Today was a pretty boring day. I feel like a lot of my days have been pretty boring lately. I haven't been doing the things I want to do.. mostly because of laziness. I should really work on that.

Michael graduated high school on the 12th. That was pretty crazy. In my mind he's still a hyper-active 12 year old kid with a goofy smile running around the kitchen screaming obnoxiously. Now he's graduated high school and actually starting to act like a semi-mature guy. It's kinda cool. We've gotten a lot closer since I went to college and I like that we're able to talk about things now. He's becoming a best friend, which is what I always felt brothers and sisters should be, so that's pretty awesome. I'm really proud of him and he has a lot of potential. He's a good kid, he's got a good head on his shoulders and I really think he'll do some great things in life.

Well, short one for today.. I'm going to try and get to sleep early tonight.

L-O-V-E

I've been thinking about love a lot lately.

"Love is paitent, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseverse." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

I just love that verse.

That's all.

Dolores, the Kenya team & Harry Potter

It's days like this that really show me how powerful and awesome God is and how much He can accomplish in such a short period of time. My day didn't exactly start off perfect. I didn't get much sleep last night so I woke up around 10:00 feeling pretty tired. I went to the gym and when I left my car wouldn't start. She has this thing about not starting when it's really hot outside. So that was a little frustrating but I'm used to it since it happens quite a bit in the summer. Poor Dolores is just getting old. She's 15, which has got to be at least 65 in car years. She eventually started up a few hours later.. after I had to call my mom for a ride home.

But anyway, now on to the good part of my day. The team I'm going to Kenya with in July all got together and had dinner and it was just absolutely amazing. I had a chance to really start to get to know these people on a deeper level and each and every one of them has so much to share and offer. I'm really excited to see what God is going to do with all of us in Kenya and how He's going to transform us and show us His love. There's just so much potential for all of us to better ourselves and really experience change and growth throughout this whole experience. He answered so many of my prayers just in this one night and it really refueled my passion for Him, for Kenya and for life in general. Hearing the testimonies and stories of the people on the team helped me in knowing that I'm not alone in my struggles and that God can really do some amazing things in people's lives.

Well, it's time for some sleepytime tea and Harry Potter. I'm on my 4th re-read of those books and they just never get old. I'm such a dork and I am not at all ashamed of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm 100% STOKED to be going to Kenya this July... but when I found out that HP and the Half Blood Prince was going to be coming out the day after I leave, I was honestly bummed that I wouldn't be able to go to the midnight premiere and wear my Hogwarts scarf and Gryffindor track jacket and be a total nerd around hundreds of other total nerds. But it's okay, there's always the 7th movie.. parts 1 & 2! :)

Not walking alone...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

I recently wrote out that verse, along with a few others, and taped it up on my wall in front of my computer. I guess it just helps remind me that I'm not in this alone and no matter how out of hand things seem to be getting, God is always in control. He already has my whole life mapped out. He knows what I'll be doing tomorrow, next month & ten years from now and His plans are always GOOD. I won't ever be lost when I'm walking with Jesus... and I am definately done walking around alone and lost in the dark.

It's 4:15am and I'm wide awake. This is pretty frustrating for me because I purposely went to bed early tonight in an attempt to finally get a good night of sleep. I woke up at 1:30 after only being asleep for 4 hours. Not exactly my idea of a restful slumber. I'm trying to look on the bright side and maybe use this time to get some things done but to be completely honest... I really just want to be able to go back to sleep :/