It might look something like this.

Eight days till my first flight leaves for Uganda. To be honest? I’m terrified. But I’m pretty sure God has a record of working around that.

And then…some of us design and illustrate alphabet books.

Midterms as an art major are my favorite.

So last night, I opened my Bible to the Psalms (who doesn’t love them?). I settled on Psalm 18, and eventually came to verses 16-19:

He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Beautiful, right? I love the imagery, and the final phrase: he rescued me because he delighted in me. I scribbled the words in the margin–quick encouragement for a difficult day.

I woke up this morning to Monday (awful how that works out). Grabbed a yogurt from the fridge, and headed out to brave a new week. And then, scribbled in yellow chalk on the sidewalk right outside my 9am class, I saw it again.

Nothing like a recurring message of encouragement to brighten your day. So guess what? The Lord delights in you. He cares about your day, and how you feel, and the things you do and the people you meet. Everything about him radiates the fact that you are his, and he thinks the world of you. You are loved more than you know.

The Lord delights in you.

The fundraising intimidated me. But guess what? God provides. I can say that in the past tense, too–God provided me with all the funds I need for my trip next summer. And more. Who’d have thought I’d not only reach my goal, but exceed it?

So this is a thank you. I appreciate all your generous gifts and prayers and comments and kind words. While I have all the funds needed to pay for plane tickets, living expenses, vaccinations, and more, if you still feel led to give, I will be donating any excess funds at the end of the summer. (Or if you’d like to donate an SLR camera to document the trip, that’d work too!)

You are all amazing, and I am one super blessed girl. Best of all, you no longer have to put up with boring posts about fundraising goals! Isn’t that exciting?

Life is rather crazy sometimes. But in the midst of it, I want to be able to stop and remember He who provides. Everything. That, my friends, is awesome.

Well, I gained two new siblings this month. The journey that began more than two years ago was finalized in court, as we stood in front of a judge surrounded by an incredible community of friends and family.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about all the things I should say about adoption. The problem? I feel like anything I say will be either vastly inferior to reality or come across as incredibly idyllic (which would, in fact, be a misrepresentation). Because the truth is, having these two kids in our family has made life hard. But looking back, I wouldn’t want my parents to have done anything differently. Make sense?

I’m so glad Kyle Anthony and Nicole Joy are part of my life. I love their big tackle-hugs when I come home to visit, their sweet smiles, and their precious love for our family. I also love them when they’re screaming, crying, and otherwise hard to like. Mostly, I love that I’m part of a family that is awesome enough to willingly undergo more growing pains.

After all, ten really is a fabulous number.

I’m not really sure what to say. Thank you.

In the back-to-school rush, I haven’t kept the site very well updated, but I hope to be adding more art soon. If you’re interested in a painting, also remember that you’re more than welcome to request something different than what’s pictured now. I’m always up to requests!

Meanwhile, life goes on here in Abilene. I fully intend on being a better blogger during this coming semester, so more than likely you’ll be hearing from me again soon. (I know you can’t wait.)

Update: We made it. Praise God! Tickets are being booked!

January 16: Flying back to Texas. Our flight arrives at 4pm. Factor in a one-hour drive home, some time to pack the car, and a three-hour trip to Abilene, and it’ll be a rather long day.

January 17: The spring semester starts bright and early at 8am with my basic drawing class.

May 25: After a week or so back home from school, this day marks my departure from the States.

May 26: Full day layover in London. No big deal.

May 27: Early arrival at the Entebbe airport in Uganda, after which I’ll be headed to the Kasana Children’s Centre.

August 2: Back in Texas once again.

And that’s that.

In other news, you’ll see that the numbers in the sidebar to your right have changed a bit. Firstly, we reached $505 on December 31st, just in time to ring in the New Year! Secondly, with plane tickets on hold and prices a bit more predictable, my total estimated costs have dropped from $3,000 to $2,500. Pretty exciting, if you ask me.

I hope you all have been having a fabulous 2012 thus far! Personally, I love the feeling of a fresh calendar and a fresh schedule full of fresh opportunities. Let’s make 2012 a year of life lived to the fullest.

Thinking about everything 2012 holds fills me with ridiculous amounts of excitement. The spring semester at school is shaping up to be full of fantastic classes and good times, and even before that, there’s a trip to New York city with two of my sisters and some friends to look forward to. Last time I was in NYC, my 11-year-old self was a little over-stimulated and a bit scared. This time, I can’t wait to see a show on Broadway and take a stroll through Central Park in the winter.

After the semester ends, things will move rather quickly. I’m working with an agent to book plane tickets for the end of May, and then I’ll be off for the summer. It’s amazing how everything is progressing. Finances aren’t looking quite as bleak, and fundraising is making a significant dent in my estimated costs. That’s thanks to all of you, of course. I’ve been on the receiving end of some amazing generosity.

As the Christmas season reaches its climax, I hope all of you are enjoying the blessings of home, family, and friends. Continue to pray for me and my upcoming trip to Uganda, and please feel free to help push total donations up to $500. Maybe we can reach that mark by the end of the year?

Merry Christmas, everyone!

]]> http://bethmaisano.com/2011/12/looking-ahead/feed/ 4 http://bethmaisano.com/2011/12/10-things-i-learned-at-college/ http://bethmaisano.com/2011/12/10-things-i-learned-at-college/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:00:08 +0000 Beth http://bethmaisano.com/?p=1288 Well, I’ve officially survived my first semester at college. And what do I have to show for it? Allow me to make a list.

10. When professors show you the rubrik by which they will grade your work, they will indeed grade your work by this rubrik.

Sounds easy, right? It took two lousy grades to drive this point home for me.

9. If the cafeteria closes at 11:00 and it’s 10:52, you still have time to get dinner.

Note: power-walking skills may be required.

8. When you read “required textbook” on your syllabus, “required” doesn’t always mean what you think it means.

This was an expensive lesson to learn.

7. Finals week can be very relaxing.

Just five tests instead of 15 hours sitting in class? Yes please.

6. Going to bed early makes all the difference at 7am the next morning.

I discovered this during the last week of school. Definitely should have figured it out sooner.

5. On campus, it is socially acceptable to go around in public dressed in sweats, uggs, and a hoodie.

Never thought I’d stoop so low.

4. If you have confidential things to say, don’t say them in a dorm room.

I estimate the walls between rooms are approximately a quarter of an inch thick.

3. When your professor says you won’t be able to make an A if you write it the night before, he may very well be wrong.

What? Did I do this? Of course not…

2. Being a full-time student with a job and a social life is similar to running a never-ending marathon, but worse.

Not that I’ve ever run a marathon.

1. You are paying thousands of dollars to go to school here. For goodness’ sake, buy some coffee and enjoy yourself.

I recommend a raspberry white chocolate latte.

Basically, tonight is perfect.

I’ve been more than a little stressed lately, so I’m loving this. After tomorrow, there’s only one more week of school before finals. I can count my assignments due on one hand. That’s encouraging. My two weeks are in at work, which should leave me free during finals week to focus on studying. The is the home stretch.

Still, there’s so much happening, and it leaves me exhausted in every sense of the word. (Coming down with a cold really doesn’t help things.) Honestly, my biggest fears at this point are a little more long-term than impending final exams. I worry about next summer. I worry about raising the money for plane tickets before the end of the year, and paying for tuition next semester. I worry about balancing work and school and volunteer hours and time with friends. Okay, I worry a little about finals, too.

All that said, I’m not entirely certain what I’m trying to say here. It could be something really deep, but…probably not. (Possibly an indication that I should have thought a little harder about this blog post.)

I think I’ll keep listening to acoustic guitar now.