The one where I stop counting

I know this is vary rare seeing me post on my blog, but I have decided once again that this needs to start happening more often than not. I am currently in My Senior year of College, President of My Sorority, and hidden under graduate school applications.
I have found myself recently counting down the days to the weekend (because my weeks are jammed packed), the days to Thanksgiving break, the days until Christmas break, and finally counting down the days until Graduation. With all of this counting I am becoming unhappy with the "current" Mindy. I am frustrated about where I will be interring this summer. I am frustrated that I do not know the Graduate School I will be attending yet (when I have not even finished my personal statement), I am frustrated that the days are not going by faster. But really I do not want them to.
As I was waiting on a class to start the other day last week I was looking at Pinterest on my phone. I found this quote.

"sometimes we are all too quick to COUNT DOWN the days that we FORGET to make the DAYS COUNT."

This past semester I have been way to quick to count down the days. I have forgotten to live the days as a college senior. I have forgotten to live in the moment and really enjoy the time God has given me. Though I have so many decisions to make in the next few months regarding where I am going, I still need to stop counting down the days and live today as me. I encourage you if you are counting down the days to stop counting. Life will happen regardless of you counting, and soaking every beautiful moment up is what makes the journey worth while. 

STOP COUNTING! I am.

 
xoxo.
Mindy

Colossians 3:17

At the beginning of this week I tweeted "let the five week countdown begin." Though I was not kidding at the time due to how upset I was about the combination of Practicum and British Lit, I really just cant believe that week one is already over. This week has taught me a lot not only in Practicum, but in my quiet time with God. 

This week I have started to develop some meaningful attachments to these children. They recognize me and can recall my name. They no longer begin to play with me and then introduce themselves to me and ask me what my name is. They know me, they snuggle with me, and they are listening to me. Though I am still working on developing my skills that are part of my requirements with my practicum, I am really getting experience with the children. I go on walks looking for "chick-monks", we get our purses and "go to work across the street", and we read countless books sometimes four times in a row. 

This week in my quiet time I have really learned "its not about me" its all for the glory of God. Though I am not in my "ideal location" I am there for a reason, and that is a reason that God only knows. Instead of fighting it, I just need to embrace it, and live it out. Enjoy those moments, enjoy those snuggles, enjoy those trips to "work across the street" because I am being a part of a child's life. I am helping shape them into the adult that they will be one day. I am helping to scaffold the interests, and to try new foods. I am there to be me. And I am there to show those children love, no matter how early it is, no matter how late I had to stay up the night before to understand my British Lit homework. Its not about me. Its about something so much greater. Its about him. 

This week after my few meltdowns. I heard a song on the radio. This really puts it into perspective for me. The lyrics say: 

"Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long
As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you,
Cause he made you,
To do
Every little thing that you do
To bring a smile to His face
Tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do"

(Steven Curtis Chapman) 

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."-Colossians 3:17

Love, 

Mindy

Where Positivity meets Practicum

As a Freshman in college I started out my year eager to begin classes to help me reach my goal of becoming an Elementary Teacher. Quickly I realized that the younger children were the ones that I wanted to work with and also transferring schools would lead me to be behind if I stuck with Elementary Ed. At Appalachian I found Child Development and begin to fall in love with the courses that I was taken. As a Sophomore I can remember studying all about the developmental stages and becoming so fascinated with it all. I was so excited for this career path, but that excitement quickly dwindled away as I started my Junior year.
As a Junior the course work that I was enrolled in was designed more toward Early Childhood Teachers and I did not want to be teaching, I wanted to work with families. This was my goal and this is what I was sticking too. I was getting so excited for the Summer because I had a 200 hour practicum where I thought that I was getting to work with a Parent Educator, but was told last minute that it was not acceptable. So I allowed them to place me in the practicum cite of their choice...because there was no other acceptable cite for them.

After a week of frustrations, unreturned phone calls, and things going back and forth, I was just tired and fed up with the whole situation. This made me loose my joy for the five weeks that were about to take place. Though I do not want to be in a classroom I realize that sometimes we have to do the work that we dont want to do in order to get to where we want to be. Through tear filled eyes and hour long phone calls with my mom the night before day one, I decided that I needed to choose positivity in order to gain some sort of experience through this process. 

It was up to me to gain these experiences that I needed, not anyone else, and no matter how much I talked about it nothing was going to change my location or the amount of hours. I just had to suck it up and do it. This morning when I woke up, I stood in front of my mirror as I was putting on my make up (as I do many days) and told myself "you can do this," you have been around children so many times in your life, this is just one new experience. As I walked out the door of my apartment I grabbed my positivity. 

Now that day one is completed, and I came home wiped out smelling like baby wipes, covered in sand from my head to my toes, and experiencing the biggest amount of snuggles a girl can get I dont want to leave my positivity at day one. I want my positivity to continue through all five weeks. I want to improve in my interactions with the children, I want to gain so many different techniques, I want this to be valuable. I dont want to leave the same way I came. 

Each day I will continue to learn, grow, and experience new ways of doing things. Each day I will take a little something and make it better. I will be better with each new day than the day before. And when I complain I'll remember to bring my positivity with me instead of my negativity. 

Mindy

my people

I thought that this past semester I was going to have more time to Blog again, but just as quick as classes started so did the papers, projects, tests, and then final exams leaving me no time to squeeze in a brief time to sit on my couch and enjoy a favorite television show, much less blog.
I am learning in life that I am going to have to make time for the important things. I cannot possibly read every bit of material that they hand me in each of my classes without spending the whole entire day in the library. I for one know that I have to have a life. I have to have relationships with others to keep me sane. And this semester though I tried to focus on my school work, I really tried to look at my relationships. People that felt like I had brushed them off, I made extra time for them. People that I spent a lot of time with I spent even more time enjoying that community together. It is in a community that we grow, we thrive, and we find out more about our own selves.
When I think about these people I think about my current summer interest "Grey's Anatomy." Christina tells Meredith that she is her person in one of the earlier episodes (where I am currently at in the series) and during the finale last night Meredith tells Christina that she is her person. I look at my life and I try to picture who my person is, but I can not picture just one, except I picture a group of people. I picture several people who are "my person" to get me through the day. I have that person who is the encourager, I have the person who is always a phone call away, I have the person who is always there, I have the person who always listens, and I have the person that I can always count on to make me laugh.
I know for one that I could not have made it through some of the moments of this semester without the people that were by my side. These people were there for the happy moments and my sad moments when all I wanted to do was lay down and cry with some Ben and Jerry's. These are my people. These will be the people that I will continue to build relationships with throughout the years. These are my people who I will be at there weddings and they'll be at mine, I will cheer them through mother/fatherhood, these are my people who I will grow old being friends with.These are my people who I know have my back (literally). These are my people who I know will always be there.   Its such a wonderful feeling to have people like this.

Do you have your people, in your own lives?

Peaks, Pits, Praises, and Prayers

Being a girl in this century I am a LOVER of Pinterest. If I could create the prefect house, its there. If I could dress children I dont have I have there clothes, bows, and halloween outfits all picked out. If I could design my perfect wedding without a budget I have a board for that too. Now life is not like a Pinterest board, and I probably will never master the art of making my food look as cute as theirs does even after following the step by step instructions, but Pinterest is good for something. A few months ago I stumbled across this picture:

Under the picture was a description of what you are to do with this journal, and it made me want to start one that day. Now I have yet to start one but with this new thing where I am going to start blogging more again I have decided to start it now. Each week I will share a Peak,Pit, Praise, and Prayer for my day that day or maybe that week. So here we go.

Peaks:

• I got to eat lunch with a High School friend that I havent seen in six months. We've both been away at college and had a lot to catch up on. We didnt even realize how long we had been sitting in the same place.
• I am growing so much in my on walk with Christ by being pushed to plan bible studies for 70 girls in my sorority
• I am soaking up so much family time that I can hardly stand it. I have missed my family while I was away at school this semester

Pits:

• I found out that Chick-fil-a is taking their Cheesecake off their menu and if you know me Im a lover.

Praises:

• Some of my friends have been struggling with a decision-they made the decision they thought was best, and its going to work out.
  
• Seeing all these boys step up and say that they want Godly women in there lives!!! (check out the live31 movement if you havent already) This warms my heart knowing that there is hope for me, my friends, and my family when finding someone to share our lives with.

Prayers:

• Prayers for me. I have some life decisions about where Im going to be doing internships, and practicums. These locations impact my future career and I want to go where God is leading me.
  
• Prayers for a friend who's steeping into a new stage in their life.
  

I hope you will join me in the Peaks, Pits, Praises, and Prayers of your own life. It really is good to stop and reflect on all the wonderful things God has given you and things that you can see as a pit but change into a peak for him.
Love,
Mindy

Should a Wiser One Take My Place?

Now that I am growing up I am starting to fully understand the importance of Christmas and the everyday lessons we can take away from this season. Christmas is not about the presents, its not about shopping and trying to provide outlandish gifts for our family. Christmas is about love.

When looking at Christmas I like to look at Mary the Mother of Jesus. This Girl must have been pretty awesome. Mary was a normal girl around my age (20) probably a little younger. She was living out her NORMAL life, engaged to Joseph, but God still used Mary. God used this NORMAL girl to do something unbelievable. God used Mary to carry his son. I can only imagine the fear that Mary must have felt. She truly let God be in control of the situation and put 100% faith in him.

In doing my blog reading today I came across this quote that truly captures what God wants us to take away from this Christmas season. "Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts" (Janice Maeditere). As we continue to this new year we need to really open our hearts to the things God is showing us. Through the opening of our hearts we can truly experience the gift of Christmas, the Gift of Jesus being sent to this earth for you and for me. Mary's heart was open to the position God wanted her in. Open your heart to where God has you today, and really seek his direction for your life in this coming year. There is not a wiser one to be in the position you are in, because God has you exactly where he wants you to be.

I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.

xoxo,

Mindy

Tis the Season

Tis the season for hustle and bustle.

Tis the season for Christmas vacation.

Tis the season to celebrate Christs birth, family, friends, and love.

Tis the season for me to start blogging again.

I have just finished my first semester as a Junior. I had all major classes except for one. Lets just say THANK YOU GOD I got through this semester. It was a struggle grade wise, but it taught me a few things, and this semester also brought me a few new things in my life.

This semester taught me that its ok not to make all A's. No matter what my grades are, I am still going to accomplish my goals. There is always going to be that one class you just dont grasp, that one professor you just cant stand, and those tests you just cant seem to pass no matter how much study time you put into them. But one thing is still true. I am still going to graduate ASU. I am still going to find a job (crossing fingers) helping families be the best they can be for there little ones, and Im still going to have an awesome support system behind me telling me that I am going to get there.

Though this semester started off on shifting ground I did not know what God had in store for me. I became Prayer Chair of my sorority, and have grown so much closer to Christ leading a bible study each week with a group of girls. I am so excited about this semesters book bible study that I can hardly stand it. It is going to be great! We are going to be reading the book "A Jewel in His Crown." I know we are all going to be challenged to live a life of excellence that we are called to this semester.

This semester also brought me 35 new sisters! I am so excited about having that many new sisters and I love them all to death! They are a great group of young women and they all have a great passion for God. It is so awesome to see how excited they are about being apart of SAO. It reminds me just how excited I was when I first joined, and the reasons why I want to be apart of this group of girls.

I also was blessed with two very special littles. They are the best! (I know I am a little biased) But seriously these girls are great. They both are very talented and both have a great relationship with God. I am thankful to call them my SAO family. I knew it from the start of things that I wanted these girls because of the bond we shared. We already have so many stories, adventures, and laughs that no one would ever understand.

One more thing the semester brought me (and Im probably going to get "in trouble" for blogging about it) is a guy.Meet Marcus. I was not looking for him when I found him, but Im very thankful that we took the time to get to know each other. We fit together very well and we support each others goals in life.

Now that I am home I am enjoy laughs and lots of family time. I am so blessed to have a wonderful family. They are full of support no matter what I do in life. They provide me with a sense of understanding that God already has it all planned out so you should live your life and not worry about what anyone else thinks of you. We chase christmas lights hunting for the biggest trees, the craziest decorations, and even the lights that go with the music. I truly enjoy being home and growing up like I have. I am so thankful that I can call both of my parents and my sister my best friends and enjoy every moment I can with them during this break.

If someone would have told me how the semester was going to end up in August I would have laughed at them. I am truly thankful for every situation I've ever been put into because it has pointed me to the person that I am growing into. It is teaching me how to deal with different situations and how to grow from different things. I love looking at God putting the pieces of my life together and reminding me that He has everything under control and its not up to me. I promise bloggers this next semester will not be as challenging since I've gotten one behind me with all major classes and I'll make time to blog on a regular basis. Stay with me I havent forgotten you guys yet!

Love,

Mindy