Month: June 2019

When God’s Timing Doesn’t Match Yours

/ Stephanie Giles / 4 Comments

“So. Are you finally going to graduate this year? I mean, you’ve been in school for how long?”

“Wait, you’ve seriously never even been on a date?”

“Do you ever plan on moving out?”

Or to those who are married: “So…. are you ever going to have kids?” 

These are real questions people ask. Though they are not always meant to be harsh, you suddenly find yourself scrambling to make excuses as if you’ve done something wrong. You feel guilty. Ashamed. Even if it is something you have no control over, you find yourself wishing you could change things.

And you feel like you’re running out of time.

 

pocket-watch-3156771_1920

 

 If you had asked me 10 years ago where I would be in my mid twenties, my answer would have looked nothing like the actuality. I would have pictured myself graduated from college, married, and living in a cute little house of my own.

Instead, I’ve been watching other people my age (and even may people younger than me) do these things. No matter what you do to try to convince yourself that you are not a failure, it is still easy to feel like you’ve been left behind.

Those who were in your class in high school are now married and have kids while you are still fighting for that degree.

It’s not easy….

….But it’s not a Race

No one’s lives are the same. God’s timing for you might not match His timing for your best friend. For whatever reason, it is possible that God wants you in this place for some time to learn an important lesson. Pushing to stay on track with society’s idea of what your life “should” be like at a certain age is probably a bad idea.

It’s easy for me to look back at my “wasted” semester in college with regret. I catch myself thinking “If only I had been able to take a full load of classes, I’d be finished with college by now. I’d possibly be out of debt and a lot closer to moving out…. If only I had done things differently….” 

But that wasn’t the path that God gave me. If it wasn’t for that “awful” semester, I would have missed out on some incredibly important life lessons. (Check out a previous blog post if you’re curious) — Thankfulness and my “Wasted Semester”

It is NOT a race.

It doesn’t matter if that other guy or girl from high school already has a house and you don’t. What matters is that you are exactly where you are supposed to be and that you are content in that place, knowing that you are in God’s will.

This is why it is so important to stay focused on God and the Christian race that we’re running. If you try to keep up with those around you, you might lose sight of your end goal.

As a Christian, I would rather be in line with God’s timing–not my own, or that of those around me. For whatever reason, He has me in this specific place at this specific time.

 

free-spring-printable-small

 

Don’t Forget to Live in the Present

It’s easy to focus on what you want for the future and let it ruin your present. If I only focus on the fact that I should have had my degree a couple semesters ago, I would be awfully depressed. But I’m learning to enjoy every experience I’m having along the way.

Suppose you are wanting to buy a new car and one of your friends sends you a picture of a shiny new vehicle they just purchased. You have two options. You can either be bitter, longing to have one of your own, or you can celebrate with them and enjoy the rest of your day.

I must confess, I’ve definitely prayed for the right attitude in these matters many times. I don’t understand why I’m where I am sometimes, but I want to still be able to enjoy every day that God has given me to live, and I want to be happy with my friends who are experiencing things I have yet to experience.

Enjoy every moment now. Enjoy the blessings God has given you in this part of your life.  ❤ You’ll find them if you look hard enough ❤

If you’re constantly wishing for tomorrow’s sunshine, you’ll miss the beauty of today.

“Wow, you’ve been in school forever.” 

I’ve learned to just smile and laugh it off. I know for certain that I am 100% in the center of God’s will for my life because of the assurance He gives me day by day. To me, this is more important than when I get my degree.

If I follow my own plans for my life, I know I’d make a huge mess of things. Instead, I choose to trust God and His perfect timing. He might be saving me from a lot of heartache, and I trust that He will continue to guide me according to His plan. It’s not just a one time decision, it is an every day choice that I must make.

 

be-thankful-for-the-closed-doors-detours-and-roadblocks-they-26788630

unknown source

 

Final Thoughts

I know this is a huge topic and I have barely even scratched the surface. There is so much more that could be written, but maybe I could touch on it in future blog posts.

I don’t know about my future. I don’t know why I’m still in college, why I’m still living at home, or why I’ve never been on a date. But this I do know. I am trusting God to lead me exactly where He wants me to be, therefore I can peacefully rest in Him and accept my present situation.

Thanks so much for reading! If  you have any thoughts you would like to add, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email! I’d love to hear from you. 

Until next time!

God’s Timing is Perfect 

 

5 Tips for Surviving a Tough Semester

/ Stephanie Giles / Leave a comment

Spring Semester 2019- Too Much

I have a real knack for getting myself into things way over my head, and I’m pretty sure that’s why this past semester was so difficult for me. Since I had dropped out of a few classes during the previous semester for numerous reasons, I was attempting to make up for lost time and enrolled in 5 classes, 3 credit hours each. I know this is a fairly normal load, but the problem was that four of them were upper-division English courses–and I was in the honors section for one.

On top of this, I was waitressing as much as possible in order to pay off my student loans and my other bills, while also tutoring on the side for a little extra income. This made my schedule extremely tight and made it difficult for me to get all of the heavy reading and writing assignments done for all of my classes.

Since this was a lot to handle, I realized I would have to make some major changes if I wanted to succeed. Here are a few things I found really helped me get through the hardest semester I’ve had yet.

1. Planning Ahead

I have been known in the past to be a procrastinator. Knowing I would have several 15-20 page papers along with all my other work, I knew that I would have to change that about myself. I bought a bullet journal on Amazon for about $10 and made myself a custom planner before the semester even began. For each week, I wrote down all of my assignments and my work schedule. This helped me to see what was coming up and which weeks would be busier than others. I used the extra spaces for things like keeping  track of my daily habits,  a positive thought for the week, and a weekly Bible verse.

Bullet Journal Planner

I definitely would not have made it without this planner. Organization is a must when juggling work schedules, school assignments, and everything else in life.

2. Self-Care

This is another thing I had to constantly keep in mind. A few semesters prior to Spring 2019, I was a disorganized mess and ended up coming into finals week completely unprepared. I was writing 12-page papers in a single day, and I did 3 all-nighters in one week (and only took a couple short naps on a few of the other days). Needless to say, it was very bad for my health and I was sick for nearly a month after that and I lost a lot of weight (not in a good way).

I knew that with all of the long papers scheduled for that semester, I would need to make sure that this would not happen again, so I was very careful to always get enough sleep. I was usually in bed by 10 PM and I only stayed up until midnight twice. In the mornings, I woke up pretty early to have my devotions right away and eat breakfast.

I tried to avoid junk food that would make me tired and I always made sure to take plenty of water on campus with me. Staying in good health helped me to be able to focus and think clearly while writing papers.

3. Motivation

Staying motivated was extremely important, but it was often very hard. No one ever feels like writing a 15-20 page paper, no matter how much they love the subject. In these moments, I would often remind myself why I was writing that paper and why I was in college to begin with.

On some particularly rough weeks, I would reward myself in small ways. I would schedule a ice cream trip to look forward to, a fun night playing Uno with my family, or even something as simple as a cheap face mask from Walmart (seriously–they’re only 2 for $5.00!)

To Do Lists also really inspire me, since I love being able to cross something off that has been completed. I got a bit creative with this in my bullet journal for the last 3 weeks of the semester, which involved a LOT of short papers and several really long papers. I basically just doodled on two pages, making one thing to color in for each assignment. For the larger papers, I made something that could be split into multiple parts. Coloring was a nice stress-reliever for me, and the feeling of completion after it was done was extremely satisfying.

first

second

As silly as it seems, these small rewards kept me going sometimes and were a nice break from all the stress of my schoolwork. Staying positive helps tremendously!

Also. Coffee. It’s like a hug in a mug.

Enough said.

4. Music

I’ve said before how important music is to me. Good music has the power to uplift my entire mood and change my day around for the better. As I drove to class, I would often sing along with my Southern Gospel music, which  was a fantastic stress-reliever that brought a smile to my face while also reminding me of important Christian truths.

While writing papers, I almost always played soft music in the background. In order to concentrate better, I avoided anything with vocals and usually just chose some soft guitar music. I know a lot of people cannot focus with music playing, but it was important to me in order to stay upbeat and on track.

5. Time with God

Although everything listed above was incredibly helpful, I could not have made it through that semester alone. There were days I thought I was never going to make it. Life threw a few curve-balls at me right in the middle of the semester that I was certain I would never make it through.

I somehow did it though–with God’s help. Every struggle, every tough day… I had to remember to turn to Him. Sometimes I just outright told him, “This is going to be a hard day, and I cannot do it without You,” and I know He was with me every step of the way.

Next semester already looks difficult and its easy for me to get overwhelmed and worry about how I will ever do it. Then I remember its not just me. I have a Heavenly Father who will be there to help me through every day.

“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.”

-1 Peter 5:7

Final Thoughts

I plan to continue doing all of these and look for more ways to improve my life this coming semester. Right now, I am enjoying my summer and working as much as I possibly can while I have time.

I know I haven’t written in a few months, but I did so much writing during the semester, I was just totally drained for a while and needed a break. This summer has been gloriously rejuvenating so far, and I hope to post several times before going back to school this fall. I know this post was a bit different from my other ones, but I have more ideas that I am currently working on that I will post later. Thanks for reading!

Until next time!