i hate this speech with a burning passion

ANYTHING. give me ANYTHING to stall from doing this God-forsaken speech. right now i choose blogging as a worthy distraction. see, i have to give this speech tomorrow and for me actually giving it isn't the problem... it's writing it that is the hardship.

fact: it's a persuasive speech so i have to be, well, persuasive

fact: my professor gave us the most intricate, detailed, and painful outline format possible

fact: we need to cite at least 7 sources (including one journal article) in our speeches

fact: it's an 8-10 minute long deal

fact: i'm passionate about my topic, persuading my classmates to help out St. Jude Children's
Research Hospital any way they can

myth: my HOURS of trying to write this speech have been productive

BAHHHHHHH! i can't even take it! i think i have like, two paragraphs total typed out so far. i'm really stressed out about it and i can't focus at all... maybe i could take some of my roommate's Concerta to help me out with that.

something else that hasn't been helping is my reminiscing about this past weekend which was possibly either the best or the second best i've had since coming to school. let's just say: road trip. =] but seriously, there's also this kid... oh jeez. he's been on my mind a lot lately too which is kinda rough because there's more important things to focus on here like this dang speech for example!

just kill me now... please.


hey look, a random Five Iron Frenzy song.

A Change of Season.

Plans fall to pieces a lot and I learned that tonight in a lot of ways. The first time it happened was at room draw, the second was when something else really weird happened.

The ideal was for four of us to be suite-mates next year in the New Residence Building... Things got ALL kinds of crazy, and it was established that we'd leave it in God's hands how everything worked out. His plans are basically always better anyway. So what had happened was, I drew #1. That's right, I got to pick my room first. SCORE! Ricki and I got a flippin' sweet room and we were expecting everything to work according to our agenda; God however, had something else in mind...

We are on the same floor as Kelly and Amanda, but we're not suite-mates. Our suite-mates are these two awesome girls names Lauren and Jordan. It's NOT what I expected, but I am SO confident that it's going to work out in a great way. God is so good and faithful even when we can't begin to fathom His plans or the way He's working. I'm so pumped for this change of school year, residence, and lifestyle.

I'm not going to talk much about the other way that I saw plans falling to pieces today, but i WILL say that it kept me thinking about Ecclesiastes 3. Here's the King James Version:

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

It's been a recurring theme in my life lately that times are a-changin' and that it's perfectly naturally and in God's order for them to change.The season is changing both literally and figuratively... both are changing into something more warm and beautiful than before. Thank you, Jesus!

A Change of Pace.

Things need to be different. A rescheduling has to happen and has to happen soon. There's a tiny bit more than a month left of this school year and there isn't much time to change things, but I know it can happen. More time with God, more time with schoolwork, more time building relationships, less time with my mafia, and less time with my freak-outs. These last few weeks of school are going to be crucial... I want to be held accountable. PLEASE help me if you think about it! A change is what's needed.

A Change of Clothes.

I'm finally done with wearing that stupid, annoying pink button-down. I'm NOT hand washing my outfit anymore. I can do my hair and makeup again and I can wear jewelry! But yet, strangely I'll miss the sameness of this past week. I'll miss not worrying about how I look and I'll miss pretty much telling the world, "take me or leave me, here I am with the bare minimum".

After our Mt. Dew Thursday Bible study decided that wearing one outfit for the week would be a sweet way to see how much excess we live in, we were almost all on board for the challenge. I was determined to make the absolute most of this week... like I said, no done hair, no makeup, hand washing the outfit, even my shower shoes were sacrificed because they weren't the one pair that I chose for the week. I really wanted this to be an intense week of constant reminders that I am blessed beyond reason and that I have almost a responsibility to do everything I can to bless others in the name of God.

Now that I blow dried my hair, put lotion on, and am wearing a new set of PJs it all feels like... too much. I'm so thankful for all the choices that I have, but it feels like a waste to have so many choices. Overkill. I don't know, this is a hard thing to explain. I'll stop.

Sucking at Blogging

A lot of stuff has been going on lately... lots of decisions to be made, lots of changes taking place, and lots of faith being challenged.

In a nutshell, two of my closest friends here at Malone might be leaving after this semester is over (which would totally crush me). I've been praying like crazy for them... I just want God's will to be revealed to them and that no matter what it is, they'll have a peace about whatever God is telling them. I've also been praying that the rest of our friends, including myself, will have peace about whatever it is they are supposed to do.

I dunno, this makes me want to watch Facing the Giants really bad though. If you haven't seen it, go watch it. In fact, I'll include a clip or two from it today.



Super inspiring Death Crawl scene
My new life theory in a movie scene. Prepare for Rain!!!

Back Where I Belong

After a truly great break with my friends from Heartland, my 2 long lost friends from Liberty University in Virginia, and my new friends Justin, Ben, Owen, and best friend Blake, I'm back at Malone... I am on cloud nine. 'Nuff said for today.



Happy times in our youth, courtesy of Jessica (one of the two Liberty friends). We're both Boy Meets World junkies and this is a nice montage of clips from that show. Yay! =]

It's been far too long with far too little to say...

Okay, I'll admit, the title is a lie. There has been so much to say that I've been too overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of it all that I have not been able to nor will I ever blog bout the incidents that have occurred in the past week or so. I figure that the post would be much longer than any one human could sit and read. I already have pushed that envelope far enough in the past. SO! I have a short blog today comprised of just a few key things that have happened recently.

1. I got hit in the face with a basketball yesterday. It sucked.
2. I finally git the T Bell that I've been craving. (A cheesy double-beef burrito.)
3. My 9:30 class is canceled for tomorrow!
4. My circle of friends is mystically increasing exponentially!!!
5. I SAW DAN TODAY!!!!!!!! (http://danseveryday.blogspot.com/)

That's it for now!

Favorite:
A clip of "Brule's Rules for Your Health" from the comedy sketch show "The Tim and Eric Awesome Show". (Courtesy of Dr. Shawn Floyd, my philosophy professor.)