A Million Times Blessed

God has blessed me with the MOST amazing women in my life. Seriously. I don't know what I would do without them.  

First of all, let me tell you about my mom.  She is amazing. She is the most strong, beautiful, Godly and loving woman I have ever met. I adore her. I want to be like her. She is the best.

There she is. Isn't she cute?:)

Then as if having the best mom in the WORLD was not enough, God blessed me with the best roommates in the world.  They put up with my weird little quirks, my lack of initiative to do dishes (sorry i'm working on it), and my incessant singing.

They are wonderful.

And I swear that this girl and I were separated at birth because we are seriously sisters and soul mates.

Laura Leigh almost Vanderzee:) 

I don't know what I'd do without her.

And I can't forget this next girl.  She is an absolute joy and rock in my life.

I love working with her!

I really just have the best friends anyone could ask for. 

God has blessed me way too much:)

Flowers, Candy Hearts and Jesus

So tomorrow is Valentines Day.  I feel like this is one holiday that every single person has an opinion on.  I mean people either go disgustingly ga-ga over it or they loathe it entirely. 

I however am in the small percentage of people who just doesn't have a really strong opinion about good ole' V-day.

I think that God calls us to love each other every day and I learned from my parents beautiful relationship that love is unconditional and that it grows daily.  They showed me that you don't need a designated day to show the one you love that you love them, but when it comes along...you should take advantage of it. :)

Tomorrow I am looking forward to loving on my friends, eating Big Truck Tacos with the girls, making a yummy dessert, thanking God for the relationships he has given me along with my capacity to love, and focusing on the relationships I do have, while praying for my future ones. 

Valentines Day doesn't have to be SAD (Singles Awareness Day), it should be filled with love for family, friends, and life:)

Love you all!

Mads

My 3rd to Last First Day of School.

Hello Everyone!  Happy 2011!

I don't know if I'll ever get used to the 2000's.  I'm such an 1990's girl. Not that I advocate bringing those hairstyles back.  Anyway, I don't really believe in New Year's Resolutions but I do believe in setting goals.  I feel like there is so much pressure riding on a resolution.  Also, I feel like most people make them just for the sake of telling people that they are making them.  Which totally defeats the purpose.  Here are a few of my goals for 2011.

1. Love More Often- Jesus gives such a strong example of love and I don't often follow it.  With a little prayer I think I can manage this:)

2. Become a Better Student- for those of you who know me, you'll know that the only way to go is up on this one;)

3. Commit to Reading My Bible-  If I can read my bible at least three nights a week (not counting for bible class) I will be a very happy camper.

4. Keep Up With Encouragement Notes- these dang things kill me every week!  It's not hard, I just have to do it.  And I can....please encourage me.  That pun was absolutely intended.

5. Take on a Healthier Lifestyle-  I am in my best friends wedding this summer and she deserves to have smokin hot bridesmaids!  haha that's so vain...but seriously.  Healthy habits and regular work out routines inspire better attitudes and daily functioning.  I could use a bit of both.

These are 5 things that I know that I can improve on.  The list my grow longer but for now this will do!

Feel free to hold my accountable adoring public;)

Wishing you all a wonderful first week of school!

MVC

My heart cannot be kindled without you

I'm going to admit something to you all tonight.

I have no idea who I am.

There I said it.

Maybe I should rephrase.  I know exactly who I am...who I can and should be...but I don't know where that girl has gone.  As cheesy as it sounds, I found myself in Switzerland this summer.  Never before had i felt so close to God.  He was so real to me there.  So tangible.  He was in everything I saw, everything I touched and in everyone that I met.  The development in our relationship had endless possibilities.  Sometimes it feels like I said goodbye to him in the airport in Geneva.

Let me admit something else to you.

It's very hard for me to refer to God as my Father.

Someday I hope to sincerely call him Father and mean it.  I miss my earthly father so much that it almost seems like a betrayal to give his name to anyone else.  It would make my Dad sad to hear me say that.  But as of right now it's an unfortunate truth.  I feel like I should have all the answers by now! By the worlds standards I'm doing just about everything right.  I'm an intern at a church that I love, I'm majoring in something that I'm passionate about, I'm living on my own, I have a great group of friends and I'm involved at my school.  I've got everything together right? That is far from the truth.  God has blessed me with all of these things and daily I take them for granted.  Sometimes I even take credit for them!  Who am I to take credit for the gifts and opportunities given to me?

Every day has become a routine. Get up, get ready, go to class, go to chapel, go to lunch, take a nap, go to rehearsal, go to church, do homework (sometimes), go to bed, and then start all over.

I feel like i've lost my passion.  I'm starting to worry about the future.  Where will I live after graduation?  Who will I marry?  What exactly will I be doing?  What are my plans for this summer?  How am I handling my relationships now?  What if, what if, what if?!

I can't keep living like this.

I need to find myself again.

I need to find that giddy, little girl who is so in love with Jesus that I left wandering around on the other side of the world.  I want that Madison back, and I know my friends and family do to.

I believe in the power of prayer, so would you pray for me?  Pray that God scoops me up in his arms and rekindles my passion.

I'm so thankful for the people I have in my life.  I am richly blessed.  God will see me through.

Happy Thanksgiving:)

-mvc

Hyperbole Crew Bs

Oh my heavens.

I have been the busiest little bee lately!  I might have spread myself too thin this semester but that's the way I like it.  It's not that I can't say no, it's just that there's nothing I want to say no to:)

This week will HONESTLY be the busiest week of my life!  It's homecoming here at OC and I'm on one of the homecoming committees and in the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT WE GO UP THIS WEEK!

I'm just so excited.  It's going to be great and everyone should come!

Let me tell you all something else.
God has blessed me with the most wonderful and precious friends.  Hence the title of this blog.  Let me explain.

You might refer to us as dramatic...but I like to think we are living life to the fullest and perfecting the art of putting hyperbole to everyday use.

For example:  "I am literally going to explode into a million pieces."  or my most recent favorite...

"I WILL BARF UP A PLANET."  -Melanie Sullivan

Just makin life more interesting:)

On a more serious note, I ask that you please pray for my precious friend Elise's mom.  She has been in and out of the hospital this year and is in a pretty serious condition.

Here is the link to the blog Elise is keeping.

http://missgoosie.tumblr.com/

I ask that you pray for healing and that God's will be done.  Also that they can feel his arms around them during this time.

Well, I'm off to run a secret errand!

More blogging soon!

Madison

The Delights of a Busy Blogger

Well everyone...I officially suck at maintaining a blog. I think it was probably August the last time I updated. I will seriously try to do better, but life is so dang busy!

I have to give a shout out to Meagan Branch for being able to keep up her blog while planning a wedding, being an awesome president of Gamma Rho AND being overall director of Spring Sing. She is crazy but I LOVE her!Last time I posted, I think I talked about Earn Your Wings and how wonderful it was...and if I didn't then I will now:)

It was so great!

Here is my AWESOME hub!

My wonderful friend Natalie. What would I do without her?

My Hub Partner Blake and I!

We had the best time! I loved getting to meet so many of the freshmen.

Now on to more recent things!

On Friday...TORI AND LOGAN GOT ENGAGED!!!!

We had a little fake wedding in 116:)

 Now our apartment will be filled with wedding talk and bridal magazines:)

Also, I tried out for a musical!

Ever heard of Thoroughly Modern Millie?

Well, it's our homecoming musical this year at OC! I'm soooooo excited about it! I got called back for the part of Millie and I had a blast doing call backs for it! I ended up not getting the part, but I had the best audition i've ever had and that's all I can ask for. My characters name is Gloria and she is one of Millie's best friends. One of the best things about this musical, is that it is full of tap! I cannot wait to start learning choreography because I get to dance SO much!

God is just the greatest.

:)

The Joy of the Lord

The Joy of the Lord will be my strength.

What powerful words.

I have been filled with joy that can only come from God and I LOVE IT. God's joy is contagious, and I hope that it is spreading to others that I come in contact with b/c it's just too wonderful not to share!

On that note, let me tell you that Earn Your Wings 2010 was PHENOMENAL. seriously. this class of freshmen are crazy awesome and God is going to do great things with them. I do not have enough time in this blog to accurately describe how wonderful earn your wings was, so i'll save that for my next blog.

My first day of Junior year was today. cray-cray. I honestly can't believe it. but instead of harping on how short life is, I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to soak up life, breathe in the sights and sounds that God has given me and serve God in everything that I do. At least I'm going to try. :)

Earlier I mentioned that lately I have had such contagious joy. Let me tell you why.

1. My new friends. God has revealed himself through some of the most wonderful people I got to meet last week. I already love all my new friends and they make me so happy.

2. My old friends. They are the most precious wonderful things in the world to me. I am so blessed to be surrounded by girls who stand by my side, make me laugh like crazy and give it to me straight when the situation calls for it. I am so blessed to be surrounded by guys who protect me, crack me up and treat me with respect that comes from living a Godly life. I have friends who are involved, who love to love people and who genuinely care about making this world a better place by letting God take control and run with it.

3. My mom. She is just the best. seriously. I get an encouraging email from her every day and she loves me unconditionally.

4. MY LORD. He is so good to me. I can't express my love for him enough. His love is truly everlasting. He has blessed me with the job of being an intern for the MRCC Campus Ministry and I can't wait to see what he does through our team.

I can't wait to see what God has in store for me. I know satan is already working on a plan to exploit my weakness and take away my peace. But I stand strong in the Lord and I lean on him to keep me safe.

You are all in my prayers. Let me know if I can make your lives easier!:)

In HIS love,

Madison