These lights will inspire you....

Hey friends,

I have happy news and sad news. The happy news is that spring break was an incredible, life changing experience that I'll never forget. The sad news is that it's over.

Galveston, TX.

For the first half of spring break I went home to Texas with my two best friends. It was so much fun to take them to my world and see my family for a few days. We went to the rodeo, toured Sugar Land, went to the beach and had Mexican food you can only get in the Lone Star State. It was beautiful.

The trip home reinforced my love for all things Texas and family life. I left with a vision of myself settling down on a quiet stretch of land somewhere in Small Town, U.S.A., writing for a nonprofit organization and baking my grandma's buttermilk pie. The idea of a quiet life a little out of the way seemed perfect.

Then I went to New York City.

Don't get me wrong: I was excited to go to New York, but I wasn't as overly thrilled as my friends were. I already knew that big city life wasn't for me. I love cities, but NYC overwhelmed me before I even got there. I knew I would like the visit, but I would never want to live or have a career there.

Well, I was wrong. Shoot.

Caroline in the City

New York City is amazing. The experience was not only fun, but influential. The journalism conference inspired and reaffirmed my career aspirations, and the liveliness of the city energized me to go for the job I want.

All of the sudden I can see myself working for a magazine in a bigger city and writing profiles on influential people. I want the tiny apartment, the noise on the street and the thrill of a fast paced life.

Since I've been back at school I've done nothing but think over what I learned, what I want and how to get it. I've been researching internships, jobs and even grad schools.

Now I'm conflicted. And confused. Isn't it funny how life works that way? In one week I gained more clarity than I could have hoped for, but it was followed with so much confusion, and even fear.

If I can't even decide what I want to do, how can I expect to achieve or deserve anything?

And there's another aspect to think about: ministry. As a Christian I feel the responsibility and desire to use my life to further the Kingdom of God. My career choice has to give me the opportunity to help others and make a difference.

Could I make more of a difference writing for a non-profit in a smaller market, or working to infuse Christian values into secular media at a news organization?

I don't know. I do know that the Lord has planned my course and will lead me to where He wants to use me, but isn't there still some responsibility on me to work hard to get there? Everyone I met in New York who had accomplished anything started working towards their goal at my age, or even younger ages.

I still have two more years of college and time to figure things out, but spring break gave me the energy to start now. How can I start if I don't even know where to begin?

If we were children I would bake you a mudpie

"Oh what I wouldn't do

If I had you, babe, if I had you,"

What I wouldn't do - A Fine Frenzy

Hello friends :) I can't believe the end of the semester is so close! In just 10 days my roommate Caroline and I will be starting our "coffee road trip" all the way HOME to Texas. I can explain that more later. 

The Caroline's Coffee Road trip, coming May 2012

I just wanted to stop in and send out a quick update, since this next week I'll be crazy busy with finals, moving out, and getting everything ready to go HOME. Did I mention I'm going HOME soon?! I really can't wait.

When I reflect on this semester I'm overwhelmed by how much God has revealed to me. I'm exhausted, but I'm thankful. Things are already in place for next semester, which makes me excited to be back here! But, not without Summer first. 

But anyways, in the next few days, this will be me:

I promise I get some studying done...sometimes. 

Texas friends, I can't wait to see you! Contact me soon and we'll figure out a way to hang out this summer :)

Tennessee friends, I've been so blessed to get to know each and every one of you, and I can't wait for round two this fall.

Love always. 

10 reasons why I love coming home

The thing about going to school 900 miles from everything you know is that going home doesn't happen very much. If you're like me and embrace independence, being in a new place is an exciting adventure. However, even independent people get homesick, and long for the place that they know and love.

I'm currently home for Easter break satisfying my Sugar Land crave, so I thought I'd share with you why I love coming home to sweet Sugar Land, Texas, as much as I do.  

Here are the 10 reasons I love coming home:

1. Mexican food. 

When it comes to Mexican food, Tennessee tries. But nothing quite compares to an enchilada in Texas (except for maybe an enchilada in Mexico...)

2. My backyard smells like Carolina Jasmines, and I love it. 

I've never been one to get swept away by smell association, but Carolina Jasmines always bring me home. 

3. Less school, less stress, more shopping. 

Does that really need explanation?

4. I really just love my cat. 

I gave up trying to be cool a long time ago, and since we're going for full disclosure, I'm just going to say this: my cat is one of my favorite things on this earth. She's loving, she's cuddly, and when I'm not at home I miss her at the foot of my bed. Now, proceed to judge me. 

5. Being away from home makes you love it more. 

When I first come home after a few months of being away, I'm sentimental about everything. I love the busy road that I used to take every day to school, I love the june bugs that buzz around our back door in April, I love everything about Sugar Land.

6. I really do love everything about Sugar Land. 

It was the ideal place to grow up, and now it's the ideal home base to come back too. I don't ever want there to be a day when I'm not coming back to Sugar Land. I feel at home as soon as I get here, there's no awkward adjusting or reacquainting time. In my life at least, things move a little slower in Sugar Land, and I'm always able to find peace here. Everyone should have a place like that. 

7. When I'm home, I'm constantly seeing or hearing things that remind me of life at Lee. 

I think that's a good thing; getting away gives me an opportunity to step away from the stress and remember how much I love my life at school. Pretty soon I start to miss it. Even though I absolutely love being home, going back to school isn't always a challenge. 

8. Reunions. 

When you're gone for a long time and only have a few days to be home, you get the chance to have crazy, jumping around and screaming reunion moments with your friends, and it's wonderful. 

9. Friends. 

There's nothing like sitting down for coffee with a really great friend, especially when you haven't seen that friend in awhile. As much as social media let's us keep up with each other, it doesn't match the experience of actually spending time with someone. I love seeing old friends again and hearing about everything that's happened in their life since we last saw each other. 

10. Family. 

My family is my favorite thing in the world, and these days it's extremely rare that we're all in one place at one time. Any time I get a chance to see even just part of my family, I'm the happiest girl in the world. Spending time with my family is the best and easiest way to get refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the semester. 

I don't know how long I'll be away from Texas. Whether I come back and lay roots here or just float through every once in awhile, Texas will always hold a very special place in my heart, and I'll always love coming home. 

I'm here, and it's on purpose.

"Wherever you are,

 be all there." Jim Elliott 

Well, I'm right here. Hi.

Life is really great, but really busy. Right after Spring break the thick of the middle of the semester hit really hard, and for a few weeks I was lucky if I was able to stay in one place for more than an hour. Life is finally slowing down and letting me breathe a sigh of relief - the storm has passed over. 

I had an amazing Spring break with (most of) my family in Colorado. Along with my parents and Tyler, it was so awesome to see Zach at school, and see how much he's grown as a man of God in the last few months. Next week he'll be flying to Kyrgyzstan to do missionary work for 3 months, which basically means I'll be in constant prayer for him for 3 months! 

In the midst of extreme business, roommate outings make me really happy :) 

Like I said, life at Lee since Spring break has been incredibly busy, but it's been a blessing. There are so many great opportunities for me here. I'm learning to be thankful for them even though I complain about them stealing my time. 

............

I'm homesick. The hardest part about being overloaded with school these past few weeks is that I was having trouble caring. I love being at Lee, but right now my heart and mind are resting in Sugar Land, while my body is still pushing itself in Cleveland. In four days I'll be going home for the first time all semester, and I couldn't be more excited. I could hug the whole state of Texas. 

God has really been using that quote by Jim Elliott to speak to me. When I get homesick, I tend to only think about going home, and I begin going through the minimal motions just to get through the day. That's a sorry way to live.

Like it or not, I'm here.

So now I just need to be here. 

I'm here, and it's on purpose. My resolution for the rest of the semester is to fully, whole-heartedly, un-regretfully be here, and to enjoy it. I'm so fortunate to be where I am, and a stressful season should not give me a reason to complain.

It's such a beautiful truth that the joy of the Lord is not based upon circumstance or current state of mind. He is so constant, so faithful, and so good. 

As always, I'm learning, seeking, serving, and wandering.

With love. 

Full house!

For the first time since this Summer everyone in my family is back under one roof! My brother and sister-in-law drove in from DC tonight (with two cats!), which means Buck, Anna, Collin, Kalli, Tyler, Caroline and Zach are finally together again! It's pure happiness.

My parents

Time to take a moment and talk about how amazing my family is. Truly, they are incredible, and my proudest obsession. Something amazing happens in the room when all of my family is back together. We all get each other. There's a level of closeness there that I don't think I'll ever have with another group of people--and no one can make me laugh harder than my family. They're the best group of people I know.

Another thing I love about my family: we're all passionate about something, and we're all chasing the thing we're passionate about. This year my parent's have started travelling all around the US preaching at conferences and furthering they're ministry, and it's just the beginning. Along with pastoring a church here in Texas, I believe they'll spend a lot of time taking God's Word all across the globe. And they love it.

Collin and Kalli

On the front page!

My oldest brother, Collin (24), and his wife, Kalli (23), just got back from Washington DC, where he once again amazed his editors at yet another prestigious newspaper. You can always tell that someone is doing what God wants them to do when they are succeeding far beyond everyone's expectations. I'm so proud of him and his wife, Kalli, who is also acting on her dreams of working in the fashion industry.

A screenshot from one of Tyler's movies

Tyler, Zach and I are chasing our own dreams too, but our futures are less defined than the older members of our family. Tyler (21) is studying film, and he's amazingly gifted in all things editing, writing, directing and whatever else comes with the field. He's going to be huge. I'm currently studying journalism, purely for the reason that that's where God has me, and I like it. But don't ask me what I want to do with my degree, because I don't have a clue. My passion is Christ, so I know that I'll always end up where I'm suppose to be when I'm chasing him. Zach (17) is the bravest of all of us. In about 3 weeks he'll be at a ministry school in Colorado, training for a month long outreach somewhere in the Himalayas. He has a fire in his heart for evangelism, and he's not letting his young age keep him from sharing the love of Christ now.

Zach and I at Collin and Kalli's wedding

Sorry this blog was so long and drawn out, but I think it was worth it--I could talk about my family forever. I'm happiest when I'm with my family, and I'm so beyond ecstatic that Christmas has brought us all back together.

Merry Christmas! I hope you are cherishing your family this holiday season.

Tales of Happiness

Well, my first semester of college has come to end. So...I'm done!!! In a few hours I'll be on my way to sweet Sugar Land, Texas for the holidays. A whole month of Sugar Land sounds really incredible right now.

Roommates :)

I can't believe this first semester is already over. Even though a lot has happened, it feels like just yesterday I was moving into my dorm room and meeting this curly haired girl who has the same name as me. Flash forward four months, and now my beautiful roommate Caroline is one of my closest friends, and along with that I have two incredible suit mates and a lot of other kindred spirit friends that I've made here. Moral of the story: God knows what He's doing. Always. He's never left me hanging - He's always taken care of me. It's almost as if He's in love with me or something... :)

So, in order to put off packing a little while longer, I'm going to write about a few awesome experiences that I've had here lately. I'm also writing about it because...well I love writing down my experiences and keeping everyone who is praying for me updated on what's going on in my life.

Last week I went with my friend Emily to get my guitar strings changed. One of my strings broke way back in October, but I still hadn't gotten them changed because I don't have a car and didn't even know where to go to get it done. Luckily my friend Emily needed something from a music store here in Cleveland, so she offered to give me a ride (because she's awesome). I was hoping that there would be someone in the music store who could change them for me since it's been a long time since I learned to change strings and I didn't want to mess anything up. I was expecting this to be a pretty pricey deal, but worth it all the same.

My beautiful guitar that Dub even cleaned for me!

When we got to the music store the man sold me strings for about a third of the price I would've gotten in Sugar Land, which was really awesome considering I'm a college student and money never seems to stay in my pocket. He said he didn't have anyone in the shop who could change the strings for me, but he knew someone who would do it for $5 a guitar. He gave me the man's name and number, and next thing I know I'm calling a man named Dub and asking if I could drop my guitar off at his house to get my strings changed. Dub was an adorable elderly man who used to be a preacher, and said when he was young he had hair the same color as mine. He changed both mine and Emily's guitar's for $5 each, and couldn't have been any sweeter. I just wanted to go into his house, have some tea and hear his story. I didn't, but that would've been awesome.

So, the point to this story is that I love small towns. Really, they're awesome. Everyone is friendly, and when they say "How are you doing?" they really want to know. I'm so glad that God placed me in such a sweet town. The people here are teaching me to enjoy doing things for other's just because I want to help out - without asking anything, or very little, in return.

The next story is about this weekend when I got to go to Nashville!! My friend Lisa must've known that I've been wanting to go to Nashville all semester, and that I needed a getaway from a boring finals week, because she invited me on a trip that her hall was going on over the weekend. She didn't end up going, but somehow I was still invited to go to Nashville with a hall full of girls that I had just met, and it was so much fun. We went to the Opryland hotel to look at the Christmas decorations first - it was so beautiful. Then after that we went line dancing in downtown Nashville, which was an absolute blast.

Nashville is my favorite city in the world. I blew a kiss to the Grand Ole Opry and promised I'd be back. One of my goals is to live in Nashville for a little while after college. I don't know what I'd do there yet, except I know that I'd go to the Opry as much as I could and soak up the heaven that comes out of that place.

Downtown Nashville, such a beautiful place.

Opryland Hotel!

Tennessee sunset. See you in January :)

Anyways, I've had an incredible semester, and even though I'm more than thrilled to go home for a month, I can't wait to come back here next year for part two of freshman year. You know something...God really knows what He's doing.

If you've stuck with me this far, congratulations, because you're about to read the most important part. Here goes: some parts of this adventure of a first semester has felt like a compete free fall. I really didn't know what I was doing when I came to Lee University in Cleveland Tennessee, except that I was going where I felt the Lord was leading me.  But the thing about free falls is that once you get over the fear of the landing, they can be an incredible experience. All you can do is enjoy the fall, and trust that someone, or something, will catch you at the end of it. The Lord has repeatedly told me that He'll be there to catch me. And even better than that, He's come in and taken over completely--acting as my wings. So now, my free fall feels more like flying.

Well, that's all. Sorry this post was such a novel. Actually I guess I'm really not sorry, but I really do hope you stayed with me!

Love always to you and yours,
Caroline.

Now playing: "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" -Alan Jackson
First semester of college: check.

Home is wherever I'm with you

I landed in Houston last night, and today I had the best day ever driving around the streets of Sugar Land, listening to Christmas music, and hanging out with my family. I love this town, I love Thanksgiving, and I love being home.

I also just found out that my oldest brother Collin got a job at a newspaper in Houston, and he and his wife will be moving back here next month! They'll be staying with us for awhile, so basically when I get back from school for Christmas break the whole family will be under one roof again! It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Sugar Land.

Sugar Land will always be home to me. I had the most amazing Fall break in sweet Sugar Land, Texas. I got to see my family, hang out with friends (a highlight being my best friend Amy Reed;) ), and pretty much take a breathe and catch up on life in Texas. It's crazy how similar it feels to be back home, but yet how different it is. I'm not used to being in my own house and living out of a suitcase. I'm not used to going home feeling like a vacation. But even so, it was the best vacation ever.

Zach & I right after I got off the plane.

I definitely didn't realize how much I would miss Sugar Land. Family and friends aside, my favorite thing about being back was just getting to drive around in my truck to all of the places I used to go too. I'm really blessed to have such a great hometown.

Even though Sugar Land will always be my home, I know that it was the right thing for me to leave there. I know that I wouldn't have all of the opportunities I have now if I had stayed within my comfort zone. I'm back in beautiful Tennessee now, and I love it. It was really great to be home, but at the same time I wasn't dreading coming back to school. I love it here. It's crazy how I can feel so at home in two very different places. I guess I'm just doubly blessed.

To everyone I saw this past week who said they're following my blog: thanks! It's nice to know I'm not just talking to myself. I love you, Sugar Land. See you at Thanksgiving!