God is SO good!!

The past year has been a tough one financially. I have had so many uncertainties about how I was going to afford to finish college. I had always dreamed of studying abroad and when I didn't recieve as much financial aid as I had anticipated, I was so discouraged. Thankfully, Semester at Sea reevaluated my need for financial aid and gave me a scholarship that is making it possible for me to take part in the program.

All I can say is God truly answers prayers. I have been praying that He would provide for me and take away the stress and worry I have felt over the past year. Today, my prayers were answered even more. I received my financial aid package from Baylor and was overjoyed to find out that I had received a $6,000 scholarship, loan money, and work study. This means that I can stop worrying about how I will finish paying for school and I can fully concentrate on my studies and serviing God. 

I honestly do not even have words for how grateful I am right now. I am truly amazed at how God answers our prayers. All of the stress and anxiety I have felt lately concerning finances has been lifted and was completely unnecessary. By turning all of my anxieties over to the Lord, I have been put at ease and blessed tremendously. 

Here are just a few of my favorite verses that have really touched my heart throughout these past months.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," delares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity." Jeremiah 29:11-14

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8

Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation. Psalm 91:14-16

If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 31-39

California Dreaming

4 finals
8 days
that is all that is holding me back from being in California

I cannot wait...
to be home
to see family
to see friends
to eat In-N-Out
to lay on the beach
to make late night Yogurtland runs with my best friend
to relax.

Where has all the time gone

Time goe by so fast these days.
This picture was taken over ten years ago, how is that possible? I can't wrap my mind around it.
It seems like I was dreaming about what high school would be like just a few years ago, and now I am more than halfway finished with college.
One and a half more years here at Baylor and then I will be a college graduate. That is pretty crazy to think about.
Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself that life isn't always going to be this way.
College is a bit of a fantasy world where you get a small taste of real life but don't have to deal with all the hassles and trials of being completely on your own.
As much as I sometimes dread being a student and taking finals and doing presentations and all that comes along with that title, its actually quite a blessing.
I think I am going to just savor the time I do have left and make the most of every moment.

Dreaming of being abroad...

In just two months and two weeks, I will be setting sail for a two month trip around the world. Ok not literally the entire world, but a good portion of it! I'm leaving out of the Bahamas with Semester at Sea and traveling to 8 countries on the Mediterranean. Its going to be incredible. I have literally spent the past week just sitting on my computer looking at all of the amazing things to do in the countries I am going to. I have found some incredible pictures that are making me even more excited to be there! Here are a few, enjoy!

Love

Love is wonderful. 

Love is real.

Love is hard. 

Love is easy.

Love is unconditional.

God is love. 

When I feel like life is tough and I'm all alone, I just have to calm down and remember that no matter what, God loves me. He is there for me all the time and I know that his love is unconditional. How encouraging!

Jessica Lauren

My sister is a senior in high school. She is a beautiful girl, inside and out, and I am so lucky to have a sister like her. Here are just a few quotes that I think sum up our relationship. 

"She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child."

"To have a loving relationship with a sister is not simply to have a buddy or a confident -- it is to have a soulmate for life."

I had the priveledge to take her senior pictures for her, and they turned out amazing. I'll just post a few of my favorites. 

A Very Merry Christmas

So Christmas this year was different. Well actually, different is quite the understatement. This year was the first Christmas we have had since my parents divorced. It was also the first we have had without my Grandma, who passed away from breast cancer in November. It felt like we were just missing something all day. Not having my dad or Grandma around was strange. Weeks before Christmas I almost dreaded the holiday because I was afraid of what it would be like without them. But suprisingly, it was actually still a wonderful day. Being with family always makes things better. No one really mentioned Grandma because we all knew it would be too hard to talk about, but we all knew she was in heaven looking down on us, which, in my opinion, is a whole lot better then being with us! She got to spend her first Christmas with Jesus, and I think thats pretty incredible. Each year we will miss her, especially at Christmas time, but if we can just remember that she is looking down on us from heaven, I know my family will be okay. On a lighter note, I must say that Christmas Eve was very entertaining. My mom's boyfriend has three little boys and they are quite a handful. Two of them believe in Santa, so they each wrote letters to him telling him what they hoped to get the next morning. I must say, it was very cute how excited they were. Its amazing how magical Christmas feels when you are a young child. I put up my favorite pictures from the day, so enjoy!

My beautiful little sister.

Walker and Weston writing letters to Santa.

Family

Walker and his Grandma

I gave my Mom a frame with an adorable picture I found from when I was a  baby and she was about 25. 

I just love this picture! 

We took a walk around the lake in Bridgeport after we opened gifts on Christmas morning.
Got to love a California Christmas!

My cousins are so grown up now! 

Aunt Debbie and Grandpa, such a cute picture. 

The lovely table that my Aunt Magda set. 

Grandpa and his oldest girls.

Its so fun to act like a little kid around my cousins.

The three teenagers. I can't believe how grown up they suddenly look!

Absolutely adorable!

All the girls!

I love my sister so much!