Goodbye ya'll! I'll be back soon, promise.

So, it is the night before I leave. I am not sure if it is a defense mechanism or not, but I keep on pushing away the thought that I am closing a chapter in my life. For the past ten or so years (we moved here Labor Day of 2001) I have been going to school. While other friends and family have graduated and moved on before me, I realize that I am taking a large step into independence and life. A life of my own. Full of my own choices, decisions, realizations, mistakes, triumphs (with God's help), sorrows, blessings, and ultimately; growth. I am sort of scared, but like i said, instinctively I am choosing not to think about it, because I feel like some part of my is going to cling to my door jam crying: "MOMMY NO! PLEASE ANYTHING BUT COLLEGE!"

...however...

Perhaps the greatest step towards being who God's created you to be is TRUST. Huh, now there's a novel idea... the very virtue that God has wished for us since creation is what is necessary to make the toughest and wisest decisions {check out Proverbs 8). Faith is along the same lines of course, and if you're wondering what "Faith" is exactly, check out Hebrews 11:1, and after that check out the rest of the chapter, and just keep going, and once you brave the horror-story known as Revelation, start at the beginning I guess :) Find someone who you can discuss questions with, and importantly let me know and i'll try to pray for you. Or let believers around you know and they can support you as well, because my friend it is a Constant Battle. Ephesians (another sweet book in the New Testament) describes this battle, and i encourage you to check that out as well, specifically Ephesians 6:12.

It is definitely my hope and prayer that with this blog that I can truly honor and glorify God. I also pray that i say what He wants me to say, and if you want to join in, I would definitely appreciate it. I realize that there are hundreds of other people doing the same thing, and i cannot promise how consistent this blog will be once school gets rolling, but I will definitely try, and until then enjoy this nice long run-on sentence, and I hope that I at least made you smile today :)

~Alyse

p.s. enjoy these photos that give me inspiration!