Thursday, October 14, 2010

2. Pray without ceasing.
3. Pray with an undivided heart.

"It may seem daunting to walk away from the attractions of pop-culture. But when you seek your King with an undivided heart, you will discover that in His presence is the fullness of joy, and in His right hand are pleasures forever more(Ps 16:11)!"

~from Set-Apart Girl magazine

Monday, October 11, 2010

1. Pray specifically and boldly.

"There is a general kind of praying which fails for lack of precision. It is as if a regiment of soldiers should all fire off their guns anywhere. Possibly somebody would be killed, but the majority of the enemy would be missed." -Charles Spurgeon

"So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” -Matthew 21:21


(It appears I'm not the only one thinking about prayer! The next few posts will be {Biblical} thoughts on prayer taken from the Set-Apart Girl webzine.)

Thursday, October 7, 2010

A little story and BIG Answer to Prayer!

As I shared the other day, I have been praying specifically and waiting expectantly for God's answer. God has promised to answer all of our prayers. It may not be in the way that we want, but His will is perfect and his response to us is far better than what we could ever ask. Well, I was expecting a reply, but I didn't expect that reply to come so soon. Only a week later, I have received the answer to some of my prayers (and it was far better than I imagined it would be!).

As you may know, this month is a month of decisions in my life. I was supposed to begin planning out the rest of my school until graduation (by Oct. 31) and decide about camp next summer (by Oct 14). I knew I had to do an internship (200 hours within the time of a semester), and that pretty much has to be done in a summer (it would be nearly impossible to complete with a full load of school work). I only have one summer (hopefully!) between now and my expected graduation date--so that leaves one option--do the internship next summer. That's fine, but I really wanted to work at camp!
At the end of this summer, I assumed it would be my last. I "retired" from my Head Wrangler position. Even if I was planning to go back to camp I know I'm a little burnt out from being at the barn. Don't get me wrong, it's one of the most fun, most wonderful places at camp, but the job is exhausting, mentally and physically! I felt like I had used all my ideas and energy the past two years. I did talk to our director and told him I would be willing to do another job at camp. Ever since I knew about camp, I KNEW I would NEVER want to be the Head JC (Junior Counselor) Girl. Working with high school girls in that way just wasn't my cup of tea. The last week or two of camp, God changed my heart on the issue. I sort of had the idea and started to want to do that job. After camp ended, there have been several neat opportunities to minister to girls in high school, including leading a Bible Study on Thursday nights. Also since camp ended, knowing about the internship/school thing, I have been trying to let go of camp and come to face the fact that I would probably not be there. This wasn't working out so well. I was praying that God would provide whatever I needed, including clarity and wisdom to make the right decision.
Last Thursday, I met with an academic advisor about the internship. I learned I could do my internship at camp without really changing the role of Head JC Girl at all! This got me so excited, I was so busy thinking up plans and ideas I couldn't pay attention in class for the rest of the day. As soon as I got home, I shared the ideas with my parents. They had already encouraged me to work at camp--even if that added a year to my school--so they liked the idea. The next morning I called Andy, our camp director, and he was good with the idea--told me to pray about it and let him know by October 14. After finalizing and getting the internship approved (they approved it on Saturday--a NO-SCHOOL day!!), I was totally sure that this is what I wanted to do.
In the past, I have had to make decisions about camp, and other things, and just trust God that He would work it all out. I've never really had such clarity in decision making before. After two months of struggling a lot with the issue, God provided for me to go back to camp, do a new job that I have become very passionate about, AND fulfill my internship responsibilities, getting school credit. This decision has brought so much excitement into my life! I felt like I was walking on air all of Saturday and even a little now--a week later! Learning a new job will be a challenge, but I can't wait for it! I can see how God has been preparing me even during camp last summer, and since then for what will, Lord willing, come next summer! God is good and delights to give good gifts to His children. This gift is being received with great joy!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010



Not much time for blogging right now...But here are some pictures from my cousin's wedding. Lydia was the cutest flower girl ever!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Background Music

So, music is pretty cool. I often have it playing in the background while I work or type or do whatever...Here is what I often listen to....

Songs for worship:
"Beautiful" by Phil Wickham
"Worthy is the Lamb" by Hillsong
"How Great is our God" by Chris Tomlin
"How Marvelous" by Chris Tomlin

Songs for driving:
"While I'm Waiting" by John Waller
"I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin

Songs for writing and painting (and all the other artsy things I do):
Anything Michael Buble
Anything Jack Johnson

Songs for running:
"Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" by Marvin Gaye (haha, I don't know why I like this song)
"You are Loved" by Josh Groban
"How Can I Keep from Singing" by Chris Tomlin