Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but I'm a Camp Friend, so FC maybe?

Well, camp #3 is over. It is so crazy to realize I've been gone for 6 weeks and only have one camp left this summer. At the moment I really would love to be near my Mom and Dad #sickgirlproblems but I have had such a phenomenal time and I wouldn't trade this summer and its ups and downs or the people I've gotten to know for anything.

Our off-weekend with the Beans consisted of sleep, a useless doctor visit, medicine, Lake Michigan, lighthouses, cheese, coffee, and some great tours of Racine/Kenosha/Milwaukee. We loved getting to know them and learning from them. I got to make my first real s'more and taste some incredible Wisconsin cuisine as well as plenty of Starbucks coffee, so the weekend was perfect for me.

Sunday we headed to Chicagoland camp! First impression: VERY few mosquitoes. So obviously that was great. Each camp is so different and that definitely applied at Chicagoland but we all agreed it was an amazing camp. The staff showed their love for the kids by extensive preparation and organization that made for a phenomenal week. The early morning assemblies by the lake were beautiful and humbling, and the Bible classes on wisdom were challenging and powerful. We enjoyed attempting to figure out how everyone was related and the intense emotional strain that came from trying to remember which Diestlekamp branch preferred to be called DIESELkamp and which was DISSlekamp. It's kind of like playing "The Floor is Lava" when you're handing out happy mail just trying to avoid saying the wrong version of the name. I felt pretty bad all week, and I didn't do a very good job of keeping up my energy, but people were patient and my cabin didn't hate me for coughing (or at least they didn't TELL me) so that was sweet. I couldn't croak out a note during singings, though, and I definitely felt new meaning applied to the words "the spirit is willing but the flesh is so weak." Can't wait to be able to sing again! I was on the purple team, the Philippians, and we had fun with the awesome sports and phenomenal activities that were planned for the kids. Although not being able to yell during tug-of-war is probably the saddest thing ever.

Thursday night was the staff talent show and we had fun doing a couple of skits in that, and Friday night was the Camper Variety Show and it was SO fun. They had so much talent and we got to be ridiculous and that's pretty much what we're best at, so Friday and Saturday I felt like were the perfect wrap-up to the week. Those last 2 days I was able to really connect more with kids and felt a little less tired so that was good.

The amazing thing about camps is that while promoting FC is our job, really we are just learning more and more reasons why we love FC and we are seeing more and more what a blessing it is that we are a part of the FC family. Even more than that, we're seeing God's goodness in our lives more every week and it's been so humbling to have so many powerful reminders this summer. He knows what we need.

We closed out the week with Culver's and now we are at the lovely Wickersheim home. As Ashley said after Alli came home from church sick, the Camp Friends are "dropping like flies" but the Wickersheims are taking great care of us and I'm praying hard that I'll feel better tomorrow (and that Alli will too!)

While the other Camp Friends and Heidi are at the Saters' for dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Wickersheim and Alli and I are having a blast with take-out Chinese and NetFlix. So good.

Here are some pictures to give you a taste of our week. What a group.

PHILIP MAGEE'S TWIN. In every way. Oh Grayson.

Love Heidi and Samantha. So precious.

Jonah was so fun and such a leader this week. FC SO SOON.

Cody! Come to FC. Please. Love this kid.

This one's for you, Jenna Pepper. #AbigailandEmma

Girl Scout campgrounds are all about totem poles. Like...what?

Kyle Wolf. Finally exchanged his Duke and Grace College shirts for the Falcons. Success.

Oh. And by the way, my best pal Drew is coming back to FC. That's big news, guys. Just in case you missed that memo at any point.

Alright. That's all for now. Gonna go take some more NyQuil. I think I set some kind of sleeping record today, and I plan to keep that up until I get better.

Love. Miss. 

-ELB

You offer hope when our hearts have hopelessly lost our way.

What a month. 4 weeks ago today was my second night of Camp Friends tour, the overnight at Alli's house, heading towards Ohio Camp.

First off: the group. I will be honest, I was petrified about my CF group. I didn't feel like I knew any of them super well (except Alli) and was pretty confident they'd all hate me. After the first 15 minutes in the van with Ashley, Andrew, and Caleb my fears were relieved. Honestly, even if every camp we went to was awful (so far they've both been incredible) I would so do this trip over again just because of how amazing my group is. They've helped me so much emotionally and spiritually already and even though there are ways in which you have to learn to deal with each other when you're living in a van for 9 weeks with 4 other people, I praise God for the laughs and tears and prayers and talks we've already shared.

Alli and I talked the other day about how we don't think we made Camp Friends because we're great at it, we think God knew we needed this growth and challenge to break out of our comfort zone and realize what we can do with His strength. That's a huge blessing. Andrew and I talked about how if we could talk to people about God as easily as we can talk to people about FC, we'd be able to plant seed everywhere. We want to have that same passion for God as we do for FC. Hopefully this summer is helping us all with that.

Ohio Camp: The theme at Ohio Camp this year was Carrying the Torch. We focused all week on different characters (Old and New Testament) who were examples of steadfast service and running the race. Nehemiah and his being willing to go to a home he'd never seen to help his people, Hannah and her willingness to devote her son's life to God's service, Matthias and his service through thick and thin, Esther's self-sacrificial nature and bravery, Paul and his willingness to change and devote his life to truth...It was a wonderful week. Lots of kids, so that was a challenge to get to know everyone, but it was perfect as our first camp because it was very structured and we were really able to break out of our shyness and get into Camp Friends mode quickly. The Minks and Tharps (camp directors) were SO sweet and helpful and encouraging, and we had a blast. My cabin was mostly Juniors and I feel so blessed to have gotten to know them and we had some great conversations. King's Island day was a blast, we went back and forth between chaperoning younger kids and just hanging out on our own so that was a cool experience. It was amazing how quickly our CF group bonded and we had some amazing talks reading through Diligently Seeking God and praying together at night. The night that really defined the week and changed me the most was after war games when the entire camp went out to the soccer field and laid down on the ground and stargazed while Mr. Minks read verses about creation and God's glory. Immediately gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes. And then we all sang hymns while we were just looking up at the stars. One of the most humbling experiences I've ever had. No distractions, not looking at anyone, just looking UP. It was such a blessing. The singing was amazing with Matt Johnson teaching some new songs, and we felt like overall it was powerful week.

 My awesome cabin after war games. Love you girls! Come stay with me at Falcon Days!

My crazy ginger Zeta buddy Anna-Katherine :)

We loved our chaperone group #1 at King's Island!

Our first KI coaster! (Andrew doesn't ride coasters....)

Off Week #1: After Ohio Camp we headed to Dahlgren, IL for Preacher Training Classes. No, I didn't start preaching. Ashley's parents run a week of classes for preachers of all ages, and the girls cooked and slept while the boys went to classes. It was tiring but so good for Ash to get to be with her family while they're in the states from Fiji. The girls studied the women in Jesus' genealogy during the week and that was so interesting and encouraging. I also got to go to services at Benton which is where I grew up visiting my Mamaw and my Great-Grandma so that was wonderful and really sad/weird going there with Mamaw not there for the first time. I got to see Papaw and even got him to come to worship with us, so that was a blessing!

Minnesota Camp: Or "Northland Camp" as it is officially called. It was incredible. We had heard horror stories of the mosquitoes and let me tell you, they weren't exaggerated. And if you know me, you'll think that a plague-like number of mosquitoes would dissuade me from enjoying the week, but camp was so good that we all agreed it was completely worth the mosquito bites. While Ohio was 200+ kids, Northland was 60, so it was a crazy change of pace. But such a blessing because we really got to know every single kid and felt really close to them all. Mr. and Mrs. Lanning were so loving and really helped us do our job, just like the directors had at Ohio, and we had so much fun while being challenged by the story of Joseph and his following God. Talks with Hannah Greiving (love you bestfriend) and Andy Cantrell were so challenging and encouraging. Our canoe trip on Thursday was a blast (thank you, Daniel Reeves, for tipping our canoe....) and the late night singings with high schoolers were incredible.

You have no idea how much fun these boys were.

Love this group.

The Cantrells. Seriously, this family changed my life this week.

So grateful for good talks and hugs and early morning coffee with Hannah.

Off Week #2: We hung around in Minnesota for most of this week, which was so awesome because we got to keep hanging out with campers. The unique thing about MN camp was that they almost all go to church together, so at the end of the week of camp it wasn't tearful (until we left yesterday). We went to a Twins game, the Mall of America, to go see Brave, and to fireworks Wednesday night after services. We stayed with the Manz family for a few days and then with the Jones' and had so much fun at both places! One of the awesome campers, Phil Cade, was baptized on Sunday night and it was such an honor to get to be there. It was hard to leave. But now we're in Racine, WI at the Bean's house having a blast with them and getting some good rest! I got pretty sick at the beginning of the week and am about to go to a walk-in clinic (Thank you, Mrs. Bean!)  so hopefully by the time we leave for Chicagoland tomorrow night I'll be good.

Twins game! The 3rd base coach goes to church with the MN camp kids at Northwest!

Exceptionally hot 4th of July at the Manzs'!

Late night fireworks with Kelly, Jojo, Phil, and Alli downtown :)

Some of the most powerfully useful thoughts of the trip so far for me: 

1. When God says "lay up treasures in heaven" what does that mean? Well...what's the one thing on earth that is permanent? Your soul. So our job here is to get souls to heaven. To get people's one real "treasure" to heaven.

2. I don't have to see results immediately. Whether it's from planting the seed about FC or trying to show people God's love. But when I get to heaven I want to see someone who can say "you said _____ to this person and she shared it with me and it changed my life." It's not all about numbers in a building or applications the week after camp.

3. Our job here on earth is to show people that God is good.

Thank you Andy and Hannah and everyone who is challenging me and helping me find my service.

Overall: God is so good. This trip has been amazing. It's seemed like forever but also has flown by. I don't know how that works. But I'm learning and growing so much.

"Let the weak say I am strong, let the poor say I am rich, let the blind say I can see, it's what the Lord has done in me."

Thankful for our common love.

-ELB

I won't give up on us, even if the skies get rough.

Well. Tomorrow's the big day.

Finished work last Thursday, and have lovedlovedloved having Lauren and Gwen here for almost a week. What a blessing it is to wake up to my great sister and sweet niece in the house. We've had lots of laughs and tears and fun and Downton Abbey and even fit in a couple of sisters-only-no-babies dates. I feel very blessed beyond belief to have those two in my life.

Tomorrow morning I leave for the first day of Camp Friends tour. It'll be almost 9 weeks. I'm pretty overwhelmed at the moment realizing all the opportunities I'll be faced with, but I know that it'll be such a powerful, fun, encouraging experience and I pray God can use me for good and give me grace and patience for the challenges. I think I'll call this the summer of spiritual/mental/emotional renovation.

Praying for lots of things: the loooong separation from Wm, Emma's job, Jenna's devotion, Drew's growth (found out I won't get to see him this summer after all. #worstdayever), Katie's family and heart and mourning, etc. What a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer.

Love y'all. Please pray for me tonight/tomorrow/this summer. It's definitely a large leap out of my comfort zone but something I believe in so fully and I'm so hopeful that I will be able to encourage many people with His love.

"When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I...."

-ELB

Yellow lines and tire marks, sunkissed skin and handlebars.

Well, today's my 3rd-to-last day at work at the bookstore for the summer! Woohoo! I'm going out with a bang, since today rather than sitting at the desk writing letters and reading all day I was packing/carrying huge boxes with 600 lb. books in them. Oh well, if my back breaks at least I'll get worker's comp! Also 25 of the miles which I drove today were heavily filled with smoke. Right FOREST FIRES in Lakeland! Don't worry, I haven't seen the flames yet.

ReepiJeep and I have been getting very close recently in my 30-mile-each-way commute to LOCB. I've also been bonding with Sara Bareilles, Jason Mraz, and of course JB every morning and evening. So that's great. ReepiJeep holds 70$ worth of gas, which is not great. You know money's tight when you drive on empty as long as you can, put 7$ in, the gas light stays on, and you drive to and from church with it on again. But that's ok because the Lord provides in surprising ways, like a long-lost-paycheck in my room which allowed for enough gas to get to/from work this week. :)

La and Gwen come in ONE WEEK and I'm so excited. Ready to be with them for a few days when I'm not working before Camp Friends. I leave for Camp Friends tour a week from next Wednesday! CRAZINESS. I thought this pre-camps segment of the summer would go slower (and honestly it seems like it's been a year since graduation, but only a couple of days of summer. Weird...Maybe because I'm sleeping a lot.) I'm so ready for tour though, in a completely terrified sort of way.

Things I'm praying for right now:
..That my prayer life will be stronger
..That my EmmaA. has strength and cheer this summer
..That my Kate can get love and encouragement from nannying and be a positive influence
..That I can be an influenced and not merely be influenced on CF tour
..That I won't get sick on CF tour (that's...a lot to ask. But I believe it can happen!!)
..That I'll be patient and steady in my lack-of-contact-with-William

9 weeks is a lot of campy-stuff. I'm so grateful for the opportunity and feel a lot of pressure. So pray that I can represent FC well but more importantly represent Jesus well this summer. Definitely out of my comfort zone, but hey, I guess most things that cause growth ARE out of my comfort zone. Also zone starts with a Z so I feel compelled to use the word ZETA here. #4life

Also I get really insecure about lots of things and choices and futures and what I'm doing with my life. So you might pray about that. I just need to let go and live right and let God lead me through green pastures.

"The blues are because you're getting fat, and maybe it's been raining too long. You're just sad, that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid, and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?" -Holly Golightly #breakfastattiffanys #firsttimeseeingit

Uhmmm. Ok. Well it's 4:38 and I close up at 5 so I'll go start dimming lights and turning up A/C and closing up shop (literally). EmmaA, I love that you blog now. It's my favorite. #sisterhood

EmmaA and JP (and Hayley and whoever else?) can we read something together this fall? Like a spiritual book club? #keepingontrack

Also, letter writing is my favorite thing as of late. It's like happy mail but since it's a letter you feel compelled to write more so it's like...really happy mail.

Also, the Korean guy from the nail salon next door literally stands outside my bookstore for 6 hours every day talking on his phone. WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO. That's all I want to know.

Summer hashtags: #hitchcock #mraz #jb #william #barnesandnoble #foggydayinlondontown #judges #textbooks #chocolatemilk #lackofCFA

Love.
ELB

"Don’t know why we fear the change when we've only just begun, because with fear comes hope the same, and tomorrow's gonna come."

Well, this past week has been one of the most emotional and transitional of my life thus far. Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't like change, surprise, transition, or not knowing what to expect. This past week was all about change and all about the end of an era, the end of a comfort zone. I said goodbye to countless friends, most of whom will be back at FC this fall with me. But most of the very closest won't. That's pretty hard for me to stomach. I'd be happy to just live at FC with these same people for a very, very long time. Last Thursday morning I said goodbye to Drew, the first of my best friends who isn't going to be back at FC next year. Friday I graduated college. COLLEGE. Saturday I said bye to Daniel and David, two of my biggest influences and closest mentors since I've been here. Sunday I said bye to Emma. What a week.

Any week of change, though, and the end of so many good things, can only inspire retrospection and thought and excitement for what's to come. I've been so blessed by these people and influences over the past two years, and I'm so blessed with the opportunities ahead of me.

Drew. . . .What a guy. I'm thankful for the laughs, spiritual discussions, duets, Pink Berry, sweet teas, early mornings at Starbucks, tears, arguments, puns. . . .He was my first best friend this year and I'll always be grateful for everything we've shared. Thanks to camp friends tour I'll get to hug him in less than a month, even though he won't be back at FC this fall.

Daniel and David. . . .Seriously two of the most amazing and Godly guys I have been privileged to know. I've known Daniel my entire life and just in the past two years have gotten to really know him spiritually and it's been such an honor. He's such a leader and yet such a servant. I'm grateful for every Bible study, prayer, long talk, laugh, and cry we've shared. I know he'll do amazing things. David Watson. . . .The ultimate Dave. So grateful for the time we've had at Lutz to grow and learn and for all the inside jokes and complete ridiculousness that are part of our friendship. He and Hannah have taught me so much about generosity and love and I'm so grateful for that.

Emma. . . .(and I'm not talking about myself) How ridiculous is it that we had to say goodbye?! My closest friend who knows me insanely well (she'd probably say TOO well). She's lived with me, put up with my mood swings and tendency to always be stressed, she's put up with my immaturity about boys and my severe caffeine addiction, she's put up with my messiness and my selfishness and somehow she still manages to be loving and sweet and so much fun to be around. I'll forever be grateful for God's plan in putting her in my life, and I'll forever consider her one of the best things that's ever happened to me, spiritually and emotionally. She seriously has changed my life and I hope we are always close enough that I will be able to keep learning from her for a very long time to come. California can't keep you away from me! "if i don't get married i'd love to live with you forever." "ok! We can get some hypoallergenic cats or something!"

At this point I'm reminded of the verse in Hebrews 11 where the writer says time and space would fail him to write of the other heroes of faith....Time and space would fail me to describe William, Katie, Clay, Beau, Hannah, Danae, Andrea, Ashlyn, Alli, Jenna, Hayley, Rachel, Maria, Brianne, David S, Nikki, and so many more. God has given me so many people I don't deserve in my life, and I have so many examples to imitate. (Emma-tate?) I'm so excited for next year with these folks. It will certainly be different, but in so many good ways. Thanks for all the laughs and tears and encouragement this year. Jenna and Hayley can we be chapel buddies again next year? Okay great.

This summer so far has been sleep and scrapbooking and William and family and food and laundry. Tomorrow I start back at the text book store for a few weeks. June 6th I leave on CAMP FRIENDS tour, on an 8 week trip of madness to OH, MO, Chicagoland, MN. . . .Can't wait to spend way too much time in a van with Ashley and Caleb and Alli and Andrew. I know I'll learn a lot and have a blast. Then it's back with a couple of weeks to recover before I move back in and jump back into the school routine for my Junior year. American Civilization BA, here I come. :)

Music muses lately: John Legend, Jason Mraz, The Civil Wars, Justin Bieber (of course), Ben Rector. . . . Those are the flavors of my spring and summer.

Now I'm back to writing thank you notes to my amazing teachers, reading 1 John, texting my boyfriend, and listening to my Mom and Jesse getting things done around the house. What a blessed life I live.

I'll leave you with this thought from the book I'm reading, the writer is anonymous but it is quoted in Secure in the Everlasting Arms by Elisabeth Elliot. (Thanks, Kathryn)

"My goal is God Himself--not joy, nor peace
Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.
'Tis His to lead me there, not mine, but His--
'At any cost, dear Lord, by any road!'

So faith bounds forward to its goal in God
And love can trust her Lord to lead her there;
Upheld by Him, my soul is following hard,
Till God hath full fulfilled my deepest prayer.

No matter if the way be sometimes dark,
No matter though the cost be oft-times great,
He knoweth how I best shall reach the mark--
The way that leads to Him must needs be strait.

One thing I know, I cannot say Him nay;
One thing I do, I press towards my Lord:
My God my glory here from day to day,
And in the glory there my Great Reward."

I pray that I'll have feet of iron, like Asher, to live out my days with strength and faith. I pray that I'll have sight like Jacob to see God's plan even when my eyes are dim. I pray that I'll live like Joseph and that my life will be a clear type of Christ. I pray that I'll follow God's plan even when it requires discomfort or change, like Abraham.

"Sometimes it's good to stop in the pursuit of happiness and just be happy."

I'm working on another blog this summer that will hopefully be less about ME and more about God. Join me and read it and tell me ways you have grown closer to Him, and hopefully this whole worldwideweb thing can be used to glorify Him and teach us some things this summer. Grow nearer with me here: growlearnlead.blogspot.com


I'm praying for you, pray for me too. Let's all stay near the cross this summer, and carry others to Jesus' feet. We have been shown unlimited grace, don't be stingy with God's love.

--ELB

I'll follow you into the dark

Wow.

I haven't posted in a while, and so much has happened in my life and my heart and my mind since I did. Obviously the 3 people who read my blog already know some of those changes, but I'm sick and sitting in my room watching the Duke/UNC game so I have time to express myself for a while.

At least once every day lately I've had a moment where I just thought about how blessed I am and it almost took my breath away. In the middle of 3 weeks of sickness, stressful and frustrating tests, and loads of Zeta responsibilities, I can't remember a time in my life when things have felt this focused and comfortable and just happy. It's been a rough few weeks and I feel pretty rundown, but I am so undeservedly blessed. And of course, noncommittal, negative me tends to second-guess my situation every time I have a takes-my-breath-away moment and think "oh great, this is all going to crash around me eventually and things will be harder than they've ever been." And I mean, that may be true. But thank you God for giving me a time of solace, comfort, refocusing, and learning. Because these past 2 months have definitely been that for me.

Firstly and most obviously, I have a boyfriend. Which is weird, surprising, fun, different, encouraging, and definitely wonderful. Our friendship started at a Luke Bible study where he made a comment that I thought was genius, and for weeks we just texted about scriptures we were studying, blessings we were counting, and ways we saw God working around us. Interest dawned slowly but surely and I can't express how good William is for me. My whiny nature, tendency to be constantly stressed, and lack of focus seem to have not scared him off yet, and he consistently helps me remember where my focus needs to be. No one tell him I'm crazy, please. He's pretty great. His family has been so welcoming, fun, sweet, and it's a blessing that both of our families live so close and can be involved in our relationship.

But that friendship isn't the only good thing happening for me. Scholarships, school, car prospects, all the things I tend to panic about and stress about are fitting together as I pray and sit back and God works. Bible studies and lessons I've heard fit everything together that I need to hear and I'm healing and growing and being challenged every single day I'm here. Our God's greatness really can't be exaggerated.


We talked in Luke a couple of weeks ago about Luke 12 and how we shouldn't worry about food, friends, grades, money, because worrying about those things just ties us down here and doesn't allow us to be ready to go when Jesus comes back. Anything that ties us down here is hindering us being alert and ready for Him, and hindering us from WANTING Him to come back. What a wake-up call.

In Genesis we talked about Jacob, and how until he leaves and runs from Esau, he's far from having a real relationship with God. And the Bible says that as he falls asleep at the place that would be Bethel "the sun goes down." Starting a time that was ridiculously challenging, dark, and traumatic for him and what would be his family. But when he comes through that time, the sun comes up and he has grown and begun a real relationship with God and tells God he won't let go of Him until He blesses Jacob, trusting that he'll receive what God's promised.

Tonight at Lutz we talked about Lamentations 3, and how Jeremiah has to deliver a terrible message, and sees abandonment all around him and almost in language like Job speaks of his body decaying and God being against him and people plotting against him. But Hebrews 13:15 says that God "will never leave you or forsake you." And Jeremiah knew healing only came from God. That God's faithfulness and mercy are new every day. That responsibility for sin lies with us, but that redemption lies with God. And He who punishes will heal again.

OUR challenge, then, is to use suffering to remind us not to be tied to this world, to use dark times to grow and be ready for the light to expose a new character of growth, and to see our trials and wait on the Lord's healing and mercy.

So many lessons I have needed and so much that I can learn from. It's seriously amazing that all these things tie together for lessons that encourage my growth so much.

Thank You, God, for these last few months with my wonderful and darling roommate who I can pray with and talk to and learn from daily/nightly. Thank You, God, for time with my visiting Sister and Gwen. Thank You, God, for a boyfriend who encourages me and respects me and reminds me who I need to be. Thank You, God, for parents who make sacrifices for me every day, and who I learn to appreciate more every day. Thank You, God, for Micah and Kathryn, and the time I've been able to spend close to them. I'm going to miss them so much.

Even if you're in the darkest place and can't find a light, we serve a God who can turn the light on. He's turned it off, He'll turn it back on and bring you out better and brighter for the darkness.

"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

Love.
ELB

dead of winter but it feels like june with a smile i can't hide

Well, my third week of finals is past, which means my lower division work at FC is 3/4 over. Crazy. I feel like my whole life before FC was centered around FC, and now I live there, and I'm a little freaked out in realizing eventually this phase of my life will be past and I'll have to have a life that doesn't involve being around FC all the time. Scary.

Finals week was good, stressful and exhausting but my teachers allowed me to spread my finals out from all being on one day to being over the course of 3 days. And I am grateful for the grades I was able to get on the finals. Despite Greek's efforts to kill me. I moved home last Thursday and came back to work Friday morning, so I whine to myself that I haven't gotten to get a break yet, but it's nice to go home to good meals at night and see my family in the evenings and have my own room to hibernate in without (as many) interruptions. I'm grateful for the change of pace. (I'll keep telling myself that.)

Grateful for the examples and friendships of Katie and Emma and William, especially, over the past few stressful weeks, and grateful for the studies and devos that are available at FC to help us focus during busy times. Grateful for Dunkin Donuts and Jose. Grateful for chapel and the alma mater. Grateful for being a Camp Friends alternate if someone isn't able to participate. Grateful for Plant City people making me feel welcome even when I've been gone for a while. Grateful for an awesome family and the excitement that Christmas-time brings, and that gifts aren't what makes it special. Grateful for the chance to be in two weddings in the next 3 weeks, and for the family and friends I'll get to be with. Grateful that I get to do S.I. again next semester. Grateful for this job and that I'll have it over the summer also.

We are all so blessed.

William and I are studying Kings, and the theme is reaccuring that in everything Solomon was given and everything he did (before he got old) he found ways to express gratitude to God or glorify God. That's definitely something I need to work on, but I hope that this next year will bring me opportunities to show other people what God's done in my life and in my soul.

Classes next semester: OTP with Mr. Peeler, Civil War with Dr. Crispell, Women of the Bible with Mr. Ward, Epistles with Mr. Hamilton, Intro to Business with (my boss) Dr. Knight, Greek with Mr. Longstreth...It'll be fun and hectic and busy and interesting.

Already wishing I could slow down time after saying goodbye for Christmas break, I know summer and next year will be tinged with a lot of sadness for the friends who won't be back at FC (that means you, roomie), but it's pretty amazing that we'll all meet again in a place where we'll never be seperated and there'll be no petty drama to contend with (see what I did there?).

"O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like You, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart." -1Kings8:12

Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light :)

Love.
ELB