Candle Making!

I love random projects. I get my mind set on something and I'm hooked. There is no turning back. This vacation I got my mind set on candle making. But, these were no ordinary candles. I wanted to make wax tarts. We have a no flame candle melter and we were all out of wax tarts to melt, so with a green state of mind I thought that we could melt old candles and make more tarts and give them as gifts to our relatives who have the same candle melter.

First we found old, nasty candles that we no longer had any use for.

 Then we melted them, fished for the wicks, added the scents, and poured them into molds (we used cupcake tins). We grouped the old candles by color so that we wouldn't have to use any other color.

It was the perfect project for a snowy Christmas Eve!

So what have you been doing this break?

Here's a quick little snap shot of what I've been doing this break.

We got a fake Christmas tree when I was in high school but I've always missed the event of going to the farm, getting hot cider, and picking out a tree. So this year we went pretend Christmas tree hunting. This kind of hunting was better. We picked the tree closest to the road to take a picture of. Our toes never got cold. We still got to have hot cider and donuts and spend time as a family. I'm all for fake Christmas tree hunting.

We celebrated my mom's birthday and skyped in my brother who lives in New Mexico.

We traveled downtown Chicago with our friends the Rays. We went out to dinner at R.J. Grunts and to see the Lincoln Park Zoo lights.

 I've been working on support letters for Malawi. They are going in the mail today!

I went cross country skiing with my mom and was excited when I didn't fall down the huge hill!










I'd say that's pretty good for a week :)

Home Sweet Home

I arrived home yesterday evening. I cannot believe that my first semester of my freshmen year of college is over! It went by really quickly...yet when I think about all that has happened it feels like a ton! I am really looking forward to long talks with friend and family, time to read for fun (I have a goal of reading three books), and not having to think about classes for a while. In high school we always took finals after break so we never truely got a break. I really love the words that I painted above my closet door in my room. Its such a great reminder when I have a tendency to think about all the things that do not go as planned. I think about Romans 8:28 and how I can see the beauty in all situations.

It's Christmas Morning at IWU!

I was woken up to the sound of a jingling bell and my RA saying "Its Christmas morning, Its Christmas morning, there's a surprise in the Lobby!" So me being a morning person hopped out of bed and headed down. The furniture was arranged around the fire place and all the girls on North Hall East side were gathered. Once they managed to pull everyone out of bed we prayed and had OJ and some breakfast. Then we were told a surprise guest was coming to read to us. In walked President Smith! He told us he was use to all the girls in the morning because he was the oldest of 8 siblings, 6 of them being girls. So he read Twas the Night Before Christmas both in English and Piglatan. Then our RA's passed out gifts. Our parents had been contacted and sent gifts for us to open! Mine was pony tail holders and the book Forgotten God by Francis Chan! It was a pretty unforgettable morning. Then we went back to sleep and I slept till noon :)

My Running Love Life

I use to HATE running! Like H-A-T-E. I avoided it whenever possible. I would occasionally run at xsport (my gym at home) just so I didn't gain 100 lbs, and to run off steam from high school days. This running would take place on a treadmill and rarely go over one mile at a time. I felt safe running on a treadmill because I knew I would never get too far and not be able to get back. That's why I chose to not run outdoors. I was scared that I would run a mile away from my house and have to walk the whole mile back!

Then this summer I decided I was going to start running and I was going to like it! So, I got a new pair of running shoes.

I also invested in Nike+ which would tell me how far and how fast I was running. It finally worked! I was starting to enjoy running! I would run outside in the morning or evening and it was beautiful. I would run with our foster dog wally, or with a friend who faithfully met me every Tuesday and Thursday morning to run.

I continued to run on our vacation to Colorado and figured the altitude would make it easier once I returned home. I may have rewarded myself for those vacation runs that happened to start and end at Starbucks! Since then I have ran two races, one 5k and one 4m. As the weather has gotten a lot colder I have resorted back indoors for a little while. We have a treadmill in a workout room on my floor but it gets SUPER boring! I'm looking forward to going home for break to get my new wind breaker and heading back outside for runs!

Why I Love Going to a Small Christian School

1. Teachers understand grace and mercy.
    Recently I have received mercy and grace from my teachers for things that would not be excused at a large campus. My professors truly want me to succeed and have my best interest at heart. Im also not saying that they let things slide and in the end we will all fail in the real world. Im saying that they don't let the little things turn into big things that make you fail or struggle more than necessary.
2. Friends are friends on a much deeper level.
   Its totally normal to ask a friend to pray for you, or to express that you are praying for them. We have a deeper bond in Christ that is unlike other friendships. I've time and time again been reminded that these girls around me will walk through the sufferings and the joys alongside me.
3. You can leave your money on the table, walk away, and know that its safe.
   When we go to get our food we first pick a table and set all our stuff down. This includes all our phones, money, ID's etc, and go get our food. There is such a level of trust that we can just do that. Anywhere else in the world it would be gone in a flash. That's one thing that we will have to remember down the road when we leave.
4. Free campus mail.
   Today I got a sweet card of encouragement from a friend through our campus mail. You can send mail to any other mail box on campus for free. Ive been told you can also send whole pieces of fruit.
5. Cross campus greetings.
    On a campus this size your bound to see someone you know as you walk across campus. Ive only been here a few short months and already I see this happening. On a larger campus you could go an entire day without seeing someone you would say hi to.
6. Chapel
     We have the opportunity 3 times  a week to not be studying, not be sleeping, not be eating and just focus on the sole purpose of why we LIVE at all!
7. Understanding the true reason for the season.
    Again the whole Christmas thing is just so funny to me. I think its just because in my school years before it was focused on being politically correct. Here we have all campus Christmas events, they passed out an advent devotional its just nice :)

James 5:17

James 5:17a says "Elijah was a man just like us..." How AWESOME is that?! I was listening to a podcast by Francis Chan the other night and he was telling his church how this was one of his favorite verses. After hearing that I realized why its so cool. The fact that a man as righteous as Elijah was a man just like us is so inspirational. Elijah preformed many miracles he even called down fire from heaven! Elijah also was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind. AND HE was a man just like US!

Malawi June 2011

After the long awaited answer today I found out that I was accepted to go to Malawi Africa with a team of girls from IWU this June! I am sooo pumped! God is so good! I am totally amped to get to know the team of girls better in the time leading up to the trip as we prepare to serve Him in Malawi!

Late Night Coffee

I decided that I wanted to go to McConn tonight to get out of my dorm room. My faithful roommate joined me on the adventure. I also decided to get freshbrew coffee...and I was planning to get decaf but i didnt see it untill I had already filled my cup with some fine other freshbrew. Caffeine at 10:30..the feeling is wonderful. Cant tell you when ill be able to go to bed. But I can say this. I LOVE COFFEE! Another friends that decided to join us is studying for an addictions test... as I am quizzing her thinking to myself. ...Im probably addicted to caffeine. Oh well.. It could be worse. :)

8th Grade Throwback!

Last night my phone that looks like this...

totally died. And no... its not just the battery. It just decided to give up on life last night. I was sitting watching One Tree Hill texting some dear people while my phone was plugged in and all of the sudden I looked at it and couldn't get it to turn on or anything. So..I switched battery's...still nothing. So I feel like I'm in 8th grade (pre-cell phone for me) when I had to ask to borrow phones to call my mom or know what time it is. I suppose I could start wearing a watch again? Sooooo 8th grade. Its honestly a little nice not having it. It reminds me also of when I was in Kenya and didn't have a phone. Theres a lot of freedom without that string attached. I by no means want to stay without a phone but its a nice little break. Now if the Verizon lady would just call my dorm phone so I can go eat lunch :)

Tis the Season

I have attended public school my whole life...until now. In public school it is "winter break" or "holiday vacation"  because political correctness is the bestest..at IWU... its CHRIST-mas! Everywhere I look there are Christmas Tree's, Nativity Scenes, and other decorations.

We have a less than perfect Chirstmas tree between my dorm and our "brother" dorm. Last night we had the lighting ceremony. We gathered around the tree at 10pm. The University President prayed with us and then the count down began! President Smith flipped the switch and the not so perfect tree was lit! Then we sang Christmas carols and held hands... no exaggeration. Only at IWU.

Our tree looks a lot like this...except it has a massive plywood base because its location is in the wind tunnel and I guess they don't want it to blow over?

A Blog

I have always wished I had a blog, but I never thought my life was interesting enough to have one and I still think that. I've had blogs for different mission trips I've been on but none that just talk about day to day life. So I figured...when is a better time to start one than now? Its finals time. I have papers to write, things to study. So why not blog? My life really is not THAT interesting but it can be humorous at times, and as a freshmen in college I figured it could be fun to document the journey. I may be writing this solely for my own reading later in life. Maybe one person in a far away land will read it. Maybe only my mom will read it. It really doesn't matter. Enjoy the trip :)