His Purpose, Not My Plans

To everyone who read my post about EFM... THANK YOU. I have had two people let me know that they are interested,  and many many people tell me they are praying for us. I am SO encouraged. However, I am still looking for more people. Adults, teenagers, anyone can help. Please pray about serving at EFM. With all that being said, it has been a busy few days!! Wednesday came and went with the annual "Picnic on Park" at church and then dinner with tait afterwards. Thursday was busy as well. We headed up to USC about 3:20 and made it by 4:40 which was crazy good since traffic is normally so bad. Even though we had an absolutely horrible outcome at the game.. Probably one of the worst I've ever seen.. I still was REUNITED with one of my best friends and I am soo glad I got to sit with her.  On that note, it was so good to see her and hang with her. Also, not really sure why my sunglasses look red in this picture. Speaking of sunglasses, mine were sadly broken on Thursday ...

East Florence Mission , also known as EFM, is something that is VERY important to me. I want to talk about my story with them, but first I need to explain who and what they are.  QUITE a few years ago, the Key family here in Florence felt the need to start a place for underprivileged children to learn about Jesus. Fast forward a while and the East Florence Mission is still run by the Keys, however Charlie Key (son of the founder) and his wife Marilyn are now heading the day-to-day operations while Charlie's parents are still the main financial supporters. While the building is known as "East Florence Mission, EFM, or The Mission" depending on who you ask, it's more than just a building on National Cemetary Road. EFM is a group of people who come together to make Jesus known to children who don't get that chance like many others their age. Basically, EFM is open Monday-Friday with some different programs, but everything is free, and it's to help...

Started the first of the college tours this weekend!! Daddy and I headed to Wofford Friday after I finished class. Made it up to Spartanburg about 1:30 and went straight to our info session/campus tour. I really enjoyed it. Wofford is gorgeous. It is absolutely beautiful. Also, they have great study abroad programs which is something I'm interested in. And I love the idea of small class sizes. BUT I am keeping my options open. I still have to tour USC and CofC. No decision making for me yet. Friday night I got the chance to go hang out with some of my favorite girls and watch the West Florence girls play some tennis. Even though they didn't quite pull off a complete victory they did an awesome job! Later that night we all went back to Anna's and spent the night, complete with sleeping on her den floor with 2000 blankets and sleeping bags. Saturday I spent hanging out and doing some random things. Saturday night I got the chance to serve dinner to 100 adults in the n...

Thursday night, sitting in my room I was amazed at how free I felt. I had done my homework earlier that day while babysitting. I had eaten dinner with my family. I was sitting in my bed watching my favorite netflix show, Grey's Anatomy. And it just hit me at how different this year is from last. Last year as a junior I had three classes at West and a tech class. One of those classes at West was AP US History which was at least an hour and a half of homework EVERY night, and if I had to study for a test it was at least 2 hours. I also worked at my dad's office monday, wednesday, and thursday for 3 hours. I babysat from 6 to 9:30 on Monday nights. I have East Florence Mission on Tuesday from 4:45-6:45. Things were CRAZY. For example, my Monday schedule was to wake up at 7, school from 8:30-1:55, work from 2:30-5:30, babysit from 6-9:30, eat dinner when I got home, spend two hours doing AP homework and then do other homework. By the time I shower and got ready for bed it was REALL...

So before I get started on what I want to say today, I probably should mention that my first two days of school were successes. Even though my only class at school is pre-calculus (definitely not my fav), I am enjoying being the oldest ones at school. Also watching the freshmen get lost and wander around is kinda funny too.. only because I remember being them. Okay… now moving on! Before I talk about my main five goals for this school year, I need to introduce yet another one of my dear friends. Ann Collins, or Little Bird (interesting nickname, interesting story), has been one of my absolute best friends since 8th grade when we went on a church trip and shared a room for a week. She is one of the only ones who I can text and be completely real with, knowing that she will be honest and tell me what I need to hear. And I am SO EXTREMELY thankful for her. She has been there for me a lot, especially in the last year. Including last Thursday night. It was late, I had just come in from ...

Here we go, this is it! Senior year. It seems like just yesterday that I was switching to West Florence and walking into my first class, that first day of freshman year. And now here I am. With one class at West. Which means 10:10 dismissal, every day. After my hard hard year last year, I am SO excited to get out early. And I am so thankful about being where I am. When I switched schools way back in the day, I was so nervous. Terrified I wouldn't make friends. Terrified I wouldn't do well. Terrified about being noticed basically. And now four years later, I have an incredible amount of people I call friends, I am number 11 in my class of 400+, and I absolutely love West Florence. Even though it was a hard change, and definitely for sure an eye-opening one, I am so happy with where I am. And I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. It is for sure one of the best decisions I have ever made. Going back to senior year though, I am excited about this new freedom. New things to exper...

Tonight I was feeling pretty lonely without my college bff's… until I got a text from my friend Hailey. She's one of my dear friends from school, and one of my AP US History buddies from last year. Prom Pic of me and Hailey So Hailey's sweet boyfriend moved to Clemson this weekend to go to school… and we were both bored. She came over and we decided not to be bored so we made cupcakes! Well… I made cupcakes and Hailey licked the spoon and talked to me. I love her. She's great. And we had a good time. Maybe not the prettiest cupcakes but they're pretty yummy! We made chocolate chip cupcakes with a chocolate buttercream frosting. Consistency of the frosting wasn't my fav, but that was my fault. I didn't put enough milk in originally… and then I put way too much! But it's all good. They still tasted delish. And it made for a fun girls night. I am really thankful for my sweet school friends. And I'm excited to make lots of memories this year.

So this week is full of goodbyes for me. First we have my youth pastor and his family. Oh what a journey I've had with them! They have loved and loved on me and poured their hearts and souls into all of us at First Pres. I can't even begin to say what an impact they have had on my life. Its been a great five years with them. They are headed to Charlotte as Stacey goes to study seminary and hopefully become a pastor one day. But they will be oh so missed. Stacey, the real MVP. No but really.  With Lia. One of my many second moms, big sister,  co-baker,  dear friend, and someone who I will forever be indebted to. Still learning how to add pictures. But oh the love I have for these girls. So that was the first goodbye. I helped pack them up on Wednesday as they headed off, and believe me when I say there were many tears shed on all of our parts as goodbyes were exchanged.  And then we have goodbye #2.  Because of my amazing church youth group, ...

Alright! Blogging attempt #1. Here we go! My name is Alana, I am currently 17 years old and I'm a high school senior. I love Jesus, my sweet family, and my amazing friends. I am a big supporter of my youth group and of the East Florence Mission. I love writing and being able to put down what I may not be able to speak. My whole purpose of this blog is to share what's on my heart and my mind. So let's get started!