What i feel like in the morning, although i dont look that athletic.
this is how i feel the rest of the day.
today was my last running practice- i made it!!!! tomorrow is the big day- the urg test at 6am. pray for me! i am exhausted!!
this is my motto:
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
i say it while i run to my running partner.
this one is also in my head alot during times of desperation.
Hebrews 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
AMEN!!

Crew

Oops again, my CPO is 2646. Sorry!!
I realize that some may not know what Crew is, besides that its all i can think about right now. The Wheaton Crew team is a club sport that competes against different schools at what is called a regatta. A regatta is simply a race, either a regualar distance or a sprint. The boat consists of four rowers and one coxan - a person sitting in the stern (rear of boat) facing both the direction in which the boat is moving and the rowers - she navigates, instructs, and leads the boat. I have been training this week to join the crew team, which has been very hard. On tuesday we ran 4 miles at 5:30am, which was bad enough. then we did sprints and our circuit workout- pushups, leglifts, crunches, squats, you name it. during the day on our own time, we must practice rowing on the rowing machines, called Urgs. Today we had a similar workout regime, but they added stadiums. I wanted to cry it hurt so badly. It takes me an extra two minutes to walk anywhere on campas due to my sore body, and an extra three minutes or more up stairs. only one more day of full out running and excercise, and then friday we are tested on how fast we can urg (row) for a distance of 2000 meters. it is pretty intense. but i keep thinking of what crew will be like after this if i make the team, getting up at 4:45 to row on a beautiful river with great people, enjoying creation, and being involved with a team. the picture above is what crew looks like, although our boats are smaller.
They are taking in 8 rowers this fall, there are about 14 trying out. We find out friday if we made the team or not.
please pray for me to have strength, courage, and rest.

Opps!

Sorry, my CPO is 2624. I wrote it wrong on a previous post. While I am here, I might as well say something about my weekend. It was splendid. I went to a square dance, hung out with some great people, and got a group of girls together to go to my grandpa's farm. We had a bonfire, but the approaching storm cut our dinner short with a ferocious downpour. We got completely soaked- it was great. In the evening we played a looong game of Rook and told stories in the barn.
This morning we had our own little church on the front porch of the farmhouse. Noelle led the singing, and Grampa passed on more of his precious knowledge to us. It was a great day.
Thank you Grampa and Liz for your overwhealming hospitality and love.

Now I have to hit the books.
Pray for me this week, it is try outs for the Wheaton Crew team- i will be running and working a lot. yikes.

Well, i survived the first week at Wheaton. Thank you dearest sisters for the care packages... you both are the best. i am so thankful for you both.
Today i am meeting my PA (or RA) from taylor for lunch. i cant wait to see her. but it gets me to thinking... what will happen to all my friendships that i dearly cherish and love that i made at taylor? i will see my friends from home who go to taylor during summers and breaks, but not the girls on my wing. i wonder what God has in store for those friendships. I want to keep them, but it is very hard being far away and so busy. perhaps i will never get to see some of those girls again, and maybe i will. i hope to bump into them for the rest of my life in strange places and stages.
People ask me about 500 times a day, "so why did you transfer?" Its hard to explain why I left a place that I really did love, but I am happy where I am. I would not give up last year for anything, the bright things and the dark things.

1st Day of School

Today is the first day of school for me at Wheaton College. After an exhausting week of transfer orientation, it feels good to be in a structured environment again. I am taking Spanish, Chemistry, and Anthropology. I already had spanish and chemistry this morning, and both of my teachers are very nice. I think it will be a good year.
Last night while the freshman were practicing their class song, they were suprised by everyone else in the school rushing in on them dressed in anything and everything, yelling and screaming for them. Being a transfer, we all sort of sat and watched the excitement until I got some of them together to join in the yelling. I learned once again that college kids are both crazy and creative.

One great encouragement this week has been noelle. we can joke together, work together, play together, and pray together. God has blessed me with her here.
CPO- 2426

The Next Step

I flew back home today after spending 16 eventful days in Virginia with the Colquitts. On the plane to Chicago, a polish lady probably in her early 60's sat next to me on the flight. After a few minutes of silence, she pointed at my birkenstocks and asked me if my second toe being longer bothers me in my shoes. She explained that her second toe is slightly longer too, and she was trying to find shoes that didn't bother it. From then on, we talked about pretty much everything- education, religion, war, and travel. As she was telling me about her experience in spain, she told me, "The women in spain are absolutely beautiful, but the men are just ugly. Now in Italy, that is the place to go. There the women are ugly, but the men, oooh, they are gorgeous." It was so fun talking to her.

Tomorrow I leave for Wheaton. I am trying to gather everything together, but trying to unpack and pack at the same time is not very productive. I feel like one of these little turtles, leaving the nest (again) and going into the sea.

19 years and exactly 2 months ago today, my two sisters witnessed my entrance into the bright world full of smiling faces. Two days ago, I was finally able to witness baby Jack, my little nephew, arrive into the world. It was probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen.
Jack and the parents are now safely back in their home, which is much more comfortable than the hospital room for everyone.
Kendall just reminded me that I go to Wheaton this thursday. the summer just flew by.

pray for the parents and jack... praise God that all is well.

This is my new blog.