See Something More

"God has given gifts to each of you...manage them well so God's generosity can flow through you." (1 Peter 4:10) As we all open presents from friends and family that we find under the tree and in our stockings, may we take time to remember the gifts that God has so graciously and generosly poured out on us. For every good and perfect gift is from Him (James 1:17) . He is the source of all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3) , and He has given each of us unique spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:7). God has given us grace through faith, and it is this grace alone that saves us. It is not from ourselves but from God. (Ephesians 2:8) God has given us eternal life through Christ Jesus when we deserve death because of our sins. This eternal life is His Son. (Romans 6:23,1 John 5:11) God has given us spiritual gifts and though all our gifts are different, together we form one body. (Romans 12:5-7) God has given us  blessings . From the fullness of His gra...

As our family gathered around this year to watch our favorite Christmas movie, Christmas with the Kranks , we laughed a little harder than we normally would on any other given year. That is because this Christmas we are following in the footsteps of the Kranks and boarding a cruise ship in Hawaii...on Christmas day! Unlike the Kranks, we have not boycotted Christmas. We are not skipping the decorations or avoiding Christmas cheer in any way at all. And we certainly aren't bothering with the tanning and botox! Although this Christmas may not be exactly like all the others, it has still held all the traditions that are most important to our family. We still gathered out entire family together and celebrated Christmas with a feast, gifts, and games. We still took pictures for a cute, creative Christmas card. Our tree this year is more beautiful than ever, and my sister and I love to sleep beside it on a pallet that we made from every pillow in the house. And just last night,...

It began as a tiny thought in the back of my mind, but the more I entertained it, the more inclined I actually became to saying it aloud. "I think I want to do a sprint triathlon." There. I had admitted it out loud in the presence of my own ears and the ears of a friend. It shocked me enough that I had actually given words to my crazy idea, but what shocked me even more was my friend's response. "No way! I'll do it with you!" I stared speechlessly at her with an amazed expression that quickly turned into pure delight. "You will?!" I couldn't believe that my idea hadn't been shot down as absolutely insane from the moment I uttered the words. "You bet," was her reply. "I even have books that we can use to train. We can read up on it, train hard, and do it!" Now I couldn't get the idea out of my head, so I went right back to my room and started researching sprint triathlons in 2011. When my roommate entered th...

All of my papers have been turned in and all my finals have been completed. Now, even that endless pile of laundry that has been sitting in my closet for three weeks has been washed, folded, and put away. I have this strange feeling that I have nothing to do because everything is actually finished. (Could it be true?!) Another semester has come and gone. And once again I feel like a new person. The girl who just finished unpacking for Christmas break cannot be the same girl who got on a plane headed to Nicaragua six months ago. God has done so much in and around me these past few months that I cannot help but be changed in His presence. He has taught me so much and shown me so much that I feel an extra measure of joy and celebration this holiday season. I am not the same, but the change inside of me is a result of God's tender molding in my life. I am reminded of Joshua and the Israelites when they crossed the Jordan River and entered the promised land (Joshua 4). What a climac...

Deck the Halls with boughs of holly! Fa la la la la la la la la! Cheerful carols resounded in the hallways of the nursing home. All decorated in green and red, some friends and I strolled up and down the halls, sticking our heads in doorways, singing and wishing everyone a merry Christmas. I love meeting the different people at the nursing home, hearing their stories, and interacting with them. One woman in particular cracked me up with her talkativeness and story-telling. As soon as we finished our first song, we did not have time to take a breath before she started talking. "Well I was in a home economics class once, and all we had to do for the final exam was identify this white powder. Well we smelled that powder, and we tasted that powder, and it turned out that it was sugar all along." As abruptly as she began her story, she concluded it, so we broke into another chorus of "Angels We Have Heard On High." Then, as soon as we finished the last line, she sta...

I planned my afternoon and evening with precision. After helping a friend at 4:00, I would return to campus at 6:00 for dinner, work out at 7:00, go to a meeting at 8:30, attend one of my favorite weekly devotionals at 9:00, then happily go to bed at 10:00. It was a perfect schedule...except that it didn't exactly happen. Every Thursday afternoon, I volunteer to help a friend here in Searcy by driving her to run errands because she is legally blind. Over time, it has become more than just that. We have shopped, cooked, sewn, read, and taken walks in the park together. Now my Thursday afternoons are not volunteer hours, but special times that I get to spend with a dear friend that I have made. On this particluar Thursday afternoon, we ran our errands and got back to the house, only to find that we had left the keys inside. We were locked out until her husband came home at 7:00. Well, that kind of threw off my perfect schedule, but that is when God reminded me of a bold prayer th...

"But I don't know what I'm doing!" I frantically said as my sister handed me the wii remote. The music was already going and the game was already beginning. "Just do it! Just dance!" That was an appropriate response, considering that the name of this new and bizarre game was "Just Dance." When the music begins, you watch the dancer on the screen and mimic his or her moves. The wii in your hand recognizes your motions and grades you on your performance. The problem is that I have no idea how to dance. At all. To put a remote in my hand and tell me to "just dance" is begging for hilarious disaster...which is exactly what happened. Putting all pride and confidence aside, I tried my best to watch the dancer and follow her steps. With hoots and hollers of laughter echoing in the living room, my family cheered me on (while secretly making fun of me behind my back, I'm sure). The amazing thing was what came out of my mouth at the end...

The following psalm is a psalm of praise that my friends and I wrote during our Bible study time together this week. Based on Psalm 136, this poem might look somewhat familiar! How great is our God! His love endures forever. He turns ashes into beauty. His love endures forever. He has freed me from worry. His love endures forever. He is our first love and all we need. His love endures forever. He leads me to friends who are faithful and trustworthy. His love endures forever. He suffered greater pain than I could ever imagine. His love endures forever. He fulfills all His promises in the perfect season. His love endures forever. He always provides. His love endures forever. His mighty hand formed us in love. His love endures forever. He makes plans for me that are far greater and more perfect than I could ever plan. His love endures forever. His love is higher than the mountains and deeper than the seas. His love endures forever. His g...

Every holiday season, our family tradition takes us to the square in downtown Fayetteville to see a fabulous display of Christmas lights. White lights, colored light, and sparkling decorations cover practically every square inch of the city block. With every tree trunk wrapped and every pathway lined with colorful lights, it is a magical and beautiful place to stroll around. So every year, my family grabs our scarves, hats, and cups of hot chocolate, and we joyfully walk around the square while laughing, taking pictures, and singing along to the Christmas music playing overhead. Last night I attended the lighting ceremony on Harding's campus, which is a tradition that every student enjoys. After a countdown, the 85,000 LED lights popped on and the front lawn echoed with a celebratory cheer. The big bulbs of bluish holiday light dangle from all the trees, cover the bushes, and line the fences. Then today I added some decor to our humble abode by stringing lights from t...

Buried deep in the sand of the minor prophets lies a treasure. I will admit - you kind of have to dig for it. The minor prophets are not easy books to read, and you can't just skim the surface and expect to understand what it all means. Reading the minor prophets is more like showing up on the beach with a treasure map and a shovel. You may have to dig a little, but the treasures of truth are great. As I was reading Amos this week, God revealed one of those buried jewels. In chapter four, God speaks of His desire for Israel to turn away from their rebellion and return to Him. In an effort to draw them back to Himself, He withholds rain from their land, sends locusts to their gardens, and even causes plagues and disasters. The first time through, I found this to be pretty harsh and unreasonable, but then I caught a glimpse of the treasure buried beneath. If God brings disaster, it is only to draw His people back to Himself. He is not harsh, unreasonable, or angry;...

"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever." Psalm 118:1 Fall leaves, pumpkin pies, apple cider, and the first logs in the fireplace are just a few of the things that make Thanksgiving my favorite holiday. Of course my favorite thing about Thanksgiving is Thursday morning when I get to see all the family members that I haven't seen in a long time. Then we spend all day talking, telling stories, laughing, eating together, and catching up on everything that has been happening in our lives. Something about that day and those moments we spend together makes me feel so warm. Maybe it's the warm colors of the leaves on the trees. Or maybe it's the warmth in the living room that feels so good after walking from the car in the cold winter air. Or maybe it's just that inward warmth that comes from a love that fills the house when all of my family is together in one place. It is love that isn't hindered by the fact that we haven't seen e...

Please click on the link below to read an article of mine that was posted on a Christian webiste for teens called iBegat. Once you arrive at the page, scroll down until you find a post titled, A New Vision . http://www.ibegat.com/ Or to bypass the home page, click on this direct link: http://www.ibegat.com/a-new-vision/ Thanks and have a beautiful and blessed week!

With a spring in my step and a smile on my heart, I practically skipped down the sidewalk. The sun had just set, and a beautiful, peaceful darkness had settled over campus. I looked into the dark navy sky and took a deep breathe of the cool, still autumn air. With such beauty and peace surrounding me, I could not help but think about how beautiful our savior is. I do not think that I can even begin to explain how active He has been in my life this week. I don't think that He has been any more alive than any other week; it is me that has been more alive and in-tune to noticing His presence. Because of all the ways I had seen Him work this week, my whole spirit filled with praise as I walked down that sidewalk at dusk. I couldn't help but think about Him, and the more I thought about Him, the more this strange urge built up inside of me. Would it be weird if I just started spinning around? What if I just started jumping up and down with excitement? I just want to jump!...

"Everybody huddle up!" I ran over to my team as I was adjusting my green slip-on jersey and tieing the yellow flags to my belt. I poked my head in the huddle in order to see our first play. I stared at the circles, triangles, squares, and dotted lines, trying to determine which way was up-field and which way was down. "Ready...break!" Everyone else ran to their positions while I just stood there and asked helplessly, "Ummm...what do I do?" "You are Y. Look, right here. Just run this way, and have fun!" A second later, she shoved the play sheet back into her jersey and ran to her place. Still confused, I jogged to the place I thought I was supposed to be and shyly asked the girl next to me, "Which way are we going? Can you give me a brief rundown of the rules to this game?" "Down...set...HUT!" The ball snapped and I ran like a chicken with it's head cut off. Thus began my career as a flag football player! That...

"If it is not good, then God is not done." A sweet woman who spoke at the Wednesday night home Bible study I attend shared that with us, and I pass it on to you. It has been playing in my mind over and over throughout this week. God is so good all the time, and everything He does is good. Romans says that "God works all things together for the good of those who love Him." Even when God created the world in the beginning of time, He looked at what he made and said, "It is good." His goal and desire is to mold everything in our lives so that we can look at what He has done and respond by saying, "It is good." So as we look at our lives this week, may we praise Him for the things that are good because He has made them that way. And when we look at the things that may not seem so good right now, may we remember and remind ourselves with confidence... If it's not good, He's not done.

When I saw the email arrive in my inbox, I gasped with nervous excitement. I quickly drug the mouse over the little envelope to open it, but my hand froze. The little white arrow hovered over the icon, but time stopped and I couldn't bring myself to open the email until I got onto my knees first. Lord, you know what this letter says, and I believe that you are in control of what happens. I just want you to know that if they say yes and want to publish my book, then I will rejoice and thank you! But if they say no and reject my proposal, then I will still praise you. I had been waiting for this moment for the past two years, which I had spent writing a devotional book for teenage girls with eating disorders and researching how to publish it. Thriugh the process, I learned all about publishing, attended a conference, and mailed out eight proposals. Finally, after two years of working and waiting, Sonfire Media gave my proposal a chance. They informed me that my book wou...

This week has probably been the craziest week of my life for a number of reasons. I have dated approximately 112 boys this week and given my phone number to at least fifty. I have sang to a boy I did not know in the student center. I participated in my first food fight, which was a combination of mustard, cottage cheese, baked beans, corn, and rice. I dressed like an absolute fool in all pink and green clothes, and loved every minute of it! I eat dinner at 1:15 AM, and I run around all of campus like a maniac from 8:00 in the morning until 11:55 in the evening. I have even written love letters to people I don't know. These are the joys of pledging a club, and I joyfully do it for Chi Omega Pi! Although there are some pretty crazy things about club week, there are so many parallels to our faith. Just like I do all these crazy things to bear the name of Chi Omega Pi, so we are called as Christians to be crazy for the name of Jesus Christ. Just like we ladies of Chi Omega Pi shout o...

If you pick up your Bible and open to the gospels, you will find stories of healing, miracles, and wonderful teaching. Turn to the Psalms and find poems of praise. Find words of wisdom in the Proverbs. In the historical books, you'll read epic stories of victory. Paul paints pictures of the armor of God, the body of Christ, and the fruits of the Spirit. Now flip your Bible over to Ezekiel and what do you find? Floating wheels, creepy creatures, edible scrolls, and a guy laying on his side for 390 says. Ezekiel could possible be one of the strangest books of the Bible. This week I have read Ezekiel 1-5, and many times I found myself putting down my Bible for an instant and literally saying out loud, " What in the world?" If you've never read it, I will warn you - it's weird. But just because Ezekiel is strange does not mean that it is void of truths and applications for our daily lives. I'll admit that some chapters absolutely baffle me, but I still want to s...

It won't be that cold at night. I'll be fine. That's what I told myself when I realized that I did not have a sleeping bag for the World Missions workshop this past weekend. I didn't have time to find one, so I shrugged my shoulders and grabbed some warm pajamas and a blanket. I'm tough, right? I'm used to sleeping in cold weather, right? No big deal. It won't even be that cold. Well, I'm not tough as I thought, and I am certainly not used to sleeping in a Cambodian hut in thirty degree temperatures with a blanket on a plywood floor. Our hut was a typical Asian house, made of bamboo, thatched with straw, and elevated about seven feet off the ground. Freezing night air blew in between the bamboo and into the hut, but it also drafted up from beneath the floor.When I layed down on that raised floor and felt the cool night air both above and below me, I was so ridiculously cold that all I could do was laugh. I was already shaking with chills, so it was ...

Monday morning, I woke up with a tender pain in my throat every time I swallowed, a slighty congested nose, and a heavy head. I wasn't sick yet, but I could tell it was coming. I thought about the week ahead of me: 4 tests, 2 quizzes, observation hours scheduled, and the World Mission Workshop this weekend. I could not afford to get sick, so I got out of bed, washed my face with warm water, jumped into my clothes, and told myself, y ou are NOT getting sick . I carried a water bottle with me all day and drank like a camel in the desert. I told my body over and over again, you are NOT getting sick! I could not afford to get sick, so I consistently thought, acted, and lived like it just wasn't going to happen. I even went to bed early, convincing my body that it would be perfectly fine when I woke up in the morning. Usually the day after you get that pre-sickness feeling, you wake up with a sore throat, fever, and headache because the illness has finally hit you hard....

One of the biggest newfound blessings of my semester thus far has been my community group. A community group is a small group, home Bible study that is a part of the church that I attend, Fellowship Bible Church. We meet almost every Sunday night for a time of fellowship by eating a meal together and studying together, whether that is a book study or a Bible study. It has been wonderful for me to not only get plugged into the church that I attend, but also to get to know people (other than college students) in the church and share a spiritual experience with them. When I first thought about joining a community group, I went to the community group kick-off at the beginning of the semester. At the kick-off, each community group had a table where you could meet the leaders and talk to them about their group, which would in turn help you decide which group to join. As I walked from table to table, I found it very hard to pick one group because they were all so good! But one table imm...

A worn-out, scratched-up wooden piano sat abandoned in the corner, like it had been pushed aside or left over from a garage sale. I tenderly opened up the lid, let my fingers rest on the yellow stained keys, and purposefully chose a song in my head. I placed my right hand on the high-pitched end of the piano, with my thumb resting on one A and my pinky barely reaching the next A an octave higher. As soon as I hit that octave to begin the delicate, peaceful song, I winced as the notes clashed so horrifically that I couldn't bring myself to hit the next note. Realizing that the piano had not been tuned in a century (or so it seemed), I quickly thought to myself, new song! This will never work! So I went to plan B, a jazz piece that dances around the lower octaves of the piano. I quietly and quickly tested the lower end of the piano, which was still not in-tune, but at least bareable. The plan B jazz song had a few higher chords that sqeaked with dissonance when I ...

I would venture to say that this week has been the craziest week of my life. If I am not sleeping, I am doing something on my feet. (And let me add that I haven't been doing much sleeping, which means I have been doing a lot of "doing something.") Yesterday, I believe I sat down in my dorm room for a grand total of...10 minutes? From 7:00 am until 12:00 am, I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. If I could show you my schedule from Monday to Friday, every block of time would be filled with classes, appointments, exams, or scheduled events. If I happen to have a block of open time, it is filled something else that is necessary, like homework, laundry, trips to the library, getting gas in the car, or making phone calls. Let me just say with enthusiasm that Friday has finally arrived which means that the weekend is right around the corner! I'm sure no one else ever has busy, jam-packed weeks like this, do they? (Can you sense the sacrcasm?!)...

"I have some news! The outside temperature is officially 54 degrees!” Rachael gave the daily weather announcement just like every other morning, but this particular morning her voice rang with excitement. I happily threw the t-shirt that I just pulled out back into my drawer and exchanged it for a warmer fall top with a jacket. I peeked out the window and could almost tell that the air was cooler. Two little leaves in the tree outside the window had turned bright yellow, and they glistened in the morning sun. As I stepped outside to walk to my 8:00 class, I inhaled a deep breath of crisp air and could feel autumn in my chest. Oh how I love the season of fall! Soon, the leaves will be turning into their full and deep shades of warm color. Girls will start wearing their colorful scarves to class. Red, orange, and yellow tones will color the department stores, and pumpkins will arrive on all the Searcy porches. I notice a complete change in the atmosphere when fall arrives. Peopl...

The bright orange tubing matched my favorite color perfectly. The little earpieces fit into my ears just right. The shiny silver bell sparkled in the light. No greasy fingerprints, no scratches, no stains...there it was in all its perfection - my very own stethoscope! I took it out of the box and wrapped it around my neck. I felt a surge of pride as I thought to myself, now I am becoming a real nurse! I ran excitedly around the dorm room showing all my friends my new prize, asking them if I could listen to their hearts and lungs. With a huge smile on my face, I plugged the stethoscope into my ears, cleared my throat, took a deep breath, and listened intently so I could show off my new skill. Nothing. I heard nothing. Disappointed and frustrated, I turned the stethoscope over in my hands, thinking that by examining it I could make it work. All the while, I was thinking, how in the world do you work this thing? My pride in my nursing abilities went down the tube in that in...

I spent the weekend in Africa. Well, not really, but almost! Harding is sponsoring this year's World Mission Workshop , which will be located at Harding's global village. A global village is a simulation of the lifestyles of other cultures, and as you walk through the village you will find authentic African huts, Asian houses on stilts, slums, refugee tents, latrines, gardens, and markets. Much needs to be done in order to prepare for the workshop, so I went to the global village this weekend with a group of other students to work. My team drove out to "Africa," where we grabbed some shovels, took off our shoes, and learned how to mud an African hut. Up until this weekend, I did not realize that "mud" could be a verb, but now I definitely understand not only the definition but the process of mudding! Using shovels, we turned up the hard, dry dirt and added water to it until it became squishy and soft. The best way to mix the mud was with your feet, so I to...

One of my favorite things about God's Word is that you can read a part that you have read a million times before and discover something new and exciting that you have never seen before! Just this week, I read Isaiah 53, which is one of the famous Old Testament prophesies about Jesus. You may have heard some of its verses before: "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities," or "by His wounds we are healed." When I read this chapter this week, I caught a verse that may be less famous, but just as powerful. "And the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand." ( Isaiah 53:10) When I think about Jesus, I realize that He is the perfect example of someone who let the will of God prosper in His hand. Jesus reached out to God's will, but He didn't just hold onto it, He opened His hands and let it prosper. He didn't just seek God's will and find it, He then reached out to humanity with God's will by having c...

It's a good thing that I want to be a nurse and not an optometrist because I discovered today that I would make a lousy eye doctor. In one of my nursing classes today, we learned how to examine the eye. After the lecture and demonstration, we were given an opthalmascope and the opportunity to practice on one another. My poor lab partner. "All I see is black!...How are you supposed to hold this thing anyway?...Am I hurting you?" I asked her. She sat there patiently while I flashed a light directly into her eye for ten minutes trying to get a glimpse of her retina. After switching sides and trying again for ten minutes, my eyes became so tired that I couldn't even keep one eye open to look through the opthalmascope. "This is hopeless." I gave in to the fact that I would never be a nurse for an eye doctor, and I apologized to my lab partner who was blinking profusely. After giving my eyes a rest, my teacher gave me some instruction and convinced me to try one...

I never thought I would find myself here. The gymnasium was packed with people, all huddled together according to the colors on their jerseys. The buzz of everyone's voices bounced off the gym floor and created an excited hum. My eyes scanned the room for pink and green, and when I spotted them in the corner, I walked over to their huddle with a bounce in my step and a smile on my face. A year ago, I vowed to never join a social club, but here I was, mixing and mingling with the ladies of Chi Omega Pi, hoping to find some new friends. Whenever people would ask me, "What makes you want to join a club?" I would begin by saying, "Well...It's kind of a long story..." A year ago, I saw clubs as huge cliques. I didn't want to be indentified by the colors I wore, and I thought the whole organization was silly. But my summer in Nicaragua changed the way I view things. Because everything I experienced there was an opportunity to be a light for Christ, I have ...

God knew just what I needed when I showed up at Mrs. Lisa's Bible study tonight. Honestly, I went out of habit. Since I have been attending and enjoying Mrs. Lisa's home Bible study for quite some time, I got in the car and drove to her house without really thinking about it. It's Wednesday night, and that's just what I do. However, when I got there, the Lord was waiting to meet me right where I was spiritually. I am embarrassed to say that I walked through the door not expecting to have a significant spiritual experience, but I am overjoyed to say that I left that same door with a new heart. It reminded me that I should always expect God to do great things, so my eyes should always be open to see something more . The devotional tonight brought tears to my eyes, broke my heart, and renewed my passion all at the same time. And when I think about it, the message was so simple. The speaker talked about how unconditional God's love is, yet how conditional our love is ...

Last night as I was working on my scrapbook from my summer in Nicaragua, I was also reading my journal as it corresponded with the memories in the pictures. The fun part about re-reading my journal is uncovering some of the memories that I had slipped from my memory. One of those memories popped up last night and brought a smile to my face. June 14 was my first day to ever experience a medical mission clinic. Medical missions are my passion, so as we loaded the bus that morning to drive to our site, I was squirming in my seat with excitement. Little did I know that approximately five hundred patients would be waiting outside the gate for us when we arrived. Because the clinical space was so small and the medical brigade was outfitted with all the professionals and equippment that they needed, I did not personally get to help with anything medical all day long. At first, I was frustrated that I didn't get to take blood pressure or learn how ...

As I looked at my schedule for the day in front of me, I saw very few empty spaces. Class from 8:00-5:30, then a babysitting job from 6:00-8:30. Why did I take that babysitting job? It was going to be a busy, busy day. By one o'clock, I sat quietly in my Bible class, waiting for one more hour to pass. The class quieted at the sound of the first bell. Our teacher stood behind the podium and took a breath to begin class. "Please open your Bibles and begin a search for characteristics of Jesus. You can look in the gospels, in Isaiah, the Psalms, or really anywhere. When you find one, write it down with the verse reference. In the next ten minutes, try to find at least seven." The room filled with the sounds of pages turning and papers shuffling. Once the ten minutes passed, the professor returned to the front of the room to continue his instructions. He pointed at the blank dry erase board that lined the entire wall behind him. "Now I would like you to come up ...

We all sat cross-legged on our blue checkered picnic blanket. The grass tickled our barefoot feet as we ate lunch out of our to-go boxes from the cafeteria. On a day like this, it wasn't good enough to sit inside the cafeteria and look at the sunshine through the window- we had to be out in it. One thing that I love about being back on campus for my sophmore year is the sense of togetherness. My friends and I eat togther, study together, go to church together, play games together, laugh together, pray together, and tuck each other in bed at night. We are around each other so much that we have become our own little family in a way. The togetherness that we experience every day has created a tight bond. That is how I would define community. Community is  togetherness . In Nicaragua this summer, God opened my eyes to see how big my spiritual family, the body of Christ, really is. I used to think of my family as my parents and sister, which will always be my closest fam...

When everything seems to be going smoothly, thats when it hits. Stress. Last weekend, my first weekend in the dorms, was smooth sailing as I got to sleep in, catch up with friends, eat long meals, and play games. Then Monday came and BOOM - the stress hit like a hurricane. First, I realized why people wrinkle their brows and say, "Oh, I'm sorry" when I tell them I am taking eighteen hours. I have fifteen of those eighteen hours on Monday, and my to-do list was already a mile long after going to class from 8:00 to 5:30. Then, I received a call from a publisher, talking to me about potentially helping me self-publish my book. But the cost is quite an investment, so I began to plan how I could raise the money. All of these events turned my "mundane Monday" into a "maniac Monday." I am in no way complaining because I love all of my classes and am unbelievably excited about the possibitliy of publishing and working to raise funds, but all the excitement m...

I logged onto my computer in order to distract my mind from what was really on my heart. I had been holding in emotions all day long, but I pushed them deeper inside as I occupied my mind with the computer screen. In the bottom right corner, a little orange bubble popped up announcing that one of my close friends was on Skype. (Skype is kind of like a telephone on the computer.) I hadn't talked to him in a while, so I called and he answered. It was just an ordinary conversation, but God knew it was just what I needed. He just happened to ask how I was doing, and all the things that I had been dying to talk about came rushing out of my mouth. After both of us opened up with each other, we began to pray together...and God joined us on Skype. Through the heartfelt words and cries of our prayers, I knew that God was listening and speaking words of encouragement to us through each other. Skype may be an ordinary thing, but God allowed me to see something more through it. No convers...

My sister and I were snuggled in bed, reading our books to the light of the lamp in her room. The gentle whirring of the fan made it difficult for me to keep my eyes open, but suddenly my mind awakened when I heard a new faint sound. I looked up from what I was reading so that I could focus my senses on the mysterious noise. It sounded like the low rumble of a helicopter, but what would a helicopter be doing flying over our house at 11:00 PM? After a few seconds, the low vibration did not go away or fade into the distance, so I glanced at my sister. Her head was buried in her book as if nothing were happening. "Kaysi." I hoarsely whispered across the room. She looked up. "Do you hear that noise?" She noticed the concerned look on my face and stared at me stranglely. "The fan?" "No...." I shook my head and listened closer. "It is beneath the noise of the fan. And it just started a second ago. A low grumble. Kind of like a helicopter....