window and I can hardly keep my eyes away from the trees. Most of them have just a few brown crumpled leaves still attached, but there are a few that are completely yellow. So beautiful.
Another reason why autumn is my favorite is because coffeeshops bring out their best coffee flavors in autumn - autumn spice, pumpkin spice, harvest spice, etc. They're all delicious. Panera actually has their Christmas stuff out now, which includes a gingerbread latte, which goes right along with the spice ones. Which, honestly, is a little bit of heaven in my mouth.
So anyway, its a beautiful day, I just enjoyed a beautiful drink, and this has been a lovely break, so now I must study.
:)

One of those moments..

So, you know those moments.

The ones where you're upset, or mad about something. Something that seems legit and reasonable to be upset about, at the moment anyway. Usually its something that has hurt your pride.

And then, it happens..

Something to humble you and put you in your place, something to make you see that the world doesn't revolve around you.

Example: Say someone leaves you (like you were going to walk or ride somewhere together), and they just go on without consulting you, even though there was this sortof unspoken agreement that the two of you always go together.
So then, after you realized you've been left, you pull yourself together and head the direction your friend has already taken. On your way there, another friend driving by in the same direction, offers you a ride, so ultimately, you get there before your friend who left you does.

Yeah, so that prettymuch happened to me 2 days ago. It really wasnt a big deal at all for me to get upset over, yet I still did. So God sent me something to humble me, and make me realize, it's ok if I'm a little bit off schedule from my friends; in this case it was another friend who gave me a ride in her car.

I've come to realize that God knows what He's doin and has a plan for everything. And I'm sure glad He does. Because I can't hardly handle myself.

I'm so happy I could do a dance.
Literally. Today, I wish I were a dancer, I mean a hardcore tappin, twirlin, pointe-in, leapin ballerina.
I've always kinda wanted to be one. I never took dance when I was a little kid...but sure as heck I could leap and twist my way down an empty hallway :).
Today, I am going home.
This is a big deal, because I'm a college kid. My mom and brother came up 2 weekends ago and visited, but now I get to go HOME. I get to see all those glorious familiar places, the ones that you just notice without trying to...the trees, the sky, your nextdoor neighbor's mailbox, the old house on the hill. I'm completely stoked.
But more than that, I get to see my family - my blood family and my church family. I'm goin h ome for Disciple Now Weekend at church. This will probably be one of the best weekends of my year. No lie.
So anyway, I wrote this pretty much just to tell you that I'm so incredibly stoked, that I want to dance [even though I am a horrible dancer].
Something about going somewhere gloriously familiar, somewhere where special things happen, awakes a new engergy and excitement in the soul. Really.
:)
"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days." Psalm 90:14, NIV.