just some random stuff

I've been spending a lot more of my free time making things. This weekend I made wall decor using old CDs. It was fun figuring out how to decorate each one.

Let's see... Oh, I started watching Blimey Cow on YouTube. If you haven't seen any of his videos, go look him up. He's great! He has tips on a lot of stuff like what you should and shouldn't say to the opposite gender, as well as funny ones like 10 reasons to never go outside. Definitely worth watching.

I've started having digestive issues again, pretty bad. So I went to the doctor, and had some tests done. Now I'm waiting for the results to come. Hopefully they'll be able to figure out what's wrong, so they can tell me what to do to start improving my health.

I saw some funny introvert-related things the other day. Here are a few:

catch up

Haven't posted in over a month! I've been pretty busy with working 2 jobs and going to M28 events/meetings. Before I get caught up, how about a Random Fact Wednesday?

I love baking. The process of measuring the ingredients and mixing them together to make a yummy baked food is just so much fun! :)

So, here are a few pictures of what's been going on since I posted last.

I took a pregnancy massage class the beginning of April. It was in Siler City at a beautiful school called Body Therapy Institute. The campus was very relaxing and gorgeous to look at.

There was a swing dance to raise money for 3000 miles to a cure, which supports cancer research. You should go look it up, and consider donating! 

Dancing is so much fun :)

And a tree fell onto the power line that attaches to our house. This knocked out our electricity, and it was out for almost 48 hours. Thankfully we were able to get it repaired! 

 And it's fixed!

 
One more thing. I just read this on Facebook, and think it makes a lot of sense. Don't know why I never thought of dating in this way. (by Tim Keller)

"Screen first for friendship. Look for someone who understands you better than you do yourself, who makes you a better person just by being around them. And then explore whether that friendship could become a romance and a marriage.

So many people go about their dating starting from the wrong end, and they end up in marriages that aren’t really about anything and aren’t going anywhere."

Spring Break Photos

Here are some pictures from the M28 spring break trip!

Heading down to Florida in a bus with friends.

 Beautiful morning on Laguna Beach

 playing dodgeball

I color-coded these crayons, just for fun.

Just some of the amazing people in M28. =D

These pictures follow the progression on the sunrise on Tuesday morning.

playing Dutch Blitz

This couch was slept on by so many people during the week.

My team's banana creation - a car driving down the road.

One of the many games we played. This one was dissolving an Alkaseltser tablet off someone's forehead using a water gun.

pretty clouds

Josiah, Jessie, and Cara. I am so blessed to have these three wonderful friends! :-)

Guess What????

I got a tattoo! It's Psalm 56:3, wrapped around my left ankle. =)

Spring Break Trip

Last week was M28's annual spring break retreat to Florida. It was very refreshing to get a week off from work and just relax with my friends! Here's what stuck out to me the most while I was down there.

I'm an introvert, which means that it always takes effort for me to interact with people all day. I literally need to be alone for a bit every day in order to feel normal. Don't get me wrong, I truly enjoy being with people, especially everyone in M28. But if I'm with them for an entire day, it tends to drain me of energy. Don't feel sorry for me, this is how God created me.

All that being said, before and during Anthem I prayed that God would strengthen me and give me grace to be able to spend the whole week interacting with people. The past several years at Rekindle, I went off by myself for hours every afternoon. I did not want that to happen again this year. I asked God to cause me to depend on Him, and not try to change myself through my own efforts.

By God's amazing kindness, He answered my prayers! Aside from one solitary walk to see the sunrise, I spent every day at Anthem hanging out and talking with people. God helped me to do what does not come naturally to me, and for the most part (Thursday night being the only exception), He kept my energy level up as well.
I could not have done this without God's grace and help. I know that it was because of His work in me, not anything that I had done. During ministry night, I couldn't stop thanking God for blessing me by answering my prayers. He impressed upon me just how good and loving He truly is, to hear my prayers and answer them. Our God is so faithful! :)
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Some other things I loved about this trip:

• Talking and laughing with my dear friends, especially on the bus ride there and back. We had some wonderful, meaningful conversations, and made each other laugh a lot. :)
•  Worship. Even though the music was loud, I loved being able to jump and clap to the drum. And there's just something about worshiping our Lord with a big group of Christians, it's so powerful. 
• Giving and receiving notes via the "memo line". It was fun writing encouraging notes to people, and getting a few in return.
• Teaching a few of my friends a bit of sign language, and then being able to communicate in signs. I have missed using sign language, so it was so much fun using it again! Especially because my friends actually wanted to learn, and picked it up pretty fast. I love signing!
• Ministry Night on Wednesday. After the message, there was a time of prayer, and I prayed with 3 of my amazing girl friends. For most of the time, we went around praising and thanking God for who He is and what He is doing in our lives. 
• Helping serve breakfast in the cafeteria every morning, and saying "My pleasure" whenever people said thank you. I got some interesting reactions.
• Giving shoulder massages to a bunch of people, and receiving the nickname "Doctor Sweigart". I just love watching people's faces as they get relaxed after a massage!

(photo post coming soon)

Random Fact Wednesday (4)

I hate making left turns while driving. For one, I have to watch out for 2 lanes of traffic instead of just one. And I have bad depth perception, so I have difficulty telling if it's safe to pull out or not. I tend to wait until there are absolutely no cars coming either direction before I pull out. Which means I sit there a long time when I'm turning left. Yes, I have gotten honked at multiple times. But I'd rather be safe than sorry!

Snow!

It snowed last night! And it was the fluffy kind, not the nasty wet kind. It was fun watching it, and going outside to photograph it. :)

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Also, my new cell phone is up and running. It's so cool to have a smartphone! :)

I went from this:

To this:

rough week, but exciting happenings

Well, this past week has been rough. I'm dealing with some personal stuff and trying to make some tough decisions about the future. Despite the challenge of this week, two exciting things happened:

1) I bought a new phone! A touchscreen Smartphone. I've been wanting one for a while, and having one will make many things more convenient. I just really hope I don't miss my slide-out qwerty keyboard too much. I love being able to feel the keys. Probably I'll miss it at first, but then I'll get used to it.

2) I'm officially registered for a pregnancy massage certification program! It's in April, and I'm looking forward to it. I have a heart for pregnant moms - like when I think about them hurting from the change in their bodies, I just want to help them get relief. 'Cause they've got one of the hardest jobs on earth - carrying a new life. Kinda hard to explain, but hopefully you get the idea. I'm looking forward to being able to help lots of moms in the future. :)