The Start of Another Semester

On the start of the 7th week of break, someone came through and forced school upon us again. This has been some of the best rest and relaxation I have gotten in a really really long time. One week out of hell out of a whole semester is totally worth it, if this is always the reward. I love routine and I love having set plans everyday, but the fact that I have to be up everyday at 7:00 is something that I don't like at all! 

This will be my 4th semester in college! It is weird to think that at the end of the semester I will be half way done with college. The last two years have definitely been challenging, both for good and bad reasons. One thing though is I am so thankful that I have had the opportunity to further my education. I might not like school and getting up in the morning, but I know I will be so thankful for it when I am set in my teaching career. It's taken me a long time to get where I am today. So while tomorrow I will be annoyed that I have to get up and go to school, I know 20 years from now when I am waking up I will be so glad, that I got up and went to school way back when. 

For the first 5 weeks of break I spent my time hanging out with my family and all my friends that were home from college. It was so nice to be able to slowly wake up and not feel like I had to rush to do something. Those 5 weeks were filled with so much happiness. A happiness that I had been longing for the last 4 months. A feeling that I wish never had to escape my precious heart and soul. Sadly though my friends had to go back to school and my family had to start back to work way before me! I still had a solid 2 weeks before I had to go back and I was worried that I would be bored to tears. Luckily that was not the case at all. The last two weeks I have spent time to myself, time to embrace silence, and time to just relax. And in those 2 weeks, I have also spent so much time with one of my nearest and dearest friends. It truly has been so amazing!!

Although my freedom and time of rest has come to an end, my heart is still trying to overcome all the joy that this break has brought to me. I cherish my time with my loved ones! I always look forward to family time and friends coming home to visit. But I also love my little life and my little routine that goes along with it. 

So tomorrow I will spend yet another day in a classroom full of new people and professors, I will learn something new, and  I will go back to longing for the weekends to never end! I am ready to tackle another semester of college! 

Thank you Christmas break for exceeding my expectations! You treated me so well!

XOXOXO,

Maggie 

Birthday Princess!

January 12th is a very big day in our house! Actually the whole week leading up to 1/12 is a big deal. This just so happens to be my sweet sisters birthday! She loves her birthday, and makes it very known. In a good way of course :). Today she turned 23!!! It is crazy to me that we are all now in our 20's. Time is flying by and we just can't seem to stay young for long haha. Birthday's are always a big thing in our house. We are spoiled rotten for weeks before and after our birthday. It's more of a birthday month.

I truly have the most incredible sister. She is so smart, kind, goofy, and just all around the best. She is someone that I look up to in almost everything I do. I know that no matter what I can always count on her to lend me a helping hand when I need it, and she knows that I will return the favor for her. Having a sister is truly such a gift. I have a built in best friend/maid of honor that I can go to for anything, and everything and she will always give me her best advice. My friends are always sooo jealous of the relationship that Lauren and I have. They tell me all the time "I so wish I had a sister that I was that close with!" and my response every time is "I am sorry! You are truly missing out!"

Another wonderful thing about our relationship is that we are close in age. We have always been able to share friends, and I love that! My friends are her friends and vise versa. There is never a time that one of us is not invited to the others outings. We are kind of like a package deal in this house. If you want one, you must get the other as well.

I always wondered what it would be like to be a twin. I thought it would be so cool to have someone be just like you! Luckily, I got pretty lucky and my sister and I are practically twins, minus a few minor things. It is really the coolest thing ever!

There is so much I could tell you about my sister and our fabulous friendship/sisterhood, but I am afraid I will make you all jealous (just kidding). Seriously though if you have a sister praise her and the bond that y'all have! Not everyone gets this wonderful opportunity.

We have a wonderful brother as well, that treats us both like princess's. He loves us unconditionally and we are so lucky to have such a wonderful big brother!

Here is to 23 more years of everlasting love & friendship, sweet sissy! I love you SO much! Happy Birthday!!



XOXOXO,

Maggie 

Praying For Others!

Often times I find myself praying for more of my own needs than those less fortunate. Whether it is that they don't know The Lord, or they are just simply lost as to what it takes to fully trust in Him, I am the one being selfish in not thinking of them. Our father wants us to love others deeply, to be able to know each other and grow together. He wants nothing more than for us all to be one, one church, one family, one community. But it's not that easy. Although it is not easy, it is definitely possible, and it starts with people like me. It's stepping out of your comfort zone to know someone better, it's getting up in the morning and using your phone to text a friend and ask them what it is that they want you to pray for them, rather than checking social media. I am not going to lie, when I get up in the morning I am checking my emails, getting on facebook and instagram. I am not thinking of others, or better yet what is truly good for myself.

I am a huge believer in the power of prayer. I think it is something that every one is capable of doing, and truly I have never been let down by it. With that being said, Pastor Gregg Matte today picked three different things to pray about. The first two were that more people would come to know The Lord at Second Baptist and one other church that I can't remember (those are the things his pastor friends at those churches asked him to pray for). The third thing was some thing that is always on my heart and truly brings me to tears every time I think about it. The evil thing we call infertility.

I am going to take y'all back a little bit to this summer... This summer I was extremely sick. I suffered from Kidney Stones and also a Cyst on my ovary. It was a really dark time for me, I always felt weak, and I just couldn't ever seem to kick my sickness. I felt like it was one thing after another and I was truly lost. But I prayed and prayed for The Lord to just wash me clean. To rid my body of sickness and to show my body that it can overcome this. What do you know that is exactly what happened. By the beginning of October I was feeling much better, and couldn't thank The Lord more even if I tried for answering my prayers. Ok, so now that we have that little back story I can go into why the thought of going through infertility totally overwhelms me. You see at 19 years old I was being told that since I had a cyst on my ovary, I could possibly have a hard time getting pregnant. And although I am young and have a good 8 or so years before I will even think about having children, it is just still so hard to hear. I have grown up loving children, loving the feeling of being nurturing, and just caring for little souls that don't have to have a care in the world. So Gregg's last prayer was for a couple who was on the infertility journey, they were struggling, they were lost and they truly needed prayers. He welcomed this couple onto the stage, and in that moment I just burst into tears. How could such a sweet couple, who longed for a family get hit over the head with such news like that. Why is that fair? But then I remembered all things are possible through Him. We have to trust that our Heavenly Father has a plan. He knows exactly what this couple needs, and he has their best interest in mind all the time!

I was overcome with such joy just knowing that that sweet couple was going to have answers one way or another. That they could depend on someone other than each other to pray about their journey. Although this might not be there timing, it is God's and his timing is the best timing. He is faithful no matter what.

I learned today that I need to take time to pray for others more often and not just myself, that trusting The Lord in all that I do is truly the answer, and that there is never a better time line than God's time line.

So I leave you with this.. my new years resolution is to pray for others more often, and to fully understand The Lord's timing.


XOXOXO,

Maggie

Adios 2014!

Oh what a year it has been! This year was filled with tons of ups and downs. There were definitely times that I felt like the world was caving in on me, but there were also times that my heart was so full I could explode. In the year 2014 I completed my first year and a half of college, overcame being terribly sick, made lots of new friends, grew tremendously in my faith and started my lovely blog!

I am thankful for good health and being able to experience the joys of another year. Life is such a roller coaster, but I truly can't imagine myself on any other one. I have some of the most incredible family and friends, and I appreciate them walking alongside of me in this crazy journey we call life.

2014 allowed me to complete my biggest goal of all time; exiting the teen years and entering adulthood!

Although 2014 was overall a wonderful year, I am extremely excited to see what 2015 has in store for me and the rest of my precious loved ones.

With that being said I think it is now time to bid 2014 farewell! Bring it 2015 I am ready for you!

Happy New Years Blog friends!

XOXOXO,

Maggie