Where's George?

I got a dollar bill from Target the other day that has >"wheresgeorge.com"< stamped on it. You go to the site and enter the serial number of the dollar bill and track where it's been.

I'm only the second person to enter this particular dollar- but it's been being tracked for 23 days.
The person before me found it in Sulfur, LA.

So much fun!

Maybe I'll send it with Leah to trade in for Tanzanian money! hmmm.....

ok so...april fools?

my last post (on april 1st) was entitled "getting serious" and yet somehow, i think God decided to play his part in the april fools day pranks!

as many of you know, God has been opening up so many doors for me this year and one of the biggest doors is that i've been able to really start doing a lot under >jp brumfield< in the serve team. i've been learning countless things about outreach, office work, people skills, and just ministry work in general. and i've finally been feeling God cast some vision for me- at least for this season in my life. it's so amazing to watch God take care of those things i was worried and insecure about- only a short time after finally surrendering those worries to Him.

anyway, missions trip apps were due this friday. i was making plans to go to the notary and to the doctor and all that fun stuff. but on thursday night, i sat in on the danville, CA team meeting (to help JP). well, God started messing with my head quite a bit.

"maybe the reason i've been struggling with getting all my funds raised for africa- is because God wants me to be a part of this trip instead."

i was scared to yield to that feeling. so, over the next 16 hrs, i started thinking, praying, worrying, analyzing, fasting, talking with my parents, and with tiffany, and JP... i listed out the reasons i would go on either trip. and the answer became very clear.

as much as i've talked and dreamed and longed to go to africa...i really feel like God wants me in Danville. if i were to go to africa this year, i think it would be too much about me and my desires- the hype of it all. it's AFRICA!
and seeing gabby! being part of many of my friends FIRST experiences on the mission field. i really believe some of them may find that they are called to be full time missionaries while they are in swaziland! this trip is going to be epic!
but if i were to go on that account, it would be more about me than anything. and i know, that during the danville team meeting, as jp talked about the work we'd be doing there, i felt like God was stirring me to be part of it. helping start the SERVE TEAM (a culture of Serve) for one our campuses!!! that's HUGE, too!!!
as hard as it was to switch my plans friday- it's only gotten harder as i've had to tell all the swazi team members about it also. and gabby, and natalie, and everyone. but you know what...it also feels great to know that i'm in God's will.
i really feel like He told me to go to danville. and if that's what He said, then that's what i'll do.
africa is still something so very very huge to me. i want to go there so badly! but i also know that right now the serve team is something that God has placed me in. and that's what i need to be pouring myself into.
God has some major plans for this summer at hpc. seriously...danville, los angeles, india, mozambique, honduras, camp barnabas, mexico, dominican republic, swaziland,...He's sending us out all over the globe!
it doesn't matter where i go- we're all on the same mission. i just wanna do what He tells me to do- even if it's crazy hard.

so God april fooled me. big time.

good one, God.
and i have a feeling it's going to turn out to be AMAZING!

thank you all for reading and for your prayers.
it means soooooooo much!

-tori

getting serious now!!!!!

Hey people!!! I want to let you know that Refuge, Elevate, the Sports team
at HPC, and Go Global are going to SWAZILAND this summer. And I get to be
part of the team!!!!!!!!

I am honored to have been chosen to go to Swaziland! I love Africa. (I've
been to Zimbabwe twice. Once when I was nine and then again the following
year.) My experiences there molded my life and the way I think. Missions
has been bred in me. And I've got jitters about being able to go to Africa
again, to let God open my eyes wider and refresh the vision in my heart.

When our team gets there, we'll be doing some day camps with kids. We'll
be buliding a well so the people in the community can have clean water.
We'll also be doing a lot of work on the new HPC Swaziland campus!

AND...Throughout the whole trip, we'll get to hang out with the lovely
Rodgers family (my cousins! and aunt and uncle!), and also with the
Rehmeyers (my best friend is Swaziland is a Rehmeyer! GABBY) ,Patrick
Conti, and (the new missionary lady...) NATALIE ASHY SPERA!! Wooohooo!
Along with so many others... It's going to be amazing to be able to hang
out with them and serve them-and um...LEARN from them. These people are
truly the inspiration of mission-minded people. They're the ones on the
front lines. And we get to come support them in the work they're already
doing.

God has had so much favor on Children's Cup and HPC and the work we're
doing in Africa! So many doors have been opened to us. What a HUGE thing
we get to be a part of. So many lives, so many stories we get to reach
into. This is one of the most hurting places in the world... and we get to
be part of building up "healing places" there. It's so humbling to be in
the mix of something this big!

This trip is going to be amazing! I know it! Our team is HUGE! We have
probably almost 40 people signed up to go so far. And my dad is heading it
up! (Be praying for him big time! :) The team, like I said, is a mixture
of Refuge, Elevate, Sports team, and Go Global. All in one. It's going to
be big, and crazy...but so AWESOME! Blending generations and focuses into
one team...God's definitely gonna do something amazing with this trip.

Africa has endless needs. But God has endless love! And He can do endless
things through His people.

IT'S SO EXCITING!!!!!!!

So hey, we need you to get yo pray on!!!! BIG TIME!!! We need protection,
wisdom, unity, health, open eyes, open hearts, open ears, and humility!...


And if you can...gather up some green stuff and send it our way. That
would be spectacular!! I have $2,100 due on April 15th and then another
$1,675 due on June 13th. So do the rest of our 40 team members!!!! Green
is such a beautiful color. So spread it around. :)

Thank you all so very much for reading. You're amazing.

Thanks for being a part of reaching Africa!

-Tori Ohlerking

jaden and marcela

AHH!! these two!

>marcela spicuzi<


and >jaden stafford<




pretty awesome girls that i got to know at amplified.

and they're new to the blogging world- so put them on your blog roll and leave em some comments! they're amazing!

hmmm...???

um...so check the> coolest site ever!!! <

Lil Stinky E

yeah...passion for Africa might just be summed up as such...not bathing for two weeks plus to raise money for your dad to do mission's work there! that's SERIOUS right there.

check out evangeline's- i mean lil' stinky e's site >here<. make a pledge-cause this girl is gonna stink until she gets all the money!!!!

so today is a glorious day because i got to place a phone call to the cell phone of BRO. JACK DYER!

i can cross that one off my bucket list!

Jubilee

That’s the word I am using to describe the day!
AHH!!!
Before you read this I want you to turn up the volume on your computer…and listen to the first song (segment) on my playlist up there. (sadly i can't get the full version up...but you get the gist right?)

All right- you listened to it?!!!

Well, my friends that was the song that I was awakened to this glorious day in march!! Oh yes. The day of the HP Global missions workshop.

Most of you know I have a HUGE, GINORMOUS ISSUE with waking up in the mornings, but God helped me get PUMPED UP today! My ipod doc gradually increased in volume and this song echoed in my ears. I popped out of my cozy little bed and ran over to the map of the world hanging on my wall…

Catch the visual. Me jumping around my room and singing this song to the world (map)!!!

We’ll shout it out loud from the rooftops!
We won’t be quiet!
We’ve fallen for ya hard and we can’t stop!
We can’t deny it!!!

What a way to kick off this beautiful day! I love days that start off like that. Just a good mind set from the get go!

So then, Leah picked me up and we got some starbucks. And as we were leaving I told her about my song of the day. But then she told me that she had another amazing song she had been waiting to listen to until I was with her.

Guess what song it was?!!!!!

C’mon. Go old school with me. (click the second song on the playlist now!!!;)


AHHH!!! Favorite. Favorite. Favorite!

As you can imagine the rest of my day was just pure joy! I felt like I was a little kid in Disney world!!! (Remember that that is simply an analogy. Kid’s are fans of Disney world though I am not!)

But yes, it was a phenomenal day..

We got to come together just to worship God for who He is and to thank Him for what He is letting us be part of. And we got to hear from our leaders’ hearts. So much wisdom was shared today!

The teams are AMAZING!!!

Last night I got to hang with Tweeze and Jen while they called all the Refuge kids and told them which trips they were getting to go on! I felt like I was at the hospital waiting for a baby to be born.

Just waiting expectantly for the people to stinking pick up there phones! And then all of the excitement and celebration when they finally did!!!

THEN this morning, I actually got to tell one of the girls she was going to Africa! That made my day!!!

AHHH!!! And Refuge isn’t just going to Swaziland- they’re going to Mexico and to Camp Barnabas! How awesome is that?!!! And then, throughout HPC, there’s Dominican Republic, India, Honduras, Mozambique, Danville CA, the LA Dream Center,…! (I’m totally lumping this in with those places, too-) TANZANIA!!!

:)

WOW! God is so absolutely amazing!!


And one more song of the day for me… the whole thing is amazing. but especially at about 4:40min. (yet again...i can only get a segmented version of it. but just so you know what song i'm talking about click on #3 on the playlist)


The whole world’s about to change. (that's the words he sings at 4:40)

Picture yourself- not necessarily out there changing the entire world. Just bam there it is. But picture yourself holding a little AIDS orphan singing this song to him. Almost as a lullaby. The whole worlds about to change. Your whole worlds about to change.

Today, the word hope was used a lot. The word hope- if you think about it- really does equate to Jesus. They can’t be referred to as the hopeless ones anymore-not the Jesus-less. (thoughts from Mrs. Sherrie May today)

Oh! What a huge thing this is. How many lives are morphing, molding, growing, changing, expanding, stretching, healing, craving, grasping, opening, feeling, sensing,…just think about the number of lives being effected through missions this year.

The natives- their eternities being effected, their wounds being healed, their loneliness being cast aside, their aches and pains being turned to joy and life!

The missionaries on the ground- being encouraged and blessed, sharing their wisdom, maybe shedding light on the callings and burdens of the team members.
The people going on the teams- maybe discovering their futures, discovering passions, learning the importance of unity, being stretched, gaining an openness of heart- a world view.

The ones supporting- giving their time and effort to change the lives of those they may never even meet, huge faith!, the selflessness, the sacrifices, again- the world views!

Just think for a second about how many actual lives are being/going to be changed forever because of HP Go Global. (and not even just HPC- think about it outside of that even!)

God is nuts!!!

Pure jubilee!!!

(P.S. about the 4th song on the playlist- sorry. Just couldn’t bring myself to take Alanis off yet. What can I say? Enjoy the irony of it.)

AFRICA!!!!

:) i don't wanna be all wordy and boring so this is my revised version of a support letter.


here's the deal, God's amazing!!! and i have the opportunity to go to one of the poorest, sickest, scariest, most beautiful places on earth! yes, indeed, AFRICA!!! swaziland to be exact.




right now my plan is to be with the refuge, elevate, sports team in august! how amazing is that?!!!! we're going to get to work on building a well so that parts of the community can have clean water! we'll get to do a day camp with some of the swazi teenagers!! YESSSSS!!! (which will include some sports activities and a lot of other fun stuff...and we may get to bring some of those kids on an outreach to their own community- teaching them leadership skills...WORLD CHANGING SKILLS!!) and who knows what else God has planned for this trip?!!!! ah!!!! it's so cool to think about.

what i'm super excited about is refuge getting to be part of it. seriously you guys have no clue how passionate some of these students have been about reaching this continent. and it's not just a whim either. for an entire year (for some even longer) all i've heard some of them talk about is "when are we going to africa?!!!", "what's the plan for africa?", "how can i get on the team?" and the creative ideas everyone has for raising funds! these kids are working their tails off, using all their creativity, and doing anything and everything they can to raise support. it's so awesome to see their eagerness to reach the nations!!!!

ahhh!!!!!!

i'm so pumped.

and this is the part where i try to word it just so- so that i don't sound like i'm begging for money and what not. but not this year...

i need $3,800! and so does everyone else going. so please pray about it and help if you can.

and even if you can't, i need prayer more than money!!!!!!!!!!! so pray til your tongue falls off!!!!!!


thank you all soooo soooo sooo much!!!!!!!!!!!

-tori

best day

so i am 100% positive that Jesus just wanted to bless my little soul on february 13th, 2008.

i don't know why but it was seriously an absolutely, incredibly, amazingly, fabulous day!

first i did NOT sleep in. always a plus right?!! i rolled up to the annex for prayer...i got there after everyone had left (except barton- who was chillin on the couch eating his breakfast:). so i got to just sit in the silence of the annex. ahhh!

after that!!!!!!! a bunch of elevators got together for a beautiful VALENTINE'S day outreach. we handed out tons of roses! (thanks to everyone who helped de-thorn!!!) and guess to where...oh yes! most definitely to that huge yellow place on jefferson- the sunshine nursing home! oh my oh my- how i love to visit with elderly people! they're so cute and so sweet. they just want to someone to visit with- so easily cheered. i do believe i met the man i'm going to marry! (many of you know about my fetish for cute, sweet little old men. they're so adorable) well, his name is harold and idk...he's just my favorite! so yes...this was the most amazing outreach. i quite enjoyed it.

on a serious note though, these people really are forgotten. they don't get many visitors. not many people to just listen to them and love on them. what gets me is the amount of life they represent. i mean like 90 plus years of life- think of all the wisdom in that place. i wish i could just sit and hear their life stories.

hannah actually got to lead mrs leona (who is 97 years old) to Jesus!!! how amazing is that?!!!!!

so needless to say...that was one of the best experiences of my life! haha!

so after that, we rolled to lsu to hand out some more roses. i loved the surprised and sometimes confused looks we got. how much fun! and the lovely leah skipped her last class of the day (shhh) to help out, too.

THEN!!!! dustin, leah, katie, and i got hungry. so what else would we do but chill at katie's grandmother's???!!!!?? right? haha. hot chocolate and red beans and rice gumbo! yeah man!

such an outrageous day. but not even close to the end.

after lunch leah was going to take me back to the annex to help jp...but we made a short stop and the business report office to see the beautiful nancy clary! (which by the way, this is her birth-week. it's a friedrichs/clary thing) so we chilled in her office for a bit...ate some valentine's chocolate. this kit kat says "best buds" on it!!! aw!





and leah got herself a nice warm diet coke from this ancient coke machine!!





then mrs. nancy kinda kicked us out cause we were too distracting. lol.




i love mrs nancy!

so then, we finally made it to the annex. did some work with JP!! leah and chris "did homework"



AND!!!!!...katherine sharkey brought some awesome jewelry donated from ted and daisies. i got a nifty little bracelet and leah got a necklace with a twig on it!

after that- the only down part of my day...i attempted to drive with my dad to bethany. yeah...i believe i yelled and cried and stressed out big time! we argue a lot when it comes to driving- i think he fears for his life. so he's on the edge of his seat the whole time and then freaks me out to where i can't concentrate. joy! i'm never gonna drive. but what's wrong with walking right? jk...one day- maybe when i'm 37. that might work.

anyway, we made it- ALIVE. (sadly, i found out that pastor dino and mrs delynn were behind us the whole time. lol. fantastic!)

anyway, the service was really a beautiful thing to be part of. such a trying time- but the unity and love God is bringing from it is amazing.

after service a bunch of refuge leaders went to chili's to celebrate mandi ash's move to china this sunday!!!!!! how incredible is it that she's stepping out and truly chasing after the dream God gave her.

and to top off this spectacular day, i got to spend the night with leah! we stayed up way too late but were still able- somehow- to force ourselves out of bed so we could go to spend valentine's day breakfast with rev. al and all those great homeless guys!

what a lovely day!

i love Jesus!!!!
He's pretty much my sunshine!
oh yes!

all of the wednesday night services are still meeting at bethany south at 6pm. keep spreading the word.

!!

so i just got >word< that miss amy passed away. it's so rough- but God's not surprised. He knows the plan. but please be in prayer for pastor joel now.

i don't know the plan for wednesday but we'll find out...i'll keep it posted.

REFUGE MOVED!

hey guys...


wednesday night refuge (along with pathfinders and life u and whatever other hpc gatherings happen that night) will be meeting at BETHANY SOUTH at 6pm for a prayer and worship service. pastor dino asked that everyone would come together with bethany and pray for amy stockstill.

spread the word!!!!

!

just got home from a GIANT prayer meeting at bethany for amy stockstill. i'm quite speechless.

a few of us from hpc were able to be a part of this prayer meeting. it was truly an experience i will never forget- seeing how much faith these people cried out with!!!

something pastor jonathan said during the prayer meeting grabbed my attention. he told the congregation that they are "learning to fight"!!! i love that! God wants us to HAVE to cry out to Him. we can't just be chill all the time...when someones down we've gotta know how to fight! and that's what bethany (and hpc together) are learning to do through this.

God has mrs. amy in His hands. we trust Him completely with her life and we know His glory will be shown and His life will be breathed into her.

so start praying, man!!! learn to fight!!!

*mexico*

a lot of you know the lovely mackenzie kaiser. this month, she did something HUGE. she moved to mexico!!!!!!! (the advantages of being homeschooled can open a lot of windows! yeeah!!!) i am so proud of her. she's taking a huge adventure right now.

so be praying big time for this missionary!!!

check out her site >here<.

we love you mackenzie!!

slapdash (look it up)

hello PEOPLE!

so instead of trying to catch up (which has become the blogging cliche), maybe i'll post a few pics...


(i stole this one from kristina's facebook)
ELEVATE RETREAT!! it was amazing! and um...i surely climbed nothing less than a mountain! thanks to chris i didn't fall off and die!




MISTY'S 18th not surprise birthday party!!! i love her so much...even if she did ruin the surprise!!! :)



? dad says i look like a lion with a goober face. strange.





hmmm...tid bits of my life.

one huge thing i must post about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this past wednesday, our beloved tweezy announced that REFUGE will be taking a missions trip to a place filled with the some of the most beautiful PEOPLE on the face of the earth...yes indeed...



AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
can you believe it?!!! God is so absolutely incredible! asante sana, Yesu!

please be praying for the students who have this opportunity and also for the leaders.
for the finances ($4,000) and for an extreme PASSION to rise in our souls with a love for the PEOPLE! pray that futures begin to take form in the lives of the students. pray that God will stir our souls deeply this summer.

thanks, my friends.


still thinking about my internal controversy...wordpress or blogger...i don't know. i don't know. i don't know.

(p.s. read soul cravings by erwin mcmanus! twas awesome!)

don't ask...

i love Jesus...really quite a lot! you have no clue. sometimes i don't even realize how much i love Him. and i am positive that there is no way i could ever know how much He loves me. so if the amount of love cannot possibly be expressed...then it must be quite an amusing thing to even begin to take hold of. just feeling a sliver of His love drip upon me and the day glows a thousand times brighter than if i would have otherwise ignored it.

how many times do i complicate life trying to understand it, when the only way to even begin to understand it's complexity is to simplify? "i simply cannot understand" is the thought pattern i must take on. this creates a humility which frees me to begin to see the intricacies i've been longing to find. admitting to smallness allows me to see greatness.

...
idk. very random...very very random.

i'll post again in '08...maybe. actually...i made a wordpress. but i can't decide if i really want to use it. it's not like i post enough for it to matter anyway. :) votes?...

btw...elevate is going amazing!

winbourne is my favorite place EVER! (i got to play in the snow today!!:) so glorious!

and perkins rowe is a pretty fun new hang out spot. except i think the people working there can tell if you really have money to spend or if you're like me and just pretend you're gonna buy the stuff you just tried on...then run. yeah...i didn't really do that. but i still think they can tell what's in your wallet. it's like x-ray vision. :)

oh...except for this really awesome girl i met who works in the kid's section at barnes and noble. she's going to kenya as a missionary for 6 months! how cool is that?!! LANIE is her name. you should definitely stop buy and talk to her. very cool person indeed.

and um...what else?

oh twisted! phenomenal job refuge team!! it was absolutely amazing! sushi and break dancers! oh YES! and boy oh boy the sanctuary looked so cool!

and i'm like really excited that it finally got cold tonight! even though my knees and teeth are beginning to chatter, it feels like Christmas. Jesus is gonna make it snow on Christmas! that's what the hold up is for.., at least that's my theory. lol.

anyways, vote on the wordpress. i'm kind of attached to my blog. it's kinda my baby. had it since submerged '05. wordpress is cool...but this is like a child to me!! haha!

k. sleep. such a beautiful thing- drool and all.
later my lovely people!
-tori

november 1

i love how God allows us to have fresh starts. for some reason, i am just really excited about this new month. it's like a breath of fresh, COOL air that God has given us to take in. may we do all we can to reach our full potential and make this month the best we've ever had!!! (so far...:)


(copyright to >leah< on the pic...her comments were "ahh it's a be-utiful day! enjoy it!":)

oh what a beautiful life

like i said in my last post, i turned 17 this past tuesday.
it was an absolutely amazing week.

last weekend, leah took me to see her grandmother, in covington. oh my goodness! her grandmother's house is 200 years old! and they have like tons of beautiful land all around...lots of TREES! and a creek! (with clay banks). i felt very adventurous there. i even let leah paint my face with clay juice. haha! we call ourselves dora explorers!!!! and she also took me to an abby (that she used to attend church in). we saw advertisements for people who want to be MONKS!!! oh yeah!

and we also saw the (most amazing little old man) priest sitting on a pew praying. he was so cool.

AND-we explored grave stones (not morbid...genealogical).

twas a very incredible day to say the least. i even got to experience some new (to me) tunes and share a box of cereal with my dear friend, leah! (what kind of cereal could she be talking about?...)


then monday, the SUPRISE party!! crazy kids!

tuesday, our elevate class was changed up a bit...it was mandatory fun night! so where else would you go but celebration station?!! (what a coincidence that this fun night "accidentally" fell on my birthday... haha! jk!)

wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oooh...house of blues!
phil wickham (no words come forth...just speechlessness)
david crowder and his rigged guitar hero!
and a bunch of us square dancing to "i saw the light"!
praising Jesus in one of the most famous bars ever!

thursday...closer! twas great! and MISTY came!!!!yay!

friday... a portion of my very large family took me to mr. ghattis. (among this portion of family was: mom, dad, jd, lincoln, rhett, rhodes, mimi, grandad, meemaw, pop, uncle brian, aunt kacy, sophie, sadie mae, uncle josh, aunt shannon, vaughn, monet, monroe, and the un-named one. (or the secretly named one...whose parents want to keep the name concealed until birth! so we call her bubba!)

also, friday night, we rented "rv" and moved a bunch of mattresses into our living room and had a huge slumber party.


saturday...
hm...8:30 am- met the refuge crew at the annex
9:15 am- headed to jessamin street to paint a house
12:20pm- hopped in jordan's car with austin and headed to work the concessions for the game. (make sure you watch for little gold cars next time, jordan:)
1:00pm- walked into the pmac, threw on a purple corky's tee (over my sweaty, painty serve shirt) and started counting (and re-counting...and re-counting again) inventory.
3:30pm- nachos, chili dogs, popcorn, pork, beef, hot dogs, mr. pib...and some more...then more...
8:00pm- went into the stadium to work another concession stand. (and on the way, encountered some interesting sights, smells, and sounds)
2:30AM- crawled into bed

sunday...
6:20am- woke up
6:50am- headed to st franny
7:50am- set up for service, drank 2 cups of COFFEE, and hung out with telia and her beautiful self. lol.
9:40am- nursery (3-5 year olds) with the amazing LAUREN SHAW!!! :)
12:15pm- headed out...visited the st. franny crew at audobun cafe (for three min. tops) then rolled to the myrtle for lunch with my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.
2:30pm- rode to clinton to look at land with my grandparents
5:00pm- headed back home
5:45pm- sat in on the end of the buzz meeting
6:30pm- went to an absolutely amazing epic staff development (prayer) meeting.
(here's some elaboration on that meeting):

ok, so obviously, my past several days have been kinda crazy. and yesterday, i was starting to feel really tired and run down- kinda guilty for some bad attitudes and opportunities i missed. i was just feeling a lot of pressure and disappointment in myself.

so i went into the auditorium expecting an actual "meeting". but i realized that we were just going to be having worship and prayer- and communion! i was so ready to just collapse and soak it in. it was such a blessing!

during worship, i grabbed my bible (well, my mom's Bible that i stole) and i flipped to isaiah 41:1. it says, "quiet down, far-flung ocean islands. listen! sit down and rest, everyone. recover your strength. gather around me. say what's on your heart. together let's decide what's right."

i read that passage over and over...and it just soothed my spirit and brought such a feeling of peace. i had been feeling so...just gross. and reading that brought me to my knees in humbleness and- again!- made me cry out in dependence on God.

it was an amazing night of praying together with all the leaders in youth ministry- just sharing and crying out for each other and for the students. we all sense such a beautiful unified spirit in this group of leaders. it's so amazing what God is doing here!

after the meeting some of the crew went to jason's deli and chilled. here's my lovely youth pastor's face...

haha!!

so that was my week in a very very large nutshell...

it was a great birth-week. (as leah would call it)

it's kinda weird. i've been here for SEVENTEEN years! that's over 6,000 days!!
life is such a gift...i love it! i mean sometimes i do wish i could just go fly around in my mansion in heaven right NOW! but who doesn't?! that's just a way of anticipating my true reason for living out my purpose here. all spirits long to be in God's complete presence- whether they realize it or not.

but i'm so glad that God put me here- that He created me to experience Him. and that He has chosen me to serve Him and to share Him with others- and just to enjoy Him!

here's a piece of what i journaled on my birthday...

"...i want to thank you, Lord. all this celebrating for me is really a celebration of You! today i am celebrating a life that has been and will be spent with You. without You, this birthday would only be a big party of a life that is decaying. but in You, it is growing and EXPANDING!...i thank You for blessing me and for pouring 17 years of life over me. i love you, Jesus."

i feel like i'm at a whole new stage of life right now. i'm more confused, scared, aggravated, annoyed, lost, weak, helpless than ever- yet more eager, ready, excited, hungry, and in awe than ever!

elevate is going great. i am amazed at all the things i'm learning and experiencing.
i'm being stretched in so many ways. sometimes i feel like i'm gonna pop! but God is holding me steady when i begin to waver...He carries my weaknesses on His shoulders and holds me when i have collapsed.

i still feel like i suck at life sometimes. right now, i could list 892 things that bother me about myself (just from what i did today! haha!)

but the sun shines brightly and God's grace flows deeply. it drowns me and my tainted self...and i am constantly dissolving in His love.

life is so amazing! He gave His life so i could know Him. and i know Him so i can give my life so that they can know Him.

let's go!

surprise!

so yesterday, i mozied over to leah's house for our (awesome!) life group, enthralled. you know, i got there a bit early as usual and just hung out for a bit.


well, at about 6:30, leah got very ancy to start Bible study. she told me three times within 45 seconds to come sit down! i knew something was up, but i figured that maybe they got a cake for me and were about to sing the "happy birthday" song.


but when i sat down (they were all acting really weird! haha!) leah started to introduce our Bible study topic for the night. talking in circles about the snooze series.

and then she looked up and said "NOW!" to andrew.

and then all of a sudden, the front door flung open, and a slew of PEOPLE came rushing in hollering and yelling "happy birthday!!!!"

i still can't believe it! i did not expect that at all!!

almost everyone i know was there!

leah got a lovely "ambrosia" cake for me. (decorated with sentiments resembling last years birthday cake)

chris gave me a beautiful rose. (homegrown- and the first one to be cut from the bush!)


and this nice balloon you see...



(and actually it was accurate, last night was the last possible time i could have ever celebrated being 16! so sarah knew what she was doing! lol)

and the best part...

organic frosted mini wheats! yep.

starbucks, barnes and noble, PEOPLE, organic frosted mini wheats, a rose, rainbow sprinkle cake, balloons,...

oh my goodness! i had so much fun last night!!

they got me!

thanks guys!!!!!!:)

yall are awesome!


sneaky kids!