Christmas and a New Year

Christmas break has been wonderful. I had a wonderful time just spending time with my family. I also had my birthday and turned 22 on the 30th. The break has definitely flown by though and I will begin student teaching on January 10th. That brings lots of stress and nervous feelings to my life, so please be praying for me as I begin that.

So today is New Year's Eve.. and that means tomorrow brings 2011!! 2011 brings so many exciting things.. graduation, marriage, and the next chapter in my life.. I am so incredibly ready to see what God has in store for me over the next year.

2010 has been a great year. I have learned lots and made some wonderful memories. It is crazy to think that another year has come and gone though. The days get faster and faster every year I feel like.

Cameron and I have registered now at 2 places: Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I will probably think of things to add as time goes on.. but we have most of it on there I think! I am so excited to marry him! It is coming so quickly! :)

Cameron and I will also be going to Passion on January 1st through January 4th. I am excited to see what God has in store for me to learn. I am going with an open heart and an open mind to have a teachable spirit.

Love you all!!

Moving?

So this weekend has been interesting, stressful, and fun... Let me start off with the fact that I am thrilled to be done with block 3 lab and know that I am about to be student teaching! We had our last day on Thursday at the elementary school we were teaching at. On Thursday I went over to Alabama to go to the Georgia State vs. Bama game in Tuscaloosa with Valerie, Leigh Anne, and Christina. On the way there I got a phone call from my roommate Melanie saying we got a noise complaint from our downstairs neighbors. Well, I was a little stressed out.. these neighbors have been after us for months. Let me make a note that we NEVER got complaints from the people that lived underneath us before them. These people have approached us in the parking lot and at our door before, when you aren't even supposed to do that.

Okay, so our apartment complex office said in this notice that we would need to move to a bottom apartment or move out of the apartment complex for whatever it says in the rental agreement. At this point I was really mad!! I was also in traffic, which made me late to the game.. but that's okay. Anyway, this was not okay. Melanie had to go talk to the new manager that we just got at our apartment complex (who at this point didn't know any of the past that we had with these neighbors). Melanie went on Friday and they came to the conclusion that for our safety we should move to the bottom apartment. Was I a little stressed? Yes! However, I do believe it will be better for us in the end. I mean the other night they came and almost banged our door down, because they have anger issues and don't want us to walk around our apartment (that is the whole issue, since I haven't said that already).. They can't even hear us talking, they just say that we walk around too late.. Well people, it is an apartment.. that's okay though!

We are going to be moving to a new bottom apartment the week after Thanksgiving, even though we are all moving out in May. The positives are: 1. We will be getting away from these neighbors. 2. It is a better apartment. 3. We don't have to pay more money for the better apartment. I mean it isn't ideal to have to move to only have to live their for 5 months, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. We are going to make the best of the situation. I figure there are other things in this world that are bigger issues than having to move apartments.

Now, I am not going to lie and say I was just okay with this situation at first. I was mad, sad, stressed, and many other emotions. However, I am so glad I finally got okay and at peace with the situation. I mean I probably shed too many tears over the situation. I am now ready to move and reorganize our new apartment after Thanksgiving.

I am super excited about Thanksgiving break and spending time with my wonderful family!

This situation made me think a lot about the Bible study we have been doing with our C4C girls small group on James.. It's been amazing and well this verse has just been heavy on my heart recently..

² Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

James 1:2-4

Where do I begin?

Where do I begin? Well I feel like life is moving so fast recently, but exciting things have been happening and that's been great! However, I sometimes sit and think that I just need to stop and take in every moment that is happening.. I try to do that anyway, but let's just be honest that is hard to do all of the time. Well, at least for me!

I have been wedding planning, finishing up my last semester before student teaching, enjoy being with my C4C family in Columbus, hang out with my friends, and other things... that sometimes I just sit back and think ::Where is the time going?? Is the day really already gone??:: I really got thinking about this during last weekend while I was on the Cougars 4 Christ fall retreat. We had a hour quiet time and I just sat there and thought how wonderful it was to have a whole hour just to spend time with the Creator. I got to enjoy that moment in life to think about all of the wonderful things that are going on in my life instead of just rushing around in the hustle and bustle of life and not getting to just take it all in.

On a different note, the wedding planning is coming along really well. It has been fun and exciting and I am very excited about this time in our lives! I definitely have lots of exciting things going on and that has been fun!! I have my first student teaching meeting this Friday and so it will be fun to start figuring out all of that stuff as well. I have been wanting to write in my blogs more, but with it being the end of the semester it has been a little harder to write as often.

I'm Engaged!

Well, I am now engaged to my sweet Cameron Wilkins! We had such a memorable trip to California visiting Jessica and Luke. I was surprised and got proposed to on that Friday night when we were in LA. We went to the observatory when the sun was setting and were taking pictures of the beautiful LA skyline. Cameron and I were turned around taking a picture facing the skyline and he got down on one knee and asked me! Of course,I said yes!! We are both so excited about this new chapter in our lives!

Our whole trip to Cali was great! We did lots of fun things and ate lots of good food! Needless to say it was an AWESOME fall break!!

We are going to be getting married May 14, 2011!

I will write a new blog soon!

Here are just a couple of the pictures we took in Cali. We took over 150, so I can't put all of them up!

Ready for Fall Break!

My life has been absolutely crazy busy recently. Everything has started in the full swing.

I have started lab at the elementary school and I am in 4th grade this semester. I am going to be honest, I was nervous about this since I haven't been in an upper grade yet to teach in the blocks. However, it has been a great experience so far. I have taught 3 lessons and all of them have gone well so far. We actually have to ride a bus to and from the elementary school, because it is 45 minutes away from CSU. It is entertaining some days on the bus for sure though. It takes up a lot of time, but it is totally worth it. I really am enjoying my teacher (who happens to have grown up in Dville, so that is pretty cool) and the school is great as well!

C4C girls small group started up and we are studying the book of James. It has been great so far! I am so excited to see what all the Lord has in store for our group of girls as we continue this semester. Our volunteering at the women's and children's shelter also started up and it has been great to see new faces coming out and helping every Tuesday. Those children look forward to us coming every week and so it makes it totally worth going. C4C on Thursdays is going great as well, it has been wonderful to see tons of new people every week. I can't even get around to speaking to everybody that I don't every week. I think that is such an awesome thing!

I have been going home and teaching one of the middle school girls Sunday school classes and it is going great. I am enjoying getting to knowing the girls in the class better each and every week. I am so excited to see what all God has in store for me as I work with the middle schoolers this year.

In the midst of all of my crazy, busy life I have been thinking a lot about the C4C key verse this year.

Matthew 6:33

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need."

Even though I am so busy, above it all I need to remember to seek Him and He will give me everything that I need!! I love that verse!!

Fall Break is near-in a week Cameron and I will be visiting our newlywed friends Jessica and Luke in Cali! I am so excited! I will definitely post some pics and write about the trip.

Mighty to Save

"For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." -Zephaniah 3:17- (NLT)

"Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, He'll calm you with His love and delight you with His songs." -Zephaniah 3:17- (Message Remix)

"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." -Zephaniah 3:17- (ESV)

I shared 3 different versions to show you different ways that the same thing can be said in different versions of the Bible. I like all three of these a lot.

You know the song "Mighty to Save" has been sung so many times, so many places.. I know I have heard it in multiple settings and it still means so much to me every time that I hear it. Our God is MIGHTY TO SAVE! He can move the mountains!! He is there to calm our every fear, our every doubt, our every worry... He is PRESENT at ALL times. I think sometimes we forget that He is always there. He is there when the people, places, and things of this world let us down and leave us feeling completely empty, hurt, lost, and so many other emotions. I think that this verse reminds me of more than just the Lord being MIGHTY TO SAVE, but a reminder of His love for us as well.

I just wanted to share that verse!

Snacking or Feasting?

So last weekend we went on the back to school retreat with the middle and high school students. It was a blast! There were 121 people total that went. We talked about being "full" and letting the Lord fill us up and make us overflow in the things in our lives. The speaker, Greg Key, gave different illustrations throughout the whole weekend. I am a visual person, so I definitely appreciated it. He had a loaf of bread on a table and talked about God being the Bread of Life. He asked if we were snacking on God or actually sitting down and taking time to feast on God. I mean how often do we get up or right before bed say, "Oh wait, I need to take 10 minutes to spend with God." I don't think we think about sitting down and just spending time with Him without running to our next thing in our busy lives. This hit me really hard, I know that I am guilty of just sitting down quite often and just doing my one little verse, prayer, and whatever else to get up and run. I want to feast on God instead of snacking.

I also began my senior year of college last week. I can't believe it is here! I am excited about this year as a whole. My classes so far have been good. I am trying to pay attention and not get too bored so early in the semester. We had our first Cougars 4 Christ of the semester and it was great. I have missed those sweet friends of mine.

What a break!

Over this break I have had lots of exciting things going on. One of them would be that we had a surprise anniversary dinner party for my grandparents, Poppa and Grammy. It was so wonderful to see all of the people that love my grandparents in Douglasville and family from out of town. It was not just a yearly anniversary, it was their 50th! That is a pretty big milestone in today's world. I have been fortunate to not just have Christian parents that have always taught me to be Christlike and be Christlike in their example as well, but I have been fortunate to have two sets of grandparents that have also. My Grammy and Poppa are very important people to me. They have lived a life full of travel, giving to others, helping others, working in the church, and so much more. I was happy to celebrate their 50th anniversary with them. I couldn't ask for better grandparents. I love them both!

Another wonderful thing that has happened over the past week is Cameron is now working as the middle school youth minister at our church. It was definitely a quick thing, but it has been such a God thing. It has been wonderful to see how God provides. The middle school youth are so full of energy and it has already been so fun to work with them. Sunday night we had a middle school event "One Crazy Night" where parents and their kids were both there. We played silly games, ate pizza, and kids brought their favorite dessert. It was awesome! I am so excited to see how God continues to use Cameron in that ministry.

My sister started her junior year of high school last week. It was funny to see her taking AP language with Royal, which I did. It brought back some wonderful memories of Leigh Anne and I playing sudoku and listening to music in Mrs. Royal's class, while of course paying attention. :) I also had the privilege of going to help with First Priority this morning. It was so awesome to see about 140 high school students worshipping the Lord at 7:45 in the morning!! That is definitely something that is so cool. I have never seen that many high schoolers at First Priority. If you don't know what First Priority is, it is a non-denominational Christian meeting that meets before school where kids come to worship and fellowship with one another. These kids all go to churches all over the county and they come together to worship before they enter the halls of their school. The other cool thing is in high school your mom doesn't make you get up as much anymore and get out the door, many of those kids drove themselves to school and they were there to worship the Lord before school. In one word it was AWESOME!!

I am getting excited about seeing my Cougars for Christ and early childhood friends next week at school. As much as I am not excited about school starting back, I am excited at the same time.. mainly because I am going to graduate so soon. I know after this semester means that I student teach and then I am done... so I guess that makes me excited too!

God is definitely teaching me a lot right now. He is teaching me that He will provide, and I need to remember that. He is teaching me that sometimes he shakes things up to remind me that He is in control and He will take care of me. Thanks to my sweet friend Mandi I remembered that!

This weekend I am going as a chaperone on my church's Back to School Retreat! It is going to be so awesome. We have 123 people signed up to go, that includes about 22 adults I think. Please be praying that God works in the lives of the youth there, that they may get refueled and pumped to go and dive into the rest of the school year.

Mini Summer Break and Senior Year of College

So this past weekend was so great! On Friday, I went with my sister to see Ramona and Beezus! It was so good! I loved it. That night I went to my grandparents' house to celebrate my Bob Bob's birthday with my family. We had a lot of fun! On Saturday, I went and hung out with Valerie at her house while they had a yard sale for a little while. It was fun! It made me laugh how many people tried to talk down the price on items that were already so low in price. That night Cameron and I had to pick some people up from our church that went on a medical mission trip to Guatemala. It was definitely cool to hear how God worked while they were in Guatemala. Sunday I had the privilege of going to see some of my IMPACT children at Stone Mountain after church. We had a great time seeing each other and catching up on the rest of the summer after camp. I didn't even plan this reunion one of my "children" Ellen did. It is so encouraging to me to see these youth care about each other so much that they actually want to stay in touch and do things together as much as possible throughout the year. I can say that as many friends as I made at camp we never did anything with each other after camp, but these youth did and that was awesome!

It is the end of summer semester! I am definitely relieved. I go to my last math class tomorrow night and then I am done, except for one online test that I will take this weekend. I am excited about a mini break from school! I don't go back until August 16th, so I am very excited about that. I am going with my mom, dad, my sister Caroline, her friend Bailee, and Cameron to the lake on Wednesday night. I am super excited about that! It will be my only vacation that I have had this summer.

I was thinking the other day about how this is it-this is my last year of college. I am a senior! I mean I knew this, but as it continues to get here it becomes more of a reality. One of my best friends Valerie graduates in December and we were talking about how it is here. It seems like just yesterday we were freshmen at the University of Alabama, but now we are seniors! It has been such a fun journey and I am so excited to see what this year brings. I can say that college has definitely made my walk with the Lord so incredible. I went off to school and made my faith my own. I grew up in church and went with my parents all of the time, but when I went off to school I chose to get involved on my own. It has been an amazing experience being apart of campus ministries at both Alabama and Columbus State. Cougars for Christ at Columbus has definitely made the biggest impact on my life, because I have been a part of it for a longer time. I actually did some activities with them before I was even a student at CSU. God has taught me so much and I know He will continue to do so this year and as I go on in my journey of life.

I found this verse today that I just really loved a lot and I wanted to share it:

"When the cares of my heart are many, Your consolations cheer my soul." Psalm 94:19

God is always there and brings JOY to us! :)

You're Not Alone

This past weekend Cameron came to Columbus and we went to Callaway during the day Friday to go to the beach they have there and go to the different gardens. It was fun! We also made chicken and rice on Saturday night! It turned out so good! We were super pumped about that!

This is the last week of my reading lab and reading class! Thank goodness!! I will only have my math presentation next Tuesday and an online anthropology test that next weekend, then I am DONE with summer classes!! Thank goodness!! I am so ready to enjoy a couple weeks of no school.

Recently I have fell in love with a song by Meredith Andrews called "You're Not Alone". When I hear this song most of the time I sit with tears streaming down my face. I think so many times we all try to find other things to fill us up when we are feeling alone and without anything or anybody, however we aren't! We have the ONE who is always there for us!! That is pretty cool! You should check out that song if you have never heard it before! The lyrics are:

I search for love
When the night came and it closed in
I was alone
but you found me where I was hiding
and now I'll never ever be the same
It was the sweetest voice that called my name
saying

You're not alone
for I am here
let me wipe away your every fear
My love I've never left your side
I have seen you through the darkest night
and I'm the one who's loved you all your life
All of your life

You cry yourself to sleep
cause the hurt is real
and the pain cuts deep
All hope seems lost
With heartache your closest friend
and everyone else long gone

You've had to face the music on your own
but there is a sweeter song that calls you home
saying

You're not alone
for I am here
let me wipe away your every tear
My love I've never left your side
I have seen you through the darkest nights
And I'm the one who's loved you all your life
All your life

Faithful and true... Forever
For my love will carry you....

You're not alone
for I... I am here
let me wipe away every fear... Oh yeah
My love I've never left your side
I have seen you through your darkest night
Your darkest night
And I'm the one who's loved you all your life
All of your life

Psalm 100

This week has been fun! My mom and I went to visit one of roommates that is working at camp, Kayla Martin on Monday. She is working at Camp Winshape in Rome, GA. It is such a beautiful camp and it was awesome to see where she has been serving this summer. Kayla gave us a tour and we got to see the beautiful scenery and buildings that are a part of Winshape. You can tell the Lord has been using Kayla this summer and it was definitely great to see that!

I am trying to get through classes, I am ready for the end of the semester. I have taken summer classes ever since I entered college. I am happy to say this is my last summer seeing as I graduate May 2011. That is what has gotten me through this summer, just knowing that I am a senior now and that graduation is coming.

I am going to Passion 2011 with Cameron in January and I just got really excited watching the little video that they posted. I have never been to the Passion Conference before, but I heard that it is amazing! If you are interested, you should look into going January 1-4... go to the website www.286generation.com for more information!

I wanted to share Psalm 100 with you today! I like this Psalm a lot! We always need to be thankful for the unfailing love he has. We need to let our lives be a testimony and worship Him at all times for the wonderful things He does for us!

Psalm 100

A psalm of thanksgiving.

¹ Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
² Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

A Mighty Fortress

This weekend was fabulous. I got a lot done for school, which is a plus. To start the weekend off my family and I went to drop my sister off for her World Changers mission trip with the youth group on Friday night. They are in New Jersey this week doing construction work. I used to love World Changers when I was in the youth group, it is amazing to see how many people come to know Jesus through a bunch of teenagers working on their roof, painting their house, etc. My sister was super excited about World Changers, she looks forward to it every summer. She loves to serve the Lord by helping people in need, so I know from talking with her she was excited for this trip. I am going to admit that I really wanted to go on the trip, but I have school. The youth got to also go to a Mets game or to see Mary Poppins on Broadway yesterday in New York and go to the Brooklyn Tabernacle today before their week of hard work began. Please be praying for the teenagers and adults that are serving in New Jersey this week.

On Saturday, I worked on homework and then Cameron and I went out to Atlanta for dinner. I changed my mind about 15 times about where I wanted to eat. We ended up at Papadeux Seafood House and it was fabulous! I love shrimp, so I was a happy girl. We didn't mean to end up there, but we did and it was great!

Today I finally got to go to Passion City Church and it was awesome!! I am definitely going to go back! God is definitely working in the new church that Passion has started. My mom has been wanting to go, so we finally went. It was my Mom, Dad, Cameron, Malone, and I. We had an awesome night of worship. Louie Giglio talked about how we need to go to God expecting! We need to say that we believe God can do miracles, if we don't do that then we really don't believe He can. It clearly says in the word that he made a blind man see, made a paralyzed man begin to walk, and so many more miracles. I could go on and on, but I won't since I have already written a lot today. I will share a new song I learned tonight by Christy Nockels called "A Mighty Fortress".

Our God is a consuming fire,
A burning holy Flame, with glory and freedom
Our God is, the only righteous judge,
Ruling over us with kindness and wisdom

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You

A mighty fortress is our God
A sacred refuge is Your Name
Your Kingdom is unshakable
With You forever we will reign

Our God is, jealous for His own
None could comprehend, His love and His mercy
Our God is exalted on His throne
High above the heavens
Forever He's worthy...

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You
So we can set our hearts on You
Lord we will set our hearts on You!

John 10:10

"The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that you might have life and have it to the full!" John 10:10

"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are." 1 Peter 5:8-9

"So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

Sometimes I forget about the devil and how he is out to devour us! I remember him, but I don't think about watching for what he is about to do to wreck my walk with the Lord and keep me from growing closer to the Lord. He knows where we are weak, therefore like it says in the Bible we need to watch, because he prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. It sounds so crazy, but after reading just the 3 verses I think about how the devil was attacking things I did just today. He doesn't want us to be happy and tell others about the Lord. He doesn't want us to be happy in our own skin, he wants us to think we are ugly and need to lose weight or whatever. He doesn't want us to be positive, he wants us to be negative.The devil does not want us to tell others about the God of the Universe.

I know that isn't the happiest thing to think about, but if we don't think about that or recognize that in our lives then we are going to be devoured by the devil. That is why we need to live Christlike and grow in our relationships with the Heavenly Father.

failure NOT perfection

I am back reading "Chasing Daylight" by Erwin McManus. I have been kind of crazy busy and I haven't sat down to continue to read it and I read so much of it today. It was amazing! I was reading a chapter that is about risk. What do you think about risk? Do you take any type of risk daily? I know that I don't take enough risks when it comes to seizing divine moments in my life. When reading this chapter it talks about how failure is so closely linked with taking a risk. I think that is part of the reason I don't take as many risks, I am scared to FAIL! In order to seize divine moments in life and encounter the experiences God wants me to I have to be ready to risk and realize that I might fail, but that is part of it.

Failure also is part of God shaping our character. In the book it says, "It is not cliche to say that the road to greatness is paved by failure." In order to seize divine moments we have to embrace failure as a part of our lives. My favorite quote from this chapter is, "You can exist without ever failing, but you can't really live without facing it."

I am not saying that I have never failed at anything, because that is far from true. I know that I don't take risks though, because I am scared to fail. I usually try to "perfect" things and we all know we aren't perfect people so things will never be that way. However, we need to seize divine moments by taking risks!

Think about this: If we don't take the risk, what kind of moment are we missing out on? What if we change someone's life? What if we build a relationship through the moment that we would've never had otherwise? What if? What if? What if?

I am saying WE, because I am the one that got a kick in the pants out of this chapter and I wanted to share it with all of you.

Movies and Being Magnificent

If you don't already know I love the Twilight series! I am definitely a fan, so I went and saw Eclipse with Kristin yesterday. I loved it! I am so excited for Breaking Dawn already. I read all of the books and have now seen all of the movies that are out, and I absolutely love it all. (Jessica, I know you are laughing right now!) I am Team Edward all the way, I just love Bella and Edward together. It is nothing against Jacob, I just like them together better. Okay... enough about Twilight.

I have been watching Lifetime Movie Network everyday this week, it is so addictive! I have watched more crazy movies than I know what to do with. It has been exciting! So that is the movie world that I have been in recently. If you haven't watched a Lifetime movie before, you definitely should check it out!

I was thinking today about something we were told at camp, "You are Magnificent!" Okay yes, we hear this a lot... but do we believe it? I would say 9 times out of 10, we don't. We were made by the God of the universe to be magnificent! What do you think about that? I think that is pretty amazing!! Not only do teenagers go through bad days, we all do! We all have rough patches... we all suffer... we all struggle... but as we go through these tough times, we need to remember we are magnificent! The Lord created us for a magnificent purpose! I think we all know that, but we forget. We get caught up in the world being negative! We are magnificent though!

I put this song on my facebook status last night, but I love it!! He made our lives beautiful, because we are MAGNIFICENT! (I know I said that a lot, but I want us to all embrace that!)

"Beautiful, Beautiful" by Francesca Battistelli
don't know how it is You looked at me
and saw the person that I could be
awakening my heart
breaking through the dark
suddenly Your grace

like sunlight burning like midnight
making my life something so
beautiful, beautiful
mercy reaching to save me
all that I need
You are so
beautiful, beautiful

now there's a joy inside I can't contain
but even perfect days can end in rain
and though it's pouring down
I see you through the clouds
shining on my face

like sunlight burning like midnight
making my life something so
beautiful, beautiful
mercy reaching to save me
all that I need
You are so
beautiful, beautiful

I have come undone
but I have just begun
changing by Your grace

like sunlight burning like midnight
making my life something so
beautiful, beautiful
mercy reaching to save me
all that I need
You are so
beautiful, beautiful

Mercy

When I think of the mercy of God, I think of how huge the definition of that word means. The mercy of God is when He shows us compassion and kindness. We need this in order to have forgiveness of our sin. God's mercies are new EVERY morning!!

Lamentations 3:21-23 "Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning."

The mercy of the Lord is all throughout scripture. His has mercy on us as well when we mess up, and that is when He shows us grace!

Hebrews 4:16 "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

I love this part of the song "Amazing Grace My Chains Are Gone" by Chris Tomlin.
[[and like a flood His mercy rains, unending love, amazing grace!]]

Fun Filled June Weekend

Okay, so this weekend was quite a busy one!!I started it off by being a part of Jessica and Luke's wedding festivities Friday and Saturday. Friday I got manicures and pedicures then to lunch with the bridesmaids. It was quite fun and exciting! That night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. We got to watch the slideshow that played at the reception. It was just a reminder of the wonderful memories with two of the most wonderful people I know. Then Saturday was the big day!! Jessica and Luke's wedding!! It was absolutely beautiful. I have had the privilege of seeing Jessica and Luke grow in their relationship together and grow in their walks with the Lord together and separately as well. It was an emotional weekend for me, because I knew the wedding meant them moving to California and not seeing Jessica as much as I have. She has been a huge part of my life like I wrote about in my last blog. It was a truly beautiful day! It was great to see all of the people that Jessica and Luke have impacted and been apart of each of their lives.

Another big event this weekend was my little sister Caroline turned 16 today!! My sister is unique and there are qualities that she has that I wish I could have. She is really go with the flow and more carefree than me, which is something that I love. Caroline is so beautiful, funny, talented, and so many more things. I am proud to call her my little sister!! I just can't believe she is getting her license. That absolutely blows my mind! [[This picture is of her and her new precious yellow bug that is totally a Caroline car!!]]

I just wanted to leave you with this thought. I love this song called "Your Love Never Fails" by Jesus Culture.. my favorite part is::

"He makes ALL things work together for our good!"

((just rest in that.. I know I try to remember that.))

faith. family. friends.

Okay, so this morning I went to support Cameron and the youth band from Central play at a church called WestStar Community Church in Temple. They did a great job! Last night the drummer got sick, so he couldn't even come and they did it without him. They did some awesome worship songs, a lot of my favorite ones actually: Take This City, Your Love Never Fails, Our God, and You Won't Relent. God has really been working in my heart about many things recently, I've talked about a few of them in notes on facebook and maybe a little in my first few blogs. He is continuing to work in me about not fearing things in life and totally and completely just fearing Him and rely on Him to guide and protect me. That even goes back to being at camp and the speaker talking about making sure that God knows we are in for His plan for our lives, whether that be ministry, missions, serving Him throughout our daily jobs in the community, etc. It just means that we are ready to do what He wants us to do no matter what He says.

Today was also Father's Day! I have to say I love my Dad. He is an awesome person! My Dad has two daughters and a wife. He has always been outnumbered in our household, and I would say that means he is a special man. I am so thankful for my Dad and the things that he has done for my sister and I. I am very blessed. I am not only thankful for my earthly Father, but for my Heavenly Father also. I don't think we necessarily think of our Heavenly Father on Father's Day, but He loves us even more than our earthly fathers. That is crazy to think about, but on this special day I am thankful for our Father in Heaven and my Dad!

This weekend Cameron and I got to hang out with Jessica and Luke, these are two special friends of ours that are getting married this upcoming weekend. I am so excited for these two and to be apart of their special day. Luke started seminary in California in January, so they will be moving there after this weekend to live. I am sad to see Jessica move (you too Luke! haha!), but I am so excited to see what God has in store for her as she gets to Pasadena. I know He is going to use her gifts in many ways there. Jessica has been one of my best friends for a long time. We actually have known each other since we were little kids, but we became friends in middle school. (Yes Jessica, I am going to tell the story!) I was in the 6th grade and she was in the 8th grade, and she invited me to spend the night and go to the movies with her. I was so excited and I thought I was really cool that an 8th grader was inviting me to spend time with her. Jessica and I have had so many fun memories together since then from slushie runs and musical to being disciple now leaders together to shopping to Cougars 4 Christ retreats. We have even enjoyed laughing at Cameron and Luke being crazy together, and even dressing up and acting like them. HaHa! I am excited to add her special day to our memories that we already share together. I love you Jessica (and Luke) and I am so excited for you both! Saturday is going to be a wonderful and special day!!

"Take This City"

I began my summer classes on Tuesday and I am hoping it isn't going to be too terrible. I am excited to get some more classes checked off of my list before I graduate next May. If there is anything I've learned in college, it is to try to stay motivated and positive and the semester will seem quicker and less painful. I think summer is more of a challenge, because you know that a lot of your friends aren't in school and you are. However, I feel like the teachers are a little more lenient than they are during regular fall and spring semesters. That doesn't mean there is less work, but they don't make us stay in class for the full time all of the time. I am also taking an online class this time, and that definitely takes motivation to remember to get online and do a discussion question and test for the week. All of this to say, I am ready to conquer this summer semester.

I went to Callaway yesterday with Kristin Bolt and her mom and little brother Jake with their church children's ministry. It was a long, but fun day! I remember being a kid and having that much energy and then when you hit the pillow at the end of the day you fall right asleep. I mean those kids did everything yesterday. They went to the butterfly garden, played putt-putt, rode a train, played on the beach, and just played on the playground. They did so much and in the heat. As an old person, I was exhausted! It was a very fun day though and I am so glad I went. (The picture on the blog is from our day at Callaway!!)

I wanted to share this song that we learned last week at camp called "Take This City" it is from the Grace Midtown cd::

"This city belongs to the One and Only, Lover of all who gave His son, for all to see His love and majesty!! This city belongs to the King of Glory, Savior of all, who came and set the captives free for all eternity!! If God be for us, who can be against us? The gates of hell will NOT prevail! We're gonna take this city for Your glory! We're gonna take this city for Your name! We're gonna see Your kingdom, bring Your freedom! We're gonna take this city for Your name! We hold on to every word You've spoken. We stand on the promises You've made. We call on the name that is above all other names!!"

This song gets me every time I hear it, because I just say to myself, "Sarah Beth, what are you doing to further the Kingdom of God?" If we truly believe in the Word of God we should be telling others about Him daily and help our cities, countries, wherever we are to shine for the Lord!!

beginning?

Okay, well all of my best friends have started to blog, so I decided it might be fun to try this. It is a good way to keep up with people, especially if you don't see people very often. I don't really know what all I'm going to write, but I am excited about trying it and seeing what comes of it.

Last week I went to IMPACT with the youth from church as a TL (team leader). It was such an exciting experience, because I went to IMPACT as a camper from the summer after my 7th grade to the summer after my 11th grade year. It was wonderful to be back at a camp that made such an impact on my life years ago and then I had the opportunity to pour into the lives of students over the course of last week. I was placed in the purple school of IMPACT, which is rising seniors and graduated seniors. I had a family group of 12 guys and girls of those ages and a "husband" for the week, this group was our small group for the week. It was amazing to watch how close my family group got after the first night and the discussions we had already had. God definitely had lots planned for everyone who went to IMPACT last week. I know that as a TL I learned just as much as the students did. I don't think one person that left at the end of last week not learning anything.

I think last week I continued to just recognize the love that the Lord has for us. Aaron Keyes played this song called "Jesus Loves Me" the last night of worship. He asked us to all bow down and get in a position where we could pray and after we had been praying for a while is when he started to play this song. I began to just listen to the words and immediately started to just tear up, because I just thought about how even when I am so unworthy I can remember that He loves me. Here are the Lyrics::

When I feel I'm not enough-when I feel unworthy of Your love

When I'm doubting and alone-broken, far away from home

When I've all out forsaken You-oh, I remember..

Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me so..

Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me this I know..

When I think about the way, You spoke the word, and worlds were made

Yet you call me Your child, the apple of Your eye

When I lie down to sleep, my heart skips a beat

at the thought so sweet..

Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me so..

Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me this I know..

neither death nor life, angels nor demons, not anything that is to come

neither depth nor height, nor all of creation, can separate me from Your love!!

I have definitely become a fan of the song and it makes me so happy to just know that He loves me, and He loves all of us more than we could ever imagine. I could go on and on, but I don't think anyone would want to read this for that long.

I start my summer classes this week, I am not looking forward to that. However, I know I will be excited at the end of the summer. I will be done with 3 less classes to graduate next May. It is going to take a lot of positivity in my attitude and thinking, so that way I can stay motivated.

Oh yeah, people are probably wondering why I named my blog Psalm 91. I did that because that verse means a lot to me. I think it is a wonderful thing that our God is our refuge! If you haven't read it before, I definitely encourage you to. Even if you have read it before you should still read it!