single white female.

i have no problem being single. none at all. 

until i see that 80% of my class is either in a relationship, engaged or married. or when i realize that i am the only college girl in my church who is without a boyfriend. or i go with my friends to the movies on a friday night only to look over and see the cute little matching couple holding hands, nuzzling noses and sharing an icee. ok, maybe i exaggerated. but seriously? it ain't always peaches and cream being single.

and then i refer to this quote. (i like quotes, can ya tell?)

"wait for the man who pursues you. the kind of man who brings out the best in you and makes you want to be a better woman. wait for the man who will be your best friend. wait for the man who makes you smile like no other boy makes you smile. wait for the man who praises God for you, and encourages you daily in your walk. and most importantly, wait for the man who is more in love with God than you."

face palm. i'm a dummy. i get so caught up in the world sometimes and its pressure to be labeled, to be tied with someone, to become that dependent damsel that i forget what it means to wait. to be pursued. to guard my heart and save it for that Godly man that the Lord has created for me and me alone. how wonderful is that?! a man, who from before he was even a twinkle in his daddy's eye was already created for me? and i for him?! that...that blows my mind.

 

so i remember 1 corinthians 7:32 for the time being and focus on my relationship with my God. i surround myself with Godly people who encourage me and remind me that true love really is worth the wait. i spend time with my Jesus, making our relationship stronger day by day. and realize that one day it will all make sense and God's awesome love story for me will be revealed. 

in the meantime, i put on my cute clothes, call up my girlfriends and head to town to embrace my singleness and enjoy that free time while i have it and soak it all up. cause one day, my prince will come. :)

someday.

"rivers know this: there is no hurry. we shall get there someday." -winnie the pooh.

i saw that quote tonight and it made me stop and think. i promise i didn't hurt myself. ;) but i thought, you know..for the past three to four years of my life, i have tried to hurry my way through life. i've prayed for days to pass, time to fly and for God to show me a time machine to push the fast forward button on. but in that moment tonight, i realized that these past few years have definitely molded me into the young lady i am today. and it's been all those little moments that have allowed me to be where i am at this point in time. all the times with my family, all the new friends i've made since i started college (at both CBC and UCA), all the sweet times with my Jesus and many other instances...they've all made life bearable and beautiful. so what in the world am i rushing my way around for? i'll get there someday, right? so why not enjoy the blessed time i have now and live life to its fullest while i can?

for starters, a sweet friend got me a ticket to one of our favorite artists' concerts: mr. michael buble. i know, i know..you're green with envy, right? it was a beautiful night! i was in anticipation all day long and was thrilled to pieces when the time finally arrived to go to the concert! i had so much fun with heather and rachel and when mr. buble looked at me from the stage, my heart just melted. ;) ok, i'm sure you all are tired of my blabbing, so i'll just show ya some pictures from that glorious night!

so needless to say, we had a fabulous time at the concert. lots of laughs, good talks and an overall highly memorable night. :) as if that wasn't enough of a monumental time in my life, graduation was right around the corner! for some of my classmates, it wasn't as big of a deal or as highlighted as it was for me. i wasn't able to graduate from CBC because i had to transfer early due to classes not being available for my occupational therapy degree. sooo..i graduated from college for the first time on december 18, 2010 with my bachelor of science degree with a focus on occupational therapy. it feels SO amazing to be able to say that! ;) i go right back to school in january for graduate school, but i am one step closer to becoming Lauren Fagala, OTR/L, MS, so i am perfectly fine with that. :) i feel so blessed to be able to receive the schooling/education that i am and with the fact that i am going to be doing something that i love for the rest of my life. i truly believe God has placed me in the OT field for a reason, one of them being that i can truly understand where these kids are coming from, what they're experiencing. and i can't wait to share my testimony with them and their families one day. :) so here's a glimpse of graduation..

i just adore my family and friends! i'm so thankful that God placed them in my life :) they always make me smile and never fail to pray their hearts out for me. and for that, i am so grateful. speaking of family, i was able to spend this evening with some of them and some new friends, as well! several of us got together at my cousin heather's house and celebrated Christmas by baking and decorating cookies. yes, it was quite messy and slightly chaotic, but it was so much fun and we all had a great time! :)

..my favorite part of tonight? i didn't get to tell my cousins this, but i can remember when we were younger and had Christmas at my mammaw and pappaw's up in gravette and we would all gather in the kitchen with mammaw and make a birthday cake for Jesus. all of the joy and warmth from tonight helped me to recall those memories of singing happy birthday to Jesus and celebrating the day of His birth, Christmas, and the beautiful life that He lived. 

i'm so thankful for a beautiful Redeemer who came to the earth as a sweet, small baby and lived a life as normal and average as mine, yet willingly died on a cross so that i might have the opportunity to receive the gift of salvation and could experience life everlasting in Heaven with Him someday. someday. :)

philippians 4:6-7.

i used to keep a prayer journal. then i started high school. and before you knew it, college was here. and now grad school is around the corner. sometimes i get so tired and so busy that often, most of my prayer requests get jumbled into a "God, i may not know all of them, but you do, so be with them", etc. and i don't like that. so last night i spent a good while praying and listening to God. let me just say, it was a much needed and wonderful evening. so, for my benefit, i created a small list of prayer requests i currently have. mainly ones that i lifted up last night. i feel like i should share these so that you can help me with this...after all, there's power in prayer.

-school. i allow myself to get all worried and stressed and frustrated about school way too easily. i know that it's good to want to be on top of things and get things done, but letting the fear and worry take over is not ok. so i prayed that God would help me to remember that He's got it all in control and that i would do my absolute best to do these assignments to the best of my ability and learn successfully. sans stress. :)

-mrs. carol frye. i don't know if any of you know mrs. carol, but she has been struggling with breast cancer for quite some time now. she has a husband and two daughters. and has received news that her cancer is very bad right now. i don't know all the details and so i'm not going to post much more on that. she is a wonderful lady and has a heart for her Jesus and i admire her so. 

-my future husband. i have absolutely no idea who the kid is, what he's doing right now, where he is, etc. but i do know that God has already picked him out and is molding him into the man he needs to be. i pray for his walk with God, that he would be a strong Christian man who has a wonderful love and desire to serve his Savior. i pray for his health and safety, that no matter where he is or what he does, that he would be protected. i pray for his ministry, that it would be true and right and he would be dedicated to it. after all, each of us has our own little ministry. i pray that he would love God first and foremost and then me. i pray for his heart, that he would guard it and protect it...after all, aren't i worth waiting for, just like he is?

-mrs. pendergist. this is my friend jocelyn's mom, who has been diagnosed with cancer recently. i do not know mrs. pendergist personally, but i know jocelyn and she is one of the sweetest and most Christian young ladies i have ever met. to be that true and genuine, most people have been raised that way or have seen it acted out by their parents, so that speaks volumes of her family. i pray that mrs. pendergist would be as pain-free as possible, that she would be able to experience things with her children and family as often as possible, that she would not have to worry or stress, and that God can use her in mighty ways, if not already.

-GMAs. i have recently been asked to come onto bethlehem's GMA staff as their newest counselor. some of you may not be familiar with GMA, so i'll sum it up. Girl's Missionary Auxiliary. it teaches girls 4-12 grades about missions and what it is, what they can do, how they can affect it, etc. it also teaches the Bible, about the stories and verses that they memorize all throughout their experience. it's an amazing program with a lifelong impact. i would love to be a part of this, but i want it to be for the right reasons and because God has led me to it. 

-my family. i always pray for my family, but recently they've been on my heart much more. i pray for momma, daddy, kelsey and kaylen, as well as my extended family on both sides. it's a long list, but they're so worth it. i pray for their days, that they would shine their light, that they would be protected, that they would excel in all they do, that God would use them to reach others, that they would be encouraged and many other things. and i always give thanks for them.

-unspoken. there are a couple of people i always make a point to pray for because i care for them so much. they are some great friends and they have a ton of potential. however, i'm not sure they realize that just yet and are not currently using the proper channels for that potential. so i pray for them, that they would realize what they're worth, the impact they have and that God would lead them to Him, to follow His will.

-church. i pray for the people of our church, that God would use us in a mighty way to glorify Him. that we wouldn't hide behind the doors, but go out into the community to reach others, to raise up the kids and youth in a way that they'd continue to carry out in their later years, that we would be a body together, not just pieces, that God's love would be displayed through us. 

-mark webb. i have no idea who this young man is, but i have seen several of my friends post on facebook that he was in a wreck and is in the hospital due to brain injuries. after being in school and learning about the effects of a TBI on someone, if they survive, i have a great heart for those people. they are warriors each and every day and they truly are here for a reason. mark seems to already have had a great affect on others and shines for the Lord, but i pray that he would come out on top of this incident with God's help. i pray that he would be a miracle, although he is already. i pray for his family, that they would receive comfort and hope and encouragement throughout this difficult time. i pray mark would be strong and fight with all he has, be that God's will for him.

that may not seem like a lot, but my heart was heavy and burdened for these requests last night. there were several more that were mentioned, but i ask that you would help me out. that you would say a small prayer for these people. there is power in prayer and i know for a fact that God works miracles. nothing is impossible with Him.

striving to serve.

 "..what if i told you you have the power to give someone hope beyond their wildest dreams? what if i told you it's right there in your hands? it's hard to imagine how something so small can make all the difference, tear down the tallest wall; what if december looked different this year? what if we all just give this Christmas away? if there's love in your heart, don't let it stay there, give this Christmas away and your life will be changed by the gifts you receive when you give this Christmas away. It's feeding the hungry, serving the poor, it's telling the orphan you're not forgotten anymore. it's doing what love does, even when no one's watching you...for God so loved the world that He gave his only Son so we could be His hands, His feet, His love..His love."

whoa. talk about an emotion-stirring song. i was youtubing christmas songs (yes, youtubing is a verb) and came across this particular song by matthew west featuring amy grant called "give this Christmas away". i know i have talked about my love for volunteering and helping others in previous posts, but in the past couple of weeks, i had been wracking my brain to try to figure out some big and well known volunteer opportunity that i could get into.

i know, how vain, right? 

yeah, God thought so, too. right after i heard this song, my youngest sister came home from school with two little pieces of paper she got off of the angel tree at her school. there was a 4 year old boy with a request for a toy and an 11 year old girl with a request for shoes. SHOES. an 11 year old worrying about shoes. wow. talk about putting things into perspective. i think when i was 11, i was more worried about what time boy meets world was coming on and how fast i could get my homework done to watch it. not shoes. i had plenty of shoes. 

so there was my slap in the face. so i'm praying and thinking on small things that i can do, just little things that would make a world of difference. and a few have been laid on my heart as of late and i do plan to carry them out. maybe you'll see me in the act, maybe you won't. truth is, it won't matter. my ultimate goal is to serve these people around me just as Christ served others. with a selfless disposition and a genuine love pouring out of my heart for them. i am so burdened for those people in my community, down my street, in the schools. and i get discouraged when i think that there is no big thing that i can do for all of them. and i realize now..it's all the little things. 

"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." [matthew 25:34-40]

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." [matthew 7:12]

"This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." [john 15:12]

so this is my goal for the month of december as well as the next year of 2011...that i will strive to do my best to glorify God through all the little things that i can do for others. to give this Christmas away. to think about someone other than myself. someone who needs a big hug or a small chat. someone whose sole Christmas wish is to have a warm bed or a nice, hot meal. to help a neighbor in their yard or house. to babysit for the mom and dad who need a break. to do something without being asked to. to show a true servant's heart. that's my ultimate goal.

and i challenge you to make it yours.

randomosity.

i just have so much on my mind at the moment. so i'm going to simply bullet my thoughts and allow you to take a peek into my crazy active brain. :)

-i want a mini Christmas tree in my room. it will fit perfectly in the little corner by my closet. i'm yearning for the day that i have my own house and can go nuts with Christmas decorating. or decorating in general. two more years, lauren. two more years.

-homework blows chunks. thankfully i got most of it done already and only have last minute things to finish up, but it still stinks. senioritis has set in. :/

-i wish i was more organized. i do believe the little section in my brain labeled "lauren's creativity" has taken over "lauren's organization skills". i can doodle and write and paint til i can't anymore..but i cringe at the thought of labeling binders and organizing papers. although it would make my life so much more easier if i'd just do that to start with. ah well. 

-i'm so thankful for a willing young girl named Mary who followed God's commands and delivered my Jesus into this sinful world. i can't even begin to imagine how much ridicule she got for being an unmarried, pregnant teenage girl. we think it's bad today when things like that happen, but back then it was wayyy worse...she must have been shunned. her friends must have cut her off from hanging out. she must have gotten evil looks from the elders. but in the end, God blessed her incredibly for following Him and His ways. amazing what can happen when we obey Him willingly. wow.

-i miss sliding down the hallways in my slick socks on the third floor of bruce hall at cbc. that was a good year. i did a lot of growing up and finding myself that year.

-fall and winter are so awesome. i'm so glad that we're blessed with these seasons. even though arkansas doesn't believe in seasons. being able to wear my scarves and sweaters and toboggans is the bomb. :)

-i pray for my future husband. i have no idea who he is or what he's doing or going through, but i pray my heart out for him. i pray for his relationship with God and his ministry, whatever it may be. i pray for his safety. for his school or job, whatever it is he's doing at this point in time. i know that God has made all of his qualities and characteristics to fit mine just perfectly and i'm excited to see how it all plays out. and even though it feels like everyone around me is getting married or having kids, i know that patience is a virtue and this boy is going to be worth every minute i've waited. :)

-i love my family. i know there's times when we all want to strangle each other, but we are SO blessed to have each other. our relationship is one that i wouldn't trade for the world. i get all excited when i think about moving out after i graduate, but i really will miss being at home with these people. 

-bobby pins are wonderful. truly. :)

-i wish i could sing. adding on to the whole future husband thing, i hope and pray he can sing. because that's amazing to me. but really, i wish i could. my whole family can..and i think i would raise the dead if i sang by myself. i love that, however, i can sing praises to my God and King and He loves every minute.

-family life today in the mornings is something that has truly blessed my heart. i'm thankful for the sweet lady at church that recommended that podcast to me. some mornings, i really have to focus on what's being said, but in the end, it makes perfect sense why i had to hear it. and sometimes, it blesses my heart to the point i almost have to pull over because the tears are clouding my eyes. if you're reading this and you've never heard the family life today podcast, check it out. worth it, for sure.

-laughter is amazing. i know people probably look at me like i'm crazy when i giggle so hard sometimes, but i truly don't know what i would do if i couldn't laugh. it makes most everything better. i think God gets a big kick out of the different kinds of laughter. the snorter, the giggler, the loud laughter, every kind!

-i miss ACTS Jr! sometimes i'd get so tired on mondays and not want to go to practice after classes, but those kids absolutely made my day. i know that my calling in life is to be a pediatric occupational therapist. and being able to be a part of this program has confirmed that in so many ways. the kids bring joy to my heart and i understand them and what they're going through. i can't help but think of the "let the little children come" verse when i get to spend the afternoon with them...no wonder Jesus had such a big heart for kids. their eagerness, kindness, willingness and so many other traits are some that i long for sometimes. i'm eager for spring semester to come around so i can see my kids again. :)

-God keeps sending little reminders to me that my hearing is a gift that not everyone is blessed with. i'm not sure why He's been doing this lately and honestly, it makes me a little nervous. but i'm open and willing. it's all part of my testimony. :)

-i just can't get over how pretty daisies are. their simpleness, yet elegance is something that is so precious.

-i can't wait for my next volunteer opportunity! i know i get tired sometimes, but serving people is something that never gets old. i look forward to being able to bless someone and show the love of Jesus through my actions and glorify Him in a way that speaks to others. 

-i'm ready to graduate and take a getaway trip to ireland. yes, ireland. i think it would be an amazing vacation and i could embrace my inner irish spirit! ;)

..so, anyways. i think i've cleared out a tiny section in my brain and can think clearly now. ;) thanks for bearing with me through my rambling and not judging me! good night, all! :)

crazy conglomeration.

it's been a little while since i've had the chance to post on here. so much has happened in the past few weeks, so just beware - long blog! but it's been an enjoyable few weeks, for the most part. lots of ups and downs, but we all know life would not be as interesting without that roller coaster vibe. ;)

my clinicals came to an end last friday, which was so stinkin sad. two week clinicals and i have a love/hate relationship because i love to get out of school and pretend to be an OT and make all these new friends and build relationships with the clients and staff (wow, if that isn't a run-on sentence, i don't know what is. my fifth grade literature teacher would be disappointed. ah well.). but i hate leaving. it breaks my heart because i get so attached so easily. i thoroughly enjoy waking up in the mornings to go to clinic, it's so not like school. anyways, i was blessed to be at a very laid-back facility and with instructors who taught me lots of new things. the staff was so kind to me and easy to get along with. i pray one day that i will be able to find a place to work that shares many of the same characteristics as this facility did. it was a wonderful experience and make me long that much more to be done with school and a for real occupational therapist.

after this wonderful experience, i actually had another great experience. if you've never helped out with, walked in, or even heard of race for the cure, you should definitely look into it. some of my classmates and other students in the UCA OT department formed a team and went saturday morning bright and early to walk in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. the race is a wonderful way to raise money to find a cure for breast cancer...survivors and supporters were participants and it was by far one of the coolest things i've seen! there were families and "miles of men" on the sidewalks to support the racers and all kinds of cool stuff was going on during the race. i was thankful to be able to share that experience with some of my good friends and know that my money and time was helping a great cause. those survivors are some of my biggest heroes and i know several people struggling with breast cancer and some who have passed away because of it, so participating in the race meant a lot to me. here's some pictures of the experience: 

second years that got to walk with our team :)

amazing!

jocelyn, rebecca and myself. love these ladies!

the backs of our team shirts: supporting the cause for what's in the bras!

last year, after clinicals, we lucked out and got to go to spring break right after the two weeks were over. this year, however, did not prove to be as lucky. we DID get a fall break...but monday morning came wayyy too early. the teachers love to assign projects and make them due very soon after clinicals, so we were all stressing like crazy. needless to say, the rest of the semester is for sure going to gain me one too many wrinkles and premature gray hair growth. grades and tests and papers and projects are starting to pile up and i'm already counting the days until graduation/Christmas break! prayers are appreciated, muchly so. :)

so after my back to reality shock, i got a very special visit from one of my bests! jill was able to come up from texas and stay a couple nights with me, we both needed the visit and it was great! we got to ride around in the country, i took her with me to bible study, we stayed up late talking and watching the backup plan, wayyy cute movie, by the way. we woke up early the next morning to spend the whole day in town shopping and even made a sushi stop, marvelous! :) i got to show her what i do on thursday nights with shooting for success and she loved it! we had girl talk again and just hung out before she had to leave early the next morning so she could get to work on time. 

"the most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."

"..we talk trash and we laugh and cry, that kind of therapy, money can't buy.."

so after i saw jill off and got caught up on my sleep, i geared up for another fun night with another best, heather! we went and got us some grub and then moseyed on over to CBC to catch their very first wrestling match...very interesting, i will say. some of those boys probably had bad dreams about the awkward positions they were in, bless their hearts. i'm sure if someone recorded my facial expressions during the different matches, they'd have some quality entertainment material. all in all, it was a fun night, but we had to call it a night earlier than usual because heather had work the next morning and i had to be up at the butt crack of dawn to help with the soaring wings marathon.

if you've never heard of soaring wings or aren't sure what it's all about, check it out! (www.soaringwingsranch.com) my family and i got up and trucked it down to conway to help set up tables/chairs/food/tshirts/papers/etc and get the day rolling for the hundreds of racers coming to help support this awesome cause. at about 1:30 and after runnin around like crazy, answering random questions, leading people to checkpoints and booths, we got to come home and take a good ole nap, thank goodness for those naps. it was a fun experience and i enjoyed doing it, but days like this sure do know how to wear you out!

so as you can see, it's been an interesting couple of weeks and that explains why i hadn't updated in so long. but have no fear, i'll be back soon with something new! thanks for reading and have a wonderful night and day tomorrow! :)

my new friend.

his name is gabriel. he stands approximately 5'5", tall and lanky, and he's thirteen years old. his voice has changed and there's a slight trace of a mustache on his tan skin. and he's a total sweetheart, but he won't tell you that. this is my buddy in the shooting for success program i'm volunteering with. each thursday night of this month, i get to go and hang out with gabriel and play basketball with him and several other kids. usually i'm worn out after thursday's workday/schoolday is over, but when i step into that gym at 6:00 and gabe runs up to me with that basketball, it's like i've caught my second wind.

ok, so you've met a cute little kid, you say. you tell me that you could just meet one in wal-mart, big whoop. but here's the thing. gabriel is not your average thirteen year old boy, though you wouldn't be able to tell that if you never talked to him. he has a diagnosis that causes him to experience developmental delays, physically and mentally, as well as other symptoms. (for security and other such reasons, his last name and official diagnosis are not given..thanks OT school for pounding HIPAA rules into my head. haha.) he struggles to bounce the ball and is clumsy when it is bounced over to him. so what? he gives it his all and his face glows when he shoots the basketball and it goes into the hoop. you can tell he doesn't get to participate in activities like this much and he just soaks it all in. it's precious.

anyways, while i love telling about my new friend, i say all that to remind myself, not just others, that no matter what may come, what obstacles are in my way, what complaints i have or how stressed i may get sometimes...that i have it good. i am blessed in so many ways, which would require a whole other blog to name. and i am so thankful to be who i am, who God created me to be. i am so excited that He is using me in this program and my other volunteer opportunities to show His love to others. and also that he is using those people, as well, to show me so many new things. i adore gabe and his love for life. and when he quotes our memory verse for the shooting for success program, "i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" and flexes his little muscles when he says "strengthens", my heart smiles. because i know that in this moment, in this time, i am right where God wants me. and oh, what a wonderful feeling that is. to know that He has, is, and will use me. how refreshing to be reminded of such a blessing. :)