Prayer

So...Just figured that I would blog for a few minutes about some of the things on my mind...again. I like doing blogs like this. It's like a diary that you let people read, although some things are best kept secret.

Prayer.
Something I've been struggling with lately. It's just that prayer is such an important part of your walk with God. But it's so hard to do at times. Sometimes you're just at a loss for words and don't know how to say what you're trying to say and then you end up getting frustrated and it just turns into a big mess so you give up. Sometimes you pray for something so much, even if it is something selfless, and God's timing just isn't for you and He doesn't answer the way you'd planned. So you quit that too. The thing is...I believe that God wants us to pursue him with our prayers. Keep asking! Keep praying for that lost friend even if you feel like your prayers are hitting the roof! Leave it to God.

So tonight, after BCM, we went on this prayer walk where we split into different groups and went to different parts of downtown Charleston to pray. We prayed over the community, the campus, BCM, our families and friends, the world, and anything else that came to mind. I'm not really sure how long we were out there, but it was great. It was me and 4 other girls and we went to the battery to pray. For those of you non-Charlestonians, which is most of my readers, the battery is this walk that goes around the Charleston Peninsula and overlooks the ocean. It's really pretty. We went to the park at the battery and sat in the gazebo. And all we did was just sit there and pray about whatever came to mind or whatever we felt needed to be prayed about. We just lifted all of our concerns up to God. I think we often underestimate the power of prayer. Just sitting with those girls and listening to us pray together...it was just a powerful feeling. If you think about it, you're talking to the Almighty God of the universe when you pray. Take a second to digest that. Prayer is a powerful, powerful thing. I often push prayer to the back burner of my walk but that needs to change. It should be one of the first things I turn to when I need help or guidance or whatever. I'm going to work on that.

If anyone reads this that went on the prayer walk in my group, thanks! It was helpful :]

Tim Tebow

Heisman trophy winner, quarterback for the Florida Gators. Up until tonight, while watching the Florida game with my parents, I'd never heard of him. But if you watch him awhile, it doesn't take long to see that he is really good. :] Anyways, my mom starts telling me about how faithful he is and that he keeps his focus on God even through all of his fame and awards. He only sees football as a gateway to reaching others for Christ who otherwise wouldn't listen to him except for the fact that he plays. For example, he goes around speaking to many prisons on his faith and talks to high schoolers about it as well.

He always keeps the verse Proverbs 27:2 in mind which states "Let another man praise thee and not thine own mouth, a stranger and not thine own lips," to keep him humble and keep his focus where it should be. Every summer he goes to the Philippines with his family to lead evangelistic crusades and minister to orphanages. His only goal through his football playing is to use his talents to reach others for Christ. He truly believes that God gave him those talents for a reason and he constantly looks for opportunities and ways to serve. I applaud him for that. It takes a lot boldness in your faith to stand up in the spotlight of our society like that for God. It takes a lot of faith to stay humble and discipline yourself in the face of adversity. It takes a lot of faith to stay so grounded when all eyes are on you. So just figured I'd write what I thought. I think he has a strong ministry before him. :)

College

So two weeks ago, I FINALLY got to move out to my favorie city ever. Charleston, SC. Finally off to college, finally on my own, finally out of Florence for good. I highly doubt I'll live in Florence even when I'm done with school. Anyways, this new life for me has come with many new experiences, responsibilities, sights, and muscles. You'll understand that if you keep reading.

I'd heard a lot about the College of Charleston. I heard it was a huge party school and that there was alcohol everywhere and bla bla bla. ButI always said that it could't be any worse than USC or Clemson. Well...the first night we were down there we had a first hand experience. Haha Unexpectedly. It's actually a funny story. Ask me about it. (Don't get the wrong idea) But within the first few nights, we'd seen tons of alcohol and weed, been invited to a kegger, a party at the Gravel Pit, and a party a few floors above us. Halfway through the second week, someone pulled our fire alarm in our dorm at 4 in the morning. There was a girl so trashed, that the fire alarm didn't wake her up. It wasn't a pretty sight. Two guys carried her out and she still didn't wake up laying on the sidewalk. She proceeded to throw up. A little gross. And the ambulance came and took her to the hospital. I felt bad for her...but I guess she should have had some kind of self control. Needless to say, we didn't get back in the room until after five and I had 8am classes. So yea...Charleston lives up to it's reputation.

However...the city is AMAZING!!!!! I absolutely LOVE it!!! It has so much history and incredibly gorgeous architecture! I love walking around and just looking at all of the old historic buildings. I'm pretty sure this is the prettiest city I've ever seen. (Not to mention there are around five starbucks on campus :) My absolute favorite spot is the Cistern which is a building on campus. It was built in the late 1700s and it is gorgeous. It has a huge grass courtyard in front of it with tons of huge mossy oak trees. Hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon on here or facebook.

Oh...and the muscle thing. Freshman can't have their car their first year (unless you want to pay 500 dollars a semester). So I have to walk everywhere. Which really isn't that bad. For those of you who have never been to CofC, which is most of you b/c most of my readers are from Wild Week, it's located in downtown Charleston and everyone walks because everything you need is just a few blocks away. It's another thing I love about Charleston. So...after the first few days, my legs were killing me. It hurt just to put weight on my feet. But it's all better now. You get used to it. Charleston just has so much to do so I'm walking constantly. I'm thinking of investing in a bike.

So I went to BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministries) the other night and loved it. So many friendly people all there for the same purpose. And they have a lot of events coming up that I'm really excited about! Different retreats and that sort of thing. It'll be good for me to get involved with them and stay connected because God knows there's plenty of things to take your attention away from God in Charleston.

I love my new home. Pictures up soon hopefully. :] Thanks for reading.