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.