my heart really is full. i am just back from a sweet trip to the beautiful city of st. louis with some of my favorite people. i really do feel like i am doing life with these people. not only are they fun, but they push me towards the beautiful thing that has brought us together: Jesus.
friday: i woke up at my good friend karen's house after spending the night with my sweet friend, jess. jess has been watching karen's house this week while her and her husband are out of town. jess and i spent some time in good conversation and watching the voice next to their fireplace (i love fireplaces). karen has the most beautiful house that i often find myself in for various YL functions. i had the biggest smile on my face when i woke up and looked out the window to see swans swimming around the lake in their backyard. i love lakes. being by the water in general, actually. i am blessed to be a college student that has opportunities to spend time in homes. they are great places to retreat when life gets stressful and i need a break from my apartment. after i left karen's, i took a little napski before i went to pick up jess to drop her off at the student center to board her mystery bus for the STLF tour. high school and college students from all over the nation go on these tours and do service projects in around 8-9 cities in just a week. i am hoping that i can do something like that next year for my last spring break as a student. after dropping her off, i stopped by the library to pick up the fifth harry potter book and also "outlive your life" by max lucado. i started this book, but didn't have the chance to finish it before it was due back to the library. i love to read. one of my goals for the year was to read more and to not go to bed anxious, upset, etc. these goals fit well together for me. later in the day i did some dishes, packed, and went to goodwill. i am definitely carol foley's daughter. i love goodwill. i find treasures at goodwill. i walked out with a few shirts, a dress, some shorts, a pair of shoes, and a necklace for twenty bucks. i was pretty happy about it.
friday cont'd: after packing my bags and cleaning my car, i headed over to the girl's apartment to load up my car and my friend chelsea's car to hop on the road to STL. to say the ride to STL was fun is for definite an understatement. i couldn't resist making a ben and needtobreathe playlist. i mean, we had to get ready for the concert. after driving for a couple of hours, we decided it would be best to stop for dinner to spend some time together before we continued to the city. we pulled up to a place called E-52's. all we knew is that they had steak. boy, did they have more than just steak. it had an arcade. and not just a couple of shooting games, but a full blown arcade. i kid you not. we had the best experience at this restaurant. we had a whole room to ourselves, a great meal, caught up with each other, and tate (dad) even bought us all tokens so we could go be 6 years old again and play. we ended up with enough tickets to get us each a pair of glow in the dark fangs. we were pretty legit. after taking goofy pictures, and eating free cheesecake mousse (i know, right?!) we hopped in the car and continued our journey. we even popped the sunroof so kyle could stick his head out to howl and gaze at the stars. before we knew it, we hit the city. there is something about seeing a city at night that gives me goosebumps. i could hardly stay in the lines of the highway because i couldn't stop gawking at how gorgeous the lights and the buildings were. after some more driving we reached our time shares. we split up into two groups for sleeping purposes and called it a night. or so we thought. we decided the night shouldn't be over yet so some of the girls from the other room came over and we hung out and played mexican train. as the night wound down, we worshiped, prayed, and had genuine conversation about how God was working in each of our lives and where we wanted to see Him move more. we asked God that night to move in our lives and in the lives of those we loved. we prayed that we would be a light in the city. everywhere we went. we thanked God for providing us an opportunity over break to be together, relax, and grow in community with each other. we thanked Him for giving us an opportunity to be away from bloomington for a bit and prayed for students on our campuses that found themselves away on break that are broken, hurting, searching, looking for their fulfillment in this world. we thanked Him for where he has put each of us. chelsea, laura, and i retreated to our room where we slept comfortably in our king sized bed (those things are massive)!
saturday: we woke up, loaded our cars, and hit the road to the st. louis city museum. we had to stop at mcdonald's on the way for breakfast, obvi. after i filled my belly with some oatmeal and iced coffee, we hit the road to the city. we pulled up to the museum and my jaw dropped. i had never seen anything like it! it looked like a type of amusement park! we went inside and i made the great decision of checking my purse at coat check. i was slightly bummed because i wouldn't be able to have my camera with me, but i knew it would be no good if i took it. we had the best time crawling through tunnels, sliding down slides, and acting like the kiddos running around us. we took every opportunity to climb, slide, and crawl throughout the museum. the STL city museum definitely is chuck e. cheese for my kind of folk. while we were there, we also made crafts, got matching friendship bracelets, and worshiped. yes, you heard me right. WORSHIPED! in the museum! this was my favorite memory of the museum. mark sat at an old piano and just started worshiping. loud and proud. no fear. all twelve of us worshiped our hearts out to happy day. we clapped. raised our hands. it was incredible. people strolled by, took pictures, and listened. the Lord showed up. also, He showed chelsea and laura where she dropped her phone. in the bushes. folks, this place is very large. and laura found her iphone. no scratches. in the bushes.
after the museum, we walked a few blocks to a diner. did i mention that we had the most perfect weather while we were there? because we did. it felt great to ditch my coat and put on my aviators. the diner was delicious. i sat with mandy, kyle, and laura. we had a great time. we decided it would be best to load the cars and go for some shoppin'. the ride to the mall was the best. we put down all the windows, opened the sunroof, and jammed. like really jammed. it was special. many hours later, we left nordstrom rack and the galleria, all spiffed up. we changed in one of the nice mall bathrooms. definitely a great idea. i appreciated that kyle told us all that we looked beautiful in the car. funny that we wear make-up most of the time and he noticed and told us that we looked nice.
we got to the venue. i did a little jig. i was pumped. we were at the beginning of the line. it was bound to be great. so we finally got in. the hour went slow, but then ben came out. though our bodies ached and our feet hurt, it was all lifted when the show started. he brought it. he started off the show right. i especially loved his cover of some good ol' whitney houston. after waiting for needtobreathe to come on, we took some pics. my favorites included our glow in the dark fangs. the lights went out. i went nuts. my friends went nuts. they had the coolest set. holy smokes, they were fantastic. i can't even describe their performance because it was so dang good. it was incredible to be surrounded by my pack of friends as we worshiped the Lord. we worshiped freely during needtobreathe's set. one of my favorite parts of the show was when bear (the lead singer) talked about why he loved doing shows. first, because he loves Jesus. second, because he loves that concerts are avenues of escape from the world we live in. the stress, agendas, and to-do lists are left at home. i just love that. he pinpointed why concerts fill me. they give me so much joy. they are definitely on my top ten list of things that bring me joy. the concert was powerful. we were so close to the stage that we could see the sweat pouring off their faces. we could see every emotion. that they put every ounce of energy into their show. it was hands down probably the best show i have ever been to. and i've been to my fair share of shows. our night ended at steak n' shake. pretty typical of my gang.
sunday: sunday we woke up, packed the cars, and headed to city lights. city lights is one of our fellow network churches. we were so excited to go to visit and meet other people in our network. it was an incredible service. the pastor talked about being baptized by the Holy Spirit. he talked about the importance of the sacrament and presented baptism in a powerful way. he talked about how the Lord doesn't leave us. we are His. now, tomorrow, forever. He who began a great work will continue His work. nothing can pluck us from His hand. i couldn't help but think back to april 10th of last year. that was the day i got baptized. that was a day that changed everything. the Lord had freed me from a lot last spring and i knew that He was calling me to get baptized. He was calling me to more. He was calling me to not just confess with my mouth that He was mine, but that i would present myself to Him through getting baptized. i can't wait to share with you on this upcoming april 10th of what i wrote in my journal on that day. it was so special. after church, we hopped in our cars and headed home. we had great conversation. it was powerful. we talked about the weekend, but really shared our hearts on things like relationships, convictions, taking communion, and things that God was doing in us.
i am continually blown away with the community i have been blessed with through clearview. to Him be the glory.
as for now, HP1 is on t.v. the talaski kiddos are in bed. life is sweet. break is sweet.
p.s- just got word from camp that i am on for week 9. yahooo!!
#72: learn to make something beautiful with your hands.
week 9 at camp tecumseh?!
ReplyDeleteyes, yes, yes!!!
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