Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Life as of Lately | Honest to Blog

Hello Blogging World!

It seems that I've been gone for far too long again, so I suppose we much catch up a bit. So much has happened, especially in this past week. I do not know even where to begin to start. I suppose a review of this week would be quite an interesting story.

Just over a week ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to a church lock-in. I didn't really know what to expect, considering I had never been to one at my new church. Luckily, my friend said that she'd go along with me, so we both experienced it firsthand, together. :) It was my first all-nighter. We played countless rounds of Sardines. Let me just tell you, I know my church way better than I did before! People hid in storage closets, furnace rooms, and everywhere in-between. Even though it was below freezing and windy, we managed to make a camp fire, burning approximately 40 pizza boxes from pizza we have every week.

Huddling around the camp fire
On Monday and Tuesday, I was a nervous wreck. I had two really big tests this week, that I felt like I had to pass. On Tuesday, I took my permit test, and successfully passed. I told one of my friends how nervous I was, and as we were passing a few notes in class :P, she wrote this to me.

"You are going to be fine!"
Has someone ever written something like that to you? I can't recall anyone ever telling me something like that, and I was just so encouraged. This whole week, I was praying my heart out. I was praying about passing my tests, my great, amazing friends, a safe delivery for my neighbor's twins, and other random things. On that Tuesday, when I found out that God answered my prayer, I was just in awe. I cannot describe how excited I was, but not as excited as I was on Thursday.

On Wednesday after school, I took a 95 point, multiple choice pretest. If I scored with an 80% or more, I didn't have to take one of our school's required classes, opening up my schedule for more college classes. Unfortunately, I couldn't find out my score right away, so during lunch the next day, I started walking toward the teacher, and she gave me a thumbs up, meaning that I passed. Yet again, God provided for me. He was with me the whole time. I remember telling myself that if I didn't pass, I wouldn't be sad. Why? Because of this: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). I knew that if God didn't want me to pass, and had better plans for me in high school, that I would have to trust him. That verse, along with this next one, helped me overcome my common nervousness. 


Each day this week has a different story, but one thing about myself didn't change: my smile. When you start looking at the positive things in your life, you realize how fortunate you really are. One of my friends, Megan, and I both said that we just couldn't wipe a smile off our face this past week. We were constantly happy. Despite all of my nervousness, that smile, that positive thing in my life, kept me going. One last thing for you today: It may not seem like God is listening and answering your prayers, but He is. 

God is working on your prayers.
Source

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Friday, January 11, 2013

Youth Retreat 2012

This past November, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel with my new church to north Minnesota. I say north instead of northern, because we seriously were on the tip of the state, almost in Canada. :P At first I was really nervous for the trip because I didn't meet a lot of people yet. Like I said, I was new to the church. Looking back on the trip though, it was a trip of a lifetime. I had so much fun. I absolutely loved the simplicity of life up north. Let my pictures tell you about some of our adventures...

Adventures around Lake Superior.


{Almost} all of the girls that went on the trip.

Trips to different light houses... some being at 10pm at night, with no light, standing on a 3-foot slab of concrete, with no railing, surrounded by water...

The option of going in Lake Superior in November.... let me remind you were are in Minnesota. I didn't go in. 

Food combination testing...

Yummy pizza places

Hike to Gooseberry Falls




P.S. This is my 200th post! Thank you to ALL of you who follow and comment! You inspire me so much!
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Tuesday, January 1, 2013

My Year in Review | Photos and Words

January

counsins / brothers / winter cooking / basketball watching

February

babysitting / valentines / sledding with friends / hair feather/ watching friends in sports / brother signing

March

awkward cousin photoshoots / National Lutheran Schools Week / best friend / volleyball team at Dairy Queen / teachers making pancakes for us / roller blading / State wrestling championship (1st place!)

April

confirmation / track meets / best friend / last school band concert / last school volleyball game

May

track meet / baseball games / Festival of Nations / annual lock-in / prom / last choir concert / 8th grade field trip / volunteering at Camp

June

Zach's graduation / my graduation / my mom's graduation / salutatorian speech / first Twins game at the new field / goodbye parties for friends

July

campfires / fish / lake / wedding / first phone / 4th of July / fireworks / brothers / trips

August

state fair working / county fair ribbon-winning / flower picture-taking / bird watching / babysitting

September

birthdays / adventure seeking / cousin time at the lake / dog-loving / portfolio building / football games / 1st day of school / first pepfest / Girls of Grace concert

October

volleyball / cousin's confirmation / brother's playoff game / adventures with the cousins / early Christmas / Fields of Faith / half marathon watching

November

Grand Marais / youth group trip / Gooseberry Falls / Thanksgiving / Student Council lock-in / my birthday

December

snow fall picture / band gift exchange / church youth directors / my old school's Christmas concert / best friend / siblings / winter pepfest / new mascot / aunts / extended family / cousin with our friend's baby

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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Sundays...

Some people believe that Sundays are like Saturdays...
,but I believe Sundays are much better.
Sundays are days that are meant to be for worshiping, singing praises, and reading your Bible.

Sundays are perfect days to sit outside and ponder what God has made.

On Sundays, we go to church and listen to what the sermon has to say, but do we come home and do what we're supposed to do? Spread God's Word? 

Matthew 28:19 says, "Go and make disciples of all nations...." (emphasis added) Do you see that word, all? All doesn't mean to go and tell your friends, though that is a very good first step. "All nations" means not just in the United States. If you're spreading the Good News in the U.S., great! But the Bible tell us that we can't just stay here and tell people here. The truth is, if you are only preaching in the US, you are only spreading news to about .5% of the world. That's not what we are here to do. There are all Muslim countries out there that need to hear what God has to say. I know this sounds crazy and I am guilty of that, but that is the truth! I beg and beg and beg my parents to go on a Mission's Trip. That is my reason why. 

I would like to here your thoughts on this post.  Do you believe what I'm saying is true?

Happy Sunday everybody!