Adios!

Well, I'm off to Costa Rica in just a few hours!  This past week since I have found out about going to Costa Rica has been a blur.  I feel like I was in power mode when it came to school work ( I still have to submit something for my personal health class before I leave... probably not going to sleep before I'm leaving in the morning... I'll sleep on the plane) and today has been crazy packing.  Today was the only real day I had to go shopping for things I needed and pack everything up.  I took pictures of my room while packing - it was crazy.  Clothes were literally everywhere.  When I post about CR when I get back I'll make sure to post those too.  I would show you now, but my camera is already packed away :) 

This isn't my room - but you get the idea!

Seeing as I still have stuff to do, I will see all you lovely bloggers out there next Sunday when I get back!  I will talk about my February goals and make my new ones for March! 

Pray for myself, the team going, and the people in Costa Rica.

Love you all,
mb

Bittersweet Tuesday

So some positive things about today:

new Adele cd i am so so so so so so so so excited about this one.  Adele is easily my favorite musician, I just love her.  If you have never heard of her, please go to youtube and listen to some of her songs. someone like you is my favorite but, in reality, they are all amazing songs.  Plus she's british which makes me like her more :)

GAME NIGHT is tonight!  I'm going over to my friend Sally Claire's to hang out wiht people and play fun games like catch phrase!  I don't know what we'll play tonight, but I know it's going to be a fun time.  Don't worry, there will be pictures.

I leave for Costa Rica in 4 days!

Some sad things about today:

I leave for Costa Rica in 4 days!  There is a lot of stuff to get done between now and then.

My roomie, Noel, is home sick with the flu :(  I do not like that she is sick!  Flu is no fun and so I want her to get better asap!  I'm going two weeks without seeing her so this being separated even more es no bueno.

The weather, which was BEAUTIFUL yesterday, and has been the past week or so, is back to being cold and blah :(



How's your tuesday?

mb

another blog

so I created another blog for myself - this one isn't going to have any writing (if so, maybe a sentence).  It is going to be composed of pictures that I find that I like, think are pretty, describe myself, etc.  It's a picture blog.

speakingthroughpictures.blogspot.com

-mb

preperation

So one week from right now I will be in Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica. [or at least on my way] Let me tell you, there is a lot to get done between now and then.  I have been/am planning on being a lame college student this weekend.  I spent my Friday night working on my lab report for biology and studying for greek and so far on this beautiful Saturday I have been working on my lab report.  I think I'm going to take a break from that (which is kinda what I'm doing now writing this) and work on my english paper even though I would rather do neither.  Honestly I want to be outside or hanging out with friends or doing something other than school work.

I've used this picture but it just describes me right now.  Lots of school work!

Lets take the school work factor out of it - there is still other types preparation needed to go on the trip.

1) Spiritual. 
I know I put in my last post about me even being able to go on this trip is a God thing but there is more to it than just that.  I want my heart to be in the right place before I set foot on the plane next Saturday.  I don't want this trip to be about me or the experience I'll gain.  I want this trip to be about making God's name known to people who may not be able to hear it otherwise.  In a sermon I heard from John Piper he asked

"Do you feel more loved by God because he makes much of you 

or that he enables you to make more of him?"  

 Sit and think about that question, it's a tough one.  I know that one reason I feel love from God is because he allows me to go on mission trips such as this one and the experience I will gain will look great on PT school applications.  However, my hope is that my desire while on this trip will be to make his name known.  The worst kind of idolatry is when you enjoy worshiping God because he is committed to making much of you.  You are basically worshiping God to worship yourself.  Note: I am writing this as a point to myself as well.  There are times that this is the exact thought that crosses my mind.  "How lucky am I to have a God that will enable to do what I want?"  In the same sermon John Piper told us that this is like expecting the same meal you would usually have on a Monday night but instead of fixing it yourself you have a butler to fix it for you.
My God is an amazing God and I want to take his message to every person I can.

2) Packing
How do you like to pack for trips?  I like to make a list of what I need and then proceed to pack the night before.  The idea of packing a week or even a couple days before baffles me.  What if I need something but I have already packed it?  Then I would have to go in the suitcase and take it out just to repack it later.  I think it is much easier to have a list, do laundry the night before, lay out what you need to get ready in the morning and have it so it is easy to pack once done using it, and then pack everything else.  That way you know exactly what is in your suitcase and you have everything you need the week before the trip.  My dad is the same way except I don't think he makes a list.  He probably just packs.  My mom, however, starts laying stuff out weeks in advance.  Since my sister doesn't live at home she's been using her room to lay out clothes that she is taking and things that she'll need to pack.  I know she probably makes a list as well, but she definitely packs in advanced.  Considering that I have only known for three days that I am going and I leave in 7, I couldn't have packed in advanced for this trip anyways.  However, the late notice does call for some serious list making and some shopping needed (which will probably get done next Friday, the day before we leave)


How do you like to prepare for trips? 

Have a great Saturday!
MB

¡Voy a Costa Rica!

Exciting news everyone!

Last night I found out that I am going to Costa Rica!  I will be going with my church and working in a medical clinic in Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica.  I will be gone from February 25-March 5, so I will miss a week of school, but it is worth it.  The experience I will gain from this is going to be amazing, I'm sure of it.  I am also really excited to see what God is going to do in my life while I am there.  I know that God has already had his hand in this trip for me.  Even the opportunity for me to go is a God thing.  Someone who was supposed to go found out yesterday that she will not be able to go so I am going in her place with the trip already paid for.  Um hello, that's God right there.  I have felt a call in my life to go into missions and here is just the first door opened for me.  I'm not 100% sure what I'm supposed to do in my life but I know that this is a step in the right direction.

Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica

Some prayer requests:
-for the people in Costa Rica that we will come in contact with that God will already start working in their hearts and lives
-for the people that I'm going with that God will open up our eyes and hearts to what he wants us to do and that we will place 100% trust in him
-travel! I'm not afraid of planes but some people are
-logistics so that everything will run smoothly


Don't worry, when I get back I will post lots of pictures!
have a great Friday!
mb

p.s. maybe I can see my wonderful friend Linsey while I'm there? I hope so!

Valeintine's Day

Unless you live under a rock, everyone knows that yesterday was valentine's day.  Or as a good friend of mine said, all chocolate half off eve :)  I have come to find over the years that most people hate valentine's day.  Either they are single and don't like the reminder of that fact or they are in a relationship and just don't like the idea of valentine's day.  I really don't mind either way.  I've celebrated single and in a relationship and to me it really is just another day.  Yesterday happened to be a Monday with gorgeous weather.

Even though I didn't have a specific valentine, I have some of the best guy friends ever and they gave me a present!

Brandon came by and gave me a beautiful pink carnation and Kenneth came by and gave me a white rose & chocolate covered strawberry!  It was delicious and the flowers smell amazing.

Then for dinner I went out to eat with my parents to a great restaurant, Noodles!  If you have never been to Noodles, you need to find the closest one to you and go to eat there!  It has noodle based dishes from America, Asia and the Mediterranean that you can choose from as well as some salads and sandwiches.  Everything is made to order and if you don't like what you ordered, they will make you something else free of charge!  My parents treated me to dinner, got me a cute card and gave me $20.  What more could I want?

Then I finished off my Valentine's day by studying for the organic chemistry test I had earlier today.  There's nothing else I would rather do... *insert sarcasm here* On a positive note, I think I did pretty well on the exam!  We shall see.

What did you do for Valentine's day?

Love,
MB

oh the weather outside is Wonderful!

the weather outside is absolutely amazing. high of 69 today and this week is just going to get warmer, which I love.  It is my personal belief that college students are happier when it's warmer outside. 

This is what college students do when it's warm outside - we sit on the grass to study, hang out and sleep. 

I hope that if you have beautiful weather like I do today, you enjoy it as much as possible!

love,
mb

Thursday night & Mascots

So last night I hung out with my really good friend Patrick.  I ran into him as I was getting out of my last class of the day and he asked if I wanted to get dinner and go to the women's basketball game with him, so I said of course!  Patrick and I have been really good friends since freshman year of high school.  He is one of my best guy friends.  Since we've been in school it has been a little big harder to keep our friendship up since we are in two different majors and living in to different parts of campus, so the way we bond is hanging out at various sporting events around campus.

Me and Pat at a basketball game last year

Me and Pat at a football game

Me and Pat at a baseball game

As you can see, we love sports! haha.  Anyways, first me and Patrick went to dinner and we got there in perfect time to be serenaded by Grains of Time.  Grains of Time is the only all male acapella group on campus.  After dinner we headed over to the historic Reyonalds Coliseum to watch our women play UVA.  What I didn't know, is that there were mascots there from all over North Carolina.  Besides Mr & Mrs Wuf there was Sir Purr from the Carolina Panthers, Stormy from The Huricanes, the bobcat mascot from the Charlotte Bobcats, Muddy the catfish from the Mudcats, the bull from the Durham Bulls, a kangaroo from Kangaroo gas station, a pig from Backyard Bistro (a restaurant near campus)  and a dinosaur (idk what it represented)  Let me tell you, it was hilarious.  They were all over the place while the team was playing.  During half time, they played a game of basketball against each other!

They stole the cheerleader's megaphone and pompoms.

They kept running into each other and knocking each other down

What was one of the best parts of the game?  I got to get a picture with Mr. Wuf!

At the end of the game the score was tied 56-56 so it went into overtime.  It ended up going into four overtimes. The game was the longest game in NC State history and the longest game in the NCAA this season.  Sadly, NC State ended up losing in a buzzer beater 94-92, but the girls played a great game. 

Have a great Friday night!
mb

 

A Skeptic's Quest: How an Agnostic found God

So tonight I had the privilege to hear Dr. Josh McDowell speak.  He grew up not an atheist, but agnostic.  His opinion on religion was you're wrong and I don't want to hear anything about it.  Tonight he came to speak to kids on my campus about his journey to Christ and let me tell you, he did not have an easy upbringing.  He had an alcoholic father, two siblings run away from home (one he hasn't seen in 50 years), one sister commit suicide and his oldest brother sued his parents for everything they had.  Rough, right?  It really made me appreciate the family God gave me.  Any who, the whole reason he found Jesus was that he was in the process of writing a book trying to use solely intelligence to disprove the bible.  Little did he know that on his way to doing this he would find using intelligence how truthful the bible is.  He made a really good point tonight:

Why do Christians believe what they believe without truly understanding why they believe what they believe?

Makes you think, doesn't it?  I know that I'm not 100% fluent in the bible and everything it has to say, nor could I answer every question that someone could ask me about my faith, but I would like to think that I could back up what I believe with the truth that is they bible.  Not just to say I believe it "because I'm supposed to - it must be in the bible somewhere"  He really challenged me to spend more time in the bible so that I can really understand why I believe what I believe.  Did you know that there are over 24,000 manuscripts of the New Testament alone?  That's not including any manuscript of the Old Testament.  The next highest number of manuscripts found is 600 for the Iliad.    That's 40 times the amount of manuscripts.  The higher the amount of manuscripts there are, the more accurate you can believe what you're reading is - there is more evidence to prove that this is how it was written in the beginning.

Dr. McDowell told us tonight that about a month ago he just finished talking at a conference and as he was trying to hurry and leave to go catch his flight a student came up to him and asked if he could ask him a question.  Dr. McDowell said okay if you can walk and talk at the same time.  The student asked him - Why does it matter if it [the bible] is the truth or not?  Dr. McDowell said he stopped, turned and in response asked the student a simple question - Do you want the truthful answer or the false answer? He then turned and kept walking while the student just stood there with his mouth open not really understanding.

Makes you see how important the truth is doesn't it?

Have a great day!

MB

Snail Mail!

When you were a little kid didn't you love it when someone in your house checked the mail and there was a letter in there for you?  Then as you got older it became college applications and acceptance letters and even scholarship forms.  The older you get the less happy you are with mail because usually it is just junk or bills.  Luckily for me, I got the best kind of mail today.

I got a letter from Linsey in Costa Rica!

You wouldn't believe how happy I was get this!  I knew she was sending me mail, but I thought it was going to take a lot longer than it did.  I was having kind of a down day today and I have been really stressed (as I mentioned earlier) but coming back to my dorm and finding this was like finding $20 in your pocket of a winter coat that you haven't worn in months. 

It was a very long letter and as much as I loved reading it, it made me miss lin even more!  Not going to lie, I cried while I was reading it.  They were both happy tears and sad tears.  I already wrote her a letter back and will mail it of asap!

Don't you love getting snail mail?  I think it's more personable than e-mails or wall posts on fb :)

-MB

crazy week

When you ask a college student to describe a crazy week that they are having/about to have usually it involves a test (or even 4) and a ton of homework in between. Here is the crazy thing about my week - I have zero tests this week.  [that's especially crazy because last week & this week are usually the first weeks of tests given by professors] However, this week is going to be crazy for me.

First off, while I have no tests this week, next Monday I have a full rough draft of a paper due, a midterm in personal health and then Tuesday I have my first organic exam of the semester [eeeeeeekkkk] This means that this week is the preperation for next week.  On top of classes and homework I am going to three SI sessions for organic.  SI is supplimental instruction so it's basically like a tutor for my class, but not one on one, it's with people from my class.  I also have to go to my english teacher's office hours on wednesday (my one day to sleep in... oh well) because I have no idea how to start writing my paper.  Funny thing about me and writing.  I am told I am a good writer, but I would rather have my teeth pulled then write a paper. [odd that I have a blog, I know] Once I get started writing I can usually finish out my thoughts well and make a good point, but it's always starting that gets me stuck.  This is why I usually wait until the last minute to write all my papers. For english 101 freshman year I waited forever to start writing my final paper and I had my roommate change my password to facebook 48 hours before my paper was due and I wrote a 11 page paper on Autism and if there was a connection with vaccines and mercury or not and ended up getting an A+ on the paper.  Best grade I had all semester on a paper and I waited until the absolute last minute to do it. 

BACK to the point, I'm kinda freaking out about this paper.  I'm writing about the difference/similarity between justice and mercy based off of a character Isabell's argument with a Lord in Measure for Measure by Shakespeare.  Luckily it only has to be 5-7 pages and only 3 sources outside of Measure for Measure itself, so it's not that long, but again it's how I start it that I get stuck with. 

I'm not too worried about my personal health midterm because let's face it, I've been taking "personal health" since I was in pe in elementary school.  The class is exactly what it sounds like - we talk about stress, different aspects of health, nutrition, weight management, ect.  I AM worried about my organic test so on top of SI three times this week I am also planning on being at that professor's office hours for the full two hours getting help of stuff I do not understand.

Anywho, thanks for reading (if you still are) and letting me vent online to you.  I'm going to be crazy stressed but hopefully I can still work in gym time (it's good to exercise when you're stressed, or so I'm told) and blog time!  I'm actually writing this in the library in between classes so who knows, I may update again later with something more meaningful or profound? We'll see :)

have a great day!
mb

check one off the list!

I did it! I can successfully check something off my February to-do list.  What is it you ask? 


I tried a coffee drink.

Believe me when I tell you, I didn't really want to do it so I went ahead and did it early in the month instead of putting it off until later :)

Friday I went to lunch with my friends Courtney and Haley who are both two avid coffee drinkers so I figured I could trust their judgment on what I should try.  My only request?  That it had the least coffee taste to it :) What did I end up trying?  A mint mocha from Coffee Haven, a small hole in the wall coffee shop on Hillsborough Street.

The verdict?  Eh.  I mean, I drank it because I wasn't going to waste it, but I didn't really gain anything in the experience.  I could still taste the coffee which made me not like it.  It's just something about that coffee after taste that I don't like.  However, I am proud of myself for trying it! 

I also have been keeping up with my couch to 5k :)

I hope everyone has a great Sunday!
mb

prayer please

So I started writing a post last night about the study on simplicity that my bible study girls and I just finished, but the words just weren't coming to me and I don't want to post when I'm not sure of what I'm writing.  What is really on my heart is the fact that I have two options for missions coming up and I'm not sure which one to take.  They would both be awesome opportunities, but each have the pluses and minuses. I have to make a decision very soon and I don't want to make the wrong one, so I'm praying a lot about it.   I'm asking you to pray for me too for not only to help make a decision, but confidence in my decision to know that I'm making the right choice.

Everybody have a great Friday!
mb

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” 

Joshua 1:9

February

Okay, so I got this great idea from my friend courtney to post my goals for the month on my blog.  That way not only do I know them, but you know them too and it will help keep me accountable. So here is a list of my to do list for the month of February:

• Finish reading So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore.
• Keep up with C25K (here is a link explaining - trying to get in shape here couch 2 5k)
• Write on my blog at least every other day
• spend 5-10 minutes everyday in complete silence with God.  This is outside of anytime I spend doing devotions - I want to stop what I'm doing and just listen.  No music, no distractions, just me and God having some one on one time
• Send lin a package! (I already know what I'm sending - but I'm keeping it a surprise, so I'll tell you at the end of the month)
• rewatch sermons from Passion to help remind me of what I learned
• make a new friend!
• try a coffee drink ***note. I do not like coffee as of now. At all. Not even coffee flavored things.  I never have and I probably never will, but I want to take a step outside of the box and try one that has a whole lot of other stuff in it and not so much coffee just to see if I like it.  I'm making no promises to like it, I just want to try it
• Get my brother and awesome present for his 30th birthday
• stop procrastinating on studying!

So these are my goals for February - what are yours?

love,
MB