Jacksonville

Back from vacation!

I just returned from an awesome week of visiting old friends in Jacksonville, Florida. The week was quite exciting, considering that i haven't seen some of these kids in 2+ years. My trip consisted of constant coming and going to the beach, watching hilarious videos that i made back then, becoming a pirate at day, becoming a super hero at night, taking ridiculous amounts of pictures, dancing on the beach, chasing chickens, shopping, playing with jackson the donkey, and having hilairous discussions with Sarah about how a sandpiper REALLY is a baby seagull. Sarah and i finally determined that whenever the sun goes down, a sandpiper dives into magical ocean water and therefore comes up an adult seagull. But this theory has yet to be proven... My friends and i also had fun picking out the obvious tourists who overpacked and over-sunscreened. Sarah and I laughed at how some people in this world believe that wearing Hollister and vacationing to "the beach" once or twice a year provides the "floridian" label. Haha. Anyways, the entire week was "legit" (Haha). I had a great time!

It was the perfect (dare i say it) end to a perfect summer. I was so blessed to see everybody and spend time with them before "the sch-word" starts back. Only four days until it's back to teachers, detention, homework, tests, quizzes, and the smart kids who use their considerable IQ's to completely demoralize the average students. But i might as well enjoy the remainder of summer while it's still infront of me. I'm just praying that these next few days will pass by very, VERY ssslllooowwwlllyyy.... Boo school. Yay summer.

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.

--Proverbs 15:13

Chicago Mission Trip

Thank you so much for the prayers.

The week, although sped by, was fantastic. I met so many great people and was able to have a great experience. The entire trip opened my eyes to how lucky we are here. For the first time I realized that the stuff we hear about in the news and movies, really is out there in our world. Every step i took in the park i saw drug bags, people on crack, broken glass, people living out of vans, and many other awful things. These kids were exposed to horrible things and yet grew up around them. In one neighborhood i saw a man getting hand cuffed for a drug bust. Another time in the park, i almost saw a fight break out. Two men were about to beat eachother infront of all these kids in the playground, and the children acted if this happened everyday.

It breaks my heart that these kids are forced to adapt to the things they've grown up around. However, it was a great week hanging with the people who live there. It's just opened my eyes to how i need to witness and mission to others. Even at home. Now my home is my mission field.

Hilights of the week:

- "Jon Jon" and playing Duck Duck Goose.

- Out of Sync's brilliant performance.

- My golden sleeves on prom night.

- Meeting the Russian people with Leeann.

- The daily devotions

- Sarah Beth's awesome music.

- When Kaeli played piano.

- H&M with Delta.

- "Delta who? Deltaaaachoo!"

- Feeding the homeless.

- The free car wash. :D

- Watching Kaeil speak spainish with the homeless guy.

- Eating and serving at the homeless shelter (the food was good!)

- Going to Dunkin' Dounuts with Delta in the morning.

- Having 3 hour talks with Leeann about random stuff.

- Watching Kaeli's face being painted with blue eyeshadow.

- Having my hair, makeup, and nails done my 8-year-olds

- Watching God work through me and my fellow believers.

Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.
-- 1 Chronicles 16:23-24

"Let what we do in here fill the streets out there. Let us dance for you. "

Chicago Mission Trip

This is a short post because it has a simple reasoning to it.

Whoever reads this quite interesting blog of mine, i'd like to request something. This upcoming week a group of youth from church is heading up to Chicago for a mission trip. There we will be witnessing to both adults and children about Christ's love for all. I'd like to ask all to pray for the trip and all we encounter to bring the Word of God to. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Camp '07

.....................

Just recently i reuturned from one of the best weeks of my life. Every year at church camp, it just feels like the brand new start. Not only do i grow stronger in my faith and walk with God, but i always bond with my fellow believers. We had a blast.

Day One:
Arrive at Doublehead,
Worlds largest Slip and Slide,
Eat and Worship,
Watch God change people's lives,
Peer Groups,
Dress up as Bob the Builder and get candy.

Day Two:
Breakfast, Devotion,
Family Groups and Morning Worship to jump-start a day with God,
Lunch and Kick Ball (which we won, by the way).
Rest at the best cabin ever (128),
Be girly and re-do my hair and makeup,
Go to the pool (fully dressed) to say hello,
Get thrown into the pool (fully dressed),
Get ready for Dinner,
Dinner and Family Groups,
Jam out to Joey Everett,
Worship and examine God's love fill the room,
Peer Groups,
Watch some Videos of Carter the Church assistant.

Day Three:
Breakfast, Devotion, Family Groups and Morning Worship to start off the day right,
Lunch and no messy games due to rain,
Watch more videos,
Once again be girly and straighten my hair,
And once again get thrown in the pool fully dressed (stupid boys,)
Play in the pool anyways,
Take a shower and get ready for dinner,
Dinner and Family Groups,
Watch some amazing people follow through with their relationship with Christ,
Baptism Service at the Beach,
Worship Service,
Peer Groups.

Day Four:
Breakfast, Devotion,
Family Groups and Morning Worship for a great day's beginning,
Lunch, and the Messy Games.
Get powder sugar and shaving cream thrown on me (thanks, Andrea.)
Go to the Beach (fully dressed in my messy clothes),
For the third time, get thrown in the water with my clothes on.
Take a shower,
Rescue Kittens!
Go horseback riding on a horse named T.J.
(one of the most awesome things ever)
Dinner,
Herd Geese and chase them while Meghann took a video,
Family Groups and Worship,
Witness to 3 of my friends over the phone,
Peer Groups.

Day Five:
Breakfast (come packed),
Closing Celebration and Family Groups,
Load Busses and Depart from the best week ever.

selah elohim adoni!

The Rocky Road & Driving Instructor

HURRAH FOR THE FIRST WEEK OF SUMMER!

Boo drivers training....

That's right. The FIRST week of summer i have driver's ed.... sweet... Well at least i'm getting it out of the way and now will soon have the remainder of the summer to enjoy. My driving instructor's name is "Steven." He's really calm mellow, (which i need due to my ear injuries from my mom yelling at me to "brake")... The first day he took me out to where Alan Jackson's house is and around some really country roads. And today we went down town and all around the city blocks. The car's we drive in are really interesting... well more "embarassing" than interesting. They have HUGE stickers with the words "DRIVERS TRAINING" across both sides, front, and back of the car. So it's a little embarassing to have a fellow driver start laughing at you when you realize that changing lanes it harder than it looks. But these cars are built so differently. They have two steering wheels, two brakes, and two gas pedals. So really, the instructor has just enough control to fix any mistakes i make.

The Rocky Road = The Tough Parts in Life

Psalms 6:7 -

My eye is consumed because of grief; it waxes old because of all my enemies.

You know, there are always people who've "got your back", so to speak. Whenever i'm low, down, hurt, there are always people who will pick you right back up and "gelp fix" any mistakes you make on the road of life. Friends, family, they're all there to stear you back on track. Even through the rocky roads.

Driving Instructor = Companions Who'll Get You Back on Track

Romans 14:19-

So let's pursue those things which bring peace and which are good for each other.

Really Cool Lego Building Possy

School's OUT! (finally..) And the summer is bound to be a great one. Speaking of great, i have four really awesome friends who I go to school with. We're all involved in choir and all love to sing. All together, we have three sopranos, a tenor, and a baratone. Therefore, we make some pretty amazing music together. Our "groups" name is the RCLBP. These letters, obviously, were taken from the first letter of our last names. As a joke, we say it stands for the "Really Cool Lego Building Possy". When we sing together, our harmony makes the most beautiful sound (most of the time...) This just goes to show, when people work together, great things can arise from them. Sometimes one of us may forget our note, get way off key, or our voices might crack... but in the end, another voice will come along and guide you back into harmony with the others. Friendship isn't always about being helped up, but being there to catch someone before they fall. And although the five of us have very different voices, once we work as one.... Happy Summer!

Friends = Harmony

Romans 12:16:

Live in harmony with one another.

The Diving Board

With the last days of school coming to an end, it's very tough to buckle down and study for these last few exams. And being a teenage girl, swimsuits, shorts, and tanktops are all at the top of the "important" list, overseeing exams. Today i had my study hall exam with my friend, Jordan, so we decided to lay out and swim. (Hey, there's no harm in getting a pre-summer tan). So we began tanning, but soon after decided to get into the ice freezing swimming pool. I hadn't tested the waters yet this year, so it was nice to get a good swim session in. Then I glanced at the diving board. We both took extremely awesome action shots of us jumping into the pool, doing cartwheels, and crazily dancing to the "Overplayed" playlist on Tod the Ipod. For the first time this year, i was diving in. Not only diving into an extremely cold swimming pool, but into all of summer's adventures and explorations ahead of me. It's about the risk- the faith. So what if there's only two days left of school? Already I've made up my mind to test the waters, have fun, and take a faith dive into a summer of fun.

Diving Board = Leap of Faith

HEBREWS 10:22- Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.