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. 

#SB2K14

The wonderful thing about college is that classes end in April. The bad thing about this is that spring break is in March. When it's cold. Nevertheless, my first college spring break was quite nice!

First I went home. Home sweet home. Samantha, one of the girls that lives on my hall and a dear friend of mine, came and stayed with me for the weekend. She is from New Jersey, so on the way home I treated her to her first QT slushy experience. I think all the flavors were a little overwhelming for her, but she was definitely a fan.

Then, on Sunday night, Samantha, Caroline, Katherine, and I caught a flight to New Jersey to stay with Samantha for a few days.

We were greeted with quite the southern welcome. Samantha's mom was such an amazing host!

Day 1 was spent in New Jersey. Haddonville, to be exact. We woke up that morning to a coat of snow on the ground, which changed our plans a bit, but everything worked out nicely. The snow was so beautiful. Samantha's town is a colonial town that is a whopping 2 miles long. It's adorable. We saw her church, walked around downtown, visited her high school, ate lunch with some of her friends, got some "water-ice" and then headed back to her house for dinner and a movie.  

It was sweet to get a taste of her life in Jersey.

Day 2 started at the crack of dawn. We woke up at 6:30, drove to the train station, then took about a 45 minute train ride into New York City. It was a fast-paced and jam-packed day full of walking. Lots of walking. We hit some of the "big spots" including Times Square, Central Park (my personal favorite), the 9/11 Memorial, Hudson Bay, Rockefeller Center, and Grand Central Station. We briefly walked through China Town. My phone had temporarily died so unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it, but it was...interesting. 

Her mom also got us tickets to be in the audience on the set of a show called "The Chew." I'd never heard of it before but it was interesting to see how shows are put together. We even got pictures with Clinton Kelley! The episode we were on airs towards the end of June and is called "Fabulous Family Picnic." You should check it out! 

New York was not exactly what I expected. I would be fine with going back to see and do some of the things that we didn't get to, but overall the city life is definitely not for me. 

On Day 3 we were Philadelphia bound. Unfortunately we had a flight to catch that night, so our time in this city was limited. The time spent there, however, was awesome. 

History is most definitely not my subject in school. I pretty much despise it. But there is something about being in the place where history happened that I can't quite get enough of. I think that's why I liked Philadelphia so much. We got to see the Liberty Bell and take a tour of Independence Hall. We went into the room where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. That room also had the chair George Washington sat in during all of the meetings for both of these documents. Founding Fathers like George Washington, Ben Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson were, at one time, in that very room. Like I said, I just can't get enough of it. 

We saw a few more highlights in Philly, such as Love Plaza. Then we ate lunch at Reading Terminal Market. It was a pretty nifty site. It was somewhat of a mad house full of family run businesses. There were Amish people there too! I got a Philly Cheesesteak because I felt it would be wrong to leave there without eating one. It was a good decision too because it was delicious.

Praise the Lord, we had a safe flight home and my parents were on time picking us up. The North was fun and quite the treat. I'm glad to be residing in the South though.

The next day was one of relaxation. I had the house to myself while the rest of the family was at work and school. In addition, I finally got to see my brother compete in the high jump. He's basically a beast.

I spent Friday afternoon with my mom, which was really nice. All too soon was I packing again, but it was okay because it was so that I could spend a weekend at the Cavin's house with these lovely ladies.

 

That's right, this past weekend was Uprising (previously known as Disciple Now). For those unfamiliar with it, Uprising is a weekend hosted by the church for middle school and high school students. People in the church offer up their homes for students to stay in, ranging from 6th grade boys to 12th grade girls. We have corporate worship services, sessions within the home, rec games, and challenges. 

It's an awesome weekend.

This year I moved up a rung and became a leader. It was kind of weird to be on the other side of the whole thing, but it was also incredibly awesome. 

I had the 10th grade girls. They rocked. There really are few things more enjoyable than sitting around with younger girls and talking with them about the Gospel truth. We bonded over this amazing truth that makes dead men live and discussed how we can apply the Gospel to our lives, how we can make it the very center of everything that we do. 

We also bonded over face paint, of course. :)

Oh, and these guys were my buddies this weekend, which was really sweet. They crack me up.

Overall, it was just good to be home. Clemson is it's own bubble and feels like a whole other world, and in a way, it is. It's easy to get wrapped up in what is going on here and forget. 

I am so thankful for the place that I've come from. My biological family and my family in the form of the church body at First Baptist Fort Mill are such blessings in my life. It was good to be in that atmosphere again. To be encouraged. 

At the same time, I am extremely happy to be back in Clemson. Sadly, only 5 weeks of classes remain and then I will have finished my freshmen year. It's pretty crazy.

 I rejoice at the grace the Lord has shown me in this first year. That is even crazier.

Please pray that the Lord would continue to be gracious to teach me the unfathomable riches that are found in Him.