That's a Wrap

Sadly I missed an Easter post. Life got pretty crazy, but Easter is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays because it is so essential to my faith. 

Paul says it well in 1 Corinthians 15:13-14, 17-19

"...if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied."

The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is an essential gospel truth. The cross of Christ saved me from the penalty of sin, but the resurrection of Christ freed me from the power of sin. Because Jesus is alive, I am free to kill my sin, to truly die to it, and to live for Him. 

By the power and grace of God, Christ defeated death. The empty tomb screams of victory and life ever after in the presence of an Almighty God. 

Hallelujah that King Jesus is alive!!

I got to celebrate these glorious truths with sweet friends on Easter Sunday. The great thing is that I get to celebrate these truths with them constantly. I am incredibly thankful for this sweet, gospel-centered community that God has blessed me with. 

Grace on grace on grace. 

After church we felt it a necessity to have an Easter Sunday lunch. So we went to the restaurant that most resembled authentic home-cooked food: Cracker Barrel. 

And whaddya know, I'm a genius!

This actually happened!

Apparently it's an annual tradition to burn Christmas trees at the end of the year with all of the college connecting point groups (small groups) at Crosspoint's college pastor's house. 

The Christmas trees had had plenty of time to dry out, and they were huge. 

Let's just say the fire was not disappointing. Far, far from it. 

Poor quality picture, but great quality girls!

Clemson's freshman counsel held a movie night in Death Valley. 

We watched a movie in the football stadium (?!?)

This right here is one reason among thousands why Clemson is incredible. 

My second to last weekend was one for the books. I spent approximately 5 days in a row on the campus beach. Friday night we played sand volleyball and spike ball by the lake, spontaneously jumped into the lake, and then went to the dikes to watch the sunset. Oh and one of my friends randomly brought a watermelon, which was basically devoured. 

After leaving the lake, we all kicked back and relaxed. Well, all except for these guys who played some intense video games. I mean, just look at Kathleen's face. If that's not determination, I don't know what is!

The next morning I was up bright and early in order to see these amazing people graduate from college. Yet another amazing thing about Clemson is the Clemson LIFE program. This program is giving hope to young adults and their parents by providing them with opportunities that they thought they couldn't ever dream of, such as going to college, and beyond that, graduating college.

They all gave speeches at the ceremony and did a wonderful job. Getting to know them this year has definitely been my pleasure and privilege!

It has also been quite a treat getting to know this sweet girl, my mentee for the entire year. I sure will miss her, but I am so proud of the progress she's made this year!

I then spent the rest of my Saturday at the lake. 

After church on Sunday was a church wide lake fellowship. It was such a sweet time, especially because three of my dearest friends were obedient to the Lord and got baptized! What a beautiful picture of the gospel baptism is. Praise the Lord that He raises us from death to life!

CP group lovin!!

Then came finals week, and with it came college visits! It was great to have everyone from home rallied together plus the one and only Kylie McDonald, who it's always a treat to see!

Finals week also included some...craziness? silliness? all of the above?

Some of the girls from my hall went out to dinner as a final outing together and to celebrate Samantha's birthday. 

Man oh man. I am so grateful for these girls and the blessing of living with them for a year. 

God is so good. 

On Friday our guy friends had approximately seven hours worth of exams, starting at 8 am. Mackenzie had the brilliant idea of serving them by making them dinner the night before. 

And so that is what we did. 

We may have gotten a little bored waiting...

Then it was time to say goodbye. Goodbye to 7B4, goodbye to Byrnes, goodbye to freshman year, and goodbye to sweet friends. 

I will be missing these crazy girls way too much

I have had the extreme privilege of being asked to serve Crosspoint on their college leadership team. So I left Clemson and headed to Hilton Head with the rest of the team for a leadership retreat. We had devotions together, celebrated and evaluated the past year, and dreamt of things for the upcoming school year. We then began to plan events for the upcoming fall semester. 

When we weren't doing any of the above things, we were either kicking it on the beach, eating delicious home-made food, or playing games that made everyone roll around with laughter. 

It was a sweet, sweet time. 

Miles quickly became known as the King of crabs. He caught 13. 

Abby and I love finding shells!

When I had to say goodbye to these people...oh man.

 I. Lost. It.

My freshman year of college has been nothing short of amazing. I wouldn't trade it for the world and wish I could live it over and over again. One of the main reasons for that is because of these sweet Jesus-loving people. 

I am going to miss them so much. 

I am thankful for the different ways that they are using their summers to further God's kingdom and His glory. I can not wait until we are reunited again where the Blue Ridge yawns it's greatness. I can't wait to hear the stories of God's glorious and gracious ways. I can't wait to hear about how God has radically changed lives for His name's sake. 

I can not wait.

But in the difficulty of waiting, I will praise God for their lives, and especially for the placement of their lives in mine. I pray that God would use me where He has me, right now, and that I would remember that He is sovereign. I pray that He would use me in spite of my prideful and selfish ways.

I'm home now, and I'm truly thrilled. I only have two short weeks until I pack up and hit the road again to start a new adventure with Student Life. But until then, I am depending on God to help me love and serve my family well with the short time I have. 

And that's a wrap freshman year. This sophomore is on to the next chapter of life.

Spring Unfolded

I've never been a huge fan of warm weather. Fall is my favorite season with winter being a second close, but I have loved the warm weather April has brought so far. 

Mainly because I have been able to do fun stuff with awesome friends in Clemson and work on my Chaco tan all at the same time. 

Wins all around.

 There is so much to do here. Between the mountains, campus beach, and the lakes surrounding Clemson, outdoor fun is available for days. 

For example...

This past weekend especially was one for the books. It was "Spring Scene" here in Clemson, and the weekend consisted of all kinds of different events like the Color Run, a Josh Turner concert, and much more. 

There was a carnival on campus Friday night. Yes, that is correct, Clemson is so awesome that they have carnivals. It was quite the experience. 

That night Abby, Jenna, and I got to go to the Tiger Roar concert. Tiger Roar is Clemson's male a cappella group. It was incredible. I may or may not have fan-girled. 

Saturday morning we hit the beach! We played some spike ball, sat around in the sun, and even got into the lake...and the water felt gooood. 

My family came down this past weekend and met us at Y-beach. It was fun to watch my dad and brother learn the game we love so much (spike ball, that is) and for my mom to lounge on some beach towels and share life with my sweet friends.

I also just want to take a second to say how much I love these three girls, and how truly thankful I am for the placement of their lives in mine. 

Ok next.

THE ORANGE AND WHITE SPRING GAME!

There is nothing like being in Death Valley. Really. It was great to be back. I've been missing Clemson football, and while this wasn't quite the same, it was a good enough taste to hold me until fall. 

Hopefully. 

I love going home to Rock Hill to see my family. I really love when my family comes to my (second) home in Clemson and gets to live this life with me, even if it only offers them a small glance.

Speaking of getting glances into people's lives, I went to Furman a couple of weekends ago to spend time with this sweet friend. It was awesome to meet her friends and get a glance into her version of college life. Seeing the similarities and differences between Furman and Clemson college life was interesting. 

I will take another moment to publicly say that I love this girl a lot. And I miss her.

Sadly, school is coming to an end. Only one more week of actual classes, a week of finals, and then my first year of college will officially be over. This year has been wonderful, and I fall in love with Clemson all over again and again and again on a regular basis.

One of the really cool things about being here has been watching Spring unfold. I have never so clearly seen the transition of seasons. I guess I either haven't ever been outside this much or ever paid this much attention. Or both. 

The branches of trees went from being bare to having tiny, plain, brown buds. Then, as the sun shone, those buds opened up and beauty bursted forth. Now many of those beautiful flowers are turning into bright green leaves, and every day they stretch, growing towards the sun's light.

Every day that I pass these trees I marvel at God's beauty. At His wonder. At His immeasurable glory. 

And I thank Him. 

And now, as I sit here, it amazes me how this beautiful unfolding of spring so clearly reflects what happens to us in the gospel. That we are dead, lifeless, ugly sinners, with absolutely no hope of being righteous or beautiful before a mighty and just God. But then God softens our hard hearts and opens our blind eyes to see His glorious light, and when He does that, He causes us to burst forth in beauty. 

All because He is gracious. 

Because of the blood of Christ God looks at us and calls us righteous. And because Christ was raised from the dead we are free from sin. By His grace He has made us able to grow towards Him in order to become more like Him.

Praise God for His grace.

And praise Him for this glorious gospel that brings dead things to life.