I'm a new creation.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; 

the old has gone, the new has come! 

2 Corinthians 5:17

I am a new creation in Christ. My old, wretched, torn-up life means nothing because He covers me with His love (and more appropriately, His blood). We should live as new creations, not clinging on to our past lives with the sins and muck, but press forward in pursuing righteousness and holiness. And not righteousness as in "holier than thou" but righteousness as in making it our primary goal to act out the most important commandments: 1) Love God. 2) Love others. 

This is what I've solely meditating on this past week. 

Saturday! Probably my favorite day of the week. During the Fall, there is most likely a football game to attend, and in the Spring, lots of retreats and time to hike the gorgeous mountains that surround my university. I thoroughly enjoy spending Saturday mornings with a cup a tea and my laptop, scrolling through Newsfeeds and enjoying the nature of having nothing in particular to do. 

Two of my good friends, Matt and Nate, decided they wanted to make a calendar of their Bible Study guys (the one they lead), so I spent a good portion of the afternoon taking photos of them. Here's a some (well, twelve) of my favorites. We found some AWESOME trees on campus and, because they are guys, they were all over them. Honestly, taking photos of them was a lot more fun than I expected. Yay! 

News!

In his heart a man plans his course,

but the Lord determines his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

He has our plans and is doing things in our best interest. He knows exactly which way we're going and what those things are going to lead to. My post yesterday really touched on these things and I don't see a true need in repeating them all. 

Either way... 

BIG NEWS. 
Today was extremely productive. I got reading done for classes, assignments done that aren't due til later this week or next, AND planned a retreat. That's right. A retreat. 

Within Cru, I'm a part of a team called, appropriately, Freshmen Team. We meet weekly to discuss how to better the community within the freshmen and so on and so forth. Anyways, my good friend Nate (the one I took photos of for the Bible Study!) and I are in charge of planning the retreat for the freshmen which will happen in the Spring. 
This is a big responsibility but I have a lot of faith in us! We met today for a solid two hours planning and got a huge chunk done. Now, all of this has to go through the proper channels and under review of everyone else on the Freshmen Team and by the time it actually happens, will probably look nothing like what we planned today - but that's okay. I'm free to go with the flow. If there is something I've learned this past year, it's that more heads ARE better than one and it leads to more successful events. 

Okay, now to the big news. I got accepted as a Greystone counselor! Eeeek!!! So excited! I'm excited for this summer and all that God will do in my life between now and then to prepare me for it. I'm excited and will be praying for the girls that will attend this summer and that God will work tremendously in their lives as well. I'll be praying for my the other staff that I'll be leading with, that I can make true friendships and that we can grow closer by serving the Lord together. I'm just so excited and thankful for all of it.
I'm especially relieved by the fact that I know (or at I think I know...) what will happen this summer. It's a weight off my shoulder. Hopefully something drastic doesn't happen to change all of that, but if it does, I can't imagine what better things God would have in store for me. 

My Blueprint.

So you will find favor and good success

in the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 3:4

It is my belief that God literally plans out every moment of our lives. Where I step, who I pass on the street, what exact time I leave my apartment to pass the people and step in those spots. This idea freaks some people out, and others disagree with it. My friend Matt holds the opinion that God plans out big moments and deciding factors in our lives, but that we make our ways to get there. I think God plays a more intricate role, hence my earlier statement. Either way, it's reassuring and comforting to know that it is all planned out for me. That I don't need to worry about tomorrow, or next week, or this coming summer - because God already made those plans and is directing me in the way I need to go to best fulfill those plans. I serve an awesome God. 

I went sharing today with Leslie, who is on Cru Staff this year. She has challenged me in more ways than anyone else on this campus. I am so thankful for her for pushing my boundaries and shoving me outside of my comfort zone. We were able to have this awesome conversation with a Sophomore girl and talk to her about her beliefs. And it went really well!

PostSecret's Frank Warren came here as well! I've wanted to see him live for several years, and am so excited that it's finally happened! His talk was fantastic, but very similar to past talks he's done. Just another thing to check off my Bucket List though! 

WOMANNNNN

So God created mankind in His own image

in the image of God He created them;

 male and female He created them.

Genesis 1:27

You are created in the image of God. I am created in the image of God. And because of this, we bear the image of God and our character traits are that of His (even though they get contorted by sin). A couple of weeks ago in the Bible Study I am in we talked about how we are created in God's image and how we reflect characteristics of God. It wasn't til that night that it really spoke to me that this means all of our characteristics - including those that are feminine! In my mind, I assign many male attributes and characteristics as those of God, but female characteristics remain inferior - we care too much, we are too emotional, we think too much, etc. But these reflect God as much as the male's! I am created in the image of God JUST as much even though I'm a female! I know God does not have a gender, but we assign masculine roles to Him, and this can make me feel left out or inferior BECAUSE of that. God loves me just the same - because I reflect Him. Lovely to think about. 

Today is beautiful. My mother came up this weekend to run a half marathon. She's a boss. She ran a half marathon on Saturday morning in my hometown, and then came up to run ANOTHER half marathon this Sunday morning. I'm so glad she was able to come up and visit my sister and I in our little apartment :) 

As well, I spent lots of time with friends this past weekend. Watching TONS of How I Met Your Mother and generally sharing thoughts about life. Very fun! 

As well, I received a letter in the mail today! That'll always perk ya up! I did a mini scream for joy when I saw it sitting in the mailbox and practically skipped up the staircase and through the hallways to get to my apartment faster to rip it open! A friend from California, that I met through Summer Project in the Dominican Republic last summer, sent me a letter after I mailed her one a few days ago. Snail mail travels faster than I expected! One of my goals for this school year (and really for the rest of college life) is to mail letters. Communicating through Skype, Facebook, etc has its advantages, but receiving mail brings a joy like no other! I'm frantically awaiting finishing my homework so I can write her back a novel of my life. 

I'm anxiously awaiting hearing back from Greystone to decide what I'm doing for the summer! My heart aches to go there, but I know that if that is not where I am meant to be, God will show me wherever it is I am supposed to be placed. Waiting is hard though!