12 Ways I Know God Loves Me

One of my favorite things to do is write. I can say what I think and the paper I am writing on never tells me I am wrong! I tend to think of writing as easy and fun. But in the last month, I have been given the hardest writing assignment ever. I was asked to write “12 Ways I Know God Loves Me.”

Dude! Easy! No big deal! Then I started….

I know God loves me because I have a husband who loves me….. So does that mean, if my husband didn’t love me or I wasn’t married that God didn't love me? Scratch that one.

I know God loves me because my kids are healthy…. Which would mean if my kids ever got sick that I would be one of the people God doesn’t love…. Scratch that one, too.

Wow, I'm Old: 12 Tips From A College Senior

1. Plan it out. Graduating in four years is awesome. Graduating in four years and getting to take some fun classes along the way is even better. Figure out what classes you need to take for your major and make a plan to do so as efficiently as possible. Hopefully, you can devise a schedule that will allow you to take some classes on the side just because you want to. Not sure what your major is yet? Take classes that fulfill general requirements—the more requirements fulfilled per class the better.
2. Treat school as a 9-5 job. Freshman year, I went in to see a professor after getting a bad grade on a test. He said that this strategy was one of the best he ever heard for striking a good balance between academic success and having time to have fun. In retrospect, I can't argue with that—most of the time I waste is in the middle of the day. Focus on accomplishing school related tasks during normal business hours and you can be surprised how much free time you have in the evening.
3. Go to class. It is tempting to skip classes for sleep or just because you can. Try to keep that to a minimum though: nothing can replace the osmosis effect of sitting in class, even if you don't necessarily feel like you gain much from it. Besides, if a professor knows you always show up, they're more likely to be extra helpful if you start to struggle.

12 Ways to Change the World

Ever wonder how you can make a difference, starting right here, right now? Here are 12 great ideas from our very own Peace Corps volunteer. 

1. Start with individuals. Big life-changing projects are great, but thousands of little changes are even more effective. Make someone else’s day in a pay-it-forward type fashion. Smile at a stranger. Help someone with their groceries. Buy a coffee for the guy in line behind you. Say thank you to a stressed-out teacher. A little bit of uplift can spread and have effects you couldn’t imagine.
2. Make an impact with every search. Good search.com – a search engine just like Google or Bing – donates to your charity of choice every time you use it to search the web.
3. Freerice.com . Do some brain exercises and save the world at the same time. Freerice.com donates 10 grains of rice to the World Food Programme for every correct answer to their language, math, science or geography questions.

12 Bible Verses I Love

The Bible is loaded with stuff that teaches us about God and how we are supposed to respond to him. There are so many verses, stories, passages, even entire books that are meet-you-where-you’re-living kind of experiences. Below, in no particular order, are a few of my favorites this week.

What are yours?

1. Exodus 14:14. You only need to remain calm; the Lord will fight for you. This gives me peace, hope, confidence.
2. John 9:1-3. As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” Sometimes the “bad” things in life are just a chance to see how good God is.
3. John 15:16. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the father will give you whatever you ask in my name. God has a plan: my success for His success.

12 New Year’s Resolutions You Should Consider

It's a new year, and we're honoring 2012 with a blog theme of 12s. 12 is a Biblical number (Israel had 12 tribes, Jesus had 12 disciples...), everyone loves lists… how can this go wrong? (Let me give you 12 ways… ☺) Check back each week for something new brought to you by the number 12.

For now, let's kick it off with some ideas for New Year's resolutions. Only, we're already a few days in, so maybe you should consider these as general life goals. And maybe I should make punctuality one of my resolutions!