A couple more pictures

~Sisters~

Shaking the hand of J. Michael Smith

(co-founder and president of HSLDA)

I owe so much to these two wonderful people!

Graduation invitation!

Just thought I would share with you my graduation invitation!!

Rachel Wissmann designed it for me, and I absolutely LOVE how it turned out! I highly recommend her work:)

Random happenings...and excuses for my lack of posting:)

Whew...time to catch my breath a bit and do a post:) Life has really been flying right now, so this will be just a quick update. A couple highlights of this month;

-NCHEA was a big one! I was the props/costume coordinator this year, and was it ever fun! I would love to post pictures of some of the costumes...so maybe I will:)

-NCHEA graduate recognition ceremony. I am SO looking forward to graduating...but with that comes a lot of school to be finished!

-Spending time with family--Dan and Bethany flew in for the NCHEA conference and so it was such a blessing to be able to see them!

I LOVE my brother/s!!!

-Getting invitations sent and finalized for my open house! Rachel Wissmann designed them for me, and I absolutely LOVED how they turned out! I hope to post them here to show you!

-Practicing piano! My piano teacher does this amazing competition called NML (National Music League) and we are in the playoffs right now...there are only 3 students remaining...so it makes for a lot of time on the piano bench!

-Continuing my sewing business. Orders have been coming in quite regularly now...as soon as I get done with one order I get another phone call:) I love it!

That is just a little taste of what I have been doing...as well as all the mundane, "unfun" things that life is full of:) So I will leave you with this quote;

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances" - Martha Washington

The start of my journey to trust...

I am going to start my journal posts with Feb. of last year. That was when God really began to get personal and real in my life in a big way. But February of last year was also the start of the most difficult time in my life...and my family's life. So as you read these it is my desire that you might be encouraged in your own personal walk with God!

Nov. 18th '08

"I learned today about not worrying! I am bad at that...sometimes I trust and sometimes I don't! Do anything to get me to trust you totally...I want to be cheerful and not worry all the time."

Throughout 2008 I was asking God to teach me how to trust Him totally...never did I dream of the way in which He would bring that about, nor how hard of a lesson it would be...nor how great the reward was.

Feb 19th '09

This was one of those mornings that just didn't start out very well...and so I was starting to become discouraged and desolate...when my eye just "randomly" fell on this verse in Psalm 18:28-30

"You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him." That is my prayer!"

It caused me to reflect on the fact that it says with God or my God, it is not my strength that will carry me through, it is not my light that will turn away darkness, it is God's strength and God's light...its all about HIM!! So it is when I place myself under His control and completely surrender my will to His, then that I can claim this promise as my own. And what sweet assurance it gives!

Senior Pictures

Ever since I saw some of her work I have wanted Bethany to take my graduation pictures! But the year in which I was graduating some guy came out of nowhere and swept her off to Virginia...to stay. So I was in a predicament, until I realized that I could just go and visit my wonderful brother and sis-in-law/photographer and have her take my pictures in VA! And that is just what I did!

Bethany, her sisters and I headed to downtown Purcellville, VA to take pictures! What a cute little town it was...with lots of cool brick alleys, wooden doors... :)

We then headed over to Patrick Henry Collage where they had magnificent white pillars!

Thanks, Bethany! Love ya

“I say to myself, The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him,; to the one who seeks him...”

Lamentations 3:24-25

A peek into my life...

In the morning as I was having my devotions I began to read back in my journal over this past year, and the one before. As I was reading I began to marvel at God's goodness in my life! Now let me start by letting you know that I am not one to keep a daily journal of the happenings in my life. I have several journals in the closet that are half filled...or maybe I should say like a couple pages filled...lol But my Pastor, many years ago gave a challenge to keep a daily journal of God's happenings in my life. And I cannot express to you how wonderful this has been!

It was hard to start, but once I got going I couldn't bear to stop! In that little notebook I have poured out my prayers to God, expressed my concerns, praised His name, given Him my hurts, shared my joys and recorded what He has taught me. In the beginning stages I just recorded what portion of scripture I had read that day, but as I got older it began to get more personal. It definitely has not all been pretty, but life isn't always pretty and easy. Life goes up and down, but God stays the same. And my little book is pretty much proof of that. When I am discouraged and my mind starts to wander I can look in my journal and read of God's faithfulness in my personal life. And as I read, I remember the instances in which I wrote the words, look up the scriptures that were meaningful during that time, and realize that God is real and that He does choose to work in my life.

I am not saying that I don't look to God's Word for comfort and strength, that is the whole essence of what is in my journal...I am only saying that it helps to have personal applications added to those of history.

But anyway, I said all that to say, God has been so rich and full in my life this past year that I believe He would have me share with you some portions of my journal...so stay tuned, and I hope that it will be an encouragement to you.