sweet dreams.

So I have been in the process (since forever) of trying to compile all the verses that have ministered to me during specific struggles in my life. You wouldn't believe me if you saw me now, or my senior year of high school, but I have always had a hard time sleeping. I would frequently wake up screaming after having a terrible nightmare. Like until this past summer.

This was a big thing in my life.

So, finally, this summer when I was doing the 90 day read through the bible plan, I came across some verses that spoke directly to my heart about the subject of sleep. Who knew that the bible even gives sleep advice?  If I had known earlier, I probably would not have to put under eye concealer on every single day of my life. I am convinced that comes from years of being too afraid of my nightmares to go back to sleep.

Psalm 3:5
I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me.

Psalm 4:8
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 5: 11-12
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

These verses worked on my heart, because they revealed that my issue not trusting in God for sleep. I didn't realize that my fears came from a lack of trust in God (but like 150% of the time that is the case). I didn't believe that God was in complete control of my sleep. If someone came in and sliced me, He was in control. If I had a terrible nightmare, He was in control. If I had the sweetest sleep and the sweetest dreams, He was in control!

I wrote each of these verses down on a notecard and would read them every night before I went to sleep. I would read them when I woke up in the morning and thank God that I could see the truth of His word each night and each morning. After a couple of weeks of this, I haven't had a single problem with sleep! Not that I am saying this has cured me forever, but it has been an obvious transformation in my sleeping life.

Sweet dreams!

again with the celebrating. (part two)

See previous post for the first half of my celebration of turning twenty. And Britt turning twenty-one.

12) Try on size 20 (21) pants. Well they actually don't have size 21 pants, so Britt wore size 22 pants. Like one to grow on.
13) Hula hoop 20 (21) times. This was no problem for me. Little known fact: I won fourth place for hula hooping when I was in fifth grade. I attribute my success to the fact that my hips don't lie.

14) Ride elevator up and down 20 (21) times. A more known fact: I am extremely motion sick. So this was definitely my least favorite event of the night.
15) Go pond hopping for 20 (21) minutes seconds. It was a little chilly.
16) Roll down the hill 20 (21) times. Britt rolled down once. I rolled down zero times.

The next couple were not documented, so just trust me they happened. True Story.

17) Dance every time the minutes say 20 (21). Undocumented, but let me just assure you white girls have moves.
18) Ask sales clerk at Wal-Mart 20 (21) different questions. Kristen was a champ. As much as possible, the questions and conversation flowed naturally. It didn't hurt that the male sales clerk was all too willing to keep the conversation going as long as possible.
19) Give 20 (21) kids high fives throughout the night. This one was a complete fail. It turns out most children are scared (and most parents are wary) of college students running up to them and very enthusiastically demanding a high five.
20) I just realized there were not twenty things on the list. Apparently, we cannot count. No big deal, we are just juniors in college.
21) Britt enjoys a 21st birthday drink. They said they were out of the pretty glasses, but its ok she was happy to get extra alcohol. Totally just kidding.

celebrating two decades worth of life. (part one)

I think I have finally embraced 20. I like being able to tell people that twenty years ago, I did (fill in the blank). As a baby, I actually probably didn't but I pretend.

Because I have wonderful, beautiful friends and a presh roomie who shared my birthday week. We celebrated big. I mean why not, our births are a big deal. Obviously you think so, or you wouldn't care about my blog. So in the spirit of big deals and celebrating, we had 20/21 night.

Twenty (one) things had to be done on this night:

1) Karaoke for 20 (21) minutes.
2) Give yourself a 20 (21) tat. (Depending on your age)
3) Stuff 20 (21) almonds in your mouth. The only problem with this is that they were really salty. I think that's why I drank a gallon of Dr.Pepper at Chilis.
4) Taste 20 different peoples food at Chilis. Britt opted not to participate in this one. No one acted like it was weird at all for me to go around asking people to sample their food. Everyone just laughed and pushed their plate toward me and then smiled for the picture. I have decided that if I am ever having a poor college student day, I might try this again. And also to get the cheese fries next time because those were really good.
5) Eat 20 (21) different things throughout the night. I think I ate (no judgement!): chocolate chips, almonds, chips & queso, chips & salsa, fries, cheese fries, enchilada soup, salad, quesadilla salad, quesadilla, honey chipotle chicken crispers, southwestern egg roll, corn on the cobb, a burger, mashed potatoes, part of a rib, a mozzerella stick, brownie, ice cream, and... I can't remember the last one! But it was a lot of food. Thank you body for not gaining twenty pounds after that night.
6) Text 20 (21) different people. In the spirit of obnoxiousness, we only texted people smiley faces.
7) Burp 20 (21) times. We are classy like that. Sadly, these moments went undocumented.
8) Give 20 (21) different compliments. Also undocumented, but I will give you examples: Hey, your teeth look beautiful. You are sooo bootylicious. I really like your arm veins. And so on.

9) Take pics with 20 (21) different guys. The last guys we took pictures with were French (not pictured - my camera was tired by this point), which was pretty great. Welcome to America, where girls will acost you in Walmart and beg you to take a picture with them.
10) Try on 20 (21) different products at Ulta. This was harder than you would think. I am not even sure all the makeup I have ever worn would equal the amount I had on my face that night.

11) Try on 20 (21) different accessories at the same time. 

The rest of this post will have to wait, because I can't put any more pictures on and I know thats the most important part.

Kneeling before the Porcelain Throne

WARNING: Not for those with weak stomachs.

At approximately 12:05 on Sunday night I woke up to begin what was going to be my most philosophical sickness yet. I made it to the bathroom in time, but I had to throw up in the trashcan because my rear end was occupying the toilet. Don't worry, I made it in the toilet every other time. After my second time throwing up I realized how good I have it. I can throw up in this big white toilet and then flush and everything goes away. What about people who don't have toilets? What do they do when they are sick? I realized I could not wait until morning to go get some Sprite and saltines, so I put a sweatshirt on over my nightie and went to CVS at 130. I am sure I was a very welcome sight in my pjs and slippers carrying my trashcan around with me (not kidding... I really brought my trashcan in with me.) The cashier was very sympathetic and after I apologized profusely and assured him that I really wasn't trying to make him sick, he told me how grateful he was that I had brought my trashcan because yesterday some little kid came in and threw up... I didn't hear the rest of the story because I shoved my fingers in my ears and said "DON'T TELL THROW UP STORIES NOW!!!" As I was driving back home I realized what a luxury it is to be able to drive to the store and immediately get what you want when you are sick. As I lay back down in bed, I kept thinking over and over again about how I didn't deserve for my life to be this easy. Sickness isn't life-threatening, it's merely an inconvenience. I repeatedly asked God to give me joy and humility - that I wouldn't use my "sickness" as an excuse to have people serve me, but to consider others better than myself. Later in the day I popped in the thermometer to discover that I am now running a low grade fever. I call my mom, we chat about it, she tells me the best option is to let my fever run its course so that it will kill the virus naturally, but I can take some advil if I get really uncomfortable or my fever climbs too high. What a luxury it is to have the option to take medicine. After 11 hours of sleep, I am totally fine. You would never know that 24 hours ago I was kneeling over the toilet throwing up everything I had ever eaten (slight exaggeration).

Honestly, I had never really considered how easy illness is here in the U.S.

 My worst day would be a luxury to most of the world.

Just something to think about next time you kneel before a porcelain throne.