Take Two

Wow, another week has flown by.  This week summarized in one word: Positive.

The stress level that came with the first week of the second semester at college went down a few levels. :)

Purple Day!

On Sunday, Candace came into my room while I was in the closet getting ready for church.  When I came out, I looked at her outfit and it was almost the exact same to mine.   Purple sweater, black belt at the waist, black/grey skirt, Purple leg warmers/tights, and black shoes.  It was crazy!

We also had a birthday party for Alison and and Pricella. Yay for birthdays. :D

Lastly, I got another roommate! Monett.  She's from Mexico, and I love learning new things from her!  (It's also fun teaching her new things, too.) :)

We have fun car rides. ;)

Last Wednesday a few of us went to a food show at Sysco. Uh-mazing.  There were literally 3 whole rooms full of different foods and samples.  Unfortunately, I made the mistake of eating lunch that day before we left, so I wasn't *as* hungry as I could have been. Oh well. I'm sure there will be more food shows to come.  :)

Other good things that happened?
-I talked to a few of my friends from home.  I honestly don't know what I would do without them, and I can't *wait* to see them over Spring break.
-Christine made potstickers yesterday to celebrate the Chinese New Year. They were super delicious!
-I spent a lot of time with Jesus. :)

Well, that was last week (and part of this week).  I'm off to my devos, then my nutrition course.
That's all for now!

Crazy Love

I started reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. SO powerful.  I would *highly* recommend it if you haven't yet read it.  It talks about God's crazy, unconditional, all-powerful love for us and His desire to have a passionate and deep relationship with us.

Today I read a chapter about the lukewarm Christian.  He was talking about how in Luke 8, Jesus spoke in parables so that the people who weren't legitimately listening wouldn't get it.  God hates people who fake it, and He hates lukewarmness...He says we can either be for Him or against Him--there's no in-between.

The Chapter gives a long list of signs of a lukewarm Christian.  It was super convicting to me, personally.


"Lukewarm people ask,

• ‘How far can I go before it’s considered a sin?’ instead of ‘How can I keep myself pure as a temple of the Holy Spirit?’
• ‘How much do I have to give?’ instead of ‘How much can I give?’
• ‘How much time should I spend praying and reading my Bible?’ instead of ‘I wish I didn’t have to go to work, so I could sit here and read longer!’"

Basically, I realized there were a lot of areas where I was being a Lukewarm Christian.  For example, giving to others freely, without thinking "I sure hope God repays me for this soon", or "I can't afford to give that much".  I've caught myself thinking those thoughts so many times.  It really comes down to this: Am I willing to give God EVERYTHING, and trust Him completely to meet my needs? or am I only going to give 50%?  God's not interested in half-heartedness.  He says that uncommitted faith and half-heartedness are completely useless to Him.
 
All this to say, It really made me think about what my whole goal is in life, and whether I was serving God with my whole heart, or just being an average lukewarm Christian.

If you haven't read this book.....seriously, it is amazing.

First week back! (:

I've been at college only one week this semester and it feels like I've been here forever.

This week in one word? Emotional. Lots happened.

Sunday--moved in. I went out to eat one last time at Apple Bee's with my family. Good food. (:

It was a sad day...and I miss everyone already.

Monday--Freaking out about my speech for the next day. Still trying to finish the little details. =/

Tuesday--Still freaking out about my speech, but after I gave it I felt SO relieved and happy inside. :) Candace got here just in time for my speech. She got us matching mitten-gloves!

Wednesday--Sick day. I felt soo sick all day, I couldn't get anything done. Sorry, no pictures.

Thursday--Unpacked all of my stuff, finally. :)

Friday--Deep-cleaned my room for room inspection, and stayed up till 2am creating this blog. =]

Saturday--Slept in. :) Happiness.

Is it ironic that I can be so excited about being able to sleep in the next day that I can't even fall asleep? I think yes.

Candace, Leah, Pricella, Lindsay and I went out to a legit 50's diner and ate ice cream and root beer floats.

All in all, today was a pretty good day. Chocolate Bobka for breakfast(If you've never tried this.....try it. You will be amazed.), good friends, relaxation. Perfect way to spend a Saturday, and end a week. That's all. :)

A Little Recap...

Okay, 14 days into January and I feel the need to do a little recap of 2011 to make up for the lack of Christmas/New years letters my family sends out each year...

So, 2011 in one word? Frazzled. Not gonna lie about that one. =/ Finishing high school, entering college, first (full) year with a job...What can i say? Life is crazy!

Here's my 2011 in a Nutshell:

January

• Went out to eat at Giordano's for Rachel & Caleb's bdays(:
• Played broomball.
• Played lazertag and had a sleepover with Jenn, Rachelle and Kayla!

And...apparently I didn't take any pictures. My bad...

February

• Did a speech about Joan of Arc (pretty amazing, not gonna lie)
• Last CBC Valentine's Dinner. :(
• Packers won the superbowl!!!
• Sister turned 17!
• Went Skiing with CFC friends.

March

• Played volleyball.
• Senior Photoshoot session one-indoor. :)

April

• Went to Golden Corral for the first time with Jakob, Andrew and Laurel for Laurel's b-day!
• Saw Rachel Osuna. :)
• Photoshoot with church girls.

May

• Kicked off the volleyball season ;)
• Saw Pirates 4 with Brit and Laurel!
• Got my citation award for AWANA
• Graduated high school, had an amazing photoshoot with my wonderful friend Kayla, and went to a few of my friend's grad parties. :)

June

• Went to Chicago with a few of my favorite girls!
• Wyoming missions trip!

July

• Went to the mall with Charles and Bridget. (:
• WAKEBOARDED with CFC peeps!
• Math Team reunion
• Said goodbye to Aaron and Brittany. :(
• Went on the traditional CFC camping trip! it was awesome, as always. :D

August

• Went shopping for college stuff with the best friend! :) (:
• Saw Rachel Osuna for the first time in....a long time.
• Had to jump the car for the first time. Interesting experience.
• Played volleyball and hung out a few last times with my favorite people.

September

• Ate at Panda Express for the first time since going to college
• Survived orientation. =O
• Got 6 college credits for Analyzing & Interpreting lit.
• Met lots of cool people. :)October

• Dressed up as fairies with Jenn, Jenny, Candace and Theresa
• Spent lots of time with GEM! :D
• Cassie visited me(:
• Got an impromptu speech...and survived. ;)
• Had fun with Candace and Leah for Candace's b-day!
• Went apple picking. (:November

• On break for 7 weeks. ;)
• Worked at 5am on Black Friday...and survived.
• Christmas banquet at college

December

• Turned 19. (still processing the fact that this is my last year being a teenager--borderline scary). Candace and Leah drove two hours to visit me!
• Played volleyball for the first time in MONTHS.
• Christmas caroled--1800's style!
• Made cookies (as tradition) with Kayla, Jenn and Rachelle, and we saw MI4 in theaters!
• Spent Christmas eve and Christmas with my awesome cousins and second cousins. (:
• Went out to eat with Billy, Levi and Rosa and then to see Sherlock Holmes!
• Had a few game nights with my church homies!

Well, that's all for now! I'll catch up with everything since last month sometime later. For right now...I'm off to bed. Later! :)

Beautiful Life...

Well, I finally decided to start bloggin' it up again. =] That's right.

Why?

A. Peer pressure/seeing other people's blogs and feeling left-out.

B. To express myself, and sort out my thoughts (and maybe even be able to remember some of them =P)

and C. It seems better and more convenient than a journal (yes, I do own a journal in which I keep somewhat updated...=/)

So, all that to say, this is my blog. =] The name, "Bella Vita" means "Beautiful life" in Italian. The reasons I chose that name are because life is beautiful, and I desire for my life to be beautiful in the eyes of Jesus. :)