God doesn't work like a drive thru

I want to meet the person that stated that patience is a virtue. Because it is...virtually impossible for me that is. I mean, I've always known that I'm not the world's most patient person simply for

fact that I refuse to stand in line longer than like 5 minutes without getting antsy and I hate hate hate having to wait on anything-people, things, you name it I don't wanna have to wait I want it right then.

Obviously I'm not the only person on the face of the planet who suffers from this either. I mean just look around us....we have drive thru fast food, instant coffee, instant mac and cheese, constant updates for faster phone/internet service, fast lanes, express checkouts, etc. I also just happen to be sitting across from our Chickfila Express as well. We want and we want immediately.

Well, this is a good thing sometimes because I'm not gonna lie, getting my food faster gives me more time to "study" all day long like always. But it's the mentality that's slowly harming us without us even realizing it (yes, I actually said slowly...because when we're moving so fast paced, we hardly notice the things that are slowly changing before us, or at least that's how I am). I want everything to happen faster, so of course that mentality doesn't change when it comes to my walk with my dear Heavenly Father. I want immediate results. Constantly. And the worse part about it is that I tend to get slightly fretted when things don't happen or my life is changed the next morning when I wake up. I have this skewed idea that the next morning God will have magically changed my whole entire life while I was asleep, and I'll wake up a whole new person who won't ever struggle with my old issues anymore and all my prayers with be answered. Boy oh boy, is God showing me otherwise!

Now before I explain my wierd title I need to give you a little backgroud: I lost my financial aid from the state this semester (due to my dad's increase in income so praise God that his company is doing better, but losing $1800 a semester killed me!), and I was a train wreck. I don't normally cry, but I'm just gonna be honest, I cried my eyes out this summer when my FASFA came back. I didn't know what to do. Ok let me rephrase, I still don't know what to do. I prayed and prayed and prayed for God to somehow provide me with that money I lost. Well, back to my fast mentality, I expected my prayer to get answered like asap. However, the only thing that happened quickly was the depletion of my bank account. I had to pay for textbooks, parking decals, sorority dues and fees, gas etc. It seems like the small fees here and there just haven't stopped.

So I dried my eyes and began praying for a job, and then ventured off. I applied for a tutoring position here on campus, but of course they ended up not needing any additional tutors for the semester. I looked into working at a restaurant or boutique, but so many places weren't so willing to work around my sorority's schedule and with me being an officer this year I knew I wouldn't just not be able to go to things due to work. I gave up for awhile hoping that I'd jump on an on campus job once people graduated in December. So here recently, I've been looking for jobs opening up for this next semester, and it's one of the most discouraging things I've ever done in my life. It seems everything is either already taken or else it's a job that I know I wouldn't have the time to do because of prior commitments. I mean I can't just keep writing checks and swiping my credit card and expect my money to not deplete.

So tonight in particular I was feeling especially down because several of my friends were all going out to eat, and I had opted to eat the free pb and j sandwich in my room. Along with 99% of the female population, I decided to pass the time on pinterest. Well this particular quote caught my eye: "God answers prayers to increase your faith. God deleys in answering your prayers to increase your patience. God does not answer your prayers because He has something better for you down the road." I think we can slightly modify that second one. God sometimes chooses to make us wait because we are simply not ready at times, and He desperately wants me to totally rely on Him and no one else.

Looking back, I really struggled with keeping a consistant quiet time with the Lord every day. I really had to work hard, especially during the busy weeks to make time to spend with Him. I just know that that probably wouldn't have happened if I'd been trying to deal with tests and Phi Lamb duties along with juggling a job. I know how I handle lack of sleep, and I highly doubt I would've remained consistant and in a good mood if I was exhausted every day. Also, I think God uses times like these to wait for us to rely wholly on Him. I mean wholly and totally and completely. With every ounce of being we have within us.

I'm gonna be honest, unfortunately I have spent more time worrying than actually trusting God with this. Here, the Master of the Universe, the One who owns all of creation, my Jehovah Jirah, wants to provide for me, but I'm too scared to trust Him. I trust the guy I sit next to in class to give me the old tests to study more than I trust my Loving Father to provide me with the funds to pay for gas to get home. I trust my car that's older than I am not to break down again moreso than I trust the One who feeds the sparrows and clothes the flowers of the field to provide me with a job. Even as I'm sitting here typing I realize that this makes no sense in the least. But somehow I'm stuck in that rut of a mentality. I feel like if God is choosing not to answer my prayers immediately, then that must mean that He is not answering them period and I'm on my own.

Well, He is showing me slowly but surely that this is not true and that the only reason He is waiting is because He wants me to learn to put my trust in Him like never before. Yea, He could give me the perfect job in a split instant if He wanted to...heck he could fill up my bank account so I wouldn't even have to work in a second if He deemed it so. But the fact of the matter is our Gracious Lord doesn't normally work like that. In some cases, its the process more than the end result that makes the most difference in our lives. Just like going through the drive thru makes you miss out on that personal-ness of the people working there (now I'm not gonna lie, with some of those people that's probably a blessing!), I feel like if we got immediate results to all our wants and prayers, we would miss out on some of the more personal aspects of our Father. We wouldn't get to experience what it feels like to have to run to Him because there are no other options. Sometimes we need to wait just to remind us that our Provider is the only True Provider.

God loves providing for us. I bet it just tickles Him to death to see us light up at an unexpected answer to prayer and then to see us run to Him in overwhelming gratitude and joy. He's the Ultimate Giver. So next time you start to get discouraged because it seems like your prayer just isn't getting answered quickly enough, remember that God doesn't work like the express lane at the fast food place. He is our Jehovah Jirah, our Provider. It's not that He's ignoring us, it's that His answer may not be quite what we were looking for because He's the only One who knows the big picture. Sometimes He makes us wait a bit just so we will have no choice but to quit trying our own things and run to Him. So run to Him, dear girls, for He is the only One who can fully trusted to provide all our needs.

we're alot like pumpkins...yes you read that right, pumpkins

Now, I know it's a little late, but happy Halloween anyway! I'm not one of those creepy Halloween-is-my-favorite-holiday-ever people, but I do enjoy the dressing up and and trick or treating and the scaring people. I know it's slightly sadistic, but it's really fun. So Monday night, I was supposed to share devotion with my sorority and my creative mother (who didn't pass down any of her creative genes to her firstborn might I add) reminded me of a pumpkin devotion she used to do with preschoolers, and so I decided to steal it and tweak it a tad. But of course procrastinator me waited until Monday at 3 pm to go try to find a pumpkin.

Well, I know we all believe deep down that Walmart literally has everything known to man, but I'm going to shatter this belief...THEY DON'T HAVE PUMPKINS! So I sadly ran to down the street to Kroger. Wouldn't you believe, they were totally sold out?! By now I was slightly disgruntled. Where was I going to get a pumpkin this late in the evening?? I tried CVS, Walgreens, and even the sketchy gas station that sometimes have the stands outside. They were all completely cleared out.

I tried my luck one last time at Piggly Wiggly. I asked the lady at the front, and she quickly nodded saying that they had a huge pile of pumpkins in the very back. My thought process was literally "YYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!"...until I made it to the back that is and saw this pile. Now she was not exaggerating in the least about the size of the pile, but the pumpkins making up the pile were the mini ones that you could fit in the palm of your hand. I was practically about to cry in the middle of the Pig because I had no idea what to do. I got back in the car and started driving back to campus until I came to a red light. As I was looking dejectedly out the window, I saw a plain ole non-carved/non-decorated pumpkin sitting next to this old tanning salon. I debated with myself for about 5 solid seconds and then quickly pulled into the gas station right next to the deserted salon. Thank the Lord I had $5 in my wallet because I sneaked over and managed to pick this huge pumpkin up, leaving the $5 in it's place and bolted back to the car before anyone hopefully noticed or called the police.

Well now that you know the amazing lengths I went to to obtain this precious pumpkin, I hope this story I'm about to tell you means a little bit more now :) Oh and I know you all won't be able to watch me literally carving a pumpkin-and trust me you're missing out because it was extremely entertaining Monday night considering I had a pumpkin and a butcher knife and no clue where to start, but I hope this makes sense anyway. So here goes:

We're all alot like pumpkins....odd way to look at it I know, but follow me. Close your eyes and think of a pumpkin patch and the man that planted it. I have this great image of like a old man in muddy overalls and one of those old hats and a watering tin can. Well, anywho, that gardener planted each one of his pumpkin seeds in a certain part of his garden with a purpose intended for each one. A gardener doesn't just toss random seeds out in a yard and hope they grow, he is intentional about each seed and tends carefully for them all. Well, God is our Master Gardener. He created each and every one of us in a special way and with a specific plan in mind for each of us. He also placed us exactly where in the "garden" He wanted us to grow up in. Now, our Skilled Gardener doesn't just plant us and leave us to fend for ourselves. He carefully watches over us and cares for us-watering us, shooing away things that could potentially kill us before we are ready, and just making sure we grow properly. He does this constantly whether we realize it or not. As He cares for us, He is constantly working to persuade us to trust Him enough to let Him cut our roots and take us out of the garden. This can be scary, especially since we've never left the garden before and our roots can run pretty deep. But God is faithful, and when we finally put our faith in Him, He severs our roots and picks us up in His big arm and gently washes off all the dirt we picked up from the garden.

This part feels really good, I mean think back to when God saved you from the garden. I was 7 years old, and it's like this overwhelming peace and joy just floods you. I mean the moment of salvation is liberating I guess is the best word to use, but at the same time, I'm sure you'd agree with me in saying that there is no real way to describe the amazing way you feel after asking the Lord to free you. So see, like I said, that part feels good...but then comes the harder part. You see, the dirt wasn't the only thing that we brought with us from the garden. Ever since we came into being, we had things growing inside up...just like a pumpkin. You know, the gross gook that must be removed before you can start carving it. That's basically what we have inside us that our Designer must get rid us of before He can use us to shine for Him. You see, while in the garden things happened to each of us, and seeds began to grow within us. Seeds of bitterness or rejection, seeds of unforgiveness or mistrust, seeds of deception or jealousy, etc, etc. It's different for every person, but just like a pumpkin is totally uncapable of cleaning itself out, we are the same way. We might think we can get rid of these things by ourselves, but it's a lost cause. Only our Father knows us well enough to help us completely get rid of the yuck within. We must let Him remove it, because if we let it fester inside us...well, I'm sure you've all seen the jack-o-lanterns that people have left out a little too long. The gook remaining inside starts going rotten and moldy. It not only looks disgusting, but it smells even worse. We had one in our hallway last week, and the stench was so overwhelming that it practically made me sick to my stomach when I walked into the hallway. There was no hiding it. Just as there is no way to disguise when our insides get rotten because we refuse to let God rid us of the gross hidden within us.

Thankfully, even after He uses His holy scooper in our lives, He doesn't just quit on us. Our Master Carver then slowly chips away and carves into our lives to mold us into the person He created us to become. We have to sit still and let Him chip away the pieces of our lives that are not necessary and that need to be removed so that He can shine through us. It's not easy. It takes time.

Sometimes, however, we screw up. We try to turn away from the Artist, and the picture He is working to create becomes messed up. It's just as if the pumpkin decided to turn around suddenly as you were in the middle of carving its smile. Instead of a smile, there would be a huge jagged tear in its face. What kind of testimony is that?? I mean after something like that happens in your life, even if you want to return back to God we often mistakenly assume that He would never want to use us for His glory since we're messed up. I struggled with this for a long time. I believed that I was forgiven, but I was convinced that God wouldn't want to use someone like me to further His kindgom because people would hear about some of the things I'd gotten into and not believe anything I'd have to say. I mean a badly carved pumpkin doesn't just reflect badly on itself...it makes it look as if the carver is not very masterful. I just assumed that I'd have to be the pumpkin that sat in the back yard. The Carver would still keep me, but He wouldn't let me shine brightly on the front porch as a show of pride in His workmanship because of the way I'd messed up His work in my life.

Well, just as we wouldn't put a disfigured jack-o-lantern out to shine on our front porch, our Master Carver doesn't do that with us either. He doesn't expect us to be His witness in a messed up state. That's the beauty of His healing. When we return to the Master Carver for forgiveness and seek His healing, He will gently work in our lives to heal us. He will not completely erase the result of the mistakes we made, but He will heal us until we will be able to shine for Him in an even greater way we would have ever been able to do before. He will carefully work in our lives so that others will be more amazed at His Skilled Hand and craftsmanship than appalled at our mistake.

Now, I'm not saying we all need to go out and sin in order to "build our testimony" so that others will see how great God is through us. But I am saying that God's been really teaching me over the past few months that He doesn't want us to live in guilt. He wants to rebuild us-or carve us if you will-until we glorify Him. So, I hope next time you see a pumpkin, you remember to let the Master Carver work in your life so that you might become the beautiful creation He created you to be and even if you mess up-big or small-the Skilled Craftsman desires to continue carving our hearts until all is healed and we can shine for Him as brightly as possible. So remember to let your light shine sweet girls!

I love to eat

Now, can I honestly just throw something out there?? I love to eat. I mean I'm like a closet fat kid. You tell me there is free food somethere and goodness gracious you might as well put my name on the list because I'll be there. Well, a few weeks ago the church that I go to down here had a fish fry. Now, I just want to point out that a majority of the people in my church have had at least 50 years of baking experience under their belts so the dessert table was overflowing with some of the most amazing desserts and treats I've had in a reeeeeeaaaaaaaally long time. So after eating my fill of fried catfish and hushpuppies (heaven to a college kid living off of cereal bars and chicken nuggets for the past month!), I ventured off to the dessert table. Now on this table were 2 chocolate pies-you know the kind with that merengue on top. Well this one in particular was most of the way gone...but there was still about 2 pieces worth of pie in that pan. Well, I figured that in order to not dirty up any more dishes I should just take the whole pan back to my place. I mean it made sense in my mind, and looking back I still think it was pretty selfless of me.

Well, I'm not gonna lie to you...I ate every bite of that pie to the point where the ladies and their husbands were giving me a hard time because I was using my finger to get to the pie remains that the fork wouldn't get for me. Well, my stomach was soooo full that night. I mean I ate so much. My stomach was satisfied to the max. I had no desire to go do anything or eat anything else, I just wanted to sit in satisfaction and contentment and dream about chocolate pie.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering where I'm going with all this. I mean, why would I sit here and tell you how addicted to chocolate pie I am. Well, here goes: I got to thinking while I was in my quiet time working on this Beth Moore study, what satisfies me? I mean honestly and truly...when was the last time I was truly satisfied. I then started thinking even harder. What is satisfaction?? Is it happiness, contentment, what? Then, my mind jumped back to my chocolate pie. Satisfaction is being so wholly content that there is no need or even a want to go out and look for anything else. It's having all you need and could possibly want. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think happiness has nothing to do with it (because I was satisfied yet still a little sad thinking about how the half of pie I had inhaled would go straight to my hips). You can still be satisfied even amidst hard, sometimes sad times.

But let's take it a step farther, what gives us satisfaction? I mean more than just the I ate a bunch of good food and took an epic nap satisfied. Only one person can ultimately "refresh the weary and satisfy the faint" (Jer 31:25). That person is our Loving, Almighty Father God. I learned that the Hebrew word for satisfy is "male" which literally means "to fill what was empty or to replinish" and the word for faint is "da'ab" meaning "to pine for". So often we pine for something we can't even truly identify. I find myself doing it all too much.

My freshman year and part of sophomore year could be defined as me pining for something to fill my empty places. I tried many different ways to fill those voids. And let me tell you, not a single one of those ways worked. First it was with people. I decided that the best way to fill that void was to spend as much time with others as possible, in turn I was not very careful of the company I was putting myself in. I assumed that if I was popular, that empty feeling would vanish. Well, it didn't. So I moved on, maybe it was because I didn't have a boyfriend. I was sure that would help. So I went out on date after date until I discovered that that was not helping things at all. In fact, all I had succeeded was in feeling worse and even more empty. So next came the drinking. I decided that the reason the other things had failed was because I just wasn't trying hard enough and that I needed to loosen up some.

Well, thankfully, God ended my freshman year before I had the chance to try more ways to fill those empty spaces. When sophomore year came around God pretty much whopped me in the face. He's been showing me ever since that that pining feeling we all feel, that overwhelming desire to feel loved and to want more is a good thing. I know, I'll even say it one more time for effect, it's a good thing! He created us to be that way. Yes, my loving Creator specially created me to pine, to yearn with all my heart for something. But that something is supposed to be Him. The only way I can experience the full benefits of my salvation is when I allow God and God alone to fill up all my empty spaces.

I'm sure ya'll are sick of hearing about food, but think about when you get really really hungry...you don't drink water do you? Your stomach growls, it might begin to hurt depending on when the last time you ate was, and then ya go grab some food. Our soul is the same way. Our souls are longing to be filled, but the only way to fill it and be truly satisfied is with Jesus. I tried many different ways to satisfy myself, but each and every one of them ultimately led to even more dissatisfaction in the end. The only way to truly be satisfied and remain that way is to allow God to totally fill us up. Once we let Him, we will be so content and satisfied that nothing else will seem to matter. Just like David says in Psalms "Oh God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your Name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You. On my bed I remember You; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of Your wings. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me." (Ps 63:1-8)

So next time I have the opportunity to eat another chocolate pie I will definitely be thankful for the temporary satisfation provided but even moreso for the satisfaction my Father can give me if I am only willing the accept it.

thank God for the little things

So the other day, God gave me a little slap in the face. It occured to me that I was simply not thanking Him enough. I mean sure I thank Him in my standard blessing of the food and for the day each day when I wake up and start walking to the bathroom to brush my teeth, but I'm sad to say that that's about it. It's not that I'm not thankful because I really truly am, but I guess I'm one of those people who never really thinks about it...until this past week.

I just want to give you a little background on my week before I go any further to give you a better idea of all that's been going on. We had rush last week which was awesome but one of the craziest times of my life. I am the secretary of my sorority, Sigma Phi Lambda, and so therefore was crazy busy! The other officers and I spent weeks preparing for this week and so last week it was class all day, rush all night, and then enter everything into the computer and send emails like a good little secretary after until finally crashing. I also had several tests that week on top of everything as well as a big research paper due, so needless to say I was ever so slightly stressed. Well, let me just tell you that the Lord is amazing. Rush went beautifully. We've never had a bigger turnout than we did this semester! We recently finished interviewing all of the pledges and we have over 40 girls pledgings this semester...our biggest pledge class yet! It was so encouraging to hear some of these girls talk about how excited they were to find out about us and about how amazing rush had been.

Well, of course I was thankful but besides the standard " hey thanks God!" I wasn't really telling Him how thankful I was, I just assumed He knew...I mean He is our All-Knowing God. But that just goes to show how human I am! So a few days after, a monsoon practically hit us. I was not dressed for rain and was wearing cute little white keds with a white tshirt might I add and then all of a sudden when I looked out of the window of the Union, the bottom had fallen out. I couldn't even see 3 feet past the window because it was coming down so hard! I was so fretted. I didn't stop to think that things had gotten pretty dry around here, nnnnnnoooooooo, I was just mad my shoes were gonna get wet. Well as I was walking out to my car about an hour later, the rain just stopped. As I was looking up the sky in kinda this "well it's about darn time" look, I saw one of the biggest rainbows I'd ever seen before in all my 20 and a half years. I was taken aback. I felt a little guilty, but since I was running late I didn't let it consume my thoughts much longer.

Well finally, yesterday, a dear friend and I were doing our normal run only this week was the week to up the pace. Oooh boy, was it tough. I felt like I was literally going to die on the sidewalk, and people were just going to have to walk around me to get to class for the rest of the day. I had a charlie horse the size of my body pretty much. I was practically leaving a trail of sweat on the sidewalk I was so hot. Well, as we were about to finish up the run, all of a sudden, even though the sun was shining bright, it began to first sprinkle and then pour down raining. It was amazing! It was so cool and clean and that's when it all hit me. How can I be thankful for the rain today but not the other day...what's wrong with me??

It's so easy, at least for me, to thank God for all of the big things...like when he gets you into a college, finds you a great roommate, helps you make a good grade on a really hard test, saves you from a wreck, or something like that. But it's really hard to remember to thank Him for all of the little things that He continues to do for us day in and day out...things like showing me a rainbow, cooling me off after a run with a light rain, enabling me to go on a run, giving me such good friends, not getting frustrated with me when I forget to say thank you, and so on and so on.

So, I know it's an odd lesson to learn from rain, but I guess My Creator knows I'm just a tad bit wierd so He uses wierd ways to get my attention. He reminded me of how much He really loves me and not just the love that I love food with (and trust me that's alot!) but like with real unconditional love that will keep loving me even next week when I forget to thank Him quite so often and He has to gently remind me again. So thank you Lord, thank you for giving me reasons to thank You even though I don't deserve it.

be thankful for your church...it could be worse

So this Sunday, while greeting all my old friends at church and listening to a Bible based sermon I could not help but be thankful for the church God has led me to. I also couldn't help but laugh as I thought about all the "hit-and-misses" I had while looking for a church here in Starkville. So I thought I'd share a few of my more memorable church experiences.

Freshman year of college is full of firsts...and churches were no exception. The Lord blessed me with a great Christian roommate, so we tried to visit churches together. The first Sunday after we moved in, we decided to visit the huge Methodist church here. Her parents were familiar with this church, and so we ventured off. We ended up getting hopelessly lost though and because of our 20 minutes of aimless driving, we got there pretty late. We followed signs taking us to what we thought to be the contemporary service. Well let me just say that this service was in NOOO way contemporary! It was in fact, the most traditional service I've ever sat through in my whole 20 years of life, and the fact that we walked in late, which elicited many stern glares only added to it. As terrible as it sounds, that is the most ready I've ever been to get out of a church.

Later, I visited a Baptist church in hopes of finding a Broadway away from home only to find instead a flashback back to the Orpheum. I later found out that the music minister was involved in theatres and musicals...it all suddenly made sense! So after a few weeks of going occasionally with a friend of mine, I gave up and decided to look elsewhere for a place not so showy and gaudy.

We then visited another Baptist church kinda outside of town. We showed up to discover that yes, it actually was a remodeled barn. And newly remodeled at thats since it still had an outside, barnyard smell. It didn't really click even though the people were friendly, almost too friendly and nosy if you know what I mean.

But we didn't give up! We decided to try some other denominations just to see what happened. The first was an Episcopalian that we headed excitedly off to at the time that it nomally started every Sunday. However, as we walked through the huge, creaking doors, we realized something was wrong...everyone was getting up row by row and walking to the alter. We had interrupted Communion! We slowly slid by people walking back to their seats and tried to search for seats as inconspiciously as possible. We meekly watched as the final rows took their seats only to then see the pastor rise and dismiss everyone. We confusedly stood up and looked around for some sort of explanation. Most everyone just looked at us oddly as they walked out until another college aged girl came up to explain that this particular Sunday they had made plans to begin an hour early in order to have time for a special luncheon after the service. We opted out of the lunch and went on home, slighly embarrassed.

We tried our luck again a few weeks later, only at a Lutheran church this time. Now this chuch I must say was probably our oddest experience yet! We dragged one of our sorority sisters with us this time and so all 3 of us got to experience the awkwardness. I know as Christians we are never supposed to judge, but this church truly had some problems. The regular pastor was not there for a reason that was not shared with the congregation. The man who preached never opened the Bible once. He instead gave the church a 2 hour pep talk about how they needed to stay encouraged amidst the issues going on within. He merely hinted at all the problems though and so the 3 of us girls sat in silent confusion as the people around us nodded vigorously in assent. That Sunday also happened to be the Sunday they provided lunch after the service, and the older ladies would not take no for an answer, so we stayed for a very awkward potluck. Here, they made even more hints towards the growing problems that were rising in the church. So as soon as we were finished, we thanked them and bolted, vowing to never return again.

That about sums up our church adventures of freshman year. As sophomore year began we were no closer to finding a church until the one Sunday we ventured out of Starkville to a little Methodist church in a town called Longview. Well, let me just tell you, it was a perfect fit from the moment we walked through those old wooden doors. We could sense something special about this place. Even though we are the youngest ones in there by at least 20 years and on a good Sunday there are only about 20 people present, it is amazing! The pastor preaches out of the Bible, and we get to sing such sweet, simple hymns to the Lord each week. On top of that, the people have reached out to us in the sweetest, most sincere way. One couple in particular has practically adopted us. We go to their home every Sunday after church and get to share a homemade meal with them and just waste away the afternoon with them. The Lord has blessed me so much through them!

I'm sure I'll have more stories about them later on, but I just wanted to share this with ya'll briefly so that you might appreciate Broadway all the more. There are so many churches out there that don't preach Biblical truths or show love to others and therefore do not glorify God. I never really appreciated Broadway or all that it meant to me until it was gone, and I was searching for somewhere to take its place. So I encourage you all to thank God consistently for placing you in such a sweet church for this season of your life. So all of that to say, be grateful for your church, I know I sure am now!

lesson number 2

So this story not only is guaranteed to make nearly anyone crack a smile, but also teach a very important lesson. One night towards the beginning of freshman year, my friends and I happened to get bored. Now I know what you are thinking...combine boredom with a touch of daring, add a dash of stupidity, and finally take out any common sense whatsoever and nothing good can come out of it! Well, as we sat around trying to brainstorm up creative ideas for the night the hours passed slowly, still without any evidence of something fun to do. So, a tad bit disappointed, everyone parted ways and went back to our respective dorms. On the way back to my dorm, the group and I had to walk past Suttle.

Now before I can continue this story any longer, I must first explain Suttle. Suttle used to be an old 9 story dorm building here on campus yeeeeeaaaaaars ago. Several years ago, it was deemed unsafe and was therefore condemned. It sat abandoned for years awaiting demolition used only once a year during Halloween when it housed a haunted house of the first floor.

Now, back to the story...as we were walking past it, a lightbulb went off. We decided the unthinkable. Yes, we actually decided to sneak into Suttle. After ducking around bushes and dodging cars, we finally made it to the back of the building. It only took us a few minutes to learn that all the doors were locked, but we were not perturbed. Several of the guys there were quite tall, so all it took was one boosting the other up to the second floor to crawl through a window and let us all in. So after a few tense moments when we weren't quite sure if he'd make it or not, he finally succeeded, and we all quietly followed him into the pitch black.

Creeping through the spiderwebs and ducking whenever we saw headlights approaching, quickly got our adrenaline pumping. We slowly made it to the very top of the building and while we were all celebrating one of the let's just say not so bright boys in our party ventured into the elevator. Since the building had been closed up for so long, we automatically assumed that the elevator would not work.

However, this is where we were unfortunately mistaken. As he jokingly hit every button the the elevator, he just barely made it out of the elevator before the doors shut. The elevator then proceeded to stop at all 9 floors as it made its way to the very bottom. We hoped this would go unnoticed, but of course it was just our luck that a patrolman had just so happened to stop and take his smoke break right underneath the elevator. Before we knew it, more police cars had arrived, and the building was surroundeded. I was terrified! I was just convinved that the world had ended and that I would be taken to jail. Our first thought was to hide in one of the rooms until they left hoping they would just give up if we pretended not to be there. Well, let me just say, we just so happened to attract the most stubborn, dedicated policemen in all of Starkville. They pulled out their megaphones and promptly told us to either come down immediately or else they would come in and search each and every room until they found us. It was at that point that I decided to walk my little self down the stairs, pray, take the consequences like a big girl, and then just start packing to move back home.

One of the boys, the same who pushed the elevator buttons which got us all caught might I add, decided that this option was not good enough for him, and he took us all by surprise by jumping off the second floor balcony and bolting off into the night. This poor guy got chased down and about tased in the parking lot.

After watching that, the rest of us practically ran downstairs to meet the police. We were immediately given the third degree and radioed into headquarters. I stuttered as the towering, muscular black cop gruffly questioned me and checked my ID. We halteringly answered their questions for close to 30 minutes as we tried to convince them we were NOT dealing drugs or anything. It was terrifying and without a doubt the most scared I've ever been in my whole entire 20 years of life. Miraculously, they decided to let us go. I don't know why, except for the fact that the Lord must really want me to stay at State because it could've gotten bad. We returned to our dorm in the wee hours of the morning with so much adrenaline pumping through our bodies that sleep was utterly impossible.

The next day we each received phone calls and had to go meet with the Dean of Students about our behavior. To top it all off, the Dean's office even called my mother so she heard from them before she had a chance to hear the story from me...talk about awkward! Well anywho, we each went and met with the Dean who turned out to be stern but reasonable. He let me keep my scholarship and get off with simply a warning and probation for a semester since I had a clean record and I was a good model student. Pshew!! Boy oh boy was I relieved and thankful.

So all of that to say there is a veeeeeeeeeerrrrrrry important moral to be learned from this story: NEVER run from the police....or better yet, don't do anything illegal.

story numero uno

I don't know why I got into a Spanish kick just then but it just seemed right...especially since I only know about 4 other words in Spanish so I figured I would just stick to what I know, and it rhymed so it made me smile. But anywho, so today I want to share with ya'll a story that you all have heard before I'm pretty sure but it still makes me laugh and I think there is a good moral to learn from it. So here goes...

Once upon a time, in a land far far away called Mississippi State University, there lived a young niave girl by the name of Kendall. Now ever since Kendall had been a little girl she had dreamed about one day meeting her handsome prince and falling in love and living happily ever after. And what better place to go in search of her handsome prince than MSU, who was full of new people to meet! Well her first semester went by and still no sign of her handsome prince. She began to feel slightly discouraged, I mean did he even exist?! Well one day, to her great surprise, when she returned to her room after a long day of studying and homework, she found a neatly typed letter taped to her door. This had never happened before! She excitedly opened it to discover that it was a short note explaining how the writer had noticed her lovely smile and her adorable laugh and that he was anxious to spend more time with her. It was simply signed, "Your secret admirer". Well, slightly perturbed but hopeful at the same time, Kendall went on with her life as if nothing happened. I mean, she didn't know who this person was so there was no need to dwell on it.

Well a few days later, another note was attached to her door, but this time accompanied by flowers! What now?? She still had no idea who this strange person was. Well as the weeks continued, so did the gifts. They ranged from jewelry to more flowers to teddy bears to baked strawberry delight to cups of tea left outside the room (now rest assured, she did NOT eat the so called strawberry delight and tea and I would encourage you do do the same if you ever get unmarked food from random people you have never met before) And with every gift came a special note. Now over time, Kendall began to get slightly worried. Just who was this person and why was he choosing not to make himself known. He knew where she lived and apparently many of her likes and dislikes. If this was her handsome prince then why was he being so secretive.

But then (cue in the creepy music) the night before her big chemistry test, she was sitting quietly in the lobby in the late hours of the evening, believing herself to be alone due to the hour. Suddenly she heard a noise, and a figure appeared out of the shadows and sat down next to her. She was startled and suddenly uncomfortable, but attempted to hide that fact as she silently scoped out her best escape route if needed. She slowly turned to face the man sitting next to her. Who was it?? As their eyes met, she was instantly confused...it was a boy she had met once or twice in the lobby before but never really talked to. She was relieved to find it him, but at the same time curious as to what he wanted since they had never really had a conversation before. She waited as be began stammering his way through what appeared to be a confession of love. He finally blurted out in the awkward silence of the lobby, "I am your secret admirer!!".

Kendall's eyes grew wide as her heart fell. This guy did not know what love really was and simply could not be her handsome prince. What would she do?! She let him down as gently as possible, explaining that she was waiting on a certain person. She could not give up on her special prince just yet. The one person that was created to match her completely and love her with all his heart. He was still looking for her and she was not leaving until he found her. She was sweet, yet firm. But as the disappointed young man left Kendall sitting alone in the lobby, she began to wonder, "Will this be my fate? Am I destined to be alone like this, forever?" But then, in the stillness of the darkened lobby a small voice whispered in her ear, "Don't worry. You will never be alone, simply because I am always with you. The reason I have not brought your prince to you yet is merely because I love you so dearly that I want you to Myself for the time being." Peace spread over her as she realized the King Himself was speaking to her. She felt His great loving arms wrap around her as He reminded her of all His everlasting promises He had made her. As she fell asleep that night, no more worries invaded her mind, and she did not care that her prince was taking longer to find her than she had expected. For she had a greater Love. The King's love. And that was all she needed.