Let go and Let God, really

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. ~Mother Teresa

 

Lately, this quote has been nothing but true for me. Every day is a constant battle to stay positive and encouraged and wonder am I doing this right? While there are some days that I really question myself and suck nuts. There are also those days that ROCK and confirm to me that God has a plan for me. I have already been through so many hoops of fire and hey, I am still kicking here without any burns. Today I am encouraged because I know: 

1. God has a plan for me.

 2. He won't give me anything I can't handle

 

3. He trusted his son with my world, so the least I can do is trust him with my whole heart :)

Really awesome stuff happens when you let go and let God. 

 

 xox, ya gal kendall

 

 

Lent Times

As many of you know ( hopefully), Lent began last week. While I am not Catholic  by any means, I have chosen to participate in Lent the past couple years. I have made this decision for two reasons. One to make a genuine effort to give up something that distracts me from my relationship with God and Two, to set a goal for myself and feel a sense of accomplishment upon completion. This year I gave up two things and set a few goals for myself.

1. I gave up sweets. I never realized how often and easy it is to eat sweets, especially when they are around all the time! Last year I gave up sweets for Lent and I honestly have to admit that I cheated a few times. I tried really hard to be successful, but there were too many temptations! This year, I made a promise to myself that I would not cheat and I would be successful. I have already been tempted so many times, especially because Valentine's day was one day after lent began. I even decided that I wasn't going to cheat on Sundays. Also, I am classifying sweets as desserts,chocolate,etc, NOT splenda,honey,anything with sugar, which is basically everything. So here's to being 5 days clean....from sweets that is (haha). Here are a few of my favorite "sweets" to satisfy my sweets craving.


Basically all these things contain chocolate!!!!

2. The second thing I am giving up during Lent is Twitter. If you know anything about me, social media is my thing! I am a dedicated user ADDICTED. I deleted the app from all of my devices, in order to keep myself from cheating. LET ME TELL YOU IT HAS BEEN SO HARD!!! I have definitely been tempted already many times, but I have stayed strong!!! You WILL NOT see any tweets from my twitter account @ktarps, until Easter! I hope to remember the value of real conversations and how they deepen relationships. Here's to being 5 days clean.

3. One of my goals for the Lent season, and to hopefully continue after Lent, is to drink the daily recommend amount of water. I normally drink at least a Camelbak full of water, but that is not enough!!! If I just increased my water intake to 2.5 Camelbaks. This is a very attainable goal. Not only will I feel hydrated, but water flushes out so many toxins in the body, creating an overall feeling of being healthy!!!

These are just a few of my goals for the Lent season, in hopes that I can get a brief idea of what it was like for Jesus when he sacrificed his life for us by dying on the cross. In addition to sacrificing up things that I love, I hope to find some relaxation and some feelings of accomplishments after finishing these goals!!!

Here's to being 5 days clean, only 35 left!

This is me

Two of my best friends here at UT

Couldn't be more thankful for these two, Winn and Alex.

My travel buddies. Amber and Ben

Friends since birth, literally.

One of my goals for 2013 is to start blogging 3-4 times a week. I am really unsure about who will end up reading my blog, but if I can change one person's life, then that is enough for me. I will start off my first post by introducing a little bit about myself.

    My name is Kendall Tarpley and I am currently a junior in nursing school at The University of Tennessee. I live a hectic, yet awesome life. I am surrounded by an amazing group of people that are many would call my family and friends. I live and breathe UT sports and fall in Knoxville is one of my favorite times of the year. I hail from a suburb outside of Nashville, TN and couldn't be more proud to be a Nashvillian. I have a twin brother, Ben, who is sometimes lame, but mostly awesome. I love to try new recipes, cook for my friends and family,hike, drive around with my sunroof open, and work in an area where I get to see changed lives everyday.

 As I said earlier, I am a second semester nursing student at UT and I couldn't be happier about it. Nursing school ain't no joke people. This has been one of the hardest, mentally,emotionally, and physically, yet rewarding phases of my life.  I cannot wait to see what the rest of the semester and the rest of my undergraduate career holds for me.

My hopes for this blog is to not only share blurbs about my sometimes interesting life, but also my struggles that I face every day, no matter how little or large. Here goes nothing.

My wombmate

One of my best friends, my P.I.C, and birthday twin

Two of my favorite things: My sweet Family and UT Football Saturdays

One of my besties, Alex.

My mom, Kathryn,  and Martha. Not only my best friends, but also my sorority sisters.

The Fam