Most of what has happened since the last post happened this weekend. I found my first Letterbox, we got to see some old family friends, coming to my aunt's house, going swimming, helping with field day, playing with water balloons, and finding more letterboxes!

Friday we left the house and headed to Travelers Rest SC. We got in late so not much went on then. The next morning we went to our friends house. It was a blast. I had more fun there than I have had in a long time with adults or kids my age. I would tease and they would tease right back. It was such a great challenge and they didn't take anything personally! They took us around to the places where my sister and I found our first letterboxes. If you don't know what that is check it at atlasquest.com or letterboxing.org. I think my dad for the first time in a long time found a place he fit in. They also stuffed us to death!

Sunday we met aunt Janice and she brought us to GA. Sunday was pretty blah. Monday we went swimming for a little bit. but I was chicken and didn't get in..it was too cold.

Today I helped with field day. I timed for the 60 yard dash. I met an interesting fellow there. He seemed really nice. Didn't get his name or anything. It was just fun to have someone intelligent to talk to for a while that was actually a year younger than me. I asked to be timed for the dash at the end while racing this guy. He beat me, not by much though.

When we got home we played some video games and then decided water balloons would be fun. That it was! Throwing, hitting with a baseball bat, smashing over ppls heads, and bouncing water balloons was what followed. It was loads of fun! Here are some pictures!

Wow..what a week!

A lot has happened this past week and I was kinda silly and decided to put it off so that it is going to be one big post. Better get comfy!

Tuesday was one of the coolest days from this past week. I watched the live webcast of the Youth Leaders Cafe'. These are the coolest messages I have ever heard. They have dramatically changed how I look at everyday things and my Devotions and Bible reading. The theme for the sessions this time around was "God's works." They explained how parents are commanded to teach their kids about the works of God. They talked about how when you break down the way a tree (or any piece of nature for that matter) and think about the fact that God made every leaf, every insect that lives in that tree for a purpose, He knows that purpose and guides that insect/leaf to full fill that purpose. Just amazing to think about! They also talked about how to see God's work or Providence and how to teach it to teens. (it is a youth LEADERS cafe' after all...) Since then I have seen how God has worked in my life to allow the help of His Children and bringing Glory to Himself. It is SO awesome to see how God has used little old me! I don't deserve to be used! But I have been! I can't wait to continue to see how He will work in my life but also the lives of my friends and family!

Wednesday at church the game of the night was Human Clue. It was the 4th round I have played. The difference this time was that all the team members had to hold onto a cone the whole game. That way the teams stayed together. It helped even out the teams and between the fastest and slowest ones of the team. Gina started out going around with us along with Hannah Silva, Morgan, and another girl who I can't remember her name. Gina had to sit down though because her knee was bothering her. This allowed us to be able to run. We were the second one to come in and say we were done. The team that came in before us was a team of one so that wasn't so bad. The funny thing was he got one of them wrong. So our team won. I have not lost once when I have played this game. Pastor Mike isn't going to let me play anymore I think. Which is fine. I don't mind.

Friday Daddy and I left to go to my Uncle's house to help with some house repairs. It was all outside work. We worked all day basicly Saturday. I know have a burnt neck and pink arms. I enjoyed working. I also was able to spend time with my cousins which is always nice. I also was able to spend some quality time talking with my dad on they way there and back. I always have enjoyed taking family trips. Its a great time talk. Captive audiance kinda idea. We arrived home Sunday evening.

So that is what has happened the past week. This coming weekend we are going to go to Greenville to visit with family and friend. I will then be going to be a built in babysitter for a week. The next week I get to go to a time share with my aunt and uncle at a camping place. It should be lots of fun. I will do my best to keep up with Blogging but I'm not promising anything! Have a great week everyone!

Fw: before they call I will answer

 

 

 

Subject: Isaiah 65:24 - 'Before they call, I will answer' This story was written by a doctor who worked in central Africa.   One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator). We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.   One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). 'And it is our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed.   As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.     'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.'   The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.   During prayer time, one ten-year old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God' she prayed, 'send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.' While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, 'And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?' As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, 'Amen'? I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything, the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door.. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out - yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle. I cri ed. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could..   Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, 'If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!' Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she asked: 'Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?' That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five month s before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it 'that afternoon'. 'Before they call, I will answer' (Isaiah 65:24). This awesome prayer takes less than a minute. When you receive this, say the prayer, that's all you have to do. No strings attached. Just send it on to whomever you want - but do send it on. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. T here is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue praying for one another! 'Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading this right now. I am asking You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self doubting, release a renewed confidence to work through them. Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask You to renew them by revealing Your nearness, and by drawing them into greater intimacy with You. Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and release to them Your courage. Bless their finances, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders and friends to support and encourage them. Give each of them discernment to recognize the evil forces around them, and reveal to them the power they have in You to defeat it. I ask you to do these things in Jesus' name. ' P.S. Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend and God will bless you both. Passing this on to one not considered a friend is something Christ would do. 'Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you're not willing to move your feet.

Birthday bash and lady like

Okay, so Saturday was Pastor Mike's birthday. I asked around and was able to get almost all the teens to sign a card for him for his birthday. I then was struck with the idea...What if we surprise him with cupcakes and sing Happy Birthday to him on the Wednesday before his birthday. Well, with the help of Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Samson, we were able to do that. I brought the candles and the card. Mrs. Samson brought the cupcakes and Mrs. Davis brought the drinks and chips. Since I am a teen I wasn't really able to do the presenting so Mrs. Samson did it instead for me. I think he was really surprised. Oh, I forgot to tell you, he turned 30...so there were 30 candles on that cup cake! We only lit one...more then that would be too much and might have caught the cup cake on fire! That would have not been good!



The ladies spring banquet was yesterday at church. The speaker was really good! I wish I had had a video camera, she was very....animated in her challenge. "Do you REALLY know your God?" She explained you can't get to know your God with just ten minutes for a devotional. It takes TIME, and lots of it!



Today is mother's day right? so we went out to the Mayflower for lunch so Momma didn't have to cook. Well, the Pastor's family went as well. Pastor Davis came up and sat down beside me and asked what I had for him to eat, or something like that. I told him he could have my hush puppy (it had a bite taken out of it already). He said he didn't want it. I asked him why. He said because it looks like someone has already taken a bite out of it. I then replied with, "Thats why you can have it." He sat there silently for several seconds looking down at my plate with the hush puppy with this nasty look on his face like I had asked him to eat a worm. It was SO funny! He was not expecting that one in the least! I had so much fun giving him a hard time! Maybe too much fun..

Hey guys, leave a comment! I would love to hear what you guys think about the outfit I wore to the ladies banquet or about your own birthday surprises! You don't have to be a member of blogger to leave a comment!

Hit over the head

You guys probably know by now that I can sometimes be a stubborn pain in the neck. I also can have my pity parties, or get angry with others. Yesterday I had been talking with some friends of mine. I had been a little touchy with one of them and not extremely pleased with the other. The first friend told me what I was doing wrong. They had told me before I just didn't get it I guess. Whats my point? God decided he was going to hit me over the head with one of His Biblical principles. I was looking over my Sunday school book that we are going through (I'll tell you more about that in a minute) and getting the next weeks verse written down so I can memorize it. The verse was Proverbs 21:19. As I read it, it was like "bam." No wonder the first friend was saying what they were. They might as well have been sitting in the dessert or in the middle of the woods then to be talking with me the way I had been treating them and acting. Sometimes I just need to be hit over the head with something to get my attention. It is really cool how the Lord works things out. I had read this verse before and knew what it meant. I just didn't think it applied to me because I was rarely angry with people or wanting to start fights. The Lord showed me it applies to anything that you do to make things harder on someone else.

As for the Sunday School book. The book we are going through right now is called "Managing Your Moods" from Women of Faith. This is just the girls SS class mind you. I really need this because lately I have been letting how I feel govern what I do, what I say, and how I react. I am so glad Miss Brooks choose this book. I am beginning to see how deceitful my heart really is. It wants only what will make it happy. It is completely flesh. It can be trained though. Which takes time and effort with God at the steering wheel. Do you know how hard that is? To just let go? Or how hard it is to think clearly when you have emotions swimming around in your head.

Please pray for me as I am continuing in this book. I need all the help I can get. Also if you are talking to me and I start letting my emotions take control. Please kindly stop me and remind me about what I have said here. :)

I don't know what to name it...

Okay, you guys are probably going, WHAT? I know. I have almost become addicted to this thing on facebook called Flair. It has bunches of these button looking things that you can post on something that looks like a cork bulletin board on your facebook profile. Most of you I am sure are familiar with facebook, if you aren't just post and I will try to explain it in more detail. Well, I love finding odd and weird and funny ones. I have started saving them to my computer. I am not sure what I am going to do with them now, but I'm sure I will come up with an idea eventually. When I saw this particular one I thought of a gaming friend of mine who has played every Zelda game they have on the Gamecube, plus some (if my memory serves me right, if not feel free to correct me). So I thought I would post it and show it off to the whole world! so yeah..

Wednesday night we played floor hockey for the second week in a row. I have enjoyed it because it allows me to get used to and get somewhat good at the game. I feel bad for Miss Brooks legs though, they are blue, purple, green, and black from getting hit with hockey sticks. My "claim to fame" (HA!) this week is I scored a goal..after I passed to puck to a guy on the other team. Oooppss...

Saturday I went to my next door neighbors party thing for her 11th birthday. Yeah I know...17 year old going to a 5th graders party, pathetic. I actually had a good time. There was a guy there that kept goofing off. Ya know, a class clown. He started asking me for rope and things like that. Me being me replied dead panned, "why so we can tie you up in a tree at the back of the property." Apparently things like that aren't said to him to often because he was very surprised and didn't know what to say right away. I had fun other times teasing him like that. Also the wonderful "you're 17?" question. I don't think that will EVER get old. To tell you the truth, I had more fun at the 5th graders party playing volleyball and kickball then I have had at my peer's parties lately....

Crafting chat time! lol I found out this podcast that I subscribe about scrapbooking has live feeds once a week and that they had an almost all day thing satureday! I was so excited! It was cool to watch and scrapbook at the same time. They are so funny! If you are interested in scrapbooking or altered books or even photography check out the site, its Paperclipping.com. The only down side is it is based out of Arizona so the live stuff doesn't start till like 930 my time at night. We will see how it all works out.

I almost forgot! Pastor Mike bought these neat books from Dare 2 Share. It is called Venti Jesus Please. It is really good! Even though its like 130 pages tops. It is a little book and I read it in like under an hour. I suggest that you guys try to get it to read it! There was this one Iffy spot in it that was said by a non christian (from what I hear its based on a true story) that Pastor Mike choose to blot it out. If you would like to know what its about or if your parent's want to know what its about I can ask Pastor Mike to send an email explaining what exactly is blotted out.

Hey, leave a comment! please?

This is something I just found that seemed to go along quite well with my previous post. What do you guys think?