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

Just A Few...

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.

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

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!

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

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.