no excuses

Never heard of NEXT?

Well this is your chance:

weekend

It was nice to have no where to go this past weekend. Saturday was chill and I did some studying for a test I had today. Sunday was just as chill, after church(which is always fantastic!) we came home and I studied some more while everyone else went to the park so Allyson could take some picture of Chris for graduation purposes. I'll ask her if I can post any on here :)

I may have posted this quote before, but I just like it and it's a good reminder for me :)

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.
- Charles Spurgeon

What makes you happy?

prospectus

"Main Entry: pro·spec·tus
Pronunciation:
\prə-ˈspek-təs, prä-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, prospect
Date: 1765
1 : a preliminary printed statement that describes an
enterprise (as a business or publication) and that is distributed to
prospective
buyers, investors, or participants
2 : something (as a
statement or
situation) that forecasts the course or nature of
something"

In my intro to Political Science class, 50% of our grade comes from a writing assignment called a Prospectus.

In my prospectus, I will be discussing the Supreme Court, specifically about how they make decisions on particular cases.

All prospectus must have a research question and a "if-then" statement, which gives the hypothesized plan and outcome.

My Research question is: "Therefore, should the United States Supreme Court rely on past precedent when establishing jurisprudence on matters related to the Unites States Constitution?"

Exciting, right? Well, I think so!

And basically in my paper I will be discussing the prospect of the U.S. Supreme Court relying on past cases and the precedents set to rule on future cases. I haven't done much study on the Supreme Court, which is one of the reasons I chose this topic!

I also like writing about Foreign Policy..I wrote a research paper, taking the position that the United States should pull out of the UN and I also have written a "white paper" on Conservatism's role in U.S. Politics. I can't wait until I start taking more classes for my major and can write papers on other "political things".

One thing I haven't studied much is Political Thought and Theory. Fortunately, I'm getting some of that in my intro to poly sci class. I am looking forward to taking a class on Classic Political Theory which will discuss Plato, Aristotle, and great ancient empires.

how'd this happen?

Tomorrow is Friday?

I'm not that old, but seriously...I'm kinda at that stage where time seems to fly by. It's nice during tough weeks, but then other times it's like 's-l-o-w down, Life and wait for me!'

A couple of nights ago during my quiet time, I read 1 Corinthians 10:31:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

and in verse 33:

...just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

I've been meditating on these couple of verse and trying to seek God on how he would use these to push a change of attitude about how I live. Sadly, 'Do all the glory of God' is not foremost in my mind during most of the day. I pray that this would change, I would pray not to "seek my own advantage" and to pray that "they[the world, people I relate to, etc.] may be saved".
I'm so excited to see how God speaks and sanctifies through His Word!!

Happy-Almost-Friday!

Love, Adrienne

My familyyy!!

Check out my lovely family! I need to find a picture with my dad in it too :)

Taylor Grace!

Allyson Janell!

Mom and Mikey!




Chris :)

Pictures Courtesy of Allyson :)

...but I should be doing...

I should be doing some research for my Poly Sci paper, but instead I'm tooling around checking out friend's blogs. I love how blogging helps me to keep up with everyone, get a glimpse into the life of people I can't always be actively involved with.

This evening we had bible study. I love our bible study. We hold it at our house and my Dad leads it. We have 4 families(besides us) that attend regularly. I really enjoy relating with people through the "caregroup" setting: we have a meal, worship, discuss, then eat and talk some more!

We are currently going through the book: Worldliness Edited by CJ Mahaney.

An excellent book with chapters written by leaders in Sovereign Grace Ministries.

This evening we discussed the music chapter and talked about our heart and how we respond to, prioritize, and discern the role that music plays in our lives. A very eye-opening chapter that really provoked me to question whether or not I idolize music and if I'm discerning about what I listen to and why I listen to it!

Ah, it's back to the homework, so I can go to bed at a reasonable hour! Or is it too late for that? :)

Love, Adrienne Renea

P.S. Three days of blogging and exercising! whoo-hoo!

blogging and exercising

So my goals for this week:

• Blog every day
• Exercise every day

I did both yesterday, so I'm on track. Of course it's only Tuesday! I'm going to be leavingto work soon, so I won't have time to do the "exercise" part of my resolution this afternoon. But hopefully, I won't be too out of it this evening to do it! I may skip my scheduled watching of American Idol so I can get everything in.

School was fun today, Environmental Science wasn't too sleep inducing and I love discussing issues in my political science class. Now I'm headed off to work, which continues to be a neat challenge in my life. Working with kids from so many backgrounds can be an adventure!

Do you have any particular goals for this week? What are they?

Happy Tuesday!

Love, Adrienne Renea

spring? are you here for good?

So I think Spring Break is definitely a teaser trailer for the Summer. Emphasis on "tease". Spring Break was great. :) Just not long enough.
I did get to see some of my lovely friends and spend some time with the family, but unfortunately my school decided to have SB on the opposite week of most schools in our area..therefore...most of my friends are "breakin'" this week.
So, summer is going to be grand. I can tell :)

Classes are going great. Poly Sci being my favorite, of course! I'm beginning to write a paper on judicial activism in the Supreme Court. I am super stoked! The research has begun and I'm enjoying every minute of it!
I'm already looking to the summer as I'll have 5 more hrs. to complete. I'm going to most likely be taking a literature class(yes!! and it's over ancient world lit!!) and a computer class(um, yeah not as much fun). It's only two and only for 6 weeks, the second half of the summer will be freeee! Good stuff:) I'm also pretty excited 'cause several weeks ago, Allyson and I along with some friends bought tickets to see Coldplay. They won't be here til July...can't wait!

Everything: He's got it!

Lately I've been struggling with juggling.

As in juggling everything: School, Work, Family Time,Quiet Time(a biggie right there!) Free Time, Study Time, Money, Relationships.

And God has been convicting me about everything:

As in, He IS EVERYTHING!

Me trying to juggle all this stuff by myself is one big epic fail :) God has been using little things to give me a heads up to "hey, you don't have the power or energy to do all this stuff by yourself!!"

Well, it's been taking awhile for me to release these things to the Lord. It's a very s-l-o-w process as I am a slow learner when it comes to leaning on Him. Very sad. I should know how this works by now, right?

I am HIS! And He's got me! Now if I could just get that into my thick head. :)

We sang "Enough" this morning at church and God brought me back to these struggles as we was singing:
More than all I want
More than all I need
You are more than enough for me
More than all I know
More than all I can say
You are more than enough for me

Check that out! He's my wants, needs, knowledge, words.....!!!

And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

—Psalm 9:10

My joy is found in HIM. He is Beginning and End. He is Everlasting Love. He is my Savior.

My prayer for this forthcoming week is that I would give all my joys, worries, and time to His care. Amen.

I'm still around here somewhere...

Hello!

My lovely readers and fellow bloggers:

How are you? What have you been up to?

(these pictures are courtesy of my lovely sister Allyson: check out her blog on my sidebar!)

(pictures taken today at Ooh La La)

Water

Hey guys!

This is an awesome game by FreePoverty that donates water as you test your geography knowledge! Check it out and donate a cup of water!

Now that's enough of that!

Yeah, I have a really awesome sister, who keeps me on my toes about my blogging and has been getting on me about my extreme lack of posting...

So Allyson, this first post of 2009 goes to you!

Where to start? What about the end of this past semester?

So finals week was tough, but totally worth it as I came out with A's in all my classes! Glory to God!

Next up was Christmas Break and my Government II winter-minimester!

It was so wonderful to see friends home from college. (I will elaborate more on this on another post). Christmas was pretty fun, lots of goodies and good people!

The Winter mini-mester was pretty tough!! I found out yesterday though, I got an A in the class! I was pretty excited to say the least. Even though everything came alright in the end, I think I can truly say I'll never do that again!

New Years was great fun as we spent the Eve with Copples and the Pauls. It wonderful to ring in the New Year with them! We also had a great "pre-New Years Eve" party with some dear friends from high school, more to come in later posts!

Mom had foot surgery on December 30th, everything went well. Though her foot is pretty bandaged up, she's been getting around pretty well on her crutches.

The break seemed so short! I'm currently getting ready for the Spring Semester in which I will be taking 16 Hours. It's going to keep me busy, but I'm looking forward to the challenge and new classes! I always get excited at the beginning of the semester(of course); there's something wonderful about a fresh, new semester. Oh, and guess what?! Allyson will be joining Chris and I at Cy-Fair this semester! I'm really excited for her! She'll be taking English 1301 and I'm pretty sure I can speak for her in saying that she's really excited!
This is my last "real" semester at Cy-Fair. If all goes as planned, I will have only 5 hours left until I get my Associates of Arts. I plan on getting those last few hours done in the first summer session. So I'm on track to be at UH next fall and hopefully living on campus!

So this has been a swift and sadly needed update of my blog. More post will most certainly be coming soon with pictures and the like!

Happy New Year!!!

Love, Adrienne Renea

among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.

-Ephesians 2:3-5

It's time to Party!

Final's are over!

And now I can get back to regular blogging!


Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Live from Tennessee!

Hello, I'm check my e-mail on my Aunt's computer and I decided to make a real quick post and wish you a....

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Be Blessed!

Love, Adrienne Renea

"Can I take Your Picture?"

So we have a budding photographer in our house.
Allyson just got a new camera, which you can read about on her blog.

For the past couple of weeks, she's been taking pictures of everything, very good ones, I might add. I thought I'd show off some of them:

A different view of the tree in our front yard:

Some unique lighting:

Beautiful Friends:

the lovely photographer:

We're on the way..we're on the way...

Ok, we're not gone yet. Actually we won't leave until early Tuesday morning, but I don't see myself having anymore time to blog before we leave.

I'm so happy that my Thanksgiving break is here! We will be leaving Tuesday to stay with my Mom's parents and while we are there we will being going back and forth to Memphis(just over the Mississippi River) to see my Dad's side of the family.

I haven't seen my grandparents in over a year, so it's going to be so great to spend time with them. I'm looking forward to cooking Thanksgiving dinner with my grandma and aunt. We will be there until Sunday. Alas, it's such a short time, but I know we're going to have a sweelll time!

I pray that everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Love, Adrienne Renea

What's Thanksgiving without Charlie Brown?

It was totally God!

So I had two tests on Wednesday, one in Biology and the other in Algebra, and I was really stressed about them.



And....



I got my grades back today:



I made an A on both tests!



Praise God!



I'm so grateful to Him for getting me through those hours of studying and the tests, themselves!

Sleepy-Time!

It's been a looong week and it's only Wednesday! I'm so grateful to have made it through today. I had tests in both Biology and Algebra and a paper due in British Lit. I got very little sleep last night...around two hours. I just hope the long night will pay off with good grades on these tests and paper! Only through Christ have it made it through the last 24hours. I am so grateful for His never ending strength and love. There is never a day that goes by that I am not more and more amazed at God's continual grace in my life. I mess up so much! But He loves me! And in His grace and mercy, I am content.

Goodnight!

Love, Adrienne Renea

Preparing for the Sabbath

I've been reading prayers from Valley of Vision. The writings of the Puritan's are beautiful and are really an good accompaniment to Scripture during my quiet time.
Here is a puritan prayer, that I will be praying over tonight.

Resting on God

O God, most high, most glorious, the thought of Thine infinite serenity cheers me, for I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, but Thou art for ever at perfect peace. Thy designs cause thee no fear or care of unfulfilment, they stand fast as the eternal hills. Thy power knows no bond, Thy goodness no stint. Thou bringest order out of confusion, and my defeats are Thy victories: The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

I come to Thee as a sinner with cares and sorrows, to leave every concern entirely to Thee, every sin calling for Christ's precious blood; revive deep spirituality in my heart; let me live near to the great Shepherd, hear His voice, know its tones, follow its calls. Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in the truth, from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit. Give me intenser faith in the eternal verities, burning into me by experience the things I know; Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the gospel, that I may bear its reproach, vindicate it, see Jesus as its essence, know in it the power of the Spirit.

Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and chill; unbelief mars my confidence, sin makes me forget Thee. Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their roots; grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee, that all else is trifling. Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy. Abide in me, gracious God.

Amen!

I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

-Psalm 91:2

Love, Adrienne Renea

It's Friday!

Another week practically done!

Today seemed extra long for some reason and I came home from school and took a nap!


This afternoon, I had to attend a meeting for the Honors Student Organization @ CyFair. I was elected secretary for this semester. I plan on running again next semester. We are a small organization right now, but we've got big plans on trying to get more people involved in the organization and involved in our honors classes.


This evening, I've been just chillin' and watching movies. I just finish watching Persuasion(the latest one), which is one of my favorite adaptions of a Jane Austen book. And before I drift to dreamland, I'm going to try to stay awake through War and Peace with Audrey Hepburn.





I've been on a Audrey Hepburn kick the past few weeks. She's an amazing actress, who plays some of the most interesting roles! I've watched movies like: Charade, Funny Face, Sabrina, Roman Holiday, etc. Last week I began to watch her in: A Nun's Story, but I didn't get to finish it. Friday nights are usually the only time I have a chance to watch movies, so I try to watch as many as my tired eyes will stay open for....which usually means no more than two :0)

Anyway, I'm off to watch W&P before I fall asleep!

Good-night!

Love, Adrienne Renea