Year 2 Days 113-123

Sorry, I dropped off the face of the planet due to my exegetical.

To summarize my last 11 days, I spent the rest of break either with my family laughing, watching state basketball, or writing my paper. I was done with 15 pages by the time I got back to school.

I drove back to school on Sunday and got to see Ben that night :)

Throughout the last week, I spent 20 hours in the library, got about 7-8 hours of sleep at night, hung out with my friends a bit, didn't play any soccer or workout (I was going crazy) I did lift twice and run once, but that is not enough for me.

I finished my paper on Thursday, then spent the next two days watching lots of HIMYM or hanging out.

Ben was on duty Friday night, so we watched Wreck It Ralph. Cutest movie ever. I loved it.

Saturday night was the SAC dance, so that was a blast. I am definitely becoming a better dancer.

Sunday, I went to Ben's band concert, met his grandparents, and put the finishing touches on my paper before hitting submit at 7:33 p.m. What a wonderful, glorious moment.

Finished the night watching Les Mis and trying on Montana and Amanda's dresses to see if they had one that would work for me. Needless to say, I am still in the hunt. Some of them looked okay on me, but none of them great. We will probably go shopping here eventually :)

My exegetical Psalm:

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

² When the wicked advance against me
    to devour^[a] me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
³ Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
    above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
    be merciful to me and answer me.
⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.
⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
    do not turn your servant away in anger;
    you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
    God my Savior.
¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will receive me.
¹¹ Teach me your way, Lord;
    lead me in a straight path
    because of my oppressors.
¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
    for false witnesses rise up against me,
    spouting malicious accusations.

¹³ I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

Enjoy :)

Life's good, and I am definitely so blessed beyond measure ♥

Year 2 Day 112

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEAH! :) Sweet Sixteen!!

This morning I got up around 8:30 to take a shower and get ready for the day.

I went up to eat lunch with my bro and sis, bringing them Subway. Man, I remember school lunches being pretty good, but what I was seeing didn't look all that great. I also didn't recognize as lot of the kids. I feel really old now. I've only been gone for 2 years!!

After that, I came back and watched some tv while working on homework.

Then I listened to the Monticello girls game, and they won in double overtime! It was awesome :) Probably the most exciting game I have ever listened to! So proud of Geyen's team. It was awesome.

We had chicken fettucine alfredo for dinner, Leah's choice. It was yummy! Then we had red velvet birthday cake! :)

I did some more Meteorology, then we opened Leah's presents. She got all 3 season of Downton Abbey. Holla!!

More homework to end the night. Today was a productive day for everything except for my exegetical. Oh well, gotta get the other stuff done sometime!

I got to see Ben's wonderful face on FaceTime tonight, and it was great :) I can't wait to see him Sunday! :)

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Romans 8:11

Year 2 Day 111

Tuesday, Tuesday.

Well, today I made an attempt at my exegetical. It went alright. I just need to buckle down and do it. Just do it! Stop over thinking it, Rachel. You can just do it. I have spent way too long working on this. Most people would be done by now with the amount of time I have spent on it.

After working on homework for awhile, I headed up to the high school to workout and see the track coaches. I got to say hi to Eggers and Sor as well, which was great :)

I did some repeat 200s with the hurdlers. That felt great :) I miss track! 200s are my favorite.

We ate supper when we came back, then I'm pretty sure I did homework and watched Mulan to end the night :)

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Proverbs 29:25

Year 2 Day 110

Monday, Monday. I slept til 9 today! Winning right there!

I then got up and went for a run. 25 degrees out wasn't even that bad! :) I came back and showered, ate a quick lunch, then headed to Dunn Bros to work on my exegetical.

I worked on my exegetical solid for 4 hours or so, then Emily and Kayla stopped by to say hi. It was great to see them :)

I went home and we ate dinner, then I headed to FCA with my bro and sis. DJ was speaking, so it was cool to hear him speak. I also got to see Rachel, which was great. Got to brag about Ben a bit (or a lot), so that's always fun :)

Caught the tail end of the Bachelor, and let me tell you, that rock is amazing! Really big. Way the heck to big for me. But it sparkled, that's for sure. And Sean cried, and it was just so cute! Awwww :)

I worked on my exegetical a bit more after that, but nothing too much. I lost my motivation after about 10 minutes because working in my bed just wasn't flowing. I need a table.

I watched a couple episodes of HIMYM. Marshall and Lilly are back together. Thank God, although I wasn't super worried about it, I knew it would happen.

I'm definitely the lucky one ♥

This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. Philippians 1:9-10

Year 2 Day 109

Sunday began nice and early for 8:00 church. Just the way I like it :)

Church was really great. Pastor Meyer gave an awesome sermon about control and how if we truly want to control our lives, we must completely relinquish the control to God.

My church is doing the Max Lucado book 3:16, so I went to that Bible study with my parents.

After church, I had long chats with my momma :)

After that, I finished watching Fireproof, which I had started last night. Such a great movie.

We all had Subway for dinner. I love when we all eat Subway on Sunday nights together. It reminds me of when we were little. We did that a lot when we were all in elementary school.

After supper, my plan was to watch Once Upon A Time with Leah...but I was out cold on the couch while she watched the show. I'm definitely a great sister. She woke me up at one point because my phone had lit up and Ben had texted me. That's all I really remember. I slept a little while longer after that haha. I was a little tired.

I then went over to Cal's house to watch the movie Argo. It was pretty good, I love the historical aspect off it, but it wasn't the best historical movie I've ever seen. It was about the hostages taken in Iran back in the late 70s, early 80s, and how they pretended to be a film crew in order to escape the country.

It was great to see Cal :)

After that, I returned home and watched HIMYM for awhile, preparing myself for the Exegetical day tomorrow.

³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  Philippians 1:3-5

Year 2 Day 108

Yeah, I was definitely right about that whole internal alarm clock thing. 8:30 sharp this morning. Oh well, my bed was amazing :)

I took a shower and bummed around the house avoiding my large stack of homework, until my momma came home from work and my sis and her went shopping. We are searching for dressed for Kyle and Steph's wedding this summer. I did find one I liked at Target, but I will keep looking and come back to that one if need be. I'm not even sure what I want exactly, so I'll just keep looking for awhile. We did go into Ritzy Replay, though, so I saw Beth. She asked if I had a man in my life, and my mom said I turned Cherry Red and that it was just so cute to see me blush. Bring on the questions, people. I now can answer that question how I want to answer it :) Shout out to Ben, you're pretty great!

We came back and I started my ref recert stuff. I just needed to get it done. Shout out to Olivia for sending me your answers. I missed the video stuff by 3 points :) You da best!

We had spaghetti for dinner, my favorite! We were talking about worrying at some point, and we then were talking about how different it looks for Mom to worry vs Dad to worry. So Leah gets her sassy pants on and pretends to use Mom's voice and says, "Aug, he's not home. He said he was going to be home at 1:05, and it's 1:06" Bahahaha. We were all laughing so hard. I definitely felt a tear run down my face because of how hard I was laughing. It was the gang up on Mom kind of dinner :)

After dinner, I have worked on more reffing stuff, further continuing my streak of putting off homework. I have to start doing it tomorrow. It can't be put off anymore.

Exegetical, prepare to meet your maker. Oh, and Meteorology Homework, Differentiated Instruction paper, and Science homework. Yeah. Wow, I really don't want to do homework. But I have to. I have to.

And now, I might just watch Netflix for the rest of the night. I'm really tired, and Daylight's savings time is tonight, so I'm thinking it's a solid choice, me and my bed tonight.

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 1 Thessalonians 3:12

Year 2 Day 107

I get to go home today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Physics this morning, chapel after that, making copies in the library, seeing Anna in Janzow Top!!! (She was visiting Whitie), then Faith and Life, ate lunch, came back loaded up my car, went to Interp, checked out of my room, then hit the road with Bekah :)

Bekah and I had a great time driving home. I enjoy her company :) We made really good time. I was home in about 7 hours 10 minutes, with a 15 minute food stop in there. Buckets right there.

When I got home, I sat and chatted with my mom and dad, then was getting tired, so I moved down to my room. My bro and sis got back from the 30 hour Famine around 12:30, so they came in and said hi. It's so great to see them :)

Now I shall sleep peacefully in my wonderful bed, not to be awoken before noon tomorrow. Okay. Let's be honest here. I will probably end up waking up before 9. Stupid internal alarm clock.

Home, sweet home ♥

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Ephesians 6:10

Year 2 Day 106

Thursday

I got to sleep in a bit this morning, which was nice. I didn't have 8:30 class, so that helped out a bit.

I went to eat breakfast, then went to chapel, Physics Lab (which was a blast! We got to work with electricity and current), ate a quick lunch, then went to Differentiated Instruction.

After class, I came back and changed my clothes to go lift and do bench max and pullups for testing. I only got 5 pullups, which is pathetic. I want to do more than that. Anywho, it doesn't matter really.

I biked to the library after that and started making copies of sources I will need for my exegetical. I'll be hitting that one hardcore over break. I wish I was done with mine like some people are. That would be amazing.

I came back to my room and was by myself for awhile, which was a nice change of pace. I just worked on Ben's project for Spring Break, and did some homework. It was relaxing.

I went to dinner, then returned to my spot and finished the project.

I then packed up all of my stuff for break, which didn't take me very long. I was efficient this time :)

The night ended with Ben coming over for a bit, then Cody, Taylor, Ben, and I watching Brave. Taylor fell asleep, I fell asleep for a little while, the boys stayed awake though.

Said bye to Ben for 10 days. It will go by fast though ♥

And at the end of this night, all I could do was smile :)))))))))))))))))

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 
1 Corinthians 15:58

Year 2 Day 105

Well today was just at typical busy busy Wednesday, but I will give you the quick lowdown.

Physics class, chapel, homework break, Faith and Life, practice with the recruit, Interp, Science, and a nap covered all of my time from 7:30-4:00.

Around 4, I headed to Ben's room to see the beer pong table he won through this app thing. Now, he won't be using it for beer pong, so don't you peeps reading this worry, but it was a pretty nice table. I would do homework on it, that's for sure! Or play water pong :)

After seeing that, I headed to our Leadership meeting, which was really good today. There was lots of laughing. We're all straight up exhausted haha.

After that, I went to eat dinner at Katelyn's house with Ben, and then Katelyn's boyfriend, Bobby. It was delicious, and I definitely felt honored to be able to eat with them :)

Night class came next. I am fully understanding everything, paying attention in class, and my homework was done beforehand. Winning right there. Because of all of this, I justified leaving class early for an Intramural basketball game.

We ended up losing by 2, but I lit it up with 4 3s, so it was fun :)

After that, I showered then hung out with Ben for a long time. Maybe like 2:30 a.m. Oh well, I will sleep when I'm dead :)

Blessed, blessed, blessed.

To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Philippians 4:20

Year 2 Day 104

Tuesday, Tuesday. I want a snow day like Buffalo!! That would have been sweet!

I woke up this morning, we did some fitness testing, mine went better than last time, it was solid. Praise The Lord!

After that came breakfast and my weight training final, which was really easy. I got hot chocolate from the coffee shop before going to chapel.

I showered and chatted with Lou for a bit before working on a project, then going to lunch.

I had Differentiated Instruction, and that class is always great. I love being a teacher :)

I cranked out a nice Faith and Life paper after that with a newfound sense of motivation. It turned out pretty well, which I was excited about.

People's City Mission came next, and it was really relaxing today with just four kids, and all of the working on math. I love teaching math :)

After that came dinner, then my meteorology homework learning about winds. I attempted to watch Pretty Little Liars, but fell asleep for a solid hour instead. Oh well!

I finished the homework, and Ben came over and we hung out for the rest of the night :)

Smiles upon smiles, I'm blessed :)


Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. Ephesians 2:19-20

Year 2 Day 103

Monday, Monday.

This morning started off bright and early with Physics, as always. Our test got moved until after break. Praise The Lord! I wasn't super worried about it, in fact, I almost would rather take it this week, but too many people are are having to leave early for break.

Chapel came next, then came chats with Tori in Janzow top.

Faith and Life was really great today, and I think I already know what my 3rd essay is going to be about, which is really nice.

Lunch came next, followed by Interp, which was just exactly what a lot of needed to hear this Lenten season. We talked a lot about Law and Gospel, which is cool.

Science came next, and we found out our homework isn't due until after break. Another Praise The Lord!

After class came our captain's meeting, and then I went on a nice, fast two mile run. It was one of those things where I got so caught up in my music that I didn't realize how fast I was going haha. That's always good right? I love running :)

After, I had some nice chats with Tori :) She's a blessing, that's for sure.

Next came the return of Taylor's car :) She went to get it from the shop, and might have cried out of happiness.

Next came dinner. Then came homework time in my room while watching the Bachelor. I have not watched that show all season, so it was really funny to listen to all of the catty drama haha. Ben had come over to do homework too. It's good to know we can get homework done while spending time together :)

Next came our basketball game. We couldn't hit a shot, but we won by one so that's all that matters :) Tournament play starts Wednesday!!

Bedtime came next. 300s in the morning, wooohooo!

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:3-4

Year 2 Day 102

I woke up to my alarm this morning around 7:30, then texted Ben to see where they were at. He said he was going to go to 11:00 church, so I decided I was going to wait and go with him.

I went over to his room around 10, and it was SO GREAT to see him :) I am so glad he is back :)

We went to church, and it was really good. I love St. John, it is a pretty awesome church. Plus, I had an exegetical revelation during church, so that's always nice.

We all ate lunch after church, then I headed back to my room to do some homework. Ben came over for a bit after the homework before we headed to his sister Katelyn's Mozart concert. It was really good music. Ben and I may or may not have played checkers on my iPad while listening, but that's allowed, right?

After the concert, we went and said hi to Montana, then went back to our room before I had to go to soccer. We had a recruit practice tonight, so it was a lot of playing, and that is always fun :) I got really sweaty really quickly, but that's fine by me. I like a good workout :)

After that, Ben and I went to Pizza Hut for dinner, then came back before our basketball game. We lost a heart breaker, but it's alright, that was our first loss. We are doing pretty well this season :)

We came back to our room to and relaxed for the rest of the night. Taylor had out in Law Abiding Citizens, and I had to close my eyes and plug my ears for certain parts, but it was actually a pret good movie. Minus the chainsaws and spork killing.

:))))))) I'm blessed.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26

Year 2 Day 101

Saturday, Saturday, yeah!

I woke up, oh around 8:30, eventually getting down from my bed to take a shower and attempt some homework.

We went to the St. John brunch around 11 and it was yummy!!

Afterwards, I bummed around the room trying to convince myself to go to the library, which I was able to do shortly before two.

I worked on my exegetical for a solid 3 hours before heading to HPAC for Alumni night. It was great to see and play with all of the alum, especially the ones from last year! I miss playing with them and the intensity they bring to the field. I wish Mia could have come, that would have been sweet!!

Afterwards, Lou, Taylor, and I headed back to our room, where we eventually watched a movie, but I ended up going to bed. Law Abiding Citizens was a little too gory for me. They did end up shutting it off eventually, but I was exhausted as it is, so my bed was where I needed to be.

Ben comes back in the morning :)))

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Year 2 Day 100

Wow, 100 days into my 2nd year of blogging. Crazy!! Time flies when you're having fun :)

Today was just a normal Friday, as it began with Physics, I finished my homework in class, then came Chapel, then came my friend time with Tori, then came Faith and Life, then came lunch, then came Interp, then came the library. Fridays I just find so relaxing. I never seem to have anything due on Fridays, and I just enjoy them all together. But I guess, who doesn't love Fridays? :)

After my time spent in the library, I headed back to the dorm with Lou, and we watched the end of Nanny Diaries with Audrey and Taylor. We got to talking about Love Languages, so we all decided to take the test. But of course we had to guess what each other were first. I thought Taylor was Quality Time, but she thought she was Words of Affirmation. I was right, but only by a narrow margin.

I turned out to be Quality Time with Acts of Service being my 2nd. That doesn't surprise me, I figured that was me. I just enjoy being with those I love, and it doesn't matter what we are doing as long as they are near me. And Acts of Service is really how I give love, that was a no brainer for me.

We went to dinner, then hurried back to watch the girls 4x800 get 4th and All American status, then watch the boys do the same thing :) Ben killed it with a 1:54! Wooohoo.

We chilled in the room for awhile before going to the play, Arsenic and Old Lace. Let me tell you, that play was stinkin hilarious. Steph and Allie just made me laugh so much with their main character roles. I would definitely go see it again, that's how much I laughed!

After the play, I came back to my room, talked on the phone with my bro, then talked on the phone with Ben for awhile, before falling asleep in front of the tv. I was wiped. One week til break :)

For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
    it speaks of the end
    and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
    it will certainly come
    and will not delay.

Habakkuk 2:3

Year 2 Day 99

I got to sleep in today, Holla!

I didn't have lifting this morning for soccer because Coach cancelled it, and Harms cancelled Weight Training as well because she had to be at the State Tourneys recruiting. That's a good morning right there.

I woke up and got ready, then went to eat and go to chapel. It was nice getting to sleep in, I really needed that.

Physics Lab was good today. It was just a computer simulation, and we had to work with electrodes and charges, and through that we got to play this air hockey game. If we beat Level 3, we got extra credit. And I beat level 3. Yep, I definitely felt my sense of accomplishment for the day right there :)

After lab, I went to lunch and had a solid conversation with Annalisa and Becca. I love those two :)

After lunch came Differentiated Instruction. You know it's a good class when the first time you look at your watch it is 3 minutes before class gets done. That's a sure sign of a good class.

And after class, I went to meet with my new found best friend...the library. And proceeded to work on my Exegetical for the next 4 hours. Taylor brought me a Carmel Frappe, and it had two shots of Espresso in it. Holy man alive. My brain was shaking. Never doing that again.

I got some solid work done, but I really just need to get over this Plateau of writing. That's my goal for this weekend. I've done so much research, now I just need to write. I absolutely love my Psalm though, so that is really nice.

We (Montana, Cody, and Taylor) watched the girls 4x800 and guys 4x800 (featuring Ben as the lead off) run at the National Track meet. We got the webcast going in the library and were doing our best to silently cheer. They killed it! The girls won their heat, and the guys got 4th, so they both qualified for finals and are All Americans :)

We all went to eat dinner, I worked Phonathon after dinner, then we had an IM basketball game to cap things off. We won by 20, which was solid.

I FaceTimed with Ben for a short while before he had to go to bed, and Taylor and I watched Pretty Little Liars to end the night.

"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit" says the Lord Almighty. Zechariah 4:6