One Week Down...

I have officially been a college student for a week! Praise the Lord first week is over. It was a lot of fun, but it was a whirlwind. There has been good and bad. But mostly good.

First week was full of, well, a lot of firsts.  For example:

My first day of school

My first cup of coffee (at college)

My first solid orange Friday. GO TIGERS! (sorry about the mirror pic...my mom isn't here to take pictures of me and the roomie was in class)

First time to the lake. Please just look at those clouds. That picture was taken with an iPhone. So. Beautiful.

First ultimate game on Bowman. It rocked. And my team won.

First eno at Clemson. We enoed by reflection pond and it was awesome.

First sporting event. Women's soccer vs. Furman.

There have been many other firsts, and I look forward to the ones to come. I'm already in love with shagging, get chills anytime I think about the Georgia game, and meet someone new everyday. 

In other news...

It's rush week around here and so all the girls that I've met and befriended on my hall have been M.I.A. So that's been really lonely. It stinks and I hate rush. Praise the Lord it's over Wednesday. 

I have my first small group meeting with Crosspoint small groups tomorrow night in...wait for it...STARBUCKS. I'm pumped. Hopefully I can cut down on my mound of homework before a full week of classes hits me like a train. I'm still not in school mode. So on that note, I'm gonna go read out of two ton text books...pray for me!

Dorm Sweet Dorm

I promise that my I was all moved in before this point in time. Life has just been busy, with first week activities every second of every day, and with classes starting this past Wednesday. But enough excuses, here she is, my home for the year. 

It isn't anything too fancy, but I think I like it that way. 

In other news, the roommate is great, like really great. I am so thankful. Not only for her, but for all of the girls on my strip of the hall. I haven't seen a single drunk person and so far, no boys in the bathroom, and I am praising God for that. 

I continue to rejoice, for my God continuously does immeasurably more than all that I could ask or imagine.

I would have been content with nice girls, but the girls on my strip of the hall love Jesus. 

That's right. They love the Lord.

I don't know about you, but I'm blown away. Flabbergasted. My God is so great. I can't handle it.

With that in mind, I have had some hard days. College rocks, yes, but no one really tells you about how hard it is to transition in, about the beginning stages. But even through the difficult and the lonely, I hold on to His promises and sing praise that He is faithful, ever faithful. 

Safe and Sound

Today I moved into college. The best college. I can't believe I'm finally here.

Last night mom and I finished packing everything up, and my room looked like this:

This is the cleanest my room has looked in...er...quite some time. The downstairs, however, looked like this:

And this isn't even a good representation. I still can't believe all of the stuff that I brought with me. I'm still unearthing more stuff and have like two bags to go through. One is only t-shirts (I'm such an addict).

Before we left the house, we had a family prayer, and (he's going to kill me for this) my dad got choked up and started crying! This is as monumental for me as moving to college. Really.

We arrived to Clemson safely and then sat in Clemson traffic for about an hour. We quickly unloaded everything into the dorm and tried to unpack. And by we I mean my mom, dad, and I. The little brother was worn out from his latest shoe night.

My dorm room is small and space is limited. There are a lot of inconveniences, such as we can only loft one bed, the position of the outlets, the fact that we're on the 7th floor, and the fact that there are boys -- immature, freshmen boys -- on the floors directly above and below us. BUT it's all good. Everything is fitting. And when I look out the window, I see this:

Now that, that makes everything better. I don't know if the picture shows it, but from my room we can see Tillman Hall and the top of the stadium (I CAN'T WAIT FOR FOOTBALL). We can also see the mountains. SO beautiful. I can't wait to see all of that green change into glorious yellow, burning red, and Clemson orange over the next few months. 

I had one last meal with the family and then had to say goodbye. It was so hard. I've been crying and crying the past few days because it's hard to leave my family. I know it's unusual for an 18-year-old girl who is about to spend the next year at the best school around to be sad, but they just make it so hard. The Lord has blessed me with such a fantastic family, whom I already miss terribly. 

But greater things are yet to come. I'm already meeting new girls on my hall, wondering how the Lord is looking to use me in their lives. I am already incredibly thankful for my roommate and her heart and look forward to getting to know her better. 

I'm not quite done with the dorm room. I still have several finishing touches, and once that's done I'll be sure to post lots of pictures. Clemson has tons of activities planned for us in this upcoming week, and I'm excited to meet new people, starting tomorrow at church!

For, praise the Lord, tomorrow is Sunday. 

The First of Lasts

Well today began the first of lasts for me. It was my last Sunday at FBC Fort Mill, the church that I once despised as a fourth grader forced to move, but have grown to love and cherish. The people that form that church love the Lord. So much. It's quite beautiful.

Here's a few pictures of my senior class:

Stunning huh? I love my senior girls especially, for they are the ones who have been with me through it all. It has been a pleasure watching each of them mature and grow in the Lord, while also growing quite a bit myself. We have indeed come quite a ways...

...a long, long ways. I mean just look at those pictures...whew. Anyways, this morning I cried a good bit, no thanks to these guys:

Johnny, my youth pastor, and his wife, Trish

 Matt, my youth pastor, and his wife Meghan, my small group leader

All four of these people have poured the love and truth of God into my life and I praise Him for it. It's so hard to say goodbye to them, or, excuse me, 'see ya later.' 

But, in the midst of all the tears, the congregation proclaimed "The Lord our God is ever faithful" and that He is. He is huge and mighty and sovereign and this summer has been remarkable for He has taught me to trust. 

Me. Catilyn. The one who stresses. Who worries. He has shown me that He is good, that He is faithful, and that I can trust Him. 

Tonight I lied beneath the sky under thousands upon thousands of stars in order to see a meteor shower, to see the heavens declare the glory of God (psalm 19:1). 

While laying in the dark, my friends and I thought there was someone lurking, and they began to get a tad bit anxious, but I was legitimately calm, and one of my friends, who knows me quite well, said, "since when are you so go-with-the-flow? you would normally be freaking out." To which I responded, "I've learned a lot."

I've learned a lot.

PRAISE BE TO GOD. For He is faithful.

And so, even though this morning was hard, this week will be hard, and move-in day will be even harder -- even though I hate change, and it's scary -- it's going to be good. Great, really. For the Lord is faithful. He can be trusted. And He works for the good of those who love Him (romans 8:28).

I am so thankful for the things that He has done, and I am excited to see what His will holds for me in the future. 

First of Many (hopefully...)

Well I've been planning on beginning this blog for some time now, but plans aren't always accomplished. This morning, however, they are!

I leave for college in less than 2 weeks (!!!) and I figured that a blog would be a great way for the family and friends who care to keep up with my life while I'm away from home.  I also like writing and fleshing things out, so there will probably be a lot of that on here too.

The other purpose is, hopefully, the same as my life: to declare the glory of God. I'll fill whoever stumbles upon this blog in on the events of my life, but ultimately I want to look at those events as the work of God's hand, of His grace. Fore example, I have seen His glory so beautifully displayed this morning through the sunrise. Take a look:

My desire to see this got me out of bed at 6:30 am, and I had some time to kill as the rest of my family soundly sleeps, so I figured now would be as good a time as ever to get this whole blog thing rolling.

Anyways, anytime I see creation screaming the love and glory of the Almighty God, the words "beauty unimagined" come to mind, hence the name of this blog. I can't fathom the Lord or the work of His hands. The truth that He "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" resounds within me (Ephesians 3:20). 

I could never imagine the beauty of that sunrise on my own. And as I sat watching it rise, I was overwhelmed with the love that the Father lavishes on us. He could simply put the sun in the sky, but instead, every morning, He paints this beautiful picture that screams "I AM GLORIOUS" and "I love you." Bless the Lord oh my soul.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." -Psalm 19:1