Blessed.

   So it's officially Christmas time at Baylor. But not winter. It is 76 right now. It's not normal though, but still. It's a bit ridiculous. Last night was Christmas on 5th Street, a crazy time complete with Christmas trees and lights all over, hot cocoa, Santa, live music [Phil Wickham&Matt Wertz!], carriage rides, and a Christmas marketplace that had all sorts of booths of stores locally around Waco. Yay!
   Looking back on this semester, I am so so blessed. Baylor is really a great school and I can't really imagine myself anywhere else, so let's hope it stays that way. Being at a Christian school has been fabulous. It's not like it's overly pushing religion, but it's the little things that really have made a difference to me. First, one of the coolest things, it's not really surprising if you are approached by someone and they ask if they can pray for you. It happened to me and I was blown away. I mean, that was just something so different to me. But it was so nice!

Christmas on 5th Street!

   Secondly, Waco is in the Bible belt. aka churches aren't hard to find and I've found one that has been so good to me. Antioch rocks. As much as I wanted to go to UBC to hang with DC*B, Antioch is just what I needed. My lifegroup is seriously the greatest thing ever. Everyone is so...passionate. intentional. encouraging. fun. I LOVE IT. I need everything they're giving to me. Being away from home and everything I know, it's nice knowing there are people here for me and rooting for me and wanting me to feel at home here. I wish I could hang out with these people all the time.
   Thirdly, on a less important note, Baylor is so legit. I have seen Tenth Avenue North, Matt Maher, Robbie Seay Band, Dave Barnes, Phil Wickham...all for freee. Granted, it's probs in my random Student Fees, but at least I know I'm getting my money's worth! Plus I've met David Crowder and been to his house. Sorry I didn't take a picture. I'm trying to keep my obsession low-key. Also, Baylor sports. I never really liked football, but here Texans love it and I kinda did too. Running the line, being in a sea of gold and green; school spirit is definitely never lacking. Random Sic 'Ems through out the day...not strange, rather expected, even though it doesn't really happen that much. ha. Baylor basketball is just starting up now too and our teams ROCK. It's going to be a great season.
  So there you have it. Baylor has blessed me on so many levels. I'm glad I picked here, even if it is far from home. It's beginning to feel like home just a little bit more, especially since I haven't been home at all so it's like "ohhh going home is for the weak. I'm hardcore." =)

  

BOWLcoming 2010

 

ready for burning.

aka Homecoming. This week was fabulous. Well, mostly Thursday-Saturday. It just upped how awesome I think Baylor is. Seriously. Baylor really knows how to do Homecoming. Everything started Wednesday with a worship service. Robbie Seay Band led that. There were also random speakers, like this alum from the 50s named Milton. I liked him. I don't remember everything he had to say; he just hit us with some good stuff in the moment. I wish I could remember stuff like this better. Anyways, so after Wednesday's worship night, there was Thursday night's Freshmen Mass Meeting. We met in Waco Hall[where we have chapel] late at night, 11 pm. The night began with a ceremony of sorts honoring the immortal 10. They were 10 basketball players who died in a bus/train accident in January 1927 on the way to their first road game in Austin. After that whole ceremony, which was really cool, the freshman torch bearer was picked and we all sang "That Good Ol' Baylor Line". I still don't know the words. Oops. We left Waco Hall and walked with candles across campus through paths lined with luminaries. We gathered in Fountain Mall, where there aren't actually any fountains, and began bonfire building! We all carried these large wood pallets to a prepared area with sand and stacked them all up into a huge pile of awesomeness. Andrea, Katie, and I stayed later to help paint a big, purple KSU[we were played Kansas State] to go on top. Friday evening was Extravaganza, a carnival complete with a ferris wheel, pep rally, fireworks, and the massive bonfire. That was crazy. The fire got so big, so fast, and was SO HOT.

just chillin' by the fire =)

 It was windy that night so it was semi dangerous, but no worries, everything was okay. Nothing burned besides the grass and some of the blockades around the fire. ha. So that was a fabulous night. Then Saturday was the parade in the morning...sadly Katie and I missed seeing the beginning [which was things I feel like should be the end.] where they carried the torch and that sort of thing. Bummers to waking up late. But there were some really sweet floats, like this one that won Judge's Choice..it had a working ferris wheel and roller coaster on it! After the parade, we went back to sleep until we got ready for the GAME!! EPIC.

packed under the stands waiting out the storm.

 The game was AWESOME. First off, when we got there, there was already a lightning delay. So we didn't go into the stands. A good hour later, after being crammed under the bleachers with everyone because of a crazy, windy, thunderstorm, the game commenced. SO GOOD. It went back and forth between Baylor being ahead, then Kansas State getting a TD and getting ahead. But in the end, Baylor WINS!!!! This win meant we were eligible for a Bowl game! Hopefully we will get to play in one! Pretty sure if we beat UT this weekend, we'll be for sure getting one. We are ranked for the first time since..1986? Yeah. So legit. We got to rush the field after the game too; that was so fun! Everyone was so stoked. The game was definitely the greatest part of the weekend, then helping build the fire. Baylor sure knows how to do Homecoming big and has the sweetest traditions. SIC EM.

WIN!!!!

the weeks are long, weekends short.

I've noticed lately, how quickly the weekends go by. Time flies, yet it seems to move slowly at the same time. I've been here 2 months already. That seems forever long, yet quite short for all that I feel has occurred in such a time. I feel like I'm drifting away from home; I miss my family and friends, but we're all so far away, friendships are harder to keep and they just feel different. I don't feel like I have a lot of friends here; I have a close bunch, and that's it, so if no one's free, then I'm left alone. I don't really like it. Sometimes it's nice, but usually when no one's around, I wish someone was and when everyone's around, I don't mind being alone. Maybe it's the whole, I feel 'safe' because I know they're there? Who knows. It's weird. I've been consistently going to lifegroup every Sunday night and it is so unique and awesome. I've never been around so many people who are just like "Oh hey, God's totally going to rock our world right now and oh hey, yeah I just got a picture from Him or a word from Him and I'd like to pray over you". It's cool. But I can't help and wonder, how are they so on fire? What am I missing? I'm doing this project for my Health class where we had to pick a behavior we want to change and then make goals for ourselves along the way. I decided to do reading my Bible more because let's be honest, I don't. Rarely. So I was like sounds good to me; I'll start with 5 minutes a day, then 10, then finally 15. That seems like such a long time. It's been the first goal: 5 minutes a day. In fact, tomorrow I'm supposed to start into 10 minutes plus like journal about it. I've been failing miserably. So this could be interesting. I figure it'll be better, since I have to journal about it. Granted, what I turn in journal-wise only has to be like "I fulfilled my goal today." or "Today I didn't because I was busy all day" or something like that. So that's that.
This week is going to be a long one. But maybe it'll surprise me and go by quickly. I sure hope so. This Friday starts Fall Break and my mom's coming! YAY! =D

the light meets the dark

jason and jeff from tenth ave north, with katie and holly and i. =)

 There's a girl in the corner
With tear stains on her eyes
From the places she's wandered
And the shame she can't hide

She says, "How did I get here?
I'm not who I once was.
And I'm crippled by the fear
That I've fallen too far to love"

But don't you know who you are,
What's been done for you?
Yeah don't you know who you are?

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

Tenth Avenue North is my new favorite band. Seeing them for free last night was so awesome and so good. They're so legit. Great songs, great guys, great time. =) The lyrics are above are a snippet from the song "You are More" from their "The Light Meets the Dark" album.

Butterfly Circus.

http://www.thedoorpost.com/hope/The%20Butterfly%20Circus/

(So I tried to embed this and it didn't work.  This is just a link to the page. )

This is such a great video. I honestly had tears in my eyes at the end. Thanks to Andrea Garza who showed me the video. It's about hope. Hope is a beautiful thing. I often don't realize how necessary hope is and how it really is always there, you just might have to dig a little to find it. No worries, I'm not feeling hopeless, more hopeful. I've been doubting my major decision so I'm going to get career counseling and am hopeful that things will work out well. Perhaps they won't be what I wanted or thought I wanted, but that's why God's around. He's  got it all under control. He knows what's going down, even when I don't. That's always a good reminder.
So I guess, that's all for now. I'm feeling anxious about getting my future figured out pronto, but at the same time, I'm alright with how things are. I like Baylor, I like my friends, I like getting packages in the mail and listening to classical music and wearing my glasses and eating ice cream, and feeling happy. It's all in God's hands. I'm pretty sure He's smarter than I am. So here's to doing it God's way aka a new acronym, also supplied by my dear friend Andrea. FAITH: Forget About It, Trust Him. =)

endless summer and david crowder

I've decided that living in Texas is basically like summer. all the time. It was nice for like 4 days when it was rainy so it was actually cooler. But it rained all day for 4 days so that was kind of sad. I did get to use my rainboots and umbrella a lot though. Thanks hurricane Hermine!! =)  I think I'm somewhat used to the heat, but I'd really love to wear hoodies and jeans and rock the cool weather cardigans, etc. Supposedly once it hits October, the temperature drops, so I can't wait. =)
     Let's see...what's new in my life. OH. Some of you already know, but since I don't know who actually reads this, I'll let you all know. Monday, I visited David Crowder's house. As many of you also know, he's basically my favorite ever. So I was super stoked to get the opportunity to go to his house for this "freshmen party/gathering". My friend Andrea had to work until 8, so we got there at the tail end. We hadn't eaten, but all the food was getting put away. David asked us if we'd gotten enough to eat, etc, and when we mentioned how we'd just arrived and not eaten, he made us eat. Ninfa's mexican food. Good stuff. I only wished we'd gotten there a little earlier so it didn't feel like we were just taking up space and being in the way of cleaning up. But his house is freakin' beautiful. It's all like old/antique-y but super cool. I should've taken pictures. haha. I took a picture of his porch. It was huge and white and had a swing. AND he had a wooden swing tied to a tree in his front yard!! So fantastic.
    That's all for now, I guess. I had my first Religion and Calculus tests yesterday and today. We'll see how those went...ehhhh.
                                    HAPPY WEEKEND FRIENDS!

one of those days

so I've pretty much done nothing today. it's kinda nice. It's not even dreary out, but it has been nice just staying in and chillin'. There's a game today. It's parent's weekend. I'm not going to the game. But last week's game...our first home game. EPIC. I got to run the "L" flag of "LINE" in "Baylor Line" heading off our freshmen class rushing the field. It was such a sweet experience!! My friends and I painted our faces and everything too. We were full of the Baylor spirit. I kinda love it. But I'm not really into football. haha. The picture is of some of us that ran the flags. The guys were part of "Baylor" and got to stay on the field and run out everytime Baylor scored a touch down, which was a lot. We smoked Sam Houston State, 34-3. SIC 'EM BEARS. =D

Things I've Noticed

Things I've Noticed Around the Baylor Campus:
1. Virtually every girl owns and wears Nike running shorts.
2. Sometimes they'll even wear them with nice sandals.
3. If you're a girl and you're walking up to a door, 99% of the time a boy will be there to open in for you.
4. The dorm rooms and lots of the classrooms are chilly.
5. Finding fun, random stuff to do it a must.
6. There's usually more than one free food event a week.
7. Even though the buildings look classy on the outside[minus the old gym], they're fairly old school inside. aka right-handed and left-handed desks. I usually sit in right-handed ones even though I'm left-handed because the left-handed ones are few and far between and almost always on the very left of the room in the front.
8. We house the biggest climbing wall in our SLC[Student Life Center aka fitness facility] in all of Texas, maybe the US? I'm not positive on that one. But it's over 50 feet tall. Legit.
9. Vegetarian=waffles, salad, cheese, and depending on the dining hall there are actual veggie meals like sun-dried tomato wraps etc. [at least today at Collins there were.]
10. People aren't out late at night. like past 10. They're studying!
11. I like Baylor. =)

                                        just hanging out with "Dad", Judge Baylor. =)

Sundays.

Sundays. Church days! Lazy days. Should do my homework days! So I've gone to two different churches and I kinda wanna write about my experiences just 'cause. They were both similiar but not. So yeah. Let's go. So first, I'll preface this with the fact that I seriously love David Crowder. and I met him. =) That was cool. It wasn't earth shattering. But I was probably like super tired because it was Welcome Week and we were busy soooo much. He was so chill and taller than I imagined. I'm hoping I will have future encounters with him. I'd like to chat with him without being a fan. Anyways, so the first Sunday rolls around and I go to University Baptist Church at 10:30, aka DC*B's church. I went with one of my friends and it was a good time. The worship was obvi real good. The sermon wasn't bad, but I couldn't tell you what it was about anymore. The church itself is like in a warehouse-ish building. Like the floors aren't carpeted and our seats are black plastic with metal legs and whatnot. It was a lot of college kids and some adults. After UBC, we went to Antioch with some people from our WW group. Antioch was more established, kinda reminded me of Grace..maybe it was just the cushy chairs. haha. The people at Antioch were also a lot of college kids and graduates. I felt like there the people were wayyy more into the whole "Jesus thing". It was pretty intense. I equated it to Nick Brooks times like 200. because that's like how many people there were. hah. actually I'm horrible with estimating crowds sooo who knows. Um so yeah. I liked both though for their different reasons so I just don't know what Imma gonna do. Bahh.
That reminds me. I went to UBC again this week, by myself which kinda sucked but it was a good service called "Couch Talk" where the 'leaders' of the church or the different aspects of the church rather, talked about the purposes and the vision and stuff and it was cool. DC*B rocked out again. I liked the worship set a lot more this time, if that's possible with those guys. =) So that was this Sunday.
   Sunday night I went to a "lifegroup" which is like small groups, with one of my WW leaders[it was her group she goes to] and then 2 other friendlies from our WW group, Nathan and Kristin. Life group was really unique. We worshipped together, ate good food, and prayed about the coming year, what we wanted the group to do, look like etc. Then we split up into girls and guys and just shared something we were struggling with and what not and then prayed for eachother in pairs. It was super cool. Everyone there was real nice and all about God. Honestly, I've never really been around people so like that. Like I was talking to one of the guys there and he's like "hey do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?" I'm like "yes i do" and he's all "Can you describe to me what it's like?" and I'm like "Whaaa?" I was totally not expecting that. So I asked him to describe his and he launched into all this stuff that God's been doing in his life and it was really neat. I was like "Gee, I wanna be like that." I don't know how people get like that. It's crazy.
So this video is from Serenade. I believe I mentioned that in a previous post. =) Sorry if it's like all weird set up. I'm not very good with technology. I made a tumblr before this and it was like super not cool like other people's I've seen so I thought this might be a little simpler for me. =)

ME TOO.

So I kinda suck at this whole updating thing. I don't even know where to start. bahhhh. Welcome week activities? Well, the coolest stuff that went on I already posted pics of but i'll elaborate more I guess? So Friday night was a Hall Tradition night, the guys' dorms all went around to the different girls' dorms and serenaded them. It was hilarious albeit a bit awkward. They gave out flowers and danced with girls. aka awkward. Because they totally just danced with the pretty girls. Although some guy did dance with me. I don't even remember his name and he didn't give me a flower. and I was just like..uhh this is weird. I'd rather talk with you than dance and talk with you. It was so hot that night too. So we were all sweaty and it was great. haha. But after all the guys' came by, the last dorm that visited us NoRo girls was Martin hall. They had a dance party thing in the basement of SoRo. NoRo and SoRo stand for North and South Russell. I'm in North Russell. I hung out with two other girls and two Martin guys for a while. They were super nice. But I didn't get their numbers because I didn't have my phone on me! Sad pandas.
Another fun thing was The Big Event on Saturday night. The theme was Neon Nights. So our welcome week group all got together and got shirts and spray painted them neon and they looked sweet. There was a live band, Blue Finger Disco, from Austin. They were great but slightly sketch. I don't really like dancing at all but I danced at this craziness. It was friggin' awesome. My calves were sore the next day. The next day was Sunday. aka church day! aka new post. over and out scouts. =D

What rhymes with Beth?

Words that rhyme with Beth:
Meth
Breath
Death

End of rhyme..Not
Hi Hi Beth
This is a friendly warning from your friends Holly and Andrea,
Never do meth.
Cause if you do,
Your breath will smell like sheth
..hahaha
And it will lead to your DEATH
hahah Beth...
:)
That's all for now...and remember DON'T do meth...or DON'T get caught ;)

The Beginning

So I'm not sure how I'll be at this blogging thing, bear with me. haha. bear joke. Those happen kinda a lot at Baylor. So yeah. Baylor. I'm here! =) The journey down was long. That's really all I want to say about that. Move in day was last Thursday. That was good. I took my math placement test that morning before moving in, went and moved in, met my roommate, went back to the hotel and ate lunch, went shopping at Target where everyone and their brother was getting stuff for Baylor dorms. It was hilarious.
So we basically spent a whole lot of the day moving me in. My roommate Rachel is super nice. She's from Houston so I can hang out with her family over the breaks where I won't go home. Anyways, after moving me in all all that, we had a welcome dinner and it was hot out. hah. After that Mom and Dad left me and went to their "Parent Split Party" and I went to meet my welcome week group. That was kind of hard because I still didn't know anyone besides my roommate and we weren't together. But I found my group quickly. The leaders, Bethany and Christine were FAB. Our whole group was FAB. We're hanging out lots even though Welcome Week is done. =) Thursday night was still tough because we weren't really close as a group yet and I was feeling really lonely. I got lost walking back to my dorm too. But it's a safe campus. =)
This is getting long for one entry so I'm going to stop and do homework and skype with the rentals, then I'll try to get back to this.