Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours, have a blessed Christmas in remembrance of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

~Luke 2:8-14

God bless!
Jess

Roomie Date at the Greene {a mostly wordless post}

trying on sunglasses in claires.

yes, i do have the coolest roommate eva. be jealous.

studying + coffee at caribou = perfection.

'twas a lovely, sunshiny warm october day. xx.

Link Love.

(because who doesn't love some link love?) :)

pumpkin for breakfast. this pumpkin spice smoothie will have you in a fall mood as soon as you take a sip if you're not in one already! pumpkin is delicious, and what better time of year is there to enjoy pumpkin in a variety of ways?

i love this picture. now i need to find a friend to be my model and replicate it. it's perfect for this season which seems to be all about relationships and cuddling. ;)

wait by anthony evans. i've had it on repeat tonight. the lyrics are so encouraging! if we wait on the Lord we will renew our strength.

101 fun things to do this fall. if you need something fun and fall-ish to do, check out this post! there are tons of neat ideas to try!

this is a powerful quote for us as christians to think about and respond to:
In our lifetime, wouldn't it be sad if we spent more time washing dishes or swatting flies or mowing the yard or watching television than praying for world missions? - Dave Davidson

*more missions quotes here*

sign up to sponsor a child through world vision today! it can be through another organization  too...there are plenty of other ones out there. just make sure you choose an organization that is serving Jesus well and using their money wisely. you never know the impact you might have on a child who is blessed by your financial contribution to their school expenses. it's also a great opportunity to be a witness for Christ, filled with God's love for the poor and needy.

sevenly. purchase a t-shirt and show your support for young women struggling with eating disorders. the people who run this website are using the money they raise to provide housing, group support, food, group and individual therapy, life skills training and counseling to the teenage girls who need it.

listen to pastor brian williams' "a place called gethsemane" sermon. (you'll have to scroll down a bit to find it.)   wow. just wow. it's excellent. consider listening to more of his sermons if you have time...they're all really good.

and...it's friday! hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

love,
jess

It Has Descended.

Fall has ever so quickly descended upon Cedarville. Fierce winds whip through spiny tree fingers scattering brightly coloured leaves in every direction. The sky is a glorious canvas ablaze with deep unquenchable pinks, reds, and oranges. Naked toes turn rosy pink from the chill as students walk briskly to and from class and a mysterious warmth spreads inside of a lonely heart, brought on by a quick sip of steaming hot joe. Each day dusk arrives a little sooner than the previous day and the night sky lights up with a brilliant display of starry host. It is a delightful time of the year, except for the shadow of winter that is growing ever nearer...

Hope you are enjoying this season of life!

Love,
Jess

Lately I have been...

Taking time to appreciate the beautiful sunsets that Cedarville always has in the fall. If you're a Cedarville student or you live in the area, you oughta know what I mean...they're breathtaking.

Sipping Frozen Carmelos and Dirty Chais from Rinnova. I haven't dared try the new District 12 drink in honour of The Hunger Games though, because I dislike Mochas and Hazelnut, and a blend of the two just doesn't sound that appealing to me. Oreo crumbles on top is really tempting, though...

Listening to online Earth Science lectures and filling up pages and pages of lined paper with notes on creation and minerals, that is, when Moodle's working. Moodle has been having problems lately and it has been frustratingly slow. I'm thankful that it's up and running again so that I can continue to plow through the ominous amount of lectures, labs, readings, quizzes, and exams that make up what I sarcastically refer to as my 'delightful online Earth Science class'. I knew I should have taken it in the classroom instead...

Enjoying little treats and gifts from my hall mates and my mom. My hall had a meeting tonight to do some baking together but I decided to stay in my room and do homework instead. My roommate Schuyler offered to bring me a couple of treats when she returned to our room, which was so thoughtful of her! I haven't tried these yet, but they look really good, don't they?

What have you been up to lately?

Have a splendid weekend!

Love,
Jess

Wonderfulness that is the Weekend.

In the past 36 hours, I traveled to PVM camp and back and made lasting memories with my good friends Beth Ann and Lindsay. Friday and Saturday were full of wonderfulness that included watching two chick flicks, playing card games with our camp director, assisting people with putting harnesses on at the zip line, eating frozen yogurt, almost getting a parking ticket, attempting self portraits with Lindsay and Beth Ann by setting my Canon Powershot in the mailbox across the street from the PVM sign, calling up Phil the lifeguard just to have him say, "Rage, rage, rage," for us, and leaving Casey T. (another counselor) a voice mail on his phone just to say hi. There's so much more I could say, but I'll have to tell you later because my Speech homework is calling my name...

This turtle ring immediately reminded me of my friend Livvy who loves turtles so I had to take a picture just for her.

This is and always will be my home. ♥

Saturday @ Camp!

This weekend is going to be amazing! I'm headed back to PVM Camp along with my friends, Beth Ann and Lindsay! We're going to help out at the zip line and rock wall for a guest group coming in on Saturday afternoon and then we'll head back home on Saturday night. I can hardly contain my excitement and joy about getting to see my friends and spending a whole day at camp. I'll have to share with y'all about it soon!

Scripture and a Snapshot: September 7th

This verse reminds us to keep training our own bodies to become more like Christ through the Spirit's power, because we certainly don't want to be disqualified from the race for deserting God. It's not easy, and let me tell you, there are times when I just want to give up, but every time I'm at my lowest, God always sends me a reminder to deny myself and pick up my cross again each and every day.

Hall Pictures.

Doing hall pictures for Hannah's hall was a blast! I loved meeting all of the girls (you were all so sweet) and walking around campus taking photos of your beautiful faces. It was great to take a break from my busy schedule and do something I love, so thank you for giving me the opportunity. Some people hate photographing large groups of people, but I love it! After working at PVM Camp as the camp photographer for most of the summer, how could I not? I've practiced making sure everyone is aligned just right, checking for clean backgrounds, and saying 1-2-3, (or 3-2-1 in some odd cases), over and over again. It's definitely love, or I wouldn't still be in the business!

Sunflower Silliness.

Hi! I don't post very often these days because I'm busy with school, relationships, life, etc. but this is a long weekend for Labor Day, and I had a great photo shoot with my friends Sarah and Alex yesterday afternoon so I just have to share a few photos from the session with you all. :)

This was a special session because it was one of the first times for me to use my new 18-135 mm Canon lens. I decided to buy the lens after the auto focus on my 18-55 mm lens quit working. It got too much use this summer as I was the camp photographer at PVM Camp for the majority of the camp season. I definitely have to say that I'm very satisfied with this new lens - it has a great focal range. This afternoon I brought along my old film camera, which is also a Canon. A friend of my mom's offered me the camera last year and I haven't really used it much yet. It has film in it now and we took a few pictures with it yesterday. I can't wait til the roll is used up and the photos are developed! Those are just a couple of reasons why the session was special and tons of fun, too. Alex, Sarah and I couldn't help laughing as we looked through the pictures afterwards and saw our goofy expressions. It was a memorable time for sure!