Changes

Hey Everyone,

Due to technology being complicated, I have had to switch blogs. So follow the new one! Spring Stars! (My names are horrible I know. I'm not good at naming things) Check it out at the link below.

http://springstars15.blogspot.com/

Same me, different name.

Thanks!!

Day 5: HOFKD

HOFKD

Heidi's Ours For Keeps Day.

19 years ago today the adoption papers were signed for me and I offically and legally became apart of my family! By being in the family I am, I have had so many amazing opportunities, been led to so many differnet places and introduced to so many people that I can't imagine living my life without.

So today, on November 5, I am thankful for the family that God placed me in.

Surprises and God's Provision

Well I'm back in the great state of Texas for a week!

I was able to get all of my finals done early so Saturday morning I took off and drove back a few days before I was expected. I worked it out with my grandparents that they would invite my parents over for dinner and I'd be there waiting for them. It was a great surprise! No one was expecting me (with the exceptions of my best friends back home and my grandparents) so the surprise was a complete success.

I was worried about going home because my dog, Strider, doesn't really like strangers or anyone he doesn't know coming around our house. I had been gone 10 weeks so I was worried his first reaction was going to be bark at me. I shouldn't have worried. As soon as the back garage door started to open he was crawling under it wimpering and ran straight to me, jumping up, licking my face and arms barely left me and when I kneeled on the ground he tried to climp up in my lap like a puppy and just sat there perfectly content! I was the one who 'rescued' him 2 summers back and my sisters have been telling me whenever he gets in trouble he's "Heidi's dog", but I guess he really is mine through and through! Now if only my cat will get used to having me around again!

I'm super excited about going to Peru on a mission trip over my Christmas break! God's really shown me that He will always provide for me. But at the same time its not really a surprise because I knew He would. I was writing checks and sending them off from my own accounts because I didn't have any money in. But I can't say I ever really worried about it. Yeah I had occassional moments of "what on earth am I doing?" But I knew God wanted me to go on this trip and whether He provided the money for me through other people or not I was going to go, so I had to trust Him. And today I added up all the money that I got in the last week and added it to the small amount I had before and my expenses have been covered! I still need a bit more to cover a 3rd plane ticket because I'll have to fly by myself to meet up with the main group, but all the money that I had to give the church is in!

Its fun to see how God provides for us when we just believe in Him!

Day 4 and I am thankful for God's provision!

30 Days of Thanksgiving! Day 1.

I was on facebook just now and saw a friend of mine post a status about how she's going to do a 30 Days of Thanks. Every day for the month of November find something to thank God for and write it down somewhere! Post it to Facebook or Twitter, write it in your journal, post it to the fridge, anything where you can get it out there and actually say it, not just think it!

I decided to do it as well, posting them to facebook and some on here as well as my journal (I like to write and have my thoughts heard). I encourage all of you to do the same, find little things to thank our God for every day! =)

Today I'm thanking God for His everlasting love, patience, mercy and watchfulness. How He's always been there for me, even when other people I thought would always be there abandoned me. That and for helping me overcome my flaws, its an ever-going struggle!

Happy November!

Halloween and Endings

Happy Halloween everyone! Today is probably the only day of the year that you can give kids candy and they won't try to run away from you. It's also a day where you can dress up however you want and people kinda don't care. Although I've seen some pretty weird people around campus today, but it's Halloween.

Today marks the last official day of school for us this trimester and tomorrow starts our finals 'week'. But I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't have at least one final before it officially starts. All the music people have to stay over the weekend because we have piano juries on Monday. Basically we have 8 minutes to play for all the people on the music board and then we're free until the following Monday. No one is really a fan of it because we have all weekend with nothing to do but practice and most everyone else is going home for our Trimester Break.

So my first trimester is all but over. I've have changes both physically and mentally. Physically I've lost 10 pounds in the last 2 1/2 months. I love walking everywhere and I still have to walk up to the 3rd floor of my dorm every time I want to go to my room so I get more physical exercise than I did at home just because of if I want to do anything, I don't get in my car and drive. I'm not complaining to much though, just when I'm tired and I don't want to walk up the stairs!

Mentally and emotionally, that's been a battle. Things happened here with friendships and situations that I didn't expect, I didn't know how to handle and honestly have been really hard for me. I'm 6+ hours from home, I'm out of my comfort zone just a little bit and half of my support system was wrenched away from me. It hasn't been fun and there have been days that I got really down and felt completely alone and abandoned. That's when God started showing me just how much He's been there. How He hears me and comforts me even when I'm alone.

The song that always was coming to my head was Britt Nicole's "All This Time". "All this time from the first tear cried to today's sunrise and every single moment between, You were there You were always there. It was You and I, You've been walking with me all this time." He's been showing me day by day that He's here with me, He can help me, and He will if I just open my heart and cry out to Him.

I get to go home on Monday! I'll be getting a much needed break and seeing friends that even though I've always appreciated them and I've always loved them, I never really realized just how awesome they are until I left them. That's the thing about friends I guess. You never really know who your true friends are until you don't have them anymore and the friends you thought would never hurt you or leave you do so. Life's just a gamble that way.

As in the words of Rafiki, the past can hurt. But you can either run from it, or learn from it. Considering I can't really run from it right now, I'm just going to have to learn from it! Keep my head up, keep smiling, step outside my comfort zone more, branch out and show just how strong I am. With God, all things are possible. With Him, I can do anything, including letting go of people I love.

Off to study for tests! Have a Happy Halloween and stay away from caramel!

Expect Great Things; Attempt Great Things.

I can't believe its October already! I blinked and September is gone. Next monthI can start listening o Christmas music!

So I've been here for about 7 weeks now, and I'm still loving it as much as when I first started. Carey really has become home. It's weird to admit that, but its true. I'm really enjoying the weather getting cooler, I get to wear my jackets, scarves and gloves. That and I can sit outside and not burn up.

Last week was Carey Fest, a mini fall fest for the students, workers and their families here on campus. They had food, face painting, pumpkin smashing and 3 different inflatable bounce things. Thats something I missed at Kilgore, student activities. I didn't feel apart of the school body in any way but attending classes. Here when stuff goes on, I know about it, I attend i, I have fun and hang out with different people. I didn't get that at Kilgore.

This morning the BSU hosted a Prayer Walk. We met at 6:30am, then proceeded to walk to every building in campus and pray for all the people that would go in and out of them. It was cold, our noses and ears froze, we were sleep deprived, but it was totally worth it. I love being able to fellowship and do things like this with other believers in an environment that encourages us. There are so many places in the world where they can't worship freely the way we can here. But sadly, we lose sight of that and take it for granted way to often. I tried to get a few people to come join us and they said they would, if they didn't have that 8am class they would come. I'd come to prayer breakfast on Fridays, but its my only day to sleep in. I just didn't feel like coming.

Its sad how often we say stuff like that. We have such a freedom here, and we really don't do anything with it. We don't go to church if the cars broken and its a 5 mile drive. There are people who hike 5 hours so they can go to church. I'd hate to think of what America would be like if we had to do that...I think most of our churches would become nonexistent.

We're praying for a revival for our nation and for one specifically here at Carey. I can see it in certain people here. Its wonderful when you can see God shining through people, and I see that here. I hope people can see it when they look at me. We have the potential for great things.

"Expect great things; attempt great things".

How fitting that William Carey himself said that. If we want great things from God, if we are expecting them, we have to be willing to step out and do great things for Him.

If we do that, if we step out of our comfort zone, make small sacrifices here and there, turn our lives completely over to Him, can you imagine the amazing things He could accomplish through us?

Mindlessly Listening

How many songs do we listen to and love on the radio but we have to admit its a bad song because of the topic or the message of the song. And sometimes you don't think about it until you know the song backwards and forwards. How often to you hear a song and just mindlessly sing along? I had a few songs that I absolutely loved, then I really listened to the lyrics and decided to never listen or sing it again because of the message in the song. I surprised myself by what I had been mindlessly singing for months!

Now lets leave songs alone and switch to mindlessly listening just in life.

We go to church every Sunday and sit in the pew for an hour or so and then hurry home to eat dinner before it overcooks. When you go back to church that night, can you remember what was preached on that morning? Most often you can't. We just mindlessly listen to the Word of God, not putting anything into it.

Do you mindlessly listen to your friends? Do you just sit there and nod your head as they ramble or do you actually listen to them? I think we're all more guilty of mindlessly listening then we would like to admit.

Here is a challenge for the week. Listen. Whether you're listening to your boss at work, your teacher at school, your Pastor in church, your friend at Starbucks or even your kids. Actually listen to what they are saying, actually pay attention to them. Once you get down listening to the people that you can actually see and be with physically, try this with God. Its harder with Him because we can't really hear His audible voice, but He still speaks to us.

Lets try to really listen, not just zoning out. You might be surprised at the things you learn about people.