Summer Reading: Draven's Light Review

     Hey ya'll! Hope Summer is going well for everyone! I've got an awesome read for anyone looking for a good book!

     Anne Elisabeth Stengl writes a fantasy series called the Tales of Goldstone Wood. Draven's Light is a novella that is part of the series. You may be thinking, "But I wouldn't know what was going on if I started in the middle of the series!" Never fear! Anne Elisabeth writes her stories so they can be read independently of each other. So here goes....

     Draven's Light is a tale of bravery. But not bravery as most people think of it. In this story, courage doesn't always come in the form of sword fights and brute strength; sometimes it means turning away from those things. Anne Elisabeth makes this message clear throughout the book.

      Though the book is written so a first-time reader of the series can pick it up, Anne Elisabeth brings a couple well-known characters into the story, as well new characters, both shedding light on previous stories in the series while weaving a new one. I have always marveled at the way the author is able to create a world with its own history and cultures as she weaves her tales together through ongoing story lines. Readers of Goldstone Wood will not be disappointed with this book!

     Draven's Light evokes a number of emotions from it's readers. It made me laugh, moan, smile and shake my head in confusion. At the end, I felt a satisfaction that the outcome was worth the sacrifices of the characters, that true bravery had won out in the end and that nothing could ever overshadow that truth.

     Anne Elisabeth's tale is darker, but conveys a pointed message of atypical bravery. Draven's Light is a wonderful tale that kept me reading for hours. The quiet strength of the main character mirrors the personality of the book and quietly embeds its story into the minds of its readers.

     Draven's Light is available on NOOK and Kindle, as well as available for order in paperback. It's well worth the read!

     In other news, I'll be posting some other college related posts as the Back-to-School season approaches.

Who I Am

Dear reader,
   I feel like I should ask your forgiveness. I set out to give you a glimpse into what the life of a college student is like; I have failed miserably. Especially since I haven' t posted in a year.... That's definitely part of the problem.
   I realized this blog has not been very organized, and I aim to change that. I want to help you know what college is like; I want to give you advice so you can learn from my mistakes; but I also want to show you who I am.
    I am not just a college student. I don't sit in my dorm room doing homework 24/7 with no social interactions whatsoever. I am also a child of God; a friend; a daughter; a fan girl; a reader; a broadway geek; a movie buff. In between school, I take time to do things I enjoy and spend time with people I care about.
    So here is the new direction of the blog: with this blog, I will give you college tips I learn throughout my almost two years of college life; however, as a reflection of my life as a college student, I will interject with posts about  other fun, more hobby oriented things.
     So, with that preamble, here's who I am (besides a college student), and what you will be seeing more of on this blog:

• A Child of God
  This is who I am first and foremost. I have been adopted into God's family through His Son's blood. He pursued when I was in sin, and invited me to have a relationship with Him. I want to serve God and live a pleasing life for Him because of I love Him. He is my daddy, and I am His daughter.
• A Fan Girl
  Yes.... I am a fan girl and proud of it! I put a lot of thought into things I love; sometimes too much thought. I ship couples and create head canons. I am a Whovian, a Oncer and I am Sherlocked. I am also proud to say I am a Goldstone Wood Imp; don't worry, there will be a post to explain this term, since many will probably not know who this fandom is. 
• A Reader
  I absolutely LOVE to read! I mostly stay within the fantasy/adventure/young adult fiction genre right now. I enjoyed the Hunger Games. I am only now starting to read the Harry Potter series. However, I do enjoy the classics, such as Jane Austen. I also love fairytale retellings! Robin McKinley's Beauty was good and I am interested to read her Rose Daughter (if you can't tell, my favorite fairytale is Beauty and the Beast). My absolute all-time favorite EVER author is Anne Elisabeth Stengl, who writes the Tales of Goldstone Wood series. If you don't know who she is, look her up! It will be well worth your time!
• A Broadway Geek
  I dream of seeing a musical on Broadway. My favorites are Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Beauty and the Beast and Les Miserables (just to name a few ;)). The 25th Anniversary edition of Les Mis gave me chills, as did Phantom of the Opera. I have a whole playlist dedicated to Broadway Music.
• A Movie Buff
  I love a wide variety of movie genres. Mostly action/adventure/fantasy. Though I do like some true story movies. I'm not a huge fan of sports movies; I think the only sports movie I actually find myself desiring to watch again is the Blind Side... perhaps because there's not a whole lot of sports in it? 

    That's me in a nutshell.  Do you have any of the same interests? How about different ones? Any questions you have about college you want me to (attempt) to answer? Comment comment comment!
    Look for more posts about college life/extracurricular activities to come!

Growing Pains and Pleasures....

     Tonight, I completed my last final, thus completing my first year of college. Except for an annoying online class that I still have to listen and take quizzes on, but we won't talk about that ;). It's amazing to reflect on the growth I've seen in the past two semesters. I took a leap of faith and joined a missions trip, I wrote my first research paper, I left everything familiar to follow God's call to go to college.
      This semester was filled with challenges and good times alike. Sometimes I stayed up till 2:30 am finishing a paper, sometimes I was watching a movie with my friends. What do I want do differently next semester? I want get things done earlier! The first week of the semester is the hardest. I wasn't stressed because there was nothing due. But now, I wish I would have taken advantage of that peaceful first week and gotten a lot of work done. That method would have saved a lot stress later in the semester. Next semester, I need to take time throughout the semester to work on projects that are not due until later. One things I've learned this spring is that even though I don't feel like I have time to work on a project due later in the semester, in the long run, I do have time. These are going to be things I want to remember next semester especially, since I plan to add another class onto my school load.
       Forgetting about the pains of this semester, I have loved getting to deepen friendships begun last semester. Coming back, it like felt the people on my hall (on-campus students are divided by separate dorm halls) started our friendships right where we left off. I loved getting to deepen my relationships and not have to start over getting to know a lot of people again. When I arrived at college, I had no idea who the people on my hall are. Now I know their voices, the things they like, their personalities. Our hall of girls had our secret sister reveal party this morning. Every one gets to guess at who her secret sister is. A lot of us were able to guess because we knew someone by the cards they made, or the gifts they got. And the gifts were more personalized because we knew more about each other. All of this to say, I loved getting to grow alongside these people I call my hall!
       One major thing that totally changed the tone of my semester was something that God showed mercifully showed me early in the semester through A Theology of Christian Counseling by Jay Adams: work is a good thing. Man was made for work. God created man with the purpose of taking care of His creation. When I succumb to laziness instead of doing homework, I am not living out my natural purpose. That's why I feel physically tired from doing nothing and don't sleep well that night. I'm not doing what I am supposed to be doing, and feel the physical effects of it. This knowledge freed me feeling like a slave to laziness. It was actually a relief to know that God had created me with a working drive. After God showed me this, I didn't mind staying up later to do homework, and I didn't dread doing homework. Doing homework didn't feel unnatural anymore because I that I was made for work, and would benefit from it physically and spiritually.
     Well, I've got to finish packing a cleaning tomorrow morning before I pack up and leave for home, so I'll sign off for now. What are my summer plans? Get a job, hopefully take an online class to keep up my study habits (and graduate in four years), and find ministry opportunities to get involved in. I'll be posting during the summer (if I have things worth writing about. Don't worry reader, I will not bore you with mindless nothings).
    Goodnight, and may God's peace of salvation through His Son's precious blood fill enable you to rest in our Savior and Creator. If you have not found this peace, I pray that you will seek Christ's forgiveness at the foot of the cross where He died for the sins of His of people.

An Opportunity to Send

Hello again, friends and family. I would like to make you aware of an opportunity that has arisen for myself, and for you. God has provided me with the opportunity to go on a missions trip to Central Asia. There, my team and I will be giving free English classes, and building relationships with the locals.

   I am telling you about this because I need your help! I would like you to prayerfully consider partnering with me in prayer, or by donation. The link below will take you to my fundraising website. Here you will be able to donate electronically online. I need $3,000 by May 30th. Would you be willing to partner with me?

I know God is going to do great things through this trip!



Bevin Center for Missions Mobilization 2013-14



Sorry I haven't been very regular with my blogging. Since the semester started gearing up, I haven't had much time to blog. I am getting more involved in my church, and college events, and I find I am sometimes meeting myself coming and going! But as usual, God gives me no more than I can handle.

Blessings,

Rebecca

Back to Where I Left Off

      Ok, you all can be honest, are my titles totally lame? Haha. I just kind of have this inkling that they might not be the most ingenious titles ever thought up.
      Moving day went... well, it went. It was so great to see friends from last semester, go familiar places, and just know what was I doing more than I did the first time! Moving in however.... well, let's just say setting up the beds was the bane of the day. We (one of my room mates and my father) spent most a lot of time first trying to figure out how we wanted the beds set up, and then how to actually make happen what we had in our minds to do. When we finally finished setting the beds and my parents took me grocery shopping, and then, the time we had all been dreading: saying goodbye.
       For my part, it wasn't as hard the second time around. But it wasn't that much easier. Luckily, when I got back into the dorm, I had my girls there to talk and laugh with. Shortly after, we decided to go the store and get ice cream and cookie dough, then came back and gathered in my room and just talked, and introduced ourselves to the new person, and played catch phrase. I didn't have much time to dwell on the sadness of my parents leaving.
       Saturday however, I had more time to think, and the day seemed to go on longer than I thought it would. I found myself kind of choked up when thinking of home and family. But I tried not to think too much  about it, and just tried to enjoy being at college without having to do school for two more days! That was the great part! There was no homework to worry about yet, no deadlines, and no tests!
        I don't think I told you readers this, but I finally found a church three weeks before the end of the semester! So coming back to the church was really nice, as I had gotten to know people there. In fact, last week after church, I talked to the pastor and worship pastor about joining. So I am now starting the process of joining the church! I cannot say enough about this sweet church. Everyone acts like family( I mean, all Christians are family in Christ) at this church, and they are all so sweet and loving! A few of the couples that attend this church are older, but it's neat because it feels like I have gained a few more sets of parents! Every time I see them I just feel like they have so much wisdom to share, and experience that I need to take note of and learn from. Anyways, there. I have bragged about my church. :)
          As familiar as the scenery and atmosphere are from last semester, there are differences and changes that are taking place and have taken place:
          1. All the girls in my hall aren't strangers anymore, but sisters! I remember last semester gathered at the end of the hall for our first hall meeting of the semester. Looking around the circle of girls, I had no idea who these people were. Last semester was spent just getting to know each other. This time around however, coming back to the hall is just like coming back home to family! No one's really too shy to hang out in someone's room anymore. We all welcome each other to join us in whatever we're doing. We laugh, and talk, and just enjoy being together. It's wonderful. :)
          2. I have to obtain a job. To maintain the style of living to which I am accustomed, I must obtain a job. I also want to save up for next semester, and some other things that I want/need. I have never had a real job before, so I'm really nervous. Not gonna lie, I'm having a difficult time not worrying about it. What if the hours are bad? What if I miss out on a whole bunch of activities with my hall brothers and sisters.... It's taking a lot more of God's strength to give it up to Him. Because I know that ultimately He knows what I need and will provide me with no more than I can handle. It's so nice to know that God has my back :)
          My first week of classes went well. I am attempting to make a better start to be diligent during the beginning of the semester as well as the latter part of it. Prayers are needed that I will use God's ever-ready strength that He offers. The work load doesn't seem too terrible, but definitely more than last year. So, here I go again!
     

The End of it(Aaand now the Beginning Again)

   Sorry for the long wait, everyone! Things got hectic at college during the last half. I finished my last semester and am now back for the next one. So here's an update of what went down.
    Well, because of my struggle with procrastination(see an earlier post), things got stressful and I found myself pressed for time during the end of the semester. Homework piled up at the end of the semester. So I had little time to study because I had to focus mainly on papers and finishing up reading. I worked till about 12 o' clock to 1 at night every day. But praise the Lord, the finals I had to take were not that difficult. Well, most of them. My Old Testament final made me want to pull my hair out. Four hours later, when I finally finished it(it was take home), I felt like a zombie. But the rest were not that bad. So I was able to focus on reading and papers.
   papers I found myself having trouble with. I was getting confused on formatting on a book review and got a paper turned in one minute before I was due(well, my friend actually was the one who inserted it the file uploader. I was having a freak out. This girl was such a Godsend last semester!). The last paper I had to do for the semester I got done at 9:45 at night on the day it was due. And that was also the night I got my stuff out of the dorm. That was a very hectic week.
   What am I planning to do this next semester? Get things done early! If I had some of that book reading done a couple weeks before finals week, I would not have had such a problem. But, I made that mistake and do not intend to repeat it. I already had a text book I needed at home, so I took the liberty of reading some of it so that I could get ahead.
   Christmas break was good. It was so nice being back home again! Living away from home has made me appreciate my own home small city more. I go to school in a big city, so it was very refreshing knowing how to get to places when I was home! Honestly, it was just nice to be able to drive again, since I don't have a car at college.
   As the time to return to school drew near, I found that I didn't want to go back. I enjoyed being at home around familiar family, friends, and sights. But, strangely enough, as returning time grew even closer, I came to dread it less and less. In fact, I was starting to look forward to it. It's just really hard to accept that this, going back and forth from school to home, to school again, was my life for the next 4 or 5 years. I think after the first year, it will become a little bit easier to accept.
   Honestly, once I got back from my first semester my thoughts were something like,
Well that was a nice dream, a good adventure. Now it's time to return to normal life." But now, after seeing friends again and being back, I'm sort of beginning to realize that that was no dream. That was actual real life. A life that was going to become routine for me.
   Packing was definitely easier this time around. I left most everything in the boxes so all I had to do was go around the house and pick up the things that I had taken out and repack my clothing.Although I do think I am going to make a permanent packing list for the future.
   It was strange driving back for another semester. I kept remembering the feelings of dread on the way to school the first time. I didn't want to leave home. I didn't know anyone at my school of choice. I had no clue what I was getting myself into with this whole college thing.
   But driving back this time, I had things to look forward to. I had friends that I was excited to see. I was taking new classes, which will no doubt be very good. I wasn't dreading it anymore. I was actually excited.
   Which brings me to here and now, in my family's hotel room. The first thing I did after I got out of the car was text a friend to see where she was. So a couple of my friends tromped down to the hotel to meet me. It was sooo good seeing them!!! We went back to the dorm and I got to see the hall in which I would be living. My RA and ARA came in soon after that, and were surprised to see me. It was so good to reunite with my girls tonight. I am kind of excited to move in tomorrow and catch up with everybody. But I'm still not looking forward to saying goodbye to my parents yet again. I feel like for me, saying goodbye will be a little easier. For them, however, it will probably be just as difficult.
   Sorry for the long wait. And the bad grammar. And just the all around bad writing right now. Don't worry, my school papers are much better written than this. ;) Goodnight everyone! :)
  
   

More than half-way through!

   Sorry I haven't posted in a while! There is always something to do around here. :)
   I have to be truthful, I dropped the ball on studying. So when my friend helped me make up my schedule for the rest of the semester a couple weeks ago, the load was a little worrying. What made it worse was that I had a quiz that I had to catch up on reading for. The week leading up to the quiz was quite hectic, full, and stressful! Make things even worse when you add midterms into the week.
   The whole situation turned out to be a learning experience, though. I had no choice but to lean on God for help, instead of trying to get things done in my own strength( which is what got me into trouble in the first place). As I had absolutely NO room for fudging, I honed my concentration skills and learned that I could get a chapter of a book read in 45 minutes to an hour depending on the length of the chapter. I gained confidence knowing that I was capable of completing the work and I'm a lot happier for learning this lesson! I praise God He helped me learn this lesson now and gave me a wonderful friend to challenge and encourage me when I so needed it!
   God has really been teaching me about His sovereignty in this time as well. It started out with the infection in my ears(they're all better now!), learning that He could and would heal them in His own good time for His purpose and glory. Then I get a text my aunt and uncle's house was on fire. It was really hard, especially not being able to be there with my family through all this. But God asked me this: "Do you trust me enough to take care of things at home while you're away?" Yes, I did. I knew that He would take care of it, even if I didn't see how this could end well. But a week later I found out that they would have to tear down the house and build a new one. Which actually works out. The insurance company is paying for all of it. My aunt will get the kitchen she's always wanted. :) Yet again, God worked all the bad stuff for His glory.
   I got a part in the second trio group in my choir. Honestly, my audition was not that good(no, I'm not just saying that). Not many auditioned. There were only 2 sopranos there including me. A few were going to audition later. So when I heard I had got a part in the group, I had to wonder if my professor really chose me or if I was his only other option. The moment I put the idea into mental words I could just picture God with His hands on His hips. And this is what He told me:" What have I been teaching you about my sovereignty? He didn't choose you, I did. I told you to go to that audition. I knew how many people were going to show up. I ordained everything. You have that part because I gave it to you. You asked for my will when you went into that audition and now you got it." Needless to say, I had no comeback. But it was such a good and needed lesson. All of these things happening have been opening my eyes to see how much He really does ordain things. And that's not all He has showed me.
   I'll be honest, I still hadn't truly fallen in love with my college of choice, even as my family and I were pulling in for orientation. But it was one of the only colleges that offered my field of interest. I even asked God that if there was some other college that He wanted me to go to, to please show me. But nothing popped up. Instead God is confirming that I am right where I'm supposed to be by my just being here. By the amazing, godly friends I have. They are such an encouragement to me. By the things I am learning and the ways I am growing. By my fantastic professors! They truly want us to succeed and grow this season. All but one starts with prayer requests and prayer time. They are living out their faith daily! He is showing me by my awesome RA! She is the sweetest thing! My RD is awesome as well! She remembered me from Preview Day last year, makes visits to my hall, and never fails to put a smile on my face. :) Bottom line: There is no doubt in my mind that I am supposed to be at this specific college. I am really happy I didn't take classes online and stay at home for the first year!
   Fall break was really good! I got to see family and friends that I haven't seen in a couple months! I got studying done, and rested up for the last half of the semester. Coming home was weird because my house just screams normal life. It was really weird knowing that I had to go back in a week. That I wasn't there to stay for good. Last time I was home, I didn't have any friends at my college and this time I was thinking a lot about the friends I had made here and texting some of them. It was weird because I almost feel like I lead two lives and it feels weird when they merge. The trip coming back was a lot better than the first one coming to the college. Looking back, I was so freaked out. I had no clue what I was getting myself into and I didn't know anybody coming in. It was good to know that I had a second family in the girls in my hall this time around. I was going back to what had become business as usual. Saying goodbye to my parents the second time around wasn't as hard as it was the first. Knowing that we would see each other in a little over a month helped too.
   Well, I have church in the morning. Goodnight ya'll! Blessings!