Being Christian in College

All my life I have heard about how being Christian in college is tough. I have to admit I have never really understood how tough until this semester. I had taken other classes, and there have been things said that I didn't exactly agree with, but I have never been in a class where being Christian was considered so terrible. Its been a very eye opening thing.

I started college at a Christian private school. It was easy to be Christian there. Though we all didn't agree on everything, no teacher or student was attacking being Christian and it was easily accepted what you believe. There was no person attacking you or making you really think about what you believe. 

Then I went to a community college where basically the idea was the professors didn't care what you learned, as long as you got through the class. I got a small taste of anti-Christian ideas in the astronomy class I took when the professor said anyone who believed that a Higher Being created everything was just stupid. I had respectively, privately told him that I believed that God made everything, and that I disagree. When the semester started I had emailed him and told him where I stood, respectively. He was respectful, and nothing major happened. 

But now I am at USF. Don't get me wrong, I love USF, and I love the classes I am taking. I am really enjoying the classes I am taking, especially the two history classes I also an really enjoying the professor who is teaching both history classes. He is a great teacher, and really makes you think. 

This is the first time, however, that being a Christian has been very openly attacked, and mocked. Sometimes its someone saying something very negative against Christians, and sometimes its an undertone, which is much harder to respond to. 

I am naturally not the person who stands up and disagrees with the professor or says something in class about what I believe. I don't try to hide, but I also personally don't just stand up and do something. I am not saying people who do that are wrong, its just not me. I am willing to say this is how I feel personally to someone, or talk to a professor.

These classes are making me take a stand and say, "I am a Christian and I don't agree with that." It is so hard. I honestly get scared of what people will say, or that my professor will hurt my grade. I feel like God is letting me get my feet wet with these classes, in a professor who is open to hearing others opinions and won't persecute me for being a Christian, but it could be much worse.

I am having to say I am different, but am having to balance being willing to stand up as a Christian with also being approachable. I don't want people to feel like I"m so abrasive of a Christian that  they don't want to talk to me, because then what has my witness done? Its a thin line between standing up for the faith and making yourself so harsh and unapproachable that people do not want to be around you, and then what kind of witness do you have?

I know that other people would respond in other ways, and I honestly feel like God has gifted them with different ways to witness. I would much rather witness to someone through a relationship with them, and by letting them see how I am different, and bring Christ into what we are doing than stand on a street corner and preach. I am not saying that street preachers are bad, its just not how God gifted me to reach people. I also don't want to shy away from being willing to stand up and use that as a crutch.

Its hard to balance everything. I am honestly not good at it, and still not sure how to balance standing up for my beliefs, and also being open and loving towards people. Its been rough feeling like such a minority, and such a different person, from dressing modestly in skirts etc to praying before I eat to just not agreeing with the idea that Christians are wrong. But I know that God is using all this to teach me and to make me a better Christian. 

Giveaway Winner - Carissa's Silver Lining

I haven't died. I am here. I am have been having some computer issues which have kept me away, but I am thinking they are mostly fixed now and I can get back to blogging yay. Now for the Carissa's Silver Lining giveaway winner. There were 94 entries in the giveaway. Unfortunately I can only pick one. I am using random.org to pick the entries.

Before I pick I would like to say a big 'thank you' to Carissa for making this great giveaway possible. Her work is beautiful and amazing and I am so thrilled to be giving it to someone,

The winner is:

Katy-The Country Blossom

Her comment was #7. Congratulations. I have sent you an email and you must respond in 48 hours or I will pick another winner.

School Days......

Its that time of year again...... Its the time when the weather gets cooler , the leaves start changing, and everyone goes back to school. Ok well the real story is the weather is not cooler at all because well, we all go back to school in the middle of August. I live in Florida where the leaves are either green or dead, and they are only dead for about 2 months a year. I have never actually seen the leaves change, or been north when I hear they are so pretty during the Autumn. But everyone is back to school. Oh joy.

No I am excited to get back to school. I like having the structure and the assignments beyond the vague do the laundry and clean the house. I feel accomplished when I get assignments done. But I will say that I am not wanting to go back to school at the same time. I enjoy being home and not worrying about school too.

So Monday I start back to school, and so does Isaiah. For the first time, Isaiah and I will be going to the same school, though probably not at the same time. We are trying to get into the same class, but right now its looking like a slim chance.

I'm really excited to be taking mostly classes that have to do with my major. I have a few various random classes that I have to take, but those are ones that I'm kind of looking forward to honestly.

The HUGE downsize to starting school is that Isaiah starts back into his night classes. Very sad. It means that I don't get to see him much until the weekends, though if we can take the same class it will be a good thing. So for the next 4 months I won't see my husband, but I have to say that I am so thankful for the time I am with him. This summer has made me so thankful for the time we have together, and thankful that he doesn't have to travel all the time, or that he is gone. I get to see him every night, and wake up to him every morning. Its something that I sometimes take for granted.

Starting school back has made me think about stages of life a lot. You know, we are all in different stages of life. Sometimes its hard not to look at other people and want the stage of life that they are in. I think that is one of the biggest struggles with coveting that I have. I want to be in a stage of life that God put someone else in, instead of me. Do you ever feel that way? Sometimes its hard to just be content where I am at in my life right now. I want to jump forward or backward, but God does not design that for me right now. I know that God has a plan for my life. I don't know what those people whose stage I covet, struggle with. I can't see the things that God puts in their life. I need to be content with where God has me right now, which is just Isaiah, me and our two cats and us in school full time. That is the stage that God wants me to be in. Someday He will let me move to the next stage, but while I am in this stage, I need to learn all I can and appreciate all that God has blessed me with right now.

Making Our Home

Hi. Yes I am still alive. I know I have been totally out of the blogging world lately, but I am still alive. We are crazily trying to unpack right now, and clean up the old apartment. School starts next week and we are also getting everything ready for that.

I can't wait to post pictures, but I also want to get things a little more set up before I do. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be in this place. I finally feel like I am at home. Our apartment never fully felt like home. It felt like a place we were living, but I never felt at home. It was always beyond messy and super cluttered. So many people would make comments about it that made me feel like trash. I hated the comments and the looks. It made me feel like I was a failure as a person. I was trying so hard to make it a home and it was not working.

This place feels like home. Its so wonderful. Its a feeling that I have felt only a few times in my life. My family moved around so much that I had a hard time letting myself feel like I could really feel at home anywhere. Then I moved so much after I left home and then the apartment. I really feel at home here. Its a wonderful feeling.

Our home is coming together. I have a lot of dreams and ideas for our new home, and I can't wait to act them out. Right now I am just unpacking and getting things together. I will post pictures once I have a few more things put together and a few more boxes unpacked.

The biggest thing that has to be done is to get some curtains. We had blinds that came with the old apartment, and so we didn't have to have curtains. Right now we have sheets, blankets etc tacked to the windows with thumbtacks until we can get some curtains put up.

I am so excited. I am so happy that I get to make this house a home. Its such a wonderful feeling to be working on making a home for my little family. I always feel complete when I'm working on the house. I have to say that I love making a little home.

Giveaway! - Carissas Silver Lining

This giveaway is now closed.

With all the moving, graduating and everything that has been going on lately, I know that blogging has been severely lacking, but I wanted to take a minute from my packing to post this awesome giveaway. I love giveaways; I love winning giveaways, but more than that I love hosting them!

I'm super excited about this giveaway. I know I say that with every giveaway, but I am really excited about this one. I met Carissa from Carissa's Silver Liningwhen I won a giveaway from her shop. I really loved her wire written necklace, and I had a vision for what I wanted. I emailed back and forth with Carissa and she made my vision a reality. Not many shop owners would be willing to customize something for you, and be super sweet about it.

Isn't it a great necklace? I wanted a necklace that reminded me to pray throughout everything. Carissa worked with me and made a necklace that says "pray". She even worked with me on what chain I wanted and what length I wanted. She was so great. 

I emailed her and asked her if she would be interested in doing a giveaway on Kady Did. I was super thrilled when she agreed to do it!! I think you will love her shop as much as I do.

I wanted to help you get to know Carissa and her shop so I asked her a few questions. Enjoy getting to know her better.....

1. What is the story behind your shop?
I love taking photographs and I love handmade things! One day I decided to take a few photos and make a few things, open a shop, and see if anyone else liked them. My husband came up with the name Carissa's Silver Lining. I loved it! I'm quite the pessimist so it's kind of a joke against me never being able to see the silver lining in things and a reminder to myself to always try to. 

2. Who inspires you in life?
I don't think I really have one person that inspires me but more a bunch of people. Anyone who is honest and genuine. And who strives to make the world a better place by doing something, no matter how small, for someone else! 

3. What is something you couldn't live without?
I don't think I could live without my sight. I am a huge visual person and it makes me happy to see beauty in the little things like the colors of the flowers in my garden, or stillness of the lake in the morning. 

4. What can be found in your shop?
I'm often trying new projects so some of the items in my shop can change from time to time. But you'll find photographs, jewellery, and other handmade items. 

5. What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?
I have a love/hate relationship with hiking. I hate how hard it can be. But I love the feeling when I get to the top or the end and realize it was totally worth it. We bring our dogs with us, I take a lot of pictures, and we find a geocache or two along the way. 

6. What is your favorite thing in your shop? 
That's a tough one. I won't sell anything I don't love. But if I had to chose one thing it would probably be the photograph called Enjoying the Sun. It's of a pink gerber daisy. 

7. Tell me one random thing about you, or your family or anything. 
My husband and I LOVE board games. We love to play them together, with other couples and friends, or at family gatherings. We currently have 15, but one day we hope to have a whole bookshelf full (we have half a book shelf now, so maybe one day a lot more!)

As you can see from various pictures I've posted her, her shop has all kinds of fun things, like the necklaces and the beautiful photography. The pictures are some of my favorite things in her shop. 

Now to the giveaway YAY Carissa has offered a #10 gift certificate to anything in her shop. How exciting is that? I would say I wish I could win this, but I did on another shop. 

The giveaway ends August 27. Please make sure your email is visible in your comment or blog. Also. make sure to post each entry as a separate comment to count as different entries. This giveaway is open to those in the United States (I'm sorry to those of who are international).

Mandatory Entry

1. Visit Carissa's Silver Lining and tell me your favorite item in her shop. 1 entry

Extra Entries

2. Follow my blog publicly on GFC. 1 entry

3. Heart Carissa's Silver Lining on etsy. 1 entry

4. Follow my blog via Networked Blogs. 1 entry

5. Follow Carissa's blog kissed a frog publicly. 1 entry

6. "Like" Carissa's Silver Lining on facebook. 1 entry

7. Blog/tweet/post on facebook/add to giveaway site etc. this giveaway. 1 entry per action

8. Vote for my blog on On The Fence (see below). 1 entry

So lots of ways to enter (my favorite kind of giveaway). Enjoy!

Moving

We are moving. YAY We are officially moving in one week and its so crazy around here. As you can see, the boxes are taking over the apartment. We are packing up everything. I'm so excited about moving, but there is so much to do. 

I don't know how we will get it all done in time, but we will. The rough part is my knee is all kinds of messed up and I can't really walk around so my poor, amazing husband is doing most of the work, and the cooking. I can't wait to start cooking. Anyway, I am doing all the packing I can sitting down aka the wrapping of the fragile stuff and the low cabinets and anything else I can find. 

So yes we are moving in a week. Because of that, blogging will be very limited for the next couple of weeks as we move and then get settled in, and I'm not sure about internet access either. So there you have it. We are moving. I can't wait. 

Dear Younger Me

My dear friend Abby at Tickled Pink and Fabulous wrote a letter to herself, and it greatly inspired me. You are supposed to write a letter looking back and giving advice that you wish you had known, or looking back.

Dear Younger Me,

*When all else fails, God does not. Even when it feels like He has forgotten you, He hasn't. Even when you have no clue what He is doing, He has a plan.

*Don't worry about what other people think.Its your life. All your life all you will work so hard to make everybody happy, and you can't. You work so hard to make everyone happy that it dictates everything you do, and you become super stressed and miserable. Try to not worry about it, and be willing to say no.

*Though you have some really rough situations, you will have a great life. You have a wonderful, loving family, an amazing husband and most of all, an awesome God.

*Be willing to let other people see your weaknesses. Realize that everyone has weaknesses, and you can show that you are weak.

*You don't have to hate the way you look so much. Just because you are not the "normal" beautiful, you don't have to hate yourself. You are not fat, like you think you are. Instead of hating your weight and your body all of your life, learn to be happy with the way God made you.

*You will find the love of your life. You will meet a man who perfectly completes you, and who God made for you. He will be more than anything you ever expected.

*The friends you thought were some of your best friends, aren't, and the people you never expected to be your close friends will turn out to be the ones who really care. Even though friends will come and go, your family and God never will.

*You will lose your first baby, Faith Elise, through a miscarriage. It will be one of the worse things you ever go through. Many people in your life will not understand what you are going through, but lean on those who do. God will show Himself in such a mighty way through that, and help you love others.

*You will change colleges three times in three years. It will be crazy, and you will be very frustrated, but you will have so many different experiences and it will be great.

*The first place you live once you are married will not be up to what you always dreamed. It will be messy, overly cluttered and just not what you expected. You will learn so much about being willing to be where God has you, loving your husband and not nagging and so many other lessons. Then God will reward you with an amazing house that is such a blessing.

*Most of all realize that no matter what happens, God never changes.

Love,
Katie