His Girl

Tebow

2012-01-22T14:45:00.000-08:00

I was thinking the other day about the people who are jumping on Tim Tebow's case about how obvious he is about his faith. He's too zealous. He's too outspoken. He's whatever happens to annoy a given person. The thing that gets me, is that most of the negative comments I hear are from Christians. And while I don't think I'm going to start Tebowing (taking a knee and praying as a celebration) every time I get the chance, I am not going to tell him to demonstrated his faith any differently just because I don't always care for his style.
Before any of us criticize, we should check our motives first. Do we criticize Tebow's outspokenness because he does too much or because we do too little? Do we poke fun at his post touchdown prayer simply because it's something we'd never do?
When I was thinking about this I was reminded of a story from 2 Samuel 6 about David's wife Michal.
Michal was watching from the window of her house as David was in the street dancing before God, celebrating the Ark of the Covenant's return. Michal was embarrassed because David, who was the king, was dancing so foolishly around in public, striped of his royal cloths. The bible says she held him in contempt for his shameless worship.
And When David returned home Michal confronted him and said sarcastically, "How distinguished the king looked today, shamelessly exposing himself before the servant girls as any vulgar person might do ...."
And David said, "I was dancing for the Lord...yes I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes!"

Every man is different. Every man's faith and beliefs are different. Every man has his own style of demonstrating what he believes. We all need to realize this and not be like Michal, who because of fear of ridicule chose to hold in contempt a demonstration of a beautiful relationship with God. She was more afraid of what others would think of her husband dancing shamelessly than how pleasing his act of worship was to God.
I feel the same way about Tebow. While I may not be as outspoken about my faith, I will not condemn him for being too much. We can never give God too much and we can never worship or demonstrate too much if our hearts are in the right place with God. Sure it may look ridiculous to some, it might even seem crazy to some, but to God it is beautiful, and I have no right to call what God deems beautiful anything less.
It's obvious to me that Tim Tebow has decided to be like David and be willing to do whatever his faith prompts him to do even to the point of looking foolish in the eyes of others. Yes, he could dial it down, or he could be less outspoken, but why would we ever want that?
James 4:17 says "It is a sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."
What if being an outspoken Christian is what Tebow feels he ought to do? For him not to follow what he knows is right because it would save him from ridicule would be a sin. And I for one don't want to cause a brother in Christ to stumble. Yes, he's outspoken, but because of him, thousands of people have heard about Christ. Yes, he's zealous, but because of him many have taken notice of what it's like to have a relationship with Christ. While I may not take the same action, I will applaud the fact that they are actions for the glory of my Lord.

"There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord."
1 Corinthians 12:4-5

Christmas in heaven...

2011-12-25T14:59:00.000-08:00

Today, a friend of mine, Hannah, who, if you recall, lost her father and was seriously injured in a car crash a few months ago, lost her mother today. Her mom, Gina, had been battling stage four cancer for a long time and lost the fight sometime today. While my heart breaks for Hannah and her family, who lost a very important person on a day usually so happy, I rejoice in the fact that Mrs. Gina's long struggle is over. I don't know how Hannah's taking it, and considering the situation I would wager not well.

Please join me in praying for comfort for Hannah and her family. Pray that all the good memories of Mrs Gina will fill them as they grieve her loss. Pray God's peace and wisdom over them as they make decisions during this difficult time.

Thank you.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Eve Eve(!!) and in all honesty is the first day I've been able to stop and relax. December is always so busy for me. If it's not a recital it's a party, if it's not a party it's a Christmas program, if it's not a Christmas program it's a test, oh and all this is on top of my normal (very busy) schedule. Anyway, it's crash time now and I get to enjoy not having to do anything for a week or so.

I thank God for everything I have and for the best gift ever, his son Jesus, who though he was God humbled himself and came to earth and was born to in a stable so that could die on so that my sins could be forgiven. Christ's love is the real meaning of Christmas to me.

Now to you and your's, I wish a Merry Christmas wherever you are. May you have a blessed season and a joyful New Year.

Fall, Fall, Fall!

2011-11-11T13:14:00.000-08:00

I love fall. The colors, the cooler weather, I love everything about fall except the time change. That said here are some pictures that's I've been taking of the prettiness.

Baby Justice

2011-10-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

There are days when we realize just how fragile life is. I had one yesterday. Baby Justice, the one from my last post, passed away yesterday after only twenty-eight days of life. However short this baby's life was his impact was beyond what many accomplish in twenty-eight years. People who had never prayed talked to God on account of this little boy, people who didn't believe in God found the Way to God's love because they wanted the best for Justice. The impact of a little boy who never left the hospital touched lives across the country. I'm so grateful to have been allowed to know of and pray for this baby boy. My life is different for it and I thank God for that.

Prayer Request

2011-10-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

Please join me in praying for Justice Micah. He was born a couple of weeks ago with major heart problems. He's already had multiple surgeries and is still on ECMO. They're trying to take him off ECMO but he hasn't been in good enough condition to take him off. Please pray for fast recovery for Justice, peace for his family, and wisdom for his medical team.

Thanks You.

Welcome Autumn

2011-10-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

Hannah

2011-09-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

Hannah is doing great! So thank you for all your prayers. She's still in the hospital but she's awake and doing well. She's had all her surgeries for now and will spend a little while longer in the hospital before going to rehab for several more weeks. She is of course still having a tough time with the lose of her dad and being injured so badly so still keep her and her family in your prayers. If all goes well she should be back and better soon.

Thanks!

2011-09-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, still keep my friend from the last post in your prayers. She's awake and has had her surgeries and is on the long road to recovery. Also pray for her and her family as they continue to grieve the loss of her dad.

For Hannah

2011-09-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

There are somethings in life you never expect to have to learn so soon. One of those things happened for me this week. A friend of mine was in a car wreck Wednesday night. Her dad was killed in the wreck. She was seriously hurt. She's in the hospital now in an induced coma in the ICU. I'm still in shock that this happened. It's really hit close to home with me. I saw her two days ago and now she's laying in a hospital bed in really bad shape. And she doesn't even know her dad is dead. Life is so hard and so fragile.

This is all coming in the midst of a series my youth pastor's doing called One Month To Live. As much as I've been thinking about how short life can be I never thought something would happen to make me face this fact. I never dreamed that two weeks into this series a friend of mine would be laid up in a hospital bed after almost dying.
It's really driven home the fact that the question "What would you do if this were your last day on earth?" isn't just a nice phrase to get you thinking. It's not just something people ask to get you to life right. It's serious. Sometimes, today is all we have. We're not invincible like so many people think they are. Our lives could end at any moment. I don't mean to be morbid, but it's what's on my heart. I forget way too much that I'm not in control of my life. Plan as I may, one act of Fate can change everything.
One thing that know is that in all this God is working. Even though this situation with my friend is crazy and awful I know God is right there in the midst of it. Even when we question "Why" he's still God, he's still there, and he's working in whatever is going on even if we can't see him.
The book of Ester is a great reminder of this. Ester went through so much. She lost her parents, was raised by a cousin, and was taken into the king's harem with our promise of being anything more than a concubine. However God had other plans. The she found favor with the king and was made queen. While she was queen, she got word of a plot of a mass killing of her people. Because of her station, she was able to save her people. Strangely, not one time in this book is God mentioned yet he is clearly present in every event that takes place.
This is such a comfort to me. To know that even when I can't see what's going on or what God intends to do, that he is always present even if we can't see or hear him.

Please join me in praying for my friend and her family. They have a long, rough road ahead of them.

A Mile In Their Shoes

2011-09-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

I read a quote the other day that I really like. It says,

"Before you judge someone you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you do judge them, you're a mile away and have their shoes."

I forget who said it but I find it rather funny.

College Mail

2011-09-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

Years ago when I was just a tiny tot I loved getting mail. I would ALWAYS ask if anything had come for me and on the rare occasion that there was something in the stack for me, my excitement would go through the roof. As I grew from there my excitement would be still be present but I had adopted the preteen attitude of indifference. However, when I hit Junior year mail started coming in right and left. The longest I could go without getting mail was a couple of days. And when I really thought I couldn't get anymore, Senior year happened. Not a day has gone by that I have not had some form of mail. All of it has been from colleges and all of it has gotten old. I don't want any more college mail!

That all changed yesterday. I've applied to couple of places and got the first response back yesterday.

It's from this place. Lee University. The place I want to go. And guess what? I'm in. I've been accepted!
I'm too excited for words! T
his is such an answer to prayers.

John Wesley's Quote

2011-08-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

John Wesley said the quote that is in that picture. I didn't realize the significance of it when I first saw it though. I thought, "That's a neat saying," and I moved on. It turns out that back in Wesley's day saying something like this was a very controversial statement. You see, back then a minister's parish was all he was in charge of. He took care of the people in that parish and that was it. He wasn't to be concerned about anyone outside of that. So for John Wesley to say he was concerned about the world had to be mind blowing for those who heard. It's awesome to know such things were being said by such men as John Wesley. Without those like him sharing this world view Christianity would not be as it is today and it would not have spread to so many people. I'm thankful men like Wesley stuck their necks out and said radical things.

More From Europe

2011-08-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

This is the barbed-wire fencing around the top of the cliff at Point Du Hoc. It kind of surprised me how close you could get to to it. I'm pretty sure in the States you couldn't get within five feet of the edge.

Here's Big Ben. Except not really. Big Ben is the bell inside so this is technically just the Clock Tower. I like Big Ben better.

In all honesty I don't know whet this building is. Any guesses?

Best Bus Groups Ever! SLU 301 Bus Four.

This is from sailing across the English Channel. I like the random boat in it.

A street in London with double decker buses. In case you couldn't tell from the picture...

The crater holes at Point Du Hoc. It just looks like rocky hills but it's not. They're holes made by shells. It was eye-opening seeing these in person.

View of the cliffs at Point Du Hoc. They're 1000 feet tall and soldiers climbed them in the rain, on wet ropes, while being shot at. I can't imagine what it was like and just how impossible the task they face seemed to them.

Flags at Omaha Beach. I got to see the flag raising ceremony for this and it was quite nice.

Grave cross at Normandy American Memorial Cemetery.

The Eiffel Tower. I didn't go up, it was too expensive and I didn't have time. However, I did spend time around the bottom of it and it's truly massive.

A shot of Point Du Hoc. You can see those same cliffs at a different angle too.

Tower Bridge in London. It was pretty.

SLU 301

2011-08-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

I've been putting this off for a week but I'm finally going to make myself blog about my trip that I didn't even post I was taking. I started to post before hand but got caught up in the prep. Anyway, last week I was in England and France for Student Leadership University 301. It was an amazing experience! For a little background I'll explain SLU. It's a leadership training program for students. There are multiple levels starting with 101 and going up to 401. 101's in Orlando and other places. It kicks off the program and introduces how to lead as a Christian. The next level is 201 and it is in Washington D.C., that one is about having the heart of a patriot and leading in your country. The next level is 301 and that is in Europe and it is what this post will be about.

Like I said, last week I was in England and France. I left the 23rd of July with a small group from my church and boarded a plane bound for Heathrow Airport in London. I can't explain how excited I was. This was to be my first time out of the U.S. and I was stoked for it to be to Europe. The plane ride was uneventful and long. We landed in London and spent the day sight seeing adjusting to the time change (i.e. a six hour difference) by not long after a dinner of fish and chips (what else would we have?) we went back to the hotel and hit the sack.

The next day we headed out early to the airport to meet up with the other groups from SLU and then head to Stonehenge. And yes, it was a huge pile of rocks but it was an awe inspiring pile of rocks. These stones were massive, at least two or three stories high. It's amazing to think that men, without the aide of heavy machinery set those rocks in place. We had our orientation on a field near Stonehenge where we were introduced to probably the most important tip about travel ever given: If there's a bathroom use it because there my not be one where your going. The rest of the day was spent on the ferry crossing the English channel to France.

Day two was touring the beaches of Normandy. This was such a surreal experience for. I've seen documentaries on the D-Day invasions and seen plenty of footage on the beaches but I never pictured them to be like they really are. Omaha Beach, where the worst fighting happened looked like any other beach but knowing what happened there and how many lives were lost there made it so much more. The truly eye opening visit was to Point Du Hoc. Before the invasion this was a flat piece of land that led to a thousand foot cliff and into the channel waters. The Germans set up defense there and had four huge guns. The Allis had to take this spot. On the morning of June 6, 1944, a battalion of Rangers landed at Point Du Hoc. These men scaled those thousand foot cliffs on ropes, in the rain, while being shot at. The fact that these men held this spot for two days with no relief is amazing. Because of the bravery of these men and countless others, Europe isn't under control of the Nazis. I'm so grateful for their "sacrifice of tomorrows." We learned on those beaches just what and how those soldiers, most the same age as many of us. We learned that dispute the odds or challenges we must overcome when the cause is freedom.

Paris was next. I loved the history of the places we visited. Notre Dame was amazing and in all honesty the first thing that popped into my head was that Disney got the details right. The Louvre was next and I didn't like it at all. The place was amazing. The art was amazing. But all the other thousands of people there didn't make it easy to enjoy. I wish I'd had time to look at all the rooms of stuff there but it just wasn't possible. Next was Rodin's Garden. I loved this place. I may just have been the fact that I went from mass chaos to peace but I loved it all the same. Rodin's famous for his bronze sculptures including the Gates of Hell and the Thinker. The Thinker is somewhat of a symbol of the SLU program. It serves as a reminder that life's decisions must be thought through and not taken lightly. It was awesome to see this statue in person. Of course we saw the Eiffel Tower it's massive to say the least. I didn't get to go up because of time but it was neat to look around at that place.

The next day we headed back to London. This is where my favorite parts start happening. We headed over on the Euro Star, so I have now been over and under the English channel. Once we got back to London we went straight to St. Paul's Cathedral. I can't explain just how much I loved St. Paul's. It was absolutely beautiful. I so wish I could have taken pictures and captured some of the prettiness but it wasn't allowed. St. Paul's has a huge dome and that dome has stairs you can climb up. There are three hundred and something stairs to climb to get to the top of St. Paul's. I climbed them all. It was awesome until I got half way up and remembered I'm afraid of heights and don't like being able to see through what I'm walking on (the spiral stairs in the dome combined those two things). After a very slow climb, I made it to the top. The view was awesome and I'm so glad I went up. After lunch, we went to Westminster. For those of you who followed the Royal Wedding, you'll recognize this as the place where Prince William and Catherine were married. It was neat to be in the place but it was strange being in a church where so many people are buried. The church was beautiful and, being the music nut I am, the organ fascinated me. Everything was very ornate and you could feel the history in the room. We also visited the Churchill war cabinet rooms where Churchill and his staff worked during WWII. It was neat to be in there too.

The next day was graduation and as part of our address, Churchill's grandson was there to speak to us and answer questions about his grandfather and grandmother. I was cool to hear a first hand account of someone so historically important. Our final address was given by Dr. Jay Strack, the creator of this program, and he spoke about always doing your best. I'll have to write a post about that later. After we graduate we headed off to Oxford and hit the town. We got to wonder around for a while and just take in the city before we had a session at the Church where C.S. Lewis attended. I really liked Oxford. It was a busy town but not a busy city, which I liked. There were a bunch of people but it is a university town, what do you expect? Oxford is beautiful and it's the first college I've ever been to that goes back several centuries. LIke I said we had a session in the Church where C.S. Lewis attended. That was neat. There wasn't really all that much left of this day. We ate and then went back to the hotel.

The next and final day was spent in London. We saw Abbey Road, one of the studios the Beatles recorded in, and the cross walk where that album cover was shot. Photos were taken and drivers made mad by the many teens trying to cross an actual street. We then went to the American embassy and walked around in the park in front of it. It was nice there. When then went to John Wesley's chapel and had a session. I had the chance to go in with a small group and tour Wesley's house which I will also have to post about separately. We went to several other museums but in all honesty I can't remember much about them. Our final stop was Windsor Castle. This place was massive and beautiful. It was fun just walking around Windsor and I enjoyed just being able to chill and be a tourist, not that we didn't tour all the other days...Anyway. WIndsor was a nice way to finish off the trip. That night we had closing sessions, but like the other two things, that will have to be another post for another day.
We flew home the next morning and since this is an already long post I won't write any more for your sake and my own.

Question

2011-07-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

What would happen if we stopped looking at God through our problems and started looking at our problems through God?

Why you should always check locks....

2011-07-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

I babysat a little girl yesterday for the first time. She's a five year old ginger (redhead) and is a complete ball of spitfire and goofiness. It was a long day (I was there from before eight to a little after three) but was fun in it's own way. I played five games of Candyland, Yatzee (I didn't know a five year old could like that game), Go Fish, and several others. Along with all the games we played I was informed of several facts about her family. I can honestly say, if you don't want something know, don't tell a five year old.
However, the high point of the day was when we were coming back inside from playing catch. We walked up on the deck and I grabbed the door handle and...it was locked. I thought the lock was like the one at my house, you know the typical if the lock tab is side to side it's unlocked. That was not true for this locked. After that revelation I had to figure out what to do. It was too hot (an extremely humid 95) to stay out side for long. The child and I walked around the house trying every door. All were locked. I called her mom, no answer. I tried the door again hoping I had just turned it the wrong way. It was locked. I called her mom again, no answer. Finally I just went and sat on the front porch with the child so we'd at least be in the shade. I finally got ahold of her mom and she called her dad to come over and unlock the door. So after a fifteen minute waiting, telling an impatient five year old how many minutes were left, we got in.
Thanks to this days first time experience, I will now always check locks.

Oh Beautiful

2011-07-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good
With brotherhood
From sea to shinning sea

Happy Fourth of July.

Perspective

2011-06-29T19:03:00.000-07:00

2011-06-27T19:02:00.001-07:00

I'm getting there

2011-06-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

It's taken me a long time to admit to myself that I'm a senior. For the longest time it has been going to be one next year or I will be soon and other excuses like that. Well that next year is quickly approaching. In fact, I'm just about to the half way mark of my limbo between junior/senior year: mid-summer.
I've been busy. Very busy. I've worked VBS, attended a orchestra camp, taken part of an ACT prep course, purchased a new viola, and numerous other things. It's been a great summer so far. I'll try to sum up with pictures.

VBS 2011 was New York themed. I' worked in music teaching 1st through 4th grades the motions to the music. It was so much fun! The picture is of me and my friend Morgan on one of our group's dress up days. This was taken on tourist day. Oh and we are aware that we're wearing D.C. shirts in N.Y.

This picture is from the final concert of Belmont's Strings Crossing, which is the orchestra camp I attended. The camp was very intense and a lot of hard work but all that made me learn so much.

This is me with the quartet I was in at camp. We played a Haydn quartet and rocked it. It was VERY hard and we had to pull a lot together in a little time but we did it. These girls are such great players and I'm so glad I got to work with them.

Lastly, this is my new viola. It's a beautiful new instrument with a gorgeous sound and I can't wait to keep improving over my senior year on this instrument.

With all of this summer stuff going on it's getting me so excited for my senior year. Wrapping up all my high school stuff is starting to present itself as just a challenge than a threat and college is no longer a distant fear but a upcoming adventure. I know God has big plans for this coming school year and beyond and I just can't wait to see what they are.

They're graduating?

2011-05-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

I've never had so much trouble wrapping my head around the fact that this year's seniors are not going to be here next year. I'm in the process of coming to terms with me being a senior but it hadn't hit me that that meant the now graduating seniors weren't going to be there. It finally hit me this weekend as I was sitting in my best friend's graduation that I'm still in high school and she isn't. I'm not gonna lie, I got misty eyed at that thought. And it again hit me after my church's graduation service on Sunday: My senior friends are going away. I can't get it into my head that this time has finally come. I'm going to miss all of these people so much. Grant it, I haven't always gotten along with everyone over the years, but they're still my friends and I've still spent four plus years seeing them every week. It's going to be so strange for them not to be around come September.
All of these people have meant so much to me. We've grown up, played, and learned together. We've served, taught, and prayed together. I can't imagine the last few years my life without everyone of them in it.
So here's to you Class of 2011. May God bless and keep you as you step out into the rest of your lives.

A Flood of Memories

2011-04-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

In a few days it will mark the one year anniversary of the May Flood that hit Nashville and its surrounding areas. Along with this event has come in a torrent on severe storms and LOTS of rain. It is not making for a marker for all who went through what last year brought. Roads, schools, and bridges are closing as the rain falls. Ponds, streams, creeks, and rivers are rising to or beyond their flood stages. And the rain is still falling. People in flood prone areas who have just finished rebuilding are being told to leave their homes yet again. I can't begin to imagine what they're feeling. The memories are bad enough for me even though nothing I own was damaged. It's these memories however, that remind me how blessed to live on a hill. That something that simple keeps me from the damage so real to others I know. I'm beyond thankful for God's providence.
I was thinking about all this this morning as I went about getting ready for the day and I said in a prayer, "God please don't let it flood again." Almost immediately a chorus of a song popped into my head. It was the song "Let the Waters Rise" by the band Mikes Chair. The chorus says, "Let the waters rise if you want them to I will follow you. I will follow you."
That reminded me how God works through things. I'm just supposed to follow where he's going with it. God will use a flood this year just like he used the one a year ago. Maybe we needed to have a reminder of what happened a year ago. Like how everyone pulled together to help there own. How there was no looting, just neighbors helping neighbors. How people who didn't even know what they would find rushed into neighborhoods and houses to help people out of houses that were soon to be flooded. The May Flood of 2010 showed just what Tennesseans were made of. And believe me, what was shown makes me proud to this day to say I'm from Tennessee.
God has a plan for this reminder of all we went through last year and if that be waters rising again, I'll follow him.

Clear Winged Hummingbird Moth

2011-04-24T15:54:00.000-07:00

I was out taking pictures yesterday when I spotted the interesting creature, seen in picture number four. It was, as you can see an odd looking bug, almost a mix between a bee and dragonfly. I was intrigued so I snapped a few shots, not an easy task because it kept moving, so I could show my family and see if they knew what it was. They didn't. I then uploaded the photo to Facebook and asked if anyone knew what it was. After a few funny and punny comments I got an answer. It is a Hummingbird Moth and more specifically a Clear Winged Hummingbird Moth. Mystery solved. And I have a renewed sense of just how creative the Creator is.

"Just enough clouds for a sunset"

2011-04-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Surrendered.

2011-04-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed that there are some things you do for so long that you don't even realize you're doing that until it hits you in the face.
I've done that with God and I didn't even see until I gave up the fight that I had even been fighting.
I've felt God's Calling on my life for about four months now. It's not specifically to missions or ministry or the like just a strong feeling that there's something more that He has planned that wasn't in the life I was planning. However, I did not want to give up MY plans. I wanted both and I was being stubborn trying to figure out how I could have both. How I could go and do what i wanted and still be in God's will.
A couple of weeks ago I had the definite thought, "I feel God's calling on my life." It was the first I'd ever admitted that to myself and it caught me off guard. I had no idea how to explain the feelings I was having. They conflicted so much. I wanted to submit to God's calling but I still wanted to do what I wanted to do and that had me so entirely mixed up.
Last Wednesday my youth minister spoke from Ecclesiastes 5. One of the points he mentioned from that scripture was that sometimes what we want and dream is not what God has for us. We fight and fight and fight some more to keep what we want when we have no right to do that. God is God and we are simply human. That hit me hard and unlocked all of what I had been feeling in regards to my calling. I knew right then that I had been fighting for my wants and not letting God show me what he had in store for me, even though I had prayed for him to reveal that very thing. I told God what I had in mind and wanted to be shown that I was right.
When I realized this I broke inside. All I could think was "I surrender. I surrender." I gave up the fight. Alter call came and I knelt and prayed over and over "I surrender." No two words have ever felt so good or so right.
I surrendered to God's calling.
When I stood back up and went back to my seat I felt the nudge from inside me to tell my youth minister. I pushed it down of course. I needed more time to process. At least that's what I told myself. I know it was God telling me this because the invitation kept being played longer so I gave in a told. Mike (the youth pastor) was so happy. At the end of the service he called me up and shared with the youth my decision to surrender to God's ministry. I just about lost it when I saw my two closest friends faces. They were so happy for me, though their joy was and is nothing compared to the joy I have over this decision.
I can't begin to put into words the peace I have felt this past week. It's a peace that surpasses all things, just like is promised in the Bible. I know so much less about my life and what I'm going to do than I did before, but that in turns makes me know so much more (if that makes any sense). Knowing that I don't have to know what I'm going to do takes some much of the pressure I put on myself. I can't put it in a better way than how I answered a question about what I was called to by a friend that Wednesday.
"I don't know what I'm called to...I'm just willing. That's my calling now...Whatever God wants me to do is what I'm going to do."

Titus 2:11-15

2011-03-28T06:39:00.000-07:00

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blesses hope- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that ate his very own, eager to do what is good.
These, then, are the things you should teach.
Encourage and rebuke with all authority.
Do not let anyone despise you.

2011-03-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

"Look at your problems in the light of God's power instead of looking at God in the shadow of your problems."
God is good all the time. He never changes even when we feel as if he does. We're the ones who change and forget who God is. We play the blame game when something goes wrong because obviously nothing could be our fault when usually it is. Making mountains out of mole hills, we become depressed by the issues of everyday life. We let the shadows overpower us.
Stepping back and looking at our problems through God's light allows us a unique perspective. In God there is no darkness, so when his light shines on anything we see it for what it really is. No longer are things problems but lessons. and that mountain? Well, it's now seen as the little pile of dirt it really is.

"It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." Eleanor Roosevelt

For once...

2011-03-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

The groundhog was right. We did get an early spring. At least Tennessee did. We've had above average highs for this time of year and I'm loving it. I've had picnics and played tennis in the park with some of my friends, gone for afternoon runs down my road and just sat and read on the front porch. It's so good to be outside again. I'm so happy right now and I know it's because of the sun being out.
This is always a favorite time of year for me. The changing from one season to another is so refreshing that I just can't get enough of it.

Here are some pictures of the newness growing around here. Hope you enjoy!

Single's Awareness Day

2011-02-14T13:03:00.000-08:00

Paul said this in Galatians 7
"But God gives to some the gift of singleness and to other the gift of marriage(or relationship)."

When I first read this verse it confused me. Singleness a gift? How can that be? By this time I was toying with the ideas of dating or waiting,and could not decide or imagine that being alone and boyfriednd-less as a gift. It may have been considered that for some, but for me it was still nuisance.
I was talking to my friend about it and she had already sort of dated and realized it wasn't for her. She was saying that she was going to enjoy being single while she could, since most of her life (she hoped) she would not be single. I was reminded of that verse. Is that what it meant? I didn't know. But I planned to figure it out so I looked up the verse in my Message Bible to see how that translation worded it. It said,

Don't be wishing you were somewhere else or with someone else, where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your relationship status defines you.

I understood then. Singleness isn't just not dating. It's God's place for me to be. If he wanted me to date he would have sent a boyfriend. If he wanted me to be in school and not homeschool he would have sent me there. If he wanted me to be six foot three he would have made me just that. But he didn't. Or he hasn't yet. But if he wants to he will (I hope not the six foot three thing. That would be strange) and I hope to be waiting and willing whenever he decides to put me in a different place.
Singleness is a gift to be treasured just as much as marriage or a relationship is to be. There are tons of good things each offers and each has to be thankful for.
So today, Valentine's Day, or whatever day you happen to be in, remember you are in the place God wants you to be. Live and love there, letting God define you.

2011-02-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 1:18

2011-01-29T19:24:00.000-08:00

So. Much. Snow.

2011-01-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

We have had an abnormal amount on snow here over the past month. We've had two storms that have dumped 4+ inches plus another two that went from rain to snow causing bad icy conditions. I know what you may think. Four inches isn't all that big of a deal. Well it is here. People go nuts over snow here. Freaking out about every snowflake, schools cancel for a threat of snow. At least it seems that way. I've had cabin fever bad too. Our driveway and road are impassable for more than 24 hours after a long snow or overnight storm. It got to the point that I was trying to find a reason to go anywhere, whether that be just a trip to the store or something along that line. Having all this snow produced some really good photos. I hope you enjoy!

Change

2011-01-22T16:00:00.000-08:00

It surprises me sometimes how much can change in a year. Whether that be physically, emotionally, or spiritually. A lot can happen in 365 days. Knowing how fast things can change, I'm still caught off guard when changes happen. Suddenly I realize that freshman dude is actually taller than me (which is happening more and more. I think it's the water, because I know a lot of tall freshmen), or I realize I don't feel the same way about this subject or that, or I realize I can't go to sleep without getting into God's Word first. That's happened to me a lot over this past year. I feel like I've changed.As strange as it is to say, I've gotten to know myself better. I'm more at ease with who I am and I've accepted who I am and who's I am.

"Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
Isaiah 43:1 b

I don't know if you know what a comfort that is but I can assure you it is an amazing one. To know that no matter what God calls me his own. Nothing is better, once you can accept it.
Choosing to accept that I am God's was hard for me. It wasn't so much him calling me his own but that he created me to be his own. That he created me, as I am, for his purpose. I couldn't wrap head around God wanting me to be this way. I didn't know what God would do with me and why he would make me as he did.
If the Bible tells us to have a gentle and quite spirit, why would God give me a restless spirit that is hard to keep quiet? If I'm to follow God why did he make me so independent? If he wants me to do -blip- why did he make me so -blip-? These were things I asked over and over and over again. I really wanted to know why I had to be me and why He hadn't made me more like -blip- person.
Over the past year though I had to take a really good look at myself. I saw that I really didn't know what made me tick and such. I began a Bible study at church called "Experiencing God," I've talked about it before I think, and it is what really helped open my eyes to how God worked in me. I kept asking the same questions throughout the first few weeks of this study and I finally got an answer. I asked one more time why I could be a certain way and I felt God say, "Because you're you."
That caught me off guard. I knew God had made me on the outside as he wanted me to be but to think he had made me what I am inside. He made me, and designed each quality, good and bad, specifically for his person. If I were independent, it would not be a lesson for me to have to follow him. If I wasn't so restless inside, I would never want to know what was beyond what I know now. Realizing this has opened so many doors in my mind. It has opened me up to things I never would have been open to before. God knows what's going to happen in my life. He knows who I'm going to become. He knows all this because I am His. Thank you God for knowing what you were doing!

Sometimes we want to change things that weren't meant to be changed. And sometimes things change in ways we swore would never happen. It's about be open and willing to wait to see what God is trying to do with this change of view, venue, or what in your life is changing.

I hope you enjoyed.

I like my lunchbox

2011-01-16T18:43:00.000-08:00

The Little Things Like Blowing Your Nose

2011-01-12T17:24:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure (NOT) of having my wisdom teeth out. I got through the pain after a rough time with the medicine, many hours of ice pack and frozen peas on my chipmunk looking cheeks, and a couple of weeks of not being able to open my jaw as wide as I would like to. There was one thing though that got me. One of my upper wisdom teeth was in my sinus and when removed left a hole that needed to be stitched up. This isn't as bad as it sounds. It only bothered me the day of my surgery. I did however have a long list of things to do and not do in order to care for these stitches. One was not to blow my nose. For two weeks. This wouldn't have been so bad if I had been able to take the cold medicine they suggested but I couldn't take it. I got a cold.
I never realized how much I would want to blow my nose until I couldn't.
That happens a lot in life. Ha ha! I did find a parallel to this!
It's easy to talk a big game and take for granted the little things we can do. Like walking or talking or blowing your nose. We don't think twice before walking across the room to get something. We don't pay attention to how much we use our voice to communicate.
I've had time to think about these things. I learned very quickly how much I liked being able to walk without pain. When I lost my voice, I saw how much I needed it. Having a stopped up nose and not being able to do anything about it, I realized how something as simple as that could make such a big difference.
Needless to saw I can now blow my nose. I was able to yesterday. It was glorious (if blowing your nose can be that).
So after you read this think about some small stuff that can make a big difference.

P.S. It's been snowing for three days here. I'm not happy about it. People get crazy when there are flakes a fallin'. Last week there were schools closed point three inches of snow. Oh the joys of southern living!!! Oh Some places have over a foot of snow. Can you believe there is over a foot of snow somewhere south of Nashville. That's crazy!

"they prove they are God's children,"

2011-01-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

I was paid a very good compliment today. It had nothing to do with what I was wearing or how I did my hair, which made it meaningful to me.
I was visiting my horseback riding instructor, Lindsey. She had a baby three months ago, and I hadn't seen them since she was a newborn. I'm going to do some painting for the baby's room so my mom and I went over there to visit. After talking for awhile, Lindsey said how her and her husband had talked and said that if their kids ended up like me and Lauren (another girl that I ride with) that they'd be fine.
This means a lot to me. Not just that someone would say that, though that means a lot. But to hear it coming from her means so much more to me. Lindsey has been a great person to have in my life. She's taught me so much. Whether that be how to handle a horse, or to share a verse of scripture that helps to wrangle fear, or to swallow that fear and put my big girl panties on. All these things I owe to her. It's a good feeling, a feeling of honor, to know she and her husband think so highly of me.
Trying to live my life by God's standards, means not always getting noticed. Well it gets you noticed, but people tend to turn it into a negative."You don't do that?" is something I hear a lot. They just assume that I've seen those movies, or that I talk that way. When they find out I don't, they're shocked because they're not used to someone who doesn't do that.
It's a humbling experience when a parent tell me that I'm a good influence on their kids and that they wouldn't mind if they turned out like me. I feel like I'm doing right when they say that. And that's a better reward than my peers thinking I'm "cool." I don't want to be cool if their standard of cool is what it is. It wouldn't be worth losing my witness over.

1 John 1:11
Dear friend, don't let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God's children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.

So thank you Lindsey for saying that. It means the world to me.

2011-01-04T14:31:00.000-08:00

"Why are you so angry?” the LORD asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”
Genesis 4:6-7

2010-12-20T17:42:00.000-08:00

An event out of your control sent you,
Your brotherhood made you strong
For your country's freedom you've fought
So in this Holiday season
Which leaves you so far from home
God Bless you, our soldiers,
and bring you safely home.

Magnify: to extol; glorify

2010-12-16T18:02:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about how Mary must have felt when the angel came and told her she was going to give birth to the Messiah. It would having been scary enough having an angel appear in front of you but to have one show up and tell you you're going to have a kid, who by the way is the Savior of the World. Can you say mind blowing?

Mary accepted this with such grace though. She asked one question. "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" (that's a pretty big question but it's a lot less than I would have asked.)

The angel explained that the Holy Spirit would come over and she would conceive and give birth to a son, For nothing is impossible with God. I don't know that I could handle this like Mary did. It would be wonderful to be used by God in such a way but it would be tough because people would not believe a story like that.

"Yeah an angel came and told me that I'm going to have a baby and he's going to be a Messiah."

Would you believe that it a friend said that to you? I wouldn't. I can't imagine how Mary's family took that. In the Bible, it even said Joseph was going to secretly divorce Mary. Mary took this all in stride. Despite all the ridicule and speculation she went trough, Mary praised God. Saying, "My soul doth magnify the Lord!"

I pray that I may be able to do just. No matter the situation, no matter the calling God gives to me. I want to be able to say, "My soul doth magnify the Lord."

SNOW!!! Well....this is ice in the pictures.

2010-12-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

We found the Fisheye :)

2010-11-27T12:28:00.000-08:00

2 Timothy 3:16-17

2010-11-16T05:51:00.000-08:00

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach is what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.

It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

God uses it to prepare and equip his people

to do every good work.

This past weekend my youth group hosted a DNow weekend. It's pretty much a stay at home retreat where we brought in SWAT (students with a testimony) to be our councilors. It was great. For me, it's a jump start in the middle of the semester to get me back into wanting to be on fire for God. This year's theme was Get Off The Fence. Read Revelation 3:15 and it will get you a good idea of how God feels about people stuck in the middle.

I didn't feel like I learned much new but I was reminded of several things. One of those was just how important scripture memorization is. Reading your Bible is sometimes put in a higher place than hiding God's word in your heart and don't get me wrong reading your Bible is VERY important but so is memorizing scripture. I forget that. I just read and say "Oh that's an awesome verse," and then forget about it. Then when I need that verse I can only remember the gist of it.

A couple of my friends and I are going to work on that. We've agreed to memorize a verse a week and hold each other accountable. This is going to be a good challenge for all of us. My verse for the week is at the top. I thought it was a good verse to jump start why I'm memorizing God's Word.

So to equip and prepare myself I hide God's Word in my heart.

All Things

2010-10-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

"I want Thy plan, O God, for my life. May I be happy and contented whether in the homeland or the foreign field; whether married or alone; in happiness or sorrow; health or sickness; prosperity or adversity- I want Thy plan, O God, for my life. I want it; oh I want it!" Oswald J. Smith

That is pretty much my new favorite quote. It puts into words what I'm praying for in my life right now. To want God's plan. And I do. It's unnerving at times because I don't know the what's, when's, who's, and how's. But I'm learning to be more patient every day. I'm trusting God to show me what to do. I'm trusting God to take me where he wants me to go. I'm trusting God to show me who to meet. And I'm trusting God to show me how to do what he wants me to do.

It is not easy and I'm not perfect. I can't do much on my own. There are some things, small things, that I can do but when it comes to the big stuff it usually doesn't turn out so good. But that's a great thing about God. He doesn't need us and our little abilities. He doesn't need the professional singer to lead people in worship. He doesn't need the person with the biggest faith to go Africa and be a missionary. He doesn't need us to do. He needs us to be willing.

Jesus said "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can say to this mountain "move" and it will move."

Can you believe that? Faith the size of a mustard seed. Do you know how small a mustard seed is? It's TINY. And Jesus said if you have faith of that size you could move mountains. Isn't that amazing!!! I think it's beyond amazing. The fact that God can use mustard sized faith to move mountains blows my mind. I tend to get stuck in the rut of "I don't have the faith to do..." and that's wrong to think. When we say we can't do something we're saying God can't do something and HELLO ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!!! Not just the somethings that we can do but ALL THINGS.

Never forget that God can do all things through you. Just because you can't (humanly speaking) move mountains does not mean God can't move mountains using you. "The word 'No' and 'Lord' do not go together in the Christian vocabulary."

fall. Fall! FALLLL!!!!

2010-10-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

Fall goes by quick here in Tennessee. Luckily I was able to get quite a few good pictures of the scenery. Enjoy!!

"..For whatever is in your heart determines what you say."

2010-10-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

That's Matthew 12:34. Jesus said that. And of course it is very true.

I was reminded of that verse a couple of weeks ago in youth group. We were playing this game where you had to talk for thirty seconds without saying "um," on a given subject(it's harder than you think. You should try it sometime). Well I was the Junior representative for the game and my subject was what I wanted to be when I grow up. I proceed to talk about what I wanted to be and how looking for colleges was kind of hard and stressful and how they all could look forward to that and so on and so forth.

I had never had my heart revealed to me like that.

I was so bummed and shocked when I realized that I'd let my heart be filled with all this stress and worry. I just assumed that when I "gave" things up to God that it was all good. But (as I've done many many times) I didn't give it all up. I gave up enough to get me to sleep at night.

God knew I needed a wake up call and he used me spilling my guts in a silly game to show me that he wasn't the center of my heart anymore. He knew I was going to drive myself bonkers if I didn't see that I had all this stress pent up in me. And he was right. He always is. He's got my future all planned out. He declared, "I know the plans I have for you."

That verse is used a lot. It's such a great verse but I think we don't take it as we really should. We think, "Oh God's got a plans for me!! That's great. I'm going to sit here and help him work it out." At least I think that (a lot). What we don't think is "God's got a plan for me and he's going to use me as he wants me to, to do what he wants me to." We think we're the co-pilots and we're not. We are along for the ride to the destination God has for us.

It's a strange and hard idea to get used to. Everything in us wants to figure out and plan out and imagine out how everything's going to be. We say I'm going here. I'm doing this. It's going to happen there. Every detail is stressed, worried, planned, set into motion, and then is lost because it wasn't what or how God wanted it to be.

I don't say that to make it sound like God is a dream squasher or plan crusher. He's not. He'll listen to your plans and then he may say "Yes," to them. He may say, "No," to them. And he may even say "Wait." <-- (That's the hardest one.) In the end God's way trumps all. He's God. He knows all and can do all. Whether or not we let him lead us willingly into his plan or we stumble over our own and have God's (greater, bigger, better) purpose revealed to us, is the key.

Hope this helps you.

Later.

Fall is in the air...

2010-10-09T17:08:00.001-07:00

Everyday but today.

This past week has been seasonably cool ( maybe a little too cold) but it has been glorious. I've been able to wear a hoodie or sweater and not be too hot. The leaves are changing color beautifully. Everything is great and pretty.

Except today. It went from a high for past week of mid 70's to today which was 85.

That's Tennessee for you.

Weather changes like a hormonal teenager.

I'm not complaining. It's just how it is.

How's the weather where you are?

Experiencing God

2010-09-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm going through the Bible study Experiencing God. It's an amazing study. I've learned so much and gotten so much closer to God and my thinking has been changed about a lot of things. Yesterday while I was doing my daily study when I read this paragraph that sums up what this study has helped me see:

"When your life is in the middle of God's activity, He will start rearranging a lot of you thinking. God's ways and thoughts are so different from yours that they often will sound wrong or crazy. You need a readiness to believe that what He is doing is best for you. Don't try to second-guess God. Just let Him be God."

God is so Great.

Butterfly

2010-09-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

There have been so many butterflies flying around the past two months and lucky me I only got one picture of one. Oh well, I enjoyed them anyway.

9/11

2010-09-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

Nine years ago four planes were hijacked as my mom took me to school for a Tuesday of 2nd grade classes. Later that morning two of those planes crashed into the two World Trade Center towers as I walked back from the bathroom with my classmates. I remember seeing the footage on the TV that was in the daycare as my class walked by. The school administrator then came over the load speaker announcing exactly what had happened and that due to these events everyone was to stay inside the school. Being only in second grade I didn't understand just what had happened and was simply upset because we wouldn't get to go outside for recess.

I will never forget that day. I'll never forget seeing over and over again on the news the towers falling, the smoke billowing, the people running, the many families faces who lost someone in all four of those crashes. It is a day all who can remember will never forget.

As we remember this day let us also remember the families who lost loved ones in the crashes or in the aftermath. Let us also remember our troops who have fought, are fighting, or having given theirs lives protecting their country from something like this ever happening again.

God Bless America.

Ecclesiastes 12:1

2010-09-05T19:17:00.001-07:00

Piano Blues

2010-09-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

My piano is in the shop,

Or part of it is,

Now I'm piano-less

And singin' the no piano blues.

Okay can't you just imagine some old blues singer singing this. Well a least I can. I think it would make a cool song anyway.

It's true though. My piano, or at least the inner working (the hammer board and springs, for those who may want to know) are in the repair shop. The piano guy took them today and left me without a working piano for a few days. Granted I have my keyboard but it's just not the same. It's like playing basketball with one of those plastic Playschool goals. Technically it's the same and you can't do the same things in the same way. Oh well. I guess I'll survive somehow.

I just thought ya'll would just love to hear that.

Later.

2010-08-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a passage about love. You've probably heard it several times and I've posted it as well. I really love (tee hee) this passage of scripture.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages* and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

And now read this verse from 1 John.

But anyone who does not love, does not know God, for GOD IS LOVE.

1 John 4:8

Now read the passage from 1 Corinthians with GOD replacing the word love.

GOD is patient and kind. GOD is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. HE does not demand HIS own way. HE is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. HE does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. GOD never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But GOD will last forever!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Isn't that cool? It's such a great feeling to know God is and does all those things. A friends of mine shared this with me this morning and thought it was so cool and so true.

I hope you enjoy.

God.

2010-08-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking this is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God,"

Mark 10:27

I'm so glad to serve a God who does the impossible! There is nothing he cannot do. He can create life and sustain it. He can part the Red Sea and lead 4 million people across it on dry land. He can raise the dead, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, protect the troubled, give rest to the weary, he can do anything and everything. I'm so glad to serve Him!

Decisions

2010-08-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

I've had to make some big decisions these past two weeks and it's made me realize how much I dislike making big decisions. The little things like deciding what I'm having for lunch, what I'm going to wear, what time I'm going to leave, things like that I can decide just fine and not second guess myself. I never thought I'd be wishy-washy when it came time to make a major decision but as it turns out...

I've been involved and playing keyboards/strings in the adult praise band at church for about seven years. I've played pretty much every Sunday since then, getting to practice at 8 on Sunday mornings, playing two services, staying for practices every Wednesday night. Until late this summer I'd enjoyed or hadn't minded playing but then I just started realizing I'd rather be at DQ with my friends after youth group or I'd really like to be in Sunday school. Then a thought whispered in my head "It's time to give it up." I didn't understand how I could but the thought wouldn't go away.

I'd been thinking this over for a few weeks and decided to talk to my parents about it and they agreed that it was time to step down. With my course schedule for the school year, the music lessons I'll be taking, and the fact that the youth minister has challenged the older girls to step up and mentor the younger girls it was just too much on my plate. Besides I'm going to be an adult for the rest of my life and I'm only going to be in the youth group two more years.

Regardless of the pros I had for stepping down from praise band I still didn't want to do it. I waffled and was all wishy-washy for a long time. I didn't want to step down and then people get all bent out of shape with me and I didn't want to stay in and be miserable every Wednesday night when I'd rather be at DQ. I just didn't want to rock the boat any more than I had to.

As you can see this is not a decision I wanted to make. I loved both options the same, I did not want to choose.

Finally, my dad stepped in and called the music minister and explained my dilemma and said that I needed to step down. In other words my dad saved the day and opened up the subject in a way that didn't sound like me just being a teenager wanting to back out so I could hang out with my friends (even thought that was a part of it). The music minister understood and agreed that my focus should be on the youth. That sealed the deal. I would be stepping down from adult praise band. All I had to do now was choose when.

"Great!" I thought. "Another big decision to make." And another I didn't want to make. I had no clue whether to do two weeks notice or wait until the end of the month, or something along those lines. I asked my parents and they told me I had to talk to Joseph (the music minister). I really didn't wan to do that, but I did and this is somewhat what it was like.

Me: "Hey, my dad talked to you about me stepping down from praise band and I..."

Him: "Yes he did and I totally understand and agree. You do need to just be a youth. The question is when and how you'd like to do that. It's your decision."

Me: "We"ll I don't know... I was thinking maybe two weeks notice or..."

Him: (this is what got me) "Don't be wishy-washy. Decide. And go with that decision. Do you just want to go cold turkey?"

Me: (still reeling form the wishy-washy thing) "Yeah I think that'd be best."

Him: "Alright then."

We talked a little more than that of course but that was the gist of it. I went into practice and explained to a couple of people and left. I was in shock. No doubt about it. It was such a weird feeling. I've never felt so much grief over a decision. I doubted every step I took away from church that night. But I can tell you that peace did come. Through prayer a several people telling me that I made the right decision. I even had a friend of mine tell me that he had thought the same thing (that I just need to be a youth) for a while but just didn't tell me.

God has been my rock through this. I know it was him whispering that idea to me and him not letting me push it aside. I can already see him working through this. I'm already getting a heart for the seventh grade girls in my youth group and I've never felt the need to reach out to a class like this before. God is just that good and so much more. He's never going to be wish-washy. He's got a plan for all this. And he's going make it happen whether you go willingly or not so willingly. I don't mean that in a bad way either. God's way is always best but it's not always easy.

This verse really helped me through these past weeks and it's such a good promise to cling to.

It's Deuteronomy 31:6

"Be strong and Courageous.

Do not panic before them.

For the Lord your God will personally go before you.

He will never leave you nor forsake you."

Picture: That's my youth group, what I get to be a full part of now. :)

Well I hope you enjoyed this and that maybe it will help you.

Later.

For He Knows

2010-08-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord,

"plans to prosper you and to give you a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11

God's got a plan for our lives. He knows the who's, what's, where's, when's, why's, and how's of everything that has, is, and will happen. God knows. Where I and a lot of people stumble, is the fact that we don't know all those things. Honestly I don't understand any of those W's most of the time and that's what messes me up. I don't know why I'm having to deal with this person or how this will ever apply to me, stuff like that.

The not knowing this stuff is hard. I just want to be sure about school and friends and family and everything else that's going on in my life now. But I'm not. I regularly tell myself that it would make everything easier if I knew where I was going to college, who I was going to be friends with, when I was going to meet my guy, and how I'm going to live my life. But God doesn't work that way. He keeps us guessing. And he tells us that He's the one who gets to know.

It all comes down to trust. No matter how easy or hard trust comes for you. Trusting God to know your story and write it how he wants to is hard because that doesn't always mean getting what we want when we want it. I don't know about you but that's not the easiest thing to do. Surrendering our hopes and dreams to God is hard. But it's the best thing you'll ever do.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

And he will direct your path."

Proverbs 3:5-6

SLU 201: Pictures

2010-07-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

Pictures:

1) Our group at the podium before the Press Club Dinner (when we had to dress up) L to R: Mrs. Sharon (youth pastor's wife), Tessa, Austin, Me, Mike (youth pastor), Morgan, Carly, Evan.

2) Tessa, Me, Morgan, and Austin at Christ Church (where George Washington and Robert E. Lee attended)

3) At the Press Club. Don't we just look so good?

4)Capitol Building

5)The White House. There were snipers on the roof. It was really cool. And scary.

6)Vietnam Memorial

7)Washington Monument

8) All the girls and our (not so) Business Professional pose.

SLU 201

2010-07-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

I'm back. Well I've been back almost a week but oh well.

201 was amazing! There wasn't one subject or one speaker that made it so, it was the experience as a whole. Though just about everything was wonderful.

Here's the main things I came away with.

Political Issues-

I've never been one to like or want to be involved with politics. There's always (at least it seems to me) a black or white side to the issue and you just have to pick which one you stand for. I never felt the need to get involved or saw how doing so would change anything for myself or others. But that's where I was wrong. Everything I want to do or do now (go to college, get a job, homeschool, drive) is politics because it's politics that make it possible. This doesn't mean I or you have to storm the state capitol and become big political figure heads, it just means that we should know the issues, know our stand on them, and find out who shares our stands and vote for them or help them get votes.

Another thing they stressed about politics and life in general is to know what and why you believe.. Whether you believe it's right or wrong, good or bad, worth it or useless, you should be able to say why you believe the way you do. It's not enough to just "It's wrong," or "You shouldn't do that." You need to be able to explain why.

Striving for Excellence-

Today it's all about success. We want the best car. The best house. The best cloths. The best of everything. Or at least better than everyone else around us. Being successful is never enough though. You will always find someone you think is better than you and as long you're trying to be better than you will always find that person.

Striving to be excellent is different. When you strive for excellence you're striving to be better than yourself not others. It reminds me of a Bible verse (I can't recall the reference at the moment) but it say "Pay attention to your own work. Then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done and won't need to compare yourself to anyone else."

The Sites-

We went site seeing of course and got to see pretty much all the memorials and monuments. Washington D.C. is a BEAUTIFUL city though I don't think I'd ever want to live there. The traffic was and is terrible. I'll probably do another post with just pictures from the trip.

The Holocaust Museum-

If I had to choose the place that effected me the most I'd have to say it was the Holocaust Museum. It was a complete shock in ways to walk through the exhibits and see all the pictures and artifacts of people who lived during this awful time. I can't begin to explain or write out exactly how I felt as I walked through that museum. It's just one of those experiences that you have to go through for yourself. I'd like to share though a poem by Martin Niemoler that hung in the Holocaust museum.

"THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

THEN THEY CAME for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up."

Will you be known for making a difference?-

They asked us this question over the course of the week and I find it to be a good question to ask yourself. Did you make a difference in that person's day? Did you change the way those people see that issue? Did you make a difference? Did you speak or did you stay silent because you "weren't a Jew?"

SLU 201: Pre-Trip

2010-07-12T10:14:00.001-07:00

So I'm getting ready to leave for Student Leadership University 201 tomorrow. I went last year with several people from my youth group to SLU 101 down in Orlando and had a blast, learned a lot about being a good, effective christian leader in this day and age( plus I got 1/2 a college credit!). SLU is such a great program and I'm so looking forward to going to the next level with it.

101 was great and it was kind of like a camp minus the music and rec. 201 is stepping up quite a few notches. At 101 you could wear cloths like you'd wear at a normal camp (jeans, t-shirts, gym shorts, regular short i.e. practically everything in my wardrobe). At 201 Business Professional and Business Casual are the staple. In other words no jeans and t-shirts for me.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm supper excited about this week, it's just I know it's going to be a stretch for me. See in a normal week I maybe wear makeup twice and when I do it's just eye makeup and maybe concealer if I'm having a bad skin day. I won't be able to do that this week. I have to gussy up (to a point). The shoes are also going to get me. I don't do heels and yet what do I have in my suit case? Two pairs of heels to go with several of the outfits I've brought. They aren't even HIGH heels. They're maybe an inch, inch and a half. And they scare me.

I'll survive though. Dressing up won't kill me. It might injure me. Or just make my feet sore.

But it won't kill me.

Okay, so maybe I don't feel that apprehensive about having to dress up (well more than I would normally, a lot more). I'm actually really excited about it. I normally don't have much to dress up for so I don't. So this is just going to be weird for me.

Anyway moving on from the clothing issue.

I'm super SUPER SUPER excited about all we get to do this week. We'll be in Washington D.C. and get to go to a lot of cool places. It's going to be so awesome to spend time and learn about leading in the Capitol of my Country. We'll get to meet and listen to some awesome speaker including some Four Star Generals and some other high up there folk. I can wait to hear what they have to say.

I hope this week will teach me and my friends that are going to better use the leadership abilities that God has given us.

Later.

"In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain gifts well...If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously."

Romans 12:6&8

You Surprised Me

2010-07-01T05:36:00.000-07:00

It's been a VERY BUSY Summer for me and even that is an understatement. In the month of June (which I'm not ready for it to be over but it is since it's July 1st) I've been a way from home a total of three weeks. One of the those weeks was Staff Week (which I wrote about) down in Alabama and the other two weeks have been at music camps at Belmont University (You should check it out. It's an AWESOME place that I'll be writing about when I finish this weeks camp.) Needless to say I have not been in touch with the blogger world.
Anyway, on to why you surprise me.
I launched blogger last night to see if I had any comments and to my surprise I see that I now have 11 followers and that made me happy. So to all my new followers WELCOME! and to my long time followers Thanks for sticking around.

Staff Week

2010-06-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

This past week has been amazing. Me and several others from my youth group went down to Shocco Springs, Alabama, to help staff a Student Life Camp and it was AWESOME. I've never had such a good time doing such hard work. We helped with merchandise, running cameras, back stage production, and Rec. Rec was the hardest because we had to set up, run and take down everything everyday but it was worth it when the Staff thanked us for doing an EXCELLENT job. That right there made it worth it to me because I didn't feel like I was doing excellent. I was tired, sore, wet, muddy, and annoyed with the students who weren't listening to me but every time I started to complain Philippians 2:14 (Do everything without complaining or arguing.) popped into my head or a Staff member would come and tell me I was doing great.
It was great just being a servant this week. I wasn't up on stage, I wasn't teaching anyone anything (except my games at Rec), I was just there to help others and it was great. Just getting to know the Staff and where they're from and what they're like was cool. I've never been able to get to know them and now I do and they're great people ( I also didn't realize how close in age we all were most of them were only three or four years older than me.)
Staffing Shocco Springs has really helped me. I know now just how much I love working in that kind of environment. Applying to be a Staff member for Student Life is something I'm seriously wanting to do the summer of my freshman year of college and I have such a peace about that decision. God is so awesome in how he reveals things to you. I never would have thought that I would want to Staff for Student Life but now I do. God is just so AWESOME!

Almost Summer: Pictures

2010-05-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

Pictures: 1) My neighbor's horse Fergie
2) Neighbor's other horse Sugar
3) Another of my neighbor's horses but I forget his name (unedited)
4) Daisies (unedited)
5) Fence row
6) Flowers, not sure what they are (unedited)
7) old truck.

Hope for Restoration- Isaiah 35

2010-05-15T16:51:00.000-07:00

Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.
The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.
2 Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers
and singing and joy!
The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.
There the LORD will display his glory,
the splendor of our God.
3 With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
and encourage those who have weak knees.
4 Say to those with fearful hearts,
"Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you."

5 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind
and unplug the ears of the deaf.
6 The lame will leap like a deer,
and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!
Springs will gush forth in the wilderness,
and streams will water the wasteland.
7 The parched ground will become a pool,
and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.
Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish
where desert jackals once lived.

8 And a great road will go through that once deserted land.
It will be named the Highway of Holiness.
Evil-minded people will never travel on it.
It will be only for those who walk in God's ways;
fools will never walk there.
9 Lions will not lurk along its course,
nor any other ferocious beasts.
There will be no other dangers.
Only the redeemed will walk on it.
10 Those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return.
They will enter Jerusalem* singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

Almost Summer

2010-05-15T16:29:00.001-07:00

It is almost summer and the weather is already beginning to prove that. We've had four thunderstorms in the past week and with all the rain we've had it's been VERY humid. Oh well that's Tennessee for you.
For any of you who are wondering the flood waters have receded and clean up is well underway in Nashville and its surrounding areas. Thank you for all your prayers.
I am honored to be from this area. We are truly the Volunteer State. The Red Cross didn't have to preform quite a few rescues because of all the neighbors and friends who helped their own. Thank you all you Middle Tennesseans who stepped and owned up to the title Volunteer State.
On an other note I've had a busy past two weekends. The second week of May brought my friends Morgan and Braden's birthday party. It was a blast! Good food, good friends, learning swing dancing, and in general having a blast.
This weekend was our annual Home School Recognition Night. That was a lot of fun also especially since we went laser tagging afterward. Well That's about it. Vaya con Dios.

Picture- Me and a group of my friends at the birthday party.
L to R- Luke, Jacob, Me, Anthony, Brandy, Rachel, and Austin.

Tennessee Flooding

2010-05-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

OK, this is very important. Nashville and it's surrounding areas need lots of prayers. There are massive amounts of flooding due to over a foot of rain over the weekend. Several of my friends have had flooding in or around their home and one friend has lost everything. Please remember them in your prayers along with the thousands of other middle Tennesseans who have lost their home due to the flooding.
This hasn't been shown much or ant on National News but it's happening. Please, please, please remember to pray for the all of us here in Middle Tennessee as we go and help our neighbor, or as we go through our own homes that have been damaged.
Luckily weather is nice now and there isn't any rain in the forecast for a few days so people have been able to get out and help. The rivers and creeks are going down so clean up can begin in many places but there are still areas under five to six feet of water.
Through all this I am reminded of a verse in Isaiah chapter 43. The first part of verse two the Lord says, "When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, they will not overwhelm you."
Right now I cling to this promise. God sent this flood. He has a reason for it. He's with us through this and every other situation we go through. He is, was, will be, there for us, always and forever.
Please keep Middle Tennessee in your prayers.

This is why I love the beginning of spring

2010-04-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

Easter

2010-04-02T16:27:00.000-07:00

In Christ Alone--

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when striving cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Another great verse

2010-03-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

Don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else.
Where you are right now is God's place for you.
Live and obey and love and believe right there.
God, not you relationship status defines your life.

1 Corinthians 7:17

Zephaniah 3:17

2010-03-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty Savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
He will calm your fears with his love.
He will rejoice over you with joyful song.

Zephaniah 3:17

God is here with us. He's not just a hero but a Savior. You're his delight, you make him happy. He'll calm you with his love. And he'll write songs for you. Is he awesome or what.

Spring is in the air

2010-03-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

You aren't crazy. And wait for your Ninja

2010-03-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, so some of ya'll, I guess really liked the "I'm not dead yet" post. And the comments I got seemed ring that you get a lot of flack when you say you're not going to date in high school or ever. It still amazes me just how many people think your crazy for saying you've made the decision not to date, even when they're not dating either (except they aren't dating because they aren't going to, they just aren't yet).
Let me tell you something; Don't let them bug you. We're not aliens from a distant planet who want them to take us to their leader, we're just people making a life choice, like going on a diet or dying our hair. They're just the skeptics that don't think you should do it because they don't think they could do it.
When I say "I'm not going to date," it's like saying "I'm not going to go to McDon@ld's." In other words I'm not going to take the fast way that can be questionable to whether or not it's good for me.
But saying you're not going to "Go to McD's" doesn't mean you won't CRAVE or WANT to go there. There will be times when all that sounds good is a milkshake and fries (a cute person of the opposite gender) or even a double cheese burger (a really cute person of the opposite gender) but saying you're not going to McD's means not letting those crazy cravings take hold of you.
And that's the hardest part of all.
So just know you're not crazy and the people who think you are just don't understand.
Go with God.
Peace Out.

Picture: is a shirt I saw that I really liked. So wait for your Ninja to come.

Love

2010-03-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

Love is patient when your ride is late to pick you up.
Love is kind when that person you can't stand comes up and talks to you.
Love is not jealous when your best friend gets asked out and you don't.
Love is not boastful when you win and someone else loses.
Love is not proud when you know you look good and you friend doesn't.
Love is not rude when your parent asks you to do something you don't feel like doing.
Love does not demand it's own way when others decide to do something that wasn't your idea.
Love is not irritable when your little brother or sister won't leave you alone.
Love keeps no record of being wronged.
Love does not rejoice about injustice by saying "I told you so," but rejoices when the truth wins out.
Love never gives up even when the going gets tough.
Love never loses faith even when all around you lose theirs.
Love is always hopeful that things will get better.

Love endures through every circumstance.

Love never fails.
Ever.

*loosely based on a video I saw in youth group and on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

I'm not dead yet.

2010-03-01T18:49:00.000-08:00

In Sunday School we were talking about peer pressure and from there went into boundaries in dating relationships. My teacher, after hearing about all the stuff that goes on in the lives of some schools, made the remark that the more she hears about that kind of stuff the more she agrees with waiting to date until Senior year or even college.
Several of the girls in the class agree with and are doing just that, myself included, but several in the class don't see how that's possible. One girl vocalized that.
"I don't see how that's possible. I couldn't ever do that. I'd just die."
We all just kind of look at her some sort of agree and others just sort of laugh. The said again that she would just die if she couldn't date (not that she's dating anyone).
Here's the best part though. Brandis (as I call her), one of THE sweetest girls on the face of this God created earth, put some attitude on and looked at the girl and goes, "I'm not dead yet!"
I really liked this so I piped up and said, "Yeah, I'm not dead yet either."
The girl looked at me and goes, "Well you have more...more..."
"More what?" I ask.
"You're more controlled."
That's a true statement in many ways. I, along with my other friends who aren't going to date, do not flirt (intentionally) with guys or act desperate for guys attention. We're just not like that. And for me that not hard to not be. It isn't hard to try to act normally and nicely around guys.
The hard part is the emotions that run wild and you so desperately want someone to like you like you. It's hard when feelings somehow get hurt when a friend gets a boyfriend and you aren't even asked. It's hard when people make fun of you and call you out for rejecting a guy because you aren't going to date. That's when it's hard.
But what's even harder is the waiting. Waiting for when God brings in the right guy in. The key here being WHEN GOD BRINGS. Not when I. Or when YOU. But when GOD.
It's hard learning to want to be patient and wait for God's your-life-story to come to the part where you meet your true love. But that's what we're asked to do.
Here's a verse from Psalms that has really helped me.
"Wait patiently on the Lord. Be brave and courageous. (And)Yes, wait patiently on the Lord."
Psalm 27:14
Yes, we must wait patiently for the Lord. Yes it will be hard but that's what God is there for. He gave us ULTIMATE LOVE in giving his son to die on the cross for what I did and what you did. There is no greater love for me. Nothing can compare to that. And for now I'm content to be in love with my Savior. He's my ONE.
It's just the trick is learn how to wait with him until my number Two man gets here.
But there's no one more willing to help me wait the Jesus. (Can I get an AMEN to that?!?!)

Heart.

2010-02-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

My heart was crumpled, stomped and stabbed.
But worse than that it was ripped in half.
Now it's mended with handy duct tape
And I'm waiting for someone willing to take.
My crumpled, stomped, stabbed, ripped up heart.

This past Wednesday I was in a skit for youth about getting your heart broken and it inspired a photo shoot. So it's based off the skit. Hope you enjoy.

6 INCHES OF SNOW!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-30T15:15:00.000-08:00

To some of you this may not be a big deal, especially if you're from up north and are used to having snow come in feet. But down here in Tennessee we hardly ever get this much snow. What's even stranger though is that this past Sunday it was 66 degrees and now a little less than a week later there's snow on the ground and it's below freezing. I'm very happy though. I got to make a real snow angel today and by real I mean one where you cannot see the grass when you stand up.
Anyway. I'm going to go and enjoy some more snow and I hope you can do the same. If not go enjoy whatever your weather is. Adios.

Interesting....

2010-01-30T14:59:00.000-08:00

I was looking up some similes and proverbs for themes for a photo contest and found these-
"As tricky as a box of monkeys"

"If you can't be good, be careful."

"Youth is wasted on the young."

"Opportunity never knocks twice on any ma's door."

"Little things please little minds."

"Comparisons are odious."

"Don't keep a dog and bark yourself."

"Pen is mightier than sword."

" 'tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

"Love makes the world go round."

"Walk softy and carry a big stick."

"In the kingdom of the blind the one eyed man it king."

Most of these I just like. Some I like a lot. Others I don't really understand (the whole box of monkeys thing). I'm thinking about doing a photo series with these as the theme but I'm undecided. I hope you enjoy them!

Snapshots of 2010

2010-01-15T06:10:00.000-08:00

I hope you enjoy these pictures and are having a very good New Year.

Pictures-
1) My birthday cake. I baked and decorated it. I think I did a pretty good job but I don't think I have a future in cake decorating.
2) Ecc 3:1-8. I found this alarm clock and decide to take pictures of it. I thought it kinda fit the verse I put on it. I'm not sure if you can read it or not.
3) Bundled Up. I thought this was a cool angle of my scarf and jacket.
4) Hands Down It's 2010.

Happy New Year!!!

2010-01-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas (Again)

2009-12-25T17:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Jesus! and Merry Christmas everybody!

Merry CHRISTmas

2009-12-22T12:45:00.000-08:00

Galatians 6:4

2009-12-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

"Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to someone else."

Galatians 6:4

I have to wear a jaket?!?!

2009-12-11T11:20:00.000-08:00

This is a story of a girl who wanted to go outside and take pictures on a pretty day. But this wasn't just any pretty day, it was a pretty day in December and if you know anything about pretty December days you know they can be deceiving.
The girl awoke early one December morning to find beautiful golden light shining through the blinds in her bedroom and said to herself "This is going to be a beautiful day!" (Okay she didn't say that right then, it was a little early, but you know what I mean." She grabbed he camera (which of course just happened to be on the night stand next to her and snapped a picture of the sun rising. "I can't wait til I can go outside and get some more pictures."
A few hours later the girl decided it had warmed up enough to go and take some more pictures. She put on some sweat pants, shoes, a long sleeved shirt, grabbed her camera and headed out the door. "Oh what a pretty day to take some pictures!" she exclaimed before it hit her. What hit her, you ask? The coldness of coarse. She hadn't realized that it was still very close to freezing outside. Her pretty day had suddenly become a pretty cold day. "I have to wear a jacket? It's too pretty to wear a jacket!" So the girl went sadly back into the warm house to put on her jacket.

I hope you enjoyed my story. It' true. Give or take a few things. But it did happen to me yesterday.

Pictures-

1. The sunrise from my bedroom window.

2. across the front yard, the first picture I took outside before having to run back inside to get a coat

3. Me and my pretty cold day.

Finally!....I mean Thank You

2009-11-16T20:04:00.000-08:00

I got my braces off yesterday after a year of having them (for the second time). I'm super happy. It's one of the best days in a teenager's life when you finally rid yourself of the constrictive metal brackets and wires and make it into the freedom that is an unhindered white(ish) smile. Can I get an AMEN?!

It was an eventful time in the weeks leading up to the day I got them off. I had an appointment for the 5th to see if I could get them off earlier but unfortunately due to a mislabeling on the calender I missed that one and had to wait two weeks. It was no big deal though. Okay. Actually it was. I was really hoping to get them off but I guess God thought this would be a good time to teach me some patience. That whole "Consider it a pure joy...when you face trials of many kinds (James 1)," thing is not easy to do. It was worth the wait though and I got them off just in time to be able to really dig into Thanksgiving.

Something to Remember.------

When you've prayed and hoped and wished for something for a long time don't forget to give thanks. It may seemed to have taken forever but at least it came.

Oh how I love editing.

2009-10-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

What you get after two weeks of rain.

2009-09-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

For the last two weeks (not this week thankfully) we've had nothing but rain. It was OK at first. You know how it is. The rain's so refreshing, stuff like that. But there comes a time when you just want a day of SUN. Not rain. Sun.

But week got two weeks of rain/muggy/cloudy weather.

One other thing we got a lot of is mushrooms. HUGE mushrooms, as you can see, as big as my hand. Well enjoy the pictures.

In Loving Memory...

2009-09-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

Alla Elizabeth "Lib" Beard. March 17, 1921- September 24, 2009

I love and miss you so much Aunt Lib.

Favor

2009-09-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got an e-mail from my youth minister asking for a "favor". He's doing a seminary and he needed some of his students to right an alphabetical list of attributes of God. I put what I sent below and a paragraph about the process of making the list.

A- Always there
B- Beginning and End
C- Creative
D- Deliverer
E- Everything
F- Father
G- Glorious
H- Happy
I- I AM
J- Jehovah
K- Kind
L- Living
M- My God
N- None Compare
O- Over all
P- Perfect
Q- Quality
R- Righteous
S- Satisfying
T- Trustworthy
U- Understanding
V- Victorious
W- Wise
X- Xanadu – it means beautiful or idyllic place, from the poem about Kabul Khan
Y- Yahweh
Z- Zenith- means the highest point or climax of something.

At first I really just started listing things. The first few were easy but as I went on they got harder and harder because there where so many good names and adjectives to choose from. X and Z where interesting. I just hit the letters X and Z on my computer dictionary and scrolled through to see what I could find. There wasn’t really any “God” terms within those letters but I find that the words and what they mean fit to what I find God to be. Even if I could write in every word that comes to mind for each of these letters it wouldn't even begin to cover just how much or what God it to me. This made me think.
Micah

SLU

2009-08-03T17:57:00.000-07:00

The Last week in July was SLU- Student Leadership University. It a week of leadership course work that brings young leaders from around the country together to learn how/why/when to lead plus other cool stuff. A bonus for the week is that we got to go to Sea World and Universal/IOA on two of the days. It was so much fun and I had a blast with the group from church that I went with.

More pictures of Isaiah

2009-07-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

Pictures-

1. The brothers/nephew Jacob(holding Isaiah), Levi, and Isaiah

2. Jacob and Isaiah

3. Levi and Isaiah

4. The Boys trying to make Isaiah smile( I have no clue what is on Levi's head)

Camp.

2009-07-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

Camp was great. It was more than great. I can't even describe how great it was because it was so awesome.

Anyway. I got back from camp Friday. I had a blast. Van ride there was long. 10 and a half hours. Not as long as it could be though. The people who went were great. The people there were great.

JR Vassar was a great speaker. Kristian Stanfill was an awesome worship leader. Worship was some of the best I have ever had!!!!!! Well I posted some pictures so I hope you enjoy.

Pictures.

1 and 2 the ocean

3. The group who buried Brad in the sand. l to r- Gunner, Jerry, James, Jeremy, Adrienne, Taylor, Austin, Mrs Glenda, Kelsie, Me. Down Front- JT, Brad, and Tony

4. Worship Service

5. Tessa and I waiting for Celebration to begin

6. Chris looking over the back of the van seat

7. Tessa being all thoughtful

8. l to r, Will, Me Landon, and Colton. They started a "band" so I got pictures with them

9. Palm Tree Man (Will) and his beautiful side kick/ girlfriend Emma

10. Tony and his scary movie teddy bear Molly, who he borrowed from Morgan.

11. All the girls who went on the night we all dressed up.

Student Life @ The Beach

2009-07-06T02:49:00.000-07:00

It's early, I'm packed and now I'm at a lack, of what to say and what to do.
Camp day has come, and I know it will be fun, getting to run and hang out at the beach
So as not to prolong this speech, I'll leave you here saying, I'll see ya when, I return.

Okay enough of my early morning poetry.

It is very early in the morning and I normally wouldn't be blogging let alone seeing beyond the inside of my eyelids but yet here I am. It's about 5 a.m. and I can't sleep. I have to be up soon anyway so I thought I'd go ahead and blog. We leave for Student Life on The Beach today at 6 o'clock. It's a long van ride but will be oodles of fun. There's like 27 students from my church going and 5 adults so we're going to have a fun time. We're staying in beach front condos all week instead of the dorm rooms we would normally stay in at a normal student life. I promise to take LOTS of pictures and share them with you when I get back. So for now I'm off to finish getting ready for camp. Talk Later.

I got a new camera!

2009-07-01T06:02:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures I took with my new camera. Enjoy!

Guitar is Hard

2009-06-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks I've been playing guitar more than I think I ever have. Let me just tell you now it hurts. Or at least it did for the first week. I have calluses building up now so it doesn't hurt to play which is a good thing.

Those of you who know me well know I've had a guitar for about five years and I'm just now getting good at it. I know the basic chords and then some random ones that I stumbled upon (by stumbled upon I mean I was trying to play one chord and accidentally missed a not or two and the note or two I missed made it sound really cool). The whole "guitar hurts" is the thing I think that kept me from playing for awhile. Now I have the determination to play through the pain.

It's really funny. Everyone I know who plays guitar says it's really easy and that piano(which I play) is hard. I guess it just comes with which one you've been playing longer but I find guitar a whole lot harder than piano. The frets confuse me. How you play one string on one chord and not on the other confuses me. It's just down right confusing. Oh well. I just thought I'd share that with you. Talk later.

P.S. It's less than a week before I go to camp!!! Student Life on the Beach!!! I'm so super pumped.

Summer.

2009-06-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

Amazes Me Today

2009-06-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

Standing here I see you clearly face to face
Now that I know I’m simply saved by grace
I see your love written in crimson on that tree
And I understand it is your blood that covers me

That’s why I worship you O highest King of kings
That’s why I give you praise O Lord of everything
Because You’re the Son of God
Who came the World to save
Because your grace still amazes me today
That’s why I praise

I just got the fact that you didn’t have to give
You could have continued on continuing to live
But it was your love that sent you to conquer the grave
It was for love you died my soul to save

That’s why I worship you O highest King of kings
That’s why I give you praise O Lord of everything
Because You’re the Son of God
Who came the World to save
Because your grace still amazes me today
That’s why I praise

Standing here I see you clearly face to face
And I know that I am simply saved by grace

Ouch!!! It was the Car Wash

2009-06-14T05:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my youth group's Yard Sale/Car Wash fundraiser. I worked the car wash side and am sunburned like crazy, especially on my chest and shoulders. It was a lot of fun thought and I think we raise quite at bit of money to go towards our camps this summer. My job for the day was standing out in front of the flower shop we held it at with several other people holding signs and yelling "CAR WASH." You must know that this was loads of fun *pitiful looking smile*. We got cars in though so I guess that's all that matters.The Yard Sale went well too. It was the biggest pile of junk I've seen in a long time but hey some man's trash it another man's treasure. All in all the day was fun. We raised money and had a good time which was the whole purpose anyway. I wish I had pictures but I figured that a car wash and a camera don't mix. I do however have a picture of my sunburn.

Crazy 8's

2009-05-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Lindsey, so here I go with my crazy eights.

8 Thing I'm Looking Forward To-
1. Church tomorrow morning
2. Cow Working Camp on Monday
3. Praise Band on Wednesday
4. Going to another big horse show
5. Getting my braces off
6. teaching all the kids at VBS the movements to the songs
7. Going to Student Life on the Beach and SLU this summer
8. Finding out if i have a niece or nephew and meeting that said niece or nephew after he or she is born.

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Slept in
2. Did Algebra
3. Went to Clarksville with my grandma
4. Drove home from Clarksville
5. Accidentally pulled out in front of someone
6. Went to Sonic
7. Did some more Algebra
8. Watched Pride and Prejudice

8 Things I wish I could do
1. Play guitar better
2. Pull a prank on someone without getting caught
3. Play Drums
4. Find Sheet music to Prelude in E minor
5. Play Basketball well
6. Know what will happen tomorrow
7. Fast forward in time
8. Fly

8 TV shows I watch
1. CSI- Las Vegas
2. House
3. Monk
4. Mythbusters
5. CSI- New York
6. M*A*S*H*
7. Whole bunch of Movies
8. Random shows on the Discovery and History Channels

8 People I Tag
Don't really have many people to tag. If you want to do this you can if not it doesn't matter.
1. Tessa
2. Braden
3. Rachel
4-8- Whoever else.

Nothing Poem

2009-05-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

This is a poem about nothing
Which in turn makes it something
And as you know something is never nothing
So there you go.
I’ve changed my mind
As I always tend to do
And this mind changing thing
Of course
Has something to do with you
You see this thing
It’s not just nothing.
And it’s definitely more than something.
But my fears keep holding back
This truth.
My changing mind
Keeps on spinning
And this nothing
Is winning
And leading me
To the fact
That maybe
Just maybe
I’m crazy about you.

Colossians 1:11

2009-05-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

"We pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so that you will have the endurance and patience that you need. May you be filled with joy,

Colossians 1:11"

This has become one of my favorite verses. I was bored one day so I started flipping through my Bible looking up verses with the same reference as my birthday (1/11) and this was my favorite one. Most of the time if you look in chapter one verse eleven of any book in the bible you find that it is still introducing the book or makes no sense whatsoever without the preceding or following verse. This one works and I love the verse. Have a great day!

James 4:6-----Break down on pride-----and Revival

2009-05-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

But he (God) gives us more grace to stand(resist) against such evil desires (sins that tempt us). As the scriptures say(As God's Word puts it):
"God opposes(resists, pushes against, puts up a wall to) the proud but favors(delights in) the humble."

God puts a wall up against the proud. He opposes them. The wall that is put up hinders the relationship we could have with God. It doesn't stop the relationship. It just keeps it from being what it could be. Pride keeps the relationship from getting any farther.
****
Jeremy Kingsley spoke at our Revival at church this week. Last night for his finishing message he talked about pride. He talk about how Jesus has angels in heaven designed just to tell him how cool, awesome, wonderful, great, he is. Just so you know if you have angels to do that then that means you're pretty cool.
Anyway, from there he started talking about how even though Jesus is the most awesome man who ever was, he chose the humblest of things to do. Jesus wasn't born to a king and queen in a fine palace and layed in a diamond encrusted crib. No he was born to Joesph of Nazareth and his young wife Mary, in a stable with animals and everything and layed in a feed trough. Yep, not exactly what a dude with angels designed to just tell him how awesome he is, would be born there, but he was.
Okay then, so he was born in a stable, he must have done something awesome when he chose his career. You know some kind of assistant to nobility or the rich. Nope, he was a carpenter, like his earthly dad. A little low key right?
Okay, now it'll happen, now he's thirty, he's about to start his ministry, now he'll do something awesome. He'll go and speak to the rich, the influential, the leaders, the kings and the queens. Nope. He ministers to the poor, the sick, the unwanted. Not exactly what you think this HOLY OF HOLY'S Jesus would do. But he did and he ministered to more in a more effective way than ministering to any leaders would bring.
OKAY NOW he'll do something. It;s the triumphant entrance. Now he'll have a big shabang and show everyone just he is. He'll come in a blazing white horse surrounded by people singing and dancing and shouting his praise. Nope. Wrong again. He comes in on a baby donkey walking over palm leaves with a small group of followers shouting "Hosanna." Not exactly that triumphant.
NOW he'll do it. He's running out of time. It's the Last Supper. This time he'll show his disciples just how he is. He'll say some miraculous thing that opens their eyes to who he really is. He'll say something that clears everything up. No, he doesn't say that. All he does is he gets up and he grabs a towel and a bowl of water and says, "I'm going to wash your feet." Humble. As always. He was always HUMBLE.
To really understand how much the feet washing thing demonstrated humbleness you have to know a fact about the Jewish culture then. The job of washing someones feet was the job of the slave of the slave's. The lowest of the low. It was there job to wash the grim off the feet of guest in the house. Jesus did that job. That's why the disciples had such a hard time letting him wash their feet. He was doing the job that no one else wanted to do. He was doing the job that in that time the lowest of lows did. That's pretty humble. That's extremely humble. Jesus became last. We are told to be like Jesus, imitate him.
"The first will be last and the last will be first." Be Last. Like Jesus was.