"This Road" - by Ginny Owens

A million miles away from anything familiar
a thousand places I would rather be
so I choke back the tears and try to find the bright side
though I find it hard to see beyond my suffering
in my heart I know Your plan is so much bigger
but this small part is all that I can see
and I believe You haven't left me here to wander
still I can't help but ponder where You're leading me

(chorus)
and I ask why this road
why this way
and this load
tell me how far must I go
till I see
till I know
why this road

A million miles away from anything familiar
what was it like to be so far from home?
though You came in love
the world misunderstood You
there must have been some days when You felt so alone
but You endured, cause there was joy before You
joy that came because You sacrificed
Since you gave Yourself just to spend forever with me
surely I can trust You'll lead me through my darkest times
when I ask why....(chorus)

From here I can not see
why You'd choose this path for me
but I don't have to understand to believe
that You know why

You know why this road
why this way
and this load
You know how far I must go
till I see
till I know
why this road

Day 6 of 9

I woke up this morning (well, this afternoon to be precise), and the trees and ground were coated in white, sparkly stuff. For the most part it was just depressing, but another part of me was like, "Ooo...it's perty." The only time that I can possibly like snow is the first snow of the year, when I have not been outside since it started and I'm looking at it from the warmth of my house. As soon as I step outside, though, all appreciation is gone. I hate snow. (I apologize to those of you who read my blog last year... This post is probably bringing back old memories of me complaining about cold weather last year. I guess I'm too stinkin' predictable.)

Oh yeah, it's also Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving! It's kinda crazy... I was in some serious denial of the fact that it's late November. But the combination of snow and Thanksgiving (November 25!!!) has reminded me of harsh reality. Not that I don't like Thanksgiving. I'm actually somewhat ambivalent toward it. It is SO important to be thankful to God, but not just on one day out of the year. Actually, the fact that we get 9 days off of school makes me like Thanksgiving. Ok...I'm no longer ambivalent.

What was I thinking? Green bean casserole...I love Thanksgiving! Anywho. My dog looks like she's dead right now. Don't worry - she's breathing. On that note, I'd better get some work done and let you fine folks get back to whatever else you need to do. Thanks again for tuning in. Later.

~Libby G

Song of the day: "Lift It" - Thousand Foot Krutch

Thanksgiving break!

Home again, home again...

Today I fell in love with my mom's green bean casserole all over again. It's the best thing ever. If I had to limit my diet to a few chosen foods for the rest of my life, green bean casserole would definitely make the cut. It's so deceptive though, because I'm like, "yeah I'm eating green beans," ignoring the fact that everything else in the recipe is not so healthy. Oh well, I guess that's why we only have it on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So I get home today and my mom immediately starts grilling me about getting everything ready for Greece. It's like, "HI LIBBY - you're home early! Now, how much money do you want to exchange into Euros before you leave for Greece? Where are you going to get the Euros? Do you need to buy a certain kind of phone card?..." The list goes on, and on, and on. My mom is so cool though, because she is super organized and thinks of EVERYTHING ahead of time. It is such a gift. I can make fun of her for it, but in actuality I'd like to be more like my mom in that regard.

This week should be very interesting. I hope to find a balance between the mountains of homework that await me in my room and the overwhelming task of packing for an entire semester in Athens, Greece. 9 days doesn't seem so long anymore. :) But it will be good.

I am really starting to get excited about being in Greece for a semester, but not because I think it's going to be super fun, exotic, and exciting. I know that God is sending me to Athens, and I am excited to see Him at work. When I am weak, He is strong. And I can't wait to see His strength, provision, and faithfulness demonstrated in a very personal and powerful way. It's almost counterintuitive to desire to be vulnerable and "out of my comfort zone" in order to see God glorified in my weakness. But the Messiah coming to earth as a baby, living a humble life, and suffering an incredibly painful death was counterintuitive. Giving of oneself is counterintuitive. But all those things are good, so the problem lies in our intuition...

Well "dudes," enjoy your BREAK!!! Thanks for tuning in once again. Over and out.

~Lib

Song of the day: "Be That Way" - Go Fish

November #2

Looky there, I am actually posting 2 days in a row (after taking a couple months off)! Right now Five Iron Frenzy's "Upbeats and Beatdowns" album is playing in my room, and that album is always a good time.

I finished most of my work for the rest of the week, so I decided to take the night off. So far I've done some packing for break (so that I can pack for Greece next week), listened to 2 (going on 3) FIF albums, and read through some of my old blog posts. It's weird to read stuff that I wrote a year ago. In some ways I feel like I've changed a lot, but in so many ways I haven't changed. Freaky-weird!!

So here I am, Libby the Dorkinator. Hmm, what else? Oh yeah, when I was packing up summerish clothes to bring home for packing, I found this one shirt that's kinda like a girls' basketball jersey. It's reversible and VERY cool. I'm way excited about this find, hence the reason that I'm wearing it now. My arms are a little cold, but I feel like I'm an African American. That must be b/c it's a basketball jersey, so subconsciously I feel good at basketball...haven't quite figured it out yet. The truth be told, I stink at basketball. Reality is harsh. ANYWHO...

GCC people and all you other college students, enjoy Thanksgiving break! Don't drop firewood on your big toe, don't let anybody slip anything into your drink (ahem, Kristin), and make sure to eat all your vegetables. ¡Los voces en mi cabeza me dijeron hacerlo! Adios.

~Leebee (as Belizeans like to pronounce my name)

Song of the day: "Spoiled Brat" - Calibretto 13

Time flies when you're havin' fun!

So here I am again, procrastinating. That seems to be a theme with blogging. Anywho...

This semester has been really amazing, yet radically different than the previous four. In preparing to study abroad next semester, there has been plenty of junk to do. It seems like the list never ends. It gets more and more exciting though, as the trip approaches. I will really miss my family and my friends here, not to mention Jason. But I know deep down that studying abroad is what I need to do, and I am stoked to see what God is going to do while I am in Athens. My prayer right now is that God will provide another Christian from College Year in Athens (the program that I am going with) for fellowship. So if you think of it, please join me in praying for this provision.

Hmm... What else? I am leaving for Belize, Central America, soon after finals are over. It'll be nice to spend a few weeks with my family before taking off for Greece (for over four months). Spending time together is Belize is literally being together ALL day long. It's really fun though, and it always proves to be a great bonding experience for my family. Plus, insane sun rays are involved...and who could pass up being tan as opposed to this freaky shade of blueish-gray! Oh, the benefits of being African American in the winter...

Well, I had better get back to studying for my test tomorrow. I hope to post somewhat regularly next semester while I am in Greece, so keep an eye out for more of the good stuff. No, silly willy, "the good stuff" is not referring to drugs, but rather, Libby's mad sweet crazy awesome posts. Well that was a lie. Thanks for reading my boring blog! Lata gata...

~Libbzerz

Song of the day - "You Can't Handle This" - Five Iron Frenzy

Woke up too early

It's going to be a cold, rainy day in Grove City. So sad. I guess this weather is evidence of the fact that fall is on its way, and to me that is a bummer.

Right now I'm sitting here, listening to Butterfly Kisses on my headphones. It's kind of a depressing song. I need to stop giving myself 50 minutes to get ready, because I obviously don't need all that time. There seems to be a recent theme in my blogging... It only happens at the strangest hours of the day. :)

Oooo... New song! Nicole C. Mullen's "When I Call on Jesus." Well, I'm gonna pack up my stuff for class. I hope y'all have an amazing day!

~Libbers

Song of the day: "Sea of Faces" - Kutless

Diet Coke with Lime is simply amazing when it's so cold that the top turns slushy. But seriously, who would be stupid enough to drink caffeinated pop at 2:00 in the morning? Well my friends, not all of us are that logical. I guess there's just a lot to think about these days, and what better time to do that than the middle of the night? :)

I guess it's been a while since I last posted. I've been back here at Grove City College for the past week: acquiring a quality education in a thoroughly Christian environment at an affordable cost. I have noticed a change in the social dynamics since coming to GCC for the first time. Freshmen year, the work was so overwhelming and I spent too much time on it. And ever since, the focus has shifted from academics to friendships. The academics are part of being here, but friendships are the what keep me coming back.

It's so nice to return to a place that is familiar and comfortable, a place where you can just pick up where you left off. GCC has become a sort of second home, which is strange to say since in previous years I have struggled so much with homesickness. But I guess that it's different this year... Part of it is probably just getting older and more confident. Part of it is knowing so many people here. Part of it is being loved by friends, and loving them back like they're my own sisters. Part of it is the excitement of a new year and memories to be made.

I love the fact that wherever I go, God is with me. He is so good, and I will never grasp the extent to which that is true. Yet He still hears my little prayers, and He answers them! He rules over all the nations, but He knows how many hairs are on my head. It's like the Nichole Nordeman song, "Oh Great God, be small enough to hear me now" (I think that it's called "Small Enough"). I won't get going on my Nichole schpeal... I'll just say that she is amazing and everyone should listen to her music for the lyrics.

So now that you've had a taste of my disoriented, late-night thinking, it's time for bed. I don't think that the caffeine in my system is gonna be a problem... I'm wiped out. So anywho, this is going to be a very interesting semester. I can't wait to see what God's going to do!!

You Grovers (I hate that term), keep the studying in perspective. I'm sure that I'll be seeing "y'all" around. And the rest of you peeps, come visit me! :)

~Libster

Song of the day: "This is a Call" - Thousand Foot Krutch