Don't stop believing

This last weekend was ladies' retreat. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, hanging out with friends, meeting new people, worship, bonfires, shopping, laughing and an extreme lack of sleep. It was great!!

Really, when you think about it who needs sleep anyway??

We had a van load of girls and drove to Newport for the weekend.


The song we had stuck in our head, "Don't stop believing". When there is 238 women, 2 elevators, 6 floors... four/ five roommates you're bound to get a thing or two stuck in your head.





Friday night was our first session and it was so incredible I couldn't write fast enough, we also had a bonfire on the beach that night. We roasted marshmallows, sang some worship songs and enjoyed each other's company.

At one point we had hit such a wall from lack of sleep that we rode the elevator for a half hour singing to anyone who came along for the ride. Some enjoyed our sleepless state of songs others couldn't wait for those shiny doors of freedom to open.
The things you do when you're tired. *Note, stay away from elevators, when tired.*


Saturday we had two sessions one in the morning and one in the evening. Both were incredibly encouraging and just what I neededd to hear. Between the two sessions we shopped like true women do when we have free time. :)

As the day went on, we kept going and the hours of being awake strongly out weighed the hours of sleep, silliness set in.
When one of us would get off the elevator, the others that were inside would wait till the doors were almost shut and then say in a rather loud voice, "Oh' I forgot to give you a hug!" If you haven't seen elf then this won't make any since but if you have then you get it.



Saturday night was such a fun night filled with old time candy (which we got to serve to the wonderful ladies while wearing these oh' so cute aprons!), I love Lucy, bonfire, worship time and My Fair Lady.


Sunday, we had a morning session.. this one was my all time favorite! We talked about worry and fear. We also wrote letters to ourselves which we will get in three months.. who knows what life will look like then!

On our way home we had such an adventure, we had lunch on the beach, took pictures on the cutest bridge ever and then went home.

Today being Monday, is the day of recovery, nothing a GIANT white mocha couldn't fix.

The best part is knowing it was all worth it, so we missed a few nights of sleep... but we have some of the best memories ever!

After all we're just a bunch of -"small town girls living in a lonely world, taking the midnight train going anywhere... "

~My Anyway Friend ~

I heard last week of something I have never thought of: An anyway friend. What is that you may ask? Well allow me to share with you,

Anyway Friend:
Is the one person in your life, whom
No matter what you say or do
No matter what they've been through with you
Will love you anyway.

Seriously the cutest thing I have ever heard of! This little thing gave me a lot to think about this weekend. I first thought of relationships and how one day I want an anway friend. Then it became something more then just my "regular" relationships.

I realized I already had one, I have an anway friend and I've had this one for many years. The problem was I didn't realize that I had my anyway friend, I was too busy thinking that I needed some other person to be my anyway friend. Someone new and exciting. When I realized that I had an anway friend already I felt silly and bad that I forgot that I had one. I mean really what girl forgets someone who had been there for them not because they had to but because they wanted to?

My anyway friend is God, He has ALWAYS been there for me and will continue to do so no matter what!!! How awesome is that, I don't have to ask Him to listen or even explain the situation He knows and He cares. He doesn't fake his sadness at the sight of my pain and He doesn't fake His joy at the sight of my joy all of it is truely genuine. It truely is cast your cares upon Him for He cares for you!!
WOW- that's all I have to say WOW.

I mean I knew all of this, I knew that He did/does care for me but it seems like along the way I get reminded because like a goldfish I forget.
I tend to morph between the forgetful goldfish and the dumb little sheep who gets stuck in the corner everyday.

Today I have decided to take joy in, find contentment in, delight in and rest in my anyway friend. The ONE who has ALWAYS been there for me.

Every Good Gift

So it's pretty much exciting when you wait on the Lord and He blesses you! The Lord has been showing me the importance of faith, the true meaning of going somewhere and not knowing. The point being I have faith that He will lead me in the right direction. It's not easy to wait on the Lord or to let go of situations but He is faithful to bring us through. He will not lead you into a situation that He does not know the outcome to. Nothing catches Him by surprise.

God takes my hand and guides my steps.

He will give us the strength to face each and every new day. He will give us what we need each moment of each day. We just have to walk in that faith, trusting and believing He will. I know that sometimes I put restraints on Him, thinking something is too small or too big, but He can handle it all and that needs to be enough for me. Though I may want to do it myself, thinking I can get it done faster and better, it's He that does in such a way that' s better then my sweetest dreams. I couldn't plan things better or make things happen quite like He does.

He makes everything beautiful in HIS TIME. That's something to remember His time not our time.



"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the begining to the end." Ecclesiastes 3:11



"So faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of Christ." Romans 10:17

- Trust and Obey -

There is a quote from a movie I watched once it said, "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." ....... just something to keep in mind as we face our day to day.


Sometimes I lose focus, sometimes I lose sight of what's really important. I think I get so caught up in life and what I'm doing that I leave something important behind. What you may ask, let me tell you... HIM. If you're wondering who HIM is well it's Jesus. I lose sight that He can handle all my fears and doubts. That He can handle all my anxious thought, that nothing is too big or too small. He just wants me to come to Him, to cry out to Him, He waits ever so patiently for me.
Yet it seems often that even thought I know this it takes me a while to get there. I tend to cry out to friends and family before turning to the ONE who can hold my hand, the ONE who can truly do something about what I'm going through. The ONE who knows my thoughts before I think them and still wants to hear them. With Someone like that in my life why is it that I turn to those who will fail me , hurt me and let me down? (Not that they do, it's just they are human and make mistakes, HE however never makes mistakes, He is faithful in ALL HIS promises!)
Please don't get me wrong I love having my girl time and calling them up when my world goes pear shaped. I'm just saying that before I turn to them I should go to the ONE who made the world, then to my friends and family whom I know love me and care so much about me.
I'm going to leave you with the verse of the day ....
"May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy." Colossians 1:11

I like to remember something, it's not how you fall it's how quickly you get back up when you do. Don't let life get you down, not even if it's raining and you're praying for sun. Because without the rain we wouldn't have flowers.