Redesign!

Quick update: As I'm sure you can see, I did a little redesigning of the blog. Considering I'm graduating college in about 2.5 weeks, the last header I had wasn't exactly going to be relevant for much longer...

Random thoughts? Still just as relevant as ever. Probably more so.
College student, though? Not for much longer. CRAZY.

Besides, it needed a facelift anyway. I've been taking a class in Graphic Design this semester and have learned a little about how to use Adobe Illustrator, so I put my new-found skills to good use and made a new header. I really like how it turned out, especially since I ended up free tracing the letters myself! Simple + nature-y. Just my style. I hope you guys like it, too!

My Life in Instagrams

Listening to: "Safe & Sound" by Taylor Swift (from The Hunger Games soundtrack!)
(Yes, I have jumped on The Hunger Games bandwagon. The books are great, minus the ending, and the movie was pretty good too. I went to the midnight premiere with Mike, Chris, & Elyssa, which was a first for me, but it was fun.) 

Once again, my life in a word: BUSY. Other possibilities include stressed, overwhelmed, and DONE. (Basically, I have senioritis big time.) I'm actually supposed to be researching for a presentation, along with applying for grad school, so I'm going to make my procrastination break quick and update you on my life via Instagr.am pics. It's kind of a sporadic list, but hey, better than nothing, right? (You can click on the pics to make them bigger if you like.)

I've been getting plenty of use out of my Eno that I got for
Christmas! We've had such perfect hammocking weather lately.
I was even interviewed by the Chattanooga Times Free Press
about it when I was laying out in Schimmels Park the other day.

Mike, Darren, & I decided to go canoeing over spring break.
We rented them for 4 hours, and then discovered that the giant
lake was more like a medium-sized pond...

The Kentucky half of spring break consisted of 5 inches of
snow. Random. But really beautiful!

Environmental Science has definitely proved to be my most
entertaining class, for various reasons. I'll have to share a few
quotes sometime. The labs are fun though. Last week, we went
wading in a creek to catch fish. The outfit choices were
quite fashionable, as you can see here.

Another reason to enjoy Environmental: for another lab, we
got to go hiking to see this. FOR CLASS.

I have become addicted to smoothies lately. I've been creating
all sorts of combinations. I've also discovered that you can add
fresh spinach to anything and you cannot taste it. Case in point:
I made some iced coffee the other day and blended it in. Yum.

I FINALLY got around to reading The Hunger Games trilogy.
I know everyone on the planet is talking about them right now,
but they really are good. The movie was pretty good, too. It
could've been better, but I thought they did a pretty good job
at sticking to the storyline (the changes were minor details,
people. Minor details. Calm down).

I've been spending some late nights at IHOP lately. Like right
now. Ugh. Fortunately, my waitress likes to give me what she
refers to as "crack." Basically: doubly strong iced coffee with
a shot of espresso, plus extra flavored syrup and enough sugar
that it's too sweet for me. That's saying something. Trust me.

Spring has sprung! It's so beautiful outside these days. So
many flowers and leaves and just GREEN! I love it.

Pretty, pretty rainbow I saw yesterday. It was so big & bright!
You could see every single color so clearly. I love it.

Spending a lot of time with this guy lately. He's pretty cool,
I guess (see picture). I kinda like him. ;)

Well, that's my life lately. It really is good, just ridiculously busy. I've never been so ready to graduate! Anyway, I better get back to researching for a presentation I have tomorrow, so until next time, enjoy the pictures, at least!

Your grace is enough.

via Megan Gilger

Listening to: "Closer to Love" by Mat Kearney
(I got to see him in concert a couple of weeks ago! So, so good--he's just as great live as he is on his albums. I am so glad I got to go!)

I've officially decided: I hate busyness. Productivity is good. Busy is definitely not. Even now, the only way I'm managing any free time to blog is because I'm sitting in a nursing home lobby by myself, waiting for students in the class I TA for to finish their service project.* Seriously, the number one thing that I've wanted for weeks is a few hours of absolute quiet, all to myself. Maybe someday...

Anyway, this semester. Whoa. It has been really, really good, but really difficult at the same time (just in a completely different way than last semester!). College is always a bit of a balancing act, but this semester is taking it to a whole new level. 17 credit hours (including 2 senior level psych classes and a science), auditing 1 hour, and TAing for a 63-person class, on top of getting back into a relationship, not to mention keeping myself on track with my relationship with God…yeah, it's slightly nuts. (I realize that this seems pretty run-of-the-mill for a lot of people, but for someone who definitely does not thrive on being crazy-busy all the time, it's a stretch!)

via Pinterest

In short, this year so far has been one big lesson to teach me that I'm not perfect, that I really do need God more than anything, and what the meaning of grace really is. For some reason, it can be very hard for me to remember that this is all a process. I'm not going to get it down right away. I'm going to mess up. At the same time, I have to keep trying. That can be a hard balance to find: understanding that His grace makes up for my mistakes because He understands and loves me anyway…

"The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust."

- Psalm 103:13-14

…but not letting that cause me to think that what I do doesn't matter, that I don't have to keep striving to be better.

"Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?"

- Romans 6:1-2

I am so thankful for what I've been given, but sometimes--most of the time--I feel so unbelievably inadequate. As wonderful as it all is--and it is wonderful--it is so much responsibility and I know all too well how incapable I am. I've proven that over and over and over again. After praying and praying for what I wanted so much, now that I actually have it, I'm constantly asking God, "Are You sure about this? I don't know if I can handle it after all!" Yet He's continually reminding me:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

- 2 Corinthians 12:9

If this is where He wants me, He's going to give me the strength to do it correctly. His grace really is enough. Keeping Him first is the key. If only I could remember that…

Hopefully this balance I'm trying to find will include some free time to blog, but I make no promises! Until next time...

* Thank God for smart phones--my parents got me an iPhone for Christmas. LOVE IT. It is saving my life this semester!