Serenade of the Seas

The most amazing trip of a lifetime! Spending time with my cousin, sister, and grandparents. Seeing God's creation and enjoying the people that God has placed in my life! :D

Royal Caribbean - Serenade of the Seas

Our home for a week!

The Solarium

Pretty awesome!! This is in a ship!

Melissa and I on Formal night!!

These are all watermellons that are carved out!!

Hubbard Glacier!!! It is sooo beautiful! The blue ice and the calving!

Humpback Whales in Juneau!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anthony (waiter), Emily, Me, Melissa, Holly, and Ylie(assistant waiter)

The Blink of an Eye

As I walked into the church on Saturday, the reality of it washed over me again. She was gone, my dear friend was gone. Never to come back, never to sing another song, never to smile again. My heart sunk and the tears began to come. But then the Lord gently reminded me that she was now with Him. No more pain, no more tears... only happiness and joy. She was now singing in heaven!
We weep for her because we now have a hole in our lives, but we rejoice because she is in the presence of her King. Will there be pain in our hearts still? Oh yes... I don't believe it will ever go away. But it is softened in the knowledge that in the blink of an eye I too shall be gone and with Jesus and able to see my dear friend.
Revelation 21:4"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

Throughout the memorial service I was pricked deeper and deeper in my heart about living as though this day was my last. What was doing each day to bring honor and glory to the Lord? Was I shining for Him? Was I sacrificing myself for others? Life is short. This is something we are all aware of but it doesn't always sink in.
I pray that I will remember this and let it affect my life in ways that will honor the Lord. I want to follow the Lord and do things that will make others want to know my Savior. Heaven will be in the blink of an eye and I need to be ready.
"Only One Life, Twill Soon Be Past, Only What's Done For Christ Will Last."

Awesome People...

OK, so I was trying to think what I should write for my first post. I sat here at the computer debating, but nothing seemed to be right. Everything that I thought of seemed to be old stuff, or non important, or too important. Then it came to me... I should write about my friends.... my awesome friends. So here it goes.
This year I have been greatly blessed to become friends with many new people. I don't mean acquaintances; I mean real, true friends. Friends that pray for you and asked to be prayed for, friends that listen and talk, friends that laugh and cry, and friends that are those type of people that you can have fun with even when you don't say anything.
Going to school helped bring me and many people I know out of our shells and in so doing created friendships that I now value. New sides of people started to show and I came to realize the treasures that I possessed in these friends. Some of these people were newly made friends... people who I had just met; while others were old acquaintances and even old friends that I bonded with and developed deeper friendships with.
The new girls and the old girls (meaning friends) have meant a lot to me. Their encouragement and love has made me smile and feel joyful time and time again. It is so precious to sit with other sisters in Christ and share your hearts with one another and then pray for each other. God has greatly blessed with these dear, sweet women. They were willing to love me by pointing out sin in my life and taking me back to the cross. Those who I didn't go to school with did not stop caring; the friendship did not end because we didn't see each other as much, rather it continued to grow.
The guys that I know have also been an amazing blessing. Growing up without brothers had made it extremely difficult to understand and talk to guys. That all changed this past year. I am blessed to have many brothers in Christ, and I now feel like they are my brothers. Getting to know them has been pretty cool, and I now think I might just know what it is like to have brothers. :D Their protection and encouragement has meant more than they will ever know and their listening ears and great senses of humor have brought laughter and comfort to me when trials came.
All I can say is that I feel blessed, the Lord has given me a gift in each of these people. These wonderful people have helped shape me into who I am and are some of the people that I look forward to spending eternity with in heaven.
"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." (Proverbs 27:17)