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

Right Now

earlier today: snuggled with my kitty & said goodbye to our first international missions team

- Thinking about when my next mission trip may be. This spring break marks three years since my first one & two years since my last one. Sad.
- Watching Love It or List It. I have a love/hate relationship with this show.
- Listening to my dad prepare for his sermon tomorrow morning on global missions.
- Dreaming of learning to quilt so I can make this or this.

-r

End It Movement.

On Tuesday, 2/26, I saw some posts on Instagram about an End It Movement & disappearing from social media for a day like those that disappear into slavery. Honestly, I don't know much about the organization (company?), but I do know that I'm against slavery. Human trafficking (not the only form of slavery that they help with, according to the minute I spent on their website) is a thing that I've been very aware of for years now. I guess you could say that it's one of my passions.

So, I decided to disappear too. I wrestled back & forth with myself all day & whether or not I would do it, but I eventually decided to. So, yesterday, 2/27, I disappeared from social media. Side note: I'm one a lot of social media. I did not use foursqaure, instagram, Facebook, Twitter, GetGlue, YouTube, Vine, Pheed, Pinterest, Tumblr, or Goodreads all day. I didn't necessarily miss the social media, I was just shocked by how much free time I had. Overall, it did make me more aware. Maybe not in the exact way that it was intended, but still.

ps - End It Movement website
pps - this is my 100th post. yay!

bye-bye, February.

I figure that, before the month ends, I should post once more (since I've failed so miserably this year). Looking at the list of goals I make for myself each month, year, and birthday, I see how off track I am. Time to get going on that. Today I relaxed, so I'm ready to hop back into it (kinda).

Here's a picture from Saturday night (2/23).

-r

To-do list

There is lots to do right now. Read some Hamlet. Finish the laundry. Pack. Shower. Analyze a poem. Research a dude. Download my 365 project pictures. Study for anatomy practical. Journal. College essays.

Instead, though, I'll catch up on my favorite blogs. I'll write down all those things & get to them later. Oh, the beauty of being young + slightly carefree.

ps - Two posts in one day & both without photos? Yes. New thing? Probably not. Learning to find my voice? I think so.

Lip Dub

Back in December, the day before the world was supposed to end, my high school filmed our first lip dub.

It started back in October when my yearbook teacher saw the McKinney High School Lip Dub. She showed our principal, & he took it from there by planning it with some of the student leaders in our school + the Career Center.

Leading up to it, I don't think many people (including myself) were excited about it. Once we were getting in place, though, it began to get exciting. They stopped the recording (as you can see) so that we could all book it down there to get into the pep rally scene.

Also, how cool is it that, after just being uploaded a few weeks, it already has over 6,000 views?




You can see me on the left at 2:03. I'm right after the bowling sign with a camera in my face. (:

Letterman

When I first learned about being a football filmer, I had the question of whether or not I would get a letterman. The answer? Yes. It was ordered the week after the last football game/the week before Thanksgiving.

Today, it arrived. We ran down to the field house after the final bell to receive our babies.

Now, before you think I'm completely crazy for getting a letterman mere months before graduating, just know that I thought about this long & hard. Even as we were walking into the field house, I was worried that I had made the wrong decision. I now know that I didn't.

If you know me, then you know that I hate money. I hate how dependent we must be on it, but that's another rant for another time. The point of me saying all this is that I did in fact think about this. My parents were in support either way, &, that discussing it with quite a few people, I decided to go for it.
So, here's my high school letterman.

Morning

One of the highlight of my mornings is the promise of a nice view on the way to school + a new day.

"They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:23

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (in Yearbook)

Today in yearbook I walked in & sat down. Then I noticed the Christmas decorations. I'm fairly certain I squealed. Needless to say, December is one of my favorite months. I'm so beyond excited to see all the Christmas decorations start being put up all over the place.

El Salvador

Today I received a sweet gift from a friend who just got back from El Salvador. I love thinking about where this tiny toy has been.

Birthday

One year ago today my dad stood in line for my iPhone 4S. On his birthday. I love my dad. He definitely has flaws, but so do the rest of us. He's by far the most intelligent person I know. He stands up for what he believes in, and, most importantly, he protects his wife + family. If I marry someone half as amazing as him, I'll be a lucky girl. I'm so thankful to have him as my father.

People are actually bananas

Tonight I had a revelation: people are like bananas. Now before you write me off as insane, hear me out.

When you look at a banana, you can tell if it's bruised on the inside or not. At least that's what you think. As you can see in the below picture, my banana looks just fine. Take away the peel, though, and you can see that it was icky inside. I think people are like that. Some of us put up a front to make it look like we're fine, but when people get to know us they see that we're actually bruised. Some bananas, though, look sick to begin with. The peel and the inside are gross. I do everything to avoid people AND bananas like that. Why? Because I know those bananas will be gross (aside from those that are actually fine when you take away the peel...). I avoid people like that because I don't want to deal with them. That's something I'm working on, so we won't get into that now.

What is the point of this post? You've heard it before, but don't judge a book by it's cover, or, in this case, a banana by it's peel/a person by how they act.

"Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace." - Romans 8:5, 6 NIV

I'm not a liar

I could lie. I could tell you that for me to have a quiet time every night for the last 30 nights has been easy.

But it hasn't. Some nights I barely make it through the passage before I let my eyelids close.

It's not easy. It's definitely been an adjustment for me. I used to journal nearly every night for a year & a half before getting tired of it. That was back in January. But, ever since camp, I've made sure to write about my day in addition to reading a chapter of the Bible each night.

It's not easy, but it's worth it.

Here's some cool images I've seen on Pinterest.

Source: godrite.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: yhwhloves.tumblr.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: wonderful-things-in-your-law.tumblr.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Rachel on Pinterest

Diligence

Like the rest of my generation, I'm a procrastinator. I don't like to work hard on things that don't interest me. Namely, school. Here's the shocker: I wish I had done better in school over the years. You see, I'm quickly approaching senior year. Ouch. I can't believe that. But we'll get to that another day.

What was I talking about? That's right, working hard. I wish I had realized that watching that one TV show would completely change whether or not I'd be admitted into my dream school. I haven't been denied, yet, but I fear I will.

That's where this verse from my quiet time two nights ago comes in.

"Diligent hands will rule,

but laziness ends in forced labor."

- Proverbs 12:24 

I'm pretty sure my first thought when I read it was something along the lines of, "Oh". I felt busted. I don't work diligently. At anything. ANYTHING. It's pathetic. So, while I know I'm a little too late to work diligently to get into my dream school, I know I can work diligently for whatever is next in my life.

Wow. That turned out to be a lot more serious than I intended. Oh, well.

Mr. Bojangles

How rude of me! I forgot to introduce this cutie to the blog. This is Mr. Bojangles. This is my dog. You can follow him on instagram or twitter @Mr____Bojangles. That's four underscores. I'm not kidding. He + our cats may or may not also have their own Facebook accounts. But we won't get into that, because that involves Farmville.

Anyway, here he is! Sometimes he does this cute thing with his lip where it gets caught on his gum, I guess. How cute!!

No, we didn't name him. Two years ago, my sister's roommate decided she wanted a dog. When she went online to look at them, she found this guy, & my sister said that if they were going to have a dog in their apartment, they had to get him because my sister has always wanted a cat named Mr. Bojangles. Long story short, they couldn't handle him, so he came to live with us! He's been the main source of our entertainment for years. We love him very, very much.

EVERYTHING IS INTERESTING.

"Everything has a value, provided it appears at the right place at the right time. It's a matter of recognizing that value, that quality, and then to transform it into something that can be used. If you come across something valuable and tuck it away in your metaphorical suitcase there's sure to come a moment when you can make use of it."

- Jurgen Bey

17

Today was another day of "firsts" for me:
- first day of the 17th year of my life
- first time eating chicken Alfredo pizza
- first time receiving flowers

I'm so thankful for the blessings God has given me. I'm talking to you, my family.

ps - the flowers are from my loving sister, not some punk. (;

When my cousin comes to town.. (part two)

we go to the Rangers vs A's game. Rangers lost, but we still had lots of fun.

You know, I'm not a huge fan of time going by so fast. I'm trying to remind myself daily that this is the ONLY July 1, 2012 I will ever have. I have to make it worthwhile. I'm not guaranteed tomorrow. So, YOLO?