Thank you. This is another perfect morning.

Ahhhh Sundays.

I love them QUITE a lot. I was a heathen today and didn't go to church, but instead I'm taking God's command for "rest" on the Sabbath quite seriously. This week has been absolutely insane..."Juliet and her Romeo" opens this coming Thursday. As mentioned in my last post, this whole process has been quite frustrating and hard and much of the stress this week has been finding time to memorize lines amidst the 800 other things I have to do. But God has been faithful, and has given me time with him and He's given people around me words of encouragement to share with me. I couldn't have made it through ANYTHING this week without the endless prayers offered up on my behalf. If you thought of me this week and prayed for me, THANK YOU. It helped.

Yesterday was one of the longest/hardest/most complicated days I've ever had in the theatre world and I'm glad it's over. It started out before 8am and then with a work call at 9am. We were supposed to have another tech rehearsal in the morning, but there was a lot that had to be done for our techs in the afternoon so the morning was spent cleaning up the Flex and finishing up all sorts of little projects. Tessa and I (a fellow castmate and senior whom I love entirely and completely) were working on small cleaning projects (aka moving lots of heavy boards and masonite) when we got excused to go hand out posters for the show, seeing as how that's my job, being the Publicity Coordinator and all. So for about an hour we drove around Jackson like MAD, handing out about fifteen posters or so and we didn't get rejected ONCE! We were looking quite rough, but despite that we got hit on at a gas station ("Hey pretty ladies...do you like tattoos?" Classy) and all of these older men who owned shops but up our posters with smiles and reassuring arm pats. Tessa even got some of Tybalt's lines quoted to her! Needless to say it was one of the best and most productive hours of this week.

Our first tech started at 2...but we didn't get on the stage until around 3. This was the first time ALL of the elements were being used-lights, costumes, hair, makeup (which is crazy AWESOME)...all of that wonderful stuff that makes up a show. It was more than a little overwhelming at times. I really don't think I've been in a show that's been so completely complicated. I really do love the concept and how we're presenting something as classic as "Romeo and Juliet", but only incorporating everything this close to opening is, well, overwhelming. That's the only word I can use to describe it...besides stressful I suppose. Surprisingly though, it did go pretty well. We got through about half of the show (some parts rougher than others) in 3 hours, came back at 7:30 with a go time of 8, and got through the rest of the show by 10. I had really minimal help with lines...they're all in my head but I was just getting so worn out it was hard to keep everything straight. Hopefully I'll have really sharp recall during the show...

All of that to say, I slept in a bit this morning (9am...that's good for me!) and had some wonderful alone time with Jesus. It was so good just to bask in his love, to be thankful to him for all he's done for me. I re-read Ps. 118 for the millionth time this week and my heart was encouraged and I was once again reminded to give thanks to God in ALL things. No matter what the circumstance, no matter what I'm going through, no matter how hard life may seem.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is GOOD. His love endures FOREVER."

And to be thankful for each day...

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us REJOICE and BE GLAD in it."

(Emphasis all mine).

I have been blessed and surrounded on every side by good things...it's astounding! God gives me these wonderful mornings alone with him to re-center, re-focus and commit myself to him. I would be happy all of my days if I could spend every morning like today-oatmeal, yummy coffee in a cute mug, and unlimited time to spend in the Word and journaling. It's almost noon now, but I'm in some of my comfiest clothes, listening to my Alexi Murdoch Pandora station on my back porch, completely content to listen to the sounds of nature all around me...God is SO good.

In short....

God is good, and has been blessing me immensely.

I know it's been far too long since I've written. I've been meaning to and started a post back in mid-September, but, as you can see, it never got published. Oops. Let me tell you, life has been non-stop CRAZY since I got back to school August 8th. Leaving Colorado began the craziness. There were SO many tears, and I basically cried the entire 3 hour bus ride from Steamboat to Denver. (That was on the 7th). The next morning I left Denver for Louisville, KY around 6 am, where my mom met me with my car full of stuff and we drove on to good ol' Jackson, Mississippi. I was SO thankful that my roomies and I had moved the majority of our stuff to our precious little duplex back in May, but I still felt like I brought tons of crap with me. (I'm trying not to think about moving out in a mere 7 months...). Mom only stayed a day to get me settled in and then headed back to Ohio. It was hard not to be able to my daddy too...the job he has now just takes him ALL over and he doesn't have as much vacation time as he used to. Thank GOODNESS for Skype:)

Since then, school has started and once again, my planner is continually getting filled with more and more stuff. I'm taking Directing, Improv Comedy, Photography, Pilates, Scriptwriting and Worship Team. I feel like it's a healthy (and random) mix of classes and, in short, I love it. Photography is something I've enjoyed for quite awhile, but learning about the workings of a 35mm camera and having to do everything with my hands is amazing, and a beautiful art form different from anything in the theatre. I love that...I love doing things outside my major because I believe it's quite beneficial to be well rounded. I've gotten over my fear of rolling film onto a reel and screwing it up, and now I can process in under an hour. Woohoo! My photography teacher Gretchen has really liked my photos and now it's just a matter of refining my skills in the dark room. My final documentary project is due in less than a month so I need to just start shooting things that interest me and maybe in that a documentary idea will form.

I'm currently on fall break, and I can't even tell you how needed this is. I don't know how I lived without it in High School. I'm starting to feel my annual fall cold coming on, so now is a perfect time to stop rushing about and just REST. And breathe...breathing would be nice. There are many wonderful things to be thankful for: amazing roommates, renewed friendships, NEW friendships, a deeper relationship with Christ, beautiful weather, a wonderful and amazing boyfriend, lovely family...I think I could just go on forever. One of the lessons Christ is trying to teach me is to thank him more. All too often I get caught up in asking and asking and asking him for things, without even a thought directed towards him in thanks. How stupid is that? He's given me everything, and I can't even offer up a simple "thank you", or thank him with my life by spending time with him each day? Amidst this busyness it's been quite the struggle to stop what I'm doing and read his Word. It also frustrates me that I can attempt to memorize Shakespeare all day long but don't take the time to memorize the Bible, which is the defense he's given me against the enemy. Stupid human. Thankfully, his love and mercy are new every morning and I have a chance EVERYDAY to renew my commitment to him. I'm learning!

My attitude towards one particular area of my life hasn't been the best lately, and I'm thinking I need to change that very soon. I'm involved in a show right now that, quite honestly, I hate. I have never been so frustrated with a process as I am with this one. Me and 7 other actors are attempting to do the story of "Romeo and Juliet" and that is proving to be QUITE the task. I play a million different parts and have about a million lines to match that. This last minute rush to memorize lines is basically my fault, because I wasn't really sure if this show would actually come to fruition. We're less than 2 weeks from opening night and it seems to be moving ahead, so I think I should probably start learning my parts. I've been trying to cram as much in my brain the last 2 days and still have 2 more days to do the latter half of the play...it's killing me. I just feel as if I'm getting no direction or help or any encouragement really. It's just frustrating. But I have to buckle down and learn these lines one way or another...

Right now I'm enjoying a wonderful time with friends. I made pumpkin milkshakes...vanilla ice cream, pumpkin pie filling, vanilla extract, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. We couldn't find pumpkin pie ice cream in the store (seasonal FAIL) but this turned out to be really tasty! I think we'll be making these again soon. It's SO nice to be able to cook in my own little kitchen and have a place to rest...away from the craziness of school. I'll have to put up pictures at some point. The decor of our house is very random and eclectic, but I love it. Most of the furniture has been given to us or found by the side of the road. The thrill of finding a large desk and shelf unit can't be compared to many other things...

It's taken me 2 days to publish this post, so I better do it before I lose any more steam. Life is very wonderful (although very odd at times...aka an ex getting engaged) and I'm quite happy with where God has placed me. It's both exciting and frightening, but if there's one thing I've learned from this adventure so far, is that he's got my back and he won't leave me to fend for myself. My heart's dream is to go back to Colorado, but does that line up with what God wants for me?

I can't really say. For now, I'm not going to worry, but instead am going to enjoy everything as it comes, such as delicious decaf coffee with a spot of Creme Brulee creamer and a movie with the room-bug. Oh, and maybe I'll try to enjoy these lines I'm memorizing...