14 Things...

... I love about you <3

In honor of St. Valentine's Day, I will share with you guys 14 little reasons (out of millions) why I love and adore my handsome valentine. This is mine and Al's 3rd Valentine's Day together, and it just keeps getting better. Blessed doesn't even begin to describe how I feel.

Without further adieu:

1) He spoils me rotten without me ever asking.

2) He has an infinite amount of love to give everyone he knows. Seriously, he has the biggest heart.

3) His silliness makes me laugh until my stomach hurts on a daily basis.

4) He supports my habit (unwillingly) of opening a bottle of water, drinking one sip out of it, and not touching it again for the rest of the day. 

5) His eyes... well have you seen them? Swoon.

6) He feeds me Mexican all the time. 

7) I know he wants me to have everything my heart desires, even if that means I'm halfway across the world making my career dreams come true.

8) He is so patient with me, which is extremely hard to do because I'm so sassy all the time.

9) He isn't the type to give me presents, but he has showered me with love and affection since the day we started dating. It's the little things that matter most.

10) He has let me see the deepest parts of his heart.

11) He gives excellent back rubs.

12) He never fails to make me smile when I'm having a bad day.

13) He goes to see Valentine's Day chick flicks with me every year (and secretly loves them!)

14) Lastly, and most importantly, he loves Jesus. And I love Jesus. And Jesus loves us. And we're both loving Jesus more every single day, which is making our love for one another stronger every single day.


I love you, Kenneth Allen Rising III. I have since I was 15, and I will forever. There is no one else I'd rather spend my days with. Happy Valentine's Day, handsome.

My Word for the Year

"Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply." -Romans 12:9-10 (MSG)

This year, instead of making New Years resolutions (because let's face it... I can never live up to those anyway) I decided to choose a word that will be my focus throughout the year. I've heard of so many people doing this and it making a true difference in their lives. So hey, why not?

At first, I thought I would choose the word "faith." My thinking behind that was that I needed to have more faith in myself and my abilities, more faith in God and more faith in His ultimate plan for my life. Ironically, this was not the plan that God had for my year. 

Every time I would open my bible or my bible app, and every time I would have a rich, God-centered conversation with one of my friends, the word "love" was always the root. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I have a heart full of love for everyone I meet. God blessed me with such a big heart, which is a blessing and a curse at times. However, I have never thought much about what it means to be completely vulnerable and just love people exactly where they are. I have this warped image of loving people for all the good things they do, but as soon as they do something bad it's like the love stops. How messed up is that? What if that was how God was with us? What if every time we sinned, which is ALL the time, God stopped loving us? We would be in a mess. 

This year, I'm going to focus on loving people in a Godly way. The verse I wrote at the top has been popping up in my life so often. I've been contemplating a lot what it means to "love from the center of who I am."  And more importantly, what it means to "not fake it." 

Generally, I'm a very honest person. It's hard for me to lie about trivial stuff and especially hard for me to lie about big things, like how I feel. However, in the past few years, I have struggled so much with accepting and loving people for who they are and where they are. Many things have happened in my life over the past few years that have caused me to put up walls in order to avoid having a broken heart. People I deeply loved lied to me, abandoned me, used me, and broke me. In turn, I've become less vulnerable, less emotional, and just all-around less loving. I know this is not how God wants me to be with His people. 

So this year, I am going to prayerfully work on being more vulnerable and letting people into my life with full knowledge that my heart is probably going to be broken on occasions. I have hope in Jesus though. I have confidence in Him that if this is where He is leading me - if this is how He is wanting me to dig deeper this year - He will already be there to fix all my broken hearts. 

I'm vowing today to truly be a good friend who loves deeply, with no reservations. I'm vowing to love people right where they are in their lives, problems and all. I'm vowing to let myself be vulnerable in order for others to see Jesus through me.  I'm vowing to love, at all costs. Because that's exactly what Jesus did for all of us. His love for us cost Him EVERYTHING. It cost Him His life. How awesome is it to know that we're loved like that? Imagine how different this world would be if we all loved one another like He loves us. 

So friends, now you can hold me accountable. I'm praying that my love, first and foremost, for Jesus will continue to grow in this year. And secondly, I'm praying that my love for others will overflow from and overwhelm my heart this year. Be in prayer for me, also, because I know this will  be much harder than just typing the words on a page. I can't wait to see where God is leading me in this year full of love. 

Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful night!

-Morgan

Six Months Later...

Within the past few days, I've seen so many seniors from my high school posting about the schools they've been accepted to and where they're deciding to go, and I can't help but reminisce. I literally feel like I was just in their shoes - trying to decide where I wanted to go and who I wanted to be during the next four years. I can't believe time has flown by so fast since I graduated. 

Today, I had a sweet girl message me on Facebook asking me about UNCW. She just got accepted and is planning to major in Nursing. She was so adorable, and she was very honest about her nerves. I can remember that feeling. I remember being her. I was so nervous. The thought of college sent me running in the other direction because that meant I had to leave the nest of home and high school. It meant I had to move to a new place and make new friends. It meant I had to figure out who I wanted to be in this life. It meant I actually had to spread my wings and fly, like everyone told me I would have to do someday. I understand exactly where she is, and I'm sure where a lot of seniors are.

I want to give you some advice and encouragement about your upcoming year, seniors. I'm still learning a lot and taking things day by day, but the lessons I've learned in the past six months have made an immeasurable difference on my life here in college.

Advice:
1) I would strongly recommend that you live in a dorm. Yes, it may seem gross - sharing bathrooms with a whole hall, sharing an incredibly small space with a complete stranger, etc. - but it will help you adjust so much faster to the college environment. I'm speaking from experience because I live off campus, and it has been really hard for me. Live in a dorm your first year, and make the most of it. It might just end up being one of your best college memories.

2) I know you will hear five million times from five million different people to get involved... LISTEN TO THEM. They know what they're talking about. You'll meet so many people and have so many new experiences. It will be worth it, trust me.

3) Learn to balance all the things you need/want to do. It's perfectly fine to go out and socialize, as long as you can balance studying, eating, sleeping, going to class, and everything in between with it. You'll figure out what works for you really fast. 

4) Take advantage of everything your campus has to offer - classes, professors, rec centers, food, free stuff, studying abroad, etc. This will be the only time in your life that you'll have all those opportunities... go for it!

5) Don't freak out about what your major is going to be. Spend more time learning about who you are and what you like, and you'll find the perfect major for you. The more you stress about it, the more you're going to hate your life. Start learning your likes and dislikes early, that way you won't be trapped in classes that you're miserable in.

6) Don't buy the books for your classes unless you absolutely have to. Trust me. Save yourself some money anyway you can. You're gonna need it.

7) Spend time figuring out who you are. You're in college now. It's all up to you. Don't just follow the ways of everyone else. You can do anything and be anything you want. Figure out what that is for you, and go do it and be it.


Encouragement:
It's okay to be homesick. 
        You are going to miss your parents, your friends, and your old life so much when you go away to college. You're going to want to cry your eyes out, and it's okay if you do. You're going to want to run home to your mom and dad after the first week. You're going to wish and wish and wish that you could go back to high school, and you're going to hate that you spent your whole four years of high school praying that time would go by faster. It's perfectly fine to feel that way. It's perfectly fine to sit in your room after your days are done and be so upset for the first few nights. 
        But then you have to pick yourself up and go enjoy your new college life. Go make friends and explore your campus. Go do silly things that you'll look back on and laugh about. Go figure out who you want to be and become it.

You and your high school best friends will grow apart.
         At first, this will absolutely break your heart. You'll try to keep in touch, and it's so awesome if you do. But if not, it's perfectly okay. You're living completely separate lives now. They're making new friends, and you're making new friends. It's inevitable that you'll grow apart. That doesn't mean you don't love each other or miss each other. It doesn't even mean that you're not friends anymore. It just means that you're growing up. 
        Cherish your time with them during breaks. Cherish your short text message conversation. Cherish your phone conversations, no matter how few and far between. Cherish your silly snapchats and twitter mentions. Cherish their friendship, even if it seems distant.

Your appreciation for your parents will be overwhelming.
        You don't realize how much your parents do for you until you're not under their protective wings anymore. Of course they will always be there, but you will appreciate them so much more when you're not with them all the time. It will be a treat to go home and get a home-cooked meal and get to hug their necks. It'll also be extremely hard to leave them when it's time to go back. Enjoy every second with them - you'll miss it when you're at college.

It's all going to be okay.
        There will be times in your new college life that you feel incredibly overwhelmed and stressed to the max (like even more than you were when you were doing your senior project). You'll feel like the world is caving in when you have 3 tests in the same week. You'll feel like you're having a panic attack when you have no idea how to write a paper or do your homework correctly. You'll want to cry like a baby when you get a test back with a grade that was lower than you expected. You'll feel like you're losing your mind when you can't decide what you want to do with your life. All of this will come at you at once... just know that it's all going to be okay.
        Don't sweat the small stuff. It's just a bad day, not a bad life. You'll figure out what you want to do with your life eventually. You will get through weeks that may seem impossible to get through on a Monday. It'll all work out. It always does. And when it does, you'll feel so accomplished for all the effort and hard work you put forth. Just take a deep breath when you're stressed, and remember what your goal is. It will all be worth it in the end.

I hope after reading this, all you seniors are feeling more encouraged about going to college. And for all my reader friends who are already in or have already graduated college, I hope you agree with most of these things. College is such an interesting time in your life. Enjoy it, because once you graduate high school, time really flies by. It's okay to be nervous... it's almost your time to spread those wings and fly! 

In Christ,

Morgan