So I've never had a xanga, or myspace, or facebook...so this is all kinda new to me. But there's just so much going on in my life right now, and I need to get it out somewhere.
I guess I could start with the summer! Summer went by so quickly, but it was a growing experience for me. I babysat for the first few weeks, then went to SLA in Nashville. That was one of the best experiences of my life. My mom told me before I left that it would be a defining moment in my life. Umm...once again, my mother was right. She's so smart. I really didn't have any expectations going into it, but it surpassed all that I could have imagined. I learned so much about how to be a good leader, and I learned so much about myself. AJ, our leader, had such a passion for God and for ministering to people. She was awesome! There were 12 of us from Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Over 2 weeks, we all came to know and love each other. I'm so blessed to have met them, and I know God put us all there at a specific time for a specific purpose. They are truly some of my very best friends. It's amazing how deep relationships are when everybody has the same focus in life. I have a deeper friendship with them than I do with alot of my friends that I've known since like 5th grade. I felt like I could be me, no mask, no act, just...me. And everybody else said the same thing. This little thing called a "comfort zone"...there wasn't one. Anyways it was an incredible experience. It's one of those things where nobody really understands what you've experienced except the people you experienced it with. I still think about it everyday and use what I learned. When I got back, I was determined that I wasn't going to let this just be another camp experience and go back to living a mediocre life. So far, I have held to that commitment.
Mfuge was so fun, and also very uplifting. But it was time to get back to the real world. I mean you can't go to mission camp all year can you?....weeell after much pondering on this statement I realized that hello? those other approximately 1254 people at my school need Jesus just as much as the people in Nashville did. They need to see Christ in me. Every day it's like going on a mission trip. Why have a comfort zone? You may be missing out on something amazing that God wants for you just because you don't want to do something that might make people look at you different. I really been working on getting out of my comfort zone. There's a cry in my heart for God to do something totally incredible at NHS this year. I refuse to let this year go down as just another normal year. I want to impact people for Christ.
Okay so now that we've talked about summer, let's move on. Anybody that knows me, knows that I love my friends. Well, my closest friends either have left or are leaving for college soon.(I'm a youngen) It was hard for me when my brother went to college last year, and it took some getting used to. But 4 of my best friends are leaving. I'm very excited for them, but I'm going to miss them big time. I know I'll still talk to them, and do stuff when they're home, but still. It makes me sad. I saw most of them almost every day for 3 years, and now they're growing up. In a way I feel like a proud parent...they're all growing up and evolving into great people and I'm proud to say that they're my friends. But the other part of me is like the selfish best friend that wants them to be with me forever. Selfishness is not good. I'm working on that though. I know they'll all do great and succeed in all they do, but I really miss them already. They're like my support system, my stress relief, my posse, my...best friends. Anywho, enough sad stuff. No matter where they are, they'll always be special to me.
I can already feel God preparing me for the next year, as I make decisions that will affect the rest of my life. It's exciting, somewhat stressful, kind of scary, but mostly an adventure. I'm a firm believer that God uses experiences to teach us things. So no matter how much I'd like to regret decisions and things in my past, no matter how much I don't want to go through change, I know that I wouldn't be the person that I am today had I not experienced those things. I truly think that I've grown more in the past month and a half than the past 4 years. My whole perspective of life has changed. I've been thinking deeper and more than I'm used to. My goals are higher, my beliefs are stronger, and my spiritual life is deeper. I think I'm growing up...kind of scary, isn't it?
