heart transformation

The first semester of Link Year is over. I cannot believe how fast time flew by!! I could not have picked a better way to finish off the week than hearing from DA Horton. DA spoke to us while we were volunteering in Kansas City! I absolutely Love listening to him speak! He is very engaging and keeps you awake and thinking! DA grew up in inner city KC, so he knows the "hood language" if you will. So when he speaks he often flips back and from speaking ebonics to plain english. Its pretty amusing! So DA spoke to us on heart transformation and maximizing moments. Personally I took more away from the "heart transformation" section, so that is what I will be writing about today! I thought the timing of this topic is perfect. As we all head home for a month long break we will be faced with temptations the world will throw out. Now more than ever we need the constant reminder to focus on heart transformation. DA based his talk on Romans 12:2 and Psalm 51:10. He began by breaking down Romans 12:2. I love this verse, and its always been one of my favorites! Adam Donyes based Link Years purpose off of this verse as well. It reads "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." God calls us to be different. He calls us to renew our minds, and to not let the world influence who we are.  By doing so we can better understand His will for us. If we are caught up in the world and worldly thoughts and actions we are no longer focused on the Lord. When our focus is off God and put on the world, it's pretty hard to see God's will for our lives. If we refresh ourselves with God's word and renew our minds daily, God will slowly begin to reveal his good and perfect will. When we have all been in Branson surrounded by endless amounts of accountability for so long, it will be hard to go home and face all the worldly temptation. But if we fix our eyes on Jesus and focus on renewing our minds in Christ, we will be able to face them. Psalm 51:10 was the second verse DA talked about. Another one of my favorites. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." This verse is also perfect for our class and this point in our lives. We all desperately need Christ in our lives, and in the past 2 years it has hit me how dirty and full of junk my heart is. Only the Lord can give us a clean heart and a new spirit. So, as believers we have to ask for God to come in and remodel our hearts. Remodel them into hearts after Him. HEART. This process takes place in your heart. Not in your actions. You can talk the talk and not walk the walk. Me, I want to talk the talk and walk the walk with Jesus Christ my savior. I just love how straight forward these verses are. There is no mystery to what you have to do. DO NOT CONFORM. easy peasy. Do as Jesus does, not as the world does. Renewing your mind is done through asking God to clean out your heart and make it new.
Leaving to go home with these verses on the front of my mind will make life a lot easier when I am faced with new temptations in the next three weeks.

Luke 9:23

What does Luke 9:23 mean to you? That is the question Brian Wang asked us the first day of class this week. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” What stands out most to me in this verse is the word DAILY. God calls us to carry the cross daily. Not just on Sunday or whenever you make time, but everyday! 

Brian broke this down into 3 things. Self denial, complete dedication, and willing obedience.  He started with self denial. In Luke 9:23 it says “let him deny himself”. To me this means that we have to give up our own wants and desires and open our hearts to God’s will and desire for our lives. 

The second part of  following Christ daily is complete dedication. Often times we love Jesus Christ but we are not always ready or willing to give things up just as Christ did. Jesus carried his cross and just as Luke 9:23 tells us, we must take up our cross daily and follow him. Dedication means devoting or setting aside time for a particular purpose. Brian had us ask ourselves what we are dedicated to. Are our priorities in the right place? Maybe. But are our RIGHT priorities in place? To be completely dedicated to following Christ we must make time to spend in His word daily, and rid ourselves of all distractions so we may better focus on His calling. 

The last part of following God is willing obedience. There is a difference between being obedient because you have to, and because you want to. To be obedient means to comply with submission or authority. Brian asked us “How obedient are you willing to be?” He used the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac as an example. No one wants to sacrifice their son, but Abraham loved God and was completely dedicated to following Him. Because he was completely dedicated to following God, he was also willing to be obedient and submit to Him even though Abraham didn’t really want to do what God had asked. “So Abraham went as the Lord had told him.” Genesis 12:4. We just have to trust in God’s direction and timing for our life, and to do that we have to be willing to obey his calling. 

I really loved Brian’s talk this week. Considering the stage on life we are all at, I believe that it was just what we needed to hear. It is important to me that I know exactly how I am going to successfully follow the Lord before I get thrown into the crazy world of college. And through self denial, complete dedication and willing obedience, I believe that I can reach that goal. 

A Path Toward Greatness

This week here at Link Year, we had the joy of getting to hear from Kyle Unruh. The first thing he said to the class was "I believe by making the decision to attend Link Year, you all are now on the path to greatness." Path to greatness? Really? Having no clue where I want to go to college or what my life will look like in the next year represents a path to greatness? Well according to Kyle Unruh it does. I believe that we just have to trust that by being here God will place us on a path towards greatness. The first stop on this path is experiencing a clear calling. Kyle used the fisher men in Mark chapter one as an example. Jesus appears to them and calls them to follow him and become fishers of men. In that instance, it was pretty clear what Jesus was asking them to do. I mean, he was standing right in front of them. If Jesus walked up to me and told me my calling I wouldn't argue either. So Kyle tells us this and I think "okay, no big deal, I just have to hear my calling. Sounds easy enough to me!" Wrong. God's calling for our lives is not only heard by the ears. He can stir your heart as well. I'm done for. How am I supposed to "hear" this calling if he may not actually speak to me? I don't know what kind of stirring in my heart I am supposed to feel. When God calls, we will know. It will be so clear that we cannot ignore it. You know how you can screen calls? We've all done it. Your phone rings and you check to see who it is before you answer it. You can't screen his calls. When God calls, you answer.
The next thing on the path to greatness is a clear understanding of sacrifice. Kyle described sacrifice as a privilege of the mature. We are not called to do something Christ hasn't already done himself. Sacrifice is good!! It can be very hard and scary sometimes, but it's always a good thing when done with a pure heart. In times of sacrifice we are most like Christ, he did not come to be served but to serve. With serving comes sacrifice.
Next up on the path to greatness is steadfastness. God tells us to not return to our sin, but to flee from it and follow Him. Stay on the course of steadfastness and it will lead us to greatness! To stay on the course is a daily struggle. This is where steadfastness comes into play. To be steadfast means to fixed in direction and firm in purpose. When you are steadfast, you aren't turning back. Put our faith in Christ, follow him, and then we will have strength to be steadfast.
Lastly, we have to allow our weaknesses to bring us strength. Kyle told us the story of the boy who carried two pots to get water from the well each day. On the way back down the mountain the pot with a crack lost half of its water. But the boy carried that pot on the same side every time, and he sprinkled flower seeds on that side of the road. Slowly flowers began to grow. That pots weakness allowed for beautiful flowers to grow. The pot allowed for the boy to turn his weakness into strength. In the same way, we should allow Christ to turn our weaknesses into strength.
Follow these things, and God will use us on the path to greatness.

Where is He?

How far away is God for you? Is he right next to your side every step of the way? Or have you placed him in some far distant place you can't ever reach? For so long I felt like God never bothered to show up in my life. I now know that is because I chose to place him far away and run the other direction. It was all on me. God didn't remove himself from my life so he could take a break and watch me struggle from afar. I made the decision, and lacked the desire to keep God close and establish a more intimate relationship with him.
From the very beginning WE are the ones who flee. Not God. In Genesis 3:8 Adam and Eve hid themselves from the Lord. It was their decision to hide. So, we cannot say "God isn't here" or "he didn't show up", reality is, He is with us every day through everything. We have just placed him so far away that we can't feel his presence or experience his power. So many things can keep us from experiencing that divine power. I know personally that I am selfish and allow my pride to get in the way. I decide that I am plenty strong to handle  something on my own and push God out of the way. When I fail, which I always do in that instance, I blame God and become angry at him for "not being there", which is selfish. I want more than anything to have a more real and intimate relationship with the Lord. But it is all on us. Like I have mentioned before Christianity is a point not a process. Each day requires discipline to have a quite time and sit and meditate in God's presence. Prayer is another way to build that relationship. The more we pray the more chances you give God to respond. God LOVES to hear our voice. I am currently trying to spend more time in prayer. It is amazing what I learn from being in solitude and taking the time to feel God's presence and watch him work in my life. My goal is going to detach myself from all things that distract me, and attach myself to Godly thoughts, concepts, and lessons. Through this discipline I hope to become even closer and grow even more in my relationship with God, so that I can begin to experience his power in my life.

Boy Meets Girl

Relationships. We all want one. But do we really know what a truly pure and God honoring one looks like? I know I did not! Thankfully Adam Donyes knows a thing or two and was nice enough to share some of this knowledge with the rest of us! Adam had so many awesome things to share, I had a top few that really stood out that I want to share with all of you!

First things first. Girls are treasures. Sorry boys, but we are. Treasures are meant to be hunted. Boys, that's where y'all come in. Y'all are the treasure hunters! Girls, TREASURES DON'T DO THE HUNTING. Have you ever seen a diamond going after the treasure hunter....your answer should be no because that is just stupid anyways! The boy needs to be the leader in all things, that begins by taking the lead and pursuing you, not the other way around. Make sense?
So now this boy has stepped up and made the decision to pursue you, now what? What is the point of dating? The entire purpose of dating is to find the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with. Plain and simple. So why would you waste your time with a boy that is a God fearing man? Personally I don't think we will ever know the answer to that question...if they don't love their master, they won't ever be able to love you. Way too often girls and guys get way to caught up in dating. Often times the more we chase a relationship with someone, the less we chase Christ. Our relationship with others should be an overflow of our relationship with Christ. Hebrews 12:1-2 talks about running with endurance the race set before us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus. When you are running hard after the cross and completely focused on Him and fulfilling His will for your life, you will be able to look to your side and see a boy just as in love with God as you are. That is who you want to date. Because that is who you want to marry. Not some schmuck you have to drag along that slows you down on your race to the cross.
Relationships should increase your relationship with God. So when you look at a boy think about what he has to offer. Does  he love Jesus? Is he constantly growing a spending time with God? Does he love like Him? These are what Donyes called "non-negotiables". I took the time to write down what my non-negotiables are. Having these written down will help you keep your standards high! Don't settle, hold out for proven character, NOT potential. The "projects" are not going to help you grow if you are having to help them grow. The man I marry will not be potential. I have made a promise to myself and God that I will be faithful and trust that when God sees fit he will send me an incredible God fearing man for me to marry. 

Urban Entry follow up

This is a blog post I wrote for Link Year's website, so I thought I would share it with all of you! Enjoy! I also attatched a picture of all the us in the church we cleaned out!

Last week Link Year had the privilege to volunteer at the Hope Center located in the inner parts of Kansas City. I have never participated in work like this before, so personally I was very excited! There are many benefits to volunteering in the inner cities. You have the opportunity to touch so many lives and encourage so many people. I never even considered the benefits volunteering can offer me. The second day we were in KC the staff told us they had prepared lunch for us. This was a relief because all of our other meals had to be purchased using tickets that we were given! So a free meal had never sounded better! We got into our family groups and were told to draw a piece of paper from a bowl. Each piece of paper had a 1, 2, or 3 written on it. My group was the only group with a number one, so we went first. Adam walked us into the room, and as we entered I noticed three different set ups. On one table there was all you can eat Chickfila, another area of couches with plates of pb & j, and on the floor were two big bowls of rice and beans. My group drew #1 so we were directed towards the chickfila table! Awesome right? Out of all the food choices chickfila was the best one, so we got lucky! Or so I thought… We sit down and immediately are waited on hand foot by the link year staff. It was sort of awkward but I got to eat chickfila so I dealt with it. I loaded my plate with nuggets and was just about to stuff my face when the second group walked in. When I saw their faces of disappointment and anger, I felt uncomfortable eating in front of them. And that feeling only got worse when the third group came in and saw their community bowl of rice and beans. At that point I was told that I couldn’t share the surplus of nuggets, and I was facing out where I could see everyone watch me eat. It’s safe to say that this illustration was starting to set in. As I watched the other groups eat, I began to realize that this is how our world works every day. It’s so easy to not think about the starving less privileged families when they aren’t right in front of your face. But when those circumstances are happening in the same room it begins to hit home. I know have a whole new view on how our society works and how I can help change it. 

Urban Entry

This past week was unforgettable. As a class we took a road trip to Kansas City and did some inner city mission work! We stayed at the K-life houses and each day we drove in to work at the Hope Center. We began our first day with a tour of the “hood” (for lack of a better word). The leader of the Hope Center took us past his house and gave us a run down on what life in that area looks like. He had story after story and each one was more tragic than the next. It’s hard to wrap your mind around how these people live. For us, our lives seem so normal and routine, but for these people gun shots and sirens are a part of their routine. It’s sad that it takes being put into their world to feel the need to do something to help.

After our tour we went back to the Hope Center and helped them clean out an old church next door. This was such a fun experience! All 32 of us working together to complete one task. The true colors come out. I really got to see everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. It was so fun to run back and forth from the dumpsters to the church! Everywhere I turned people were encouraging each other! It was fantastic! A job that would have taken months took us two afternoons! Its crazy how much work you can get done when you all work together and encourage one another!

Get In The Word

How much time do you spend in God's word each day? For me the answer is not enough. I bet the answer  is the same for many of you as well. This is nothing to be ashamed of!! Romans 3:23 says "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Christianity is not a point, its a process! You don't just work really hard and eventually reach some point of perfection! Everyday we should wake up  and be fueled with a desire to know God more and more! But how can we do this is if we are not spending time in His word? 

Today in class our speaker was Keith Chancey. He was incredible!! Keith has an amazing ability to get you fired up and excited about God and the truth He has for us! We spent 3 hours on Genesis chapter 1,2, and 3. If you break that down, we basically spent about an hour on each chapter. AN HOUR! It amazed me how much you can learn from one verse if you really take the time to unpack it and see what it is really saying to you! The first three chapters of Genesis are all about the creation of the earth. We all have read through Genesis at one point or another right? For me its just always been the "book about creation". I never thought I could really learn anything from Genesis other than "God created the heavens and the earth." After hearing what Keith had to say about the chapters really showed me that a verse can mean so much more if you take the time to meditate on it. I love this about God! He has put little nuggets of wisdom all over the Bible for us to find, but unless we take the time and put in the effort to study His word, we won't find them! It's a daily challenge that we can choose to accept. I pray that every morning I awake and choose to whole heartedly follow the Lord, and study His word with an open heart so that I may see what he has in store for me that day! Following God can be so fun and exciting if you GET IN THE WORD and allow him to reveal things to you that you never would have seen yourself! 

honor your father and mother

All my life I have been blessed to grow up in a home with two incredible parents by my side. From birth to the day I left for Link Year, my parents have been there for me every step of the way. Even now, I am 12 hours away, and they are still only a phone call away when ever I need something. My parents love unconditionally  and encourage me to do my best in all aspects of life. I am so thankful for all the love I receive even when I mess up. It may be some pretty tough love, but its still love. Being away has allowed me to appreciate everything my parents have done and continue to do for me, so much more! I love that Link Year allows our parents to come up and experience our lives with us for a weekend! Having the chance to talk to my parents and tell them about everything I am learning is a huge blessing on our relationship. It gives me the chance to be real with them and allow them to see the Lord at work in my heart. Its crazy how much a relationship can grow when you're so many miles apart just by allowing God to do his work. If there is one thing I have come to realize, its how truly powerful prayer can be. For months I have been praying for a more Christ centered relationship with my parents. But in order for that to happen, I need to surrender that part of my life to God. Easier said than done. I allow God access to only a few parts of my life, and the rest I keep for myself to control. I surrender only what I am comfortable giving away. When in reality, I cannot handle anything without God's help. So, its silly to try and control things myself. Once I finally mustered up the courage to surrender all parts of my life to God, I slowly began to see some changes! It has started with my parents and is now moving to my relationship with Elliott. We are closer than ever before and it is becoming easier and easier for me to forgive and love him unconditionally. This weekend was so much fun, and was incredibly beneficial for all involved! I am so thankful my parents sacrificed their time and money to come spend the weekend with me in Btown! We had so much fun! I will tell you all about it in my next post!

Parents weekend!

Well after 2 months I finally get the chance to see my sweet parents!! It is Link Years parents weekend and Mom, Dad, and Elliott (my little brother) are headed to Btown.! I cannot wait to see their faces and give them a giant hug! You don't realize how much you love and appreciate your family until you are away from them for so long! There are so many things that my parents do for me that I have taken advantage of, but being away has helped appreciate all that they do! Their flight lands at 6:30 tonight!!! I am so excited to spend time with them! I ameeting them at the hotel and the four of us are going to Hook and Ladder pizza company for dinner! It will be so nice to just sit and catch up with them! This weekend is going to be so great! It would be even better Erich (my older brother) was able to be here with us! But not to worry thanksgiving is only a few weeks away!!

week of the adams

This is my "weekly review" that we are required to write as one of our weekly assignments! hope you enjoy the recap! 

                After a long week apart from each other, it was great to be back together as a class! I never thought I would miss spending time with everyone until I was gone! Bottom line, I am glad to be back! This week we had the pleasure of hearing from our very own Adam Martin and Adam Donyes! 

Tuesday was all about time management. At our age managing time is always a struggle. We all think we are doing a great job with our time management skills, when in reality we are terrible. Adam’s talk was a wake up call for me, especially when he said that we make time for what’s important to us. If I stop and think what I make time for and what push aside, my priorities are not straight. Lately I have noticed that I push time with God to the back of my mind. I am more worried about spending time with friends and not missing out. I now understand that I need to step back and really think about what is more important! Creating a time block schedule really helped me plan out my day, and I think it will help me stay on top of what commitments I have. 

 Wednesday Adam Martin talked about money management! As college students, saving money is not always easy! I know that for me I don’t always spend my money wisely. Adam helped us see what it looks like to spend wisely and how to manage our money responsibly. He showed us mint.com which I plan on setting up for myself so that I can keep track of my spending in a more efficient way! 

To wrap up the week, Adam Donyes spoke on managing our selves. We learned that discipline is the main ingredient to managing self. Adam told us about 3 different types of discipline. The first one is inward discipline. Those are meditation, prayer, fasting, and studying. The one that stood out most to me was meditation. Nowhere in scripture are we called to memorize, but rather meditate. Meditation takes it from just knowledge in our brain to something meaningful in our hearts that we can live by. The next type of discipline is outward. These are simplicity, solitude, submission, and service. Solitude stuck out the most to me. God speaks to us in a whisper, not a booming thunder storm or a raging fire, but in a whisper to our hearts. In order to hear a whisper you need silence. The enemy hates and will not allow silence in our lives. Satan knows how God speaks to us, and this is why he tries to make our lives busy and full of distractions. When we are constantly going and don’t ever stop and rest in silence, how can we expect to hear God’s voice. The last type of discipline is corporate discipline. Those consist of confession, worship, guidance, and celebration. I most enjoyed learning about guidance. We all get more out of life when we seek wisdom from both God and others who have gone before us. Over the last year I have realized how truly important and beneficial it is to have someone older than you speak truth into my life. It is incredible how much one person can change your life simply by challenging you and keeping you accountable. 

Out of all the incredible speakers we have had come and teach us, I have learned more this week than any other. The information I took in this week is some that will last me a life time and has impacted my way of thinking permanently.  

First of Many

Well, I made my first bowl of ramen as a college student. I told myself I wasn't going to be the kid who lives off of ramen noodles in college, but little did I know..... When you spend all your money on coffee and weekend meals, you have to deal with the coonsequences at some point! Good thing ramen noodles is one of my favorite unhealthy foods out there! I am sure this is not the last bowl I will eat this year, so maybe I should do a little more abdomination....or maybe not! Stay posted for some more riveting stories about my pathetic meals.

Here it is. The first bowl. 

Shout Out to Momma Smith

Chad, the official rice crispy measurer.

For those of you who don't know, my mom Jennie Smith, makes the greatest rice crispy treats of all time. Hands down. No argument. She makes them for all occasions and I cannot ever get enough of the warm delicious treat! Well, I was feeling a little homesick the other day (shhh, dont tell anyone), so I decided to cure my blues by bringing a little bit of Jennie Kris to Btown. So I climbed in my car and made a trip to the store. I bought 1 bag of marshmallows, rice crispy cereal, and butter. I poured the mallows into a bowl with some butter and stuck them in the microwave. Set the timer for 2 minutes and 30 seconds and wait...the longest 2 and half minutes ever. The timer finally beeped and my friend Chad helped me measure the crispies! At home mom uses her hands and counts out the 6 cups...my hands are too small so that's where Chad came in! His help was greatly appreciated! Once the crispies were in we mixed them up and chowed down...we didn't even waste time putting them in a pan. I grabbed a handful of spoons and watched the bowl disappear in a matter of minutes. I think it is safe to say my mom's rice crispy treats were a hit! I am sure they were not nearly as good as Jennie makes them, but they sure did make me feel better! Momma, thanks for all those batches you've made for me! I appreciate you more than you will ever know!! Love you to the moon and back!

Gettin Fit!

Here at LinkYear, students are required to take part in 30 minutes of physical activity at least 4 times a week! So what do we do for physical activity? Some of us wake up at 6:15 and do a group circuit workout, some of us play a game of pick up soccer, and others take a leisurely walk around campus. Unfortunately my sweet father passed on the gene of being a morning person, so I take part in the 6:15 circuit workout. I haven't decided if that is a good or bad thing. But when you get to spend that time laughing and exercising with some of your best friends, there isn't much room to complain! However, there are some mornings where the alarm is Jamie and I's worst enemy... so we immediately roll over, moan and grumble, hit the snooze, and refuse to get out of bed. On those days we make up the time with a little exercise sesh in the rec. These workouts are just as much fun! We assume our positions, me on the stationary bike, and James on the elliptical, and get to work! We flip on the tv and watch the news,some football, or maybe catch an episode of NCIS. After 20 minutes on the machines, we finish off our rigorous workout with a 10 minute abdomination. Abdomination is officially my least favorite thing in the entire world. It is the world's worst most painful 10 minutes of my life. But hey, at least I will look good when I'm done right? Well that's what I tell myself anyways...I can at least wish for a 6 pack. So whether it's an early bird workout with some pals or a late night basketball game, being active is always a blast here at Kanakuk LinkYear.

James in I workin it. 

Some casual football watching. 

Claire Bear and I ready for our walk in the FREEZING rain. 

Btown Madness

You may be wondering "what do those linkys do in their free time?" Allow me to enlighten you!

The favorite spot is obviously Sonic! You cant ever go wrong with a quick trip over to Hollister MO for happy hour! there is ever a dull moment when it comes to trips to sonic! more often than not, they end with an epic dance party in the parking lot. Which I am totally okay with. 

James and Claire Bear. 

Another fun place to go is Andys Frozen Custard! In Katy the favorite is Ritters Custard...now nothing can beat Ritters, but Andy's is a pretty good substitute! Located on "The Strip" Andy's is a great place to go if you need to satisfy your sweet tooth!

some of the girls!

Claire Bear and James....Mom Dad and toddler. guess which is the toddler.

Grahamster!

My personal favorite hang out spot is the one and only Vintage Paris! It's a hidden treasure! By far the best coffee shop I have ever been to! With free wifi, this quaint little spot is study hall central. You can come and sit down and before you know it you have been there for 4 hours! Once you enter the walls of Vintage Paris you lose all sense of time. And you leave smelling like 14 different types of coffee...its perfect.

YUMM. this creation is called the Marie Antoinette...white chocolate and raspberry. its heavenly.

so comfy and cozy.

Of course every once and a while you need to do some laundry! So just take a trip to the "Ye old wash house" and be sure to bring plenty of quarters! Being away from home means no mom to do your laundry ! So trips to the wash house are always an experience!  But watch out for the Branson natives...they like to hang out at the laundromat...don't worry, they may not have teeth or where shoes but man they are friendly!

ready to go! mom taught me well!

the friend we made on our last trip..notice he is not wearing shoes.

BIG BIG WASHER...the only way to go! 

Being a college student, we often struggle with finances. So, when we have spent every last penny on sonic, custard, laundry, and coffee...we never fail to create fun inside the hammocks!! PS: hammocks are what we call the dorms! From Facials to movie watching the possibilities are endless!!

movies in bed...you have to get creative here.

facials are always a god choice.

group movie at the Smith house

when all else fails...hang up the hammock!

I hope this helps give you a look into the life of a linky! It's not always glamorous but it never ceases to be entertaining! To view more pictures of linkys doing our thing please check out our flickr page!! http://www.flickr.com/photos/linkyear

Life as a "Linky"

Alright. In order to fully expirence the link year life via my blog, I decided you should know what a day in the life of a "Linky" looks like. PS: a linky is what I have decided to call Link Year students, it may be weird, just go along with it.

So, Tuesday through Thursday we have class in the neighborhood chapel every morning.

Now, I don't know about you...but this is better than any classroom I've ever been in!! How blessed are we that we can hold class in such beautiful chapel?? I love waking up knowing that I get to walk up to this sight every morning for 8 months. Jealous? yup, I thought so.

So, class begins at 8:30 with worship and then 15 minutes of prayer. PS: our worship band consists of 3 linkys! They are all very talented and love serving others through leading worship! lets take a moment and give Alex, Brenton, and Katie a round of applause! After prayer and worship, Adam comes up and introduces our speaker. Each day we have the opportunity to listen to a different speaker. They each teach us about a different topic applicable to our lives and our faith. I will explain more about each  speaker in another post! Class ends at 11:45 and that's when the stampede to the dining hall for lunch begins. After lunch the rest of the day is ours!

Claire Morgan and Graham got bored during class

Jay Holden speaking on strengths

Jay Jay got a little sleepy.

Our AWESOME worship band!

Alex(right) and Brenton(left) jammin during worship! they are so talented!

If you didnt notice, Monday and Friday were not mentioned in the above explanation. Well that's because those days are totally different and totally awesome. Mondays are known as "Mystery Mondays" around here. The goal is to make Mondays the best day of the week, instead of the one day everyone dreads waking up for. So every Monday the staff plans a fun event for us to do! this week was roller skating at the prestige and famous Skate World. All they told us was to wear neon clothes and bring socks. SUPRISE! we are going skating! it was awesome! by the end of the day we were sore and sweaty, but it was totally worth it. 

Najee and I livin the thug life.

AD (the RA) and I were matching!

Now for Fridays! Friday is rough because we start at 8:00 instead of 8:30...you may not think that's a big deal, but 30 minutes can make or break my grumpiness. But anyway, at 8 o'clock the boys and the girls meet separate for bible study and small groups. Each week we have a bible study to complete by Friday morning along with a memory verse to learn! I love this day! (besides the whole 8AM thing) I love spending time with my small group having awesome conversation and spending time learning about each other as we dig into the word! We finish around 11 and have the rest of the day to ourselves! What to do in our spare time...the possibilities are endless! Trust me!

Why Are We Here?

It's very rare that you find a group of 32 students from all over the United States who all share the same eagerness to learn more about our faith in one place. So, the question is the same for everyone "Why are you here?" Well, I am at Link Year for a permanent life change. I forever want to live a life that is pleasing to God. No longer do I want to live my life constantly pleasing others. This year I hope to increase my knowledge of the word and dive deeper into what it means to be a Christian so I that can positively impact my college campus, and be a light to my friends and family.

 I never thought I would be the person not knowing what they wanted to do after high school. My life was planned out perfectly in my head, but after hearing about Link Year everything changed! I felt like God laid on my heart to attend Link Year, and I am so glad I put my trust in Him and allowed His works to take place in my life! Let me assure you, putting my trust in Him was NOT easy. All year I struggled with wondering if I had made the right decision. It became even harder once my peers began to find out roommates and buy dorm decorations. The worst was when they would come back from orientation and talk non stop about how excited they were! I wanted nothing more than to be excited for them, but I was filled with so much jealousy and I was so worried I was going to be so left out of the whole "college life" experience. So I prayed continuously that God would calm my heart and give me a peace about my decision, expecting that this "peace" would come sooner rather than later. Well, even a week before move in day I still wasn't sure about my decision, but as soon as I arrived and began to meet the incredible people I will live with the next year, all my doubts and worries were gone. I knew the Lord put me here for a reason. I have no clue what the Lord's purpose is for me here, but that is what I hope to learn! 

The first night, our leaders took the class out to Martin's Point (a BEAUTIFUL camp site on a lake Kanakuk uses during the summer) and we hung out and roasted hot dogs and SMORES! The night even consisted of some bluff jumping...which I hate...but I faced my fear and jumped anyways. But before we could stuff our faces with graham crackers and chocolate, we all stood up one by one and said why we were here. 

I was expecting everyone to have similar stories for why they are here in Branson MO...I was dead wrong. Each student had a completely unique story and reason for coming here. Most were fairly normal, no tragic experiences or anything. Others were very sad and heartbreaking and made my life seem so easy. But with each story told I realized how blessed I am to be apart of something that is so evidently orchestrated by God alone.It is insane how lucky we are to have the chance to walk through God's will together as one class! I am so extremely excited to see what plans the Lord has in store for this crowd in the next 8 months!! Keep reading, and you will be able to experience this year along with us!

Meet The Roommate

Out of all the people I could have as a roommate, there is no one else I would rather have then Jamie Smith. She is one of my best friends and knows me better than anyone else I know. Living with her this year is bound to be full of surprises! There is never a dull moment in the Smith house! Every second is filled with laughter and Lecrae is always jamming in the background. Not to worry, I will keep you updated with story after story of whatever crazy thing Jamie does. Prayers are appreciated... ;)

our door!

smiling is overrated. 

i walked in to find her napping on the floor...like i said, never a dull moment.

I LOVE YOU.

A New Chapter

It has finally arrived!! The time has come for me to leave good ole Katy, Texas and move to the always exciting Branson MO! The trip started out bright and early as all good road trips do, we packed up the car and headed out on our 12 hour excursion. Of course Dad had to bring sarge along. So we he was the official road trip buddy!

The trip was way too long for my liking. Minutes passed by slower than ever, I could not wait to pull up to my new home! But finally we arrived!! I was officially in Btown! Once we arrived at K-Kuai (my home for the next 8 months) we checked in, found my room and began the long process of unpacking!

a blank canvas! mom and i couldn't wait to get started!!

We arrived in Branson at 3:00 and didn't finish unpacking until 6:30! It was a long, but very exciting afternoon! and it's safe to say the hard work payed off! The room looks great!!

We finished off the evening with a late dinner at Fudruckers! Dinner was filled with laughter and fun until it came time to say goodbyes... surprisingly only a few tears were shed! but if i know my mom I am sure more tears came down on the road trip home and days to follow! So I left the resturaunt and headed back to my newly decorated dorm to begin the newest chapter of my life!

My mom and Dad worked so hard and were a huge help!! thank y'all so much!! I couldn't have gotten here without the two of you!