Wildhorse...Not to be Confused With Crazy Horse

So I am now 21...I know its pretty exciting!  The other day Emily McCarthy asked me what I was going to do for my birthday.  I hadn't really thought much about it so as a joke I said that we should go to the Wildhorse since I had never been.  Well if you know anything about Emily you know that she is all about a good party so she quickly set all the details and before I knew it my whole family (minus Graeme), Steve and Emily, and Laura were on our way downtown for some good country fun! We had a blast learning line dances and avoiding crazy drunk people. I got in free because it was my birthday and I didn't get an X on my hand (which means I am over 21 and can purchase alcohol).  So even though I didn't get any alcohol (shocking I know) I was pretty excited just to be there.  Here are some pictures from our adventures:

Wake Up Call

Well I'm feeling the stress of senior year starting to settle in. I have two papers due and two tests next week. The weekend just doesn't seem quite long enough for me to get everything done.  To make matters even worse I still haven't received one of the books I ordered from amazon.  So I am a little behind in my Romanticism class.  I definitely don't get much time to socialize because I am always trying to stay caught up with my reading.  So yes, basically I am stressed and to make matters worse I can't seem to motivate myself to focus on anything that has to do with school.  This next week is definitely going to be my senior year wake up call.  I don't feel like a senior at all so I don't think I should be having to endure all this stress one month into the semester!

My birthday was very nice.  I didn't do anything crazy like most people would on their 21st birthday.  We had some friends from Australia come stay with us for a few days so we took them sight seeing on my birthday.  We went to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Centennial Park and then downtown to see the city.  I really did have a great time and it was definitely nice to catch up with old friends.  Their son, Russell, is getting married next month so we will get to see more of the Aussies at the wedding!

The pressure is settling in!  So I thought it would be a nice break for me to drive to Searcy next weekend and see Parker!  By then I will have finished my papers and my tests and I will be ready to forget about school for awhile.  And since he has already come home once I figure it is my turn to go see him...I'm really excited, I miss him like crazy!

Well, this blog served as a great distraction from doing my homework.  I always seem to find something that takes priority over homework...and I am starting to think this is a very bad trend.

God Bless!

Hannah

Fall is in the air

God must have been happy when he created Fall. Something about the turning of the leaves and the cool gentle breeze makes me happy. It is unfortunate that this beautiful weather is wasted on the school year. It rained all weekend which was a direct result of Tropical Storm Lee. So, indeed, it was a depressing, rainy weekend but I can't hate it too much because it brought me this lovely weather. School is still about the same. My reading is beginning to pile up but now that it feels so good outside I will be able to sit out on my porch swing and catch up on all my reading.

God Bless!

Hannah

Daily Bible Verse

What a great verse! I think this is the very reason we were created. God wants us to know him and he wants to have a relationship with him. I don't know of any other religion where their god longs for his people to know him. And now our God has set up a church where we can grow and strive to be more like God in a community and family of believers. How could a person not want to believe and be apart of this wonderful gift and promise?
God Bless!

Hannah

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

Philippians 3:10

Rambling...

So today has been a pretty average day. It consisted of me sleeping till 8:30, doing a bit of homework, driving to Lipscomb and spending 40 minutes looking for a parking spot, sitting through convocation (ugh), writing a paper, going to class, attending the mandatory English Major meeting and driving back home while very sleepy. As you can tell, there is not much excitement in my days. It is definitely weird/hard not living on campus. I miss out on most/all of the drama but I also miss out on spending all day with my friends. And now that I am a senior and have a ton of reading every night, my social life is pretty much non existent at the moment. But when I really think about it I think that God is protecting me. When I lived at home last semester, it was hard, but I made all A's. I was able to focus on homework and on my classes. Since that worked last semester I can only hope that it will work this semester too!

Well I feel like I'm rambling. I'm just in a really strange mood that I'm not sure I can explain with words...so I guess we will never know! I think I need just need sleep, and I need the weekend to get here faster.

God Bless!

Hannah

Weekend Happenings...

Well I didn't have much to this weekend since I am living at home this year. I don't know if it was because my parents felt sorry for me but Saturday night we all (plus Natalie) went to the movies and saw The Help. I highly encourage everyone to go see it. It is such an inspiring story (and the clothes are really cute too). Sometimes I wish the forties and fifties style would come back. But that is besides the point. I wish I could have read the book before seeing the movie but there is no way I will have time to read any books for fun this semester. But eventually I will read the book. So if you get the chance to read the book first, do it. But you should see the movie all the same. The weekend sort of dragged by. This was a good thing and a bad thing. It gave me more time to prepare for week 2 of senior year, but it also got quite boring at times. I am officially registered for my Spanish class and Laura and I worked on our homework yesterday after church. We also spent some time filling out our Jovenes intern applications and researching good mission trip preparation books. One of our goals to prepare for Honduras is to get involved with the Hispanic church at Smyrna Church of Christ. We have been helping with the children's class for four weeks now and every week it gets a little better. The children are not used to getting attention and discipline so it has taken a while to set the ground rules. Yesterday we decided to try speaking some Spanish to them and we figured out that speaking their language helps a lot.

I am ready to knock this next week of school out! This week I get a breather in my Romanticism class. We are watching a movie for the entire class period today and then we might not even have class on Wednesday so that makes me feel tons better. Well its almost time for Spanish so I am gonna go find Laura!

God Bless!

Hannah

Wrapping up Week One

So if you didn't already know, I started my senior year on Monday. I was already not looking forward to being back in school and then when I went to my first day of classes and started suffocating I thought to myself "what have I done?". So for the first three and a half days of classes I was very negative about my semester. I began to freak myself out about the amount of work I had. After talking to several people I realized that I basically needed to just get over myself and suck it up. Yes, I will have a tough semester and a lot of homework but it is manageable and I am not the only one who is feeling all this stress. And then Dr. Hearn kindly reminded me that at least I am not taking Organic Chemistry. So it has been a rollar coaster kind of week for me.

Last night was the first Sanctuary of the semester. I am so thankful for that time set aside in the week to just forget everything for an hour and give everything to God. Sanctuary is definitely going to be one of those things getting me through my crazy semester. I know that God will not give me any task that I cannot do. So even though it may be hard and I may feel stressed out at times, God is there for me.

So I am still going to need prayers and encouragement but I think, as I end this first week of school, that I will do great this semester. I will enjoy my classes and I will learn a lot from my teachers and fellow students. I am excited to see what all happens and how it happens.

God Bless!

Hannah

Sea of Faces

There are SO many new people on campus this year. It is somewhat overwhelming. Since I am living off campus this semester I have to spend most of free time either in the student center or somewhere quiet where I can get work done. It is amazing how many people I don't know.

I am very interested to see what God does with my semester. I am extremely overwhelmed but in chapel this morning, President Lowry reminded me of God's command to "not worry". That is really going to be a struggle of mine with the hectic semester I have signed my life away to. There are so many things to worry about (grades, money, social life, spiritual life) but God says to not worry about any of it. He has everything under control. So I am really going to be praying for peace this semester. I think God is going to do great things this year...I just need to keep reminding myself of that.

Well, time for class!

God Bless!

Hannah

Fall 2011 Schedule

Well here it is! You can decide for yourself if you think it will be as stressful as I think it will be...

MWF
12 - Spanish I
1pm - History of British Literature II
3pm - Seminar: Romanticism

TR
10:55 - Chapel
2:45 - Fiction as Genre
4:10 - Seminar: The American South

Beginning of the End

So, I'm not gonna lie...this semester might just kill me. Don't get me wrong, I love my classes but they are all extremely reading AND writing intensive. My life for the next three months will be reading and writing and then a little more reading. I guess I kinda expected senior year to be like this. And I especially knew it would be like this for me since I am trying to squeeze a bunch of English classes into three semesters. So for the past two days I have been so overwhelmed and stressed and pretty negative. But today I decided that if I keep that kind of attitude, it is just going to make this semester worse. So I am going to do what doesn't always come naturally to me and think positive. It is true that I am very excited about the classes I am taking and the teachers I have. I am going to be reading a lot of good books and learning some really neat things. So I will have that to look forward to this semester. Hopefully I will try to blog more this semester and maybe venting on here will get me through all the stress that is going to pile up in a few months.

But...this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.

God Bless!

Hannah

Last Days of Summer

Well, school starts on Monday. I'm not exactly sure how to feel about it. I am really excited about my classes, I think I will have a good semester school wise. But with the end of summer comes having to say goodbye. Parker left this morning for Harding. Saying goodbye last night was tough...tougher than I ever thought it would be. He is on his way to Harding as I write this, I know he will have a great time!

Still waiting for a complete thumbs up on my Spanish class, but I have high hopes and I know that God is on my side so I'm not too worried :). I have decided to go back to an active status in my social club, Delta Omega. I am ready to be a part of my friends lives. I had a tough Spring semester and I am ready to erase it from my memory and move on. As hard as this semester is gonna be, I have been praying about it and I know God is going to do amazing things! I still have to get all my books, but I am probably going to end up waiting until the last minute as usual.

It's beautiful outside today...a little hot but the sun is shining and my sunflower continues to grow (I planted a sunflower a couple weeks about and it is growing as tall as ever)! I will post a picture of it soon! Tonight I am taking Graeme to his cross country meet. Hopefully I will run the 5k tonight. I am running the Murfreesboro Half Marathon in October so I really need to get serious about my training. But first thing is first, I need to get some good running shoes. I guess that is on the schedule for this weekend...along with hopefully getting a new computer. Well that's all I really have to say right now!

God Bless!

Hannah

Gotta Get Down on Friday!

Seeing as this is my last day at HCA, I am an excited mess! I have never been more ready to be done with work. So naturally, the day that I am all happy because of the last day of work, everyone (literally almost everyone I know) goes out of town. To make things even worse most of them are on my church's In-Tents Worship trip. Just so you know, this is probably one of the most fun, exciting, adventurous, Spiritually uplifting trips the youth group/college takes every year. For literally weeks I had been getting excited thinking that the trip was next weekend so my play would be over and I would get to go...but no of course not! I am stuck at home by myself all weekend. At least I have my play to keep me occupied. This is the last weekend and of course it is bittersweet. Being in plays always gives my self esteem a boost (even though I am playing a girl who is supossed to be plain and boring...hope I wasn't type casted).

Started to attempt to buy my school books today. I have a ton of stinkin books that I need this semester! But seriously..I have at least six books per class and I am taking five classes. You do the math. I really do think this is going to be a good semester. I am a little apprehensive about seeing some people and about getting back into the swing of things, as normal. Plus, this is my senior year so I feel like I will be constantly stressing about something. I can't even begin to think of how scary it is that in a year I will hopefully be getting back from Honduras and beginning to start a new stage of life. But, just seeing all the amazing things God has done for me this past year, I am not too terribly worried.

Spanish Bible verse of the week:

"Ya te lo he ordenado: Se fuerte y valiente! No tengas miedo ni te desanimes! Porque el Senor tu Dios te acompanara dondequiera que vayas."          - Josue 1:9

Preparation and Focus

So I am going to try to blog some of my journey to prepare myself for next summer. Laura and I have written out pretty detailed goals and objectives for the next year. We do not want this trip to creep up on us. I really think that God has had a hand in my decision to work in Honduras next summer. Later on today I am going to blog some about the actual trip. One thing that really stood out to me during our week in Honduras was how close we were able to get to the Hondurans on the brigade. I think that the container not being released was all part of the plan. So anyways I am trying to really work on my Spanish. I was recently given a Spanish/English Bible and it is really helping me. I have been memorizing versus in Spanish so I am not only getting practice in the language but I am able to really think about what the versus are saying. On August 1, Laura and I will begin teaching the children's class for the Hispanic congregation on Sundays. I am really nervous/excited about this. I think it will be very good for me to go out of my comfort zone and actually use the Spanish I have learned. Ana Maria always says that the best way to get comfortable with Spanish is to use it. Every time I see her she makes me recite a verse and speak some Spanish to her. I love being held accountable. Throughout the year we are going to try to keep ourselves focused on our longtime goal. Although there will be times when we get caught up in life and school, we want to remain focused and we want to make sure that we are prepared. I really think this is going to be a good year. Even though I wish it would just go fast (or that I could just skip my senior year) I think that God has great things planned for this year. More info on my Honduras trip later. About to leave work!

God Bless!

Hannah

Mission Statement and Life

So this topic was recently brought up in my church's college class. What is a mission statement? And what does it mean to have one? One thing I have really focused on this past year is living each day with a purpose, granted it is harder than it looks. It is so easy to get caught up in the daily routine and to forget what is really important. Even things that appear to be good can become a distraction; things like work and school. So how cool would it be to have a mission statement for life? Just something that you could write down and keep in your wallet or purse. It seems a little silly to me but the more I think about it the more sense it makes. It would be so much easier to live with a purpose if that purpose was clearly written down and thought out. So...needless to say, that is my homework for the week. I am going to write myself a mission statement!

So...anyway. This is my last week of work! This summer has gone by so extremely slow but I almost can't believe it is over! I have literally been sitting in an office all summer doing...well doing nothing. So I can't really imagine what I will do with myself when I don't have to get up and go to work everyday. Hopefully I will be somewhat productive...but I doubt it. Tangent...I am a senior in college. When this thought crosses my mind all I can think of is the little boy coming home from the dentist saying, "Is this real life?". I have no idea where the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday I was a freshman in college turning eighteen and me and my friends were running around campus with birthday maracas singing happy birthday at the top of their lungs. A lot has changed since then but it still only seems like yesterday. It kinda makes me wonder how different things will be in another three years. Crazy! Well...I guess I am gonna get to bed. Work tomorrow, gonna suck...but then again I only have to do this for one more week! Goodnight all!

God bless!

Hannah

Life In General

So life is good (except for the fact that I have been shut up in an office all summer). Granted at least they put three of us girls together. If I was working in this department by myself I don't think I would have made it this long. Hailey and Kelsey have definitely made things alot less boring. Luckily we all hit it off pretty quick (thanks to our obsession with Pretty Little Liars). But seriously, that show has been a lifesaver this summer. It's always the go to conversation when we are desperately bored. Just the other day we figured out how to access twitter and facebook on our work computers and that has definitely helped the overlying boredom we experience every day. So other than reading about our favorite celeb stars and the movies they are currently in and making, we have each had our own things that we do. I have been frantically trying to get into the Elementary Spanish I class. Since Laura and I are planning on spending all of next summer in Honduras we could really use some Spanish lessons. And I am thinking, "well I have to have a language to graduate so...why not Spanish?"! Who would have thought it would be so difficult to get into a class. Apparently they like to keep the classes at 18 students per class. My thoughts are..."what difference will one person make?". Well, I finally got a hold of the teacher and I think he is going to help me out. And so...our desperation to find some sort of entertainment continues. We listen to interviews of Tom Felton, listen to Glee music, watch Pretty Little Liar clips, and still it is only 2:30. I never realized how long a day could last! So the fam is at Six Flags today...totally jealous! The second weekend of my play is this weekend. Hopefully we will have a better turn out. It is a really good play, it is just hard to fill up the seats. Unfortunately this play is causing me to miss In-Tents. I am super bummed...but oh well...what can I do? Once more week of this internship. We can make it! Not sure yet what I will do for two weeks in August but I am sure I will find something! Well that's about all I have to say for now! Peace!

God Bless,

Hannah

It's True What They Say...Time Flies When You Are Having Fun

So I kinda slacked off on my blogging during last Spring semester. Yes, it was the beginning of many great changes in my life but it was also very hectic and I didn't always have time to get on and blog. So needless to say, I am going to start blogging more often. Alrighty, school wrapped up nicely! For the first time in my college career I got straight A's! Makes me wonder why I didn't decide to be an English major from the beginning. Oh well, I guess some lessons are only learned the hard way. During the school year I tried refocusing everything in my life. I felt like I woke up one day and I was on some strange road a hundred miles away from where I needed to be. So many good things happened last semester but there were definitely some things I regret. I purposefully pushed myself off the face of the earth. I thought it would be better for me to be safe then have to explain to everyone why I am making so many changes in my life. Bad idea. All that got me was a semi-lonely semester and a gas bill out the roof (I moved back home and commuted to school every day). So finals went well and, like I said before, I passed every class with an A! Snaps for me! I had a week of summer break before I was packing my bags and hopping on a plane to Washington State with a bunch of other Lipscomb kids to learn about saving the earth and hugging trees. It was definitley an experience to remember. I met a lot of new and interesting people and I got to check another state and geographical location off my bucket list. Come to find out...I also made A's in both my travel course classes! More snaps for me! One more week of summer break and...HCA internship starts (read previous blog for more info on how that experience has been). One week into the internship I was once again packing my bags and hopping on a plane. But this time I was headed to Honduras with some of the most amazing people I have ever met! Maybe some day I will put some clippets from my Honduras journal on a blog. It is just too hard to put into words what it is like to be in Honduras. So my advice to you would be...hop on a plane and go see for yourself! On arriving back in the states, Laura Burgess and I decided that next summer we are going to be interns at Jovenes en Camino. We fell in love with the country, the language, and the culture. We want to make Honduras and the people there a bigger part of our lives. And now here I am today, sitting in an office that makes me want to pull my hair out. One and a half weeks left and then I have most of August to enjoy my summer break! School starts on the 22nd. Can't wait! I am taking four English classes and hopefully Spanish. Well...that's all for now. So glad to be blogging again!

God bless!

Hannah

PLI aka Pretty Little Interns

Well yes indeed it has been a long time...I will catch  you up on all the details later but for now I thought I would post some fun from my summer internship...

So I thought I would take this moment to blog about some of our exciting adventures in the office (well I guess you can call them adventures). Day One: the three of us innocent little interns get plummeted by the nastiness of corporate America. We find out that our boss likes to purposefully set his employees up for failure and pop his head in our office every five min with a new life lesson, the entire department are hard core democrats, one of the lady's told us about her nipple rings, and they each have extremely awkward personalities. Week Three: Kelsey, Hailey, and I have discovered our mutual obsession with Pretty Little Liars. So instead of being completely miserable at work we decided to start leaving messages from A (hopefully you know about pretty little liars or I might have to disown you as a friend). We then invented our own little world where we were the pretty little interns and I am Hanna Marin, Kelsey is Spencer Hastings, and Hailey is Aria Montgomery (we decided to ignore Emily Fields who likes her story anyway?) Week Four: we are starting to run low on things to do to make our days go by fast. So...we decided to take up the task of stalking every hot guy we could find. What did we find? A beautiful but completely arrogant rich guy we named Wilogan, an cutie that we first spotted while I was warming up my food in the cafeteria (we call him hot Microwave guy), and a tall hot intern perfect for Kelsey (we don't know much about him other than he is friends with hot Microwave guy and he plays tennis). Haha...yes what can I say? We can get bored! Week five: I don't remember much about this week but I can assure you that our creepy stalking continued on. Because of my unnatural obsession with Harry Potter we began researching the actors and finding out fun facts. For more info check out kelsey's blog kelseyannej.blogspot.com it's pretty enlightening. And finally after catching you up on six weeks of this eventful internship...week seven: we continue to procrastinate our presentations that we have to present on friday. Instead we browse the interweb and twitter for all the latest juicy gossip on pll, Casey Anthony, and any other fun celeb info. Our bosses probably think we are crazy but what they don't know is that if we weren't acting like this we literally would go crazy!

So yeah, that's my internship so far. Enjoyable? Not exactly. Will I be glad when it's over? Absolutely. Will I miss all the crazy stuff we got away with all summer? My guilty answer...yep!

Honduras - Day 7

Well today was definitely an emotion-packed day. Today we were finally faced with the fact that we were going to have to say goodbye to these people and that today was our last full day to spend with them. We all woke up with that bitter thought hanging in the air. I quickly tried pushing it from my mind. I was determined that I wouldn't let it affect the rest of my day. We got to sleep in till about eight this morning which was very exciting and much needed. We drove to the clinic to load up the very last of the food bags.

 Mr. Greg explained that we were going to be passing out the food bags at the landfill. He told us that being at the landfill is very dangerous and that the girls would not even be allowed out of the vans. This had us all freaked out but we loaded into the vans and drove up to the landfill. Upon pulling into the entrance we could almost immediately smell all the trash. We looked up in the sky and there were hundreds of buzzards circling the trash. When we finally made it up to the top we were finally able to see the utter desperation of the people. We saw one dump truck full of trash pull up and the children began jumping onto this moving trash truck and digging through it for whatever they could find. Mr. Greg says that people will try collecting certain things (plastic, metal, glass) to try and get some money for it. Off in the distance we saw little tents set up right on the trash where the people lived. When the guys started handing out the food I was scared for a minute that a riot would start. We saw a couple of fights start but the guards stopped them pretty quick. But there was one thing that, to this day, still amazes me. There was a group of people off to the side and when we arrived they were standing in a circle holding hands. Mr. Greg later told us that a missionary had been working with them and that they were praying. When we began handing out food these people had not finished their prayer. They stood there praying while the rest of the people fought for a better place in line. When they finished the prayer they were at the end of the line. It brought me such joy to see where they placed their faith. God was more important than their desperate conditions. When we finally began to pull out the people began to chase our trucks and vans hoping to get more food. They chased us all the way down the hill. This was definitely one of the hardest and scariest things we had to do.

On our way to Jovenes we stopped at a gas station to get some lunch. We were hoping to make it a quick stop but it ended up taking forever. So me, Laura, Chelsea, Gavin, Shrek and Adam got to hang out. Adam told us that if we had time today he would take us for a ride on his motorcycle! We got to Jovenes and as usual, we didn't have anything to do. So me, Laura, Emily, Abby, Shrek, Johnny, Adam and Marvin drove over to the ranch to pick up some more mangos. If you haven't already figured this out, we ate a lot of mangos during the week. While we were there, the guys decided to start a mango fight. The girls got out of the line of fire and watched the guys goof off. After we had picked all the mangos we could carry we drove down the road to one of Adam's friend's house to get a motorcycle. I was, of course, freaking out because I had no helmet and we were on a bumpy dirt road in Honduras. But Adam was very careful while I was riding with him and I could tell he knew what he was doing. So I can now officially say that my first time on a motorcycle was on a dirt rode in Honduras! When we got back Laura, Emily and I decided to dress up in the guards stuff...we were decked out from head to toe in Honduran military garb!

We had to leave Jovenes at 4:30 so we would have time to get back to the hotel and get ready for the banquet. The ride back to the hotel was bittersweet. We had a great time laughing and singing but we also knew that this would be our last van ride with Adam and Shrek. But we made the most of things and we made it one of the best rides yet! We got back to the hotel and took showers and got ourselves all ready for the banquet. We had such a great time at the banquet. Everyone dressed up and we even had a Mariachi Band come and play music for us while we ate. It was Edward's 20th birthday so we got him a cake and a card and we sang happy birthday to him. He teared up a little which, of course, made us all tear up. Once the dinner was over we all took pictures together and said our last goodbyes to the ones we wouldn't see in the morning. We played cards for a while that night and we finally went to bed...not ready for the trip home.

God really worked on this trip. Looking back I realize that, at first, it did not meet my expectations. I thought we would be super busy all the time and constantly doing something. Instead we got to spend our downtime with people like Adam, and Gladys who may now be totally different people because of the time we spent just talking to them. I really see how God used the power of relationships this week. He really showed me how you don't have to be building a house a day to do His will. Everything we learned on this trip inspired me and Laura to come back for the whole summer next summer. We want to work with these people again but for a longer period of time. We have already started planning how we will make it happen. I really think God is going to great things and I am excited to see what those things are.

Honduras - Day 6

This will probably be my longest entry...just preparing you. But you should definitely keep reading!|

Outside of the Basillica

At this point in the trip all of my days start running together. For the most part they all start and end the same way. This morning after breakfast, before we headed to the clinic we stopped at the Basillica. It was a beautiful cathedral. We sang several songs and the acoustics were amazing. It was a very spiritual time for everyone. We all got to reflect on the trip so far and spend precious time in a very spiritual place. It was a great way to start off the day!

Inside the Basillica

After the clinic we headed to the clinic to collect some more food bags. By this point we could all drive to the clinic with our eyes shut (and that's saying something because driving in Honduras is a death sentence). We definitely built up some arm muscle lifting and loading the food bags every morning. Of course we all kept getting distracted because we were playing the punching games (you punch someone in the arm and they have to pass it on). It is actually a very convenient game when you don't speak the same language as someone. Today we are passing out food bags to members of the church in Zamerano. So after loading the bags, we loaded ourselves into the vans and drove to the Church of Christ in Zamerano. We got to the church early so we decided to play some games. Of course we have to teach the Honduras our crazy American games. So we started playing tag...but that got old after about 10 minutes (it was extremely hot and sunny). So we taught them big booty and ninja. Walter got a huge kick out of the games...he said he is going to teach them to his kids. We also attempted a human pyramid but as usual, it didn't turn out very well. This was another example of God's purpose for our trip. We got to spend the morning building relationships with the Hondurans just by playing silly games and running around.

Ninja!

Attempted Pyramid

When it was finally time to start handing out food bags, Laura and I jumped in the back of the truck! We had been dying to ride in the back of the truck all week, so we weren't going to pass up the opportunity again. We drove down the dirt road in Zamerano handing out food to the church families. I was once again amazed at how differently the people live over here. It makes me sad and sometimes angry, but at the same time there is something appealing about living with the bare essentials and being able to thank God for taking care of you.

Handing out food bags

After we had handed out all the food, we drove back to Jovenes. Once again we (the girls) had nothing to do. The guys were still finishing up some construction at Jovenes, so the girls walked (AnaMaria and I ran) to the ranch to pick some more mangos! This time we brought some bags so we could pick some to fix for the all the boys at Jovenes. When we got back we decided it was time for a break so we all sat around the pool and just hung out. It was another one of those moments that, looking back, I thank God for. Out of no where, Adam decided it would be funny to push Walter in the pool. We all instantly join in the fun and after a little struggle from Walter, we got him in the pool! We were all laughing and not paying attention, because before I knew it, Walter had gotten out of the pool and was attempting to push me in! After a minute of a struggle I realized that he was going to win so I gave in and fell into the pool. The water felt amazing and I was definitely glad that I decided to let him push me in. Walter followed through by pushing Emily, Nixy, Laura, and AnaMaria in the pool with me. We immediately thought about pushing Adam in (since he was the reason we were all now in pool) but he was going on a date later that night and had nice clothes on. So instead we just basked in the moment (and in the sun).

When we finally decide to get out we remembered that we didn't have any changes of clothes and the clothes we were currently wearing were soaked! So Laura, Emily and I to on a hunt for a dryer so we could dry our clothes. Our hunt ended when we found a dryer in the Casa Verde (Green House). We attempted to explain to the house mom what had happened. With a lot of sign language and poor Spanish, she gave us some of her clothes to wear while our clothes dried. The clothes she gave us looked ridiculous so we just decided to wait there at the dorm until our clothes were dry. While we were waiting we ended up teaching Gladys, the house mom, how to play Bunco. What a God thing! When we think of Jovenes we think about all the boys and how we can form relationships with them; we never think about the workers that spend every day serving the boys. We were so blessed to spend that hour getting to know Gladys. Shortly after our clothes finished drying the group loaded back up into the vans to go to dinner.

Laura, Emily and I in Glady's clothes

Dinner tonight was at an authentic taco restaurant. It was definitely my favorite place we ate at all week.

Honduras - Day 5

After a crazy long day yesterday we were all a bit weary about waking at the early hour of 7am. As usual we went downstairs for breakfast and chatted with the guards for a bit. The construction crew left to build a house earlier (they had a lot to do before the day was over). The rest of us went to the clinic to get some of the food bags to pass out to a small village in Tegucigalpa. When we got to the village my heart was completely broken. I am pretty sure I cried while I passed out the food. The roads were all dirt, there were cows walking in the street, kids running around barefooted, children crying and people screaming. The smell of urine mixed with rotten fruit and dirty water reeked throughout the whole village. We would knock on each door (except each door was a sheet or a piece of cardboard) and hand them a bag of food and say "Dios le Bendiga", and "Iglesia de Cristo". The people would come up to us in the street get their food bag and then run back to their house to change their clothes, in hopes that we would give them another bag. When we were out of food bags the people came up and basically swarmed our vans. Mr. Greg says they will always get upset when we have to leave. Going to this village made me think. It inspired me to write a book (but that is for another time and another blog). I was upset all through lunch but it was good to get a break from the heartbreaking situations going on all around us.

Boy at the village where we handed out food bags

After lunch we went to INFA. It is an orphanage run by the Honduran government. It is in really bad shape but at least it is their attempt to help the children. We handed out Beanie Babies to all the kids and we handed out the dresses that Emily's service group made. The girls felt like princesses after we left. The infant house had me crying, once again. You could see how all these babies needed was some love and affection. They would stop crying when we picked them up and they would just sit with us and they were happy for the few minutes we were there. We then moved on to the older girls and they all ran up to us and gave us hugs and kisses. They were so grateful for us being there. Even though they didn't speak English, you could see it on their faces that they were happy and thankful. Being able to brighten these children's day put a smile on my face and a warmth in my heart. We left INFA and we headed back down the long road to Jovenes.

Some of the group at INFA

On arriving at Jovenes, we didn't have anything else planned for the day. We were basically waiting on the construction crew to finish up and meet us at Jovenes. So...Ana Maria, Laura, Edward, Erylin and I decided to go to the ranch and pick mangos for us and all the construction people. Ana Maria taught us how to climb the trees and pick the mangos. This was another one of those moments that God gave us to build relationships with the guards and with Ana Maria. God knew what he was doing when he brought Ana Maria on this trip. She has been such an amazing example to Laura and I. There were several times on the trip when I told her that I want to be just like her when I am older. She is so selfless and she is such a joy to be around. She always has an adventure up her sleeve...just the way I like it! The mangos were so fresh and we learned that the best way to eat them is to cut them into slices and let them sit in the refrigerator for a while. I am definitely going to miss the mangos when I get back to the United States.

Walking to the ranch

Climbing the Mango trees

Honduras - Day 4

One of the dorms at Jovenes en Camino

What a wonderful weekend the Lord blessed us with. We had a few days of work, a wonderful day of rest and we are all acquainted and ready for the week ahead of us. Today has been, by far the busiest day. We had an early start, and after breakfast and a quick prayer we drove to the clinic to get construction supplies to take to Jovenes en Camino. Our next stop on the way to Jovenes was the open market. We needed to get food supplies  for one of the ladies who was cooking the food that we were going to hand out at the hospital. Walter and Mr. Greg felt that the open market was something we needed to experience (they have no idea just how wrong they were). I do not have enough words to describe this place other than "horrendously smelly". The guys decided to take us through the meat section. There were flies everywhere due to the raw meat hanging from the ceiling in ninety degree weather. There were slimy animal parts everywhere and half of them were a mystery to me. It was extremely crowded so we had to hold onto each other for fear that we might get lost in the middle of a hallway of pig carcasses. There was dirt and bugs on everything and the people would walk around barefooted. I cannot even imagine what kind of diseases and sicknesses you could get. So of course we practically bathed in hand sanitizer while the guys purchased the things they came for.

We finally got back to the vans and we headed off to Jovenes! Our van decided to take a detour at the mall to get soccer balls for the boys at Jovenes. While we were there we decided to get some lunch. After about an hour we finally pulled onto the long and beautiful road in Zamerano; miles and miles of beautiful farmland and mountains in the distance. And finally I saw Jovenes for the first time in two years. Jovenes is one of my favorite places to go in Honduras. I just love seeing all the boys and playing with them. Today we mostly played cards and volleyball. There are several of the boys who are in bi-lingual school, so they could speak some English. They definitely had the advantage when we were playing cards. They wouldn't tell us they could speak English so they could understand what we were saying but then they would end up being able to trick us. Of course they always won every game.

Working with the youngest boys

 After a while Chelsea and I decided to take a break and go sit under the pavilion with the guards. Hector started showing us how they do push-ups in the Honduran military and so Chelsea decided to try one. Well she slipped and ended up cutting her leg. When she first stood up it didn't look too bad but then the blood came...and it wouldn't stop. Emily went and found Frank and Martha Warren (the doctor's on the trip) while I took her into the office at Jovenes to wait for them. When Frank and Martha saw the cut they immediately knew that it would need stitches. She only needed three but it was still exciting to watch. They gave her a shot to numb her leg and then went to work...right there in Suyapa's office! Chelsea, of course, was freaking out but it was over in no time.

After Jovenes we drove to Wendy's for dinner. Wendy's was always the go to place to eat. We ate there several times during the week. Laura and I sat with Erylin and Edward. We all had so much fun trying to figure out what each other was talking about. We definitely improved our Spanish during the week. We all finished up our food and drove over to the hospital to pass out food, water and toys. This was the first really emotional thing we had to do on the trip. It was extremely hard to walk down the halls and see all the hurt and disease. There were people asleep on the hallway floors and patients on stretchers lining the halls. Babies were crying, people were so sick and the floors and walls were covered with dirt. It seemed like the people could get more sick just from being there. All the people were very grateful and we would tell them, "Dios le Bendigo", which means "God bless you". The group I was in handed out food in the emergency room and then another group went to the children's and women's ward. They had a really hard time seeing all the sick women and children. I can hardly imagine how hard it was for the mothers in the group. We all said a prayer before we left and we sang two songs before heading back to the hotel.

It was a long day but it was filled with the presence of God!

Honduras - Day 3

So after two intense days of working in the heat we got to take our day of rest. They let us sleep in so we had a slow morning getting up. Me, Chelsea and Laura shared a hotel room and we were on the west side of the building so the sun didn't shine through our window in the morning, so we never wanted to get up. We quickly ate our breakfast and we loaded up into the vans. This morning we are going to the Jesus statue for worship. Up in the hills around Tegucigalpa is a Jesus statue that is holding his hands out. It is such an amazing thing to look up and see Jesus every morning. When we got up the mountain we found that the Jesus statue is in the middle of a beautiful park. The view was absolutely breathtaking. As we looked for a place to sit down and have worship we noticed many other groups of people that were singing songs and having services. We finally found a nice place in the shade and we sat down to begin our worship. Worshiping with people of another language and culture is such an amazing experience. Even though we speak different languages, we are still brothers and sisters in Christ. We all have that one unifying thing in common. We had a great service singing, taking communions, reading scripture and listening to the words of Mr. Greg. Once we finished they gave us twenty minutes to walk around and look at the park. While we were walking we saw this guy and it looked like he was shooting a music video. We heard a little squeal and turned around to see Shrek hyperventilating. He told us that this guy (Divino) was a very famous singing in Central America. So we took a picture of him and watched him sing and film his music video.

Jesus Statue

 View from the 'Jesus' Mountain

Shrek and Divino

We all had a great time at the park but once we were done, it was time to drive to the Valley of Angels. Shopping! The Valley of Angels is a very popular tourist shopping area where you can find almost anything.  We only got to shop for about an hour but it was still a lot of fun. I ended up buying some Honduran sandals, a colored hairband, and a Honduras bracelet. We just had a lot of fun hanging out with our guards (Alfredo and Hector) and Shrek. Once again, we continued to deepen our bonds with the Hondurans. It seems like God gave us a different opportunity every day to get closer to the people of Honduras. It was definitely a beautiful day for shopping and being outside. We finished shopping and loaded into the vans to drive back to Zamerano for evening church. But...on the way back our brakes overheated and we had to pull over for about thirty minutes to let them cool off. It was pretty hot outside and we just happened to pull over next to big pile of rotten mangos. Needless to say we were not too happy about this slight detour.

We finally made it to church about forty-five minutes late. The service was all in Spanish which was so neat to listen to. Just looking around at the congregation, I could tell how excited they were about God and His word. We hung around awhile after church while Adam and Shrek went to get a new van. Emily and I attempted to talk to some of the people from the church. They didn't speak English so we did our best with the little Spanish we knew and had picked up during the three days we were there. But we could figure just about everything out with the phrase, "Como se dice...en Ingles?". We left Zamerano and drove to the Chinese restaurant near our hotel. We had a crazy time at dinner. We began throwing paper and spit wads at each other (which became a tradition that we would do at just about every meal). Though they would never admit it, Jeff Liddle and Walter were the masterminds behind it all.

Valley of the Angels Shopping

A group of children from the church in Zamerano

What a wonderful blessing today was! We got to spend the entire Lord's day with friends from another country enjoying the simplicity of life. It was so refreshing. God is SO good.

Honduras - Day 2

Still getting used to the jet lag. I woke up around 4:30 just as ready to go as ever! But I ended up using this time to pray and focus my thoughts on what I was on this trip for. When everyone finally got up and got ready we went downstairs and ate our first of many Honduran breakfasts. This consisted of bread, eggs, fruit, and re-fried beans (yes they eat beans at ever meal...I guess I should get over my dislike of beans). After a prayer and a song we loaded up into the vans and headed to Zamorano. Adam was our driver and we all instantly loved him! He lived in California for fifteen years but when he went through a divorce he moved back to Honduras, met Walter and got a job driving the vans for our brigade. And yes, I fully believe that that was a God thing. Also in our van was Nahum who Mr. Greg calls Shrek. Of course "Shrek" stuck with everyone and that is what we called him the rest of the trip. He also spoke English so he was another one we ended up bonding with over the course of the week.

We got to the church and Laura and I helped set up the clinic. Then for about thirty minutes Hector (the doctor) taught us how to take blood pressure, check the lungs for infection, and how to give shots! Only in Honduras can you learn how to be a nurse in thirty minutes and then spend the rest of the day seeing patients. It was amazing! We ended up seeing over two hundred patients. This whole experience really made me appreciate my health and my ability to see a doctor on a regular basis. Hector explained to us that the doctors in Honduras would see patients, tell them what was wrong, but then not be able to provide them with a cure or even a prescription. The patients would come in and Hector would ask them some questions and then Laura and I would check their vitals and basically do whatever Hector told us. If they had an infection we would give them a shot of amoxicillin. We saw patients for nine hours straight. We didn't even take a break for lunch. It was amazing how I didn't even get hungry. I was so focused on helping these people and working with Hector that I didn't even think about eating. After all the patients were through, I had Hector check ears because they were still bothering me from the flight. So...he diagnosed me with an ear and sinus infection, who would have thought!

Checking vitals at the clinic

VBS for the kids

It was a long, hot and tiring day but it was such a blessing to help all those people. But of course, we were not the only ones working all day. There was also a group working in the pharmacy. Hector would fill out a prescription, give it to the patient and they would go over to the pharmacy where they would receive their medicine. There was also a group putting on a VBS for the kids. God was definitely present today. Just seeing the smiles on the people's faces when they go to see a doctor, warmed my heart. I was so blessed to be in the presence of such gracious people. After we cleaned up, we loaded up into the vans and drove back to the hotel. The drive back was much quieter because we were all so tired. We dropped some people off at the hotel and then a group of us went to Pizza Hut for dinner. We had a really fun night that ended up with a mini food fight that, of course, was started by Shrek and Walter. Day 2 and we are already enjoying the company of the Hondurans and feeling a peace about the work we have already done.

Honduras - Day 1

Well the day has finally arrived! I am finally on my way back to Honduras. I know that God had a reason for having me wait a year to go back. We got up nice and early (3:00 am). Emily McCarthy (who didn't sleep at all the night before because she was so excited/nervous about her first visit to a third world country), met us at our house and within ten or fifteen minutes of us waking up we were headed to the church to meet the rest of the group. I knew that I would forget something and, sure enough, I got to the church and realized I left my camera at the house. Luckily we now live five minutes from the church so mom took me back to get it. James Watson helped us load all our luggage onto the church bus and after saying our goodbyes and piling into the bus we were finally on our way to the airport. Despite it being 3:30, I was so awake and so excited! I just knew that God was going to work wonders during the week. As usual we got to the airport early and it still took us forever to get through baggage and security. Luckily we all made it through without having to be patted down or double checked. We sat at our gate and drank our Starbucks. I was suddenly overcome with happiness. I was with great friends and my sister and I was about to spend a whole week serving God and the people of  Honduras. What a great life God has blessed me with.

We finally boarded our flight to Miami. I normally have no problems flying but for some reason the pressure really bothered my ears; not to mention the fact that we were on the tiniest airplane I have ever been on. Seriously though, the plane only held one hundred people. I sat with Chelsea and she was a little nervous at first, since this was her first time flying since she was about four years old. Once the plane got in the air, she was finally able to enjoy the experience. Flying is one of the strangest/exhilarating things you could do! It never gets old! We had an hour and a half layover in Miami so we played cards. Then the funniest thing happened. There was this man sitting next to where we were playing cards. He asked us what we were going to Honduras for. We told him that we were going on a mission trip for the next week. Come to find out, his daughter is Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl/Country Strong/A lot of other movies). We told him we were from Nashville and he was like, "Oh yeah my daughter just got done filming a movie there. She is in Country Strong". We were thinking she was an extra or something but when he told us her name our jaws dropped. What were the odds that he would be going to Honduras. Turns out he had some business stuff to do in Tegucigalpa. Crazy! The flight to Tegucigalpa was an exciting one. It was finally hitting me that I was about to be in one of my favorite places on earth. I squealed, to Emily's surprise when I saw the mountains of Honduras coming into view.

Walter and the guards met us at the airport and helped us load our luggage into the extremely shady vans. But its okay because the vans end up being one of the best parts of the trip. Our first stop was the Hotel Excelsior (our wonderful home for the week). After spending about an hour resting in our surprisingly nice hotel room, we met the rest of the gang to find out the rest of the plans for the day. That is the one thing I love about Honduras...you never really know what you are doing until the last minute. It definitely makes things more exciting. We were surprised when we met our guards that one of them spoke decent English. His name was Alfredo and we all bonded with him right away (mostly because we could actually talk to him, unlike the other guards). The other guards were Hector, Erlyin, and Edward. They were all shy but as the week went on they definitely warmed up to us. We decided to go eat lunch at Wendy's where Emily cracked us all up trying to speak Spanish to the guards. The poor guys had to think we were crazy. And finally we headed to the Medical clinic where we bagged 500 food bags. Handing these bags out would end up being one of our daily tasks. Alfredo helped Laura and I bag the beans and in one of the bags we found a dead mouse and that had us all freaking out and laughing. Needless to say, after only a few hours of being in Honduras we were already  bonding with the people there. And if you decide to read about the rest of this trip, you will find out that bonding with the Hondurans was the reason God sent us on this trip. God is already working through our group. We are going to do amazing things through His name.

Medical Clinic were we bagged 500 bags of food.

It's Been a Long Time

I haven't posted a blog in such a long time! I have been so busy and I haven't even realized it until today.

I got to see my grandmother yesterday. She looked so good and so happy! They had an 11:00 church service that we got to attend with her. After the service we had lunch and then we just got to spend time with her till 4:00. We had such an incredible time! She was so happy to see us and we were more than happy to see her! The facility is so beautiful and all the people there are so nice! She couldn't be in a better place right now.

This is a side note and it is just me venting so feel free not to read this part haha.
These past four months I have realized the damage and hurt that alcohol can bring into a family and into a person's life. It can literally tear a person apart and severely hurt a family. It makes me wonder if people realize the damage that a little bit of fun and a little bit of a 'buzz' can do to a person. It can consume a person and being consumed with anything other than God is so dangerous. So why do it? Why risk judgment, behavior, personality, brain cells, and relationships? Why give up all those things for the little bit of 'so called peace' that alcohol can give you.
After seeing what it can do, it just makes me angry to see alcohol in stores and on the menus. GRAB A COKE if you need something other than water. 
And why has our culture accepted something so hurtful so easily. It is just assumed that on a person's 21 birthday they will get a drink just because they can. But does our culture think about what that assumption might do to that person later on in life? It just seems like we have stopped using our brains!

Ok I am done venting now!

God bless!

Not My Will But Yours Be Done

It's been awhile since my last post and it has been mostly because of normal, everyday business. I am starting to get numerous amounts of reading from all of my classes and so that has been taking up a considerable amount of my time. I also started my training to run the Music City Half Marathon! It is definitely going to be a journey.

God is teaching me a lot right now and it is mostly that He has a plan and that my plan isn't nearly as good. Just when I start to take a step in my own direction, God steps in and says, "That's not exactly what I had planned". But I am slowly being able to see the difference between my plans and God's plans. Most of the time,  the only difference is that God's plans are not my natural 'first picks'. He is teaching me to give up control...so that is what I am trying to do.


That's all for now.

God bless!

True Success

It is interesting to me how people get so wrapped up in the materialistic life and what is considered 'the norm' for today's world. Right now I am reading a book series called "Linage of Grace" by Francine Rivers.  It is five different stories about women in the Bible and how their lives fit into the bigger picture. But what has me thinking lately is how different our lives are today compared to the lives of the people in this book. Even just one hundred years ago life was so much more simple than today. Sometimes I wonder how the world got focused on independence and materialism. It seems like all that's important in this life is to get an education, get a good job, make money and climb the ladder of success.The confusing part is, how does that all fit into God's will?

When do we get so caught up in our daily life that we forget God's will and pursue our own will. I wonder if human kind has really been like this since the beginning. Have humans always been more consumed with success, power and money than with love, relationships and peace? I know one person can't change the world, but if I could I would try to help people understand that material things and earthly power isn't what is going to last. Our relationships with people are ultimately going to last.

I don't have it all figured out, but I do know that the world does not offer what humans long for.

God bless!

One Week Down

And so this wraps up a long and very exciting week! The first week of my last semester before being a senior. I can hardly believe it! God continues to amaze me. Last semester was probably one of the lowest times of my life. Instead of being angry with God, I clung to him and I am so glad I did. He has taught me so much and I have grown a lot too. I always new that this year would be a good one, and it has started out in my favor!

So, this week I began as a biology major, had a change in heart, switched to an English major and I now feel peace about my life.

God Bless!

"Press On Toward the Goal"

 This verse really belongs with yesterday's post. It is the verse of my life at this point in time.

"12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3: 12-14

This is such an inspiring verse. If our goal is Heaven and eternal peace, then why should we worry about the past? One of my biggest weaknesses is dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. I want to live out this verse and make it real in my life.

Pressing On

Commuting with an eight o'clock is proving to be quite difficult. I leave home at seven and I hit rush hour which adds about twenty minutes to my drive. So I get to school with fifteen minutes to class time and I have to find a parking spot ( Ha that's a joke!). But other than the drive in, my Thursday morning has gone very well. It is still snowing, for the fifth day in a row.
Today I bought some of my books, turns out I need a lot of them. I guess I will just slowly buy them as I need them.

The first week is almost over!

Off to chapel!

God bless!

I Wake Up to Find Your Glory Divine

Day 2 of my blog!

This morning I woke up to flurries again. Snow really is just beautiful! It makes me really excited to go skiing in February!

Today is going to be a fun day.  I am taking two English classes, a Bible class and a Photography class! What a great schedule :). I have absolutely no classes in McFarland (the Science building)! God has been so good to me.

More coming later :)

God bless!

Rock My World

My life completely changed today and  here is why! Upon graduation from high school I realized that it was time to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  So, of course, my first thought was what can I do that will open up the most opportunity. What I didn't realize was that the more important thing is that I do something I am good at and that I am excited about and that I enjoy doing. At the time, I convinced myself that the path of grad school and Biology was the way to go.  After all, I love Biology and there are tons of directions I could go, so why shouldn't I pursue it? Sometime last semester I woke up and realized that I was unhappy with the direction my life was going.  I was enjoying my classes but I wasn't excited about them.  That is when I began to think to myself "Why am I so unhappy? What went wrong?".  I prayed about it a lot and then a few days ago a small voice popped into my head saying "What about English?".  I had always brushed my love for reading, writing and English to the side thinking it would take me no where in life.  But then I began to feel so much happier just thinking of the change.  I knew it was ridiculous but I was finally excited about something and I finally had positive motivation and clear goals.

So, in conclusion, I talked with Dr. Hearn (the English department chair) today about what it would look like for me to switch to an English major.  As the title of this blog suggests, my world has been rocked.  And everything I had made myself out to be has turned out to be a lie.  I talked myself into a future and a major that wasn't what I was meant to do.  I am more excited than ever about being an English major.  There are buckets full of things I can do with an English major and a Biology and Bible minor.  The possibilities seem endless to me and I have never been more excited. I know it seems strange that I am just now figuring things out, but that's what college is all about right?

So that's basically what happened today :)

Time for bed!

God bless!

Beginnings...

So this is my first official blog entry! Lately I have had so much on my mind and I thought "How cool would it be to blog about my life and maybe help someone else out". I don't know if anyone will ever read this but I am giving it a shot :).

I am sitting in the library right now looking out a window and there is snow falling and a sheet of white covering the ground. It is absolutely beautiful and it definitely makes up for how cold it has been lately. It reminds me of how 'cold' life can seem, but in the end something beautiful always comes from it. It has to get cold for it to snow, so life has to get tough before it can get beautiful.

I have one more class today and I am really looking forward to it. It is Communicating in the Gospel and I think it is going to be a great class!

One thing that I have decided as an unofficial New Years Resolution is to know my Bible better. So I am going to choose one verse a week that I memorize and study. So if anyone has any suggestions as to some verses that I should know and commit to memory please leave me a comment!

Now I better get back to some homework.

God bless!