Lock-In for the YOUTH Group

So on the day we set for our lock-in, we drove into town to pick up the kiddos and bring them out to camp! Our desire was to bring out those who usually attend youth group and hopefully some of their friends! Through our advertising and the kids doing a great job inviting their friends, we had a total of 17 kids join us for the Camp Eagle Lock-in!

Our desire to bring them out to camp was not only to show them where we live, what it is like in our Walkabout program, but also to allow them to see what Camp Eagle in general is like. Most of them have heard lots about it, but only half of them have ever been out to camp or been able to attend a session in the summer. So bringing them out to Camp Eagle would be a fun experience to let them see God’s beauty that we have been blessed with on the 1400 acre land and also have some fun outdoors.

Once we drove back to camp, we had already thrown the ropes for the kids to be able to rock climb! They enjoyed some time out on the rock wall and some of them were really good for never having the opportunity to do an activity like that!

After rock climbing, we had an awesome meal ready for them, campfire lasagna, which is a trail favorite by those who come out and live in the back country of Eagle Quest (one of our programs) in the summertime! Lasagna was served and the kids got to see how we eat out here and serve one another, The family style place setting and passing of the food isn’t something all of these kids have in their own homes.  It was a fun experience to sit up in Mi Casa with over 25 people, who were new to camp, and to pass around some yummy wilderness food!

After dinner we headed up to The Lookout, a common campfire place that overlooks camp. From the lookout during the day you can see up the river, all the way to the waterfront. The lookout is not far from the cross on the hill that is often a hiking spot that groups go out to while at camp. Around the campfire, we sang worship songs led by some of the Walkabouts that have been blessed with talent. We also shared our favorite thing about youth group and the things that we are learning while we are there.

After this, we took the youth group out to the zip line for a real treat!!! We did the night zip, which means exactly what you think it means. We ziplined in the dark.. now for those of you who haven’t been out to camp, understand this… by dark- we mean dark. You see out at camp, there are not city lights or other known lights that most people encounter in the “world”. There is actually complete darkness out here, which means at night you walk with a flash light! So for the night zip, we line the zip path with glow in the dark sticks and send the kids out for a fun ride!

We have found that this is a fun way to help the kids encounter their fears! For most of them, because they can’t see the fear, it is a much more fun experience. Everyone loves the glow sticks and the fun it is riding down as the path is made of glowing lights! After about an hour or so of ziplining, we decided to call it a night and head up to Mi Casa for some cookies and ice cream!

Cookies and ice cream was the best idea before starting the night of movies and staying up till it was time to leave in the morning! Not many of the kids were able to pull an all-nighter! I know I wasn’t and it was a good thing that my sweet Walkabout brother was so understanding and willing to let me stay in my cabin because of me being so sick… cedar allergies.

The next morning we woke up and had a yummy egg scramble with the kids before heading back to town to all go to church together! We decided we wanted to invite the kids to the Sunday morning service with us because it is the church in which they are involved with the youth group, but none of them really go on Sunday mornings. Part of this is due to it is a Baptist church and most of the kids families are catholic. SO with that said, we were excited to have two kids join us for church!

After church we had one family who had volunteered and welcomed us into her home for lunch. So the five or so leaders of the lock-in went and enjoyed a wonderful meal made by one of our favorite ladies in Rocksprings!

Just an update: The night of the lock-in, we also had 17 students show up to youth group! 10 of which were the same kids, 7 of which were not able to attend the lock-in. The Lord is good. He is moving!

Youth Group Christmas Party

Here are some fun pictures of the Rocksprings Youth Groups Christmas Party…. We decided to have  Christmas party before the break and then after the break we would have a lock-in in which we would bring the kids out to Camp Eagle and let them experience and learn a little bit about what we do out here in the wilderness! There will be a blog about the lock in!!! Look for it :)

At the party, we talked about Christmas Carols, read in Luke about the birth of Jesus, discussed what Christmas is all about - the meaning of the holiday, enjoyed company, played games, and some yummy food!

Some decorations we put up for the party!

 Goodies!!!

 Beautiful huh?!?

Walkabout sisters: Sky, me and Jordyn

 Playing with the kids in the gym!

 Playing a song guessing game upstairs in the loft!

 

GIRLLLLLLSSSS

 BOYSSSSSSS

 Human Tree Decorating Contest

Christmas break

My Christmas break was a wonderful one! I got to spend time with everyone in my family and enjoyed being able to update them on my life out in the wilderness!

So we were able to go “home” after we finished cleaning the camp on the 19^th. So for most of my Walkabout sisters and brothers home is where they grew up and where most of their moms and dads live. Well, being that I am older and have not “lived” at home in 7 years, home is still San Angelo… but home is not where all of my family is. Needless to say, a lot of my time over Christmas break would be spent traveling and spending intentional time with each one!

But, I got to say this past Christmas break was a very blessed and relaxing one! I am thankful for the great vehicle that I have been blessed with that allows me to be able to travel to see everyone. I am also thankful for those who support me financially to be able to help with the gas and traveling during these 9 months without work!

The first few days before Christmas break, I went home to San Angelo and spent time with my daddy and his girlfriend. We had a great time hanging out and finally going on our double date to a sushi place… we had been talking about this for a few years now!!! Time spent in San Angelo went by pretty fast! I was able to attend church with one of my good friends not too far from my house, maybe two blocks?! It was such a fun experience, seeing friends I grew up with (but didn’t know they attended this church), and learning about a church that meant so much to my friend’s life! The Lord is good.

After several days with my dad and my baby girl Mika… it was time to head to my sister’s house in Waco for Christmas! My dad and girlfriend would also be joining us, but I left a day early to be able to stop by a friend’s house and then complete the drive to Waco the next day. On Christmas Eve, I made it to my middle sister, Allie, and her husband’s house! Of course if you know me, you will also know that my only nephew also lives here!!!

Spending time with Allie, Ernie, and Garon was a great blessing. Watching my sister grow into a Godly mother and watching as her marriage is built stronger through many bonds that are being made was a very refreshing thing! It was a great reminder for me that the Lord watches over those we love, even when we can’t (even though He doesn’t need us to anyway)! Seeing the father that my brother in law has become is pretty stinkin’ awesome as well.  The commitment and discipline that these two demonstrate in raising my nephew right always makes me smile. I know my nephew is being taken care of and will be taught right from wrong. Gotta love them!!!

Time with my nephew is ALWAYS FUN!!! He is just a stinker and such a character. He and I had some fun bonding moments hiding behind the couch, sitting in my lap and running away from one another. It is the little moments that mean so much to me with my nephew. He may not get to see me very often, but it is my job to make the time spent with his Tia (that’s my name)… spent in laughter and in love. Perhaps he won’t remember all these moments in his life because he is so young, but I know that the memories we are building now.. mean the world to me. Not many people make me as happy as my nephew does! My prayer is that as he grows older physically and eventually spiritually… is that he knows he can come to his Tia for questions about our Father above and His Word to us (Bible). May my life be lived out, as an example to my nephew, in demonstration of what it means to live one’s life serving the Lord.

Also at our family’s Christmas was my big sister Jen! Those of you who know more of my story know about the times that I have lived with my sister and grown so close to her. You will also know Jen suffered a knee injury and had to have emergency surgery in which I was able to go spent some short amount of time with her. Well over this break, Jen got to drive for her first time in a few months and was able to catch me up on her rehab progress. I am so amazed at the strength and courage she has shown through this process. She has had her eyes opened to the coldness and cruelty of human nature. An understanding that most don’t have… what it feels like to be handicapped and shunned by the world. Jen is strong, mentally and physically… I don’t think I could go through all that she has and still be as positive and strong as she is today. Man I love my sister and am thankful for the listening ear she always has opened for me! We had a few late night talks as everyone else had gone to bed!

I’m thankful for the impact both of my sisters have on my life.

The blessings that they both are to me.

I hope that one day I can impact their lives the way they have impacted mine.

My mom and her boyfriend also made it to our Christmas! Again I can say that I am blessed to have a family that has been through a divorce, but is civil enough to one another… that for my nephew’s sake, we can celebrate as a family for Christmas. My mom and I didn’t have many deep talks, but being in the presence of one another was nice. The Lord is working through this relationship and there is slow progress, which is something to give Him praise for. It brings me great joy to see that she is happy in her life!!!

I also was surprised to see my Aunt Lynda, who I don’t get to always see on the holidays! I was glad she was there to be able to watch her physically open our gifts to her J We usually send them home with my mom and hear back from her later! It was nice to get to hug her neck and talk to her some over some delicious food! My Aunt has been such a strong sense of support in my life. Everything I have ever made a decision to do… Germany, NMMI, volleyball, WBU, Japan, soccer, teach, coach, Walkabout… you name is she has supported me through prayer, physically cheering, or financially! Thank you Lord for this sweet aunt… I desire to be more like her for my nephew J

Christmas morning and day were great… gifts and food. I can’t wait for the day that I have my own family… and am able to start my own Christmas traditions. The Lord has opened my eyes to the commercialism in the holiday of Christmas. The true reason we are to celebrate is for his birth… not for the gifts and the food. Though these things are a part of bringing family together and a common practice, the Lord continues to work on my thought process about the holiday and the purpose behind it all. It’s supposed to be about Him.

Christmas night, my sisters and I enjoyed a game night with one another. One thing I have learned to love from living in the wilderness- board games. It is such a blast, especially playing with those you love. I taught my sisters one of my favorite games, Takenoko. Talk about lots of laughs, embarrassing moments and relaxing times… this has been by far one of my favorite memories at Christmas with my sisters (add that to last year’s fun games at the kitchen table-only my family knows about this)! Allie seemed to really enjoy the game which made me super happy! And Jen seemed to not like it as much, partially because she played it wrong the whole night… hehe! Memories!

After Christmas, everyone returned home and I spent some extra time with my sisters before heading to a friend’s to celebrate my birthday on the 30^th! For those of you who didn’t read about my birthday present from Timmy, there is a blog about it! I went SKYDIVING!!! Go read and see the pictures if you want!

The remaining days before returning to camp, I focused on some reading I needed to do, as well as getting some last relaxing days before returning to the wilderness and that style of life!

Sweet friends I am praying for your new year. 

Who will you chose to serve this year?

I hope your Christmas was as refreshing and uplifting as mine was. 

I love you all… 

Birthday and SKYDIVING

SOOOOOO for my 25^th birthday, my sweet friend, Tim took me skydiving! Not only that, but he got the video and the still photos… so of course I would like to share those with you! It wasn’t necessarily a surprise because I have been trying to go... but the day and the extra stuff was a sweet surprise. 

As some of you may not know, I am not particularly a fan of my birthday. December 30… just isn’t such a great day – at least when you are younger – to have and or celebrate a birthday. My most common thought of the day is very negative, but this year has been an uplifting and refreshing time to celebrate my special day.

My WA family was super sweet in that they had a cake made for me and celebrated earlier in December for my birthday. From past experiences with the day everyone forgets, I wasn’t very grateful and sadly today I can look back and admit that. Yes, I acted as a brat and wasn't too excited to “celebrate” the day that was not my birthday.

My roommates and WA sisters were also super sweet that they chose to surprise me with decorating my little room and bunk the hour we were dismissed to leave for the Christmas break. It was a SUPER sweet gesture that I was very thankful for. Those girls are so amazing…

So add in an amazing skydiving trip and Tim’s sweet family helping me to celebrate a day I usually don’t enjoy. Add in small gifts from my aunt, mom and sister. And of course add in many board games… if you know Tim at all you will understand J

My 25^th birthday was JUST GREAT. 

Thank you family. Thank you WA family. 

Thank you Tim. Thank you Tim’s family. 

Thank you sweet friend.

I am very thankful and happy to have celebrated this birthday the way I did this year!

SKI snowboarding TRIP

The last two days of our trip to NM, we got to go on a ski trip to Sipapu Ski Resort! My walkabout family and I all had a great time on the slopes standing in awe of the beauty the Lord has created with the tall trees and the awesome snow.

I hadn’t been snowboarding in a few years, so I knew the first few runs would be comical, but I was ready for the adventure! The first day several of the full time staff members from TX came with us, one of which was my closest full time friend – Tim. We had a lot of fun racing down to beat one another, laughing at one another as we fell (mostly me), and just enjoying the snowy weather.

After the first day, I was extremely happy and ready to return again the next day! The second day as we went, I spent a lot of time with one of my amazing roommates! We had a lot of fun focusing on certain aspects of our skill level and not as much as speed (like I did the first day). Through that friendship and time spent together, I was reminded of how important it is to be intentional in our friendships and relationships.

The intentionality of our lives is what we have been placed here on this earth for. The Lord allows us all to live here in order to bring Him glory. Unless I am intentional with my time and relationships, nothing will come through that. I have to be open and vulnerable to people. I have to share my life with people in order to engage in the deep moments that I was created for.

My sweet roommate, Jordan, served as such an encouragement to me on this second day of snowboarding. No agendas for one another, just deep conversations, accountability and being open with one another. Man has the Lord blessed me with her friendship.

Sweet friends I don’t know the last time you hit the slopes or if you ever have. If you haven’t, maybe you can try it sometime... if not there are other ways I would love to encourage you to be intentional with people.

Love God. Love people.

Spiritual Discipline - WORSHIP

So the spiritual discipline that we were assigned to focus on during the Glorieta trip (previous blog-go read!) was WORSHIP. Most people think of worship as the singing and dancing part of a church service on Sunday morning when you gather inside a church building. Don’t get me wrong that is worship… but there is also a larger picture of this awesome discipline.

So in my teacher like mind… I chose to look up the definition on Google and took the first definition listed. Here it is… Noun: the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.

Obviously this is a broad stretch of worship. In my mind, many actions can express feelings of reverence to the Lord…  singing, dancing, being silent, choosing to give, providing service and many other actions come to mind. So for me… this trip was going to be a breathtaking time of worship through the beautiful nature that I would be surrounded with.

I saw the Lord in everything we did. As we plowed through the snow, often times knee deep, I saw the Lord in his greatness of providing the snow and nutrients to the land. As we dug out the snow to lay our tent, the brightness of the green grass buried deep under that same snow… the promise He has told us all to keep and protect us. As we gathered the materials we needed to complete a task, I was in awe of how many items we could come up with. He is the ultimate provider. As we prepared our meal in the cold, we gave Him praise for allowing small things like matches and fuel to give us such warmth from deep inside our tummys.

You see my narrow mind allowed my view of worship to be seen only as the moments I am in awe by the singing from my soul or the blessings provided through another person’s singing abilities. Thankfully the Lord is so much BIGGEER than this and through my practice of this spiritual discipline; I am reminded of just how easy it is to see the Lord in so many things.

So, if you read my blog about Glorieta, you will know that we had a project that we were to create that was a symbol of awe and worship to the Lord. Something a person walking by could see and stand in amazement and see the goodness of the Lord through this. It seemed like such a large task that we were all unworthy to create, but in terms of being obedient and trying to understand this discipline to the greatest level, we took on the task.

During the previous day, we had gathered all the materials that we could and were set to begin. Through the lack of desire, laziness, being cold, wanting to leave and probably many other excuses that I could think of – our group was no longer really a “group” for we all had our own agendas. So, in desperation and my own personal desire to be obedient… I chose to take on the project alone with the ideas that we had as a group shared together.

We discussed designing a target like feature that was symbolic to where we desire to be with the Lord. Basically, we all start on the outside of the target and try to get closer to the bull’s-eye as we grow in our personal walks. Easy enough… so I built the project not expecting the Lord to blow me away…

Funny thing. He always has more in store when we choose to be obedient.

As I created the project (image below), I was amazed at all the different aspects of nature I was able to use. The different colors: white, brown, ash, green, and stone grey. The different materials: stems, leaves, stone, ash, snow, and pine needles. The different textures: solid, rough, smooth, slick and prickly. I think you might start to see the amazing view I was gathering as I created this project. So I laid out the target and stood back to look at what else it might need…

The Lord doesn’t need me to speak. He didn’t need me to add anything else. The main thing He was showing me is that all of these items, textures, colors, and so on were already out there in the nature…. But until I was guided into collecting them, I was oblivious to His goodness.

I finished the project and shared with my group as they began returning from their own engagements that they choose to go do. My reverence to His creation, His beauty, that alone was worth worshiping Him. The Lord is good.

So sweet friends, how will you choose to worship Him today? Will you only worship Him as you sing praise on Sunday morning? What about only when you sing in your car to Chris Tomlin? Will you worship only when He provides for you? Or when He protects you from harmful things?

OR

Will you choose to worship Him in the goodness of work, even during the boring meeting on Monday morning?  In the beauty of nature and wildlife? In the check that is paying less than what you were expecting? In the moments when you choose to be patient with an adult that is hard to be around?

When will you choose to worship Him!?

 He is ALL around us sweet friends.

 Worship Him through it all.

The good and the bad….

I love you dearly.

A trip to GLORIETA...

Glorieta Camps located in Glorieta, NM… close to Santa Fe – the site of our next outdoor adventure.  We drove a good long 10+ hours to get to the new location and I loved every minute of it (not the drive… don’t get confused).

Glorieta has a rich tradition of being a church conference center owned by LifeWay and recently purchased by Camp Eagle.. Glorieta 2.0 (This is the camp I am working at and involved in the program at). This has been such an exciting experience to learn all about this camp and get to know the goals and agenda for the new campus.

So a little background about my own experience at Glorieta, I have been on the site three prior times… once with my home church in San Angelo, once with FBC Plainview and once with WBU University. It was during these times that I saw the beauty and amazingness of this HUGE campus! Anyway, so when I heard about Camp Eagle (a camp I believe in deeply) purchasing the land because LifeWay could no longer manage and run their business there.. I WAS ESTATIC!!!

Okay back to my trip!!! When we arrived, we learned that we would be going on trail for one day because of the snow on the ground; we would also be doing work projects and all sorts of other fun things. We would also be experiencing a ski trip toward the end of the entire week.

ON TRAIL

When it came time to go on trail, we all loaded up our packs and layers upon layers of clothes. Over the night it would get down to 10 degrees and I definitely knew I would want to be as warm as possible. We were separated into girls and guys groups and would be spending time with those 4 or 5 assigned to our group working through the spiritual discipline of WORSHIP (different blog).

So as we went out for the day, we had an agenda with our group in which we were to not open the next envelope until we completed the prior envelope. So… we trekked out with the groups and slowly started to separate into our specified girls and guys groups the further we went along the trail. I was a part of the second girls group, so we hiked about a mile or so until we met our new location for where we would set up our own campsite. Just to serve as a reminder… this is a snowy white area… not a real campsite with electricity, benches, an awning, a campfire site, or a table. NO NO this was a beautiful white patch of snow that had yet to be camped on! So we got the joy of creating our own campsite and setting up camp in whatever way we decided.

My group, made up of myself and four other girls, chose to put our tent on the left side of the trail and our kitchen to the right of the tent. We also chose to put our campfire pit (yes we built it ourselves) down in a small creek bed away from the tent. We first opened up our envelope #1 and were instructed to gather all these ridiculous amounts of sticks, rocks, boulders, leaves, and brush. So as girls, we did the best that we could and guess-timated till we felt like we had the right amount of items. We then were able to open up #2 and learn that it was time to eat dinner and start our camp fire. Perfect because as the weather got colder, we were super ready for a warm fire!

As two of us started the fire, the other two prepared dinner, while one sweet girl just sat miserably cold J With many wet sticks, a few dried leaves, some cardboard from a now empty match book, a working match, and a shot of fuel… we NOW had a fire!!!We were very thankful and decided that after dinner and after our final envelope #3 for the night (opened around the fire) we would be jumping into the tent and not getting out.

It was during this third envelope that we were guided to begin thinking about a project that we would be creating that would be something that would bring awe, amazement, wonder and worship to the Lord. It seemed as if no “thing” we created would be enough and we were side tracked by the 10 degree weather. We chose to discuss our ideas in the tent and some warm sleeping bags.

Over the night, we had some fun, icey cold, and space hogging experiences! We ended up skipping breakfast and not getting out of the tent for over 12 hours because we were staying warm and being lazy. It came 11 am when I was tired enough of not doing anything and chose to climb out and cook everyone lunch. It was during this time when the Lord really spoke to me about our lack of discipline to engage in the tasks we were given.

It is the times that things seem so easy and meaningless (collecting items, cooking breakfast, and starting our project) that the Lord was really there watching us to see how well we chose to follow the directions of our leadership. Sadly, we failed to do that for the most part. Our group chose to do the least amount of work, while still doing what we technically were suppose to “do”. Call us lame. We knew it…

So while cooking lunch, our leaders arrived with hot chocolate and warm smiles. It is then when the other gals in the group perked up, enjoyed some hot cocoa and moved forward with their day. We had one task remaining that we had to do before leaving camp. We were to build this project! So… you will see eventually if I am able to post the photo the creation I made. I also plan on explaining our creation through my worship blog and how it related my idea of worship to the Lord.

Christmas party and Work projects

So after our fun trail experience, we got to attend the Christmas party for the Camp Eagle and Glorieta Camps staff. It was a large party with over 75 participants coming from the camp in Texas and those who were working there in NM. What a great experience to join two camps together that work for one mission! The Lord is good!

We also go to begin working on different projects around the camp that are being renovated and changing for the purpose of reaching those who come out to Camp Eagle seeking outdoor adventure. So we had the pleasure of tearing down walls and ceiling tiles in an effort to begin the building of the camp store and coffee shops! It was a joy to work with my WA family members to create the newest part of Glorieta!

We also enjoyed free time with one another in which many of us enjoyed games of volleyball, spike ball, and board games with other full time staff members! The last two full days that we were there, we were able to go on a ski trip (snowboard J) with our WA family and some TX and NM full time staff members! Don’t worry I will post a blog and maybe some pics about this!

Glorieta was GREAT sweet friends!!! If you ever get a chance… make your way out there.. Call them up! Enjoy walking the beautiful trails. 

Enjoy seeing Christ through nature. 

Thanksgiving

WOO HOO so I realized I posted during Thanksgiving… but I was not thinking I should probably give yall an update on my break away from seclusion and my vacation home.

So over the break, which was a full week, I traveled to spend some time with a friend and I also traveled to my hometown to have Thanksgiving with my amazing father and his girlfriend. Though a lot of my time was spent on the road, I am very thankful for the time I spent in the different places.

During my time spent with a special friend, I got to spend a few days relaxing and catching up on some lost time. Sleeping in a little later than I usually do at camp and FINALLY not having to eat breakfast! Haha for those of you who do not know me well… I am not a breakfast eater. I love breakfast food, but I do not enjoy eating in the morning once I have woken up. So.. I was thankful for that! I got to go see Catching Fire in the theater and have some awesome food that I have been missing since moving out to the wilderness! Though my time with my friend was short, it was well worth it and refreshing to our friendship!

Thank you Lord for growth in friendships.

I traveled home to my dad on Wednesday and started to prepare for our Thanksgiving meal! We planned to have a regular Thanksgiving meal with just the things we all liked! We ended up having sooo many leftovers, I am sure we all usually do! My favorite part of the meal is the cranberries and of course my dad’s amazing fried turkey! Food is of course my weakness… so the leftovers didn’t last too long!

For the holiday my dad, his girlfriend, and I were able to spend a lot of good quality time together! We had a face stuffing tummy full meal and then enjoyed some nap time and football together! My middle sister, her hubby, and my oh so precious nephew also arrived on Thanksgiving Day! I had a lot of fun spending time with them J The time spent sitting around the couch, playing with my pup, laughing with my nephew, and talking with my sis… priceless moments.

I went out alone on Black Friday, not for anything specific, but just to get out of the house and look around! I didn’t spend too much time out at the stores, but I enjoyed running into some old high school friends and sharing sweet hugs with them. This was once again a reminder since the beginning of the program… I often spend money on items I don’t need… but simply want. Materialistic much Haley????

Friday morning I left to go see my oldest sister in Abilene and spend a few days with her! I use to live in Abilene with her, which was such a blessing and something I am so thankful for. During this time, I grew close to her best friend and her family! So not only was I getting to go see my sister, I was also getting to go spend time with a sweet family! Upon arrival in Abilene, I enjoyed one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants and awesome time with my sister.

Since I had decided to arrive on a Friday, I also chose to stay another day and attend my Abilene church – Beltway Park Baptist Church – because it has played a major role in my current decision to take part in the discipleship program that I am currently in. It is through this church, that I have grown to love the Lord in a deeper more personal level. So, not skipping my day on Saturday, but I was blessed with the opportunity to attend my church since I was already there in Abilene!

SO back to Saturday… My sister, friend, and I enjoyed lounging around and just being silly. Talking, reading, watching TV, sleeping, crocheting (my sister is an old lady), and shopping. It is the time spent being engaged with those I love that I have learned to value the most.

Most often I have realized… it is not about what I am doing that brings me joy… it is who I am with.

My thanksgiving break was spent surrounded by my family/friends and that is what I was most blessed by. Time spent with those I do not get to see much or talk to as often since moving to the wilderness. I hadn't realized how much I had once taken for granted…. Thank you Lord for kind reminders of the greatness of family and love.

SIGH… and now for the heartbreaking realization of my break:

My lack of commitment to continue focusing on the Lord. While I was home, I choose not to do anything that I usually practice out at Camp Eagle (seems pretty dumb now!)… I also didn't engage myself in scripture at all.

So for those of you who have stayed connected with my whole process... You know that this has been a struggle I have in my walk with the Lord. One of many reasons I chose to seclude myself from the world and go into the wilderness. My issue:  The lack of commitment in the real world to stay in tune with the only thing that truly matters. The ONE thing that I should be MOST thankful for. MY HEAVENLY FATHER… But Praise God for mercy and grace ….

What are you most thankful for sweet friends? ...and WHO are you most thankful for?

I love you all. Thank you for being a part of my life.