the last christmas dinner.

well it's been a crazy couple of days.

yesterday, jake b. {who i had a thing with this semester} had a seizure.

he was rushed to the hospital, and they found dead blood around his brain.

he was put in the ICU and then went into surgery to remove the blood this morning.

we went to see him last night, and he was in good spirits.

his parents were there and it was so wonderful to see them.  i like them a lot.

and then the surgery went great this morning and there was no new bleed, just all old blood.

hopefully this should be the end of the seizures.

we've been in prayer like crazy and the Lord has been faithful.

and tonight was Malone's christmas dinner.

it is one of the best things at Malone, for sure.

i can't believe it's the end of the Malone dinners for us.  so bitter sweet.

i would post pics, but i can't cause i am out of space!  

but we all look sooo beautiful.  

i just love my friends.

and then we just did nothing all night.  

when we all should have been studying for finals.

i guess that will have to wait till tomorrow!

now for bed time.

interesting dinner.

tonight, we had dinner at the new president of malone, dr. king, and his wife.

it was an....interesting dinner.

but it was nice to be off campus and have some good food!

we had crepes and salad and an awesome desert.

then, i tried to study...but that was harder than anticipated.

i am so not ready to study for finals!

i just can't stay motivated.

and i love my roommie.

i could say it all over again.

i pray that the Lord brings us so much closer as the year goes on.

so you're a nurse? almost!

like usualy, night of worship on sunday was amazing.

the Spirit was sooo thickly there and it was awesome.

my pastor made the comment that when the Spirit is in the room, He wants to heal and perfect the things in the presence with Him.

so he said people needed healing and that the Lord would heal.

so a couple people did get healed.

and while i'm standing there, i get the feeling that the Spirit was pushing me.

and as i get this feeling, chris says, "any type of healing is welcome. depression, physical, emotional.  anything"

and i knew why the Lord was moving in me.  

i was there because i needed emotional healing.

i needed healing from my past and the insecurities it carries on me today.

so as i am standing by cassie, i told her i got that feeling. 

she said, 'what feeling?'

and i siad, 'where the Lord is telling me i need healing.  and i need emotional healing'

and i said i didn't want to go up, so cas says let's pray now!

so we did.  and she prayed for me. and it was beautiful.  and i just cried.

and after her prayer, we got to talking more and she inquired more.

and man, i just tell ya that she is such a blessing.

her heart for the Lord is so clear and she i am going to miss her when they move {in january.}

i wish these last 2 years of attending VGF i had had the time to pour more into her.

but trusting the Lord knew what He was doing.

and since then, i feel the Lord has been working hard core on healing my emotions.

and at the same time, today i felt discouraged about being single.

funny how both emotions can be so strong in the same day?

i just need to fully surrender it all to the Lord.  

seems so easy at first glance...but the practicality of that is dying to self.  and let's be honest.  that is hard work.

but He is so patient and so faithful.

and in the mist of the hard times, He is providing more strength and energy than i thought possible.

i'm exhausted and haven't been sleeping much.  which may or may not contribute to the emotional roller coaster i feel to be on.

so i'm off to bed.  so that when the alarm goes off at 5:45 i hopefully won't be as tired.  

p.s..rach and i skyped ryan and zach yesterday.

it was so fun.

at one point, zach said: 'so you're a nurse?!'

i said: 'almost!'

and then someone mentioned he was in med school so i said, 'you're a doctor!?'

to which he said, 'almost!'.  totally mocking me.

but i loved it haha.

i am so jealous that rach gets to go see them soon!

alright..now off to bed!

it's a busy life!

these last couple of days have been a blur, and it's only going to get worse as the week goes on.

on friday, i helped at a parent's night out at my church and it was so fun.

i started out with the big kids, and then they needed more people in the nursery so i got asked to move.

at one point, all 5 helpers had a crying infant in their hands, and a kid {who has multiple seizure disorder} bit his lip and started bleeding.  it was so fun.  haha.  controlled chaos if i've ever seen it!

it was fun to get to know other members of the church.

and k.h. was there so that didn't hurt to have some eye candy :) LOL.

afterwards, mollie k. asked if i would go to menchies so we had a mini date!

i just love her and her heart.

then, i had to come home early yesterday for the powless family thanksgiving/xmas.

it actually fell on the WORST weekend ever.  but i knew i had to come.

it was nice to chat with them and catch up, and my 6 year old cousin samantha was attached to my hip.

my 8 year old cousin, keven, said after the play we went to:

'i got to thinking about how giving is better than receiving.  and i think i'll keep 3 of my gifts at christmas and then give the rest away to the orphans"

and hew as dead serious.  it nearly broke my heart to see that.

if only more people understood that mentality.  i pray he never looses that.

after seeing the trains and the plays my mom was in, i went to the ortens to play catan!

i ran into them at the library and it was a spur the moment decision....love those type of events!!

i lost, again!  i need to get more practice at this game LOL.

today, i had church this morning {which was soo good} and have night of worship this evening.

i am a bit overwhelmed because i am so ill-prepared for this test tomorrow.

i am praying that the Lord works a MIRACLE so that i can have more leeway going into the final. 

i pray that my study time {though it has been minimal} is productive and beneficial.

i am planning on sitting with cassie and her family tonight.

they are such a blessing and i love them so much.

they make me feel a little bit more at home when i am at church, which is something i often struggle with when i come home.

ok.  well i need to finish studying before i head out!

pray for me and my test tomorrow, please.

and also for the exams that start a week from tomorrow!