Dear World...

I'm writing this letter to tell you goodbye. More specifically, I'm writing this letter to the ruler of this present world; I want you to know that we're through. Satan, I've bought into your empty promises for far too long. All of the glitz & glamor that you so proudly display is nothing but a masquerade that weakly veils the true pain that you are so full of. All these years you have tried to seduce me into your way of thinking, & guess what? You succeeded...for a while. Your whispers led me to believe that I could gain happiness through material things. I became full of greed & grew jealous of what others had; so I hoarded my own money for no other purpose but to spend it on myself. Selfish envy infiltrated my life & my dissatisfaction was apparent. I wanted more! You knew this. You were well aware of the emptiness that my heart held. Happiness is not found in things, of this I was sure. But where then? You had an answer to this as well. Every waif of a model & stick thin body of a celebrity screamed your answer to me: You are not good enough as you are!! You will never achieve happiness until you attain an acceptable standard of beauty! This made me hate myself. So I decided that starvation was the answer. My body was obviously disgusting by the world's standards, why shouldn't I change it? I need to fit in! I need happiness! You were so close to achieving your goal of destroying me. I can almost imagine your face twisted into an evil grin of victory. You had succeeded in turning me focus so wholly on myself that I was totally unable to accomplish anything for the kingdom of God. In fact, I was not only abusing my body; God's temple, but I was also incredibly angry with my Maker. how could God have done such a horrible job in creating my body? Depression & inferiority became deeply rooted in my life. If only someone truly loved me! If only someone could reassure me that I wasn't completely unattractive. I only there was that one person who could sooth my irrational fears.
I gotta hand it to you Satan: Once again you & your worldly influences had an immediate answer for me. A boyfriend! You've seen the movies; everyone that has a boyfriend is perfectly happy. A prince charming will fix all of your troubles! I believed it, & I succeeded in finding myself a guy. A great guy who would take care of me, value my feelings, & fix my life? No. He called me beautiful, he went through some of the motions that are expected of a boyfriend. He said the right things, but he took so much. Satan, this lie hurt me deeply. I thought he cared, & I began to trust this man that I thought would make things better. But he failed because he only cared about his own desires. We were both selfish & we both got hurt. If I had made the choice that you offered me, I could have destroyed my life in that relationship, but it didn't happen! Satan, your grand scheme that you had been weaving for years was about to collapse. You know the rest of the story; you hate this part of the story. It was exactly this time last year when a real prince charming came into my life. He showed me the saving power of my salvation. My salvation that I had neglected for so long while I was chasing after your worthless lies. This Prince revealed to me the distinction between His Father's pure, beautiful promises, & the filthiness of your destructive lies. His name is Jesus Christ. Yeah, go ahead Satan, hide yourself in fear; the True Ruler of this earth came down from heaven to save me from the pit that you kicked me into.

I longed for peace & happiness; Christ satisfied me.
He showed me in His word that I have been created in the image of God. I am His masterpiece & I was made for a specific purpose.

I craved love & acceptance; God demonstrated His incredible love for me & how much He desires a relationship with me-- a silly human!
In Isaiah 43 He quiets my fears & comforts my soul as He describes His unending devotion for me. "Fear not, for I have redeemed you: I have called you by name, you are Mine. You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you!"
The God of the universe loves me! I don't deserve it. I have already failed so much. I can never earn it, but guess what Satan?  You can never take it away from me. Never! Because God has made a single promise that is infinitely more powerful than all of you lies combined. I am His, & He is mine.
Romans 8:38-39 says it perfectly, so listen closely. "I am convinced than neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
That includes you Satan. So stop trying to make me feel guilty for all of the mistakes I've already made in my life. Yes, I am a sinner, & I will always be one. But Christ, in His unimaginable mercy, chose to become sin for me & to take my punishment. He declared that it was finished on the cross. And unlike you, He doesn't lie! Just like in Zechariah 3, you stand on the sidelines & accuse me; you try to paralyze me with shame. But the angel of the Lord has graciously taken my embarrassing,  filthy garments & replaced them with pure & righteous robes. I am no longer a slave to my fleshly desires because Christ overcame my sin when He rose from the grave. He's beaten you Satan-- you've lost!
Christ's mercies are new every morning. His faithfulness reaches to the skies. I have victory & strength in Him, so you can't control my life anymore. I love my true Prince Charming & He has promised to always be with me. So you can take your money, it means nothing to me. You can have your superficial beauty, my Savior's scars are more beautiful than anything imaginable. You can keep all of your prince charmings, I have my own. His name is Pure and Holy. Emmanuel; God with us. He suffered & died for me while I still hated Him, yet He loved me enough to save me from my sins; to save me from myself. He loved me enough to save me from you! Jesus has stolen my heart, my life is His & His alone. I was meant to live for so much more than the empty pleasures you have offered me. So that is why I write you this letter; my faith is in God. I don't want your lies anymore. Goodbye forever.
                                                                            ~Alicia

This Christmas Child

Luke 2:7

"And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

“This Christmas child” Watch Him. Watch Him. Watch this Child, who grows into a boy, who grows into a man and is found to be so much more. Watch as He is born—among shepherds and angels and bright lights in the sky. Watch as He grows in favor and stature—as a youngster asking questions, giving answers, astounding teachers. Watch Him in the desert—a young man in prayer, with hunger and thirst and a calling from heaven.

Watch this strange northerner—with His calloused hands and radical ways—who grew up in “pagan” Galilee, whose brothers once thought Him unbalanced, and whose neighbors once drove Him out of town. Yet watch His authority, His acceptance, His patience. Watch Him touch the leper, heal the diseased, cleanse the impure. Watch Him teach the crowds to forgive and pray always.

Watch Him as He kneels—in a garden, and in anguish. “Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine” (Luke 22:42). Radical submission to a heavenly plan.

Watch as the Son of God is betrayed with a kiss. Watch as they arrest Him and His closest friends flee. Watch as He submits to a fate sketched before time. Watch as they spit on Him and hit Him and crucify Him on a tree.

Watch as one final breath slips from His lips—the sins of the world on the shoulders of one man. Then watch, yes watch, as the stone is rolled away; an empty tomb filled with hope, for He rose again!

Then watch as His name and His fame fills the world.

This God, this Man, this Boy. This Christmas Child. —Sheridan Voysey, Our Daily Journey

Bittersweet

Well, my first semester of college is officially over. Kind of hard for me to believe. I had an amazing semester; God has definitely taught me a lot since September. I have also made some amazing friends that I don't know how I ever lived without! It's so nice to be home, but I miss some of my friends already. Like Ashlee & Emilee (they're in the first picture underneath this paragraph =) they are pretty much my honorary sisters. I can talk to them about absolutely anything! They are always encouraging me in my walk with the Lord as well, which is such a blessing! I'm so incredibly thankful that God gave me such amazing friends!

.

Emilee and Ashlee

Me and Emee

Ashlee and I

Another friendship I was thankful to develop was with an MK from South America named Krystle. She is actually from my home church, but I never really knew her since her family has been out on the field for the past several years. It's so funny, the first time Krystle & I met a couple of years ago, we really didn't like each other. But now we are very good friends! She is an awesome girl & a huge encouragement to me.

This was while we were "studying" for finals. We got a little dramatic after a few hours. Lol!

After the drama, we got a bit slap happy! Haha! ...good times =)

I'm also very thankful for the roommates that God gave me. Both Ashley (middle) & Liz (right) have been a blessing to me in completely different ways. It's so cool, because God knew exactly the right people to room me with, it has been awesome & I am looking forward to spending another semester with them.

So after an incredible first semester I am now home on break for five weeks & I have some amazing news: God is already opening up an incredible ministry opportunity! This semester in World History we were learning about the origins of the Islamic religion & after that lecture I felt a huge burden for the Muslim people. I started praying about it & God brought to mind a great couple from our church that are currently serving as missionaries to a community of Muslim people that live nearby. After speaking with them about it today, it looks like I will be able to help them over break & hopefully over the summer as well. I will be working as a tutor to Muslim women, so please be in prayer that through this position I will be able to share the good news of the Gospel, & also show them the love of Christ. Thank you all again for your prayers over this semester, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it. I hope that you all have a wonderful week as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit." ~1 Peter 3:18

While I Am Waiting

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting 


~John Waller

Lord, teach us how to pray.

I just want to share something that God has put on my heart lately. Last weekend I was able to come to Chetek & visit my family & my home church. Pastor Schmidt has been teaching a series entitled "Steadfast, unmovable, and always abounding." It is based out of Ephesians 6 & it has been such a blessing! Well, last Sunday we were in verse 18 which says "Praying always in the Spirit, with all prayer & supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."
 As soon as Pastor Schmidt read that verse I felt conviction. God has been dealing with me on this subject for several months. I do not spend nearly enough time in prayer every day. Prayer is much harder for me then spending time in God's word. When I am reading the Bible, I feel a sense of (for lack of a better word) accomplishment when I have finished. But in prayer, I share my burdens & requests with the Lord & then I have to wait. I hate waiting. I want things to be fixed immediately. I like to have a part in helping with a problem, I don't like leaving things up to others. So to ask God to take care of something & then wait on the Lord's timing is very difficult for me. Isn't it crazy that I, as a financially broke, worn out college student, would try to fix a problem before I take it to almighty God & ask for His help? Yeah, it is very crazy!  Ephesians 3:20 tells us that God is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. And John 11:22 says "But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” So, I want to challenge you to join me as I purpose to spend more time in prayer every day & to trust God more!

And can I challenge you with one more thing? Pray for others! I know that we all have so many issues in our own lives. Stressful situations, & other things that we worry about. But everyone around you has just as many things going on. I don't think any of us realize the difficult situations that go on in the lives of others.
 God has really been burdening me about this recently & I think that every one of us can spend more time in prayer for these people especially:

• Our church leaders

The Pastor of a church has so many responsibilities & burdens to deal with. Not only do they spend time putting together messages & studying the Word to better share it with others, but they also counsel the entire church body as well. Think about the stressful situations that your family faces each week, & then multiply it by however many families are in your church. More likely than not, your Pastor is spending time counseling with many of the families in your church, & he is spending a lot of time in prayer! So uplift him & his family in prayer! Pray for wisdom as he tries to counsel each individual. Pray for strength as he labors on behalf of the church family. Pray for peace & trust in God as he has so many burdens placed upon him. And pray that he would find time to spend alone with God & with his own family. Pray also that God would protect our church leaders from Satan's attacks. Satan would love nothing more than to see a godly man fall into sin.

• Our Missionaries

I don't think that any of us stateside believers can even imagine the kind of trials that missionaries face every day. Not only do they devote their lives to reaching others with the gospel, but they are often thousands of miles away from their family & friends. I know how much I miss my family & my home church when I am at college, but missionaries spend years away from their loved ones. They face challenges day after day on the field, whether it is government opposition to their ministry, or a strained budget. Medical care is usually not up to par & groceries are expensive. Add that to all of your 'normal' challenges that are part of the ministry. They counsel many new believers & they are in charge of all of the church activities & services. Missionaries need our prayers! Pray that they would have strength to accomplish everyday tasks. Pray for their safety as many of them minister in dangerous areas of the world. Pray for encouragement as they spend years away from their family & friends. Pray for provision, especially as the American economy is struggling, many missionaries are losing financial support. Pray for grace as they face many trials. Pray for compassion as they witness to others. Pray for wisdom as they counsel with many new believers & struggling Christians.

There are so many others in our lives that need prayer, so I encourage you to just take the time to ask people how they are doing...& mean it!! Don't just let them tell you "I'm fine." We need to share each other's burdens, & what better way to do it than on our knees, in prayer! Thank you so much for stopping in, & please feel free to leave any prayer requests you might have.

A Wonderful Week!!

Well, this has been a great week! It was one of the most challenging weeks of college so far, but for every little trial I faced this past week, God provided an extra blessing. And since it is almost Thanksgiving, I'd like to share some of the highlights of the past week!

Starting with A Christmas Carol! I went to the performance of the Christmas play last Saturday & it was amazing! This was definitely the funniest version of a Christmas Carol that I have ever seen. The guy who played Scrooge was hilarious! I got to go with several good friends, so we had a blast.

I got this wonderful care package from my youth group on Monday...at least I think it was Monday. I don't actually remember. All of the days kind of run together after awhile...ANYWAYS! Lets just say for argument's sake that it was Monday. It doesn't really matter. But I do remember that I was having a pretty tough morning & it was such an unexpected blessing to receive such a thoughtful gift in the mail =) Thank you all!!!

Wednesday & Thursday were amazing since we had a guest speaker named Ken Ham on campus. I don't know how many of you have heard of him, but I would highly encourage you to familiarize yourself with his material. He is the founder of the Creation Museum & let me tell you, the man is brilliant! He is one of the most intelligent people I have ever had the privilege to listen to. We had three, two-hour sessions with him while he was on campus. We also had a lot of visitors, which was a blessing. Ken Ham was a bit surprised about Northland's location though. We are pretty much in the middle of nowhere, & he said that during the long drive he began to fear that some atheists had captured him & were going to do away with him once & for all. Lol! He was a huge blessing =) You can see what he had to say about his experience here.

Then on Friday I was able to drive home for the weekend. My oldest sister Amber came to Chetek for a few days  &the ladies of our home church were anxious to see her new baby, so they threw a baby shower for her. It was a lot of fun & great to catch up with everyone.

Baby Bree is getting so big! Last time I saw her she was only two days old. She has changed a lot in two months! She is very content though. I think that Aubrianna was passed around to about 14 different people on Saturday afternoon & she didn't cry at all.

When she does happen to start crying, all we have to do is show her some Christmas lights. It is the cutest thing; she LOVES twinkle lights. She will be crying her little eyes out, but as soon as she sees twinkle lights she quiets right down & just stares at them in awe. It is adorable!!

My brother-in-law, Ryan, was also able to come up & do some hunting over the weekend. He got an doe & an eight-point buck! Yay!!! I was so happy! (for him...and my car!) Lol. If any of you are wondering about my animosity towards deer, this is why I am so bitter. Haha! That is my sister, Amber, looking quite grossed out on the right side of the yucky deer. Lol!

Anyways, it has been a great week. I can't wait to go home on Wednesday & spend some more time with my wonderful family. I hope that you all have an amazing Thanksgiving with you family & friends!! Take some time to thank God for all of the blessings that He gives each day. There are so many things that we take for granted. Have a great week =)



"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" ~Psalm 107:1

Abibliophobia

Did you know that there are actually people that have Abibliophobia? Which is the fear of running out of reading material. Aren't you glad you stopped in today? You got to learn a new word! Lol! I definitely do NOT have that fear. With college there is no possible way I will ever run out of things to read. Well, even with all of the studying & the multitude of tests that I've had lately, there has still been time for some fun! Which included 'kidnapping' on of my friends on her birthday & smuggling her off to a surprise party. We had to do it; she was planning on studying all night! It was a great party. Ashlee made some delicious chocolate cake & we all watched movies. It was a nice break for the normal college routine. Here are some pics =)

                               The 'Abduction.'

      Poor Jen still had no idea where we were taking her!

                         Yummy cake!!!!!

           The birthday girl & Hannah, so cute!!!

 Ashlee jammin' on the guitar. I assure you, it was lovely =)

                  Hannah, Emilee, & I. We had a blast!!

                                                                  

An Amazing Gift of Forgiveness

So I've been feeling quite restless lately. Not just physically restless, but spiritually as well. I don't know how else to describe it, it has just been a constant feeling as if I need to find out more about God & also that I need to be going for 5 mile runs so I have alone time to think about everything I'm learning! Lol!

But honestly, I've had a lot to sort out since last time I posted. For those of you that don't know me terribly well; I'm the kind of person that always needs to know 'why' I am doing something. I really had a challenge to my faith last weekend & not in the form that you would normally suspect. The challenge came while I was reading a book about a legendary missionary named Adoniram Judson. I'm sure many of you have heard about him. For those of you that haven't, I'll give you a brief description of this amazing guy:
He was born & raised in the home of a Pastor but he did not come to know Christ as his Savior until he was around twenty years old. When he did get saved he was absolutely on fire for God. He determined to go where no white-believer had ever gone before & he & his wife went to Burma, Asia. To make an incredible (but long) story short; he had a very rough time on the field. He went six years before he saw a single convert, he spent 20 months in a torture prison, three of his wives & several of his children died on the mission field, & he endured severe problems with his health for his entire life.

This is when I started questioning; Why would God let this happen to a man who was so clearly dedicated to furthering the Gospel? Yes, in spite of all of these trials he eventually saw thousands of Burmese people come to know the Lord & he translated the entire Bible into a language that had previously not even had a genuine book in print. But couldn't he have done even more for the cause of Christ if he had not been afflicted with so much suffering? Why would God allow such harm to come to a man that loved Him so dearly? Why do I love & serve a God that would let this happen?

Wow. I didn't even know where that thought came from. I'm at a Bible college, determined to serve God with my life & here I am questioning why I even love him? This is insane to me. As 1 Corinthians 10:12 says "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." Despite the questions that were running through my head, I know that the Word of God is true, & I have experienced the love of God so clearly in my life that I know NOTHING can come between me & the love of my Heavenly Father. But the questions were still there. Why? So I prayed about it, & as He has promised to do, God gave me peace & assurance.

God loves every person on this planet so much that He will do anything it takes to bring as many people as possible out from the bondage of their sin & into His love & salvation. No, we will never know the exact reason behind everything God does in this lifetime. We have to trust His sovereignty. He knows the thoughts, struggles, & every detail of every person intimately. Therefore, He knows exactly what situation each person needs in their life to bring them closer to Himself. I know there have been trials in my own life that other people could look at & question God as to why He would allow that thing to come into my life. But after experiencing those trials I know that without them, I would not depend on Christ, or have a close walk with Him. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 illustrates this perfectly:
But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

What need would we have for God if our lives were perfect? What compassion would we have? What consequence would there be for sin if nothing bad ever happened? Truth is, I serve a Holy & Sovereign God who would rather see people suffer for a short time on this earth, realize their need for Him, & accept the gift of His salvation, than see them spend an eternity in hell; separated from everything that is good & comforting.
Not only that, but God knew exactly what He was doing when He put these trials into my own life. I have had an open door to talk with many girls who would have otherwise completely shut me out. Why? Because I had experienced similar hurts & I could now identify with them. They could also see that God had done a work in my life & given me victory despite my circumstances. This is the power of God & (for lack of a better word) the amazing-ness of His will!It was once said "God never wastes our tears." He knows what He is doing. Everything He does is for His glory & for the good of others.

So how does all of this tie in with my title of Forgiveness? Quite simply: because I am a sinner & I can't believe how complete God's love for me is. Isaiah 53:5 says "But He was wounded for our transgressions;He was crushed for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,and by His stripes we are healed."

God is all-knowing. He knew every sin I would ever commit. He knew all of the times I would choose to go against His Word. He knew every time I would bring His name down by making selfish choices for my own pleasure. He knew every time I would ever think an unrighteous thought. Every time I would look down on other people. Every single time I would choose to sin because I didn't trust that God's plan for my life was good enough. He even knew that I would doubt Him last weekend, even after the countless times He has demonstrated His perfect love for me in amazing ways. All of that & He CHOSE to die for me. This is when I should really be asking "WHY?!"

Why would Christ choose to experience a horrible death on the cross to redeem people that hated Him? Micah 7:18 says
"Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love."

I honestly cannot answer why God loves us silly humans so much. In our selfishness & foolishness, He still delights in showing us a steadfast love that cannot possibly be explained. It is nothing we have done or could ever do to earn it; it is who He is. God IS love. God=Love. There is no way to explain it. So all we can do is rejoice in it & try to show that love to others. What a great gift, huh? Hopefully this is something we can all think about a little more this week & do a little happy dance about (just do it sometime when you're all alone, lest anyone point out your lack of dancing skills =)

Sunday =)

I know what you all are thinking. "Alicia comes up with the most original titles!" Haha! Or more likely; the exact opposite. Lol! Anyways, today was great! I went to Grace Church & it was a message I really needed to hear. Pastor Kimbrough was preaching out of James about being a doer of the Word & not just a hearer. It is SO easy in a Bible college to become apathetic to the Word. I mean, yes, I am learning more & more about the scripture every day. The teaching here is phenomenal, the chapel services are super challenging & I can honestly say I've never loved the Bible as much as I do now. But at the same time, we are saturated with it. Which is a good thing, but it is very easy to just be satisfied with that; being in the Word & learning about it, but not applying what we've learned in to our own lives. So it was a really great sermon! Then afterwards we have a discussion group, which was also a blessing.

After church, we headed out to lunch. It was me, Rachel,(a girl I grew up with from my home church)Melissa, & Mandie, (who are both friends from school) in one vehicle. Then we met the Kimbrough boys at Taco Bell. Luke & Ethan both go to school at Northland as well, & their younger brother Jared is still in high school, but he's still pretty cool. They're all really funny, so we had a great time. They also have an older son named Caleb, but he is in Australia doing the study abroad program.

All in all a very fun day! But now I need to go practice & finish my music theory home work. I spent almost all day yesterday staring at this computer screen because I had to write a 10 page paper :p Not fun!! But that is almost finished, so I'm just leaving the rest for tomorrow =)I hope you all had a great Sunday!! And have a wonderful week =)

Spirit Week Pics ((finally!!))

Ok, ok. I admit it; I'm terrible at posting things when I say I will. So here's some of the pics from Spirit Week that I was going to put up ages ago. Lol! I do have a good excuse though. This week has been NUTS!!! Anyways, have fun browsing =)








Ashlee & I on Roman Day

Fighting over the bread they threw into the stands. Lol!

Our Chancellor (Doc O) judged the 'best toga' contest.

Yeah togas! Haha!

Some of my other gorgeous friends.

Classic films day. On the left-hand side is Hannah as Princess Lea in Star Wars. Next is Jacqueline from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Then Emilee & Ashlee weren't quite sure what movie they fit into. They still looked cute though! Lol!

Here we have our nuns. Haha!!

Little kid day!! Krystle said she used to be a tomboy. I was always just plain goofy.

Hahaha!I love Rachel's face here. She's on the far right. They all look so great!!

Jacqueline & I.

Emilee, myself, & Ashlee at the Northland v.s. Maranatha soccer game. It was so much fun!! But VERY cold. =)

It was such a fun week! I wish I had time to put up some more pics. There are a few more over on facebook if you feel like checking those out =) Thanks for stopping in. Have a wonderful day!!

Toga, toga, toga!

Haha! So that title really doesn't have much to do with the post, but its fun to chant, so that is my reasoning. Anyways!

It has been a busy couple of weeks! I am taking 17 credits, plus voice lessons & piano practice (which equals 13 hours of required practice each week). So I basically have no life. Lol! Just kidding. There is always time for fun here at Northland. Actually this whole week has been a blast. Its SPIRIT WEEK!! Woo-hoo! So we have different themes for each day: Monday was Classic Rome (thus the togas =). Tuesday was classic movie characters. Today is Kid Day! (Yay for not matching & wearing pigtails!). Tomorrow is Classic Northland day. Our instructions for today was to wear whatever we wore as kiddos, such as scrunchies, animal backpacks, & whatever else we used to think was 'all that & a bag of chips.' It was a ton of fun! Although yesterday had the best costumes. We had one guy walking around in a legit Darth Vader costume (complete with the theme music playing from speakers on his shoulder pads!) Lol. Sadly, I forgot my camera, so no pictures =(

Tomorrow, we are either supposed to wear old-school Northland tees, or we can dress up as our favorite professor. So there should be some interesting looking students wandering around campus tomorrow.

Friday is our day of rest. No classes! Yay! I love the majority of my classes, but sometimes you just need a 'catch-up' day. I will be heading home on Thursday night, so I'm super excited to see all of my family & friends.

Well, I better run down to the practice halls now. I'll put pics up from Spirit Week in my next post =) Thanks for stopping by! <3 you all!

Got Frustration? It may be God's chisel!

So college is going great. There are amazing professors, the student body as a whole seems driven to serve the Lord. I'm learning alot, & also meeting some really great friends. So why am I frustrated? It's simple: I am a silly human. Lol!

Ok, so it is a little bit more complicated than that, but I'm not going to go into detail. God is definitely challenging me in some specific areas of my life. Extremely specific areas, & I didn't really recognize the significance of the way He is challenging me, until I started thinking about it.

Psalm 37:4 says: Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.

My desire is for God to change me to be more like Him. I compare myself to others. There are areas of pride, doubt, fear. I see myself as 'junk' sometimes. I'm sure you all have been there. But God is 'chiseling' away all of these un-Christlike characteristics. Let me tell you though, it has been downrite painful at times. There have been days where I just want to throw in the towel & stop trying to 'Grow in Grace.' That is my pride & my flesh, fighting against the Holy Spirit. But I am excited to see what God is making me into, & what He is preparing me for. The Lord disciplines those that He loves. I found this video & I thought it was such a great example of our inner-struggle against God's discipline.
Love you all!!

Aubrianna Marie

Baby Bree is here!! I had just gotten out of a class Friday at around 11am & I checked my cell phone to find I had about 4 missed calls, & a text that told me that Amber's water had just broke. Chaos ensued. Lol! So I ran on over to the registrar's office to get a weekend pass, & thankfully they were really willing to tweak the rules for my situation. So I had to finish out the rest of my classes, & then I started the long drive from Northland down to Madison. I got another call (one of many throughout the day) from my other sister, Rebecca. Amber had gone into labor & was at the birthing center already. I finally arrived at about 11pm, & little miss Aubrey was already here =) She is beautiful, & my sister & her hubby are thrilled. What a miracle babies are!! Thank God for a safe pregnancy & delivery =) Here are some pics of my beautiful niece:

Zambia, Guam, & the same awesome God!

So I just got back from a bonfire a group of us had down by Reflection Lake here at Northland. It was actually for society rush...great fun =) Anyways, the Mary Slessor society, & their brother society, the Brainerds, got together & had s'mores around a campfire down by the lake. We also sang some songs, & gave testimonies. Two of the testimonies really stuck out to me. There was a guy here from the island of Guam, & his story told about how he had really not been walking with the Lord up until this year. But God was working in his life, & He was leading him to Northland. He provided a significant amount of money for his college tuition, a laptop, & winter wear (he's coming from a tropical island, so he wasn't exactly prepared for winter here in Wisconsin. Lol!) I'm doing NO justice to this story, but believe me, God is doing some awesome stuff!! =)

The other guy was from Zambia. Well, technically he's from Zambia & Minnesota. Figure that one out, haha! But anyways, his dad was in politics of some sort, so they would move around to the different countries whenever there was like an uprising or anything like that.
He obviously grew up in a Muslim society, & he went to a Muslim school. He speaks Arabic & English, but the other boys at his school didn't know that he spoke Arabic. So there were talking about how Christianity was 'foolish' & Jesus was an impostor. So Mana (the guy whose testimony I'm trying to retell, & not doing very well. Lol) Mana told them in Arabic that Jesus was the only way to get to heaven. So the other guys told the teacher, & the headmaster of the school came in & told him that he needed to put on the 'holy dress' & read the qu'ran. He refused repeatedly, so they called the police. The police came to his home (they were in Pakistan at the time) & they began to beat his mother. This was when he told us that when all of this took place, he was only 9 years old. They beat his mother, & threatened the rest of his family. Then his father came home & asked what was going on. They shot & killed his father that day, & for the next two years they could not go to church. They would hold prayer meetings in their home. Through all of this, Mana was just praising God for how good He is. His faithfulness, His grace, & mercy! What a challenge, huh?

We as Americans take our religious freedom for granted so much! It's so amazing to see Christ shining through guys like Mana, & challenging us all to be bold in our faith. On Sunday, the Pastor was talking about how when the church in Acts was persecuted, they never prayed for the hardship to cease. Instead, they prayed for boldness to share their faith, no matter what! I know this is really convicting to me.

I wish you all could have heard him tell his testimony, I know I really can't convey the story nearly as well as he did, but I hope that if nothing else, if makes us all think about the things we take for granted, & that we remember the faithful & steadfast love of God, not matter what our situation.

Who loves Tim Hawkins?

I love Tim Hawkins!!! Haha =) This guy is hilarious, so I had to share two of my favorite videos. Enjoy!

College Daze

Oh my goodness, it has been a crazy couple of days, I don't quite know how to sum it all up, but I'll do my best.



Well, Wednesday when I got here, I just unpacked & tried to get settled in. Since I'm the last kid at home, I'm now used to having my own room, & its about as big as the dorm I now share with 3 other people, so thats been an adjustment. But my roommates are all really great, so that makes it easier =)



Thursday, I actually don't really remember all of what we did, I know that's bad since it was only like 2 days ago, but whatever. Lol. I do remember that Thursday night I had piano auditions, & that went really well! It is probably the first time I've played in front of people without having my hands start shaking. Haha! So praise the Lord for that =)



Friday, bright & early, I had Aural Skills testing. Which, let me tell you, is great fun! *note sarcasm* Ok, ok, it's not that bad, but it is very difficult for me. We had to listen to the Professor play different intervals, or patterns on the piano, & then we had to write down whether it was a major 5th, or perfect 4th, or G7, or whatever the case may be. So not my forte! Lol. Next, we had music theory....nuff' said. Haha! I really haven't been taught theory at all, except for this spring, I had to cram because I was involved in about 4 competitions that required some theory. But, I am not on the college level. So please be praying for me with that. =)



Saturday was pretty full of freshmen orientation meetings, but in the evening, the student body put on some really fun activities. We all got together in the gym & they had like goofy videos, & some games. It was a blast. Afterwards, we went down to the lake & sang worship songs & gave some testimonies. Afterwards, there was a fireworks display to usher in the fall semster. It was really cool =)

Today I went to Grace Baptist Church, & I really liked it. It reminds me of my home church, so thats nice. Then A group of us went on a walk around one of the lakes on campus, & that was SO much fun. A good way to get to know some new friends. There are some awesome people here, & I'm excited to meet everyone.

Classes start tomorrow, & I'm still having a few issues with my schedule, so please be praying for me about that. Thanks everyone, & please let me know if there is anything I can be praying for you about. =) Have a lovely week.

*dun dun DUN!!!!*

Well, that was my impression of scary music...not very good, I know. Lol!

Anyways, THE BIG DAY IS HERE!!! I'm finally going off to college today! I'm super excited, but a little bit nervous too. I knew this day was coming, it just didn't seem like it would ever actually get here.

I spent a wonderful weekend with my family in the Wisconsin Dells. My sister & her husband live there, & she is now 8 months pregnant, & pretty much the cutest pregnant lady you will ever see! Haha =)

So when I got back, I just had to finish packing, it now seems like I have packed everything I have ever owned into those handy-dandy rubbermaid totes. I never really realized how much stuff I had until I had to figure out what I actually NEEDED to bring to college. Lol.

God has definitely provided abundantly for me!

Thank you all for your prayers & encouragement to me, you guys are the best =) Please be praying for me as I adjust to sharing a room with not just one, but 3 other people. Lol. I'm sure I'll be with some great girls, but other than camp, I've only ever shared a room with my sisters, so it will be an adjustment. Also be praying that I will be diligent in cutting out time to spend with the Lord each day. I know I will have a busy schedule, but devotions are SO important. Last but not least, I will be auditioning to get into the music program at Northland, so PLEASE pray that I don't get too nervous! When I get really nervous, my hands start shaking, & its just a mess. =p Haha!

Anyways, thanks again everybody! I hope you all have a fantastic week =D

Oh happy day =)

This will probably be one of my more random posts, so brace yourself ;)
Just want to give an update on my life right now.

I've been doing a lot of stuff to get ready for college, & just trying to enjoy the rest if the summer. I can't believe it's already almost over! It went by way too fast. Maybe it's because I live in Wisconsin, so winter lasts about 6+ months, & I love HOT weather, so when it is finally here it doesn't last long enough for me. Lol...Anyways! I'll move away from that bunny trail.

I had a HUGE unexpected blessing this week:
I really wasn't planning on having a laptop as I go off to school this fall, I just didn't have money for it. So I had been praying that God would just provide me with a couple of jump drives, so I could easily use Northland's computer lab. But as usual, God went above & beyond! Wednesday night, my sister had me over to watch a movie & she gave me a graduation card. When I opened it, my jaw dropped. She & my brother-in-law gave me enough money to buy a laptop! So amazing!! When will I ever stop underestimating God?

So anyways, I love my new laptop! And now I have Skype as well, so feel free to find me there if you ever want to chat =)



Let's see, what else have I been up to? Oh! Lot's of goodbyes =( I hate those! A lot of my best friends have already left for school. One in Georgia, another in Illinois, & yet another in Indiana. So I will miss them all dearly. Another very difficult goodbye was on Friday, it was my last piano lesson. I have been taking lessons with my current teacher for 2 of the 4 years I have been playing & she has become a very good friend to me. She has taught me a lot & gone above & beyond to try to help me as much as she can. So we were both crying!! But she invited me back to play for her student recitals, & also she & her husband have a 50's style big band that I have played with before, & she has invited me to play with them again as well. So at least I will get to see her soon!

This is also my last week working at the community center pool. I love working there as a lifeguard, everyone there has become like family to me! Although I won't miss getting up at 4:30am & teaching water aerobics so early in the morning. Lol!



Anyways! Just a lot of busyness! But I am very excited to see what the Lord has for me this fall. =) Thanks again for stopping in. Have a fabulous week!

Draw near to Me.

Most of us have read, or heard James 4:8 "Draw near to God, & He will draw near to you."
But how many of us really believe that? I have been so burdened lately because of a number of girls that have recently asked me why they don't feel like God cares about them. Or why they feel such a need to have a boyfriend, or they are desperate for attention from a guy because they just don't feel like God is enough.
I have been there. Not that long ago actually. Last year, I went through this exact same thing, I really doubted that God cared all that much about me. Well, I knew He loved me, & He had loved me enough to pay the penalty for my sins. But it almost seemed to me like thats where His love for me had emptied out, on the cross. Now I was left to get through the rest of life by myself.
At the same time, I really did believe in what the Bible said, I just wasn't 'drawing near' to God. As in seeking after Him, & getting into His word to find out more about His true character. As with any relationship, how can you love or trust someone if you have never really gotten to know them? God has promised us so much more than a 'surface' relationship with Him, but we often don't look to Him to fill His promises, we look other places instead.

Think about it, so many girls need attention from guys, or need to be in a relationship to get a sense of security. What do they do when they begin dating a guy?
That's just it, they go on dates! Lol. No trick questions here. ;)
They want to get to know the guy, see what kind of person he is & all of that mushy stuff.
Now stick with me, but it's kind of the same principle with your daily devotions. I think alot of times we think of devotions as a time where we read our required chapter a day or whatever, then we list off our requests to God. But how would it be if we did that in our relationships, even with friends & family? Can you imagine just walking up to the person, you've read their facebook info or whatever, so you figure you know enough about them, no need to really ask them questions about themselves, or try to find out what they're really like. Great! Now you can move on to asking them to take care of some things for you.
Probably wouldn't get a great response from that, huh? Of course not! Sometimes we have to work to develop good relationships.
So I want to encourage you, seek out God! He has promised to draw near to you! And guess what? God never leaves us either! I have found that whenever there are times I don't feel as close to God, it is never because He has changed, or that He gone somewhere else, it is ALWAYS because I have taken my focus off of Him. So turn around, God is waiting for you right back where you left Him.

There are SO MANY verses that have to do with God's love for us, I just want to share a few that I have found especially encouraging. I really want to challenge those of you ladies who may think that you will not feel whole or loved unless you have a boyfriend to really, honestly meditate on some of these verses & just ask God to help you to rest in His love. He loves you more than any guy ever could!

Psalm 36:5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.

Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord appeared to him from far away. "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."

Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty One who will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.

1 John 4:16 So we have come to know & to believe the love God has for us. God is love, & whoever abides in love abides in God, & God abides in him.

Did you catch that? God is love! And He abides in us if we have asked Christ to be our Savior! He will never leave you or forsake you. He has promised that in His word, & it says in Hebrews 6:13-20 that it is impossible for God to lie. He can't do it! Which means He is faithful & He will fulfill His promises to us. Ok, so heres the last passage I'm going to share with you all for today. It is one of my favorites because it reminds me that I am never alone, no matter what I go through in this life. Christ is with me, & He will protect me.

Isaiah 43:1-5
But now, thus says the Lord,
He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel; "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; & through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, & the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush & Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in My eyes, & honored, and I LOVE YOU! I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you."

WOW! I can't help but have peace after I read that. God, who created everything on this earth, cared so much about me, that He chose me, He called me by name to make me His own. He is more powerful than anything our minds can fathom, yet He promises that He will be with us through every little trial, every little heartache. He even tells us that He would give all of Egypt, Cush, & Seba (some extremely wealthy countries at the time) in exchange for us. But He ended up giving something infinately more precious, His only Son, to pay the ransom for our sins. God tells us that we are precious in His eyes, & that He loves us!!

I don't know about you, but I don't believe that there is a guy, or any person for that matter, on this earth that can match that kind of love. And they shouldn't have to try, because God is enough! No, it is not a bad thing to want a relationship & eventually marriage someday,that is great. But it is so important to get in your Bible & find out who God really is, & have a personal realtionship with your Savior before you go searching for a guy to try to fill the emptiness you feel. No guy can fill it, & it is unfair to put that kind of pressure on anyone. You are so valuable in Christ's eyes & He loves you & wants to help you. Draw near to God, He WILL draw near to you!

Attitude check

Do you ever have days where you just feel like being grumpy for no reason? I know I do!

Lol! Here's a great reminder of what we should be doing whenever we feel that way. This was during testimony time over the weekend at Northland Leadership Camp. Brother Will Galkin just wanted all of us to be aware of our attitudes in the upcoming week, it was very cool =)
Btw, listen for the echo ; )

Saturday!

It's already the weekend? Craziness!

Ok, so I said that I would finish talking about Leadership Camp soon, & now I finally have a few minutes =)

So week two of LC was also amazing, just in a different way. For our second week, each of us would be assigned to a cabin, either in Pioneer Village, which is their junior camp, or we would be assigned to a jr. high, or sr. high cabin in teen week. I knew that wherever God put me He would work in my life, but I was really praying that I could be in a sr. high cabin, because I felt like I had been through a lot of the same struggles that girls face at that age, & God had taught me a lot through all of it. The first week we were there, it was a BIG week. There were close to 500 campers. But the second week was pretty small, & there were only 2 sr. high girls cabins. But I ended up being put in one of them, so that was awesome!

The first couple of days were a bit of a struggle for me, as I was trying to apply what I had learned the week before about servant leadership. But the more God worked in my heart, the easier the week went. I got to know the girls in my cabin really well & ended up having a great week- & best of all, on Wednesday night, one of the girls accepted Christ as her savior!!!

The following night was also a huge blessing. I was able to give my testimony during cabin devo's, I talked about a lot of the things I had struggled with, & how through EVERYTHING, God is always faithful, & just talked about a lot of what He has taught me. God really used that time to help the girls in the cabin open up about their own struggles & insecurities, & from what one of the girls had told me, I became really burdened for her.

The next day the LCer's had a session on prayer & how powerful it is. I have been finding out the more I pray, just how powerful it is, but this session really challenged me about my prayer life.

That afternoon I started praying specifically that God would give me a chance to talk one-on-one with the girl that had really opened up the night before.

It was the last day & I was just hoping for an opportunity to maybe encourage her. And of course, God worked it out so that we ended up being able to talk for over 45 minutes on our own! It was a huge blessing =)

Now that I'm thinking about it more, SO MUCH happened over those two weeks. I met some really great people, & learned so much about God. It was just fantastic!

I'm always amazed to at how small the world really is. Lol! One day, I wore an Inca Kola shirt that I got in Peru, & I met like 8 people that had been there on missions trips! One of the counselors ran up to me & yelled "Inca Kola?! I thought that looked familiar, I love that stuff! Did you know you can get it in Miami?" Haha! It turned out that the staff member I had my interview with had been there twice & is going back this January. None of them had ever been to Tacna, the area our group went, but I did meet a girl from West Coast Bible College that apparently knew the missionaries we stayed with. Weird huh? But very cool =)

Well, I am extremely tired, which means I better get off the computer & get busy. Lol. Thanks for checking in! Ttyl =)

Like trying to take a drink from a fire hydrant.

Lol! That was how one of the Leadership Camp speakers described how our 2 weeks would be at Northland Camp as we tried to process all of the teaching we would be hearing. It was true. We had a lot of sessions over the two weeks that we were there. I think that there were about 40+sessions all in all, & they were AMAZING! We had some phenomenal speakers; Will Galkin, Steve Pettit, Jeremy Frazor, Aaron Coffey, & Tom Farrell. The program was headed up by Brother Dave Coats, & I can't thank him enough for putting everything together. It was an amazing experience, & God did such a great work in my heart over the past few weeks.

I was able to go with 3 of my friends too, so that made it a lot of fun as well =)

The first week mostly focused on our own spiritual life, & we had around 4-5 sessions a day. I learned SO much that week that I think I am still trying to take it all in. Lol. Another thing that really taught me a lot was the one-on-one I had with a lady on camp staff. He name was Reba & she is the pianist for the Will Galkin evangelistic team. It was so great! She was such an blessing to me. One thing that she challenged me to do, was to read through some Psalms & make a list of all of the characteristics of God that I could find. Talk about encouragement!!
How could I go through writing down that God is: My chosen portion, ever present, my rock, my strength, my salvation, steadfast, mighty, faithful, merciful, my refuge, & countless other titles & not find encouragement?!
I would highly recommend going through Psalms whenever you are discouraged. Sometimes I think we forget how amazing God is, & the Psalms are a great reminder =)

Besides what God did in my life that first week, He was also doing great things throughout the rest of the camp. There were about 40 people in Leadership Camp, & there were new testimonies & blessings from everyone, everyday! It was such a blessing! Also, we were there during Teen Week III, & 26 people got saved that week!!! So cool!




















Our youth group was there during that week & one of the girls I have been praying for was able to go.
She has had a hard time with her family & everything recently, so I was so happy to find out that she would be going. She gave her testimony on Friday night, & she said that God had worked in her heart, & she was able to let go of a lot of bitterness that she had been holding on to. How great is that? God is so good!
















That weekend, the LC group went hiking at Pier's Gorge, which was a blast! It was SO beautiful out there! And it was also great to be able to hang out with everyone, & get to know each other better. I made some amazing friends, that I already miss terribly.

The girl on the left is Kara. She is such a sweetheart! She will also be going to Northland this fall & she's going to be majoring in piano =)And that's Blaire to the right. I had so much fun with her! She is from Canada & probably one of the coolest people I've ever met. I'm going to have to take a road trip to Canada to see her sometime. Lol!

Anyways, I'm going to wrap this up for now. I'll post about the second week sometime soon. I'll also try to get all the pic's & videos up soon too =) Thanks for stopping in, & stay tuned to hear about one of the biggest things God did in my heart last week. I'm super excited about it! Well, I'm off to get some shut-eye. Have a great week!

Happy 4th of July!

Ok, so it's a little bit early, but I'm not going to have time to post tomorrow. Lol!
Just want to say a quick thank-you to all of our soldiers who are serving, or have served & sacrificed so much to keep our nation free. And also for my brother, who is in Bahgdad right now, I love you & miss you Jeremiah!!!

Well this past week I have been getting ready to go to Leadership Camp up at Northland. It is a 2 week camp, & I'm looking forward to seeing how God is going to work in my life while I'm there!
The first week there will be alot of sessions & sermons, that sort of thing. Northland always has great speakers, so I'm excited to have such a great opportunity to learn & grow.
Then the second week we will be kind of 'assistant counselors'. Some of us will be in Pioneer Village, which is for the elementry age kids, & then some of us will be helping with the teenagers.

To prepare for Leadership Camp, all of us that are going were sent projects that we needed to complete before we go, & those have been such a blessing! We needed to memorize the Romans Road, & James 4:1-11 (great passage!) & we also needed to listen to a series of sermons on walking in the spirit. It was really fantastic & I learned ALOT.
So I'm very excited to go! I just wish it wasn't the same time as my sister's ultrasound =(
Amber is 6 months pregnant & she is having her 3D ultrasound during the first week that I will be at camp, so I'll be missing that. But she says I can watch the dvd, so that makes me feel better! Haha!

Well, I'll try to post over the weekend if I get a chance, & I will definitely put up pictures as soon as a can. Have a great holiday weekend everybody!!

Yay for sitting!!

Hey there! I finally get to sit down today, so I'm happy =) Lol!
I just have to share a quick blessing. I have been stressing out alot about how I'm going to pay for college. Like-- ALOT! I will be paying for it on my own, so that has been a very scary thought for me. I was losing sleep over it, & freaking out whenever I thought about how much money I'm going to have to come up with, but God has given me such a peace in the past couple of days!
First of all, He has already provided the first payment in an awesome way! So that was a great encouragement.
But I was still a bit worried about how I would be able to earn the rest of the money that I will need this semester. But as He always does, God has given me assurance in a way that only He can. A peace that passes all understanding.
He has used many different things over the past few days to remind me that He is, & always will be in control, & that if He wants me to be at Northland, He will provide-in His time! But if He chooses not to, then He must have something better in store for me.
He has also reminded me that no matter how huge a monetary debt might be, He has already paid for my biggest debt with something infinately more precious than money. He sent His only son to die on the cross, to pay for the debt of my sins. How can I know that & still doubt that he can provide me with a little bit of money for college? Isn't God good? =)

Gotta love kids =)

So today I worked at 5:30am & then I headed over to our church. I practice piano there a couple of times a week, & today there was also a ladies fellowship. The Zimmers, who are missionaries to Yap Micronesia, are home on furlough, so the church had a brunch for the ladies so they could snack & chat with the Zimmer ladies. It was called 'Yap-py time'. Lol! I'm pretty sure a guy came up with that name, but anyways.
I helped with child-care, which was so much fun! I was playing with two little girls; Kate, who is 6, & her little sister Ella, who is 3. I have to share a bit of our conversation, it was quite imaginative &...random. Haha! So here's the scene: Ella & Kate were eating their lunch that they had brought in a cute little lunch bag, we were sitting in the gym of our church & just chatting, when Kate started playing make believe:

Kate: Isn't our lunch bag pretty?
Me: Yes. It is a very cute lunch bag! Did you pick it out?
Kate: We won't throw that away.
Ella: No we won't we can use it again, & again, &...
Kate: What if it gets stolen?
Me: I don't think anyone will steal it in church
Kate: But...a cow might
Ella: Yeah! There are some cows that...
Kate: A cow might come in here & say "I want that pretty lunch bag so I can carry my lunch too!" It might... he might say that.
Me: Well, maybe you can hide the lunch bag under the table, then he won't be able to see it.
Ella: Yes, that is what we should do.
(Kate promptly put the bag under the table, she & Ella both seemed satisfied & continued eating. But then Kate thought of something else)
Kate: What if it is a baby cow? Then it can see under the table!! It might still steal our lunch bag!
Ella: Yeah, the cow, the baby cow it wants EVERYTHING in the church!
Kate: It is going to come in here & take everything. But we may get it back after he takes a nap.
Ella: Do you know? The cow is going to come in here & take everything in the church, even the bathroom doors!
Kate: That is a naughty cow...

Hahaha! It continued on like this for quite a while. Probably the most entertaining conversation I've had lately. Lol! They are such adorable little girls & it was a very fun day =)