Wow...

That’s the best way to sum up the last week of my life. Sharptop Cove was INCREDIBLE. They weren’t kidding when they said it would be the best week of your life.

It was a long bus ride there, but the fun began the moment we stepped off the bus. All sorts of fun events happened throughout the week: a muddy, nighttime obstacle course, a volleyball tournament where everyone dressed up in wild costumes, the Pool Olympics, the rodeo, cabin challenge, 1890s hoe-down, hike to the top of SharpTop Mountain, the banquet, and a huge last dinner feast. During our hours of free time we ventured to the slide, zipline, swing, frisbee golf, repelling wall, quantum leap, high ropes course, bead barn, and just hanging out by the pool. There was SO much that happened all week--I could go on for days sharing about our sweet time going crazy and having a blast together.

But most importantly our high school friends, over 400 in all, got to see a glimpse of Christ for who he is and heard the gospel in a new and real way. 16 kids from Pitt County came home from camp making commitments to Christ, including one of my girls! I feel that there is nothing more beautiful in the entire universe than watching someone come from death in sin to life in Christ. Amen for the great things Christ did at camp this past week. I have to say it was one of the most physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining things I’ve been through, but also one of the most fun and thrilling weeks of my life. It was absolutely amazing to grow closer and be encouraged by the other wonderful Pitt County leaders, getting to know my high school friends on a deeper level, and experiencing all sorts of pure joy all week long. It’s bittersweet to be home because it’s hard to leave such a beautiful, holy place, but it’s also good to be back in my own bed. I’m slowly but surely catching up on the lost energy from the past week.

This week it’s back to work a bit and getting in a ton of physical therapy observation hours. Welcome back to the real world…

Btw, anyone a Carolina Hurricanes fan? I got to watch Rod Brind’Amour, Chad LaRose, and Shane Willis workout while I was observing physical therapy this morning. Pretty cool. Too bad I’m not much of a hockey fan.

<3

Relax

Sunday I was able to go to church for the first time in weeks. In Sunday school we talked about Creationism. It saddens me that the world believes the lie of evolution, that all beautiful things that we see were evolved from a random formulated chemical combustion. Where is the purpose of life then? How do you account for the fine-tuned intricacy of the human body or unique properties of nature or the emotions that plague our souls from day to day? Caused by randomness with no plan or designer. It just happened by chance. Now, I'm no scholar but I still cannot find the truth in such a belief. Creationism is shoved aside because people are unwilling to face a Creator and are only left to cling to such false truths. This week I've truly been able to look at the world in new eyes and newfound purpose in my daily living. It was a refreshing morning for my soul.

Sunday night we were able to celebrate Lacey's birthday at Chili's. We humiliated her by having the staff sing to her and as a result got free sweet shots. Awesome. I'm so blessed that Lacey has been my bestest best sister best friend for 12 of her beautiful years of life. We were SO cool back in elementary school, let me tell you. Haha. After dinner, Lacey, Laur, and I went to the Line's house in the middle of freaking nowhere for the night, where Quinny had been house sitting all week. We watched the Disney Channel, Harry Potter, then got a little freaked out from the complete silence around the house before we went to bed. Good times. In the morning, Quinny had errands to run, so Laur, Lace, and I got breakfast. Breakfast always makes me happy and is by far my favorite meal of the day.

Monday I had the whole day off, so I was fairly productive in cleaning and read a whole lot. I made plans to eat delicious salad at Jason's Deli with my lovely friend, Corinne, who I hadn't seen in forever. We had a lovely long talk catching up on our lives from the past year. I love being home for the summer and getting a chance to catch up with old friends.

It must be the Lord's blessing that I'm not working much this week. Typically I'd wish to have more hours, but this week I'm certainly going to need the rest. Pitt County Young Life is heading to SharpTop Cove in Georgia next week! I'm SO excited about it. I know we're going to have a blast at there and watch God do amazing things...if it crosses your mind, pray for Pitt County leaders and kids next week. I really cannot believe how fast the summer is flying! I thought camp would never get here, but we'll be going next week, and in just over a month and I'll be moving into my beautiful townhouse with three lovely roommates! It's been nice to relax and take some time for myself and friends instead of working constantly. I often need to remind myself there's more to life than work and success. Mmm, oh life.

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
~Psalm 19:1

Freedom

I can't say many interesting things have happened this week. Today is even July 4th and I'll be working two shifts totaling 11 hours (time and a half!). Although there will be no big celebration, I bought some sparklers and I'm pretty excited about them.

Earlier this week I got to hang out with my beautiful friend, Heather, and my lovely sister, Laur. We had plans to cook and watch a movie, but we ended up deciding on Subway and chatting at Starbucks instead. I love hanging out with everyone but it's always a pleasure to get in some girl time.

Our internet was down for a few days, leading me to do more productive things. So, in all my free time I've been pouring through pioneer-time Christian romance novels. Lame to some, but I find them rather enthralling. Unlike the sex-driven secular novels, these men faithfully and honorably pursue their women. The couples seek the Lord to guide their hearts and their relationships. It's a beautiful thing, really, especially in comparison to all the broken relationships we see around us today.

Anyway, it's funny how they can be such an encouragement to my heart. Oftentimes they are laden with scripture. One novel lead me to this verse that has been imprinted on my mind all week:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him
and he will make your paths straight."
~Proverbs 3:5

I have a lot on my heart right now, but not quite sure how to share just yet. I'll let the words speak for themselves, which is probably better than anything I could say...

I think I might go read some, then take a nap before I'm back to work again....Happy July 4th!

Wake Up

This morning was pleasant...or should I say afternoon? I knew I could sleep in today so I stayed up talking to Bryan and then reading until 3am only to sleep in until 11:30am. I love sleeping in. I really wish I was a morning person, but I'm not. Of course random work hours everyday make it impossible to regulate my body clock over the summer, too. Oh well.

I've been reading the paper every day and that's made me feel more insightful about the world I live in. Additionally, last night I picked up my bible to seriously read for the first time in weeks (ouch). I know this is the reason behind my poor attitude, apathy, and mood swings lately--I'm sure my family can attest to this. I was just talking to Heather the other day about how not seeking God daily just seems to produce a bad day and a flat-out terrible attitude. I've been thankful that my prayer life has thrived over the summer as I'm constantly remembering my friends traveling overseas, my high school friends in Greenville, and desperately asking for Christ to capture my heart again, yet still, prayer alone will not sustain me. It was so incredibly sweet to have that precious time reading the Word last night. The Word was truly water to my soul after my heart has been so dry lately.

Anyway, Andy had told me that Romans 14:2 reminded him of me:

"One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man,
whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables."

Funny, right? I wonder if that's God's away of telling me not be vegetarian... ;)

Well, I'm thankful for sleeping in, dear friends to constantly remind me about Christ, and for tasty vegetables. :)

I'm off to go for a quick run before I have to go to work. We re-opening our Starbucks tomorrow after being closed for two weeks for major renovations. It looks amazinggg! Ta-ta for now.

Good Friends

Yesterday was a fun day. I worked in the morning then went running around noon (when it's blazing hot outside...smart, right?). I tried out a new path, got lost, and ended up running forever, missing lunch at the mall with Mike and Bryan, who were visiting on the way back from Greenville. But I met up with them later along with Heather, Laur, and Quinn and we had good times frolicking around the mall. The boys left and we regrouped at my house to hang out with Baird, who was driving through town as well! Lacey and Yaron love Baird, too, so they came by. It was lovely to see my Greenville friends. I miss them lots.

After Baird peaced out, we were starving and went to eat at The Carolina Ale House, ventured around Target, and went to see Wall-e. Wall-e was SO cute!

So if you haven't figured it out already, I have incredibly awesome friends and I'm so blessed by each one of them! From Jersey, Raleigh, ECU, YoungLife...all over the place! I really do feel like I have some of the best friends in the universe. I love you all dearly; you know who you are. <3

Sometimes I feel hesitant to share every stupid, little detail of my life here because in the grand scheme of things it seems so minuscule, but maybe I do because it's just fun to share life with people you love (or whoever reads this thing). Also because I'm a poser of Baird, Mike, & Heather ;). On top of that, I already talk too much and this blogger will prove it well. Haha. I'm sure more inquisitive thoughts will venture here eventually, hopefully. We shall see...

Bagels, NYC, and OHOP

So our trip to Jersey has come close to the end. We venture back to sweet North Carolina early tomorrow morning. It's been loads of fun, as always. It's always a pleasure to spend time with family and friends here and always brings back memories.

Friday afternoon we had a long-awaited lunch at Livingston Bagel with Avi and Oreo. We had been preparing for this trip at least 6 months ago through our conversations on Facebook. Avi recommended his favorite tuna salad on bagel so that was what I got. Yum. That's one of the things missing from the south...good bagels, delis, and bakeries. We ended up sitting there catching up on life for three hours. Of course, with those two, we could probably sit there forever. Haha. The night was spent hanging out with our family, eating tasty Jersey pizza, and watching Transformers. A great start to day one of our trip.

Yesterday we ventured into New York City with our Jersey boys: Alex, Adam, and Oreo (minus Avi...sad). The city is only 40 or so minutes from Livingston. We usually go in at least once a year with our dad, but this time we took a new route with our native city-goer, Alex, who goes to NYU. We started off walking down Wall Street, SoHo, and then took the Subway to Southport and ate some lemon Italian ice while admiring the East River. Then we went to down to Canal Street where we made the boys suffer as we searched for new "designer" purses. After all that shopping we ate a late lunch on Broadway. I'm not sure where we ate but they served water in wine bottles and my tiny watercress, pear, and gorgonzola salad cost $10. Pretty nice. Our last stop of the day was at The Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker St. where their cupcakes are famously-known. I ended up with a mini-pumpkin cheesecake and let me tell you--we were all on a sweet sugar high on the ride home. Haha. I love the city...it's always so much fun, always new sights to see. Our whole family got together that night for a cookout. Friends, family, and food--the three F's that usually sums up our trip to Jersey. Haha.

I started our last day with a nice long run around the Circle before going to OHOP with all the boys. I can never say no to a breakfast meal at any time of the day. Later today we'll spend time with our grandparents and go out to a lovely Italian dinner, before we have to come back to my aunt's house, spend some more time with our cousins, pack up, and get some rest before our early departure.

It's been fun. So long, Jersey...see you again soon.

"We are from Jersey. Not New Jersey, just Jersey.
We say "yo" and we say it often.
We curse a lot.
We sure as hell don't pump our own gas.
We know what real pizza tastes like,
and we know that a bagel is much more than a roll wit a hole in the middle.
We judge people by what exit they are off the parkway or by what mall they live closest to.
We drive SUVs and we tailgate any chance we get.
We can navigate a circle with attitude.
All good nights must end in a diner, preferably with cheese fries.
I have a dawg, and I drink cawfee.
We don't go to the beach, we go down to the shore...
and New York City, is "the city."
We know 65 mph means 80 mph."

So true. Haha.

Wishes

We got to Jersey safe and sound this afternoon. It was one of our quickest trips! Just hanging out with my cousins now--TJ who's 10 and Lindsey who's 6. They're so much fun. We just played Candyland and are watching Spongebob now. Haha. Brings back great memories.

I leave you with my summer to-do list. Guess I can cross off travel now:

SUMMER TO-DO LIST 2008

Spend lots of time outdoors.

Get better at disc golf.

Complete more physical therapy job observations.

Memorize muscles of the body.

Memorize vitamins and minerals.

Keep up with online class.

Expand my vocabulary.

Re-read Knowing God.

Read lots.

Finish studying Psalms.

Pray for friends traveling overseas/missions trips.

Visit Greenville a few times.

Keep in touch with friends over the summer.

Write lots of letters/postcards.

Catch up with old friends.

Avoid sunburn and skin cancer.

Travel places.

Study for the GRE everyday.

Keep up with online summer class.

Keep personal spending to a minimum.

Work hard and save up.

Eat watermelon, strawberries, and popsicles.

Swim.

Run most days of the week.

Train for the Raleigh Oaks Half Marathon.

Go to the beach.

Go to Carowinds.

Play laser tag.

Get a $20 massage.

Learn to cook.

Drink lots of iced tea.

Spend time with friends.

Enjoy life.

Live love.

:)

From our trip to the Jersey shore last year.