Cliches.

Normally, I hate cliches. However, nothing about me lately has been normal*.

That roller coaster I mentioned earlier? Yeah, it's more like a cliff.
I have a decision to make. A life altering, big deal, serious business decision. The decision requires a lot of faith, trust, and prayer (Forget pixie dust. No one really wants to be covered in Tinkerbell's dead skin cells.).
Everything has been lined up. It's all sitting in front of me, just a tiny baby step outside of my comfort zone.
At this point, I feel like God has presented this plan to me and put the ball in my court. I can either go one route and wait for a metaphorical whale (Or literal, but I don't really think a real whale is going to come ashore solely because of me) to gobble me up and take me where I was supposed to go in the first place, OR I can take a deep breath, step off the cliff in front of me, and trust that God is waiting right there to catch me.
I've never been scared to go against the norm, so it would only be fitting that my decisions in the next few months (both leading up to, during, and after Romania) would lead me down a path that is different and "non-conformist".
I'm not ready to share just yet what this path I'm seeing is, but until the time comes for me to share it, I covet your prayers. Prayers that I may have the discernment to hear God's voice and make the right decision, that I'll be able to seek wise council and receive sound advice. This is a very big decision to be making, and one that requires a lot of faith and hard work all together.

More directly and less ambiguously, I'd like to share with you guys this video one of my friend (and Romania team mate!) Tory shared with our Romania team. I won't lie to you, I actually cried the first time I watched it. My heart is already in Romania and I cannot wait to finally arrive and be the hands and feet of Christ, a light in the lives of these beautiful people.
http://vimeo.com/4273395

Days until Romania: 56
Funds raised so far (Yes, I'm still fund raising! I know someone asked in comments on the last post): $2,838 out of $4,350.

* Normal has actually never applied to me. Just yesterday a customer came by work with a blue bandage on their chin, and I thought they were wearing a duct tape soul patch much like the one I wear when I pretend to be Apolo Ohno. . . then I remembered that no one but me does that.

Prom night.

Prom is tonight.
My first words as a child were in protest to prom. I’ve never liked the idea and always swore I’d make it out without going. We see how far that got me.
I mean, it could be a far worse situation. I’m not going as a date and I’m going with my best friend. Neither one of us is big on dancing, and I haven’t actually seen the other girl going with us in ages. The whole hanging-out-with-them-and-seeing-my-face-on-the-senior-recognition-display-advertising-a-Maya-Angelou-quote-and-aspiration-to-be-Amy-Poehler-to-Bree’s-Tina-Fey-amidst-tons-of-girls-who-want-to-only-be-stay-at-home-moms* will be grand fun. I also really love my dress, which is doubling (tripling?) as my graduation dress and the dress I’m wearing to my Aunt’s wedding in June. However, I just hate the idea of prom.

I feel like prom is trivial, and I’m beyond trivial at the moment. There are so many untrivial events about to occur in my life and I’m ready to be there, so things like prom and walking the stage at graduation seem so small. I’m ready to be out of high school and getting out in the world doing huge things that will not only impact my life by the lives of those around me. Sometimes, to be honest, I’ve started to question whether or not I’m supposed to really be going to college. I’m so anxious to get to Romania and help the broken world, it seems like college is almost a road block towards that. It’s a crazy thought, I know, because I’ve been given a clear point from God that I’m headed to UNCG for a reason that is non-academic.

My brain is cluttered today. I’m just thrilled by the possibilites that lay ahead of me but anxiously awaiting the day I get to actually experience them.
You know that feeling when you reach the very top of a giant hill on a roller coaster and you know that in two seconds, you’re going to drop a million feet, causing adrenaline to fly through your entire nervous system?
That feeling is here.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"
Psalm 27:14

"May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of His Holy Spirit,"
Romans 15:13

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him,"
Psalm 28:7

Days until Romania: 60
Funds raised: $2,838 out of $4,350.

* Not that there is anything wrong with being a stay at home mom. I’m just saying that it seems to be a pretty common thing among home schooled girls, and they tend to lean towards the Michelle Duggar side of stay at home mom, which I actually find to be a bit much.