June already! Yes!!!

So, it's June! Yes, it is. =) And I am LOVING the summer heat! Driving down the road, 90 degrees, doing 55 with the windows down, radio playing, and an icy dr. pepper...oh yes! One of my absolute FAVORITE things to do. My family thinks I'm crazy - 90 degrees and no ac - but it's just the way I am, part of who I am. Gotta love it.

Buckle up, this is gonna be a long post!

VBS is soon! I can't wait. I'm supposed to be helping! I am excited about it.

So, I had a wonderful graduation party on May the 29th. I was really nervous - everyone was going to be paying attention to ME. That's a little crazy! We were running a little bit late, and I was rushing to get ready and get everything together with Mama and Caiti. They were AMAZING and they made my party so special. <3 style="width: 194px;">

My Graduation

My graduation ceremony was Tuesday May 19th, and I was really nervous, then! I had my cap and gown, and all I had to do was walk across a huge stage to get my diploma in front of a billion people and NOT TRIP. SUCESS. =D It went really well. One of my best friends gave a speech, and it was just neat. I am now an officially graduated high school student, and my diploma is beautiful. =D

I also went to the Calvary graduation, last Saturday. At my old church all the homeschooler graduates have a ceremony together. It gets kinda long, because all the dads give a little speech about/to their kids, congratulating them, and giving them their diploma. When there are 13 graduates it gets a bit long, and the Calvary pews are COMPLETELY horrendously uncomfortable. What's with that?! It gave me a horrible crick in my neck. HOWEVER, it was amazing anyway! I went to see my friends Taylor and John. Taylor sang a duet with another girl, and I almost cried. They sang 'O Wondrous Love', and that's one of my favorite songs! A dear friend of mine dedicated it to me when I was going through a really rough spell, and it has just been a super encouragement to me over the past year. It was spectacular. John carried the flag in, I guess that's pretty spectacular, too. =P After the ceremony there was a reception and I had a most AMAZING time being with Tay and John, and seeing all my old peeps. It was....spectacular. =D

This past Sunday our church had 'senior recognition day', and it was kinda crazy! I went and taught children's church in the early service, played the offertory, went to choir practice, Sunday school, sang in the choir, sat in the front pew (bleh) for Pastor's .....charge to the seniors, played the offertory, had lunch, got all my stuff for my display table, went to church early to set up my table, had choir practice, had YOUTH choir practice, sang w/ the youth choir in the evening service, listened to an awesome sermon about Peter, and then had the reception. THEN I went and spent some time with a friend, JULIE, who came from Calvary to come to my reception. =P It was fun and tiring. Pics from my display table ( <---hint, link!) (it was really neat, I had all my favorite books, movies, cds, and pictures (on my laptop), I had my favorite Bible verses and some pictures from vcation taped up, and my 'bottles of the ocean', also my three beloved Willow Tree dolls. It was really awesome!!)

I am really excited about the future...the next 5 years......I don't know what it's going to hold but I know God has big plans and dreams for me!!! I'm planning on working at least a semester before going to college. I can't exactly go to college without a car, and I have to work to buy one, so that will be cool. I'll be getting a full time job when I get back from camp in August. I don't know where, but God has something picked out for me already, so I'll figure it out when it gets here. I am definitely still going into nursing, but I don't know if I'm going any further than just getting my associates degree in nursing....since I don't really want to specialize or work in a hospital, I don't know if I really want to go as far as getting a BSN....*shrug* I'll decide as God leads. I would really like to get some training in Christian counseling, as well. And, I hope maybe I'll get married in the next 5 years. =P I would like that. lol. I don't want to be an old maid! =P Not that once you get past 23 you're an old maid, but yeah. There's lots I'm praying about for the future, but bottom line, I want what God has for me, and I'm trusting him to lead me as I step out in faith and obedience.

9 days until I leave for Camp Sunrise!!! Guys I cannot tell you HOW excited I am!!! Summer is here, and I am going to be an assistant counselor for a week of jr. camp at Camp Sunrise. My best friend, Tay is ALSO going to be an assistant counselor, so we are going to spend a whole stinking week together! AH! I am SO so so so so very excited. In exactly a month I will be leaving to go to the WILDS Christian camp for 3 whole long, wonderful, stretching, amazing weeks!!! Oh man oh man. I am so excited. God has been nudging me about this summer, and oh I don't know what he has in store for me but I know it's going to be AMAZING. I am so excited about it I feel sick. =P

Work lately has been interesting. I thought I would be done working at the boy scout camp the 3rd weekend of May, but up until last weekend they kept me busy! I am officially done working there now, but God is still keeping me busy with babysitting and I'm also going in to work as a receptionist at Great Clips where my mom works for awhile. =) It's really exciting, God just keeps throwing things together.

Mid-may I hadn't any of the money I needed for camp, and I was getting a little worried. I prayed and asked God for 100 dollars before the end of May, or I was going to call and cancel my registration so someone else could go in my place. I was really second guessing myself, and praying. I was praying and talking to God... I was like, 'I really prayed about this, why isn't it working out? I told you, and you know that I only want your will - if you don't want me there, please let me know! I really thought you wanted me to go, and now it's looking like you might not provide, God, I need you to come through for me!" I really searched my heart and my motives - I did NOT want to just think God wanted me to go just because I wanted to, and it was kinda scary. God TOTALLY came through for me, though, and the confirmation was amazing.

So, my mom is buying a little white car from my grandparents. It's an old 1993 pontiac grand prix. It's great! I love it. However, I was driving home from babysitting at the church tuesday, and the alternator died. The car was running off the battery, and it freaked me out. Fortunately, and God totally worked this out, Daddy was coming through the same intersection I was at about thirty seconds behind me from a different direction, and he was able to get me home. We had to pull over and charge the battery back up some more....it actually died again in the driveway. I bought an alternator Wednesday (he went and got it, I payed for it. lol) and he put it in the car. Thursday I drove about an hour out to babysit for a couple at my church, and the car refused to idle. That was an adventure, especially when I drove the wrong way down the square, and couldn't get the car turned around. heh. SCARINESS. God totally protected me! Once I got to my destination I sat out in the car and finally got it to idle, and it has been doing just fine ever since.

SO, that has been my life lately. Sorry I haven't blogged in so long!
God is so good and he has taught me so much. Over the past 6 months he has transformed my mind. I now believe that I am holy, righteous, and beautiful. I am precious to my Jesus, and it is a beautiful privelege to be a Christian! Before I knew it all, but didn't grasp or really understand it. God has shown me some pain from the past that I haven't dealt with, and I was able to excersize forgiveness and let God heal the pain. As he brings things to the surface that I have shoved down and forgotten, I am learning to deal with them. Through this semester I realized that I was praying for God to HELP me trust him, but I didn't even know how! So I changed my prayer from HELP me to TEACH me to how to trust you God, I don't know how!!! He is teaching me so much!! He showed me that I didn't trust him with my heart -romantically- and I am learning to trust him in that area of my life as well, now. It's really astounding everything he has done in my life this year so far. I can't wait, He's been preparing me for something big this summer, or maybe this summer is the icing on the cake? What if it's just the tip of the iceberg? Hey, I'm ready! Bring it on. I just want to do my savior's will, and learn to love him more and glorify him!
He is GOOD!
<3
Laura