Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Update, just...update

Hello, All!
In case you've been wondering what I've been up to lately, here's your chance to take a peak inside my life!
Some thoughts are silly, random, and just otherwise of interest to me. Others are more serious and speak a little deeper about what's been going on over here in sunny (yet cool) San Diego.

Books I've been reading:
(I never just read 1 book at a time...but you all already knew that about me hehe)
1. Crazy Love by Francis Chan
2. Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs
3. Acts (Bible)
4. Solo: The Message Remix- An Uncommon Devotional
5. Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury (of course! I'm a HUGE KK fan)

Music I've been into:
1. Bethany Dilion (Great Christian, female vocalist. It makes me feel really old that my Jr. high/high school campers dont know who she is...yikes! haha).

2. Jill Andrews (Local Knoxville, TN artist...a friend of one of my friends...you know, *that* type of association).

3. Jena Lee (she's a really popular French pop artist. I listen to her when I'm planning my Europe trip...think I'll actually pick up some French while listening? Naw, but its pretty good music, anyways!)

4. Vitamin String Quartet (They do remixes of famous pop songs, classic rock songs, and movie soundtracks in the form of a string quartet arrangement).

Favourite new hairstyle:

http://saralynnpaige.com/blog/style/simple-gibson-tuck/

News:
Within the past 2 weeks, I've been: hiking more times than I can count (...ok, like 5 times), swimming in natural pools and swimming pools, horseback riding (yesssss!), sleeping in multiple different bunkbeds with multiple different roommates/campers, laughing so hard at times that I almost pee my pants, gone to the beach twice (back-to-back days, actually), and have gotten quite a good tan!

The weather here (for those of you absolutely baking in TN, cover your eyes) has been high 40s and 50s at night and high 60s-low 80s during the day. The humidity is...oh well, sorry, we dont have humidity here (MUCH TO MY DISMAY, might I add. I actually love the humidity. I feel like it's the Lord's "blanket of warmth" that surrounds us at night in E. TN. I'm really missing it here in SD.)

My family is doing well :) My second cousin got married 2 weekends ago and my first cousin got married this past weekend. So much fun and very exciting for my family, especially in light of the fact that my paternal grandfather passed away 2 days before I returned home from TN on May 31st. Please keep my step-grandmother in your prayers, as she is dear to us all, and yet with her in LA and me on the Mountain, I cannot easily comfort her.

Camp:
Camp!!!!! Horse camp is wonderful! ...Granted its only day 2 of the first actual week of camp, but it's my third week "doing camp", working up here, and getting things in order for the girls to arrive. For those of you who dont know, I've been working at a Christian Conference Center on Palomar Mountain (about 2 hours from DT SD, but in SD County limits, and about 1 hour from my parent's house). All of our girls are between the ages of 9-17 and are quite cute. I have to ask- when did high schoolers get so small and young looking? Ha! I am so looking forward to teaching deaf high school kids even more after hanging out with our campers! There have been some great discussions and some tears (on all of our parts- staff and campers alike) but I *know* the Lord is really working in the lives of all of us involved with horse camp.
Please pray for the hearts of all the campers that come up here- some of these girls deal with intense issues back home. The more I hear their stories of their lives, the more thankful I am for the wonderful up-bringing my parents provided for me.

Lessons Learned:
1. Being a Christian means being a servant not only to those around you, but also to Jesus. Do you know how hard it is to be a servant? ...If you're living in such a way that you are serving Jesus, you know that your life is not without its challenges. I am blown away by how much joy our camp's cleaning staff has each day while they go about their tasks of picking gum off railings, cleaning cabins and camper rooms, and cleaning our staff bathrooms. Their hearts of service are truly amazing!

2. The promise of life that Jesus extends to us is *so much more significant* than any type of life we can conjure up on our own. I'm working on giving up my idea of what my "life" looks like and have completely exchanged mine for HIS. ...Its pretty amazing, actually. Worried about if you're gonna date that one guy? Don't even give it a second thought: release all of your ideas about him to the Lord and he'll totally carry it from there. Concerned you might have made the wrong choice to work on a summer missions project all summer instead of taking that internship that could have had a lasting impact on your future resume? Don't even worry about it! The choices that we make each day should be so wrapped up in God that living our lives that are full of promise and fulfillment come naturally (note: "naturally"...not "easily").

Verses I've been living by as of late:
1. 1st Peter 3:9-8 (so good for anyone living in any type of community...roommates...halfway house...at home with parents...at camp...on a missions trip...etc.)

"Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. "

2. Psalms 139:23
"Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts."

3. Psalm 143:8
"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life."

Beyond that? What else is there to say? :)

Friday, June 17, 2011

Good Song

So I really like Adele and I also like Glee, so what better than a Glee cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep?" Not only is it a beautiful song, but it rings true for me too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TbOxROSuxQ

Saturday, June 4, 2011

so my song for tonight

"Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjM1Lrsb7I8


Its strange when all of a sudden someone from your past comes into your mind; its even more strange when you start thinking of them and then can't get them out of your head. Its like all of these different memories come flooding over you. Its sometimes nice to just sit and let those ideas come washing over you, however, sometimes those can lead to bittersweet thoughts. However, it is my experience that "it is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all."

I like to sing this song when I remember someone and wonder if they remember me at all, too.