My trip to the BIG APPLE

I was New York City bound on November 19th! It was my first time in the Big Apple.  NYC was absolutely amazing and fortunately, I get to go back in two months for my highs school senior trip! Out of the hundreds of pictures I took on my trip, here are a few for you to enjoy.  :)

The Christmas decorations in Macy's were absolutely beautiful.  It is the "world's largest store" and contains nine different floors to shop. It was crazy how many Christmas trees there were in Macy's "Holiday Lane!"

Central Park was one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen! I could spend days there and never want to leave.  Pictures cannot even show anywhere near the experience of seeing this beautiful park.  If you go during the winter, you must ice skate in the outdoor rink. I did and it was a blast!

Times Square is so much fun. I could happily sit in Times Square and just enjoy looking around at everything.  If you make a purchase at American Eagle Outfitters, you get to have your picture on the big screen in front of the store.  

It was so fun to see this famous American statue.  I was amazed at how large it is!  I loved getting to ride the boat out to the Statue of Liberty and watch as Lady Liberty appeared larger the closer we got to the statue.  

If you ever go to New York City, you must stop at the restaurant "Serendipity" and get a frozen hot chocolate.  I had seen the adorable movie Serendipity that came out a few years ago and after watching it, I have always wanted to go and get a frozen hot chocolate.  Let me tell you....it was so good!!! You must try it!

New York City was one of the greatest vacations I have ever had! I cannot wait to go back to NYC!

Camp Agape: Fun, Friends, Faith, & Hope

Hello Everyone! Today when I checked my email, there was an email that I was so excited about!!! It was an email from the camp where I have volunteered at during two past summers. It was simply just an email telling past volunteers when the dates of the camp where going to be and if they were interested in volunteering again this summer to fill out the volunteer form.  

Camp Agape is a bereavement camp in Texas that is  for children who have suffered a loss. The camp is completely free for children ages 7-12 who have lost loved ones like a parent or sibling from cancer, car wrecks, murder, suicide, or any other accident.  Some of the campers come from Fort Hood and have lost someone who has served our country.

I have volunteered at this camp two different times. It has been an amazing experience for me to help some of the kids.  It is so easy to get caught up and focus on ourselves with all the fast paced life and stress Americans have, but when you go to this camp you are reminded how fragile life is. Whenever I think about Camp Agape, I am reminded to not get caught up in the little daily stressors of my life and that really in the spectrum of life it is not important. I am encouraged to focus on the things that matter in not only this life, but more importantly the perfect life to come!

When I was 12 years old my dad was diagnosed with cancer and died a month later.  I think this has allowed me to better help the kids at camp, because even though the circumstances of their loved one's death might be different, I can somewhat relate to the feelings they are experiencing.  I cannot wait to go back to this awesome camp this summer!  

Here are some of amazing little girls campers that I got to spend time with at camp.

If you want to learn more about the camp you should check out the website:

http://www.campagapetexas.org

♥ Puppy Love ♥

My high school has a week where after Christmas break, instead of going back to school, all juniors and seniors participate in an internship.  For my internship this week, I am going observe at a local animal hospital.  I am extremely excited, because I want to be a veterinarian. So I will blog soon about my experience, but to kick off the start of my internship I thought I would post a few pictures of my two gorgeous dogs! I have two golden retriever brothers named Max and Sampson. I love them so much!

Me and Max

I absolutely LOVE this picture! Definitely one of my all time favorites! 

Is he completely adorable or what?

We love taking naps together! 

Forever & Ever & Ever & Ever...

One of my goals for  this year is to study and read the whole Bible.  I was extremely excited last night to begin this with my new Bible I just received for Christmas.   I decided I was going to start with the first book of the Bible, Genesis.  I have probably read chapter one of Genesis over 50 times from hearing the creation story ever since I can remember. But only after reading two verses I imminently had to stop, because one phrase consumed my thoughts. The phrase is found at the very end of verse two and proclaims, "the Spirtit of God was hovering over the waters." I had to stop and reflect on this statement for a few minutes.  It is impossible to comprehend what it was like...There was no man, nature, earth, planets, or even stars.  It was only the Spirit of God.  It is  amazing to think about that there has never in time before me been where God's Spirit was not present or ruling.

Then today at church, I was reminded of how He has not only been present and ruling every moment up to the present, but He will rule FOREVER!  It is easy for  Christians to say this all the time, but when you really think about what you are saying, words can not even describe how amazing that is.  It was during our worship song "Glory to God Forever" (Steve Fee) that I was pondering on the words as I sang them, rather than just reciting them.  This song talks about before He created the world He was King, He reigns right now, and He will rule forever!

I encourage everyone who reads this post today, to really think about how God has and will always rule every moment of all time.  It is impossible for our brains to even comprehend how God has ruled every moment and will rule all of eternity, but I encourage eveyone to try and think about how extraordinary He is.  I know I was completely at awe and overwhelmed with His presence.

Here is a link to a video of the song I sang in church today. Think about the lyrics. It really is truly amazing! :)

 

"A good snapshot stops a moment from running away"~Eudora Welty

     This year, I am going to be able stop the moments from running away and better remember the beautiful moments in my life that are coming in the year 2011 through photography.  This next year of my life will be a year full of new adventures with high school coming to an end and beginning my college journey next fall.  
    This year I am going to do Project 365/Project Life. EVERYDAY I am going to take a picture of something special that happened that day or take a picture that represents something that has a significant impact on my life.  By doing this project, I feel like I will be better able to remember and treasure this year.  I recommend you check out Becky Higgins website, the lady who created this amazing idea. Maybe you want to stop those moments and remember both the everyday and special events in your own life this year. 

Learn more about Project 365/Life

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Christmas: Not just a holiday...but a spirit

Every time I watch this video, I am brought to tears.  This is an amazing story that you have to watch! Its about a little boy named Dax Locke who just after his first birthday was diagnosed  with leukemia.  The doctors told his family that he would most likely not make it until the Christmas holiday.  But Christmas came early this year!

To celebrate Dax, the Locke family wants to run St. Jude for one day in memory of this inspirational little boy who made such an impact on his community in his short life.  To run St. Jude for one day it costs $1.6 million dollars.  Go to  http://www.daxlocke.com/  to see the progress in the Locke family's journey of fulfilling this dream to run St. Jude for Dax! 

TRUST: to rely upon or place confidence in

America's Favorite President, Abraham Lincoln once said,"What I did, I did after very full deliberation, and under a heavy and solemn sense of responsibility. I can only trust in God that I have made no mistakes..."
  
Lincoln was the leader when our nation was divided among itself.  He was carrying stress from the responsibility of uniting our great nation back together again.  Lincoln was striving to make all the right choices that were best for America.  He was making his decisions with careful consideration.  Lincoln was a great man of faith who foundation during these difficult decisions was based upon God.  

Lincoln said "we can press on, guided by the best light He gives us, trusting that in His good time and wise way all will yet be well."  I needed to read these quotes today.  Daily, everyone is faced with hundreds of important decisions a day. Some decisions may be as simple as what outfit am I going to wear today or how should I do my hair.  Whereas other decisions we can face can completely change our lives forever.  It is so important to remember that if we have made a decision and have thought about, prayed about it, and fell that God is leading us to a certain direction than we need to trust Him.  Placing our trust means putting our confidence in and relying in that the choice that we made is right.  

For me, I need to do that.   Through the choices I make, if they are done to serve Him and bring me closer to Him, then they are the right choices.  Even if my life is not going the way I would plan it to be, I need to remember that God holds my life in His hands and everything is in control.  Because the best life that I could ever write for myself or imagine is nothing compared to what He has in store for me :)

1 Corinthians 2:9-"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"

So remember in your decisions you make to "trust in the Lord with ALL YOUR HEART, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight."