Here it is February and we still have not had any snow. And the snow we got last night does not count....although I was excited, I still want ONE good snowfall this winter. It has "snowed" and flurried a couple of times, but it has yet to accumulate this winter. This saddens me greatly. I am beginning to wonder if it will happen. I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday and I was talking about how cold it was....it was only 40ish degrees outside. Usually, by this time of the year, 40 degrees is warm compared to the 0 degrees or lower we usually have! In the past 40 degrees is spring like weather...time to bring out the shorts. This year....40's is cold!

While I do want snow, I have very much enjoyed the warm weather. And last week, I took advantage of it! It was 60 degrees...no way was I going to stay inside with that kind of weather! So...I went to one of my favorite places in Topeka...Lake Shawnee! It is so beautiful there, and so big! I decided it was a great day for a walk! And it was....I loved it!

Here are some pics from my walk:

Last week, I made a purchase that I am excited about....

I went in for one Bible... I wanted a translation that I didn't already have. I like the idea of having different translations! Right now I have 2 (here in Topeka anyway), but overtime it will continue to grow! :) I also wanted it to be a good size that would be good to take it on the go, but not to small. I have been looking for an excuse to buy a new Bible for a while and I finally found the perfect reason! :) Some girls and I are studying the book of Ephesians (side note....it is currently my favorite book of the Bible)! We studied it at Passion, and since being back Ephesians is coming up everywhere! It's awesome!

My friend Rach has this cool study bible that has us go through and do all this stuff and "color" the bible using colored pencils....or highlight....however you want to look at it! I like the idea of coloring it! Also I like using colored pencils rather than highlighters because it doesn't bleed through the pages! ;) haha. For example, this week we are coloring every reference to God. By the end of it all....we will have read through Ephesians several times! It's pretty cool. It allows us to really dig in deep and study it! And it's fun getting to do it with a group!

Anyway...my bible is well highlighted with a highlighter which would have made it difficult to do. So...I went and bought a Bible. I love it! And...as I was leaving I was walking through an aisle not really looking, but there was a sale sign that said $5 and it jumped out to me. So I got to looking and what did I find?! A "Read Through the Bible in a Year" book. I was so happy. I have wanted to read the Bible in a year for a while now...and I have tried a couple different times but have always failed miserably. I have never tried reading through an actual book though....the different ones I tried were through YouVersion on my iPod. The Bible was normally $15 or $20 on sale for $5....I couldn't pass it up! So....I walked out the door with 2 Bibles...needless to say I was very excited!

So far the daily bible reading has gone very well....the whole one week I have been doing it! :) I haven't skipped a day yet! I bought the book on Feb. 2, so I decided to start in February so the days would would match up. Since I missed the month of January, I started reading in Exodus, Psalms, and Mark!

"My son, keep my words and store up my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart." Proverbs 7:1-3


"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." Psalm 34:8


Each of us are in different places in our relationship with Jesus. I don't even know who all reads this blog...and if you even read to the very end or not! For all I know, you may just look at the pictures and will never read this sentence. And I am totally ok with that! Pictures are a lot more interesting than my mumbling, I'm sure! ;)

But....I encourage you, where ever you are in your walk with God, to get into the Word. Spend time with Jesus, because he wants to spend time with you. He wants to hear from you. He wants to help you with whatever you may be going through. He cares for you so deeply. And He loves you so SO much. Cry out to Him. Seek Him. The Bible says draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you....that is a promise! And God keeps His promises!

I could throw out a list of verses right now, but I won't. I didn't intend to start preaching to you or anything... :) It just kind of happened. Maybe somebody needed to read that, I don't know! But if you would like a list of verses telling you how much he loves you, how much he cares for you.....etc. etc.....I would be more than glad to give you some! Just let me know.

P.S. A couple of posts ago, it is titled 'wonderful friends', I shared about small group and the game we played, two truths and a lie. I challenged you to see if you knew which was the lie. I have had some people question me about that asking what the answer is and I realized I never did share it with you! So here it is.....the lie was.....drum roll........I have never been on a family vacation! Our "vacations" included traveling to baseball and basketball games....that kept us busy all summer long!

I loved it though....most of the time....

i'm a shuffler....

I feel like the past couple of weeks have been full of decision making. And none of them have been the easy decisions. I mean sure I have made decisions like what to eat for lunch, should I wear a t-shirt to class or actually where a somewhat dressy shirt, should I straighten my hair or wear it curly...or more like wavy in my case, should I eat cereal or a pop tart for breakfast....

I could go on and on. The funny thing is....I do struggle with these decisions occasionally. I can be very indecisive sometimes. Just ask any of my friends. I don't even have a favorite color because I can't choose just one color. haha.

But the decisions I have been faced with are a little bit more complex than what to eat for breakfast! I'm talking living situations, future situations (what the heck do I want to be when I grow up?!). And let me just clarify....my major IS business....it has not changed again! And I am enjoying my classes! It's just a matter of trying to figure out what area I want to concentrate in....accounting, marketing, management, admin, or just general business. Oh the decisions....they just never end.

I have been so confused though as to what to do, because I feel like in all of them I just keep going back and forth, back and forth. I'm not leaning more to one side than the other kind of thing. I just feel like I am literally stuck in the middle and don't really know which way I am supposed to lean. I am praying the Lord would give me direction...but as a few of my friends have said, sometimes God just wants us to take a step out in faith and trust Him. He doesn't always make everything picture clear and tell us exactly what our next step should be. If only it were that easy! :)

But....if it was that simple, I guess maybe life wouldn't be so fun?! I am discovering that I am a spontaneous person. I was talking to Ariona about music. Our favorite cd right now is the new david crowder band's LAST cd ever that is called Give us Rest. It is so great. That is just about all we have been listening to recently. Anway, she was trying to explain a song to me from the cd. She was telling me the song it came after to help me know what song she was talking about. Well....I am a shuffle kind of gal. Just about always, my iPod is on shuffle. Whether it is shuffling through all my songs I have on my iPod, or a certain cd, I just like not knowing what song is coming next. For me, it's not as fun when I know what song is coming next.

I think that can relate to my life in general. I love not knowing what is coming up. I LOVE surprises. When my iPod is on shuffle, each time a new song starts playing is a surprise! I love it! :) I like adventure. Sure I like to have some order and schedule to my life....but not as much as other people.

Side note: I am kind of worried about moving into the "real" world and having a "big kid" job. I just feel like I will have a hard time staying at a job for more than a couple of years. I'm sure that as long as I find that job I love I will be able to. It's just hard to imagine being at a job for even 2 or 3 years!

Back to the "shuffle" idea... I guess I need to look at these decisions in that perspective. It's jumping into the unknown. Another adventure I get to go on. Whether that means I completely change my path, or stay where I am, who knows! But until then, I will just keep praying for guidance. I just want to go where the Lord leads me. And if that means staying exactly where I am right now, then so be it! I would love to! But if He has somewhere else for me to go....then I will take that leap of faith....I will push the shuffle button and change it up a little! ;) haha. Clever I know....:)

Here are some pictures from tonight. We were downstairs eating dinner/talking....Ariona, Mirah, Rachael, and myself. Passion (the conference in Atlanta) came up and Ari, Mirah, and I were telling Rachael how we made a lot of "oreos" while there! I think you will understand what I mean when you look at the pictures below! :) Rachael pointed out we were making a double stuffed oreo...so me being me, had to pull out the camera! Yay for self-timer!

Double stuffed oreo! :)
Mirah, me, Rachael, and Ariona

I love this girl so much! Andddd this is our first picture together!  Yay!

Me, Ariona, and Rachael. And Aaron creeping in the back!

And this is what we call an uh oh oreo! :)

Chi Alpha was awesome tonight! Great speaker. Great worship. Great people.

After Chi Alpha.....so fun! Good conversation and lots of laughter. Laughing is my favorite thing!

:)

wonderful friends.

Last night I was super frustrated with some things that had happened. I called my mom and vented to her, which always helps. It's nice to have someone that I can always call... and she is a great listener. Thanks mom! :)

For a while, I have been trying to be more positive and not let certain things get to me. Last night I kind of snapped though. I was put in a situation, and it bothered me probably more than it should have. But from that I feel like all this stuff that I have been trying to ignore and let go, all the uncertainty in certain aspects of my life I am facing, came on me like a ton of bricks. I started crying while I was talking to my mom. I hate crying, especially when I'm not in my room where nobody is around to see/hear it.

After I got off the phone with my mom, I wiped the tears away and came inside. I grabbed some dinner and was so happy to find Ariona and Taylor in the ladies lounge....just the people I wanted to see! I joined in with their conversation and ate my dinner. We talked for a while, and I knew I needed to tell them about my night at work. I wanted to tell them. I needed to get it out of my system. I am one who is capable of holding it all in....and then I have a breakdown eventually. I am trying to break that habit. So I told them about my night. They listened. And I cried....again. And then they prayed for me right then and there. It was so good. I am so SO thankful to have these girls in my life. Their friendship means so much to me. I can be myself around them. I can tell them anything. They make me laugh alllll the time. They light up my life....seriously! They bring so much joy and happiness to me. I am so SO blessed to have them in my life....to live with them and get to see them every day! :)

Thank you for being so awesome Ari and Tay! Love you both!

Ari, me, and Tay. This was taken after SALT and before Passion!

I might also add....I not only get to live with these two, but 4 other awesome girls whom I love very much! (Rach, Lindsay, Mirah and Kelsey)

I just have the best of friends....really, I do! :) The Lord has blessed me with some amazing people here at the house, but also through Washburn. And of course my dear Chanute girls whom I miss so so much! I am so thankful for each and every one of my friendships with each of you.

And tonight....we started our small group back up again! It was so fun. We just had a "bonding" night. We played a game where you write on a note card one random thing about yourself. Then everyone puts them in the middle and you draw a card and guess who it is. It was fun! :) Mine was kind of a dead give away because of course, it was all over my face! I couldn't help but laugh! haha.

Then we played again but changed it up a little. We each wrote 2 truths and a lie on a note card, and again shuffled them up and passed them out. This time you knew who it was but you had to choose which two things were true and which was the lie.

Let's see if you can guess mine. They were:
I have never been on a family vacation.
I don't like orange juice.
I have never been out of the country.

:) Which is the lie??

To end the night....we made a Coldstone/Starbucks run. And I'm usually the one who chooses Starbucks, everyone else gets ice cream, just in case you were wondering! haha.

come all who are weary and burdened...

God is so SO awesome!!!

I have been feeling so overwhelmed, and tired, and stressed, and just confused. I have a really challenging semester in many ways....harder classes and busier schedule than I probably have ever had. On top of that... work. But aside from all this school work and work, the Lord is asking for more time with me. I think it is no coincidence that He wants more of my time when I am beginning what will probably be my busiest and most difficult semester. But I have a hunger in my heart for more of Him. More quiet time with Him. More time in the Word with Him. More time in prayer with Him. Just more of Him! And it is still there. He challenged me to tithe my time...give 1/10th of my time to Him....that is 2 1/2 hours a day.

Wow....it has been harder than I thought it would be. And I have been failing. I have been trying to figure out a set time each day for that....someday's it is a piece of cake. Other days (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) it is nearly impossible. Needless to say, I have been spending time with Jesus but it has been rushed. It has been....well....not the 2 1/2 hours, that's for sure. Sometimes just 20 or 30 minutes...sometimes 10 minutes. And I know that he loves anytime that we give Him, but he wants more. But I am just struggling with how to give him more. In the back of my head, I also know that if I give Him the time, everything else will fall into place. I just have to trust Him and believe that.

So today, I had lunch plans with the girls, and after that I was going to spend the rest of the day working on homework until I had to go to work. Well...I ended up calling my mom which was good. I was venting to her my worries and feelings of being completely overwhelmed. And after that, I spent the afternoon with Jesus. It has been so awesome!! The Lord is good. He showed me a lot of things.

First of all.....He told me to relax. Stop freaking out about everything. He reminded me that he won't give me anything that I can't handle.

Then the ever so familiar verse from Philippians came to mind. For I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13) I read that same verse from the amplified version...it says, "I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency]."

I have been in this phase of looking up words in the dictionary....actually I don't think it's a phase, it's a new way that I like to read the Bible. I look up everything....even words that I know what they mean and am familiar with. It is AWESOME. God shows me so much more that way, and it usually ends up where I look up a word and from that definition I look up another word. It makes everything make more sense and so much more meaningful. You should try it out if that is something you don't when you are reading the Bible!

Anyway....I looked up the word sufficient. The definition I found was.....enough. Then I looked up the word sufficiency just for the heck of it. The definition for that.....the state or fact of being sufficient; adequate. On my own....without Him....I am not adequate. But I can be self-sufficient in Christ who is enough. I can't do it alone.

Woah. But there is more! :) And....I apologize for this being so long. I am just really excited and wanted to share with you what the Lord showed me! :)

I decided to go to the back of the Bible and look for verses about "worrying". In the process of doing that I saw the word "weary" and it really stood out to me. So instead I looked at the verses under weary. The first verse I read is Matthew 11:28-30....another verse I have read many times, but is perfect for me right now. It says:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

WOW. It was spot on what I needed to read.

But I wondered what exactly was meant by the word yoke. This is a familiar verse that I have read before, but I guess never took the time to really figure out what it meant. Yokes are what farmers use to bind their oxen together. So, yoke is a representation of labor, service and submission to authority. When the ones in charge are being harsh, yokes are oppressive....but in this verse the Lord tells us his commands are not burdensome. "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Here is the same scripture from the amplified version (I love the amplified version of the bible!)

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good--not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne." Matthew 11:28-30

In my head I knew these things to be true, but there is a difference in knowing and actually doing it. I am independent...I like to do things on my own. But truth is, I can't. I will fail miserably. I gave my burden to Jesus tonight. It was so heavy.... But it isn't mine anymore, it's in God's hands now. I don't know what will happen this semester, but I know it will be great! It will be challenging, but I have a good feeling about it. I have a peace that I didn't have before. I will succeed this semester!

Lord, come be my everything. Be my source of strength, joy, comfort, and happiness. Fill me with your knowledge and wisdom. Alone, I am not enough.

Again....sorry this is so long!

To end....I mentioned I went to lunch with some friends....we were celebrating Rachael's day of birth!! Her birthday was actually Wednesday, but not all of us could get together until Saturday! It was a lot of fun. We ate at Mr. Stirfry! It was pretty good.

The birthday girl! :)

The group! Kelsey, Ari, Tay, and Rach!

I had to add this photo just because! :) This lovely lady makes me so happy! She
is always overflowing with joy and laughter. In fact, in this photo we were laughing! :)

first day of class.

Well...school is underway. Oh what fun! I am trying my best to enter with a positive attitude for this semester and trying to be excited about it as I possibly can.....this semester will definitely be a challenge. This is what my schedule looks like:
Applied Calculus
Business Stats
Human Resource Management
Organizational Management
Legal Environment for Business
My main concern was calc....but after going to all of my classes.... I have a lot on my plate. So glad I decided to just take 15 hours rather than the 18 like I had originally planned.

I have to tell you about my calculus class....keep in mind this is the FIRST class period. We quickly went over the syllabus and then started the first lecture which was an algebra review. It has been a few years since I took college algebra so I was completely lost. And it so happens my professor is big on class participation...whether or not I answer questions is part of my grade. Ohhhh great. Of course I wasn't able to participate since I didn't know what was happening. Towards the end of the class he hands out algebra reviews for us to work on. And as he is handing them out he is assigning problems to certain people to go work out on the white board. I notice a trend in the people he is calling on to work the problems....all those people who had not answered any questions. Perfect. I was hoping for a second I would disappear and he would forget about me, but no such luck.

So....I go up to the white board, completely freaking out on the inside. Thankfully, other students were freaking out just like me. And we all got up and worked on the problems together, so not all eyes were on me. But still....I was terrified. I just stared at my problem. I didn't even know where to begin. I was terrified. I looked around the room....some were working on their problems. But thankfully others had the same terrified look on their face as I did, staring blankly at the white board. That was comforting.

The longest 5 or 10 minutes of my life passed and he had us sit down. He assured us that his goal was not to make us feel stupid or humiliate us, but to put a name with a face (we had to write our names by our problems). So now I am known as Kaci, the girl who doesn't know algebra. Awesome! Great start to the semester. All this to say.....I have a LOT of reviewing to do!

And it hasn't stopped at Calculus. I have now been to all of my classes, and in every single one of them, class participation is part of my grade. According to my professor, my legal environment for business class is basically 3 years of law school crammed into a semester. Thankfully, one of my good friends and house mate is a law student! :)

What is funny about this whole class participation thing is I hate being put on the spot. I don't want to be called on and I won't volunteer to answer unless I am 100% positive I know the correct answer. I have been this way my whole life. This semester I have a feeling I will have to get over that fear, whether I like it or not. I have been praying about stepping out of my comfort zone, so I guess one of God's ways he wants me to do that is through school. Pray for me! :)


Something I really want to focus on this year is time management....I guess this semester will be a test of that! I have to work on avoiding procrastination....something I have mastered over the years. I HAVE to use my time wisely. I have to rely on the Lord to give me strength, because I will not make it on my own. Oh....did I mention I have 8am classes every day?! Last semester my earliest class was 11am....:) Kind of a big change. haha.

All of this to say....this will probably be my most challenging semester ever. It's all good though....Jesus will get me through!

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."     -Isaiah 40:29-31

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men...." Colossians 3:23

To end.....a few pictures of the sunset I got to see on my drive back to Topeka on Sunday. It was so pretty....I stopped 3 times to take pictures! God is beautiful and so creative. :)

The first stop I made!

The second stop!

It was beautiful. 

And the 3rd stop.

This is the same picture as above. I normally go with the natural look but I was in no hurry and the sky
was SO awesome, I decided to play around with some of the settings on my camera. The other
pictures don't quite show just how bright and colorful it was...this one does though! :)

I have a thing for sunsets...seriously. They are my new favorite thing. I get so excited! I'm sure the sunrise is just as awesome, but I'm not usually up and around to see those! :)

hannah and audrey.

I got to hang out with two very special girls, Hannah and Audrey! :) Stacy, (good family friend) called and asked several weeks ago if I would be in town this weekend, as she was looking for a babysitter. My answer with no hesitation....YES! I would definitely clear my schedule and make sure I could be at home.

So, while Gramma was at work, mom and dad out of town, big sister Madelyn at school, I watched Hannah and Audrey. We had such a great time! Or I did anyway....I hope they had as much fun as I did. While Audrey napped, Hannah and I spent lots of time playing with Barbies....something I hadn't done in a while! haha. We ate lunch, we had some cuddle time and watched some tv. Side note: I don't know what any of the tv shows and cartoons are anymore....I felt so clueless! And then....it was nap time again for both of them. They both went down fairly easy.

When Hannah woke up she was yelling for mommy. I went to her room and she immediately crawled on my lap and just hugged me. I hugged her right back and just held her for quite a while. It was precious! I had a smile on my face the entire time. She made my day. Audrey woke up shortly after. We played around for a little while longer. Hannah found a new game to play...originally, the three of us were rolling a ball back and forth to each other. Next thing I know Hannah comes over to me and what I thought was going to be a hug, she ended up "tackling me". I ended up on my back with her laying on top of me laughing so hard. She kept saying, "get up, Kaci" and laughing some more. So I get up....with her still on me. And she does it all over again. And again and again. She loved it! haha.

I had a blast with them! :)

She LOVED my camera. Every time I got it out, she wanted it!

Hannah playing with her barbies.

Audrey and Hannah. Audrey wasn't very interested in having her picture taken! :)

Pretty Hannah! 

:) Love them!

Audrey going after the camera! haha.

Sweet little Audrey!

Silly faces! I love this girl! She is so funny!

Hannah was still all about the silly faces. Audrey upset
that I was taking a picture rather than letting her play with my camera! :)

Happy girl!

She wanted me to do her hair...it was all falling out.

Had to take a picture of the back so she could see what it looked like!

Hannah thought Audrey's hair needed to be done as well....hehe. This
is the only way to put her hair up! :)

          Stacy, I hope you don't mind but I video'd Audrey crawling....it is so cute! I love it.

The day ended with dinner with the family, then to the movies to watch Beauty and the Beast in 3D with Devo and Kel! And it wasn't just Beauty and the Beast.....at the beginning we got to watch the short film Tangled: Happily Ever After! (If you haven't seen Tangled, you should! It's a great movie). The short film was hilarious. I felt like a little kid. Kelli and I were cracking up the entire time. I'm pretty sure Devin was laughing on the inside too...:)

Devo was oh so excited!

Kelli and I! We got special Beauty and the Beast 3D glasses.....
they are supposed to be for little kids! 

I enjoyed the movie a lot! I LOVE Beauty and the Beast! One of my favorites.


It was a really great weekend!!!

Rach's Wedding!

My good friend Rachel got married!!!!!! So exciting. It was a beautiful and perfect wedding. So so happy for them. Here are a few pictures. I sadly did not get a picture with the bride. :(

Mr. and Mrs. Zach Bradrick! :)

The sky was so pretty!

My date to the wedding! ;)

Meghann is back from Uganda!!!! So good to see her!

Stef and Meghann! Reunited and it feels so good!

I know I just made a post this morning, but I was supposed to be driving to Chanute right now, but weather changed the plans. So needless to say, I have some extra time. And I wanted to get caught up on posts since I was behind.

My friend and housemate, Lindsay got back to town on Sunday. Yay! It is so nice having her back! I missed her! We both love Grey's Anatomy so we always watch it together. Since it started back up last week we both waited to watch it until we were back and could watch it together!

Lindsay!

Yay for Grey's being back on! 

Another dear friend of mine and old roomie (I think I will always call her and Amanda Mayo my roomies!), Anna is back in Topeka....for the semester anyway! She was gone all summer, came back for a couple weeks (I saw her once) and then she left again for the semester. :( BUT....we have already made plans to hang out next week so I don't have to wait months to hang out with her again! Yay! :)

We met up at World Cup for coffee and to catch up on each others lives! Pretty sure she is gonna be famous one day....just saying!

Love her. It was so so good to see her!

Tomorrow....(hopefully the roads will be better in the morning)....I will be Chanute bound! I get the privilege to watch some very special girls for the weekend! I am so excited!! Pictures to come! :)