what i love about sundays...

i actually like the whole day :) it's been a very relaxing one for me! Church, then a family at my church who "adopted" me and some others (Thomas Austin, Preston Stone) had us over for some great lunch....then I just relaxed with Charlie for the rest of the day...it's been great to slow down after the past week i had!

School is now in full gear - getting stressful and busier by the day! Just gotta remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel...May 8th can't get here soon enough! This semester is gonna be tough, but I also want to enjoy my last one in tigertown, so I'm gonna try not to stress too much....diet coke and chocolate help a lot :)

Let's see what else is going on in life...I'm starting to help out with worship up here at Crosspoint (my church) and sing with them starting this coming sunday...I can't wait! If you know me, you know how much I love to sing...so that's a huge blessing to be able to help lead worship there! I definitely miss worshipping at FBC and LifePark in Mt. Pleasant though!

Also, it's been so so so good to be back in the swing of things and getting involved at FCA again...I didn't realize how much I missed it! Seriously, if you've never experienced Clemson FCA, you need to come visit me and go with me. (I could get on my soapbox and go on and on about how passionate I am for our FCA!) Or you could check out the website too. (It's clemsonfca.org) This past week at FCA the message was about suffering, and why bad things happen to good people...a question so many of us ask at some point or another. It was a great message for me to hear! Last Friday, we had to put my faithful lab Carl down...and it was crushing! He was seriously the best dog...loved everyone, was patient with everyone - and all around had a great personality and demeanor about him. We've had him since I was in 7th grade...and now I'm in 17th grade at Clemson ;)...so needless to say he was old, and it was time, but it was tough. Then this past Wednesday I got word that an old friend from home (in recent years, he had become more of an acquaintance) was killed in a car accident. So I was a bit down this past week (especially on Wednesday...which I've been advised to start skipping ;) ) and Thursday night was very refreshing! Matt, the speaker, turned the question around to ask why do good things happen to bad people. I have to admit, I have never viewed that question in that light before. It made perfect sense though - naturally, we are a sinful people. We deserved death, and nothing more - but we have been given the amazingly good and merciful gift of eternity in paradise! Why would something that good be given to people so unclean and filthy with our own selfishness? You know the answer - Jesus and HIS grace. He took what we deserved - the bad...worse than we can possibly imagine! Pretty amazing stuff. Matt also pointed out that ultimately, all suffering brings glory to Christ - which it does, whether we see it now or later down the road. I've seen that played out before, like when I struggle, I always tend to pour myself into the word and prayer...and I grew immensely in my faith. One particular instance I found that I grew more in a few months than I felt I had in a few years (and my roommate told me she saw that change too...so there's some of that glory for ya!) I'm not gonna lie though, there's still some tough stuff that I've been through that I haven't seen the glory of God revealed yet. I'll let you know when I do ! :)

So yeah - if you're wondering why bad things happen to good people...check the fca website, because they post the messages you can listen to...I promise it's worth it!


Final note, I have the sweetest puppy alive. He's snuggled up around my feet under my desk right now...think he loves attention? :)

Be blessed and be a blessing!!