No Matter What

A dear friend posted this song on my facebook page one evening. I was having a really rough night so I ended up listening to the song at like 2 am. Ever since the song has stuck with me. I have had some really rough days this past week with nights being the worst and little verses of this song just seem to come to mind.
I found the message and video to be pretty powerful so I thought I would share them with you.

Travel Talk

Lately there seems to be lots of talk about travel. Okay well maybe I have had travel on the mind.
I sat with two lovely ladies after church this morning and we talked about travel and places that would be fun to visit. :)
Then on the car ride home my sister and I got to talking about traveling and she mentioned a program she had heard about that she wanted to try. I don't know a lot of information about the program but it is through "People to People" which is an ambassadors program. They host trips to all over the world during the summer and provide students with the chance to grow in leadership and learn about different cultures.
She really had me interested and I could help but think of how fun it would be to do something like this together. Her dream trip would be to Australia and the New Zealand area. I think part of me of me is really excited about traveling for the photography opportunities but many of the trips are also featured around community service projects.
Oh goodness, I think I have gone off an a whim. We have never really ever gone on a family vacation and I think that is why I so desperately want to travel. I guess we will see. I believe that one day my impossible will come true. :) There are so many factors that often say 'no' to something but if it is right and meant to be then it will happen.
The funniest part of it all is I am one of those people who needs organization and routine in my life to function so the lord must be growing something in me to even consider travel...and it has been on the heart a lot lately.
Still dreaming of the beach and wishing I could take a mini vacation there with some friends.

Camp

Wow. Camp was simply amazing. There may not be words to describe just how amazing it was.
Before leaving I was kind of a nervous wreck and I was amazed to see all the encouragement from those around me. (i was walking through walmart the day before leaving andI have never had so many people say "Hi'' to me or smile at)
Chaos is just not my thing and while that is exactly what most of the camp was it was also a huge growing experience and a major encounter with God.
I was blessed to share this experience with some friends as we grew and bonded over the weekend. I wish I could recall each and every moment because I don't think I have ever laughed, talked, yelled, or cheered so much in my life.
The services were amazing and there was such a power in praying with and for each other. Every time we joined hands to pray I felt so connected. I found myself praying with and for different people throughout the weekend which was definitely a stretch of my faith but it also really changed my heart.
Monty Hipp did a great job of bringing God's word and I know there were many testimonies from the weekend. I was really praying God would speak to me on forgiveness and I was blown by how He did just that many times over the weekend. I think a lot of people were really challenged to stand up and be the example in their home situations as well as not becoming complacent with where they were at in their walk with God.
I am not really a competitive person so I wasn't extremely into the games but I did find myself yelling and cheering on my team mates. I think I surprised myself and little and the other people on my team. Pink team did come in last place but the experience was totally worth it.
God has really shown me love and happiness these last few days and coming home my heart is still experiencing that. There are some things I am working on changing because I want to move forward in my walk with Him and I don't want to let my hinderances hold me back.
I don't know what adrenaline and energy source I was running on at camp but when I got home yesterday I crashed. I think I fell asleep around 5:30 and when my parents woke me up an hour later for dinner I remember laying in bed and my head just felt empty....I couldn't remember where I was or what I was doing. I managed to eat about half my dinner before crawling back in bed and sleeping till 8am. One would think that 14 hours of sleep would be enough to refuel but I have already had a 2 hour nap today as well. Just trying to make it through.
This is all to say that no one in life is perfect but when we choose to live through Jesus we can live a happy and worth while life. :)
Thanks to all the people who made this camp so memorable!
Special thanks to Hona and Heather for stepping up to the plate and leading the team. You guys are changing lives by the wisdom and love you are willing to share at each and every moment.

A world that needs God

Most people that know me would probably agree that I have lived a very sheltered life compared to the outside world.

Ask me about TV shows or movies and I will probably have no idea what you are talking about. I never went through that stage of needing to talk on the phone for hours at a time and I used to refuse to go to sleep overs because I was just so used to being at home and alone. I am definitely the introverted child of the family.

As I have gone through high school, I was extremely oblivious to most of what was going on around me. I had never been exposed to drugs or the inappropriate language or partying. And while I am sure I have no idea half of the stuff that goes on it gets harder and harder to ignore what IS going around me.

I have recently been confronted by some friends who are going through a pretty rough situation. Due to some of the choices they were making they found themselves homeless at 17 and without any body they could really trust to turn to. I can not even begin to imagine what it is like to be a teenager, unsure what I am going to do with my life, and find myself without any where to go. I do not agree with the decisions they have made but I knew that I couldn't walk out on them when all their other friends had. I did what I could to help them and then I finally reached a point where I just gave it to God because I knew this was something beyond what help I could offer.

I immediately felt my heart lighten as I knew that God was going to help them. And while I know that God holds them in His hand the help they need is not something that is going to take place with a snap of the fingers. God works through us and of us. So while this may be something only God can do. I also have to do my part in stepping up to carry out what it is that God places in my heart.

There are people all over crying out for help and as I walk further into my walk with God my eyes are opened more and more. I can't wrap my mind around why people would turn to the things of sin in a time of hurt, especially when at one point they were walking with God, but I can reach out my hand to be the connecting link that they so desperately need.

I, at one point in my life found myself in the same place and while I wasn't turning to things that would harm myself or others there was a loneliness in my heart that I needed filled. God has a plan for all of us and part of His plan for me was to provide me with leaders and friends so that I could be led to Him. Now God is calling me to be one of those leaders to others around me.

There will be people that I always look up to and there will be those that look up to me. Its crazy that God could use someone so little and quiet to reach the lost. He may call me to reach one or He may call me to reach 1000. Whatever it is that He calls me to do, I know that He has a plan and He hold our world in His hands. He is making a testimony of my life and those around me.

As I get ready for sleep tonight I know that God is working my life and the lives of those I love.

He is working something big in my sister's heart and while I don't know the details she told me that God is changing how she views the world and all for the better. I have seen him begin to work in my parents lives and even though they are only taking baby steps I know that one days all those baby steps will amount to something big and they will come to know God.