Pictures...finally!

Finally, I know!! I've had a GREAT week home...and so I haven't had much time to write. BUT...I do have my camera cord so now I can post the pictures of the King's Kids retreat. Enjoy!

This is the RED girls table.

This is the RED boys table.

Game time!

Painting our nails.

They had so much fun!

Shawnie and Ashlin loved painting their nails!

Shawnie, Me, and Abby

Game Time--Amoeba

I had so much fun counseling for this. It was a BLAST! I wish I could do it again. I don't know that anyone got saved, but I do know that the kids really enjoyed themselves, and God worked in my own life because of this. I praise Him for that! These kids were great...and best of all the RED TEAM won!!! Good job guys! :) Well, it's 9:30 and I have to get to bed...an early morning tomorrow, church, and then back up north to MBBC. I'll be sure to update again soon. Oh...and by the way....

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!!! It is 19 days until I come home again for Christmas. Fun times there...especially with my best friend and sister. Can't wait! :)

A Change

Yes yes yes...I know. I changed my layout AGAIN! I'm sorry. I have trouble finding one I really like. I think it might be this one though. I like it! :) So, hopefully I won't change it again...for a while at least!

Anway, it's been great being at home for the past 4 days. It's been a refreshing break from school. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE being at Maranatha and learning all those wonderful things...but there's just something about being home. But, there is something different about it this time. I don't fully feel like I'm home. I don't know. It's a weird feeling. It's almost as if I'm visiting. But yet it is my home. It's weird. But, I kind of like it. I've really been thinking about what I really feel God is calling me to do after I graduate. Yeah, it's still 3 whole semesters away, but trust me. That time will fly. I've been thinking about it all. I'd absolutely love to teach PreSchool...honestly. I love those kids! But, I don't know where any more. I know God will lead me exactly where He wants me, but for a while now, I've always thought (maybe the right word is assumed) it'd be back at my old school. Now, I don't think I'd particularly mind that...but there's something about the thought of leaving...and going somewhere else. A new place. I don't know. I'm sure I'll be content (or at least try to be!) with wherever God sends me. It's rough not knowing, but at the same time it's somewhat exciting knowing that God's in control of it all. There's something comforting about resting in Him. Praise the Lord He's in control and I can rest in Him.

So I took some pictures from the King's Kids retreat. It was SO much fun! I completely loved it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The kids I was with were so wonderful. The games were fun, the preaching was good...it was a great time. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to counsel at it. I'm actually considering telling my Youth Pastor about it and see if he'll consider doing one too. That'd be awesome! We'll see what happens. Anyway, I'm hoping to find my camera cord here soon so I can put up my pictures.

So tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. It's come fast this year it seems. And Christmas will be here before we know it. Wow. I can't believe it. Time is flying. But, I'm enjoying it. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving Day. We all have MUCH to thankful for. Let's praise God for His goodness and His mercy He's bestowed upon us. To God be the glory!

Complete in Thee

This song has been on my mind today. I've been singing the chorus over and over again. The words are so powerful. May you read them and meditate on them today.

Complete in Thee! no work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee.

Chorus:
Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!

Complete in Thee! no more shall sin,
Thy grace hath conquered, reign within;
Thy voice shall bid the tempter flee,
And I shall stand complete in Thee.

Chorus

Complete in Thee— each want supplied,
And no good thing to me denied;
Since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be,
I ask no more, complete in Thee.

Chorus

Dear Saviour! when before Thy bar
All tribes and tongues assembled are,
Among Thy chosen will I be,
At Thy right hand, complete in Thee.

Chorus

I Could Not Stay

This morning's message was AMAZING. It was definitely something I needed. Pastor Loggans is in Hungary right now, so Pastor Doug preached this morning. Pastor Doug was my Youth Pastor for about a year...and my Bible teacher for a couple years before they left Indiana. I've missed them...and I'm SO happy to be here in Watertown with them. Pastor Doug preached from Jeremiah 20. In chapter 19, Jeremiah is preaching a message, and it is ignored. In chapter 20 verse 9, Jeremiah says, "I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." Jeremiah is ready to quit because he thinks God lied to him about people hearing is message and believe what he has to say. But in the latter part of verse 9 he realizes that he couldn't NOT talk about God because His word was in his heart. Pastor Doug said that even though Jeremiah went through so many challenges and trials, he still remained faithful to God. He gave us 3 principles we can learn from this. 1) Discouragements will come. We must remember that we, as Christians, will have discouraging things happen to us. Something Pastor Doug said really stuck with me. He said that, "God is in the process of maturing us." God uses the hard, challenging trials to make us more like Him and to mature us in our Christian walk. Also, he asked us a question: "How often are we ready to give up when what God brings into our lives isn't what we wanted or planned on?" And how true that is! When our plans don't seem to line up with what God's plans are, we're ready to give up on following God thinking we know what is best. Our plans and God's plan need to be the same. 2) If you're truly saved, you can't quit. We, as Christians, can't just quit our walk with Christ, if we're truly saved. No matter what God brings along, and no matter if we think it's not what's best...we can't quit. We are His children, and He will guide us where He knows is best for us. 3) God's in control. What a great reminder! He's always with us. We should rejoice in...sing praises to His name! Verse 13 says, "Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers." Praise the Lord He's in control and He's leading us. I can't imagine what my life would be like if I were trying to lead myself! Another saying Pastor Doug said this morning that I really enjoyed was this: "A crisis doesn't make a man, but rather reveals what he's made of." And this is very true. It's such a rebuke to know that I should go to God, and yet I don't go to Him first. This message was definitely one I needed.

This week is going to go SO slow...I can't wait for Friday night!! I'm so excited for the King's Kids retreat. I LOVE going to King's Kids every Wednesday night. They're AMAZING kids...and I can't wait! I'm gonna take my camera (no worries!!) so I can take pics for y'all. Then, Saturday afternoon I'm headed home! How exciting! Home for a whole week. I can't believe it's almost here! I hope I can concentrate on my schoolwork this week. I'm sure I shall. I have 2 major (for me at least!) papers due, a test, and 2 quizzes (maybe 3) so maybe it won't go too slow. I hope! :)

Well friends...it's after 10. The sooner I go to bed, the sooner Monday will start and the week will be that much closer to being over! Have a great Monday...and make sure to be in the Word. God is AWESOME...literally. Stop and think of how awesome He is. Stand in awe of the Almighty, Unchangeable God.

Let it Snow!!

I absolutely LOVE the snow! It's gorgeous! The slushy stuff we had earlier wasn't nice...but true snow is so pretty. The winter weather makes me want to cozy up by a fire with a good book (probably a play by Shakespeare!!) with a nice cup of (coffee, hot chocolate, or tea..whichever one my heart desires at the moment) and just be filled with the warmth of the fire. Doesn't that sound nice?! :)

Too often I find myself searching for something. This week, I've been searching for answers. The answer to "Why, God?" But He hasn't given me the answer...and I've stopped asking. His hand is in control of everything, and I've definitely learned this fact. He does things we don't always understand, but we just have to trust Him. That's hard, I know...but life is so much easier trusting in His perfect will. Yes, it hurts when we find out that He's allowed something to happen...but it's a comfort to rest in this verse: "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." Things happen in our lives that make us wonder what God is doing...and how He could let something so bad happen. But we see in this verse...that what we think is evil...God means it for good. What a comfort.

I have 1 week until I go home for Thanksgiving. I couldn't be more excited. This next week isn't going to be TOO busy (Praise the Lord!) but just busy enough to keep me hopping. I'm looking forward to Friday night and Saturday morning/early afternoon. I signed up to be a Counselor at the King's Kids retreat Calvary is hosting for the kids. I'm really excited. I'm already praying that God will work in my life before this happens and that God will work in the kids' lives. Then on Saturday, my Daddy and I are driving home. It will seem weird to be going home, since I haven't been home since August...but it's a MUCH NEEDED break! I get to see and spend time with my sister (my best friend) and have some Mommy-cooked meals. Oh, I can hardly wait! Also when I go home, I'll get the cord that hooks my camera to my computer so I can start posting pictures on here. It's about time, right?!

Here's a Christmas song that's always been one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy! (Sorry it's so short!!!)

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white.

Short and Sweet

So after my "book" I wrote last time, I won't write one quite as long. Have you ever had one of those days when you know God's teaching you something, but you don't know what it is? And it's almost as though everything that happens is specifically pointing you to that one thing God's trying to teach you? This is most definitely one of those days...actually it's one of those weeks! But I find that the more I hide myself in God and His Word, the clearer it all becomes. (Profound, I know!) But it's amazing to know that even though it's driving me NUTS not knowing exactly what God's teaching me, that He's still in control. So many emotions...so many thoughts. God's leading...and I'm really glad He's in control. Scary to think of what I would do if I were in control!

How can I make it thru another day--
My heart is troubled so?
It seems the blessings always pass me by,
And heartache's all I know.
The trials in my life,
Such struggles how they burden so!
No hope lies in my flesh
To Him I now must go.

As for my God, His way is perfect
His Word has never failed the test.
His words of promise cheer me always
All my doubts I know confess.
Oh, He's a shield from Satan's fiery darts,
He will always be my stay.
I will never find a closer friend,
He's beside me all the way.

Where can I turn when friends reject my love,
And no one seems to care?
And all life's troubles come from every side
And strife is in the air?
My God's still on the throne.
His tender love He longs to share.
My hope is now in Him,
My burdens He helps bear!

One More Memory

This week is going to be filled with "one more" things. I have one more Sunday until I go home for Thanksgiving. I'll have one more Monday until I go home too. I have a countdown feature on my cell phone and it's counting down the days. It's at 12 days, 2 hours, and some odd minutes. I can't wait to be home. I can't wait to see my Dad, Mom, Sister...just to be home. I'm ready for a break!

Yesterday was a great day at church. Pastor Loggans preached a great message in the morning. He got me thinking about memories. He preached on Joshua 4 where the Israelites were to build a memorial of rocks so when their children asked about it, they could tell them the story of how God led them across the dry land. I started thinking about my family and memories that I have made over the years. I've made so many with my sister. She's my best friend and I can't wait to spend time with her making more memories. Some of our best memories are from when we were little, playing Barbie dolls during the WHOLE summer! Fun times right there! (Hey Sherry--"LOOK WHAT YOU DID!!!!) I remember when I was really little, my Dad would sit in the living room of our house, look over at me, and start saying (real slow) "I'm...gonna...get....that..." and he usually would never finish it because I'd run to my Mom for cover because I knew he'd chase me and start to tickle me. Well, he wouldn't be right after me...so when I ran into my Mom...and didn't see him, I'd sneak back out to see where he was. Usually he'd be right there in the living room still...waiting for me to come back. A memory with my mom is when my sister and I were young, in the summer (before my mom got a job) we'd all 3 sit in the living room and my mom would read to us. We'd go through different books in the summer but one of my favorites was "The Secret Garden." She'd read to us and my sister and I would "fix" her hair. Then we'd eat lunch or start dinner or whatever else needed done after the reading time was over. I used to go over to my Granny's house during the summer. My Mom told me that she was watching me, but I sometimes wondered who was watching who!! But she'd get on her most comfortable dress and sit on the floor with me and we'd play different games. We'd go on walks and feed the ducks that were always by her apartment building. I remember going over to my Grandma and Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving get-together's with the whole family. My Grandpa would be sitting in his chair with his white socked-feet bouncing to music or watching "da Bears" play football. I remember too, going to the nursing home my Great-Grandma was in and we'd see her and she'd always say, "I'm ready to go home. I wish my Lord would take me now." Now, my Great-Grandma and my Grandpa are both in Heaven and we don't have those get-together's as much any more. My Grandma is getting older and more frail so we don't play games any more...but I still go over and this time, I really do watch and help her. My Mom doesn't read to us any more, and my Dad doesn't chase me (or act like he is). My sister and don't play Barbie's or with any other dolls any more.

Things have changed a lot since "the good ol' days." God's taught me so much, and is still teaching me every day. I have fond memories of my childhood days, and I think of them a lot and miss them. But God's been so good in the 22 years I've been here. At times, I want those days to be here again. I want to see my Great-Grandma and Grandpa again. I want to just sit and play with my sister. But, what I realize I really want, is life to be "simple" again. But life goes on...and God get more real each and every day. I have a few words to say to people. To my Dad: you are my hero and the man I look up to most. You are my first love and I can't thank you enough for the example you have set for me. Thanks for always guiding me and being my source of wisdom and strength. I love you, Daddy! To my Mom: You've worked hard all these years to raise me in a godly way, and I thank you for that. Thank you for teaching me things that nobody else could. Thanks for your love and always being there for me. I love you, Mom! To my sister: You are truly my best friend. You've taught me how to become a godly woman (though I'm not there yet) and you've set an example for me that I can never repay to you. Thank you for taking the time to teach me and show me the way to Christ. Your heart for serving God is a rebuke. Thank you for always being there when I needed to talk, and I hope I can repay you one day. I love you, Sherry. To my "big brother" Jeremiah: Thank you for giving me someone to pick on. Thank you for your advice and godly leadership you've shown me and the words of wisdom you've bestowed upon me. Your example and friendship are irreplaceable in my life. Thank you for encouraging me and helping me when I needed a "big brother." I love you, Jer. And last, but NOT least, to Lindz: You've become like another sister to me. You're one of my best friends. You are a true blessing from God. He sent you in my life, when I needed you most. Thank you for always being a true friend. Sharing secrets and always being there to give me a hug when I needed one. You were there for me when nobody else was, I can never repay you for your friendship you've shown me! I miss you more than words can say. I cherish you an our friendship. I love you, Lindz!

God has certainly blessed me beyond imagination with these relationships. I have many memories stored up, and I can't wait to make more. God is AMAZING. Simply amazing. He's taught me to depend more on Him and just how important the power of prayer really is. I encourage you all to take time today, right now, and thank Him for all the many wonderful things He's done in your life. I've started carrying around cards with verses on them to really hide God's word in my heart. I also started a "Prayer Box." I have cards in there for specific requests to pray for. God's already used this to bring me closer to Him. It's an awesome feeling to know I can talk to God whenever...and know that He will hear me. Go to Him. Through all the changes He's made in my life, I've realized He is all I need. This song is taking a new meaning in my life. I love this song. Read and meditate on the words. May you strive to finish this semester out strong...and may you make some great memories with your friends and families over Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Who knows how many more we'll have together? Cherish the moment.

Oft time I've tried to live my life according to my will;
When darkness comes it's difficult to rest and just be still.
But Lord, You are my Shepherd; Who guides me in the way.
And I will learn this glorious truth if I Your Word obey.

You're all I need. You're the Lord of everything.
All I need. This is why I humbly sing:
Your strength is sustaining and Your grace has made me free.
You're my hearts lone desire, You're all I need.

By wanting more I've wanted less than all You've given me.
You gave Your all by laying down Your life at Calvary.
So I surrender all, Lord my best to you I give,
And thank You now for giving me a reason to live.

You're all I need. You're the Lord of everything.
All I need. This is why I humbly sing:
Your strength is sustaining and Your grace has made me free.
You're my hearts lone desire, You're all I need.

Between a rock and a hard place

I just check my PO Box and I got 3 things! :) One letter from my Grandma and another letter from a dear friend back home. The other thing was a contract for working at camp this coming summer. Now, I have always wanted to work at a camp, and so I would absolutely love this opportunity. However, my dad told me that I might not have the money to come back next fall if I don't work and save up money. Working at camp would not give me as much money as working at the job I've worked at for the past 4 summers. That job is spending an 8 hour day playing (and sometimes teaching!) Preschoolers. I completely love that job, and would really miss it. However, being a Camp Counselor is something I have truly wanted to do for a long time, and this summer, I'm getting that opportunity. But, what do I choose? I've been praying hard about this, and so have my parents, and yet, God has not answered. I know He'll show me the way, but at this point, it's hard to wait. So, if you happen to read this blog, please pray for me. I want more than anything to do God's will. I know He'll lead.

On a different note, I'm reading the book "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper. It has been amazing. The second chapter paints a vivid picture of God's love for us. When reading it, it literally brought me to tears. Thinking of how much God loves me, and how much I try but often don't show my love for Him is an amazing thought to me. Yes, we all know and have heard time and time again that God loved us so much, He sent His Son for us. But think about this. God created us, to glorify Himself. Some of the best ways we glorify God is by being His child and obeying Him and living our lives TO glorify Him. Think of that. He created us for His own glory. To me, this is inconceivable. Our duty is to delight in God...it is our joyful duty. That is the passion we all need to have. To joyfully delight in God. Be satisfied in Him. He is our all...and yet we always seem to want more. It actually makes me feel ashamed when I think of all God's given me so far, and how I keep seeming to demand more. It makes me feel ungrateful towards all the good He's already done. Amazing. To think of all this is simply amazing.

Things are getting interesting here in my room. (Yes, I know...odd of me to start talking of my room!) I shall get pictures and such put on here as soon as I find the cord that goes to my camera. It's a sad thing to not know where that is. I have a pretty funny video on there right now. Just to give you an idea of what it is...2 of my roommates and one friend from downstairs are "moving" around the room to a Disney song being played. It's quite on the funny side, if I do say so myself! But, alas, I can't find my cord, so I'm afraid you won't be seeing it any time soon! We recently rearranged the room. It looks a lot better now. More room in the middle. It's a nice set-up. I'm blessed to have such great roommates. There are a few things that we're working on in here...and so far they're going splendidly. The Lord gives grace...that's just about all I can say! :)

God's been teaching me much as far as my walk with Him goes. He's shown me truly that I have a long way to go before I'm anywhere close to being the woman He wants me to be. Though the road has not been an easy one, it's been a good one. New things are getting pointed out to me every where I turn. I'm seeing new situations that I haven't been placed in before and I'm learning how to deal with them. For the first time since coming to MBBC, I think I'm beginning to understand why He sent me here. It's a great college...and I truly love it. And now, I'm getting a glimpse as to why God called me from BJ to come here. And all I can say to that is, Thank You, Lord!

Psalm 16:11 "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

Make my life an alleluia, a song of praise to You each day.
To proclaim Your grace and glory, fill my heart with Your praise, I pray.
When I stand at the mountaintop, or the valley of despair,
This will be my cry, my song, my prayer;
Lord make my life an alleluia.

Make my life an alleluia, a gift of love to You, my king.
I will join with all creation in the song that the heavens sing!
The earth will turn, and the planets spin, as the seasons ebb and flow;
Still Your grace surrounds me as I go,
Lord, make my life an alleluia.

Make my life an alleluia, this off'ring of myself I give.
I will share Your grace and mercy for as long as I shall live.
When I come to my journey's end, may those left behind be reminded,
This has been my cry, my song, my prayer;
Lord make my life an alleluia.