FLORIDA!!!

So, as you all know, my family and I took a much needed vacation to Florida. It was absolutely AMAZING!!! I had a blast just traveling! The vast difference in terrain along the East Coast is just amazing!! I have to say, I think my favorite state is Virginia. It's absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!! I can't even describe the majest of the mountains and the beauty of the rivers and valleys. I have a friend there that told me "It's God's country" and I have to agree, although it's ALL God's country. Just beautiful! Part of Virginia being my favorite state is the fact that I didn't see South Carolina or Georgia in the day time;-) I won't bore you with all the boring details of my trip, I'll just share a few pictures :-)

Oh! I'll share these details because they're NOT boring!!!! The Archer's and the Johns' are AMAZING people!!!! God has surely blessed their churches with caring pastor's and pastors' families! Both families were so incredibly hospitable to us, and I can't thank them enough for the kindness and for welcoming us with open arms. The chuch families of thetwo preachers are AWESOME and the good teaching they've had over the years shows BRIGHTLY. At both churches we were hugged and told how much they appreciated us. I even got the Hispanic kiss on the cheek from one sister. Love you, Becca;-) Just AMAZING!!!

BEAUTIFUL mountains in Virginia!

*Gag* I ate Gator tail!!!! It actually tasted pretty good, but the batter they fried it in was really salty, almost as salt as the ocean, but it made me nauseous thinking about what I was actually eating.

They're gonna just love me for this pic, but my family at Busch Gardens.

This might possibly be the cutest thing I've ever seen!! A baby cheetah was out playing with it's doggie friend, and it was sooooo cute!!! Believe or not, that cheetah was as big, or bigger, than a full grown lab or retriever/hound mix, and the cheetah is 6 months! omw! So cute!!!!

Really cool wall somewhere in one of the Virginias

*Ugh* Dinner from the night before.

Riding down the big hill on the Log Flume. We. Got. DRENCHED!! I was NOT Happy!!!!! lol My hair looked like I stuck my finger in a light socket for the rest of the day. Ugh!=/
He looks so cute and innocent when he's sleeping. Aww!! :-)

The one sleeping looks cute--the one standing by me, however, is VICIOUS looking! They're just UGLY and mean! That one was stalking back and forth just itching to get out and eat the little children that were walking back and forth in front of him.

Bad pic of me, BEAUTIFUL pic of my cousin, Melissa:-) She's 8 months pregnant and absolutely adorable, and so sweet!!! :-) Her and her husband gave us a wonderful breakfast!

Ya'll have no clue how hard it was to get the pic. First we had to get the lighting right, then we had to get the poses right, then we had to get the aim right....oh my! It was a hassle! Did I mention that I had to jump up and push the button, then run back to the couch and act like I'd been sitting there?

Melissa, Jason, and Lucy, and Baby Baldwin :-)

The lighting in this picture is kind of off, but I LOVE it!! These girls are just wonderful! It's Rebecca (the Hispanic who kissed me;]), Jamie Johns, me (duh!) Lucia, and Stephanie Johns, the Johns' daughter-in-law.
Jonathan, Tommy, and Joshua.

Tommy. The guy that's like the gentle giant. That guy is SOOO tall!! Se where my shoulder is?? I had on FOUR INCH HEELS!!! And then the hair is like another 4-5 inches and I'm still shorter!!! lol The average sized guy looks like a midget when I'm in high heels with tall hair;-)

Tommy and Elder Bro. Johns, the "grandpa" of the church. Such a SWEET elder!!! :-)





Stephanie and me---I love her!!!!!

Stephanie and her husband, Bro. Jesse Johns.

Bro. Johns and Daddy after some good food and fellowship!

My mom and Sis. Johns. We learned something neat when we were in Miami. Sis. Johns' sister, Becky, is the one who witnessed to my mom, helped her pray through to the Holy Ghost, and gave her her first Bible study!

Sis. Johns and me! She is easily one of the sweetest people I've ever met! I fell in love with her very quickly. She is a true lady :)

Daddy in Bro. Archer's church. He preached a GREAT message!!!!

Dakota and his new-found friend, Jonathan. I'm glad he had fun!

10 ways I'm viewed

10 Words You Would Use to Describe Yourself:

1) Christian

2) Lonely

3) Friendly

4) Happy

5) Content

6) Loving

7) Compassionate

8) Talkative

9) Blessed

10) Flawed

10 Words a Stranger Would Use to Describe You:

1) Happy

2) Friendly

3) Bubbly

4) Snobby (until they meet me)

5) Crazy

6) Christian

7) Outgoing

8) Long-haired

9) Modest

10) Conservative

10 Words Your (Blog) Readers Would Use to Describe You:

1) Unfaithful

2) Crazy

3) Descriptive

4) Long-winded

5) Insightful

6) Senseless

7) Cheery

8) Talkative

9) Promoter-of-other's-blogs

10) Compassionate

10 Words Your Friends & Family Would Use to Describe You:

1) Loving

2) Opinionated

3) Compassionate

4) Lover of God

5) Silly

6) Talkative

7) Annoying

8) Cheerful

9) VERY girly (been told that a lot recently lol)

10) Lover of my family and friends

and for bonus points …

10 Words God Would Use to Describe You:

1) Obedient

2) Submissive

3) Easily molded

4) Passionate

5) Forgiven

6) Flawed

7) Loved

8) Valuable

9) Thankful

10) Needy

If ya'll have any other ways you see me, please do tell!! :-) Good or bad ;-)

VACAY!!

Well ya'll, we are about to take our annual vacation. And this year, the lucky state that gets us as tourists iss.....FLORIDA!!!! I am soooooooo excited!!!! Crazy, right? It's just a vacation, right? Nothing special, just going to a beautiful sunny state that most of America has visited at one time or another. WRONG! This is my first REAL vacation this year. Yes, back in July we went to Albion, but for me that wasn't really a vacation. Had some major life decisions hanging over my head that I made at Camp, soooo it wasn't really a "break" from life at all. So, going to Florida is gonna be my little time of rest and relaxation before school starts. Oh, and something else that makes this trip extra special is the fact that I've never been to Florida, OR seen an ocean!! We are going to Fort Lauderdale and Miami so we'll be very close to the ocean, and no doubt will go to the beach. *Squeals* Eeeee!! So excited!!!!! Anyways, I'll try to get LOTS of pictures to post when I get back!!

My heart

My heart.........

5QF

1. Do you have siblings and are you close with them?


I have two siblings-My 21 year old sister, Elissa, and my 13 year old brother, Dakota. I would consider myself close to them, but in different ways. I think I will get even closer to them both in the coming years. Something that is SO sweet with my brother is how he has turned into being a compassionate little boy. I'm not gonna lie....there are days when I want to ship him off to a desserted island and he drives me CRAZY, but other days we are super close and he's so loving! I spent three days at a friends house, and last night he hugged me and was like "I just wanna hug my sister!" And then Elissa....well we are just close and we miss each other since she's moved out! lol


2. Would you rather be slightly UNDER weight or slightly OVER weight?


Hmmmm that's a hard one! Right now I'm overweight....I dont think I've ever been UNDERweight...Sooo.....I think probably overweight. Even though I'm overweight right now I don't look bad and I feel just fine.


3. What's your favorite State Fair food to splurge on?


I would have to agree with my MAMA. Funnel cake is AMAZING!!!! I get it almost every time we go to the fair....mmmmm so good!

4. What are your thoughts on your kid(s) going to school in a few weeks?
Well since I'm the one going to school, I'll answer it from my point of view. I'm soooo excited!!! Again, like my Mom said, this is mine and my brothers first year in public school. It's exciting!! I'm thrilled!


5. Pool or Ocean? '
DEFINITELY the pool!!!!! Nothing has died in it.....there aren't all kinds of animals eating one another in it....no chance of jelly fish lol I like swimming in a pool! Lol

Have a great weekend everyone!

So everyone, I have SUPER exciting news! On Monday, I FINISHED SCHOOL!!!!! FINALLY!! Most people get out of school for the summer at the beginning of June....not me! I'm my own person-an original. I get out at the end of July! *rolls eyes* Yeeah I'm just cool like that. So anyways, I finished Monday, and now I get just over a month of summer vacation. Woohoo!!

The other exciting news is that this Friday and Saturday my dad and I are going to Bro. Streeval's anniversary services....aaaannnndddd Kristi might be going with us! I'm SOOOOO happy!!!! I love that girl TO DEATH! :-D So yeah, we might stay in a room together. It will be fun! :-D

And I left these two pieces for news so you can go have yourself a good ole' shout down in the Lord. Last Wednesday night, Josie, a cousin of a family in our church that has visited us every summer for like 3 years, was filled with the precious gift of the Holy Ghost! and THEN, tonight, EJ, a guy in my church has come to our church for almost 2 1/2 years received the Holy Ghost! God is SOOOOO good!! There is REVIVAL IN OUR CHURCH!!!!

He's the Master of the Ocean

This is a quick, random post to let you all know that I absolutely LOVE the old songs!!!!! It's been a while since we've sung some of them at my church because there are just so many good ones!! A few of my favorites are "Master, the Tempest is Raging," sung by Jesse Dixon, "Leavin' on my Mind" by the Haven of Rest Quartet, and "Somebody Oughta Testify" by Dottie Peebles. I was singing both of those all day today, and then after church I looked up "Leavin on my Mind" and on the sid was "Master, the Tempest is Raging" and I clicked RIGHT AWAY!!! I looooove it! :) I was sitting there just about bawling because of the power I could feel!!! There are a few lines that stick out to me from the two hymns.


The first one, from "Master, the Tempest is Raging," says "There's no water that can swallow the ship where lies, the Master of the ocean, the sea and the sky." Something about that stuck out to me tonight. I've heard messages about having Jesus in your boat and things like that. I guess tonight I just really put the connection together. These thoughts are going to be a little bit scrambled, but please just try to get what I'm saying.

Ok, so we can compare our lives and our walks of life with the boat. Obviously, we want Jesus to not only be in the boat, but to be controlling it. For the sake of this thought, pretend that we are driving the boat, and Jesus just wants to be in the boat. Well we're going through the "sea of life" on our little boat, and we hit the storm, or the problems and trials of life. The line, "There's no water that can swallow the ship where lies, the Master of the ocean, the sea and the skies," is saying that even if it seems like Jesus is asleep in your boat, your trials can't overtake you. You might be fighting the hardest struggle you've ever faced. You feel like God isn't there, that He doesn't even give a thought to the fight that's going on, but if you have Jesus in your boat, even if it seems as though He's sleeping, you can't hear His voice, you can't feel His touch, you don't feel direction, the storms and trials of life Can. Not. Consume You.

I have this friend, and she will know I'm talking about her, (hope you don't mind Buddy!) that has been going through a trial for three years. I won't go into details, but there are times when she feels like she'll be consumed, like she can't go on. If I was going through what she's going through (essentially it SEEMS like Jesus is asleep) I don't know if I could make it. But through it all, she has kept a steady prayer life. She's faithful to church, submissive to her Pastor--she has kept her walk with God even though it seems like He's not there. She is an INCREDIBLY faithful, and good saint, although the trials of her life are HUGE! But I know and in her mind, she knows, that because Jesus is in her boat, even if it seems like He's sawing logs in the back, this trial cannot consume her. He's the Master of the ocean, the sea, and the sky. He controls the dark clouds, the waves that are crashing against her boat. He is over all of the little sharks in the water that have tried to hurt her and bring her down (♫ Lalala, he's a jerk;)♪ Inside joke) I know that in the very darkest of hours it seems like God isn't there, it seems like no one understands, the trial will never end, the wounds will be reopened over and over and never heal, but I'm telling you, THIS WILL END. There are seasons, and a season doesn't last a lifetime. There are cycles, and God knows just when you're season will come to an end. When you are through this, you'll be able to see why it happened. "Farther along we'll understand why" as the old song goes.

I really didn't mean to say any of that, but about half-way through I started crying and just felt to try to encourage someone. God is there. He really DOES have it all in control. When life seems it's craziest, God is still there, He's still walking beside you, protecting you, helping you.