2010

As 2010 comes to an end I'm taking some time to look over the year and focus on all God has blessed me with throughout it and all that I have learned.......This year has literally shaped me and stretched me in ways I never imagined it could.....I have had so many new experiences, learned so many different things about myself, have grown so much in my walk with Christ, and have made so many memories that will not be forgotten soon......here are some of my highlights from the year......

I got to be a part of a ridiculously AMAZING cast for the play "Joseph of Arimathea"......this experience literally brought me closer to Christ than anything else ever has....

I had THE best spring break this year in Siesta Key, Florida with my best friend Brittany and her very very cool family (:

I got my first job this March at Culvers!! Still work there and am really loving it!!

I got the chance to lead MANY wild, crazy, tiny girls at a dance camp that my good friend puts together every year.....her organizational skills are wayyy beyond me and I loved putting it together with her and watching the joy those little girls have all week.

For the first time, I got to be a counselor at Camp Adventure!!! I had been waiting for that moment to come for a long, long time and let me tell ya- it was amazing!!

I went on my first (and second) mission trips this summer!! Both were with the GSM team- one to Chicago and one to Nashville. LOTS of hard work, but also LOTS of new friends, memories, and a way bigger grasp of what it means to have a servant's heart.

I got to go on a two week long road trip out to the west with my friend Allison! On this trip I realized on a wayyy bigger level just how much God reveals His beauty to us in nature....

I finished off my summer with a relaxing family vacation to Virginia and got to spend some much needed time with my loving family!

I continue to lead an amazing small group of middle school girls.....

And continue to be part of (in my opinion) the best high school small group out there (:

While I'm sad to see this year go, I have to say I'm pretty excited to see all that God has in store for me in 2011!!

Adios 2010! (:

Tis the Season

I'm just going to come right out and say it....I'm one of those crazed Christmas lovers. I LOVE every single Christmas movie, am obsessed with the Christmas music, and love decking out the house in seasonal decorations. It's getting so bad that my sister has started referring to me as "the creeper elf of the house" because I constantly have Christmas music playing. But this year I've been pondering Christmas and all it has come to be more than ever.... The devil has done SUCH a good job of taking the world away from the true meaning of Christmas.....look around and you see crazed shoppers and creepy santa claus's everywhere.....America has even started to stray from SAYING Merry Christmas because it might offend others.....go to any grocery store or restaraunt and you hear "Happy Holidays!" but no Merry Christmas. This, to me, is a tragedy. Christmas is meant to be a time to celebrate the birth of our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer- to rejoice in the promise of salvation that came with his birth; but the world has turned it into the celebration of a big ole man dressed in red and all he can bring us Christmas morning. So this Christmas I'm trying to look at Christmas with different eyes- not that all the jazz that comes along with Christmas is bad- I'm just trying to realize in a WAY bigger light this season that it's really all about Him. And I'm hoping that this shifting of my mindset will transfer not only into the holiday season, but into my everyday life. So that HE can become greater, and I can become less.

I'm Back!!....for now

Hey all! I know its been a longgg time since I last blogged, I've been crazy busy this semester!!! But, no worries- I'm back into bloggerton town....for now! More to come later once I get all my thoughts straightened out (: I know you're all just SO excited!! (all 2 of you that is ha ha. )