Sunday, December 30, 2012

So I have been absent for quite a while...actually you could basically say since I left London. I am hoping to change this though! Keeping up with my blog is going to be my New Years resolution. It is getting a make over soon and with that I hope it will be like a fresh start! So, soon to come I will be posting about life recently!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Again...

Oh you know...just three more days of these :) ...my blog looks so lame I just keep blogging this link because I want it to look cute. Maybe I will then blog about real things!
http://taylorsdowns.blogspot.com/

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Life is a Blessing!

Sorry I have been MIA. School has the best of me right now..which also mean I am probably posting to procrastinate. Whoops! Any how, I am posting just to give a quick "thanks" to the Lord and to all of the people he has put into my life. Each one of these people is a blessing and means something different. I thank Him for the people He knew exactly when to place in my life to act as guides, friends, inspiration, encouragement, tough love, the list goes on and on. I have learned so much from each of these people and I can honestly say I don't think I would change a thing. Without them I would not be where I am today. So, I thank God today and everyday for blessing me with these people and everything else I have! I couldn't have asked for more!

God is Love!



Oh and I love Taylor Down's :)
http://taylorsdowns.blogspot.com/

Friday, October 26, 2012

Taylor Downs...Again!

Trying to win Taylor Downs' giveaway is also so much better than paying attention in Bio!!! :)

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Taylor Downs

Trying to win Taylor Downs giveaway is so much better than reading!!!!

Friday, August 3, 2012

All Good Things must Come to an End...I Really Hate This Saying!

I am writing one last post while I am here in London, partially because I am procrastinating doing the only work assigned to me while I was here, and because, unfortunately, my trip is coming to an end.

While here in London, I pretty much had a month to do as I pleased and explore this wonderful city. Yes, I was taking a class, but I really had just about no work to do here because we were given the opportunity to do it before we arrived in this lovely city. I had a total of 17 one page journals and one paper to write in 31 days...tough stuff, I know!

I honestly can't believe a month has flown by already. I really don't want to go home. I feel like I fit in here so well, and I know that I have to come back! I really feel drawn here for some reason, but I am not sure what it is yet. Anyway, I will they to keep this post short, so I am just going to post about my top three experiences here in London (not in any particular order.)

First, since I can't really pick one place I have visited as my favorite, were my visits to the Harry Potter Studio, and Westminster Abbey; completely different, I know! Harry Potter was awesome because it was like newscasters said after the last movie last summer, for many people the last movie was also a sign of their childhood coming to an end. This is very true for me because the first book came to the US in 98, then the last movie premiered when I was 18. This tour was like growing up, I finally saw how things worked behind the scenes and it wasn't just awe and wonder anymore like things are as a child. The tour really wrapped things up! Not that I am all grown up now, but the course of the Harry Potter empire has come and gone, just like the innocence of childhood. Now that I have finished that cliche, I will move on to Westminster Abbey. I really enjoyed our free tour there (thank you nice Canadian lady!) but my favorite thing is actually the Evensong. The Westminster Choir (all boys and men) sing and it is just absolutely beautiful; words cannot describe it! The surroundings of so much history and beauty in one abbey make the experience even richer.

My next favorite experience here was going to the US Women's Soccer game in Glasgow vs. France. Even though we had a train issue and were almost left there, this was an amazing night! The best part of the game was when, after the USA scored, the fans all started chanting USA, USA, USA. For the first time in a really long time, it felt like those three letters being yelled really meant something. Maybe it is because I was at the Olympics and everyone was really proud of our country. For once there was no political drama in the words, there was no teenage guy yelling it to be funny, but people from the US, and Britain and Scotland, were proud of the action taking place and really cheering for our women. It was an indescribable moment.

My last favorite thing that has happened here was seeing the Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton). Honestly, yes it was really awesome to see her, but the experience of everything going on around was the best part. It was insane to see how many paparazzi were there to get a good picture of her. The things they were saying to each other and about her were really funny; none of them were mean, they were actually well mannered and new their limits, but it was just funny. I was genuinely surprised at how the paparazzi acted. The men were helping each other out with their cameras and what not while waiting, then when traffic stopped and her car arrived for her to enter or exit, intensity hit like I have never seen before. At this point you could really tell that for a lot of these people, their next paycheck, or even their job, depended on these pictures. I am not by any means condoning this career though because often times they are invading privacy. It was just an interesting experience. It was also interesting to see how many common Londoners walking down the street would stop to see what the commotion was, then finding out Catherine was coming they to would stop and wait to get a picture. Some of these people were even on their way to work, but still stopped. One many in a cafe even moved all of his belongings to a different seat along the window to be able to continue his work and maybe get a glimpse of her.

Well, I guess this is it. I will likely post more about the trip when I arrive home, but for now I am going to enjoy my last three days here and soak up the blessings God has sent me!

God is love,
Court


Sunday, July 22, 2012

This is What Dreams are Made Of!

Hello!

So I just thought I would type up  post since I have a few extra minutes tonight. I have now been in London for roughly seventeen days. I say roughly because I took a small excursion to Paris. In those seventeen days, I have done almost every touristy thing possible. I have been to more museums than I can count, I have seen multiple plays and theaters, tried every food imaginable (I still don't understand the difference between sweet and savory biscuits), walked the streets of much of London, through many parks, and over many bridges, been to palaces, ran a 10k with 25,000 people most of whom were British, been to two of the world's most famous churches, went to the most beautiful services at these churches, spent time at some pubs, saw the Duchess of Cambridge, met very nice British and Canadian people, have been hit on by numerous strangers, went shopping, hit up local markets...the list goes on and on.
With all of this being done in seventeen days, I now have the last fourteen to sit back and enjoy my favorite things here. I also get to go to Edinburgh, Glasgow for a USWNT Soccer (Football) game, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, and the Harry Potter Studio Tour. In the time I have left here I plan to spend a lot of time in the parks, especially Kensington Gardens. There is something about the park that makes it the most beautiful place in the world to me. Maybe it is the fact that I feel I am a good mix between a country girl and city girl. Deep down I know I am a bit Southern Belle, but I feel I am meant to be in a big city. This park is considered to be in London, but it lie in an area that does not have as much hustle and bustle. It has to sounds and sights of the city surrounding it, but on the inside is green as far as the eye can see with ponds, trees, and just pure nature all around. It also has an atmosphere that I have never experienced before. On weekdays, in the morning the park has this peaceful, calm vibe that I cannot do justice describing in words. There are a few runners, walkers, and cyclers. Then there are a few people enjoying time with their dogs, walking and playing fetch. In the evenings it is still a chill vibe, but there are many more people walking and running. There are many families and pick up games of various sports. In the evenings it is sometimes nice to just sit and watch everyone enjoying their time with loved ones. On the weekends the park is still lovely, it is a whole other atmosphere though. It is filled with families, sports, picnics, sun bathing, and tourists going to the palace. There is also a street on the other side of Kensington Palace, technically outside of the gardens I think, that is probably my favorite street in London. It is lined on one side by gorgeous embassies, and on the other side lie the palace and more embassies. The street does not have many people on it, maybe because the security is intimidating? but that is part of the reason I love it so much.
Now that I have described in full detail my favorite place I have been to in the world thus far in my life, I will move on. I have so much love for this city and country. To start off, the landscape is stunning with miles of green in the countryside, and still a large amount of green in the city, but also many gardens with wide arrays of flowers. Then there is the food here, it is cheaper to eat healthy than fattening (what a novel idea!) The true English food is all comfort type food, like the kind you want to eat that has been home cooked on a cold winter night, then snuggle up to the fireplace with a good book. My favorite thing I have had is probably Sticky Toffee Pudding! The people here are also very pleasant and helpful; I have to say, they have a great sense of humor! Another thing that is great here is the since of pride people have in their country. Don't get me wrong, America has plenty of pride, but maybe because Britain is smaller, it is more noticeable. Everyone here seems so passionate about what they do and making their nation the best it can be, even the street vendors and tube attendants. Maybe the best way for me to describe it is an example with the Royals. The Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee earlier this summer. While some people here will flat out tell you there is no since in having the monarchy still, the streets and River Thames were packed with massive crowds. The people still came out to wave their flags and celebrate this mile stone in history even though the weather was cold and rainy. In America, I am not sure that I have or will see an event that will draw that many people to support it. Especially if it is something they don't necessarily agree with. The people here went to celebrate even if they don't find sense in having a royal family. I guess it is just the unity that the monarchy brings to the country that amazes me! For us in the US, we have disagreeing political parties and everyone takes a side or doesn't care at all. Unity is a lovely thing in my book! Lastly, the rich history and culture of this country is probably my favorite thing to learn about! I won't go into depth on this one, but I can be amused for hours upon hours learning about British history.
Last, but surely not least, I believe that everything happens for a reason. With that being said, I know that God had a plan for me this summer. I feel that bringing me here was part of that plan, but I have not figured out why yet. I may spend some time in the next couple weeks, reflecting on my time here, and what it has done for me and why I may have been brought here. I know the answers may not come for a while, but wish me luck!
So now that I have detailed all of my favorite things here so far, and probably bored you to tears, I will let you move on with your life! I will try to post again within the next week!

God is Love!
Court

Monday, July 16, 2012

England Has Captured My Heart!

I am going to start off this post by apologizing for taking so long to put up a good post about my European adventures. 
I am not really sure where to start...there is so much to say, yet I am not sure I can put some things into words. I guess I will start by saying that I have officially seen the outside of every large or well known monument in London and Paris. 
My first week in London I explored the inside of a few places, but I quickly discovered there is no way to take in everything this city has to offer in only a month. I will just have to try my best though, or pray that I get to come back! Some of my favorite things that I have done so far (there is too much to list everything) include: Attending the choral Evensong at Westminster Abbey; it was one of the most beautiful things that I have ever witnessed! Words cannot describe the experience. I also ran in the British 10k with 25,000 other people, most of whom were British. This was very cool as I got to meet "natives" and talk to them about their lives and the UK. I have also had the privilege to enjoy Starbucks with a beautiful view of the River Thames right under London Bridge, thanks to a friends suggestion. Another fun thing I have done was meet up with my friends cousin who lives here. He and his friends took us to a pub and filled us in on all of the "ins and outs" of London. It was so helpful! I have visited multiple museums and seen the outside of each palace. I took a field trip to Stratford-upon-Avon. Last, and certainly not least, I have explored some of Kensington park. So far, it is my favorite place in all of London. I love it so much I even go there some mornings to run. I find it so lovely because it is a little slice of peace, quiet and beauty in this amazing city. 
Now on to Paris. Lets just say it was an adventure! I thought it was beautiful, but I was definitely glad to be back in London. I even got that "home sweet home" feeling when it came into view on our Eurostar ride back. Don't get me wrong, the food and sights in Paris were superb, but I felt a little nervous most of the time I was there. When we first got there, all of the CCSA students got a coach tour of the city. We were then dropped off at our hotel and they basically said see you Sunday at 3:30 (it was Friday at 5). This would not have been so bad, but no one we were with really knew any French or knew their way around the city. After a rough first night, we went to bed early and woke up early to set out for the morning. We walked the whole city! We hit up the Eiffel Tower and got crepes (banana and nutella!) Then we walked to Champ elysees and watch the military parade for France's independence day (Bastille Day). After the parade we headed toward Notre Dame and happened upon the Lock Bridge. We then made a stop at the tunnel in which Lady Di's car wreck occurred. After Notre Dame we went to the Louvre and spent a few hours there. At the end of the night we went back to the Eiffel tower for the Bastille Day fireworks. Parisians really like American 80's and 90's disco music! Then last day in Paris we just kind of chilled. Oh, we also ate macaroons from Pierre Hermes and had more crepes! 
Also, I can't forget why Paris made me nervous! There were small children trying to pickpocket everywhere! I saw someone's junk as they peed in broad daylight. We witnessed someone get beat up after he got caught pickpocketing. There was a bomb scare in the room of the Mona Lisa and they had to clear us all out. And last, a girl on our trip got her iPhone pick pocketed as she looked at a little kids clip board with a "petition to aid the deaf and dumb." But hey, I made it back okay and got some good experiences, sight-seeing, and food!
Back in London, I have a busy week ahead. I had class today. Tomorrow is a field trip to the Globe theatre, St. Paul's cathedral, another church and we are going to see Woman in Black (the play). Wednesday is class and then some sight seeing. Thursday we are going to the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, and somewhere else but it is slipping my mind right now! Then they whole weekend after that is free to do as we please! I am sure that it will be filled with more sites and events that will cause this city and country to further steal my heart. 
I feel as if I will never want to leave. This place is just so beautiful and so me. I cannot wait to see more of the UK, inside and outside of London!

Thanks for reading! 

P.S.- Pictures are posted on my Facebook...there are too many to post on here!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

London...32 hours in!

It has been a while since I have posted, and this one is going to be quick because I am jet legged and need sleep before I run in the British 10k tomorrow morning!
Basically, I am all settled in in London. I have seen most of the city now (all but Kensington Palace, some parks, and the Tower of London). Although I have seen it all and taken pictures, I have not been in much, but I have a whole month to explore! Below is a link to all of my photos from the first two days!

Pictures!

Enjoy!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Bursting at the Seams...with Excitement!!

As I sit outside typing this post, enjoying beautiful weather, a sunset, and some Mumford and Sons, I can't help but be ecstatic, yet a little overwhelmed by the next month and a half to come!

I head to Young Life camp at Sharp Top Cove in Georgia on Sunday! I cannot wait to see what the week will bring, as I am sure it will be a super challenging week, yet one of the most rewarding weeks I will experience in a long time! I am getting myself into the mindset that I will be leaning on the Lord for the whole week, but hey, there is no other way I rather do it!
I then return from camp to Northern Kentucky for all of three days. In this short amount of time I get a spa day with my mom for her birthday/ anniversary gift from my dad (notice how I benefit too? I'm not complaining!) I also get to get my hair done that day! (Thank goodness because it has been far too long.) Then I get to celebrate the Fourth of July with my family and friends. This is rather exciting because it is pretty much my last day of summer in KY :)
On the 5th of July I hop on a plane for London and I arrive there on the 6th!!!!!!!!!!! I feel like I have been waiting for this day for half of my life. I have never been there, but have this feeling I am going to love it. As my my old roommate liked to say, "You were British in your past life, I promise!" I have so much planned and so many things scheduled to do while I am there, and on my side trips to Paris and Edinburgh. I am not going to tell you the plans though; I rather surprise you all when I am blogging from the UK! If anyone needs a mailing address for me while abroad I can be reached at the following:

Courtney Stone
CCSA
King's College London- Hampstead Campus
23 Kidderpore Avenue
London NW3 7ST
United Kingdom

Upon returning from London in early August, I have one day to do laundry and what not. I then head back to Lexington for Spirit Week and recruitment with my Phi Mu sisters! I have so little time to get things done between London and school that my parents are moving me into my new house in Lex while I am away! So much going on!!!
So as you can see, I will be rather busy for the next couple of weeks. Because of this, this will be my last post until I am abroad, as I would like to spend my whole, about one day, of down time enjoying family and friends before I am gone for the rest of the summer.

Until next time, from London,
God is Love!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Shake the Worry!

Im not sure how this post is going to go today because my thoughts are chaotic like never before. I think this is likely a reflection of my life in the last week or two. I will try to add some organization by doing two separate topics.

Reasons for My Chaos
The fact that I have a week and a half left of summer in Kentucky is really setting in. I have to so much to do and so little time. I am not sure that I have been this legitimately stressed in a few months, not even for finals. In a week and a half I have a huge spiritual journey, Young Life camp. Three days after returning, I head to London for a month! Then a day after arriving home I move into my new house at UK for recruitment.
I hope this does not sound like a complaint! I am beyond thrilled to have each of these opportunities and feel wonderfully blessed; I just feel as if I am not quite prepared for all of these adventures.

The Rest of My Life
With all of the preparation (or lack there of) for the above listed events, I was looking for a bit of a pick me up. Something like a one liner, a good bible verse, or an inspirational speech/quote. I found the speech, addressed to one of Standford's graduating classes, given by Steve Jobs. In the speech he said that everyday he looks in the mirror and asks himself, "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever I think no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something." This quote, among many other things in his speech, hit upon something that has really been weighing on me lately: What am I going to do with my life?
I firmly believe that I need to do something that I love, not love the money I make from doing something. For me specifically, I think this will involve a few key elements:

  •  I enjoy the things I am good at. I have found though that often it is the people I am surrounded with that know what I am best at, so I need to reach out. (If you would like to share with me, please enlighten me!)
  • I also know that what ever I do, I want to be making a real impact in the world. I have found that helping people is one of the things I enjoy most in life, so I believe this is a good starting point to finding a career path for myself.
  • Last, I have realized that I need to love the people that I work with and live with. Life is so much more pleasant when you actually enjoying and love the people you spend the majority of your time with. Hopefully, I will be spending a good amount of time with both co-workers and family, and providing love and support to them and also receiving it would be such a blessing.
Now that I have listed all of these things, I need to figure out what I can do with the rest of my life that would shape around these core thoughts. Please feel free to offer suggestions; I could use them!

At this point, you may be thinking, "I thought she wanted to work for a non-profit in the Global South. Typical woman, changing her mind all the time." Well, I have not changed my mind, I have just realized what a challenge this may be, as it is not easy to get such a job. I sure am willing to try though! I plan to seek out internships in which I could try my hand at this work, as it is what I feel I am being called to, I guess I just need a plan of action regarding school.

What is the best major to accomplish this? Should I create my own major to focus my classes on useful things for this line of work? Will this jeopardize me if my career plans don't work out? etc. etc. etc...

Im thinking what I really need to do, and what Mr. Jobs would suggest is too stop asking myself what if's, and follow my heart.

Conclusion
I need to pray on both the immediate future, my trips, and my long-term future, and figure out God's will for my life. After all, He already has a great plan for me; I just need to shake the worry and trust Him and all His wonder!

God is love!

P.S.- If you are also feeling the need for inspiration, look no further:

The Video Version

The Written Version


Friday, June 1, 2012

Thunderstorms!

This blog post is super random, but considering today's weather (cool, gloomy, and wet), I just had to write about my love of rain!
I love cool, gloomy and wet, I like the sun too, but storms are my favorite. I think I love the rain because it provides great sleeping and reading conditions, storms provide amazing sounds, and the rain is what makes things so green and also keeps flowers looking fresh!
So really this post is getting at two things: 

a) I have to potential to love London purely for the fact that its summer weather is often like the weather today in Kentucky. Im so excited I can't even describe it.

and...

b) One of the things that made the camp I went to this past weekend so great, was that on Sunday morning when I went outside to enjoy the peace and quiet at 7am, it was cool and sunny. Then a storm slowly rolled in and I got to witness the whole thing. It was beautiful! I sat in a rocking chair as the clouds slowly took over the whole sky and thunder started its hushed rolling thuds in the distance. Then came sporadic sprinkles. At this time I moved to a stone fireplace under the shelter of a log cabin. The rain picked up and the sky went from sun poking through clouds to full on heavy, grey. This was also when lightning started to flash through the darkness being carried in, and the low roar of thunder became magnified as the storm was then happening, full throttle. I eventually had to move inside because the rain was pouring down in monsoon like amounts and the wind had really picked up. It was just amazing to sit and listen to the storm and simultaneously watch it head our way all with no one screaming or running in the wetness. There were a few other people present and it seemed like they enjoyed the spectacle about as much as I did.

The sounds were somewhat like one of my favorite videos:

Thursday, May 31, 2012

We Are Receiving Even While We Are Giving?!

It has been far too long since I last posted, but maybe it is a good thing. I spent the holiday weekend at Timberwolf Lake in Michigan. It was a three day span of much need personal growth and realization, and a great time of bonding with my peers. I couldn't have asked for more to come from the weekend; I had a huge prayer answered. Then to really top off the weekend, I had a great conversation with my next door neighbors (whom I had never met before) about my faith and career goals. Perfection!
Anyhow, today I have decided to post two really neat lessons I am learning, and one really cool analogy that I feel perfectly, or as close to perfect as possible, sums up just about everyone's faith walk.

Lesson number one:
This lesson is something that is for my own personal growth and work. I had been aware of it earlier, but this weekend it really showed through how much I need to work on it. It is the simple fact that I need to start listening more and talking much less. I don't mean just stop talking and only listen. What I have learned is that while I seem to be helping people with their problems quite frequently, I need to really start listening to them. I need to not only listen and give feedback which is what I have always done, but listen in a way that I can really, really feel for them and exude love back to them, the love that they need. Then there is the talking part (this part is going to be hard, and more crucial). I need to start talking less. Yes, my gift of gab is inherently a huge part of my personality, but I am learning that maybe I talk so much that it is hurting me and others spiritually. I need to start talking less so that when I do talk, people really hear me and value what I say. Currently, so much of what I say is wasted. I talk about so many unimportant things, it is incredible.

Lesson number two:
When you have really given your life up to Christ (and often times, before this without us realizing it) and when we do service as part of His will for us, we receive much more than we give. I don't have a specific example for this, but the thing that I am learning is that when we see He is with us in all that we do and give, we are growing in Him. We are receiving much more in our spiritual life, in terms of joy, peace, love, and any other gift you can think of, than we are giving in materials, love or service. We could be exuding all of the love we have to offer while doing acts of service, but during them, we are receiving much more from Him, as He is supernatural, than we could ever give, as we are only human.

Last, the Amazing Analogy:
To start off, sorry for another Ashley Judd reference, but "All that is Bitter and Sweet" is too good to not quote! She describes her God concept as this, "a beautiful, mighty, flowing river, which I realized represented God's will. I thought of myself and how sometimes I wade right in, abandoning myself to the care and protection of God's will without hesitation. Sometimes, though, I sit on the riverbank, stuck in my self-will, watching the river flow right by, unwilling to take the steps necessary to put me in the graceful currents. Other times I step in, but only to my ankles, back turned on the river, staring at the bank, thinking about why I can't have it both ways, self-will and God's will. Or I come to God as I did tonight on my knees, crawling, begging for it."
To me, this could not sum up walks in faith with our Creator any better. As you probably know by now, about six months ago is when I really decided to let go and was in my form of being on my knees, begging for God's will for me. Also, as you may know, I am a Young Life leader. This entails teaching high schoolers who do not know or are disinterested about Christ's love. We also disciple those who know of His love. In doing this, we get to witness and help students through the struggles we all have. Since the time I had my "come to Christ moment" (or year rather) and began working with high schoolers, I have really seen the obstacles you can face as a follower of Christ; the obstacles that have us sitting on the riverbank or only ankle deep. Chasing after Christ is definitely not easy. As some people I know say, there are mountain top experiences in our walk with the Lord, but there are also very deep valleys. I like the above analogy because it clearly states why we have such experiences: our hesitation. It is basically the self and world versus the supernatural. We have to chose one, and often times it is oh so hard because we are in the world, the river, and forget that it is actually God we are in, He created the river and the world and all its glory. I believe this generally happens because the world is sometimes much easier to see and to hold on to, yet if we let go, the supernatural will really be so much more rewarding and refreshing.

So to sum things up: I need to sincerely listen, I need to stop wasting God's gift of speech, I receive much more than I give, and often times I just need to let go, but my faith walk will always have struggles.

I am currently learning so much about myself, others, and my faith. Much of which has been from "All that is Bitter and Sweet", then, ironically enough, reiterated soon after during preaching at services and things like camp. Funny how that works!

(***Thank you to Ashley Judd and "All that is Bitter and Sweet" for the majority of this post! Trust me, these thoughts are very prevalent in my life, but definitely not original to me! Also, if you are thinking I am obsessed with Ashley Judd, you will soon learn that I get like this with certain women, but I like to see them as role models or inspiration rather than an obsession.)

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Running: How to Turn Death into Life!

Hello friends! So, there are a lot of different things on my mind that I have considered posting about today, but since my last post was a bit long and kind of deep, I feel like I am going to go with something much lighter today! Ill just save the other ones for later. :)
Anywho, on this beautiful Sunday I would like to take some time to post about running. I can hear the groans now and feel like people may stop reading pretty soon. I am trying to bring light to this particular form of cardio exercise though! This post will be about how great running is not only for physical health reasons, but also mental ones!
So first off, yes we all know that running has various health benefits ranging from losing weight to giving us endorphins (a chemical released when doing exercise that improves mood.) I would like to focus on the positive things running does for our mood and even relationships with others. 
I know most people hate running and if you would have told me 5 years ago that I would be writing this post right now about how great and positive running is, I would have laughed at you. Over the last few years though I have grown to be a lover of running and everything it provides. 
First there is the personal aspect of running. As most people know, running can be painful and at times miserable, but first off, I am more than appreciative that God granted me two working legs to be able to partake in the act of running. Then there is the fact that while I run, to take my mind off of the pain, I have learned to do some of my deepest thinking. If utilized correctly, I have learned to treat my time running as an escape from the world in which I can retreat into my own head and really process what I think and feel about things. Running is a great opportunity to do this because I can do it alone, there are few distractions, and I don't have things like technology interrupting me. Also, being a Christian, or any of you out there with other beliefs could do this also, I have learned to use this time to pray and spend time with God! Going on a run is a great opportunity to do this because I am outside in the wonderful world God created for us, and I can enjoy all of the things He has blessed us with. To further show how great running is in taking advantage of my time with God, is running as a sport.
Running as a sport generally involves races. The following is something I never actually thought to do while I ran track in high school, but as I get older and try to challenge myself by running in 10k's and such, I have started doing it. This "it" that I am referring to is using my time running to really lean on Christ. It is probably something much more symbolic than practical; nonetheless, I have learned it is a great tool. While running in long races, or even when I am having a hard time getting through a run, I have started to pray like crazy that with God's help I can make it through without stopping. This isn't really to deepen my relationship with Christ, but is more my time of asking and depending on Him to help me strengthen my will power. Believe it or not, it works wonders. 
The last race I ran in, I devoted every other mile, 3 out of 6 miles, to either leaning on the Lord to help me make it through the race, or praying for those around me also running. Early on,  I was really asking God to help me find the will power not to stop, but by the 2nd mile spent with Him I was free to pray. Some of the people I prayed for were people running to lose weight, some were running to spend time with family, and others were running to support a cause like breast cancer. The awesome part about praying for these people was that even though they have no idea I was supporting them, they all had people supporting them on the side lines.
The last sentence I just wrote is one of my all time favoring things about the sport of running. Every race I attend there are always people on the sides supporting their loved ones and others, even if they don't know them. It doesn't matter if I am at a track or cross country meet, a marathon, or even a 5k; there are always people rooting you on. The sense of community that running provides is absolutely amazing! Everywhere I have been, people cheer for you even if they don't know you or why you are there; it is great! It is also amazing to see runners as they accomplish their goals and celebrate with other runners, friends, and family. Seeing someone who has just crossed a finish line with their family, or who finished their last goal in their journey to losing 50 pounds, or even someone who is a seasoned runner and just got their personal record time is a great feeling. Even if you can tell someone is in pain, they also always have this great since of joy and pride about them. Everyone at running events just seems so full of love and proud of everyone around them whether they finished first, last, or somewhere in between. What matters is that they did it!
So, not only is running healthy, but it can deepen relationships within yourself, with your Maker, and with others. Last, and certainly not least, running seems to provide this great since of sportsmanship, community, and love that I have never seen exuded in any other sport. It is simply amazing, and it reminds me how God meant for humans to interact.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Summer: The Lord's Test

To any of the lovely people who read my blog, again sorry it has been so long since my last post. Finals week had me a little preoccupied. But on that note, I would like to fill you all in on this up coming summer: what it will look like and the challenges it will bring for me.
First off, is what I will be doing with my summer. Basically, I will be on the go from day one...which was yesterday. I started my summer out by running a 10k; I had a blast! I will be running another one later this summer while I am in London. Other than running, I will be spending the weekdays at work, working 40 hour weeks at an office. Luckily I only have 32 days of work! (counting down much) I also get the privilege of returning to Lexington once a week and even get to spend a weekend there fulfilling my duties as a Young Life leader. This will include time with some of the awesome friends that I have made this past school year.
Now on to the good stuff. At the end of May I get to take a road trip with some friends to a Young Life property in Michigan (Timberwolf) for Leader Weekend. I will then be spending the last week in June at Sharp Top Cove, another Young Life Property, but this one is in Georgia. This time I will be a leader at camp! It will be my first camp experience at YL camp on the other side, and I am so excited! After camp, I get to spend three days at home resting and packing for my month long Study Abroad Trip to London, England! It is going to be a blast and such a great experience! Once I get back, I will be going straight back to UK to spend the last two weeks of my summer attending Spirit Week and Recruitment with my Phi Mu sisters.
As you can tell, I am going to be very busy this summer. With this being said, I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about all of the challenges, yet rewarding experiences that this summer has to offer. Each of the things that I will struggle with or am blessed with this summer will make me a stronger person and strengthen my relationship with Christ.
First are the challenges. There are the going to be various things that I will have to lean on the Lord for to get me through this summer. These include things like working in an office and for my mom (really not my first choice, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.) I am by no means saying I don't like my mom; I love her, we just have very different organization and work styles, and considering the fact that she is my boss, well it will be an adventure. Another challenge will be to strongly uphold my relationship with Christ this summer in all that I do. This may be hard because my community at home and my community in Lexington at UK are very different. At home there are many temptations that could take me back to the person I was before I left for college. I have made a pretty big change in my life since I left for school: I have really started trying to chase after Christ in everything that I do. So, as you may infer, this has really changed me. It will be a challenge to be home this summer because it will be my first long stretch of time away from the people who were there during this drastic change in my life. While I am home, I will be able to keep in contact with the people who so largely impacted me in Lexington, but when I am in London things will be a bit more difficult; another challenge in which I will really have to lean on my relationship with Christ.
Finally, I am at the many rewarding opportunities I will have this summer. To start off, I am taking the challenges above and looking at the silver lining, they will give me the chance to make my relationship with Christ significantly stronger. Then there are the opportunities that I have to spend at Young Life camps this summer: I get to spend a total of a week and a half investing in the Lord in my life and students lives! I will get to reflect on what He has done for me, help others to hopefully catch His vision, and love others with my whole heart in some of the most peaceful places in the US: YL properties. These are going to be amazing experiences in which I will be able to escape the world for multiple days, and I will get to learn a lot about myself while helping others learn about Him! Sounds completely amazing if you ask me, but hey, that is why I am doing it! Last is my trip to London. Not only do I get the opportunity to go to one of the most historically filled cities in the world, but I also get to learn about theatre for a month. Other than the immediate learning experiences, I get to experience cultures from all around the world because we are taking weekend trips to Paris and Edinburgh, and the Olympics will be in London during the end of my stay. For me, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I get to experience the world coming together for what I believe is one of the few semi-peaceful things we can do together, sporting events! I will also have the chance to take in what the world has to offer since I believe there is so much more out there than what I have already seen. Since I will no only one other person in London, it will also provide me with the chance to really branch out to figure out who I want to be and what I want to be passionate about while I am here on earth.
So, all in all, I am looking at this summer as an opportunity to learn a lot about myself, the world around me, what the Lord has provided for me, His beautiful creations, and a chance to grow with Him. I can't wait to see where this summer takes me in my journey on God's blue marble, but I know, no matter what, if I am always leaning on the Lord, I will grow tremendously this summer!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." ~Proverbs 3:5-6

P.S.- Sorry about the longevity of this post!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Mysterious: How God Works

First off, sorry it has been so long since my last post; I am super busy as my Freshman year is coming to a close!

Second, to preface this post, I would just like to say that my posts will likely be long as they are my inner thoughts, which are never short winded.

Anyway, the subject matter:
In a geography class I have been taking we talked about the idea of time space compression. This is the idea that the world has been compacted by all of the technology we have, in turn compressing time and space. We discussed how this happens for many people, but there is also a significant number of people that are not impacted by time space compression. The examples used to further explain this idea were that there are some people who can jet set across the country for a weekend to go skiing, while there are some people who have to trek for hours through a desert just to get water. There were many more examples, but this was the simplest.
Anywho, the idea of time space compression combined with my career goals and gratitude really hit home with me this weekend. On Friday afternoon I flew to Orlando, FL to get a little sun and shop for my brother's fiancé's wedding dress and bridesmaids dresses. While I was there I had all kinds of delicious food and I went shopping to by clothes for my trip to London later this summer. I returned last night around 2:30 am; so I guess technically this morning. On the flight home I was reading Ashley Judd's All that is Bitter and Sweet, a book about her life and work with PSI, an NGO. (I am loving this book because she seems to have so much in common with me that it is crazy.) The part of the book that I was reading described a young woman working as a sex slave in Cambodia so that she could make money to send home to her son for his basic needs. Now, it may seem like there are other jobs she could have taken, but this really was her last resort; she doesn't live in America, and sometimes even in America this happens, which is a shame. The chapters I read last night all contained stories of slavery or people making huge sacrifices like these.
So to connect this to time space compression, I had spent my weekend spending hundreds of dollars to sit on planes to fly thousand of miles to and from my home, the University of Kentucky for two days of bliss, while I was reading about people who are being trafficked and in slavery just to hopefully one day make a journey back home with money to buy the necessities (which does not include an education). I was witnessing time space compression at its finest!
This experience was an amazing one! This may sound crazy, but I am not kidding. It is not me being greedy, it actually really put things in perspective for me. I have witnessed poverty first hand, heard all of the statistics about sex trafficking, asked friends not to watch porn because it supports the industry, seen countless videos about those in the global South who are much less fortunate than myself, etc. but for some reason last nights experience is the one that made me the most grateful to God for everything he has given me. I think this may be because Ashley Judd's accounts of her work with PSI are so vivid and she is so much like me that I can really identify with her. Not only is she from Kentucky and went to UK, but she does the work I want to do. She started as an actor, which has been my dream since I was seven, and then started working for those who don't have a voice in the global South, also exactly what I want to do. Other than this, our personalities seem so similar that when I read her book I almost feel as if I am there doing what she is describing. Her book, along with the weekend I had, really made things a reality for me.
Last night was one of those nights, and as I type out my thoughts now, that I am so certain that God works in mysterious ways and that He is proving His Word to be so true. "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:16
Last night and my reflection upon it today have made me so grateful for the life God has granted me, sorrowful that some people are subjected to such horrid circumstances and that I can't get them out, but hopeful to make an impact in their lives, and reassured that I know God is watching out for, and loving these suffering people. Last night is definitely something I know God had planned and will work in my life in some way or another; now just to find out what it is! Until then I will continue the state of gratitude I am in, the prayer for the suffering people in our world, prayer for myself, and seeking His will for me through is Word and my actions.
God is good!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

I'm Stepping into the Blogging World, You can Step into My World.

So, I am not sure how this whole blogging shenanigans works, but I am going to give it a shot. Not knowing much about blogs, actually anything really, I don't really know where to start. So, I guess I'll tell you a little about myself and why I have decided to start a blog.
First off, there is me. General info is that I was born in and have been raised in Kentucky. I go to the University of Kentucky and am majoring in International Studies. I am considering a few minors also: Theatre, Anthropology, and Gender and Women's Studies. Yes, I know, I sound like a careere student. Other than my education, I love to run, enjoy sports, friends, family, and I love nature/ the outdoors.
Moving on,  as you may be able to tell from the title of this blog, I tend to do things a little differently than most people. As my dad likes to say (he even emailed me Robert Frost's poem one day) I take the road less travelled. I have never gone with the norm per say. I have always been my own person, and done my own thing. This is a turn off to some people because they thought it made me a b*#@!. Most of my life, I just took it as maybe I was, until one day a wise teacher and some friends told me that I wasn't. They said people just didn't know better because they didn't take the time to get to know me. My teacher suggested it was because I was one of the few high schoolers she knew that really knew who they were and what they wanted in this world. This leads me to telling you about my personality and beliefs.
Fairly recently, I have found my true passion for Christ. I have always been a Christian and grew up mostly in Catholic schools, but the way I describe my past to people is that I had a religion but never a real relationship with God. Now that I have established a relationship, I am learning so much and have become dependent on Him in my daily life. I even get the amazing opportunity to spread His word to students in local high schools through Young Life. I get the privilege of loving kids everyday. This takes me right into my next personality trait.
I have always been a very opinionated and passionate person. If I want something done, I will do it, or if there is something that really intrigues me, I will invest massive amounts of time and energy in it. Well, one of the things I am most passionate about, is helping others. Since this is so, my dream career is to work for an international non-profit advocating for those who don't have a voice. I want to help others who cannot help themselves. I want to love others as Christ loves me. I want invest my life in loving those in the Global South who are exactly the same as me, seeing as we were all made in Christ's image, the only difference is that they were born into less fortunate circumstances than myself. I want to show these people the love I know and I want to share their stories with the world.
So, now the question is why am I writing this blog? First and foremost, I am blogging because I believe that writing can be very therapeutic. A little selfish, but maybe something good will come of it? I also like to be inspired, and I thought that a blog could be a good way of documenting the things that inspire me. Another reason I want to blog is to share my views on the world; will anyone care, who knows, but it's worth a shot! Lastly, I love to travel (you may have guessed, considering I want to work in the Global South and am from Kentucky) and later this summer and hopefully much more after that, I am heading abroad and would like to keep people updated.
As you may be able to tell, my blog posts won't have a specific topic or be considered a certain genre. They will probably just be the inner thoughts of me that I tend to have on a daily basis. I'd love it if you all (y'all in Kentucky) would follow my blog and leave me any comments or suggestions you would like! :)


Passionately Obsessed


 
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