Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Sophomore Year Shenanigans

Phew, I am so exhausted. I am officially back in Lexington and I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Craziness. I am attempting to transition back into this new normal but it is proving to be easier said than done. Ha!

K-Week Madness…
You know it’s K-Week when…your feet are blistered and aching from walking all over campus, your hands permanently smell like latex and your fingers are pruny from filling hundreds of water balloons, your diet consists of pancakes and hamburgers, your closet is stocked with free t-shirts, you shake hands with people you know out of classical conditioning, you have random episodes of uncontrollable laughter with your housemates, and you have to schedule time to sleep. Yes, it’s that time of year again. How nice it’s been to be on the other side of K-Week, leading instead of participating!

From KCrew to CSF Leaders (CSF Luau Party)

As a K-Crew leader, I have had the honor and responsibility of leading twelve freshmen through their first few days of college. K-Week is designed to help freshmen get acclimated to campus and excited to be official Wildcats. It has been so fun to watch my “kids” experience their college firsts and watch them interact with each other and form friendships. I have been so blessed to have such an engaged and precious group of freshmen this year and it’s always a joy to hang out with them. It has been exhausting to lead my team through daily activities while juggling the responsibilities that come with being on CSF Leadership, but the Lord has continued to prove His faithfulness as He has blessed me with the energy I am lacking at just the right time and has allowed me to have a joyful attitude and speak truth into the freshmen He has entrusted me with. On top of getting to meet tons of new friends, it’s been awesome to be reunited with precious friends, and figure out life in a new house with my sweet homies. It has been SO nice to come home to my little Dollhouse and have a room to relax and rest in and sweet housemates to laugh and decompress with. I love my new house! As I sit writing this, I am listening to my sweet homies sing beautifully as Lydia plays the piano in the room next to me. Hence why I continue to sit in my room. Untalented, party of one. Ha! Goodness, I think angels are living with me the way they sing. I could listen to this all night long…

My Sweet K-Team

Scratch

Mr. and Mrs. President Capilouto 

Sophomore Year…
I am super excited about this year and am looking forward to seeing how the Lord uses and shapes me. This year I have been blessed to have the opportunity to lead freshmen through Crazy Love by Francis Chan with a friend named, Joseph Thacker, and just learn and do life with sweet new friends. I am super excited for this and am praying that the Lord would use me to speak truth and love into their lives and would shape and grow in me so that I can lead the freshmen in the best way possible. Tonight was our first Shift and it was SO awesome to see new freshmen choosing to own their faith and come out to CSF and learn and grow in community. SO. AWESOME. After Shift, we had Shift Group sign ups and 11 sweet freshmen chose Joseph and my group. We are super excited to see where the Lord leads our group and are really looking forward to meeting and learning with our new friends!

I know that the Lord has big things in store for me this year and I am excited to see how He stretches, uses, and blesses me as I continue to seek and glorify Him in all that I do. As I start this new school year, my goals are:

Live Boldly
Think Big Picture
Serve Humbly
Pray Earnestly
Reflect Often
Think Simply (don’t overcomplicated uncomplicated things)
Study Hard
Learn Willingly
Laugh Frequently
Sleep At Night (not during the day or wee hours of the morning)
Spend Intentional Time with Friends
Spend Time Wisely
Journal Daily
Worry Less
Be Silly
Practice the Fruits of the Spirit
Take Time to Listen and Give Thanks
Exercise More

Practical Goals:

Learn How to Cook
Lean How to French Braid
Learn How to Bake
Basically, learn how to be a better housewife. Ha!

Random Thoughts and Rants…
I have been so convicted lately thinking about life and the true purpose of living on this earth. FAR too often, I make this life about me. I believe that I am starring in the Emilee Show and base too many decisions on what I want. Wake up call…this life is NOT my own. I am here for one reason and one reason alone- to love, serve, and care for people and to tell and show them the love of the Lord. It is so easy to get into a natural rhythm of going through the motions and getting caught up on worldly things, rather than keeping our eyes fixed on the Lord and allowing Him to take control of every part of our lives. Gosh, life is not supposed to be so complicated. Love people. Love God. THAT’S IT! There are so many people that need to be loved on! Goodness, I wish we could just get outside of ourselves and learn to pay attention to the people right in front of us. I've heard the phrase many times, "it's not about your ability, it's about your availability." It's time to step up and say yes to the people and opportunities the Lord presents to us and choose to live a life of total dependence on Him and His leading. I want to live a life of passion and urgency, serving a God who can do big things through little me.


I have also been convicted about the way I worship. I LOVE worshiping through music. When I listen to music, nine times out of ten, I am listening to a Christian artist. And I think that’s the problem. Rather than worshiping to the God who deserves all of my praise, I get into a habit of simply singing words to a catchy song.  Now, that’s not to say that listening to Warm 98 in the car or Hillsong as I do homework is bad, BUT it is to say that I need to truly pay attention to what I am singing and what promises I am making to the Lord. A song by Jimmy Needham speaks truth to this fact saying that “worship is more than a song.” Worship is so much more than just singing a song; it is making a declaration and promise to the Lord. I want to sing loudly and proudly and passionately to a God who hears my words and knows my heart and I want to sing with my arms stretched high, hoping to just get a few inches closer to my Father whose arms are reaching back down towards me.

This is What I Want to Look Like When I Worship...

Another way I love to worship is through prayer. How amazing is it that we have the opportunity to speak directly to the Lord of Lords? Me, Emilee Hancock from nowhere Kentucky has a direct line to the creator of Heaven and Earth. When we pray, our words do not bounce off the ceiling and do not fall on deaf ears. We serve an incredible God. Far too often, I take my prayer time for granted. I feel like many times, I am talking to the "Santa Clause" God telling Him all that I want, rather than thanking Him for the incredibly abundant blessings He pours over my life, or saying, let YOUR will be done. It's so easy to convince myself that I know best...and then I quickly realize how wrong I am. Rather than praying in a way that makes it all about me, I want to pray and make it all about the One I am praying to. I want to thank Him, praise Him, and humbly ask that His will be done in my life. All of that is easier said than done, but I know that as I seek to better love and serve the Lord, He will show me how.

Clear the Stage- Jimmy Needham

Update: Well, I have officially finished my first day of Sophomore Year! I only had three classes today, so that was super nice to be able to come back early and be in for the night. It is quite difficult to transition back into school mode rather than continue to live in my lovely state of summer bliss. I am quite overwhelmed at this point, but that seems to be the story of the first day of anything. Tomorrow will be my second first day, so once I get that out of the way, all should be well. 

Annual First Day Picture

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