Prayer of my heart.

Okay, yes, yes, yes, I knowww. I haven't posted in like a zillion years. SORRY!!! I've had a crazy crazy last few months! Mission trip- 1 week; camp- 4 weeks; Sawyer's house- 1 week; home- 2 weeks; mountains- 1 week; Home- 1 weeks... then school started! Anyways, I'm finally getting around to posting again, and hopefully, it will turn back into a semi-regular routine for me :)

On Sunday morning, Pastor Kallam challenged us to let this verse be the prayer of our hearts:

"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." ~Psalm 119:18

This should describe our prayer life. Psalm 119:41 says "Let your love, God, shape my life." If we're letting the Lord's love shape our life, then we will have a crazy desire burning inside us to see wonderful things in his law. Psalm 119:47-48 says "I cherish your commandments- Oh, how I love them!" Hmmm. Not exactly our first response to rules, is it? Not for me, thats for sure!! But, if we pray that God's love will shape our life, then we will desire to see wonderful things in the Word. If we begin to look for the splendor in the Bible, we will find it everywhere.... not just in praises and promises, but in rules as well. The Lord's rules will bring us freedom and we will begin to see goodness in his law, the more and more we love him and are drawn closer to him (vs 33-34). Tim challenged us to pray for three things this week as we strive to seek the Lord:

1. Incline my heart to LOVE your word. (vs 36)
2. Give me understanding to LEARN your word. (vs 33-34)
3. Give me strength to LIVE your word. (vs 33-34)

After Pastor Kallam gave us those three things to pray over ourselves this week, Mrs. Melick leaned over and wrote down "Love. Learn. Live." I'm sure that was Tim's point as he challenged us to those three prayers, but smart me never would have figured it out :) Those three things completely sum up what our lives should be: an offering to the Lord. We should LOVE his word, want to LEARN it, and strive to LIVE it. This week, let the prayer of your heart be Psalm 119:18... "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." As you pray that the Lord would open your eyes, pray specifically that you would LOVE his word, LEARN his word, and LIVE his word.

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."