We've got lots of catching up to do!

Whoever decided to spell February with an "R" after the "B" must have been slightly confused.

Now that that's out in the open----
:)

Spring semester is FLYING by. I can't believe we've already been back in classes for almost a whole month! My classes are going great (well...aside from Chemistry, but it's Chemistry. What do you expect from a girl who doesn't even slightly understand osmosis?)

Here are some completely random highlights of the semester so far. No particular order, no particular significance. Just an update =)

1. My time management is slowly getting better. I still haven't mastered the art of staying off Facebook for extended periods of time when there is homework to be done, but I am beginning to prioritize a little better!

2. Okay, so this huge snowstorm last weekend.

• I woke up last Saturday morning to a beautiful blanket of white snow outside my window. My first thoughts? "SLEDDING!" My best friends from about a mile down the road at Hunters Ridge called and asked me to come play in the snow. Awesome day ahead for sure. I proceed to ask if someone can come pick me up, seeing as how my car is buried in a foot of snow, and the closest thing I have to being able to knock it all off is a swiffer mop. Nope. No one can come pick me up because the roads are so bad. Okay so on to plan B. I will WALK there. It's not that far right? It takes me about 20 minutes to get all of the layers of clothes on so I won't freeze to death. I pack my backpack with some water, my Zune, and my wallet. I'm so ready to go. I step outside my front door, only to realize that not one single road has been scraped yet, and there is still slightly above a foot of snow on every piece of the ground in sight. My next thoughts? "Psh. Child's play. I'm treking through it." I start down the road in a foot of snow, wind in my face, and snow still falling. That was my first mistake. I get nearly a half mile down the road after about 20 minutes, look at all the distance I still have to go, and turn around. That was my second mistake. I called my friends to tell them that I would not be able to come the rest of the way because I felt like someone was sucking air out of my lungs with a giant vaccuum cleaner. And we all know that's no pleasant feeling at all. They proceed to take every action possible to get me there. As it turns out, lovely Rachel Haas and her boyfriend were already in town driving and could come to pick me up. They finally get to where I am and pull over to pick me up. They take me to Hunter's Ridge where all of my friends are waiting. I walk in, collapse on the floor, and begin to tell the story of my trecherous journey. (well..half journey) After eruptions of laughter, and witty comments from John, Stephen looks at me and says, "I could have picked you up! No one asked me!"

I love my friends so much =) hahaha

• This snow/ice also presented obstacles for those included in the clumsy population. Yes, this would include me. As I walked out of a building on campus on Tuesday morning, I decided I needed to hurry to get to my car, as I couldn't wait to get home and eat my daily Pepperoni Pizza lunchable. The next thing I knew, my feet slipped out from under me and every book I was holding flew into the snow. I proceeded to get up, grin really big, look at the girl next to me who was trying to hold in laughter, and say "It happens."

3. I spilled acid on my hand in Chemistry lab last week. Usually when this happens, I feel like most professors just make sure you're okay and let it be. Nope! My lovely Chemistry professor was convinced it was necessary for me to stand in front of my whole class and tell everyone why it was absolutely necessary to practice lab safety.

4. I have literally been craving pumpkin pancakes from Ihop for about 3 weeks now. I must get them soon. =)

5. You're never going to believe it. I've been waking up on time every single morning! If you know me, you know this is extremely rare.

6. I have been challenged a lot lately with far less than ideal circumstances here and there in my life. But as I sat and talked to the Lord this morning, I thanked Him for those circumstances. I can see myself growing more and more each day, and relentlessly running after Christ. It is definitely my human nature to get mad when my plans don't work out. But this quote has held me together lately:

"Sometimes our plans have to fail in order for God's plans to succeed. Divine detours and delays are often the paths God uses to get us to where He wants us to be."

How true =)

7. I have been seeking God's will for my summer plans with all my heart lately. I know it may seem a little early to start thinking about it, but I can't get it off my mind! =) Last summer was life changing at DFocus, and I hope that this summer holds amazing things in store as well. I am scared of just staying in Radford all summer. I'm scared of not having a huge Christian community around me. I'm scared of not having a plan, you know? If God is calling me to stay here for the summer, it is going to be a challenge. One that I will welcome if it be His will, but nevertheless, a challenge.

8. I have had this random weird reoccuring dream about dinosaurs chasing me through the jungle lately. If anyone has any insight as to what that's all about, I would certainly love to hear your take on it, because I've got nothin'. =)

9. Chegg.com. If you haven't heard of it, or tried it out before, it is so worth it. I know it seems silly to get excited about a website for textbooks. BUT. I saved almost 250 dollars by renting my books from Chegg! I also sold some of my books from last year to them, and got twice as much money as I would have by selling them back to the university bookstore. It's worth checking out!

10. I was watching a Nooma video from Rob Bell last night, and wrote down this quote from it. It opened up my eyes a little to the horrible habit I have of going to other people to talk about my difficult situations before going to God. Just an interesting little thought :)

"Maybe the healing and guidance we need desperately isn't going to come from one more meeting or therapy session or sermon or self help book, but from simply listening for the voice of God. Have you spent the same amount of time worrying and talking about your difficult, confusing situations as you have spent in silence, listening to what God might have to say?"

Hopefully this update was sufficient. =)

Until next time---

Lauren