The weekly // 24

Sunday we had a wedding shower for Jenna at Crosspoint. It's been fun to celebrate her as her and Daniel's wedding day gets closer and closer! 

Monday and Tuesday I studied for the GRE some more. I also ran some participants in a research study I'm helping with. These are some fun days, I tell ya. 

Wednesday I woke up ready to go do some more OT observations, but unfortunately I had a fever. Turns out I had a stomach virus, so instead I spent the next two days on a couch sipping on gatorade and eating saltines. 

Then, Friday I took the GRE, and was thrilled to be done spending my days studying. As a celebration, the roommates and I threw some bad eggs at trees. It's the best kind of stress relief. 

Saturday Olivia and I went and saw Finding Dory. 

I wasn't totally sure what to expect but it was so good. I totally recommend it. 

Andddd that's it! 

The weekly // 23

The majority of my time this week was devoted to studying for the GRE…gotta love standardized tests.

 When I wasn't studying for the GRE, I was either getting observation hours with an Occupational Therapist or going to friends' apartments to take showers because our water pressure was zilch. 

The bright side to this week was that Josh had orientation, so I got to get lunch with Mom, Josh, and Hailey. We ate lunch at the Esso, so I got to check off a Clemson bucket list item too! 

And with all of the studying, this is sadly the only picture I took…sorry mom :)

The weekly // 22

My super crafty friend refurbished a table, and it looked awesome. So I had the bright idea that I could do the same. Here's the original: 

It was going to be my "Memorial Day weekend" project. But I quickly discovered that, unlike my friend, I am not super crafty, at least not in this sense. Hopefully I'll eventually finish the table, but I definitely need to stick to canvases. 

In the midst of the frustration, Emily called me and asked if I wanted to watch the sunset with her at the rowing docks. Quality time with my best friend watching a Clemson sunset or trying to do something I'm inept at…not a hard choice. 

Other events from this week included coffee with friends at a favorite coffee shop, a funny new game, experiencing amazing hospitality at the hands of my new, sweet Iranian friend and her husband, addressing Jenna's wedding invitations, studying for the GRE, OT observations, a wedding celebrating two of the most fun people I know, and watching my brother graduate while also getting paid $20 for purposefully tripping on stage. 

Cheers. 

The weekly // 21

Unlike my previous week, this week was jam packed. 

After Abby's wedding, I drove home with some friends, who spent the night at my house. 

The next morning was FBCFM's grad Sunday, so we got to celebrate these two! 

That night, I drove to Black Mountain, NC for GLINK week. This is a week where Generation LINK residents and Summer LINK leaders from all over the country come together to prepare for the summer and the upcoming year. Part of that preparation is taking a seminary class. 

This year the class was Ethics. I only audited the class, and I really enjoyed it, but it was a LOT. As in, all day every day, so most of my days this week looked like this: 

When we weren't in class, chances were we were doing this: 

I played a lot of cards this week, which I'm not complaining about because I love playing cards!

One night we went to Asheville for dinner. I had never been to Asheville so I was exited to go! 

Asheville was cool. Different for sure, but cool. 

Regardless, it was fun to dress up a little bit and spend the evening with these ladies! 

On the last day, we went on a pretty intense hike, which was a great alternative to sitting in class. 

And the waterfall at the end was totally worth the struggle of getting there. 

Overall, I was glad to have spent my week like this, with these people. I'm excited to see how the Lord uses His children literally all across the world this summer. For the Kingdom! 

I got home from GLINK week Thursday. I then spent literally all day Friday with these girls while their parents went to a water park. I was basically mom for the day (I'm talking, 7 am - 10:00 pm). 

It was tiring for sure, but I loved it, and I love these two! 

That night my India team had a Google hangout. It was exciting to come together and start to talk about our trip…it's so close! It was cool to spend the week thinking about Summer LINK on a grand scale, to then end the week discussing purpose and plans with my small team of nine. I already love these people and can't wait to see how the Lord would see fit to use us for His glory and namesake!!

The weekly // 20

This week wasn't full of anything too exciting (except for one pretty big thing). 

I started shadowing an Occupational Therapist at a children's clinic in Seneca.

 I LOVE IT.

 I have to have observation hours in order to apply for OT school, and while watching someone else do their job isn't the most glamorous way to spend my days, it definitely makes me want to be an OT.

Other than that, one day I went kayaking with some friends, and then played sand volleyball at y-beach. Now that's a way to spend a day! One of my favorite ways, actually. 

The one super exciting part of this week was that a dear friend of mine got MARRIED! 

Abby and I were in the same small group my freshman year (the best small group I've been in to date). Ever since then she has been such a sweet sister to do life with. I've learned so much from her during my time in college. It was such a joy to celebrate her and her new husband!! 

This was wedding #2 of the summer, but the first wedding where I got to celebrate with a significant portion of my church family. It was really sweet and fun! Can't wait for more weddings to come!! 

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter! We love you!! 

The weekly // 19

Woo hoo for Mother's Day! Momma Priddy actually deserves every day to be her day, so it's a pity we only get one day, and even sadder that we never use that one day to celebrate her well enough. 

But that's just because it's actually impossible.

I love this woman, and I am incredibly thankful God saw it fit in His grace to make her my mom. 

I'm also thankful for the way she tends to become a mother figure for almost everyone who meets her. She just cares, really cares about people. I pray that the Lord would give me a heart like this woman. 

The day on the whole was awesome. I got to spend the entire thing with my family, as stated in the picture below (shoutout to FBCFM's photo booth…). We had lunch, walked around Target, and saw the new Captain America movie. Then before I realized, it was time to drive back to Clemson.

The theme for this week was babysitting. I literally babysat everyday…and it was awesome! 

In other news…

At the beginning of this week Ankit moved to New Jersey, but before he left, we had to do something for his last night in Clemson. We went and got dinner at a Japanese Steakhouse, and because that wasn't enough food (ha) we then went to TCBY. I'm thankful I became friends with Ankit, and hope he comes back to visit soon!

Wednesday I went on a hike with these friends, because it was Will's birthday. We hiked Table Rock. It's description as being "strenuous" is definitely accurate, but it was a beautiful day and the view was totally worth it! 

Thursday I finally experienced the famous Tandem and had the privilege of going with this dime.

 We were there for over three hours, and only left because Tandem was closing. I'm so thankful for time spent catching up with her! 

Friday Miles and I drove to Brevard, NC to help with FBCFM's High School Retreat. 

Miles taught the two guys sessions Saturday, and I got to teach the girls. 

I am so thankful for this weekend. I really love teaching and pouring into younger girls. I loved getting to log quality time with them both playing cards and digging into the truths of God's Word together. I got to hang out with my parents and see the beauty of God's creation. 

This weekend I reflected on my time spent as a high school student in the youth group. I thought about things that my heart experienced several years ago in the same place, on the same retreat, and the things God has taught me, the things and places He has brought me through. 

Which led me to think about the things He is currently doing and the things that He will do. There are currently, as I suspect there will always be, some unknowns. And as I work through correct ways to navigate them, I want to take action, get answers in ways I think could be beneficial. And maybe they actually could be. But when I'm honest with myself, I know that the root cause of the desire to make a move is selfish and comes from a sinful heart that isn't actively trusting the Lord. 

But that's not who I am anymore, and I refuse to go back to being that manipulative girl.

I read this shortly after talking through some of these things with my roommate 

(praise the Lord for timely truths): 

"God doesn't always make His will clear because He values our being transformed more than our being informed….when we're not quite sure, we end up making decisions based on what we really love…if we really love Jesus, we will increasingly love what He loves—we will be transformed by renewed minds. And our love for Him and His kingdom will be revealed in the pattern of small and large decisions that we make."  

—John Bloom

(for more, go to http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/why-god-s-will-isn-t-always-clear)

More than anything, I want Jesus. I want to be like Him and I want to display the glory of God. If the way for that to happen today is waiting and trusting, so be it, and blessed be the name of the Lord.

The weekly // 18

Started off the week by witnessing one of the loveliest ladies I have ever known get hitched. 

I just love weddings. 

(This is 1 of 5 for the summer, by the way)

I love how clearly the gospel is displayed, I love celebrating people I love, and I love getting to spend time fellowshipping and tearing up the dance floor with friends, especially with friends I only get to see every once in a blue moon. 

Monday I helped Sara in the SL warehouse. 

I had a blast doing 2 things I really love: manual labor and hanging out with Sara Turner.

I also got to get lunch and Sno Biz with 3 summers worth of Green Team people, Steel City Pops with the one and only Brett Schultz, and hung around for my first and last get together at Sara, Mechay, and Allison's house for their farewell/moving party. 

This week was a lonely one though. 

Tuesday I drove back to Clemson from Birmingham. I went from an extravert's dream to an extravert's nightmare. This was kind of the lull week between spring semester ending and summer activities starting. Translation: no one was around and there wasn't much to do. 

But I got some down time, went and saw the new Captain America movie by myself (totally worth it and would do it again in a heartbeat), and got a decent amount of babysitting in, so it's all good!

Saturday, on the other hand, was a whirlwind. 

I left Clemson at 7:30am with these two goobs and we headed to Greenville to see our friends walk across the stage and become official Clemson Alumni. 

I got to see a lot of friends graduate, which was so fun. Here are a few of the many!

After graduation I made the short drive to the Greenville airport because my best friend finally came home! Oh Hallelujah, praise the Lord!! 

Emily spent the entire semester studying abroad in Spain. I knew when she left that I would miss her, but I had no idea it would be so much. It's been a tough semester without her, and I'm thankful for the lessons God has taught me through it, but I am SO thankful that season is over! 

After picking her up, I ate dinner with her family, which was super fun, and then made a late night drive home to good ole Rock Hill to surprise my momma for Mother's Day!