New Blog.

I am moving over to tumblr...it is much simpler...

http://alyssaisgett.tumblr.com/

Blogs.

I never thought I would be one of those girls who got really into do it yourself projects, but here I am… as much as I hate to admit it, artsy and creative. I love trying new things. Though I am not a designer by any means, I can take something dull and plain and turn it into something I will love! I can walk into a thrift shop and walk out with something that looks like a designer outfit. I can take a plain pair of shoes, add some bows and glitter, and make them something extraordinary. I can take something simple and create a piece of art. I love watching the DIY network and Style network to see what other people are doing or using to create pieces of art. I have selected three blogs that are inspirational… they are a little artsy, a little fashiony… yes, I created that word…, but mostly, the bloggers post do it yourself projects at least one a week. Enjoy!

Blog 1 http://jennyphebelee.tumblr.com/

o This blog is from a good friend of mine. She is really creative. She loves random trips to Michaels for arts and crafts. Her blog is one of my favorites to follow. It is on a tumblr account, so it is different than BlogSpot, but she is always posting something new. The most recent DIY post she has made has a fabric cut out of the United States. She wants to make one in the shape of Brazil…her next travel adventure. This post made me want to run to the nearest fabric store and print out different cut outs from all of the places I have travelled. She also posted her top 10 list of her favorite bloggers. One was Promise. The blog Jenny used was a DIY cabinet. Rescue something from goodwill, buy some paintbrushes and a can of paint, and see what happens!



Blog 2 http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/

o I chose this DIY blog for one reason… Owl iPhone Cozy: DIY project… The author of this blog created her own personal phone cover. She made this cute little owl phone cover out of yarn and items she had laying around. This cover is adorable. I just purchased a new cover for my phone, but now I want to create a new one in the colors I love! Doing things myself is so much cheaper and I can make sure it is something I love, not something someone does.



Blog 3 http://mycakies.blogspot.com/

o This is a pretty random blog I came across. It is a mom who does artsy crafts with her kids. There are DIY recipes that are simple as well as DIY crafts that are really easy to do. Most of these DIY activities are kid friendly, but I totally see myself doing some of these. There are plenty of DIY activities on this blog, but she also talks a lot about her family. She recently had a new baby and she talks about her children a lot. What I love about her is that even with kids, she is able to be really creative and her ideas are super cute!

Starting out in college, I began with a major in journalism. I wanted to be in the heart of the media, attend a variety of events and meet new people from different backgrounds. After a few journalism classes, I decided that this was not where I needed to be. After volunteering on an orphanage trip to Cluj-Napoca, Romania, I came home and changed my major to English. I began taking English classes at California Baptist University. I enjoyed the readings from the different classes and the professors had a great attitude and a lot of knowledge about the course material. I began looking forward to the different English courses I was able to take and I knew that changing my major to English was a great decision. After graduation, I will be enrolled in a credentialing program for a mild to moderate special education credential. I want to teach special day classes to students at the high school level. I think that reading and writing are extremely important skills to have despite any disability or challenge in someone’s life. About a year ago, tending to students with special needs was put on my heart. I have wanted to be a high school English teacher for sometime, but realizing that I can help a group of people that are so often overlooked, made me realize I can utilize my degree in a variety of fields, including the field in which the children are disabled. In attending California Baptist University for my undergraduate degree, I have learned that Christ gives us all unique talents and abilities and it is up to us to do his will with what we are given. I believe my gift is to teach. I will attend the credentialing program and complete the program within the next year and a half. During this time, I will apply to be an instructional aide in order to gain more experience in the special education field. Ultimately, I would like to move overseas, back to Romania, to teach English and do missionary work long term. Through being part of the English program at CBU, my eyes have been open to different types of literature that I might not have read without the classes. The Importance of Being Earnet, by Oscar Wilde, and Nectar in a Sieve, by Kamala Markandaya, are two examples of text that I have read in different classes that I probably would have never considered reading of otherwise. My time at CBU has prepared me to go on and teach whether that be in a special day class or across the globe.

Summer in December

So I have decided that I miss laying out everyday on beautiful islands and beaches with Jen. I wish I could be back in Dubrovnik Croatia. We would take the ferry across the sea to the beautiful island of Croatia...oh the few weeks ago that I was tan....

Ramblings of a Monday.

I am pretty sure I am the worst blogger in the entire world. The only step ahead of someone who might be worse than I am, is someone who does not have a blog. I am quite horrible at updating my blogs on a regular basis. But since I am avoiding homework at this exact moment, I thought I would share what has been going on.

There is only 39 days until I graduate. December 18 at 2 p.m. at Harvest Christian Fellowship, I will graduate with my B.A. in English...presuming I pass my classes. I would also like to point out that it took me less than 4 years to complete my degree, but by no means am I complete with school. Just the undergraduate portion of my life.

In 10 short days, I will complete the single most important paper of my life. This is my capstone portfolio. Once I complete this, my English degree requirements will be complete. This is a huge step. I have been working on this paper for over a year and it is finally coming time to submit it to a panel. This is very scary. My worse fear is the panel will say "Oh sorry, you suck. Better luck next time." Which, if this is the case, is something I will just learn to deal with.

I have been struggling with quite a few things in my life lately. I am learning a lot, some things I do not really want to know, but I suppose that is just a fact of life.

I will start a credentialing program for special education next semester and hopefully complete this withing the next year and a half. I never thought I would want to teach a special education class, but for some reason or another, this summer I was just drawn to it. Which is weird, considering nothing this summer was in relation to this sudden change of interests.

I am still longing to move overseas and cannot wait to see it that is the way things will work out.

I have decided that forgiving quickly is the only way to be happy. People are dumb and they suck at times, but there is no need for that to bog me down. No need to stress over things. As long as I am living the way intended for my life, all should be well... easier said than done.

As you can see, a lot is going on. A lot is changing. A lot is going to change. A lot has happened. I continue to move forward in hopes of reaching my goals and actually learning a few things along the way. I am trying to invest in the relationships around me that are meaningful and fruitful and letting go of those that are surfaced and shallow. I have decided to be more honest with people regardless. I realize that I may come across mean because of this, but I have also realized that being honest about everything is more important than lying to spare someone's feelings.

Local Newspapers

Take a look at the following blog:
http://www.minnpost.com/insideminnpost/2009/10/19/12627/a_modest_proposal_for_federal_funding_of_journalism
It is kind of interesting the things this blog is saying. What is next for journalist? At the end of the blog, a few questions are asked… What do you think? Should the federal government support public-affairs journalism? Should journalism enterprises be willing to take the money? If so, how should the dollars be distributed?
I think that Journalism is changing. I think journalists need to find some new way to find support for their publications. I do not thing the federal government should support public-affairs journalism. Just like any other job, journalist and production companies should be able to find their own revenues to produce a publication. If I started my own business, I would be expected to find people willing to invest in my company. I would be required to find people to work in the company, find a way to pay the employers, and find a way to not bankrupt my company. I think the same is true for journalists. Many newspapers are funded by subscription fees and ads. Times are rough with the economy, and every business is suffering, so why should the field of journalism be any different. I was watching the news earlier this week and different news companies are looking for things on blogs. People are interested in what other people have to say and what other people think. ABC 7 has a “what’s bugging you” segment in which writers write in about the things that are bugging them. Then a reporter will go out and investigate this topic. Pretty much the public is giving the news company ideas to write on and report about. So if a big news company can find different outlets for news, then newspapers should be able to do the same.

By all means, newspaper companies should be able to ask investors to take part in their production. But by no means should government funding need to go to newspapers. Everything is online now. Everything can be found by the click of a mouse. Blogs are becoming a more known outlet for things that are going on. You do not need government funding for a blog.

This blog refers to a report found at the following link:
http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/cs/ContentServer/jrn/1212611716674/page/1212611716651/JRNSimplePage2.htm

The report “proposes new steps for maintaining a vibrant, independent press, with special emphasis on local "accountability journalism" that is essential to civic life.”

In my opinion, the local newspaper is important. I think that newspapers are very reliable sources of news and a great way for people to know what is going on in the world. But advertising revenues are falling. Due to this, paper size and staffs are shrinking, and some newspapers have even stopped production. Though this is a horrible situation, I still do not think government funding is a way to fix that. But then again, we are already in tons of debt, what is another few million dollars, right?
I think it is time for newspapers to get creative on getting their news out there in a more cost efficient way.

This is what I live for....

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess. I wanted to live in a castle and have a fairy godmother make me a beautiful dress. I wanted to sleep in a giant bed covered with fluffy pillows and a canopy. Everything would be covered in sparkles and one day I knew my Prince would come. Then I would live happily ever after.

I still hope that all my dreams will come true, and I still love to wear sparkly dresses and sleep with tons of pillows, but this whole idea of a happily ever after and a prince coming to my rescue on a white horse does not really exist any longer. Some things I do still stay the same and I still enjoy dreaming of being a princess, but my passion has changed from when I was a little girl to the person I am today.

My passion no longer includes fantastical ideas of princesses and frogs and fairy dust. My passion in life is to live a life that glorifies Christ. I want to serve him and bring honor to his praise. I want to live in a way that sacrifices for the kingdom of Christ. My heart is for people. I love meeting people and spending time with people. I believe that through creating friendships and relationships, I am able to have a more intentional bond with the people in my life.

My passion is for children. There are children all over the world who are placed in orphanages and transition homes. There are places all over the globe filled with children who are not wanted. Or filled with kids whose parents can not afford to take care of them. My heart goes out to these children. I’ve met some of these children around the world and my heart just breaks for them. I have realized that these children will not grow up to live in a castle. They will not have big, puffy, glittery dresses. However, they might be rescued by a person on a white horse. Some of these children will go on to be adopted and that is their rescue. But some of these children will be in the orphanages until they reach a certain age and cannot live there anymore. Some of these kids will find jobs and be successful but others may be on the street and homeless.

I find my rescue in Christ. There is not a need for a Prince on a white horse to come save me from the dragon in a high tower of a castle. I am not a patient person. I have more patience than I give myself credit for, but I still hate waiting for things. Recently I have learned that the stigma of a knight in shining armor is fantasy. If a guy rode up on a horse and whisked me off of my feet, that would be wonderful…it would make that whole finding the right guy thing a heck of a lot easier…but in all reality, what would this guy be other than a fairy tale character. I have come to realize that I want a guy who glorifies Christ. And through glorifying Christ, loves me. It is that simple. That is where my passion lies. In relying on Christ that I do not need a prince galloping on a horse. And also that he will send me back overseas into the countries that I love to rescue kids that need it. Some of these kids will not find Christ. It breaks my heart. I want to go into different places in the world to teach English and work with orphans while doing this. This is my passion.

Once upon a time there was a girl named Alyssa. She gave all she had to live a life to glorify Chirst…

Photos from this summer

Semester Voyage

So I decided that it is probably about time I updated my blog after my adventure filled summer of world traveling.

Semester at Sea by no means was what I expected. How could I possibly have planned to see tons of incredible places and meeting amazing people. SAS was full of surprises and I continued to be astonished by every twist and turn along the way.

I came aboard the MV Explorer June 16, and debarked for Cadiz, Spain. I left Casablanca, Morocco August 12 to head back to the states. But what the heck happened in between then and now? I went to nine incredible countries. I met tons of new people and learned a little more about what it means to be culturally aware and culturally sensitive. I experienced exotic foods and wines all throughout the Mediterranean. I came home with an awesome tan. But most importantly, I began to look at different cultures and places through the lens of Human Rights and Social Justice.

I saw places most people only dream about seeing and traveled to more places this summer than people do in a lifetime. But the most important aspect of my journey this summer was seeing the generosity and hospitality of those in poverty to others who had less. Time and time again I was impressed by the giving of others. People living on the street barely able to provide for their family gave to those less fortunate so they would not starve.

We complain about the economy. We stress over every penny but at least we can eat. We refuse to give a dollar to the homeless lady on the corner, but we can max out our credit cards ten times over. I learned more this summer through the people overseas than I could have ever learned in a classroom.

Travel Adventure...

The time that has been long waited for has finally arrived...well just about. I am leaving on Friday for Canada. Then on Tuesday, I will finally set sail out to sea for the next 9 weeks. I am full of excitement, yet nervous to see what exactly is in store. Mike Giordano, the pastor at Lifequest, prayed over me and gave me some words. He told me he sees me being stretched to a point where I am going to be extremely challenged, but I will not be stretched to a breaking point. With this is mind, please pray for elasticity while I am abroad. Pray that Christ can use me and I will not be so overwhelmed to let me stop Him from working in me and through me. Also Mike said that he sees me having a prayer partner that is going to keep me strong through this journey. Please pray that Christ would open my eyes to who he wants me to connect with. Pray that He is able to use me to glorify His name.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated. I could not be more excited or feel more blessed that I have this opportunity.

Semester at Sea

Two weeks from today, I will embark on a summer voyage that will take me to 9 different countries.  On June 12, I leave for Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada.  I will be there until I leave on the MV explorer through Semester at Sea on June 16.   I know that this summer is going to be challenging and test my faith in many ways.  One of those ways is going to be how I choose to share Christ through my actions.  What will I do? How will I behave?  What things will I say?  Please pray for guidance that Christ will place me in ways that I can show his love to not only the people on board but also to the different people I will meet in these different places.  I am going to try to blog about the countries each day before I leave and prayer needs for each country based upon where I will be.  I am so excited for this opportunity. Christ has really given me a heart for the nations and I cannot wait to see what He has in store for me this summer.

Another year complete...well sort of

I finished my last final of the Spring 2009 semester on Tuesday. I feel proud, yet anxious for what the future holds. This week, I am finishing my final hours of working in CAB as the cultural arts coordinator. Through working in CAB and working on the school newspaper, I am feeling pretty fulfilled with the different events of this year.

• Major event with the newspaper....we are online now! Check it out at http://www.cbubanner.com/. Pretty exciting stuff!



• Next semester, I will not be in charge of Culture and Perspective, but I will be in charge of the features section...I am looking forward to it, thought I would have preferred to be the editor of the cultural aspect of news. God has something else in store for me and I am most definitly looking forward to the ways he will be using and shaping me through all of these things.
  

Those two major events pretty much sum up my experience on the newspaper staff this year. I worked with some pretty amazing people this year and got to interview and cover some pretty neat events, but all of that is on the website...go see for yourself!

Next is CAB. I have been involved in this for two years and it is coming to an end. I am pretty excited because for one, next year I will be able to enjoy the events just as a student; not as a coordinator...but a little sad because working so close to students allows me to connect to some unique people on campus and really meet students needs through different ideas and things I get to plan out. So I will definitely miss that. Okay... acheivments...

• For the Fall semester, lights on India was my absolute favorite! I got to work with so many different people on campus. I worked with current staff, current students, international students, and even an alumni came to do henna for the students. There were different prayer needs for India and students seemed really eager to come out to this event. It was really the first big event I ever planned. I am very pleased with this event. Henna, somosa's and chai tea really helped this night to be a cultural event for students.

• For the Spring semester, the event I am most proud of is Style Your Sole. I paired with Toms Shoes, tomsshoes.com, and put on an event where students could purchase a pair of shoes through our office. Then a few weeks later after we ordered all of the shoes, we had an event with spray paint, buttons, fabric, markers...anything you can think of to decorate...where students could design their own shoes. TOMS is so special becasue for every pair of shoes purchased, they send a pair overseas to a child in need. Through the support of such an amazing staff, we send 132 pairs of shoes overseas!

So now it is time to take all of the things that I have learned from this intern type job and apply it to whatever the future may bring. I will rely on Christ to bring me through whatever may come to bring glory to His name. I cannot wait to see what lies ahead.

Waiting on Him

Alyssa

A laugh for the day

It has been a while since I have posted anything. I promise I will try to get better at this whole blogging thing. I was on twitter this morning, my latest fad in media, and following Ashton...we are on a first name base now. He posted this video. Intrigued, I decided to click the link...how much time could be wasted for this video if it was worthless. Nevertheless, I preceeded to click play and then could not stop laughing. This is a prank video that takes place at a gas station. It is pretty entertaining. So happy Thursday. Check out this link!

http://www.break.com/index/gas-station-prank.html

Octo-Mom

How judgmental are we as a whole in society?  How judgmental are we as individuals?  What does Christ call us to be? How does Christ call us to act?  Why does the media have such a powerful hold over what we think and what we see?  Why is it so incredibly easy for us to follow the lives of individuals who have more money, starred in a film, or has six children and just delivered 8 more?  Octo-Mom is a new woman who has been introduced into society because of the number of children she has.

 Why does “Octo-Mom” have this name anyway? She is a typical woman who happened to get pregnant with multiple children more than once. Her actual name is Nadya Suleman.

On February 15, 2009, some individual in our wonderful judgmental cannot get enough of everyone else’s life society, made a video mocking in sense, Nadya Suleman.  Seriously, grow up people. 

An article I read from the New York daily news covered Nadya Suleman going shopping.  The article talked about Suleman looking at Nintendo Wii’s to purchase, plus the controllers to go with the game console.  However, the question was: how will she pay for this?  The article goes into how a new website was launched, henadyasulemanfamily.com, in which the family is soliciting donations.  I do not blame the media completely, but why is it anyone else’s business about what the family does.  People solicit things online all of the time, but because this woman has given two multiple births, she is covered like a celebrity in the newspapers.  Sadly, I think there are more pressing matters to attend to in the world such as the war in Iraq, the stimulus plan, and our new president, versus a mother who got fertility treatments, has 14 children now, and has people judging her.

I googled “octo-mom” out of curiosity of how the media was handling this. A blog popped up, http://ronnisrants.blogspot.com, talking about Nadya Suleman’s life.  Ronni goes on and on about how Nadya purposefully did this to herself.  Ronni implies that Nadya should have had an abortion. Okay, really! Stop there. Why is this any of her business to judge?

I do not understand why people’s lives are so fascinating that our blogs and news articles center around these people. From a Christian perspective, Christ has allowed doctors to come up with ways to aid the fertility process. Sometimes the fertility help allows a mother to give birth to one child, sometimes to more.  Nadya Suleman has 14 children.  She wanted them.  I think it is commendable that she got pregnant twice with more than one child.  Yes, some of the kids have health problems, but she loves them enough to have not aborted them, which is more than some can say.  To Nadya, “Octo-mom” should really be called “Super-Mom!”  I love that she had these children, kept them, and loves them.  Despite the economy and how much money they have, good for her to try to raise donations for her babies.

 

Sources:

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/02/13/2009-02-13_wii_octomom_nadya_suleman_goes_shopping_.html

Ronnisrants.blogspot.com

Good Advice

Brush your teeth
Wash your hands
Don't forget to fly

A New Set of Goals

In September and the air is crisp and the days are long, school starts back up and shorts turn into jeans.  Every school year I set a list of goals for me to work toward throughout the school year.  This year I set a few goals that I have kept, and few I have changed.

Professional Goals:

1- Professional goal 1- To involve different groups on campus so there will be more diversity at events.  One way I was going to accomplish this was to work with the Rwandan Students on campus; Work with the ambassadors to include different exchange students; and to work with clubs on campus to engage more students.  I did not stick to how I was going to attain this goal, but I did meet it.  I helped with the International Celebration during September, I asked for input from the Indian students on Campus to put on Lights on India, I invited the ISA leaders to involve their students in each event on campus. All in all, I consider this goal met!

2- TO have an event for Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Now I did not meet this goal 

because the sports teams on campus this year adopted a Breast Cancer charity.  No big

deal... goals can be changed and modified.  Now I am currently working with other students

in CAB and ASCBU and other offices to "Style your Sole," an event through TOMS shoes

where we will decorate shoes and for each pair purchased, a pair of shoes will be given

to a child who does not have any.  I will consider this goal met as well!

3- Explore different cultures and bring them to campus.  I will do this through picking 

different regions to explore; find a way to offer respect to other cultures; and look at 

holidays and special events celebrated by the country.  I did this! Karina and I have worked

together all semester to explore  new cultures.  In September, we did Hispanic Heritage 

Month in which we looked at the countries of Latin America and had students dedicate to

pray for these Countries.  In November, we celebrated Lights On India.  There was Henna,  ethnic food, ways to be involved overseas, and prayer needs.  In January, we celebrated

Lunar New Year by dedicating a night in the ADC to having food that was celebratory to

the celebration.  We decorated the patio and students seemed to enjoy it.  In February we

will have an African Drumming group, accompanied by ethnic food in the ADC, to celebrate

Black History Month.  And we are trying to plan a prayer walking event.  I consider this 

goal met as well!

Personal goals:

1- Personal goal 1: to speak up when I am having an issue with someone or something.  I 

suck at this one! I do not fully consider this a failure, just something I still need to work

on.  I try, but I do not like when people are immature and then I lack compassion 

towards them... We will check this as a work in progress.

2- I really want to learn to play tennis.  I bought a racket and signed up for a class. I am 

still learning, but I play twice a week! Goal: CHECK!

3- Enter a Creative writing contest.  I love to write and I write all the time. The piece I

want to enter, I am still working on, but it is coming along! Goal: half way complete!

Overall I am almost done with my goals so I have chosen to add a few.

1- Read 50 books by December

2- Serve a Charity of sorts

3- Make a huge life change!

We will just have to wait to see what happens. My life story is still being written.  But I am off to a good start.  I am on book 8 of the year, I have started moving on from the people who do not need to be in my life, and I am always looking for ways to serve. This is going to be a productive year...

My God is Mighty to Save

I grew up in a family of five. I have a mother and a father, an older brother and a sister.  Growing up and going through change is not easy. I do not think it is for anyone.  Sometimes, things in life have to be shaken up and changed drastically in order for one to realize that there is more to life.  And so, my story begins. Not with my life or story. But with His, the one who loves me more than I can fathom.

I was nine years old when I accepted Christ into my life for the first time. I had been going to church with my family since before I could remember and my parents began to send my sister and I to church camps during the summer.  I always knew Jesus loved me and had died on the cross to save my life.  I said the prayer asking Jesus to forgive my sins and make me clean.  I asked him to save me and come into my heart. Who would have ever thought that at age nine, I would have to learn and grow so much to actually realize what it meant to be saved by grace.

I live a pretty typical life.  My life is far from perfect but I get by through the people who love me.  Growing up, my Dad was an alcoholic.  He was in and out of rehab and I remember my mom staying up late, crying, night after night. I remember going to rehabilitation centers for my sister and I to visit my Dad. I remember the fights my parents would get into.  I remember it all.  I remember them telling me and Jessica they loved us more than anything on this earth and no matter what, they always would.  Growing up, my parents were no where near the perfect parents, but they tried to give my sister and I all they could.  And regardless the constant fights they were in, we knew we were loved.

I hit high school and my parents made my sister and I go to a private high school...which we hated! Not to long after the first quarter, we switched to Colton High School where we graduated from in 2006.  I had the typical high school experience.  I made stupid decision, went through a rebellious stage, broke the rules.  Overall, I lived for what I wanted and pushed Christ aside. I never really allowed Him to lead and guide me in the ways that He does.  I was selfish and did what I wanted.  

High school was tough for me.  My senior year was by far the hardest.  In October 2006, my high school POD teacher told us his story about having cancer and surviving.  Weeks later he was taken out of school and put into a hospital.  Shortly after, he died.  In November of 2006, my grandfather passed away due to cancer that had spread throughout his body after refusing treatments.  In March, a friend of mine passed away after a motor cycle accident in which she was on a bike with her sister, they hit something in the road, and one twin shielded the other from dying.  It seemed that nothing was perfect and time and time again, I was loosing the things I loved.  During this time I was dating my high school sweetheart.  We fell in love and he was who I turned to in times of trouble and strife.  I loved him and put him before all things...including Christ.  I continued to go to church and bible study, but I was far from living the life I knew Christ had died for.

All through high school I fought constantly with my parents.  When it came time for college, I wanted to choose a school that was far enough away from my parents but close enough to my sister.  I chose to move down to San Diego and go to SDSU.  I thought I would love it.  I was a journalism major at my first choice school. What more could I want?  I began to party on the weekends with the girls from my dorm and, don't get me wrong, we had a great time.  Then I got in contact with someone who was involved in a church and began to go with him for a few weeks.  Something was not right. The kids I partied with on the weekends were the ones I saw at church. What the heck was I doing?  I decided it was time to go home to my home church on a Sunday morning. I do not remember the message, but I knew that it was time for me to make some changes in my life.   And so I did...

At the end of my first semester at SDSU, I came home.  I packed up my car and moved completely out of my dorm.  My mom and I sat down to decide what I would do next. My choices were simple...California Baptist University or University of Riverside. 

CBU is where I ended up.  They accepted all of my transfer work and let me start the following semester.  I was not excited at first because CBU was not one of my choice schools at all.  However, my sister was here and I already knew some people so I figured it was alright.  

Within my first year at CBU, Christ revealed a lot of things to me.  My long term boyfriend of the time and I broke up and for the first time in a long time I was able to put Christ first.  He placed my on my first mission trip team and send me across the Atlantic Ocean to Romania.  There Christ showed me how much joy and grace He brings to me.

Psalm 25:21 "May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you."

This was something Christ showed me.  My hope is found in Christ.  No matter that things that get thrown in throughout life, my hope is found in Christ.  He is my place of solitude.  I live to serve a savior who is mighty to save; who loves me regardless the ways I mess up.  I am not perfect. I mess up day in and day out but Christ forgives me and sets me free.  There is no love like this that has no bounds.  His love is endless and everlasting.  He teaches me to wait upon Him.  When I trust him, the bigger picture of life is revealed.  Only Christ could write a story as beautiful and full of life as mine.