Worthy Is the Lamb

I'm Back....

After being away for almost a whole semester...I'm coming back and I have big plans to finally stick this thing out. I really enjoy reading through everyones blogs, so now it's time I finally keep mine up and running!!

I'm looking forward to sharing some of my insight on life inside the girl's dorm! Oh yes...the stories that come from those walls are many times amazing!! Also hoping to add a Mediatative Monday post! Anyways...let's just see how long the fun will last!!

Heading to the City...

My bags are yet to be packed, but I am very much looking forward to my departure for Milwaukee this weekend. This is my first time back to the big city since I finished student teaching in March! I'm looking forward to seeing my family, hanging out with the Mielke's, and recalling all of the reasons why I would move to Milwaukee in a heart beat...just need a good job and a place to live!

After the trip to Milwaukee, we are heading up to Fond du Lac for a surprise 40th birthday party for my Aunt Trisha! I'm hoping we can still pull this off...so far so good!

After Fondy, it's back to the Eau C to unload my brother and sister, get them settled back into the dorms, and kick off the school year! Can't believe it's here already, but I'm ready! (Only cuz' I don't have to go back)

What are you plans for the weekend?

Moments of Glory

Nastia winning the Gold in the Women's All-Around.

Phelps winning his 7th GOLD by 1/100 of a second!

What will I do when they are all over??

Crazy Night Life

Oh how I love my new night life! I'm not exactly sure how I will be able to cope once the Olympics are over, because as of right now, they are my life! I wake up and turn on whatever crazy sport is showing at 8:00am. So far my favorite to watch has been Women's Water Polo with Table Tennis a close second. I watch the Olympics as I workout. So far the many sport that is on during that time is basketball. But I did catch a little Grecco-Roman Wrestling yesterday too! I watch them as I get ready for work. Sadly, I take about a 9 hour break as I head into work for the day....but I love when 9:00pm rolls around because I know that in a mere 30 mins I will be back home, crawled up on my bed, watching amazing things such as Gymnastics and the greatest happenings in the Water Cube! Ahhh...the great life! Are the Olympics changing your life?


I will miss the Olympics when they are over, but I will also enjoy having my sleep back!

Conquered in Christ

Romans 8:31-39 "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No! In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

It's hard to believe that one week ago, Steph, Nicki, and I were packed in the car traveling back to Wisconsin debriefing about the weekend. What a weekend it was! This weekend is only that I look forward to each year because I come back with this renewed and refreshed air about me and I'm excited and anxious to put into work the many things I've learned. Just as I hoped, this year was exactly the same...only better than I could have expected. I went anxious for my dear friend's to share with all of my friends the insight they have gained through the many trials they have faced in their lives. But what I got was an even greater appreciation for my friends. If anyone has not had the chance to meet Dave and Becky Rodebaugh...DO IT! Their story makes me cry, makes me smile, and gives me hope for all the trials that I face. I think back to my life only 8 months ago and Dave and Becky were merly a name that I knew because of the children at Immanuel. Now I can't even imagine who I was without them. They are two people that I will always look up to and respect. What a blessing it is to have them in my life!

If anyone is ever thinking about Arise and Shine and just not sure...GO!! It is worth every minute of your time. I promise you will not regret it!

100 things to do before I die

1. Swim with a dolphin
2. Watch a live Figure Skating competition (famous skaters)
3. Be a member of the audience in a TV show
4. Send a message in a bottle
5. Plant a tree
6. Write a fan letter to Mr. Dreamy
7. Learn to ballroom dance
8. Fall deeply in love – helplessly and unconditionally with my Lord
9. Shower in a waterfall
10. Learn to play the violin
11. Get passionate about a cause and spent time helping it, instead of just thinking about it
12. Go on Mission Helper Trip
13. Ask someone you’ve just met on a date.
14. Sleep under the stars
15. Spend a whole day reading, while snuggled up in a warm blanket.
16. Overcome my fear of failure
17. Grow and tend a garden
18. Drive a convertible with the top down and music blaring.
19. Run a 5k.
20. Run a half-marathon
21. Fall in Love
22. Watch all of the Oscar winning movies
23. Have an earth-shattering, foot popping kiss
24. Play in the rain
25. Visit the 9-11 site
26. Wear a rain coat and galoshes in the rain.
27. Blindly pick a place on a map and plan visit
28. Go to the Creation Museum
29. Be outside for a whole day
30. Host a wine tasting party
31. Write a letter about myself NOW for my future grandchildren
32. Learn to change a tire
33. Greet a new neighbor with baked goods
34. Ride a bicycle built for two
35. Drink wine while taking a hot bubble bath and rockin’ out to the song from “Pretty Woman.”
36. Fall in love with Walt Whitman poetry
37. Wear a flower in my hair all day
38. Stay up all night talking to someone
39. Get a master’s degree
40. Ride in a horse-drawn carriage
41. Ride a mechanical bull
42. See the Pearl Harbor memorial
43. Learn how to drive stick shift
44. Bury a time capsule
45. Dance in a gazebo while listening to “The Sound of Music”
46. Learn to say “No” without guilt
47. Give birth naturally
48. Stop worrying about things that have already happened and that I can’t change.
49. Inspire a child
50. Go on cruise
51. Have a movie marathon
52. Make breakfast in bed for someone I love
53. Be an organ donor (4/24/08)
54. Eat spaghetti like the Lady and the Tramp
55. Be free from debt
56. Visit all 50 states
57. Nap in the grass
58. Go to Australia
59. Stay at a cottage by the sea
60. Have a family
61. Smoke a real Cuban cigar (6/27/08)
62. Donate blood
63. See a show on Broadway
64. Adopt a child
65. Eat a meal good enough to be my last
66. Become physically Fit
67. Exercise daily
68. Eat Healthy
69. Learn the entire dance from evolution of dance
70. Make someone cry of happiness
71. Buy my own car (6/27/08)
72. Buy a house
73. Write my mission statement
74. Hit a home run
75. Take a road trip with friends
76. Do 100 push ups in a row
77. Do at least one pull up
78. Learn the Alphabet backwards
79. Ride in a helicopter
80. Learn how to ice skate without falling on my butt
81. Write a love letter
82. Live without tv for a month
83. Become a lifeguard
84. Read the entire Bible
85. Send flowers to a friend (8/5/08)
86. Tell my parents how much I love them and what they mean to me
87. Spend a day with my sisters
88. Write a children’s book
89. See the giant Christmas tree in Times Square
90. See “Ellen” LIVE
91. Visit the Smithsonian
92. Be a mom.
93. Be a wife.
94. Take culinary classes
95. Stay best friends with Steph and Nicki
96. Be serenaded on a gondola
97. Write a song about someone I love
98. Yell "Bingo" at a Bingo hall
99. Take a child on a toy shopping spree
100. Host a cooking show