Dear Winter Break,

HURRY UP!

Love,
Kristin

Almost Done

Nope, I'm not going to comment on the past month of event that have happened in my life. I'm not going to comment on the fact that it has been a whole month since I last blogged or the fact that October 12th seems like it was yesterday and years ago at the same time....

Crazy. 

KK posted this amazing quote on my wall last night as I was passed out at like 11:00pm (surprisingly early)

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best
day and night to make you everybody else means to fight the
hardest battle any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.

-E.E. Cummings

I. Love. This. Quote. I hope I can live up to this every day of my life. Who cares about being normal? Who really wants to be like everyone else?

Epiphany

Dear World,

Nice try. But I see right through your game. I'm not a cookie cutter shape. I am me. I can't force myself to be as skinny as other girls. I can't force my hair to be "perfectly" messy. I can't force myself to go into a music major like ALL my friends from high school. I can't force myself make a CD like everyone I know because I can't write very good songs. I can't force myself to like partying like every other college student. I can't force myself to be who you want me to be.

And that's okay.

I don't need to be anything other than what I am. I don't need to do anything because it's "expected". I don't need to put on a mask that leaves me feeling like you don't even know me. I'm not any of those things. I am the unexpected. I am what makes life a little less boring.

Would it be okay if I didn't live up to your expectations, World?

There's no other option...I can't.

Sincerely,

The Authentic Kristin Olsen

Busy but Beautiful

I think that title is pretty much going to sum up my year this year.

I am currently just excited about life. These past few weeks, small group has been amazing and has continued to challenge me to grow in new ways. I think I'm going to work backwards.

Today was kind of a crazy day but it was Chelsey's birthday! I went to hang out with Katie at her house and then we met up with Chels for ice cream with Eric and Jamie. It was really fun.

Last night, I stayed up till about 4am. During small group, the thing that we talked about the most was whether or not truth with a capital "T" exists. There were many opinions in the group and this topic challenged every single person sitting in the room to search and never stop searching. 

I also found this verse. "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, be thankful in all things for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesies; but test everything, hold to what is good." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-21

I love this verse. It shows that God is bigger than any question or doubt we may have and that is not only relieving to me but it is also challenging to me. I am challenged to always continue to search, it's not about finding the answer, it's about continually looking for Truth. Crazy. Then Megan stayed after small group and we talked till about 2am and I finished all the homework I had to do around 4.

On Monday, I was just SO frustrated during worship band practice. I don't know why I was so frustrated but I definitely owe all the people that I work with an apology because I wasn't acting in a loving way. I think it was a combination of a lack of sleep over the weekend and having a million classes on Mondays. I also think that there was definitely temptation to be angry. That's no excuse but it's the only thing I can attribute to my terrible attitude.

Sunday was the Rock and the first corporate prayer night. Rob asked me to lead prayer and I'm kind of nervous because I don't feel like I am super mature in my prayer life. I know and trust that God will carry me through it and that He is going to continually teach me how to pray. I'm excited to see where that goes!

Saturday was Chelsey's golden birthday party!!! It was SO much fun! Daniel, Destin, Steven and Karissa came to visit and it was just one of the most fun nights I have had so far at ISU. 

Friday was Megan's birthday! We went out to McAlister's and bowling which was super fun! I got no strikes the first game and then three in a row the second game! That was really fun. 

I love my friends. I love my family. I love my God :)

Ignorant

This weekend was Labor Day Weekend. I went home and had a fantastic time. Saturday, I got to hang out with my family downtown at the Chicago Jazz Festival which was super fun. Sunday I got to hang out with Katie and see Kurt Elling sing. He encored my favorite song in the entire world (In the Wee Small Hours). I just about died. I also got to meet up with one of my friends I haven't seen since 5th grade, Corinthias. He is still such a gentleman and a genuine guy. It was so encouraging and refreshing to talk to him. Then on Monday, I my family had a BBQ and I got to see a bunch of my extended family which was fun.

Another great thing that happened today was the official start of the happy thoughts blog. Check it out and feel free to join if you want!
http://thinkhappywithme.blogspot.com/

The real reason I wanted to post right now is because I just received an e-mail from my Aunt Tonya. Apparently she went to the 8-28 Rally and she e-mailed everyone in our family what really happened rather than what the media says happened in D.C. that day. I was very excited she got to be a part of something she believes in but then I started to wonder...what the heck is the 8-28 rally? When I looked up what is was, I realized that this wasn't some random thing that my Aunt went to, it was actually a huge deal in America and in the D.C. area. It was at this point that I realized a huge mistake I have been making.

I think the media is ridiculous. I don't like that they use violence and politics for good ratings. Because I find the news to be increasingly depressing, I have stopped watching it all together ( I don't even have a TV in my room this year). By doing this, I feel in this present moment that I have actually hurt my cause - my want to become have a more worldwide view of the world and to learn about other people and cultures. It starts with my own backyard. How can I say I don't like the system if I don't know how to change it? How can I start to learn about other people in the world if I don't take the initiative to learn about them? I have not been practicing what I preach. Yea, I could use a million excuses because I really am extremely busy but I want to make this a priority, not just something I will do when life "dies down" a little. Life only gets crazier by the minute, I can rest when I die.

So here it is, in writing: I will no longer stand for ignorance. I promise that I will make a conscious effort to learn more about what is happening in my country and the world around me.


Signed: Kristin T. Olsen  September 7, 2010

It's True Love...

I started my new job today.



I get to use a manual espresso machine....sigh.

First Week of School!

It's been a crazy, amazing, and beautiful first week of school. I am SO excited to be back and just get back into the swing of things even though I am crazy busy (like always? haha).

Anyway. Cornerstone had a kick off BBQ. It was really awesome to see everyone and get to just be together as a church again. I liked that.

It has been amazing being back at school. I was really skeptical because after being in Colorado and surrounded with people who just want to live out your faith, I thought it was going to be tough to be in an environment where that is not the case 24/7. God has been so faithful in helping me realize that is a lie. One of my professors right in the middle of class (with some context of course) told us he is a Christian and then proceeded to talk about how he doesn't like the fact that people who call themselves Christians are so closed minded and don't take the time to learn about other religions and cultures in order to effectively share their faith IN CLASS! I sat there and was just like preach it, brother! haha And then I was talking to my voice teacher who is a grad student here at ISU. She knows I'm a music minor so she asked what I wanted to do with my life and I said I don't know, maybe volunteer around the world or do missions or something and she said pray about it. I was a little shocked so I pushed it a little further and said I was also interested in possibly going on staff with Cornerstone after I get out of school and she was like that is so awesome! She then told me that she is also a believer and that she is really excited that I am one too since not a lot of people in the music department are. So amazing.

Then I was also feeling like after having this passion for God out in Colorado it would be really easy to become complacent and luke-warm back here in Normal. I was really scared of getting like that. God has just revealed Himself over and over and over again here. I feel closer to Him now than I did during the summer. He has provided the opportunity with every new person I have met here to share that I am a Christian and invite them to a Cornerstone event without even trying. It just happens in conversation. The amazing discussions with KK have already begun and it is just so cool. You don't need LT to experience a life like you have at LT. LT teaches you how to live that kind of life in everyday situations which is so cool. I am so lucky that I had the opportunity to go to LT and really learn what it means to be a leader in Christ.

Today I went to the doctor with Katie because she didn't want to go alone and as I was sitting in the waiting room, a mom carrying her must have been 2 year old son walked in with her mother (the child's grandmother) and asked how much it would be to have a doctor see him. The mom was cradling her son because he wouldn't move his arm and he cried every time he tried to move it even a little. The mom let the nurse at the front desk know that she didn't have insurance. The nurse then explained the fees to be seen at this particular doctor's office: $108 to walk in the door and at least and extra $100 if they had to take X-rays. The mother was getting really upset and the grandmother started doing all the talking and they walked out. The mother was crying because she didn't have health insurance and obviously probably didn't have over $200 to just throw around. It was completely heartbreaking. Why can't people get cheap health care? I think that is so appalling. It should be a human right to be able to take your child to get help. It should be a human right to be able to walk into a doctor's office and at least get diagnosed if not get both diagnosed and treated. So sad. I cried because that is so injust.

That's all for now. More as the semester goes on I'm sure.

CCY - The Real Story

Since my synopsis of hiking CCY was clearly inadequate my friend Sammy has a hilarious step by step instructions of how to hike CCY (she was one of the ones who came with) that you should read.

 http://colorado-lt-sammy.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-hike-ccy.html

ENJOY!

Days

That's right... DAYS TILL I AM HOME!

Crazy. I guess I should probably do a little bit of a wrap up for all you wonderful people. So here it goes.

15 Things I will miss about LT/have learned at LT:

1) I will miss...the amazing people I have met out here. It has been awesome to know and be known.
2) I have learned...to let people in on my not so perfect life. To be vulnerable and not be afraid to be truly known
3) I will miss...DEEP THEOLOGICAL DISCUSSIONS! mostly with Daniel haha
4) I will miss...feeling like I can talk about my doubts in my faith with anyone
5) I have learned...even though its hard for me, that I deserved to be loved and served and that it is okay to let people serve and love me
6) I have learned...that every single person in my life has been put there to build into my life and for me to build into their life. It's a beautiful situation
7) I have learned...growth is not easy. It is always hard and you will always cry.
8) I have learned...that dealing with past disappointments in your life is important in order to move on to other things
9) I will miss...HIKING! (never thought I would say that...)
10) I will miss...the beauty that surrounds me and walking through a postcard on my way to work every day
11) I have learned...that questioning your faith is okay and that it really causes you to figure out what you believe
12) God continues to grow you even when you feel stagnant and discouraged
13) I will miss...my project and life group
14) I will miss...worshiping with Karissa
15) I will miss...stargazing. There are a billion more stars that you can see here.
**Bonus: I will miss...having an excuse to not shower for 3 days in a row because you are gonna be hiking all 3 days anyway! haha


15 Things I will not miss about LT/ things I am looking forward to after LT:

1) I will not miss...waking up at least by 5:30am for work if not earlier to go on a hike.
2) I am looking forward to...not being in a Christian bubble. I don't feel like God has called me to do that at all. Community is so important and so awesome but I feel like it is so easy to get complacent if you do that.
3) I will not miss...Spruce food. Home-cooked meal, here I come!
4) I am looking forward to...taking everything I learned out here back to ISU and applying it to my life. This is not just a "summer camp" high. This has been a life changing experience
5) I am looking forward to...loving people in a radical way and more fully. Because I have learned what it is to be loved and what that means I feel I can do a better job at doing that :)
6) I will not miss...crappy phone service/internet. I am so sorry to the people back home because I really would have liked to talk to you guys more. It was just so hard.
7) I will not miss...being soooo busy. A 40 hour work week + LT stuff + hikes + time with friends + trying to talk to people back home = zero time.
8) I will not miss...feeling like I can't get adequate God time.
9) I will not miss...being 1000 miles away from what I really call home
10) I am looking forward to meeting the new freshman and transfers and getting the chance to really build into their lives
11) I am looking forward to a potential direction for my life and being able to continue to trust God with my future plans
12) I will not miss...crying
13) I am looking forward to...continuing my always growing faith in God
14) I am looking forward to...being able to run for miles without being short of breath (at least until I get re-acclimated)
15) I will not miss...feel stuck at the YMCA. Beautiful place but there's not a whole lot to do on "Y" grounds.
**Bonus: I will not miss...the showers/bathrooms (trust me...it's sad that I am looking forward to Colby 5 showers/bathrooms...)

So that is kind of a run down of some...stuff. haha and that's all i got

I just wanted to let you know also that I hiked CCYF [Chapin (12,454 ft) Chaquita (13,069 ft) Ypsilon (13,514) and Fairchild (13,502)] on Thursday. The other two people I was with only CCY and I decided to do Fairchild really quick while they rested before the hike down on Ypsilon. It was really fun. I got to wait out a thunderstorm that a hikemaster didn't even wait out (check out this pic!) and see a beautiful view.



And end monologue. haha

I'm a Creeper...

Is is weird that I found someone with just their first name, hometown and college?

I had to use Google.

I had to find this person through friends of friends whose names I found in articles written about the Air Force Academy Class of 2013.

Yea....I should really be a private investigator.

And Karissa owes me $30.

Weeks

That's right. I have just a couple weeks left here at LT until I am back at school! Crazy!


Monday was my birthday. I was taken out to get sushi and I got this beautiful journal from my friends here in Colorado. Pretty awesome

Tuesday I got to baptize one of my friends, Sammy Brooks with Daniel! It was SO cool. The picture at the top is after we baptized her. I just could not believe that someone would ask me to be a part of that or that I have impacted her life like that. So epic awesome.

Wednesday...Can't remember this day!

Thursday I saw Inception. It made me think of God stuff. Basically the Earth is God's created alternate reality for us. Once we die in this "dream" we go to actual reality which is God. He is the ultimate reality. Eventually, God will create a new perfect alternate reality. Pretty interesting stuff. Then my project group went to have a bonfire. Justin, Amber, Daniel and I stayed up till 4am. The other two went to bed but Daniel and I stayed up all night and then went to get donuts from the Donut Haus (amazing donuts!) for our project group with Justin.

Friday was the last project group day!!! GAH! So much fun. We got to have life groups and stuff and Just and Amanda made us lunch. The very end of the day, Justin and Amanda washed our feet to show us that they wanted to be servant leaders to us till the very last moment. It was interesting, God totally changed my perspective on getting my feet washed. Way back when in Junior High, Andrew (my youth leader) washed our feet at a youth conference we were having. I was crying like crazy because I just felt so undeserving and unworthy. This time, God has been teaching me that I do deserve to be loved and served and so God said, "Kristin, let your leaders show you servant leadership so that you can go do likewise for others". SOOOOO awesome.

Saturday was a crazy day at work. Totally tested my patience. Jess and I were working alone and we sold over $1000 that morning (just to give you an idea, $600 is a busy day). SOO we were really frustrated.

The customers this week have been soooo rude and awful to us. I just can't understand why they feel so entitled, first of all, and secondly, why they feel as though they are the only person on the face of the planet. I mean there are people starving just down the street and people are complaining that we only have light cream cheese instead of regular. If that's the worst thing you have going on, then I would love to have your life. Oh my gosh. Sooo frustrating. I am not looking forward to the night shift tomorrow when people are demanding ice cream... shmer.

Well that is all!

Time for a little reflection....

I think this is the first year I have enjoyed my birthday because I have finally realized that I don't have to celebrate me and feel like I'm being doted on (which I hate). I realize this is a chance to see all of the wonderful people that have been put into my life for very specific reasons.

And as I look on this past year I have come to realize this one thing. 

I am the luckiest person alive because of all of the people in my life.

So if you are reading this, you need to know that I have been blessed by you and I truly appreciate everything you are to me.

I love you all.

Day by Day... Minute by Minute

I can't believe that summer is almost over. Earlier this week I was SO ready to go home. I really just missed everyone back in Illinois and I felt like I was just missing out on a lot of life there. Now I am feeling nervous to leave Colorado! I may just have to come back next year :)

Sunday night was really good. I didn't know where my workshop was and so I ended up going to "The Secret Life of Women". SOOO GOOD! It was totally a God thing that I ended up there. I really realized that I am really good at staying just friends with guys but they are not very good at staying just friends with me. I realized how much I need to watch what I do because so often my actions don't affect how I feel about someone but it does affect how they feel about me. So if you are one of those people I am so sorry. I'm just really sick of feeling like I play guys. 

Tuesday night's worship was awesome. I haven't been that happy in a while. I was so full of joy that I cried. It was amazing. Here are a few songs that everyone needs to listen to and just mull over the words and see how much truth they speak:

Remedy -- David Crowder Band

How He Loves -- David Crowder Band

Shine Your Light on Us -- Robbie Seay Band

So good. 

Thursday I did an epic hike. I hiked FHOT (Flattop: 12,324 ft, Hallets: 12,713 ft, Otis: 12,486 ft, Taylor: 13,153 ft.) Super awesome! But kind sucked at the same time. The fast group (which I was in) had to keep waiting for the slow group to summit each mountain and so a 7-9 hour hike turned into a 14 hour hike which was crazy. We had to slide down Andrew's Glacier (the only way to get down the mountain quickly) and because we took so long a huge thunderstorm rolled in and we got hailed on while sliding down this mountain. Crazy! It was really fun thought and there were BEAUTIFUL views from up there. I'll have pictures up on facebook soon that you can all see. We also saw a marmet, a pika and a bear up there which was really cool and you had an amazing view of Long's Peak and all of these mountain lakes and ponds. They are all so clear and beautiful.

Yesterday we got to go talk to people in Fort Collins on CSU's campus which was really cool. We were just asking people what they thought spirituality meant to them and stuff and we ended up sitting down with this girl Hillary. She was the nicest person I have ever met in my life. Hillary, Rachel and I talked to her during her lunch break and we just had the same views about everything even though she isn't a Christian. She talked about how hypocritical she sees Christians being and how love is not their first priority and stuff and I sat there and I was like I AGREE! We also talked about how we really don't like organized religion and how injust the world is an stuff. It was just a really good talk and she was really open with us and we were really open with her. So cool. She told us at the end that we had given her hope that there are true Christians out there who really believe what they say. That was an amazing thing to hear from this girl. She has been really hurt by the church like so many people have and it is totally unfair. 

Sometimes the church has done a really bad job of loving people and that is the theme of my life. Learning to love people to the best of my ability in the way that they need/want to be loved. That is what I pray for every day of my life, that God would show me how to do that.

Then that night, we went to the staff talent show and Katie and I stayed with Karissa and her sister Kira before they left for Idaho to go to their friend's cabin (who wants a cabin in Idaho? Woot we can frolic through potatoes? haha)

Well, that is all for now. I will hopefully talk to you all soon! 

Much Love.

And the days keep moving...

Hello all!

Wow. It has been over a week. Here is the latest update starting with not this past Thursday but the Thursday before that.

Thursday: We hiked Twin Sisters (over 11,000 feet). I decided to be awesome and go off the beaten path...by myself because I wanted to boulder up to the next switchback and meet the people i was hiking with there. Well.... turns out there was no "other" switchback because the trail went around the back side of the mountain. So here I was bouldering and lost for an hour and a half screaming every so often so I could see if my friends were around. I made it to a false summit and I finally heard a faint yell. And then I found the trail because we kept screaming at one another. All in all it was a fun adventure, I got to boulder halfway up Twin Sisters and I made it to the real summit. Suhweet! All in all...a great hike. Then we got back to the Y and my family came at 4pm! Got to chill with them and then go to the LT service. Shhhuper great.

Friday: On this day, my family and I headed to Boulder to chill. It was pretty fun. We did some shopping and I got some new hiking boots sooo that's cool. I think that is really all I did that day.. yea that's it.

Saturday: This day. We decided to go on a hike. I wanted to do Twin Sisters but we didn't leave early enough and I had a meeting. So. We did Eagle Cliff instead. I was feeling pretty sick that day and so my mom and I just talked on the side of the mountain instead of hiking all the way up. It was a good talk and stuff soo yea.

Sunday: We left for my Uncle Bob's house in Paonia, Colorado. We took Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road and made many stops along the way to do some hiking in Chasm Falls and on a random mountain. It was really fun. The road is pretty intense. Here are some pictures of the two roads...

This is Trail Ridge Road

And this is Old Fall River Road.

Pretty intense.

Soooo yea. We got to Uncle Bob's house that night.

Monday: On this day, we went on a picnic in the woods. It was really fun cuz we grilled burgers and stuff on a portable grill. That's all I remember.

Tuesday: This day was AWESOME! I got to go white water rafting in the Colorado River. Our guide was crazy. I don't feel like writing a lot so just ask me about the crazy adventures our raft had if you get the chance.

Wednesday: Got back and went to work...the end

Thursday: Don't remember this day at all. But I do remember that after the LT service God just spoke to me and was like hey why don't you just spend time with me. I love spending time talking about God with other people I think it's soo cool and can be so good but recently I've been neglecting quality prayer time with God because I just have been spending that time with other people. But I had a really good prayer time with God and yea. I just need to do that more often for SURE!

Friday: had project day. We worked at this place called O.U.R. Center in Longmont, Colorado. We did volunteer work for them and stuff which was really cool. Pulling weeds all day! That's right, be jealous. They have a really cool organization there. Then we had ISU time and then I went to the dance lesson thing that Daniel and Brain had. I got to teach salsa with Daniel and dance a lot of Swing and Charleston with Brian. He was actually really good and I was impressed.

Then I got locked out of my room all night and had to sleep in the hallway until Katie got up...ask me about that too cuz I don't feel like writing.

Saturday: And now here I am after work still in my work clothes, talking to Max and finishing up this blog post. Epic Sweet. 

Thanks for all being wonderful people!

Love and the Cosmos

Went to the bonfire last night. It was pretty fun! Then we went on a late night walk to the Livery (where they keep the horses) close to the outdoor chapel. We wanted to walk past it but instead we just sat by this cross that is out there and we got to experience God first hand. We prayed together, out loud which was so cool. I just really felt God saying that we have His unlimited power behind everything we do, so nothing is impossible. NOTHING! Not even a road trip through South American next summer...cough *Mom and Dad* cough. Can't wait to for His plans for me. Anyway... As we were praying, we were all looking at the stars and right when we finished the stars multiplied to 20 times the amount that were in the sky while we were praying. It was SO cool and totally a God moment. It's amazing people can say that all of this came to be without intelligent design. Crazy.

I had a really great talk with my amazingly awesome co-worker Meredith about love today.

We basically have the same view on love which is pretty cool. We are both afraid of the "L-word". It's a pretty intense deal. Basically we talk about how love is a choice, day in and day out. In addition to that, I think that it is crazy when people can honestly say that they love someone when they haven't even been dating for at least a year. I kind of don't want to say I love someone until there is talk of a ring. Sounds insane but I guess I just want to know. Until you get married, I really think you don't know true love. I mean, I think you can experience a version of love. Enough love that you think, "This is as good as it gets". It gets better! I don't know if that made any sense. And where does the phrase "I love you" lead to? Shenanigans or marriage or false expectations. That's just how it is.

But we had fun today just goofing around and trying to set Lorraine up with the Espresso Machine repair man. HILARIOUS!

I am over halfway done in Colorado. I can't believe it. I feel like school is creeping up fast and I am excited to go back. I am not excited to not have amazing bouldering spots a 5 minute walk from my dorm. Sad day.

Good thing is, I think I am going to get FiveFingers if I can convince my parents it is a great investment and that they should get them for me for my birthday! WOOT! I love walking barefoot now.

And that's it. Done.

Yep. I totally got sick Saturday night and so I couldn't go to ISU time. I didn't go to work the next day but thankfully I felt fine by Sunday afternoon.

P.S.    HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

A little late... oh well

So Fourth of July was good. I finished reading this book called Jesus Without Religion which was really good. It just talks about Jesus and his life. Pretty cool. I got to meet with Mike Klunke too and we talked about how the New Testament came to be the 27 books that we have today. Pretty fascinating stuff.

Historical non-fiction is awesome. I just cannot get enough!

Must. Read. More.

Anyway. Highlight of my day was climbing Lumpy Ridge to see the fireworks! It was probably the most fun I have ever had seeing fireworks. Some of us are gonna climb Lumpy Ridge again and sleep up there since it's so beautiful. I have realized (since I have done it twice now) that hiking/climbing without shoes is the BEST THING EVER. I think I am going to start walking around barefoot much more often than not... I really need to get those FiveFingers things. Epic (look 'em up). While climbing up we had 2 people almost fall off a cliff we were climbing. Amanda had to scoot along an edge and then she grabbed my hand for support so if she had fallen I would have gone too. And then, we were spotting my friend Sam and she fell backwards. If Amber and I didn't catch her backpack, she would have fallen down a long way and probably wouldn't have made it. We almost got dragged down with her too. Hurray for cheating death! Love it. We had to climb down the mountain after fireworks in the dark which was really cool. Again... all barefoot, people!

My family is coming on Thursday! I get to see them after I get back from hiking Twin Sisters. I'm gonna be above tree line and one more step closer to LONG'S PEAK!!! So excited :)

Well that's all the update that I have for now. I'm off to read some more and work out. Then bonfire for Andrew's birthday!

Have a wonderful day :)

Who needs a title anyway?

Wow.... Gotta eat my words again... Didn't keep that vigor of blogging almost everyday. Why does this always happen to me?

Anyway. Let's see if I can recap the past week. Here I go!

Saturday: This day, I worked and then we had ISU time. We talked about how we aren't really growing as a group like we wanted to. It kinda sucks because that was one of our goals coming out here this summer.

Sunday: All I remember about this day was being really really tired during workshop. It was the last one in the series so I will have a new workshop for four weeks starting next Sunday. Pretty sweet!

Monday: I went to work and then after work I ran up Bible Pointe. That's right, I RAN! So I can say that I have run up a mountain now. I haven't had time to run up Bible Pointe again but it will happen soon for sure. I also got to see Kelsey Gorman on this day. We had an awesome talk pretty much about everything and about where we are both at, things we don't like about organized religion, stuff like that. It was awesome!

Tuesday: Work and then worship band practice on this day. We had a guest speaker named John Werst. He painted a clear picture of the Gospel to make sure that we all understood what that really is. It was cool but for me, unnecessary. I have been questioning the validity of the Bible and whether or not Jesus actually existed and other things recently. I just was questioning what was reality and what was not. Right before church, Daniel came up to me and asked "Hey! Wanna have a deep theological discussion tonight?" Of course I said yes and when I asked about what he said "Determining what we can know is real or Truth (yes, with a capitol 'T' ". I was so excited that all I could do was give him this big hug because I had been praying that God would reveal the Truth to me somehow and now I had a chance to sort things out in my head with Daniel. So we had a sweet talk that night and stayed up late...again. Going into the talk, I honestly thought I was gonna come out of the conversation with more questions and doubts but God totally revealed Himself (like He always does haha). It was really cool! Sam was there too and we got to talk with her about some really tough stuff. I am excited to see where God takes her.

Wednesday: This was my day off (instead of Thursday). ISU went to Winter Park as a group and it was actually kind of fun. They have this HUGE alpine slide there (the biggest in Colorado) and you just fly on this thing. Two people in our group fell off and got pretty bad road burn. Gross. But it was really cool to bond with everyone and have a fun day off. We went to this pizza place in Winter Park called Hernando's. They serve Colorado-style pizza (who knew there was such a thing). When we got there, there were dollar bills with writing on them covering the walls. We also noticed that there was Honey on every table. I asked Rob what was up with that cuz I thought it was strange and I found out that you use it to dip your crust. Amazing people! Amazing! So thumbs up to Colorado-style pizza.

Thursday: Another uneventful day. Went to work and then I went to church. During the service, the only thing I got out of it was a conviction to right the wrongs I had done to people. So, if I have ever hurt you in anyway, please tell me so I can apologize. I am truly sorry and chances are I didn't even know I hurt you. I tend to joke around a lot and sometimes it hurts people. But like I said. If you have ever felt wronged by me, PLEASE tell me. After church, I got to have a really great talk with Max. What an awesome guy. It's really cool to hear about how he is growing and yea. I don't even really know what to say about our conversation without just telling you. Then I stayed up with Daniel and Sammy till 2 haha

Friday: So yesterday was project day. We got to hear testimonies in the morning and then we talked about this book called TrueFaced. It's really good. Then, after lunch we headed to Boulder, Colorado. Some people did evangelizing and some people just hung out. Kelsey came with us which was really cool and Rachel, Kelsey and I just walked around Colorado University. It's a beautiful campus. Sort of makes me want to transfer.... But anyway. So we got back to where we were supposed to meet everyone and people were talking about evangelizing and how that went. Karissa, Brian and Bethany came back and were telling everyone about these people they met who were painting in the quad. They said they talked to the "painters" about God and the Bible. The painting people said they would love to read the Bible since they had never done so but Karissa, Brain and Bethany didn't have Bibles with them to give. So as they are telling this story I go "You can take my Bible". So they took my Bible and Nicole's Bible and ran back to give it to them. So I am currently Bible-less but for a really cool reason! Everyone wanted to go to Panda Express afterward. I had never eaten at Panda Express, so it was an experience. While eating there, we saw a double rainbow. Another cool part about the weather was that it was raining while it was sunny out and it was raining on one side of the street we were on but not the other. Crazy! Twas very epic. Then I drove home and went to Kind Coffee to try it out. I was pretty disappointed in their espresso but Chels says they have good brewed coffee. Internet was completely down because of a storm on this day which is why I couldn't post until today. 

Today: Well last night/early in the morning today, I could not sleep at all because my stomach felt so uncomfortable. You know those times where you just want to throw up because you know it will make you feel better but you can't? Yea, that is what happened to me last night. So awful. So I went into work late this morning because i was still feeling awful at 5:45. I went to work and felt alright and then right after lunch, I got the same discomfort in my stomach so I left early. I just couldn't handle it. So no I am sitting in my bed and I am about to get a lot of letters written and stuff online accomplished. Including this blog post. I think this may be the longest post yet beside the "Ec-pic Story". But that's not about my life so I suppose that doesn't count. 

Well I hope you all have a wonderful day. I will try and feel better and I will post more often if I can. 

Praise God Always!

Living It Up in Colorado

Hello everyone!

I am so excited I have the motivation to blog nearly everyday right now! So awesome!

Yesterday we went to Walmart for the first time since getting here. The car ride there was awesome! I was talking to this person who is on staff at Ohio State University named Dan and he was telling me that even while he was frustrated with the church at OSU he still knew that he was being called on staff. All of a sudden I felt this the only way I can describe it is a huge hug from God. I just heard this thought in my head that said "Hey, Kristin. I have big plans for your life and you don't have to worry about what is going to happen in your future. Get excited because it's going to be awesome!". I could feel God's love pouring out on me and it was an incredible moment that we had. So good! God has given me so much peace about my worries. I feel like I talk about that every time I blog.

On our way back we stopped at this store along the dam on the way to Loveland because Peggy wanted Pheasant Jerky. Daniel and I bought some Huckleberry Scones and we made them for project group today. So delicious. But going back to Thursday night. John's talk was really good. It was about Philippians 4 so check that out and really read and study it if you want some awesome direction for leaders.

After church, Daniel, Amy, Sammy and I went to dance more. SO much fun. Amy went to bed but the coolest thing that happened that night was the epic talk that Daniel, Sammy and I had. We literally talked till 5:30am. We didn't even notice how long it had been till we saw the sun rising.

Crazy.

But it was so good. I feel like we talked about everything. I am so glad that I know them and once again God is showing me that He put everyone here at LT for a reason. Not only that but He is revealing to me the people He specifically chose for me to build into and the people who He specifically put in my life to build into me. It's quite amazing.

Today was project group. It was pretty hard waking up even though we didn't have to be anywhere till 10am. We had solitude time at Lumpy's Ridge. I talked to God for a while and then I found a great big rock and took a nap on it. I felt like one of the lions from The Lion King. It was pretty awesome. I woke up completely refreshed and ready for the rest of my day.

We had life groups as well today. It was really good to hear that everyone in my life group is doing much better than last week and to see praises to God as well instead of just things that people are upset about or struggling with.

Well. We are having a bonfire tonight which should be fun. S'mores, hotdogs, the whole nine yards. I have work at 6am so I don't know how late I'll be out because of my late night last night.

More later!

Well! So many fun things happening here in the big CO.

I got to see Brooke and Rudy because they are here for a while. That was really fun. Cornerstone staff is all here which has been fun. It's like being back at ISU. Sort of... haha

Last night's service was awesome. My voice was going out so I just really had to rely on God to get my through worship. We sang some awesome songs and you could just feel God's presence in the room. It was amazing when we started singing a cappella and we all dropped our microphones and you could hear the whole room praising God. It was so beautiful. 

John Drage talked about having passion and focus for Christ. The thing that hit me the hardest was that we should live our lives everyday remembering what God did for us.

Makes me think of Ephesians 2

 ¹As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ²in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature^[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. ⁴But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 ¹¹Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— ¹²remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

 ¹⁴For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

 ¹⁹Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²²And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

That is SO exciting and awesome and amazing and WOOT! God is so good. I can't say it enough.

But that was awesome and then after the LT service Daniel, Sam, Amy and I stayed up till 3:30 am and Daniel taught us some Latin dancing. There are a few pictures on facebook sooo check those out! Latin dancing is super hot. And soooo much fun. Daniel is in actual competitions and stuff so here he was, surrounded by 3 girls all fighting to dance with him because he actually knew how and he was the only guy around. So guys, if you want to get the ladies...learn how to dance. Seriously. It's a super attractive quality about a guy. 

Well I'm off to work so I will write more later! Have a wonderful day!

Everything's Fine Everything's Groovy...

...It's a great day!

Haha anyway.

Thursday was my day off. I didn't do that much during the morning but I did get to SLEEP IN! It was glorious. During the day though, I got to go to Emerald Mountain with Charis and boulder a little bit. Then we came back and I got to have dinner with my friend Rachel! She is awesome and from Texas which is pretty cool. We got to talk about life and stufffff.

Thursday night was the LT service and the speaker, the GCM pastor from Ball State, spoke about having faith through your fears. It was a really good conclusion to Tuesday night's talk about fears. We talked about how God is all powerful and that when we accept Christ, we have an unlimited amount of power behind everything thing we do which is incredible. We can do the impossible with God on our side! SUPER SICK! (in a good way).

Speaking of Tuesday night. It was pretty rough. I've never just been flat out angry with God and told Him about it. There were a lot of things that happened that night that didn't happen like they should have and I was really upset how a few conversations had played out. I just sat in my bed and said, "God, I'm really angry at you right now because I have been praying about these conversations that I just had and this was not how they were supposed to go down. I hurt some people and I'm really upset that you allowed it to happen like this." I have never done that before but it was so good that God met me where I was at and gave me peace about all of the situations I was in within the next few days. Crazy awesome.

Anyway, after church on Thursday night, my project group went to see TOY STORY 3!!!!!!

You. Must. See. This. Movie.

I was prepared to be disappointed but I laughed more than I have laughed in any movie in a long time. It was so well done.

Then we had project day and heard a few testimonies. I love hearing people's christian journeys from the very beginning till now. It's really cool. Then we went fishing and I walked across Glacier Creek. It was pretty cold and I fell because Glacier Creek basically has rapids in certain places so I got pushed over. I have a sweet bruise on my knee haha. Then Karissa, Daniel and I decided to scramble some rocks but we ended up free climbing/bouldering halfway up Eagle Cliff in no time at all. It was crazy because climbing is so much less tiring than hiking up Eagle. Karissa and I went barefoot which was really good for climbing but really bad for walking down the mountain. P.S. As we were walking down I was in back and I put my hand on a rock for stability down a steep portion and the rock went tumbling down towards Karissa and Daniel. Daniel jumped out of the way and everything. It was probably a 50 lb rock sooo pretty intense.

Now I am at work, on my lunch break blogging for you beautiful people! Soooo maybe I should go back and actually work before I get fired... That would suck.

I love you guys a ton :)

It's only for a moment you were mine to hold. The plans that heaven has for you will all too soon unfold. So many different prayers I'll pray for all that you might do. But most of all I want to know you're walking in the truth. May passion be the wind that leads you through your days. May conviction keep you strong and guide you on your way. May there be many moments that make your life so sweet. It's not living if you don't reach for the sky. So if I never told you, I want you to know that as I watch you grow I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams. And that faith gives you the courage to dare to do great things. Don't ever forget that I'm here for you whatever this life brings so let my love give you roots and help you find your wings.

Sometimes a song says everything you need to say to every person in your life.

I'm sorry for not always being there.

I love you all.

"Find Your Wings" by Mark Harris

Sleep... no I never get enough.

Well. That's the theme of my life today.

I didn't get that much sleep last night but I still got a normal amount. I went to work and was super tired all day and then got back at 2:30 and slept till 8:00. CRAZY! That's when I remembered about the tick bite and yea, the bite mark is getting bigger and has a rash, I have swollen lymph nodes and I'm pretty tired. All of the symptoms at this point point to Lyme Disease but there have been no reported cases of Lyme Disease in Colorado ever ( read that when I first looked up stuff about tick bites). I could be the first, people! Woot! It is probably not Lyme Disease but I am going to go to the doctor in the next few days just to make sure that everything is alright. So Mom and Dad, if you read this, I am going to try and call you tomorrow. For some reason, my cell phone is not working at all in my room when I had lots of service before.

Besides that, everything is great! I read the Bible for like an hour and a half and I didn't even know it had been that long which was really cool.

I also had a great discussion with one of my co-workers about relationships. She has been dating this guy that she has known for a year and a half for a month and she already knows they are going to get married. She knows that it will be a few years but she says they just know. She was telling me about her and her ex-boyfriend and how even thought she dated that guy for two years, she knew she wasn't going to marry him. And now this! It's so so so cool. The coolest part of the whole thing is that she knows that her boyfriend loves God more than he loves her. That is amazing and that is what I want-a man who loves God more that he loves me. Along with other things but that is the most important.

God is so good people! And he loves us even though we are screw ups... so awesome. Have a wonderful day!

RAWR!

I am sitting here after work and I am upset because I cannot go outside and boulder like I wanted to!

The reason I can't is because it is thunderstorming. Rain wouldn't bother me as much but thunderstorm + me on a mountain =  asking for trouble.

But speaking of the weather, today is June 13th and it snowed today in Estes Park Colorado. Though brief, it still did happen. Crazy!

Working in food service has been both a blessing and a curse.

It's a curse because you get to see how all of the food is prepared and let me tell you, cooking for about 1,000 people at a time means low low low quality food.

It's a blessing because you lose weight really fast because you never want to eat! haha perfect weight loss plan and I don't even have to try. 1,000 people is definitely different than 22,000 people so the food at school... I don't even want to think about it.

Anyway, I think that's all I got for you all today. We had a roomie hang out last night and Karissa, Katie and I were all SO goofy. We played UNO but we were just acting so ridiculous. Haha. Love it. Well hopefully I'll have some fun stories for you sooooon!

Much love!

Shmer Shmer. So Much.

SOOOOOOO.

On Friday we had project group which was awesome. I really can't believe that another Friday has past but that's beside the point.

We learned more about evangelism and stuuuuuuffff and this upcoming Friday we are going street evangelizing in Boulder, CO. I'm actually super nervous about it because I don't really know how I feel about street evangelism. We also hiked up Bible Pointe (yes that's pointe with and "e") as a group and we got to hear the testimonies of two people. I love hearing about how God transforms lives.

Saturday, I thought I had the day off.... but I didn't so I ended up just skipping work but my boss was okay with it because there was a misunderstanding. I got to meet up with Michelle from ISU (she's the pastor's wife) and we went on a walk near Glacier Creek, a sweet creek near Eagle Cliff. I got to hang out with her and her kids till lunch time which was awesome.

Sunday we started our workshops. The one I chose was Questioning Evangelism. It was pretty cool. Different than I expected.

Tuesday through Thursday, Jonalyn and Dale came and talked to us. It was pretty cool because they talked a lot about the gender gap in the church. Interesting stuff.

Well. That's all for now!

God is GOOOOOOOD!

So so so much to talk about people! Long post....again :)

So the day after my last post (climb up Thunder Mountain) I climbed Eagle Cliff after work with Chelsey and we had dinner at the top. It was beautiful and if you haven't seen the pictures from that hike yet, check them out on Facebook! Unfortunately I got a tick but I found it before it buried itself in my skin. I told Karissa and Katie and they have now decided my nickname is Love Bug....great... haha

Monday night, Katie (my other roommate) came and Karissa and I got to talk to her and just hang out and stuff which was a ton of fun! I love all the people I have met here. They are all very amazing.

Tuesday was the first night I got to lead worship with Eric, Jared, Tyler, Karissa, Ricky and Brett. It was amazing and I was TOTALLY filled with the Holy Spirit. I was not nervous in the slightest because I knew that I had to completely trust God and sing my heart out for him, not the people in the audience. I love when that happens, when you really connect to the words of a song and I love watching corporate worship. Just looking out into the crowd and seeing all of these people praising God and giving them all they've got is the coolest thing to see.

Wednesday, I had work....again. haha. And I was pretty ill but that's alright. I took a nap which was so nice. That night Katie, Karissa and I just had another incredible talk about guys and making sure that we aren't sending the wrong message and just how to have pure, intentional relationships with guys. Katie left to go to the Admin and Karissa and I grabbed dinner (at 9pm haha) and then continued the best talk. It is crazy when I talk to her because she has so much wisdom about God and I feel like we are SO similar it's crazy. I thank God for putting her in my life!

God made me realize that I am not alone in my struggles. He showed me that even when I feel like I'm the only one failing in a certain area that there is probably someone else who is at the same place.

People, I'm on fire. I have this burning passion to go out and share the overwhelming joy I have in my heart that makes me just want to scream like a little kid. I want this for all of you and I pray for you every night, that you would see the areas in your life that are holding you back from God and a passion for Him and His kingdom that surpasses everything you could ever dream.

I am very excited even to leave Colorado because I know that even if I left now, I would have a solid group of Christian girls that I could go to and talk to. Those same girls I was afraid to talk to are the girls who are becoming such close friends. It's amazing and I'm SO excited that God has given me the courage, even in the last week and a half to be myself. It is so freeing.

I am reading through the entire New Testament this summer and already it has been an awesome experience! I have never read the Bible in such big chunks before and it gives a whole new perspective to what I am reading. I love it! I know God is really challenging me to read through the whole Bible in 1 or 2 days. I mean, I did it with all of the Harry Potter books, why shouldn't I be able to read through the Bible in 12 hours? It's less pages. Haha So I'm planning on doing that eventually. I just need to have a free weekend...

Man! I really need to start doing this everyday because I just have so much to talk about and when I have 5 days worth of thoughts running through my head, it is hard to sort them ALL out and put them all into writing. I will try my best.

I would also love to hear from you guys! Feel free to comment on anything I have said or tell me about how God is working in your life by leaving a comment or shooting me an e-mail or facebook message! I would say just call but I have really bad service here since I'm in a valley sort of. I get fantastic service on top of the mountains though! Haha.

Have a wonderful day! :)

It's Thunder Mountain Charlie!!

Haha. That's the mountain I climbed today but more about that in a second.

So. I have two days off a week while I'm out here Fridays (for project group) and probably Saturdays.

Yesterday was my first project group day and it was awesome! John Drage taught our group a seminar from Sunlife. It was awesome. One of the coolest things that he said during the seminar was "If God needs to tell someone well done, He'll use our tongues. If someone needs money, He'll use our wallets. We are the literal hands and feet of God. He works through us for His purpose. God loves people through people." Such a cool concept and something I have definitely taken to heart.

This year's theme is evangelism. I am WAY beyond excited about that. I can't wait to learn more about the best way to show others the love of God. I really want to show people His love just by loving them. I think this is a great idea but there are some things I definitely have to work on when it comes to this. One being affection. I'm not very good at sharing how I feel about the people I really do care about. I really hope to grow in this.

I am so glad that God is already working in my life to change me and mold me into a better person. It is also cool how much God is already answering prayer. I really didn't feel that I was growing closer to people or building true friendships and so I prayed about it and the next day I had a really good talk with a few people in my project group and I am making so many friends out here that I know I will have for a lifetime. God has also blessed me with the best roommate ever, Karissa! She is just so amazing and we have so much in common. I am very excited that I get to spend the summer with her! We are also on the worship band together so that's cool too :)

So enough about Friday. Today I went on my first hike. I went to Thunder Mountain with Karissa and Default (Justin-my project group leader). It was a pretty intense hike up and I wanted to stop so much but I just kept pressing on. I am so thankful that Karissa and Default were so patient with me and allowed me to take so many breaks (GAH! I'm so out of shape). Summiting was the most satisfying feeling in the world. I couldn't believe I actually made it up this mountain and didn't die of an asthma attack haha. We ended up walking the wrong way down the mountain so it took forever to get back to the YMCA but that's alright. It was such a fun time! Then I went down to the town of Estes Park and we checked out all the cute little shops and stuff that are down there and had a delicious dinner at Poppy's Pizza. It will never replace Chicago style pizza but it will suffice while I am out here. Oh man. Just so many good things happening out here and it has been less than a week!

Well, I have work at 6am for the next 5 days so I should probably get some good rest. More later, beautiful people :) Praise God Always!

Estes Park, COLORADO!!!

Oh my goodness gracious. I am here. In the big CO. Pretty much in the mountains. Oh wait, not pretty much. DEFINITELY IN THE MOUNTAINS! Awesome sauce. 

So. We arrived here on Sunday after a long 16 hour car ride. Felt like forever and I was definitely happy to get unpacked. I settled in and then headed to registration and check in, all that good stuff. I am working at the Rustic Cafe which is this little coffee shop in the admin building. Openign at 6am everyday, people! Which is a significant improvement from my 4:30am open time. 

Either way. Epic. I am pretty much living in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The pictures I have been taking on my less than average camera phone do no justice to the beauty of this place. Even pictures on nice cameras just don't show the depth of AWESOMENESS that is here.

This is a view from my room!

Like I said, no justice.

Anywho. Yesterday I spent 8 hours at orientation learning that people ask questions like "When do the deer turn into elk?" and "Who mows the tundra?" Seriously? Seriously... It is times like these that I am thankful my hair color does not affect the amount brain cells I have. Praise the Lord haha

There was a mini blizzard the day I got here. The beginning of the day was sunny and 60 degrees. Then the temperature dropped and all of a sudden as I was walking outside in shorts and a t-shirt, BLIZZARD!

Then today, I had my first day of work. I worked cleaning instead of at the Rustic because of mis-communication but no big deal. I'm there tomorrow. Sooo yea!

Honestly, this is going to be an amazing summer. Challenging for sure. Difficult, yes but completely rewarding. God has already pointed things out in my life that I need to work on... 1 DAY of being here! And I have 80 more days to go.

More tomorrow!

The Final Countdown

I officially have 2 weeks left of my freshman year of college. That is nuts... I haven't blogged since Tuesday which I did not mean to do because now I have a lot to talk about! yay! except I don't remember everything I wanted to say so I will be brief.

Well, basically on Wednesday I stopped fasting because I was almost fainting every time I went to stand up. Not good. Then, that night I went to my friend's house and cooked dinner for her and her kids. I made enchiladas with homemade tomatillo sauce. It was awesome! I ended up staying from like 4-11:30pm because I made dinner and then stayed for American Idol and got to hang out with the girls that come over. It was a fun time.

Thursday was Homegroup which was actually really really good. We talked about whether or not we were satisfied in God. It was just a great conversation and I really enjoyed it. On the walk back Molly, KK and I talked about speaking in tongues and prophesy and what that looks like today and then we looked up a bunch of stuff when we got back to the dorm. Like I said, great conversations this night

Friday I went to classes and then KK, Katie Zarletti and I went to Max's for the weekend. We had a TON of fun. I feel like I finally got a real college experience.

I have had amazing God Time this week! YAY!!!!

Note to Self....

Reading the fantastic food blog I found during Celebration of Hope... bad idea.

Day 1

I am doing the Celebration of Hope this week. Basically I can only eat plain rice, oatmeal or cream of wheat. small pieces of vegetables and meat the size of a small chicken nugget and drink only tap water. It's pretty intense but so far has been really good.


Yesterday was the first day that I was doing this challenge. It was much harder than I thought. All day, everything looked delicious and I couldn't eat any of it! By the end of the day I had one carrot (which was all the veggies I could have for a day) and that carrot tasted fantastic especially compared to the cream of wheat I had for breakfast. It has been a very interesting experience so far. The hunger was on the forefront of my mind all day yesterday and in some strange way it made me focus better. It made me appreciate the fact that I can walk down to the dining center whenever I want and get food. 50% of the world's population eat like I am eating now or worse. 50%. That is a staggering amount. By the end of the day, I was exhausted and went to bed early. I can't imagine doing hard labor on this diet, it would be so grueling. According to August, I looked as though I was going to pass out but no such luck. I have never actually passed out before which I suppose is an interesting fact about myself.

I also got to go to coffee (or in my case water) with Amy, my Homegroup leader. She has an amazing story and it was very cool to see how God brought her to the place she is at now.

This morning, I woke up feeling much better. Completely refreshed and not groggy at all.  I think it has something to do with the fact that I have decided drinking the proper amount of water I should be drinking in a day is important. It's a TON of water. I used to be lucky if I drank 3 glasses of water a day. My body is definitely cheering right now haha. Went to Religions and Cultures this morning too. I was in a discussion group with 2 guys who are both Seniors. They were talking about how they are going to graduate and then they turned to me and asked when I was graduating. I told them I was a freshman and they were dumbfounded. They both thought I was a senior! This has happened to me so much this year. So yes, for those of you wondering, I still am a 30 year old stuck in a teenagers body but I'm slowly catching up.

www.toms.com

If you've never been to the TOMS website, you should go. It's really an awesome shoe store with an even greater purpose. For every pair of shoes they sell, they send a pair to kids who have no shoes. That being said, they had "One Day Without Shoes" day yesterday. I did it all day. It was quite the experience. I really didn't think that not having shoes all day would affect me that much but I was proven wrong. The ground was freezing all day because the sun was not out and walking on the pavement felt like there were needles going into my feet. I can't imagine walking around like that all day. And your feet are so susceptible to gross and nasty things and being cut up and stuff. KK and I walked back from our friend's house which was only about 3 blocks away from our dorm at like midnight but it was awful. We were thanking God that we had shoes the whole way home. It was just a powerful experience. I think one of the highlights was getting to wash my feet when we got home from our final walk outside without shoes. It was happy for me that I got to wash away my day and have clean feet once again but then I thought of all of the kids that don't get to do that and I thought about all the shoes that I have that I don't use. I need to donate them. Soon.

This past weekend was Easter weekend which was so exciting. I mean, seriously, how can you not be excited about someone coming back from the dead... on their own. CRAZY! This weekend was really good because I got the best of both worlds. A little bit of family, a little bit of friends, and just an overall happy weekend.

I got to spend time with my family which was a lot of fun. We had some great discussions, crazy comments and everything else in between which made family dinners quite...interesting. I went to Saturday night service at Willow Creek in Barrington. If you've never been to the Barrington campus I highly recommend going because first of all the pastors that speak there are incredibly insightful and they somehow make it feel like they are speaking directly to you each week. Also, it's just a sight to see. The worship center seats over 7,200 people. It's quite amazing to sing with 7,200 other voices in praise to God.

I also got to spend time with friends. I went to Duda's house on Friday night for a bonfire which was a lot of fun. I was nice seeing people but it was also eye opening for me to see people and realize I was never really friends with them or I had no reason to talk to them anymore. It made the night even better because then I just spent it with the people that I actually wanted to see and talk to. Tony and I had an awesome talk. If you don't know him, you should. He is such a great guy with an even greater heart.

Yesterday was a little hectic, re-choosing classes, trying to make decisions I know I can't make, thinking of all I have to do this week and doing none of it. It was frustrating but I did get girl scout cookies from the girls who were selling them on the quad. Smart parents!

That brings me to today. Today is much better as you can see, I even have time to blog so clearly a less stressful day. I just finished laundry and it is sprawled around my room so I didn't have to spend more money on the dryer. Now I should be doing something but listening to Jason Robert Brown sounds like a much better idea. I'm off to attempt to get something done. Later.

Google, I mean Topeka has done it again.

Once again, Google has won the battle. In light of the fact that Topeka, Kansas officially changed their named to Google, Kansas with the hope that Google would choose them to participate in their experimental ultra-high-speed broad band project Google has decided to take action.

Google, seeing that this kind gesture was merely a ploy has decided to fight back. If you didn't notice today as you tried to Google why you can't own a Canadian or what your favorite singer was actually saying during that part you usually mumble in the song, Google has officially changed it's name to Topeka as of today, April 1st.

As you read the many articles bashing Google for changing it's name, you must remember that this could be a very real situation but you must also remember that it is likely the people at Google know how to play a good, clean practical joke. After all, it is April 1st.

So Topeka, I commend you. Keep up the good work and rest at ease knowing that this knowledge junkie will never leave you for another search engine.

Lots to Talk About!

Well, I suppose I can tell you a little bit about the rest of my day yesterday. It was pretty uneventful until the evening hours. Right before small group, we had a mini Seder dinner. Rachel's mom made us a ton of delicious food and there were about 12 of us that came and just had a good time eating and hanging out with each other. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to have some leftovers before Rachel came to get them. Haha.

Today I didn't do much of anything. I walked outside without a jacket and it was wonderful. It was so awesome seeing people sitting on the quad doing homework or just being with friends.

The reason I am sitting here blogging instead of playing ultimate frisbee with the church kids is because I gave blood and I have to wait 4 hours before I do strenuous activities! It was my first time giving blood and I am glad I didn't faint. haha. I didn't watch the needle go in but I did look and see my blood going into the bag and stuff. My right arm felt weak which was weird. I know it's because my arm was being deprived of oxygen and stuff. OH! And the tube sitting on my hand felt warm because the inside of your body is 98.7 degrees so that was kind of cool. I know that's kind of gross so I am sorry if you are squeamish.

I got another letter from Zahara the other day!!! She put a new picture in the letter and a picture that she drew. It is precious. The letter was written on January 8th and got to me March 25th so you can get a good idea of the turn around time. I still have yet to get a letter from Lillian. I think one may come soon. I will be writing both Zahara and Lilian to tell them the good news about Colorado! I hope they get my letters. I wish there was some way of knowing or that we could send e-mails back and forth. I'm all for technology connecting the world.

Well, as of tomorrow there is one month of classes left. That is insane.

I have discovered true love

 As a kid I was definitely an advocate of the phrase "well if you love it so much, why don't you marry it?"

Well I think it is appropriate to say that I LOVE the new blog I just found. I may or may not have found it Facebook stalking people and I couldn't really tell you how it came to my attention but it's the blog of a girl that graduated from my high school when I was a sophomore and headed off to Julliard. Her New Year's resolution was to try 52 new restaurants in 52 weeks. Amazing.

First of all I was intrigued by this blog because it is so clever and well written. If only I had more wit, then maybe people would actually read the ramblings I call my life. Or maybe it's just the fact that she emphasizes important things by bolding them or making them really big. Oh the curse of always having to look professional.

Secondly, ummm it's about FOOD. Food that I want to try. Food that makes your mouth water by just reading about it. Food that looks like the kind of thing you would eat so much of you would probably have a food coma (which is just fine by me). She is such a good critic too! She really knows her stuff. I only wish my Dad and I had started doing this years ago! Seriously, who doesn't want to read about food.

Thirdly, people actually read her blog and look forward to posts. I have only been a reader for a day and I am ready to become a "follower" according to blogspot. Big step. I wish that people would look forward to reading my blog. I don't think my parents even read it anymore (well we will see now, won't we).

Needless to say, I spent my entire 8am class catching up on the past 3 months worth of restaurants that I missed out on. I'm excited to see where else this girl goes. If you want to check it out go here!

That being said... I could definitely marry this blog and I would have a beautiful life reading it.

I didn't read my Bible yesterday. It wasn't a bad day, something just felt not right all day. I won't be skipping that again. I love God time. :-)

Hmmm

So I was walking to class today and I held the door open for the 3 people behind me. They all looked at me with surprise and thanked me. It is so unfortunate that people expect others to only think of themselves.

TODAY!

So today I have decided to never eat at the Southside dining center ever again! Between the appetizer bar and french fry bar, I am thoroughly disgusted with the amounts of grease and fat that this dining center is suggesting I consume everyday.

Tonight, I went to Watterson's dining center and I must say, I had a fantastic meal that consisted of red pepper hummus with baked pita and a burrito made to order. Delicious! I also found out the other day that the egg substitute that they make in place of eggs here for breakfast has 70% of the cholesterol you should have in a day in 3 TABLESPOONS! Who eats 3 table spoons worth of eggs, huh? That's insanely ridiculous and awful. Bleh.

I also got to go out to coffee with Liz! We had an awesome talk. She has been all around the world and it was really cool to hear about where she's been and just get to know her better. I think I might want to do that for at least part of my life if not all. We will see what happens.

That being said, I have not decided on a major yet and I don't think I'll decide that for a while. I have time which is nice.

OH! Almost forgot...this weekend we watched all 6 Harry Potter movies. It was an awesome time!


The End!

Bah dum bah bah bah!

If you can figure out what jingle those random words go with, I'll give you a cookie.

Finally, it's Friday. It wasn't a stressful week, it was just a week that I wanted to be over. Meh, whatever.

My brother made it into Nine! Way to carry on the Olsen name, broha!

What else. OH! Tonight at 8/7c on ABC Jamie Oliver (from The Naked Chef) is starting a new series called Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Oliver was 2010's TED prize winner.

"The TED Prize is designed to leverage the TED community’s exceptional array of talent and resources. It is awarded annually to an exceptional individuals who receives $100,000 and, much more important, “One Wish to Change the World.” After several months of preparation, they unveil their wish at an award ceremony held during the TED Conference. These wishes have led to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact."

If you don't know what TED...

"stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
The TED Conference, held annually in the spring, is the heart of TED. More than a thousand people now attend, the event sells out a year in advance, and the content has expanded to include science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world. Over four days, 50 speakers each take an 18-minute slot, and there are many shorter pieces of content, including music, performance and comedy. There are no breakout groups. Everyone shares the same experience. It shouldn’t work, but it does. It works because all of knowledge is connected. Every so often it makes sense to emerge from the trenches we dig for a living, and ascend to a 30,000-foot view, where we see, to our astonishment, an intricately interconnected whole."

It is a phenomenal website that everyone should check out. The talks on this website ( TED.com ) are inspiring. I hope to go to at least one of these talks one day. Tickets cost $700 a piece (and you have to pay to get out there) but with that $700 the TED community can afford to put all of the talks that the rich, elite people get to see online for us common folk who just enjoy pure knowledge. Love it. It's a great idea and an even greater cause.

If you wanna check out past TED prize winners you can click here.

Well that's all I got for now. I will talk about a super fun late night walk I took on Tuesday but it will be a separate post cuz no one wants to read THAT much information in one post.

58

This is the 58th time I have decided to let people know how I am doing. The 58th set of moments of my life that I don't want to forget. So here it goes... 58 things that have happened to me in the past week since my last blog post in no particular order.

1) Had my first day back from Spring Break
2) Tried to choose classes without having a major
3) Decided that I wanted to be a Marketing and Business Administration Major
4) Decided that I didn't actually know what I wanted to do with my life yet and I didn't have to decide that quickly
5) Started planning for LT
6) Discovered something called Connect by Hertz where you can rent a car for a few hours. Sounds pretty awesome.
7) Went on a walk in 64 degree weather. It was beautiful
8) Saw tulips blooming
9) Had a great talk with one of my best friends, Rachel, after small group and we got to realizing that Judaism and Christianity aren't as different as we thought. It feels good to no longer be ignorant.
10) Had a choir concert
11) Went to dinner with my family and had leftovers the next day (eggplant parmesan.. SO good)
12) Got to have my brother stay with me overnight in the dorm so he could experience my version of the college life.
13) Had dinner with the two fabulous girls who are on the worship team with me
14) Made someone feel awkward. haha story of my life!
15) Realized that when I took the train home I left the keys for the van in my pocket and so my parents had to find the spare in order to drive it all week. I also realized that I forgot my epic awesome toothbrush and comb at home
16) Held the car keys for ransom until I got my items back from my parents safe and sound this weekend
17) Was visited by Max, another one of my best friends.
18) Skipped math class on Thursday when I have a test tomorrow with no other review classes in between
19) Had bible study a bunch!
20) Had Sunday Night Prayer and It was amazing and beautiful and God really spoke to me about what he wants for Cornerstone and the leaders there
21) Thought about staying single purposefully for the next 6-7 years so I can just focus on what God wants me to do in that time
22) Thought about what in this life would make me happy. I couldn't really think of anything specific that would make me happy in the future. I just know what makes me happy now
23) Considered taking a job that wouldn't let me do worship band
24) Didn't take the job
25) Consistently woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep for a while. Go insomnia!
26) Consistently woke people up with text messages that I sent late at night
27) Started re-watching the 3rd season of Heroes so I can get back into it
28) Found the application that my Dad makes my potential boyfriends fill out... those of you who have dated me are brave souls
29) Was excluded
30) Was told I was not allowed to transfer or even consider transferring to another school
31) Talked to Max's mom on skype bahaha
32) Tried to study for math
33) Fell asleep on my math book while studying
34) Stayed up till 4am
35) Tried to convince my dad to pay for my ear piercing
36) Heard birds singing in the morning
37) Have discovered that I am engaged to God and it's awesome
38) Have realized that I have to travel around the world when I am older. No settling down for me!
39) Have made the hallway into a freezing wind tunnel because I opened my window and my door
40) Was given a delicious M&M cookie!
41) Tried to hold August's hand awkwardly and got denied
42) Had it almost snow on the official first day of Spring
43) Was called Freckles....multiple times. Bleh
44) Considered eating some of my Dinosaur Egg Oatmeal
45) Had KK walk into our room, while a boy was here, in a towel. I died of laughter and fortunately she did too
46) Reminisced about High School
47) Went to Women's overnight-er
48) Discovered that I don't make time for God much less anyone else who isn't on the ISU campus because it's kind of hard to make the time for those people even though I love them. I don't want to do that to God either. I demand his full attention but I don't give Him my full attention
49) Re-focused
50) Discovered that I want to have an amazing conversation with Liz, a new person at Cornerstone who has traveled around the world.
51) Have missed Sam Duda and the joy she brings to my life
52) Have been happy that KK is my roommate :-)
53) Got a pedicure
54) Have started actually having a memory finally!
55) Had fun hanging out with my brother and friends and showing him that drinking isn't fun and that sober fun is way cooler
56) Made some new friends
57) Made KK's bed
58) Drank Peach Iced for the first time in a long time... satisfying