Thursday, December 31, 2009

New Year

Can you believe that it is almost 2010? I can't. I don't know where all the time has gone. The older I get, the faster it goes by. 2009 was actually a great year for me. So many good things have happened and God has grown me and blessed me in so many ways. I am so excited to see what my Planner has in store for me in 2010!

Here are a few of the things I'd like to work on for 2010:

1. Love God more and show it more.
2. Be kinder to others, especially my family.
3. Have a more positive attitude.
4. Get out of God's way and let Him use me.

I do not know what God has in store for me in 2010, but I have a feeling its going to be even better than 2009, which was fabulous.

I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to use this blog more for its purpose. My goal is to take pictures throughout each week and put up at least one every week. I want to have this blog reflect what is going on in my life and what God is teaching me. I want this to be reflected through pictures. So my goal is one post a week, hopefully more. Feel free to bother me if I don't do this because its gonna be hard at first to do. I used to love taking pictures, especially being creative about it. But I've gotten away from that and I think that I will be happier having a way to destress with photography. I'd love feedback on my pictures from the followers of this blog. See you next year!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Life

I'm finding life a tad bit difficult right now. God is trying to grow me in some specific ways and satan really doesn't like that. I'm feeling the constant struggle. It's a battle as to whether I'll get what God is trying to tell me today or if satan and my selfish thoughts will get in the way. It doesn't help that this is the end of the semester. I feel like I'm just going day by day, trying to accomplish a long list of tasks to finish out the semester. Nothing is really happening except time is passing by. I'm living for next Thursday when I can put the whole thing behind me and just enjoy life again. It's not to say that I don't enjoy certain things in my life right now, it's just that life has become very monotonous with nothing to spice it up.

Which brings me to my next point. This blog was supposed to be about getting me to take more pictures. That is something that I have always enjoyed doing and that has brought entertainment and something fun to my life. But I get so busy with "life" (school, work, homework) that I miss the opportunities set before me to see the beauty and capture that. I am mulling over a plan. It will only add to my busy, insane life that I have planned for next semester, but it might just help in a way too. Stay tuned for more...

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Verses

"Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted His people."
- Isaiah 49:13



"Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness."
-Psalm 150:1-2



"Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing His praises from the ends of the earth!"
-Isaiah 42:10

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Monday, September 21, 2009

Summer and Such

Wow. It has been a ridiculously long time since I have updated this blog. I apologize to those of you who read it. I had quite a busy summer and am just now settling back into the routine of school and work. But those are boring things...let me tell you about my summer.

Working at Camp Beechpoint for my fourth (and final) summer was amazing...for lack of a better word. God grew me so much and I learned a lot about my ability to handle difficult situations. I worked with the older girls this summer (ages 11-14), and those of you who know me know that this has never been my favorite age to work with. I was more than a little worried when the campers started coming that I would do a horrible job. I was questioning my abilities as a counselor and fighting a negative attitude (see last post) even before camp had started. After about the first week, I had a new perspective. I couldn't do it. There was no way. But God could.

So many times this summer I wanted to give up. There were plenty of difficult campers, many times I felt like I couldn't relate, and millions of times I felt inadequate. But I found that those are the times when God shows up the most. He used me this summer in ways that I saw and in ways that I may never know. But all I'm thankful for is that He used me.

This blog is supposed to be about pictures. I've done a horrible job with that and right now my computer isn't letting me upload any. So I will post some pictures from this summer...soon. As soon as I have time and figure out the problem. So hopefully words are enough for now.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Prayer Request


Once again, I apologize for the lack of pictures (or even posts for that matter). I've kinda been in a rut with my photo taking. But I am hoping to remedy that soon with the purchase of a new lens. And also a summer at camp where I will have lots of opportunity to take pictures and see God's hand at work.

Which brings me to my prayer request. This summer is going to be HARD. I can already anticipate that. I am going to be busy and have little free time to unwind. I am also fighting a negative attitude about it already and it hasn't even started yet. Camp is hard, it always is because God is working on me in so many ways and Satan is trying to counteract that by attacking me left and right. I guess my prayer request is that I will be able to trust and rely on God and know that He is working on me and growing me this summer. And that I can stay positive through all the struggles. I need patience so I'm not easily frustrated with my situation. Not only do I have all the pressures of camp weighing me down this summer, but I have personal stuff too that is going to make it difficult.

I don't want to sound like I'm complaining about camp and that I don't want to go. That is not it at all. I'm just looking ahead, realistically, and seeing that I'm going to need a lot of prayer for this summer because I can't do this without God. I know that it will be hard, but I also know that God will show up in amazing ways as He always does. I also know that it will all be worth it because I will come out a better person in the end. Its just going to be a hard 2 months to get through, but also very rewarding.

So I'm asking you 7 people who follow this blog to pray for me this summer. Pray for patience, strength, and endurance. Pray for a positive attitude. And most importantly, pray that I will recognize when God is trying to grow me and that I won't fight it, but embrace the struggles and grow closer to God and to becoming the woman He wants me to be.

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
Romans 5:4-5

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Spring Has Sprung!





Finally! Some pictures! I feel refreshed after being able to spend some time outdoors lately without freezing. Spring always gives me the feeling of possibility. Like anything can happen. I definitely think that with the semester almost over and camp quickly approaching this might be true. God is good, all the time!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

While I'm Waiting by John Waller

I’m waiting
I’m waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I’m waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience

While I’m waiting
I will serve You
While I’m waiting
I will worship
While I’m waiting
I will not faint
I’ll be running the race
Even while I wait

I’m waiting
I’m waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I’m waiting on You, Lord
Though it’s not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait

I will serve You while I’m waiting
I will worship while I’m waiting
I will serve You while I’m waiting
I will worship while I’m waiting
I will serve You while I’m waiting
I will worship while I’m waiting on You, Lord

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Sorry...

Sorry that I have been so terrible at updating this, especially at putting up pictures. I'm working on it. I've been pretty busy these past few months. I can't believe its March already! I remember saying at the beginning of the year that I really feel like God is going to teach me and grow me and work in my life a lot this year. He is AMAZING and is doing some wonderful things in my life right now. I'm not going to go into detail here because the story hasn't really played itself out yet, but I will say that it is very exciting. I feel like I am in the midst of God's plan and its very comforting to know that He is there every step of the way.

I spent this past 5 days in Chicago with some great friends. The theme of the weekend seemed to be that God's way is ALWAYS better than my way. There are a lot of times I've tried to take things into my own hands and had them blow up in my face. I'm learning more and more that God's way is always the better way and that if you trust and are faithful, He will work it all out. God amazes me more everyday at how He does that. Every scenario that I could imagine NEVER amounts to what God gives me in His timing. I am so encouraged right now by seeing God's hand in my life. I hope that those 5 followers who also read this (woohoo family!) are also seeing God's hand in their lives and can be encouraged by that.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Baby




I've been doing a bad job of posting pictures that I've taken recently that aren't snapshots. I've been doing a bad job of taking pictures that aren't snapshots. But these are some that I took the other day of a 6 week old that Molli was babysitting. Ignore the fact that he is flipping off the camera in the first picture...he knows not what he does. :)

Monday, February 9, 2009

Music

I bought Brandon Heath's new cd What If We this weekend and there are two songs that I really enjoy. The first is "Give Me Your Eyes." The chorus is:

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond me reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

I really like this song because it should be my prayer every day. I feel like I don't often look at people through God's eyes, I look through my eyes. And my eyes are tainted by sin and this world. I need God's eyes so that I can see each person as God's masterpiece. PT preached about that yesterday. How we need to view ourselves as well as others as people made special by God. If we have God's eyes, we will treat those around us better than if we are looking through our own eyes.

The other song is called "Wait and See." The chorus is:

There is hope for me yet
Because God won't forget
All the plans He's made for me
I have to wait and see
He's not finished with me yet

These words give me comfort because I know that they are true. I know that God has made a plan for my life and that He will do great things with me. They may not be great things in the world's opinion, but they will be great things in God's opinion and that is all that matters.

Thank you Brandon Heath for these wonderful songs!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Winter Blast


I just got back from the first Winter Blast weekend and it was amazing. God showed up in so many ways I could go on for hours, but I will tell you a few highlights of the weekend. I was put with the oldest girl's cabin, the Polar Bears, and had 5 wonderful girls ages 12-15. I usually work with the younger girls so I was surprised and a little nervous to find that I had been put with the oldest group. But God gave me just what I needed. The girls listened great and having only 5 helped a lot. I also had a LIT (leader in training) with me most of the time who was great as well. One of the reasons I don't prefer to work with the older girls is because I feel like I can't relate to them as well as the younger ones. Mostly because the older girls are dealing with sometimes heavy stuff and I feel like I never know what to say. But apparently God has something for me to say.

One of my girls, who is 15, we'll call her A, really opened up to me about her life and past experiences. She has been into drugs, alcohol and was pressured into sex. She was saved this past summer at camp and wants to be an LIT next summer. I was surprised by the fact that A opened up so much of her life to me but even more surprised by what came out of my mouth when she did. God gave me the words to say to her before I even had time to worry about what I was going to say. I would ask that you pray for A with me, that she can make wise decisions and find some new friends. She is very open to God and wants to do the right thing but is having a hard time not giving into temptation. A is a wonderful girl and God could use her in amazing ways if she can only break free from her sins. Will you join me in praying for her?

God also blessed me in many other ways this weekend. Some personal things I have been praying about for awhile were answered this weekend. God brought peace into my life and really made it clear to me that He has a special plan for my life and that I am in the midst of His plan. I have a new joy in my life because of this certainty that God has a plan. This is something I have been praying about for a long time and it is a great feeling when a prayer has been answered.

It was also great to see my amazing friend Elizabeth, pictured above with me (I look horrible from being out in the cold and wearing a hat). She lives in Chicago and I only get to see her every so often but she is always a blessing to me when I do. This weekend was just the pick me up I needed to make it through this semester which has not been off to that great a start. And...I get to do it all again (with different kids of course) in a few weeks!

Sunday, January 18, 2009



"Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong: for like the grass they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good: dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 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. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him, do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."
-Psalm 37:1-7

Disclaimer: These pictures don't really go with the verse but I thought that they were cool. They are from an ice storm last winter.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Camp Beechpoint







My thoughts are somewhat consumed with Camp Beechpoint at the moment. I'm applying to work there again, this will be my fourth summer as a TL. I took last summer off and it was super hard to be away from the atmosphere that I've come to love. These photos are from the past summers I've been there and just looking at them makes me excited for this summer. Winterblast (winter camp that lasts for a weekend) is also only 2 weeks away. My prayer is that Winterblast will reignite my passion for camp and the kids we serve there.

The new year has been going well so far. I can tell that God has a lot in store for me and its only been a week of 2009. I am excited to see how He grows me and molds me into the woman he wants me to be this year. I also have expectations of my own but I am trying to give them to God and have Him make my expectations. I want to do His will and I am praying that He reveals that to me.