December 14, 2011

ending fall 2011

i just submitted my 12 page take-home final to my history professor.
my harry potter paper is all wrapped up.
i knocked out two finals yesterday.
as of this moment, i have washed my hands of fall 2011 - until grades are posted in a few weeks...

i've been sitting in front of the computer for at least 5 hours today and i'm on the verge of going cross-eyed, but still i need to/want to reflect and blog...so here i am!

can you believe another semester/year is already over?! it truly doesn't feel like it. the first day of the semester seems like yesterday. i remember going in with lifted spirits, ready to turn things around after i had absolutely drained myself the semester before. i started the semester with a few goals, after learning some hard lessons over the summer:

say NO to things and balance my time.
give 100% to my commitments - church, leadership, school, work, my relationship with T, my friendships.
allow for some "me" time, especially me & God time.

i remember sitting outside by the pool with T during our first few weeks of school amazed at how relaxed  i felt. i worked as much as i needed to. no, i'm not living glamorously or excessively, but the Lord constantly provides. i planned coffee dates with my girlfriends and reclaimed those friendships i had slacked on earlier this year. the Lord allowed me to start regular get-togethers for the college group ladies, along with Erin's help - and i have seen His blessing and faithfulness in that. i made time to do little mundane things, like laundry and grocery shopping, cleaning and cooking, budgeting and organizing, and because i made time for them, those chores were so much more enjoyable!

and through it all, the Lord is constantly teaching me to lean on Him and live out of His strength, not mine. if i had to name two spiritual lessons for this past semester that would be one of them. the other would be making time for a sabbath. even Jesus escaped from the crowds to rest and refresh as He spent time with His father. in the past few weeks, it's been easy to let that habit slip away again. fellowship with others and enjoying some time doing the things i love are my forms of refreshment, and as soon as i let that slip away, i can feel the edge. sabbath sabbath sabbath - it is SO important!

i always love going back through my photos and reflecting on all the fun adventures i've had - i guess you could say my photography is a journal of sorts for me. here are some of my favorite snapshots & memories!

fall briefing @ forest home / sep 2011

surprise visit for Kim  / sep 2011

girl's night / sep 2011

leadership retreat / signal hill, sep 2011

sunday dates / malibu, nov 2011

birthday celebrating with the bestie / norcal, nov 2011

happy halloween! / oct 2011

my first hockey game - go ducks! / anaheim, nov 2011

women's retreat / murietta springs, oct 2011

home / apple hill, nov 2011

thanksgiving with the gilley's / nov 2011

snowboarding @ big bear / nov 2011
sprinkle in weekly tuesdates, regular coffee dates, roomie dates with melmel, decorating & furnishing our new apt, and a million other fun things, i'd say this was a pretty fabulous past few months - and i am SO thankful!

now i'm all ready to enjoy 5 school-free weeks...can i get an amen?!

2 comments:

  1. Love the picture on the beach and the cotton candy one!
    x
    Marielle

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  2. thanks for visiting marielle! happy holidays! =)

    ReplyDelete