This Is Strange

Right now I am in Ohio visiting family with my dad. When we left Raleigh there was 7-8 inches of snow on the ground. As we drove up through Virginia, West Virginia and into Ohio, the snow just got less and less! Since when does Raleigh get more snow than up north! Ahhhhh! (Btw: the pic is from Boone and neither Raleigh or Ohio. Maybe i should find my camera...)

Oops!

I live my life trying to appear perfect. I hate having to admit my faults, and my own conscious can be my own worst enemy at times. I rarely open up to people. I am writing this post to tell you that I am NOT perfect. Don't let any of your past encounters with me fool you. I mess up, make mistakes and have an extremely cluttered desk. Ask my room mate and she will tell you. Underneath my organized projection of myself is about half my wardrobe lying on the floor (mostly due to the fact that i have to wear about 203975 layers to step outside these days) and a bed that is never made (i just don't see the point!). 

Last night I was wondering why even though i try so hard, I feel like I am constantly disappointing God. And then I realized that God allows us to sin. No, God does not like sin, in fact he HATES sin. But the reason sin was introduced in the first place was so that we are forced to make a choice. Have faith in God, or reject Him. God didn't want robots. But once I accepted Christ as my Savior, why was I not made perfect right away? God uses our mistakes and failures to teach us. He also uses them to teach others. When I think about all the people in the Bible who God set as examples for us to follow, I can also find a flaw to each of them. Every Single Person. Everyone. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). Something else I realized is that i shouldn't worry that my mistakes will affect God's will for my life. I am earnestly seeking His will and whatever He wants to happen with my life, will happen. It is silly of me to think that my actions would have enough effect to alter, much less ruin, God's perfect plan. So you know waht, i thinkk its ok for me to not be perfec t right now. it wil just make heaven that much better!

Everything will be okay!

This summer and the beginning of this school year God has taught me something. That with God, in the end, everything will be okay. In fact, it will  be the best possible outcome for both God's glory and for myself. 

Deuteronomy 31:8 - The Lord goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

Romans 8:28a - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him

There is a worship song that I really like called Your Love Never Fails. The bridge of this song says "You make all things work together for my good." The first time i sung this song I winced at these lyrics. Its not for my good, but for God's! Then I really started thinking and concluded that the only thing that is good for me is to glorify God. If my God and Savior is pleased, then that is all that matters. God's plan will always be accomplished. It has to be. He is God. And if God chooses to use me to accomplish this, even if it is something that looks harmful in the world's eyes, I can be sure that everything will be okay in the end. 

Ephesians 3:20 - Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us

Exodus 14:13-14 - Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you just need only to be still."

So when i am struggling with something or don't know what to make of a situation, I know exactly what to do. I will lay it before God and give it over to His plan, and then rejoice in knowing that if God is handling it, everything will be okay! 

I Peter 5:6-11

Why so COLD!

So basically this summer I felt like I was going to die of heat stroke. And everytime I had to walk across the ballfield, soaked with sweat, under the blazing sun I would thing to myself of how cold I would be this winter. Little did i know that this winter meant RIGHT NOW! Seriously! Its the beginning of October and there is already snow 20 minutes up the highway! And what is with the wind! Ahhhhh!

Sorry that was just a rant about how cold i am sitting in my room bundled in a sweatshirt. But this is my blog I can say what I want! Muahaha! 

On a happier note, October is going to be a great month. 
8th - Arianna visits!
9th - Homecoming!
16th - Max visits! 
21st - Fall break!
30th - Lifted concert!

Did you know I...

This is a list of things that not everyone knows about me

1. Am funniest on Sunday
2. Think of old people when I see raisin bran cereal 
3. Always introduce myself as Elizabeth, but there are many people who call me Liz. It doesn't bother me. I respond to both.
4. Listen to hip hop/rap
5. Learned how to play the guitar this past month
6. Have been to France and Belize 
7. Won third place in the science fair in 5th grade (the start of my nerdiness)
8. Stuck my finger in an electrical outlet (sadly in Middle School, by mistake!) and touched an electric fence
9. Have seen, enjoyed watching, and even own all of the Star Wars movies and Harry Potter movies
10. Am not afraid of snakes, but centipedes are my worst fear!
11. Find it extremely hard for me to say no to anyone, which is the main reason I am writing this post. Are you happy now? You know who you are! haha

AppalCart tales

Here at ASU there is something called the infamous AppalCart. Basically, it is "the transportation authority serving all of Watauga County." And if by serving they mean confusing and ruining your day they have it spot on! Almost everyone I have met has said they have an AppalCart horror story and I am now not so surprised to say I have one too. It goes like this:

So one day me and my App buddy Courtney decide it would be a good idea to go pick up a few things from walmart (bad idea #1) because we were bored. But since we are loser freshmen who don't have cars, and we were tired of asking our friends for rides (bad idea #2), we decided to take the AppalCart (really bad decision #3). I thought I was so prepared because I had my map and I knew what route I needed. When we got on the bus it was full of other freshman. But as we were riding we noticed that we passed right by walmart. So all of us got worried and asked the driver why he was not following the route to walmart (bad idea #4). Which was when we noticed the creepy older guy laughing at us from the front of the bus. So the bus driver pulled over by a bridge and gave us all maps and explained that he was on the short loop, which doesn't exist on the map, and then he let us out and pointed in the direction of walmart. Well after we got what we needed we had no idea when the AppalCart would come back or if it would come back, and we were hungry so we decided it would be a good idea to walk to Bojangles (bad idea #5). It turns out the walk from walmart to Bojangles is not easy. Especially when your already not having the greatest day haha! But after we ate we started getting slightly delusional and the idea of hitchhiking came up so we decided to end it there and just call Eric to pick us up (best idea of the day!). 


So thats my story. Long story short, I am never taking the AppalCart again!

My First Blog

So after talking to some really cool people about how awesome it is to have a blog, and listening to the reasons I should have one over a Cookout milkshake, I decided I would join the wonderful world of blogging. The following is a list of the people who have made me decide that this is a good idea: Arianna Dinglasan (whose blog I am mentioned in 7 times as of right now woot woot!), Courtney Williams, Allicia Begany and Morgan Rutledge. Well, here we go!