it's finally warm!

let me just say that today was, by far, the most beautiful, warm day i have felt since i've been back from texas! the sun was shining and all was well! although i can't say i'm enjoying the bees being back... i am deathly afraid of flying things and while i was cutting flowers i happened upon a wasp nest. :o let's just say my flailing of arms while running back inside probably wasn't a pretty sight...

i know, i know... i haven't been on here in forever, and i don't really have any good reasons as to why, either.

so. update.

i just got back from texas 2 or 3 weeks ago... i came home the day my little sister left, so i haven't seen her in almost 2 months! she turned 13 on friday! i almost can't believe it. it really does feel like she's growing up just too fast!

                                                     

school has been... school. i have neverevereverever been more excited for school to be over. i don't usually get like this, but it's how i feel! i am looking forward to summer. a lot. i can't wait to sit on the beach. i can't wait to see my camp friends.

i just can't wait for sunshine!!

this past weekend some of the kids in our youth group went to harvest bible for a children's ministry training seminar and i gained quite a bit of knowledge on how to lead a child to Christ! it was also great to see some of my quizzing friends if just for a morning!

speaking of quizzing, our rally is next saturday!! :D super excited...

well, i had better got some sleep sometime :p.

keep smiling.

news...

this is my baby brother or sister!!

i found out that my dad and step mom were expecting in November, but i didn't really get around to telling anyone... i'm so excited to have a new sibling!

i can't explain how much i love this little guy (who i've affectionately named Ferdinand) even though i've never even met him. it's a weird yet beautiful feeling.

i pray for him a lot.

i pray that he'll be healthy and strong when he finally arrives in July.

i pray that he'll be surrounded by people who love him to death.

i pray that i'll be the best sister i can be and help him though every stage of his life.

and i pray that he'll grow up to know God and come to a point in his life when he can say that he has accepted Christ.


i love this kid.

valentine...

(:

cripple kid...

this has seriously become my new name at home and church. not that i really mind, but these crutches are getting old!

what happened, you ask?

i could make up a completely "cool" story to tell whenever one asks me , but sorry. it's really quite lame. i was doing a pretty impressive balancing act on an ottoman and it flipped and, well, so did i. the outcome was an extremely sprained ankle. but i came really close to hitting my head on the banister so it could have been much worse than it is. i'm taking painkillers and my foot must be wrapped up and braced for six weeks (it seems faaar to long to me...).

i'm very sure that in a few days i'll be off my crutches (that have been beautifully decorated with blue bows!) and be on my limping way...

Room...

 I never really understood why people posted pictures of all their stuff and posted it on their blogs.

I get it now.

I have spent the past year organizing and decorating the space in our upstairs hall that was once my brothers bedroom, into my own space. I do everything in this room; from my devotions to writing to reading to music. While this is not my actual "bedroom" (the room where my bed is), I spend far more time in here than in there. Over the past week or two I have acquired picture frames and found some really cool printables (thank to Pinterest!) and have finally gotten all of them up and where I want them to be. I love the outcome of all my work to make this little space mine!

 And here we go with the pictures....

my drawers FINALLY organized....

winter retreat!!

I'm baaack!

alright, i've been back for a bit, but i'm just a great slacker when it comes to blogging. i'm here now~

i attended my fourth winter retreat this past weekend with 5 of y friends from my youth group, and we.had.a.blast. i mean, even apart from the rain and mud and altogether lack of sunshine (let's just say we were REALLY happy the times the sun DID come out!). we played a lot of fun games and heard so much great preaching from Dan Brubaker.

highlights.

i met a couple really great people.

i got to re-connect with a lot of people i hadn't seen in months.

it wasn't completely freezing this year (although we did get some beautiful flurries about 10 minutes before we left to go home...it was pretty perfect.).

i only fell down the basement steps once (trust me-big deal).

i learned a lot.

i dedicated a *giant* part of my life, something that has been burdening my heart for years, completely up to God.

that's the biggest thing. i mean, there are a lot of things i could have given up, but this is a really big deal to me. before, i was relying on myself to resolve the situation, trying my hardest in my own strength. but now i've realized that God is really the only one who can do anything about it, and if i leave it up to Him to work in His time, His will will be accomplished.

i am ever learning to rely on God to help me through each and every day and that i will learn more and more and more about Him.


                             

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my beautiful sisters

                                                                           Sisters.

seriously. i love my sisters, and i don't tell them that enough.

my older sister is beautiful and full of compassion and love. even though sometimes i'm a complete moron and can annoy the skittles out of her, she's so patient and caring.

my little sister is lovely and complete energy. i know i can rely on her when i need to run off some crazy. i will always remember the those times we wrestled and made up our own games when we were younger (sometimes we still do...)


tell your sisters you love them a lot.

...

Okay, so I understand completely that I have been lacking in every way of keeping up this blog thing I've got going on....

But anyhoo, here I am!

Since I have last talked to you, a great lot has changed! Last year I lost some friends, gained some friends (and a beautiful friend of a stepmother!), and grown much closer to God.

Right now I'm basically in the January routine of every year... School, church, music... the norm.

School- Boring as ever. The point has come where I have given up on being excited at all about doing really messed up Home Ec. assignments and learning about Chinese Dynasties. BUT I am, as always, extremely privileged to have these opportunities to learn and grow in knowledge (even if some of the knowledge is completely useless in my eyes....).

Church- Working on catching up from being in Texas for 6 weeks AND being sick at least 3 nights of Proteens this year! But I am striving to get back up and keep going. At the beginning of this Youth Group year, I was kind of apathetic toward all of it. I didn't not want to do it, but I didn't really care. But every day I am getting closer and closer to God now that I have brought back the fire of my desire to be in God's Word and learning about Him. I can't believe I went so long feeling the way I did about my devotions and about Bible reading! I am absolutely amazed by how much I have learned in the past few weeks of getting back into it. I'm also glad that I have a God who forgives me when I am completely ignorant of Him and what He has for me.

Music! I am of late getting back into my flute playing. I think the only reason I've been slacking is that I don't really have any new music, and I don't really have a teacher, so I'm not learning anything new. But I'll be back in the church orchestra and in whatever I can get into. I've had an alto sax. for a couple of months and I'm going to try to teach myself to play it (although, as Facebook videos prove, I'm pretty horrible so far...). And I'm getting a trumpet (or cornet-she can't tell) from my Aunt! It's supposedly very old, but I can deal with that! I'm very, very excited as I've wanted a trumpet for a long time. Next is a cello!!



Life is beautiful.

smile often,
lynn (:

:)

My cousin's baseball game on.....Tuesday?? (can't remember!!!) They won!

Afterwards, we went down to the lake, and saw ducks and geese and all sort of flying things. (misquitos, too.....)

:)

 

ealier we had gone to salvation army to get some dress skirts and this is what i found! an Apt. 9 brand new skirt! for $2.50! (it was half of it's orginal price of $5) yay me!

my summer....so far. :)

so far?

                                                

first baseball game...

(indeed, as boring as i thought it would be....)

got alot of hair cut off... not as depressing a day as i had thought...good outcome!

went on a missions trip with this group of people. most definitely one of the best weeks i've ever had...

after much ordeal, made it to the wilds for a week that i will never forget.

i don't think it's possible.

see this adorable bunny?

yeah. it bit me.

evil bunny.

"adopted" this little girl who comes and sits with me on

my porch when i can't sleep.

overall? good summer.

i'm happy.

This Summer....

This summer I have a TON of stuff to do! In a couple of weeks my youth group has a trip up to Servant’s Heart Camp Ministries to help them with their whole camp construction. I’m not completely sure what we’ll be doing, but I am looking forward to it!! I know, I know, it’s WORK, and very and very hard work at that, but I love this camp. I was saved there, I met a ton of friends there when we first moved back to PA, and many of them are still my friends to this day! So working or playing or learning, I love that camp.

 And after that, the week of July 4^th, we’re heading down to The WILDS Camp. I went to this camp 2 years ago and last I went to SHCM, but here we go again! :) I love camp any way it comes, so I am most absolutely looking forward to that week! And, since we’re going July 4^th, we get fireworks! Which I don’t like to hear, (fact- I am tone sensitive. I do NOT like loud noises: yelling, crashes, fireworks etc. I just don’t like it.) but love to watch. I love the way you never know what pattern is going to come next, and especially the colors. Reds, blues, greens, yellows, you just never know what’s coming. So fireworks are good.

 And after THAT, I will most likely be traveling down to Fort Worth, Texas with my little sister to visit my dad. Pros and Cons are there.  Pros: sunshine, pool, bike, my own yellow room, dog, extreme reading time. Cons: horridly bipolar Texas weather (sunshine, rain, floods, tornados, sunshine), having to fly, considering my unnatural fear of airplanes, I know NO ONE, sad library. The heat can get pretty brutal at times, reaching up to a good 110 on bad days. Of course people expect me to come back with a tan, but the truth is……I don’t tan. Like, ever. So before we even go into that one, let’s move on!

 And after all this, school will begin again, consisting of all my electives, and HOME EC. I am most definitely looking forward to this one, if only to mock it’s advice. I once read a Home Ec. Book that showed like 12 different steps for “perfect” posture while scrubbing the floor. No. So anyhoo,  that will be exciting! I will be cooking, which will be weird for me, because I don’t cook. I bake, and not even that often. My Mom’s a professional cake decorator, what do you expect??? :)

 And in conclusion, I wish you all an AMAZING summer….full of family, and friends, and all the cool summer stuff we wait for for what seems like forever. It’s coming quickly!

Today.

today was bliss.

just wanted you to know.

spreading the smile.

it's contagious.

10 things i did today....

1. smiled.

2. tripped walking out to the car because i was laughing too hard.
     - this is the only time it's okay....

3. sang opera to my stuffed dog.
      - such a normal thing for me....

4. rescued a innocent worm from mean children.

5. drank my black coffee,
    - this is good!

6. talked to an old friend for 2 hours....

7. mended my stuffed dog.
     -same one referred to in #3. he had a hole in his stomach.

8. heard my favorite song on the radio...sang really loud, made people look at me funny.

9. hugged a 4 year old. precious.

10. danced in the rain.
       - this used to be so normal for me...always did it when i was little. but this.was.amazing. something about being showered in the middle of a sidewalk laughing makes my heart skip a beat and makes me feel unbelievably happy. i suggest you do this.

my day was good.

amazing.

The Garden of My Heart

okay, so here is a quote/poem from a book series that i've been reading for a long time; Christy Miller. I really really really really love these books! they have taught me so much about God's timing in my life and just about growing up.
 this poem is actually a letter one girl had written for a guy in the very last book of the series, and she was trying to figure out what God wanted for her life. i really like this because it's not all about, well, a guy. it's including God in the areas of this girl's life, and not just rushing into a relationship. but praying it over, and realizing that God's timing is not our own; that we need to wait for God to tell us what to do...

 "Within my heart a garden grows,
wild with violets and fragrant rose.
bright daffodils line the narrow path,
my footsteps silent as i pass.
sweet tulips nod their heads in rest;
i kneel in prayer to seek God's best.
for round my garden a fence stands firm
to guard my heart so i can learn
who should enter, and who should wait
on the other side of my locked gate.
i clasp the key around my neck
and wonder if the time is yet.
if i unlocked the gate today,
would you come in? or run away?" 
                                          (Robin Jones Gunn)

 we all have a key that decides who comes in, and who stays out. i know i, for a long time, have been holding on to my key myself and not realizing that God should be the one to open the doors. but in the very end of this book, the main character (Christy) realized that she needed to giver her heart's key to her Father God. that in every aspect, God should be the One helping her figure things out. and wow, i was brought to tears. i had been holding on to my own key! i know now, that if my God is holding my key, and holding my hand, and i have the patience to wait for His Will, it will most definitely change my life.

 so what i really have to say is to pray for me! i really am just a girl, but i am God's princess and daughter. i'm learning day by day that no matter what, He is always caring and never forsaking....

it's warm!!

I'm in texas!! i miss my friends and family very much, but this weather is amazing.....next weeks forecast? 89. :D wow!
 i haven't really been up to much...just soaking up the sun and hanging around. the flight in was extremely bumpy. (which was NOT good at all considering my airplane phobia already planted in my mind that we were going to crash to our deaths...) there was this family that told their 5 year old son that it was all a roller coaster, so all the way up he was screaming and flailing his arms! he told me to "relax" when i almost tore the arm-rest off...
 but i got there in one piece...i actually had a connnecting flight from houston to dallas, so we were on the ground for about a half hour before we took off again for our 40 minute flight. it was kind of funny watching the stewardesses run around trying to hand out all those pretzels before we landed again!
 for my birthday (woohoo!!) i had some amazing food at a little "French" bistro called la Madeleine....i only got a turkey blt, but it was wonderful! they make their own bread and i do think it was the best i've ever had. then we got dessert to go. 3 little parfaits; tiramisu, fruit, and triple chocolate. they were so cute i almost didn't want to eat them! then we had little lemon pastries. now i dont normally like lemon in desserts, but this was really, really good! it was glazed over with a really hard glaze that wasn't nessecarily sweet, jest a little lemony. and last was a Strawberry Napoleon. it was, as well, very delicious!

i'm pretty sure i dont have anything else interesting to say, but i shall share some pictures when i get some good ones! i have had zero Kodak moments. (which, being a picture crazy maniac, really bugs me...) but when i do, i will share!

texas....

hmmm....haven't posted for quite a while! well, here i am to say that i'm going away....

 i'm headed of to fort worth, texas to visit with my dad for my birthday...i'm pretty sure i wont be there for longer than 3 weeks, but it is a long time since i'm away from my dear friends!

 please keep me in your prayers as i head off tomorrow morning (10:20) from Philadelphia, as i have a complete fear of airplanes, and saying goodbye! thank you!!!

Today I'm...

....getting a haircut. Okay, kinda boring, right? Right. But for real, this is a very big deal to me. Take last time, for instance. I cried. So anyhoo....I'm walking down to my Aunts house to get a couple inches off and get my bangs back. Not sure about the bangs yet...I had bangs for a while, and then a certain older sister, no names,  trimmed them crooked and too short. So for 2 months I walked around looking like an Amish boy. So here we go......... :D

Snow Day!!!!

 It's Snow Day!!!!! What's this happiness I speak of? It's a day at my church where we all go outside in the freezing cold and jump around doing completely mad things we would NEVER do at any other time. No, it's fun, really!! Last year we made ice cream sculptures that melted for too fast, and then we stuffed our friends with shredded paper. (that was fun) Oh yeah, and we all bring yummy food to eat. (I'm bringing chocolate cream pie.....:)
 So wish me luck as I go out in the cold, cold outside, and sculpt a pirate ship and ride a snowmobile...

Winter Retreat '11

Well, here I am again! I feel really bad, I haven't been on here in ages....

 This past weekend I went on the SHCM Winter Retreat, and I. had. a. blast. I had so much fun just being able to visit with all my friends and those I haven't seen in so long! I think that really is one thing that I look forward to anytime I go to camp! :) Mr. Shawn Madrid was the speaker, as many of you know, he is Mr. Fry's son-in-law, and he spoke the message at my Junior Camp '08 when I was saved! So this was a really great experience to hear him speak again!
 He spoke on mainly one subject. The matter of the Heart. Not like, y'know the thing that keeps you alive heart, but our (as he told us) mind. Feelings, intellect, and will. Every decision we make comes decided by our heart.
 I think what really spoke to me was the giving of your heart to God. Yeah yeah, we hear this all the time at church. But really, it is a very serious matter! God set our hearts in one place when we were saved. He based it on the Will of Him. The place God made them to be for the rest of our lives! But we, as humans, have divided our hearts. Whether be little things that we think don't matter, or big things that we know are very wrong, but just don't want to get rid of them. I think some examples may be friends, music, and our thoughts. When God asks for our hearts, He doesn't mean part of it. Not half of it, not even 99.9%!  Solomon was one example. He walked in the Lord, and he loved Him wholly! But in one mistake, one thing he did not want to give up, he fell away. His problem was women. Maybe yours is one of the things that I mentioned just a minute ago. Maybe you think that if you can hide it from others around you, you can just ignore that God sees it. But no. It's all in your heart, and God sees every dark corner of the heart. We cant ignore the problem, only work to fix it.
 So I guess what I'm trying to get across is something that Pastor Madrid said in one of our evening messages. That we need to fix it NOW. No waiting for someone to come along and tell you to do it, but immediately after you realize that it is wrong. Because our hearts cannot be trusted, and they are going to tell us to go the other way. One little thing can take us away from the spot where our Father placed our hearts, so we need to catch the temptation before it catches us, and destroys our lives.

 Yeah, that might be alot to take in, but it's the Truth from The Word. And I know my life was, maybe not in massive ways that will add to my testimony, but in little things, was changed. I hope this brings some realization to your heart.

 Keep trusting Him!

                                                  (view from the room we stayed in)

The Beginning...

Well, here we go! I'm surprised I hadn't put this up earlier, but this is my salvation testimony. How my Father saved my wretched heart and turned me toward Him.

 I had grown up in a christian home, and I knew practically everything about the Bible a 6th grader could know. I went to church Sunday mornings and evening, Wednesday nights, and every activity I could make it to. But really? It was all a habit. It was my lifestyle and I did it all without even thinking about it. The came a time where I realized..."Wow...look at all the things my friends get to have". Y'know, the ones who didn't have to go to church and made fun of me when I talked about it. Then I saw how good it looked. Like really, they get get to wear what they want, listen to what they want, and do what they want. And I wanted it. I wanted to do what they were doing! So I did. I began to listen to some really bad music, which came to an attitude problem. And I did end up doing what I wanted. Not in the ways that they had, but in my own little way, I knew what I wanted, and I was going to try my hardest to get it.

 So along comes summer of 2008. I had been going to Servants Heart Camp since, well a good 5 years at that time, and I loved it! I loved being able to hang out with my friends and play the games and just have a ton of fun! I didn't mind the preaching, but it was definitely not my favorite part. Especially this year. I didn't want to change anything!! Nobody really knew what I was doing, so who cared? The first night (I know! the very first night!) Mr. Shawn Madrid was preaching on the Bridge of Life, and my, oh my was I challenged. I had seen this tract a million times, but only then was I beginning to want to do anything about it. The tears were flowing before he was even halfway through!  I was heartbroken for Christ. He gave His very life for me, so why couldn't I give even the smallest over to Him? How could I be so selfish?? It was very different raising my hand for the invitation. Everyone there though I was saved! They had thought I was living for Christ until then. Until I gave up the fight and let my sins be washed away. Not just covered up, but completely washed away!!

 I went out with Rachelle Fry to talk about what I was going to do that night. I was crying so hard. I couldn've told you why then, but now I know. Because I was almost free. I was so close to giving it all to Christ! Well, I prayed a silent prayer. No, I can't quote what I said back to you. All I remember is it consisted of the basic salvation prayer, and a whole lot of I'm sorrys. But when I opened my eyes, I knew peace. For a long time I had known nothing but hate and fear, but right then? I knew joy, and peace, and happiness! I cannot put into words what I felt that night. I wanted to tell the whole world!

 Well I got inside the Activity Center and we went to tell my junior counselor. Chrystal Dierking, you know who you are! :) She saw me cry, as the words came out that I had accepted Christ! It was the most amazing thing, being surrounded by Christians who wanted to know this and were willing to pray with me right there!! It was so very encouraging to know that I wasn't alone. Because even now, I am still friends with those people, and I have made so many more along the way! I can't even type out how grateful I am for all of you. I don't tell you enough!

 This was only the beginning of my story. God has moved in so many ways, I'm not sure I'll ever finish typing! Every now and then I may continue this story of my life on here, just to let you all know how very great our God is. How He has changed and molded me (and still is!) to be more like Him. No, I'm not even close to where I probably should be, but I am growing. Each day I want to learn something about my God that I can write down  and look back to. I've been doing this for a couple of months now, and wow! The pages upon pages of things I've learned and realized about Him? It's overwhelming!!

 And like I said...
                                              ....this is just the beginning.