summer picture update.

home.

just got home. from hale county. from camp. from greenville. from raleigh.
sorry its been so long.
i dont even know what to write about... im exhausted, missing friends from church and hale county. missing camp. missing nc friends. but its good to be home. so good.
thank you, lord, for blessing me with amazing friends. for giving me the opportunity to go to hale county, for all i learned there. it feels like forever ago. thank you for camp. for the best summer ive ever had. a faaaaaantastic way to end my camper experience. im so blessed.
thank you.

Photo Update :)

TRUST.

Ohmygoodness. Every time I post, I SAY I'm gonna post again soon, and then I don't. Sorry :/. And, after this, I'm not sure if I'll post again for a while. Possibly next week when I get back from my mission trip to Hale County, but probably not til after camp in like 6 weeks! Butttt, anyways. I've been like insanely busy. Exams, end of the year parties, babysitting, Em came!!!, packing... its been kindaaa crazy. Only kinda. ;) Because of all thats been going on, I feel like I've drifted away from the Lord and just not spent enough time in the Word. So, this past week I've been trying so hard to give myself fully to the Lord. I mean, yes, I'm still packing like crazy getting ready for this summer, and although that needs to happen, God is more important. I often forget that and stray away from him when I "dont have time". The thing is... it should be the other way around. God should be FIRST in my life. If I keep him as my first priority, then everything will fall into place after that. This is kinda random... but once I explain, I promise it'll fit in :) Last year, I thought about going to public school, but ended up deciding to stay at co-op. However, this year, I've prayed and prayed and prayed and I strongly feel that the Lord has called me to leave co-op and go to Vestavia. Its one of the hardest decisions I've ever made... all my very very best friends go to co-op, and I can't even begin to imagine school without them. I mean, DUH, I'm still gonna see them, but not like every other day. (Lex and Kay and Ash, I'm gonna miss our parking lot conversations... BIG TIME. Soooo, we can still have those kind of discussions on the phone :)) But, anyways, for a while when I first started thinking about Vestavia, I prayed so much and thrived by living in God's word. But, lately, the more I think about it, the more I get mad. I mean, yeah, I am excited about going to Vestavia. I know people from church and stuff, but its not like my same group of best friends. I really can't wait, but I just wish I could stay at co-op. But, I just don't get why me of all people has to be the one to leave. So, I've kinda... not like intentionally... but because of my frustration over that decision, thats also been part of my drifting. This past week, the Lord has laid the topic of trust on my heart. "When I am afraid, I will TRUST in you. " "TRUST in the Lord with all you heart and all your soul and all your mind." "But I TRUST in you, Oh Lord. I say 'You are my God.'" And, one of my favorites:

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; TRUST in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." ~Psalm 37:4-6

By trusting him, the Lord will reveal his plan for me. HIS plan. Not my plan, but his. I trust in him that he will use me as an example at Vestavia, and let the "justice of my cause [shine] like the noonday sun." I'm gonna miss my friends so much, but I am CONFIDENT that I will still get to see them! They can come to Vestavia football games and I'll still go to ECS games :) As hard as God's plan is for me to grasp, he has a purpose for my life and he will use me in ways that I can't even imagine. One last thing, then I promise I'll quit rambling :) When I was flying home from North Carolina about two weeks ago, we saw and AMAZING rainbow as we were heading down to the ground. Took it on my phone so its not a great picture butttt.... its still pretty :)

Then a few days ago, I was in the car and I saw another one! It was aboslutely amazing! (Okayyy, well forget the picture on this one.. its not loading, but it was a beautiful rainbow and you could see every single color!!) Anyways, both times, I was reminded of the Lord's promises. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is with us all the time, guiding us and walking with us through everything. Even though I've been busy and had such a hard time with my school decision, the Lord is right there with me!!!

The Battle for Lucinda's Heart: Briarwood Ballet 2010

Ohmygoodness. I do not have words to describe how amazing the B'wood Ballet performance was!!! Like, ohmygosh. I just, I just don't even know. It was AMAZING! All my friends were beautiful and I'm so proud of each and every one of them!! Here are some pictures :)



Love these Immanuel girls :)


Mrs. Barker!!!


Empress Shelly ;)


McKenzie was the main character, Lucinda, and she was absolutely perfect!


Kay and Anna as the Spider and Little Miss Muffet :)


Sarah as the ballerina doll! She danced beautifully!!


Emily and all the other trees from the forest scene!


Dawn :)


Courtiers! LOVE their costumes!


Finale :)

Aren't they gorgeous?! Yep. So, if you didn't come this year, you missed out big time, buttttt that just means you'll have to come next year!! :)

Pslams 105:1-6

"Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek God. Live a happy life! Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence. Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles, and the verdicts he's rendered- O seed of Abraham, his servant, O child of Jacob, his chosen."

Testimony.

So I just did a post but... here's another one! For missions training, we had to share our testimony, so I thought I'd share it on here :)

Probably like many of y'all who are reading this, I grew up in a Christian home with great parents who taught me all about God's word and his love for me and how he died on the cross to forgive my sins. I loved Sunday school and when I learned how to "read" in Preschool... more like my parents read to me so much, I memorized my favorite books... I loved reading these Bible stories that we had that had like 4 words on a page... literally. I love that about a little kids faith. Its so simple, and they know so little, yet they trust the Lord. I wish I could be like that now! But, anyways, two of my favorite stories were when Jesus calms the storm (Matt. 8:23-27) and Jesus' first miracle, when He turned water to wine (John 2:1-11). I feel like now, we so often overlook miracles and how real they are. God is a powerful God and he works miracles every day. Some are obvious, more physical ones, but the Lord also moves mountains in our lives. As strong as my faith was when I was little, I drifted from the Lord when we moved to Pittsburgh. I had lived in North Carolina all my life, so as a 12 year old, I was NOT ready to experience something new. It wasn't like I hated God or even necessarily blamed him for my family having to move, but I just kinda quit caring. I hated leaving my friends and didn't think I would ever make new ones. So, when we moved to Pittsburgh, I just pretty much shut God out. After living in Pittsburgh for 9 months, we moved back to Raleigh. 3 months later, my parents announced to us that we were moving to Birmingham, which of course set me off all over again. I had just made friends again in Raleigh, we lived right down the street from one of my best friends to this day, my grandparents were 5 minutes away and I loved my school. Then we just picked up and left my life that I loved to come somewhere new... again. Moving to Birmingham was even worse, because I was so excited about moving back to Raleigh and then it lasted for 3 months. When I moved to Bham, people were so sweet and welcoming and I made friends fast... friends that I still have 3 years later. But, I was still just mad, and I didn't make the most out of that year. I didn't like going to church and I was mad at my parents for moving again. Over the year, things got better, but I still had just kinda put the Lord out of my life all together. That summer, I got involved in the youth group since I was headed into junior high and made even more amazing friends, but still didn't have a personal relationship with Jesus. In August of my 7th grade year, I went to Elevation, and annual in-town weekend retreat at my church with amazing worship and a great speaker. It was the first time I had felt the Lords present. I was overwhelmed with a peace, but I didn't really get that it was coming from my Father. I accepted Christ as my Savior, but still didn't really get it. At Breakthru, a retreat over Christmas break that same year, I understood more and more what it meant for Jesus to live in my life and to have a PERSONAL relationship with him. Elevation and Breakthru were both unlike anything I had ever experienced and the Lord moved my heart. Ever since that August, I've been a Christian and committed myself to becoming closer and closer with the Lord. My life is still far from perfect, but without Jesus, I couldn't do it. That 7th grade year, I learned a verse that I love! "Be kind in the way you act toward outsiders, making the most of EVERY opportunity. Let your conversation be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Colossians 4:5-6) Lately, I've felt myself busy and not having time for the Lord. With finishing up school; taking tests, writing essays, studying for exams, I've pushed the Lord into a corner of my life where I think if I do my devotion every day thats fine. But, thats wrong. Jesus is my FRIEND and if I talked to my friends for 5 minutes a day and that was it, we wouldn't be best friends. So, despite my busy schedule, I'm learning to make more time for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. "I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing." (John 15:5). We must ABIDE in God and TRUST him in ALL circumstances. There have been some situations lately making it hard to trust him and I constantly have to remember to "Trust in the Lord with all my heart, and lean not on my own understanding, but in all my ways, acknowledge HIM and HE will make my path straight." (Proverbs 4:5-6). So, thats pretty much it. Sorry it was so long :)