Well, I am proud to say that we are over half way into my last semester. Unlike my last post when we were half way through last semester. Time has flown, friends!
A lot has happened and I have no idea where to start....
Ok. First thing, one of the things I am most excited about. We have an apartment! We are really excited about it (or, at least I am). The apartment complex is so great. Modern, 3 swimming pools, and they have wood floors + black appliances, and they are somehow affordable. The people in the office are very helpful and I can't wait to move in! I'll be be moving in the day before graduation (eep), which will actually work out great because I will be able to bring a load of stuff down before I have to officially move out.
God has really blessed us. I have been stressed about the whole living situation. I like to have a game plan for the future, and when I don't I freak out a little. I have been trying so hard to trust that God has everything in control, but it has been really hard. I know that He does have a plan and I think He knew I really needed the affirmation that He was still in control and watching out for me. He is so good. It is a lot easier to say that when I have that affirmation, but it is really important that I remember His goodness and power no matter what my circumstance.
Leading off of that, some of you know that I mentor at a ranch close to campus. We have been talking about perseverance this semester. I did the same lesson with a younger group of kids I think a few semesters ago, but it is really impacting me in a new way. Yesterday we talked about the different ways that God calls us to persevere. Things that I know I need to work on. My mentee and I talked about how Jesus is the only way into heaven. She asked me if it counted that she went to church. I explained to her that no matter what you do, the only way that you can get into heaven is by being a follower of Jesus (and what that means) and believing in him. She promptly said that she believed in Jesus after I told her that going to church wasn't going to get her into heaven. ;)
It was really special for me to get to share that with her, and I even though I may not see the results of me sewing seeds, I know that God is feeding her soul. She also chose to close in prayer for the first time (after me explaining why we pray) after our one-on-one talk time was over instead of me. It made me really happy and I am sure God was happy to hear from her as well.
To transition a bit, the things I know you all want to hear...wedding plans! I occasionally post things on my wedding blog. I don't post a ton, but I do go into some detail about certain things.
I get asked alllllll the time about how wedding planning is going and if I am stressed. The general answer is "It is going well" and "not really." I don't mind talking about how the wedding is going. I tend to talk a lot when people ask me how I am doing. I try to make sure and remember to ask people how they are doing since I talk a lot...I am working at that. Anyway, I really enjoy talking about my wedding. After all, it only happens once!
I am working on getting invitations ready to send out. We have a few more people on the guest list than I was anticipating, but that is ok since the list is still pretty small (under 150). We are thinking that the actual attendance probably won't be any more than about 75 though, if that. We are thinking between 50-75, so it will be a smaller wedding which is what we were hoping for. Not that we don't want to celebrate with everyone, but we actually don't have that many close friends. We want our wedding to be fun, and casual. We are so looking forward to it!
I have my dress and am going to work on the veil in the next few weeks I think. We are getting married in 79 days and I am ecstatic! Time is a really odd thing. I never thought that I would get married right out of college. My parents didn't get married until they were about 30, so as a friend told me, I am "just a baby" in comparison to them. I don't have any problem getting married right out of college (obviously) but it is not what I pictured. I figured I would be a business woman or something and get married sometime in my mid to late 20s after becoming a speaker at youth conferences. I wasn't even planning to date again until I was at least a JR in college. Silly me. I guess God had different plans than I did. That seems to be a reoccurring thing....
College has definitely not been what I thought it would be. In some ways it has been better, in other ways not as good perhaps. I guess I didn't really know what to expect at college, so it is hard to say. One of the things I have written about in past posts is my relationships with other people, or rather, the lack of them. I thought that was a bad thing for a long time, but in hindsight, I believe it has really made me value the friendships I have now a lot more than I would have if I had had close friends with me all the way through. I have learned so much about life and God and myself, more than I thought I ever could in just one semester. School is tough and really busy, but right now my life is beautiful, even with all of my downfalls. I have beautiful friends on the inside and out, I have an amazing fiance that loves me like crazy and takes care of me so well. I have supportive parents, my first ever apartment is in a fantastic location and not run down like many of the other apartments we looked at (it is even a gated community...hello!). My future parents-in-law are great and made me feel like one of the family even before I started dating their son 3 years ago. Most importantly, I have a relationship with the one true God, who always takes care of me and loves me even when I have a hard time trusting Him, or do something stupid.
I know that there will be even more struggles than there are now, but I look forward to taking them on with my best friend and incredible (soon-to-be) husband.
Keep being awesome.
P.S. I forgot to mention, I gave up facebook for Lent. However, all that time is now spent on Pinterest. While perhaps it is not the most productive thing to being doing, at least it is more productive than looking at the same news feed for hours! Right?
