Time.

I just want to share something that’s been bothering me lately, something I feel I’ve realized just recently. Something that is so important, but that so many people take for granted. This would be the concept of time, or rather, spending time with those we love and are closest to. This is something we don’t do enough of.

I realized this concept majorly this past weekend at my friend’s wedding. Although I always made it a point to see Alina and catch up with her every time I was home from school, I realized it wasn’t enough. As memories of classes, fun times and laughter we had together in high school came flying back and hit me in the face, I realized I never spent as much time with her as I had hoped before she got married. Then suddenly, reality struck as I remembered she is soon leaving to move out to California with her new husband. Though I am super excited for her, for practically the whole wedding however, I couldn’t help but regret not spending more time with her. And now who knows when I will see her again…

Through pondering this basically the whole rest of the day with another close friend, something hit me again. I suddenly remembered that California is not the farthest place in the world my friends can move to before or after they’re married…

And then I just got really sad. It was almost like I wanted to quick gather up all my close friends at that very moment and travel to Never Land together so we wouldn’t grow up anymore. So life could stay the way it is at this very moment. Now, that is a very ridiculous thing of course, but it was an idea.

Thinking more realistically, I decided I need to cherish the time God has given me now to enjoy these blessed friendships. I need to be sure I am making the time to see my friends now and build more memories before it is too late. Now, I’m not saying that once they all get married that’s the end of it and we’ll never see each other again, cause that would totally stink! I’m just saying that it will be much harder to find the time and it definitely won’t be the same. I have also come to remember the words from a book I once read that say: “Time is our most precious gift because you only have a set time of it…when you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you’ll never get back. Your time is your life, that’s why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time.”

And how true that is! Not only have I come to realize this from Alina’s wedding, but from my own cousin’s wedding. Again, wishing I would have been able to spend more time with her because even though she still lives 15 minutes away, I see the changes already and I hate it. And not just speaking in wedding terms, but with life in general. It’s still so easy to let time get away from us…something my friend in Georgia recently realized. A few months ago, his life almost ended and through God’s grace, he now realizes how important it is to spend time with his friends, even if they are states away. Just the other night he kept apologizing for not keeping in touch as much as we had hoped and kept promising to stay in touch more because life is so short, and unpredictable.

Okay, enough rambling. My main point of all of this? Basically, I made a promise to myself that I have to spend more time with others before it’s too late and life flies right by. We never know when our life will end, or when one of us will be engaged…haha….and I don’t want to sit back again and ponder at a funeral or wedding celebration and regret not spending enough time with my friend when I had the opportunity to.

More specifically, a few messages to some friends:

Inna, Victor, Taras: we must make it a point every time I am home to see each other and do something fun! No excuses!!

Keith & Anna Lynn: let’s try our best not to be too bogged down with homework in the library this year and go out and do something fun one weekend! (or more than one!!)

And yes, Zach, you too, we all have to be sure to keep hanging out together (even if you guys are no longer brothers) and play wally ball or something!!

Life is too short and time is too precious to not spend enough of it with those good friends. And as a close friend once told me, “friends are a gift from God, and are supposed to be cherished.” Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I need to start cherishing more the blessings God’s poured out on me by spending more time with my friends!! :)

"He has made everything beautiful in its time..." ~Ecclesiastes 3:11

Too much of a good thing can become a bad thing...

...and it's so true! Even in the bridal world. Sound weird? I know. Let me take this post to explain a little bit:

Obviously, my current job is at David's Bridal so I'm surrounded by wedding planning and bridal shopping ALL DAY. Now don't get me wrong, it's very exciting and I absolutely love what I do, but recently I've caught myself getting a little annoyed with it (maybe because sales have been tough lately...ha) or just because of the fact that I'm constantly surrounded by it. I mean constantly! One hour I will get in a new bride and have to work with her and then the next hour, another bride comes in and I go through the exact same process. Asking about the fiance, what style dress she's interested in, what the budget is, what colors she likes, how many party members she has, where the wedding is at, on & on & on. Although again, I absolutely love to hear this stuff from my brides and it's a different experience and story each time, I think I've become so aquainted with the whole wedding process now and concept of a wedding as a whole. Almost like I'm so familiar with it, it doesn't excite me anymore. It's quite embarrassing to admit actually, but being surrounded by it all the time (and yes, even at home...for example, I'll think to my self: "Oh! I wonder if (insert bride name here) came back to the store today to order her dress!) has made me so immune to the whole "wedding process." So much to the point that I've forgotten what it's all truly about. Too much of this good thing has become a bad thing. Again, let me explain:

Last night I had the wonderful privilege to get to hang out with a good friend who's my age and is getting married this summer. God has blessed me with her friendship in my life these past 5 years and it's been just been truly amazing to encourage each other in Christ as we grow older. Anyways, I spent a couple hours talking with her about her wedding and wonderful, Godly fiance. There was much excitement in our conversation as she was telling me all of the things which they had planned, how they are working toward building their marriage on Biblical foundations, and of course, trying to imagine all the other blessing God has in store for their life together! (I think there is something so different about talking with someone you know personally who's getting married rather than someone you've just met and are trying to encourage them to "buy their dress". At the same time, it's so refreshing when both you and the bride have the same Spiritual foundations and can reflect back and see how God has orchestrated the process and use it for His glory) :)

Anyways, at one point in our conversation I definitely had a big epiphany, if you want to call it that. She was talking to me about how she envisioned the wedding day: beautiful in her dress, good weather, her entire family and loved ones there....and at one point she said "I just want to make sure that everything ...." as to where I finished "...is perfect." She smiled and said, "well yes, but I want to make sure everything brings glory to God." Wow. Stop right there!! Can i say I felt slightly dumb!? Cause I did! Here I am, with this worldview that a wedding must be absolutely perfect from the outside and there she was much more concerned about giving back to God from the blessing and giving Him the glory!

That was a wake up call to myself, realizing that I've downplayed the whole wedding thing and haven't been remembering it for what it's really all about. Now don't get me wrong, I knew what it's all about, it's just that, well, with always being surrounded by it in a worldly way, I kind of forgot... My conversation with my friend last night was a great reminder for me to actually reflect on the true concept of marriage and not just the love filled, romantic stories I hear daily. Also, a reminder for the wedding to not only be glorifying to God on the "big day" but for the entire marriage, obviously! ;)

Now, I don't want to say I know a whole lot about marriage, because I don't. I'm not married, obviously, (despite how many times people at work ask me if I am), and I might not ever be. But from what I do know, marriage is sacred, holy, a reflection of how God calls ourselves to Him. Paul writes in Ephesians 5:31-33: "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you must also love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband." Marriage is a gift from God. It's not nearly as simple as people at work make it; it's a reflection of Christ and the church itself. A profound mystery! At the same time, it's also something that so many people take lightly; something they take for granted. Something that people tend to do over and over just because they rushed into it the first time or get bored too quickly. We twist, destroy, and degrade the beautiful blessing God's given us in our lives and make it amount to nothing more than just a day to dress up all pretty and have everything be perfect. We forget our wedding day is not just for us, but first and foremost for our Creator.

With all this remembered and reiterated in my life thanks to my conversation, I can sure say that today, I went into work with a totally different mind set. I wasn't working just for the sale or just to help someone find their perfect dress and wish them the most romantic and perfect day of their life. Now, of course nothings wrong with that but at the same time, I was doing much more. I was working to bring glory to God through helping someone along with their wedding process. Hoping that my actions and attitude about it all would help make people realize that there is a much deeper meaning to marriage than what they may have ever expected. Having this in mind, it totally broke my heart today when I saw a lesbian couple out shopping and trying on a dress. What a distorted view of marriage they had! If only one day they will come to the Biblical knowledge of what it's all about and see the way God truly intended it to be!

So let me just wrap this up by saying that each and every day now, I'm going to be going into work with a new perspective. Well, not necessarily new, because it's not a new concept to me, but just with a clearer vision of what God intended through this beautiful gift of marriage. My vision has been repaired as I remember the beauty of what marriage truly is all about. I thank God for this reminder through my conversation last night.

And although they may never see this blog post, this is a total shout out to Alina and Roman who are incredibly blessed by God and whom I love soo much!! May God bless them forever and always as they are living their life in testimony of Him and are a true reflection of they way God intended marriage to be. A true reflection of how Christ loves the church! He is working in their lifes so together in an incredible way already! Praise Him! <3

"(Love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." ~1 Corinthians 13:7-8

Overwhelmed.

Summer has only just begun and I feel so overwhelmed with everything already. There is so much to get done, so much to prepare for, and so much to learn! I feel like I am still in school. Really.

Recently, I have just been so overwhelmed with getting things ready for Ukraine. Planning the crafts for the kids, thinking ahead and trying to buy everything that I need, preparing myself spiritually, and of course the hardest part, trying to learn the language..ah! I have constantly been reminded however that I cannot do any of this and accomplish it in the best way on my own terms. I have been reminded to live each day this summer with faith and move on to the next day with even more faith. That is the only way to get things done and do it the way God would have us to. A friend gave me a quote the other day which really spoke to me saying: "Faith can move mountains but sometimes God needs to give you a little shove." So true!

I praise God that He never gives us anything that we cannot handle with His help. And in those times when we feel like it is too much to handle, He is there to prove Himself mighty and powerful to help us in all our times of need and give us a shove in the right direction.

This point leads me to another reality which I find overwhelming and have been thinking about a lot lately. The amazing fact that God calls us one of His own, that He delights in us. Psalm 18:19 says: "He brought me forth into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me." I know it's such a simple truth, and so well known, but I think it's way too easy for us many times to ignore this. We get so overwhelmed and caught up in our own situations and preparations that it becomes so easy to forget that the God of the universe actually delights in us as we delight in Him! When we take time to really meditate on this and praise God for it, I think we will come to find ourselves so overwhelmed by what a great and awesome God we serve despite our sinfulness. He not only helps us in our weakness and those times of feeling overwhelmed to prove Himself to us, but because He delights in us. Being reminded of this recently has just been very awesome! :)

Although currently, this summer doesn't really seem like much a break with work, teaching, church activities, trips, and classes starting up here again in a few short weeks, it has been refreshing to spend more time with God and quiet my heart before Him as I watch and see how He's helping me accomplish all that needs to be done this summer!

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." ~Matthew 6:34

What a Blessing!! :)

Well, that’s it. All finished up with my first year at the wonderful Cedarville University! And it’s truly so hard to believe. I’m not totally sure where exactly the time has gone and how it happened to literally fly by so fast. However, what I do know though is that God has incredibly blessed me this year with an awesome place and an awesome group of friends! Let me just take a second to explain:



When I left for Cedarville, I seemed to be leaving a lot behind at home and didn’t quite know what to expect of things and relationships at Cedarville. To be honest, I think I came here pretty close minded, not really willing to open up and build deep friendships with anyone. I actually didn’t really believe I would even find a good group of close friends whom I enjoyed being around so much. Well, let’s just say that after the first few weeks, God totally proved me wrong…He enabled me to begin some good friendships which would grow throughout the year. Looking back, I’m very undeserving of all the blessed relationships He’s provided for me; I’ve been able to build awesome friendships with some girls from my unit as well as the guys from my brother unit! :) And although not all of us will be together for fall semester, I can only hope and pray that these friendships remain close we can and build many more fun memories!



Reflecting, I’ve come to realize that God has taught me quite a lot and I have grown as an individual. He has taught me a lot about myself, others and how to think and act towards people whom I may differ from. It has been a very neat, humbling and at times challenging experience. I have learned that although it is such a blessing, it can be at times hard to live in an environment where I am constantly surrounded by Christians because when times get busy, I find it easier to push God aside because I feel like I don’t necessarily need Him as much. Continually hungering and thirsting for Him no matter my circumstances and who I’m surrounded by has been another big lesson I’ve learned.



There has been so much more that went on and I’ve learned this first year and I definitely don’t have time to talk about it all now….maybe in some other posts. But for now, it’s sure exciting to have a break from school, although I miss everyone and wish everyone just lived here in Cleveland with me. ;) Imagine all the fun we’d have!!haha. Anyways, this summer will be good to just relax (though that is far from what I’m doing) and just focus on God and my future. I can tell already, summer is just going to fly by, but that may be alright because I’m looking forward to going back to Cedarville in August! God bless everyone this summer! :)



“He has made everything beautiful in its time…”Ecclesiastes 3:11

Inspiration

So since I am just now finding out that a few of my friends have been creating blogs which is totally awesome, I have been inspired to keep up to date with posts and what not. Looking at my blog now, I realize that a lot of it is silly stuff and I think now it's time to get a bit more serious...maybe...and talk about some real things and what God has been doing in my life and what not. So here's to me being back and blogging again with what will be much more than just pictures and silly stories!! :) Yeayy!

"Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." ~Romans 12:1

Cedarville Part 1: My Dorm Room!

Cedarville...ahh....there is soo much that i can blog about this place, but truly it's too much to put into one post, and it would be a very long post so I'm gonna do this in parts. Hopefully at least once a week, permitting I have time, and get feedback and comments that is! Where are all my blogging buddies anyways!? Especially Joy, where have you been cousin!?!?

Anyways, this section will be my dorm room, how exciting! :) Ok, the top pic. is my room on the first day after about 45 minutes of thinking of a way the TINY room can be arranged w/ all the furniture while still having room to walk around. Finally, after so long of trying to figure out a set up, we found something that worked!

And ok, the picture here is what my room looks like now. Pretty amazing, right!? I love it! :) Please take notice of how super clean it is...some rooms aren't. And if ya'll were here in person, you'd be able to notice the nice scent of room spray my room always smells like: "Carmel Apple" from Bath & Body Works. A very delicious, fragrant fall scent. (No, they did not pay me to make that advertisement, though it would sure help for my tuition...)ha.

And here you may be thinking to yourself: "wait, what happened to her room mate? Why does the room look kinda empty, and clean!?" Well, as I'm sure you guys know by now, it just so happened that my roommate left b/c she didn't feel like it was God's will for her to be here at the moment. And now I'm sure you're thinking to yourself: "well I'm sure you love it Bri, but don't you get lonely?" Actually, no. You see, the empty bed (and corner of my bed) is a lovely place for my unit girls to just plop right down and chill. Actually, this happens all the time. When I'm in my room (which isn't very much actually) Kerith and Anna Lynn are usually sprawled out on the bed and we're telling each other stories or listening to songs that apply to our daily lives. It's quite fun and I'm never lonely or hardly in my room all by my self...except for now of course...haha. Wait.............oh haha! I take it back! They just came in!!lol :-P

Alrighty, and this is the one corner of my room
right next to my window. I just recently added the colorful Bible verses b/c the wall was just soo plain. Now that I think about it, I'm actually waiting to pick up some Cedarville pictures from wal*mart to put on this wall as well! But notice my lovely two plants, (I have another one on my desk)...but i love them! They just add life to my room! I was actually hoping to get some nice tall flowers too....so if anyone wants to send some to me my address is:

251 N. Main St. #2666

Cedarville, OH 45314.

Hahaha! And I'm debating on whether or not to get a fish...hmmm....maybe a Beta??

Ok, and for this last picture, this is the view I see right now when I look up from sitting on my bed. My closet is straight ahead obviously with the sweet zebra curtain. And I know you are all just jealous of my sword and princess crown hanging up on my wall from our bro&sis volley ball game...lol Pictures of that will come later, maybe. And speaking of, that wall could use some more pictures too I guess! Actually, now that I see this part of my room in a picture, I realize I should probably get some pillows for the bed to make it a bit more cozy, not to mention it'll look better! Well, that's it for now!

"And my God will supply ALL your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:19

Hot in Cleveland!

Have you heard of that new TV series called "Hot in Cleveland?" Well, if so....don't you agree that the main actresses should be the Conrad Sisters instead of whoever it is that plays the roles now?lol

Haha. Anyways, the title of that TV show inspired us girls to attempt to take some cute (or should I say "hot") pictures while down in Cleveland these past few times...

So here's what we came up w/...

lol

Ok, honestly, I don't like the word "hot..." it just sounds bad... so we'll stick w/ "cute" pictures.

(AHHH!! Formatting is stupid!)grr!

My attempt at taking a "Hot in Cleveland" picture.

It didn't really work....and never does...other than smiling for pictures, i can't really make a good face...

Ok, technically, this isn't really Cleveland, it's Sandusky, but we'll just pretend.
When Aunt Gloria was in town, us & the Jankes went down to the lighthouse one Sunday afternoon and did what we cousins like to do best-take pictures!! :)

We were having a lot of fun...until we saw a huuuge snake over by the rocks while posing for a picture!! It was the biggest, fattest snake any of us had ever seen....totally sick!! And no, we didn't take a picture of it, it moved way too quick. Sorry.haha.

Another confession: this isn't Cleveland either, it's our backyard. But once again, we'll pretend.

I'm having fun w/ little cousins Lydia and Julius. They are sooo cute, and photogenic!! :) However, the picture would have been all the more cuter if I had another little cousin in here....one named Dawson...(ahem! We miss you guys Joy!!)

Ok, and now back to being "Hot in Cleveland!" Wait... I mean "cute."lol

Three hot blonde cousins!! :) We've been waiting to take a blonde picture for awhile....sorry Kels.

(whoops!! I said "hot" again!)lol


And now a shot of the whole family "Hot in Cleveland"...with the exception of Uncle Gil, whose taking the picture.

Me, mom, the cutest family ever: Steve, Jenessa & baby Mia, Aunt Colleen, Ragelle, Karah, Kelsey and Kirsten.

That was a good, fun day! Tower City, Army thing for Steve, Jack Frost doughnuts, the works! But to everyone's disappointment, not West Side Market...who knew it wasn't open every day of the week!?lol

Despite that fact, it was great to have family up here once again.....we've missed it...and we can't wait until next time...till everyone else comes up here and we can be "Hot in Cleveland" once again!!lol (yea, i know, i keep using that word)lol

"The pride of man will be humbled and the loftiness of men will be abased; and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day." ~Isaiah 2:22

Pink Tux to the Prom

Prom....ha. I didn't really want to go to prom...not at all actually. Then I decided I'd go on one condition, if my friend Alina wanted to go and seeing as how we both don't dance, that was seriously the one and only way I'd attend this important right of passage (or so it's called.)lol

The week of prom ticket sale, I was still not planning on going...until... Alina called me about 2 days before tickets were done being sold and decided she wanted to go...and I didn't want to disappoint her.

We both already had dresses so thankfully there was no need for a crash prom dress shopping day! (Joy, do you recognize this dress at all!?) ;)




Prom was okay...the food was alright, and I'm sure the dancing was bad, except I didn't see much of it b/c me and Alina were outside the whole time catching up w/ each other's lives, giving advice, and having a great God conversation.


We took pictures before hand and everyone was being boring and taking the same old standard "put your arm around each other and smile" pose until i decided to jazz it up by attempting to work in something a little bit "cuter."

And I'm not putting up too many pictures here b/c i looked soooo gross!!

(my newly cut short hair might have had something to do w/ it...)ha.

But now, here's the big question.....although I said I wouldn't dance at prom, did I?? The answer: yes, I did. Both me and Alina actually. After talking out side for quite a while, to avoid getting bit by bugs, me and Alina went inside in this cute little living room area (away from the dance floor,) took some more pictures, sat on the couch and continued to chat away. But seeing as how we were the only ones in there, Alina decided we should at least pop out one dance move....I agreed. So, we both stood up, she twirled in a circle, and I twirled in a circle. Then we sat down, happy we "danced" at our prom. Yup...and that was it. (On a technical level, can you even call that dancing!?!)lol

Another attempt at a cute pose...how'd we do??haha.

And just for giggles, look at how mad I look here...it looks like I'm taking prom way too seriously!!lol

Yup, and that's my senior prom...which I never quite expected to go to....but I'm glad I did. It wasn't how I pictured prom, but was much, much better and blessed because I had Alina there with me and enjoyed our conversations very much!! :)

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord shall be greatly praised." ~Proverbs 31:30

(ps: I hate blog formatting...it never turns out how I want....) :( lol

Time is Ticking Away...

So, I decided it was finally time to blog about graduation. But then, once all my pictures were loaded, i realized that i forgot to blog about prom...so my blog will be a little bit out of order, but that's ok, right?

Anyways, this is me, obviously on commencement day! Woo!! I'm done! It feels normal, except for the part when i remember that i won't ever see a lot of the people i knew ever again, that is weird....but for most of the kids, i don't mind at all!! :-P ha.

Let's get started, shall we?

Me and my proud parents (oh! Notice the cold tassle and chord, that means National Honors Society. Inna, you will have this!!)

This is when i actually received my diploma....i look sooo silly and happy!

A closer up shot of me....kinda....

(Useless Information: the guy behind me was super, super, super annoying!)

Me and my friend Erin...together, we suffered in three years of band with a crazy director but great percussion instructor!!lol

Me and my happy family!

Ramune, me and Ernesta. It's crazy & sad to see how much they both have changed since the 8th grade.

Happy sisters!

Alina, me & Lesya

All looking gooooood!! :) lol

Ernesta, (some guy Robert), Alina, Ramune, Patricia, me & Lesya. Looking excited and a bit awkward.

Ok, and now to end this, i can't help but remanance for a minute....

It seems like just yesterday i was in band, playing for Oksana's commencement....looking back though, it's hard to think that was 2 short years ago!

What's even harder to think is that the very next year it was me playing at Taras' commencement! It seems like just yesterday....

But the weirdest thing of all is that this year, it was my turn....how crazy! I cannot believe that time flies by sooo quickly! Inna, get ready because this will be you next year!

And just as quickly as my high school graduation came, even more quickly will everything else in my life come. It makes me think, am i spending my time wisely, on things and with the people that matter the most to me? Am i doing all I can to glorify God? Are you???

(Above paragraph inspired by one of Victor's blog posts, thanks!)

As I think we're all coming to find out, time flies by wayyy too quickly, we don't have time to be messing around...and so, as one wise young man once told me, "live life to the fullest, God's way." Because that's the only way to be living!! :)

" 'For I know the plans that I have for you, 'declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.' " ~Jeremiah 29:11-23

What God Sees Fit

Sometimes, God sees fit to place things in our lives which we cannot explain. We will never quite understand why He brings friendships to us at a time when our life seems fully devoted and surrendered to Him. These may, overtime, become a distraction for our relationship with God and He knows it, so, He orchestrates things in a way as to where He is the center and things begin to work our perfectly. It may even work out so perfectly as to where we look at the situation through our eyes only and forget God is mighty and powerful to arrange what may seem impossible. This mind set effects us because we look at our situations from only our worldly standpoint and think our hopes and dreams for the future are hopeless due to one minor difference. We forget too, who God is and how He loves to bless our lives in ways which we would never expect or even deserve. This sin and doubt eventually builds up so much that God has to do what He can to pull us out. This is usually where He sees fit to jazz up our lives a bit. :0 Too many times, God sees fit to do this through drama in order to bring Him back to the center and remind us that He's in control. Yes, of course it is painful, it always is. However, once we realize we can get through it with God, we notice our fights, jealousy, and intentions are getting us nowhere. In turn, they eventually begin to ruin a beautiful blessing God saw fit to give us. After a handful of stressful days and sleepless nights, we come to a conclusion that we've been causing more unnecessary drama and need to trust each others words without being so quick to judge and assume things. In this way, God shows us to forgive and forget, but not forget that this is His blessing to us and to trust Him through all the situations. When this first lesson is finally learned, one season of drama passes, God sees fit to bring the friendship back. Things go great and everything is perfect once again. The friendship bond is strong, filled with fun and laughter...but of course, honoring and glorifying God, remembering He is the center of this amazing gift. But unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world anymore, and no matter how good things can seems to be going, they always get hard again, and God sees fit to add drama again to strengthen and teach us. Once again, pain is caused, and even sometimes unintentionally. We try to act wise in our own eyes, and it may work for awhile. It's almost like we cover up feelings and emotions by hiding them under a bandage. Yes, it makes things better for awhile, but too soon, God sees fit to remove that bandage, letting out the thoughts which were rushing through us. By that time however, it is too late and people change and move on...and God knew this would happen all along. To some, this may be a huge lesson and a way for God to strengthen us, but for other people though, it is simply more drama. Fights and arguments begin to run nonstop, painful words and actions are said and done to each other, and very, very deep feelings of hurt and regret are causing people to cry like never before. Through it all though, God doesn't leave us. He sees fit to cause this, but not just to leave us hanging there in pain. His promise to "finish what He began" and "work everything out for the good for those who love Him" keep us striving to seek Him through patience and endurance. God sees fit to challenge us in this situation in order to strengthen us and draw us closer to Him. Finally, after months of God's aching heart watching us in this drama filled hurt and pain, He sees fit to put an end to it and begins to restore the beauty He once made. Yes, of course things never turn out how they were, but restoration alone is enough to show God is All Mighty and ultimately in control. He makes things what He wants them to be. Since we are all human, many of us have a hard time accepting God's timing and what He's orchestrating in our lives, we forget that "God makes everything beautiful in its time" and that "there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a man's trouble is heavy upon him." We often fight to have things go our way, upset at how they are turning out and dwelling on the past. We forget though, that we shouldn't say "why is it that the former days were better than these?" We need to realize that this is "not of wisdom" to be asking this, because in a way, it's almost like challenging God and assuming our position is higher than His and that we should be in control to make things how they once were. This is all wrong because we end up living in the past and don't always realize the gifts God saw fit to bless us with in that day. Sometimes too, for reasons we cannot explain just as God saw fit to give us friendships, He too sees fit to begin to take them away. Of course this is an extremely hard fact to accept, and so many times be look back at situations that didn't work out how we had truly hoped or planned and we get confused. Because of all this, we constantly ask ourselves "what was the purpose of God putting them in my life?" This question is often left unanswered and as a result, we see ourselves unsatisfied. Yea, sure you guys both played an important role in one another's life, but maybe it wasn't for the purpose of them in your life as much as it was the purpose of you in their life. The biggest challenge here in this though, is continuing to show love to them. Real, true, Biblical love. Agape love, self sacrificing. Putting your friend's desires and dreams before that of your own. Realizing that you may have to do something you don't want to or watch them through a situation you'd rather not because it's what they want and you realize you cannot be selfish and want to fulfill only your own desires. It's loving them so much that you begin to want what it is they want for themselves because it may be best for them and you love them enough to let go and let them move forward. In this way, you have lived out true love; love like that from Christ with His people. This is the kind of love God saw fit for us. The kind of love we are suppose to have for one another, the kind of love that is suppose to surround our friendships....whether or not we feel like self sacrificing, that is no excuse. This is what our First Love demands. When people realize this, it can often lead to the point of total surrender. We come to the realization that not everything in life is about us and to make us happy. We need to be looking out and caring for others just as we do ourselves, in fact, more than ourselves. In this way, when we become wholly surrendered to God and His plan, although we may never understand it and be disappointed for some time...it pleases Him. It reminds us that God is greater than us, that He is in Heaven while we are down here on earth, that once He is involved and the center, He is always involved, even if it means in the tough times. And too, just think, when we reach this point of total surrender again, who knows? God may, in time, see fit to bless us with another friendship once again.... "Consider the work of God, for who is able to straighten what He has bent? In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider-God has made the one as well as the other so that man will not discover anything that will be after him." ~Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

To Be or Not to Be?

Cedarville or Cleveland State?
(idk!??!?!)

Myself or others?

(others)

Missions or music?
(both!?)

Band or Orchestra?

(symphonic band)

Be patient, or hunt?

(patience...)

Stop eating sweets, or gain weight?

(no sweets!)

No facebook, or facebook?

(idk!?!)

Weekly phone calls, or emails?

(both!!)

Texting or no texting?

(idk!?)

1 year, or 3 years?

(God's will....)

Survive, or hardly make it through?

(.........)

To be or not to be?

(idk!?!)

I could go on and on.....but i sound crazy! Just felt like sharing a few tough college choices.....

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." ~Romans 8:28

So this past Easter, I had the pleasure of making some pretty sweet eggs...Ukrainian style!! :) And i'm not even Ukrainian, how cool is that!?

Yup! And thanks to Inna, i had the opportunity be able to do this!! :) It was great!

It was actually really, really sweet. And i know all the Ukrainians already know how to do this, so i'll expalin for the Americans!lol Ok, here goes a bad explanation:

There was like this plastic wrap thing that you put around the egg, carefully set it in the boiling water (what i found out after my first 2!) and watch it quickly, faster than lightening, shrink onto the egg. It was amazing!! :O

My first one turned out perfectly, then the 2 after that not as good b/c i kinda dropped them into the water. (Which Inna told me later not to do, but i shold have guessed!)haha. So the next two were kinda messed up as you can tell, the plastic isn't on there evenly. :( But they still looked great!! :)

And actually, i think the best part about it was watching Kelsey's face!! She was in total shock when she saw me put the egg into the water....she was almost yelling at me: "How did you do that? Where did you get that?" Well, that's my little secret!! ;)

"My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?"
~Psalm 42:2