Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

We've all had them. Those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, where one not-so-good thing domino effects into a whole list of other things, which ends in a bad day. Mine started with dropping two glasses of water off of a tray at work. The first two glasses I broke on the job. But not only did I spill water all over myself, I also spilled water into my apron pocket, where my phone happened to be residing. Not a whole lot of water, mind you. But apparently enough so that when I checked it later, it had black screened and read me the message "USB Download Mode." I promptly took the battery out to find a few drops of water, which I knew was going to be a bad sign. After I got home from a long day at work, I threw my phone in rice, hoping it would come back to life - before my phone had short-circuited, I saw that I had text messages and voicemails waiting for my attention.

Needless to say, it's been a long day. There's been tears, and fervent prayers, and telling myself how stupid I am, and researching online to see if anyone else had the solution to my problem, and going to the Verizon store with my dad to see if there was anything they could do, and more tears... You never realize how much you need something until it's no longer available. I find my reliance on technology somewhat pathetic after something like this happens. I shouldn't be so attached to an inanimate object that it causes me to shed tears. But unless some sort of miracle happens, everything I had on that phone is lost: all my pictures, and text messages that had sentimental value. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do.

The one good thing that did come out of this circumstance is I got to spend time with my dad. He calmed me down when I was upset over my phone, took me to the Verizon store, went shopping with me at Wal-Mart, and then came over to the house I'm dogsitting at to watch a movie with me. Since I won't see too much of him tomorrow on Father's Day, I enjoyed our time together. Thank you, dad, for always looking out for me.

Well, there's gotta be a silver lining to this situation somewhere. I just gotta trust that God will work this all out for His glory. Until then, I have a husky literally laying in my lap during a thunderstorm. I knew sled dogs made the best cuddle buddies.

It also happens to be my dear friend Kelly's birthday today. Happy Birthday, darlin'. May God bless you abundantly in the coming year!

See You Soon

I can't believe it. My freshman year of college is coming to a close.
I turned in my last assignment last night - I'm officially done!

I still remember move-in day, with all its uncertainty and excitement, and now I'm packing up and moving out. The beginning of the year feels like ages ago, and yet like it was just yesterday, all at the same time. And people keep telling me that every year after this continues to get faster. Not quite sure what to think about that.
Two years ago, I never thought I would be at Whitewater. But here I am! And this year has been absolutely wonderful. Sure, it's had its fair share of drama, tears, stress, and lack of sleep. But there's also been laughter, joy, excitement, and adventure. I've met some incredible people, and I don't know what I'm going to do without them this summer.
Also, the men of Whitewater took me by surprise these past couple weeks and have been opening doors left and right! I am blessed and impressed.
I've had so many adventures these past few weeks as I enjoyed the short time I had left of my freshman year in Whitewater. From sleepovers, to late night walks, to snuggling with puppies, to secluded riverside lookouts, to jumping over waist-high lamp posts, to how-to-drive-a-manual-car lessons (I dare say, if picking a major doesn't pan out and I run out of options, I could teach a driver's ed course on driving stickshift) - I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Not to mention, I got to room with my best friend. Some cautioned us that it might not work, but I think we made out just fine! We're rooming together next year, so that's a good sign, right?

My dad will be here soon to move me out, and I'll only be home briefly before I head up to the UP for Chapter Focus Week with InterVarsity. I'm excited - it's going to be amazing.

So that means saying goodbye to the campus I've fallen in love with, my room, my friends, and to my freshman year. Some of the goodbyes will be harder than others.

Goodbye, Benson 329. We've had a good run.

And freshman year, I've learned a lot - I've grown so much, and I'm excited for what next year's going to bring.

To the rest of you, however, this isn't goodbye - I've never been very good at goodbyes. But this is, simply...

See you soon.

My Hat

Some of you may already know the story behind my sled dog hat, but for those of you who don't, it's about time you did!

Trust me, it's a good one.

This dates back to December 4th (or 5th, if you want to get picky). It was a Sunday, and I had a huge amount of reading to get done for English. After church, I went to the library and literally spent the rest of the day there. Around 12:15am I got back to my room, exhausted. Sitting on my desk was a Wal-Mart bag, which I assumed was some of my belongings that had gotten moved around on the floor that my roommate Emily had picked up and set on my desk. Upon closer inspection, I found a note attached to the bag that read:

"Cora, Stay warm like Balto during your favorite time of the year. Merry Christmas."

No name.

I opened the bag, incredibly confused, and discovered a sled dog hat. Sitting there. 

Meant just for me.

I was dumbstruck. I looked at Emily and asked where it had come from. She told me that someone had knocked on the door earlier, and when they didn't come in when she called, she got up to open the door and found the bag sitting there.

I'll be honest - I burst into tears. I definitely did not feel like I deserved such a thoughtful and amazing gift! I am so.incredibly.blessed.

To this day, I still don't know who my mysterious benefactor is. But I'm ok with that. 

The magic is in the mystery.

However, if the giver of this phenomenal gift happens to be reading this...

Thank you.

From the bottom of my heart.

Wedding Bells

It's about time I blogged about it.

2 weeks ago today, two of my favorite people in the whole world got engaged! Chris proposed to Carolyn on her golden birthday - so sweet! I couldn't be happier for them.

Chris has basically been a part of the family since I was 3, so I'm thrilled to officially be able to call him my brother in the near future.

I am so blessed to have Carolyn and Chris in my life. They've always been incredibly supportive of me, and made every effort to be actively involved in my life. They lead by example, and I am so proud to call them family!

So I'll keep this short and sweet, but I just wanted the world to know how excited I am!

Here's to you, Carolyn and Chris, setting out on your next big adventure!

Saved by Grace

It's hard to find the words to talk about today, Good Friday, which represents the day Jesus died on the cross for my sins. And the sins of the world.

Because of His great love.

He suffered, bled, and died - the punishment and fate that should have been mine.

I can't even begin to understand a love like that.

His death changed everything. (Not only His death, but His resurrection as well. But that's a subject for Sunday.) We are no longer separated from God, Who loves us so deeply and longs for a relationship with us. John 3:16 comes to mind: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

I've done nothing to deserve a love like that. Which is what makes Christ's action so amazing - because of His death, I need only to repent of my sins and accept Him as my Lord and Savior, and He extends His grace to me, despite my imperfection.

As I drove out to meet some friends for dinner, there was a cloud in the sky (see it?) that reminded me of two things.

What first came to mind was a dove, which reminded me of Matthew 3:16-17: "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'"
As I looked at the "dove" in the sky, I thought of what it would have been like to be in the crowd that saw this happen, and how incredible it must have been.
The second thing I thought it looked like (which might take a slight stretch of the imagination) was a cross. After all, it is Good Friday.
Jesus sacrificed Himself for me on that cross to pay the price for my sins.
And because I can't come up with anything profound to say, listen to this song.
Another song that's been running through my head all day is this one. Give it a listen, too.

All in all, today is an incredibly humbling day.

So if you're ever feeling unloved or unlovable, remember this:
Jesus thinks you're to die for.
And He did.

Since Christ sacrificed everything for me, how am I living my life to glorify Him in everything I do?
I want to live my life with intention.

Camping Adventures

I'm taking a break from my homework to blog. It's been a while.

And, let's be honest. I would much rather blog than do homework.

(I thought I was getting better at not procrastinating. I guess not.)

This past weekend, to finish off my spring break I went camping with friends from InterVarsity. And might I say, it was the most relaxing part of my whole break. It was cold, there's no denying that. But the friends that were there made it totally worth it. No electricity, no running water, but plenty of good conversation and a whole lot of fun.

Thanks, Joey, for planning the whole thing!

Trying to sleep Friday night was an adventure in and of itself. Thank God for Hot Hands - the little packet warmers, and the body warmers that stick to your shirt and last for 12 hours...or more! Toe warmers were not discovered until Saturday when we made a run to the gas station to get more Hot Hands packets. We all survived the chilly night though, and Megan, Katherine and I made up for it Saturday night by zipping two sleeping bags together to create a giant sleeping bag - perfect for snuggling. One of my favorite parts of the whole camping experience.

Camping highlights: roasting hot dogs over the fire, making s'mores, playing guitar and singing at the top of our lungs, worship around the campfire, awesome God conversations, playing Scattergories and Clue, singing lullabies to the camp, and letting Kaleb and Dan practice their stick shift driving skills on my car.

There were a lot of fun parts to this camping trip. But these were the highlights.

Then it was back to Whitewater to get ready for the final stretch of the semester.

Biggest regret of my spring break?

Not doing any homework.

Which means tonight, and tomorrow night, and possibly Saturday night as well, I will be up til 4 or 5 in the morning trying to get this stuff done.

5 weeks left? 

I can do this.

Also, I'd like to give a shout out to my big brother Kyle, whose birthday is today.

Happy Birthday, bro! 

I hope it was as amazing as you are.

Lasting Memories

It's been 3 years since my grandpa passed away. It's strange, how time can slip by so quickly. Today I want to dedicate my blog post to him.

One thing I miss most about my grandpa is his stories. My grandpa was the best storyteller. I loved listening to him tell stories of his life growing up on the farm, or being in the Air Force. Even if I had heard the story before, it didn't matter - I always wanted to hear it told again. My grandpa's words possessed a sort of magic. He would draw you in and paint a picture in your head, and it was as if I could actually see the story unfolding in front of me. It was easy to get my grandpa to tell stories. I think he enjoyed telling them as much as I did listening to them.

There was one of two greetings I would receive when I went over to visit my grandpa: "How the heck are ya?" or "Hey there, good lookin'!"
Mood brightener. Automatically.


The summer before my grandpa passed away, I would go over and ride the stationary bike in his basement. (We lived right next-door, so it was just a short walk through the backyard.) I'd plug in my headphones and sing at the top of my lungs to keep myself motivated.
Didn't know that my grandpa would listen from the top of the stairs.
He'd had a stroke, which paralyzed him on his right side, so he was wheelchair bound.
He brought it up one time when I came over for a visit. I was rather embarrassed, but he told me, "No, Cora, I love it. Come over anytime and ride the bike and sing."
Once school started back up, I didn't really have time to go over and ride the bike and sing. He would bring it up from time to time, but he never pushed it.
Come January, his health was deteriorating, and by March he was headed downhill fast. The night before he died, I went over to see him, and my uncle was there and told me he didn't think my grandpa was going to make it through the night. I cried. I wasn't ready to let him go. But the thing I regretted most was since the summer, I hadn't had the chance to sing to him. I begged God to let me sing for him one last time before he died. My dad and uncle left me alone to say goodbye, and I had my chance. I held his hand, choked back tears and sobs, and sang him "I'll Fly Away."
Probably one of the saddest and hardest moments of my life, but it's a memory I will always hold onto and never forget.
He passed away several hours later.

RIP Grandpa Uebele. I love and miss you. Very much.