Jesus paid it all...

...all to Him I owe. Sin has left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

I am always so amazed at how good God is to me, when I am never worthy. So often I fail to give Him the devotion that He deserves, but He forgives me every time. I stand in Awe of His grace and loving kindness. My heart is on fire for Him.

Praise the One who paid my debt, and raised this life up from the dead.

Early Mornings

I'm up. I don't want to be up, but I'm up. This is what happens when I choose to spend my (very late) evenings talking on the phone and skyping instead of doing homework. So now I'm reading an essay about structuring a thesis with a  tumbler full of hot coffee by my side. Good morning.

It was worth it though, I love talking to people from home. As much as I'm loving it here, I can't wait to go home in three weeks for Fall break!

This video is my official "I miss Texas" cure.

"And when she laughs you’ll always take notice
'cause her heart's charm will shine right through it all"

Time to wake-up and be joyful. God has been so incredible to me lately (and all the time actually), how can I be anything but thankful? It is a good morning.

Roommates!

I really really do love my roommates. I can't believe I've only known them for a month!

Speaking of awesome roommates, you should read Caroline's blog for more intelligent but yet adorably endearing posts. She's the greatest. :)

P.S. Something else I love....
 just cause.

What to say...

Every day I've signed on with the intention of blogging, and everyday I have no idea what to say. Which makes me think...why did I even create a blog? I've realized that I rarely ever talk about myself unless people are asking me questions. I'm not reserved, plenty of people will tell you that I love to talk, but for some reason I hardly ever talk about myself.

So, maybe this is good. I created this blog so that the whole state of Texas (or just the people I know who live there, but whatever), will know what I'm up to in Tennessee. But maybe it'll help me be more open and learn how to express my thoughts better. That's definitely something I could work on.

My love language is quality time, which means I receive and express love best through spending time with people. It makes a lot of sense, because normally I don't feel 100% comfortable with people until I've spent time getting to know them. I'm not the type of person who could just walk up to a random stranger and start a conversation. But once I do spend a good amount of time with someone I begin to feel comfortable being myself, and I make incredibly reliable friends. 

Quality time also means that I love having long conversations, and I always look people in the eye when we're talking. I basically love to connect with people on a deeper level. One of my least favorite things in the world is a conversation (especially over text) that goes like this:

"Hey how are you?"
"Good."
"That's cool."
"Yeah."
Pointless...

I think that God has given me the ability to relate to all kinds of different personalities, and even though I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life, I strongly believe that it will involve reaching out to a lot of people. I love talking to them, listening to their stories, and praying for them. I'm excited to see how God is going to open me up in college so that I can do these things even more.

So basically, that's what I've been learning lately. Sorry this post was so all over the place.
Oh, and to everyone in Texas: I had an awesome day. I hung around campus with my incredible roommates during the afternoon, then my friends mom came into town and treated us to dinner. We even went to Starbucks after, and it was magical.

Till next time. <3

A lovely picture of my closet. 

p.s. if you love me you won't care that I never take more that 20 seconds to put on make up.

The past 30 days

I've been in college for a month now, and since everyone has told me that this is going to be the best time of my life, I figured I should document my experiences so far.
 So...
In the last 30 days, I have...

• Moved 900 miles away from home
• Experienced rain for the first time in months (heavy, goes-on-for-days rain)
• Let coffee become a part of my (almost) daily routine
• Gone White Water rafting
• Been to Georgia (for the first time....?)
• Written 7 papers and 2 newspaper articles
• Met no more than 5 people from Texas, if that
• Heard the most adorable southern (and a few northern) accents
• Met girls who have become like sisters
• Missed my family, friends, and basically just Texas in general
• Been surrounded by red brick buildings, trees, and gorgeous Tennessee weather; I love it.
• Seen more clogged toilets than I had hoped too in a lifetime. Community bathrooms are lovely. 
• Watched She's the Man twice (and I've quoted it about with my roommate about 200 times)
• Established 4570357294354954 crazy funny inside jokes with my amazing roommates
• Gained the nickname "Ginger," to help my friends identify me from my roommate...far stretch right?
• Become really really great friends with my roommates (if you can't tell from the past 3 points...)
• Finished the Hunger Games. Team Peeta :)
• Turned 19
• Joined a dance troupe, and it's awesome
• found out my favorite person is caroline kindiger
• Found out I shouldn't let Caroline Kindiger read my posts before they're finished
• Oh yeah, and I've gone to school. 

Basically, I love college, and I've been blessed beyond my wildest imagination.
Till next time. <3