Merry Christmas!

Merry merry, all you special people.

It seems strange that Christmas is already here and even more so that 2010 is soon to be ending. It has been a year of joy, change, growth, learning, loss, and blessings. The Lord has worked more in my life this past year than I've ever allowed him to and for that I am happy.

As most of us do, I have once again allowed myself to get caught up in the hustle and bustle/gift-giving/shopping/enjoyment of Christmas rather than truly focusing my attention on the gift of Christ that this season celebrates. He is the single most important element of the Christmas season, and I am so grateful for His unending love and grace.

I did get the chance to support a Salvation Army Angel Tree child again this year, which always proves to be a blessing for me. I am grateful for the chance to help a family give their little one an exciting Christmas morning like the ones I have had for the past 20 years. Oh and yes, I said twenty years. I am still a little surprised each time I say that I'm twenty now. I'm no longer a teenager, and it's a bit strange. Anyways...

Sending my love to you all on this Christmas Day along with the challenge of enjoying the greatness of the Lord even more than the greatness of presents. Also, be thankful for the things you have and remember those who are less fortunate or hurting this season. My prayer is for a change of heart and attitude about this wonderful time of year.


"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."
Luke 2: 10

"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2: 14

Joyful

I'm not a writer so I can't technically say I have a case of writer's block, but I will say that I have the non writer's equivalent of it. I have been wanting to write a new post for a while now but just haven't been able to come up with what to write.


So.... Christmas break has been really great so far. Tori, Charlotte, and Daltria all traveled to Tupelo with me on Thursday, and Tori and Daltria stayed until Sunday. It was great to have them here. We were extremely lazy and watched movies for the majority of the time but also went ice skating and to Fenly's birthday party! Ice skating was exciting.. a little painful but definitely worth it. All in all it was a fun few days with wonderful friends!


Anna Kathryn and I have continued in our laziness and have started a Harry Potter movie marathon since we've never seen them. We are still on the first one so we have a long way to go... we will make the sacrifice though ha ha. I love their accents in this movie so much (right, right, right - shout out). If only I could have an awesome British accent. Guess I'll have to settle for my Southern one though.


Side note: If anyone has any good book suggestions, I would be glad to have some!


I am soon to be traveling to Nashville as well. I am so excited! I'll be going to two concerts in three days so I can't complain. We're also going to the Opryland Hotel, which is absolutely beautiful around Christmastime. The decorations are unbelievable.

Opryland Hotel

One concert that AK and I are going to is Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors and Dave Barnes. One of my friends introduced me to them, and I love them so much. Can't wait. Go here to see Drew and Ellie :) They're great.

Be joyful -- 'tis the season :)

-Anna

The truth of Christ

Right now I am completely overwhelmed with a certain organization and a girl led to start it all. Somehow a few weeks ago as I was blog searching/stalking I came across this blog about a girl who had left her Brentwood, TN home to move to Africa after her high school graduation and ended up staying and creating an organization for orphaned children there called Amazima (means "the truth of Christ"). I really encourage you to go to her blog and read the countless stories that brought tears to my eyes. It truly blows me away the way the Lord works and the courageous, passionate people he sends to these places engulfed in hurt, loss, danger, sadness, hopelessness, and hunger.
She ended up adopting fourteen girls as her own, and it is remarkable to read about their lives each day. The stories are mostly devastating but also rejuvenating to be reminded of the fact that God is alive and well and performing miracles every day. I am so stirred by this ministry and feel as if I need to do something but not exactly sure what that is. For now I will just pray for this ministry and this family that has touched and broken my heart and for all the others they are helping and coming into contact with daily.

What a beautiful reminder of the relentless God who loves me despite all the evil in my heart and of the many, many blessings I have been given of which I must ask, Why me? Who am I to live so comfortably with all I could ask for when children are starving and dying everyday? It makes my heart ache.

Please check them out and pray for these precious people miles and miles away from our cozy homes.

Love, Anna

Happy December!

Sorry that it's been a few days... and that I didn't quite finish my week of thanks. I told you I was inconsistent so give me a break! Ha. But my Thanksgiving was great. It was a much needed break, and I definitely took advantage of being lazy every chance I could - no shock there! I'm already planning my Christmas break laziness and movie/book line-up as we speak! I can't wait.

As some may know, a couple of nights ago we had some really bad weather in Starkville, and it turns out that a small tornado occurred. Tori and I were driving around yesterday and the area that got the most damage was a mobile home neighborhood, The Pines. We drove by this area, and it was worse than I thought. Most of the homes looked to have some damage and one of the homes was completely turned over on its side. It was so sad to see everyone out in the fifty degree weather gathering their jumbled up belongings. My heart has been aching for these people ever since. Luckily, they found no one with injuries or anything. Please pray for these individuals and families who may have lost most of their possessions along with their homes.

Well tonight as our friends are off to their fraternity formals, Tori, Charlotte, Katherine and I will be treating ourselves to dinner and a movie. Can't wait. It shall be a fun, relaxing night :)

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
Kahlil Gibran

Taking joy in life is a woman's best cosmetic. Rosalind Russell

Happy December!
Love, Anna

Deeply Blessed: Day 4

Today I am also thankful for my abilities.
By God's grace, I was born a healthy and capable person. I am fully capable of getting up in the morning and going about my day normally and healthily. I have the ability to see, touch, taste, feel, walk, run, laugh, smell, jump, talk, smile, hear. They are all things I take for granted every day. The Lord also gave me the ability to sing and to enjoy it and music. I have truly been blessed by this ability throughout my life from singing in choir and helping lead worship at church to just being touched by music in general. The Lord has also given me the ability to dance-something I enjoy so much. By this I do not mean that I do it well but just that it brings me joy whether I'm dancing to a band at a party or in the skits during my sorority's rush week. I have the freedom to have fun and dance simply for enjoyment, and it is a blessing. My ability to get an education and to attend a wonderful school is something I am fortunate to have. I have been given the ability to do many, many things and to be healthy and to enjoy life. I am grateful for that.

I hope every one's Thanksgiving was as great as mine. As full of dressing and banana pudding as mine, too. ;)

--Anna

Deeply Blessed: Day 3

Today, Thanksgiving Day at that, I am thankful for... my friends.

I don't even really know where to begin when talking about my friends. The friendships I have are something that I treasure most. The Lord has placed wonderful people in my life for as long as I can remember. I had great friends when I was younger and even more so now that I'm in college. They are the people that I am with most often and the people that probably know me best and usually more than I know myself. That is a really cliche thing to say but is so true. They bring me laughter, joy, strength, encouragement, criticism, excitement, relief, familiarity. If it wasn't for them, I really would not be the person I am now. God placed them in my life for a special reason, and for that I am extremely grateful.

I don't have time to go into detail about every one of my friends so just know that these are small clips of who they are to me.

For starters, there's Mary Claire. Ever since the eighth grade, Mary Claire has been by my side. She is beautiful, smart, loving, loud, talkative, outgoing, hard-working, and most importantly, not afraid to be herself. I have always looked up to her and have been through so much with her. We survived the awkwardness and chaos of high school together, and even though we are separated in different colleges now, still manage to pick up where we left off when we're reunited. I miss her more than I can say.

These beautiful people are my current roommates. From left, Tori, Anna Kathryn, me, and Cyndy. I have been so blessed by these three girls and don't know what I would do without them this year. Tori and I were roommates last year and had the best roommate situation I could ever ask for. She is so great. Her joy and excitement are contagious, and she is such a loving and sacrificing person. Cyndy is one of the sweetest people I know. I literally think she would do anything for anyone no matter what. The Lord shines through her so obviously and clearly, and her friendship is one I am extremely thankful for. I couldn't ask for more from them. AK is also someone I treasure very much. She is the person I can always count on to talk to and know that she will understand. She has been such a huge blessing in my life, and I honestly don't know what I would do without her. We balance each other out and have had so many similar experiences that it's weird. I am beyond grateful for these girls.

Charlotte is another person who has been one of my best friends in college. She is kind, fun, and always quick to listen. I am so thankful for the person and friend that she is and that she'll most likely be my roommate next year :). Brittany is someone I admire for her wisdom, beauty, strength, and discipline. Her love for the Lord radiates through her in everything she does. She encourages me and helps me to grow with grace and love. I cannot express how thankful I am that the Lord placed her in my life.

Katherine is another friend I am glad to have in my life. She is loving, joyful, gorgeous inside and out, and encouraging. I am so glad that I have become close to her just recently and that she has allowed me to become one of her good friends. I so look forward to getting to know her even better and to finding out many more wonderful things about her.

Needless to say, I am one lucky girl. I am beyond thankful for each of these people in my life and wish I could give them the credit they deserve. There are also many, many others that I could talk about as well, but it would take me way too long.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Love, Anna

Deeply Blessed: Day 2

For today, I am thankful for.... my family. I am someone who has been blessed beyond belief with a wonderful family. They have been amazing role models, comforters, providers, encouragers, excitement, embarassment (ha!). I have never known anything but unconditional love from these people in my life, and for that I am more than grateful. I have a pretty small immediate family with only one older sister, but I don't know what I would do without them.

My parents are two people who I look up to and love more than anyone else. They are both excellent examples of the Lord. I know I am incredibly fortunate to have come into a home of believers. It greatly encouraged my own belief in the Lord and also allowed a secure and stable environment to grow up in.
My mom is a woman of love and care. She is someone I look up to very much because of the compassion she shows for others. She is trustworthy, kind, and funny. I love and admire her so much.
My dad is also a man full of love. He is probably one of the most loving people I know. I can't remember a day that has gone by that he hasn't shown his love for me. I am so incredibly grateful for him and for the way he provides for me and my family and continually spreads his love over us (and all of my friends he considers his own!).

My sister, Lori, has also been someone very important to me. She has always been my role model, and I've always wanted to be exactly like her. Since she's almost twelve years older than me, I was the only one at home for the most part, and the age difference caused problems for getting to really grow up together under the same roof. Nevertheless, I have always looked up to and admired her. This past summer was also a blessing for me because I got to live with her and spend a lot of needed time with her. Lori is a talented, creative, intelligent, and fun person. Her faith in the Lord shines through every day, and she has such a kind heart. I have learned so much from her and am so so thankful for the person she is for me. Lori is also married to George, who is an incredible person as well. He was my boss this summer and is so much fun to be around. He's a wonderful husband and dad, too!

And now for my incredibly adorable nearly three-year old niece, Meg. What a fun and precious blessing she is for my family. Her huge blue eyes, big pouty lips, blonde hair, and sassy attitude are to die for. Although I may be a little biased, she's the cutest kid I've ever seen. Even though she can at times be a tad defiant and cheeky, I know she has a little heart of gold. I am so thankful for the amusement and life she provides for me and my family and can't seem to get enough of her. I pray that she will always know the joy she brings in my life!

How could you resist this face?

What a gem.

I am also fortunate to have extraordinary grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I wouldn't trade them for anything. I never have to question whether or not I am loved by my family because it is impossible to miss. So this post doesn't even do my family justice but gives a little clip of how great they are.

Love, Anna

Deeply Blessed: Day 1

In lieu of Thanksgiving week and the fact that I tend to be unacceptably inappreciative, I decided that I would post this week about a different thing I am thankful for each day. Even though this post says it is for Tuesday, I am meaning for it to be my Monday post, by the way. They aren't in any certain order but only what I feel like writing about each day.

So for today, I am thankful for..... the fact that I am not in need.

There are a huge amount of things that I take for granted every day. My home (both in Tupelo and Starkville), my comfy bed, food, drinks, clothes, a nice car, shoes, running water. The list could go on and on. While some of these things are objects and possessions that most have, some people do not have even the simplest of these, and that is difficult for me to comprehend. At times, but not often enough, I am conscious of the fact that I am beyond blessed to even have a healthy home to live in and reliable car to drive. It's these times when I try to remember to praise the Lord for these things and for all the blessings he grants to me daily, but unfortunately this does not occur enough. I am selfish. Thank goodness for God's grace because without it, He sees that I am filthy, unloving, and only conscious of my own state. But He is the only one who can change my heart and my attitude, and that is my desire. I desire to live a life of gratitude because I am more fortunate than I will probably ever realize.

All that to say, I am and want to be more thankful for the things I call necessities that others less fortunate may not have. My prayer is for a change of heart from the only One who truly knows my heart.

--Anna

Randomness

My inconsistency is definitely going to show through my blogging life (as it does in every other part). Inconsistency tends to be my friend, and it's not a good thing at all. I believe it goes hand-in-hand with my indecisiveness as well. If you know me, you know that I hate making decisions. Decisions are not fun whether big or small for me. I wish I wasn't this way, but I am. Even the smallest things like favorites. I can't have one single favorite of things because I can't choose. It's always annoying hard when people ask what my favorite movie/song/band/TV show, etc is because I don't have one single favorite. I'm sure it's frustrating for people when they receive my answer, "I don't have one favorite, but I like...". My apologies to all. I also believe almost anything you tell me. Can you say gullible? But enough of that.

Dave Matthews last Tuesday was absolutely incredible...

Jacob, me, Jackson, and AK before the concert 

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue opened and were so awesome. Very talented and funky band. 

During the concert 

It was an amazing night, indeed.

Needless to say, last week was a fun-filled week. With DMB on Tuesday, Tacky Christmas swap on Wednesday, Holiday in the Junction, KD pancakes and Elf on Thursday, Anchorball on Friday, and State/Arkansas yesterday, all with wonderful people, I must say it was a great one. And for this coming week, Thanksgiving and time with family. I can't wait.

Don't forget my countdown:

25 days until Christmas concert in Nashville -- for you, Lo ;)

28 days until my birthday. Woot woot!

34 days until Christmas!

--Anna

In teaching others, we teach ourselves...

Most of you probably know that I have struggled with my major and what career to choose in college so far. Going into my Freshman year, I was a Biological Sciences major, which was actually just by chance, but I just went with it. I had thought about changing to education or something else but decided I would do something in the medical field, mainly for a good, money-making job. So I did the whole science thing my first year, and it was fine. But at the beginning of this past semester, I was talking randomly with a friend who had just changed to Elementary Education. We talked and everything she was saying was matching up and making sense to me (definitely a God thing). It helped me realize that I needed/wanted to change my school path. I then changed my major to undeclared the second day of school and changed my classes to randomness (can't wait for new classes next semester!).

All that to say.. last week I officially changed to Elementary Ed, and I couldn't be more excited! Honestly, I can't stop thinking about it. When struggling to know what I needed to do in the medical field or wherever last year, everyone always asked what my passion was and the only real answer I could manage was kids. I love music but don't have the talent or passion; I love to help people but lack the ability to do anything with blood or bodies. But kids bring me joy no matter what. Yes, they can be annoying and can sometimes push every wrong button, but they will always make me smile. They will always be the most precious things I've ever seen. And I cannot wait to work with them for my job. What an awesome thing to be able to help shape and be a part of children's lives. I only hope that the Lord will bless me with the motivation to be the best I possibly can with this career. Teachers can be a very special part of your life, and people you remember and talk about for a very long time, so I hope to be all I can for the little ones in my future (assuming this is the path He will continue to lead me on). Just a little bit of what's on my mind and in my heart currently. Please be in prayer for me during this exciting journey.

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward."

Psalm 127:3

 

I'm at home in Tupelo this weekend and am so happy to be here. I need to be getting a lot done for school world, but obviously that's not happening at the moment. It'll just have to wait until tomorrow.

 

Countdown update:

-Dave in 3 days..... ahhhhhh

-Birthday in 36 days.

-Christmas in 42 days.

 

Much love, Anna

Free Time

Hi again! I actually have a little time today to write because my afternoon class was cancelled. It's amazing how exciting/relieving/enjoyable it is to have any class cancelled. Even though it's only an hour or hour and a half out of your day, it is wonderful to have that time to do something different. I probably should be using this time for something more productive, but.... oh well.

Let's talk about this weather -- it's been so nice outside the past couple of days! Today I walked to class with shorts and t-shirt on and iPod in hand. It was lovely. Even though it's a good bit warmer than normal Fall weather, which is my personal favorite, I enjoyed it.

Let's also talk about countdowns. . .

In 6 days, I will be in Atlanta with Dave Matthews along with AK, Jacob, and Jackson. I am so incredibly excited. I've wanted to go to one of his concerts for forever and am pumped about this little trip.

In 39 days it will be my 20th birthday. That number seems so strange to me. I will no longer be a teenager! Crazy/scary.

In 45 days is Christmas! My favorite holiday by far. There are already many Christmas decorations up in college world since we get out of school a while before Christmas. We are decorating our apartment soon, including a live tree, baking cookies, apple cider, Christmas music, etc. I'm excited.


On another note, as I was walking to class today passing both people I know and don't know, I realized how great it is when you pass strangers smiling at you. Most people that we pass are either looking down at the ground or their phones or just not at you, but how great is it when a person makes a point to look at you and smile. Maybe it's just me, but it always makes my day. I hope to be that for someone every day. If I could help make at least one person's day a little better, that would be so great to me.


Shine your Light and let the whole world see
We're singing for the glory of the risen King...

--Anna

Hello, Blogger World!

So I've wanted a blog for a really long time now and finally gave in.

I'm the person that reads all kinds of blogs of people that I haven't a clue who they are, but I enjoy it so much. Reading about other people's days and weeks and events in their lives excites me. It allows me to escape from my own world (when I usually should be studying) and pretend that I have time to catch up on every one's doings. Most of the time people's blogs make me want to know the person or want to be friends with them even more. I'm not promising that by any means from my blog, considering I am not a writer and do not enjoy English classes in any way, but I do hope that anyone who reads it may receive something from it.

My semester has been super busy so far so hopefully it will calm down, and I will actually be able to blog as often as I want. I am really excited about this blogging journey.

Ohh, and if any of you out there would be able to help me with designing this thing, that would be great! I'm not so good with the whole computer world...

--Anna