Right Now: College

Right now, I can only anticipate what these next four months, the four months before my life changes forever and I enter my college years, will hold.
Right now, I will continue to look at this picture, the one that hangs above my desk and occupies the background on my phone, waiting for the day that I get to see it with my own eyes.
Right now, I will continue to make a list of things to do before I leave, the things that have to get done before I can have peace of mind.
Right now, I will continue to study the campus map, even though I have it memorized.
Right now, I will continue to use the 3D map on my phone to explore the streets of downtown Chicago.
Right now, I will continue to read this blog to get a feel for the student life.

Right now, I will try to not cry at the thought of leaving my family members for months at a time, because I still have them right beside me.
Right now, I will try to not want time to fast forward, because I have this time to prepare for a reason.
Right now, I will try to not ignore school work, because it (somehow) is possible to learn something in the last seven weeks of high school.

These next four months are going to fly by. My time to leave and move on to this next part of my life is coming (SOON!) and I have a lot of mixed feelings.

Accepted

Yesterday I received my acceptance letter to study at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago this fall. I don't think I will ever get over the shock of this. I was not expecting to get into the Chicago campus on my first try, but I did! That being said, in about four months I will make my way 900+ miles away from the only home I have ever known to study the Word + communications at this amazing school.

Ecstatic to finally know where God has me going? DEFINITELY. Ecstatic to be leaving my family I so dearly love? Definitely NOT. It will be extraordinarily difficult, but I know that if God could get me into this school, He will get me through it.

Dear Rachel, We are delighted to inform you that your application for enrollment at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago has been approved for the fall semester of 2013. <--- the sentence I have to keep reading in case I misread it or the wording has changed.

Easter Sunday

Today was Easter! (!!) This is my family & I at church this morning. Every Easter our church decorates the cross with flowers. It's become a tradition for everyone to get their picture taken in front of it. So cute. Not so cute? The thought of Jesus being nailed into a cross that was probably pretty different from what this looks like.

It's a depressing thought, sure, but it's the truth. & the truth hurts. God sent His son to die for us. We're all completely worthless, in my opinion, which makes that whole thing even crazier.

So, yeah, let's just keep that in mind forever & ever. Amen.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him." - John 3:16-17

Metro Relief

This last Sunday, my dad preached at our church. (You can listen to it here.) In it, he encouraged people to join an outreach that goes on every Friday night right down the road from where we have our services. As a family, we've only done this particular outreach once. My little sister and I have helped out at another thing the organization, Metro Relief, does.

So we went tonight. We kind of just hung out. Played with a jump rope. The kids that come every week got their faces painted & took part in a Bible study. It's good stuff. Good to know that somebody is taking care of those that we, as a town, didn't knew needed help. Good to get back out there in serving.

Baby Boy

I would hate to find out how many pictures on my phone are of my dog. I just love him! He sleeps in my room every night. Sometimes on my bed. Sometimes not. He always snores. After two and a half years, I hardly notice it, but when I'm on the phone people always comment on his strange noises. Just more reason to love him, I think. When he does sleep on my bed, it's usually in the most inconvenient place. He's so cute, though, that I get over it.

& yes, I call him my baby boy. Not weird at all. He's one of two dogs we've ever had, & the only animal we've had to like me, so I hold on tight to him!

The Host

Once upon a time, I was obsessed with Twilight. Not hardcore, but I was definitely a fan. Being the good little fan I was, I had to read Stephenie Meyer's other book, The Host. Also amazing. So, when my best friend called me last night and announced that we were going to meet Stephenie Meyer today, the middle schooler in me freaked out.

She picked me up right after she finished her classes today & we headed down to the Barnes & Noble by NorthPark. It. Was. Packed. We got there around 2 & hung out in the Starbucks for a little bit. They called our group to be lined up, which is where the waiting really began. After about two hours, we finally reached the end (top picture). If you look hard, you can see Jake Abel & Max Irons at the table on the far left. I somehow forgot to take pictures of them where you could actually SEE them. My bad.

The sad part: my 16GB iPhone has been full for months (the thought of going through my pictures is intimidating), so it has been acting up for a while. SO I didn't get a picture with Stephenie. BUT I got her autograph, & that is all that really matters to me. The autographs on the poster belong to Max Irons & Jake Abel.

I'm still shocked. It all happened so fast. Middle school me is still freaking out.

The Harbor

We have lived in North Texas my whole life, so we have been to quite a few of the things that people usually go to see. Back in August, my parents first explored this little outdoor mall area on Lake Ray Hubbard. We knew we all had today off, but it took us hours to figure out what to do. Eventually, we decided to head back out to where they went. It was pretty chilly, but we only stayed out there long enough to walk around and take some pictures.