As You breathed Your last breath.

God moved in huge ways this week. Five of our youth made the choice of getting baptized. I have truly seen everyone grow and mature. Yes, I have only known some of them for about a year, in Abraham's case, less than a week, but I have seen the change. It's not just a surface change, it's a heart change. I'm proud of the group as a whole, we grew closer to God and to each other.

My little brother was worshiping with all that he had, praying, crying, taking notes. I was, yet again, amazed by what God can do.

I cried for a few different reasons, it was all summed up to feeling worthless and unloved. As I was crying God sent my brother to me, my brother told me that he loved me, he's glad I prayed for him without ceasing, he's glad I made sure he got to camp, and that he looks up to me more than anyone else. This made me feel of worth, I must be doing something right. I went to the cabin and I was still crying and feeling bummed out a bit, so all of the girls told me they loved me. They whispered it to me, it wasn't a group plan. God loves me and made sure that I felt loved and worth.

I still pray for all of the youth group, I pray that it expands, that it grows in God and in numbers. It may not expand right now, but I hope and pray that it does once us seniors leave. I pray that the youth don't get discouraged with all of the disruption of this world while we're down the mountain. 


You are amazing God. I love you. I am set free.

Thousand Pines 2012

truth, false.

Last Sunday, at church, we were challenged/asked to head to the back of the sanctuary, grab a piece of paper, and write a truth and false. The truth was that of Jesus' truth, the false was how you thought of yourself before Jesus. My truth: loved, my false: worthless.

Jason(Pastor) told the church that tears were shed while he was writing his truth and false, but stubborn me thought I could hold it together. I walked to the back of the sanctuary, grabbed a paper, and started writing. As I wrote, I was shaking because I was holding back tears. I couldn't hold the tears back any longer, so I went to be alone and cry as much as I could before I had to go back. My emotions made it impossible for me to go in front of the whole church, so I stayed back. I stayed back, even after Elena and Rubi offered to go up with me.

Now, the reason I cried so much was because this stupid false is always fighting its way back into my heart. I'm glad that my family was there for me. My oldest sister came up behind me and held me while I cried, as did my other sister, Stephanie. God showed me right then and there that I am LOVED.

I thought...

I thought I wanted money when I was a kid. It would mean getting the candy, the toys, the games, that I wanted so badly.
Now, money is coming in monthly, this is means for problems. "Mo' money, mo' problems," right? I couldn't wait to start getting money that I had total control of, but that comes with responsibilities. I have money, but now I have a million things that want the little that I have. Rent, phone bill, laptop payment, college payments, paying for camp, and, last but not least, tithing.
There is also siblings that want to borrow money. I am not going to go into detail about certain situations, but money lending or borrowing is not meant to be in a friend or family relationship. It just causes problems that can be easily avoided. I love my family, I love my friends, so money shouldn't be in control of our relationships.

ayayay!

Jennifer said so.:)

So, I haven't updated my blog in a while. I've been falling behind, I know.

Denise, a church member, is being super generous with the youth group. She's helping us out for the summer. I don't know why she's doing this, but I am thankful, as is the whole youth group. We've always had Jennifer and Jason (and others) and I am more than grateful for them, but it's nice to know other members of the church love us just as much.
We went sailing!
I had an awesome day with the youth group, no drama and lots of laughs. We were on the Latitude, it looked so tiny, but it was surprisingly big. There was a kitchen, seats, a table, a bathroom, and two fairly big beds.
We started at Newport Beach, sailed past Balboa Beach, and were anchored down at Corona Del Mar. Once we got to Corona Del Mar we were able to jump into the freezing water with our lovely, orange life vests. It was fun floating around like otters and listening to the seals bark.
Once again, I am grateful for those who give us the time of day. Those who love us no matter how far we can drive them up the walls.