My "I Will" Commitment

I go to an amazing church. I am a Christian and my church is part of the Christian Reformed Church Denomination. The last few weeks we have been talking about "Will You" and our pastor has been challenging us to challenge ourselves to become closer with God, our family and our communities. This Sunday we are all writing our I will commitments and I wanted to share mine to inspire some of you.

For those of you interested in this challenge or want to know more about the church you can visit our church website here and listen to podcasts of the last few sermons here. To listen to the I Will sermons just scroll to the I Will section and select a podcast.

Middle of August our church passed out those little rubbery bracelets, on them it said "Radical Transformation, Will You?". The idea was to see a reminder of radically transforming your life and making way for God to change our lives. The bracelet was to be a reminder that God should be apart of all aspects in our life, especially our relationships.

My I will Commitment:

• I will make a nightly habit of reading the bible for at least five minutes before bed every night.
• I will take notes
• I will apply the reading to the study guide for the week
• I will talk about the reading with my family
• I will take time everyday to pray and talk with God.
• I will thank Him for all the blessings
• I will ask for help and guidance
• I will consult with Him on decisions and plans
• I will step out of my comfort zone and share God with any one who cares to listen
• I will share God with my friends and family
• I will challenge my peers to know God
• I will share my beliefs with people who may not agree with me
• I will listen to others when they share their beliefs
• I will strive to become more involved in the church and with other believers
• I will work hard to meet people in my church and develop relationships
• I will go to church every weekend and actively listen
• I will work to meet others who believe in similar ideas as me
• I will keep God first in my life, before everything else
• I will keep time available to sit with God without distractions
• I will work hard to live my life in a way that God would want me to live
• I will not allow money, people, things or ideas overshadow the plans God has for me
• I will save money from my tips to give back to the church
• I will not just tolerate but love my neighbors
• I will accept different cultures, beliefs and views 
• I will remember everyone has struggles and no one has a perfect life
• I will walk-the-walk when I offer to help or listen to my neighbors 

50 Things You Should Know in/before College

College can be the most fun time in your life. Enjoy it, live it up and do things to better your life down the road. Here are 50 things you should learn or know before you start college.

1. There is no substitute for hard work. A lazy work ethic won't get you far.
2. This is the best time to make mistakes. It's okay to make them. This is your chance to learn from all those bad experiences.
3. Being obsessed over a huge network won't help you if you don't develop the relationships.
4. Experience is usually worth more than your degree, don't graduate without having a couple jobs on your resume.
5. Make time to read things other than your textbook. 
6. Pick a degree you love, not the one that will make the most money.
7. Right now is the prime time to get in the best shape of your life. Make use of the free gym on campus and make it a habit.
8. You can never take too many pictures. You'll be happy to have them later.
9. Don't expect to find true love, it's usually lust. But don't rule out the possibility either.
10. If you have to choose being doing your homework or going to class, always go to class. The tests are worth more than any assignment.
    
    
11. Sit near the front of your classes. It will keep you more focused, you'll be less likely to go on Facebook or twitter, and your professor will recognize you. All of these lead to higher grades.
12. If the campus is offering anything free (food, goodies, information) take it. They want to help you and, hey, it's free.
13. College is one of few places where you can be crazy smart and act like a total idiot while drunk and no one will judge you. Enjoy it now.
14. If you don't want to drink, don't. Sometimes it can be more entertaining to watch everyone else be drunk. There's nothing wrong with saying no.
15. College is like all the movies. You can make it however you want it. Want to party every night? Go ahead. Want to sit in your dorm studying everyday? Go ahead. 
16. Remember that you are paying hundreds of dollars for your classes, don't waste your time or money by failing them. Go to class.
17. Your dorm is about 50% smaller than you think it will be. Plan accordingly.
18. Coupons will become gold. Get better at finding and using them, it can save you thousands over your college years.
19. Learn how to cook everything in a microwave. It's probably the only thing in your dorm, and the only thing you'll have time for.
20. Listening to classical music while doing your homework will help you focus and get it done. It's not science... but it probably is.
    
21. Don't make study groups with your friends, it will turn into just hanging out with friends. Bad idea.
22. There are always people on campus trying to sign you up for credit cards, stay away from them.
23. Don't believe everything you hear politically and religious-wise on campus. Be open to new ideas but do research for yourself too.
24. Go to as many sporting events as you can. They are 500 times more fun when you are an actual student.
25. Don't burn any bridges, a lot can happen in 4 years.
26. Celebrate birthdays with pranks, cupcakes and confetti
27. Prank your friends. Weekly. It's fun, keeps away stress and helps creativity, but mostly just fun.
28. Be yourself. You'll find people exactly like you and they won't judge you for all your weirdness.
29. Smile. You are in the prime of your life and there is no reason not to be happy.
    
    
    
    
30. Except on finals week. It's totally acceptable to sleep in strange places, wear odd clothes and look like you are hungover from 3 days of drinking during finals week. Everyone else will be doing it too.
31. Anyone who looks perfect everyday is obviously a robot. Don't feel like you need to impress everyone.
32. At the same time, looking nice and perfect every once in awhile can help your mood, don't wear sweats every day of the year.
33. Do some weird stuff. Public pranks, taking pictures with strangers or wearing a banana suit to class, just do it. People will laugh and it will make your day that much better.
    
34. Put your alarm far from your bed. Just having to stand up to turn it off will help you stop hitting that snooze.
35. Talk to new people. Ask them their major, year and where they are originally from. Everyone has a story to tell.
36. It's completely okay to have no idea what you want to do with your life. But try to figure it out by Junior year, it'll save you time later on.
37. Buy a planner and use it. You WILL NOT remember all your assignments. 
38. Act like a basic college kid. Use instagram, hashtags, take selfies, wear uggs and tweet daily. Do it now before it gets weird.
39. Use protection, STD's are real and the last thing you want is a baby with the hookup from Friday's party.
    
    
    
    
    
40. The freshman 15 is totally real, especially if you drink your calories. Try to eat healthy and drink lots of water.
41. Not everyone needs to know your business. Keeping your life story quiet can make you more mysterious. 
42. Use shower shoes. No matter how often they clean the bathrooms, it's nasty. Trust me.
43. Don't walk around alone, especially for girls at night. Bad things do happen, but rarely when you stay with a couple of other friends. 
44. Learn self-defense. Being able to get away could save your life or you from a horrible experience. One RA in our building gave everyone pepper spray to keep on their key ring. Better safe than sorry.
45. Trust your gut. It's usually right. 
46. Back up your files. It can save you a ton of work later on. I use dropbox.
47. Unless you have a brand new, never washed red shirt, you can wash whites and colors together. Everyone else will probably be doing it too.
48. Register for classes as soon as possible. There is nothing worse than not being able to take the class you need because it filled up.
49. Explore your campus and the city it's in. When you need to find an office you won't have to ask where it is.
50. Create a blog, personal website or keep a journal. Keep track of your resume, experiences and wild nights. You'll be happy you did later down the road.

Feel free to comment with more ideas and tips below!

Guest Post about Exercise

Hey everyone! My name is Katie! I am Stephanie's sister and she is letting me guest post on her blog today! I wanted to talk about my new health exercise plan that I am going to begin tomorrow October 14th. I always wanted to get into shape and be fit but I never really stuck to it. But tomorrow it is about to change. I'm going to be a completely new me! I've come up with a daily routine which I will try my very best to stick with. I am going to be going on a diet of sorts and be doing a short 30 min workout night at the least. I have some simple rules for my eating habits.

Food rules:
1) fruits and veggies for snacks only!
2) soda only for special occasions (ex: birthday dinners, sleepovers with friends, BBQ's, etc...)
3) candy only for movie theaters!
4) no pizza, burgers, or fries (with the exception of having to eat it.)
5) just generally eat healthy foods

I will be following the rules the best that I can! Next my workout routines are going to be getting harder as I move on but I have my beginners routine!

Beginners Workout Routine:
(I am focusing on getting abs and my arms strong as well as keeping my legs strong)
•10 girl push ups (on my knees not my feet)
•50 jumping jacks
•20 high knees
•50 jumping jacks
• 20 high knees
•30 second plank
•45 second wall sit
•crunches
•1 mile run (unfortunately I will not be able to do a run everyday but I will try to run when I can.)

All of this seems like a lot to just jump into but I've been wanting to have a flat stomach, abs, and strong arms for a long time and I'm sick of waiting! I weighed myself and my starting weight is 132.4 lbs. I will frequently be keeping track of my progress and post it on her. Thank you for reading my first blog post and I wish luck to anyone who decides to create a new them and get fit !

My favorite website maker

You may have not visited my website (click here), but if you have and you liked it, you might have wondered how I made it. I've gotten a couple questions about this so I thought I would explain it in a post.

I use Weebly.com as my host. They are a free service but they offer premium versions as well. I have used Weebly for almost two years now and I love their services. I have only had one time where my website didn't work and it was only down for 15 minutes. I received an email apologizing and a free credit on my account for the pro version.

I also love this host because there is a designer platform available for free. To learn more about that read it here

Overall I just love this web host. If you need a blog, business website, or just a personal site, check it out and make a free site in under 30 minutes. You can use my affiliate link which will give you and me a $10 credit so you can use that to pay for the premium services.

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I've learned...

I've only lived a short life when compared to some.
To others I have lived a life longer than they could dream.
I've learned to be thankful for each passing day, to remember the children who will never graduate high school, get married or have their own children.
I've learned to not be sad over temporary sorrows.
I've learned to smile even when it's hard, and that manners are a girls best accessory.
I've learned that being polite does not mean being a push over and that standing by your morals isn't always easy.
I've learned to never settle for less than I deserve and to always stay curious.
I've learned that relationships change as you grow, and your parents do care, regardless of how they show it.
I've learned to always say sorry first and to forgive easily, everyone has their own demons to fight, just because you don't see them doesn't mean they're not there.
I've learned the devil exists and tempts us everyday, but God sits in heaven and our hearts if we allow it.
I've learned praying is the best therapy and that you are never truly alone.
I've learned boredom is a state of mind, and there is always something to explore. There are a million more lessons I have yet to learn, but the most important lesson I've been taught is that there is no substitute for hard work and faith.