"You're busy already, and it's only the second week of school..."

That was the comment of my CL as Mabel and I tried to work in a mandatory Strengths meeting into our schedule. It's true. The past few days have been crazy... with everything going on at home that I wish I could be there for, wanting to get involved in organizations, reading endless chapters in textbooks, forgetting homework assignments (no worries, the due dates were postponed). I'm constantly reminded that my planner is my lifesaver, but more importantly, Christ is my center. I told Mabel today that even though we are trying to get involved in a ton of stuff... I feel like I have more time then I ever did in high school. Maybe because 20 hours of being in class is spread out over the week... instead of having 20 hours in less than three days, and still having two more days full of class... I've had so much good quality time in the Word and in prayer since I've been here, Mabel and I have already gone and worked out twice (yay! we're 2 for 2!), I love that I can talk to my friends for hours at a time on the phone and not feel like I have things pressing on me that I "should be" doing, and I love talking to them (yes, I am becoming a phone person again, I knew it would happen when it was my only option). It's hard being away from friends when they are going through hard times, and when they are going through good times, but in some ways, I feel like I have grown closer to some people at home just since I've left. If my friendships and family relationships can be sustained even across such a great distance, I'm confident they can be sustained throughout the struggles of life. I wish I could be at home to cry with you and celebrate with you, but know that I'm here for you and just because I'm far away doesn't mean that our friendship can't grow. I will always make time for you. Even with everything going on, I've spent a lot of time studying, and I'm sure the workload will become more intense... but still, I feel like I'm managing my time well, which is a new experience for me. We went to Campus Crusade tonight and I think that I'd like to get involved in the ministry... I caught my first prize thrown into the audience ever, a free T-shirt, rock on... and it seems like the students involved really have a heart for Christ and a heart for getting other students plugged in. Then we went to the Swing Society... it was so much fun. Swing dancing is so cool. There weren't exactly enough guys to go around so the girls stood in line waiting for a turn... but it was fun. They taught us basics and a cool move called "The Slap" (lovin' it). We had a great time. I danced with three guys, who were all really good dancers... and Mabel and I decided to come back because we both have things to do before we call it a night. But yes, the swing society is definitely gonna be a new thing for us. Good stuff.... It's Kyle's 16th birthday today, I love you bro! It's so crazy to think that he's 16... that I'm almost 18... when did we "grow up" so much? Kyle and I have always been friends... I remember when he was still in a crib, but he was probably close to a year old, and I woke up on a Saturday morning early, before the parents were up, and I went into Kyle and Kevin's room and climbed into Kyle's crib with him and we just played. I wanted to be close to my baby brother and to spend time with him. I'm glad that we've always gotten along and spent time together. I love my brothers!!! It's amazing to me to think about that simple memory from so long ago... Where did the time go? I'm reminded that our lives are like a vapor, quickly fading. Think about this, if Christ makes our temporary "vapor" lives on earth rich, how much more magnificent will heaven be... everlasting, never fading and never ending, life. Sweet....

The hills are alive with the sound of music....

So, I've been reading for my classes for like... probably 2 1/2 hours... maybe longer actually. Though I did have to read some parts multiple times because my mind was wandering... but, just goes to show that they don't waste time before giving work around here. Today, well I guess yesterday now since it's after midnight, was a good day. My psych lecture was fun, the professor is interesting and was easy to listen to. Chapel and design were alright... but then I was done with class... before noon. Sweet!... and as I was walking back to my dorm the bells were playing The Sound of Music... that made my day. I should have done homework in the afternoon, but I just wanted to chill... so I did. Then, I went and kept the Colon twins at their school until Dr.Colon (Susan) could get there to pick them up. That was fun and I get to do it every week from now on. The girls are so sweet and extremely intelligent for their age. We read books, did puzzles, sewed little letter things... I love kids so much. I'm excited that I get to have a little bit of time to spend with the girls every week. I miss all the kids at home. The kids in preschool choir, the kids I babysit, kids I've had in my cabin at camp or at VBS that give me big hugs whenever they see me.... What can I say? I love kids!! I pray one day I'll get to have my own, but I love working with everyone else's and being blessed by their innocence, their love for learning, their blind faith and trust. I'm no greater than any child... and we are all God's children. Pretty amazing that our parents, our grandparents, our authorities, our peers, our friends, our mentors, our brothers and sisters.... no matter the age, we are all just children. Pretty humbling when you realize the gravity of that. Sometimes I get discouraged because I feel like so many adults stereotype all youth to be immature and without a substantial relationship with Christ. It's almost as if they think we could have nothing to contribute to their lives because we haven't lived as long as them and had as many experiences as them. But we're all children. We can all encourage and inspire one another, no matter our age or background. When we are followers of Christ, we are equal through His grace. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it is right to rebel against authorities or fail to recognize that others may be wiser than us in areas. I'm simply saying that we can all impact one another... we are the body of Christ, and no part is more important or more needed than any other. Incredible. Alright, I'll get out of the pulpit... I have about half an hour more until my clothes are done in the dryer and I can fold them, put them away, and go to bed. I'm off to go and get some more time in His word... isn't it good? Here's a little taste....

God's blessing makes life rich;
nothing we do can improve on God.
Proverbs 10:22

Fickle Decorations, Fun Classes, Frazzled Emotions...

So I've been to all of my classes now... except for my lab which doesn't start till next week. So my weeks promise to be full of reading, learning, studying, etc. Supposedly the average high schooler spends 5 hours a week studying (now, I know I spent way more time than that every week). Here, they encourage you to study for at least 20 hours... big change, eh? But, you don't have as much time spent actually at school in class... so I think it will all pan out. I'm taking Psychology, Principles of Art and Design, Professional Perspectives, Exploring Environmental Issues, Prophets and Profits: Profession and Vocation in Victorian Britain (and Today), Introduction to Information Technology and Processing, and Women's Choir. A wide variety most definitely. Plus, we have required Chapel Monday and Wednesday, and Friday for the first 6 weeks. Busy, busy. On Sunday, Mabel and I hung up the paper lanterns... I was near death many times since I was standing on a stack of books and paper on top of the desks that we rigged to get me high enough, or on top of the bookshelf headboard... fortunately we managed to get it done without any injuries. So our room is even closer to being done now... I ordered pictures that should be here in the next couple of days and that should add most of the finishing touches. Monday was full of classes and then rule meetings for our dorm hall. Plus I went to the BSM (Baptist Student Ministries) free cookout and finished reading my book for Honors (the "summer" reading project... hey, Mabel is on page 65 or something now... and we have till tomorrow anyway, but I'm done :) ). Today I had class at 8am.. yuck. But it's all good... ooo, this was weird. In my 8 o'clock class the professor was calling role and he said Joshua Cuyler... I know I like bugged my eyes out... he's like my second or third cousin (second I think). I mean, I knew he was coming to Baylor and stuff... but I haven't seen him in years and I didn't even know what he looked like... but yah, so I "met" him today... he twitched when my name was called too... I went up and "introduced" myself after class.... yah, weird. It started to finally click that I was here for good after classes yesterday... so I cried awhile when I was reading my book last night. I hadn't cried yet. I'm happy to be here, but I do miss you all at home, and I miss those of you who are away from home like me. I hope you know that. It's so good to talk to you guys. Nicole called me yesterday. I love you babe and I miss you... I went to lunch by myself today, how sad is that? I called Kyle yesterday, I hadn't talked to him since I left, and he and my mom were at Wal-Mart. It made me think about how Kyle and I can spend hours in Wal-Mart... cause we just take our time. I love you, kid. I got to talk to James this afternoon and that was encouraging. I love you James! I miss my family. I miss my friends... I've only been gone a week! But, I do love it here... I'm so excited about all the opportunities, experiences, traditions, growth, challenges... It is so good for me to be stretched and encouraged like this all at the same time. I mean, always being challenged to pursue Christ first... that's awesome. Being so far away from home is hard, but it's good. Hahaha... here are a couple funny stories for you guys... Okay, my dentist put me on this fluoride stuff that I'm supposed to swish every night right before I go to bed, right? Well, I've always heard that fluoride can turn your teeth yellow and stuff... but I figured they knew what they were talking about, so I'd obey and use the stuff. I was brushing my teeth a few nights ago and as I stared in the mirror I realized something was a little funky... my brace bands weren't the cute periwinkle blue anymore... they're like this really light key-lime green. Pretty funny... fortunately it's not like bright lime green cause that would be just gross... Oh, and then last night, I woke up in the middle of the night cause Mabel had left a light on. I got up and turned it off and then climbed back in bed... I was starting to doze off when... CRASH! Something fell on my face... what the?? The curtain rod and the curtains fell on top of me... in the dark. It was funny. Only to me though cause Mabel was asleep, though she laughed about it this morning when I told her about it. So yah, I got attacked by the curtains in the middle of the night. They are back in their place now, though... looking beautiful again. Well, I think that covers the highlights of the past few days... tonight there is an ice-cream bash for Campus Crusade... yummy... and the first meeting of the Swing Society (anybody wanna dance?)... I'm not sure if I'm going to that or not because some friends from Welcome Week said there are a ton of people the first couple times and then it dies down... so I might wait. I need to do all my reading for my classes... hahaha. Mabel and I are gonna go buy her books and stuff shortly and I have a few more things I have to buy. So, that should be fun. This one's for all of you...

You're my brother You're my friend
You're my beginning and my end
You're all around me when the world
just turns and walks away
You're my sunshine on a cloudy day
You're the rains that wash my blues away
And I can always count on you
Cause you're my brother (SISTA!)
And you're my friend

Into the town of green and gold...

Ugh, classes start tomorrow... back to real life. I love this place though... and I'm actually excited about classes. Yes, I know I'm a nerd, but I'm ok with that and if you're not, well, then that's too bad ;-) . Yesterday was fun... Mabel and I went and found our classes after sleeping in and eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch in our room--oh, and I managed to get strawberry syrup on my clothes so I had to change before we had even gone anywhere, we went to the dining hall for lunch, came to the dorm and hung out (I took a short nap also, yes), had an honors living learning center get-together (free cookies and stuff), went and bought my books (ouch, I'm always open for donations!), went to dinner with some girls from our hall, chilled some more, went to Bear Country-- kinda reminded me of Cowboy Up... cept everything was free--cotton candy, awesome kettle corn, drinks, free pictures, caricatures, a wanna-be mechanical bull (I'm not gonna try and describe it to you, I need to do hand motions for that one), square dancingand some other dancing (hooray for the Cha Cha Slide). Then we had breakfast outside at like 11pm... good stuff. Today, we went to University Baptist Church, where David Crowder is the worship leader, for those of you who don't know that. The worship time was good... I hope God enjoyed it. I called Daniel to brag... I love you, Daniel! :) Mabel and I want to try some other churches though definitely cause the message was just a little shallow for us... though the pastor seems like a great guy and had some good stuff to say... he talked about evangelism. Then there was free pizza... good stuff. Then, the hunt for Wal-Mart... we weren't sure where it was... and when we stopped and asked we were really close, we just gave up too soon, we hadn't gone far enough. So we bought more stuff for our room... paper lanterns that we are going to try and hang in a little while... we'll see how that goes... some little things we forgot, you get the picture. It's been a good day so far. I think Sundays will be the day I miss home the most. Youth at home starts in less than two hours... maybe I'll call somebody afterwards... it's interesting going "church-hunting" without your family and stuff. I will be excited to find a church to plug into though. God will work it out, as He always does. I've started the David Nasser book "A Call to Die" since I got here. Nasser encourages you to fast from something for the forty days of the study, so I finally decided to fast from coffee... since it is something I often become too dependent on if you know what I mean. I love that Christ is becoming my obsession... He is so incredible.

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You

To know and follow hard after You
To grow as Your disciple in the truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing You, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after You
Lead me on and I will run after You

Craziness...

It was only yesterday that I got to Baylor?? What? It seems like it's been so long... there's just been so much going on. We've had so many opportunities to meet people and stuff. Right now there are guys outside serenading our dorm... this is the fourth group I think. We can hear them from our room loud and clear. They are singing My Girl... Mabel and I just came in from outside cause we are so tired... they sound pretty good. Haha... the first group that came was from Penland, I think the biggest guys dorm... and they were great and I got a flower from one guy :) Alright, these guys have the best sound system thus far for sure... this is a fun tradition at Baylor, I like being sung to (any of you guys are welcome to take the hint). The guys sing and do some cheer for their dorm and then they all come and mingle and introduce themselves and stuff... fun. I can't accurately describe it. I love how Baylor is so full of spirit and traditions. Everyone loves this school. I definitely love it.

I'm here!

Wow, I can't believe I'm here... at Baylor... in my room... with my awesome roommate. Today has been exhausting so far, but fun in many ways. We left Dallas around 6 am or so, stopped at Sonic on the way, and entered the world of Baylor around 8 am. I met Mabel and her parents and we started tackling our room almost instantly... it's so much fun. I love all the color, and we aren't even done yet. We made a Walmart trip to get all the finishing touches for our room... though we will probably think of many things throughout the next week that we forgot. Mabel and I searched the whole music building before we found the sign up sheet for choir auditions... that was pretty funny, three different people told us "where to go" before we found it. Our parents left (and Kevin, too), and they did a good job, only a few tears as they walked away, though I'm sure many more came after they left. I love you, Mom and Dad! It's just so weird... it doesn't feel like we are here yet. But we are! Our suitemate is the CL (Community leader, basically the Baylor version of an RA), so we only have three people sharing a bathroom, rock on! Mabel and I are both really tired so we came back to the room after the picnic on the Quadrangle to rest before all the other crazy stuff planned for tonight. So... I'm pretty much about to go take a nap... I love you guys!

I'll always love you

Well... I have one day left... one day... tonight was really emotional... I love you guys so much! Tonight was encouraging to me in so many ways, it's so hard to say goodbye... but it's not goodbye, just see you later, right? I'm still in shock that I'm leaving in less than 36 hours to go to Baylor University, so many hours away, without my family, without my friends... this is definitely the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. But I must say, guys, that I am so excited. It's so difficult for me to leave home... but, I can't wait to find out what part of God's story I get to have at Baylor. Tonight after youth, all of us "graduates" (funny how now we're back to being freshman, eh?) had a time of prayer for one another (thank you for initiating it, Paul, you rock). The whole time we were praying I was thanking God that He blessed me with such wonderful people in my life. Thank you guys for supporting me and praying for me as I go on to something bigger than I ever could have imagined... I pray that you all will grow more and more in love with Christ every day... Please pray for me... I need all the prayer I can get. Let me know how I can pray for you, laugh with you, cry with you. I love you all so much... I'm not leaving you... I'm here for you if you need me. Mark Schultz's song Think of Me has kinda been my theme song this summer as I have been preparing to leave and go to school... it kinda shows where my heart is, though you have to hear it to get the full effect, the lyrics are all that I can provide at this point... I'll always love you... always.

Packing my bags this morning
was the hardest thing to do
But packing my bags was so easy
compared to standing outside your door right now
to say goodbye to you

Think of me
I know you've never seen me cry
Think of me
But it's so hard to say goodbye
Think of me
What can I say to show you
I'll never give up on you
I will be waiting for you

I will be there when you call
I will see you through it all
And even in your darkest hour
I pray that the Lord we've found
Will set you on solid ground

I know that it feels like leaving is a part of letting go
But I'm praying with hope and believing
That I'll see you once again down this road
I hope that it won't be long

Think of me
I know God brought you as a friend
Think of me
I know He'll bring you back again
Think of me
What can I say to show you
I'll never give up on you
I will be waiting for you

I will be there when you call
I will see you through it all
And even in your darkest hour
I pray that the Lord we've found
Will set you on solid ground

I will be there when you call
I will see you through it all
And even in your darkest hour
I pray that the Lord we've found
Will set you on solid ground

Life is Good....

It's so hard to believe that I only have 4 full days left before I leave for Baylor... whoa... sometimes I wish time would slow down. I've had an amazing week just spending time with people that I love so much. I'm gonna miss you guys! Let's see... Sunday, what a great day. After church, Shannon went to lunch with me and my family and then she and I went to the new Target (great place) and shopped for fun stuff and then went to my house and watched Raise your Voice... a very good movie. I rented and watched it by myself and really liked it and have spread the love to a few people... ;-) Then youth was awesome at Crenshaw... I love bowling, though I'm not good at it, and pool... wow, really not good at that... but it was tons of fun just hanging out with everybody. Then Diane and Lerah and Kenley came to my house and we watched Aladdin. I love that movie, and I love those people. Monday, went to lunch with Lauren, I love you chika! It's so cool to me how we can just pick up where we left off in our friendship... no matter how many weeks it's been since we've talked... though it's never too long, a lot can happen in a few weeks, and with us living in completely different places... things change. But yah, that was fun... then Monday night my family began practicing for our big hit for Sunday (we're gonna try and be black, people... hehe)... so we practiced for awhile and then Kenley had to go do some stuff for Real Estate life so I went with him... well that turned into an adventure... these people live out in the middle of nowhere let me tell you... it was really sketchy... but then we went to see Matt and Lindsay Morrow's house in Quincy (the neighbors probly thought we were robbing the house cause it was like 10:30 and we were going through their house with flashlights) and went back and forth from Quincy to my house multiple times picking up and returning Sale signs from houses... Needless to say, Kyle was watching Raise Your Voice when we dropped my mom back at the house before returning to Quincy again and Kenley decided he wanted to watch it when we got back... so I watched the movie again with him... at like 12am... that was fun. Tuesday... breakfast with Mom, she's the best ever... dentist appointment (they were not very nice to my mouth)... work... lunch with Kenley... work... shopping with Mom... and home... Wednesday, babysitting, lunch with Ted from school... that was cool, cause I haven't seen anyone from school since graduation except Nicole and Ted rocks... and he bought me lunch... awesome. Then I went to work and afterwards I went and picked up Erica F. ( I LOVE YOU!!) and we went and got ice cream and talked and went to Wal-Mart and bought cool stuff for my dorm room (which is gonna be stinkin' awesome by the way). Then we went to church and orchestra... Can you tell my life has been busy this week?? Well, finally, today (well, Thursday)... I got to sleep in, no work, hallelujah... and then I went to lunch and went shopping with James (you rock, kid) which also meant more free food for me (thank you :) )... I bought a phone for my room and he got a new cell phone... we talked a lot and just had a good time... thanks, James. Then, he went to work, I went to Target to shop for a baby gift... but they didn't have what I was looking for so sad day, I walked through the rain for nothing... oh well. I came home and worked on packing some more and then we had dinner and practiced more for our song Sunday... Kenley and I had fun dancing to it... Hehehehe... Then, family game of Scattergories, funny stuff... my dad tried to get away with "Giant Lizards" as an excuse for being late and "Gravity" as a thing you find in a park... he was tired... laughing so hard he was crying... pretty dang funny... though Kyle's "gift" of pretty pink polka dot panties was pretty funny too... I love my family, can you tell? So... those are my last 5 days, the condensed version... Now it's actually Friday, time for me to start thinking about sleeping so I can get up later today... I'm telling you, time flies... I just want you all to know that I love you very much and value the friendships I have with each of you. This summer has been such an amazing blessing to me in the area of friendship... You all rock! It is so exciting to watch as God uses you in ways that I couldn't even imagine if I tried... Thank you for bringing such joy and depth to my life... I don't know where I'd be without you!

Leap Frog, Caesar Salad, & a Pink Inner Tube

Jesus is so amazing. I just can't get over it (which, I'm pretty sure, is the idea). Today a bunch of us (David K, Kenley, Kyle, Erin G, Diane, Lerah, Anna W, Hannah, Jed, Nicole, Jenna, Brandon, Linda, Jessica K, Katie G, Kimberly G, Leah, Lyndsey W, Shannon, & Me) went to Ichetucknee Springs and went tubing down the river... great fun, if you've never been, you're definitely missing out. The ride there was lots of fun-- Jenna, Nicole, Kyle, and Lyndsey were in the car with me and we played leap frog with Diane's car and pretty much every time we passed each other we would break out a different dance move... lots of laughs. I'm telling you, I love to dance. We got into the park, which they now charge you $5 per person to get in!! WHAT?!? It used to be like that much per car... talk about inflation, no wonder they could afford those new tram things, right guys? But anyway, we had lunch and the caesar salad that Jenns brought was really yummy (good idea). We then headed for the river and I gladly jumped aboard my beautiful pink tube (I'm lovin' it). It was great fun... Shannon and I swam away from David pretty much the whole time and actually managed to not get flipped (we rock, babe, and we love you Dave :) hehe). We sang songs and Leah and I managed to disentangle Anna from the grips of the tree fingers a few times.... fun stuff. We were floatin' along and I was talking to Leah about how I thought it was cool that God gave us so many fun things in creation to enjoy... like a river to float down. Pretty awesome, eh? So yah... good times. The ride home was fun once more, Diane and Erin swapped out with Jenna and Nicole and we busted out the Disney CD and sang our hearts out and listened to some good country music from Lyndsey's iPod and other good stuff. Then most of the gang went to Shannon's house to swim and eat pizza and stuff... we also watched Happy Gilmore on TV and then the Parent Trap (the newer one). Busy day... on the way back to the church to take Erin, Jenna, and Brandon back we listened to some of my new Passion CD... I love the song Indescribable....

From the heighest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming...

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing, God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing, God
All powerful, untameable
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing, God
All powerful, untameable
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing, God
Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing, God
Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing, God
You are amazing, God

Alright... so I told my car buddies that every time I sing that song now and I sing the line about every creature unique in the song that it sings I think about the stars making music and how God created each of us to sing His praise, and each of us has a unique song.... God, truly, is amazing.

My Life Be Like... Oooo Ahhhh

So it's official, I have the coolest friends in the entire world. Hehehe... I just got home from Kenley's house where the party was hoppin'. I'm gonna miss you people so much when I leave in... ahh! 10 days! No way... Today was a great day. I went to work this morning and didn't get all that much done cause the phone started ringing alot and some people came in to the showroom to check out the windows... hmm.... should we get white or pay the extra for beige? I don't think I'll need the Low E option because my house is in the shade... you can have some interesting conversations with people looking at windows. Diane called me and we confirmed that having a party at Kenley's house was a good idea and that we should go to Ichetucknee tomorrow and go tubing... so I started calling the world to invite them to all the fun stuff. I called Jenna and told her she should get dressed and I would come get her and we'd go to lunch. We went to Los Compadres (yummy!) and it was awesome to just talk about our friendships and how they've changed and grown and everything that happened at Student Life... I love you, Jenna! You are the best. God has really solidified my relationships with people here this summer and because of that I'm encouraged that my friendships will brave the distance when I go away to school... God is way bigger than 1300 miles, eh? It's a good thing... cause I don't know what I'd do without you guys. Tonight at Kenley's house was great fun... watching Jenna act out crossing the finish line, dancing (why have we not done this more often??), eating some for real good snacks, being amazed by Brandon's knack for completely random trivia, laughing and singing songs from nearly every genre... what a fun, eclectic night. And tomorrow... freezing cold water, rubber tubes, sea weed (should it be called river weed if you're not in the sea?), and undoubtedly lots of funny stories. I can't wait! Well, yes, the bathroom is finally free so I can stop rambling now... I love you all!!

God is Hugeous

Hello Everybody. Yes, I suppose it is high time for me to join the blog world officially. Don't get too excited though, cause I make no promises to post every day or provide hilarious jokes or anything... I do hope to use this blog to sorta keep in touch with people as I go off to college (Go Baylor Bears!). Where do I begin? This summer has been one of the most incredible summers of my life... and no, I do not say that lightly. Everyone that went to Student Life Camp at Covenant College this past week can agree with me that it was an awesome experience. Most everybody else in blogworld has already raved about it. God is hugeous, guys. Don't you love that word? We (Kenley, Nicole, James, and I) discovered it when we were looking on dictionary.com for the word hubious... which, James, is not a word, I'm nearly wholly convinced (it wasn't on dictionary.com!). Hugeous just means huge... but it's so much cooler of a word. Anyway, back to God. It has never ceased to amaze me that God is so big, and yet so personal, that He can work in every single individual's heart at the exact same time and be teaching them so many different things. None of us are in the exact same place in our relationship with God, guys, how could we be? But isn't it amazing that we are all invited to be a part of God's story? The God of the cosmos created you, loves you, and wants for you to be a part of His story. Now, as everyone who knows me knows.... I love to pray. I have grown more and more in love with God through watching Him work through prayer this summer. Friends that I have prayed for for it seems like forever... God has grabbed hold of their hearts in mighty ways... struggles in our youth group that I haven't known how to handle... God's taken care of it. God has shown me in very real ways that He hears my prayers and is faithful to His promises. Not only in big things, but in little things. You know what I thought was awesome... Anna Kuder (I love you!) was in my room at camp and we prayed that her family would get a new dog soon and we came back and Melissa and Mrs. Gail had bought a puppy that day! God answers prayers, and none are insignificant to Him. Now, if you check out Calyn's blog you can see some of the amazing things that God breathed in existence that are trillions upon trillions of miles away from us... God is hugeous, and He cares about me? Whoa. I'll leave you with that thought....