WHAT?!?!?

                                                 (A picture I took at NBBI in February)

                                                 

Is it really March already?

I think I just completely missed the first two months of the year. (Not a bad thing though, it's been wicked cold up here.)

Life has just been crazy busy up here, and I cannot say that it has been the easiest lately. I think I've written about this before, but winter is a hard time for me. I feel like I'm stuck in a slump for the entirety of it (which so happens to be about 5 months for Mainers).

And that's why I love March!!!

March is just always a good month for me. It still snows, it's still cold. But there's a hope.

The hope that April will bring spring with it.

A favorite passage of mine in the Bible is Ecclesiastes 3. In it, Solomon reminds us that there is a season for everything. Also, my favorite verse in it:

"He has made EVERYTHING beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to end." (verse 11)

Isn't that such a hope? Even though it seems like winter may never end, God will be melting the snow, raising the temperature, calling back the birds from the south, and giving us wonderful greenery in just a matter of months. Isn't He so good?!?!



I hope that raised your morale, because it raised mine!


Laura xx

The Season of Reflection

Long time, no blogging, I know. Been working on a novella, which I have almost finished. (!!!)

For some reason, this season is the busiest, and the most stressful for me. Shouldn't it be the opposite? I want to be able to just sit down, relax, and enjoy this Holiday season with family and friends. But instead, I'll be finishing up essays taking tests over this next week before break.

I'm definitely ready for 2014 to be over, and to move onto another year. I've had a blessed year though, here are some highlights:

- Got my driving permit (and found out that I really don't even like driving. Pray for me for that, if you would.)

- Made it into NHS

- Had my Sweet 16th


and so many more, tinier blessings have occurred, but boy, am I looking forward to 12:00 AM on January 1st. I get so weary at the end of each year...did I do enough? Have I changed in a positive light? Am I on the right track for the next year?? It's so frustrating. And yet...I'm calm. For a reason unknown, God always chooses to give me such a blessed peace. Yes, I have my moments where I'm completely freaking out and don't know what to do, but underneath it all...I always know everything will eventually be okay.

My best friend, Natalie, has been such a mover in my life over the past year. This girl, who I met though an online community for Christian girls...has turned out to be one of the best people I've been in contact with in my entire life. (I affectionally call her "my twin") It's funny how God can bring together two people with similar problems, and have them come together to comfort one another in Christ, and glorify himself through them. All you know is that it is just what I like to call a "God thing." He brought Natalie to me in a time of desperate need for both of us, and through e-mails, Skype calls, and texts we've been able to reveal out true selfs and hand it all over to God. It's just so great.


But anyways, I sure will be taking it just one day at a time for the next few weeks.
Have a blessed Holiday season!

Laura xx

Plans for my Life!

(God holds my future, and he may have something completely different planned for me...but this is what I'd like to accomplish in the next ten years or so.)

Right now I'm a Sophomore in high school, so you might be thinking that it's a bit early for me to know what'd I'd like to do with my life. I am a VERY driven person though, and my dreams stick with me. So here is a path I'm considering taking once I'm out of high school.

My mom attended Cedarville University after a year at the New Brunswick Bible Institute. Hearing her talk about both colleges made me want to attend both. Right now, it's not looking very optimistic for me to go to NBBI, but I'm continuing to pray about it. Cedarville is definitely going to happen, though. If you didn't know, I LOVE History, especially American History. Also, I am very active in what I can do for politics, and I will never change that. I'm a firm believer that I MUST be the change I'd like to see in this world, mainly keeping America as a nation under God.

That being said, I'm planning on double majoring in History/Political Science, and minoring in communications. I know that I can do great things in life, and I'm hoping to become a Historian, author, or even a politician. (Wouldn't mind just being a politician's wife though *wink-wink*). And if God does not lead me down that path, I would also LOVE to be a Pastor's wife and stay at home Mom. After high school, I'm hoping to branch out a little. I'd like to spend my summers working at Disney World for the Disney College Program, or my real dream is to be an intern at the White House (cue the Monica Lewinsky jokes).

All I know is, that even though I truly do love my little "bubble" here in Maine, I really need to get out and explore the world. I'm a traveler, and even if that means living in an RV just road-tripping across the US, I'll take it. I'm planning to have a little fund for traveling, so maybe when I have my own family I can surprise them with random trips to various places across the country. I yearn to get out, move forward the Kingdom of God, and keep this fine nation the best country in the world.

So yeah, there's more about little 'ole me! xx

The Silent Killers: Autoimmune Disorders

The summer I turned eight was the worst summer of my life. About three weeks into the summer I began experiencing severe migraines, and eventually bulls-eye rashes showed up on my knee, and the back of my neck. They took me both to the local clinic and hospital where I was treated for Lyme's Disease. Once it was "cured" everything should've been okay, right?

Not how it worked.

For the next six years I dealt with chronic fatigue, frequent aches, pains, and migraines. When I was eleven, I also had shingles, which is normally something much older people experience. Accompanying all that I was diagnosed with acid reflux, and around the time I turned fourteen I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. So much for being cured, right? Doctors dismissed it as left-overs of the Lyme's, but my mom and I weren't satisfied. Finally in December of 2012 Mom ordered blood tests for absolutely anything and everything. (My Mom actually has type-1 diabetes and my Nana has RA, so autoimmune disorders run in our family). Two weeks later, and it came back that I had an extremely high RA factor, but had not tested positive for RA. Or anything else. So they sent me to a pediatric Rheumatologist in Portland, Maine.

Once there, I went through a few tests, and finally I had somewhat of an answer. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, along with possible IBS and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (those two not officially diagnosed, but my Rheumatologist really believed those went hand and hand with my Fibro). Fibromyalgia causes simple things like a common cold to make me feel like I'm suffering from the worst case of the flu. My joints are constantly stiff, I'm always forgetting things, EVERYTHING hurts, and almost everything I described above are side effects of this. It takes a huge toll on my body, and mental health.

So two years later, and here I am, taking many different medications...and just stumbling though life. I truly have to take one day at a time. I can start out feeling absolutely fantastic, and then by lunch have to go home from school because I feel like I'm dying. It can strike at any moment, even with being on medication. I'm fighting an invisible battle. If I even miss an hour of sleep one night, I'm done for for at least two days. It's tiring, and somedays I just can't take it anymore. People and faculty at school will comment, "Oh you LOOK fine."

Yeah, trust me, I know I LOOK fine. I hide my pain a lot, I don't want to be a burden to people. And being a type-a personality, giving up and being lazy isn't an option. I can't let this horrible disorder ruin my life.

So yeah, there's a little insight into my life. Hopefully in the next few years I will be able to enter a pageant system and spread a large light on these silent killers. The rest of my life won't be any better unless a cure can be found, but I'm going to try and stay positive. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me, or comment below.

Laura xx

The Busiest Time of the Year

It's finally the Holiday season.

Now, don't get me wrong, I adore summer...but this season of giving and remembering God's gift to us is my most favorite time of the year.

It's also the busiest and most stressful time of the year though. Up here in northern Maine we've already had two major snowstorms, and winter will still be here for the next five months. Also, we just started a new quarter at school which demands my full focus to keep my 3.9 GPA. I just have to push through the next eleven days, then I'll be free for Thanksgiving week to travel to the Waterville area and spend Thanksgiving with my downstate family and friends.

Sorry for the short blog posts, once I have a grand amount of time for myself I will start lengthening them.

What do y'all do for the Holidays?

Laura xx