2011 Is Here!

Wow, guys! It's 2011 already!
I remember sitting here a year ago with my wonderful family, making New Year's Resolutions, and looking forward to my senior year ending, and my first year of college starting. A year later, I'm sitting here a high school graduate, a sophomore in college (hour-wise) and someone who has been drawn closer to God throughout everything in my life.

So. What's next?
Well, to start off with, I refuse to make New Year's Resolutions. All it does is make you feel guilty because you've held yourself to a standard impossible to reach. As I read in Evan's blog (this really stuck with me, apparently) "Make an educated guess. Be wrong. THEN be awesome." So, this year, through myoneword.org, I give myself permission to be wrong. To make mistakes. To screw up. To fail as epically as possible, allow God to use my failure for His glory. My word this year is "care".

What does that look like?
Well, in my mind, it looks like someone who cares about others, their successes and failures, their needs and wants, their pain and joys; someone who cares about myself, about taking care of myself physically, emotionally, and most of all spiritually. But most of all, caring means being more connected with God by caring more about what He wants than what I want, by seeing this world as an extension of His kingdom instead of my own. Hopefully, God willing, by the end of this year, I'll be someone who can say I was caring towards others, caring towards myself, caring towards school, and caring towards God.

Also, I'm going to attempt to blog more frequently. :)

Yours,
Kayla
"We do not need to write to you about having love for your Christian family, because God as already taught you to love each other." 1 Thessalonians 4:9

525,600 Minutes.

I watched Rent for the first time a few minutes ago, and it has made me stop and think about the time I've been given on this earth. I've spent the first 18 years of my life the way most people do: selfishly. But I don't know what the future holds, and from now on, I'm going to make every minute count.

A Time to Reflect and to Hope

Hello lovelies.

So, here we are, December 21, 2010, four days before Christmas and ten days before the New Year. Ohmygoodness, 2011 starts in ten days. WOW. This year has gone so fast, and I just finished wrapping a present for one of my friends, and it's gotten me thinking of all the things I'm thankful for. Yes, I know this is something we normally think about around Thanksgiving, but it's something that I have been thinking about a lot recently.

So, if you're interested, here goes nothing.
First and foremost, I'm thankful for my family. They are extraordinarily talented at driving me absolutely insane and are even better at reminding me how loved I am. I am so lucky that I have such an amazing family, people who are always there for me, who love me and who teach me how to be better.

Secondly, I'm so thankful for my friends. They truly are the people that make me better, who push me to succeed, and the people who show me what followers of Christ look like. (This means you: SER, JMH, MEB, KDB, MAW, TNL, TS, CT, AH, SSC, JRB, MK, ESB, VRB, HF, RH, MB, and so many more.[I Facebook creeped on a lot of you to get your middle initial. Just saying.])

I'm thankful I live in America. I have the freedom to worship, to study, and to live in peace. *hums the God Bless the USA song while typing*

I'm thankful I have a roof over my head, and food in my stomach, and a bed in which to sleep. After working with some of Greensboro's homeless population a few times with Awaken City church, I know how many are going without this holiday season, and I thank God for what he has blessed me with.

Last, and most certainly not least, I'm thankful for my Creator, my Savior, my Rock, and my God. I would be absolutely nothing without Him, and no matter how many times I screw up (so, so, so many) He takes me back like I deserve it. He is my light and my life, and no matter how many words I use to describe Him, they will never be enough to say all that He deserves.

What's next? I don't know, but I know that I'll be trusting God, and if He allows it, I'll be getting closer to the aforementioned people, and learning more from them. I'll also be "hoppin' and boppin' and do what I do", to quote T. ;) So, here's to a fantastic 2010, and an exciting, Spirit-filled 2011!
God's peace to anyone who reads this,

Kayla

This is my hope, and my strength:
"Yes, I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor ruling spirits, nothing now or in the future, no powers, nothing above us, nothing below us, nor anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

[Insert Title Here]

So, here we are.
It's December 13, 2010. I've just finished my first semester of college (holy crap). It's just so crazy to think that I'm a sophomore in college already! Where is all my time going?

In my first semester, I've met so many wonderful people, and been drawn closer than ever to God through those people. Tonisha, Madeline, Salem, Andria, Valerie, Evelyn, Matt, John, Chelsea, Tiana, Evan... All of these people have, in some way or another, shown me what it means to be a true follower of Christ... what love really looks like. There are so many more, but they're the first people I've come up with. :) I thank God for these wonderful individuals every day; not everyone gets to have amazing friends like these.

But, for now, I'm back at home. Getting ready to start work again, for a few weeks. *sigh* It's for something I need desperately (money), so I can't complain too much. Well, I can... but it's not going to help anything. *looks for a positive side* ... *finds one*

I'm also back home with my family. I've missed them so much, but my immediate and my church family, plus all the friends I've left behind here. It feels so good to go, as I did earlier today, and walk around my high school and get hugged and tackled and told that I've been missed.

What's better than all of that? Looking forward to the next few weeks, and then onto my second semester, and knowing that God has something amazing planned for me... Something that will change me, and make me more like Him.

Yours,
Kayla

"Time flies like an arrow, and fruit flies like a banana." Hank Green

Our God is greater, Our God is stronger!

Hi. I'm talking to no one... but that's okay.
I haven't blogged since February... Wow. It's been a long time. Lots of things have changed. I've graduated. I got my first real boyfriend, and got dumped by said boy. I'm still at my job. (Okay, it hasn't changed, but it has. The workers have, anyway.) But most importantly, I've gotten close to God. I finally realized just what an amazing God He is. As Louie Giglio said, "i am not, but i know I AM." I don't know how this happened... I just know that I fell in love with the God of the universe. It started after I got dumped by said boy. I was talking to a friend, and I told her how tired I was of not caring about anything, least of all church. I didn't care about God, or the church anymore. And I was sick of it, because I just had nothing to live for or look forward to. So, I started reading this book I had been told about called "Crazy Love". I thought, "Okay, this will be a good book."

I had no idea.

You see, I started reading, and discovering, and realizing who God is. He isn't just someone we can take our problems to and expect Him to poof them away. No! He isn't just someone that loves us more then we could ever imagine, although He is that too. No! He is so much more than that. He is essential to everything we do, every day. He is LIFE. I don't mean that as a cliche, or exaggeration. I mean that literally. He says he wants ALL of us. ALL of our lives.

He died for us, let's be a generation that lives for Him. <3

Love,
Kayla

My Edited Heart

The title of this has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of relationship, it's just a really good line in a song that I've been listening to.

Tonight was a rough night at work. It really was. I got yelled at by a customer because one of my cowokers gave his cookies to the wrong customer. The coworker then proceeded to yell at me because I tried to help her with something. *Sigh*. I really don't understand why people are the way they are. I just can't understand it. I really do get the fact that someone's having a bad day, or that they're embarrased. But why is that *my* fault all of a sudden? Oh well. It's over, and that's all there is to it.

On the plus side, I. CAN'T. Stop. Listening. To. All. Caps. :) They're definintely my favorite band at the moment. "Can't" by them is possibly one of the best song I've heard. Ever. It's so good! (Original words by Alan Lastufka, and original music by Tom Milsom. However, I like their remix better. Sorry!) Going along with all my nerdy stuff, I've listened to the vlog "Gay is NOT and INSULT" by the vlogbrothers at least twenty times in the last two days. It's so funny. I highly reccomend going and having a listen.

Well, my last semester of high school starts tomorrow. I can't tell whether I'm happy or sad about this. I think it's both. I can't wait to be at my college, and try something new, but I'm also extremely sad about what I'll be leaving behind when I do.
That's all, loves.

Yours,
Kayla

"I can't see clearly through love-tinted eyes."-- ALL CAPS: Can't

Two-Way Street?

Hey!It has been forever since I've blogged. I've been caught up with the senior project, and the fact that I got a job. Did I mention that I really don't like my job? Because I don't. My mangers are *awful*. [Edit: Circumstances have changed, everything's cool.] Anyway, moving on.

I've been spending a lot of time reading, and watching Vlogbrothers videos. And Luke Conard's "Hey Kristina" video. From this, I've realized just how much I love being a nerd. I just realized that being a nerd is one of the most liberating things ever. In the words of John Green: "Nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff." I love being able to be *excited* about stuff. If you notice most people, they say things like, "Oh, that's cool. I guess." Me? I'm say things such as, "OHHOLYCRAP! That is the coolest thing I've ever seen. EVER." I really don't know what the point of the blog is, except to say that I love being a nerd.

Also, I've been having drama with my Calculus class. (If you care, read on.) We were supposed to have a teacher-made exam. We have review packet that basically was our exam, and then she was going to go over the packet with us. However, some .... wanker decided to complain to our county office, and so now instead of having a relatively easy exam (if Calculus can be easy), we have half of an AP BC exam. I hate whomever did that. I really do.

I just found out that Darren Criss has a cover of "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" from Mulan. I think I'm going to marry him one day. <3 He's awesome.

Yours, always,
Kayla

"If all else perished and he remained; I should still continue to be; and if all else remained and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem to be a part of it." Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights