"For The Glory of God"

Today I had the blessing of sitting next to two guys that I had never met before and listening to them sit in fellowship with the Lord. They were so open and willing to discuss it and pray in front of others. It made me realize, how open have I been lately about my faith? How open have we all been?

The Lord calls us to share our faith with others to create disciples and bring people to fall in love with Him. I have slowly realized this morning that I need to be more open and more giving when it comes to bringing others to The Lord. How are we bringing up the people in our lives? Are we asking what we can pray for with them or with them? Are we actually being lights in their lives? 

I have noticed this in my friendships and how wonderfully blessed I have been. Sierra and I have been building this amazing Godly friendship where I have been so lifted up. I have noticed how it has become such a building relationship and not just an all give or an all take relationship. Where are we going in our relationships? Are they meaningful? Are they something that is giving God glory? 

Just a little bit of food for thought on this Tuesday :)

[Nashville, Coffee, Family]

As I sit here and drink my coffee… Yes, at 10 o'clock at night, I am seriously just loving the peace. God is SO good to me! 

I literally just finished a conversation with one of my favorite Jesus lovers on the planet, Joe (that's not his real name, but you'll deal) about how crazy amazing God is. He loves us when we don't deserve it right? Even my amazing best friend, Sierra sent me something perfect today-

Hebrews 6:18-20 "God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It entered the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." 

Lately, I have been thinking A LOT about my future… mainly my future for the summer… If we are being honest and selfish here ;). All I can think about consists of which job should I choose if I get the ones I'm applying for, does God want this for me? How do I know it's right? Okay, but God, this is the one I REALLY want… But today I realized I have to totally and completely stop worrying! God is FAITHFUL!!! He goes before us, just like it says in Hebrews… Funny how He put all the stuff we needed in a little instruction manual I like to call, The Bible. So sometimes I've gotta stop worrying… let go… and let God. (But don't worry, I'll keep y'all up to date on what the job situation is!)

So what do Nashville, Coffee, and Family have to do with each other? Well here ya go!

1. Nashville:
~ I love it here. I have seriously fallen in love with so many wonderful people and had some seriously amazing people come in and touch my life with their spiritual gifts… If you don't have faith in God's ability to turn bad to good, you're probably still in the bad that He's about to turn into something amazing :) Share it, I love stuff like that.

2. Coffee:
~ Well… We all know I have an addiction to the stuff.. but I have seriously found that some of my deepest thoughts come with a cup of coffee and some quiet time with my Jesus, have you not read all the stuff above? I'm drinking coffee, reading my devotional and enjoying the PEACE! Coffee brings people together, seriously, it does. If you don't believe me, look at how Sierra and Kaileigh spend most of their time with me… at a coffee shop! I've even had some of the deepest conversations with Joe in STARBUCKS. That was my first super deep and meaningful conversation with one of my now best friends.

3. Family:
~ I have been thinking a lot about who and what family is to me this week… especially today. I have determined that I'm one blessed chick because my family is so full of love and life! I'm not just talking about my blood-related family. Although, I got pretty lucky and I'm one blessed lady to have the family/parents God gave me. Joe… the anonymous dude I told y'all about earlier? Probably tied for best friend along with Kaileigh, Sierra, and Julia. I don't know where I would be without these people. Joe is definitely the person who I look at for 9/10 of my advice… now these ladies I've mentioned? You really wanna know them… some SPECTACULAR people!! Those girls are the most faithful, loving, and nonjudgmental people I've ever met in my entire life. God seriously knew what He was doing bringing us all together… He had an AMAZING plan. All of these friends/family members… they all love me and support me through my faults and failures. They tell me when I'm being an idiot, but they also will cry with me on the phone for hours. They're the absolute most amazing group of people I've ever had the pleasure to allow into my life. 

Last but not least:

I've realized how blessed I am for my FABULOUS life. I may have struggles, but counting my blessings and "detoxing" (getting people who are toxic out of my life) my life have been the most amazing things I could do for myself. I find myself so much more joyful, even though there are still some very difficult days. I am thankful beyond belief for the love and support I've got… Even if I don't know what my plans are for my life, that's okay… God does… He's gotten me this far :)

So if you're one of the weirdos that's decided to be part of this adventure I'm calling my life, thank you. I love you. You're a brave little soul to be dealing with this roller coaster ride. :)

So it's Spring Semester of my freshman year...

So it's Spring Semester of my Freshman year… My how I have changed. Sometimes I feel like I am a completely different person than I was a year ago from today… I definitely wanted different things than I do now. 

I have for sure learned to love the little things. Like right now, getting out of a steaming shower, blogging, enjoying my comfy bed, and the sound of the fan going to drown out the usual screaming banshees that live in the residence hall. It's days like these when I just have to learn to sit back and enjoy those little things. 

Top 5 Blessings of today:

1. Spending time with one of my favorite people, drinking our coffee and catching up for the week, Sierra. Seriously adore that sweet girl~
2. A job that allows me to sit and do homework for a solid two hours 
3. Getting to see my momma in less than FIVE DAYS!!!!!
4. My bible study group at Wesley. Boy, I love those folks :)
5. And finally, being in bed before 11… that NEVER happens… Mom, aren't you proud?

But really my top blessing today was def spending time with Sierra… Who doesn't need a little girl time now and again? Girl time and coffee at the same time? now, that my friends, is a good time! 

I'm sure almost every single one of you who is reading this is wondering what I'm going to do with my summer, life, etc. But the God honest truth is, I'm not really sure yet… and I am completely and totally fine with not knowing, because every single time I plan something out God has something ten times better out there for me. I know He will show me in due time what I need to be doing with my life… but for now, I'm enjoying the small things and taking things a day at a time 

[Katie]

My New Dorm!

So, I'm finally all moved in for college and it seems more like a whirlwind than anything else. I have made some really good new friends, Bali (pronounced like Bali, Indonesia) and Kirstie! We have been spending a lot of time together and I'm pretty proud of what we have accomplished! I got really cute bedding from sweet Mrs. Gubb at my church!

My friends and I have successfully explored campus, went grocery shopping and much more together! I really am starting to like it here even though I really do miss home, but it's a new chapter in my life and I am going to embrace/enjoy every minute of it! My dorm is actually really spacious, surprisingly! I love it a lot. Kirstie and Bali are only just across the hallway from me, so we pretty much share an open door policy :)

I am not quite finished decorating yet, but this is home for now :) I will keep you guys posted as much as I can. Classes start tomorrow and I'm kind of nervous, but hopefully it will end up good :) Love you guys!

A little late... but NYC Nationals!

New York, was definitely not what I had expected it to be! I had such a blast on my last trip as a Strutter and could not be more thrilled with the outcome of all our hard work. As most of you already know we were successful year for a second time, and are back to back National Dance Champions! Here are some pictures from the trip! Enjoy!

Times Square Friday night! It was definitely a sight to see! I could not believe how incredibly busy the streets really were and how many people congregated solely in Times Square every night. I was completely overwhelmed while I was there! Although it was very overwhelming, the city was definitely more than what I had expected it to be!

While in Times Square our first night, one of my good friends, Victoria and I met some British guys that were there to play soccer from Liverpool! It was so funny to see how amazed they were at our "accents" while we all tried to imitate theirs! One of them even tried to take pictures of himself on my phone! Ha!

While we were competing in New York (Staten Island College to be exact), it started snowing, the first time I can remember being in snow! I was super excited to see the snow and run around in it with all the seniors. We decided that it was a sign... and were later proven right! 

After winning nationals for a second time, the feeling was definitely unreal. Those two moments will never be something I can forget. I have been insanely blessed to be a Strutter and have had the most amazing experiences with this team. I love it and will miss it a lot.

Just a few of the seniors in Central Park! It was so gorgeous and had fresh snow everywhere! I loved it!

St. John the Divine's Cathedral in New York! Although this picture does not do it justice,  it had to have been one of the most gorgeous churches I have ever been able to go into. 

And for all you Sex and the City fans, this of course is where Carrie got dumped on her wedding day! 

All in all, New York was definitely an amazing experience. I will never forget the trip and the memories made!

The past few weeks!

So I haven't really been able to write too much lately because I have been so busy between Strutters, school, my new church that I have been attending and now finally being sick! Lately it seems like everything is really falling into place for me and my family, although it seems like I am always super busy nowadays!

The majority of these past few weeks has been spent practicing various routines over and over along with attempting to get through all of my schoolwork every night while also trying to make time for a daily devotional. There's also the struggle of getting plenty of sleep every night but I am enjoying every second of it! 

This past month, I have been really enjoying a new youth group at the Woodlands United Methodist and I really love it there! There's always something going on during the weekends to be a part of and I love it! This past weekend I spent Super Bowl Sunday with everyone there and we had big couches all over the main room where we all watched the game on the big screen! We even got to eat lots of yummy food made by the parents :) In a little over two months I will be going to REACH weekend with the Loft and I am super excited! 

This year seems to keep on getting busier and seemingly more expensive as the days go on, but I now only have 4 short months left at Klein Oak! I am so excited to see what these next few weeks bring and what exciting experiences I will gain. I'm still in contact with my awesome roommate for the fall, MK and we are both super excited to share our college experience together! We've even began to purchase different items for our dorm! 

More soon! 
-K

Strutter Ball!

So this weekend was Strutter ball and I had a blast with my wonderful group and date! Below are some pictures and some descriptions :)

This is a picture of the girls in our strutter ball group, I am in the white dress in the bottom center of the picture.  There ended up being 37 of us total in our group and we took a party bus to the dance all together and to Ashley's house afterwards. I didn't get home until around 2 in the morning!

This year since I was a senior, the parents came with us so the Dad's could participate in the annual father daughter dance. I am so lucky to have two amazing parents who are completely willing to do anything for me and spend their Sunday night with me. And daddy was a great dancer! We had a blast together and Mom looked amazing :)

This was my date, Mason. He was so sweet the entire night and definitely a complete gentleman! I am so glad I ended up asking him to go with me :) We had a blast and he definitely treated me like a princess :) He also got me an AWESOME corsage! It was beautiful!!!

I am really thankful to have all of these amazing people in my life! I hope y'all enjoyed all the pictures from this weekend and I will try to post more as they come :) Have a blessed day!