Finals Week, Freshman Year

Just a little update:

Ooooookay well this has been a super crazy week!  6 major tests in 4 days?!  I'm pretty sure I spent more time studying in this week alone than I did in all of middle school combined...haha!

PTL it's over!  Today was my last day of ninth grade year. Summertime is upon us and I am officially NOT a freshman anymore!

I'm leaving for my Costa Rica mission trip in two days.... I can't wait!  We are going to Alajuelita, just outside of San Jose.  This is the poorest part of the country with a 65% unemployment rate and 70% high school drop out rate.  Our team is going to be visiting schools and orphanages and telling the youth about Christ, so they can have true hope for their future!  Prayers would be greatly appreciated! :) 

Jeremiah 29:11 in the message translation says "I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."  I think it's uncommon for people to be able to get it through their minds that God knows more than we know...especially about ourselves.  His plans will always be greater than ours, and he knows the exact path to lead us on in order to reach our destinies.  In Costa Rica, I want to be able to show the little kids that even though they live in rough conditions, a hundred times worse than what I'm used to, and they don't know what it's like to feel safe, God has a perfect plan for their lives.  In fact, he's promised it. He gave us his word, literally, and he will come through with it.  All we have to do is have faith and trust him!

Anyways, that's my little rant!  God bless, and I'll talk to y'all after I return!

Caroline

Stand Up, Stand Tall, Stand Out

Stand Tall.  That's a word I've heard from God my whole life.  Now I'm 5'1" and have definitely noticed he didn't mean it literally!  Bummer!  Hahaha.

However, although it wasn't in his plan for me to be able to wear maxi skirts without getting them altered or look normal height in flats or ever be taller than my little sister, "stand tall" has played into my life in so many different ways.   I'm not sure who first prophesied that phrase over me, but it has constantly been relevant.

To me, to stand tall means to not be afraid to be different.  We, as God's children, are called to be different!  Diane Grant said "It's better to walk alone, than with a crowd going in the wrong direction."  This is soooo true... I want to be the kind of girl who speaks up and stands up for what is righteous when everyone else is silent and motionless.  I'm not called to be passive!

Not only do we stand up for what we believe in, we stand tall.  Passionate, strong, with everything we have.  We do NOT try to hide it, we are not ashamed.  There's a difference in those who quietly whisper "I am different" from those who shout "I AM DIFFERENT" from the rooftops without caring if people disapprove, only caring if God approves.

What if Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego hadn't stood up for the Lord?  They would be forgotten in history, just a few guys who weren't anything special.  The fact that they refused to be the same as everyone else and worship the idol as the king had ordered makes them STAND OUT.  They stood up, stood tall, so now they stand out.  That's how it works.. We make a stand for something, we stand for it strong, and then we will stand out as children of a King.  

“People of all nations, races, and languages! ⁵ You will hear the sound of the trumpets, followed by the playing of oboes, lyres, zithers, and harps; and then all the other instruments will join in. As soon as the music starts, you are to bow down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶ Anyone who does not bow down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” Daniel 3:4-6

This decree was made, and those three dudes knew in their hearts what was right, and they contradicted that king to obey the true King.  The threat of the blazing furnace was carried out, so Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were expected to be burned alive.  Instead, the angel of The Lord appeared in the fire, and King Nebuchadnezzar and his people could see four figures in the furnace instead of three.  God delivered the guys completely unharmed, and because of their faith, the king realized the greatness of God and lead his people to praise the true Lord instead from then on.  How incredible is that?  Because of those three, a whole nation is saved.  That's how I want to be...I want to be someone who will walk into the fire trusting that God will deliver me from it while also teaching others about salvation.  I am called to STAND TALL, just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

-Caroline

SUMMER IS APPROACHING

3 more Mondays until school's out and we are free! SO SO SO ready...

I'm missing summer of 2013 way too much.

It began with graduation: we attended my not-really-brother-but-basically's high school graduation... yay Ryan!  

Then came his graduation party... here's some pics.  I love this one of my dad and me!

My sister's birthday is in June, and we took a few of her friends out to a resort on Lake LBJ in Marble Falls! Sooo fun!

Ivy and I had a little photoshoot in the pretty Texas sunflowers with my second mom, Marisa Rickerson.  She did such a great job!  It was lots of fun :)

I had a blast with my friend Mary-Catherine on vacation to Virginia and Washington DC!  Here are some of the highlights.... our first plane ride without an adult accompanying us, fun car rides with her sweet little brother, Blake, and DC CUPCAKES!  YUM! Yes, they make gluten-free!  Also, we had a lovely little excursion to a restaurant called Founding Farmers... it was a true adventure that can't possibly be explained here. It deserves it's own blog post sometime! Haha!

After returning from VA & DC, I headed to church camp! I had a great time, overall perfect experience.  Can't wait for this year!

Following youth camp, I sat in the car for the long 13 or so hour drive from central Texas to a lake in Alabama where my family spent one relaxing week of fishing and wakeboarding and tubing.  On this same trip, we went on the world's longest garage sale! We also drove through West Monroe, Louisiana, so of course we had to take a picture at the Duck Dynasty headquarters!

 

It was a crazy busy traveling summer!  But I wasn't finished vacationing yet... my friend Anna (also pictured above in the camp photo) took me to Orange Beach, Alabama with her fam!  One day we got so super sunburnt that we were addicted to aloe vera for the rest of the week!  Hahaha memories!  We vowed to take extra good care of our skin this summer...hopefully we live up to that!  Ironically, this sunburn selfie is the only picture I can find from that whole trip!

Anyways, I guess my purpose for this post is just to reflect on last year's amazing summer.  I'm praying that this one can be half as good!  

Happy Summer wishes, y'all!  We can make it through the end of the semester!

Love love love,

Caroline

"He will fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy" Job 8:21