It's not like I'm excited, or anything

....but Thanksgiving Vacation starts in 2 days!!!

And Ben comes home the following week.....

Wow this is just too good.

Where did the semester go? It seems like the days whisk by so quickly and before I realize it, another week is gone. There's nothing I can do about the time I've lost, but just to know that God keeps giving me another day to live amazes me.

old photo

i found this while digging back into my photos on Flickr.... This was taken late on the night of my graduation =) Rebekah gave it to me..... i love my sister!!

winter seems to have arrived

I consider 28 degrees to be "Winter", don't you?

The air today just felt like the snow flakes should start falling any second. Last night, we saw 2 little flurries fall from the dark sky!! Emily was shouting "Thank You GOD!!!!!" =]

Ahh the delightful and exciting seasons! We are all getting excited about Christmas! And Thanksgiving break is only 8 days away- fantabulous!

It's the perfect weather for wearing a fluffy robe with my PJ's in the evenings..... And hot tea in the afternoon while doing homework.... Scarves, hats, and boots are showing up all over campus....

Ahh sleep tight!

Mmmmm

So Missions Conference is this week..... That means we have no classes Mon-Wed. =)
On the flipside, we're still required to attend the Conference (8:30am-noon, and an evening session). It's really nice though, because we have the whole afternoon to chill or do whatever we want.
Sadly, I woke this morning with a sore throat, so after lunch (which I ate so little of, that I didn't get full) I came back to my room and tried to sleep... Matt called me and we had such a good chat; wait, we always do! =) Then I slept... well, it was more of a "dozing-on-and-off" thing. Ahh, the perks of dorm life: slamming doors, people yelling and laughing, someone stomping down the hall. Sleep doesn't always happen.
After feeling cozy and warm, and waking from the fog of sleep, I put on a flannel shirt and made some Kraft Mac and Cheese. Mmmm, that is the perfect comfort food! It made me warm from the inside out.

Now I'm listening to some classic jazz while talking to my sister... =)
Dinner is soon.... and we're expecting it to be good, because *shhh* we have GUESTS on campus. Aka: Good Food.

History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.

"And so, my fellow americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. " -John F. Kennedy

What would our nation be like if each one of us took this idea to heart and acted upon it each and every day?

We would have more men and women willing to serve for our freedom.

There would be more upright and honest people in Washington D.C. and our state capitols.

We would have more families caring for each other instead of leaving it to the government to take care of their children and the elderly.

Are you asking what you can do for America?

We are truly the

Land of the Free because of the Brave.

home

Last Friday I got to go home for the
entire weekend!
And let me tell you, I never realized how short the weekend is!

Around 5pm, Dad, Mom and Rebekah came to bring me and my plethora of clothes and books home. We stopped at Sam's and got some pizza- Reb and I ate that on our way home while watching the remainder of The Philadelphia Story on my laptop. As the golden evening sun streamed in through the windows, we arrived in Charleston! After unpacking my bags from the car, Mom baked Mexican cornbread while Reb and I took a long, relaxing walk around the neighborhood. The air was crisp and cool, with the scent of Fall wafting through the trees. I love Fall! It's such a homey, cozy feeling. After a traditional dinner of the cornbread, Anasazi beans, and Cole slaw, I sat in the floor of the family room and played some guitar...so relaxing!
Later, Rebekah and I went to our room and put on Stalag 17 an old WWII movie- very funny yet historical.
Saturday morning, we slept in then went to the YMCA. I worked my behind off! I jogged, biked, and used the Nautilus weight machines. Did you know that when you read a magazine while doing the "fat burn" on the bike, you completely forget that you're burning 100+ calories?!
Yeahh I thought was cool! haha
Unfortunately I had to go to the library and work on homework that afternoon... Sad isn't it?
I made dinner that evening- chicken hash with squash and kale. YuummO!
Sunday morning I got to see my wonderful friends from BCC! It was so good to see everyone after about 5 weeks of being away!

That afternoon, we visited with our crazy wonderful cousins, and our grandma =]
It was nice to be with them and have a fun dinner of hotdogs, chili, and 7-layer salad!
After dinner, we climbed the hill behind the house and sat in the grass and leaves.... relaxing.

Sadly, I had to come back Sunday night, and face another week of classes.... But Friday is now only 3 days away! WhooHoo! =]

fun dorm stories, part 1

Imagine sitting in a cozy, warm, dorm room, a soft purple blanket draped over your chair, chatting with 2 other girls at 10:45 at night. Suddenly, a screeching alarm blares through the halls! Everyone begins running back to their rooms, pulling on hoodies or jackets, because it's only 52 degrees outside. As the dozens of girls rush out of the building into the cold dark night, the lights and sirens from fire engines fill the air.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it's the fire-drill we've been waiting for all year long!

All of us dorm girls had to meet in the Servant Center, while the guys had the fun experience of congregating out in the cold parking lot of Anderson Hall. Some girls had just gotten out of the shower and still had dripping wet hair. We were required to stay up there until the fire men checked every room in the dorms! Obviously, we were waiting for a while. Some of us resorted to reading the newspaper that was lying unawares on the coffee table in the lobby of the Servant Center. Becca and another girl began working the crossword puzzle in the paper.... and we had some laughs while doing that!

By the time our Student Dean walked in and announced it was "all clear", the time was 11:15pm.

Just another fun day in the life of a college student!

letters from home

i love walking to the post office in the afternoons, inserting my key into my post office box, and finding a letter, or even better, a package!!

There's just something about mail. . . it's so much better than online communication. It's more meaningful.

Packages are the best! Everyone gets excited about packages, even when it's not theirs =]

Last week a girl in my class got a package from home: cheese popcorn and candy! We all "Ooh"ed and "Ahh"ed over it! Even our Speech instructor got excited about it! Hahaha!

I love letters

They have meant more to me after communicating with Ben through only letters all summer. I feel closer to the writer, because I can actually touch the paper he wrote on, and see the smudges of ink, and recognize his handwriting. And then memorize each word, scribble, and rip on the paper, until I can think back over it when I feel lonely.

That reminds me a lot of God's Word. If we could only realize how God felt when He inspired the writers of the Bible to pen those words to the future believers, we might spend more time reading, memorizing, and cherishing the Scriptures. I've found that the more I read, and re-read, the more I notice and think "Wow, I never knew that was there!"

The past few evenings I've been enjoying my devos, because I just take the time to read until I find something that really speaks to me, and before I forget about it, I write my thoughts and the corresponding verse in a notebook of mine.

Well I'm feeling the Sandman coming for me, so I'd better jump into bed =]

Goodnight

So long, Summer!

Crisp cool air.

Crunchy red, orange, and brown leaves.

Campfires and s'mores.

{Summer is fading and fall is arriving}

This afternoon was the So Long SummerFest for the college students. Around 3pm we headed up to the Youth Baptist Camp, about a mile from the school. We spent the afternoon up there watching the guys play football, basketball, other random games, and having a generally good time. I talked with Autumn on my phone while swinging on the swing set; it was so nice to talk to her after being away for so long! Then I joined some other girls to watch people get drenched with water balloons =]. I sat in the sun and did some Sudoku while watching the events around me. Around 5pm we ate dinner - bread sticks, meat, poatoes, and corn on the cob.

After eating, I sat against the wall of the old camp building, and was soon joined by Isaiah and Jasper. Isaiah and I worked on a Sudoku puzzle, and the 3 of us just talked. They wanted to know about Ben =] which was a nice subject to talk about! After a while, they asked "Hey does anyone want to go get some ice cream?" So the 3 of us, plus 3 other students piled into a car and headed over to Bellachino's Creamery, where they have one of those cool Coldstones! We each bought delicious cones- I had coffee ice cream with chocolate chips mixed in! Mmmm!

We then came back to the camp, just in time to witness the "Food Eating Contest".

That was very intense - the 5 contestants had to eat (as quickly as possible): a plate of powdered sugar dohnuts, a cherry pie, a can of baked beans, 2 waffle cones with peanut butter/banana and chocolate syrup, and lastly, a quart of chocolate milk!!! Needless to say, most of them got . . . sick. Ugh!

After that interesting display of grossness, we all gathered around the campfire, sitting on bales of hay. We toasted marshmallows and made yummy S'mores! As it got darker, 3 students got out their guitars and we all sang some hymns and praise songs, which was followed by a devotional given by one of the upperclassmen, Caleb.

The evening ended around 9pm, when most of us came back to the dorms, smelling of woodsmoke and grass..........

"So long, Summer!"

the Raven

{one of my favorite poems}

Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered
weak and weary
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly
there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -Only this, and
nothing more.'

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the
bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its
ghost
upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow -
sorrow for
the lost Lenore -For the
rare and radiant maiden
whom the angels named
Lenore - Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me -
filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;
-This it is, and nothing more,'

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -On the morrow will he leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'

`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!Take thy beak from out my heart,

and take thy form from off my door!'

Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting,

still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,And the lamp-light o'er him streaming

throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted - nevermore!

-edgar allen poe

mmmm

Sometimes the simple staples are the best. I've noticed that guys like the simple old outfits on their girls better than the "new cute outfit". I remember Ben telling me how he likes my white tees. Becca's best guy friend told her how much he misses seeing her and how he loved the black and white skirt and top she used to wear. She replied with "That outfit?" It was something she never really liked and thought looked bad on her. =]
It's true that guys like the old plain clothes on us. When I consider that, it makes me glad that I don't have to worry about impressing my guy with "new trendy" clothes.
That was something he told me before I left for college: "You don't have to impress people with your clothes. Just be yourself." That really stuck with me, and I'm so glad I have a guy who cares more about me than how stylish I am. Don't get me wrong, I still want to look good, especially for him, but I'm happy I don't have to spend an exorbitant amount of time and money on buying clothes and makeup.
That's something that really matters: a guy who cares more about being with people who look really good is the wrong kind of guy. In 25 years, none of us are gonna look very hot, but we'll still be the same in our character (but hopefully more mature).
I don't know why I'm writing about this, but it was a thought that just popped into my head as I was thinking about Ben. =)

Simple things are so much better than the grand things of life.

Warrior Day

Today on campus it was Warrior Day. This means that if you have a Warriors tee shirt, you could wear it with khaki pants! Of course, a whole slew of us girls chose this option.
As I headed out this morning, rain pelted me! It was the first rainy day we've had since classes started. One of the upperclassmen, Heather, and I were walking through the rain to Beukamah for our classes; as we approached the building, hunched over with the gray cloudy sky above us, she said, "The flag is at half mast."

We remembered that it's the 6th anniversary of September 11th.

The thought came to my mind that today was not only Warrior Day on campus, but it should be a day to remember our warriors who are fighting for our freedom each and every day. I pray that you never forget our men and women who are laying their lives on the line every moment of the day for your safety and freedom. They and their families are giving up so much so the rest of us can sleep peacefully at night without the fears most other nations have.

Pray for the safety and salvation of our troops!

I am an anomaly

I know that sounds strange to you, but I am... in fact, many people are. You see, because I have given my life to Christ, it is not I who lives, but Christ living in me. Therefore, I am dead, yet alive. How cool is that?!
Well this is one of the many intriguing comments a professor has made in class. Each professor is different, and that makes for a very interesting day! You wouldn't happen to want to hear a dissertation on my "normal day as an ABC student", would you? Oh how kind of you! Well then where do I start. . . . . . . .

My morning starts out with music! Yes, usually Jack Johnson, Coldplay, or Josh Bales playing through the speakers on my alarm clock at 7AM, until I quickly slap at the SNOOZE button. I drowsily roll over in bed and lay there thinking over my dreams. . . and about the long day ahead of me. Becca, my lovely roommate, will sometimes already be up, getting ready for the day. Other times, she's still dreamily laying in bed. I finally roll over and slide out from under the cozy sheets, sleepily step over to the sink, and splash some cool water on my face. The fresh morning air from our open window slides over my skin as I pull on jeans and a hoodie. Becca and I sleepily yet cheerfully say "Good Morning!" to each other. I pull a a brush through my hair then check the mirror, hoping I look decent enough to go to breakfast.
As I walk out the front door of the dorm, chilly air envelopes me and I stroll down the steps looking out over the majestic West Virginia hills. After a short walk across the parking lot to the Servant Center, I step into the warm delicious air of the Dining Hall, where the hungry students are beginning their day. My usual breakfast fare is scrambled eggs, sausage, and french toast. I have to admit, the eggs are not fluffy and soft like the ones from home, but at least it's protein. The french toast is yummy though.... soft and slightly cinnamony. . . Is that a word? I think it should be.
I then return to my room where I finish getting ready for the day.... yes this does include a shower, blow dry, and some outfit choices. Thankfully, I often have a good amount of time to prepare for the day, so I then fill up my backpack with textbooks, notebooks, and other required materials for classes. At 8:50 I head over to my first class, which is on the other side of campus. It's a nice morning stroll, if I'm not booking it over there. The bright morning sunshine sparkles through the trees as dozens of students make their way about campus.
After class, I have an hour until my next one (or Chapel, if it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday). I won't bore you with the mundane details, but some of my professors are characters! My English professor is probably my favorite! His class is my last one of the day, so it's nice to end on a light note. He keeps our attention using entertaining comments and just plain funny sentences as class examples!
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, I have Chorale! Even though it's an extra 3 hours a week, I really enjoy it! It's so nice to end the class day with something fun and relaxing like singing. Mr. and Mrs. Hontz are very accomplished music teachers, and I sometimes forget that I'm learning in the middle of all the fun!
When all my classes are over, I usually head over to the Library, where I apply myself to the urgent homework. The quiet atmosphere helps me focus on the ideas and assignments, which is nice after being around fairly loud noise all day. I also take this time to work on any papers that are due in the near future. Once I finish most of the work, which takes an hour or so, I pack up my books and stroll back to the dorm. By this time, it's around 3:30 or 4pm, so I change into jeans or shorts and a comfy tee, and settle onto my bed to review homework for the next day. If the weather is pleasant, I sometimes lay on the grass under a tree to do homework. 'Tis very peaceful out there!
By 5:45 I'm totally ready for dinner! I'll head over to the dining hall with some friends, where we'll find something halfway tasteful to eat. Don't get me wrong, we often have yummy meals, but many times, it's pretty fattening. I have concocted some very delectable salads. . . pretty much every day =]. And cereal is always an option! But seriously, supper is a nice time to relax and socialize with my friends and get to know other people from around campus.
My evenings are usually spent in my room, listening to music while I study and get online. Once I went to the Servant Center, but with all the noise, I couldn't study. On a few occasions, I've gone to Wal Mart with some friends. That's the popular place where every ABC student hangs out at least a few times. When I was there last week, the cashier noticed I was from ABC, and expressed to me that "You students are welcome here any time!" Starbucks is another favorite relaxation spot, though I haven't had the privilege to patronize it yet.
Around 10pm I begin getting ready for bed, and then check Facebook and emails for a while. I try to hit to sack around 11pm, because I have another day to start in just a few hours! Speaking of which, it's currently 11:11pm.

Goodnight my dear!