a little update

so, my last blog post was about a month ago and a lot has happened in my life! i am here to give you a little update on every thing going on:

school: 

i started senior year!!! i have had a full month of english classes and club meetings. if i am being honest, the first week of school had me STRESSED ! it all hit me that i had signed up to do a lot, and this was my last year of school. after some time with counseling and Jesus i have stepped back on a few things and i am learning to say no to more things as well. besides that school is actually really good! it is already flying by but i am really enjoying all my classes !

spiritual things:

with all my stress at the beginning of the year, i’ll be honest, i was not spending a lot of time with the Lord. i was either too “busy” or “forgot.” short story, i was lazy and was not as intentional with Jesus as i should have been. as the weeks went on i really saw how it was affecting my life in every aspect. i told myself that even in my busy life, AT LEAST i would pray to Him once every night. this commitment slowly became a constant conversation throughout the day. a little thank you, a prayer request, or simply to talk about my day. it had been a long time since i was actively in conversation with Jesus and it felt so incredible! He felt close and i knew He heard every word. when you talk to the Lord you also get a bit of conviction. i knew i was lacking time in the word and He told me. this past week i am really trying to find time to rest, sit, and read. another exciting thing in my walk with the Lord is that i am co-leading a small group this year of freshman/sophomore girls ! i am beyond excited to pour into younger high schoolers. with this Abba is also teaching me a lot about overflow !

fundraising:

i have raised over $1,000 !! praising Jesus for 1/16th of my funds. i have lots of ideas and i have been so many things to help raise this money! learning a lot about thankfulness and blessings even in the small (yet mighty) donations. every bit counts, no doubt about that ! my friends and family have been so faithful and in the past two days i have sent out almost 20 supports letters! (if you want to receive one just let me know!!). also learning about what it looks like to lean into others for support, and that simply asking someone for help does not show weakness, but strength in Him ! please consider donating even a simple $5 if you can (donate button at the top or my venmo is gretchenwaters). 

routes:

the route options are opening for me in 2 DAYS !!! cannot believe that soon i will actually know where i am going! all my readers will be the first to know where i am going! please pray for discernment and guidance in that decision because i have no idea what it will look like !

other racers:

the 2019-20 gap year racers just recently launched !!!! watching people a year ahead of me embark on a similar journey to me has been crazy, and makes it all feel a little bit more real. shout out to my girl kenni for being the best and letting me follow along on her 9 months!! following and subscribing to them has been so cool!!! cannot wait to learn from them! 

alright, that is my little update for the time being until routes come out! i have a lot on my mind and thought you would want to know what’s up! thanks for following the journey already!! please subscribe to my blog for more updates like this and to follow fundraising and my own 9 months on the race!!! much love peeps 🙂

-gretchen 

ps: i challenge you to message one person right now to let them know they are seen and heard, by both you and the Lord !