At the beach

I brought my laptop to the beach, and I'm glad I did. My cell phone doesn't have service here, so email and Facebook are the only ways to contact my friends.
Anyway, here are 2 pictures of the beach.




More pictures when I get back. Hope everyone's having a good week!

So, on Monday I got to practice my lines with the other villagers in Scrooge. We decided that we're all going to have Cockney accents. It'll be fun speaking in a different accent! I'm gonna watch My Fair Lady a few times to get better at doing it. :)

I'm leaving for vacation with my family tomorrow morning! Yay! =D

School

So it's official. I'm starting massage therapy school on the 26th. That's just a little more than 2 weeks away! :) My schedule will be completely different, 'cause my classes will be 9am-3pm Monday through Friday, I'll have to work at night instead of the morning, and I'll have a lot less free time. I'm excited to see how God will use this big change in my life to grow me closer to Him.

personal retreat

I took a short personal retreat on Monday, to think through what's going on in my life right now. Here's what I wrote.

I feel more alone now than I used to. What truth from God can help? God has said He will never leave me or forsake me. And God does not lie. God will always, always be with me, even if I can’t feel His presence. I’ve been through this before, why is it so hard this time? Because God is teaching me so much more this time. Yes, God is good. He is teaching me more of His faithfulness and love and mercy and grace and kindness and compassion. See, the harder a situation is to accept with my human mind, the bigger the lesson God is trying to teach me about Himself. If I will just accept this and trust God, He will help me through. God is always there for me!

After I wrote this, I read Psalm 40. It was so helpful. :)

I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! You have multiplied, O Lord my God, Your wondrous deeds and Your thoughts toward us; none can compare with You! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. … As for You, O Lord, you will not restrain Your mercy from me; Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness will ever preserve me! … May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!” As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!
Psalm 40:1-5, 11, 16-17

My circumstances right now are still hard for me, but I believe that God will help me through. I just need to get my focus off of what's happening and back onto the Lord.

Guess what?

Our family just bought 6 baby quail. They're so cute! :)

The latest news is: I bought a laptop! :) It's a Toshiba Satellite, and I really like it so far. I remember saying once that I'd never buy a laptop. Don't know what I was thinking. Especially with me considering going to school, I kinda need one. I'm glad I bought it.

At rehearsal Monday, we learned some choreography for one of the songs. Tammie encouraged all of us who are villagers in the play to develop a character for ourselves. So I did some research on life in London back then. The poorhouses were terrible, and the greatest fear of the poor was ending up in one. Now when Scrooge sings the part about the poorhouse, I'll picture what I read about and I'll be able to act more realistically. I like research! :)

Tomorrow night is the first M28 Big Meeting of the year! I'm excited to see how many people come.

exciting possibility

So, I've been interested in massage therapy for a while now. I recently started thinking about learning more so I can do it professionally. I went and got a massage, so I could see what it's like, and I think I would enjoy doing it.

I went to a massage therapy school yesterday for an interview. They gave me a tour of the school, and lots of information. I think it would be so cool to go there and learn to be a massage therapist! :) It would be a great way to show love to people - helping them feel better through massage. And the program is only 6 months.

But, I shouldn't jump right in. I don't have enough money right now and I'm not sure how much time I'll have this coming semester. I should pray about it first.

My sinful flesh doesn't want to pray about it. I'm thinking, "I really want to do this, so I should do it right now!" I'm very impatient when it comes to things I'm excited about. Please pray that I will be patient and really seek God in this decision.

Here are some pictures of Zach that I took on Friday. :)

Zach loves playing outside.

Lining up acorns around the table. It was fun to watch Zach do it.

Zach and I

I love playing with Zach! And I'm glad I have the opportunity to serve Hilary in this way. :)