ShoesDay #12

It has been too long since I did a ShoesDay. This means that I probably need to shop for shoes over Spring Break so I have a pair to write about ;)

In case you have NO IDEA what ShoesDay is, check out the very first post!

This post won't be about a specific pair of my shoes, but shoes in general.  I found an awesome article on the GirlsGoneWise website.  I found the article to be very applicable to my own life and was a good self-check. Plus it talked about shoes, so automatically I had to read it.

Here is the article:
"Your Spiritual Shoe Closet" by: Katie McCoy

We women are probably not sporting a swagger in the office, bragging about the latest golf game or competing for the most impressive story of a death-defying mountain-climbing excursion. As women, we’re likely to be far more subtle in those attitudes that God’s Word simply calls, “pride.” In my life, it seems like there are as many variations on personal pride as there are shoes in my closet, each of them for a different purpose, each of them worn on different occasions. Since James 4:6 says that God is opposing the proud, but gives grace to the humble, I need to take inventory of my “Spiritual Shoe Closet.”


The High-Heeled Stiletto of Self-Reliance - Because you’re an independent woman who knows how to make a statement!


That famous line, “I am woman, hear me roar!” captures the essence of personal pride. C.J. Mahaney’s Humility says, “Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him.” Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Nothing. My attitude of self-sufficiency and self-reliance is an offense to my God and the reality of His empowering grace in my life. Second Corinthians 3:4-5 reminds us of where competence comes from: “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.” Have you been walking around in the powerfully impressive, but precariously unstable Stiletto of Self-Reliance?
The Gaudy Gladiators of Competitive Rivalry - The more outlandish the better!


Galatians 6:3-5 warns against comparing ourselves to others to fuel our self-perception: “For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.” For each will have to bear his own load. Miriam must have been lacing up the straps to her spiritual Gaudy Gladiators when she challenged her brother, Moses. “Has The Lord indeed spoken only through Moses?” (Num. 12:2). In a spirit of rivalry, she believed she was just as deserving of power, despite what God had set up. Philippians 2:3 commands us to “do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”


The Clunky Boots of Selfish Ambition - When you just need to kick people out of your way!

This is one shoe I find myself wearing with just about anything! Before you plow over another sister in Christ with the Clunky Boots of Selfish Ambition, consider Whose attitude we should emulate: “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Phil. 2:4-7)
The Elevated Platforms of Self-Righteousness - Because it’s so much nicer outside when you’re above everyone else!
Instead of acknowledging that it’s God, “who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light,” (Col. 1:11), the Elevated Platform of Self-Righteousness forgets that we have nothing good, righteous or pleasing to God apart from Christ. Self-righteousness tries to remove a speck from another’s eye with a plank stuck in theirs, while humility bears another’s burdens and restores in a spirit of gentleness (Matt. 7:1-5, Gal. 6:1-2)


The Casual Slip-ons of Self-Ascribed Influence - So comfortable, you’ll forget you’re even wearing them!
C.J. Mahaney defines pride as “contending for supremacy with God.” In every influence for good that you and I may have, God is the Master Conductor – we’re just His instruments. In assuming the credit for what ultimately God alone has the power to do, we forget to ask ourselves, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (1 Cor. 4:17) Next time you reach for the Casual Slip-Ons of Self-Ascribed Influence, remember: “In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me…” (Rom. 15:17)
The Unassuming Sandals of a Humble Perspective – They may not look like much on the outside, but they’ll never wear out!
“Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.” (Humility, 22). It’s when we lose focus of ourselves and fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb. 12:2) that God works in us the kind of humility to which He turns His attention. “Thus says the LORD: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool… All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word,” (Is. 66:1-2)
Have you been wearing something out of season for a new creature in Christ? It’s time for all of us to clean out our Spiritual Shoe Closets!




Until next time,
K

Sewing Projects

I extremely dislike how I haven't posted anything in like forever and a day.


I have been wanting to, but I keep putting on the backburner and working on other projects.


This weekend I am playing catch-up with schoolwork, sewing projects, and some much needed relax time.


I completed a few sewing projects within the last month!


I FINALLY finished the shirt for my friend, Mike. I am pretty impressed with how it turned out. Actually that is an understatement. I am VERY impressed with how it turned out.  It took me forever to finish it seems like. Anyways, here is the finished product:



 If you want me to make you a button-up shirt let me know...I probably will have it done with it in a year from now ;)

I have really been into making hair accessories recently.  Most of the ones that I make just require a hot-glue gun and not sewing!  The following are examples of my most recent hair accessories: (Some of them being for myself or friends)

Until next time,

K

Wonderful Wednesdays #2

It's Wednesday! Which means it's two more days until the weekend. I realized as I'm writing this why it is soo important for me to have a positive outlook on Wednesdays.  Wednesdays are my longest days for school.  I go from 12 until 10 will a few small breaks. It's basically like being in high school again with an eight-hour day, but just starting later. "Wonderful Wednesdays" help me to not get overwhelmed with the thought of how long my day will be, but instead focus on the joys from the previous week.

This Wonderful Wednesday will be about MY WONDERFUL WEEKEND.

I had an amazing weekend! Why? Because I got to spend time with my family. I went home on Thursday evening after my class around 7 PM.  I had been planning this since Monday and had planned on surprising my mother. Now usually when I try to surprise her, somehow she always ends up finding out.  But this time it was kept a secret all week!

So when I got home, my mother was already in bed, but my dad woke her up and told her something was wrong with James (the newest pet addition to the family since December), so of course she gets up.  Of course there was nothing wrong with little James, so when she gets downstairs, I am there waiting for her. :) My mother is not one for holding in her excitement so she was overly zealous about seeing me.

This past weekend was just what I needed: a break from the routine of school life.

I got to relax. Sleep in my comfy bed. Watch television. Play with my Daisy dog. Shop. See my church family. Workout. Go Samba dancing. Spend time with my family.

That was the best part of the weekend: spending time with my family.

I love my family. I will admit that I have missed them these past few weeks. It really has only been a few weeks since I saw them last, but it seems much longer.  Since Adam moved back home, I don't get my weekly family hangout time anymore. I think that accounted for alot of the homesickness this past week.

But the weekend was just what I needed. I'm back in Charleston. Refreshed. Ready to continue on this week and face any of the challenges that each day brings.

Until next time,
K

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~Author Unknown

Sunday Songs #5: L-O-V-E

I guess you could call me a hopeless romantic. I try to deny it. I try to run from it. I try to pretend that I don't fit into that category. But when I hear a love song, I will secretly download and play it over and over again. Yes. It is true. I am OBSESSED with love songs. All day. Everyday. I figured the theme of LUUUVVV songs would be appropriate for this week's Sunday Songs with Valentine's Day just a few short weeks away.

In case you are a little unfamiliar with "Sunday Songs", check out the first sunday song! Basically, I talk about my favorite songs based around a common theme.

So back to this week's theme: L-O-V-E. I enjoy the songs about love conquering all. Ones with the fairy-tale love. Ones talking about love going the distance. Ones that talk about no boundaries. Ones that can make you enjoy what you have or remind you of what is to come. Ones that lifts your spirit. Ones that tell a story of passion.

I realized the other day that the majority of the music on my mp3, is about love. My music selection is continuously growing in all genres, but the sappy songs get downloaded more frequently versus everything else.

Like always, it is hard for me to narrow down my favorite songs.  So in no particular order, here are a few of my favorite love songs:

1. Adele - Make You Feel My Love - A good slow dance song. It's one of those songs that takes you away from the craziness of the world and cause you to focus on you and that person. It's just you and him. Favorite verse in the song: "Though winds of change are throwing wild and free, You ain't seen nothing like me yet."
2. Jon McLaughlin - So Close - Do you not feel like you are in a fairytale when you hear this song?? Well, it makes sense it was in the movie Enchanted. Anyways, great song. A great dancing song as well.
3. Keith Urban - Making Memories of Us -
4. Michael Buble - Crazy Love -
5. UB40 - Can't Help Falling in Love -
6. Josh Groban - You Raise Me Up - So I am not going to bombard this post with Josh Groban even though I love his music. This is definitely a favorite of mine, but I can't say its my most favorite, because it's all wonderful. I know some people aren't a particular fan of his, but I enjoy it :)
7. Savage Garden - Truly, Madly, Deeply
8. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris - AWESOME music video.
9. Edwin McCain - I'll Be
10. N'SYNC - This I Promise You
11. Alison Kraus - When You Say Nothing At All - "Old Mr. Webster could never define what is being said between your heart and mine..."
12. Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not the One - I got a little teary-eyed listening to it just now

This is just a small taste of what I enjoy listening to.  So there it is. My little secret has been revealed about my obsession to love songs. If you have ever gotten ahold of my music collection, you probably already knew this. I thought it was a phase of my music taste, but I think it is here to stay :)

Until next time,
K

Wonderful Wednesdays #1

A new idea for my blog. I came across the title in one of my teacher books. The concept for Wonderful Wednesdays in the book has nothing to do with what I intend on doing with it :)


I want Wonderful Wednesdays to be a reflection on the past week of something that happened. Something that was said. Something  that was given to me that stood out to me. It will be a chance for me to focus on the good things that happen in the last week and help me remember that even though I have a crazy-busy week, there is something good from it.


The topic for this WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY is: My red bike.

Well, I should say Adam's bike. He let me borrow it for the semester since he is back home.


I love having it down in Charleston with me. First off, I love riding bikes. Second, the bike is red, which is super cute! Third, I love riding bikes.


It is nice to be able to take a quick trip (in comparison to walking) to the battery to read or to do homework or to relax.


It is also nice to have my bike to run an errand somewhere downtown instead of using my car.


On Saturday, I finally got to put my bike to use because the weather was perfect. Beyond perfect. I got done with the Praxis II test, grabbed a sandwich, and headed to the Battery. There weren't alot of people out and the weather almost just right.  I relaxed and enjoyed myself. After a little while, I decided to take a cruise around the peninsula.


I wasn't on a time frame to get back and do something else. I didn't have school stuff weighing on my mind. I was away from the chaos of campus. It was nice to just be "free" and to roam around.


I think now that I have my bike, I will be able to explore and take advantage of this beautiful city I live in. I know I take it for granted by napping or staying inside when it's beautiful outside. It's time to fix that!


PS - If you are ever looking for a bike buddy, come find me!! ;)


What's something wonderful that happened to you this past week?


Until next time,
K

The First Semester of Senior Year is a Go.

Wow. I am a SENIOR! It didn't really hit me that I was senior, until I received an email from College of Charleston with the message only being sent to SENIORS! Crazy, but exciting stuff.

This week is the start of the second week of classes. It was nice having yesterday (Monday) off to get refocused and to rest.

My class schedule is as follows:
MW (12 - 1:14) - Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners (Education)
MW (5 - 6:15) - Introduction to Problem Solving (Mathematics)
W (1:15 - 4:00) - Creating Learning Environments (Education)
W (7:00 - 10:00) - Physics 101 Lab (Science)
TR (3:05 - 4:20) - Public Speaking (Gen. Ed)
TR (5:30 - 6:45) - Physics (Science)
R (8:00 - 10:45) - Field Experience (Education

What is special about that schedule? Look closely! Yes...that's right...NO FRIDAY CLASSES!!! :)  The only downside to that is my Wednesdays are a little more chaotic. So far I like everything, EXCEPT physics. I can't understand what my teacher is saying so this class might require a little more of my time. I am loving my education classes because it is making teaching even more real. This semester will be a little different from previous semesters because for most days I don't start classes before 12, which means I have to schedule my work out in the mornings. I am still adjusting to the new schedule, but I finally getting used to it.

So, what else is new with me??

1. I have been exercising "more"!! More in the sense of training to run the Cooper River Bridge Run in April. I have good days with it and other days are just so-so. I mean, I was able to jog four miles in a hour on Sunday. If you do the math, it's like a 15 minute mile. Not super great, but the first time I have been able to really push my self to keep going for that long.
2. Almost finished with a sewing project that I have been working on every so often since October. I will post pictures as soon as I am done!
3. During my Quiet Times, I have been reading through Genesis, and I am almost done with it. Sort of. Haha. I always think I am close to finishing a book in the Bible and then I end up spending more time on it. God revealing alot to me about trust and faith in Him through Genesis. Its exciting stuff to see how God is at work even way back when in Genesis.
4. I am also reading throught a book called Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild by Mary A. Kassian. This book has been AWESOME! I'll be honest, usually with devotional books I get bored and never end up finishing them. This one is different. It is so applicable. It's a challenge to my self to look at how I live and think and to really make sure I am living God-centered in every aspect.
5. RA Fun. I had a cupcake war/decorating program yesterday. It was a lot of fun decorating and of course eating ;) On Saturday there was an incident with a bathtub nob that fell off and water was pouring out. Let's just say I spent a good 1 1/2 hours dumping water off the balcony of College Lodge. That will be going on the list of the many adventures of being a RA and being in College.6.
6. I am constantly being reminded of how fast life flies by. I am trying to make the most of it every day. It is hard sometimes being in school and having this mindset especially when there is a paper due or a test the next day. I wake up every morning and just have to give the new day over to God and let Him do what He wants with it. Only He has the capabilities of making it beautiful.

I hope you guys have an amazing week. I don't know who actually reads this and who actually makes it to the end of each of my posts, but just know that I love you ohhh so much!

Until next time,
K

Random fact about me: I love hot-air balloons. And bicycles.

How do YOU measure a year?

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets

In midnights, in cups of coffee

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife

In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure, a year in the life?

I hope everyone had an amazing New Year's Eve. I "rang" in the New Year by praying with 1,000 other college students at Encounter with Campus Crusade. What a wonderful way to start the New Year especially since one of my resolution for 2011 is to make prayer a more active part of my life. Definitely an amazing experience, and I'm thankful I had the opportunity.

Sadly, while I was at Encounter (it was a five-day conference), a resident of College Lodge was killed in a car accident. It was pretty hard, well it still is. It is different with the residents being back and she is not one of those faces I see. She had an amazing personality and a loving heart. One of the most easiest people to talk to and was always smiling. But now, she no longer has to suffer or experience the pains of the world. She is with Our Father in Heaven.

Her death was such a reality check for me. It made me realize that life can be cut short so easily. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow so we must make the most of every opportunity. Today. Now. This Moment.

There are two songs that come to mind whenever I think of living in the moment. Both of them are from RENT and are reminders to me that I need to be making the most out of the life God has blessed me with. Life is too short to be mad at someone. Life is too short to live with regrets. Life is too short to not tell the people you love how much they really mean to you. 2011 is going to be different from 2010. Not that 2010 was a bad year, but this year, I feel like I'm more bold with love and have re-centered my life with God being more active.

I don't really know how I am going to measure this year. It would sound soo cheesy to say I'm going to measure it with "love" but its a little true. I just hope to make the most of everyday and go to sleep being thankful that I am loved in so many ways and by so many people.

So I want to ask you, how are you going to measure 2011? Are you going to make the most of it and remember the good things? Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes sound like a lot, but they fly by. It's going to be a good year no matter what. It might not go exactly how we want it, but God's Glory and Love are going to show through every situation.


Until next time,
K