Back to School

Yep...school starts tomorrow...deep breaths.

First- I am in KY now and was greeted by this:

I am in the South now. Besides the accent and hearing y'all about 10 times on my first day the move went well. I only brought down one car load then bought the extra things needed down here. On my way to do this I discovered many awesome places that kept the song from Annie running through my head. "I think I'm gonna like it here!" Here are some of the places within 20 min of me now: Target, Kroger, Jimmy Johns, Qdoba, Captain D's, Sonic, Chik-Fil-A, and when I got to the mall there was a J. Crew and an APPLE STORE!! What what! I feel like I am back in civilization now! That is when I drive about 10 min...there is not anything within the "city" limits.

Another positive of the move is the new rooms: very spacious, laminate wood floors, large closets and lots of storage space. Even better then the room set up however is the fact that I am not using all the storage! I have slimmed the possessions down so it is just wide open, uncluttered space! I have started a bedtime routine where I put everything that has a place away before bed with the hopes that this will not only keep my room clean and beautiful but that it will become a habit before the craziness of school kicks in. (I have been reading the Joy of Less this month and am loving the first section about Philosophy...I will be rereading this regularly. I highly recommend it. It is easy to read and convicting when you need to feel the urge to purge.)

Now onto school...I am SUPER nervous. I was going stir crazy this weekend just wanting it to start already because I was getting so anxious. See in undergrad I did not have to work super hard to get a 4.0 because school comes pretty naturally to me so just a little effort goes a long way. I have a feeling this will be vary different and I am getting nervous on whether or not I can hack it. The second reason for this feeling is the fact that it is almost exclusively reading and writing- my two weakest areas. I have never been gifted in the area of writing and my papers start to get real sketchy when they are longer than 3 pages. The Reading? During orientation a professor said that the average will be about 400 pages of reading per day..WHAT!?! Today I literally fell asleep reading 5 pages...5. This is going to be rough. I may be investing a large chuck of change in getting a comfortable but non reclining chair because reading on the bed will NOT work.

So, classes start in less then 12 hours and I have high hopes for my personal growth and development while I am here and am sweating (literally) the school aspect of this whole thing. Pray for me. If I am not completely swamped with work or, the much more likely, if I am procrastinating my mounds of work I will try and keep you updated a little better...but we'll see....no guarantees.

Good Friday

So today is Good Friday which signals the end of Lent. Lent has been rough, but fun, and interesting. How did I do on my Lenten fasts and goals? Eh...so so. The spending fast went well with only 1 and 1/2 slip ups. How did the discipline go? Ugh discipline is hard. After being sick for a week, job busyness and watching one of my teens why her parents were out of the country my progress that I made has totally be undone. But even though Lent is ending, and I already have a list of things I will be buying like a haircut and a dress for the Kimbra concert, I am going to still try to train myself in discipline. I will be reminding myself of this constantly: "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11) It is true- it is painful and it sucks but I want the good things it brings so I am going to continue to try.

A twitter depiction of the story of Jesus I found:

HAPPY EASTER!!

Lent: A time for Sacrifice

Lent is a time usually marked by fasting and a long lines at Captain D's. Yesterday, Ash Wednesday, was the kickoff to Lent which is meant to be 40 days and nights (not including the Sabbath) of preparation for Holy Week. So why with the no meat on Fridays and giving up pop?   

When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. (Psalm 69:10)

Because fasting is a way of humbling your soul. It is a way to practice self discipline, grow closer to God, gain healthy habits and prepare yourself for something (like Jesus fasting before the start of His ministry). Fasting can be more than just giving up pop or chocolate, it really should be more than giving up T.V. on Wednesdays ("because nothings on anyways") and it should NOT be giving up school work or showering for 40 days. It needs to be a sacrifice, but you can be creative!

Last year at lent I wore one dress for all 46 days to raise awareness/$ for the Daughter Project. My parents did not understand or support it but it was a sacrifice. For 40 days I did not buy clothing or accessories or shoes and instead wore the same black dress everyday. The money I did not spend went to the Daughter Project to help them build their shelter here in Ohio for girls rescued from human trafficking. This year I felt the Lord pushing me to a spending fast so that was the plan for Lent...until this weekend. I am a procrastinator, easily distracted and not really that great with self-discipline. So this weekend I felt the urge to do more than not spend money on anything that is not an absolute necessity. 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? 

So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.  

They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  

So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.  

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others 

I myself should be disqualified. (1 Cor 9:2-27)

I need to work on that whole self-discipline thing. So in addition to the no spending I also will be on a strict weekly schedule that includes waking up at a certain time, exercise, study, planning, cleaning, hobbies, and even my showers are blocked in. Full disclosure: I have already gone 0-2 on the wake up time but I will try again tomorrow. This is not going to be easy for me but when I sat down and made my block schedule I had trouble filling it up...where did all this time come from?? So hears hoping that I can stick to it, learn about self-discipline, gain some positive habits and grow closer to the One who asked this of me. Wish me luck.

Are you planning on fasting or sacrificing something for Lent? Here are tips to help you if you need ideas: 

• It needs to be a sacrifice, and not an easy one. What is getting in your way of doing something you love? Or if you are a Christian what is getting in your way of your relationship with God? Challenge yourself, it should not be easy and you may fail but just keep trying.
• Make it realistic. Some people go the opposite way and have huge lofty goals of a complete life overhaul. You know you so challenge yourself yes, but do not expect a completely new person to be living your life because it is Lent.
• Make it measurable. Do just eat sweets "less" or read "more" those will not work and it is hard to help and encourage you if it is not measurable. So if you want to exercise "more" then make it 4 times a week for an hour on the schedule so you know when you have met the goal or not.
• Be creative. What would be a challenge for you? I could easily give up things that may be hard for you to do and vise versa. Fast from Facebook, the internet, T.V., movies, spending, meat, dairy, wasting time, caffeine and so on. Give up your time to add something  into your life like exercise, cooking healthy meals everyday, mentoring or service. You could give up complaining or a bad attitude. You could start encouraging people, committing acts of kindness, or only letting positive things come out of your mouth. The possibilities are endless.

What is your Lenten sacrifice? Let me know in the comments! Here is to positive life changing successes!!

Purging Part 1: Get rid of your memories

 Yeah I know it is not Saturday and if anyone is actually keeping track I am supposed to be posting on Saturday...well that is not happening. I have realized that I am never around a computer on the weekends so instead I will only be posting during the week. So here is the kick off to my trying to live simple series: purging (the throwing stuff away kind not the throwing up kind). Now I have talked about this already but I am going to talk about it again so deal with it.

After you make the decision that your life is too chaotic, cluttered and complicated and that those things are unnecessary, purging is the first thing to do. Purging has many benefits to your new desired lifestyle:

• Gets rid of some of that physical clutter, which will lead to getting rid of the other kinds of clutter too.
• You see progress right away which motivates to you keep going.
• The less stuff you have in the way the more you can do.
• The less stuff you have in your house the less you are going to want to bring unnecessary new stuff in.
• The less stuff you have the more you will use the things you have. 
• Could possible make some money.
• When you move, re-carpet, get water in the basement there is less stuff to move or to damage and in the case of a hurricane and your place is flooded to the ceiling and volunteers have to come and clean out the stuff you horded for years, they will be in a much better mood and will not curse your house for the rest of their lives.
• If feels good to have fewer, more practical and cooler things. (Instead of a ton of crap)

Now if you are like me (sentimental) it is hard to get rid of stuff because of the memories I have attached to it. "Aww that is the stuffed animal my dad won me when I found out my class for 5th grade and was super depressed" But that turned out alright ;) "Oh, my grandma got me that watch one Christmas" But I have yet to wear it, or the one she got me before that one- I do not wear watches. "Haha, Cece was so proud of her practical gift!" But I cannot whistle so therefore cannot use it...so why hold onto it? I was definitely a pack rat most of my life, living with other pack rats where the solution when the stuff reached a breaking point was put it in random boxes and pack it away in storage never to be seen again. What is the point of that? Just because you get rid of stuff does not mean you loose the memories. (I remember the three things mentioned earlier but they are all gone now) This is always the hardest lesson to get across to people on Clean Sweep, Clean House and Hoarders. Also just because that was a gift does not mean you have to keep it forever buried under mounds of other gifts that are never used. I doubt that is what the gift-giver wanted. (But side-note: it is a gift so you can do whatever you want with it now...it is yours..so re-gift it, throw it away, sell it or use the heck out of it- it is yours now.)

Now to be honest you will probably loose some memories. It is called getting older and filling our head with other ones. But, people tend to remember the important things and if you really want to remember something take a picture of you with it or write it down in a journal. Those take up a lot less space.

So in conclusion- purge. I will be struggling with this as I start to go through those randomly packed boxes in storage that were to never be seen again but hopefully I will listen to my own advice.

Living Simple and Single...

So I have come to love blogs. They are quick, fun to read, provide new ideas and also provides a sense of "Yay, I am not the only one doing/thinking this" whatever "this" may be. For me one of my thiss (the plural of this) is trying to live more simple. However I am finding that the blogs I have come to like, and all the ones they refer me to are about families. I was fine at first, I enjoyed the tips and stories they shared but today I just got frustrated with the many posts about saving money on diapers and baby clothes and great ideas for cheep activities for kids. So maybe I am alone on this? Maybe I AM the only single, childless, post college student that is trying to pay off debt, save money, live simple and enjoy life while doing it? It seems that every blog I read they started re-evaluating their life when they got married, or had kids, or tried to buy a house...so maybe I am just ahead of the game?

So this is my new goal: to blog more often about this...not that I have many ideas...but I will try to come up with some. Also because I want to read more funny stories from my friends lives since we do not live next to each other anymore and as a wise man said "Be the change you want to see in the world." I am pretty sure that it was said in reference to blogs, not something more important. So here is my new schedule: (although I will not follow it strictly, I mean I have a life...haha just kidding! I am just forgetful)

Music Mondays: I LOVE music, so I am going to try my hand an music reviewing...let me know how it goes.
What!?! Wednesdays: Who knows...people ask me this a lot so I am going to try and answer...maybe.
First Fridays: Stories about firsts, is you have any ideas let me know!(This is my first move in intentional blogging so today qualifies)
Simple Saturdays: Me trying to slow down and live simple

(Can you tell I like alliteration? I have Cru staff to thank for fueling that fire)

So here I go taking an intentional dive into blogging hoping to find that I am not the only one, although if there is another me out there: don't kill me, I swear we can find a way to coexist...unless you are a robot or evil clone, then I am going to have to DESTROY you. (Now it sounds like I might be the robot/evil clone, hmm)

~Angela

First batch of stuff...

Last Saturday was Record Store Day and I went to BG to go to my favorite record store ever Finders Records to get some exclusives, see my old coworkers, eat Qdoba, get the best cookies in the world (S'mores from The Cookie Jar) and also to sell back my first batch of stuff. To my surprise I got over $100 for this stuff in cash and store credit!! That was awesome! It was a great day, followed by an amhazing Palm Sunday!!

However...the rest of this week...not so great. The move is not going well at all- literally it is not "going" at all right now. I spent all of last night loading up the first batch of stuff after arguments and debates from the rest of the family of how I should do it, only to get over there and learn I cannot unload anything. So there was a waste of 4 hours of my time. I was so upset I refused to unload my car when I got home, so I am traveling today with all of my clothes in the back seat. I calmed down once I got away from my family, put on Mary Poppins and actually accomplished some things...but I am now not looking forward to this move AT ALL.

The good thing about this weekend that will hopefully keep me from running away and becoming a deadhead like Lindsey Weir- it is EASTER!! Passover event tonight, Good Friday service tomorrow, Jenah comes into town Saturday, and then Easter Sunday where I will relax all day and eat awesomeness. (All those sound even better when you factor in that I will be escaping my family and their poorly planed move as well!)

Here is hoping that everyone has an amazing Easter weekend- not because of candy or family but because they experience Jesus and the sacrifice He made followed by the victory He achieved! HAPPY EASTER!!

Stripped Clean

Stripped Clean is the name of the study we are doing in youth group right now. It is a pretty cool book for teens, very interactive (we got to burn stuff) available from group.com. Anyway, it is about getting rid of all the stuff that keeps us from the cross. 

 I have a lot of stuff. You know what I realized this weekend: I am addicted to stuff. Other words for addicted: absorbed, attached, dependent, devoted, disposed, fanatic, given over to, habituated, obsessed. Wow, stuff is not the thing that I want to be dependent on, obsessed with, or given over to. But you know when they show you cautionary tales as a kid of what will happen if you make a certain choice? I saw my cautionary tale this weekend and I am determined to not let that be me. The tale you ask? My dad. We are moving in the next few weeks and because I am my father's daughter I start taking over because lets face it- out of everyone in my family who is more qualified to plan and run this move than me? I have moved every year for the last 7 years...sometimes twice a year, and that last one went like clockwork! (Trust me I have references)

Anyway, so I start planning where we will put garage sale stuff, when me and my mom will move the kitchen, and what we are getting rid of. WHAT!?! GET RID OF STUFF!?! Milka-Wha? (that was for you Kim) My mom in now on the "urge to purge" train but my dad is NOT. Why would we get rid of our older rocking chair that no one uses and we have no place for since our new rocking chair is going to the new house?? Why would we sell a floor to ceiling wine shelf that came with the house when we do not drink wine and have a new wine cooler going in?? Not take the bookcase! Even though we have a full wall of built in book shelves we can't leave that!! This last one is where he completely SHUT DOWN and stopped talking after my brother and I repeatedly pointed out how pointless it was to keep. It was like a scene from television where I thought to myself "how could anyone really act like this!?" Could I have been nicer and backed off at their first resistance last week- yes. But also I think this situation needs some tough love. We as a family have a huge problem. It would only take one closed storage facility to get our own Hoarders two hour special.

I do NOT want to be like this. Unable to function when my stuff, useless and unnecessary, is threatened. I do not want to over value my things, so that I can only part with them for the price I paid. Instead I want to see any money I can get from the things I am purging as an added bonus. I do not want to be a constant accumulator with stashes of stuff everywhere. I want to have what I need, and a few other indulgences and that is all. I also do not want the stuff I do end up keeping in the move to be in control of me, but rather me in control of it- gladly willing to part with it when I need to. 

Living in an environment where I am constantly the odd one out, the weirdo, and the crazy one has been difficult, but seeing what has taken place these last few months has only made it easier to swim up stream. I am so much better than I used to be, but I have a long way to go before I am stripped clean...down to just me and the cross.

 ***I cannot explain why this post is in all caps, or a different font...I have tried to fix it like 30 times.***