Suprise Convo

It really does work out well when one of your good friend's mother-in-law is your landlord. That way, whenever her and her hubby are in town you can have an unexpected visit:) Even though the reason she's down isn't necessarily the best reason (pray for my amiga Anabella's mom!), it's still nice to see an old friend from time to time. I rejoice in the opportunity for unexpected visits.

Lunch with mommy and daddy

I enjoyed time with both my parents all to myself at lunch today. It was a great time of conversation. I rejoice in being blessed with amazing parents (who are great to hang out with on a Sunday afternoon when I have nothing else to do. hehe. jk!)

Some things never change

Like hanging out with these people and having tons of laughs over board games.

There was a time when we would spend many nights of the week together, hanging out and having fun. Then we grew up :) And sadly, we rarely hang out. But, I rejoice in the fact that we still have a great time together! We even made it staying up til 1:30 and when I left I wasn't the party pooper. haha.
I'm glad that good friendships outlast time, even when you don't see each other very often :) I'm also thankful I have a group of friends who enjoy board games just as much as I do, if not more

Planning

I met with our youth pastor at church today to work on plans for our group to participate in the 30 hour famine, sponsored by World Vision. I am so super, duper excited to have this event with our students and to help raise money to put an end to hunger around the world! I rejoice in the opportunity to be a part of life change, both here and around the world.

Popcorn and Peanut Butter

That's what I'm eating right now. It's making a not so great day so much better. I rejoice in late night snacks.

Graduation Meeting

I had a meeting with my counselor today to discuss my last few classes and my official graduation date. December 16, 2011 I will be an official college graduate. Hooray! I rejoice in the opportunity to get my degree and that it will be happening less than 11 months from now!

Doing nothing

The last few days were crazy busy and exhausting. So today I pretty much just sat around, relaxed, and rested (except for the few hours I had to work tonight. haha). I rejoice in the chance to re-energize.

Change of scenery

So today, during small group time with my high school girls, we went to Starbucks. It was so amazing the positive affect the change of scenery had on the atmosphere of the group and the participation of the girls. I think it was probably one of the best, most focused discussions we have ever had. We were talking about the Holy Spirit and I'm convinced He's the main reason it went so well. I rejoice in meaningful discussion!

Long days that are worth it

Like today. Where I started the day with my amazing New Testament class. Then headed straight to a youth conference (on the same campus at least so that helped) with my high school kids from church. Then to dinner with the fam. And finally, seeing my amazingly talented brothers in their closing show for Les Mis. How can I possibly pick one thing to rejoice in? :)

Sleep

That's what I'm about to do. That's for sure worth rejoicing in :)

Speech Class

I petitioned one today. And I got in! Crazy considering the amount of people I heard were trying to petition in some classes. But, I am very thankful. I now attend three different schools. It feels weird to be back at a community college, but I rejoice in the opportunity to be one step closer to graduation in December. Woo hoo!!

No longer seasonal...

...at Banana Republic. They told me tonight they are keeping me on. That's worth rejoicing in :)

Bell Peppers

I made a new recipe tonight, one of my monthly goals that I listed here. I think it turned out pretty yummy, which was the consensus from mom, dad, and a brother, though the other brother was not as impressed :) Here's what the finished product looked like, and it was served atop wheat pasta...

I rejoice in healthy food, that also tastes good. I rejoice in accomplishing a goal and the feeling that goes along with that. And I also rejoice in my mommy supplying the funds for my adventure in cooking.

Supportive peeps

I rejoice in the fact that I have lots of those in my life. Who show their support in various capacities. I'm tired from a crazy day and weekend, so that's all you get :)

Les Miserables, et al.

Blogger was NOT cooperating last night. That's why I didn't post. Don't worry, you didn't miss much. I was just going to talk about homework, in an attempt to have a good attitude:)

Today was a long but full day. It started with class early in the morning. I headed to class super excited for another session with one of the best teachers I've had so far, learning about the most important book in the world, God's word. But instead, I walked in to find a substitute teacher, who also happened to be the worst teacher I've had during my entire time in Bold. Thankfully, I had two good friends sitting next to me in class. I rejoice in great friends and classmates helping you survive a not so great class.

After class I headed home for a quick lunch and to change into cooler clothes (80 degree weather in Jan. Who knew?). Then I headed back to Biola to watch the BYT production of Les Miserables, which both my brothers and my dear, sweet Emily are in. Upon arriving at at our seats with my great friend Ann, to see other people sitting in what we thought were "our seats" we discovered that I had somehow purchased the tickets for next week show. Way to go me. However, with the help of the wonderful house manager at BYT, (who, as a side note, has no idea what my first name is but definitely knows I'm a "Jones", resulting in her always calling me "Miss Jones") we were able to switch out our tickets for some not much further back from what we thought were our original seats. And boy am I glad we did. The show was so good! My "baby" brothers did an amazing job as Brujon and Montparnasse, members of Thenardier's gang, along with a variety of other roles, resulting in costume changes every few minutes. I seriously think they wore at least five different costumes each today. Emily was the most beautiful girl up there and had a huge smile on her face the entire time (except when she wasn't supposed to of course). The story of Les Mis is just so great and I absolutely loved the show! I can't wait to see it again with the whole fam next weekend! I rejoice in the blessing of great entertainment, along with the power of words and music to portray a compelling story. I also rejoice in great time spent with my amazing friend Ann!

The evening ended with yummy dinner at friends from church's house. I rejoice in people who want to bless two single young ladies.

Like I said, a good day :)

Free Food

I went and helped out with Tots at church today. And then I went to lunch at Chick-Fil-A with my friend Jackie. And we got free food. I rejoice in free food. haha. Totally wonderful for a starving college student like myself :)

Card from Mommy

My mommy sent me a card. In the mail. And I got it today:) It was an encouragement card about my new business pursuits and just life in general. She's the best. I rejoice in the fact that I'm blessed with a mom who is so good at encouraging me!

Slowly but surely...

I had my second Premier Designs show tonight. Since it wasn't with "my mommy and her friends" it was a little more nerve wracking, but I think it went well. And it made me excited to do more shows! I rejoice in the opportunity to support myself while selling one of my favorite things :)

A Good Day

Today was filled with lots of good, ordinary, but good things. Like early morning prayer. And a free breakfast sandwich. And spending time in God's word. And catching up on blogs, especially one's that speak of life change. And working out. And eating a healthy lunch. And finishing a book. And doing some homework (yes, even that was good. haha). And researching possible missions opportunities. And dreaming of the future with my siblings. And hearing testimony of God working. I rejoice in an all around good day. It's nice to have to many things to pick just one...

Lounging

I spent the afternoon with my bff and baby Ava, who's really not a baby anymore. She seriously grows up more every time I see her. We all just hung out in the living room while Ava acted especially cute...and smart. I rejoice in adorable kids who make me smile and laugh. Especially that one:)

New Testament

Yes, I know it didn't blog last night. But I have a good reason. I had my first show with Premier Designs! It went really well. But that was after having worked at Banana earlier in the day. So, needless to say I was exhausted when I got home. I went straight to bed. And didn't even think about my blog. Until I was just about asleep...but by then it wasn't worth getting up. I rejoice in the existence of grace and the fact that I don't "owe" anyone a blog post every single day:)

But, on to today. I started a new Bible class with Bold. New Testament. At 8 in the morning on a Saturday. And the teacher was late. Now all of those things might seem like things I would not rejoice in. But, the grand thing is, none of that matters in comparison. The teacher is seriously soooo good. He is a pastor at The Fields Church down in Carlsbad and is seriously passionate about the word of God. And it shows in his teaching! He started with some of the basics of inspiration and composition of the New Testament and such, along with some of the important aspects of studying the Bible. I'm so excited to get into the meat of the New Testament next week. I'm sure there will be quite a few things I already know, but hearing it from a fresh perspective, from someone who knows what they are talking about and is excited about what they are talking about, is always good. And, I know there are still tons of things I have left to learn so that will be awesome too! My teacher is also a dad to six kids, so that may have had a tiny bit to do with why I liked him so much:) Either way though, I rejoice once again in the opportunity I have to attend such a great school and to learn from so many smart, well educated, passionate teachers. Ones who are also genuinely interested in my life and regularly want to know how they can pray for me. Oh, and in my teacher's defense, he wasn't actually late. We just met in a room, in a building, on a campus that he wasn't used to meeting in.

Back to the books

I started on my homework for the new semester today, as you can see from my pile of books...

I rejoice once again in the opportunity I have to attend a Christian university and to continue to learn more about my wonderful Savior and his amazing Word.

The Power of Prayer

Tonight was youth leader meeting night. We spent most of the time just praying for our students. So many of them have so many difficult things they are facing and going through in life. I rejoice in the promise of the power of prayer, that God has each of them in the palm of his hand, and the chance to lift these students up with other people who love them and care about them just as much as I do!

Let the festivities begin!

Tonight we had the first bridal shower for my sister Rebecca. It was super fun and everything came off without a hitch, which was nice since I was one of the people throwing it:) The best part is, Bec had a good time. I rejoice that my sister has found a great guy to marry and that I get the privilege of being a maid of honor and to share in this special time with her.

A Day at Home

I didn't really do much today, other than a few things around the house. And I rejoice in having nothing to do, after a couple of weeks of crazy busyness.

Testimony of God's Hand

A week ago today my good friends and fellow youth leaders, Jared and Tiffany, were in a pretty bad car accident in which their car rolled at least 5 times. They came out of the accident almost completely unscathed. And today I heard firsthand the details of exactly what happened. It was such a testimony of the Lord having his hand of protection on them and keeping the circumstances from being much, much worse, like they very well could have been. I rejoice in the blessing and encouragement that comes from hearing how God works. I also rejoice in the fact that my friends are ok :)

12 x 12

So if you know me well at all, you know that 2010 was not the greatest of years for me. So, that being the case, I am very excited to embark on a new year and I rejoice in the chance for fresh starts and new beginnings.

As a sort of "resolutions" I have made a list of 12 things I would like to accomplish by 2012. I thought that was a cool way to do it, though I do have to admit, I stole the idea from Jonathan Acuff, who blogged about a similar concept here. I'm thinking he probably stole the idea from someone else though, so it's totally fine :)

Below are the 12 things I hope to accomplish by the end of this year. If you are personally a part of my life, feel free to hold me accountable to any or all of these.

1.     Fall back in love with my Savior

2.     Memorize the book of James

3.   Share the basics of the truth of God's love and the free gift of salvation with the 8 people God has laid on my heart

4.      Finish school at Biola and graduate with honors

5.     Eat right, by shopping here, and exercise regularly here, in order to lose at least 15 pounds and look amazing at my sister's wedding

6.     Read at least 24 books

7.     Be in the process of obtaining a full time job that is ministry oriented

8.     Make at least one new recipe a month

9.     Write Tania, the child I sponsor through Compassion International, at least once a month

10.  Go on at least two trips, one being a road trip, to somewhere I've never been before

11.  Work hard to be successful at Premier Designs

12.  See a Broadway musical, preferably Wicked

I'm super excited to look back a year from now and see how each of these panned out. I rejoice in the knowledge that the Lord has every step of my life in His hand and the promise that he works all things out for good for those who love him. It's going to be a great year!